kid america's page

Troy, Michigan - Pathfinder 1E + Numenera

Looking for players for a Forgotten Realms Numenera campaign starting soon.

System: Pathfinder 1st Edition and Monte Cook Games Numenera conversions

Setting: The Forgotten Realms in the Ninth Age

Number of Players: Looking to put together a group of 6 players/adventurers.

Player Experience Level: Players with Pathfinder 1E experience or newer players with a basic knowledge d20 RPGs.

Time and Location: Every other Saturday from 6-10 pm at my house. (Twice a month.)

Game Session 0 will be held at Guild of Blades so that everyone is on neutral starting ground.

First Game Session: Saturday, February 25 then every other week after.

What to Expect: It’s the Ninth Age of the Realms. It’s an age where fantasy and science coexist. It’s an age where magic meets numenera. Your characters have grown up in the small city of Enola in the southern kingdom of Seshar. And now fate has arrived at your city gates calling you and your friends to the life of adventurers.

Have you fought endless liches, demons, devils, drow, giants, vampires and hordes of orcs. Are you looking for something new. Then this may be the campaign and adventures you are looking for, or didn’t even know you wanted to play.

There is no published adventure path. No political intrigue, No world ending threats. No high fantasy city setting,. No devilish or demonic shenanigans.

This is a series of published sword and sorcery adventures and modules. This is personal and character focused. There are unusual races to play. There is mystery. There is magic. There is numenera. There is weirdness. There are improbable patrons. There are dungeons. There are dragons.

GM Style: Not a killer GM. Not looking to win against the players. I am the storyteller, guide and cheerleader of you and your new band of adventurers and their series of adventures. I'm looking to create memorable adventures.

Players: Looking for players who function as a group in game and out of game. Looking for collaborative players who buff, back and cheer on their fellow players.

Inspiration for this campaign comes from:

Numenera by Monte Cook Games
American Barbarian by Tom Scioli
Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
Head Lopper by Andrew MacLean
Prophet by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and
Jean-Claude Mézières
Hayao Miyazaki’s fantasy work
The Cromcast podcast
The Sanctum Secorum podcast

Troy, Michigan - Pathfinder 1E + Numenera

Looking for players for a Forgotten Realms Numenera campaign starting soon.

System: Pathfinder 1st Edition and Monte Cook Games Numenera conversions

Setting: The Forgotten Realms in the Ninth Age

Number of Players: Looking to put together a group of 6 players/adventurers.

Player Experience Level: Players with Pathfinder 1E experience or newer players with a basic knowledge d20 RPGs.

Time and Location: Every other Saturday from 6-10 pm at my house. (Twice a month.)

Game Session 0 will be held at Guild of Blades so that everyone is on neutral starting ground.

First Game Session: Saturday, February 25 then every other week after.

What to Expect: It’s the Ninth Age of the Realms. It’s an age where fantasy and science coexist. It’s an age where magic meets numenera. Your characters have grown up in the small city of Enola in the southern kingdom of Seshar. And now fate has arrived at your city gates calling you and your friends to the life of adventurers.

Have you fought endless liches, demons, devils, drow, giants, vampires and hordes of orcs. Are you looking for something new. Then this may be the campaign and adventures you are looking for, or didn’t even know you wanted to play.

There is no published adventure path. No political intrigue, No world ending threats. No high fantasy city setting,. No devilish or demonic shenanigans.

This is a series of published sword and sorcery adventures and modules. This is personal and character focused. There are unusual races to play. There is mystery. There is magic. There is numenera. There is weirdness. There are improbable patrons. There are dungeons. There are dragons.

GM Style: Not a killer GM. Not looking to win against the players. I am the storyteller, guide and cheerleader of you and your new band of adventurers and their series of adventures. I'm looking to create memorable adventures.

Players: Looking for players who function as a group in game and out of game. Looking for collaborative players who buff, back and cheer on their fellow players.

Inspiration for this campaign comes from:

Numenera by Monte Cook Games
American Barbarian by Tom Scioli
Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
Head Lopper by Andrew MacLean
Prophet by Brandon Graham and Simon Roy
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and
Jean-Claude Mézières
Hayao Miyazaki’s fantasy work
The Cromcast podcast
The Sanctum Secorum podcast

Thank you Keftiu your advice and suggestions are a big help to where I'm looking for a change in my RPG gaming.

I think this is cross posted from EN World, but my reply is largely the same. D&D is the John Wick of RPGs. Hundreds of pages to combat its totally expected. I'd branch out to other RPGs and players to see whats out there and set aside the murderhobo tendency of D&D/PF for awhile.

Check out the Systems are a journey, not the destination thread for inspiration!

Yes, Planpanther that was my post over on Enworld as well. I was looking to see what the advice and recommendations would be from two different RPG audiences.

And thank you for the Systems are a journey, not the destination thread for inspiration. Reading through it now.

So I’m about to turn 50. As I approach this new life milestone I’ve started wrestling with killing and deaths in RPGs.

I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this dilemma.

I’ve withdrawn from one Pathfinder group this year that was more combat heavy. The group’s solution was kick asses, stockpile treasure and get information later. It was guys I used to really like to game with, but I have evolved into more of a subtle role-play my character and find interesting non-combat ways of overcoming situations and solving adventures.

I also stopped GMing a Pathfinder group recently after one of the younger players had their 5th level character die. The player failed their three death saves and then had an unexpected meltdown reaction to it. I talked to the player after the game and a subsequent conversation days later. But the character’s death just put them off gaming with the group any longer. Which led to an older player in the group quitting the group over the younger players reaction to their character’s death. Now I prefer to run a more role-play character driven exploration and information gathering style of play. But even then most players resort to violence as their first option for dealing with monsters, villains and NPCs.

Part of the draw of RPGs is walking that dangerous balance between life and death. The thrill of staring death in the face and vanquishing a foe or faction to be celebrated as a hero.

I have played various RPGs, most heavily Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons over 20 years. But it didn’t hit me until this incident the amount of killing we as RPG game masters and players do of humanoids, aliens, creatures, demons, devils, dragons, monsters and robots in various RPG games.

The incident struck a weird chord emotionally in me. I sat down and looked at all the RPGs on my bookshelves and tried to find something to run where the main solution to in-game encounters is not killing the adversary. I also did some searching on Drive Thru RPG for an RPG where exploration and out thinking adversaries is more the premise and focus of the game. It was hard to find RPG options like that.

Has anyone else experienced this dilemma?
Is it just time to put away my dice and RPG hobby?

Can you play and run Pathfinder or Dungeons & Dragons without all the violent encounters and killing?

What fantasy and sci fi RPGs would you recommend as an alternative to the traditional slay the adversary and take their loot model?

What is the Paizo vision and big idea behind second edition?

An edition change to me means something is out of date, broken, or is no longer selling well. Or a company, designer or design team has come up with something new and revolutionary they want to wow users with.

I have watched all of Jason Bulmahn’s Youtube RPG design videos. I read several online interviews Jason and Erik Mona have given on Pathfinder second edition. I read the “Welcome to Pathfinder” second edition Playtest forward. I read through the playtest PDF once. I have read through the Paizo Playtest forum posts and replies for three days.

I understand the Paizo financial, mechanical and mathematical needs for Pathfinder second edition. I love playing Pathfinder first edition. And I will in all likelihood buy and play Pathfinder second edition. But I don’t see a vision or big idea driving Pathfinder second edition.

To me, if you are going to create a new edition of Pathfinder why not go bigger in thinking and vision? Where is the Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gary Gygax, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook vision for Pathfinder second edition?

Pathfinder second edition will no doubt have a decade long lifespan. Why not create something groundbreaking? Why not create the Pathfinder edition other RPG designers and companies will be envious of, talk about, borrow from and reference for the next 10-15 years as the RPG they wish they had designed?

Reexamine the foundation, pillars and bricks. Do the stalwart races/ancestries, classes, skills and magic in the Pathfinder RPG all have to be based on Tolkien, Vance, Anderson, Gygax and Arenson?

To me as an avid Pathfinder GM, player and supporter I would ask Paizo and the design team be brave adventurers. Don’t just rework Pathfinder first edition. Don’t just borrow favorite elements from other RPG systems. Break the rules and give us an RPG that will make other RPG companies and designers envious for years to come.

I am not trying to be a Pathfinder second edition RPG troll or jerk. I am just suggesting taking a big step back to think about creating something mind-blowing and unexpected for Pathfinder second edition.

Just one Pathfinder fan’s opinion.

Forgive me if this was addressed elsewhere in the comments.

THIS IS HOW I REBUILD AND USE THE STAT BLOCKS FOR MONSTERS AND NPCS IN PATHFINDER AND EVERY RPG I RUN.

I've played and GMed Fantasy RPGs for 20 years now. But for some reason even though the designers and writers of RPGs are playing and GMing as well, no one builds the stat blocks how we all use them the majority of the time in RPG games ... combat stats and special abilities at the top, skills in the middle, treasure and equipment at the bottom. I know some GMs run more role-play heavy games BUT when combat actually breaks out the stats we actually need fast should be at the top, front and center.

My thinking and use is based on how combat encounters typically play out.
1. Does either side perceive/notice the other side first? Or does either side get the drop on the other?
2. How quickly can the NPCs/monsters engage, regroup or retreat in a combat encounter.
3. What is the number AC/Target Number/Defense Score that the PCs and NPCs/monsters are trying to roll to meet or beat?
4. How much damage can the NPCs/monsters take?
5. What kind of damage and how much damage are the NPCs/monsters going to inflict on PCs.

I prefer all Ability Score/Racial/Feat/Skill/Magic modifiers be built into defense and offense scores as a single number and already active/activated/cast. It's a time saver for me as a GM and helps speed up combat. Yes, I know in real time NPCs/monsters should be activating/casting buffs/defenses/offenses, BUT it cuts into and takes away from the fun/action when combat actually occurs.

I put the size, creature type, alignment, skills, languages, special qualities at the bottom because in role-play situations I have more time to pause and consider the NPCs/monsters communication, conversation and reactions.

....

REDCAP CREATURE 5
Perception +10, low-light vision
Speed 50
AC 20, TAC 19
HP 55, fast healing 10; Weaknesses cold iron 5, irreligious
Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +9
[[A]] Melee scythe +13 (deadly 1d10, trip), Damage 2d10+4 slashing
[[A]] Melee boot +13 (agile, versatile B), Damage 2d4+8 piercing

Irreligious (emotion, fear, mental) If a redcap sees a creature brandish a holy symbol of a good deity or use one for the Material Casting of a divine spell, the redcap must attempt a DC 17 Will save. On a failure, the redcap is frightened 4 and fleeing for 1 round; on a success, it's frightened 2; on a critical success, it's unaffected. To brandish a holy symbol, a creature must Interact to brandish it for 1 round (similar to Raising a Shield). Once a redcap has to attempt a save against a brandished holy symbol, it is bolstered against brandished holy symbols for the next 10 minutes.

[[A]] Blood Soak (manipulate) The redcap dips its cap in the blood of a slain foe. The foe must have died in the last minute, and the redcap must have helped kill it. The redcap gains a +4 conditional bonus on damage rolls for 1 minute.

[[R]] Deadly Cleave
Trigger The redcap drops a creature to 0 Hit Points with a scythe Strike.
Effect The redcap makes another scythe Strike against a different creature, using the same multiple attack penalty as the scythe Strike that triggered this reaction. This counts toward its multiple attack penalty.

[[A]] Stomp The redcap Strides up to half its Speed and makes a boot Strike at any point during that movement. If the boot Strike hits a prone creature, it deals an extra 2d6 persistent bleed damage.

Evil, Fey, Small
Str +4, Dex +4, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +1, Cha +2
Skills +5; Acrobatics +13, Athletics +13, Deception +13, Intimidation +11, Nature +11, Stealth +13
Languages Aklo, Common, Giant, Sylvan

Items red cap, expert Medium scythe, iron boots

Red Cap (arcane, necromancy) A redcap's shapeless woolen hat is dyed with the blood of its victims. If the redcap loses its cap, it no longer benefits from fast healing and takes a -4 conditional penalty to its damage rolls. It can create a new cap in 10 minutes, but that cap doesn't grant its powers until the redcap has turned it red with Blood Soak. A cap has no benefit for creatures other than redcaps.

I'm a big fan of Armand Hammer, the middle aged dwarven blacksmith. He mostly works the forge and sells armor and weapons, but if the need arises he has a few levels of fighter and has weapon focus and weapon specialization in the warhammer. He's the gruff and dour type, but might be willing to give a few words of advice to young adventurers over a mug of three of ale. I came up with him as a bad pun, but he keeps coming back.

Exactly the kind of NPCs I love. Much like Spooky Tooth a beloved goblin NPC I created for The Gates of Firestorm Peak. The party ended up saving Spooky Tooth's life over one of their own PC party members. The group even asked me to bring him into a different campaign, but I broke their hearts and had to say no he doesn't fit the setting.

Got a bit more info on the setting and campaign idea? Is it Golarion or something else? Homebrew?

An urban campaign set in Absalom or Magnimar.

Looking for interesting NPCs to populate an urban Pathfinder campaign set in Absalom or Magnimar. NPCs can either be from your own campaign, an adventure you wrote, a published campaign, adventure, module, or published Fantasy novel or comic.

Preferably their name, race, class, background and source.

Thanks,

kid america

Looking for interesting NPCs to populate a Pathfinder campaign. NPCs can either be from your own campaign, an adventure you wrote, a published campaign, adventure, module, or published Fantasy novel or comic.

Preferably their name, race, class, background and source.

Thanks,

kid america

WHAT THE FRAK Paizo and Ninja Division Games!!! $39.99 + shipping for 4 pre-painted miniatures. Or $79.98 + shipping for both sets. I feel like our wallets are being space hijacked. Get rid of all the extra plastic packaging if it will help cut down on the price. This is going to put a big dampener on those looking to play Starfinder.

WHAT THE FRAK Paizo and Ninja Division Games!!! $39.99 + shipping for 4 pre-painted miniatures. Or $79.98 + shipping for both sets. I feel like our wallets are being space hijacked. Get rid of all the extra plastic packaging if it will help cut down on the price. This is going to put a big dampener on those looking to play Starfinder.

Thank you all for the great feedback on your actual play experiences with Starfinder.

I will definitely have my group read this thread.

I will try and convince the group to play the starter adventure to get the flavor and mechanics.

Part of my group is hesitant to try it just because it's not a know Sci Fi franchise.

The other part of my group is hesitant because of the cost of the printed book, even though I reminded them they can get the PDF.

I've told them it's still a d20 system and based off Pathfinder which they have all played for 8 years now. So the learning curve is much smaller.

We'll see what happens.

For those of you who have actually had a chance to play Starfinder what did you think? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

Does it feel and play like a good SciFi game?

Trying to see if I can convince my gaming group to give it a try.

Looking for players for a series of Deadlands Reloaded weird west adventures.
Running Deadlands Reloaded using the Savage Worlds rule system.
Game sessions would be every other Sunday from 4-9 pm in Troy.
No experience necessary with the Deadlands Reloaded setting or the Savage Worlds system.
RPG players from new, to looking to try something different, to haven't gamed in years, to veterans are welcome.
Willing to teach, if you're willing to learn.
Would love to be able to run a series of Deadlands Reloaded weird west adventures beginning in July until the end of this year.
This would be a mixture of one sheet adventures and longer plot point adventures.
If you're looking for a break from Sword and Sorcery adventures for a spell send me an email or post below.

Cheers,
Vic

Loved all the new humanoid and non-humanoid race options.

Love all the new beasties I have not seen in D&D monster manuals. I didn't feel like anything was a retread, mash-up or templated version of a creature from a previous Bestiary. Nice work on that front Paizo development team.

The only complaint I have about Bestiary 5 is the cover. Did no one on the production team put a printout of the cover on the wall or on the table side-by-side with the other four bestiaries and Pathfinder supplemental bestiaries? The cover of the Bestiary 5 isn't on par with all those other books. The cover is so pedestrian uninspired and lacking in action. Where is the menace and fear the other covers inspire? There are so many more interesting creature choices inside that you could have combined and used on the cover.

Hi All,

I'm thinking about running a monthly Shadowrun Fifth Edition or Star Wars West End d6 game.

But I wanted to see if there are any players still out there and interested in playing either RPG.

I would like to run the game the first Saturday of every month from 5-10 pm in Troy unless someone else has a really groovy game room they would be interested in letting the group use.
The first Saturday of the month is so we can avoid most of the major holidays.

I probably would not be starting until somewhere between November and the beginning of the new year.

The game sessions will be based on published adventures lasting 1-2 game sessions.

Game play will be more convention style adventures, versus an ongoing campaign with a larger unfolding backstory and character histories woven in. Meaning you can make a new character for every adventure if you want, or you can use the same character for a couple adventures.

I'm hoping this is more of a show up and have fun group for people who are in other groups or who haven't gotten to play either RPG in a while, or who have always wanted to try or play either Shadowrun or Star Wars.

Since I'm just reading and learning the rules myself I'm open to players of all levels, from never played an RPG to older gamers like myself.

Cheers,

kid america

I'm looking to run a once a month sci fi or cyberpunk game session that is not a campaign, but is more 1-2 game sessions adventures/missions. Something that allows players to make new characters whenever they feel like and build them quickly.
Something plays and feels more like a good comic book adventure or sci fi short story.
A game system lots of players know and want to play.

I want the RPG to be something that is easy to learn, easy to run, easy to build characters and doesn't have the enormous d20 character build option massive campaign world feel.

I've tried putting together a Savage World's sci fi or cyberpunk game like this but I could only find 2 players in my area despite advertising for months on multiple forums.

So this thinking brought me to Shadowrun and Star Wars.
I know players love both games and it should be easier to find and recruit players.
I know there are beginners box sets for both as well as full core rulebooks.

I'm looking to hear from GMs and players who have played both as far as:
• Ease of learning the rules
• Ease of teaching the rules to new players
• Ease and quickness of character builds
• Ease of putting together a game session

I'm hoping to be able to GM something that is quick fun and spontaneous so no matter what level of RPG experience you have you can show up at a game session, play and have fun.

I don't want to build my own world or design long drawn out adventures.
I want a prebuilt setting and short adventures I can customize quickly and on the fly.

Thanks

kid America

Great idea Extinct Fizz with the white board.

Bryun Battlehammer. I like the egg timer.

Hi everyone,

I was recently reading through the 13th Age rulebook and really liked a lot of the suggests Moyer, McConnell, Heinsoo and Tweet have for speeding up and simplifying some of the game mechanics and dice rolling (combat, skill checks, healing) that tend to bog down games as characters reach higher levels.

I was wondering what other GMs and gamers use in their own d20 games to save on time?

I love to hear your own suggestions and experiences. What works and doesn't work.

Hmmm ... what would I like to see in a Bestiary 5?

I would hope there would be at least 2 or 3 non-standard fantasy races. Races we don't see in standard Medieval and Sword & Sorcery fiction and movies. Not sci fi races but creatures players have asked about playing or dreamed of playing.

Playable race ideas:
A unusual fey race
A golem race
An undead race
A medium size dragon
Something with no legs
An Inevitable race
An animal race that is not anthropomorphic

Beasts and creatures based off of concept art versus pulled from works of fiction and mythology.
You know all that cool concept art you see on Deviant Art, Concept Art, CG Hub and all the other art forums. There's more than enough good creature ideas there for at least a Bestiary 5 and 6.

RPG Bestiary 5 Superstar Art Contest?
Let all those great illustrators out there compete to get their artwork seen, and give all of us Pathfinder players the chance to vote on some cool creature artwork. Plus, the chance for the folks at Paizo to possibly discover the next undiscovered Wayne Reynolds.

Beasts and creatures pulled from movies and comics.
Yes, yes, yes a pipe dream for sure and we know their would be licensing issues, but they would love to see them none the less.
The moorwen from Outlander
Plenty of unusual creatures in Rick Remembers Fear Agent and Black Science.
Plenty of interesting races and creatures in Brian K. Vaughan's Saga.

kid america

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Hi all,

Looking for adventure recommendations from the Dungeon or Dragon magazine archives with an occult or horror flavor to them to use for Pathfinder adventures.

Of particular interest would be adventures you think would work well with the upcoming Pathfinder Occult Adventures hardcover book.

Adventure name and issue number would be a great help.

Also if you actually played the adventure with a group and what the reaction from the group was.

Thanks,

kid america

Hi all,

Looking for adventure recommendations from the Dungeon (or even Dragon) magazine archives with an occult or horror flavor to them.

Of particular interest would be adventures you think would work well with the upcoming Pathfinder Occult Adventures hardcover book.

Adventure name and issue number would be a great help.

Also if you actually played the adventure with a group and what the reaction from the group was.

Thanks,

kid america

Time to broaden everyone's musical horizons for Iron Gods. Check these out. I would recommend listening to them on YouTube first for those unfamiliar with them.

Afro Celt Sound System - a musical group that fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African music

Air - a music duo from Versailles, France wonderful atmospheric music

Battlestar Galactica soundtracks (Syfy channel television series) - composers Bear McCreary and Richard Gibbs.

Escape from New York soundtrack

Existance by Audiomachine - Audiomachine does wonderful atmospheric music for movie trailers and video games

Journey soundtrack by Austin Wintory - music from the fabulous video game

Mass Effects soundtracks

Pacific Rim soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi

Priest soundtrack by Christopher Young

Skyworld by Two Steps From Hell - Two Steps From Hell does wonderful atmospheric music without vocals for movies, video games, and trailers

Trance Europe Express Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4

Van Helsing soundtrack by Alan Silvestri

Thanks 137ben.

I will definitely take a look at the Necropunk books.

I already went through the Eberron books. However my thought after doing so was that the equipment and magic items still have too much of a fantasy magic feel. The only things I pulled for use were the grafts and symbionts.

To me Numenera is more of a Science Fantasy setting.

I found quite a few of the creatures in the Paizo Bestiary 3 & 4 fit that weird otherworld feel of the setting. The Inner Seas Bestiary also has the Android race and a lot of robot/clockwork creatures.

One excellent source that I have pulled a lot of material from and used for reference is Chaositech (Sword & Sorcery D20) by Monte Cook.

I converted the nano class and varjellen race over.

I've converted all the Cyphers and Artifacts to D20 and I'm looking to post them to a file sharing site.

I've been looking for D20 creatures in the 3.5 Monster Manuals and Paizo Bestiaries similar to the Numenera Bestiary creatures so that conversion of the creatures I want to use are quicker and easier.

I've also been looking at D20 Modern and Future and D20 Gamma World material for technology equipment, mutations, and cyberware.

I hear you LazarX.

Unfortunately I live in an area of d20 Pathfinder and DnD 3.5 players.

I can't even get enough players to run a Savage Worlds Fantasy or Sci Fi game.

I can't even get enough players to play a cool or different board game or card game.

In order to use the Numenera setting for my own enjoyment as a GM I have to make it d20 friendly and compatible in order to get players to the gaming table.

Unfortunately WotC and Paizo have done an excellent job of beating d20 into the general gaming populace over the years since its arrival on the gaming scene that most players are unwilling or scared to play outside of that rule set.

Otherwise its just me playing by myself or with one other player. And that's just any fun.

Have any of you savvy GMs and players converted any of Monte Cook's Numenera Ninth World material over to the Pathfinder d20 mechanics?

Classes, races, beasts/creatures, numenera.

If you have I would love if you to share your links here.

Thanks,

kid america

I think the best resolution here is that you and the GM have a real heart to heart conversation just between the two of you.

You should explain what you've seen going on and how it affects your character and the fun you are having in the game.

Then ask the GM to explain why he decided to make the changes he did to how he is now running NPCs and the game.

I've had these two conversations myself with GMs and players a couple of times.

1. The conversation usually has to do with overuse of certain powers, spells and attacks so that combat become boring and stale.
ex: Fireball every time all the time makes for a boring game.
2. The other is why are NPCs and creatures now smarter and countering my cool new powers, spells and attacks.
ex: Casting Calm Emotions every time all the time makes for a boring counter to rage.

The issue of the GM vs the players is something that comes up frequently especially with Pathfinder and DnD groups.

Finding a balance between GM and players is a delicate never ending balancing act within the game.

Both parties need to understand and agree not to overuse and abuse the mechanics of the game to the detriment of the game being fun.

All the suggestions for why things are happening the way they are in the game all comes back to you and the GM having an honest conversation about it.

And perhaps after that conversation the group as a whole can take a couple of minutes to discuss maintaining fun and balance in the game.

Good luck.

Have any of you savvy GMs and players converted any of Monte Cook's Numenera Ninth World material over to the Pathfinder d20 mechanics?

Classes, races, beasts/creatures, numenera.

If you have I would love if you to share your links here.

Thanks,

kid america

This is a question to other GM's who have encountered the "Skill Checks are no longer a challenge conundrum."

So beginning around 6th level most players have the max ranks they can put into their skill, their ability score bonus, their class skill bonus, a class feature, a feat bonus, and a magic item bonus. This typically means that their skill check bonus is around +15-20 before they even roll a d20.

An average roll of 8 or higher gives them a success. And as we know a roll of 1 is not an automatic fail like in combat.

So disabling traps, surviving in the wild or underground, riding a mount in combat, flying, identifying magic items all become pretty meaningless in game mechanic's terms.

Around 10th level these skill checks pretty much become wasted die rolls, with players rolling their eyes and groaning for me as a GM even asking them for a skill check. This is especially true in a well rounded party that has all the skills covered.

Looking for suggestions on putting the challenge back into skill checks, and giving them purpose in the game.

To all the GMs and players who gave this module 5 stars you have obviously NOT RUN OR PLAYED THIS ADVENTURE.

Reviewing the product based on the writing, printing and artwork is one thing.

Reviewing the actual playability is another.

This adventure was run for us by a seasoned GM with good chops of 10+ years of GMing. Even our GM at times was left scratching his head at the encounter decisions and storyline twists this adventure takes. This guy even went to great lengths to try an make the storyline work by adding in extra NPCs with knowledge of what was going on beneath Thornkeep.

You know an adventure is a stinker when even the paladin character suggests going back up the the keep and burning it and the entire town down and tossing in the adventure book as kindling.

After six game sessions the GM gave the adventure the boot and moved on to another adventure.

For those who are raving about the actual village of Thornkeep, yes it makes a decent generic village but we've all seen better. Just not worth the price of the adventure or PDF to have another generic village to work out of.

Anyone created a kind of bard that uses puppets, marionettes or dolls?

Seems like it could be an interesting angle of a bard with an entertainment/stage background.

The marionette could be used like a voodoo doll to control NPCs or creatures.

The dolls could be used like minions.

I would be curious if anyone has combined Words of Power with a core bard since the bard favors the use of words, knowledge and writing.

I definitely see the possibilities of what a bard can be now.

Anyone created a kind of bard that uses puppets, marionettes or dolls?

Seems like it could be an interesting angle of a bard with an entertainment/stage background.

The marionette could be used like a voodoo doll to control NPCs or creatures.

The dolls could be used like minions.

I would be curious if anyone has combined Words of Power with a core bard since the bard favors the use of words, knowledge and writing.

I definitely see the possibilities of what a bard can be now.

...if I do say so myself...

B'yelka Morfaine

Now that's a female bard with some chops and character.

A good backstory gets me every time.

Thanks for sharing that.

Sorry MrSin I didn't mean to put the flame to the bard dervish.

I just played a couple of pickup games lately where all the players and their characters were stat machines and not characters.

The parties idea of role-play was kill them all and cast Speak with Dead after. Still a bit jaded by those game sessions.

Anyone built a sound sculpting bard, or an origami paper folding type bard?

It seems like a bard could really be interesting if they had an NPC entourage traveling with them.

Anyone play a heavy metal or death metal type bard?

I like the wandering artist and gypsy concepts.

The dervish seems so one-dimensional and repetitive. Looks to be a total power build Min/Max character.

Anyone built a sound sculpting bard, or an origami paper folding type bard?

It sounds like a bard could really be interesting if they had a small NPC entourage traveling with them.

Anyone play a heavy metal or death metal type bard?

In a comedy game I was in once, a friend played a bard named Rob Boss (based, of course, on Bob Ross). He was only ever artistically inspired when he had an adrenaline rush, so he adventured as a way to fuel his muse.

He had a Kobold salve named Timmy with an easel strapped to his back. When combat broke out, he'd start painting. His soothing voice and artistic inspiration made people around him want to be better so their greatness could be captured on canvas.

His brush was a Wand of Color Spray, and he'd often cast Grease by spilling paint. He'd "bring his art to life" with illusion effects, casting Illusory Terrain a lot, and other similar spells.

The easel itself counted as a Tower Shield, but would still sometimes get caught in a fireball or be sundered. Then nice buy Rob would become completely unhinged and use scrolls and wands of various Prismatic effects to completely ruin the enemies. The Painter's Fury was always amazing to behold.

Timmy was consistently played for laughs by having little to no sense of self preservation, prompting a running gag borrowed from the Dinosaurs TV show.

The best part was that Rob turned his "artistic eye" into really good tactical advice, constantly asking players who weren't in the best places to move to flank or open up charge lanes by saying things like "John, you're putting Hector in your shadow there. Move to the other side of the ogre? Thanks."

The whole effect was amazing, often derailing the game because the GM was laughing to hard to speak.

That is an awesome concept for a Bard and completely puts it outside of the box of how I've seen a bard played.

I've played in 3 different games with bards.

The one bard was the classic viking skald.

The other two were the classic elven bard with string instrument and rapier.

I'd like to hear about someone putting an interesting twist on a bard they have played, and unusual ways they have used them in role-playing and combat situations.

I've played in 3 different games with bards.

The one bard was the classic viking skald.

The other two were the classic elven bard with string instrument and rapier.

I'd like to hear about someone putting an interesting twist on a bard they have played, and unusual ways they have used them in role-playing and combat situations.

I'm looking for some bard character concepts that don't fall into the classic character with the musical instrument that buffs the party over and over and over and over again.

Hoping for cool outside the box traditional bard concepts.

Looking for build suggestions.

New spells/homebrew spells. Good lord are there some better unique spell suggestions.

Looking for suggestions on how to play the bard as something other than a support character.

Blow away my misconception of what a bard is and can do.

I'm looking for some bard character concepts that don't fall into the classic character with the musical instrument that buffs the party over and over and over and over again.

Hoping for cool outside the box traditional bard concepts.

Looking for build suggestions.

New spells/homebrew spells. Good lord are there some better unique spell suggestions.

Looking for suggestions on how to play the bard as something other than a support character.

Blow away my misconception of what a bard is and can do.

Things I've read to recharge the batteries.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and illustrated by Fiona Staples
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
Orchid mini series by Tom Morello and illustrated by Scott Hepburn
Orbital series by Sylvain Runeburg and illustrated by Serge Pelle
Prophet series various writers and illustrators
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Trolled around Deviant Art, CGHUB, and Conceptart.org for visual inspiration.

I was not planning on having characters progress beyond 15th level. No demon, devil, or dragon wars.

And between level advancement feats and class feats there are already a lot of bonuses available to players.

I am also aware that the CRs of creatures that the characters will face will need to be carefully considered for encounters.

However the more replies I read to this post the more I get the feeling that magic item rewards are a large part of the reason for playing Pathfinder. It is the carrot that keeps adventurers (players) coming back to the game and taking their characters on risky adventurers. Without magic items it sounds like I may loose a lot of player interest.

I would still allow us potions, oils, and salves to enable temporary spell-like benefits. But there would have to be a realistic limit to how many a character can have. Otherwise you go from walking magic item store to walking magical alchemist shop.

For incorporeal creatures I think ghost touch oil would address that. I was also considering lowering the miss chance to 30% or 40%. Another option might be weapons made out of special material. Say a cold iron weapon was effective against fey and incorporeal creatures. That should even things ups.

Part of my thinking for removing most of the magic items from a campaign was it would require party members to work together more. A sorcerer and wizard now need to make similar choices to a cleric. Do they have some spells to aid themselves and buff other characters, or are they more selfish and cast offensively. Then the other classes need to decide do they protect their sorcerer and wizard or do they charge into combat leaving them unprotected.

Most traditional fantasy adventure stories you read there are no magic items, or very few magic items. In most cases only the hero and/or the villain are the only ones with a magic item.

I don't know if this is possible to achieve in a d20 game where magic items are built into the mechanics.

I thought it would also be an interesting break from the PCs that start to turn into walking magic shops as they level up. I know this is to deal with higher CR monsters and skill challenges. But as a GM it starts to be troublesome to come up with interesting combat encounters and skill challenges players don't blow through with a couple good or even average rolls.

Has anyone run a campaign or adventure with no magic items?

Something where the only magic in the campaign world is spells.

How did it work out?

Did it make the spellcasters too powerful since they were the only ones with access to magic?

The players are all great, and actually all get along thankfully. I've had more than one group implode due to players not getting along and bringing their personal issues to the gaming group.

For me the games began to feel like homework or writing a term paper. Research and numbers and notes from previous game sessions. I started feeling like an outsider in my own game. I started really procrastinating on doing anything for next game session.

I also broke my own rule of showing of late twice in a row as well because I did not feel like going to the game.

I thinking being a middle age gamer and GM now, shorter adventures that cover 5 levels is the way to go versus trying to run long campaign that last from 1st into the 15-20 level range.

The shear weight and history of those kind of campaigns is very taxing to manage.

I'm running the idea by the players of playing some non-Medieval/Pathfinder/D&D board games and card games at the next couple of game sessions.

Hopefully there is some interest.