This Is The End

Running Adventure Paths weekly, and campaigns that would span a year and a half. I say no more Pathfinder. I'm done with the broken mechanics of 1E and 2E. Moving on to the sanity of D&D 5E and its bevy of versatility and variety. Icewind Dale : Rime of the Frostmaiden is our home now. TTT, established in 2012, there are adventures lined up for the foreseeable future such as Descent into Avernus and Out of the Abyss. 

THIS IS THE END 

DUNGEONDRAFT - Recreated maps for AoE (vol 3)

Alley, pictured above

 Arrowhead, pictured below

Bloody Berth, optional second encounter with Bloody Berleth

Balneary

School

Nimbus Vault, never ever use 10 foot grids

Dungeon Draft

 Having fun creating maps easily and effortlessly with DungeonDraft. The default maps for Pathfinder tend to get blurry and loss of detail when zoomed in. D&D 5E lacks map content for small scale encounters. I was able to create the following quickly.

Agents of Edgewatch

 

On to adventure, on to Pathfinder 2nd Edition Adventure Path.

It has been some time away from the GM seat. I'm back! For how long.. who knows? 

I was able to game locally at a table with an old friend. I was able to play a few characters with a motley group. It was vibrant and unburdened, being a player character. The campaigns fizzled quickly though, to be replaced by others, yet all met with by the same fizzling fate. Enjoyment and comfort became estranged with the knowledge I was not invited back as game commenced with the majority group. I tried to look past the strangeness as an invite mysteriously became available once again, but I decided to move back to a regular game online that would not lose its luster by unpredictable whims of a DM.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition, while cartoony and flawed in some aspects, was less a burden to prepare and run, as compared to the 1st Edition. Macro's were less populated and complex. Versatility and variety were very much evident with the boasting options available. Combat is engaging and punishing with 3 action economy.

PC's as guards in a city seemed like a worthwhile investment. Book 1 has it staggering amount of issues but we worked through them and Book 2 is upon us.

Maptools has improved since my departure. Token tool has a new feature to load pdfs. My prep work has lessened immensely. I don't have to spend hours on complicated rules. 

Token Properties

Roderic Ridgeback

My players having revolted against the 2e playtest for Pathfinder, never-mind taking a hit on purchasing the physical print, it's back to the familiar world of 1e. Return of the Runelords has taken the spotlight for our weekly game.

Consider the following:

Wild dogs are known to roam the wilds surrounding Roderic's Cove. A unique and prized breed, why not throw in an encounter involving the so-called "covehound". Known as Roderic Ridgeback (due to the ridge of tufted hair that runs down the spine), when fully grown, they are a dog with the advanced creature simple template. Popular throughout this part of Varisia, having this serve as an npc animal companion would be highly immersive. Hudsten's Kennel has been capturing, training, and selectively breeding the finest of their stock. I recommend this integration into your game should you desire something similar to the bond akin to the novel/movie White Fang.
Side note: Whispering Coin for Lullaby.

I plan on granting the following to the player whom decides to form a initial bond.

Lookout (Combat, Teamwork)

Your allies help you avoid being surprised.

Benefit: Whenever you are adjacent to an ally who also has this feat, you may act in the surprise round as long as your ally would normally be able to act in the surprise round. If you would normally be denied the ability to act in the surprise round, your initiative is equal to your initiative roll or the roll of your ally –1, whichever is lower. If both you and your ally would be able to act in the surprise round without the aid of this feat, you may take both a standard and a move action (or a full-round action) during the surprise round.

RODERIC RIDGEBACK     CR 1
XP: 400
N Small animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +12

 DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)
HP 8 (1d8+4)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +3

 OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d4+3)
Space 5 ft., Reach 5 ft.

 STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Acrobatics +3, Perception +12, Survival +3
  Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics when jumping, +4 Survival when tracking by scent

A Clean Slate

Pathfinder Playtest !

Environmental Dangers of Starship Combat

Love it or hate it, starship combat is a continual set piece of Adventure Paths and Society Scenarios. Those unaccustomed and even less eager to engage, will experience a lull to the session. In turn, that will dampen the gameplay for others at the table. Starship Combat is a team effort. Once everyone comes together and assumes their roles, everything falls into place. 

Vivid starship combat comes to the forefront as the Pilot pulls off daring maneuvers, the Captain encouraging and pushing them, the Science Officer scanning the enemy ship, the gunner punishing the enemy hull, and the Engineer keeping the ship together while diverting vital power reserves ... it can be glorious to behold.

Regular combat is fun, but in the end everyone does their own thing when fighting the alien. But with starship combat, everyone works together and with given roles, players act and sound like a genuine starship crew.

If you should wish to further engage within the role-playing element, the following enhancements are starship environmental dangers as a result of starship combat. You are welcome to use these in your game and perhaps inspire you to create even more terrifying threats.

Damage Report (GM random roll, targeting random PC) 

When the shields are down and the hull is all that is left...

Explosion Initial Effect: 8d12 F; Reflex DC 18 half; all targets Once damage has been resolved, any character may attempt the following, enable bridge halon disbursement or dousing the fire (as determined by GM), thereby giving up their ship action in the process.  Bypass: Computer DC 20 (enable emergency halon dispensers) Secondary Effect: On the following round (even with halon disbursement) the area is filled with smoke. For those without environment protection, inhalation of heavy smoke and halon toxins. The character must attempt a Fortitude save each round while within the smoke (DC = 15 + 1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it. The smoke lasts 1d6 rounds. During the effect, there is a 20% failure chance to participate in ship combat, provided that the controls and console is obscured by your vision.

Vacuum Initial Effect: A rush of air escaping through the hull breach forces all targets to make a DC 16 Reflex save each round. With a successful save, the target manages to find a handhold and can move 5 feet as a full action. On a failed save, the target is knocked prone and is pushed by rushing air toward the hull breach. Failure by 5 or more indicates the target suffers 2d6 bludgeoning damage. The rush of air persists for 2 rounds if the doors to the room are shut, or for 1 minute if open. Secondary Effect: On the following round every character may attempt the following, giving up their ship action Bypass: Computer DC 20 (enable emergency blast door) Disable: Destroy bulkhead panel (EAC 17; KAC 16)

Bulkhead Collapse Initial Effect: 4d10+4 P & B; Reflex DC 16 half Secondary Effect: Attempt to Pin target KAC +8 (1d20+15) If pinned, you receive a -4 to ship actions until you are freed by a crew mate or if you perform an Acrobatics DC 22 to escape. On the subsequent rounds, any character may attempt to free you, giving up their ship action in the process. Disable: Engineering DC 24 (makeshift fulcrum) Bypass: Strength DC 16 (Lift)

Jolting Console The console sparks with electricity, shocking the triggering creature. Effect: Arc of Electricity 6d6; Reflex DC 14 half Any character may attempt the following, giving up their ship action in the process: Disable: Engineering DC 26 (disable shock plates) Bypass: wireless key card reader (Computers DC 22 to hack)