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If knowing what these beans do is one desire.
Then the troll shall very much inquire.
Whats it to you?
If satisfactory answer was doth given.
His answer would proceed in rhythm.
It is said these beans doth do.
A tree of great height and might doth grow.
Its also said these beans doth do.
Many colors of a rainbow shall beam.
It leading to something angry and green.
If this angry green thing is much defeated.
Colors of gold and crimson shall then be shown.
Its also said these beans doth do.
If shown with tender loving care once in ground.
A plant will grow more human then not.
Tho whether it be man or woman is still unknown.
Whether it be friend or foe as well.
If it is not obvious yet the troll doth not know.
They are certified so magic will happen.
The mystery of the beans is really its major pull.
Just like the mystery of your backside to this said troll.
Since you did not pay my bill to said inn.
I was found under that one tree.
Now washing dishes in its kitchen.
This message was doth dictated.
For hands too pruney to write.
Hopefully just the inn people will notice me.
For if that orc in the corner is one i feel it is.
This night might be that night i once promised.
I hope the rumors i heard are but that.
If it true and that be that orc.
Well Adieu


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Serum wrote:
What are your thoughts on the scalability of the fey creature template? (specifically for me, I'm tempted on using it with some animals like dire wolves)

Hah, I was ninja'd while commenting about scaling templates with a question about scaling templates! Priceless! :D

Honestly, it seems like a much better practice in general. One has to remember that going up a CR is the equivalent to a wizard gaining another level of spellcasting. When you go up 2 CRs you're in a whole new tier, and you're supposed to be worth two of what you were before. >_>


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Tarinia Faynrik wrote:

If knowing what these beans do is one desire.

Then the troll shall very much inquire.
Whats it to you?
If satisfactory answer was doth given.
His answer would proceed in rhythm.
It is said these beans doth do.
A tree of great height and might doth grow.
Its also said these beans doth do.
Many colors of a rainbow shall beam.
It leading to something angry and green.
If this angry green thing is much defeated.
Colors of gold and crimson shall then be shown.
Its also said these beans doth do.
If shown with tender loving care once in ground.
A plant will grow more human then not.
Tho whether it be man or woman is still unknown.
Whether it be friend or foe as well.
If it is not obvious yet the troll doth not know.
They are certified so magic will happen.
The mystery of the beans is really its major pull.
Just like the mystery of your backside to this said troll.
Since you did not pay my bill to said inn.
I was found under that one tree.
Now washing dishes in its kitchen.
This message was doth dictated.
For hands too pruney to write.
Hopefully just the inn people will notice me.
For if that orc in the corner is one i feel it is.
This night might be that night i once promised.
I hope the rumors i heard are but that.
If it true and that be that orc.
Well Adieu

Eh, why not? It sounds like a free adventure hook to see something exciting at the rock bottom price of a sliver of my dignity and a laugh. I mean really, some gentle fondling is the least of the troubles you could get from a troll (the troll's already being pretty nice since he didn't tear me limb from limb and just use my back-end as a pillow). :P


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Ashiel wrote:
Serum wrote:
What are your thoughts on the scalability of the fey creature template? (specifically for me, I'm tempted on using it with some animals like dire wolves)

Hah, I was ninja'd while commenting about scaling templates with a question about scaling templates! Priceless! :D

Honestly, it seems like a much better practice in general. One has to remember that going up a CR is the equivalent to a wizard gaining another level of spellcasting. When you go up 2 CRs you're in a whole new tier, and you're supposed to be worth two of what you were before. >_>

On a side note, you might want to be careful with certain animals. Putting that template on a tiger for example would be pretty horrifying since it allows it to Stealth without cover/concealment and a supernatural (IE - doesn't provoke) teleportation ability as a move action, which means that the tiger could be like...

Surprise round: "I'm a tiger, rawr!" -> PC-down
Round 1: "Bye!" ->Teleport->Stealth->sneak about.
1d4 rounds later: "I'm a tiger, rawer!" -> PC-down.

:P


Dear Ashiel,

Is your behind worth using as a pillow? My troll buddy wants to know.

Also... What would you say to having a Giant Advanced Shadow Fey Nightmare Tiger as an opponent? How about an animal companion?

Also, should I be more judicious on my usage of templates, or let Rule of Cool rule?

Edit: I randomly came up with that for a kind of boss battle, on probably an awakened tiger, as a story arc bad guy.

Shadow Lodge

Ashiel wrote:
Ashiel wrote:
Serum wrote:
What are your thoughts on the scalability of the fey creature template? (specifically for me, I'm tempted on using it with some animals like dire wolves)

Hah, I was ninja'd while commenting about scaling templates with a question about scaling templates! Priceless! :D

Honestly, it seems like a much better practice in general. One has to remember that going up a CR is the equivalent to a wizard gaining another level of spellcasting. When you go up 2 CRs you're in a whole new tier, and you're supposed to be worth two of what you were before. >_>

On a side note, you might want to be careful with certain animals. Putting that template on a tiger for example would be pretty horrifying since it allows it to Stealth without cover/concealment and a supernatural (IE - doesn't provoke) teleportation ability as a move action, which means that the tiger could be like...

Surprise round: "I'm a tiger, rawr!" -> PC-down
Round 1: "Bye!" ->Teleport->Stealth->sneak about.
1d4 rounds later: "I'm a tiger, rawer!" -> PC-down.

:P

I don't know, two of those sound suitably fun for a level 5 party :).


Artemis Moonstar wrote:

Dear Ashiel,

Is your behind worth using as a pillow? My troll buddy wants to know.

It's soft and squishy and I tend to be pretty diligent when it comes to personal hygiene. :)

Quote:
Also... What would you say to having a Giant Advanced Shadow Fey Nightmare Tiger as an opponent? How about an animal companion?

Me personally, I'm often of the mindset that "less is more", but like spices, that's really a personal preference thing. :)

Of the top of my head though, after you've applied so many templates to the creature, it's probably going to end up somewhat underpowered since it'll have an incredibly low stock of HD for its CR (which may result in it just getting one-shot by spells like cloudkill or holy word).

Quote:
Also, should I be more judicious on my usage of templates, or let Rule of Cool rule?

Depends on what works for you group. I personally tend towards vigilance, but I've frequently refluffed some stuff here and there if it would just be cool to do.

One example is an NPC sorceress in my game. She's officially a human with a lot of draconic heritage. Mechanically she's actually a lizardfolk sorcerer (and I felt it provided a better result than actually making her a half dragon).


Serum wrote:
Ashiel wrote:
Ashiel wrote:
Serum wrote:
What are your thoughts on the scalability of the fey creature template? (specifically for me, I'm tempted on using it with some animals like dire wolves)

Hah, I was ninja'd while commenting about scaling templates with a question about scaling templates! Priceless! :D

Honestly, it seems like a much better practice in general. One has to remember that going up a CR is the equivalent to a wizard gaining another level of spellcasting. When you go up 2 CRs you're in a whole new tier, and you're supposed to be worth two of what you were before. >_>

On a side note, you might want to be careful with certain animals. Putting that template on a tiger for example would be pretty horrifying since it allows it to Stealth without cover/concealment and a supernatural (IE - doesn't provoke) teleportation ability as a move action, which means that the tiger could be like...

Surprise round: "I'm a tiger, rawr!" -> PC-down
Round 1: "Bye!" ->Teleport->Stealth->sneak about.
1d4 rounds later: "I'm a tiger, rawer!" -> PC-down.

:P

I don't know, two of those sound suitably fun for a level 5 party :).

It surely could be. Just pointing out that it's got a very strong hit and run routine out of that, moreso than a normal tiger (who already has a very strong hit and run incentive), and that it's very likely that it could kill an entire party who wasn't able to quickly adapt too its shenanigans.

That said, its shtick could be monkey-wrenched with a circle of caltrops if worst came to worst (which would prvent the tiger from pouncing), or a readied grease spell or something (oops, difficult terain, sucks to be you kitty), but tigers are already well known for 1st-turn PC-slayings so you're probably going to be down your favorite wizard. >_>"


Hate to be a bother, but any word on that vampire template? I'm actively curious about it. The Lichling was pretty neat too.


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Icehawk wrote:
Hate to be a bother, but any word on that vampire template? I'm actively curious about it. The Lichling was pretty neat too.

Sure thing. I'll try to get it up here after work (heading out now). The PC that I have with the original document is having some boot issues right now so I'll need to remap some of the short notes on the character sheet and rewrite it. On the plus side, you'll be the beneficiary of a revised version that's even better than the last. :P


Hey Ash. How would you feel if your thread overtook JJ's AMA?

Also... Have you a 3ds? Have you tried Pokemon Shuffle yet? It's freaking addicting. I'd avoid it if I were you...

Speaking of... If you've got a 3ds, wii, or ps3, wanna trade gamertags? I'd offer my 360 tag but I haven't had a 360 in years.


Artemis Moonstar wrote:
Hey Ash. How would you feel if your thread overtook JJ's AMA?

Incredibly confused. XD

Quote:

Also... Have you a 3ds? Have you tried Pokemon Shuffle yet? It's freaking addicting. I'd avoid it if I were you...

Speaking of... If you've got a 3ds, wii, or ps3, wanna trade gamertags? I'd offer my 360 tag but I haven't had a 360 in years.

Alas, the most recent handheld I have is my Nintendo DS, and the most recent pokemon game I own/have played was Diamond & Pearl. Not for lack of interest so much as lack of having the time to go out and get 'em (since it would mean also updating my handheld).

At the moment, most of my gaming is invested into my PC (by invested, I mean Steam sales are like a ruthless dominatrix and my wallet is its willing and incredibly submissive plaything), and emulators to play my old games (I have a mountain of classic games that need to be replayed again and again and again and again and...I have an urge to play FF-Tactics again, and again...). :P

And D&D/PF, but even though I most frequently play with virtual tabletops I don't typically consider it a vidja game. :P


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Ashiel wrote:
Artemis Moonstar wrote:
Hey Ash. How would you feel if your thread overtook JJ's AMA?

Incredibly confused. XD

Quote:

Also... Have you a 3ds? Have you tried Pokemon Shuffle yet? It's freaking addicting. I'd avoid it if I were you...

Speaking of... If you've got a 3ds, wii, or ps3, wanna trade gamertags? I'd offer my 360 tag but I haven't had a 360 in years.

Alas, the most recent handheld I have is my Nintendo DS, and the most recent pokemon game I own/have played was Diamond & Pearl. Not for lack of interest so much as lack of having the time to go out and get 'em (since it would mean also updating my handheld).

At the moment, most of my gaming is invested into my PC (by invested, I mean Steam sales are like a ruthless dominatrix and my wallet is its willing and incredibly submissive plaything), and emulators to play my old games (I have a mountain of classic games that need to be replayed again and again and again and again and...I have an urge to play FF-Tactics again, and again...). :P

And D&D/PF, but even though I most frequently play with virtual tabletops I don't typically consider it a vidja game. :P

Just had a horrible mental image of Seoni tied to a wall being whipped by a clockwork soldier....


5 people marked this as a favorite.
Icehawk wrote:
Hate to be a bother, but any word on that vampire template? I'm actively curious about it. The Lichling was pretty neat too.

Sorry it took so long. I had to rewrite it from scratch and I really wanted to have it more complete before I posted it up here but I also didn't want to make you wait to sate my own interest in adding more content. (^~^)"

Ashiel's Vampires. Links to the artists' deviantart pages can be found at the end of the document if you find you like the art and want to support the artists. :)

The template found here is complete but the document itself is not. However thanks to a suggestion by Kryzbyn, I've taken to including the revision number on my projects these days which means that people will be able to tell at a glance when the project has been updated and new material available without having to parse the entire document periodically to see if any changes were made.

The major differences between this vampire and the regular vampire can be summarized as follows.


  • Less powerful static adjustments (+2 Str as opposed to Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4), +2 natural armor (instead of +6), and lower skill modifiers (+3 instead of +8).
  • DR weakened to 2/silver but scales with level (makes playing or running low-level vampires a non-issue). Resistances lowered to 5.
  • Fast healing reduced to 2 Hp/round instead of 5. They'll still heal up between fights but it's not nearly as amazing in the middle of combat.
  • Energy drain now tied to HD so you don't have to worry about low-level vampire NPCs wrecking your PCs, and in a similar fashion don't have to worry about vampire PCs insta-gibbing every encounter with level-draining. Requires a 6HD vampire before level draining becomes a thing and begins at 1 negative level (instead of 2), but eventually reaches 3 negative levels (for 18th level vampires). As a result wights are still the premier low-level drainers. :)
  • Vampires don't get a truckload of bonus feats anymore.
  • Dominate was just too damn powerful (it's a non-dispellable effect that lasts days at a time that's too difficult to defend against). Has been replaced with a charm effect instead and creatures that save against it become immune to it for 24 hours (which prevents spamming the ability). Since it's a charm effect, coercing your victim to do something they are vehemently opposed to (like murdering their friends) gives them an opposed Charisma check and an extra save to break the effect entirely.
  • Children of the Night and Gaseous Form removed. These powers are incredibly specific and also rather inappropriate for low-level vampires. They're also problematic on PCs (and the latter is irritating as hell on NPCs). The former is intended to be offered back in as a feat option.
  • A ton of vampire weaknesses removed and/or revised. A lot of vampire weaknesses I honestly just find kind of stupid and/or counterproductive to running a good game (not casting shadows and/or having reflections kind of kills any intrigue of passing for humans, the running water thing is just dumb, etc).
  • Weaknesses I felt were more central to the vampire (holy symbols, sunlight, stakes) have been fleshed out in more detail and hopefully increase how interesting it would be to have them as NPCs and/or for PCs. A few new weaknesses (such as alternate methods of killing vampires) were added, including direct references to Hunger from Blood of the Night by Tork Shaw.
  • Vampires now have the ability to assume the shape of a giant bat or a bat swarm (because dispersing into a cloud of bats is just too darn cool). It's unique ability that can be interrupted and/or stifled in ways similar to spells, but it cannot be dispelled (hence it's supernatural). When in swarm form the vampire gets neutered in terms of offensive potential (no spells, powers, energy drain, vampire shenanigans, etc) because being an intelligent swarm is awesome enough in its own right. Has a few extra weaknesses (susceptible to single-targeting anti-undead spells and takes 1/2 damage from weapon attacks despite being a diminutive swarm, with plans to allow a feat to gain full invulnerability at mid levels).
  • Added the ability for vampires to feed on other vampires.
  • Added a +10 racial bonus to pass as the creature's base race with Disguise (so being a vampire isn't so blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes in their head and a few ranks in Perception).
  • Create spawn was nerfed. Instead of allowing you to control lots of minions it instead allows you to create new vampires that are merely charmed which means that they can break free of your control. Vampire lords have an ability similar to the original vampire except they get to control a lot more HD but are limited to much weaker spawn in terms of what they can control (original vampires could control their HD x2 in undead, whereas the new lords can control their HD x4 but no minion may have more HD than their HD x0.5).
  • Vampire immortality (including what happens when they are slain, dismembered, etc) more clearly defined. Thanks to the loss of gaseous form, killing vampires is also a lot easier (beat the snot out of them, stake 'em, hang 'em out to dry).

For PCs interested in being a vampire, I recommend starting with an NPC class (such as adept, aristorcrat, expert, or warrior) along with the +1 CR template rather than being a PC. Starts them off with some basic proficiencies and/or skills but gives them their basic vampire-mojo instead of class features.


Ashiel wrote:
Icehawk wrote:
Hate to be a bother, but any word on that vampire template? I'm actively curious about it. The Lichling was pretty neat too.

Sorry it took so long. I had to rewrite it from scratch and I really wanted to have it more complete before I posted it up here but I also didn't want to make you wait to sate my own interest in adding more content. (^~^)"

Ashiel's Vampires. Links to the artists' deviantart pages can be found at the end of the document if you find you like the art and want to support the artists. :)

The template found here is complete but the document itself is not. However thanks to a suggestion by Kryzbyn, I've taken to including the revision number on my projects these days which means that people will be able to tell at a glance when the project has been updated and new material available without having to parse the entire document periodically to see if any changes were made.

The major differences between this vampire and the regular vampire can be summarized as follows.


  • Less powerful static adjustments (+2 Str as opposed to Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4), +2 natural armor (instead of +6), and lower skill modifiers (+3 instead of +8).
  • DR weakened to 2/silver but scales with level (makes playing or running low-level vampires a non-issue). Resistances lowered to 5.
  • Fast healing reduced to 2 Hp/round instead of 5. They'll still heal up between fights but it's not nearly as amazing in the middle of combat.
  • Energy drain now tied to HD so you don't have to worry about low-level vampire NPCs wrecking your PCs, and in a similar fashion don't have to worry about vampire PCs insta-gibbing every encounter with level-draining. Requires a 6HD vampire before level draining becomes a thing and begins at 1 negative level (instead of 2), but eventually reaches 3 negative levels (for 18th level vampires). As a result wights are still the premier
...

Thanks muchly, I definitely will be tracking this in the future for updates. It looks great.

Also you revealed my lurker presence to the world/alignment thread #4387. Now I must disappear without leaving a body. That is the way of the Garo.

Oh but first, what would you say is the most interesting abberation? Could be mechanically, lorewise, or both or what not.


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Icehawk wrote:
Thanks muchly, I definitely will be tracking this in the future for updates. It looks great.

Thanks. (^_^)

Quote:
Also you revealed my lurker presence to the world/alignment thread #4387. Now I must disappear without leaving a body. That is the way of the Garo.

Nuuuuuuu~! (T_T)

Quote:
Oh but first, what would you say is the most interesting abberation? Could be mechanically, lorewise, or both or what not.

Hmmmm...

Well, truth be told there's not a lot of aberrations that I actually care about. Quite a few of them are cool but dumb as dirt or lacking in any sort of real qualifications for big-picture stuff (gibbering mouthers, otyoughs, etc). Others are similarly gimmicky and/or interesting as a diversion (ropers, rust monsters, etc) but not really in the competition for "most interesting" for me.

A few that I like, such as drider and ettercaps could easily be some other creature type (neither really seems to hit on the "bizarre alien lifeform" thing really) so despite liking them, I often forget that they're even aberrations. :P

Out of the Pathfinder Bestiary (the monster book I use the most actually), Aboleths and Neothelids are probably my favorites. Both have some pretty interesting mechanics and have some interesting lore (I really like aboleth lore). These two monsters actually became a major thing in my campaign setting as aboleths & neothelids are basically a deadly alliance that seek to conquer the universe for some reason (I think I mentioned something about this a bit earlier in the thread, or another recent thread).

If we include 3.x material, I gotta say I really love mind-flayers. Always thought they were just really cool. The psychothelids in my campaign fill a similar niche that mind flayers filled in traditional RPGs, except they're a little closer to the chtulu-mythos for which they were originally inspired (they're aquatic and amphibious). They're also a lot weaker than their illithid counterparts but that's because I like setting the bar lower so that they become player options (I could always drop 9 levels of psion onto them and call it a day if I want a potent aberrant psychomancer).

Also...Elans are really cool. They're technically aberrations. :)


Would you care to purchase some of my Chocolate Skeletons? How about my Gummi Zombies?

Perhaps I can convince you to try some Licorice Lich?

The first taste is free! Fill your belly AND murder your friends! Or enemies. Whoever!

Warning: Please do not feed Chocolate Skeletons to canine animal companions, familiars, or wild shaped druids.


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Lindor Hershey, Mad Necromancer wrote:

Would you care to purchase some of my Chocolate Skeletons? How about my Gummi Zombies?

Perhaps I can convince you to try some Licorice Lich?

The first taste is free! Fill your belly AND murder your friends! Or enemies. Whoever!

Warning: Please do not feed Chocolate Skeletons to canine animal companions, familiars, or wild shaped druids.

I actually don't eat a lot of sweets but these sound awesome for halloween parties. :D


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

zomg NEED MOAR ANANASI

STUFF!:

Found these stats I wrote up in 2010...

Ananasi- The were-spider
HD: d8
Skill points: 6 + INT
Feats: 1 per 2 HD.
Saves: All good.

Above otherwise determined by class level(s).

Homid - Human (BASE) form - medium size
Creation stats:

+2 CON +2 DEX -2 CHA
Ananasi are resilient and fast, but emotionaly indifferent.
Medium size.
Shapechanger - 3 other forms.
Darkvision - 60 feet.
Speak with vermin - only with spiders.
Survivor: +2 racial bonus to survival checks
Silent Predator: +2 racial bonus to Perception and Stealth
Venomous: +4 racial bonus versus poison.
Blood healing: Heals 1d8+CON modifier for every HD of creature it consumes.

Lilian - Hybrid Form - medium size
+2 STR
+2 CON
-1 CHA

Tauric form: 4 arms, 4 legs.
Gains a bite (1d6 +1 1/2 STR) and 4 claw attacks (1d4+STR).
Can walk through webs magic or otherwise, unhindered.
Can walk on any surface, as spider climb spell.
+2 Natural armor
Weapon or armor use determind by class.
8 eyes: can see all but directly behind them.

Pithus - true form - Large size
+4 STR
+4 CON
-2 DEX
-2 CHA
large sized spider form.
Can walk through webs magic or otherwise, unhindered.
Can walk on any surface, as spider climb spell.
+4 Natural armor
8 eyes: can see all but directly behind them.
Bite increases to 2d6 + 1 1/2 STR
Venom - On a succesful bite; paralytic; DC CON based. Fort save or paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.
Jumper: Always considered to have a running start for jumps, and gets +10 competance bonus to acrobatics checks for jumping.
Web - Can produce 100 yards of webbing per day. Can designate whether its adhesive or not. Adhesive same as web spell, caster level equal to HD.
Gaze attack - as fear spell, caster level equal to HD.

Crawlerlings - swarm form -
Can discorporate into a host of dimunuitive spiders.
Can walk through webs magic or otherwise, unhindered.
Can walk on any surface, as spider climb spell.
When attacking, treat as a swarm of spiders using current HP of creature.
If creature reaches 0 HP in swarm form, it dies, instead of - CON. Can be ressurected by normal means.


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

..and Elans are my favorite race.


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Kryzbyn wrote:
..and Elans are my favorite race.

They are really cool. I introduced a friend of mine to psionics and she immediately fell in love with Elans and insisted we play Elan sisters.


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Whenever I play a psionic character, it's an Elan. They're the right amount mysterious and cool, and a little bit creepy.


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It's always a tough choice between Elan and Maenad for me.


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Orthos wrote:
It's always a tough choice between Elan and Maenad for me.

Ah yes, the Maenad, the always angry race. :D


Ashiel you ever have one of those days.? Those days where you just feel bitter and empty? Like you just dont feel like caring about anything or anyone? Where when you think about things you stop thinking about it for love or cause you care or want to but more of a have to and survival.
For the first time in my life i feel bitter about life. Like i feel like i shouldn't care about anyone or anything. Where just words arent enough?
If someone tells you something you want proof. like a total binding thing that if they break it like something bad happens. Like you get half their money like in alot of marriages. Maybe they lose a left testical or something.
Its strange i'm not used to feeling so bitter. So i wonder if youve ever felt bitter and what youd do?

ps:sorry about typos or misspellings. Just dont feel like fixing things either.


Orthos wrote:
It's always a tough choice between Elan and Maenad for me.

Kalashtaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr~...


Tacticslion wrote:
Orthos wrote:
It's always a tough choice between Elan and Maenad for me.
Kalashtaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr~...

I don't know what that is.


Kalashtar.

They are the living embodiment of "Can't go to sleep dream, or else they'll get me."

Lawful good (tendency). Natural psions. Attractive, but odd. The ability to mind-link. They speak the language of dreams. And they fight (and kill) literal nightmares (not the fiery horse). Paranoid (justifiably), and prone to psychotic breaks. Beleaguered. Absolutely devoted to a new era of light and peace instead of their current era of darkness and pain. Firm believers that the new era can be achieved by enough enlightenment and peace (and occasionally dipping into violence... but that is not the preferred way of making war).

So daggum awesome. (Their mechanics aren't that powerful, but they're cool.)

Elans and Maenads are also really cool. I love the fluff history behind Synads, but their mechanics are a bit messy, and there is weird "in shadows they have three faces" bit going on... I kind of wish there was something mechanically between Elans and Kalashtar... but alas. Cool stuff, though.


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Ah, they're Eberron. Explains why I've never heard of them. Still looking into Eberron stuff and realizing how awesome and useful it is. Think I know exactly what I'm going to do with those guys in my homebrew.


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Tarinia Faynrik wrote:
Ashiel you ever have one of those days.? Those days where you just feel bitter and empty? Like you just dont feel like caring about anything or anyone? Where when you think about things you stop thinking about it for love or cause you care or want to but more of a have to and survival.

I used to, sometimes. Admittedly it was a quite a while back.

Quote:

For the first time in my life i feel bitter about life. Like i feel like i shouldn't care about anyone or anything. Where just words arent enough?

If someone tells you something you want proof. like a total binding thing that if they break it like something bad happens. Like you get half their money like in alot of marriages. Maybe they lose a left testical or something.

Not long ago, I told my brother that the true word of a liar is a gift, insofar as a person that is truthful to you even if they can lie like a devil displays that they're honest with you because they want to be, not because they have to be (which I think is precious).

My brother and I went through some rough times not long ago. He was doing a lot of things that were poor as far as decision making goes (he took up smoking, and for a time would steal money from me, etc). It was a rough period but we're cool now. I spurred his actions but kept myself from becoming enraged or vengeful for the acts of betrayal, because ultimately he is and always will be worth more to me than his broken promises or some missing money. Today, my brother's doing well and so am I. Looking back on it, I'm happy I didn't alienate him through those times. Though it would have been easier at the time to cast him out and hope it hurt him enough to stop, I think sticking with him and trying to help him get through it and understand that he already had my forgiveness ultimately led us to a better place.

On a side note, I generally try to avoid wishing maiming on anyone. I had a girlfriend once that expressed that she was confused because a guy she had liked for years prior to meeting me had suddenly confessed his feelings for her. As much as it hurt, I wouldn't have wanted her to lose an ovary or something. :P

I told her to take some time and figure it out, because I was more interested in her being happy than I was myself (I guess it was love, hm?). We continued being friends (albeit after a rocky period because I simultaneously loved hearing from her while also feeling great pain each time I did, which meant I rarely called but celebrated each time she did. People are weird like that).

If you want some sort of punishment (financial, physical, emotional) for wrongs against you (blatant or perceived), I'd recommend taking a breather and thinking about why you want that punishment. Not why you're angry about it or what was done to evoke that anger, but why the punishment? I think in many cases, we'll find that deep down we don't really want to hurt that person so much as we want to feel less hurt or validate ourselves by getting even. There's an old saying though: An eye for an eye creates a blind world.

Quote:
Its strange i'm not used to feeling so bitter. So i wonder if youve ever felt bitter and what youd do?

Acceptance; forgiveness; and willingness to go forward, I've found are the greatest pieces of armor that contribute towards the fortitude of my heart. I've learned that people are not perfect and I've learned to accept things readily, just as I had to learn to accept that my brother was lying to me. Forgiveness is as much for yourself as it is for the one who wronged you, because when one cannot forgive they hold onto the still burning coals of that fire which smolder beneath the surface. Finally, learning not to live in the past where bad experiences inevitably end up and instead focus on the present and the future helps a lot. If you cannot leave the past, you will continue to be burned by the fires that have already died out.

Meditation and self reflection can help too. The thing we have the most control over in this world is us, and by shaping ourselves we can shape the world around us (and I mean that in a spiritual/mental sense, though it can extend to physical reformation such as if one decides to get physically healthier).

Finally love. Lots of love. It's probably the most powerful thing we have and we can spread it like the plague if we only choose to do so. :)

Quote:
ps:sorry about typos or misspellings. Just dont feel like fixing things either.

S'cool. *pats*


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Tels wrote:
Orthos wrote:
It's always a tough choice between Elan and Maenad for me.
Ah yes, the Maenad, the always angry race. :D

I should make a psychic monk maenad... :3


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Tacticslion wrote:

Kalashtar.

They are the living embodiment of "Can't go to sleep dream, or else they'll get me."

Lawful good (tendency). Natural psions. Attractive, but odd. The ability to mind-link. They speak the language of dreams. And they fight (and kill) literal nightmares (not the fiery horse). Paranoid (justifiably), and prone to psychotic breaks. Beleaguered. Absolutely devoted to a new era of light and peace instead of their current era of darkness and pain. Firm believers that the new era can be achieved by enough enlightenment and peace (and occasionally dipping into violence... but that is not the preferred way of making war).

So daggum awesome. (Their mechanics aren't that powerful, but they're cool.)

Elans and Maenads are also really cool. I love the fluff history behind Synads, but their mechanics are a bit messy, and there is weird "in shadows they have three faces" bit going on... I kind of wish there was something mechanically between Elans and Kalashtar... but alas. Cool stuff, though.

My first Eberron PC was a Kalashtar, and she started dreaming (GM did it :P) which only made it all the more epic because Kalashtar don't dream so it was all the more shocking when she started having dreams.

They're really cool though. The Kalashtar and Inspired are among my favorite parts of Eberron, even though I think I might like Warforged & Changlings better as standalone races.


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Omigerd, I broke 10k posts. I new it was coming and I missed it. :P
This is post 10,050. :P


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

I only played Eberron for a module in Sharn.
I liked what I played :)

I played a cleric of the dark six that animated dead as servants. he was a neutral sort, though death was a state and the corpses were just tools to be used. Rest of the party id not care, as he kept them alive, chanting for death to "hold off on taking this one for now..." as he cast CLW and such. He raised an ogre skeleton, and used him as a body guard for a couple levels. Fun stuff!

I heard about the psionic and monk feat that basically gestalted monks and psi warriors. I really wish I had a chance to try that at the time, but I don't think that option was out yet.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

I'm at 9054 (9055 now) not counting aliases.


Ashiel wrote:
Tacticslion wrote:

Kalashtar.

They are the living embodiment of "Can't go to sleep dream, or else they'll get me."

Lawful good (tendency). Natural psions. Attractive, but odd. The ability to mind-link. They speak the language of dreams. And they fight (and kill) literal nightmares (not the fiery horse). Paranoid (justifiably), and prone to psychotic breaks. Beleaguered. Absolutely devoted to a new era of light and peace instead of their current era of darkness and pain. Firm believers that the new era can be achieved by enough enlightenment and peace (and occasionally dipping into violence... but that is not the preferred way of making war).

So daggum awesome. (Their mechanics aren't that powerful, but they're cool.)

Elans and Maenads are also really cool. I love the fluff history behind Synads, but their mechanics are a bit messy, and there is weird "in shadows they have three faces" bit going on... I kind of wish there was something mechanically between Elans and Kalashtar... but alas. Cool stuff, though.

My first Eberron PC was a Kalashtar, and she started dreaming (GM did it :P) which only made it all the more epic because Kalashtar don't dream so it was all the more shocking when she started having dreams.

They're really cool though. The Kalashtar and Inspired are among my favorite parts of Eberron, even though I think I might like Warforged & Changlings better as standalone races.

I kind of want to agree... ish... but I just like psionics and kalashtar so much taht I might not be able to do so.

Warforged and Changelings offer more unique and interesting mechanics, which lends themselves to more interesting possibilities... but the fluff of kalashtar (and inspired) is just too powerful for me to not be seduced by them. *Sigh*

I kind of wonder if I should just take synod-stuff and see if I can blend it better with itself and the kalashtar stuff to make a singular race. But then that would be work... hm... :)

8221 for me.

Also: Tarinia, I didn't see your post before (probably skipped it due to forum glitching and "new posts"). I'm sorry, and just know that it's okay. It happens. Follow Ashiel's advice, 'cause it's really good.


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I think you'd like the Khymer. Sentient psionic blood oozes that are the remains of people that were beneath some psionic-charged necromantic-energy filled meteorite crash landed directly on them. Now they survive by being puddles of blood that take over corpses and morphing them during the 8-hour bonding 'ritual' (really its just them filling the corpse out as it were) to how they believe they looked in life.

Check out the Obsidian Apocalypse setting some time. It's got some pretty cool stuff.

P.S. (Edit): If you'd like, I can copypasta the Khymer fluff & mechanics from the PDF.


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Oh, yeah, Obsidian Apocalypse has awesome stuff! I love the Chanting Queen and the First Ones! :D


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While those two things are awesome, those are NeoExodus, not Obsidian Apocalypse ;)


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

The echo race from Thunderscape is pretty neat as well.
They aren't as mechanically "handy" as Elan, but the creepy factor is definitely there.


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Orthos wrote:
While those two things are awesome, those are NeoExodus, not Obsidian Apocalypse ;)

True! My bad.

Also: ARG! I tried to edit, and it rolled to 1 hour as I hit the submit button. Alas...


How many posts do you think I'll have to hit before I'm well known enough where I'm referenced in threads I haven't even participated in and/or have enough followers where an AMA thread will not fail miserably at a post count so low as to be shameful?

More importantly, do you think I have the patience to achieve such a feat of participation endurance to where it would even be a relevant possibly?

I guess I'm wondering if I'm known around these parts yet. Is it weird I'm wondering that? I think so, given we're all a mere set of anonymous text blocks. Sorry - personal mental derail. I know it doesn't matter in the slightest, but I am sometimes curious, even if the result won't make a lick of difference.

What else do you recommend to do with aimless time and a horrible disdain for useful productivity? (For some awful reason - I can focus, it seems, on the most useless stuff, but if anything has a practical application the dreaded ADHD rises from the depths and takes over.)


I'm not very good at quoting and cutting things off while still quoting. So i wont really try. Thanks for the advice tho like a lot of advice easier said then done.

Over the past well months ive done a lot of self reflecting. Ive accepted a lot of what i was running from. Before tho i always admitting to being it i never accepted it. I always thought well i'm this for now but i will be normal soon. I will be like everyone else and be what everyone has been pushing and saying i could be.

For awhile that was my shield my strength and when i accepted it i made myself vulnerable. I was hurting myself by not accepting it but by accepting it i made myself easier to hurt. I depend on others but have no one really who is dependable. I can accept that but as you get older and relize you cant do things by yourself. You get scared when the few people youve come to depend on have now let you down at every turn. You dont have anyone else and cant seem to meet anyone else willing to help and accept you.

The goverment wont help without stressing you to the point of committing things(mostly suicide). Ive been alot of things but never bitter. I always cared about people things even when they have wronged me. Ive always been kind to a fault but by accepting something and making myself vulnerable. I feel like other things about myself could change due to all the pressure and pain that keeps getting inflicted on me. All the disapointment and being let down. Feeling your future is bleak and pointless. Like no matter what you do due to how you are. Needing to depend on others makes you less of a person. Feeling ignored all the time cause it seems everyone else is more worthy of a persons time.

Sorry if this seems like dumping its probably better for pm but well at this point i just dont care who sees. Most people ignore others anyways. Also i'm starting to hate the marketing phrase. "There when you need them most." Yeah right then why do you work so hard not to help. The denial letter said a variation of that phrase on it.

Do you ever think at times that curling up and dieing would be better for everyone... Then wonder why you think that when its obvious that no one really will miss you anways. You disapear for months and not a single hey i haven't seen you are you okay. Now i feel like i'm ranting so i'm going to shut up.

@Taticslion

Its alright that you didn't notice i'm used to it. Thanks for noticing later. Still Ashiel did give good advice.


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thegreenteagamer wrote:
How many posts do you think I'll have to hit before I'm well known enough where I'm referenced in threads I haven't even participated in and/or have enough followers where an AMA thread will not fail miserably at a post count so low as to be shameful?

You know, I'm not sure. :o

Honestly, I never even expected this thread to reach 50 posts, but a friend of mine (who amusingly doesn't even frequent the boards except to occasionally read what I post about our campaigns) suggested that I make this thread. The fact it's made it this far is both highly amusing and mind-boggling. :P

Quote:
More importantly, do you think I have the patience to achieve such a feat of participation endurance to where it would even be a relevant possibly?

I dunno. How patient are you? :)

Quote:
I guess I'm wondering if I'm known around these parts yet. Is it weird I'm wondering that? I think so, given we're all a mere set of anonymous text blocks. Sorry - personal mental derail. I know it doesn't matter in the slightest, but I am sometimes curious, even if the result won't make a lick of difference.

Well I recognize you when you post. (^_^)

I don't think that's weird. I'm not really even sure if it's fame or infamy in my case (perhaps a bit of both). Perceptions of me and my ideals/intents vary widely and it's a constant struggle to not become the bitter jaded grognard type well before my time (I have oft-likened the Paizo forums to Mos Eisley for a few reasons), and instead try to keep up my optimism that spurs me to engage in jolly discussion and write random stuff for people, rather than just being a grumpy person. :P

Maybe just be active and put yourself out there. I know TOZ is pretty much universally loved on the forums (he's just so darn loveable :P), and if Lilith is the queen of the forums, Mikaze is the prince(ss) for sure. :P

Quote:
What else do you recommend to do with aimless time and a horrible disdain for useful productivity? (For some awful reason - I can focus, it seems, on the most useless stuff, but if anything has a practical application the dreaded ADHD rises from the depths and takes over.)

Something that you enjoy. Also, Steam sales. :P


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Tarinia Faynrik wrote:
I'm not very good at quoting and cutting things off while still quoting. So i wont really try. Thanks for the advice tho like a lot of advice easier said then done.

Few things worthwhile are, unfortunately. :(

Quote:

Over the past well months ive done a lot of self reflecting. Ive accepted a lot of what i was running from. Before tho i always admitting to being it i never accepted it. I always thought well i'm this for now but i will be normal soon. I will be like everyone else and be what everyone has been pushing and saying i could be.

For awhile that was my shield my strength and when i accepted it i made myself vulnerable. I was hurting myself by not accepting it but by accepting it i made myself easier to hurt. I depend on others but have no one really who is dependable. I can accept that but as you get older and relize you cant do things by yourself. You get scared when the few people youve come to depend on have now let you down at every turn. You dont have anyone else and cant seem to meet anyone else willing to help and accept you.

*nods*

Quote:
The goverment wont help without stressing you to the point of committing things(mostly suicide). Ive been alot of things but never bitter. I always cared about people things even when they have wronged me. Ive always been kind to a fault but by accepting something and making myself vulnerable. I feel like other things about myself could change due to all the pressure and pain that keeps getting inflicted on me. All the disapointment and being let down. Feeling your future is bleak and pointless. Like no matter what you do due to how you are. Needing to depend on others makes you less of a person. Feeling ignored all the time cause it seems everyone else is more worthy of a persons time.

Well I think you're worth time. :)

Quote:
Sorry if this seems like dumping its probably better for pm but well at this point i just dont care who sees. Most people ignore others anyways. Also i'm starting to hate the marketing phrase. "There when you need them most." Yeah right then why do you work so hard not to help. The denial letter said a variation of that phrase on it.

Don't worry. Being "dumped on" is one of the many services I provide (along with sarcasm, snark, and hysteria). :P

Quote:
Do you ever think at times that curling up and dieing would be better for everyone... Then wonder why you think that when its obvious that no one really will miss you anways. You disapear for months and not a single hey i haven't seen you are you okay. Now i feel like i'm ranting so i'm going to shut up.

That I can indeed relate to. Something I've rarely told people is that for a large portion of my life I had a death wish. Like, as early as the age of 11-12, I wanted to die. Through my teenage years, I had a lot of family problems, lived most days with a sense of hopelessness, and had a mixture of apathy and self-loathing that blinded me to a lot of things. I often, frequently, contemplated suicide and in many cases. I was close enough a few times that I had the knife in hand and pressed down, but something just kept holding me back from it (and at the time, I felt like it must have been weakness).

Sometime later I had a bit of an epiphany and slowly turned my life around. I emphasize slowly, and it took willful conscious effort in some parts, but then a lot of the extra stuff just kind of settles into place on its own. I say now, please don't give up, because there's something better waiting on the other side of the tunnel.

Today, I'm not afraid of dying, but I don't want to anymore. I have too much to live for, though they aren't grand goals or anything. My outlook has changed and I've grown as a person. I stress that it can take time, day by day in some cases, but it gets easier and it gets better. I wasn't trying to be sappy when I said love was a powerful thing. Also hugs. Hugs are powerful things too. :)


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thegreenteagamer wrote:

How many posts do you think I'll have to hit before I'm well known enough where I'm referenced in threads I haven't even participated in and/or have enough followers where an AMA thread will not fail miserably at a post count so low as to be shameful?

More importantly, do you think I have the patience to achieve such a feat of participation endurance to where it would even be a relevant possibly?

I guess I'm wondering if I'm known around these parts yet. Is it weird I'm wondering that? I think so, given we're all a mere set of anonymous text blocks. Sorry - personal mental derail. I know it doesn't matter in the slightest, but I am sometimes curious, even if the result won't make a lick of difference.

What else do you recommend to do with aimless time and a horrible disdain for useful productivity? (For some awful reason - I can focus, it seems, on the most useless stuff, but if anything has a practical application the dreaded ADHD rises from the depths and takes over.)

It's not the quantity of posts that matter, it's the quality. Ashiel has a large presence around him. If I were to stat up Ashiel, he'd have a high Charisma. People naturally flock to what he has to say, both for and against it, because he points out holes in stuff people tend to not want to acknowledge. His input is also extremely valuable with tons of experience weighted behind it, experienced seeped in finding out how the system works and how to make it work for you.

He's a wealth of information on this game and his experiences in life has given him a deluge of wisdom to draw upon. It's natural for people to talk about Ashiel because he's a truly interesting person.

I have nearly 7,000 posts as it is, but, to my knowledge, I'm not really referenced in other threads. I may make some good posts here and there, but usually nothing that's groundbreaking or sparks big debates about how things work. Though I do tend to have some witty one-liners every now and then :P

Anyone can have a large number of posts, that will come with time if nothing else. But what those posts say determines how people will think of you and your presence on the boards. It just so happens, that people pay attention to what Ashiel has to say; whether they like it or not, however, is another story.


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By the way, if you join the Cult of Ashiel today, we'll throw in this nice avatar of Seoni, for free!

Fine Print:
We also support Lord Wraithstrike.

Shadow Lodge

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Ashiel wrote:
...and if Lilith is the queen of the forums, Mikaze is the prince(ss) for sure. :P

Mikaze is Paizo's pretty pretty princess. :D


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TOZ wrote:
Ashiel wrote:
...and if Lilith is the queen of the forums, Mikaze is the prince(ss) for sure. :P
Mikaze is Paizo's pretty pretty princess. :D

Indeed, Mikaze reminds me of Princess Di, beloved by a whole nation. But, you know, without the whole 'mysterious death' thing.


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Ashiel Cultist wrote:

By the way, if you join the Cult of Ashiel today, we'll throw in this nice avatar of Seoni, for free!

** spoiler omitted **

I wanna join the Cult of Ashiel!

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