tekmansam's page

The most powerful characters I ever ran were made with method 1: 3d6 arrange as they fall. That party made it to 20th level. It was two players, one was experienced, the other was a noob. The noob did die 3 times, but to be honest, it was more like murder on my part :(

The point buy system is fair. It keeps all PC's happy and eliminates stat envy. "He has 2 18s and 3 16s, my highest score is a 14 :(" This was the case in my 3d6 game, but I will say that that said character ended up with the highest stats and most magical gear of all of them. Your stats and your HP don't rule your characters, is my point.

I do have to say that the Pathfinder death and dying rules are a LOT softer than WotC's. If you go by them, then it shouldn't be too bad. Frankly I don't like the idea of max HP and ESPECIALLY not Gastahlt. Heck, I remember 2nd edition when you stopped rolling HP after like 9th level lol.

As a DM you are going to have to keep party composition in mind when designing encounters and learn to pull your punches, but not too much. It's an art form that takes some practice. If you are running modules then you might feel like you don't have much option in encounter design, that's okay, you can always 'fudge' rolls. I wouldn't abuse that too much, unless it's you that made the mistake (putting them up against something they couldn't defeat with no way out.) The DMG has excellent advice for starting DMs. Hold it as your bible until you are ready to walk on your own.

I hope you found everyone's posts in this threat helpful and good luck to you :)

It seems pretty clear that there is a consensus on most issues surrounding the death attack. The save DC could be a little higher, detected as a foe trumps detected, etc. It is clearly a story based, out of battle ability. In a one on one fight with improved invisibility, it could be interesting, though lol.

I thought about building one recently, but my concept got debunked. No one has mentioned the fact that it must be a melee attack. I wanted to make a crossbow sniper/assassin. Not even within 30' can death attack be used.

Also consider the other classes with instant death attacks, as compared to the assassin. It does seem like he has been unfairly punished for his wicked ways.

Here's where I plug myself. Over at The Dragon's Arsenal we are trying to put together a little community project. We are looking for all creative players and DMs interested in helping to create a database of custom made content for Pathfinder/3.x If you are skilled in creating new classes, races, feats, spells, maps, or any thing else. Come on by and check us out. If not, stop on by anyway :) It's a tall order and we could use all the help we can get!

http://dragonsarsenal.com
http://forums.dragonsarsenal.com

I particularly like your idea on ad hoc leveling. I have used this in the past and seems to work fine, when it isn't 3.x and you have casters that need to know how much xp they have to burn for crafting. Gaining everything, but the powers and giving unique (and possibly hidden) ways to gain powers is a great step as well. The idea of the plot twist cards seems interesting, but I'm not sure I'm in love with the idea. Might as well play lunch money, it seems.

If it is inspiration you want, there are many fine sources out there. The campaign you are describing reminds me of many shows I have seen in the past. Mutant X, Heroes, and No Ordinary Family come to mind. I have recently become enamored with No Ordinary Family, for an ABC show, it is actually quite well structured, and low key. The movie, Jumper, was also an interesting tale.

If you are looking for pre-defined systems and modules to use in your campaign, Shadowrun is good, but I have a feeling it will not suit your campaign world, just a hunch. World of Darkness could provide you with some inspiration, it was designed by our friend, Monte, after all. Eden Studios also produced a system, that several games were launched on, including: Buffy, Angel, Serenity, and Army of Darkness. They have a couple of balancing issues, in my opinion, but the systems are interesting. If nothing else, they provide for an entertaining read.

Hope this helps :)

Here's where I plug myself. The Dragon's Arsenal is putting together a community project and is trying to recruit all creative minded players interested in creating custom fan based content for pathfinder/3.x If this sounds like anyone, come on over and check us out. We are just getting started, so we could use all the help we can get!

http://dragonsarsenal.com
http://forums.dragonsarsenal.com

I am trying to put together a little community project over at The Dragon's Arsenal. I am looking for creative minded players, interested in developing custom, fan made material. New classes, feats, talents, spells, maps, npcs, any and all creative effort is appreciated. I hope to create a database available to all those looking for creative and interesting content for their campaign. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, check out our little community at The Dragon's Arsenal.

This site is fresh off the ground and is itching for content. We could use a hand!

http://dragonsarsenal.com
http://forums.dragonsarsenal.com

It is a fair set you have there, but I would chose to "amend" the existing monk by making feat options available. This allows the monk to stay compatible with the rules Paizo publishes (new feats, archetypes, etc that assume a normal monk build).

Here's an example of how it can work, to have the monks high speed and high number of attacks working together:

Combat Roamer
You are able to move through combat and attack efficiently, allowing you to spread your attacks over many foes.
Prerequisite: Monk level 3
Benefit: When making a flurry of blows, you may sacrifice any number of attacks to move up to 10 feet for each attack sacrificed. This movement provokes as normal. You sacrifice the lowest iteration attacks first. You may spread the use of this ability between attacks, thus it is possible for a level 11 monk to attack, move 10 feet, attack, move 10 feet and attack again. Or move, attack, move, move and attack. A monk cannot move further than his speed using this feat.

Improved Combat Roamer
You are able to move through combat and attack efficiently, allowing you to spread your attacks over many foes.
Prerequisite: Monk level 9, Combat Roamer
Benefit: When making a flurry of blows, you may sacrifice any number of attacks to move up to 20 feet for each attack sacrificed. This movement provokes as normal. You sacrifice the lowest iteration attacks first. You may spread the use of this ability between attacks, thus it is possible for a level 11 monk to attack, move 20 feet, attack, move 20 feet and attack again. Or move, attack, move, move and attack. A monk cannot move further than twice his speed using this feat.

I would tend to agree. I think LoreKeeper's approach is a much simpler one, but I am all for modifying and creating new classes. As a matter of fact, I have written a (somewhat slap-dash) guide on the topic, today as a matter of fact. I made a little monk-like variant. Part of what I call Project: Dragon, which is a community based project, aimed at developing user based content. You can find my little guide at The Dragons Arsenal forums.

http://forums.dragonsarsenal.com