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mixitwithblop decided to cease supporting the previous Pathfinder RPG discussion framework in order to focus his efforts on new endeavors, but the fanbase has requested an extension of their previous thread experience. Here's mixitwithblop's fantastic OP. Carry on wherever y'all left off I guess. What is this? This is a thread for information and discussion of the Pathfinder Role Playing Game. There has been some general information and links in this thread and probably others prior.  About the game Pathfinder Role Playing Game is a table top fantasy role playing game published by Paizo. It is based on the d20 system. To participate in a game, you only need one book, and that is the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. As far as the core rules go, there is also the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary and Pathfinder Game Screen. For a detailed description of the game from Paizo, please see: Pathfinder Role Playing Game This all sounds very familiar In a nutshell, the game is basically a rewrite/update to the original Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition rules using the OGL 3.5E SRD. When Wizards of the Coast decided to update D&D to the 4th edition, a number of players were either reluctant to move to a new rule set, were not completely satisfied with the changes in 4e, or didn't want to drop all of their original 3.5e supplements, and often, all three. In general, the rules are very similar, but with many of the most common complaints about 3.5e addressed. For more info regarding this, see the official Pathfinder RPG FAQ. While that is the origin of it all, Pathfinder has since been taken up by quite a few players with a great amount of fanfare and eagerness. There is a certain freshness and excitement about the game overall. Pathfinder is considered the spiritual successor to Dungeons & Dragons 3.5e by many. For insights into the game design along with developer interviews listen to this podcast: Atomic Array 29 A free conversion guide from 3.5E to Pathfinder RPG rules is available here.  Is it just a new set of rules? In addition to the new rules, there is also a Pathfinder specific gameworld campaign called Pathfinder: Chronicles with associated series of individual Modules, Module Series, and player campaign guides called Pathfinder Companion. There is also an organized large scale campaign called the Pathfinder Society, along with with Pathfinder Society Scenarios which are modules meant to be played in a single 4 hour game. Full catalog and release schedule So here is the product line breakdown: Pathfinder Role Playing Game Rules, setting neutral Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign supplements set in the world of Golarian, many can be used with general 3.5e Pathfinder Companion Player focused guides focusing on various topics, such as races and kingdoms Pathfinder Module Short adventure modules set in the world of Golarian Pathfinder Adventure Path Interconnected adventure series set in the world of Golarian Pathfinder Society Scenarios Short adventure modules for use in Pathfinder Society organized games. Tell me about the campaign setting The official Pathfinder campaign setting is called Pathfinder: Chronicles and takes place in the fictional world of Golarian. If you're familiar with D&D campaign settings, it can be described as a combination of all the best things about Forgotten Realms, World of Greyhawk, and Mystara, as well as elements of Warhammer Fantasy. There are a number of supplements describing this world, with the primary being Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting. A general overview of the geography and kingdoms of Golarian is contained in Pathfinder Chronicles: Gazetteer. Here is a podcast review of the Campaign Setting and Gazetteer supplements: The Tome: Episode 102 - Pathfinder Setting  Tell me about the Pathfinder Society The Pathfinder Society is essentially an official mega-campaign played by thousands of players in the world of Golarian. Consider it as a standard platform in which to interact and play with other players in the Pathfinder Chronicles game world. It is basically the Paizo version of the RPGA. Play is organized into Seasons, of which a series of modules called Pathfinder Society Scenarios are released. There rules and character progression are slightly different and is outlined in Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The Pathfinder Society is also an organization in the campaign. As defined by Paizo, it is an "organization of explorers, vagabonds, sages, and treasure hunters determined to plumb the depths of the darkest tombs, and collect relics and lore from bygone ages". What's great about this, is that it automatically creates a background in the game story for a way for players to bring the same character into home games, Cons, internet games or whatever. Character progression and history is officially recorded and available for GM's to look up! To join, get an official member number and card, and register your character, go here. In addition to the Core Rulebook, players are expected know and read the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play(free PDF), and have the Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets—A Guide to the Pathfinder Society.  Why should I play Pathfinder? In order to behold the rise of Mighty Valeros Additional Resources Official: Pathfinder Resources Official game resources, to include pdf rulebook errata and character sheet Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document Pathfinder RPG OGL SRD Pathfinder Messageboard Official Pathfinder Forums General: Pathfinder SRD Wiki Rules SRD Wiki, excellent reference Pathfinder Wiki Golarian Campaign encyclopedia Know Direction Podcasts Monthly fan generated Pathfinder podcast from 3.5 Private Sanctuary Wayfinder Magazine Pathfinder RPG specific magazine (free download) Pathfinder Society Online Collective Google group for finding Pathfinder Society players and games for online play Paizo Chat Chatroom for Paizo/Pathfinder, many authors frequent it. Fan generated: Pathfinder Database Fan created game elements Pathfinder Chronicler Fan created campaign fiction Software and PDF's: Neceros Fillable Character Sheet Excellent fillable PDF character sheet Hero Lab Commercial Windows character creation software with excellent Pathfinder RPG support. PCGen Open source, multi platform character creation software, Pathfinder Data set available. d20Pro Commercial multi platform virtual table top software with Pathfinder support. Can import Hero Lab Pathfinder characters. RPTools Open source, multi platform virtual table top software. Used by many players for Pathfinder RPG. Pathfinder Framework TTopRPG Free virtual table top(Win32 only). Actively being developed & has a small dedicated group of Pathfinder players
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Feb 22, 2010 06:14
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I might have an opportunity to play in a Pathfinder game irl soon, but I'm a bit dubious. I'm more of a 'role'player myself, and I've heard that it's a very complicated, unbalanced system - I do like wargames too, but prefer those to be lightweight tightly-integrated things. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Is it really true that you have to pick the right class or just be underpowered forever?
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Feb 22, 2010 07:12
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Gul Banana posted:I might have an opportunity to play in a Pathfinder game irl soon, but I'm a bit dubious. I'm more of a 'role'player myself, and I've heard that it's a very complicated, unbalanced system - I do like wargames too, but prefer those to be lightweight tightly-integrated things. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Is it really true that you have to pick the right class or just be underpowered forever? Yes I believe so. Many of these concerns have however been addressed in Dungeons and Dragons: 4th edition
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Feb 22, 2010 07:13
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Gul Banana posted:I might have an opportunity to play in a Pathfinder game irl soon, but I'm a bit dubious. I'm more of a 'role'player myself, and I've heard that it's a very complicated, unbalanced system - If you like the people you have a chance to play with, go for it. And if you're worried about performing in a group, just grab a spellcaster and push your casting stat as high as it'll go. The rest will more or less take care of itself.
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Feb 22, 2010 07:29
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Gul Banana posted:I might have an opportunity to play in a Pathfinder game irl soon, but I'm a bit dubious. I'm more of a 'role'player myself, and I've heard that it's a very complicated, unbalanced system - I do like wargames too, but prefer those to be lightweight tightly-integrated things. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Is it really true that you have to pick the right class or just be underpowered forever? Do the people you're playing with feel the same way? If so, you're probably all right. But to answer your question, yes, all the primary spellcasters (Cleric, Druid, Sorceror, and Wizard) are going to end up more powerful in the long run. Around level 12 or so, the balance (or lack thereof) can start to become apparent. However, this also assumes that they pick certain types of powers that force the enemy to save or take either huge damage or a serious negative effect, such as death. Other classes are fun however, and despite what people will tell you, you can get poo poo done without being a spellcaster. I'd get a feel for the group and see what the overall direction is.
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Feb 22, 2010 07:31
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i'd like to thank AZ for making some good posts in the last thread those were some good posts about print runs and such
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Feb 22, 2010 07:56
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Gul Banana posted:I might have an opportunity to play in a Pathfinder game irl soon, but I'm a bit dubious. I'm more of a 'role'player myself, and I've heard that it's a very complicated, unbalanced system - I do like wargames too, but prefer those to be lightweight tightly-integrated things. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Is it really true that you have to pick the right class or just be underpowered forever? This is true in some ways, depending on how the group is and how much your DM houserules. Honestly, pick any class and just try to have fun with it, don't do anything retarded like playing a fighter with a low strength to roleplay weakness and all that poo poo. Have fun. Don't play a bard though.
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Feb 22, 2010 15:09
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Oh god, now there are two active Pathfinder threads. I'll just repost what I was talking about in the other one... I HATE 3.5 D&D, will I like Pathfinder? Short answer: Nope, probably not. Pathfinder is a continuation of 3.5 rule-set and while it makes many small changes and fixes, it does not re-balance the massive difference between spell-casters and fighters. The "hybrid" classes, like Rangers and Paladins, are seriously pretty awesome in Pathfinder, but the Fighter class has not been powered up enough to catch up with the mighty casters. Right now actually, I would say that the Ranger or Paladin are better "tanks" than a pure fighter. I still like playing 3.5, why should I buy Pathfinder? This answer is more complex. If you like playing 3.5 and you don't mind the fact that WotC will never release another book for it, then you might not be too interested in Pathfinder. However, if you really like buying a new book every few months and prefer to play in a 3.5 rule-set then Pathfinder might be for you. Beyond that though, the Pathfinder RPG is not the only "Pathfinder" product there is out there. The Pathfinder Chronicles, and Pathfinder Companion product lines are very rules-lite and are mostly just fluff for the campaign world. This poo poo isn't backwards compatible, how the gently caress am I supposed to run old PCs with it? It's true that the most recent products are using the new PF RPG rules and are no longer OGL. However, all the stuff Paizo released up until fairly recently was still OGL and compatible with 3.5 D&D. This includes 4 adventure paths, 22 adventure modules, 17 chronicles books, all of the companion books (mostly pure fluff). happyelf posted:i'd like to thank AZ for making some good posts in the last thread No problem. Most of what I was describing was coming right from the Paizo forums, where somebody asks the exact same thing everyday and the assorted Paizo staff explain it all...again. Now as I was saying in the last thread... In other topics, the "King-maker" Adventure Path is due to start up soon. This is the first AP I've subscribed to since it sounds very interesting. According to the blurbs, this AP will be different from previous paths in that it will involve the PCs gaining their own little tract of land, which they can develop and mold over the course of the campaign. Supposedly new rules and suggestions for running a sandbox campaign will be included in each of the issues. I really like campaigns that are centered around one place for the entire run. It lets you really flesh out local NPCs and customs and it breaks the mold of the "constantly camping" adventurers who never really settle into one place. This is why I really love Shackled City. I can also picture the King-maker Sub-forum being a huge boon for DMs, much like how the Shackled City sub-forum was. In the latter's case, other DMs basically posted NPCs, shops, and other events that I could transplant right into my campaign (since it was all happening in the same place), and it made the city of Cauldron more vibrant than I could have pulled off on my own. The first book comes in March, so I can say more then.
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Feb 22, 2010 17:24
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Chiming in to say I've got just about everything they've put out for Pathfinder with the exception of a couple of the stand-alone adventures and the Pathfinder Society adventures. Echoing the "if you don't like 3.5 you're not going to like PF" statements, but the world (Golarion), the Adventure Paths, and the supplements are all pretty top-notch, so even if you don't end up using them in PF you can probably find some stuff. Happy to answer questions for folks if people want to know about the various products. I've run half of Rise of the Runelords, I'm currently running Curse of the Crimson Throne, and I've played through Second Darkness. Any interest in a maptools PFRPG game?
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Feb 22, 2010 21:44
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I'd be really happy to play in a maptools game if someone wants to DM one. I decided to take a break from DMing in my group and so now everyone has broken into a game of GURPS. This is what I get for wanting to be a player.... I have not actually gotten to play in any of the Pathfinder APs, how do they rank against each other?
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Feb 22, 2010 22:11
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My opinion: 1. Council of Thieves 2. Legacy of Fire 3. Curse of the Crimson Throne (with some shuffling in the endgame stuff) 4. Rise of the Runelords 5. Second Darkness Not sure where Kingmaker's going to end up but I'd say it's going to be top three based on the track record. Council of Thieves is tops 'cause it's quite different in a lot of ways from a "traditional" AP. Less dungeon-crawling and more interaction with the city and denizens thereof. Heck, in the second chapter you put on an opera.. and they've actually included the text of the opera if you want to have people do their roles. (Don't have to, but it's there.) Legacy of Fire does a lot with genies and wishes and such and has a surprising amount of "here's the situation, here's your goal, how are you going to do it?" for an AP. The setpieces are pretty spectacular. Curse of the Crimson Throne has some awesome setup and it's got a great use of disease in a campaign (which is pretty rare, as far as I've seen). The later parts of it suffer from "we can't set the WHOLE thing in the city, people will get bored!" so you end up shooting off to do stuff waaay away from Korvosa--that's why I mentioned the tweaking necessary. Rise of the Runelords isn't much as a coherent AP--you can really tell it's the first one they've done in Golarion--but it has some gloriously hosed up adventures. The haunted house mechanics are awesome and atmospheric and really freaked my players out, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre/Hills Have Eyes take on ogres in Hook Mountain Massacre was fantastically macabre. This one requires the most effort to string together into a coherent campaign, I'd say--there's several points where you need some serious linking adventures to get folks to where they need to be for the next chapter. Second Darkness is last despite all the stuff I said about Rise because frankly it's kinda dull. There are some fun setpieces but it's drow all over again, and they're just played out. The path also assumes some altruism on the characters parts, because the nominal good guys (the surface elves) are really pretty much assholes to the party, so it may be hard to see a motivation to help them beyond "well, the AP must go on!" Honestly, the Paizo guys are just getting much better at the AP business and are starting to branch out from the old-school style paths like AoW and Shackled City. The first three paths are good, but starting with Legacy of Fire they've just gotten better with each path. The newer ones are much more in the style of Savage Tide where they're not afraid to step out of the dungeon crawl. At Paizocon II they talked about the direction of the paths, and how they started off fairly conservatively since they weren't sure if people would buy them. By the time they realized that yes, people really do want some unusual campaign premises and yes, Pathfinder Adventure Paths were a viable business they were already halfway through Crimson Throne. Given their production schedule they'd already had most of Second Darkness done, which is why you start seeing more unusual stuff open up in Legacy and then really hit its stride in Council. Hearing about that and Kingmaker was fantastic--that's the kind of campaign I prefer to play in/run since I started playing D&D.
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Feb 22, 2010 22:40
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Tolan posted:Any interest in a maptools PFRPG game? I'd be keen, timing dependant (I live in New Zealand, but have a weird sleep schedule)
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Feb 23, 2010 00:23
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Tolan posted:Any interest in a maptools PFRPG game? My interest is piqued... I've never used maptools before, but I sure do love me some Pathfinder!  Edit: Time-dependent, naturally. For the record, I'm in the Eastern Time Zone and work a 7am - 4pm kinda job. WhiteSpyder fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Feb 23, 2010 |
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Feb 23, 2010 02:53
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WhiteSpyder posted:My interest is piqued... I've never used maptools before, but I sure do love me some Pathfinder! Maptools is pretty easy to pick up, actually. I'll look into the Pathfinder framework; hopefully it's a bit more complete that it was before the actual PFRPG release. I'm Eastern, and I work 11a-7p, so it'd be like an 8p-11p thing if I did it weeknights. Weekends are a bit more flexible, obviously.
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Feb 23, 2010 03:45
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I'm eastern coast as well. Usually not home till 7p though.
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Feb 23, 2010 04:23
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Tolan posted:Maptools is pretty easy to pick up, actually. I'll look into the Pathfinder framework; hopefully it's a bit more complete that it was before the actual PFRPG release. Yeah, I just downloaded it... I'll take a good look at 'er tomorrow after work or something. 8-11ish sounds good... As a loose, theoretical sort of time frame.
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Feb 23, 2010 04:48
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The Gate posted:But to answer your question, yes, all the primary spellcasters (Cleric, Druid, Sorceror, and Wizard) are going to end up more powerful in the long run. Around level 12 or so, the balance (or lack thereof) can start to become apparent. However, this also assumes that they pick certain types of powers that force the enemy to save or take either huge damage or a serious negative effect, such as death. Also, the system is very simple; granted, not as simple as DnD 4.
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Feb 23, 2010 06:11
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Cpt_Obvious posted:I completely disagree. The vast changes to feats and class abilities have balanced the game out quite a bit. Most spell casters cap out at around 4 spells per level, meaning you have to be shrewd with your spells, but they did give them special abilities that are great. The game is pretty balanced when given the proper setting. It is NOT made to be a battle royal, all of the classes have a purpose and they all fulfill their purpose very well. I find that when people say this they tend to lack an imagination. That's cool but you're objectively wrong so...
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Feb 23, 2010 06:59
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[...] Any of the PF aficionados have a a rundown on who the artist is and how they settled the PF core art aesthetic? FedkaTheConvict fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Feb 23, 2010 |
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Feb 23, 2010 07:18
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Feb 23, 2010 07:21
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Cpt_Obvious posted:The game is pretty balanced when given the proper setting. It is NOT made to be a battle royal, all of the classes have a purpose and they all fulfill their purpose very well. I find that when people say this they tend to lack an imagination. The proper setting being "the caster-players being really good at playing the game terribly", or hitching your game up to the Railroad.
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Feb 23, 2010 08:37
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Gerund posted:The proper setting being "the caster-players being really good at playing the game terribly", or hitching your game up to the Railroad. How about not playing with min-maxing nerds instead.
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Feb 23, 2010 08:54
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mixitwithblop posted:How about not playing with min-maxing nerds instead. But then you wouldn't be playing D&D.
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Feb 23, 2010 09:02
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Gerund posted:But then you wouldn't be playing D&D. Good thing I play Pathfinder then.
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Feb 23, 2010 09:07
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mixitwithblop posted:How about not playing with min-maxing nerds instead. Banning caster classes seems like a drastic step.
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Feb 23, 2010 09:30
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Dammit Who? posted:Banning caster classes seems like a drastic step. oh, you! 
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Feb 23, 2010 10:04
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Cpt_Obvious posted:The game is pretty balanced when given the proper setting. It is NOT made to be a battle royal, all of the classes have a purpose and they all fulfill their purpose very well. I find that when people say this they tend to lack an imagination. I think the problem here is that 'the proper setting' involves either robbing casters of their powers or creating a game world where Craft (Pottery) is as important as exploding poo poo with magical lightning. Then prohibiting casting classes from learning Craft (Pottery).
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Feb 23, 2010 12:57
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FedkaTheConvict posted:[...] Which artist are you interested in information about?
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Feb 23, 2010 15:14
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moths posted:I think the problem here is that 'the proper setting' involves either robbing casters of their powers or creating a game world where Craft (Pottery) is as important as exploding poo poo with magical lightning. If you didn't take skill focus (basket weaving) then you're just a punk bitch.
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Feb 23, 2010 15:19
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mixitwithblop posted:How about not playing with min-maxing nerds instead.  Please, tell me more
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Feb 23, 2010 15:33
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I'm a fan of limiting casting classes by giving the PCs goals that need to be accomplished in a limited time frame. Things like 'the kings son has been kidnapped, save him'. If they gently caress around too long, they will fail, the prince will be dead. Gives the game a fun urgency aswell. Of course, fighter types still have to resource manage hitpoints, which often comes back to divine casters spells /day, but that's what wands of cure light wounds are for. But without spending a poo poo ton of gold (another resource), casters only have a few high level spells to use for the quest. This can be a fair bit of planning to get the right amount of stuff to do vs. spells per day, but you can always add or subtract later encounters if you screwed up. This is the balance that always gets overlooked in 3.5. Sure, your wizard isn't gonna die (teleport), but as long as you're not doing some cheesy dungeon crawl, he has limitations. Sure, he's still more powerful than Fights McGee, but the bard or rogue who can find out where the prince is held captive with a Gather Information check just saved the wizard from casting scry, which is another spell to cast later that day. An example of an adventure set up like this (I've just flicked through it at some one on here's recomendation) is Paizo's Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale, where the PCs have a limited time frame to acheive their goals, or atleast get rewarded for achieving them quicker.
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Feb 23, 2010 21:59
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Tolan posted:Happy to answer questions for folks if people want to know about the various products. I've run half of Rise of the Runelords, I'm currently running Curse of the Crimson Throne, and I've played through Second Darkness. So, two questions: what's the release schedule for the Kingmaker series, and do you have any recommendations for converting the stats in the Pathfinder adventures to 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons?
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Feb 23, 2010 22:43
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The Runelords series has some great ruined areas settled/taken over by monsters bits. The whole area it's set in, Varisia, is littered with ruins from 10,000 years prior to "current setting year". The starting town, Sandpoint, for example, has a ruined building called the Lighthouse. No one's really sure what its original purpose was, but it's a local landmark. Turns out it was a border defense system--the tower could spit torrents of flame several miles long, and was part of a network of them. There's huge ruined bridges leading out into the open ocean; there's enormous dams holding back miles-deep reservoirs; there's lost cities and such peppered about the region. Of the Runelords series, #3, 4, and 6 probably fit into the "ruined locale" setting the best. #3 is the weakest, I think; the dam mentioned above features in it somewhat, but the focus is on inbred ogres and a recently-taken fortress. Could probably be adjusted fairly easily, but 4 and 6 have the most "ruined areas" for the buck. Six in particular, as it's all about exploring a 10,000 year old ruined city. I'd also suggest checking out their Gamemastery adventure series--there's a pretty nice set of stand-alones that would probably make for decent "abandoned ruins"/wilderness area adventures. Kingmaker is part of the Pathfinder Adventure Path series, which is released monthly. It starts in March and will go for six issues, so you're looking at one a month from then until August. Paizo has had a couple of incidents of late shipping (usually due to customs), but I usually get my hardcopy by the third week of the month--it ships the week before. All of the Adventure Path books are laid on on Paizo's website--I'd highly recommend checking out the descriptions there and the forums. There's a section for each Path with comments/GM notes/extras from other people. I'm also happy to answer specific content questions you might have. As for converting to 4e I can't really help you, since I don't own 4e. I don't think it'd be too difficult, though, given the ease of creating encounters in 4e. If you check the messageboards there's a 4e section with a few threads on conversion; you might also check the sections for the specific Path you're interested in (as mentioned above). Often, particularly for the older Paths, there's lots of conversion notes from folks.
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Feb 23, 2010 23:10
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mixitwithblop posted:oh, you! The General's parachute account spotted.
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Feb 23, 2010 23:22
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Father Wendigo posted:I'm brewing a setting that involves colonization of a new world, and I'm thinking about having abandoned battlements being part of the setting. From what you said in the post above, the Runelord series sounds great for some cherry picking. In addition, the Kingmaker series that got mentioned in here sounds like an idea mine as well. Well, if you try to run the game straight through it, there'd probably be some balance issues with the encounters... but if you're going to be just picking bits and pieces out, you'd probably be better off just grabbing equivalent monsters from the 4E Monster Manuals and generating equivalent NPC's in a character generator. Anyhoo, there's this: http://www.d20source.com/2009/06/dms-guide-to-converting-3e-adventures-to-4e
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Feb 24, 2010 00:34
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Father Wendigo posted:I'm brewing a setting that involves colonization of a new world, and I'm thinking about having abandoned battlements being part of the setting. From what you said in the post above, the Runelord series sounds great for some cherry picking. In addition, the Kingmaker series that got mentioned in here sounds like an idea mine as well. Converting a monster from any previous version of D&D to 4e is a 2 step process: 1. Find the monster in the DDI adventure tools. 2. Convert it. Taking an encounter from an old module and updating it is a little different. You need to figure out the XP budget for your party and then either adjust the critters to fit that or add some more in. I'm converting the old Feast of Goblyns module over to 4e and it's pretty easy if you have the DDI tools.
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Feb 24, 2010 02:34
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God, I don't think I can articulate how much I hate some of the people on the Paizo forums. Everyone plays really nice over there, so some loving terrible posters never get called out on being terrible. The latest round of the RPG Superstar is the best example. There are 8 contestants and a couple of them have put together really cool maps and encounters for the contest, but most of them are seriously flawed in some way. The judges are calling them out on their mistakes pretty well, but every single other poster is all "Excellent job! My number one choice!" for some of the worst entries. This round's winner is determined by public voting and I swear to god some of these turds are going to make it into the Final Four. It's like the bizzarro version of every other RPG forum where everyone just argues and nerd-rages at each other nonstop and it's driving me nuts.
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Feb 24, 2010 05:41
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Yeah, I dip my toe in the Paizo forum lightly. It's a lot of circle-jerking for the most part, though it's very nice circle-jerking.
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Feb 24, 2010 05:47
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rock rock posted:I'm a fan of limiting casting classes by giving the PCs goals that need to be accomplished in a limited time frame. Things like 'the kings son has been kidnapped, save him'. If they gently caress around too long, they will fail, the prince will be dead. Chugga chugga choo choo all aboard the plot-o-rail. Please keep your minds and thoughts inside the previously-decided choices at all times. Enjoy playing through scripted quick-time events and random encounter rolls. You can't get there, thats only for the next disk. Which edition was supposed to be the video-gamey one again?
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Feb 24, 2010 09:10
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Gerund posted:Chugga chugga choo choo all aboard the plot-o-rail. Please keep your minds and thoughts inside the previously-decided choices at all times. Enjoy playing through scripted quick-time events and random encounter rolls. You can't get there, thats only for the next disk. Assuming that failing the time limited scenario in question doesn't screw up the whole adventure, it would be proper to prepare for the possibility that the characters do not achieve the said goals in the given time frame. That's how I look at it. Unless you've been gaming with the same people for a very long time, you don't really know how well they're going to react to a given set of situations, so you should always take into account that they don't care and just want to burn the town down. But as far as a prewritten module goes, there are plenty of ways to reveal to the players/characters what course of action they should be taking and what is important, without going right out and saying "hey guys you need to do this cause thats the whole module". As for it being a method for dealing with spellcaster to melee balance issues, I think its quite proper to a point, as a common complaint from some spellcasters is not getting enough periods of rest to re queue their spells... and that's just part of the system. Well, if you're in the middle of an enemy stronghold with guards everywhere looking for the party... its not like the whole party is going to cram themselves into a closet for the night. The spellcasters will learn to be more frugal. Press on. (To add to that, there's nothing stopping the whole party from insisting on trying to camp for the night, but I'll definitely leave it up to the dice to see whether they're discovered. And if they have a limited amount of time, there will of course, be consequences. That's just DMing 101.) mixitwithblop fucked around with this message at 11:06 on Feb 24, 2010 |
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Feb 24, 2010 10:59
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