rgrove0172's page

A close buddy and I planned a grand campaign for the past few months and accumulated a huge collection of Pathfinder material. Sadly, his health had taken a bad turn and our plans are canceled, permanently.

I have this beautiful collection of material, brand new for the most part, and hate having to divvy it up on ebay or something. Anyone interested?

Is this even appropriate for this forum? If not I apologize but Id like to contact some Pathfinder gamers and see that this stuff finds a good group.

rgrove0172@suddenlink.net

Old RPGr here but knew to the system.

Somehow I had the notion that as a character's BAB went up, this was applied to their damage rolls as well as their To Hit.

I see now that this is not the case. So a level 1 fighter hitting with his shortsword does the same damage as a level 10? (same strength bonus of course)

I would have thought that the higher level characters would deliver more damage. It seems odd that they must depend on magic items and such to do enough damage to threaten the higher level monsters.

Dicounting the acctual "musket", where do you think one could find the typical dashing swordsmen with a rapier, highboots and swirling cape in Golarion?

My gut tells me Taldor, due to the spanish influence there but the byzantine, Roman flavor doesnt match up. Andoran perhaps?

Thoughts?

A ranged touch spell uses the caster's BAB, Dex mod and I assume a range modifier of some sort v.s. the target's Touch AC.

What is the range modifier for ranged touch?

I will admit that early on (30+ years ago) I designed my campaign setting around the PCs specifically. Not only did I attempt to create 'goldilocks' encounters but also presented situations and setting detail with the PCs in mind, catering to their interests and personalities.

As the years went by I found myself deviating from this habit and spending more time and energy designing my world independent of the PCs. The world was there first, they were then born into and began adventuring within it.

This of course created regular situations wherein the players became involved in situations far above their ability. Their ability to determine when to attempt something and when to avoid it became a pretty important part of the game.

(Castle Bloodskull has remained a menace for generations. Dozens of brave adventurers and heroes of the realm have entered and few have ever returned. Youve heard the rumors, are you and your fellow 2nd level adventurers really planning on going there?)

Ive always felt this is the most, for lack of a better term, realistic way to run a campaign as in reality the world doesnt scale itself around certain individuals. There are threats all around us that we simply dont have the skill to manage. (Like crossing the tracks on Friday night in my home city)

This practice has been criticized by some however as they seem to feel that the whole intent of the game is to challenge and reward the players. Anything that doesnt fit them is pretty much a waste of time and energy.

Thoughts?

Im a little sketchy on the entire magic item usage process. Can anyone clarify...

My party finds a wand of some sort.

One of the characters casts detect magic and uses spellcraft to identify it as a Wizard I, Magic Missile Wand.

If nobody had detect magic, could they identify it with just spellcraft or a Knowledge:Arcana roll?

The CRB says there is a 30% chance there is some clue on the wand as to its nature. Does this mean a 30% of it being obvious what it does or merely making the identify roll easier?

Now that they know what it is, they want to use it but have no wizards in the group, which is required to use this Spell Trigger item.

Someone has to Use Magic Device in order to use the wand, a DC20 attempt each time they try and trigger it.

If they had not been able to identify it, could they try and trigger it blindly with a DC25, facing a possible mishap?

Is that pretty much correct?

I have two players in my campaign. There are currently 4 NPCs in their party and Im working myself to death. Trying to handle a new rules system (Im new to PF, not RPGs) running the bad guys, handling the environment and then playing the part of 4 party members is getting really daunting. Should I turn over their party members to the Players? Will this take away from their identifying with their own personal PC?

Thoughts?

I have a small hamlet in North Western Taldor, a days ride east of Ridonport. The Prefect garrisons a couple of squadrons of cavalry there in a ruined keep to patrol the roads. Nearby stands the abandoned remains of a temple of Aroden, the last of its faithful many years gone. Ive place an old sage, a historian really, in the temple as a sort of regional 'wise man' who is gathering a history of the area for the Prefecture's Chamberlain.

Id like the old sage to have a bit more to him than meets the eye. Some not quite sinister aspect but I cant seem to come up with something suitable. He has a garrison of troops next door so he has to maintain a low profile. He rarely accepts visitors but really doesnt have an evil reputation or anything, yet.

Any ideas? How to breathe some life and perhaps a plot hook into this old geezer with the elder halfling slave that serves him and makes his supply runs to town and such.

Is it enough to allow characters to use this skill untrained? It seems such a critically important skill as to warrant every character being given a single rank by default.

Coffee was unheard of throughout most of middle ages Europe and tea brewed only as a remedy of sorts. Both were seen in the middle easter however so how do you, or do you, present them in your game?

Is coffee a standard drink throughout? Do adventurers set down to a cup of 'joe' across Golarion?

Do you confine it to Qadira, Osirion and similar locales? Perhaps let it spread across a bit to nations they have had contact with? (Taldor for example perhaps picking up the drink during their time of Qadiran occupation?)

Do you give a crap? Laugh

I make a great many of my own overland, city and site maps but have begun using more published materials as time becomes a limited resource. Im curious, how do you fleshout and locate points of interest on say a published city map?

Consider the map of Oppara from Echoes of Glory. Its a nice map but what does one do with it if a particular Inn is to be located somewhere?

Scan or print a copy, grey scale it and ink in the location?

Use a clear overlay to locate sites?

Describe the location? (the inn is located on Bale Street in the northeastern corner of the district near the wall)

Assign a grid to the city and use it to locate sites?

I produced my map of Ridonport myself and it has something in the way of 40 locations mapped out. Oppara is the capitol. When my players move that way its going to have at least that many Im sure.

Im new to the system and want to avoid house rules at all costs but Im having trouble with the concept of the 'one size fits all' Survival skill.

One of my players is a sewer rat, a child of the big city, grew up pilfering from peddler's stalls and stealing from open windows. They have a Survival skill of 4.

One of my other players is was born in the woodlands, hunts and traps, forages for edible plants and the like. He has a Survival skill of 4.

Do I just have to make the necessary adjustments to thir skill based on the enviroment? Basically use my knowlege of the history as an impromptude modifier?

Clerics choose two domains permitted by thier Diety.

The domain gives them a number of spells (listed in the domain description) that they may use to fill only the +1 bonus spell slot on table 3-5 right?

Otherwise they can prepare any cleric spell that isnt counter to thier alignment.

The rulebook mentions "If a domain spell is not on the cleric spell list, a cleric can prepare it only in her domain spell slot."

So Im assuming some clerical domain spells arent normally cleric spells, so they wont be on the list?

Sorry, Im a little confused.

Im working on some locations within Ridonport for a current game and had an idea for an Elvin mortician who uses a few simple spells to clean up and help preserve dead before they can buried. Her achemical practices also provide magical ingredients to those she trusts. Im invisioning a once pretty powerful individual who turned to a more simple life after some traumatic event.

Alamriel's Sepulchre is the name of the character and her establishment.

Is there a provision in the rules anywhere for a skill such as craft or profession to use Herbalist/physicker or the like to craft healing potions and salves from magical ingredients instead of actually casting the spell?

One would have to assume such ingredients are present in your campaign setting I know, but the idea is pretty mainstay for fantasy isn't it?

As I understand it the level of the caster effects the performance of an item, such as a potion.

So of you come across a potion/item in a treasure hoarde somewhere, do you just randomize or assign the level of the caster who made it?

I like to run a pretty bloody game where combat is something to be wary of, entered into reluctantly at times, especially if you dont have an edge.

I was thinking of dropping the Massive Damage Threshold to perhaps 30, bringing it in reach of some Crit x 3 weapons and the like for even lower level characters.

Thoughts? Would this be too deadly? How about droppinig the HP threshold but also making the save a bit easier, so it can happen more but typically doesnt?

The messageboard page only loads right about 1 out of 4 times for me. The banners are there, the menu at the top but below the menu pull down at the top right, nothing. THe page is blank. After several clicks and attempts to reload, it does.

Any ideas?

After the discussion on Hit Points on the Advise forum I thought I would move this here.

For those who didnt read it, the notion is that magical healing has a sort of deminishing return affect because of the nuances of the HP mechanic. The same magic spell that reattaches a first level character's arm barely heals a scratch on a high level character.

I understand that any dramatic change to this might have unforseen destabllizing affects so Im not suggesting anything dramatic but perhaps a modifier of sorts to allow magical healing to scale up through the ranks the way natural healing does. (1HP per level per night of rest or 2/level for a whole day)

If CLW heals 1d8 HP on a first level character, what should it do for a 2nd? 3rd? 10th? etc. Multiplying the result types their level would seem to be a bit too radical and doesnt address the fact that level doesnt necessarily indicate HP potential alone, class and HD type has something to do with it too.

What do you think?

Ive read a lot about the differences in GM style and I get that its very much an individual thing, each GM finding a comfortable nitch but for the sake of discussion let me present the following.

My PC group is traveling and I design an encounter along the road ahead of them. It includes a small roadside inn, a nasty group of brigands holing up there and a possible adventure seed with the innkeeper if they do well.

Some will say that is scripting, railroading.

But some of the more freeform GMs will tell you that they build and encounter more or less 'mobile' so that they can place it wherever the PC goes.

That isn't scripting? To me its the worst kind of railroading. Build an inn, plant it, and if the players go there.. great! If they don't, oh well. You cant keep shifting the damn place around till they hit it.

Similarly some GMs will say they leave everything to chance. Their PC group is in a port town and are looking to book passage on a ship. They let it be random, working out the details of the ship after they PCs pick one. How is that freedom? Now if you designed a half dozen vessels and let them pick, sure! But that's a ton of wasted work. If you design one and let it be the one they pick... again your guilty of railroading.

Its kind of nuts don't you think?

Where do you stand?

Hey gang, experienced GM her but new to the system. I haven't played with the strict Hit Point mechanic in a long long time.

I enjoy a very narrative style of interaction and accompany almost any gamey mechanic with as close to a real world description as I can. I find my players enjoy the approach too.

Im having trouble figuring out how to narrate hit points though, in certain situations.

For example, I understand that a character's hit points don't directly relate to their health but are rather an abstraction of their defensive ability to avoid injury, endurance, paint tolerance, luck, and anything else you want to throw in.

A character with 10 HP that is hit with 8 points of damage took a nasty wound while a character with 60 HP taking the same damage got scratched at best. I can deal with that and adjust my narrative accordingly.

But do you then explain that last HP lost by the 60HP character as an enemy finally getting through his tiring guard and landing an incapacitating blow? So there are no real wounds up to that point?

What about healing. A Cure Light Wounds spell would mend the nasty wound mentioned to the low level character above. I mean it literally closes the wound, stops bleeding, fuses the flesh, attaches the blood vessels etc. While the exact same spell on a high level character does what exactly? Rests them a bit? Makes them feel a bit fresher?

YOu see what I mean? How do you guys explains some of the oddities of hit points?

Im a new player and have the GM Screen but could use some other reference sheets of common rules sections. Stuff like Stat die mods, encumbrance, combat maneuvers, combat actions etc.

Anybody have some sheets printed up they wouldnt mind sharing?

Ive read lots of ideas on how to handle intoxication but can someone just post me their rules? Im really knew to the system and honestly dont trust myself to implement any houserules yet.

I would think a rule that simply assigns a Fort Save DC based on the strength of the drink with varying condition results based on the outcome, but im unsure as to the specifics.

What exactly is "Casting on the Defensive"? Cant seem to locate a simple explanation.

Oh and while Im at it, do the magic classes use the "Use Magic Device" skill? Im thinking not.

Sorry to be such a nuisance but the whole NPC class thing is just confusing to me.

Why doesn an NPC Adept have access to such a limited list of spells? Arent there any NPC magic users using arcane powers? Or does that make them a PC class automatically? Why only devine spells?

Just what is an adept then? It appears as though they are a cleric wannabe but surely there is more room in the game for a wider variety of NPC spell casters and if so then why the Adept class in the first place?

Im confused

Im having a little trouble with this probably very simple mechanic.

If casting a touch spell you use your STR stat, BAB and Spell Caster level?

If its ranged then switch STR to DEX?

I see that the cards can be purchased but how, in game terms, are they used? Are they simply a prop for Divination or is there a separate skill/spell use?

Ive been GMing for almost 35 years but am new to Pathfinder/3.5.

In the past when an element of the game (NPC, magical effect, location or whatever) was not directly opposed to the characters I would simply play it out - lets say "threatrically" rather than build the encounter according to the system rules.

I get the feeling that such a practice would be viewed as cheating in Pathfinder as everything seems to be alloted a statblock, rule etc. (Open a module and the Innkeeper is listed as an NPC class with skills etc.)

This seems like a complete waste to me but Id like you veteran's opinion.

For example;

The characters stop in a small village during an adventure. I plan an encounter with a local fortune teller. (the typical gypsy variety in a shack on the edge of town)

In the past would simply play out the encounter "threatrically" not generating a single stat or skill, but simply having the NPC act like I want them to, demonstate the type of magical effecs I think would be neat (Perhaps summoning some strange lights as she performs the reading) and generally conduct the encounter in a free form manner, after all its not combat.

I find that from the way Pathfinder seems to work and the examples from published sources and forum threads here I would be expected to actually generate an NPC (Adept 3rd level or something) complete with spell list, skills, a statted familiar and what have you.

All for a little bit of color in the adventure.

Do you guys actually play this way? Equating every event or circumstance in your game in Game terms?

I have an NPC request. What do you suggest for an Archduke, the Prefect of the Ridonport provice. Im seeing a fairly powerful noble, self absorbed and narcissistic but with a little bit should any actually tangle with him. He utilizes a number of lesser nobles to actually run his Prefecture and isnt the typical Boss Bad guy, but could cause issues for the PCs if they tick off the wrong people.

Or is this guy to high up to worry about? Its not likely he will ever be involved in combat but should I still have some stats worked up?

By the way, his name is ArchDuke Vyncent Peredur, Prefect of the Vismarch.

Should it be something as simple as Aristocrat 6/Warrior 2 or should someone of that status be more impressive?

There is a vague piece of lore that would help the party if someone could recall it. The best Knowledge skill in the group is a +5 but a couple others have the skill too. So each one of them could try on DC 10 and if successful give the one player a +2 per to help them figure it out?

I suppose this represents brainstorming, exchanging ideas and such to come to the right information? Is there a maximum? Could a room full of scholars therefore automatically succeed at an incredibly hard check if there were enough of them. If the DC were 30 your typical sage wouldnt ahve a chance but have 10 of his buddies all just making a DC10 and suddenly its very very likely.

Does anybody else find it odd that there are Elephants wandering around Taldor? (Since the domesticate them and use them in their military) I know it mentions that lions are a problem there too so is Taldor essentially Africa with a Byzantine/Feudal culture?

Kind of a weird mix. Most of the trappings give it a European feel but the random encounters for the vast grasslands (or should I say savannah) are full of lion prides, herds of antelope and zebra, water buffalo and of course, elephants!

What a strange blend.

The Inner Sea World Guide explains days of the week and months of the year, and even years in an age but what about hours in a day?

Do your citizens of the Inner Sea tell time in hours and minutes? Ticks of the candle? Notches on the sundial? Movement of the constellations?

I feel kind of silly telling my players its "almost 7:30pm", yet simply saying its early evening isnt exact enough when setting up meetings, arranging rendevouz etc.

What do you use that sounds 'period' if you will and lend itself to the setting?

Am I missing something here?

My 1st level fighter is accosted by 3 ruffians in an alley. (level 1 warriors with daggers)

He tries to spook them off, threatening a nasty end if they dont back off.

10+their HD of 1 + WIS mod of 0 =11. If he rolls a DC skill check of 11+ he causes them to act friendly, in other words back down? Surely it cant be that easy?

Forcing them to demoralize makes a bit more sense as it just shakes them up but can you use the standard intimidate check on enemies? Seems like this would be a great skill to eliminate a whole bunch of combat!

When your nonlethal damage equals your current hit points you fall unconscious. How long does this last? Until you regain that one point of nonlethal damage, or one hour in other words?

Halflings are described as an enslaved race in Taldor. Do you see this as predoiminate enough that a halfling seen abroad would be be questioned by the authorities? Are there "free" halflings as well, perhaps earning their freedome or born to free parents?

A halfling character would have some difficulty traveling there otherwise wouldnt he? Would he be asked to produce some sort of proof he wasnt an escaped slave?

Would there be halfling communities? Enslaved to the authorities of a city perhaps as workers rather than house slaves to a particular owner?

Ive been gaming for almost 35 years (a vast majority of which I GMd) and have suffered from chronic overprepping throughout. Ive read a bit here and there about cutting down on prep time but I just cant seem to get it.

When I sit down to prepare and adventure I have to ..

Draw up a fairly detailed map of the region the characters are in. (this includes the actual rivers, lakes, forests, towns, roads etc. all with appropriate names) Nothing in any module or campaign setting I have ever seen is actually complete.

Then I jot down a few notes on all of the above, getting a feel for the area and allowing me not only to allow my players some freedom but also the familiarity necessary to make the locale seem real during play. (referencing nearby towns and features during dialogue etc.)

Then there is the general work on government in the area, trade, ecology, typical encounters, racial makeup, a little history and the like.

Finally I get to work on the actual locations where the game is likely to be played.

Mapping a town, a bit of history, fleshing out some businesses and local color, populating with a few interesting NPCs, providing a couple lesser plot hooks.

Cities are a more complex and time consuming version of the above including details for individual districts, guilds, security and crime, more businesses and lots of notes on color to help make the place feel real when its visited.

Possible adventure areas have to be fleshed out a bit too, perhaps not as much as the actual location of the curent adventure but if theres a goblin haunted stretch of hills nearby, well it has to be populated and perhaps some notes on the lair jotte down, etc. etc.

you get my point. I typically prep for not hours, not days, but weeks! And thats for a single adventure. Now as long as the players dont move too quickly it gets a bit easier for a time, but even if they remain in the area, each new place they visit or come close to has to be detailed even further.

Its a fun exercise in creative thinking and writing but WOW its exhausting and slows any campaign down tremendously. My typical schedule is to play through an adventure, perhaps once a week for a few sessions, then take a month off to get ready for the next one.

My players have always commended me on the level of detail and emmersion possible in my games but Ive been hassled for being so slow too.

Thoughts?

Am I getting this right?

A goblin has a CR of 1/3 and XP of 135.

I have a party of 4 - 1st level adventurers

Their APL is 1 and I want an equal challenge rating.

Looking at the chart I see that CR 1 equates to 400 total XP so I would set 3 Goblins against them. (135x3=405)

Similarly if I wanted to put them up against Gnolls - Gnolls have a XP of 400 so they would have to face only one for a CR 1 encounter. Right?

If thats correct then what part does the individual CR of the monster play? It seems you are only using XP. (It seems pretty odd too that 4 player characters, even at 1st level, are considered the equivalent of 3 Goblins or just 1 Gnoll)

Also, do the XP amounts under "Individual XP" refer to that awarded to each party member based on the CR and their group size?

Sorry if this is really basic but I want to make sure Im getting it right.

So, you get a flat modifier to your Base Attack due to your size, its not a function of the difference between you and your target?

Also a small character has his carrying capacity reduced to 3/4 but his armor weight is x 1/2 right?

Paladin characters begin their careers at an early age. As they begin with a code in place, do we assume they have dedicated themselves to thier diety at this early age on their own? It doesnt seem likely they would be recieved into some religious order untrained, inexperienced and unproven yet it seems that this sort of decision has already been made before the character begins play.

How do you envision the role of a Paladin? Is he/she simply a devout fighter that will grow into a champion and perhaps join some holy order or are they already part of an organized faith as a novice?

Let me ask a question of you veterans to the system (3.5) and Pathfinder. Im a long time Roleplayer but new to this system but having played 2.0 a hundred years ago.

I spend the last couple of months massing a huge collection of Pathfinder products preparing for a new campaign. There are only a few items I dont have on my shelf to be honest. I should be ashamed of myself.. but Im not!

Anyway, Ive read the corebook several times, some of the major additional books casually and scanned the dozens of choronicles, companions, campaign settings etc. (not to mention flipping through dozens of adventure modules and adventure paths)

I sat down with one of my players (a novice roleplayer and completely unfamiliar with D&D and Pathfinder)

In working him up a Paladin I found myself grasping at multiple sources just to get him set up.

....oh, let me see, there are some class options here in this guide.
....oh, Traits? Wait, thats in the Players's Guide, but oh, there are some regional ones in the Companion to your Kingdom.
...oh, Feats... dang, There are some cool one in the WorldGuide you should look at but, oh yeah, I think there are some in this module too.
Oh, your a Paladin, thats right.. you need a code. I think there is one to your religion in the Faiths of Balance book.
... You want to buy a mount? ok, there are some listed in the Knights book somewhere, I think.. or maybe one of the Bestiaries?

Its goes on and on. By the end of the process I had no less than 7 hard cover books out and a dozen softcover modules and the like and Im sure I was still missing some options here and there. (we didnt even open the Ultimage Combat, Magic or Advanced Race books)

HOW IN THE HECK DO YOU GUYS KEEP TRACK OF IT ALL! Laugh

Im loving the system and by depth and sheer volume of material I see it keeping us gaming for years but the task of becoming familiar with it all seems pretty daunting.

Suggestions?

How would a +2 racial bonus to strength affect the character's carrying capacity?

Please tell me if I have this right -

The Max Dexterity Bonus stat of an armor type is the maximum adjustment to the character's Armor Class due to Dexterity when wearing this armor. If their Dexterity bonus would normally raise it above this, they lose the extra. It effects AC only though, and has no effect on any other Dexterity based skills or actions.

The Armor Check Penalty however, is a penalty applied directly to any Strength or Dexterity based skills but not the armor class.

Lastly the character's encumbrance load can impose a similar Max Dexterity Bonus and Armor Check Penalty, in addition to that suffered from worn armor type.

If I have this right, and I hope I do, then I can immediately imagine a wierd situation from this rule's standpoint.

My character is attempting to use his Strength to break down a dungeon door. Does his armor actually impede this?

A Dexterity hindrance I can understand but strength? Does this apply toward melee attacks as well?

Taldor is described as Byzantine in nature. How far do you take this comparison? Is this simply a means of generally describing the government and society there or do you use Byzantine terms there, ranks, titles etc.?

How would you describe the difference between an NPC listed in the following ways?

Aristocrat 3/ Fighter 2
or
Aristrocrat 3/ Warrior 2

Is the first a royal who is also a veteran soldier, having real combat experience v.s the second who was more likely trained but lacking any real world experience?