Admit it, we've all had that thought. That thought that goes, "what if we could take all the stuff we like in this fantasy RPG, but set it in the modern day?" You know, so you could have elf politicians arguing against term limits because they're prejudiced against long-lived races. Or gangs of goblins on the lower east side that you need to either fight, bribe, or win Diplomacy checks with to make your allies against greater dangers. Maybe you want to see dragons protected as an endangered species, or ask what it would be like to see a team of orcs play football.
Rather than hammer your head through the table trying to adapt Pathfinder to do all those things, check out the Kickstarter for Modern Adventures.
Your otyugh problem's fixed. Bathroom's a mess, though.
Now, I haven't read the rules myself, but it looks like a project worth checking out.
What Makes Modern Adventures Different
So what's the big deal about Modern Adventures? Well, the most obvious change is that it takes place in the modern era. That means guns are pretty common, Internet exists, and you can still go down to the corner cafe to get a grande latte. The difference is that your barista might be a gnome, and you might have a halfling correspondent on the news, telling you about the day's happenings.
Weather's great out in Shire, California. Back to you, Cliff!
The other big difference is that this game isn't set in Golarion, or any other fantasy world you'd typically play Pathfinder in. It's set on Earth, and it's meant to reflect the reality we know through a slightly fractured lens. So, while the ancient Persian empire still happened, it's possible that the Immortals were, in fact, a contingent of full-blooded orcs. There may be elven veterans who remember, and talk about, the American Civil War. And when urban blight gets bad, it might create a home for aberrations, monsters, and dangerous creatures, in addition to opening the doors to drug abuse, poverty, and all the ills we see from our purely human civilization.
Is It Worth A Look?
I repeat, I have not seen this book. I have not read the changes it made to the skills, and I haven't see what stats it created for heavy weapons, kevlar, etc. I have not see what explanations the game makes for how we got to the modern world we're all familiar with, even with trolls, magic, wizards, and clerics who can call upon the divine to turn belief into fact when it comes to religion. Nor have I seen how the game eliminates spell levels, and instead gives all spellcasters control over a kind of pool of power.
I do know that all those things have been promised. I'll be withholding judgment on the game as a whole until I can look at the content, but I know that some of the things I might think of as flaws would be features to other players. So, go look at the Kickstarter, and see if Modern Adventures is a game you've been looking for.
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday installment. Hopefully you find something worth chatting about, whether or not you become a backer. If you're looking for more content from yours truly, check out my Gamers archive. It's growing all the time. To stay up-to-date on all my latest content, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And if you want to help support me and my work, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron. All it takes is $1 a month, and you'll be helping me out in addition to getting some sweet swag as a thank you!
There are a lot of minutiae to keep track of when you're playing an RPG. How many weapons are you carrying, which are you swinging, what armor do you have equipped, what race is your character, how long does that spell you cast last, what bonuses do you have active... it's enough to make your head spin.
The unfortunate thing is that, as players, we can sort of miss the forest for the trees when it comes to our games. We might get so caught up in the mechanical function of something that we forget to take a step back, and to appreciate what its significance is in the world our characters inhabit, and in the story we're all collectively telling. Like how you might miss the complexities of morality happening with Albrecht Ironhand, who is trying to leave behind the brigand he once was while embracing a new life with his companions, if you just label him as "the barbarian" all the time. Or how you stop marveling at the roiling clouds contained in the black steel of the Stormspear, when you reduce it to nothing more than a +2 shocking burst lance.
Take a moment to ask how many expendable magic items an average party goes through in the length of a campaign. How many healing potions do they drink? How many fireball wands do the use? How many restoration scrolls do they burn?
Now ask how you could make every one of those items a little more unique, and make it something players will remember, instead of just something they use.
So... how do I do that?
Well, the first thing you should do is ask what the item is made of. If it's a scroll, ask if it's written on regular parchment, ancient parchment, vellum, silk, animal hide, human skin, etc. If you're looking at a wand, is it made from wood? Bone? Crystal? Iron? In both of these instances, you should be asking what materials the particular crafter used to make the item, how old it is, and whether what it's made from has a bearing on the power of the magic inside of it. Because while it may be true that there is no mechanical bonus to necromancy spells inked onto the flesh of a virgin, or evocation spells kept in a wand tipped with volcanic stone, those are the details that will make these items stand out to the players using them.
What about potions, though? Well, what about them? As we all know it's possible to identify a potion by taste with a high enough Perception check (in Pathfinder, anyway), so ask yourself what different spells taste like. Are cure spells sweet, or do they taste like bitter medicine? Does the witch you bought the batch from infuse her expeditious retreat potions with coffee? Also, what do these potions look like? Are they thick and syrupy, or are they thin as water? Are they unusual colors, or filled with swirling patterns? Are they kept in glass bottles, or are they in ceramic jugs? What do they smell like?
By changing up these tiny details, even if you don't add mechanical backing to them, you make these basic magic items a lot more memorable. You can even add lore to them. If the party finds a scroll case in a troll's lair, and those scrolls are written in an older form of magic that the church no longer uses, then it may be possible to date when they were made. Different regions may have different potion blends, the same way coffee or tea will have a local flavor and style to it. And wands, just like swords, may bear maker's marks, or particular command words, making them unique pieces of craftsmanship that give insight to the person who made it in the first place.
It's the little things that often stick in players' memories, so make sure you sweat the small stuff.
That's all for this week's Fluff post. Hopefully it gives the DMs out there a few ideas, and gets you asking about the origins of these finite magical items. If you want to check out more gaming content from me, just head over to my archive on Gamers. If you want to keep up-to-date on all my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help support Improved Initiative, then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. All it takes is $1 a month to make a big difference, and to get yourself some sweet swag as a thank you.
Being a devoted RPG lover is an expensive hobby. Even if you're a minimalist, getting only the handful of books you think are necessary, using apps on your tablet for fast access, and resisting the urge to buy a trailer full of dice, there is still one thing that's sort of essential for map-based games...
Minis.
If you're on a grid, you need to keep track of who is where, and what's going on. To that end, players (and the DM especially) need to have minis. And, if you've ever been to your friendly local gaming store, you likely noticed that official gaming minis aren't cheap. That's one reason so many serious gamers have switched to tokens or cutouts. These are cheaper, and you still get cool, distinctive art that lets you visualize the battlefield.
If you're in the market for unique paper minis, though, you need to check out Paper Forge.
I think this gets the point across.
What's Paper Forge? Well, according to the rundown on their Patreon page, Paper Forge is a pair of gamers and illustrators who love making custom content for their games. And since they're already doing it for the games they're running/playing in, they figured they may as well make those resources available to the community at large.
What does that mean? In short, that anyone who likes the paper minis they've made is free to download and print them. The files are on their Tumblr page, and they're designed for ease of assembly. However, for fans who like their work, and who become Paper Forge Patreon patrons, there is so much more available. Gaming cards, more detailed minis with fronts and backs, and a slew of other custom gaming props that are reserved for the VIPs who help keep the pens and printers busy.
So... yeah. Just a kickass resource that I stumbled across, and whose signal I wanted to big-up. Because I think they're doing some sweet work, and we can never have too much unique art, or unusual minis at our tables.
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update. Hopefully you all find the resources useful for you next game. If you're looking for more gaming resources, check out my archive over at Gamers. If you want to keep up-to-date on my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help support Improved Initiative, go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today. Giving as little as $1 a month is a big help, and it gets you some sweet swag, too!
Poison is one of those aspects of Pathfinder that we all know about, but most of us never really play around with. Much like combat maneuvers, poison is something anyone can technically use... but like anything else in the game, if you're going to make it a big part of your schtick, you should be sure your character is specialized in it.
If you can't make your own dangerous, lethal substances, then store bought is just fine.
If you've been thinking about embracing poison in Pathfinder, here are some hot tips I'd recommend using to minimize your frustration, while maximizing your effectiveness.
Tip #1: Make Sure You Have A Steady Source of Poison
Come here, dearest... time for your milking!
Most of the time when players encounter creatures that use poison, it's a poison they produce naturally. Rattlesnakes, pseudodragons, giant spiders, etc. all have an inexhaustible supply of poison. PCs don't typically have that luxury... most of them have to make due with buying poison, or finding it randomly on enemies like drow, or assassins who've been sent to kill them. The problem with buying poison is that it can get expensive... particularly when you consider it is, in essence, a save-or-suck for non-spellcasters. Even cheap poison can cost triple-digit gold pieces, and if you put it on arrows or darts that don't find their mark, then that's venom flushed straight down the drain.
If you're going to use poison on the regular, you need to make sure you know where your doses are coming from. The easy way to do that is to invest heavily in the Craft (alchemy) skill so that you can whip up just the right cocktail to make life uncomfortable, short, or both for your foes. If you take the feat Master Alchemist while you're at it, this allows you to simultaneously create multiple doses of a poison (equal to your Int modifier), and it helps you craft them more quickly.
Your other option, if you want an immediate, personal source of poison, is to make sure you have a trick up your sleeve. The vishkanya, for example, have a natural poison of their own they can use several times a day as a swift action. If your character has the 1st-level power of the Serpentine bloodline, then they can use their own fangs to deliver venom for a number of rounds equal to 3+ their Cha modifier (more on this strategy in How to Power Up Your Pathfinder Characters With The Eldritch Heritage Feats).
And remember, as the infamous Dungeon Keeper said in Better Traps and Tortures, if you poison enough things, eventually your enemy will fail a save.
Tip #2: Avoid Exposure
Don't slip... don't slip...
You know how when you attempt a combat maneuver check it provokes an attack of opportunity? Well, poison has a similar risk when you use it. If you don't have poison use as a feature, then you have a chance of poisoning yourself whenever you apply poison to a weapon, or whenever you roll a 1 while making a Craft check to make a poison. So, you don't typically see non-specc'd characters messing with poison for the same reason you don't see a lot of players making bull rush attacks if they haven't invested in the necessary feats.
Fortunately, there are a lot of ways you can get poison use. The easiest ways are to take levels in alchemist or ninja, though the assassin prestige class, and the poisoner rogue archetype also give you the ability. Vishkanya get poison use as a racial feature, as do several other races in the game. And, if you're clever, you can even get effective immunity to poison (or at least some kinds of poison). The rogue talent Developed Poison Immunity means you automatically save against any one kind of poison that you've saved against in the past, which means even if you decide to drink it, you save against its ill effects without rolling. And, of course, alchemists develop full poison immunity at level 10.
Tip #3: Unique Delivery Systems
Time to take your medicine.
Most of the time poison is delivered through a melee weapon. After all, if you put it on your knife, it stays until you injure someone with it. You can envenom a ranged weapon, as well, but if you miss and lose the arrow or crossbow bolt, then you also lose the dose of poison you put on it. Risky endeavor, unless you've got poison coming out of your ears... or other parts of your anatomy.
However, there are other options for getting poison into your enemies. Pitted bullets, for instance, allow you to shoot poisoned bullets into targets. The poison shot deed (which is a grit feat), allows you to spray a single dose of inhaled or ingested poison in a 15-foot cone, exposing all enemies in that cone to it. Or you could use the Adder Strike feat as a way to apply poison to your unarmed strikes (though you'll need either immunity, or gloves, to avoid making the save yourself). Additionally, if you take the Poison Bomb ninja trick, then you can add an inhaled poison to your smoke bombs, affecting everyone in the area. If you can get your hands on a Poison Vial of Distance, you can deliver a poison at range without any trouble.
Of course, you can also get tricky with your poison delivery. For instance, if you have poison immunity (or you automatically save against a particular kind of poison), then you could use it in all sorts of unusual ways. You could coat your palm in a contact poison, and shake someone's hand. You could poison wine, and then drink some harmlessly to assure others they're safe. The possibilities are rather extensive.
Tip #4: Remember, A Lot Of Things Are Immune to Poison
Ah crap.
Poison is similar to combat maneuvers in another way... the higher you get in level, the less effective it's going to be overall. Because while a DC 13 save might be a big danger at level 2 or 3, by the time you hit your stride at level 9 or 10 it's got a 5 percent chance of actually working. Even rare, powerful poisons with a DC in the 20s will likely be brushed aside by dragons, and creatures like demons, devils, and undead are outright immune to the effects of poison.
It's still a nasty surprise for that human wizard or sorcerer you tangle with around then, but that's a very situational use of this material.
So what do you do? Well, that depends on how much you've sunk into making poison a viable part of your character. If you use racial poisons, or bloodline poisons, then the DC increases with your character level, and thus remains a viable threat as you gain in power. While you might eat a feat slot or two for a unique poison trick, it won't take up too many of your resources. Most of the time, though, you just have to make sure your poison's ready to deploy, and hope for those low saves from the DM. Don't depend on them, though, and make sure that even without your venom you still have a way to contribute to the game.
With that said, there is one way you can get one over on your antagonists if they're evil creatures typically immune to poison (demons, devils, undead, etc.). An 8th-level alchemist can take the discovery Celestial Poisons, which infuses any poison they administer to a weapon with celestial power. This poison overcomes the immunity possessed by evil creatures, and forces them to actually make a save. However, depending on the poison's effect, it might still do nothing (poisons that deal Con damage will have no effect on an undead, for instance).
Well, that's all for my list! Hopefully folks enjoyed this week's Crunch installment. If you're looking for more content from me, then check out my archive over on Gamers. To keep up-to-date on all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help support Improved Initiative, then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron. As little as $1 a month can make a big difference, and help me keep making the content you want to see.
In the days of yore, or so the legend goes, no campaign would start until all the players had gathered round the table. The dungeon master would sit at the head of the table, and watch as each player rolled their character's stats then and there. For the longest time this was just part of how gaming was done, but as our editions grew more sophisticated, we began to do more and more character creation on our own. Once we were able to assign our stats to the attributes we wanted, instead of just putting them in order and taking whatever we were given, it was possible to know exactly what character we wanted to bring to the table long before we ever touched our dice.
And when we got rid of THaCO? Woo, all bets were off!
This freedom presented a world of opportunity for players, but it also complicated things for the dungeon master. Because the more freedom players have to make the characters they want, the tougher it can be to corral them into the chute to get the campaign going. And once class, race, etc. were no longer randomly made-up on the spot, it made no sense to keep that approach when it came to making the character's history and story. So players started making characters with more depth, more history, and to whom they were generally more attached to from the get-go than a PC they'd been assigned through totally random rolling.
There is a great DM tool that I discovered some time ago that I'd like to pass onto you that both helps players create deeper characters, and helps you weave them more organically into the game. I've been on both ends of it, and it can be a lifesaver.
The Character Creation Document
I first came across the idea of the character creation document when I joined an organized LARP in Chicago. The short version is that it was a questionnaire that asked you all about your character. It asked what you did for a living, where you lived, who you were related to, what supernatural powers you had, and how you kept them secret (or didn't). It asked about your allies and your enemies, and about your character's goals, fears, hopes, and experiences.
It was, in short, a quick way for the storytellers to get a snapshot of who this character was, and how they would react to certain situations.
Ah... my PC's crippling fear of water...
Now, a character creation document is not a stone tablet that is meant to totally lock in your character's attributes. They can still grow and change as you play them. However, the document allows your DM to ask you questions they deem important to the campaign, and to your character.
For example, if your DM is running a game where there are important NPCs to act as mentors, friends, and family members, then they might ask you what qualities your PC admires in others, and what qualities others tend to admire in them? If your DM wants to run a more psychological game, then he might ask about your character's fears, what motivates them, and what enrages them? What do they care about? What would they sacrifice themselves, or others, for?
These sorts of questions don't typically have spots on a character sheet, but they can be invaluable both to DMs, and to players. Because the answers can help a DM shape the game around the characters, and the questions can help players fill out and develop PCs in ways they may not have been asked to in the past. After all, a player may not think all that much about what hobbies their PC has when not slaying dragons, or ask whether they've been married in the past (or want to be in the future). A character creation document gets all of that information, and puts it squarely into the DM's hands.
And, if your DM is generous, you might even get a special reward for completion. More starting gold, more XP (even though I personally recommend against using XP whenever possible), or even social benefits derived from your answers to your questions. I personally recommend putting a carrot out there, though, because when you dangle a reward players will give you much more complete information than they otherwise might.
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday post. Hopefully it stirs some thoughts for all the DMs out there looking for a way to get a better glimpse into the PC's heads. If you're interested in more gaming content by yours truly, check out my archive over at Gamers. It's small now, but should be growing soon. If you want to stay up-to-date on all my releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And if you want to help support Improved Initiative, then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today. All it takes is $1 to make a difference, and to get yourself some sweet swag.
The Cult of The Forgotten Pharaoh has rampaged through Osirion. Skulking through the shadows, and massing in the light of day, they have tried to resurrect one of the region's more powerful priest-kings. They've assassinated political figures, broken into ancient tombs, summoned daemons, and destroyed an entire city. The Desert Falcons have been there every step of the way, arms and voices raised in negation.
It was inevitable that they would, in-time, clash with the Sky Pharaoh himself. Once they found him, that was.
After scattering the forces of the Forgotten Pharaoh's cult, and preventing them from summoning his Mind, the Desert Falcons freed Hakar. Once unbound, the masked merchant revealed himself as a lord of the efreet, and the ruler of the City of Ash. In return for the Falcons' aid Hakar offered his old friends gifts. To Moloch, he infused his undead bloodline with life, granting him more robust health, and removing some of the stains of undeath from his body. To Umaya, he gave one of his great scimitars; a weapon capable of being wielded only by those of djinni blood, or who are strong enough to be deemed worthy of their steel. To Mustafa, he gave the other blade... and as the master of magics easily hefted the weapon, the truth of his parentage was revealed. Ra'ana, though, had only one desire; to once more walk alongside her lost companion Caladral.
So Hakar led them on a journey through the planes, and into the realm of champion's reward. When asked by his old friends to return to life, Caladral finished his ale, and said he would be happy to. Especially since they needed him now more than ever.
Ancient mummified despot isn't going to depose himself, after all.
With the original crew back together, Hakar opened a portal from the City of Ash, back to the material plane. From there, he told them, they will be on their own.
The True Face of Mumanofra
Once they return to the world they left behind, the Desert Falcons cast for the trail of the Forgotten Pharaoh and his minions. Though they've suffered a major defeat, there is word they have been taking slaves (and converts) from all across Osirion. The Falcons follow the trail, and find themselves outside another excavation in the deep desert. An excavation where the only visible sign of a living presence is a single, well-lit tent, a hoard of gnoll taskmasters, and their pens of slaves.
Sounds like they're playing our song...
The camp was well-defended by gnoll captains and champions, but they were unprepared for the savagery that fell upon them. Hoards of summoned monsters rampaged into the gnolls' ranks, laying about them with brutal force as Moloch called them forth from the ether. Stone melted, exploding into searing magma that instantly cooled into vicious daggers of glassy stone as Mustafa let forth the heat of his blood's true potency. Umaya walked carefully, almost deliberately, through the ranks, leaving a wake of bloody bodies behind her. And Ra'ana cut a swath through the slavers, until she stood before their captain; the undead monstrosity that, when he lived, had been the one who made her a slave.
His head fell atop the pile, like a gem in the crown of the night's work.
Of course, the true task was still ahead. In the single tent, which was a gateway to a massive manor house in its own, small pocket realm, was the leader of this horror show. The dark, twisted soul for whom the suffering of the nation was but a passing amusement, and who intended to profit herself as much as possible from it. Lying upon a dais, attended by enchanted servants, was Mumonofra... the advisor to the Ruby Prince the Falcons had met ever so briefly in passing.
No sooner had she greeted them then she showed them her true face; the twisted, tiger-furred visage of a rakshasa. Not just any rakshasa, though... one of the rare Maharaja. Amused by their struggles outside, Mumonofra spread her arms, and invited the Falcons to revenge themselves upon her, if they felt they were able.
They did, indeed, feel they were able. Green lightning and screaming frost filled with the cries of the damned flew from Moloch's hands. Umaya and Ra'ana sprang toward the horrific creature, their blades striking true time and time again. Caladral's fast fingers drew forth wand, after scroll, after trick, pulling out every advantage he could manage. Mustafa, enraged as only someone with fire in his faith and his veins can be, systematically stripped Mumonofra's defenses, dispelling and removing every protection she had to keep her vulnerable.
And it was for that act that she slew him.
The Ruby Prince, and The Final Showdown in The Sky
Though Mumonofra was defeated, there was a greater threat looming. She was the one who found the ancient, flying pyramid, and she was also the one who excavating a smaller version in the deep desert. A missing piece of the original. It could, in theory, be used to hunt down the Sky Pharaoh, and to put an end to the threat he posed.
But first, the Desert Falcons needed to resurrect another of their fallen companions. And they did not have the luxury of calling on a djinni lord for his favor.
Well... there IS this one guy...
The Desert Falcons packed up the treasures of the campsite, and trekked to the capital city of Sothis. They hope that word of their deeds, the truth about one of the Ruby Prince's closest advisors, and the dire straits the kingdom was in would be enough for him to lend his aid. After all, as the risen guard can attest, Khemet is a master of resurrection magics.
The journey was grueling, but the Falcons managed to catch favorable winds, and arrive in Sothis in less than a few weeks. With some friends in high places, they managed to secure a secret audience with the Ruby Prince himself... though they had to come in the dark of the night, and in secret. Khemet met them with a smile, and gentle words. He knew of their deeds, and to the Falcons surprise, also knew of Mumonofra's true nature. As thanks for dealing with her, and for their willingness to risk their lives on behalf of his kingdom, he resurrected Mustafa.
Then, with his royal blessing, he sent them on to what would be their final battle in the skies... one way, or another.
A Challenge of Ages
Upon returning to the dig site, it didn't take the scholars and spellcasters long to understand the true purpose of the smaller pyramid. It, like its larger cousin, flew. It used life energy, and raw magical power, to defy the laws of the material plane on a grand scale. Unwilling to sacrifice huge numbers of living humans, as Mumonofra had been going to, they instead choose to unbind the power in relics, and in themselves, to provide the pyramid with the energies it needs. After several, grueling days, they took to the air, and were soon flying toward the Sky Pharaoh's palace.
And none too soon, either. For he was outside Sothis, attempting to loose the spawn of Rovagug onto the region once more.
When the Falcons got within range of the pyramid, their own ship offered to dock them. It fit into the underside of the Sky Pharaoh's vessel, securing itself automatically. With not a moment to lose, they quickly disembarked, and began climbing their way to the top of the structure.
Which is not to say there was no resistance...
The pyramid was filled with the living dead, and the Falcons had to navigate the colossal necropolis to finally find the throne room of the dead priest king. Shambling zombies, half-prepared mummies, and an undead blue dragon all barred the Falcons' way, but none proved a hefty enough barrier to their determination to end this thing once and for all.
In the highest room, at the pinnacle of the pyramid, the Falcons found the Sky Pharaoh attended by over a hundred ardent worshipers. They were bowed in silent contemplation and worship, their faith and life forces powering the ship's weapons as much as the pharaoh's magics. The tranquil scene wasn't tranquil for long, though.
Before the Falcons could close the distance, the Sky Pharaoh raised a hand. Three huge constructs rose to their feet, and marched toward them. The Heart, the Ka, and the Mind, all put inside a huge golem, each with its own, unique abilities. And, to make matters worse, the Sky Pharaoh began slaying his worshipers, raising their bodies as zombies, and their spirits as shadows.
What followed was a chess match as the Falcons tried to counter the two-pronged assault. Ra'ana and Umaya rushed the constructs laying into them with steel and raw might, dodging and absorbing blows that would have killed lesser adventurers. Mustafa and Moloch tended to the undead, putting them to rest before they could sap their companion's strengths, or overwhelm them with numbers. It seemed a hopeless struggle, but just as Caladral had fallen to one knee, and Moloch was shuddering, on the verge of spending the last of his arcane energies, Ra'ana broke through the ranks, and slashed her blade across the Sky Pharaoh's throat. His head tumbled to the ground, and two of the constructs vanished. The Ka and the Mind had been little more than half-real illusions, mimicked by the Sky Pharaoh's magic... only the Heart was real, as it was the only piece that the cult had managed to hang onto.
The End of The Adventure
With the Sky Pharaoh slain, and the massive pyramid under their command, the Desert Falcons flew it away from Sothis. With some difficulty, as they were still depleted and wounded, they landed it near the oasis outside the crystal dragon's cave. The undead had dropped where they were, and those people who yet lived stumbled into the daytime, as if awoken from a dream. The pyramid was too dangerous to be left unguarded, though.
So the Falcons took the wisest course of action they knew. They allowed the Littlest Pharaoh (the true manifestation of the Sky Pharaoh's pure ka), to move his people into the pyramid. They dedicated chambers to the storing of relics and books, and asked Matthew to be the custodian (since it was a far cry from hell). The crystal dragon was asked to allow it to stand within her lands, and the Ruby Prince was asked for his blessing.
Once all of that was dealt with, the Falcons went their separate ways. Ra'ana and Caladral to visit old haunts, Umaya to return to her people with tales of glory and honor, and Moloch went north to Ustalav to continue his trade as a freelance exorcist. And Mustafa? No one was quite sure what happened to the strange, form-shifting spellcaster. But there are those who say that, if he needs to be found, there is a masked merchant named Hakar who always seems to know just where he is.
And for folks curious about what happened to Mustafa afterward, well, he wound up on the Clerical Errors episode of Dungeon Keeper Radio's show Mythconceptions.
That's all for this week's Table Talk installment. Whew! The final tale. Hopefully you all enjoyed the journey. If folks are interested in more complete stories of other campaigns (and even other adventure paths), I'm about halfway through Rise of The Runelords with my group right now... so we'll see what stories come out of that one. Until then, feel free to follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter to get all my latest updates, and to check out my archive over at Gamers for additional gaming content. And, if you want to help keep Improved Initiative going, consider going to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today! $1 a month goes a long way, and gets you some sweet swag in the process.
I've received a fair amount of feedback on this blog over the years. While some has been good, and some has been bad, I have also received a fairly steady stream of questions. Some readers want to know my opinions on a given rule, or whether I allow certain books when I'm running a game. However, one of the most common questions I tend to get is, "Why do you write about Pathfinder so much?"
Sometimes people ask me if I'm ever going to do character conversions for 5th edition DND, and sometimes they ask why I don't write more about games like Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds, or Fate, but the meat of the inquiry is always, "Why do you spend so much time on this one system?"
Well, if this is a question you've wondered about, or asked, here are three reasons for the favoritism Pathfinder tends to get round these parts.
Reason #1: It's My Game
As I said in my post Why Pathfinder is My Game of Choice, this is the RPG I play the most. At any given time I'm in between two and three Pathfinder campaigns, and when I run my own games it's the system I use. I've played and run Pathfinder at conventions, and it is the game I have the most system mastery of. Because of all that, it's also the game I tend to have the most ideas for, and the most opinions about.
Reason #2: Pathfinder Guides Are Actually Useful
I mentioned system mastery, but I want to underline its importance in my decision when it comes to content. Pathfinder is a rules-dense game, and when you take into account all of the third-party material that's been written for it, some players and DMs can feel like they're drowning in a sea of options.
That's where I come in.
Whether it's a character conversion, an unusual character concept, or just a crunch post, my intent is to mark a path for my readers to find their way toward a particular goal. Whether that's building a solid Captain America lookalike, dealing with spellcasters, or choosing great gear options, I cut down the amount of digging and browsing that has to be done, saving my readers time and energy.
Now, that isn't to say I couldn't write those same guides for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons, but they aren't as necessary in a game that simply doesn't have the same amount of content to slog through. With 5th ed, players may only have a dozen options to choose from, and minimal customization (I believe in 5e barbarians only have two paths of advancement, and fighters have three?). With Pathfinder the sky may very well be the limit when it comes to what you can pull off, and there are dozens of books to dig through... so those are the players I throw a line to.
Reason #3: It's What All The Cool Kids Are Playing
Most folks who stop by my blog game for fun. Some of my readers do it occasionally, and some of them do it religiously, but a majority of my traffic comes from people for whom RPGs are a fun past time. They're a great way to spend an evening with friends, they're good for meeting new people, and they provide a unique opportunity to be creative.
Those are all the same reasons I play RPGs. However, I don't write about them just for fun. I'm here because this is my job. So when I sit down to choose a topic I don't just ask what would be fun for me to write about; I ask what's going to get people's attention. Pathfinder is one of the longer-running fantasy RPGs right now, it has a big fan base, and several dedicated outlets that I can count on a signal boost from. There's plenty of material that hasn't been covered (or at least hasn't been covered in a way I would talk about it), and there's new stuff coming out all the time.
So, it isn't that I don't love Changeling, Vampire, Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, X-Crawl, and the dozens of other games I've tried and played over the years. It isn't that I don't have opinions on them, or suggestions for how to make them more fun. It's that when I write a post about a character build for Werewolf, or tell a story about a session I once ran for Grimm, I'll get 300-400 people checking it out, and then it will slink off to the corner, never to be read again. There are a few exceptions, but those exceptions tend to prove the rule.
If I write a post about Pathfinder, and it isn't popular, I'll still pull in 1,000-1,500 hits on it during its initial promotion, and people will stop in from time to time because they found it on a Google search. If I write a post for Pathfinder and it is popular, though? Then I'm looking at 10,000 hits during the first week or so, and a potential for it to explode in popularity again as the subject that caught so much attention comes to the forefront of game discussions once more.
If Spycraft, Shadowrun, or even 5th edition pulled in that sort of traffic for me, then I would be switching systems in a heartbeat. But, excluding my general fantasy RPG posts, I don't get the same attention when I focus on other systems.
So, if you were curious, now you know.
Oh, lastly, if you want more thoughts, guides, and content on Pathfinder, then you should check out the Creative Repository Blog by Simon Peter Munoz, and That Boomer Kid by the infamous Clinton Boomer. If you like my stuff, you'll love what they have to offer!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday post! If you want even more content from me, check out my growing archive over on Vocal's Gamers site. It's small now, but it won't stay that way for long. If you want to keep up-to-date on my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help support Improved Initiative, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today! It only takes $1 a month to get some sweet gaming swag, and to help me keep making great content for you discerning gamers out there.
Thunder rumbled through the room, the roar echoing from the eaves and growing to a fevered pitch. The black-robed cultists, interrupted in their prayers to the dark creature that granted them power, turned as one. They drew vicious blades, and rushed toward the interlopers who would threaten their unholy communion. "How long is this going to take?" Shanna asked, sliding her supple sword from its sheath. "No more than a minute," Hezekiah said, holding his holy tome aloft as he began to chant the Ritual of Locking. "May as well ask me to hold the tide of an evening," Shanna grunted, setting her feet and raising her sword. The first warrior came hard, charging recklessly. Shanna shifted her hips, and the weapon slid harmlessly past her. Another man tried to come in on her blind side, and she parried his thrust into an iron candle stand. It crashed to the ground, the sound barely heard in the tumult. A third warrior, seeing his opening, drove his sword toward Hezekiah's heart, but Shanna caught it on her quillions, yanking the thrust away from the old cleric. Hezekiah's voice grew, rivaling the howl of the demon lord as his spell pushed back the darkness. As the light grew, Shanna pushed back the tide of stabbing, cutting steel. Soon blood ran on the floor, and the dark servants were in retreat. "I knew you could do it," Hezekiah said, clapping her on the shoulder. Shanna smiled, and slid her blade back into its sheath. "It's all about choosing where to stand, really."
The only thing faster, is light.
What Is The Defending Blade?
When you picture a swordsman, chances are you're imagining the kind of warrior who takes the fight to the enemy. Whether they charge in with a battle cry, or trudge forward behind a tower shield, they are a weapon whose only defense is a straightforward offense. The defending blade, on the other hand, is a bodyguard first and foremost. While perfectly capable of leaving a trail of bloody bodies, their primary concern is keeping their allies safe. And they do that by using their own skills to make sure as many attacks are deflected as possible.
And how the hell does that work, precisely?
The key to making a defending blade work is to juice up your Aid Another bonus. Most folks never bother with Aid Another, because it only provides a +2 to an ally's attack or armor class, and that's not much of a big deal for a standard action. But what if you could provide your ally with a +10 or higher bonus as an attack of opportunity? Now you see where this is going.
I laid out a lot of build options for this in an older post, Aid Another in Pathfinder is More Useful Than You Think. However, the broad strokes of how to make this build work are to combine a cavalier with a bard, and then take levels of Battle Herald (As a side note, Daring Champion cavaliers and Arcane Duelist bards pair together beautifully for this combo). If you add in the trait Helpful (the good one that makes your base Aid Another +4, not the subpar one that makes it +3), take Arcane Strike, mix in some magical weapons like a Benevolent blade, what you have is an Aid Another bonus that's easily in the double digits by the time you're 12th or 13th level.
You don't have to wait that long to put your signature ability to good use, though. All you need are the feats Combat Reflexes, and Bodyguard. This allows you to use Aid Another on an adjacent ally as an attack of opportunity to buff their AC. And even if you're a level 1 character, you'll be giving them a +4 buff if you took the Helpful trait. And if you have Harrying Partners (and you give that feat to your ally with your cavalier class feature), then your bonus will last an entire round once it's been given.
And it only gets bigger from there.
The beauty of the defending blade is that everyone needs a bodyguard from time to time. No one wants the cleric to be gutted by a tentacled horror while he's trying to heal the rogue, and if the wizard is busy dispelling the villain's enchantments, you don't want a bunch of minions to run up and turn him into a pincushion. The defending blade can protect an ally using their attacks of opportunity (something most of us don't bother with anyway), and then during their turn they can still take other actions. Like re-positioning their charge out of harm's way, or putting an end to the threat so their protection is no longer necessary... for the moment, at least.
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That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.
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