jeffh's page

Based on what I've seen so far, not a chance. Major changes would need to be made between now and release for me to consider switching over wholesale, though that doesn't mean I won't buy some of the products (e.g. adventures). 2E has a few ideas worth stealing but overall, doesn't fix my major issues with Pathfinder and makes several of them (notably the extreme level-scaling) worse. Its good ideas are never implemented in the most straightforward and intuitive way, nor the one that would be easiest to balance; most are saddled with limitations and exceptions and special cases until you wonder what the point of making the change in the first place was, if they're just going to kludge it back into something that plays like the old version. No thank you.

(I apologize for the ugly pseudo-formatting; I can't get the formatting instructions to come up, as I've already reported in the Website Feedback forum. When I click the Show button, literally nothing happens.)

That manic dance element just really jives with what I think of when I think of the fey in Candlestone Caverns.

Heh. 90% of the time when people say "jive" in this context they mean "jibe", but in this case "jive" makes a pretty good pun, intentional or not.

Scott LaBarge wrote:

So here's a question I imagine should be fine to ask: Where did the rule that monsters need 3 odd stats and 3 even stats come from? Is there some rationale behind it, or is it just "the way things are done"?

I know there is probably a real answer that is part "keeping things interesting" and "it's good game design", but my accumulated personal experience from this contest -* is the real answer is always "because some Gigax guy did it that way 40 years ago and we're still doing it that way since it works, so do it that way."

In his day, most monsters didn't have all six stats. All had an Intelligence score and a few (giants mostly) had a Strength score specified in their descriptions, and that was about it as far as I can recall. Some very early adventures (maybe just KotB?) listed Dexterity scores for monsters because of how initiative worked at the time but that was soon dropped. Monsters having a full set of stats wasn't done until 2000 with Gygax long out of the picture.

First timer in the top 16 here.

Hope things go smoothly for your dad, Monica.

As for Paizocon, I really don't know. Money's been a real problem lately. If things have improved significantly by then I'll certainly give it serious consideration.

Not too stressed at this point, BTW. I've done everything I can do about this round and now I get a few days off from thinking about the contest. Of course, come Tuesday I'll be here hitting Refresh on my browser three times a second just like the rest of you, but for now I'm pretty calm.

A wave of hot, foul air heralds the arrival of a rippling yellow egg-shaped mass topped by a mushroom-like growth, floating lazily through the air, its many tendrils wriggling unsettlingly.

Pilobolus CR 6 XP 2400
N Large plant
Init +0; Senses Blindsense 30 ft; Perception +7

----- Defense -----
AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+6 natural, -1 size)
hp 65 (10d8+20)
Fort +9, Ref +3, Will +4
Defensive Abilities contents under pressure; Immune blinded, gaze attacks, plant traits; Resist acid 10, fire 10
Weaknesses congeal

----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee 3 tendrils +12 (2d4+5 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks constrict 2d4+5, contents under pressure, feed

----- Statistics -----
Str 20, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 5
Base Atk +7; CMB +13 (+21 grapple); CMD 23 (25 vs. grapple, 27 vs. trip)
Feats Body Shield, Death from Above, Flyby Attack, Greater Grapple, Improved Grapple
Skills Stealth +0
Languages Pilobolus

----- Ecology -----
Environment any underground
Organization solitary, pair or colony (3-8)
Treasure incidental

----- Special Abilities -----
Congeal(Ex) If a single attack deals 21 or more cold damage to a pilobolus, the gasses within it lose much of their potency. It immediately drops any creature it was feeding on, and for the next 1d4 rounds it loses its flying speed and its Feed and Contents Under Pressure abilities.
Contents Under Pressure(Ex) If a single attack deals 21 or more non-cold damage to a pilobolus, its internal gasses jet out through a short-lived rupture, dealing 2d6 acid and 2d6 fire damage to all creatures in a 20’ cone (Reflex DC 17 half). The pilobolus goes flying 1d6x5 feet in the opposite direction and drops any creature it’s grappling or feeding on. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Feed (Ex) A pilobolus can transfer one Medium or smaller grappled creature from a tendril to the sticky membrane on its underside and begin feeding. Creatures stuck here retain the grappled condition, while the pilobolus does not. At the end of each of the victim's turns, the pilobolus deals 1d6 each of bludgeoning, acid and fire damage to a victim who remains stuck. There is room on the underside for one medium creature, or two small creatures, four tiny creatures etc. It only constricts creatures there isn’t room to feed on.

When an aberration falls prey to russet mold, far stranger things than vegepygmies can emerge. Among these is the pilobolus, a semi-intelligent fungus that feeds by exposing organic matter - preferably freshly killed humanoids and animals - to a caustic mixture of gasses via a membrane in its underside. The feeding process causes more and more of these gasses to build up, heating as they go, until most of the creature’s body is a ten-foot wide balloon-like chamber filled with these dangerously hot substances. Lighter than air, these gasses allow the creature to fly through the huge caverns they typically call home. After a lifespan of about a year, this chamber builds up so much pressure that the pilobolus explodes, spreading spores far and wide.

The pilobolus language consists of tendril gestures and clicks. They can’t see, but their awareness of vibrations in their surroundings is so keen they seldom have cause to regret this. They must have some sort of creative drive, as they leave behind whatever they can't digest in interconnected geometric patterns; if they have treasure it will normally be found here. They are approximately 12’ tall excluding tendrils but can weigh as little as 250 pounds.

Which is the best super hero show -- "Flash," "Arrow" or "Gotham"?

Yes.

Inside the Glacier

Aura Moderate Transmutation; CL 11th
Slot Armour; Price 22,350 gp; Weight 30 lbs.

Description
At first glance, this +2 Breastplate appears to be made from pale blue crystal. On closer examination, this proves to be constantly flowing ocean water, powerfully enchanted to retain its shape. The Flowing Fortress' armour check penalty does not apply to Swim checks, and upon speaking a command word, the armour flows on or off the wearer, so it can be donned or removed in a single move action from up to 10' away.

While wearing the Flowing Fortress, two other commands, usable a total of three times per day in any combination, can be used to transform the wearer's body into water:

Melt: As a move action, the wearer melts into a puddle. In this form, the wearer moves 10' faster when flowing downhill, gains a swim speed of 60', can flow through even the tiniest cracks, and gets a +8 circumstance bonus on Stealth checks. The wearer can see and hear normally but can't speak, attack or cast spells. This form can be maintained for up to 10 minutes at a time.

Gush: As a standard action, the wearer turns into water, shoots up to 40 feet at a very high speed in any direction including straight up, then resumes normal form. This could, for example, be used to cross a small chasm or quickly get on board an adjacent ship. Any creatures or movable objects in your path are affected as though you had cast Hydraulic Torrent (APG) at a caster level equal to your character level.

Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armour, Control Water, either Elemental Body (any) or Fluid Form (APG); Cost 11,175 gp