I'm going to rephrase Lemmy's question two ways:
1) If a person constantly fantasizes about committing evil acts, but does not carry out those acts because the person knows those acts are wrong, is the person neutral?
2) If a person constantly fantasizes about committing evil acts, but does not carry out those acts because the person fears the repercussions of committing the acts, is the person neutral?
I think #1 is strongly neutral (or based on other actions, could even be good) while #2 is a weak neutral, ready to slip into evil if an opportunity finally presents itself.
Queen Ileosa might actually fall under #2, right up until she picked up a certain crown?
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Why is golem crafting not evil?
You basically kidnap an elemental spirit from it's home plane, strip it's soul from it's body, torture it until it loses it's mind, imprison it in some man-made shell, and then enslave it to follow your commands.
Golems are magically created automatons of great power. They stand apart from other constructs in the nature of their animating force—golems are granted their magical life via an elemental spirit, typically that of an earth elemental. The process of creating a golem binds the spirit to the artificial body, merging it with this specially prepared vessel and subjecting it to the will of the golem's creator.
Being mindless, golems do nothing without orders from their creators. They follow instructions explicitly and are incapable of complex strategy or tactics. A golem's creator can command it if the golem is within 60 feet and can see and hear its creator. If uncommanded, a golem usually follows its last instruction to the best of its ability, though if attacked it returns the attack. The creator can give the golem a simple command to govern its actions in his absence, or can order the golem to obey the commands of another, but the golem's creator can always resume control by commanding the golem to obey him alone.
If I were designing the game, and if I were making that call, I would do one of the following:
1) Make golem crafting evil, because it requires the enslavement of a spirit.
2) Change the flavor of how you animate the golem to something less evil sounding.
Golem crafting is not evil because that bit slipped by the designers edition after edition, essentially. I have not yet been a designer of an edition, but addressing this discontinuity is something I would like to see cleaned up. It's not something that'll happen now though.
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When determining CR for an encounter, how do you determine the total CR when it falls between two values? For example, a group of five 1/4 CR (100 xp each) creatures plus one 1 CR (400 xp) creature = 900, which falls between CR 2 (600) and CR 3 (800) on the experience points awards chart. Do you round up or down to the nearest whole? And if so, how do you represent that said encounter isn't quite even in a book? (I haven't found any examples of CR 2 1/2 encounters in any AP's, for example)
I round to the closest value usually, but also take into account the nature of the encounter itself. And then I don't bother noting fractional CR scores at all, since that's needless clutter.
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So if someone is evil at heart, but innocent (in the sense that it didn't practice evil yet), then said someone is Neutral?Hey, JJ, in your games, do you treat alignment as a consequence of morals or actions?
e.g.: Would someone be considered evil if only reason for not doing evil stuff is the fear of being caught (or the reward for good behavior), or would their alignment only turn Evil once they actually took action?
Alignment is a result, not a cause. Alignment shifts to match your actions, and is essentially a measuring stick of what you do with your free will. The exact moment someone's alignment shifts is left to the GM, but should be after a single significant act or after a cumulation of numerous (the number can vary) minor evil acts.
Folks who want a codified system for tracking when exactly a creature's alignment changes can use the system in Ultimate Campaign.
That's the type of call a GM gets to make. And the result would vary depending on the type of thing the someone was, the situation they're in, and more. Opinion and personal taste play a HUGE part in that determination. It's not math. There's not one right answer that remains demonstrably right under all possible circumstances.
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I'm going to rephrase Lemmy's question two ways:
1) If a person constantly fantasizes about committing evil acts, but does not carry out those acts because the person knows those acts are wrong, is the person neutral?
2) If a person constantly fantasizes about committing evil acts, but does not carry out those acts because the person fears the repercussions of committing the acts, is the person neutral?
I think #1 is strongly neutral (or based on other actions, could even be good) while #2 is a weak neutral, ready to slip into evil if an opportunity finally presents itself.
Queen Ileosa might actually fall under #2, right up until she picked up a certain crown?
1) The person is not good, but not necessarily evil.
2) Same as 1, but closer to evil than 1.
Ileosa was evil from the start. That's important to her character—I wanted HER to be the bad one, not someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time who became evil from an outside influence. Had I wanted Crimson Throne to utilize Kazavon more as the main evil, then yes, that would be how I went about it (and I would have included methods for redeeming/rescuing Ileosa). That was not my desire, though. Kazavon is merely a tool in the AP as presented, one that a pre-existing evil (Ileosa) got ahold of.
what are your 3-5 favorite shows on TV right now
i would do top 5 firm but i know how busy you are:)
Hi James was wondering when a life event derails your creativity what are some of the things you do to get yourself back on track..
also i hope your having a better week then last
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Hi James was wondering when a life event derails your creativity what are some of the things you do to get yourself back on track..
also i hope your having a better week then last
Depends entirely on the life event, but generally, the solution is a combination of patience (waiting for time to heal the wound), immersion (reading/watching/playing games/movies/stories rather than creating them, to soak up others' creativity to recharge your own), and companionship (spending time with friends/pets/loved ones).
Greetings once again James! Today I come to ask if there is any information about Warlocks as relating to D&D 3.5, if Pathfinder has any such class or related class, or is intending on implementing something similar... I have yet to find any official information on them, so I had been wondering. If there isn't anything official in the works, or planning, could you give some suggestions on how to convert the existing Warlock to Pathfinder?
Could a Kasatha take the Two-weapon fighting progression of feats, and Multiweapon fighting to gain the penalty reduction for it's other 2 off hands?
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Greetings once again James! Today I come to ask if there is any information about Warlocks as relating to D&D 3.5, if Pathfinder has any such class or related class, or is intending on implementing something similar... I have yet to find any official information on them, so I had been wondering. If there isn't anything official in the works, or planning, could you give some suggestions on how to convert the existing Warlock to Pathfinder?
Nope. The warlock is not open content. That class is owned by Wizards of the Coast, and as such, it's not a class we're going to translate.
If we DID make a warlock class, it'd be entirely different.
Could a Kasatha take the Two-weapon fighting progression of feats, and Multiweapon fighting to gain the penalty reduction for it's other 2 off hands?Not using the rules as written. It'd need to gain a near-identical set of Multiweapon fighting traits.
I'm sorry, but I believe you misunderstood me... I know that there is not a Multiweapon Fighting progression of feats in Pathfinder, just the one.
My question was more along the line of could you take the standard Two-Weapon progression feats, and as you are still able to make off-hand attacks with your remaining 2 hands, take the Multiweapon fighting feat to reduce the penalties on those two hands...
Since Pathfinder does not have a Multiweapon Feat progression tree, those last two hands would not be able to gain more attacks than the standard single off hand attack... Would this be a correct assumption?
James,
Long time reader, first time asker here.
So, I started researching Hellknights, and when I was looking at the information presented on them in AP #27 and #28, from Council of Thieves, I found the original version of the Hellknight prestige class. I quite like the old version of the class, particularly the organization into 3 Paths and the ability to fall, and I intend to insert the Merciless and Judgement class features back into the newer version, at levels 4 and 8, when building my NPCs. I also plan to add the capacity to lose their powers if they fail to face the Reckoning, or for changing alignment or being cast out.
My question is, why was it changed? Was it balance related, or just standardizing how prestige classes worked, or some other reason?
Whatever the reason, I love the campaign (as do my players) and am really enjoying running it for them. One of them (my wife) told me that no other campaign she's ever played in has brought out such genuine emotion in her. Thanks for an awesome campaign!
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Could a Kasatha take the Two-weapon fighting progression of feats, and Multiweapon fighting to gain the penalty reduction for it's other 2 off hands?Not using the rules as written. It'd need to gain a near-identical set of Multiweapon fighting traits.I'm sorry, but I believe you misunderstood me... I know that there is not a Multiweapon Fighting progression of feats in Pathfinder, just the one.
My question was more along the line of could you take the standard Two-Weapon progression feats, and as you are still able to make off-hand attacks with your remaining 2 hands, take the Multiweapon fighting feat to reduce the penalties on those two hands...
Since Pathfinder does not have a Multiweapon Feat progression tree, those last two hands would not be able to gain more attacks than the standard single off hand attack... Would this be a correct assumption?
If your GM lets you play a kasatha or other multi-armed character, chances are good said GM is open to the idea of a character wielding more than 2 weapons at once, and thus said GM would most likely allow you to take either the standard feat tree or would invent a parallel tree for Multiweapon fighting.
As currently written, no, you can't get extra iterative attacks on your 3rd or 4th or higher off hands, as feats to allow that are not yet written. You could still take the two weapon fighting feats to grant your first off-hand the extra attacks, I suppose.
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James,
Long time reader, first time asker here.
** spoiler omitted **
So, I started researching Hellknights, and when I was looking at the information presented on them in AP #27 and #28, from Council of Thieves, I found the original version of the Hellknight prestige class. I quite like the old version of the class, particularly the organization into 3 Paths and the ability to fall, and I intend to insert the Merciless and Judgement class features back into the newer version, at levels 4 and 8, when building my NPCs. I also plan to add the capacity to lose their powers if they fail to face the Reckoning, or for changing alignment or being cast out.
My question is, why was it changed? Was it balance related, or just standardizing how prestige classes worked, or some other reason?
Whatever the reason, I love the campaign (as do my players) and am really enjoying running it for them. One of them (my wife) told me that no other campaign she's ever played in has brought out such genuine emotion in her. Thanks for an awesome campaign!
It was changed because the concept of a 15 level prestige class is something we experimented on but later decided was pretty ridiculous. At that point, one should just make the class a base class and be done with it, and since we don't do base classes in our Campaign Setting books, that meant that preserving the Hellknight as a class option meant it had to become a 10 level prestige class to match the rest of the prestige classes.
And I'm glad you're enjoying the campaign! :-)
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I've been wondering what CR to give a race with the following stats. Much of what is listed has been coppied from official documents and slightly modified to add the name Miasa instead of it just saying "creature." Most of the Miasa's abilities rely on levels attained after it's creation. Though not meant to be used in by players, it would be easy to add class levels to it, but I would like to have a general idea of suggestions on how to modify it to make it a better monster. I wish to keep the HD about the same, or even lower, to make it easier to add levels after CR is figured out. If you do not wish to do this, but know of someone that's willing to help me, please point me in their direction, I do not wish to pester you with my questions when you could be helping someone with more important topics than myself:
Miasas are spideresqe humanoids that love to pray on flying and land creatures alike. They are thankfully few, but no one really knows how many there are as their shape-shifting ability keeps them well hidden. They are able to create and make powerful webs that can hold adventurers fast, and heal at astonishing rates. They have been known to poison their victims for later and to focus on those still putting up a fight, but they are not opposed to fleeing with their pray. Hightly intelligent they set traps in any environment they enhabit, usually using thin webs to cover caverns that will maim, but not kill, or to trap. They have taught themselves how to use all forms of blades, and how to fight unared as they have no fangs or natural weapons that anyone knows of, but seem to have plenty of poison.
MIASA CR ?
Female Miasa
CN Medium humanoid (Miasa)
Init +6; Senses Perception +12
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 18, flat-footed 15 (+6 Dex, +3 Natural (+1 per 3 HD) +2 dodge)
HP: 17 (2d10+6) Fast Healing 1*, Regeneration 1*
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +7
Natural Invisibility
OFFENSE
Speed: 40 ft., Fly 3x base land speed (120 ft.) Perfect
Melee: Rapier +8 (1d6 + Poison 18-20 x2) or unarmed strike +8 (1d6 + Poison 20 x2)
Ranged: Longbow +8 (1d8 + Poison 20 x3)
Special: Poison, Poison Use, Sneak Attack 3d6, Swordtrained, Unarmed Strike
STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 20, Cha 16
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 19
Feats: Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +8, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +8, Perception +12, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +13, Survival +8 Racial Modifiers: +1 per HD to Stealth & Perception
Languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal,
SQ: Change Shape, Fast Healing*, Jumper, Low-light Vision, Multi-Armed, Multiweapon Mastery, Natural Invisibility, Stalker, Regeneration*, Web
ECOLOGY
Environment any forest, underground, dungeon, mountainous
Organization solitary, band (2–6), sect (6-20), or tribe (20–60)
Treasure NPC gear (Longbow [1], Shortsword [1], other treasure)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Change Shape (Su) A Miasa has the ability to assume the appearance of humanoids and monstrous humanoids, but retains most of its own physical qualities. A Miasa cannot change shape to a form more than one size category smaller or larger than its original form. This ability functions as a polymorph spell. The Miasa does not adjust its ability scores (although it gains any other abilities of the creature it mimics). It can remain in an alternate form indefinitely.
Energy Drain (Su) This attack saps a living opponent's vital energy (including undead, incaporeal and constructs) and happens automatically when a melee touch attack hits. Each successful energy drain bestows one negative level. If an attack that includes an energy drain scores a critical hit, it bestows twice the listed number of negative levels. Each level drained gives 5 temporary hit points to the Miasa. These temporary hit points last for a maximum of 1 hour. Negative levels remain until 24 hours have passed or until they are removed with a spell, such as restoration. If a negative level is not removed before 24 hours have passed, the affected creature must attempt a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the Miasa's HD + Miasa's Wis modifier). On a success, the negative level goes away with no harm to the creature. On a failure, the negative level becomes permanent. A separate saving throw is required for each negative level. If the creature dies from negative levels, the Miasa, depending upon its level, can take ranks in skills, feats, class features, and even racial abilities and special qualities.
Fast Healing (Ex) Miasa regains hit points at an exceptional rate, usually 1 or more hit points per round, as given in their entry. Except where noted here, fast healing is just like natural healing. Fast healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation, nor does it allow a creature to regrow lost body parts. Unless otherwise stated, it does not allow lost body parts to be reattached. Fast healing continues to function (even at negative hit points) until a Miasa dies, at which point the effects of fast healing end immediately.
Jumper (Ex) A Miasa is always considered to have a running start when attempting Acrobatics checks to jump.
Low-Light Vision (Ex) A Miasa can see four times as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of dim light. It retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Multi-Armed (Ex) A Miasa has four arms. One hand is considered its primary hand; all others are considered off hands. It can use any of its hands for other purposes that require free hands.
Multiweapon Mastery (Ex) The creature never takes penalties on its attack rolls when fighting with multiple weapons.
Natural Invisibility (Ex) This ability is constant—the Miasa remains invisible at all times, even when attacking. As this ability is inherent, it is not subject to the invisibility purge spell.
Poison (Ex) A creature with this ability can poison those it attacks. The Miasas poison inflicts 1d6 Con damage, and the next minute a second failed Fort save knocks the victim unconcious. The poison is secreted from the Miasas fingers onto weapons or they can touch the creature to deliver it through contact. The saving throw to resist a poison is a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 the Miasa's HD + the Miasa's Con modifier). Poisons can be removed through neutralize poison and similar effects.
Regeneration (Ex) Miasa's are difficult to kill. Acid cause a creature's regeneration to stop functioning on the round following the attack. During this round, the Miasa does not heal any damage from its regeneration and can die normally, but it still heals from its Fast Healing unless it is killed.
Attack forms that don't deal hit point damage are not healed by regeneration. Regeneration also does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation. Regenerating creatures can regrow lost portions of their bodies and can reattach severed limbs or body parts if they are brought together within 1 hour of severing. Severed parts that are not reattached wither and die normally.
Stalker (Ex): Perception and Stealth are class skills for a Miasa.
Web (Ex): Miasa's have a web ability they can use webs to support themselves and up to one additional creature of the same size. In addition, they can throw a web once per round. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a maximum range of 50 feet, with a range increment of 10 feet, and is effective against targets up to one size category larger than the web spinner. An entangled creature can escape with a successful Escape Artist check or burst the web with a Strength check. Both are standard actions with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 Miasa's HD + their Con modifier. Attempts to burst a web by those caught in it suffer a –4 penalty.
Miasa's can create sheets of sticky webbing up to three times their size. They usually position these sheets to snare flying creatures but can also try to trap prey on the ground. Approaching creatures must succeed on a DC 20 Perception check to notice a web; otherwise they stumble into it and become trapped as though by a successful web attack. Attempts to escape or burst the webbing gain a +5 bonus if the trapped creature has something to walk on or grab while pulling free. Each 5-foot-square section of web has a number of hit points equal to the Hit Dice of the Miasa that created it and DR 5/—.
A Miasa can move across webs as if it had a climb speed equal to their base land speed, and can pinpoint the location of any creature touching its web.
*Fast Healing & Regeneration increase at a rate of +1 at 5HD, and every 5HD after that (10, 15, 20, etc.)
I've been reading through Monster Codex and I am really enjoying it so far. I just finished the Troglodyte section and I was wondering if the Xulgath referred to on pg 211 are part of Golarion?
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we don't do base classes in our Campaign Setting booksHow about Player Companion? Adventure Path?
...Flip-Mat?
So what you're saying is that base classes will only ever be introduced in Pathfinder RPG world-neutral books?
Nope.
Base classes are the single most complex suite of rules elements that one can create, because they set baselines that influence EVERYTHING else. We've done an open public playtest of every single base class, and pulled out the stops to have Wayne illustrate them.
We don't have the time or resources to do more than one big playtest like this in a year, and therefore we don't do base classes except when they can be included in that yearly playtest. Adding something like this to any other product would cripple that product's chances of getting out on time.
We also don't want base classes to be "stranded" in a smaller book that is unlikely to be officially put into the Paizo PRD.
We are also increasingly concerned about the perception of class bloat.
There's other reasons too, but those are the significant ones.
Base classes will only be introduced once per year in one hardcover book, typically the one we release at Gen Con.
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I've been wondering what CR to give a race with the following stats...
I try to avoid giving design advice here, for legal reasons and time-management reasons.
That said, all my advice for how to assign a CR to a creature would end up being just me copy/pasting Appendix 1 from the Bestiary; those four pages pretty much lay out all the advice and guidelines we use to assign CR scores.
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Yay! What AP do you think a kobold PC would fit into best?Why are kobolds so awesome?Because they look adorable when they wear hooded cloaks.
None.
Kobolds aren't really good choices for PCs, and are particularly not good choices for any of our Adventure Paths, which assume that the races played by PCs are those accepted by society as not monsters.
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I've been reading through Monster Codex and I am really enjoying it so far. I just finished the Troglodyte section and I was wondering if the Xulgath referred to on pg 211 are part of Golarion?
Yes.
The word "xulgath" is actually one I gave to Paizo from my homebrew to serve as the racial name for "troglodyte."
In my homebrew, "xulgath" is in fact the collective name for all lizard-like humanoids; troglodytes, lizardfolk, etc.
In Golarion/Pathifnder, it's just the racial name for troglodytes.
The first time we spoke of the older troglodytes was in Into the Darklands, many years ago. A lot of them dwell in Deep Tolguth.
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Not actually played the AP, but what about skull and shachles?Yay! What AP do you think a kobold PC would fit into best?Why are kobolds so awesome?Because they look adorable when they wear hooded cloaks.None.
Kobolds aren't really good choices for PCs, and are particularly not good choices for any of our Adventure Paths, which assume that the races played by PCs are those accepted by society as not monsters.
Nope. Beyond the fact that kobolds are poor choices as PCs, and beyond the fact that in the Shackles, kobolds would be considered dangerous pests and troublemakers that need to be put down... the Shackles just doesn't have a lot of kobolds living there in the first place. That's not a region where kobolds are normally found.
If you want to play a non-core race in Skull & Shackles, the best choice thematically would be tengu.
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Mr. James,
I am fast approaching Skarwall in my "Curse of the Crimson Throne" campaign and I am very worried that my players may come across some bad luck, make one wrong decision, or behave carelessly and end up dead dead, bringing the story (which my players LOVE btw) to a screeching halt.
1. Have you ever killed your entire party? How did you continue the story?
2. What methods would you suggest for continuing the story without cheapening the consequences of their deaths?
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Not actually played the AP, but what about skull and shachles?Yay! What AP do you think a kobold PC would fit into best?Why are kobolds so awesome?Because they look adorable when they wear hooded cloaks.None.
Kobolds aren't really good choices for PCs, and are particularly not good choices for any of our Adventure Paths, which assume that the races played by PCs are those accepted by society as not monsters.
Nope. Beyond the fact that kobolds are poor choices as PCs, and beyond the fact that in the Shackles, kobolds would be considered dangerous pests and troublemakers that need to be put down... the Shackles just doesn't have a lot of kobolds living there in the first place. That's not a region where kobolds are normally found.
If you want to play a non-core race in Skull & Shackles, the best choice thematically would be tengu.
That makes sense. What's a non-core race that'd fit thematically with Second Darkness?
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Mr. James,
I am fast approaching Skarwall in my "Curse of the Crimson Throne" campaign and I am very worried that my players may come across some bad luck, make one wrong decision, or behave carelessly and end up dead dead, bringing the story (which my players LOVE btw) to a screeching halt.
1. Have you ever killed your entire party? How did you continue the story?
2. What methods would you suggest for continuing the story without cheapening the consequences of their deaths?
1) Yes. I didn't continue the story in some cases—I just let the campaign end and moved on. In other cases, instead of having the bad guys kill the PCs, they captured them and forced them to be prisoners and mind-controlled agents who went on an adventure for the bad guys, let out a cabal of ancient imprisoned evil wizards, then escaped and had to go after the wizards they released. That whole plotline was more or less improvised after the PCs had a TPK in White Plume Mountain, which had NOTHING to do with those ancient wizards when I started running it. But having it play out that way not only gave me a storyline for a half-year-long campaign, but made for a significant addition to my homebrew setting. And as it worked out... that whole storyline more or less was the first draft for Thassilon and the Runelords. So... if you DO get a TPK... don't kill the party. Just capture them. You might be surprised where things go from there.
2) Having the PCs captured so that they need to escape or regain their gear doesn't cheapen the storyline. If they DO die, just start the next campaign and have Illeosa now be in charge of Korvosa. Regardless of where then next game is set, the PCs new campaign should have at the very least some news updates from Korvosa. If you're really eager to continue the storyline... start over with new characters in Korvosa with new adventures with the PCs playing rebels or the like.
THAT SAID: PCs have a very strong will to survive, and are good at doing things and accomplishing things the GM thinks are instant kllls.
If you're worried mostly that a poor set of die rolls might TPK the party, the best way to deal with that is to use plot twist cards or hero points or something like that that gives the PCs a small, limited resource to re-roll or ignore the game-ending rolls (provided they don't waste those resources frivolously early on!).
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That makes sense. What's a non-core race that'd fit thematically with Second Darkness?
Aasimar or tiefling, I suppose. They don't really have much ties to the storyline (although with the demon stuff later on, a tiefling's a better choice than the aasimar, I suppose), but both are established races that live in Varisia, and that's a region that certainly would draw outcasts like this.
Honestly, the best race to play in Second Darkness if you want to mesh with the storyline would be elf.
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When will Lastwall and Mendev get Campaign Setting books?
When they do.
We do generally know all of our books on the schedule out to about 18 months in advance, but we generally only have the next 4 to 6 months announced at any one time.
And since there's no way for me to "guess" when we'll do a book on any topic, or if indeed we'll ever do that book at all ever, without folks interpreting those "guesses" as law, I don't answer questions of "when will this book come out" unless we've already announced it.
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That makes sense. What's a non-core race that'd fit thematically with Second Darkness?Aasimar or tiefling, I suppose. They don't really have much ties to the storyline (although with the demon stuff later on, a tiefling's a better choice than the aasimar, I suppose), but both are established races that live in Varisia, and that's a region that certainly would draw outcasts like this.
Honestly, the best race to play in Second Darkness if you want to mesh with the storyline would be elf.
Doesn't that run the risk of being metagamey or spoileriffic? Elves are kind of in on the conspiracy...
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That makes sense. What's a non-core race that'd fit thematically with Second Darkness?Aasimar or tiefling, I suppose. They don't really have much ties to the storyline (although with the demon stuff later on, a tiefling's a better choice than the aasimar, I suppose), but both are established races that live in Varisia, and that's a region that certainly would draw outcasts like this.
Honestly, the best race to play in Second Darkness if you want to mesh with the storyline would be elf.
Doesn't that run the risk of being metagamey or spoileriffic? Elves are kind of in on the conspiracy...
** spoiler omitted **
Some elves are in on it. Most are not.
It's not wrong at ALL to play a race that plays a strong role in a campaign. Actually, to be specific, it IS metagamey, but in a great and productive and positive way.
Playing an elf gives you +1 more reason to want to go on the Second Darkness adventurers, in fact. Even if it's only "I want to find out the truth of the rumors."
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But how does such a character start out? I thought part of Second Darkness' plot revolved around the fact that the characters are outside help recruited by the elves, rather than working FOR the elves right from the start.
Just starts out as an elf, just like in any other campaign. Elf is a core race; you don't need to do much extra work to justify the choice in-world for ANY adventure path, including Second Darkness. The fact that the player knows it's an elf-themed AP doesn't matter.
There are PLENTY of elves who aren't part of the secret societies (lantern bearers or Winter Council) working against the drow. In fact, MOST elves aren't part of those societies. Just play an elf who doesn't start out as a member of one of those secret societies and you're fine. Forlorn elves, in particular, are a strong choice, since they don't even have ties to elven society at all.
In fact, I suspect that given all other equal options, the lantern bearers would rather hire elves to help them than any other race of adventurer they find in Riddleport.
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That makes sense. What's a non-core race that'd fit thematically with Second Darkness?Aasimar or tiefling, I suppose. They don't really have much ties to the storyline (although with the demon stuff later on, a tiefling's a better choice than the aasimar, I suppose), but both are established races that live in Varisia, and that's a region that certainly would draw outcasts like this.
Honestly, the best race to play in Second Darkness if you want to mesh with the storyline would be elf.
What about a drow?
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Creative Director
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What about a drow?That makes sense. What's a non-core race that'd fit thematically with Second Darkness?Aasimar or tiefling, I suppose. They don't really have much ties to the storyline (although with the demon stuff later on, a tiefling's a better choice than the aasimar, I suppose), but both are established races that live in Varisia, and that's a region that certainly would draw outcasts like this.
Honestly, the best race to play in Second Darkness if you want to mesh with the storyline would be elf.
No.
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Creative Director
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I'm sorry for posting a rules clarification here, but I've found at least five different threads asking this question over the years and over 25 FAQ's requests for clarification without a reply.
Because of the clarification made to the Lore Oracle Mystery Sidestep secret, namely
"Your armor's maximum Dexterity bonus applies to your Charisma instead of your Dexterity."
GM's(and Hero Lab/Lonewolf) are applying this limitation to the Nature Oracle's mystery, Nature's Whispers, also restricting this mystery to be of use only up to the worn armor's maximum Dexterity bonus.
Would you mind chiming in on this? TIA!
I understand the frustration folks have at having to wait for so long for resolutions to some rules questions... but I'm not willing to trade those frustrations for others that will doubtless arise if I happen to interpret a rule differently than the design team.
You'll need to contact someone on the rules team for this as a result. Mark's probably your best bet.
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Aasimar or tiefling, I suppose. They don't really have much ties to the storyline (although with the demon stuff later on, a tiefling's a better choice than the aasimar, I suppose), but both are established races that live in Varisia, and that's a region that certainly would draw outcasts like this.Honestly, the best race to play in Second Darkness if you want to mesh with the storyline would be elf.
Some elves are in on it. Most are not.
It's not wrong at ALL to play a race that plays a strong role in a campaign. Actually, to be specific, it IS metagamey, but in a great and productive and positive way.
Playing an elf gives you +1 more reason to want to go on the Second Darkness adventurers, in fact. Even if it's only "I want to find out the truth of the rumors."
Aren't you biased on the point of Elves? It's well known you're an elf Apologist. You even created an Iconic Elf.
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Hi James, I have a question on why there is such a disparity between the magic level of the characters presented in pazio fiction [which is very good IMO. I have bought all of the novel except the pirate novel. ] and the magic level of the AP's?
I wish Pazio would make the magic level of the AP's the same as the magic level of the fiction and give the characters the means acquire to the high magic that is presented so well in the Pazio fiction.
Do you have any plans to write in the Fiction line?
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But how does such a character start out? I thought part of Second Darkness' plot revolved around the fact that the characters are outside help recruited by the elves, rather than working FOR the elves right from the start.Just starts out as an elf, just like in any other campaign. Elf is a core race; you don't need to do much extra work to justify the choice in-world for ANY adventure path, including Second Darkness. The fact that the player knows it's an elf-themed AP doesn't matter.
There are PLENTY of elves who aren't part of the secret societies (lantern bearers or Winter Council) working against the drow. In fact, MOST elves aren't part of those societies. Just play an elf who doesn't start out as a member of one of those secret societies and you're fine. Forlorn elves, in particular, are a strong choice, since they don't even have ties to elven society at all.
In fact, I suspect that given all other equal options, the lantern bearers would rather hire elves to help them than any other race of adventurer they find in Riddleport.
What are some good starting points or examples for the kind of mindset you get as a forlorn elf? I know Merisiel is one, but she's unique.
Are blue robes/dresses obligatory for the White Witches of Irrisen?
I'm too lazy to make a thorough check, but it feels like all the ones illustrated are dressed in that.
