I remember Paizo thinking about a "rule-light" product last year. Is this it? Is there another product coming? Or, after thinking about it, was this the product developed instead?
I read somewhere that D&D's current Red Box, in spite of how little repeat play value it has, is one of their biggest sellers. If this is the case, I can now more fully understand Paizo's interest in a beginners set. Just make it fun and playable guys and hopefully it turn out well for you too.
Except free PDFs have zero shelf space in bookstores, Target, Wal-Mart, and so on. Which means zero visibility for potential customers.
You'll still have almost zero shelf space, as 4e takes up whatever there is.
You need to look at making an entirely new game if you want that market. Bookstores (I assume mean places like Barnes & Noble) put rpg stuff on the rpg shelf ghetto in the Sci Fi section. Places like Target and Wal-Mart only carry collectible card games and social games (Monopoly, Apples to Apples, etc).
You need a product that gets you into the gaming asile and has more mass appeal than this hobby game (of which, yours doesn't have a collectible element like 4e's fortune cards). Your trial-sized Pathfinder would be seated against Munchkin, Setters of Catatan, and the Exalted board game, all of which are complete games, with optional expansions.
I like your products. I want your company to succeed. My opinion is that you should be either more ambitious (create new genre defining game that anybody can pick up) and/or go more guerrilla (with something that gets passed around virally). The market doesn't need a crippled me-too product. It's a bit much to ask your current customers to go buy Pathfinder Quickie to get their non-gamers friends to try the game, even moreso to expect somebody to pick it up cold off the shelf.
What Paizo seems to be advocating here is Pathfinder Essentials: same rules, fewer options, and as an added bonus, limited advancement.
Most of the people on board do not seem to be rubber stamping on this, as the audience for this game does not exist. Experienced gamers don't need it. New gamers are going to be hard pressed to plunk down good money for a sampler. Back in the day, when RPG's were a new thing, it could happen. Now, you can get full fantasy and sci-fi rpgs as pdf's on the Internet for free. You're economically competing against free.
If you want a Pathfinder teaching game and are determined to do it as the same game with limited levels and limited options, then make it a free pdf with along with an adventure that covers the levels. Encourage everyone here to download it and show it to new players. Also advertise it at other sites (like computer gaming sites) and encourage new players to try it on their own.
I was at my local Barnes & Noble in Games section this weekend. In addition to a new version of Cosimic Encounter, I also saw an Exalted themed(basically White Wolf's D&D)available as large board game, on par with Axis & Allies. The box probably weighed 5 lbs with all the stuff in it. It was $34. (Shocking, I know.) Over in the books on the RPG shelf there was one Paizo Pathfinder book, the Advanced Player's Guide. $40.
Not exactly a fair comparison. The Exalted board game was obviously no where as open ended as an actual RPG. Then again, none of the $40 Pathfinder core are complete by themselves either. I'm certainly not suggesting a Pathfinder board game (though I'm sure there'll be one in the future). But I would expect a Pathfinder Basic box to be on par with this Exalted game in terms of production, completeness, and out of the box playability. Given that there shouldn't be heavy duty maps and a bunch of toys inside, it should also be cheaper.
I understand their stated purpose, but I think it's a waste of time and will turn out to be a waste of people's money.
I design/build marketing data systems for a living, so the above is not mere speculation. Rather, such is based on observance of actual data relating to introductory kits for a variety of industries as they relate to customer acquisition and loyalty. In short: intro kits work.
I can't argue with your background and experience, but WOTC is on their third intro set for 4e (Shadowfell, Starter, Essentials). Even with their brand, their experience, and the money they've put into it, they still obviously haven't quite come up with the right formula for it. I think it's because WOTC is simply trying to duplicate TSR's old box set success with about the same components.
Paizo certainly has the experience, but not the brand, and probably not the funds. The company should look at doing something different than what has come before if they want more than marginal success.
Let me be somewhat less combative and a bit more specifically constructive.
Paizo's developed a few interesting new classes, at least some of these should be included. (Especially the Pokemon Master/Summoner, which might have some kid appeal.) If this Starter set is severely limited in character levels, then this would serve as a crosspromoter for the Advanced Players Guide. Otherwise (if it's a complete game), this would be a good differenter with D&D.
As mentioned above, put in a brand new adventure, but even more, an expansive sandbox setting. This may draw in a few customers that might not want the rules, but would want the setting. Again if the character levels are limited, have the sandbox go beyond that level, to give some incentive to get the Core rules.
Include a poster map of Golarion along with a short gazetteer overviewing the places of interest. I can't tell you how much that old Greyhawk map fueled my interest in RPG's.
I know this goes against conventional thinking here,
It's not a matter of "conventional thinking". It's a matter of reading what the Paizo-stated purpose of a Pathfinder intro set is.
"What we do know is that it'll be useful for more than a couple of sessions, will be a great PFRPG teaching tool, and will help us get more people playing Pathfinder."
Experienced players looking for a rules-light game should go look for a rules-light game, not buy a PFRPG teaching tool. If the box set is an alternative lighter rules set for experienced players, instead of an introduction to the full PFRPG for non-players, then it's done exactly the opposite of Paizo's stated goal.
Also note that the Paizo-given explanation is not that it's to "teach RPG's", but to teach PFRPG.
I understand their stated purpose, but I think it's a waste of time and will turn out to be a waste of people's money.
The best teaching tool for Pathfinder is experienced players. Trying to do this out of a box for newbies is an uphill battle if this intro is going to be totally compatible with the Core version. This is assuming anybody outside of the RPG web community knows about it and if anybody outside of a FLGS will sell it. D&D is the sum of all of RPG's mainstream branding. Pathfinder doesn't register.
I'm trying to make suggestions to broaden the appeal of this game to other gamers, the most likely audience. Paying $20 for a trial version of the game makes less sense now than ever given the number of free fantasy RPG games on the Internet. Would you pay $5 for a trial version of Monopoly that only goes from the Start square to the Jail square and doesn't include the racecar, just to see if you liked it? Otherwise, the above suggestion of putting the Core rules in a box with dice is the way to go.
Green Ronin has already produced an alternate take on the D20 system with their Mutants & Masterminds game. As others have mentioned, they've also produced a complete game in a boxed set with Dragon Age. Then there's several itinerations of the Micro-lite rules; D20 in a few pages.
The point is that the 3.5 rules aren't written in stone and don't have to be huge. There's no reason to be locked into doing a D&D box set the same way it's been done before. There's no reason to be forced into following every convention of the rules for a game whose purpose is to teach RPG's (and provide a rules-lite version for experienced players).
Paizo's specialties have so far have been Pathfinder (with it's wide array of character creation options, in my opinion) and it's adventures and their Glorian setting (not to overlook their high production value). I'd hope that any intro product would lean heavily on Paizo's strengths, rather than simply being a regurgitation of previous D&D starter sets.
This intro game need not be just an expensive sampler of the Core rules. It could be a game unto itself with easy hooks into Paizo's adventures. The kind of gamers looking for a rulings, rather than rules game, would not be intimidated by a little DIY. Please don't limit the appeal of this intro set.
If the Pathfinder box is simply the same basic rules as Pathfinder, but lacking most of the character options (Pathfinder's strong point) and limited in levels, it won't be any different than the current 4e Red Box. While many have praised its production values and presentation, few people think it's really worth buying.
Check out the entry for September 28 on the Essentials box set. (Unfortunately, this guy doesn't break up his entries on separate pages.) The post raises several points which also could apply to the potential Pathfinder box: paying for a promo, rules confusion, may as well buy the full version if you really want to play and learn that.
I know this goes against conventional thinking here, but I think a full game (going up to 15th level, same as the adventure paths), a full range of races and classes, and a really stripped down rules set is the way to go. This would appeal to experienced gamers wanting a lighter rules set. As long as it has some compatibility with Adventure Paths and such (which are Paizo's real forte), this Basic rules could still generate continuing sales, even if it's not the Core book. Being simplier, it would also be easier to teach new players.
A box set could include dice, Player's book, DM's book, and an adventure, as well as a "What is an RPG?" booklet. This would be a small, "read me first" pamphlet with all of the standard stuff that explains RPG's and the game conventions would help. Another booklet could be a conversion guide to the full version. Separating out this material will keep the size of the gamebooks down. Sell the gamebooks separately as well, making the pamphlets pdf files.
The main problem is that Paizo knows the 3.5 system so well, that the developers may have a problem cutting out rules, as they may consider them all integral. You might also have to completely rethink the classes and how they work to make a simpler version.
I guess my point is to not sacrifice the quality that Paizo is known for in order to stuff more goodies into the box. Whenever I open my wallet to buy something that says Paizo on it, I know I am buying a product of superior craftsmanship. I'd rather see no starter set than one that contains crappy newsprint booklets and cheapo dice.
That is a key point. One of the things that I will never let our guys do (and I doubt they would want to) is sacrifice quality. I'd rather have less in the product and keep what's left high quality than get more but cheaper stuff.
-Lisa
Hence the importance of dice - intro means the probability that this the only RPG stuff the buyer/reciever has. You don't want to force the buyer to spend X on the game and then need to buy dice too - what if they didn't know they need weird dice?
By the same token, what if you don't want the box and the dice, but just want the Basic gamebooks?
If Basic Pathfinder just features a handful of character levels, then it has no value outside of being an introduction to the full Pathfinder. Go ahead and release it in a box.
However, on the assumption Paizo is going to do a good on setting up the Basic rules, why not go ahead and expand them out to 15th level, to match the Adventure Paths? It'd still be a teachable version of Pathfinder and draw in some brand new players. And, it may also have some appeal to people wanting a rules-lite version of Pathfinder to use with all that adventure material.
This is a product I'd be more interested in buying.
I can't gift wrap a PDF and give it to my cousins or nephews for Christmas.
As I said in my earlier post: The intro box should have a gift certificate for a free PDF of the full rules. But get them hooked on a real product, not on a PDF. Who gets excited about a PDF as a kid? My own children are very meh about any PDF I own but if we get a new gaming book or I print up a book, they're all over it.
Good point. Were I in charge though, I'd still say, "Let's test this as a pdf first. If people like it and a bunch of them demand a physical product, only then do we print them up and stick them in a box with some dice."
I doubt the market for the box extends beyond this website and local gaming stores. Even then, it will really only appeal to nostalgia-seeking old players, not the new players for which this game would be written.
Somebody here make a business case for the box. I'm willing to bet WOTC's beginner's boxes have been loss leaders. I don't think Paizo can afford to do that.
I hate to be so cautious, but I can't see a Pathfinder Basic box set being a money-making product, regardless of the price point. If Pathfinder Basic is meant to promote the full game to new players, and if it's going to be stripped down in rules and severely limited in character advancement, then it should only be a free pdf on the website. Let the players here take it from there and do the marketing.
There could certainly be a Player's pdf (4 classes and 4 races up to 3 levels) and a DM's pdf (some appropriate monsters and magic items, a sample adventure, random roll tables for generating adventures, and a few pages of printable tokens/counters for characters and monsters). Include links to Youtube videos showing the staff rolling up characters and an examples of play.
I would second a suggestion from another poster, add a sorceror winged Fairy class/race (no snickering). That was probably the only worthwhile innovation from the old Powers & Perils game. This class would really have some appeal to non-traditional gamers (and some regular gamers). The Basic game could sort of be the playtest for it and a reason for experienced players to download it, even if they weren't interested in recruiting new players. (Same goes for some good random adventure generating tables.)
Thanks for asking. Like I said, I can't get into it now. It's nothing special. I did post an adventure path outline there sort of like Heart of Darkness.
I definitely have a lot of admiration for Paizo's products. Somewhere on the boards here before Pathfinder came out, I did advocate for a basic set to go with it.
From what I can see here, I think the biggest potential audience for a Pathfinder Basic rules set would be experienced Pathfinder players who want a "teachable" version of the game. If this is the case, like I said, just make it a free PDF and see if it merits any further development.
I posted this idea last year on my blog, which I embarrassingly can't get into any more. I don't even entirely agree with it anymore, but here it is anyway.
The Gift: Why Paizo should give Pathfinder away
The thesis is as follows: Paizo should publish a simplified 3e rules set and then give it away.
First, this is idea is repugnant to the capitalist within me. Not only am I asking a company to give away their product, I’m putting all the work on them. If I was more familiar with 3e and had more experience with it, I might try my hand at it. But the point of this exercise is not to produce another retro clone; it is instead to produce a finely polished product from a respected RPG publisher. The clones are awesome, but they are backward looking nostalgia. They are professional, but not stylish. On a technical note, D20 at its base is probably an easier, friendlier system than the matrix tables of older versions of D&D anyway. What would separate Paizo from the free systems is legitimacy, rather than a technical legality in the OGL.
Why on earth would for-profit company have any desire to compete in the same arena with competitors who give away their product? Computer nerds reading this are now waiting for me to make a Linux analogy. Not quite. I would put it closer to WOTC’s D20. The purpose of opening up the D&D license was to drive sales of the core books. This would be somewhat the reverse. The purpose of a free Pathfinder Basic (I’m not an advertising exec, somebody else come up with a catchy name) would be to create an easy to use system (that isn’t controlled by somebody else), that allows Paizo to concentrate on their core business of producing system extensions, adventures, and settings and to drive those sales. Given enough popularity, perhaps licensing opportunities follow.
Isn’t this the purpose of their current version of Pathfinder? Yes, but the system only appeals to 3e grognards. That’s not a large or expanding audience. The real loyalty of the Pathfinder players is likely not the rules, but the continued ability to play Paizo’s adventures without heavy modification to another system.
Who would be the audience of this Pathfinder Basic? For starters, fans of Paizo’s adventures, if my above theory is correct. If the rules allow and encourage plenty of creativity in interpretation, all but the most belligerent of Old School grognards should approve of it. As I’ve said in another posting, this group needs a published product to rally around. Make the rules simple enough and I think new novice players can be brought into the fold and expand the hobby. Lastly, new 4e players. Stop laughing. In spite of all the rulebooks, RPG’s are not about hard rules, which is what 4e is all about. This group of players may be ready to take off the training wheels, and if they do, I doubt they’ll go back.
Does it have to be free? Over the Internet as a download, yes. In print, it needs to be fairly low-cost, perhaps at cost. The theory here isn’t just to give away the razor and sell the blades, it is to expand the potential audience. A set of expensive hardbacks can be a significant a barrier to potential new players. Beyond the development costs, I do see the other analytical side of the argument; if it’s free, it has no perceived value. The only thing I can think of to combat that is to have plenty of ads and references to Paizo products in the rules. Make the rules look like an advertisement for the rest of the catalogue, which it actually would be.
That brings me to my next point, defining a few parameters of this mythical product. It can’t be a crippled set of rules. You know, like 4e and the way they’re determined to dribble out core races, classes, and monsters. It does have to have the full range of 3e classes and races. It needs to support these characters up to 14th level, the same as the Adventure Path series. (Sell the enhancement for higher level play.) It should contain a full range of classic SRD monsters and magic items. There should be a sample adventure along with a transcript of sample play with a group of newbies.
I would suggest a few other technical specifications. Make the game playable without miniatures. Encourage their use, but don’t mandate it. Strive to create a system that has no more than one modifier per roll. For events outside of standard actions, don’t try to create rules for every situation, just offer some guidelines and suggestions. Explicitly encourage groups to make up their own rules. Seriously consider some sort of simpler alternate to the experience points system. Most importantly, provide a rough conversion guide to the full Pathfinder/3e, as well as some of the retro clones. This will make the product look bigger than it is by providing access to a wealth of published and Internet material. Why not look smart, benevolent, and tolerant of other systems?
The problem with all of this is that Paizo is comprised of 3e grognards. Not to say that they’re snobs about their game system of choice, but 3e is their area of expertise. I’m not sure these are the best people to ask for a simplified rules set. Asking them to hack down 3e may be like asking someone to hack off body parts. They already think they’ve simplified the game with Pathfinder. Selling Pathfinder Basic to Paizo may be the hardest sell of all.
I’m not a business major. This isn’t a credible business plan. Then again, I’m not sure Paizo’s current plan is going to work in the long term either. Pathfinder Basic is worth consideration.
Hobbyists will always have their game (and even their preferred version of their game). Why can't there be a version for the casual player too?
Interesting point. So, would this be a subset of some of my four categories or a fifth?
I got news of this Basic Set from Grognardia, so thanks for posting that link to James' blog. As much as I would like to agree with him, I guess I'm actually advocating the complete opposite.
If it is meant to draw in completely new and young players and be sold outside of a hobby store, then cut the cord to 3e and make it a new, easy to learn rules set. However, it really will need to be a complete game, not an expensive advertisment for Pathfinder or a bunch of supplements.
If the Basic game is meant to draw in Old Schoolers or woo 4e'ers, I'm not sure what the point would be. I can't imagine why either group would be interested in a stripped down rules set, providing a just few class options that only go up to low, limited levels. The best points of Pathfinder (all of the charcter-building options and such) would not sell themselves in such a format.
Personally, I'd love a version of Pathfinder with Old School-like rules. But realistically, who else and what would you do with them, since none of Paizo's adventures and sourcebooks (their real publishing forte) would really be compatible with them.
Perhaps somebody at Paizo would like to clairify who the audience for this game would be.
I think that the purpose is to grow the game, but I'm curious how they are iding the target audience as well. I don't think Old Schoolers can be drawn as a group. Heck, they can't even agree on phrases (OSR, anyone?). As far as 4e players, do you mean people who have played 4e, or fans of 4e? I'd think that the latter group is unwooable as well.
Old Schoolers already have their games, either originals or clones, houseruled to their liking. Most RPG'ers who converted to 4e are, I would think, would be unlikely to convert back to what is perceived as older version of D&D. New players who started off with 4e would probably not see any benefit to converting to Pathfinder.
Of current Pathfinder players, some might want simplier rules, but to what end? It won't really be compatible with the main line products and certainly isn't going to be supported with additional products.
Lastly, as far as potential new players goes, if this is just a stripped down version of Pathfinder, it will be abosolutely invisible to them without the D&D brand attached to it.
Am I leaving anybody out?
Pathfinder started as one guy trying to codify his houserules. I would suggest to Paizo, that if this is just meant to be simple intro to Pathfinder, don't throw huge resources at it. Just release it as a free PDF and only create a print version if there's a big demand. If they're wanting to reach out to brand new players, they need to go all the way with a new game.
Hobbyists will always have their game (and even their preferred version of their game). Why can't there be a version for the casual player too?
Interesting point. So, would this be a subset of some of my four categories or a fifth?
I got news of this Basic Set from Grognardia, so thanks for posting that link to James' blog. As much as I would like to agree with him, I guess I'm actually advocating the complete opposite.
If it is meant to draw in completely new and young players and be sold outside of a hobby store, then cut the cord to 3e and make it a new, easy to learn rules set. However, it really will need to be a complete game, not an expensive advertisment for Pathfinder or a bunch of supplements.
If the Basic game is meant to draw in Old Schoolers or woo 4e'ers, I'm not sure what the point would be. I can't imagine why either group would be interested in a stripped down rules set, providing a just few class options that only go up to low, limited levels. The best points of Pathfinder (all of the charcter-building options and such) would not sell themselves in such a format.
Personally, I'd love a version of Pathfinder with Old School-like rules. But realistically, who else and what would you do with them, since none of Paizo's adventures and sourcebooks (their real publishing forte) would really be compatible with them.
Perhaps somebody at Paizo would like to clairify who the audience for this game would be.
I wrote this a week ago for no particular reason, but don't have a blog to post it on anymore. News of this Basic set is a bit of serendipity.
The Party Game
My local Barnes & Noble recently remodeled. They've cleared out a large swath in the center of the store and installed a selection of games. These are kid's, family, and party type games with a broad appeal. Where's D&D in the store you might wonder. It sits on one shelf in the Fantasy Vampire/Sci-Fi Vampire/Vampire novel bookcases. The selection was almost entirely 4e, though without a Players Handbook 1 or a Dungeon Masters Guide 1. No Basic Essential Box Sets either.
What I take away from this is that D&D and other RPG's are purely hobby games for dedicated RPG players. 4e has some appeal outside of this group, which is solely due to the hooks within the game that appeal to collectible card game players, WOW players, and miniatures gamers (not Napoleonic, I mean superhero "clickies"). (Not just a WOTC invention, an early playtest version of Paizo's Pathfinder actually did attempt to put video game like combo moves into
the game. The players revolted.) So 4e's outreach to non-pen and paper RPGer's was just to other obsessive gamers.
I believe that RPG's could have more appeal than this. Ironically, the RPG computer games that were inspired by the analogue RPG games make the concept easy enough to grasp for just about everyone. Certainly D&D has been around long enough that best practice rules for easy comprehension could be written. Old School had the play style and the simplified play right. 3e brought in the D20 mechanic and got rid of the matrix tables. 4e removed Vancian magic and brought in a fairly good method for resolving non-standard combat and non-combat maneuvers.
What each version also brought was baggage. Old School is ripe with piles of little wonky rules for events that never happen, and no rules to handle things that often do. D20 is a simple mechanic buried under a preponderance of 3e effluvia of skills and feats. 4e? I'm convinced WOTC attempted to literally merge D&D with Magic the Gathering before cooler heads prevailed (for now). For every rule 4e streamlined or clarified, they added other elements that seemed to demand a control pad and infinite patience, such as whittling down a base goblin with 29 hit points.
Why can't a version of D&D be written with easy to learn, consistent rules? Further, where is it written that Basic boxed RPG sets have to be crippled versions of the full game? Why can't there be full advancement in a 64-page booklet?
My ideal Box set features a character booklet with rules and a full range of classes and races going up to 20th level. Advancement rules would be very simple, with the additional option of generating characters of specific levels. Necessarily, their powers will be simplified (especially magic users). Under these circumstances, maybe playability won't predictably break down at higher levels. There's a monster and magic items book, similarly cut down in stats. Finally, there's an adventure book. There's a sample adventure, but the main value of the book would be several large random tables and geomorphs for generating dungeons, traps, wildernesses, towns, and plots. Adventure and character generation should only take a matter of minutes. (Perhaps there could be a website companion for this.) Utility items, such as graph paper, tokens, dice, and a wipe sheet and marker (not that the rules should demand exact placement of combatants), should also be included.
The point is that this would be a complete game, not even easily compatible with the main line. This almost seems to cry out for a licensing tie-in. Conan has plenty of recognition and is low magic (no massive spell lists) to boot. Character, monster, adventure, and setting supplements could be produced, but won't be necessary for continuing the game.
Ideally, the box set sits up in the closet with Monopoly and other board games. It can be taken out, set up, and taught within 15 minutes. Play could last from an hour to however long you could stand it. Maybe the players play again tomorrow or next week with the same characters. Maybe it goes back in the closet for a few months and they play again new characters.
Hobbyists will always have their game (and even their preferred version of their game). Why can't there be a version for the casual player too?
Honestly, I think Paizo is actually leaving money on the table by not printing a starter/rules-lite booklet. WOTC doesn't care about selling D&D the Rules anywhere near as much as they want to sell D&D the Brand. Paizo needs to think in those terms when selling their own goods.
I like the idea of collaborative fan rules, but it's going to be very hard to reach any sort of concensus, since one fan's opinion is as valid as any other's. Ideally, you'd want to deconstruct the rules down to a minimal base, and then allow other subsystems to be optionally added to a playing group's tastes. I am not a 3e expert, which is one of the reasons why I'd like a simplier set of 3e rules.
By the way, my low-magic/Conan suggestion wasn't advocating a style of play, so much as just giving a good excuse to chop down the number spells to lower the page count.
Here’s a suggestion for a smaller, less complicated version of Pathfinder. Put it in a Conan-like, low-magic setting. This should make it fairly easy to relate to for beginners. Even Lord of the Rings was low-magic compared to a typical D&D campaign.
Make all the PC’s human. If there has to be demi-humans, just make them minor variations in ability scores, without special abilities. Limit the classes to fighters, rouges, wizards, and clerics. Drop feats and skills, except for a very limited set that are class specific, with their effectiveness increasing with level. (Sidebar: give rouges a “sixth sense” ability to detect traps, ambushes, and secrets to make them very useful to the party.)
Spells are determined from choosing from a limited number of schools or domains. Spellcasters will have a small range of “at-will” and daily powers granted by their choice, which will increase in potency with level. (Essentially 4e, but it’s simple.) By the same token, limit monsters to only one or two special abilities.
Drop all discussion of Alignment. Simplify the XP system to be adventure, goal, or quest based. (Somewhat arbitrary, little math is required.) Make up a general set of rules to cover common situations, such as grapple, non-standard combat maneuvers, tracking, hiding, etc. And have the rules cover up to level 14, the same as the Adventure Paths, to keep things from getting too complex.
Insofar as Paizo having the resources to create some sort of “Basic” game, I do seem to remember that Jason started working on Pathfinder in his spare time.
Charge a subscription for the virtual tabletop, but make sure that it's less than an MMO, given that the players will be providing their own content. Sell Dungeon adventure modules individually. Give subscribers an automatic discount on those modules. Give away the Dragon articles, that's probably what they're worth. Produce a "Best of Dragon" physical book yearly, if they seem popular enough.
I actually did try to make up my own D&D-ish game. It was sort of classless (uncouth and rude, as well). Characters start with a previous profession and a current profession, for example you could be a gentleman thief turned local sheriff, or pirate turned arcane student. The only caveat was that if your profession involved magic, that would be your current profession. Your profession gave you a range of assumed skills and you could choose a couple to be good at.
Characters have a special ability, such as being able to use magic, or having super strength, or starting off with a magic weapon. There were limitations and drawbacks to go with the ability.
Characters also had status: physical (like Hot), personality (like Cruel), and circumstance (like Rich). Characters could use status in non-combat situations, but could also be called out on them and face having them diminished or enhanced.
Whatever. I finished a rough version, but never got to playtest it. I think my fan edition of D&D would be something like this:
The simple mechanics of Microlite D20
A wide range of class and race choices like from Pathfinder and 4e
A system that doesn't have to be played with miniatures
Removing feats and skills, except for those granted by race or class
Simplifing the magic system
Dividing up spells between instant and ritual (like 4e, I added another layer, ceremony, like for summoning a hurricane, but something like that requires a coven)
Simple spell desciptions and effects
Simplifing spell management (I used something like Spell Points. Spells drain a varying number of points depending on their power. Or perhaps a system involving a roll against an ability plus character level vs. the spell level.)
Don't worry Hasbro. As soon as Obama is anointed Pharaoh, err... elected president, you'll be finally be able to contribute more in taxes to this great country. (You too, Paizo!) Mr. Leeds and Mr. Charness, fret not. You’ll be in that 5% that isn’t going to be getting a tax break either. (Strangely, I doubt the rest of us will be getting any tax cuts from the Obama, but what the hell, he’s just soooo coooool.)
And if this post doesn’t get this thread moved out of the gaming discussions, nothing will.
Will RPG's be confined to the geek ghetto forever?
Not if you convince them it's something else. You say RPG or D&D and a lot of people are instantly turned off for various reasons. However I've enjoyed murder mystery party games with people who wouldn't be caught dead playing an RPG and they loved it. The party game was essentially what you are striving for; an RPG party game light on the rules and heavy on the inebriated fun.
I think you'd be much happier, and have an easier task, if you bought one of those murder mystery party games. Then analyzed the rules and mechanics of it. Use the mechanics in your favorite setting and reformulate it into what you envision.
Or try to use a game that they don't suspect is a role-playing game. I'm rather fond of getting people at parties to play The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Münchhausen, then tell them later that it's not so differant from other games, and sometimes they get rather curious about it.
also, check out that game for everyone who doesn't know it.
Like most of the people posting here, I've had plenty of good RPG experiences and even some of the bad ones were memorable in a funny sort of way, while my memories any board or card games I've played is scant at best. I find it a crying shame that everyone can't participate in this type of social entertainment. Whether due to D&D's undeserved bad reputation, the stereotype of the nerdy gamer (not entirely undeserved), or due to the impenetrable nature of overly complex rules, RPG's do not seem destined for mainstream acceptance.
Card games, storytelling games, and improv acting games are great, but they're not adventures like an RPG. Right now, there's no rules set out there that can be learned and played by an entire group of novices in a short period of time. In-person, sitting around a table adventuring is a great idea and always will be, but how much longer is the hobbyist RPG going to be around? 4e seems more wargame than RPG, and wargames are definitely for hobbyists. Before online services eat up the rest of the market, RPG's need to be pushed into a wider audience before they go away.
Pathfinder is a good way for Paizo to service their existing customers and perhaps pick up some disaffected ones from WOTC, but it's just a little declining niche market. Take your Pathfinder brand, your tremendous setting, your big gaming brains, and start thinking about, "How can I get more people to play RPG's!"
I have seen this RPG-as-party-game done (and participated myself). The thing is, it works better if you keep on throwing out rules, to the point that character sheet is an empty paper where you just write what your character is like, and throwing dice can be done in simple high-low method. So making a rules system for this kind of works against the purpose.
Now, if Paizo would decide to make some nice party board or card game, that would be great (knowing several non-RPgamers who still enjoy playing Munchkin a lot).
Your party game sounds something like a FUDGE-based RPG game. Since you've actually tried this kind of game, I'll take your word for it that it doesn't work too well.
I was working on this last night and it was starting to look like an unholy union of FUDGE and 4e, and nothing to do with Pathfinder. 4e does have several concepts in it that would make it easy to learn and play on a whim like a board game (minions, self-healing, limited spell powers). (Disclaimer: NOT an endorsement of 4e.)
Will RPG's be confined to the geek ghetto forever?
Variations on a Pathfinder Basic set have come up in threads, but to my knowledge, no one from Paizo has made any comments on them. Perhaps a definitive, "No, this is outside of what we're trying to do here for the forseable future," or a "We'll see how well Pathfinder does before we seriously consider a variant," would be helpful.
Back to the party game, I am really thinking of a full RPG experience: players roll up characters, DM takes them on an adventure, free-form entertainment ensues. You'll still need the dice, but unlike Monopoly, you won't need the board or the tokens and hopefully the participants will get a memorable experience on top of it (something a board game, by and large, doesn't give you.)
Thinking out loud. An RPG without levels or leveling up, but still able to scale encounters to face totally different types of opponents. Still thinking.
Mosaic, how do you recover Hit Points in Microlite? Is the rule in there or am I just missing it?
I was kind of hoping somebody from Paizo would reply with,
"Worst. Idea. Ever."
I realize the futility of suggesting a simplified rules set in this forum, but if you step a little bit outside the box, I think there's some merit to this idea. Why couldn't this work at a casual dinner party that doesn't involve drunken table dancing? There are already mystery party games, where people play parts. It's a reasonable ice-breaker, if the people don't know each other well. Pathfinder would have all the options available in 3.5 D&D, without the knee-jerk, bad vibes, mainstream name recognition of Dungeons and Dragons.
I don't see condensing the rules down as the main issue. It would be preping and running the game. That's why I suggested selling small modules to go with it. Enterprising party hosts might make up their own scenarios and the rules book should have a chapter on that, but I don't see these type of games as any sort of elaborate campaign. People who want more can be directed to the Pathfinder RPG proper.
As soon as I'm able able, I'll post whatever more specific ideas I come up with. Anybody else who's interested, please toss in your ideas.
I just got back from a low-key, work-related party, which featured a party game. I just suddenly had the thought, “Would it be possible to make an RPG party game?”
Okay, after everyone finishes spewing their Mountain Dew on their computer screen.
Really though. I haven’t thought all this out (obviously) and may post more later, but I thought I'd throw this out now and see what everyone else thinks.
Please don’t post, “Go play 4e!”
The party game edition would need really quick, easy character creation, but with plenty of choices and some character variation. Combat would also have to be really simple, quick, concise, and definitive. It would also likely need to work without miniatures and a grid map, so heavy battlefield tactics would be discouraged. There would need to be character social interaction rules, but they should be quickly resolvable with a dice roll, on the assumption that people at a party are not going to want to heavily get into character (unless they’ve been drinking heavily).
Actually, these rules need to be learnable and playable by people who may be half-drunk, so also all record keeping for characters, monsters, and NPC’s needs to pretty simple as well. In a similar vein, characters will probably need some “fate-like” points that can be played in case they do something dumb in the first encounter that would otherwise get them killed.
I haven’t played or seen any of the Pathfinder Society scenarios, but from what I’ve heard, this might be the kind of adventures that might work in this kind of setting. Something that could play inside of four hours, give the players a more than reasonable chance of success, no “shopping at the bazaar” during the adventure, just straight-up adventuring (fighting, parleying, puzzle solving), and a clear objective. Consider all these games to be one-shots, no leveling up. Characters would be created at the appropriate power level for the adventure. Perhaps the idea of levels could be dispensed with altogether in some fashion.
Bottom line. Paizo creates “Pathfinder RPG: The Party Game” edition, a small softcover book. And then sells lots of easy to run, scenario pdf’s for the game on their website. They make lots of money and RPG’s become a mainstream, fad rage at parties everywhere.
If you've ever heard Paul Tevis' "Have Games Will Travel" RPG podcast, you know he's not into D&D. Imagine my shock after listening to this episode. Anyway, he's got some good insight into the game. Check it out.
This may not be in the original spirit of the spell, but what if Find the Path could only be used to find your way BACK to somewhere you've been? The spell would be very useful in certain situations without (hopefully) breaking the game.
Other than to agree with the points already mentioned, to add my two cents for ideas for a Basic set.
Make sure the game can be played without miniatures. Not that it has to be, but that it is an equally valid option.
Keep the modifiers to a minimum. One modifier per roll would be optimal. No more than two.
Keep feats and skills limited, probably limiting them to being specific to only certain classes. (Yeah, Back to the Future, 1st Edition.) Drop a bunch of general skills and don't even worry about them.
I've seen a couple of other threads on this topic, but this one is certainly the best developed. I think the idea of a simpler game speaks to a lot people for several reasons.
To our Paizoian masters, please keep this idea in the back of your mind while you are completing the Pathfinder game. Depending on the results of the release, consider expanding the base of the game beyond the 3.5 refugees. Perhaps a Basic rules set for next year's Free RPG Day? Or announcing at next year's Gen Con some alternative rules sets, such as a Basic version or versions that incorporate some of the funkier ideas from various Indy RPG's. Don't sweat backward compatibility with these. Just put in a short appendix guideling stats to convert and rules to drop or change for those wanting to use published 3.5/Pathfinder adventures.
A 4e essay for no particular reason, other than having read a couple of reviews today.
One gets the impression that the designers’ intentions were very honest in wanting to improve the game, while continuing in the traditions that make it enjoyable. There are certainly aspects of 4e that offer innovation in that vein. Surely everyone here will admit to at least one or two items of interest. (The disagreement would come over the selection.)
Unfortunately, Wotc’s (Hasbro’s) motive for producing 4e was for the pure gouge of their customers, a Microsoft-like forced upgrade. Their initial dictums to the designers were pretty clear: make it incompatible with the previous edition, but make it fundamentally same. The effect of this was meant drive new sales, while not overly angering the fan base. However, the new edition would not be able to build on the enormous legacy and familiarity of previous versions. Additionally, this would simultaneously ensure that the game would not be revolutionary in any way.
Marketing, accounting, and management’s demands did not stop there. Let’s keep this new edition secret so as not to disturb current 3.5e sales. Make sure to bind the playtesters with non-disclosure agreements so they won’t be able to speak to one another. Leak just enough information to start generating buzz well in advance of the release. This has to generate sales in addition to the books; make miniatures an integral part of the game. Cut out a bunch of player race and class options and monsters to sell those in succeeding books. Put the rules and updates to the rules online and sell subscriptions. Oh, that’s not going to be enough content. Cancel Dungeon and Dragon magazines and we’ll put them online. Make the game more like World of Warcraft (an ironic circle of incest) to interest those fans. Why not put the game itself online? Yeah, now we can sell subscriptions.
All aspects of an organization contribute to a product’s success or failure. Wotc’s deep pockets and their marketing have produced an excellent looking product that I suspect is selling well. Their product, though, does not fulfill a need (the previous version was not old or broken enough), nor is it sufficiently differentiated enough from previous versions to entice new players or online players into the game. Will the majority of those alienated by Wotc’s tactics eventually succumb to the pressure to “upgrade?” Will new players enter the game? It will be sales over the coming months and follow up product sales that will ultimately determine its success or failure.
By comparison, Paizo’s candor about their plans and their open playtesting policy is certainly praise-worthy. Would that they had Wotc’s resources and held the D&D brand. Regardless of Pathfinder’s ultimate fate, I hope Paizo will use this experience in considering new and original game systems.
I love a good running fight or a chase scene. They’re tricky to pull off. They almost have to happen by accident. It works if it’s fast and furious. I would ask the game designers and the playtesters here to try the Pathfinder rules in such a scenario and see how it works and if it’s fun.
I like a motivated character group. A company of adventurers looking for loot or gathering to face an imminent threat works fine. I’ve also experimented with giving the group something like an actual profession (of course, groups can change careers over time). Here’s a few ideas:
Warrior Order: Like the Knights Templar or Hospitaler, dedicated to a certain mission. This could also work with a wizard order (and their companions)
Explorers: Employed by a shipping company or geographic society
Inquisitors: Working for the church to find demons and such
Mercenary company or Military special forces
Foreign Diplomatic or Embassy Service: James Bond intrigue
The purpose of this thread isn’t to take a trip down Memory Lane. The introduction to Pathfinder states that the rules would work well for any type of game. What kind of adventures do you like to run or play? Also, how do the rules, as they are, enhance or get in the way of playing your favorite types of adventures?
There are no right or wrong answers here. Just say what you like and maybe this might influence the game design more to your liking. List any pre-packaged adventures if you want.
(Anyone from Paizo is welcome to chime in too, with your favorites and favored type of play.)
I’ll start: I like lots of action, fast-paced, dramatically-oriented combat. I don’t like haggling over or deciphering rules, and I’m not above fudging in the name of making a better a story.
That said, the most memorable parts of an adventure tend to be the interactions between characters and NPC’s. The hokey-ier, the hamm-ier, or the funnier the better. This is all about character though. I don’t bring out the dice for this. I tend not to make dice rolls unless hit points are potentially immediately involved, or to resolve some specific skill use.
(And long walks on the beach, holding hands. This sounds too much like a Playboy bio. Feel free to ignore my example in writing your own reply.)
My irritation is with Paizo is with their management of this messageboard, whereas before I had been quite pleased with it, as well as their target marketing and exploitation of certain segments, namely "fanboys" and gays in this case. I can only see that the inclusion of certain character elements were simply meant to shock or pander to specific audiences, rather than having actual story value.
We try to be as hands-off as possible on these boards. Our community does a very decent job (most of the time) of censoring and moderating itself. Rarely do we have to lock a thread or moderate a user. And I mean very rarely. We simply do NOT have the time to read and moderate every thread on our messageboard. We are a small company, folks.
As the guy responsible for directing the marketing operations of this company, allow me to assure you that our "target market" is currently "people seeking a quality adventure experience." Horribly general, yes, but we're certainly not rubbing our hands together in meetings and wondering aloud how we might, to use your turn of phrase, "target and exploit fanboys and gays." There are a handful of homosexual characters in our modules, adventure paths, and in our world -- that does not a targeting or exploitation make. Since we have minotaurs in our modules and in our world does this mean we're exploiting the much sought after minotaur demographic in the real world?
I don't think so.
Don't ascribe to marketing menace what can simply be explained as a plot or setting choice on the part of an individual author. Paizo does not have an agenda, is not trying to force an agenda on anyone, and is not in anyway a political entity. We're a business, we're here to provide entertainment for our customers and our community and, along the way, make a nice living and turn a profit.
I, for one, think this thread is done. If folks wish to continue the real world arguments about homosexuality I'd recommend you do what one poster has...
BPorter. Thank you.
Mr. Frost. I don't agree with the way this situation has been handled, and I'm still skeptical about certain editorial motivations. However, if didn't care about your company, I wouldn't have written at all. Take that for what it's worth.
I hope everyone else follows your advice and takes their oh-so "productive" religion/homosexuality proselytizing to the off-topic thread.
Herald: "But what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I can respect your opinion that you don't like Piazo's inclution of alternative lifestyles in it's publications. I don't agree with you, but I can see your point."
I never said that or expressed any opinion on subject. I have no qualms with the posters or their views. Even the original post was a legitimate question. (It should have been answered by Paizo and as soon as soon as the "right and wrong" discussion started, it should have been locked.)
My irritation is with Paizo is with their management of this messageboard, whereas before I had been quite pleased with it, as well as their target marketing and exploitation of certain segments, namely "fanboys" and gays in this case. I can only see that the inclusion of certain character elements were simply meant to shock or pander to specific audiences, rather than having actual story value.
DeadDmWalking: "I think there has been some 'productive discourse' in this thread."
If you mean fracturing, dividing, and alienating, this is then some new definition of the word "productive."
James Jacobs: "At the same time, we have no plans for doing an "all gay, all the time" adventure path, so if there's secret worries about that, don't worry."
You mean like White Wolf, don't you? ;)
(Congrats on picking up the Full Monte, by the way.)
Okay Herald, you've thoroughly convinced me and everyone still reading this thread that you're not a "fanboy." Sorry if you were offended by that "derogatory" term. I must include myself in the "fanboy" group as just finished downloading the Megan Fox/topless pics, that broke on the Internet today. (Best line from AICN Talkback: "You guys need to find a girl who's last name isn't .jpg.")
Sarcasm aside, you haven't changed my opinion, but it's good that you've defended yours, as you obviously feel strongly about it. We just don't agree.
As long as I'm here. As far as I can see, no one's opinion here has changed towards homosexuality, except to become more entrenched. Have the readers' opinions of Paizo changed however?
Moderators, in spite of your repeated warnings, you knew what was going to happen when this thread showed up. You knew nobody was going to be able to stay away from it. You knew what it was going to devolve into (regardless of how polite the discourse). This was exactly the kind of shameless promotion I was talking about: trying to generate "buzz" and controversy, instead of content or community.
My opinion of Paizo has not improved because of this thread.
Let’s call the lesbian romance in Glorion what it really is: pandering fanboy marketing by Paizo. This was all but confirmed when Mr. Jacobs teased that some of the iconics were gay too, but didn’t say who. The only reason this volatile, off-topic thread is still here is because Paizo is gauging customer demographics for further targeting.
If Mr. Jabcobs reads this, I assume there will be a long-winded denial. Even if your editorial beliefs agree with your marketing, please surprise me, and admit to this.
This thread IS one of many tools I'm using to gauge the public reaction. You're right. And for the most part, customer reaction has been very positive and reassuring. We'll continue to have LGB characters appear now and then in Pathfinder, and it's good to see that the majority of our customers seem to be okay with that. At the same time, we have no plans for doing an "all gay, all the time" adventure path, so if there's secret worries about that, don't worry.
And anyone who's read Curse of the Crimson Throne knows that the "lesbian romance" angle more or less amounts to one or two sentences. VERY EASY to excise from your game, in other words, without really impacting the adventure itself.
Thank you for your very honest comment.
If I may at least critize the story. Wouldn't it have been better in a dramatic sense to have had the romance been key plot twist later in the adventure path, rather than just two throw-away sentences. That's why it just looks like fanboy titalation. You can do better.
I cannot believe the number of posts that have come up in the last hour and a half since I last checked in. Perhaps a Pathfinder: Off-topic thread, or something like that is warranted.
Let’s call the lesbian romance in Glorion what it really is: pandering fanboy marketing by Paizo. This was all but confirmed when Mr. Jacobs teased that some of the iconics were gay too, but didn’t say who. The only reason this volatile, off-topic thread is still here is because Paizo is gauging customer demographics for further targeting.
If Mr. Jabcobs reads this, I assume there will be a long-winded denial. Even if your editorial beliefs agree with your marketing, please surprise me, and admit to this.
I think players will become bored on fighting the same 4 opponents over and over. Heh.
Perhaps you have never played the classic RPG, Paranoia, mentioned in the thread title. Properly motivated, players will have gleeful of fun killing each other.
I wouldn't recommend this kind of play for anything other than self-resurrecting characters. Otherwise, characters killing each other will lead to hard feelings at the table. It worked in Paranoia, because each character had six clones.
I know this style of play is antithetical to normal D&D play. Just threw this out to generate some weird ideas and nostalgia.
After reading the Epic levels synopsis on the D&D website, the ability for characters to resurrect themselves jumped out at me. What would be the best use for this ability?
Player fratricide.
Okay one possible scenario, the characters have joined the cult of Tharizdun. Neutral, evil, and dedicated to destruction. However, the characters have all founded different factions within the cult with their own agendas. Each faction is trying to one-up the other to get the mad god's favor.
So here you go. The voice from beyond calls forth with a mission. An insane mission. The players take on the mission in their own unique ways, while simultaneously trying to sabotage the others from completing it first.
DM's, think of the amount of time you'll save on the preparation of monsters and foes. Players, imagine all the XP you'll get killing immortals over and over again.
Somebody please try something like this and post a play report.
Thanks for the link Ernest. I’m looking over Microlite20 right now.
Here’s a couple of others:
Basic Fantasy
www.basicfantasy.org
OSRIC
http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/
It occurs to me that it would perhaps not be in Paizo’s best interests to produce a rules-lite fantasy game, given that they would be competing with people who are giving away basically the same product for free.
However, the people giving the rules away aren’t trying to sell products. Again perhaps, a rules-lite version of Pathfinder might ultimately drive more sales of adventures or even the full version.
Or maybe the simplicity focus should be on just making specific complex rules and situations less onerous in Pathfinder.
After a long time, I'm starting a new group, this time where they are all new players that never played any RPG before.
So I choosed to start playing using Beginner Box.
One of players want to be a "Jedi-like" character. I told him this is not so easy to achieve, but I want to try to convert a telekineticist class for beginner box for him.
Hello everypony,
I'm opening this topic as a brainstorming for my future campaign settled in MLP:FIM Equestria setting.
I'll welcome any aid or ideas you could give me.
About our game:
It will be an E6 (well, P6) campaign.
I'll adjust some main characters of the show as deity... well, they will be level 6 plus Mythic NPCs able to provide divine spells, not Gods in the Golarion's term. [soon on this board]
Playing style: a relaxed one, full of jokes with the goal of playing in a cartoon atmosphere.
Players: my wife, my sister in law and her child (8 yrs old) and maybe some school friends.
Our setting: Lunnova and the surroundings.
In the Luna Bay is rising a new settlement, Lunnova, a village dedicated to Princess Luna.
[The pun:
The name of the village is a crasis of the words "Lunn-a" and "Genova", Genoa in Italy where we live.
“Lunn-a“ it's the genoese word for Moon.
I was delighted of making it since the form of Luna Bay it's very similar to the Ligurian riviera too.]
[Soon I'll update a map of the village too, it's shape being the same of the ancient shape of Genova]
(Population)
This coastal small village is rising is population. A second wave of settlers is coming at the beginning of the campaign. [about 10 years after the current season 7 in the tv show.]
Settlers are mainly ponies of the main 3 sub-races (earth pony, pegasi and unicorns), but in the last years a few number of the other races have moved too (crystal ponies, reformed changelings, unconventional griffons, zebras...)
(Connection to the rest of the world)
Cut away from Equestria's rail-lines, to reach it “on hoof” you need to start from Vannhoover and face the coast and it's Arctic clime, so Lunnova's primary access and only commercial way if through the sea.
(Protection from cold)
The Dreaming Sphere is an artifact created by Princess Luna using her domain of dreams.
The sphere is able to maintain a mild climate in the surrounding area.
Unlike the most powerful and famous Crystal Heart, the Sphere is fueled by the power of good dreams, night after night (Luna crafted it with a small emergency stock), but it's power only keeps out the Frozen North and Windigos not other enemies.
(Neighbours)
Bat-pony: the indigenous population, lives in a series of caves in the mountains since the times of Nightmare Moon banishment. Some of them could be enemies, or at least rivals of the settlers, all will not like the newcomers, at least in the beginning.
Sea-pony: the sea is their territory, but the could be befriended too.
Pirate ponies: the main threat to the commercial and supply way through the sea.
Other creatures in the mountains: yetis, arctic animals and magical beasts, etc...
I'm a player and also "deputy GM" in a homebrew campaign, and the main GM sometimes ask me to build some of the new NPCS the party is going to meet.
This time we have met "the Quaquarians" a race of anthropomorphic ducks vaguely inspired by Disney's Duckburg.
The GM initially thought we weren't going to stay with them so long, but one of the players who is playing a Thor-like character decided to recruit one quaquarian who looked like "Donald".
Hence the last request from the main GM: build this Donald Duck NPC, but as a Vigilante with a "Duck Avanger" dual identity.
I read some of PK comics about 20 years ago, but I'm not an expert.
This is also the first time I'm building a Vigilante.
The race could be customized using ARG and 10 RP, the build will also use 20 Buy-Points and 10th level and a budget of 46000 gp.
With some friends we decided to try something new in our group during character creation for our next AP (Iron Gods):
Each player picked a blanked card, writing down a race.
Next phase each player picked 2 others blanked cards and wrote a class in each of them with eventually a specification (i.e. Oracle: Flame).
The DM then secretly looked at all the cards, and then added 4 more races, and 8 more classes with a specific archetype.
Finally we shuffled all the cards in 3 decks (races, classes with eventual specifications, classes with archetype) and everybody drew one card for each deck.
I got respectively "Android", "Kineticist Air" and "Investigator: Psychic Detective".
Using one of the combination, with 20 buy-points and being able to use all Paizo books (no 3rd Party), we have now to create our 4 PCs.
Here is where I need all possible advice.
long story short, in a Roman Fantasy Homebrew Campaign where I'm a player but also "deputy-GM" our big party of 8 PCs has partially became our setting version of Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers:
We already have a Human (Roman/Etruscan) Scarlet Witch, Human (Viking) Thor-esque character, an Elvish version of Captain America, a Dwarf Quicksilver... We also have a Dwarf Ironman, a Kitsune Black Widow and an Halfling (medium sized) Hulk as allied NPCs.
As a deputy-GM I'm currently in charge of building some NPCs who could potentially became new cohorts and/or PCs.
One of those will be our version of The Vision, but I'm not completely sure what will be the best way to build it.
Current state of mine brainstorming:
From Avengers 2 movie we have seen: An artificial body and intelligence, owns one of the Infinity Stones (the Mind) in his front, able to fly, mental combat (when fighting vs Ultron), and blast too.. [lifting Thor's hammer is not something I'm concerned since we haven't any security mechanism in our own Thor's hammer]
So Android seems the more appropriate race choice, the Mind stone and the ability of mental combat make me think about a psychic magic user class, but I'm not sure if a Psychic or a Psychic Detective Investigator could fit more.
The blasting part could be done in both cases with the Laser Blast Psy-tech discovery (Occult Realms) for both of the classes (we are at level 11/10 so even this build will be at those levels).
Drawback: the Empathy tax feat for both builds...
I'll gladly appreciate any kind of ideas, suggestions, advice and so on.
Note: 20 buy points for this kind of NPCs, all Paizo stuff are legal in our campaign, adjusting flavour when needed, and no 3rd party are allowed (unless I can convince the main GM there is no-other-way to make that character concept fit)
Mine Kingmaker AP campaign is probably going to be known for the many spin-off quests taking the time of the main campaign plot (i.e. The Yoda Mites, the little Kobolds, the 4 commoners in Candelmere).
But our group is liking those games so much, 'cause many of this sessions are able to make them feel their kingdom 'alive' and not something secondary in the Main-Party's way to the maximum level.
One of mine players is a very addicted fan of My Little Pony, and brought a Ponyfinder manual... hence mine idea of adding a dedicated spin-off, using the always present connection to the First Word as a way to introduce those special ponykind of Fey.
This should be a 'one-shot' session, but those (N)PCs should also became recurring characters if the players wish so.
I usually avoid adding 3rd party products to mine campaigns but, from what I've seen the last time we played (she will lend me the manual in the next week), this manual seems to have a very little impact on the pathfinder official rules.
Now, to prepare a spin-off quest, the first step is a brainstorming.
I hope you could help me in creating an interesting side-quest.
Mine current ideas:
- Ponies are Fey, as stated in ponyfinder manual, coming from the First Word, maybe trapped in the Greenbelt due to some accident.
- Their quest would be to find a way back home, and doing so they have to interact with kingdom's leadership (the NPCs, the PCs will conveniently be out in one of their adventures.)
- They are not (yet?) involved in the main Nyrissa plot.
- I'll pregen 4 of them, giving those to mine players when time will come.
As always, I'm open to any suggestion.
Thanks in advance.
I searched if someone else asked it before, but didn't find a proper answer.
Since the Bloodline Arcana of the Psychic Bloodline states:
Quote:
Your sorcerer spells and spell-like abilities count as psychic instead of arcane. You use thought and emotion components instead of verbal and somatic components when casting your spells.
Does it means that a psychic sorcerer can ignore the Arcane Spell Failures from his armors and shields?
Working on another Mesmerist build gave me the idea of leveling up our favorite Boggard.
Mine players decided in the last session to claim his hex and the other next one (Statue of Erastil), building roads to allow the erastilian pilgrims from the Temple of the Elk to visit also the Statue. Doing all of this even without talking to their long forgotten friend Garuum, who suddenly lives in his swamp with a lot of visitors coming and moving around.
So I decided to push the events a little bit. Some pilgrims have become "crazy", attacking the others for few seconds before returning to their normal mental sanity state. The news reached the capital right before the end of our game time and the party will move on into the next session to investigate.
Here is what they will found: an angry Garuum, who was evicted by his own house by some incautious pilgrims, and so decided to test his newly developed mental powers against them.
All glory to the Hypnotoad!
Gaarum Mesmerist 4:
Garuum the Hypnotoad - Boggard CR 5
XP: 1,600
Boggard Mesmerist 4
CE Medium humanoid (boggard)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +12
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+2 armor, +1 Dex, +3 natural)
HP 59 (7d8+28)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +6
Defensive Abilities Towering Ego (+2 Will saves)
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee morningstar +7 (1d8+1), tongue +1 touch (sticky tongue)
Space 5 ft., Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks bold stare (disorientation), hypnotic stare (–2), mesmerist tricks 4/day (compel alacrity 10 ft, psychosomatic surge 1d8+2, vanish arrow), terrifying croak (DC 15)
Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +6)
2nd (2/day)-hypnotic pattern (DC 14), invisibility
1st (4/day)-charm person (DC 13), grease (DC 13), hypnotism (DC 13), paranoia (DC 13)
0th-daze (DC 12), detect magic, detect poison, haunted fey aspect, message, touch of fatigue (DC 12)
STATISTICS
Str 13, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +6; CMD 17
Feats Disengaging Feint, Improved Feint, Toughness, Weapon Focus (morningstar)
Skills Acrobatics +4, Bluff +11, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (religion) +3, Linguistics +3, Perception +12, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +8, Swim +9
Racial Modifiers +16 Acrobatics when jumping, +4 Perception, +8 Stealth in swamps
Languages Boggard, Common
SQ consummate liar, hold breath, swamp stride
Other Gear leather armor, morningstar
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Hold Breath (Ex) Garuum can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to four times its Constitution score before it risks drowning or suffocating.
Sticky Tongue (Ex) A creature hit by Garuum's tongue attack cannot move more than 10 feet away from the boggard and takes a -2 penalty to AC as long as the tongue is attached (this penalty does not stack if multiple tongues are attached). The tongue can be removed by making an opposed Strength check as a standard action or by dealing 2 points of slashing damage to the tongue (AC 11, damage does not deplete the boggard's actual hit points). Garuum cannot move more than 10 feet away from the target, but he can release its tongue as a free action. Unlike a giant frog, Garuum cannot pull targets toward it with its tongue.
Swamp Stride (Ex) Garuum can move through any sort of natural difficult terrain at its normal speed while within a swamp. Magically altered terrain affects a boggard normally.
Terrifying Croak (Su) Once per hour, Garuum can, as a standard action, emit a loud and horrifying croak. Any nonboggard creature within 30 feet of the boggard must make a DC 15 Will save or become shaken for 1d4 rounds. Creatures that succeed at this save cannot be affected again by the same boggard's croak for 24 hours. Creatures that are already shaken become frightened for 1d4 rounds instead. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
Painful Stare (Su) Once per round, when an attack that deals damage hits the target of Garuum’s hypnotic stare, he can cause the creature to take 2 additional points of damage. If Garuum uses this ability to increase his own damage, it instead takes 1d6 extra points of damage.
Touch Treatment (Su) Five times per day as a standard action, Garuum can touch a creature and remove the fascinated or shaken condition. This ability is a swift action if he uses it on himself.
Our "favorite" bard is going to meet mine player's kingdom very soon.
Mine players are at the 2nd mythic and particularly the Baroness has Display of Charisma, a feature the player like to use a lot...
They will probably have Grigori humiliated into the social encounter (but non so easily, since I'll use the 7th level 6-PC-version of him with the Glibness spell), and probably he will be sent in prison (with all the Unrest necessary)...
So, I got this idea: let's have that Grigori has an "occult helper", someone who can help him in spreading his false (or true) propaganda, and could even help him in case of a fight, although staying carefully hidden into the town's mob.
The Mesmerist perfectly fits this role: his stare ability works well in conjunction with the Bard's spell, the psychic casting spell (no verbal & somatic) can come from the folk without being detected, and so on...
Hence I decided to give leadership instead of toughness to Grigori, and with this feat a 5th level Mesmerist as a Cohort.
This will be mine first Mesmerist ever, so I need any possible ideas and help in making it.
... where A.B.C. stands for Alchemist, Bomber, Charlatan
I'm still theory-crafting a possible replacement PC for a current Roman-Fantasy homebrew campaign.
The goal here is to be a very Social skilled character for the political aspect of the campaign, and also be useful during the not so frequent combat encounter which are usually very deadly.
Our party is very big (8 players with their PCs, plus some cohorts / NPCs) and almost all the roles are already taken, but according to the last retirements/deaths a mix of flanker/blaster is a possible niche to fit in.
Notes:
a) We spent a lot of time during social encounters, and political intrigues, but as I wrote we had sometimes very deadly encounters/assassinations attempts and so on...
b) Stats are to be Rolled in front of the GM, but we will use the 4d6 drop the lowest method, also re-rolling all natural 1, so those should be pretty high (I hope).
c) Also starting level could probably be at 10th due to the current APL of 11. (GM stated that new PCs comes into play at APL-1)
d) All Paizo books are allowed, but no 3rd Party.
Here are mine current ideas:
- Race: Kitsune
+2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Str
Medium sized, Humanoid (kitsune, shapechanger)
Languages: Common, Sylvan; (Aklo, Celestial, Elven, Gnome, Tengu for High Int bonus) - [Free bonus languages is ancient Latin]
Agile → Gregarious: Whenever you successfully use Diplomacy to win over an individual, that creature takes a –2 penalty to resist any of your Charisma-based skill checks for the next 24 hours. This racial trait replaces agile.
Change Shape.
Kitsune Magic → Duplicitous: Many kitsune prefer to avoid the attention they often attract from human neighbors and attempt to convince all around them that they are human. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks. This racial trait replaces kitsune magic. [Inner Sea Races]
Natural Weapons.
Low-light vision.
Trying to build a character for a "Roman-Fantasy" campaign I'm currently playing. I'm not sure if I'll play it directly or build it for another player, but I like to be prepared in case of some deaths coming.
Long story short: the Party is not the typical group of murderhobo-adventurers but a mix of adventurers and leaders of a political party trying to became governors by winning the next elections.
What the party currently need is a social skilled aid to spread rumors and a flanking buddy for the few combat encounter who used to happens only sporadically.
So I came up with this idea of an apparently unarmed/unarmored Unchained Rogue using the Charlatan Archetype, to be able to enter unnoticed into a tavern, like a commoner, and spread false rumors about the party's political enemies... Also, if a brawl starts during his daily job, he should be able to survive, using his Unarmed Strikes and Sneak Attacks.
The Party is currently level 9-10, and the character will be probably created at 9.
Basically it will be focused only on Dexterity and Charisma (so maybe a Halfling could be a good race choice), no need of great Strength (due to UnRogue's Finesse).
I'm also thinking if this could be a good combo with the Monk VMC, but in this case I'll probably need another Rogue Archetype (Underground Chemist? Halfling Filcher?) to replace Evasion since it is gained again at 7th via VMC.
I'm toying with the idea of a Kobold Vigilante NPC who in his Dual Identity appears like a Dragon Wyrmling, but a part from the obvious racial traits and feats (the Draconic Paragon chain), I don't know what Vigilante specializations and abilities could fit more the concept.
Any idea?
Hello everybody,
last session after a few "Troll Diplomacy" at the Sootscales lair (thanks to Dudemeister thread here!) the party gained few kobold eggs to foster.
So, mine players will gain a Spin-off secondary Kobold PCs (we already started calling them "the Mini-Me").
The problem with kobolds PC is that, even using rules for Young Characters, you will have to wait until the age of 3 for being small size. (Following the reference within Kobolds of Golarion).
But mine players don't want to wait so long before beginning playing with their new secondary characters, at least they want to do a first adventure.
So I remembered of this funny "Fight Foot!" adventure I once red; an adventure where the PCs were fighting oversized animated vegetables...
And finally I got the idea:
Instead of changing the rules for playing tiny sized kobolds, why don't change the perspective point of view?
Let's have, only for this first adventure, the baby kobold use the standard young characters rule (consider the squares as if they are of 2,5 ft instead of 5 ft length), and fight "normal-sized" animated vegetables. If an interaction with Small/Medium sized NPCs will be needed let's consider them as if they are all Large sized (4 mini-squares = 1 standard 5 ft square).
So, I'm now brainstorming how to connect this kind of adventure with the Kingmaker plot. Here is where I'll gladly welcome any of your ideas!
- I'm thinking of changing the cause of the "animation" from the legend of Chaos vs Elements (for those who are familiar the original adventure) to something related with Fey and First World. Maybe something that can give a small insignificant clue about the final BBEG.
- The location also will be in one of the farm near the Capital of mine players' kingdom (former Staglord fort hex).
- I'll skip the first part about the vegetables attacking the city.
- Probably having instead as a plot hook a small human child (the baby of the farm's owner) going to ask help at the Castle, but being ignored by the "big" city guards she find help only recruiting the baby kobolds.
NOTE: For mine LoOS players, this is a spoiler-free thread, since you already ascended and discovered part of the story.
Hello pathfinders,
I'm here asking your help for mine Kobold version of the Kingmaker AP named "Legacy of Old Sharptooth".
I'm in need of building a CR 15 unique Herald NPC (like Lawgiver, Hand of the Inheritor, The Grim White Stag and so on...)
The god in question is Old Sharptooth, but differently from the standard AP version this time the entity is a real god, able to grand divine spell and so on. He also granted the Party their first Mythic tier, and as the PCs have already discovered Old Sharptooth is another son of Tiamat (and Apsu), and a minor brother of Dahak.
He is defined by the following information:
Alignment: LE;
Portfolio: Kobolds, Self-perfection, Tiranny;
Domains: Air, Lawful, Evil, Scalykind;
Subdomains: Dragon, Fear, Tyranny, Wind;
Favored Weapon: unarmed strike
Now, about the Herald, I was thinking about a medium sized koboldish/draconic creature (with draconic wings, of course).
The type should be Oustider with the Lawful, Evil and Herald subtypes.
He should have awesome defensive abilities (DR/Epic) due to his draconic divine scales (which are of all the 5 chromatic colors variant), offensive capacity from his Unarmed Strikes (favored weapon) and breath weapon, but I have not others idea of how to build a unique monster of this kind.
I'm open to any help and suggestion you can give me.
Thanks in advance.
Hello Pathfinders,
for mine home-brew campaign, one of mine PCs ally had been kidnapped and brought into an aquatic prison.
The party has divined the location, and know that due to the special position of this underwater stronghold they can teleport inside the cell of their ally, but can't teleport back from there.
So, basically their only chance is to go there and jail break from inside, bringing her ally with them.
I'm looking for any idea about aquatic encounter into a submerged dungeon. The party is composed by only 3 PCs currently at level 13/Mythic tier 2.
It doesn't have to be an extremely big dungeon, a couple of level should be enough. The kidnappers are an aquatic race of humanoid crabs. They doesn't know that their new prisoner have so powerful allies, so are not on a strict watch to her.
However they have a vast empire, and so can afford any kind of aquatic monster to serve as guardians for their own prison security.
long story short, in a campaign I'm playing we had few PCs deaths during the last session. The GM asked me to help some of mine fellow players to build their new characters. One player asked me to help him building a Hulk (we already have a Thor PC and a Captain America and Iron Man NPCs in the campaign for the Avengers theme).
His new rolled ability scores are (4d6 drop the lowest, re-rolls the 1): 16, 15, 13, 13, 12, 11
Race: He said Half-Orc but the player is open to other possibilities.
Current level 10, no traits, no 3rd party books.
Also, this is a multiple PCs (currently 8 players) and Cohort NPCs campaign, so no need for the classic party roles division. His role will purely be a Melee assault.
I'm toying with 2 different ideas for his PC.
The classic Alchemist/Master Chymist path or the ACG bloodrager ones.
In the first case I was thinking of avoiding the "trap" of the Ragechemist archetype, but probably taking the Vivisectionist one.
On the Abyssal Bloodline Bloodrager, should the Untouchable Rager archetype be viable?
In both cases the player said he is interested in an Intimidate focused build, using the Hurtful and Cornugon Smash feats.
Since mine campaign is probably going to pass from the first module to the second on next Sunday, I started making some preparation for their future Kingdom Events. I'm using the new Ultimate Campaign rules, not the old AP ones.
I made some rolls, to be prepared, and of course... rolled an Assassination Attempt!
So I said "right, no problem, I have mine Red Mantis assassin NPC ready, and he could be sent by some of their political enemy..."
Roll to see who is the leader victim: the future ruler!
Of curse the Red Mantis is not something I can use against a ruler.
So I need to have another NPC to do this attempt.
Started thinking about it, and remembered that this particular PC has a former enemy from her background generator rolls, a cultist of Lamashtu. So he should be the one who sent the assassin to kill the PC.
The encounter CR should be 7, 'cause the PG will be at Level 5/Mythic Tier 2, and so I really want it to be a challenging encounter for her.
She is Half-elf, Oracle of Nature / Hierophant.
I can't decide if this NPC could be a cleric/inquisitor/antipaladin/warpriest of Lamashtu; a creature of Lamashtu; or a mix of both. But surely she must be capable of infiltrating in their capital city/castle to do such attempt.
Any ideas or advice about how to build her?
I'm open to any suggestions.
the GM of one campaign I'm playing asked me to provide a cohort for another PC who is going to take leadership soon. The PC will be at that time level 9, and the cohort will be level 7. The PC's class is a campaign-customized Brawler Archetype.
The GM asked me to provide him a flanker, but this NPC must also be useful in spreading information/false rumors and so on.. ('cause in the campaign the PC is one of the leader of a political faction, and the NPC must be part of the same organization too)
There are some restriction the GM have gave me:
- The cohort must be human, 15 points, NPC gear starting gold (6000 gp)
- no 3rd Party, only Paizo materials allowed.
- only 1 magic item in the equipment.
So, I'm thinking about a Rogue Charlatan archetype, but also some kind of Crit-Fisher build.
Here are mine thoughts, and were I need any possible advice:
Human, Rogue (Charlatan) 7
Str 10
Dex 14+2(human)
Con 12
Int 13
Wis 8
Cha 15+1(4th)
Hello pathfinders,
this is for one of mine homebrew campaign.
The Party is currently a level 13 / mythic-tier 2, a group of adventurers leading a new nation (UCam kingdom rules) in a planar world-war conflict.
By the way, they use their mythic power as a way to legitimate their rulership in their nation. I decided to question their authority in a "puny" way.
They have sometimes to defend their capital city from mythic monster chasing for them, and during those encounters, they really don't care about fighting inside their city walls, exposing their citizens to big threats. Here is what I want to do:
a commoner NPC will be near their battleground when they will defeat the next monster, and the mythic power of the beast will transfer to him, giving the unaware citizen the status of demigod.
And after a few weeks a proper "cult" of this new god will spread in the city, with all the trouble that this will cause to the party kingdom's rulership.
I'm thinking of a Commoner Level 20, Mythic tier 10, but here is where I need your help to build him. I don't want himt to be optimized for a fight (he is a commoner), because they will have to resolve this matter politically and not by the use deadly force.
I want him to grant divine spell to his new followers, so Divine Source (at 3rd, 6th and 9th) is mandatory, also Longevity and Mythic Sustenance could be god-themed, but what others path abilities, and more important, what mythic path should this commoner have? Guardian? Marshal? Trickster?
Help me building the best prank since the Pun Pun times
You are one of the four team of the Sootscale Tribe sent on patrol mission by Chief Sootscale, while the main force of the tribe continues his assalt at the Mite...
After a few days of boring patrol without seeing anything you are on the way back to the tribal lair. It's night, you spent the last hours of the afternoon resting, but now is time for you to go on. It will take you probably an entire day to be back at home.
You are one of the four team of the Sootscale Tribe sent on patrol mission by Chief Sootscale, while the main force of the tribe continues his assalt at the Mite...
After a few days of boring patrol without seeing anything, you reported back to the tribal lair. Here you found Chief Sootscale in a very dark mood, surrounded by 3 of his personal guards (Kir, Nyd and Faz)
You can post your description/personality and public background here.
Remember, you are members of the same small kobold tribe, so you know each other very well.
COMMON BACKGROUND:
You are a team of 4-5 kobolds of the Sootscale tribe.
Always taking on the name of its current leader, the Sootscale tribe lives in an old silver mine near the Shrike River, south to the border of Brevoy in the lands known as the Stolen Lands.
The arrival of the new shaman, Tartuk the purple, a few months ago have brought a new cult in the lair: Old Sharptooth, the mighty winged kobold which is now the new tribal God.
Your little tribe is now at war with the local Mite tribe, an holy war proclaimed by the Shaman himself in the name of Old Sharptooth.
Your team is one of the four that have been sent by Chief Sootscale on a border patrol mission, while a big force will sustain the main assault at the Mite's lair in the Old Sycamore.
PC CREATION RULES:
Race: Kobold only, all alternative racial traits listed in the Advanced Race Guide are allowed.
Classes: All classes and archetypes in the books listed below are allowed. Paladin & Anti-Paladins must have an adequate background and campaign trait (see alignment).
Allowed books: CRB, APG, UC, UM, ARG, UE, ACG*, Ultimate Campaign (UCa), Kobolds of Golarion (KoG).
No 3rd party materials, but if you want to use other Paizo books not in the allowed books selection you may ask the GM, and I'll see it it could fit or not the campaign.
Alignment: Any. But being more than 1 step away from the tribe's alignment (LE) will need both an adequate background and the Outcast campaign trait (see below).
Build: 15 points, average starting gold for Class, full hit point at 1st level/as PFS the others levels.
Traits (2): 1 campaign trait (see below), 1 other free trait from the allowed Books. NO Rich parents trait or others traits which modify the starting gold (except the Raider campaign trait).
Drawbacks: 1 drawback can be taken to gain 1 other trait. Family Ties drawback always refers to the Sootscale Tribe as Family.
Deities: as “Kobolds of Golarion” plus Old Sharptooth (see the Tribe's Patron “Tartuk” campaign trait). Actually all the others cults except Old Sharptooth are forbidden inside the Tribe's Lair. But you can, as the majority of the tribe does, worship any of the KoG gods in secret. If you have the Outcast trait you can, with an adequate background, worship any god even if its' not in the KoG pantheon.
*playtest version, until the new book release.
OTHER RULES:
Mythic Adventures will be used during the campaign. PCs begins without Mythic Power, but will probably Ascend soon, so while submitting your character you may want to consider a Mythic Path for her.
NO PVP: You are members of the same team and tribe, and you tribe is your family. You need your tribe's strength to survive.
Kingdom turns and mechanics will use Ultimate Campaign & Ultimate Rulership books.
Hi Pathfinders,
I'm brainstorming about a future PBP Kobold only campaign using some Kingmaker stuff, and I got the idea of having Old Sharptooth being a real entity granting divine powers.
I'm thinking of using the Mythic Divine Source for doing it.
So, a Winged Kobold mythic hero who also grants divine spells to those who worship him.
Tartuk's story will not change, but what even the purple shaman doesn't know is that Old Sharptooth really exist and his looking for revenge against the one who is pretending to be his shaman.
In this way I will allow divine class PCs to venerate Old Sharptooth without having it to be another diety idolatry.
What do you think about this idea?
Do you have some suggestions about how to build him?
I was thinking about a LE Kobold level 20/Tier 10, but I have no idea of what class & path is better in this case.
What non-alignment Domains should he have/grant?
My party is going to meet the mythic version of Guardian of the Elk soon (you can find his stats here)
So, after the defeat of the bear-guardian, they will have their ascension to the first mythic tier. Here is where I need your advice.
First the Party composition:
- Johanna Bear a CN Female Half-elf Oracle of Nature.
She is the probable future ruler, a bastard of the Medvyed, and a worshiper of Pharasma since the death of both her parents.
- Graydrone a NG Half Elf Summoner.
He is a orphan half-elf of a very rich family from Silverhall. He also had a love story with Elanna Lebeda in his teenage years. He is a pharasmin too since the death of both his parents.
- Fenir Al'Meara a NG Female Catfolk Ranger.
The Al'Meara are a catfolk tribe of Erastil worshiper who moved north to Brevoy to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The tribe was exiled from New Stetven in the last Rogarvian's year.
About their ascension, I initially thought the Erastil's herald (the Grim White Stag) coming in the Temple, but since only one of the three PCs worships Old Deadeye I don't like this idea anymore.
I want them meet some minor servant of both Erastil and Pharasma, not the first Heralds, but have no idea of which one servant each god will send to gift the PCs with a mythic spark of power.
Also I need a little advice about the reason for the two gods to involve in. Pharasma it's ok, since she has also the Prophet aspect, so she want them to fulfill the prophecy of N.
But what about Erastil? He only wants the Stolen Lands back to his cult? I don't think this could be the only reason to have him involved.
Hello Pathfinders,
I need your help for creating a "joke" DMPC for my players in a current homebrew campaign. They will soon meet a Pseudodragon in a forest, and the creature will give them some information about the BBEG they are looking for.
I also got the idea of making the Pseudodragon a Ranger with Guide Archethype and Natural Weapon Style, so he will start to travel with the party for their quest. Players should think it's only a normal pseudodragon searching for friends and food, and they will discover only during the fight with the BBEG that the Pseudodragon has class levels and is here to help them.
I don't need a very optimized build (don't want it too strong, the PCs are the Heroes in the campaign, not mine NPCs), but I'm afraid of the 0 ft reach. The players are at level 9 now, but they could became level 10 or 11 when they will meet the BBEG, so counting the base CR 1 the Pseudodragon should have from 8 to 10 level of ranger.
Any advice or idea?
We only use official pathfinder books (Core, APG, UM, UC, ARG), but I was thinking of giving the Impslayer Feat and 20 buy point for the Ability instead of using the normal pseudodragon from Bestiary.
PS: I apologize for any typos and grammar errors. My first language is not English.
First post on this board. I'm playing at Pathfinder since last year (we play about 1/month), in an homebrew “kingmaker-style” campaign setting. Our campaign started about 10 years ago, we periodically changed game system and sometimes the GM, but we keep the same characters and setting to continue our adventures.
I'm looking for a backup character (we are at level 8, in a very deadly adventure), and I was thinking about an Halfling Barbarian 6 (Titan Mauler)/Horizon Walker 2 (desert Terrain Mastery)
We roll for the stats (4d6, drop the lowest) so I can't totally complete the build.
We can only use official pathfinder books (Core, APG, UM, UC, ARG). Also, because of the setting reasons, we can get only one (powerful) magic item or weapon, but no other magic equipment.
Alternate Racial Traits: Low Blow and Warslinger
Weapons: a medium-sized +2 Keen Mithral Scimitar (as a 2-handed weapon, with no penalty), and an Halfling Sling Staff for ranged (and backup melee weapon).
Feats: 1st Power Attack, 3rd Endurance (for H.W.), 5th Improved Low Blow , 7th Raging Vitality
Rage Powers: Surprise Accuracy (+4 with the favored class bonus), Roused Anger and Guarded Life.
Here are my ideas, can you give me any advice?
Second question. How does Massive Weapon works with Halfling Sling Staff?
Can I use a medium-sized sling with 2-handed?
PS: I apologize for any typos and grammar errors. My first language is not English.
