This is still very much in the early stages, but the basic premise is that the PCs go to multiple locations in Cheliax to locate Bones of the Founder Raconna. This happens during the uprising in Westcrown (Council of Thieves) in part as a shout out to our previous (incomplete) campaign but also serves as a good backdrop for why the authorities (Egorian, Chelish navy, Hellknights) are somewhat distracted. Might even have Andoran ships sailing to supply the rebels in Westcrown, which brings up the tense possibility of international war.
On another note, I may tweak the power of the magic bones. Rib bones will still provide 1 temporary hit point each, but a leg bone may provide a bonus to speed (+5 ft?), and maybe the skull is a +1 bonus to Knowledge checks. Any other variant ideas?
I currently have two ideas for locations of bones. The first is the Arch of Aroden in Corentyn. The second in the Barrowood.
Corentyn:
The Arch of Aroden is a 15 mile long bridge, so I imagine there were compartments inside the bridge to store supplies for maintenance & repair, living quarters for workers or slaves, and maybe even shrines for prayer or housing relics that blessed the bridge. I can also imagine a follower of Aroden placing the remains (even just a bone or two) of a Founder in the Arch of Aroden.
The bridge is broken, so it no longer requires too much official attention in terms of upkeep or security, but there are still many followers of Aroden in Corentyn. Perhaps there are still daily pilgrimages to the bridge. The PCs could pose as pilgrims to gain access to the bridge without drawing suspicion. They might have to convince other pilgrims that they are devout followers of Aroden to join a group that is allowed, and then sneak away from the group (or any guards that keep a lookout) to conduct their mission. Also, they may need to sneak back to the group or sneak off the bridge on their own, depending on how long the mission takes.
Alternatively, the PCs could pose as Chelish Pathfinder agents of House Thrune with false documents - a dangerous deception but one that has a better chance of passing, at least temporarily, with so much focus on Westcrown. They would have to make their way through official channels (perhaps requiring Bluff checks) that are probably harder to fool than pilgrims, but once they gain access to the bridge, they will have free reign to conduct their business as agents of Thrune. Though, they will have to pass through official channels on their way out if they wish to maintain their cover.
Another option would be to pose as slavers, but I don't know how this would provide easy access to the bridge - the only thing that comes to mind is that they seek out a slave who had been a criminal (perhaps a thief who was caught trespassing on the bridge without permission one too many times) and could provide insight on how to reach the bridge unseen.
I'm not sure if I should provide the players will all 3 options, or just the first 2 options, or just 1 option? Providing more than 1 option means more work on my part, but I do like providing my players more freedom than not.
The next step is what to do once the PCs are on the bridge. The bone(s) will be hidden somewhere inside the bridge, but I don't have a solid idea for that or how the PCs will know where to look. Finding the bone(s) could require Knowledge (religion) to follow clues written in scripture on the walls, or Knowledge (architecture) checks to determine where compartments would be hidden in a bridge. A creature to fight could be some minor devil tasked with patrolling the inner compartments. Maybe this devil also has some sort of monster minions (that perhaps see him as a deity) that help him patrol the compartments - or do it for him - while he focuses his attention on some other interest.
What do you think so far? One other thing to possibly consider is that the Hellknight Order of the Chain has a citadel nearby.
Barrowood:
This forest is thought to be where Abrogail I made an infernal pact with Asmodeus. Perhaps a follower of Aroden came here to search for that sight with the hope of somehow finding a way to break the pact. Maybe she was part of a church that had some of the Bones of the Founder Raconna and she brought them with her on this journey for protection. Unfortunately, whether she found the site or not, she never returned. Some time later, an ogre (or some other monstrous person of sorts) found the bones. Over time, his obsession with finding the other bones warped his already fragile mind and he thought the bones were talking to him, which meant he was special, and eventually he considered this specialness a sign that he was a king of sorts in his small piece of the forest. He fashioned the rib bones into a crown that he wears upon his head (and gains temp hp from them). He has no true servants, but there may be other creatures which play at being his servants - like a will-o-wisp or some evil fey.
The PCs will have to obtain the crown of bones. Perhaps through battle but maybe they can think of a trade or other means to obtain them. I do want this king to be rather formidable, at least enough that a fight doesn't seem like the first choice, but I still need to determine the creature, its abilities, its motivations & desires, and any servants. Also, I don't know what clue will bring them here. Something provided by Haav'ork but don't know what yet.
Finally, I don't have any other idea jumping out at me for a 3rd site to investigate, but it might be that all this is more than enough for a 6-hr session. Though, I am open to having a second short session to finish this first adventure, if schedules allow.
I am working on putting together 4 (or 3 or 5) loosely connected one-session adventures and would like to share my ideas here for others' comments or suggestions and perhaps to ask questions too. Hopefully, this is the correct forum for this sort of thing.
The first spoiler is an explanation as to why I am putting together the campaign this way. The other spoilers present the overarching background stories connecting the adventures.
Campaign Structure:
Part of the reason I want these adventures to be only loosely connected is that players in our gaming group have much less time to game these days, so I expect that each session may have some different players at the table (and even some of the same players might play a different character each time). Therefore, I don't want players to need to know all the details of adventure #1 to play or enjoy adventure #3. Each adventure should be able to stand alone well enough.
I decided that the "hook" for the players will be that they are part of the Pathfinder Society (either members or somehow connected). That way the adventures don't require continuity. The players will just go on whatever mission is given by their venture captain. This will be nice because I can send them to completely different parts of the world each time without there being a direct connection (at least not obvious to the players) in the story, and I know they will enjoy sampling the diversity of the Inner Sea region in terms of different cultures, creatures, environment, etc.
Another aspect of this mini-campaign is that months (or even years) will pass between adventures. Players might get the chance to level up during a session, but they will definitely gain multiple levels in between adventures. The first adventure might be Level 2 or 3, followed by Level 5 or 6, followed by level 8 or 9. Also, as I mentioned above, players can play different characters in each adventure. Maybe someone has never played a Bard and wants to try that for the first adventure, but maybe that same someone has played a Druid but never a Level 9 Druid and creates a new Druid character for the last adventure.
The Bones of Founder Raccona, Osirian Spirit Jars, and Talisman of the Orc Mother's Fury presented in the back of Pathfinder 27 (What Lies In Dust) sparked the overarching story connecting these adventures. The super short story of this mini-campaign is that a half-orc venture captain named Haav'ork wishes to regain his prominence in the Hold of Belkzen and reestablish a long lost Pathfinder Lodge that once existed there in secret. His plan is to bring together the scattered bones of an orc hero...to call forth her spirit...to learn the location of the secret lodge...then, he will return the bones for a proper burial in the Hold of Belkzen in order to be welcomed back into the fold, and thus, gain permission to establish a lodge (which really means finding the long lost lodge). Also, his initial fall from grace debilitated him physically, so that is why he needs others (Pathfinder agents) to do the legwork.
Founder Raconna:
In this campaign, Founder Raccona was an orc in the Hold of Belkzen who gained much notoriety at a young age. She fought for her beliefs/tribe/?? but was more of a loner and didn't want to be a leader, so when things died down, she went off on her own into the wild. It was here that she came across the secret Pathfinder Lodge, which had just been established. The Pathfinders knew her of her fame and convinced her to keep their secret and assist their mission of discovery. She agreed to help as long any orc relics were kept in this lodge and not sent to Absalom. Over the next two or three decades, Raconna finally grew into a leader and took charge of the lodge. She filled it with agents loyal to her and did all that she could to keep the lodge location secret (including the destruction and/or altering of records in Absalom and noting which people not under her sway knew its location). During this time, she also became a fervent follower of Aroden (perhaps due to the discovery of a relic) and eventually went to Cheliax to await his return. She left her second-in-command in charge of the lodge with secret orders to remove and hide all the orc relics until she returned. This was done, but without her strong leadership, the lodge eventually fell to in-fighting and most/all members went back to their tribes when hostilities between orcs broke out once again (perhaps when Aroden dies and the Inner Sea region is wracked with turmoil) and none returned, so the lodge was effectively lost since so much work was done to keep secret its location. Meanwhile, in Cheliax - as detailed in the Bones of Founder Raconna entry - Raconna dies as a famous martyr battling the might of Hell.
Venture Captain Haav'ork:
This half-orc will be the NPC guiding the PCs. He is a venture captain who wants to find the lost Pathfinder lodge (and its treasures) in the Hold of Belkzen for both personal and professional reasons.
Haav'ork belonged to one of the most prominent warbands in Belkzen but joined what became the losing side during a power struggle within it. His own prominence meant that humiliation and exile served as better bargaining chip and punishment than execution. He brokered a deal that would allow the most powerful warriors on his losing side to be taken back into the fold in exchange for serving as a living example of shame to detract others from rising up. In a play on words of the phrase "Might makes right," his punishment was the loss of his right eye, right ear, right hand, and right foot, and this was done in public display.
Years later, Haav'ork is a member of the Pathfinder Society, learns of the lost lodge in Belkzen, sees its rediscovery as a way to return home, and through much study, devises a plan.
.
Most of the Bones of Founder Raconna have already been found (probably by previous missions created by Haav'ork as well as other venture captains). The few remaining ones are thought to be in Cheliax, which is not friendly to true Pathfinders, especially not to those looking to uncover links to Aroden. However, the disturbance in Westcrown (Council of Thieves) provides a good distraction to send in agents.
Missions:
The first mission will be to investigate maybe 3 locations in Cheliax but probably not all will have bones. Also, these might not even be the last of the bones.
Another mission will be to locate the Osirian Spirit Jars - this might be dungeon delving in a pyramid.
Once all the bones are collected (perhaps by the PCs as a side story but not another actual mission, or perhaps by other agents) and jars obtained, Haav'ork will combine the bones to release the spirit of Raconna, but use the spirit jars (which I may tweak to just do what is needed for this campaign) to temporarily capture her soul and transfer it into another body for communication - to learn the location of the Belkzen lodge and hidden away orc relics.
The next mission will be much more on the diplomatic side with Haav'ork bringing the PCs to Belkzen to present the bones of the orc hero Raconna to the warband leaders and use them as leverage for Haav'ork to return from exile and possibly establish a Pathfinder lodge.
The last mission will be locating the lodge and/or hidden away orc relics. This may be more difficult if Haav'ork and the PCs are able to end his exile but don't do well enough with diplomacy to allow the establishment of a Pathfinder lodge, so they may have to search for it in secret, or with less help from the orcs, or with more resistance from the orcs.
One other thing to note is the Haav'ork will only provide the PCs with the info they need for each specific mission. He won't divulge his master plan or even the connections between missions - unless he is somehow convinced to do so or sees it necessary for the success of a mission, but even then, he will say as little as possible. Though, he may warm up more to orcish PCs.
This seems like plenty of info to start. Thoughts? Questions? Advice? Ideas on other missions? I will present the specific mission details in future posts.
A few questions...that probably don't have definitive answers in the book but am curious how others handled this...
Quote:
Remove curse can remove all curses on an object or a creature. If the target is a creature, you must make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against the DC of each curse affecting the target. Success means that the curse is removed. Remove curse does not remove the curse from a cursed shield, weapon, or suit of armor, although a successful caster level check enables the creature afflicted with any such cursed item to remove and get rid of it.
Remove curse counters and dispels bestow curse.
Quote:
Succeeding on a Saving Throw: A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. Likewise, if a creature's saving throw succeeds against a targeted spell, you sense that the spell has failed. You do not sense when creatures succeed on saves against effect and area spells.
1) If the target creature has multiple curses, let's say 3 curses... does the caster make 1 caster level check that goes up against all 3 curses, or 3 caster level checks (1 per curse)?
2) It seems like the caster will know if the spell fails on a target creature, but what if it removes 2 curses but fails to remove the 3rd curse... does the caster sense 1 failure but not the 2 successes?
1) Hide in Plain Sight works exactly like it says it does. She uses the stealth skill even while being observed.
2) The glaive is a very recent acquisition. Due to madness and ignorance, he hasn't quite figured out that he can escape yet. That's really it, as far as I can tell or say. That makes another good reason why they might have to deal with him, if your players (like mine) are of the opinion that they might want to leave him there.
Thank you for the clarification!
Here's another question for people... what is the caster level of the runecurse? Just incase they get access to remove it with break enchantment (DC 11+ caster level). Though, most likely it will be via remove curse (DC 22).
Good discussion to bring up! I'm surprised that they hasn't been a more concrete outlining of the Council. I can understand how they want to leave some of it up for others to fill in - especially for creators of the earlier adventures, as well as for DMs. But still, it is odd the so much about the Council (and even the Children of Westcrown) is side fluff.
In my game, the Council of Thieves underwent an upheaval just like Cheliax did when Aroden died. More powerful members followed the crown to Egorian, and less powerful members were snuffed out or supported the new members who took over. Also, they changed their name to the Treasury.... maybe the Twilight Treasury (haven't had to pin down a name yet since the players haven't come across the name yet but just came up with that one and kinda like it). Because in a sense, it's a new organization, but also because it would be a bit silly to keep using the a name that people already know while trying to be secretive.
Anyway, I thought that all the powerful non-good Noble Houses were members of the Council. And the families beholden to them may or may not be in the Council too but not as top members. But I suppose that doesn't have to be the case. It would be interesting if some families beholden to Council houses weren't part of it, and if some families beholden to non-Council houses were in it!
In the 6th book, I think it talks about how the heads of all the noble houses in the Council were assassinated, and one of them is Duxotar Ilthus Mhartis, which isn't a top house but a beholden family. Also, I went through the books and tried to make a list of everyone officially connected to the Council - even members that are dead (or undead) when the PCs encounter them.
The formatting won't work here, but I'll do my best to try and make this list comprehensible. It basically lists people underneath the higher-ups to which they report. Someone with 3 dashes (---) reports to the person above them with 2 dashes (--), and someone with 2 dashes (--) reports to the person above them with 1 dash (-). Don't quite remember who the people at Walcourt report to...maybe Ilnerik?
COUNCIL OF THIEVES
House Drovenge (Taldan) – Imvius, Lorialn, Xerysis
- Vassindio Drovenge (LE Ari14) (LOYALIST)
-- Jalki (NE Rog4 - human male - LOYALIST)
- Sidonai (son of Vass, father of Cha+Ecc)
- Chammady & Eccardian
-- Crosael Simiin Rasdovain (LE Brd9 - tiefling female)
-- Sian Daemodus (LE Rog5/Sha3 - tiefling female)
-- Zol (LE Brb1/Mnk10 - half-orc male - CLEANER)
-- Ilnerik Sivanshin: Lord of Shadows (CE Brd7/Rog3/Chr3 - hale-elf vampire male)
---Father Jair (NE Clr6 Norgorber - human vampire male)
---Vashian: The Mazeflesh Man (CE Ftr6 - Varisian human vampire male)
---Vahnwynne Malkistra (LE Ran4/Rog2 - elf vampire female)
---Jerusen (NE Rog8 - human vampire male)
---Shadow Lord (Nihiloi)
---Silana (CE Sor8 – human vampire female)
---Irimeian (devourer - Sunset Gate)
--- Palaveen (advanced morgh), Dravano, Ostengo, Vethamer (morgh x3) – Cader Boneyard
--- Thesing (CE Rog7/Exp3 - human vampire male)
--- Signifier Ara Verennie (LE Sor11 - human ghost female)
-- Avahzi Serafian (LE Clr7/Dia2 Mammon - elf female)
---Novankia (LE imp female - companion)
---Lozendi (Rog - ?? - killed by erinyes in Book 4)
---Aberten Vittershins: The Dealer (NE Sor7/Har3 - halfling male)
-- Maglin (LE Rog7/Ass3 - human male)
-- Kruthe the Hammer (NE Ftr8 - human ogrekin male)
-- Stiglor (NE Ran10 - human male - ex-dottari)
-- Cervesi (NE Rog8/Ass3 - human female – Council captain)
-- Blacknapes (CE Ftr4/Rog2 – human) x8
-- Skarx Veskandi (LE Mnk12 - tiefling female)
---Naxess (imp male)
---Vexess (imp female)
-- Melavengian (LE Clr7 Mammon - barbed devil)
---erinyes x4 (slave barge)
---bearded devils x6 + hellcats x2 (hunting down nobles)
---Belessima (shaitan genie female)
-- Liebdaga the Twin
---Nyxervex (bone devil)
----Isavenda (erinyes)
I'm hoping this list will help me introduce some members to the PCs earlier in the game, especially the ones that are dead or undead when the PCs encounter them. For example, they just met Signifier Ara at the Cornucopia where she represented the Church of Asmodeus (but they also saw her in Hellknight garb in the Six Trials audience). She happened to take a particular interest in one of the PCs who is an ex-member of the Church and now worships Cayden. He was semi-powerful in the Church but lost his abilities when he turned his back on Asmodeus.
It seems that until Sian broke into the Knot, no one has been inside since Aberian had it warded (perhaps decades ago). I'm playing it that Sian had help in undoing the ward, but her skill did not compare to that of the ward, so it broke it more than removed it, and that's part of the reason a Will save is needed to enter.
Anyway, Sian took some mental ability score damage when she entered, and the Anvengen spirit fragments used that energy to create the glaive just a day or two ago. I'm thnking that Szas and Elan chatted with each other since they were each other's only company for the past few decades, so Szas grew agitated when Sian killed Elan and took him away, so he used the glaive to chop open the door.
Szas has lost his mind, so now he stands guard over the cells hoping to regain the favor of his long-dead master Vheed and prevent any other intruders from releasing the remaining prisoners (which are all dead but Szas has started talking to them since Elan was taken away). He will probably attack the Cleric of Cayden on sight for being on the opposite side of things as Asmodeus, be wary of the Fighter til he has reason to fight, and perhaps be curious about the Alchemist who probably appears to have a similar style as the experimental sorcerer Vheed.
I am tweaking parts of the Asmodean Knot and am hoping to get feedback others who have ran or played it already. Our group only has 3 players, so I gave them the option of starting with an extra NPC level or extra gold to give them a boost. Also, I added a few extra encounters/challenges, some of which I didn't expect them to fully defeat, so they've wound up even more ahead of the curve (which didn't prevent one PC death during the play). The PCs are:
Ftr4/Brb1/War1 with a focus on sunder and adamantine lucrene hammer
Alch5/Exp1
Clr5 (about to level up) with Wisdom 23 from starting middle-aged
1. Grey Metal Entry Doors
Spoiler:
The first addition is going to be with transportation into the Knot. The description says that touching the metal doors gives a feeling of vertigo, and that is where this idea comes from, along with the notion that the Knot has been damaged by Sian. PCs who touch the doors will have to make a Will save. Success means they are instantly transported to the Knot, as normal. Failure means they find themselves falling through a void of darkness (those with darkvision will be able to see masses of shadowy tendrils reaching for them – this corresponds to the depiction of shadow beasts in our campaign), and each round another Will save can be made to escape the void and enter the Knot. Initially, each round in the void was going to inflict 1 point of Wisdom damage (a little bit of madness from being in the void), plus 1d6 points of falling damage per round upon exiting the void and falling into the Knot. However, the Cornucopia meal already did Wisdom damage, so I may change this to Charisma damage and change the falling damage to 1d6 per two rounds (or 1d6 nonlethal for the first round which turns into 1d6 lethal in the second round, and repeat – so the damage gets more real the longer you are in the void). For the Will save, I'm thinking DC 15 (since I think all the PCs can make this by rolling 10) or DC 17 to make it a bit harder. Also, I'm guessing that conjugation would be the school of magic given off by the metal doors because I know they will cast detect magic on them.
2. Elandriu
Spoiler:
Sian placed him in the entry hall, but to do so, she would have had to carry him (or I guess place him in the handy haversack – which I may keep with Sian or remove entirely) and sneak past the shadows and howlers. It seems like she got past these guardians on her way in by being in gaseous form, so I'm not sure if it would make sense for her to sneak his body back to the entry hall – especially since there are no threats there and she's trying to make it look like he was killed by something in the Knot. Instead, I may have her dump the body just inside the western door of B2 with the used scrolls, runecurse, and pack of unused scrolls. The howlers will chew him up (eat flesh, crunch bones), which will help to cover up the fact he was killed by her blade. This may prevent speak with dead from working, but I doubt my players would take that approach, and if they do, I'll just fudge it by saying there is enough of the body left intact for this instance.
3. Entry Hall Alcoves
Spoiler:
These seems to be totally aesthetic and otherwise pointless, but I may give them a purpose. The background info says that Mayor Anvengen expanded the Knot, and later, Mayor Vheed filled the Knot with monsters and used it for sadistic entertainment. I'm thinking that each alcove held a reflective metal sheet (similar to the reflective metal doors to enter the Knot and black metal mirrors that spawn shadows) and were used to look into the various areas of the Knot – like mirrors of clairvoyance attuned to specific locations and perhaps activated by something like Channel Energy. Although, I'd probably have it be that most of these mirrors have been destroyed with maybe one that gives a look into the Hall of Special Guests (perhaps the others looked into Jabe's Pool, the Kyton's room, and the room with the chests) and maybe one that never got attuned since it was going to be for a feature that Anvengen intended to build but didn't do before he died. Or maybe half will not be attuned because they were supposed to look into the second story that was never built.. Alternatively, the alcoves may have once displayed all the stuff that is now stored in the mummy room.
4. Howlers
Spoiler:
If anyone gets cursed, I may give them a vision from Anvengen with each failed save. Just a fragment of a memory but something that will shed some light on the backstory which doesn't get revealed much. Maybe memories of his appointment by House Thrune, installation of the Nessian Spiral, creation and expansion of the Knot, etc.
There is more, but this seems like plenty for one post.
A couple questions about creatures in the Asmodean Knot:
1) Sian - How does her Hide In Plain sight ability work against creatures with darkvision (i.e. dwarves)? Or does it not work? She needs to be within 10 feet of a shadow, but do creatures with darkvision still see shadows?
2) Szasmir - Is there anything preventing him from breaking down the door to his cell (aside from madness)? Especially now that he has the intelligent glaive? I know he can't teleport out because of the magical ward, but as far as numbers go, I don't see a reason why he can't break free.
I should mention that I suspect there's an error in Sixfold Trial -- if Drovalid is whipping several PCs, then it may be necessary for all three of them to be dressed in rags or loincloths, otherwise the whip would likely deal the other two no damage. Tybain is one such role that a PC would not be suspicious to wear full platemail with, and I doubt that this was a feature rather than a bug.
I also noticed that the whip might be very weak against the non-Larazod PCs, so I made it a "spiked" whip that does 1 point of lethal damage and 1 point of bleed damage in addition to the standard whip nonlethal damage.
Early into the first book, I actually went through all the books and jotted down the names (and relations) of every named NPC.
The Cornucopia is coming up in our game, and I went through the list of 12 noble houses and houses beholden to them (Westcrown section of book 1). There is one member of each family at the gala, and I was able to pull several from my NPC list, so this introduces a bunch of NPCs that will come up later. I was going to add other important groups but didn't need to do much of that because the Dottari are represented by Ilthus Mhartis and the Hellknights by Gonville Chard, andmost of the Limehouse Theater cast are part of noble families too.
This is a very minor question, but I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on the mechanics and costs of a pyrahje (man-sized torch that lights major areas of Westcrown by night)?
Quote:
Oil (1 sp): A pint of oil burns for 6 hours in a lantern or lamp.
Torch (1 cp): A torch burns for 1 hour, shedding normal light in a 20-foot radius and increasing the light level by one step for an additional 20 feet beyond that area (darkness becomes dim light and dim light becomes normal light).
Lamp, Common (1 sp): A lamp illuminates a small area, providing normal light in a 15-foot radius and increasing the light level by one step for an additional 15 feet beyond that area (darkness becomes dim light and dim light becomes normal light). A lamp does not increase the light level in normal light or bright light. A lamp burns for 6 hours on one pint of oil. You can carry a lamp in one hand.
I imagine that a pyrahje operates similar to a lamp but illuminates a larger area because it is so big, and therefore, also requires more oil.
The reason I am curious about this is because I could see the Mayor citing cost as the reason why the entire city can't be lit up at night.
Repairing a magic item requires material components equal to half the cost to create the item, and requires half the time. The make whole spell can also repair a damaged (or even a destroyed) magic items—if the caster is high enough level.
It looks like a magic item can be repaired by anyone who can create it. I'm guessing this means that someone with the Master Craftsman feat can repair magic arms, magic armor, and wondrous items.
But does it seem odd that it could cost thousands of gold and 1 day per 1,000 gp (or 1 day per 2,000 if the DC is increased) when a caster with a 2nd-level spell can do it for free? I know there is a caster level requirement for the Make Whole and Mending spells... but it just seems like too much of a disparity. It would seem easier and much, much, much cheaper to hire someone to repair a magic item if it is beyond your caster level.
I guess more than anything, I'm curious how has this played out in other people's games?
That seems correct to my reading of it... sort of.
The conflict seems to come from:
Grapple wrote:
If you do not release the grapple, you must continue to make a check each round, as a standard action, to maintain the hold.
and
Prostration wrote:
As a standard action, an ebon acolytus can
attempt to force any creature it is currently grappling into a sacrificial position. The construct must make an additional combat maneuver check against its target to reposition it into an advantageous position. If it succeeds, and the victim remains grappled at the beginning of the construct’s next round, the ebon acolytus may make use of its sacrifice ability.
Otherwise, it's a nifty trick gaining two standard actions in a single turn.
Thanks for the advice. It seems like the general idea of how it should work is spelled out, but the actual mechanics don't add up. I was thinking of using it similarly to how you laid it out. Although, I am going to tweak the mechanics and some other aspects a bit further for this particular scenario...
Spoiler:
Long story short... this is just a little side mission to add some flavor, history, and danger to the campaign. The PCs just finished off the Bastards (who are called the Orphans of Mammon in my game) and got roped into helping a hobgoblin do some dungeon delving/crypt robbing.
This Ebon has the head of a medusa, and if the victim fails its save against the coup de grace, it is petrified with the soul trapped inside and unable to be reached or revived by any means except by a worshiper of the deity (Lamashtu, in this instance). If the statue is destroyed, the soul is sent to and trapped in the Abyss. Also, since the sacrifice is described as a full-round action for the coup de grace, I am going to have it play out via 2 standard actions across 2 rounds (ala starting and finishing a full-round action when you can only do one action per round), so that'll give any victims an additional round to escape.
This encounter also contains 8 statues (tiefling, half-orc who failed to steal from the crypt and was sacrificed, 2 dottari, 4 children) that are treated as animated objects (4 Medium, 4 Small) that assist in the sacrifice and are powered by the tormented soul/haunting of Ehlanni (see below), and thus, susceptible to magic that harms undead as well.
The party is not expected to defeat these creatures, but if they act wisely, they should be able to run around and/or fend them off long enough to snatch the treasure available and escape. If they try to defeat them, they'll probably be added to the statue collection.
The crypt belongs to a family that was associated with the original Council of Thieves:
Old History: The graveyard is home to a mausoleum for the Ark'eep family - half-elven smiths who rose above their station in Rego Plea, thanks in part to their connection (beginning in 4290 AR) with the Council of Thieves. The mausoleum was built in 4340 AR for the passing of the family matriarch (Uleena - you-lee-nuh) who established the Council relationship. In 4469 AR, high-ranking family members were killed during the staged hunt to find low-ranking Council members, and the family patriarch (Daguun - day-goon) was hanged as part of the staged execution of the Council. Most of the surviving family members fled in shame.
Newer History: Ehlaani (eh-lah-nee) Ark'eep was the youngest daughter of Daguun and a Pathfinder field agent on assignment in the Mwangi Expanse from 4465-4470 AR. Her expedition delved into territory controlled by a Lamashtu-worshiping medusa tribe. The long and deadly ordeal saw half the team lost and left them with hardened hearts and darkened souls. When Ehlaani learned of the treachery against her family, her sight was set on vengeance. It was easy to convince her surviving team members to join her cause and use the Mwangi relics to punish the Council. They tried to find out which authorities killed her kin and which noble families belonged to the Council. Their findings were not always conclusive, but they kidnapped the accused dottari and youngest children of suspected nobles. Each was to be sacrificed to Lamashtu. First by Ebon petrification and then all the petrified forms would be smashed. However, they had only petrified 6 people when a Council assassin put an end to their work in 4476 AR. A tiefling named Ramgara Haro tracked down the cultists and burned most of them in their sleep. Ehleena proved more difficult to dispatch. A poisoned blade would end her life but not before she lured him into the sacrificial chamber and left him too weak to fend off the Ebon.
Current: The tormented spirits of the cult haunt the tomb. Burning those who enter and driving them into the sacrifial chamber where the petrified forms of Ramgara and the other victims drag intruders to the Ebon.
I have a clarification question about the Ebon presented in the back of the book. How many rounds and rolls are required for it to use the Sacrifice ability? This is how I think it goes:
Round 1
-CMB check to enter grapple
Round 2
-CMB check to maintain grapple (with +5 bonus for being the main grappler)
-CMB check to reposition victim
Round 3
-CMB check to maintain grapple (with +5 bonus for being the main grappler)
-use Sacrifice ability
You need to decide what surname the family is, then this spreadsheet generates a standard family unit: husband, wife, and random number of children based on the wife's age. It will produce a gender, given name, and age for each person. It occasionally gets flaky ages or numbers of children because of randomness or rounding error. If you don't like what you see, F9 refreshes it. Flaky numbers can give you ideas for fun backstories, though, so don't F9 too hastily. In one test I made, I wondered what a 58 year old woman with 13 children was doing married to a 17-year-old man. There's gotta be a story there.
Copy and paste special (values) to save a configuration you like, or paste to a doc. You can load up the source sheets with your own favorite names. I used baby name lists from Italy for Westcrown. Enjoy.
Your friendly neighborhood lazy GM,
Treppa
This is outstanding! But I'm not quite sure how it works. In what field do I enter the surname? Do I just type in any name and hit ENTER?
Thanks for that link! It helps to know who makes up the Council of Thieves.
I did mention in the intro to this campaign that "murderplay" performances are becoming more popular in recent years. It fits in well with the sitting and was easy enough to add it in as a notable aside to the mayor's support of theater and opera. Also, the PCs went to see Thesing perform at the Limehouse in between battling the Hellknights and Bastards, and that theater happens to be in the same area as their base of operations - a tavern/inn owned by their cousin.
My gaming group has recently started this adventure path, and I only have the first 2 books right now. The other books are coming in the mail, but it will probably be several weeks before I can read through all of them. Therefore, I was wondering if people had ideas for laying the ground work early on challenges and characters that won't come into play until later in the adventure path?
I have read a few of the summary threads, which have given me a few ideas, and the party has met the Children of Westcrown and just rescued their leader from the Hellknights. Next up is Thesing and the Bastards... and maybe a little side venture with bandits targeting the PCs directly.
I am curious if there more info comes out later about who is on the Council of Thieves, aside from the Drovenge family? It would be good to perhaps work in some of the other families into the early adventures.
Secondly, I do hope to give more life to the Children of Westcrown. I like the ideas presented in other threads about the individual members having their own goals that they are bringing to the group or doing on their own. Also, I have tweaked the group slightly. Arael is a female half-elf (Rielle the Mother) who started things with her younger sister (Neela the Moon) and Javi the Falcon (a male human instead of Janiven) - who are the highest level members of the group. All the group members have code names and only some have revealed their real name to the PCs. The PCs are dwarves from the same clan which owns an ale house along the docks. Larko (the Woodsman) is a regular, and it was through him that the group learned of the PCs. Fiosa (the Torch) is a local who was raised in the Dhaenfens, and her nieces & nephews came to Westcrown to get out of the bogs. They signed up for an indentured apprenticeship, but when their contract was up, the noble family moved them into enslavement in an underground factory. The first leg of the story was Fiosa and her grandfather coming to the PCs for help. The toughest Children of Westcrown (Moon leading others who died during the rescue or quit after it - none of these are from the book) freed the halflings and took them through the sewers to the docks. They needed the PCs to house the halflings until their ship was ready to depart a couple days later, but of course, the PCs wound up having to help with the rescue since the CoW and halflings were being chased. Anyway, I got this idea from the write-up of how Fiosa joined the CoW... I just had it be that the PCs were involved with the freeing of halfling slaves, and these were illegal slaves, so it technically wasn't breaking the law to get them out.
Wow, I wound up typing much more than expected, so this is probably enough for now, but a few other things to note about the PCs:
-Fighter dwarf who took a campaign trait to have a sheriff contact - which is Durotas Arik Tuornos of the Rundottari. He came to Westcrown to help protect his family's holdings during this time of increased banditry (in part due to the younger Drovenges' scheming)
-Alchemist dwarf who took a campaign trait that gives him a place to stay and person to sell goods at +10%, so the PCs' cousin own the ale house, and it is where they live while in the city.
-Cleric dwarf who is a local who worshipped Asmodeus but fell from "grace" and now reveres Cayden. Also, he took the AP campaign trait that gives him a Pathfinder contact. It is going to be the priest of Cayden that showed him the light (after his fall from evil), and this NPC will probably replace the Pathfinder contact in the Sixfold Trial.
Oh, and I've been happy that the party hasn't concerned itself much with getting paid for their help, but to help give them a boost in that department, the Bastards will have several weapons from the weaponsmith they murdered that can be used by the PCs (and maybe CoW) or sold without guilt.
The holy aura bonuses to AC and saves appear to be included in the stat block of the Ghaele. My question is about its Spell Resistance. It is listed as having SR 25. Holy aura provides SR 25 vs evil spells and spells cast by evil creatures.
Does the Ghaele naturally have SR 25? Or does it come from the holy aura? If it is the latter, I would assume that the SR only applies vs evil, but if it is the former, then the SR would apply to all spells.
The stat block indicates that the SR applies to all spells since it is not listed as being limited vs evil, but I want to make sure this is correct.
The Ghaele has see invisibility as a spell-like ability, not true seeing. The true seeing is one of the Cleric spells it can cast. When summoned, the Ghaele would still have see invisibility (as a constant spell-like ability), but it could not cast true seeing (as a Cleric spell).
Thanks for responding. That is an interesting explanation. That the difference in maneuverability is simply the result of the wind walk wording not being updated.
Although, this still doesn't explain why the two different speeds are worded differently (speed vs. per round). In 3.5, "a speed of 10 ft" still means you can move that distance with a single move action, so 20 ft per round with a double move (hustle). And neither spell in either version says anything about not being able to hustle.
As for the Stealth check, I intended this to happen under the proper conditions for Stealth. The creature would still need cover. Because, yes, if his misty form was seen zipping about, he would totally be noticed. But if he is moving behind cover or invisible, it seems like he can make a Stealth check, and half-speed would seem to be 300 ft while being carried by the magic wind.
Only while ascending/descending. You can tell by the rules of grammar: the half-speed clause is added to the end of the sentence describing the maximum angle, which in turn is presented as a clarification of the preceding sentence - which introduces the topic of upward and downward walking. Thus, the clause only relates to that topic.
That's what I figured but wanted to make sure. Thanks!
The subject can tread on air as if walking on solid ground. Moving upward is similar to walking up a hill. The maximum upward or downward angle possible is 45 degrees, at a rate equal to half the air walker's normal speed.
Do you move at half of normal speed whenever you tread on air, or is it only half speed when you move at an upward or downward angle?
You alter the substance of your body to a cloudlike vapor (as the gaseous form spell) and move through the air, possibly at great speed. You can take other creatures with you, each of which acts independently.
Normally, a wind walker flies at a speed of 10 feet with perfect maneuverability. If desired by the subject, a magical wind wafts a wind walker along at up to 600 feet per round (60 mph) with poor maneuverability. Wind walkers are not invisible but rather appear misty and translucent. If fully clothed in white, they are 80% likely to be mistaken for clouds, fog, vapors, or the like.
I've always found this spell to be a bit ambiguous because it gives you a speed of 10 ft Fly (perfect) but also allows you to move up to 600 ft per round (poor). And in typing up this post, I also came across another point of possible confusion. I've broken this post up into a few sections.
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Wind walk is based off gaseous form. I never gave this too much thought, but it looks like this is only partially true. The physical changes (appearance, DR, immunities, action restrictions, etc) are based off gaseous form, but the fly speed is not. The reason I point this out is because gaseous form states that all Fly checks automatically succeed, but if that were also the case for wind walk, then maneuverability would not matter. However, this also means that the restriction from gaseous form of not being able to run is not a problem with wind walk. Does all this seem correct?
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Anyway, going back to speed... a speed of 10 ft Fly (perfect) means you can Hustle (x2) up to 20 ft per round. That part is very clear and moving at a Hustle has certain limitations - you can only do either for one hour before potentially taking damage.
But how does 600 ft per round break down? At first I thought it could be a speed of 300 ft Fly (poor), so a double move (Hustle) is 600 ft per round... but if this was the case, why doesn't it just list the other speed as 300 ft Fly (poor)? Or if you can Run, that would make for a base speed of 150 ft Fly (poor).
One possible explanation I recently noticed is a distinction in the wording. This could be a total fluke that isn't supposed to actually mean anything important, but it does sort of help it make more sense. The speed of 10 ft Fly (perfect) is the speed of the creature. The creature itself cannot move any faster than this. However, the faster speed of 600 ft per round is the result of a magical wind wafting the creature, so it seems as if the creature is riding the wind. Does this seem like a reasonable interpretation? I like this one, but it does bring up a couple other questions about riding the wind.
If the wind walker is riding the wind, does he not tire? For example, if the wind walker is flying himself, moving for more than 8 hrs will result in a Forced March. Does riding the wind avoid this?
Can the wind walker opt to ride the wind even when he flies only 10 ft or less? He would simply have a poor maneuverability instead of perfect. Though, I cannot think of an example where you would want to move this slow. Because if you are going to take the poor maneuverability, you may as well move as fast as you can.
If the windwalker is riding the wind while in combat, should actions be based on the mounted combat rules? For example, a wind walker can't make a physical attack or cast spells with components, but he could cast a spell without components or use a spell-like ability. Would that spell happen in the middle of his total movement that round, like with a wizard casting on a horse that is making a double move or run?
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Acrobatics: It seems that a vapor wouldn't have any problem moving through an opponent's square since it can squeeze through cracks. I have been allowing my players to do this, but they make an Acrobatics check to avoid the attack of opportunity (AoO). If they fail, they can still pass through the opponent's square, but they suffer the AoO. What do you think?
Although, now that I type this, I recall a thread where people gave the idea to handle tumbling while flying by making a Fly check with the same DC as the Acrobatics check. And the same thing for using a Swim check to tumble in the water.
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Stealth: Can a windwalker make a Stealth check while riding the wind? If so, it seems like his speed per round would drop down to 300 ft to make the check without penalty.
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Also, does maneuverability drop from perfect to poor as soon as you move more than 10 ft per move? That seems to be the case. That there is no middle ground between a speed of 10 ft (perfect) and up to 600 ft per round (poor).
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It takes 5 rounds to shift from solid to vaporform. At what point do the physical changes (DR, immunities, etc) kick in or kick out? If you start out as solid, do none of the boosts/restrictions kick in until the end of your 5th turn of changing? And would it be vice versa for doing the opposite change. If someone is in vaporform, does he retain the DR but remain unable to attack until the end of his 5th turn of resuming physical form?
Situation: Druid was invisible next to the enemy. They spent a Standard action to transform into their human form. What happens?
At first I was going to say that the change makes no sound, and I still think that the magic doesn't make a sound or require any speaking, but the actual physical change could result in noise - the character's feet might scrape along the stone floor as they grow or shrink, or soft ground might sink or lift as the weight changes, or armor could jostle as it unmelds, or even going from a position on all fours to standing upright could cause equipment to shift and make noise.
I'd say the standard Perception DC 20 for being invisible would be fair, or Stealth check +20 for sneaky types who want to roll to try and be quieter than DC 20.
I wouldn't give the additional +20 modifier for Not Moving because even though they may remain standing in the same place, their body is moving as it changes, which is why there could be noise. But you could give A lesser modifier (+5? +10?) if you think it is appropriate - since they are still mostly not moving. It somewhat depends on what you think should happen, or what you would like to see happen. If you think this change should be mostly silent, you could give the +10 modifier, so it is Perception DC 30 and only enemies with great ears even have a chance of noticing the character. Or if you want the change to have a decent chance of being noticed, just leave it at Perception DC 20, and then, anyone has a chance to notice it as long as they don't have a negative Perception modifier.
What happens if a caster tries to summon a creature (perhaps unknowingly) into an area that is protected by a magic circle? This is assuming that the summoned creature is one that would normally be kept at bay this particular magic circle.
Does the spell fail?
Does the summoned creature appear in the magic circle but is prevented from moving?
Do the rules simply fail to address this possibility? If so, what would be a reasonable outcome?
Wizards cannot cast spells from divine scrolls (not unless they use UMD or something similar).
But can a wizard add a spell from a divined spell scroll into his spellbook (provided that it IS on his spell list)?
I would say the answer is "no" because if a Wizard cannot cast from a divine scroll, then I don't see why he could learn a spell from it. If anything, using the scroll seems to be the easy part since you can use an arcane scroll if the spell is on your spell list even if you don't know it. But if you can't even use a scroll, then you shouldn't be able to do the harder part of learning it either. Although, the idea that someone else mentioned of using a divine scroll to research a new spell seems like a more feasible (and longer and costlier) approach, but I think the question there is more about whether your GM wants Wizards to be able to learn Cleric spells, but if so, then that seems the way to go.
As for casting read magic to decipher the scroll... yes, you know what magic is contained in the scroll, but that doesn't mean you automatically know how to use the scroll or understand how the spell in it works. Arcane and divine magic are different, so it seems reasonable that they are presented differently. Read magic can decipher a divine scroll for an arcane caster, but it doesn't teach the Wizard how to write magic in the "divine way" or how that "divine way" can be translated into the "arcane way" that the Wizard understands.
I am going to be running one of these against my players soon. Any suggestions on how to handle this?
Thanks.
-Venom
This creature was summoned in my game last night, and we handled the spell totally wrong, but the first question that came up is...
Since a spell-like ability does not require a focus, and the soul of the caster and target go into the focus for this spell...where do they go when it is used as a spell-like ability without a focus?
My initial thought last night was that a when the creature uses this spell-like ability, a "shadow crystal" appears beside it to act at the focus. And therefore, it would be a bit harder to destroy than a regular crystal. Not that I wanted to have it be harder, but it just seemed like an incorporeal shadow crystal would be harder to damage.
But now, I'm thinking of just leaving out the focus part. The range that depends on the focus (magic jar) will just pertain to the shadow demon instead...and maybe the host's soul would just be held in the soulless shadow demon body.
Although, I'm not quite sure how this would work for a summoned shadow demon. Could it really die if the spell ended when the creature it possessed was out of range of its original body?
You conjure a Large, quasi-real, horselike creature". (emphasis mine). So I'm afraid that only medium sized creatures could use this spell.
Nowhere in the rules it is stated that a mount have to be larger than it's rider. For example, a pony (medium-sized creature) can be used as a mount for a dwarf (also medium-sized). For "natural" mounts it's just happened so that they are most suitable for human-sized creatures. It does not have to be the same with "magical" mounts IMO.
Hey, that's a pretty good point! I feel like the phantom steed will always be a Large creature because the size is specifically stated in the spell description, but I guess a Large rider could ride the Large phantom steed.
Now I have a question about its carrying capacity...
Quote:
It can bear its rider's weight plus up to 10 pounds per caster level.
I take this to mean that if the rider weighs 100 lb, that is the rider's weight. Any gear carried by the rider is limited by the 10 pounds per caster level. Is this correct?
A question came up in my game a while back as to whether the rider's equipment is part of the rider's weight? I was unsure at first, but then, I realized that if this were the case, the 10 lb/level limit would be somewhat pointless because a rider usually wouldn't be carrying more than their personal load anyway. So, if the p.s. could carry "rider + rider's load" as the rider's weight, there probably wouldn't be a need for this mount to carry additional 10 lb/level.
Anyway, so I ruled that the "rider's weight" is just the weight of his body, not his gear. Therefore, a 10th-level Wizard can conjure a phantom steed that can carry the weight of the rider, plus 100 lb in gear. If the rider weighs 100 lbs, that is a total max of 200 lb, and if the rider is 250 lb, that is a total max of 350 lb, so there can still be significant variation based on the rider, but the weight beyond that has a consistent cap. So, am I correct on this?
I have also been wondering about UMD lately. Another question to add to the mix...
3) Can UMD be used to activate the spell trigger activation spells in a Golem Manual?
I looked at this item for the first time yesterday, and the spells included in the Golem Manual seem a bit odd to require spell activation completion. Because that means you need to have the spell on your class list to activate it, and it looks like most of these spells are Cleric spells, and Clerics know all the spells on their list, so it seems like they wouldn't need them provided by an item anyway. Or does having the manual mean that you don't need to provide the spells for each day of crafting? The book does it instead? You just need to be able to activate them.
Same Effect with Differing Results: The same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once. Usually the last spell in the series trumps the others. None of the previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts.
Does this mean that if I cast protection from energy vs fire, and then cast protection from energy vs acid, the target will only be protected vs acid? And when the protection vs acid runs out, then the protection vs fire will be in effect?
I used to think this spell could be cast multiple times on a target to protect it from multiple energy types at once, but now, that does not seem the case.
EDIT: And I guess the same would apply to resist energy? Except that most likely, the first casting will run out before the second casting. So perhaps the only time the first casting will kick in again is if the second casting is dispelled (or somehow ended) early before the first casting runs out.
EDIT #2: You can cast a spell at a lower level than your current level, as long as it is set at least as high as the minimum caster level, so... could a 5th-level caster cast resist energy vs fire for 50 min (CL 5) when entering a volcano, but then if an encounter came up with acid, could he cast resist energy vs acid for only 10 min (CL 1), so that the second casting (acid resistance) would end before the first (fire resistance).
I have a question about how the 7 colors work. Are they all in effect at once? If so, does that mean someone who passes through the wall could be affected by every effect at once (i.e. 20 fire, 40 acid, 80 elec, poison, turned to stone, insanity, and sent to another plane)?
Or do the colors rotate and change to a new one every round?
I came across a very long thread trying to explain the "x cu. ft." area of stone shape. The math part was figured out, but there was some debate about the intent of the designers. For example, 10 cu. ft. means an area that is 1 ft x 1 ft x 10, but since that is not a very large area, did they perhaps intend for it to be an area that is 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft (which is 1,000 cu. ft.)?
Anyway, I am fine with the smaller area, which makes fine sense to me, but I came across another spell that has an area of "30-ft. cube/level" and was wondering if a 30-ft cube meant a cube that is 30 ft. on each side (i.e. 30 ft x 30 ft x 30 ft)? At the very least, I assume it is different than 30 cu. ft. since it is written differently, but I want to make sure my interpretation makes sense.
I'm going back to the drawing board on this one because my Craft skill idea didn't seem to pan out very well. Also, it seems like most of the posters don't understand what I am trying to do. I'm not looking for advice on what constitutes a proper stronghold. I want on advice on how to break down the build time and skill level.
The Stronghold Builder's Guide has a time table of 1 week per 10,000 gp. This seems to assume that the PCs hire a professional crew to build the stronghold. However, it doesn't seem to have an advice on how the PCs can build it themselves. I cannot find any info in the book about the skill level of this professional crew or their number. Is it twenty 4th-level Experts with Craft (carpentry) +15, or fifty 1st-level Experts with Craft (carpentry) +10?
If there isn't any good way to break this down, I may just hand waive it with a generic ruling. But the players are curious about whether their followers needs to focus on this skill, and if so, how many, and how long it will take them.
As you have stated what you just bought for that 1200 gold is a 20 square foot box with no walls, roof or defenses but a good lock on a non-existent door.
In the stronghold builders guide go to the next chapter after that and you'll see you also have to pay for the walls (with modifiers based on what type of materials as well as how close to town you are to get them). Every door and Window has to be purchased separately as well as all the furnishings (bought as a package).
A basic keep equivalent to a simple 3 story tower should run 10-15K minimum.
Easiest way is to grab the example in the handbook for the simple keep and use that as a template and go from there.
Actually, the price listed above includes wooden walls, a strong wooden door, and an amazing lock. I'm not worried about the price of land, and there are no windows, furnishings, or special defenses in this example. Though, I assume the walls come with a floor and ceiling. At least I don't see any separate pricing for floors and ceiling. Also, walls that are just an open box seem to be more along the lines of the cheaper "freestanding walls".
But I will take a look at the cheap keep example in the book.
I have an idea to determine time. To use the Craft rules. One PC has 60 1st-level followers, and if they are all trained in Craft with their Craft modifier maxed out, and the Craft DC is 15, then this is what I get:
Craft: 1 rank +3 train +1 Wis +3 Skill Focus = +8 vs Craft DC 15
Take 10: Craft 18 x DC 15 = 270 sp per week = 27 gp per week
27 gp x 60 followers = 1,620 gp per week
1,190 gp completed in 41 hr, so 8 hr per day is just over 5 days.
5 days seems reasonable for a "20 ft x 20 ft" wooden structure with 1 door.
This is opening up a whole new can of campaign worms...
I have had two players that built keeps. One was a fighter who essentially became a lord of a manor. The other was a wizard who built a tower on a remote uncharted island.
In both cases the character became less and less likely to engage in campaigns due to their increased desire to manage their home....
I'm not worried about this problem because everyone is in the army, so they mostly do whatever the army tells them (i.e. clear the enemy troops from that wall, escort this diplomat, negotiate a trade deal, etc) with the occasional side session to conduct personal business. Also, the campaign is coming to an end soonish, so if they make it to the end, maybe they will retire here. Or if we go a bit longer, the campaign will become more player-driven anyway cos I'm pretty much out of "war mission" ideas at this point.
brassbaboon wrote:
As far as the cost and timing goes, you have to use some common sense in applying the rules. Unless the logs, nails, ropes, tools and laborers happen to be all on site and waiting for your orders, it is a significant endeavor just to coordinate that. In medieval times nails in the quantities needed for building a wooden keep were not available at your local hardware store, they literally had to be made by blacksmiths. In a similar manner, local wood supplies were meant to supply the needs of normal trade, and building a keep would require hiring woodcutters to go and cut trees, trim them, haul them to a lumber mill, cut them to size and then haul them to the building site.
It is highly unlikely that in any realistic sense a keep could be built from scratch in less than a month. Unless you start applying some heavy magic, or bend the rules of common sense so severely that you may as well just have the keep appear overnight and take the party's gold and call it done.
You bring up some good points.
When the army arrived outside the city, they went to the groves to get lumber for catapults, ballistas, etc, so I assume they have nails and rope pretty available. Also, the site is near a large city, so I assume this city has lumber and nails and whatnot pretty available too. But this would be more of an issue had they gone with other ideas to build on a remote island or isolated in the mountains.
The time thing is hard to gauge. There may be some magic involved eventually, but it looks like they are starting out mundane methods. Although, they are starting off pretty small too. Maybe one day it will be a keep, but it may just start off as one big room. I don't want this to take weeks, but it seems like it would take more a day.
brassbaboon wrote:
This would also give the party a great opportunity to encounter the local druid who might object to the sudden increase in tree cutting.
I like this idea, but the groves in this area are uninhabited. They are very small and scattered and have been slowly picked at for decades.
The players in my game have taken the Leadership feat and want their followers to help them build a base.
A little background on the campaign...the PCs and followers are all part of an invading army, and they are looking to build near a conquered large city. This region has traded hands several times over the past century, and the invaders aren't looking to destroy the area or enslave people - they just want to control the city and make it part of their kingdom/nation/whatever. Also, the followers (just like all other soldiers) are fed, housed, and paid by the army, so I'm not worried about those details.
Right now it looks like the PCs may start with a "20 ft x 20 ft" wooden structure. I looked at the D&D 3.0 (3.5?) Stronghold Builder's Guidebook for pricing. The wooden structure with a strong wooden door and amazing lock totals 1,190 gp. I've seen other threads on the Paizo boards complain that the prices in this book are way too high, but this doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Then again, most of the PCs are 14th-level now, so that's pocket change to them at this point.
Also, the book states that time takes 1 week per 10,000 gp, so it would seem like this structure could be built in less than 1 day. If I assume 8 hours of work per day and 7 days per week, that breaks down to about 178 gp per hour, so this would take just under 6 hours. Does this seem too fast?
I assume the above price and time is assuming that they are hiring workers who have the raw materials (i.e. beams of lumber) available and ready to go. However, the current situation will use followers. Should they work for free or receive some sort of payment? As it stands, the PCs gave equipment and spoils and other rewards to the soldiers in their previous unit, and it seems like that may continue, so even if payment is required, the followers will wind up getting something eventually.
Additionally, the plan seems to be for the cohorts and followers to go to a nearby grove and chop down wood for the structure. Therefore, they will get all the wood for free, but I'm not sure how long this will take: chopping down enough trees and cutting trees into lumber in addition to the standard build time.
Okay, so instead of having a "20 ft x 20 ft" wooden structure with a wooden door and metal lock that costs 1,190 gp and takes 6 hours... it looks like most of the cost will be free (just pay for lock and nails...and tools?). Also, in addition to the 6 hrs of building time, I need to figure out how much to add for "chopping trees/cutting lumber" time. And should the followers receive compensation? Any advice?
[EDIT: Oh, and this is how I determined the cost:
1 wooden stronghold space = 1,000 gp
1 strong wooden door = 40 gp
1 amazing lock = 150 gp
TOTAL = 1,190 gp
Also, the site cost & modifiers were minimal, so I left them out of this example, but they would add or subtract 1-2% depending on what exactly the players decide.]
+4. When you use the template you're not actually advancing the monster by hit dice, which is what the table is used for.
In the Pathfinder PRD, you can see that the size increase table is listed under the "Adding Racial Hit Dice" header. So, it should only be used when going through that process of increasing size.
By that logic I should neither use the "Table: Size Bonuses and Penalties" to modify AC/Attack, CMB/CMD, Fly Skill and Stealth Skill when using the template as that table is also listed under the "Adding Racial Hit Dice"?
If so that raises another question. Should I increase the damage dice for natural attacks one size category?
This question had me confused too, but I think I figured it out.
The first table is titled Size Changes, but the Giant Template provides its own set of changes, so you don't have to worry about these things (size, ability scores, natural armor) because they are all covered by the template. The other table is Size Bonuses and Penalties which means these are the bonuses and penalties you receive for being a particular size.
The first table shows what changes if you go from Medium to Large. The second table shows what all Large creatures get. In the end, they both result in changes, so I can see how this might be hard to follow.
EDIT: And the Giant Template says, "Attacks increase dice rolled by 1 step"
I used to think that creatures were only glittered and blinded when the spell was cast, and that the glitter on them and blindness lasted until the duration ended.
But now that I re-read it, it looks like the glitter cloud itself also remains in place for the duration of the spell.
So, if you are caught in the glitter could when it is cast but leave the glitter cloud, you are still covered in glitterdust until the duration runs out, and if you were blinded, you are still blinded until you make the save or the duration runs out.
And if you enter the glitter cloud area after it was cast, you become exposed to its effects (just as if you were there when it was cast) until the duration runs out.
An alchemist can draw and drink an extract as a standard
action.
I don't know the answers off-hand, but maybe I can offer some advice on how to find them...
Kerobelis wrote:
1) Does this override casting times of spells like Enlarge and Summon Nature's Ally (preservationist archetype)?
What do the rules say about how long it takes for an extract to take affect? Drawing and drinking the extract are one thing, and you can do this with a standard action. Do the rules say that the extract takes place immediately? Or that they work just like potions? Because potions take effect immediately.
EDIT: I found this line - "An extract is “cast” by drinking it, as if imbibing a potion" - which seems to indicate it functions just like a potion when drank, so the effect would take place immediately.
Kerobelis wrote:
2) If the alchemist has the infusion discovery, does the same apply to whomever uses the extract or do you treat others that use the extract as a potion (i.e. an action to draw it and an action to use it)?
That is a good question, but seeing how extracts usually only work for the Alchemist... if the infusion discovery lets extracts work on other characters in the same way, then I think it would be fair to say that other characters can retrieve/drink it in the same way. This makes them slightly more powerful than potions since they take less actions to use, but that also means the Alchemist has less extracts to use himself, so that seems fair enough.
Might be worth basing this off Imbue with Spell Ability, which is only 4th (as opposed to your thoughts of 5th).
You could either (a) have the necromancer have to cast the command himself first, and then pass the control by means of the "imbue-like" spell (and thus only those specific undead are affected), or (b) you could have it work more like Imbue, you cast the spell and your memorized Command goes into the other guy.
Assuming that the command-based variables are then based on the recipient (as they should be), I would say that (a) would probably be 3rd level, while (b) would be 4th (like Imbue) -- though in both cases, there would also be the need for the Command Undead spell to be used. [I'd make (b) higher level because it lets the recipient cast it when he wants to, on the undead he'd like to affect]
Of course, this methodology wouldn't restrict the recipient to mindless undead since Command Undead doesn't have that limit -- though the Will save the intelligent undead get could be boosted if someone imbued casts the spell (and even without that, lower int means lower DC)
I like this idea of basing it off imbue with spell ability. What I am thinking is a different version of the spell that can only be used with Sor/Wiz necromancy spells. Now this would lessen the spell selection of the original version, so an idea I have to help even it out is to allow 3rd-level spells into the mix that can be imbued. Something like this:
Quote:
Imbue with Necromancy
School: necromancy; Level sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Components: V, S, F (?)
Range: touch
Target: creature touched; see text
Duration: permanent until discharged (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance: yes (harmless)
You transfer some of your currently prepared spells, and the ability to cast them, to another creature. Only a creature with an Intelligence score of at least 9 and a Wisdom score of at least 5 can receive this boon. Only sorcerer/wizard spells from the school of necromancy can be transferred. The number and level of spells that the subject can be granted depends on its Hit Dice; even multiple castings of imbue with spell ability can't exceed this limit.
HD of Recipient Spells Imbued
2 or lower: One 1st-level spell
3–4: One or two 1st-level spells
5–6: One or two 1st-level spells and one 2nd-level spell
7 or higher: One or two 1st-level spells, one or two 2nd-level spell, and one 3rd-level spell
The transferred spell's variable characteristics (range, duration, area, and the like) function according to your level, not the level of the recipient.
Once you cast imbue with spell ability, you cannot prepare a new 4th-level spell to replace it until the recipient uses the imbued spells or is slain, or until you dismiss the imbue with spell ability spell. If the number of 4th-level spells you can cast decreases, and that number drops below your current number of active imbue with spell ability spells, the more recently cast imbued spells are dispelled.
To cast a spell with a verbal component, the subject must be able to speak. To cast a spell with a somatic component, it must be able to move freely. To cast a spell with a material component or focus, it must have the materials or focus.
The one thing that gets cut out is this caveat: "In the meantime, you remain responsible to your deity or your principles for the use to which the spell is put." Which seems fine to free it up some since there are less spells that can be imbued, so maybe that loss of restriction helps even the balance too. Also, by making this a necromancy spell, he can use his bonus school slot for it.
I find this "SR (harmless)" thing a little confusing too, and this is how I sort of make sense of it...though, it has yet to come up in an actual game...
Perhaps you can only lower SR for a harmless spell? That way, you can lower it to receive a buff or healing spell from an ally. However, if an enemy has cast dominate on you, the enemy cannot tell you to lower SR in order for his buddy to fireball you. Or rather, he can give the order, but it is impossible for the fireball to get past your SR - even if you try to lower it - unless a caster level check succeeds.
This is a pretty far-fetched example, but another way this could come up is if someone tricks you into lowering your SR and not making a saving throw for a supposedly beneficial spell, but if it turns out to be a harmful spell, your SR will still protect you even if you tried to lower it.
The only way I could see this being a downside for the creature with SR is if it wanted to take the hit. Maybe if a spell was cast that could bounce off creatures it missed, and the SR creature wanted the spell to hit him in order to protect others, but it could not lower SR in this instance...but this seems like a pretty unlikely scenario since I don't think there are many spells that work this way, and there probably isn't much chance that an SR creature would have the time to lower SR after a spell was cast (unless it held an action to do so).
The easiest way to keep track of stuff like that is to click on your name (above your Avatar, on any post), and then click on Recent Posts.
You can totally cyberstalk yourself. It's way cool.
Thanks! I thought it may have been moved, but the last time this happened to one of my threads, it got moved to the Homebrew section. I didn't even know there was an Advice section.
I had a thread titled something to the effect of "Independent research (creating spells)" in the Rules messageboard. Posted it a day or two ago with a few replies, the most recent ones today, but now I can't seem to find the thread anywhere on the messageboard.
Also, as far as I can tell, there is no limit to how many undead you can control with command undead, so a necromancer doesn't even need another necromancer to bump up his limit in this way. He can do it as often as he can cast the spell. The animate dead spell and Command Undead feat seem to be the only ones with HD limits.
Even if the standard command undead has no HD limit, the transfer command option should definitely have one. It doesn't make much sense for a random non-spellcaster to be able to have more HD worth of undead under his command than a cleric with the Command Undead feat, or a necromancer who has cast animate dead to build himself the perfect beast.
If it has a temporary duration, like command undead, which seems counter to the point, since the recipient would have to come back to the necromancer/priest every X number of days and have it recast, it might be palatable to just base it straight off of command undead, but I had envisioned such a spell as being one of those Instantaneous / permanent things, that once cast, lasted until the undead were destroyed (or the recipient died).
If Instantaneous / permanent, I'd limit it to 1 HD / character level of the recipient, same as if the recipient was a cleric with the Command Undead feat.
Oh yeah, I totally agree that if this was going to be a permanent effect, then it should have more restrictions, but duration isn't the point at all. The necromancer just wants other members of his crew to be linked to his undead. The point seems to be for members of his crew to still be able to control the undead if the necromancer gets separated from them. And he can just re-cast it as needed.
Also, this is a war campaign that focuses more on military battles and operations, so it is more about strategy than roleplay (though, plenty of roleplay has seeped into as time has gone on and the world has grown). Otherwise, I would be more concerned with some of the other aspects and ideas you brought up.
Okay, I see what you are saying about the soul thing. If an outsider skeleton is given Intelligence by sucking back its soul energy, then that just gets tapped out of the cosmos. But if Bob the human farmer is killed, his soul might turn into a lantern archon...and if his body is turned into a zombie, and then this zombie is given Intelligence by sucking back Bob's soul...what happens to the lantern archon created by Bob's soul?
I can see this method getting complicated, and I like the various ideas presented, but I am aiming for something really simple, if I allow it at all. And the necromancer, he justs wants his skeletons do more complicated tasks. If I do go down this road, I think the class skills will just be based on standard undead class skills, and the necromancer can put the skill ranks wherever he wants since he is creating the Intelligence, as opposed to any soul-sucking.
Set wrote:
D&D has *suggested* that individuals can transfer control of undead for many years, introducing characters who 'sell' animated dead, and sometimes provide special control amulets, or crowns of bone, or perform a ritual of some sort, but there have rarely been any rules for this sort of thing. (I'm pretty sure that in Kaer Maga, in Golarion, this is a possibility as well.) Making it a spell is certainly an option, but I would make sure to give individuals a command limit of some sort, similar to that of a spellcaster, but perhaps even less (1 HD / character level?), through this means, and ensure that this command rating doesn't stack with any command rating that the character might gain through their own use of animate dead or command undead. (So that a pair of necromancers can't hand each other extra undead to allow each other to go over their normal limits.)
This sort of thing is generally assumed to be doable as a paid service, with already-animated undead being 'transferable.'
In this case, I'd rule it to require a bone token of some sort (a rod or circlet, symbols of rulership?) to command the undead, and if the recipient of the undead loses his bone token of rulership (or it is sundered), he loses control of the undead attached to that token, making it a risky proposition. Perhaps the token feeds on life-energy, and for every HD worth of undead it controls, the bearer must annoint it with 1 hp worth of his own blood. (Which, since he won't be able to control more than 1 HD / character level through such a token, he'll get back overnight anyway, assuming he isn't otherwise damaged.)
The bone rod or crown would be made from small bones taken from each of the undead to be controlled, bound together into a bony 'crown of thorns' or a rod made of many smaller bones lashed together, like a Roman fasces (without the axe).
Alternately, a single bone ring, each made from bone taken from the respective undead, could represent control of each undead, and the bearer might have a half-dozen or more rings on his fingers. I prefer the rod or crown idea, 'though. The fasces/rod is especially fun, 'cause you can totally call yourself a fascist, and get away with it. :)
I don't really see any reason why this spell would be higher than 3rd level (2nd for clerics).
This spell I am going to allow as a 3rd-level Sor/Wiz spell, if the necromancer wants to research it. It will work just like command undead but that it can be linked between undead and any one other creature, so the caster can link it to someone else, or even to himself. I had a similar idea about a bone ring focus, but I don't think this is a factor that will ever come up in the game. Plus, he is probably just going to use it to give his intelligent undead control over his mindless undead, so if anything, if another caster gains control of his intelligent undead to turn against the necromancer, so will the undead under the control of the intelligent undead. I see this as a more likely potential risk in my campaign than losing ring, but maybe I will use the focus idea for another spell he creates.
Also, as far as I can tell, there is no limit to how many undead you can control with command undead, so a necromancer doesn't even need another necromancer to bump up his limit in this way. He can do it as often as he can cast the spell. The animate dead spell and Command Undead feat seem to be the only ones with HD limits.
A quick question that hopefully has a simple answer...
Quote:
Target one creature, or one nonmagical object of up to 100 cu. ft./level
This defines the size of the target object, and is it safe to say that this also defines the size of what the object is changed into?
For example, a 15th-level Wizard could do 1,500 cu. ft., so if he had a piece of wood that was 10 ft x 10 ft x 15 ft, he could turn it into A) a boat with similar dimensions, or B) a boat with smaller dimensions. Correct? But he could not turn it into a boat with larger dimensions, right?
Another example with the same wizard... if he has a piece of wood that is 1 ft x 1 ft x 1 ft, he can turn it into a boat with the same dimensions as above (10 ft x 10 ft x 15 ft, or smaller), but he cannot turn it into a boat that is bigger then 1,500 cu. ft., correct?
Thanks for all the feedback! I had a question about this paragraph...
Set wrote:
I'd totally avoid any thought of ripping souls out of the afterlife. Some souls go on to become outsiders. Some go on to become gods. Some are devoured by daemons. Some are forged into Baatorian green steel. Some are prized personal property of Asmodeus, or a soon-to-be-really-pissed-of greater god. Just don't go there. You'd need to come up with rules for what happens to devils and demons and angels whose bones are animated and awakened, for what happens to soul-devouring fiends when a soul that has been devoured *and become part of them* is torn free, etc, etc. Soul-manipulating magic is kept at 8th (soul bind) and 9th (trap the soul) level for a reason, and even those spells, competing with such awesome game-changers as polymorph any object and wish, can't reach across planes and steal souls from the gods (or uncreate demons, angels and even some dieties).
I am a bit confused by the bolded section. Are you saying that an angel or devil cannot be made into a skeleton or zombie? As far as I can tell, there is no rule that restricts this.
But you do bring up a good point about feats and skills gained by Intelligence. Will have to think about that.
Race
| HP 21 | AC 16 T 12 FF 14 | CMB +5, CMD 17 | F: +4, R: +2, W: +1 | Init: +2 | Perc: +7, SM: +6
Arlen Ducote
Luring Beast Rider Cavalier 2
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perc +7, SM +6,
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14
HP 21/21 (16 base + 1 house rule + 2 favored +2 con)
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +1
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 17
Dex 15
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats
Point Blank Shot
Weapon Focus (Longbow)
Volley Fire
Traits
Highlander (+1 stealth and it is always a class skill)
Seeker (+1 perception and it is always a class skill)
Unbreakable Survivor: 1/1 (+4hp) Full-round action to regain HP, and +1 trait on diplomacy and intimidate against residents of Phaendar, improving to +1 against all humanoids in Nirmathis at 6th level.
Drawback: Scarred (An injury left you horribly, visibly scarred, making it more difficult for you to hide your true face, and also making most people distrustful of you merely due to your appearance. You take a –5 penalty on Disguise checks and a –2 penalty on Bluff checks.)
Languages Common, Varisian, Goblin
SQ
Far Challenge 1/1 - +2 ranged damage until hit (target gets +4 atk vs. Arlen) ; then +1 attack and +2 melee damage vs. target, -2 AC vs. everyone other than the target
Exotic Mount (Elk)*: Russet, the Great-Elk
Order of the Green
Tactician 1/1 - 4 round duration
Favored Terrain (Forest) - +2 initiative, Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival in forests
*Note to GM: although Beast Rider spells out only horse and camel as level 1 options for a beast rider, I am interpreting the addition of elk as an option for all medium cavaliers at level 1 to mean that they should also be an option for beast riders. We can discuss it further, including alternatives, if necessary.
Skills 12 ranks = 2 × (4 class + 1 Int + 1 Skilled)
-1 Bluff (1 Cha - 2 Drawback)
+5 Diplomacy (2 rank + 3 class)
+6 Diplomacy vs. residents of Phaendar (Diplomacy + trait)
-4 Disguise (1 Cha - 5 Drawback)
+5 Intimidate (2 rank + 3 class)
+6 Intimidate vs. residents of Phaendar (Intimidate + trait)
+5 Knowledge, nature (1 rank + 3 class + 1 Int)
+7 Perception (2 rank + 3 class + 1 Wis + 1 Trait)
+6 Sense Motive (2 rank + 3 class + 1 Wis)
+8* Stealth (2 rank + 3 class + 2 Dex + 1 Trait)
+5 Survival (1 rank + 3 class + 1 Wis)
*-1 ACP
Other Gear
Less than 9gp backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, rope, 10 torches, 5 trail rations, waterskin
Wish List
Silvered warhammer
Adaptive composite longbow
Leather Lamellar
More kinds of arrows
More adventuring gear
Barding
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Bonus Feat
Skilled
Cavalier:
Far Challenge (Ex)
Once per day, a luring cavalier can use his far challenge ability as a swift action. When he does, the luring cavalier chooses one target within sight to challenge. The luring cavalier's ranged attacks deal extra damage whenever the attacks are made against the target of his challenge. This extra damage is equal to the luring cavalier's level. The luring cavalier can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day for every three levels beyond 1st, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level. Furthermore, once per day, the luring cavalier may spend a use of his far challenge ability to double the potential extra damage of his ranged attack. Before making the attack roll, he can choose to spend a use of his challenge to deal twice his cavalier level in extra damage on a successful hit instead of just his cavalier level in extra damage. If the attack misses, the use of the challenge is wasted.
Challenging a foe requires subtle deceits and strategies. The cavalier must make it look like he is a soft target. The subject of the far challenge gains a +4 bonus on attack rolls made against him.
This challenge remains in effect until the target is dead or unconscious, until the target hits the luring cavalier with a melee attack, or until the combat ends. If this challenge ends because the target hits the luring cavalier with a melee attack, this challenge changes to the effects of the normal cavalier challenge, and gains any order benefit the luring cavalier has. Far challenge replaces the challenge ability.
The effects of the normal cavalier challenge are as follows: The cavalier's melee attacks deal extra damage whenever the attacks are made against the target of his challenge. This extra damage is equal to the cavalier's level. The cavalier can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day for every three levels beyond 1st, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level.
Challenging a foe requires much of the cavalier's concentration. The cavalier takes a –2 penalty to his Armor Class, except against attacks made by the target of his challenge.
The challenge remains in effect until the target is dead or unconscious or until the combat ends. Each cavalier's challenge also includes another effect which is listed in the section describing the cavalier's order.
Exotic Mount (Ex)
At 1st level, a beast rider forms a bond with a strong, loyal companion that permits him to ride it as a mount. This mount functions as a druid's animal companion, using the beast rider's level as his effective druid level. The animal chosen as a mount must be large enough to carry the beast rider (Medium or Large for a Small character; Large or Huge for a Medium character).
The beast rider does not take an armor check penalty on Ride checks while riding his mount. The mount is always considered combat trained, and begins play with Endurance as a bonus feat. A beast rider's mount does not gain the share spells special ability.
Each time the beast rider increases in level, he can choose to select a new, more impressive mount better suited to his increased power.
Small-sized beast riders can choose a pony or wolf mount at 1st level. At 4th level, a Small beast rider can also choose an allosaurus, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, aurochs, bison, boar, brachiosaurus, elephant, glyptodon, hippopotamus, mastodon, megaloceros, riding dog, snapping turtle (giant), triceratops, or tyrannosaurus. At 7th level, he can also choose a dinosaur (deinonychus or velociraptor).
Medium beast riders can choose a camel or horse mount at 1st level. At 4th level, a Medium beast rider can also choose an allosaurus, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, aurochs, bison, brachiosaurus, elephant, glyptodon, hippopotamus, lion, mastodon, megaloceros, snapping turtle (giant), tiger, triceratops, or tyrannosaurus as his mount. Additional mounts might be available with GM approval.
In addition, a 7th-level or higher Medium beast rider can select any creature whose natural size is Large or Huge, provided that creature is normally available as a Medium-sized animal companion at 7th level (like a bear). To generate statistics for such a mount, apply the following modifications: Size Large; Ability Scores Str +2, Dex –2, Con +2. Increase the damage of each of the mount's natural attacks by one die size. A beast rider cannot choose a mount that is not capable of bearing his weight, that has fewer than four legs, or that has a fly speed (although the GM may allow mounts with a swim speed in certain environments).
Anytime a feat or ability allows a mount to make a hoof attack, it can make a claw, slam, or other analogous attack instead.
This ability replaces the standard cavalier's mount and expert trainer abilities.
Order (Ex)
At 1st level, a cavalier must pledge himself to a specific order. The order grants the cavalier a number of bonuses, class skills, and special abilities. In addition, each order includes a number of edicts that the cavalier must follow. If he violates any of these edicts, he loses the benefits from his order's challenge ability for 24 hours. The violation of an edict is subject to GM interpretation.
A cavalier cannot change his order without undertaking a lengthy process to dedicate himself to a new cause. When this choice is made, he immediately loses all of the benefits from his old order. He must then follow the edicts of his new order for one entire level without gaining any benefits from that order. Once accomplished, he gains all of the bonuses from his new order. Note that the names of these orders might vary depending upon the campaign setting or GM's preference.
Cavaliers of the order of the Green are dedicated to protecting wild places and creatures, embracing Gaea’s Children in all its glory and natural wonder.
Edicts: The cavalier knows his place in the natural order and strives to defend the balance of nature. He must be willing to allow nature to take its course, and he must stop all those who would do harm to its delicate balance. He will not tolerate aberrant creatures, undead, or the irresponsible and greedy consumption of natural resources. He may be farsighted and seek to establish agreements that lead to lasting protection of the natural world, but resorts to violence if it is the most effective way to enforce such protection.
Challenge: An order of the Green cavalier can’t issue a challenge against any creature of the animal or plant type. Whenever he issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls against the target of his challenge. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels the cavalier has. If the target of his challenge is of the aberration or undead type, each round he can roll his first attack roll against the target creature twice and take the higher result.
Skills: An order of the Green cavalier gains Knowledge (nature) and Survival as class skills. In addition, whenever an order of the Green cavalier attempts a Survival check to track foes of the aberration or undead type, he receives a bonus on the check equal to half his cavalier level (minimum +1).
Tactician (Ex)
At 1st level, a cavalier receives a teamwork feat as a bonus feat. He must meet the prerequisites for this feat. As a standard action, the cavalier can grant this feat to all allies within 30 feet who can see and hear him. Allies retain the use of this bonus feat for 3 rounds plus 1 round for every two levels the cavalier possesses. Allies do not need to meet the prerequisites of these bonus feats. The cavalier can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day at 5th level and for every 5 levels thereafter.
Favored Terrain (Ex): At 2nd level, an order of the Green cavalier chooses a favored terrain from the list of ranger favored terrains. He gains this as a favored terrain, as the ranger class feature of the same name. At 8th level and every 6 levels thereafter, he selects another favored terrain. In addition, at each such interval, the skill bonus in any one favored terrain (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by 2.
The Order of the Green cavalier gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when he is in this terrain. An Order of the Green cavalier traveling through his favored terrain normally leaves no trail and cannot be tracked (though he may leave a trail if he so chooses).
If a specific terrain falls into more than one category of favored terrain, the Order of the Green cavalier's bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Bot Me!:
In combat, Arlen is a switch-hitter through-and-through. He will encourage the party to adopt tactics of attacking from range, possibly multiple range increments away, whenever initiating a fight. When the enemy closes he will switch to melee weapons or continue using his bow depending on the lay of the land. He will enter melee in order to protect other PCs if they are at risk.
For big fights, he will use his Tactician ability to share the Volley Fire Teamwork feat and dramatically improve the team's chances of hitting their targets at range, as well as removing cover. With Volley Fire active, even the non-ranged characters should have a decent chance of hitting so long as everyone focuses on the same 15ft. area of enemies.
Out of combat, Arlen will attempt to be a voice of calm reason in social situations (+5 Diplomacy, or +6 vs. Phaendar residents). He does not have a temper, but he can be roused to anger at injustice or dereliction of duty, and he is not afraid to use Intimidate in those situations (+5 Intimidate, or +6 vs. Phaendar residents).
Arlen is a veteran of the wars defending Nirmathas. He has seen enough to believe Nirmathas needs better organization and more leadership; eventually he would like to provide those.
Crunch Concept Summary:
Trying to make an Archer woodsman out of a class not easily suited to either role; the Cavalier. I intend for him to initiate combats at great distance, but he is also capable of being a switch hitter. His teamwork feats (shared via Tactician) should benefit other archers in the party.
Background and Motivation:
Arlen's father was a wandering Varisian and his mother was the daughter of Chelaxian immagrants to Molthune. They settled down in Nirmathas, where Arlen has spent his whole life.
As he grew into adulthood, Arlen was drawn to serve in the Nirmathan defenses. His experience there were invaluable, as he learned from the Nirmathi Irregulars. In his time training and serving with them he has not only become a competent woodsman, even going so far as to befriend an unusual elk, he has also shown great talent as a leader and organizer. He did not, however, pick up their nearly-supernatural connection with nature, instead focusing his energies on martial and tactical skills.
Not too long ago his troop was ambushed by an Ironfang brigade. They escaped with their lives, but with many grievous wounds and Arlen in particular was left with a horrible injury to his face. Nonetheless he continues to serve in the defenses of Nirmathas.
At the present time he is visiting Phaendar on leave, but he will be returning to his troop soon.
Description:
Arlen is a dark haired, tanned man, with dark eyebrows (and sometimes a dark beard as well). A deep scar runs from his left temple, across his cheek and nose, and down to the right side of his mouth. The skin in the center of the scar is always much paler than the rest of his skin, and it pulls tight at the skin of his face. He is above average in height with a strong, athletic build. He is handsome, despite his scar, though he is rarely the best looking man around.
Personality:
Arlen is charismatic and open, with an easy going and magnetic personality. He is becoming more and more comfortable with taking charge of situations, in and out of combat, serious or not. But he is also able to stand back and let others lead when appropriate.
Goals and Metagoals:
A metagoal I have is for Arlen to grow as a people leader. It would be cool if he took the Leadership feat when it becomes available, but that's non essential. If we are doing the militia rules he will participate in that. If not that, I'm sure he will have a leadership role in the party itself.
As for Arlen's goals...
TL;DR Arlen wants the Nirmathi to become more organized, without necessarily going to the extreme of other nations
Arlen's experiences thus far (and his Chelaxian blood and instincts) have left him with the belief that Nirmathas must move past it's current state and band together more tightly, with more real organization, if they are to ever give the Molthune people a resounding enough defeat to send them packing for good.
At the same time, his appreciation for the Nirmathi people as they are is very strong. He believes that they must be lead gently out of their current chaos. He is beginning to believe that he may be the man to make that happen.
