The Tome of Manly Things

I usually avoid reviewing Pathfinder stuff these days as I am focused more on Old School for my D&D fix.

However being a sucker for free stuff I decided to download Little Red Goblin's Tome of Manly Things

Its a DTRPG freebie (here) that was meant as an April Fools product.

However its quite clever as it uses a variant of the gunslinger Grit mechanic to allow people to play "the Most Interesting Man in the World" or Burt Reynolds or whoever those guys in the Vegas commercial were

Being a joke product there were a few bugs, a small lack of clarity on how many man cards a person gets (how awesome is not a number and as such I recommend 1+ charisma modifier) or any discussion of what the Man Code is. Of course that kind of realistic since no in reality knows what it is either. ;)

However despite the flaws this is actually a cool class and renamed Hero or something is not only playable but fun.

Definitely an interesting and offbeat add to the game I can recommend.

Armor and Heat in 3x/Pathfinder

The biggest drawback to armor is surprisingly not the weight, mind you its not pleasant to carry 70lbs all day long but armor weight is generally well distributed.

No what makes armor unpleasant is the heat.

Mail is marginally tolerable, even with the weight mostly hanging on the shoulders as its breaths a bit but Plate, well its like wearing a boiler all day.

If you want to simulate this effect in your 3x and Pathfinder games its really easy.

Simply subtract the armor check penalty from armor from any rolls vs heat and fatigue. As with the helmet rules, all reductions to this check (class, masterwork and magic) count as usual. If the helmet is removed (reducing AC vs critical conformation by 4, to a minimum of 10) reduce the penalty by half, round up.

In addition, if desired, a shields armor check penalty can be applied as well though this should only be applied to fatigue, not heat.

One warning though, this does weaken heavy armor for non fighters a bit, so be warned.

Helmets in Pathfinder/3x

I was stewing on the issue of helmets a while back and came up with a set of rules that add verisimilitude to the existing helmet rules without too much complexity.

All armor is assumed to come with an appropriate helmet. However as helmets make it much harder to see and hear, subtract all armor check penalties from perception rolls,

All abilities that reduce armor check penalties (class abilities, masterwork, magic etc) also reduce this penalty.

If a character chooses not to wear a helmet, perception penalties may be ignored however reduce armor class vs confirmation of critical hits by four to a minimum of 10.

Magic helmets work normally as per armor.

So what do ya think?

Change the Classes Change the World Very Low Magic

It might surprise folks who haven't tried it but 3x is a very flexible set of games. With a little application of DM elbow grease and brain sweat its pretty easy to use the system for most anything.

For those who want essentially no magic in the hands of the PC's and farily high verisimilitude it can be a little tricky but you have a couple of options.

#1 You can use the old Game of Thrones D20 rules with some combination of E6/E8 and Codex Martialis and get a very authentic set up

or you can use your PF/D20 at E6 or E8 and my low magic rules in the sidebar. This will cover your needed decently well except for the mojo.

Classes are limited to

Fighter
Rogue
Barbarian
Skirmisher Ranger
Noble
Cavalier
Warlord or War Master
and some kind of Scholar/Everyman either one of the Scholar classes, the Savant from Thieves World, The Master from Dragonlance or the Maester from Game of Thrones, depending on what you have.

The magic is best handled with a feat based system something like the special abilities in Wheel of Time.

My feat list is below though note I did not include any description as its not done. Hopefully the names will be evocative enough to give you an idea of what they are like.

Totem Spirit

Medium

Echoes of Yesterday

Fortunetelling

Foretelling

Animal Talker

Animal Kin

Old Blood

Obscure Knowledge

Wolf Brother

Heightened Senses

Animal Bond

Pack Alpha

Wolf Dream

Dream Capture

Dream Watch

War Cry

Dreamer

Dream Bind

Dream Walk

Dream Jump

Bend Dream

Sniffer

Second Sight

Waking Dream

Green Thumb

Tree Warden

Mesmerize

Uncanny Luck

Déjà vu

Horse Whisperer

Commune with Nature

Fearless

Nose of the Bear

Healing Hands

Smell Gold (Genteel Looter)

Systematic Mind

Danger Sense (Danger Intuition)

Uncanny Alertness

With this kind of set up and a little imagination you can have a game where there is magic and mystery but which cleaves decently close to reality. Not bad from a game whose default mode of play is in the words of one of my players "Final Fantasyesque"

Theme Parties: The Nakama

Something crazy that just occurred to me, with the right books its pretty easy to create a balanced Anime themed party.

Like many Anime groups its a five man band. I haven't assigned genders so set em up as you like. You while in this set up you need Tome of Battle to use this fully, the Sword Sage can easily be switched for a War Blade if you want a big guy or if you are clever, a Fighter.


The Nakama:



Sword Sage

Alchemist Preservationist

Summoner Synthesist

Ninja

Wizard Scroll Master

The Tome of Horrors Complete, I Want It.

Tome of Horrors Complete. Here.

Its expensive (nearly a C-Bill) enormous to the point some might call bloated (1000 pages) and crunchier than pea gravel but I want both versions. I don't even use that many monsters but I still want it.


I don't know who said this (it wasn't me) but if you had S&W Complete (here) or Labyrinth Lord and the AEC (here) or Dark Dungeons (here) and this book, you'd have a lifetime of material and never need another book.

I might slightly disagree, I usually want a companion and DM's notebook but the sentiment is spot on. Thats a crazy lot of monsters and a lot of gaming.

2 Short New House Rules for Pathfinder

Fight Aggressively

Any player not fighting defensively, using combat expertise or total defense may opt to have his character fight aggressively. This grants a +2 to hit at the cost of -4 to AC in the round it is done. This may be used with missile weapons.


Shield Block

Shields function in a similar manner to combat expertise and anyone carrying a shield may subtract its base bonus (exclusive of any enhancements or feats) from his BAB and add it to AC on a one for one basis.

#2 Small Pathfinder House Rule: Fighters

This was almost too small to post.

Fighters gain 4 points per skill level instead of two.

I added this rule as I think Fighters can use a small boost and as the secondary "no magic" guys they depend on skills to a greater degree than the casters.

My original house rule added 2 to all the classes but I found this unbalanced in Pathfinder and unnecessary with favored class benefits. Now I did consider giving Sorcerers Wizards and Clerics the same benefit but as these guys depend more on spells , they really don't need it.

#1 Small Pathfinder House Rule Wizards

One for the Wizard

My players seem to avoid Wizards pretty much completely , partially its because of the complexity (Sorcerers are much easier to play) partially for the power (Sorcerers get more spells per day) but mainly because they fear DM's messing with the spellbooks.
This rule is designed to help make Wizards a bit more desirable without messing with the game balance.

At level 1 every wizard gains the bonus feat spell mastery however one of the mastered spells must be Read magic.

In addition at every level the Wizard gains spells known or any spell in which the Arcane Study (a homebrew feat) or Spell Perfection has been applied is considered to be mastered. If either of those spells is applied to a spell already mastered, another spell may be selected immediately. Once made this selection may not be changed .

And the very slightly revised Spell Mastery

Spell Mastery

You have mastered a small handful of spells, and can prepare these spells without referencing your spellbooks at all.

Prerequisite: 1st-level wizard or other spell preparation class that requires a spell book

Benefit: Each time you take this feat, choose a number of spells that you already know equal to your natural Intelligence modifier +1 . From that point on, you can prepare these spells without referring to a spellbook. If your Intelligence modifier is later permanently raised through experience or magic, additional spells equal to the difference may be slected immediately. Once selected these spells cannot be changed.

Normal: Without this feat, you must use a spellbook to prepare any of your spells that are not mastered,

Pathfinder Class List: Revision

Thought I'd let you know that my current efforts are being directed to getting rid of as much non OGL, non Pathfinder content in my homebrew as possible. This way I can make more of it OGL and simplify my gaming world as much as possible.


Thus far I have eliminated most all closed WOTC classes and am left with the following open class variants

UA Hunter Barbarian Variant (open)
UA Cloistered Clerics (open)
UA Swift Hunter Druid (open)
UA Druidic Avenger (open)
UA Battle Sorcerer (open)
UA Wilderness Rogue

, a few class options not listed here and the Archivist and Cloistered Archivist closed classes.

eventually I will create a PF/OGL version of the Archivist (dropping some of the closed type abilities) as well.

I'd say the most difficult "drop" choices were the Warlock (I like this class but it really doesn't fit) the Factotum (mechanically a poor fit) and the Scout which I like but is decently superseded by its Rogue variant.

New Pathfinder Archtype, Joad Harrier

Yes despite my complaints about the size of my feats book I still like Pathfinder. This archetype, the Joad Harrier is inspired by these guys in the hypertext SRD and the Executioner class from Iron Heroes.

Text of course is taken from the Pathfinder SRD. Consider everything here open content covered by the OGL except the term Joad harrier which is closed content

The Joad Harrier

The Joad are famed for both their traders and their cruelty and nothing epitomizes that cruelty more than the Harrier. This class specializes in sneak attacks, often delivered by bluff or from behind. Rather than depending on an array of weapons skills, the Joad prefer to leverage a detailed knowledge of anatomy and use lethal directed blows.


The Harrier is treated as a fighter however stealth, bluff and acrobatics are class skills. They do not gain heavy armor or tower shield proficiencies.

At L1 a Harrier gains a +10 bonus to move as a Barbarian.

Replace all bonus feats from L1 to L20 with Sneak Attack as per the rogue class.

L2 The Joad gain a +1 bonus to Feint CBM. This bonus inrease by one every four levels.

At L3 they gain Armor Training as per a Fighter

At 7th level, a Joad Harrier can move through 10 feet of difficult terrain each round as if it were normal terrain. This benefit stacks with the benefits provided by the Acrobatic Steps and Nimble Moves feats.

This ability replaces Armor Training 2.

Rapid Attack (Ex)

At 11th level, a Harrier can combine a full attack with a single move. She must forgo the attack at her highest bonus but may take the remaining attacks at any point during her movement. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.

This ability replaces Armor Training 3.


Fleet Footed (Ex)

At 15th level, the mobile fighter’s speed increases by an additional 10 feet. He can take 10 on Acrobatics checks even while distracted or threatened, and can take 20 on an Acrobatics check once per day for every five fighter levels he possesses.

This ability replaces Armor Training 4.

Guns on Midrea Rules Thoughts

Rules wise I found it simpler to graft on the rules bits from D20 Modern spiced with a spot of the new pathfinder . This set up is compatible with 3x and the rules while far from perfect work well enough for me.

Costing firearms was a bit trickier

Typically I assume flintlocks cost about 3x what an equivalent bow does with ammo running roughly 1sp per point of maximum damage the weapon can do. Lead balls can be had anywhere for about a copper..

Modern Firearms are a but pricey, costing around 1000 for a handgun and 5000 for a long gun, based on weight and the cost of the casting of 7th level spell plus markup.

Ammunition is also crazy expensive costing costing about 15GP per handgun round and 30GP per shotshell or Rifle round. This premium keeps the number of them in circulation small. The small number of casters capable of handling 7th level spells means that the number of military units with these weapons is small.

As for energy weapons, they exist but are rare and cannot be bought.

As above I tend to use modified D20 Moder/Pathfinder rules.

Quickhatch Revisited

I wrote this to display the versatility of the E8 Pathfinder rules and how they cross over into "superhero" territory after L6 or so.

This is a fairly complete version a certain regenerating furball who seems to show up in every other comic book and TV series =.

He uses the low magic rules, a general house rule grating +2 skills per level and a few other bits. His magic augments value are not listed but the rules come from Dragon and Oathbound. For simplicity treat them as magic items at twice the cost.

The term "advances" refers to the extra feats gained at 10k XP after maximum level (in this case 8) is achieved.

This is fan content and a great many terms are property of Wizards of the Coast. Shift was calculated at 4 rounds per day + Con Mod with an extra 2 rounds per shifter feat. Shifters were granted Low Light Vision to balance them vs other races in Pathfinder

Quickhatch

Name – Lojan of the Great North

Race – Razorclaw Shifter

Class – Level 8 Barbarian w/ 16 Advances

S 16
I 14
W 14
D 16
C 22
CH 14

Race Abilities
Low Light Vision
+2 Con
Shift 30 rounds per day!

Feats
1 Animal Magnetism (grants +4 to reaction from opposite sex)
3 Shifter Ferocity
5 Healing Factor
7 Extra Trait (Wild Hunt)

A1 Razorclaw Elite
A2 Iron Will
A3 Reactive Shifting
A4 Combat Reflexes
A5 Shifter Multi Attack
A6 Improved Unarmed Strike
A7 Alertness
A8 Endurance
A9 Extra Rage Power
A10 Great Rend
A11 Die Hard
A12 Shifter Savagery
A13 Shifter Magnetism
A14 Shifter Instincts
A15 Improved Initiative
A16 Weapon Focus Claws

Barbarian Abilities
Fast Movement
Rage 24 rounds per day
Trap Sense +2
Damage Reduction DR1

Rage Powers
Fearless Rage
Internal Fortitude
Renewed Vigor (2d8+6 as standard action)
Guarded Life
Smasher

Magic Augments
Admantium Claws (treat natural weapons as +2 Keen Admantium)
Admantium Bones ( 75% fortification)


Masterwork Bastard Sword
Fitted Ranger Armor
Clothes
Dagger
Personal Effects
Superior Repeating Crossbow
Case
Bolts

Traits
Coherent Rage (use Stealth as normal when raging)
Resilience (+1 Trait bonus to Fortitude)

Skills (72 w/ house rule)
Perception 13
Acrobatics 12
Climb 11
Swim 11
Intimidate 13
Stealth 10
KS: Nobility 5
Survival 8
Knowledge Nature 7
Bluff 5
Ride 8
Handle Animal 8
Sense Lies 7

HP 108
AC 20
MV 40

Introducing: Silas the Senior Gate Warden

This is a rough preview of The Book of Gates for Pathfinder and it details one of the Gate Wardens.

Someone has to keep an eye on Midrea's Gates not only to keep people from using them for various nefarious purposes but to keep potential threats from the other side under some semblance ofcontrol.

In the city of Firhom, the Senior Warden is a man named Silas. Silas is relatively young for a Senior Gate Warden, being only 50 but his previous superior, Sten Grendi died of a heart attack and as the most powerful and skilled of the Wardens, his job fell to Silas.

It pays decently well but that is offset by needing to deal with political intrigue and the occasional extra-dimensional invasion.

What the heck, its a living ...

Note this stat block does not include a fill write up for his Edolion. If you plan on using Silas in your game, you can detail that yourself along with any necessary calculations or wait for the book.


Silas the Senior Gate Warden

S 12
I 14
W 12
D 14
C 14
Ch 24 (effective 30)

Human
Summoner
L16

Skills 96
Knowledge Planes 15
Knowledge Nobility 10
Knowledge History 10
Knowledge Dungeons 10
Knowledge Engineering 10
Knowledge Nature 10
Knowledge Arcana 10
Knowledge Geography 8
Knowledge Local 8
Stealth 5
Spellcraft 10
Use Magic Device 15
Perception 5
Sense Motive 5
Diplomacy 9
Linguistics 15 (speaks 10 languages)
Fly 5
Ride 5
Handle Animal 10

Feats
H Alertness
1 Scribe Scrolls
3 Augment Summoning
5 Extend Spell
7 Eschew Materials
9 Lighting Reflexes
11 Arcane Blast
13 Summoners Call
15 Iron Will


Spells Known
L0 detect magic, mage hand, mending, message, read magic, arcane mark
L1 protection from, shield, unfetter, alarm, unseen servant, magic fang
L2 glitterdust, detect thoughts, see invisible, summon ediolon, alter self, slow
L3 fly, greater invisibility, evolution surge, rejuvenate ediolon, seek thoughts
L4 hold monster, dismissal, contact other plane, mages faithful hound, baleful polymorph
L5 banishment, spell turning, true seeing, greater dispel magic
L6 discern location , mass charm monster

Spell Per Day
L0 At Will
L1 5
L2 5
L3 5
L4 4
L5 3
L6 1

Special Abilities
Eidolon
Life Link
Summon Monster I-VIII (9 day)
Bond Senses
Shield Ally +Greater Shield Ally
Makers Call (3 day)
Transposition
Aspect
Merge Forms

Gear
Greater Rod (lightt mace) of Enemy Detection +1
Glamored Mirthril Chain Shirt +4
Amulet Natural Armor +4 32k
Ring of Deflection +4 32k
Cloak of Resistance +5 25K
Potions as needed
Light Crossbow
20+1 Bolts
Scrolls as needed
Head band of Alluring Charisma +6
Tome of Leadership and Influence +2 (used)
Crystal Ball w/ True Seeing

CBT AC 34+DEX

A Spell You'll Probably Never See "Roakair's Dragon Breath"

One of the players in my group made thats spell way back when we were kids (AD&D days actually) but you'll never see it as its been surplanted by Dragon Breath from the Pathfinder SRD.

I am fine with that as the spells are pretty much identical even to the level and material component! Great Minds Run In The Same Channel I guess.

However if I ever do a Pathfinderized "Spell Fluff" for Midrea it might resurface. In such a hypothetical product you'd learn about Roakair the Dragon Mage and the other famous wizards and the now common spells they made.

That product is a long way off it ever comes though. There really isn't much call for it.

What 3x adventuring class are you?

Here is a fun question for you ...

If you were teleported into a D&D world into an automagically peak and healthy body what adventuring D&D class are you? This can be any core or prestige class from 3, 3.5 or Pathfinder, assuming all official material and I dunno all 3rd party Pathfinder. And no NPC classes either.

me I'd be a Factotum from 3.5, a little Cleric, a little Rogue, a little Fighter and a little everything.

Pathfinder/3x Outfit Yourself

Because I am bored and low on ideas today, a little fun here ...

Using any WoTC or any official Pathfinder source outfit yourself with 500K gold pieces worth of magic items. No minor or greater artifacts.

Assume these items can't be duplicated or recharged but that you can use any of them. except if they require a certain class ability or patron, they won't work. Also those "bullest" in teh PFSRD can be had in modern forms, just because

And note when I say "yourself" I mean you here, not PC you but real world you ...

I'll post my choices in the next post or so...

So what level are regular folks in 3x?

Inspired by this article, Calibrating your Expectations I cap NPC classes (except for adept) to level 8.

The levels look like this

L1 Regular Folks, young

L2 Experienced People

L3 Highly Capable People

L4 Experienced and Highly Capable People

L5 Elite

L6 Experienced Elite and Masters

L7-L8 Borderline Super-Human


The classes fit into the world as follows

Commoner -- People with very limited opportunity, peasants, serfs and the very poor. There is no adventuring equivalent.

Expert-- Highly skilled persons who have had opportunities for learning. Adventuring versions include Savant and Rogue along with other skill intensive classes.

Warrior -- People with formal combat training but no special knack for combat. People with that knack are typically Fighters but may be any of the other Full BAB combat classes.

Aristocrat -- The Wealthy-- The PC version is either Cavalier or Noble

Adept-- I almost didn't use this class as I think its a bit redundant. However I decided that the work-a-day casters spellcasters, tinkers and hedge-mages make up this class. The PC versions are obvious ...

When designing cities and such, if I use the old "book2" demographic rules I tend to simply replace any non adepts above 6 or so with the PC class version.NPC's of 7th to 8th level get names and backgrounds

And yes this does slightly increase the number of NPC's with core type classes. I think thats just fine.

Pathfinder House Rule; Experimental -- Fall Back!

This is not yet an official house rule as I have not tested it. It works with my alternative movement system here only and is best used with maps.

As a immediate response to a melee or thrown weapon attack anyone who has not yet made a five foot step that round may, if such a step as allowed , may take the step as a retreat The grants +2 to AC that does combine with other bonuses. It does not provoke an attack of opportunity from his attacker.

This rule is meant to simulate the effectiveness of retreating in combat, something I have seen done many times in hand to hand fights. Its not going to be used every time as they person may want to take that five foot step forward or may not want to risk an AOO or being flanked by his other foes, falling off a cliff or some other bad outcome. Its a decent bonus but not enough to unbalance things and I am pretty sure it should be straight forward and easy to use.

However any feedback on it would be appreciated.

Pathfinder fun: A party of one..

Here is a challenge for all the Pathfinder players who read the blog.

You and your buddy are playing a Pathfinder campaign, just the two of you.. You are the players and he tells you its 20 levels using Pathfinder, epic Point Buy with some 3x stuff appropriately modified for Pathfinder of course. No rules abuse . Under those circumstances what do you play?

My choice is the Party of One

Human
Mystic Ranger 16
Scout 4

Using the Sword of the Arcane Order, Swift Hunter and Obtain Familiar feats you can cast arccane and divine spells to 5th level, have a scout and a tank buddy , have a lot of tricks, stealth, trap finding and a decent skirmish combat mode with bonus feats.

Its not even crazy unbalanced all things considered.

So what would you play?