Having played Pathfinder Society for about a year (in which all characters are built with 20 points), I can say from experience that it is generally not imbalanced. YMMV.
Malwing wrote:
Pre-rolling items in magic shops is harsh.
If people think that this is too harsh, you could use the base value rules for available magic items (see Settlement rules in the Game Mastery Guide). For instance, in a small town like Sandpoint, there is a 75% chance that any magic item a PC wants to buy that costs less than 1,000 gp exists; for more expensive magic items, there are only the ones you pre-rolled.
Malwing wrote:
Restricting spells/feats like Paragon Surge and Glorious Heat is harsh.
Rules as written, Glorious Heat is unlimited healing at the cheap, cheap price of one orison. I don't believe there has been errata on this feat, and it should be restricted for sanity's sake.
If you keep the FAQ on paragon surge in mind, it is not as much of a game-breaking spell for casters as you'd think.
Malwing wrote:
Removing a major prerequisite (Combat Expertise) and adding third party content may be unbalanced.
At the very least, it opens up some Improved combat maneuver feats for characters faster. You may want to see how this change interacts with third party content, however.
If you want the PCs to interact with the trap after they set it off and use more skills than just Perception or Disable Device, why not adapt Pathfinder's haunt rules?
Here is how I envision this trap, designed for a party of 6th- to 8th-level characters.
TL;DR Summary: When all the PCs enter a chamber, the doors slam shut and an iron wall divides the chamber in half. One side has drains on the bottom, but the ceiling is descending fast; the other has hatches that grant access to the trap's mechanisms, but is flooding with water. The PCs have limited time and hampered communication.
Surprise Round:
Unless the PCs are actively searching for traps (and succeed on a DC 20 Perception check), they are unable to act in the surprise round while the following happens.
Suddenly, a wall of iron (3 inches thick; hardness 10, hp 90) descends along the centre of the room, separating you from the rest of the party!
If a PC is caught in any square where the iron wall is supposed to land, they are shifted to one side or the other (6d6 bludgeoning; DC 20 Reflex avoids).
This is the main barrier that splits the party. Divide your players into two separate groups at this point; with an iron wall in the way, the players should not be able to communicate normally with the other side. If a PC wants to talk to the other side, have the other side roll a Perception check. If they fail (or even if they succeed), feel free to play a game of 'broken telephone.'
Let us assign this Perception check a DC of 15, equal in difficulty with trying to hear the details of a whispered conversation. Once the chambers are filled with the sound of rushing water or gears turning, increase the DC by 5 for terrible conditions. If the PCs who receive the message are not actively trying to listen at the wall, further increase the DC by 5 for being distracted.
The iron doors (hardness 10, hp 60, break DC 28) that lead into and out of the chamber slam shut. The impact locks the doors; the locks are of good quality (DC 30 Disable Device).
The doors serve two functions. First, they create a sealed container that can be filled with water. More importantly, however, they become possible, though difficult, exits for the PCs. Both the fighter and the rogue have a real chance of breaking down the door or unlocking it. Attempting either takes time, unless the party wizard has prepared knock — but even then, this does not save the PCs on the other side. If the PCs manage to leave through their respective doors, the party is still split. You could use this as a great opportunity for some roleplaying.
Retrieving an item (like thieves' tools or a scroll of knock) is a move action. Attempting to open a lock is a full-round action.
Round 1:
Have the PCs roll Initiative and take their respective turns. At the Initiative count of 0, the following happens.
One group of PCs notice several hatches open in the ceiling, and a rushing torrent of water begins to flow into the room at an alarming rate. Unfortunate PCs who are right under a hatch (or move under a hatch later) are buffeted by the water, and can be knocked off their feet (knocked prone, 2d6 bludgeoning; DC 20 Reflex avoids). The water rises by 1 foot every round.
The other group of PCs notice the loud sound of gears turning as the stone ceiling begins to descend at a rate of 1 foot every round.
Rounds 2 to 5:
Describe the falling ceiling and rising waters as you allow the PCs to take their turns. If a PC looks around (give them a DC 10 Perception check), they notice drains on the floor (in the area with the falling ceiling), or what appears to be gears and chains grinding away in a compartment accessible by the hatches on the ceiling (in the area with the rising water).
This is where the PCs can interact freely with the various obstacles they face! Here are a few ways that they can.
In order to reach the machinery, a PC must access the various hatches on the ceiling. The hatches are 10 feet above the ground. As the water rises, it should be easier for the PCs to enter the hatch, using skills such as Climb and Acrobatics. Once they are inside, it takes a DC 20 Disable Device check to stop the ceiling from descending further, and a DC 28 Disable Device check to halt the flow of water. A DC 20 Strength check made yanking the chain, raises the falling ceiling by 1 foot. Disabling complicated devices such as these takes 1d4 rounds.
On the other side, PCs can attempt to raise the iron wall with a DC 20 Strength check (in the area with rising water, the pressure makes the task more difficult; this raises the DC by 10). If they succeed, they drain 1 foot of water and stops the ceiling from descending next round. This allows other PCs to make Acrobatics, Escape Artist, or Swim checks to get to the other side.
Round 6:
Things become desperate, as the PCs start suffering penalties.
The PCs in the room with rushing water must resist each round or be pulled under (1d3 nonlethal; DC 15 Strength or Swim check avoids). If they fall unconscious, they begin to drown.
Medium-sized PCs in the other room begin to take squeezing penalties (move at half speed, -4 AC, -4 Reflex).
Round 8:
Small-sized PCs in the room with the falling ceiling begin to take squeezing penalties.
Round 9:
All PCs in the room with the falling ceiling must be prone (or take 8d6 damage and be forced prone).
End of the Line:
The PCs in the room with rushing water must begin holding their breath, and now risk drowning.
The PCs in the room with the falling ceiling are crushed to death. 16d6 bludgeoning damage sounds like a conservative estimate.
S'up, guys. Took me a while to find this page because the ( 1 new ) tag never came up for me.
On Experience
I think the fairest way I have seen my GMs do experience is by the progression of the story - when I ran Carrion Crown I noticed that each chapter had the "the PCs should be Xth level when they come here" text in the beginning, and that they generally leveled up once or twice during each chapter.
I'm perfectly fine not having XP as another number I need to keep track of, as long as my character can keep pace with the story.
On Combat
I generally post twice or three times each day if I'm able, but I'm free at around 1 AM EST. I don't know if that is close to when other people usually post.
@Minkers: Are you familiar with the Advanced Class Guide? I'm interested in playing a Hunter since I've never tried it before, but only if you are okay with DMing it. I would be perfectly alright playing a straight-up ranger. A link to the Advanced Class Guide playtest here, for your convenience.
Who are you?
"Orderic. If it's furs you want, or a nice hunk of venison ... well, just remember: everything has a price."
What inspired, forced, or motivated you to take on the life of an adventurer?
"...and that's why I can never go back to Cheliax. Let's just say that the Hellknights don't take too kindly to deserters. And I still have to make a living, don't I?"
What is your biggest weakness?
Knowing what he wants. "I remember the day that the Order of the Pike passed around notice that it was hiring again in Ordeial. The sense of duty towards your fellow men, duty towards your country, your queen ... it gives purpose to your work, you know? Nowadays, everything seems so ... empty. Flat. Droll, like. Who am I working for? Why? I'd kill for something like that again."
What is your biggest strength?
"I said it already, didn't I? Everything has a price."
What is the most enjoyable thing you remember doing?
"I remember collecting a bounty on this one hill giant, see, and once I got back to town they showered me in gold. I drank and ate and sung and whored like I had never before."
What is the most significant thing you remember doing?
"I was on patrol as an armiger along the Whisperwoods, once. My troop caught a family of halflings - slips, we called them, escaped slaves from Cheliax - and we were to bring back their heads. I was the only one with the decency to say no. The Hellknights got their heads, alright ... but they were not the heads that they were looking for. The others never saw it coming."
What do you fear?
"Sometimes, I remember the faces of the other slips and marks ... judging me, like. Condemning me. But that's not even the worst bit.
"Then I remember, the beat of horses' hooves, the marching of iron boots. I was part of that, once. I know how the Hellknights work. And I know that once the Hellknights have you in their sights, they'll hunt you down like swine: they will never leave you in peace. They'll catch up to me, and I'll have a fate worse than death. But what I am really afraid of, though, is that if I had to choose between my life and the lives of others, I'd choose my own, every time ... and that's really what scares me. Heh ... hey, at least I have the decency to tell you beforehand!"
How do you want to be remembered?
"As an old man with a loving wife, seven kids, and a farmstead, dying on my bed with warmed wine in my belly and gold pieces on my eyes."
What is the line that you won't cross?
"I don't stab my friends in the back. Probably why I have so few of them, but still ... you want me to do that? You must be out of your mind."
I have an idea for a catrina psychopomp from Bestiary 4 whose impartial, uncaring ideals have been replaced with growing sympathy with mortal needs. She might have been brought unto the Material Plane to ease the passing of a cleric, and somehow being unable to return, replaces the cleric's role in a settlement (perhaps nearby the woods that your werewolf resides?) while using disguises, illusions, and her sorcerer powers to resolve day-to-day clerical duties.
Of course, as a psychopomp, she would still be concerned with the balance between life and timely death ... and would fight any evil that seeks to tilt the scales.
Modules
The Godsmouth Heresy
Pathfinder Online: Thornkeep - The Accursed Hall
The Silverhex Chronicles
We Be Goblins!
We Be Goblins Too! (In progress)
Scenarios m 002: The Hydra's Fang Incident
m 005: Mists of Mwangi
m 007: Among the Living
m 013: The Prince of Augustana
m 055: The Infernal Vault
Season 3
03-05: Tide of Twilight
03-21: The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment
Season 4
04-18: Veteran’s Vault
Season 5
05-01: The Glass River Rescue
05-08: The Confirmation
05-11: Library of the Lion
05-12: Destiny of the Sands – Part 1: A Bitter Bargain
05-15: Destiny of the Sands – Part 2: Race to Seeker's Folly
05–16: Destiny of the Sands – Part 3: Sanctum of the Sages
05-21: The Merchant’s Wake
Season 6
06-10: The Wounded Wisp
06-12: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 1: On Sharrowsmith’s Trail
06–14: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 2: Kaava Quarry
06–16: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 3: The Golden Guardian
06–97: Siege of Serpents
CORE Scenarios I have played for credit:
Modules
The Emerald Spire Superdungeon - Level 1: The Tower Ruins
The Emerald Spire Superdungeon - Level 2: The Cellars
The Emerald Spire Superdungeon - Level 3: Splinterden
