Meh! Adventurers never worried about attacking dungeons filled hordes of bloodthirsty halflings.
Do the words Dark Sun mean anything to you?
Meh! Adventurers never worried about attacking dungeons filled hordes of bloodthirsty halflings.Go look at the Book of Vile Darkness. Those Jerran halflings were evil little cannibalistic b*st*rds!
And more on topic, I really like this. I never wanted to play/use half-orcs before seeing Pathfinder's version.
Hmm, maybe we can hope for a 'Gnolls of Golarion' in the future?
Two things, first and foremost, the Jerran were really a 3E normal world version of some the nastier aspects of Dark Sun halflings. Second, a Gnolls of Golarion book would actually be rather welcome for me at least.
Two things, first and foremost, the Jerran were really a 3E normal world version of some the nastier aspects of Dark Sun halflings. Second, a Gnolls of Golarion book would actually be rather welcome for me at least.
As far as I can remember, the Jerran were actively evil and corrupt. The Dark Sun halflings were just...hungry.
I loved Dark Sun (still do, at least the old stuff), it was the only campaign world where there were at least two pro-cannibal (well, they don't technically eat their own kind, but most other intelligent races were fair game, with Elves being super-tasty to the Thri-Kreen) PC races. Good times.
I dread to think of how they savaged it for 4E.
Oh, and here's another thumbs-up for a Gnolls of Golarion book!
I plan to be the first one in line at GenCon to grab this... and if my copy is not there... there's going to be bloodshed... you hear me, blood shed! Not just, grab-a-mop-and-pale-to-clean-this-up bloodshed, but I'm talking about bits-of-brain matter-sticking-to-the-ceiling bloodshed!!!
Of course if Customs won't let me fly across the border with my orc axe, then I guess a nasty finger shaking session will have to suffice.
Meh! Adventurers never worried about attacking dungeons filled hordes of bloodthirsty halflings.
They will be now, OH and plus dark sun had bloodthirsty halflings that eat you.
Meh! Adventurers never worried about attacking dungeons filled hordes of bloodthirsty halflings.
The Pygmy Shrews, however...
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I've updated the product description. I'd love to show you the finished cover as well, 'cause it's about a bazillion times better than the mockup... but it contains spoilers for some announcements we'll be making in a couple of weeks, so you'll have to live with the mockup cover for a while longer yet.*bleep* you, *bleeping* tease. :)
What DM said, you *bleeping* teases ;-)
oh smurf it with the smurf already
stupid smurf smurfers
you dont have anything better to do rather than smurfing smurf smurfette?
oh smurf it with the smurf already
stupid smurf smurfers
you dont have anything better to do rather than smurfing smurf smurfette?
Not smurfy likely.
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Does anyone know whether your Rage Powers activate when you use Sympathetic Rage? I would assume so as it says you gain all the normal benefits of rage except +2 str/con, but I was looking for a ruling on it.
No, the intent of the feat is to give non-barbarian orcs and half-orcs some ability to rage. If a barbarian orc or half-orc has the sympathetic rage, he only gets the rage effects as listed. Rage powers are a separate class ability, so he can only use those when he using his own barbarian rage.
Oh, and here's another thumbs-up for a Gnolls of Golarion book!
Call it a whim but I've always wondered what the Drizzt of Gnolls would be like. By that I mean a gnoll ranger that fights his baser instincts to actually be good aligned.
Mak'Gruhff?Take a Bite out of crime?
What's that reference?
There is a fair amount on gnolls in the first couple Legacy of Fire books, Katapesh, and of course Classic Monsters Revisited.
What's that reference?Mak'Gruhff?Take a Bite out of crime?
Take a Bite out of crime?Mak'Gruhff?Oh, and here's another thumbs-up for a Gnolls of Golarion book!Call it a whim but I've always wondered what the Drizzt of Gnolls would be like. By that I mean a gnoll ranger that fights his baser instincts to actually be good aligned.
Possibly and having to limit himself to just crime and not the criminals themselves. ;)
Yeah! Not long til the pdf is available, I'm assuming. :)
Oh, and here's another thumbs-up for a Gnolls of Golarion book!Call it a whim but I've always wondered what the Drizzt of Gnolls would be like. By that I mean a gnoll ranger that fights his baser instincts to actually be good aligned.
Actually, my profile name is based on just such a character, but I never drew the comparison until now.
He was back in 2E, when gnolls were large-sized, meaning he could wield two-handed (great) swords with one hand, so he wielded two of them. I rolled well on his stats, and he was exceptionally smart for a gnoll, very strong and fairly likeable. He tried to be 'civilized' and had taken as a packmate a female half-elf wizard. He also had a massive clydesdale-esque horse.
His crowning moment when (as a 5th level character) he believed that he slew a god (a werewolf was posing as one, forcing the townsfolk to worship him or something, I never found out because, in character, Makarnak was convinced that this werewolf was a god, and did vicious, furious battle with him to protect his packmates and the village--this also brought up the weird topic of whether gnolls could turn into werewolves...). He renamed his most powerful two-handed sword 'Godslayer' and was quite pleased with himself.
I made his miniature using a gnoll figure, drilling out and replacing whatever he wielded with the two swords, and then created a bulky 'fur' cloak out of plaster. Still have it somewhere. He still shows up sometimes as an NPC in games I run.
I think that the Orcs of Golarion book is better for GMs outfitting orcs with unique feats than players creating their own characters.
While a party of Half-orcs might go wild with the options provided, it is somewhat less useful for a standard party, or even any given half-orc in a party. Most of the feats are set up for barbarian orcs/half-orcs and little else. While it does push hard that orcs are barbarians first and foremost, it does limit what a half-orc fighter, ranger, rogue or such can take from this book.
Adept Channel and Amplfied Rage are both feats that I can really see using as a GM, but unlikely to really see a player using. Adept Channel seems intended for adepts. To get to without being an adept, you have to likely have to do some odd multi-classing to get the right set of abilities necessary to meet the feats prerequisites.
Amplfied Rage is much easier to qualify for, but requires a very odd set up. You have to have a pair of orc/half-orc barbarians in the same party that have this feat, then they have to be near each other and raging to get the bonuses. As a GM all I have to do is have two orc barbarians and this feat is easy to use, but it is much more unlikely that a pair of players would both make half-orc barbarians using this feat unless their entire goal was to just use this feat. I can see a barbarian/cavalier or a barbarian/inquisitor using this feat by granting it to raging allies (possibly through the rage spell), but overall, again, this feat seems to be more inclined for GMs outfitting their orcs than players outfitting their characters. That is fine, not all feats need to be for players, except this book is indicated to be targeted at players.
While the spells are more useful, there are a pair that are set up such that players will not ever use them. Enemy's heart and shield the banner seem to be just things the GM would use rather than the players.
I would prefer that later products in this line, if it is going to continue to be directed at players, have more content that players can use and that the NPC feats and spells appear in the other lines.
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I don't see the 'only barbs benefit from the crunch' line about this book... while many of the feats in the section tellingly kicked off with the title 'Horde Tactics' do lend themselves to groups of orcs/half-orc barbarians (and thus generally either parties heavy with both or GM-controlled NPC hordes) there are feats and traits here that add flavor and versatility to any of the martial classes, summoners, sorcerers, oracles, druids, inquisitors etc.
On that note, though, I'm having trouble understanding one aspect of the Orc Bloodline for sorcerers... they receive transformation as a bonus spell at 13th level, but at 20th level they can cast it once daily as a spell-like ability 'using your sorcerer level as your caster level'? If they need to hit Sorcerer 20 to get this power, what other caster level would it use, and isn't it a bit redundant to receive a spell they can already cast (multiple times) as a once-daily spell-like ability?
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On that note, though, I'm having trouble understanding one aspect of the Orc Bloodline for sorcerers... they receive transformation as a bonus spell at 13th level, but at 20th level they can cast it once daily as a spell-like ability 'using your sorcerer level as your caster level'? If they need to hit Sorcerer 20 to get this power, what other caster level would it use, and isn't it a bit redundant to receive a spell they can already cast (multiple times) as a once-daily spell-like ability?
We always put the caster level of spell-like abilities—in this case, as a spell-like ability, not a spell, the caster level can't be assumed, hence it's called out as equal to the sorcerer's level.
As for redundancy, it's a freebie. Yes, the sorcerer gets it as a bonus spell at 13th level, but casting it normally uses up a spell slot *and* requires a potion of bull's strength as a material component. This lets you cast once per day without burning a spell slot, and without paying 300 gp a pop for the material component.
The description of the different orc subtypes and tribes has inspired me to paint some different orc minis to represent the different groups.
On that note, though, I'm having trouble understanding one aspect of the Orc Bloodline for sorcerers... they receive transformation as a bonus spell at 13th level, but at 20th level they can cast it once daily as a spell-like ability 'using your sorcerer level as your caster level'? If they need to hit Sorcerer 20 to get this power, what other caster level would it use, and isn't it a bit redundant to receive a spell they can already cast (multiple times) as a once-daily spell-like ability?We always put the caster level of spell-like abilities—in this case, as a spell-like ability, not a spell, the caster level
Basically, it avoids any possible problems in the future.
For example, it seems completely reasonable for an ¨Orcish Disciple¨ PrC to be made which is the equivalent of the Dragon Disciple PrC (which progresses Bloodline Abilities faster than Caster Level), just focused on Orcish powers rather than a Draconic heritage. If it wasn`t stated that you treat the ´Sorceror Level´ (which the PrC progresses for purposes of Bloodline Powers) as the Caster Level, an `Orcish Disciple``s Caster Level for the ability would be lower since their actual Casting is somewhat retarded vs. a Full Sorceror.EDIT: I in no way condone the usage of the Class Title ¨Orcish Disciple¨, it is solely for comparison`s sake ;-)
Love the orc socerer bloodline
Will there ever be bloodlines for elf, gnome, or dwarf?
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Is an orc/half-orc who gets the Sympathetic Rage lesser rage bonus effectively considered raging?
Because that would qualify also for the Amplified Rage, and I can see thematically fit but overpowered teams of orc barbarians with a switching "rage leader" that fuels teammates into a frenzy of whopping stacking modifiers...
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Had a question on another thread, but:
On the background text, is it all meant to be written as completely objective and factual, or possibly tinted by the perceptions of the major in-setting civilizations?
I'm just wondering, since there were a couple of interesting contradictions here and there that the latter interpretation could really open up into some very interesting possibilities.
Seeing as how a module that focuses on orcs and an adventure path that apparently starts with a focus on orcs is in the offing, is there any chance of a repress of this book?
Does Paizo ever repress out of print books?
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Senior Developer
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Seeing as how a module that focuses on orcs and an adventure path that apparently starts with a focus on orcs is in the offing, is there any chance of a repress of this book?
Does Paizo ever repress out of print books?
We generally only reprint books in the RPG line, not Player Companions, Campaign Settings, Adventure Paths, modules, etc.
In the case of orcs, a new book in the Campaign Setting line, Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes, is scheduled for December to tie in with the beginning of the Giantslayer Adventure Path.
Fortunately, they never run out of PDFs.
Is Blood Vengeance capable of stacking with itself? For instance, let's say a Barbarian is raging and a worthy ally drops triggering the increase of +2 to their existing rage. After 2 rounds another ally goes down, does it increase by another +2? It reads like it does and it makes a certain kind of sense that you'd get angrier and angrier the more of your allies that drop. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't misreading it.
In all fairness the odds of it proccing more than once a combat is rather rare or at least it is at my table.