|
Who's to say they didn't just use wish for the proficiency or build in a special ability for their weapons that grants proficiency when wielded? Aren't the badges of office minor artifacts in their own right? No need to waste a feat when you have MAGIC!I'm to say, in fact.
...
Clearly you're loving this, JJ. ;)
James explained that upthread.
You could also ask why they (?; at least Karzoug did) boosted their Str score?
Because they can/could. Heck, they had all the resources imaginable available to them; what should've stopped them from doing so?
Ruyan.
I've got to make a polearm wielding magus now.
I use polearms regularly on my full-caster characters. Get an AoO for free (0.25% for a confirmed crit!) and bluff your opponent by letting go of the weapon, pretending to be an innocent bystander.
Ruyan.
I don't regard a runelord spending a feat to be proficient in a pole arm to be a waste. Wizards have feats to spare. They're about spells, after all, not feats.
I am running the anniversary edition of the ROTRL currently and my players and I are really enjoying it! (Just finished the battle with the Quasit Witch...best fight of my GM career!)
I always thought the Ranseur was a really unique choice, and felt it went perfectly with the Sihedron Rune, as each point represented a sin, and the Polearm was a badge of office representing that Runelord's "sin-point" of the Rune and his power over his "Sin." Symbolism is often important in leadership roles, almost as much as diplomacy can be.
Probably overthinking it however...
=)
I've got to make a polearm wielding magus now.
I've got one with a Trident brewing up on paper...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Speaking of Obscure fantasy novels:
The C.J Cherryth Morgaine Novels - Fires of Azeroth, Well of Shiun, Gate of Ivrel and Exiles Gate...top notch
And who can forget Karl Edward Wagners Kane novels and Short stories...now there was a hard core badass...makes Darth Vader look like a Boy Scout Troop Leader
Some day, when the stars are right, they'll all have stats.Nice! I loved the write ups but was a little disappointed when there were no stats to go along with them.Is there a reason why none of them were statted in the Shattered Star Part VI?A couple of reasons.
1) They don't actually appear in the adventure, so there's no need for their stats.
2) Three of them are mythic characters, and as such we couldn't stat them yet anyway. Maybe in 3 months when those rules are (hopefully) nailed down.
Great!
Speaking of Obscure fantasy novels:
The C.J Cherryth Morgaine Novels - Fires of Azeroth, Well of Shiun, Gate of Ivrel and Exiles Gate...top notch
And who can forget Karl Edward Wagners Kane novels and Short stories...now there was a hard core badass...makes Darth Vader look like a Boy Scout Troop Leader
Yup! Kane was a stark raving badass and my all time favorite fantasy character
To answer the OP: Why the hell not?
And as for Mr Jacobs literary tastes, you really can't go wrong with horror, probably the novel that got me to really branch or into other types of fiction was The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson. That lead me to Lovecraft which led me to Howard which led me to more generic fantasy, though I still have to get through Tolkien to be honest.
I don't regard a runelord spending a feat to be proficient in a pole arm to be a waste. Wizards have feats to spare. They're about spells, after all, not feats.I am running the anniversary edition of the ROTRL currently and my players and I are really enjoying it! (Just finished the battle with the Quasit Witch...best fight of my GM career!)
I always thought the Ranseur was a really unique choice, and felt it went perfectly with the Sihedron Rune, as each point represented a sin, and the Polearm was a badge of office representing that Runelord's "sin-point" of the Rune and his power over his "Sin." Symbolism is often important in leadership roles, almost as much as diplomacy can be.
Probably overthinking it however...
=)
I'm a player in a RotRL campaign and I'm extremely fond of that particular Ranseur (assuming you're referring to the one in the statue under Sandpoint). It's my Barbarian's favorite weapon, I'd say; it's had some upgrades (magical, now furious) which seem in line with the style :)
Creative Director
|
To answer the OP: Why the hell not?
And as for Mr Jacobs literary tastes, you really can't go wrong with horror, probably the novel that got me to really branch or into other types of fiction was The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson. That lead me to Lovecraft which led me to Howard which led me to more generic fantasy, though I still have to get through Tolkien to be honest.
That's a GREAT book. Wilson's actually one of my favorite authors.
Has it ever been formally determined in character why the polearm became associated with the status of runelord? Like how it became a badge of office or some such?
That's a GREAT book. Wilson's actually one of my favorite authors.To answer the OP: Why the hell not?
And as for Mr Jacobs literary tastes, you really can't go wrong with horror, probably the novel that got me to really branch or into other types of fiction was The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson. That lead me to Lovecraft which led me to Howard which led me to more generic fantasy, though I still have to get through Tolkien to be honest.
I have to like him he's a hometown author who's done good, he's also very friendly to his fans and very approachable
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Has it ever been formally determined in character why the polearm became associated with the status of runelord? Like how it became a badge of office or some such?
I think that should be fairly obvious. If you're a single-classed wizard then you'll easily be an archmage (level 15+) by the time you have enough BAB to wield a polearm effectively in combat against say a 5th level fighter. If you see some wizard beating up on people with a polearm then you know he's no one to be trifled with.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Since the mouths are covered, they're all being played by Bela Lugosi's stand-in from "Plan 9 From Outer Space"?Everyone knows the singular is wizard and plural is Gandalfs. Like vampire is singular and Draculas are plural."You encounter 1d4 male and female human Draculas. They slowly approach with their capes drawn over their mouths and their eyes staring hypnotically into yours."
Always
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
IIRC, Sorshen's polearm is pink, which is definitely awesome. It should also be slightly soft and warm to the touch, if possible, and give a soft red light to the ambience.
The runelords loved their polearm shtick. What I don't understand is why they did not delve deeper into swiss army polearm territory with a glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-voulge-glaive.
Also, the plural of wizard is obviously Gandalves.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
@JAmes,
when did you put the Runelords' proficiency in their growth? If they didn't start out at first level going "I'd better pick up proficiency in the Ranseur, just in case I grow up to be hte Runelord of Wrath," Then when did they take it? When they were awarded/gained the post? "Hmm, I'd better spend my next feat on Ranseur so I don't look like an idiot."
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
@JAmes,
when did you put the Runelords' proficiency in their growth? If they didn't start out at first level going "I'd better pick up proficiency in the Ranseur, just in case I grow up to be hte Runelord of Wrath," Then when did they take it? When they were awarded/gained the post? "Hmm, I'd better spend my next feat on Ranseur so I don't look like an idiot."
First off... I don't consider NPCs to gain levels in the same way PCs do. Very few high level NPCs got that way by going on adventures, killing monsters, and taking their stuff. In fact, since Pathfinder dumped the only reason for NPCs to track XP (XP spell components for powerful spells), there's really no reason at all for NPCs to ever have XP in the first place. They level up when and how quickly the GM needs them to level up. (An obvious exception to this rule are close ally NPCs and cohorts who DO travel with and adventure with PCs.)
As a result, I do not generally bother tracking out how an NPC's rise through the levels equates to the various feats, abilities, spells, and the like are accumulated in their histories. I do add feats in ascending order of power so that when I'm picking 10 feats for a high HD NPC, the first ones I assign are things with no or minor prerequesites, but that doesn't mean I won't assign something like martial weapon proficiency as the 10th feat once I've come to a point where the first 9 feats all do what I want to do.
Furthermore, Karzoug and any other runelord could well have simply retrained a feat they no longer want or need in exchange for the weapon proficiency. Although the retraining rules aren't yet published (they're coming soon in Ultimate Campaign), existing NPCs in Golarion can be assumed to have used them now and then as makes sense for their story.
In any event... it's really not accurate to think of a runelord or ANY NPC as a PC, or as their powers and levels accumulating in that way.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Why do runelords use polearms?
One word: Compensation.
:P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm sort of disappointed the mancatcher won't be a Runelord weapon. It seems a natural for the Runelord of Lust to have.I'm pretty sure Sorshen doesn't need a man catcher, she seems to be able to catch them just fine as is.
It's true.
Their polearms are as much weapons as they are badges of office.
Furhtermore, I wanted the runelords to have several elements that tied them together that made them all feel of a kind, despite the fact that individually they're really pretty different. Making them all single-class wizards was one thing, but then giving them all long hafted weapons was another. In fact, a wizard with a pole arm is such an unusual choice that it really goes a LONG way to give them all some cool connected personalities and the like.
In a perfect world, in the future when someone sees a picture of a wizard dude in robes carrying a magic polearm, I'd like them to say "Oh! That's a runelord!" in the same way folks today see a wizard in robes and a pointy hat and a beard and a staff say "Oh! That's a Gandalf!"
Although you may have not been thinking along these lines, you didn't min/max the Runelord NPCs: you actually took something for "flavor"! That's much appreciated, and something from which we all can learn at some point during our gaming "careers".
My 17th level barbarian is a joke stacked up against a min/maxed one: Ability score increases in Charisma, several third-party diplomacy-boosting feats, etc. - but the "story" chose that route for him. It makes perfect sense within the context of our campaign.
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Clearly, modern wizards' usage of staves is due to corrupt and faded legends of the proper way of things. :)
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Although you may have not been thinking along these lines, you didn't min/max the Runelord NPCs: you actually took something for "flavor"! That's much appreciated, and something from which we all can learn at some point during our gaming "careers".
My 17th level barbarian is a joke stacked up against a min/maxed one: Ability score increases in Charisma, several third-party diplomacy-boosting feats, etc. - but the "story" chose that route for him. It makes perfect sense within the context of our campaign.
I'm actually always thinking along those lines... for NPCs and for my own PCs.
I'm not a fan of tuning an NPC to the absolute maximum efficiency, and using every single resource in an attempt to be the best at something. Frankly... that kind of character, be it a PC or NPC, kinda bores me. For example, I was just statting up a hezrou with barbarian levels a little bit ago, and when giving him his gear, I ended up with 11,500 gp left over after purchasing his armor and weapon. I noted he had a pretty lame reflex save, so a min-max option would have been a purchase of a cloak of protection +3 and maybe a few potions of cat's grace or something along those lines. But frankly, the idea of a hezrou wearing a cloak seems kinda silly to me, especially this particular hezrou (whose stats folks get to see this August). So instead I gave him a gauntlet of rust; that fit his personality and made him look really cool, even though it's not really gonna help his "core competencies" as a barbarian hezrou.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Clearly, modern wizards' usage of staves is due to corrupt and faded legends of the proper way of things. :)
I love this explanation. Consider it borrowed.
After starfall and the long climb back to civilization, a wizard found a statue of a Runelord with the blade of the polearm broken off. Hence real wizards use staffs.
I'd use a polearm for my wizard's staff. Money.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Can you put staff enchants on polearms? Could there be a bohemian ear-spoon of the magi? :D
Bohemian ear spoon ftw!!!
|
|
Were perhaps the Runelords to inventors of some of these Polearms in Golarion? They did live a long time ago...
Or perhaps inventor is a poor choice of words, if they were used by outsiders elsewhere..perhaps "popularized by the Runelords"?
It's like Shakespeare.
He is our first source for many words but we'll never know for sure if he coined them.
A polearm for Karzoug is not that bizarre. His Strength was 20, and if he had the Augment and Perfect Self class features (The Enhancement school of Transmutation fits more with his personality I think), he could make his Strength 34 for twenty rounds! That is not including Strength boosted spells he could thrown on himself.
Side question:
Is Karzoug an Enhancement Transmuter? Did the Runelords have access to the focused schools of magic?
I liked her scientific approach to vampirism in her novel Those Who Hunt in the Night as well. First time I heard of the "vampirism is a virus" idea, and that was back in the 80s.Huh... I'd say VERY obscure, since I don't recognize any of the capitalized words you just listed except "Archmage" and "Trilogy."Barbara Hambly, a past president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, is a prolific author and criminally under-recognized fantasist. I particularly recommend her Winterlands books, starting with Dragonsbane.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, 1954.
|
A polearm for Karzoug is not that bizarre. His Strength was 20, and if he had the Augment and Perfect Self class features (The Enhancement school of Transmutation fits more with his personality I think), he could make his Strength 34 for twenty rounds! That is not including Strength boosted spells he could thrown on himself.
Side question:
Is Karzoug an Enhancement Transmuter? Did the Runelords have access to the focused schools of magic?
I am not near my books, but for some reason I thought that Greed=conjuration...
I am not near my books, but for some reason I thought that Greed=conjuration...A polearm for Karzoug is not that bizarre. His Strength was 20, and if he had the Augment and Perfect Self class features (The Enhancement school of Transmutation fits more with his personality I think), he could make his Strength 34 for twenty rounds! That is not including Strength boosted spells he could thrown on himself.
Side question:
Is Karzoug an Enhancement Transmuter? Did the Runelords have access to the focused schools of magic?
Nope, Conjuration is the magic of the slothful, as you summon others to do what you can do yourself. Transmutation is the magic of the greedy, as it is used to improve yourself and warp objects to serve your needs. Transmutation is also traditionally associated with turning things into gold.
A polearm for Karzoug is not that bizarre. His Strength was 20, and if he had the Augment and Perfect Self class features (The Enhancement school of Transmutation fits more with his personality I think), he could make his Strength 34 for twenty rounds! That is not including Strength boosted spells he could thrown on himself.
Side question:
Is Karzoug an Enhancement Transmuter? Did the Runelords have access to the focused schools of magic?
No, per James, if you're a Thassilonian specialized, you can only get the regular school abilities instead of being able to select a subschool.
Not that it would matter much. The Enhancement subschool gives enhancement bonuses to stats, which wouldn't stack with the +6 STR that Karzoug already has. Or with any strength boosting spells.
They use Polearms, because dualwielding sword and staff was already done by some other mythic wizard.
And because it's cool as hell. Rule of Cool trumps everything
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Can you put staff enchants on polearms? Could there be a bohemian ear-spoon of the magi? :D
I say, old bean! Good show!
Runelord of wrath, riding a barded T-Rex with mounted wands of scorching ray, surrounded by orcish barbarians wielding Numerian ship-guns.
I... didn't think anyone else remembered those cartoons existed.