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What happened to Alahazra as iconic oracle?For no reason, I feel compelled to mention that the newly ritual-ified Reincarnation may also be coming in this book. Just sayin'. Mind. Blown. <3 y'all.
What happened to Alahazra as iconic oracle?
One thing to keep in mind is that the Starfinder setting doesn’t need to be an utopian dream of perfect social harmony. Just because it’s a futuristic setting, it doesn’t need to represent the resolution of all of our own gender issues. On the contrary – I’d much prefer a setting where problems linger, and we can explore them through story if we choose (or ignore them in favor of, you know, space adventurez). I think the important value which the developers have nailed is representation. Instead of having to fill a gender role, lashunta players are free to choose, and are explicitly shown that this is welcome in the game setting. Crystal Frasier’s added description of the change provides a nicely logical context, which elevates the Pathfinder iteration as well. The lashunta realized they needed progress, and are working through it. The binary gender/caste assignment still exists in some cities. It’s not a clean break, and it wouldn’t be. It makes the game more thematically rich than if the lashunta had suddenly solved all gender issues. Similarly, with the elves criticism, I get that folks are tired of the xenophobia trope, but it says in the text that many reject this attitude (the forlorn), so it’s not an all-or-nothing deal. I’m sure elves exist in many other places besides Castrovel, and their culture(s) will be more diverse than just those in the ancestral homeworld. So I think it may be premature to say that all elves in the setting are expected or perceived to be aloof and snooty. One last thing I want to commend the developers on. I’m getting a strong Star Trek vibe from the progressive ideas we’ve seen thus far. All of you familiar with Star Trek know that the series has always tried to champion tolerance and acceptance (Kirk and Uhura’s kiss, for one example). Starfinder is showing a deliberate effort to pick up that legacy, and I think it’s fantastic. They didn’t have to include it in their game (it is just a game, after all), but the fact that they did is both brave and It makes me want to support the game and company that much more.
Also, we've already done a few one-shots including Crypt of the Everflame, which went over very well. I've GM'd Rise of the Runelords for my adult group, but I think some of the subject matter might be a little too much for them at their ages, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd chapters.
All great suggestions. Thank you! I will definitely be building a cohesive narrative around it and include both story-based, RP heavy sections as well as some classic dungeon-crawls. Trying to offer a mix of both the classic and modern styles.
I'm getting ready to run my 8 and 11-year old through their very first true Pathfinder campaign. To give them a good introduction to the game, I'm trying to come up with the most traditional, trope-filled series of adventures as possible, so they have a good foundational idea of what Pathfinder (and the D&D tradition) is about. I was hoping you all might help me come up with some items for the checklist I am assembling. So far, here's what I've got: •Start out in a tavern with some rat-slaying in the cellar
What are some other classic dungeons, adventures, encounters etc. I should include for their first real adventure? Thanks in advance for the input!
Just wanted to post and say that this was a brilliant idea and rocked when I implemented it with my group. After the lone survivor fled the scene, he spent a few months trying to find out more information about Xanesha's whereabouts with no leads. My player took the ball and ran with it; his Varisian ranger became paranoid and basically turned into a washed out alcoholic over the course of seven months. When he hit rock bottom, Shalelu showed up and lifted him out of a ditch (literally) and gave him the lead he needed. The others got a nice chunk of connective flavor text. Basically they were imprisoned and slowly turned into vegetative slaves, then taken to the Paradise barge. When Shalelu and the ranger showed up to rescue them, they had no idea what was going on; they just found themselves in the hull of a ship with goofy casino outfits on and no recollection of getting there. When Xanesha/Lucretia showed up to stop things, an NPC (one of the character's fathers) basically threw himself at her with a molotov cocktail in hand, effectively sacrificing himself and taking down the barge so the players could escape. Of course, when they dived back down to the sunken barge, neither corpse was located ;-) Kudos again. This was an outstanding idea and made the story that much more epic.
Thanks, that's extraordinarily helpful! I'm kind of surprised by some of these (er, Hound-archon?)
I'll put them right at the top of my list, next to the dire ferrets and female dwarf monks ;-)
That sounds pretty spot on. I can't access at the moment either but I've made a point to do so tonight. Thanks very much!
So I’m undertaking a project to make a set of monster tokens using my own artwork. Right now I’m looking at doing about 50 monsters, and 20ish PC/NPC drawings. Since it’s obviously going to be extremely time consuming to generate that much art, I want to start with the most popular, common, iconic and often-used monsters in Pathfinder / traditional high fantasy. Does anyone know of a good list of monsters sorted by popularity or something similar? If not, I’d even take straight up recommendations that I could compile in a poll-like format. I’ve started putting together my own tentative list, but I feel like I’m missing a lot. Thanks in advance for any input!
You're right, I wouldn't want to use Wis bonus instead of Dex, but the 3 levels in zen archer are mostly for the bonus feats, of which are all extremely helpful (noted in my original post). As for the Falconer, you got me there, as I mentioned I don't really know much about the archetype. The Weap / Armor proficiencies appealed to me and the favored enemy was appealing as well. What would you recommend as an alternative to suit this concept? If it won't work at all, then I'll definitely abandon, but I'd like to hear if you have any other recommendations for how I could go with this.
I’ve been a GM only for a LONG time and I may have the opportunity soon to finally play a PC. I’m drawn to kind of unorthodox, unique character concepts and I’ve come up with one I really like, but I’m not used to rolling a char so I’d like advice on whether or not this build could be effective. Here goes:
Stats (20pt buy)
Concept is like a barbarian shrine maiden from the arctic whose village was wiped out by undead. She’ll start by taking levels in Ranger and Zen Archer, then progressing to my favored class of Oracle. I’d like to take the Ancestor Mystery from UM because it’s thematically great for my character, and it has really appealing revelations (ancestral weapon spirit bow!).
Cloistered Cleric (cleric)- frankly the current archetype listed in Ultimate Magic sucks. There needs to be a better option for a cleric that has decreased weapon/armor ability and increased casting ability. Came in here to post something similar. Not every cleric needs to be heavily armored; in fact, I would think that a lot of priests, especially those who worship peaceful deities, would be more thematically averse to front line combat. Would love the option to sacrifice weapon proficiency, heavy armor, and even a HD increment for more magic emphasis, more intrinsic support/buffing abilities, or some other unique powers (different forms of channelling energy? unlimited channel energy on single targets???). Actually, a "priest" alternate class in the same vein as the samurai or ninja would be extraordinary.
Would love to see more resources on prices / economics of gear. I’d be very pleased with a master price table of ALL weapons / armor, including not just the sale price, but also the recommended value an adventurer might get by pawning it off, weighted by some sort of supply/demand factors (ie. I’d imagine a +1 sword is going to be worth a lot more in a remote village than in a bustling metropolis where they’re a dime a dozen). Also include the multipliers for magic item pricing in this one centralized location. I know this info is already available scattered around, but if this book is called Ultimate Equipment, it would be nice to have a comprehensive chart available so I wouldn’t have to bust out the calculator every time someone price checks a magic weapon.
So d20pfsrd tweeted a little while ago this morning that Ultimate Equipment was announced, but didn't provide a link or anything... Anybody got a confirm on that? "Ultimate equipment #paizo #announcements #GenCon #pathfinder"
I am humbled, sir. You do some fascinating work.
I love that Paizo always plans synergy with the timing of their releases, like how this supports the Shackles AP and Rule of Fear supported Carrion Crown. Great release strategy.
I agree that this idea sounds fresh and awesome. Bioshock + Lovecraft would be like chocolate and peanut butter! Might be interesting if you present some situations to gauge the party's morality, a la the little sisters save or harvest in bioshock. Maybe gain power at the cost of sanity? In my opinion, some of the best moments in Bioshock were the times when you saw how great the city was before it fell, and the contrast between that and its current degraded state. Not sure if you're wanting to draw directly from the Cthulhu mythos too much, but Dagon and the Deep Ones would be thematically appropriate, if it's an underwater city. An avatar of Nyarlathotep might make a compelling Andrew Ryan figure as well. Geez... this makes me want to put together a similar campaign! Kudos. Edit: Ahh Spyder beat me to the Dagon reference :)
Thanks for the insight everyone. This all makes sense; I kind of had a hunch that Paizo just had really developed a lot of this area and as a result it was just easier for them to call up detailed maps, npcs, cities etc. I dunno though... I like Varisia well enough, and I like the idea of the AP's having some loose connections between them, but it just feels like such a small little corner of the Golarion map... and yeah it does kind of have a classic fantasy feel but I'd love (prefer?) to see more high concept APs in other areas like Carrion Crown and Legacy of Fire to help flesh out the rest of the world and have some thematic variety in the . Since they seem to be kind of alternating between Varisia classic fantasy and high concept one-offs, I almost wonder if it might be good to make the Varisian AP's even more interrelated, to where they form more of an overreaching narrative or even direct sequels. I guess maybe that's kind of the direction Jade Regent is starting to go?
I've been running Rise of the Runelords and it's my first AP to run as well. I've got a really limited budget and only limited color printer access, so I've been experimenting quite a bit with different ways of handling this. The solution I like best (and my players prefer too!) is to let one of the PCs assume the role of cartographer and just give them fairly detailed descriptions of each area they enter. I'll kind of watch over his shoulder as he maps just to make sure there isn't a huge disconnect between what's published and what he draws, but accuracy doesn't have to be 100% and the players like that they get to use their imagination a little more this way when imagining the settings. When combat breaks out, depending on the situation I often use just a 8x10 grid I printed out on regular old 8.5x11 printer paper. For bigger brawls I get the battlemap out, but most dungeon skirmishes don't get much bigger than this and it's a lot less cumbersome and easier to prepare. My two cents :) Glad you're getting some good ideas.
Reading this makes me think that Reiko's story would make an awesome Pathfinder Tales novel... Now that I think about it, it would be awesome to see any of the iconics get their own novel!
I've noticed that many of the APs have been set in Varisia, at least partially (RotRL, CotCT, Jade Regent, etc). Now I'm hearing that the AP after Jade Regent will again revisit the Magnimar area. Is there a reason why this region is leaned on so heavily in the APs when there are so many other relatively undeveloped countries around the Inner Sea? I'm guessing this has probably been asked before, but I couldn't find it in a messageboard posting. Apologies in advance if this has already been addressed! Thanks!
Splendid news. Any word on whether it's pretty much a cut/paste with just rules updated or if the content / organization / artwork is getting overhauled? Would love to see some updated art, even if a lot of the old stuff is mixed in with it. Anyway I hope this product does well... would love to see all the APs have compilation releases eventually.
Thanks so much for all of the feedback, guys. I appreciate it very much.
I'm trying to pinpoint whether it's a certain style of session they prefer or if they're just fickle. I don't think it's just hack and slash they want; it's surprising to me which sections have been most effective. They loved the murder mystery on up through the series of encounters at Hambley Farm, for instance, and I actually got them to do some hearty RPing during that span. I think they're just not used to the pacing of the AP. Part of the problem is that we only play once every few weeks because of schedule conflicts, and I think the guys just want more gratification per session. Also, since we're all close friends outside of the game, I think immersion might be a challenge as well. Don't get me wrong, they aren't like actively complaining, and as a whole they're enjoying the AP... They're just saying some of the sections seem to drag on a little bit more than necessary. Like at the manor, they were all digging the first few spooky haunt encounters and the flavor but by the end of the session, after like 9-10 rooms of haunts, they would open the door and just kind of sigh and be like, "ok, so whose roll is it in this room..." The initial tension just kind of dissipated. Twigs, thanks for relating your own struggles. It's good to know that someone else is encountering some similar roadbumps (well, not good, but you know what I mean). I think it may do me good to spend some more time on the RotRL forums as well. Redcelt, that makes sense about how you changed up your encounters to accomodate the group you were with. I think I may try to do something similar to how you added the ghoul encounter, just to add some variety. I may end up condensing some of the adventure as well, even if I have to accelerate the XP gain a little to compensate. Thanks all.
(Spoilers galore ahead) Hi all, I've been GMing for a while, but it's all been custom campaigns I've put together. Been with the same group of players (high school buddies) since mid 90's. Recently my group and I decided to try Rise of the Runelords because of all the good things we had been hearing about it. I know I don't have a lot of experience with running premade campaigns, but we're about halfway into the Skinsaw Murders (Foxglove Manor) and I just feel like I'm having a hard time keeping the group's interest with several sections. I feel like I'm out of my element, like something just isn't clicking like it should be. Some context. I guess my PCs aren't really into a whole lot of RP and theatrics; I had a really difficult time at the beginning establishing Sandpoint because my players just weren't interested in a whole lot of NPC banter. I read the AP as putting a lot of emphasis on establishing the major players in town during Burnt Offerings, but my PC's felt like the initial Swallowtail Festival was kind of aimless w/the speeches and whatnot, and not having a clear direction until the goblin attack. I ended up kind of railroading them until the glassworks, and then they got frustrated with all the time spent exploring empty rooms therein. Seems to be a pattern in dungeon design with of a lot of empty, seemingly pointless rooms, like in Thistletop. The murder investigation went well at the start of Skinsaw, but now that we're in the Foxglove manor the PC's are complaining that every room they go into is predictable, with a haunt mechanic that they have to roll for, and there are just so many rooms that by the end of the session, despite how flavorful the text was, the players were fatigued by the repetitive and predictable nature of the haunts. I'm not complaining about the PC's or the AP, I'm just questioning my own GMing and wondering if I'm not really running the AP right. I know I should be kind of tailoring the adventure to my players, but I don't want to leave out the important flavor text and development. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with a group / the RotRL AP? I just want to know if there's something I can do to make it a better experience for everyone, instead of the slog that it kind of feels like during some parts. Thanks in advance!
My preorder still shows a delivery estimate of May 23rd - May 27th... don't know if that means anything though. Gonna be seriously peeved if they don't ship until two months after release. |
