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| Wolfgang |
 Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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Kobold Overlord
Joined: 30 Dec 2007
Posts: 4984
Location: The Mines
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Nah, you understood the thread fine!
I was oblivious, because I thought "Twice" meant you'd already run through it once and were going round for a second run.
Primaries, bah.
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Wolfgang Baur
Publisher, Kobold Press |
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| Watcher |
| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 7:55 am Post subject: |
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Patron
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 1625
Location: Your TARDIS
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| Wolfgang wrote: |
| And tell me about the PFRPG playtest! I haven't had any time to run it. |
It's a little early to judge for a couple factors.
There is a group bias.. in that I don't think these players have been treated to some good GMing in a while. Not that I am brilliant, but I have access to some nice resources in terms of color maps and minis, and print outs of player made hand outs. I have a friend who works for an Ad Agency and can plot out color maps and can remove tags and increase PDF maps to scale without much loss of resolution. So they're enjoying the fact that we're 'doin' it up right' and they can make tactical decisions with 3 dimensional objects. Plus, as you know, an Adventure Path like Runelords has a nice ongoing story with recurring NPCs and a developing plot.
They're a little more used to somebody making stuff up as they go along out of their head, and then quitting after it becomes overwelming. Making things up wholecloth is great if you can pull it off.. But I know that I can't, and I suspect previous GMs have tried and failed.
So take that novelty into account...
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The second problem is that at first and second level, they're not using all the toys yet, particularly combat manuevers. I expect to see the system shaken out a little better now that they've just made 3rd level.
I will say that low level enounters seem less challenging than they did in 3.5, and I've had to shore those up a bit to keep them challenging. A few more goblins, and actually deploying the zombies in the prisoner pits. But at the same time, it's a fine balance, because it can still go south if the monsters hit hard for a few rounds. This may be in part due to the changes in the cleric and the wizard.
My cleric and wizard players are having a blast and are finding new fun in the core classes, thanks to domain powers and school powers. They're also lasting through the whole dungeon. PFRPG grants them some "at will" ranged powers at low levels, and that has allowed them to hang on to spells for the bigger encounters, and use different types of spells.
For example: The Wizard took Enlarge and cast it on the Fighter, instead of the obligatory Magic Missle at the monster.. because the school power allowed them to still contribute to the fight, at range, without having to resort to a crossbow.
The Cleric worships Saranrae, who holds the Fire Domain, so they always have the option of throwing low damage balls of fire around.
Both are contributing to the damage count, and with ranged touch attacks for the Cleric, they're hitting quite often. Thus the monsters are going down a little quicker.
The Wizard is a Universalist so they have something called 'Hand of the Apprentice' at 1st level, which might be a little heavy for low levels, but I'm not sure how you'd curb it without making it useless later on. They can basically swing a weapon around via a Mage Hand ability. The weapon doesn't threaten, flank, or get AOOs, and I impose a rule that a medium sized weapon like a long sword needs it's own square. The wizard must remain within 30 feet, and can make a base attack with the INT modifier to hit and damage. With a long sword that is 1d8+3 which is a healthy hit for a wizard at range. I see this ability as leveling out at around 5th level where it's just fine, and being the less efficient option at higher levels.
The Cleric's positive energy wave seems to be working as designed. The Cleric still functions as the party healer, but the actual spells can be saved or used for other applications. Tactically it's fun, because the healing isn't intended for combat clearly, but rather than dummying the ability down- they allow you to use it in combat, but it heals everybody. So you get forced to make a tactical decision on whether you want to heal your enemy along with your ally, in hopes you can drop the bad guy before you buddy falls in battle. You know what I mean? It's a desperation move. Thus there's still a place for old fashioned healing spells clearly (as they're selective and generally more powerful).
I've not seen the full impact of the Rogue's skills yet, that is something I'm watching.
I have one player with his heart set on playing a magesmith, which was a bit of background fluff that the Paizoans have not fleshed out yet. I'm trying to create a more balanced artificer class with PFRPG. That is a work in progress.
Overall I like it! But I don't think we've gotten to the real speed bumps yet.
Though, it clearly borrows some of the 4th Edition ideas, and tries to use them in a 3.5 compatible system. I'm okay with that, but irony is irony. |
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| The Bristols |
| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Joined: 07 May 2008
Posts: 1
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I'm taking a break from DMing, and my husband is running a HERO System superheroes game. I started out as the gestalt of Winter (cold powers etc.) but when the season changed a few weeks back, my character suddenly became the gestalt of Spring instead...fun times.
I'm getting ready to start DMing again as soon as 4E comes out (got way too burned out on running 3.5). I'll be running Rise of the Runelords, as it happens - although we'll have to run the preview adventure, and a couple of one-shots for the various Game Days that are coming up, first. |
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| sir_ollibolli |
| Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 4:52 am Post subject: |
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Patron
Joined: 03 Apr 2008
Posts: 18
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I am in 3 RL groups (DM in 2 of them, I DM'd all three once for 9 months... never again) and 7 PbP's (all as a player).
RL groups:
Monday game - Round Robin DMs, lots of different game systems, every week
- just finished an intro adventure to Warhammer 40k.
- Call of Cthulhu adventure next, continuing an old campaign
- Forgotten Realms non-published adventure in Waterdeep waiting in the wings as well as L5R d20, WoD in 1920's New York and Vampire Masquerade
Wednesday game - me as sole DM, every 2 or 3 weeks
Freeport in Greyhawk
(played through the original tirlogy and lots of other published adventures)
- Dead Man's Chest (Dungeon #107)
- some adventures of own creation
- Death in Freeport
- Holiday in the Sun (Interlude One from Freeport Trilogy Anniversary Edition)
- Terror in Freeport
- Madness in Freeport
- Thieves And Liars (Interlude Two from Freeport Trilogy Anniversary Edition)
- Final Resting Place (from Dungeon #122)
- Vengeance in Freeport
- Shadows in Freeport (Dungeon Crawl Classics #20)
- Cut-Throat’s Gold (from Tales of Freeport)
- Gangs in Freeport
further planned for the campaign are:
Crisis in Freeport
Soul of the Serpent (from Tales in Freeport)
Hell in Freeport
Black Sails Over Freeport
(perhaps Maure's Castle afterwards...)
I started the group with the Shackled City campaign, but 2 of the 5 players moved away and we wanted to be able to continue this campaign later => shelved
Thursday game - Round robin DM'ing, me as current DM, every 2 to 4 weeks
Falcon's Hollow (D0 and D1 + Carnival of Tears... perhaps followed by Castle Shadowcrag / Court of the Shadow Fey)
Also ran this group through the 1st chapter of Shackled City (took us a year). Round Robin kicked in afterwards (was also totally burned out from DM'ing all 3 groups), but before the next chapter commenced a key member for the campaign of our group moved away. => shelved...
PbPs:
Rise of the Runelords (Paizo boards)
Eberron campaign (Paizo boards, own creation)
Eberron campaign (Paizo boards, Nic Logues Sharn trilogy of Dungeon adventures)´
Ravenloft campaign (Paizo boards, own creation AFAIK)
Falcon's Hollow (Paizo boards)
Curse of the Crinson Throne (Paizo boards)
Age of Worms in Aberron (Dnd-Gate.de) |
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| Eyebite |
| Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 7:46 am Post subject: |
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Patron
Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 128
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Homebrew-ish game. Between regular groups right now, so I'm more in the brainstorming stage than anything else. I'm left playing pick up games at the local FLGS with a semi-regular cast of revolving characters.
I was using Zobeck and Golarion elements in a quasi-Egyptian setting of my own creation - the Land of Asur. |
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| Gilladian |
| Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 5:26 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 6
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Homebrew. PCs are 10th level now. In fact, I'm kinda stuck. The BBG is losing his reasons for being angry at the party, even though they did just discover a big secret of his. I guess I'm going to have to decide he's more paranoid than power-hungry, and have him continue to go after the party.
That, or I have to find a whole new BBG to transfer their dislike onto. I have one in the wings, but no good reason to bring him onto stage right now... GRRRRR....
I need to write up the whole situation in some detail and post it on my wiki, so I can see all the parts and ramifications. Ugh! |
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| hedgeknight |
| Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:16 am Post subject: |
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Patron
Joined: 12 Jan 2008
Posts: 122
Location: NC
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Still running Red Hand of Doom - Vraath Keep claimed two characters but one was raised with the Staff of Life found in the keep's vault. Group rounded up the treasure and wounded and returned to Drellin's Ferry to plan their next mission.
Things are about to heat up on them...and they don't know it yet. 
-g- |
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| Wembily |
| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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Patron
Joined: 12 Aug 2008
Posts: 11
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Has anyone ever played the 2E Module called "Cult of the Reptile God"? It's a pretty fun campeign where a Naga has been kidnapping people in the town of Hamlet and brainwashing others. I think it was decently written and has been a favorite of my groups for years.
Initially I loved it because it gave stats for every single person such as: Elderly Butterchurner (Hp. 3 Ac. 10 St. 5 Dx. 8 Cn. 8 In. 8 Ws. 10 Cha. 11 Dam 1-3 club).
Has anyone else ever heard of this quest? |
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| varianor |
| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 602
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| Yes! I read through that a couple times years ago. I never ran a group all the way through it. It's a nice take on an adventure that's rarely seen in D&D. |
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| DM_Jeff |
| Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:40 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2008
Posts: 5
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Every Sunday I run an ongoing Pathfinder RPG Campaign, about to begin Curse of the Crimson Thone.
Every other Saturday I run a D&D 3.5 Forgotten Realms campaign. I'm running them through thos elast three hardcover adventures WotC released for the setting.
-DM Jeff |
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| silverhair2008 |
| Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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Patron
Joined: 29 Aug 2008
Posts: 102
Location: Houston, Texas
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I have just started running a campaign in the Pathfinder world, but am using Expedition to Undermountain. The conversion of characters and locations are a little tricky. I had the PC's meet while traveling toward Magnimar instead of having everyone meet in a tavern. My players seemed to enjoy that change of pace.  |
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