Director of Game Development
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If he can raise flumphs above my ridicule, his Contributor tag should have Optimus Maximus added to it.
So...what's the verdict, King Leafy? ;)
Can I order mine but hold the Flumph?
You are only building yourself up for defeat. You cannot resist the power of the flumph.
You've sat there with a leafy head being all clever and everything, but one of my main goals in writing this piece was to make you ashamed you've ever bad-mouthed flumphs. Sure, I know that's a high bar to set, but I set it. I'm also confident that I'll at least partially win you over.
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Yep, it is very well designed. As far as abilities go, it is pretty much a straight forward melee fighter with an ability to "Leap" into combat. Basically that lets them make a charge and an Athletics check. If they make the check they get to make a full attack and use rend. And yes, they are rumored to be the cursed spawn of Pazuzu who turned their back on him and were cursed for it.
What about Dire Corby? Is it well-designed? What sort of abilities does it have? Any links to Pazuzu?
You know, I took a quick glance at this at my FLGS, but I was in a hurry and did not have time to read the monster entries properly. I was impressed by the art, but thought I'd probably skip it; the only ones I've been really interested in are the Lurker Above and Dire Corby (and even then I was not sure about DC). But your post makes Dire Corby seem like a really cool monster -- even though you should be ashamed, David, because there're no Athletics checks in PF -- and I think they'll be a perfect fit for my Pazuzu-themed adventure! I guess I'll have to buy it after all... :)
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...even though you should be ashamed, David, because there're no Athletics checks in PF...Sorry, I meant Acrobatics. The only game I can find right now is a 4ed game, but I am hoping to start a Pathfinder game after the first of the year.
Well, that is not an excuse for a Chelaxian -- as superior beings, everybody expects better of us! ;)
ATM I'm playing in one PF game and running another; pretty soon I'll start running PF for newbies at my library (one long adventure and then they have to form a group). I wish I could find a 4E game around here, because I'd like to try it as a player. :)
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...even though you should be ashamed, David, because there're no Athletics checks in PF...Sorry, I meant Acrobatics. The only game I can find right now is a 4ed game, but I am hoping to start a Pathfinder game after the first of the year.Well, that is not an excuse for a Chelaxian -- as superior beings, everybody expects better of us! ;)
ATM I'm playing in one PF game and running another; pretty soon I'll start running PF for newbies at my library (one long adventure and then they have to form a group). I wish I could find a 4E game around here, because I'd like to try it as a player. :)
[threadjack]Does your FLGS run D&D Encounters? That is what I am playing in.[/threadjack]
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[threadjack]Does your FLGS run D&D Encounters? That is what I am playing in.[/threadjack]...even though you should be ashamed, David, because there're no Athletics checks in PF...Sorry, I meant Acrobatics. The only game I can find right now is a 4ed game, but I am hoping to start a Pathfinder game after the first of the year.Well, that is not an excuse for a Chelaxian -- as superior beings, everybody expects better of us! ;)
ATM I'm playing in one PF game and running another; pretty soon I'll start running PF for newbies at my library (one long adventure and then they have to form a group). I wish I could find a 4E game around here, because I'd like to try it as a player. :)
No, they don't; they used to have a gaming room, but not anymore (and even back then it was reserved for Magic and Warhammer players, I think). And the shop is absolutely crammed with shelves, so they couldn't fit a table even if they wanted to. In fact, they asked the city library to help with organizing D&D events, because we have plenty of space. However, if the rumours about the "mandatory" purchases of fortune decks turns out to be true, we have to decline. And none of the staffers have run 4E (to my knowledge), so any gaming activity we're going to organize solely on our own won't involve D&D (PF is another story; and I'm not the only potential GM).
If he can raise flumphs above my ridicule, his Contributor tag should have Optimus Maximus added to it.So...what's the verdict, King Leafy? ;)
** spoiler omitted **
Actually, no, I haven't forgotten! (Pitiful dwarf.) I haven't had the extra cabbage for it, but I finally saw it at the game store! I checked how the tojanaida (WOW) and was going to check out the flumph, but the manager kept wanting to talk to me and then I ran out of time and had to bolt. Next time I can make it over there, even if I don't have the clams, I'll check the flumph for sure. (BTW, did you ever consider giving it a cooler spelling? Like pflumgh?)
Werd!
I just placed it on my shelf. I think this will get as much use for reference purposes as the PCCS book, according to what I've done so far.
Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing is perfect for a random encounter in the Kingmaker Adventure Path, btw.
Tojanida pictures.
I'm looking through the gallery. The Great Old One did something that is rare from just looking at pictures: I shudder from how creepy this thing is. I'm a Lovecraft fan and that was spooky even by my jaded standards.
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Wow, I *LOVE* the adherer's background story... amazing, creepy and deranged stuff! It's tough to make a devil-worshipping Chelaxian dwarf feel uneasy about something, but even I felt a (tiny) shudder as I was reading it. Now I'm dying to use a phase Spider + some adherer minions. Great work, Jason! :)
@Colin: Is there any particular reason why lurking rays don't get to Envelope their targets? I mean, the bigger ones are *huge*, and they can only grab a *single* target if they hit with their bite? And it's not even a touch attack, like I had assumed. Back in AD&D these lurkers were horrifying, because they could wrap around a whole party of adventurers. And why is the target not blinded -- or why can its allies hit the lurker without the usual 50/50 damage between the enveloping creature and its victim? I mean, the cloaker has it, in this very book the adherer shroud variant does, too (Binding Shround).
Wow, I *LOVE* the adherer's background story... amazing, creepy and deranged stuff! It's tough to make a devil-worshipping Chelaxian dwarf feel uneasy about something, but even I felt a (tiny) shudder as I was reading it. Now I'm dying to use a phase Spider + some adherer minions. Great work, Jason! :)
@Colin: Is there any particular reason why lurking rays don't get to Envelope their targets? I mean, the bigger ones are *huge*, and they can only grab a *single* target if they hit with their bite? And it's not even a touch attack, like I had assumed. Back in AD&D these lurkers were horrifying, because they could wrap around a whole party of adventurers. And why is the target not blinded -- or why can its allies hit the lurker without the usual 50/50 damage between the enveloping creature and its victim? I mean, the cloaker has it, in this very book the adherer shroud variant does, too (Binding Shround).
That's because of... of... I... would a ninja smoke bomb be appropriate here? I can only say it was an oversight.
The lurker above gets one target because it's a predator, focusing on an individual, but should definitely get the 50/50 damage.
For the trapper, you should definitely include Envelope as an attack that can take 1 character for a M size, 1d2 for an L-sized ray, 1d4 for Huge, and 1d6 for anything larger.
Many apologies.
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Wow, I *LOVE* the adherer's background story... amazing, creepy and deranged stuff! It's tough to make a devil-worshipping Chelaxian dwarf feel uneasy about something, but even I felt a (tiny) shudder as I was reading it. Now I'm dying to use a phase Spider + some adherer minions. Great work, Jason! :)
@Colin: Is there any particular reason why lurking rays don't get to Envelope their targets? I mean, the bigger ones are *huge*, and they can only grab a *single* target if they hit with their bite? And it's not even a touch attack, like I had assumed. Back in AD&D these lurkers were horrifying, because they could wrap around a whole party of adventurers. And why is the target not blinded -- or why can its allies hit the lurker without the usual 50/50 damage between the enveloping creature and its victim? I mean, the cloaker has it, in this very book the adherer shroud variant does, too (Binding Shround).
That's because of... of... I... would a ninja smoke bomb be appropriate here? I can only say it was an oversight.
The lurker above gets one target because it's a predator, focusing on an individual, but should definitely get the 50/50 damage.
For the trapper, you should definitely include Envelope as an attack that can take 1 character for a M size, 1d2 for an L-sized ray, 1d4 for Huge, and 1d6 for anything larger.
Many apologies.
Many thanks, Colin! No need to apologise -- that is exactly what I wanted to know! I was asking this because I love what you did with the lurking rays, and I'm going to include a couple of lurkers above and a trapper in my next adventure. And, your point about LA being a predator didn't even occur to me, but it makes perfect sense. :)
(By the way, you would have used a ninja bomb against a Favored Disciple of Asmodeus?!? Good grief, man -- I breathe hellfire, and 'Smoke' is my middle name! You cannot escape me with such parlor tricks! ;))
Many thanks, Colin! No need to apologise -- that is exactly what I wanted to know! I was asking this because I love what you did with the lurking rays, and I'm going to include a couple of lurkers above and a trapper in my next adventure. And, your point about LA being a predator didn't even occur to me, but it makes perfect sense. :)(By the way, you would have used a ninja bomb against a Favored Disciple of Asmodeus?!? Good grief, man -- I breathe hellfire, and 'Smoke' is my middle name! You cannot escape me with such parlor tricks! ;))
Any time I make an obvious mistake, I need to apologize so I can point back from posterity and say, "See? I own up to my mistakes!" and this distracts people from noticing that I still make them. Couple this with the ninja smoke bombs (when fighting hellspawn, I include sulfur and the aroma of unbaptized baby tears in the ingredients - it's like putting in a cloud of peppermint, tantalizing and distracting in its deliciousness), and I'm nigh uncatchable.
I'd like to see a trapper that could take on a whole squad - a Great Mother that devours 20 at a time - but I'm thinking, "How would she get that much food, and what would it do to the underground ecology?" On the other hand, I think about the Armillaria ostoyae, and I realize that the rays don't necessarily need humanoids to sustain a viable ecosystem.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/oregons-monster-mushroom-is-world s-biggest-living-thing-710278.html
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Wow, I *LOVE* the adherer's background story... amazing, creepy and deranged stuff! It's tough to make a devil-worshipping Chelaxian dwarf feel uneasy about something, but even I felt a (tiny) shudder as I was reading it. Now I'm dying to use a phase Spider + some adherer minions. Great work, Jason! :)
@Colin: Is there any particular reason why lurking rays don't get to Envelope their targets? I mean, the bigger ones are *huge*, and they can only grab a *single* target if they hit with their bite? And it's not even a touch attack, like I had assumed. Back in AD&D these lurkers were horrifying, because they could wrap around a whole party of adventurers. And why is the target not blinded -- or why can its allies hit the lurker without the usual 50/50 damage between the enveloping creature and its victim? I mean, the cloaker has it, in this very book the adherer shroud variant does, too (Binding Shround).
Glad you enjoyed it. I have a terrible tendency to over-write when I'm making monster abilities, but one that I thought was fun I had developed for adherers was the ability to tear away part of themselves whenever they were grappled, basically leaving the person they were grappling holding a sticky mass (more or less like a tanglefoot bag). I was also toying with the idea of what it would mean for them to be made with ether-stuff and having force effects help protect against their stickiness.
All in all, though, it came out very nicely... and by nice I mean NASTY! :)
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Wow, I *LOVE* the adherer's background story... amazing, creepy and deranged stuff! It's tough to make a devil-worshipping Chelaxian dwarf feel uneasy about something, but even I felt a (tiny) shudder as I was reading it. Now I'm dying to use a phase Spider + some adherer minions. Great work, Jason! :)
@Colin: Is there any particular reason why lurking rays don't get to Envelope their targets? I mean, the bigger ones are *huge*, and they can only grab a *single* target if they hit with their bite? And it's not even a touch attack, like I had assumed. Back in AD&D these lurkers were horrifying, because they could wrap around a whole party of adventurers. And why is the target not blinded -- or why can its allies hit the lurker without the usual 50/50 damage between the enveloping creature and its victim? I mean, the cloaker has it, in this very book the adherer shroud variant does, too (Binding Shround).
Glad you enjoyed it. I have a terrible tendency to over-write when I'm making monster abilities, but one that I thought was fun I had developed for adherers was the ability to tear away part of themselves whenever they were grappled, basically leaving the person they were grappling holding a sticky mass (more or less like a tanglefoot bag). I was also toying with the idea of what it would mean for them to be made with ether-stuff and having force effects help protect against their stickiness.
All in all, though, it came out very nicely... and by nice I mean NASTY! :)
Hoh, that sounds *really* nasty... hmmm... maybe I'll include a couple of "artillery" adherers who tear away parts of themselves and throw them at the PCs?
My basic idea was to include an area controlled by a phase spider and its adherer minions in a dungeon complex ('Haunted Halls of Eveningstar', although I've redrawn the maps and rewritten most room descriptions and encounters to match the characters' level). The first encounter will probably involve three adherer shrouds; I've even thought of including a room with a few burned giant spider corpses to throw them off a bit (and they'll likely go: "Ah, those cobwebs probably indicate that this must the room where those dead spiders came from!" ;)).
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Many thanks, Colin! No need to apologise -- that is exactly what I wanted to know! I was asking this because I love what you did with the lurking rays, and I'm going to include a couple of lurkers above and a trapper in my next adventure. And, your point about LA being a predator didn't even occur to me, but it makes perfect sense. :)(By the way, you would have used a ninja bomb against a Favored Disciple of Asmodeus?!? Good grief, man -- I breathe hellfire, and 'Smoke' is my middle name! You cannot escape me with such parlor tricks! ;))
Any time I make an obvious mistake, I need to apologize so I can point back from posterity and say, "See? I own up to my mistakes!" and this distracts people from noticing that I still make them. Couple this with the ninja smoke bombs (when fighting hellspawn, I include sulfur and the aroma of unbaptized baby tears in the ingredients - it's like putting in a cloud of peppermint, tantalizing and distracting in its deliciousness), and I'm nigh uncatchable.
I'd like to see a trapper that could take on a whole squad - a Great Mother that devours 20 at a time - but I'm thinking, "How would she get that much food, and what would it do to the underground ecology?" On the other hand, I think about the Armillaria ostoyae, and I realize that the rays don't necessarily need humanoids to sustain a viable ecosystem.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/oregons-monster-mushroom-is-world s-biggest-living-thing-710278.html
Har har! You *cannot* believe that an Infernal Librarian -- who has several monk levels, to boot -- would not be able to dodge your paltry bombs, or resist the sweet, sweet smell of suphur and baby tears! Er... no need to waste them on bombs, just send them to me here at the Infernal Library of Westcrown! Please?
I'm definitely going to use a trapper + couple of lurkers above in the very dungeon complex I mention in my reply to Jason; they're even likely "allies" with the phase spider's crowd (or at least neighbors who tolerate, and occasionally even help, each other). Anyway, a room that "explodes" into tentacles and wraps itself around the PCs... that's classic! :)
From experience watching my players react to flail snails, it's all very funny and easy to mock them, until the gung-ho warlock blows a hole in the party monk via re-bound and then sets himself on fire.
WHY DOESN'T MY BLAST WORK!