Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies

An Ancient Power Awakens...

2016-03-16T17:21:00.002-04:00

Hey folks.

It's been a long time since this place has seen any life, but I never really considered it "dead", per se. Just sleeping, deep within the earth, with stories told by the folks who used to visit the place of its once prominent words spilling forth onto your battlemats.

My life has afforded me the chance once again to pick up this hobby - writing has always been something that I enjoyed, but now I have something of an abundance of free time and a fire in me to pick up the pen where I had left it. There's been a TON of material released for Pathfinder, as well as the debut of 5th ed. (which I must admit I do not have much experience with outside of Geek and Sundry's wonderful twitch show Critical Role).

If this is your first time here, there's a lot of old material to look over, and most of it still very relevant to your games today. Particularly might I suggest my series on the darker side of DMing? (psst... start at the bottom) or perhaps spice up your game with some new Magic Items?

Ultimately I plan on updating this blog daily with new tabletop, storytelling, worldbuilding, and mechanical content. Please subscribe if you see something you like, because the ancient words have been spoken...

...and...it...LIVES!

Creative Caves

2012-04-10T13:12:00.001-04:00

Every good adventure usually involves a dungeon crawl of some sort. But it doesn't necessarily need to be in a stone-and-mortar "dungeon". Here are some ideas for interesting locales for your group to "Crawl" through.

Tunnel Creature Chase - It's a play on an old favorite, where the heroes bravely jump on horses or a cart and chase down the bad guys. Only this time, it's in a dungeon - a dungeon created by the creature being chased! Bear down on the tunneling purple wyrm as he grinds his way through the earth, fighting him in an epic climax when he reaches his den. But once the creature is dead, the way back to the surface collapses... leaving only the mysterious cave the wyrm fled to, and a winding passageway up.
Creature Cavern - This time, the dungeon isn't just chasing a massive creature. It IS the creature. Inspiration can come from a variety of different sources (see Gears of War 2 for a great example), but almost any sort of challenge can be invented as hostile antibodies or digestive organs. Perhaps the party seeks a mythical alchemical ingredient, or the creature has swallowed something essential. Getting through, though, might just be the easy part. How do they get out?
Supermagnet Fortress - Since when could the party walk on walls? Well, that full plate certainly might help if the walls of this fortress are made of magic lodestones! Adding a dizzying third dimension to dungeon crawls can spruce up an otherwise snore-worthy delve into yet-another-castle, and opens up truly memorable combat sequences.

Remember - only you can prevent tabletop gaming cliches!

Baleful Cures

2012-04-04T11:50:00.000-04:00

Azkun knelt before the bleeding miscreant, his hand swirling with grey clouds. Gently, the smoke filtered in through the dying man's nostils, and his wounds scabbed over. Waking with a cough, the thief seemed dazed and uncoordinated despite the worst of his wounds having been healed. Standing, the Orc frowned down at his victim. "Now," he boomed, not even bothering to pin the reeling man "You will tell me what I need to know, or you will die a hundred more deaths."

Cure Light Wounds, Baleful

School conjuration (healing); Level alchemist 1, bard 1, cleric/oracle 1,druid 1, inquisitor 1, paladin 1, ranger 2, witch 1

CASTING

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S

EFFECT

Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will half and Will Negates (staggered only); see text; Spell Resistance yes; see text

DESCRIPTION

This spell functions as per cure light wounds, save for if cast on a character currently disabled or dying. If the healing provided by this spell would bring a character to positive hit points, it does not end the staggered condition as healing normally would. A successful Will save negates this effect. If used on undead, this spell deals only half damage (A successful Will save reduces it by half again. Good clerics cannot use spontaneous casting to cast this spell.

I've always wanted a spell that could heal without giving enemies back their wits. Good for interrogation, I always said! You can apply the same "template" to other cure spells for good measure and have a whole cast of them.

April Fools, Personal Update, and Plea for Help!

2012-04-03T16:54:00.002-04:00

It's always fun to see the amusing April Fools pranks the internet conjures every year, but I was in particular amused by This Is My Game's reveal of D&D Next's true face - D&D Live! It was particularly amusing to me because I missed all the April Fools shenanigans around the internet due to actually driving back from a LARPing event. Yeah, I LARP - but don't get too worried, rockers, I won't cheat on you. There's no larping to be done on this blog. For now.

We will be participating in the April "A-Z" challenge - essentially, we will be publishing an article every day with a theme starting with that letter. Today's article, ("April Fools!") is basically the biggest cop-out ever but I'm still busy with some personal stuff so I get one get-out-of-jail free card, ok!? More details below.

Personal Update
You may have noticed I missed my Monday Update - I am sad to report that my home was robbed in the middle of the day yesterday and dealing with that took up all the energy I'd usually devote to this blog. Fear not, I have returned. As a side note, although we did lose some valuables, it could have been far worse. Pick up and move on, right? There's plenty of loot to be had in the next dungeons, as they say.

I would like keep Rocks Fall very active, and sometimes my life gets in the way. While I'm sure there's a chorus of "It's ok, life comes first!" waiting to be reassured at me, the reason I bring it up isn't as an excuse, but as a request - Rocks Fall needs writers! You know you have it in you! As it stands I don't write articles on the weekends and need about two/week to keep at the pace I'd prefer. If you can write one article a week, and want a little publicity, I'd love to give it to you! Please, send me an email with that fancy tool on the right ("contact us!")

Your Party Will Kill The Boss

2012-03-30T12:47:00.001-04:00

Every one of you GMs has experienced this in the past - when you designed a super awesome big-bad, set up the story perfectly, and the final confrontation awaits. Booming his opening monologue, he sets upon the party...only to get facerolled without so much as a sweat from the party.

Perhaps he got one good hit in. Perhaps he got a pretty decent spell off. But he was supposed to be a Boss, man! What happened!?

The fact of the matter is, without special preparation, single enemy encounters will more often than not fall into one of two catagories - easily handled by the party, or a one-stop TPK machine. Riding the very thin line of "challenging encounter" is difficult with a single enemy, but luckily I've got some tips that will help you design more engaging and dramatic boss fights (i.e. ones that don't get crushed and ruin the moment!)

Add Underlings - I cannot stress how useful underlings can be in the equation of an excellent boss fight. Recently I ran an encounter against a second level party, and they faced a Kobold Broodmaster (Summoner) 5. Frail and without excessive hit dice to protect him, the kobold needed a distraction so his eidolons could wreak havok. Merely tossing six first-level kobold warriors (who are almost useless) did the trick - melee fighters attempting to get to him had to deal with pesky kobolds blocking the way, and ravaging eidolons trying to get to their casters. More often than not, underlings provide pathway-blocking obstacles that must be defeated before the boss can be reached, and provide a turn or two extra for the boss to do whatever murderous tactic you have planned for him. Clever use of said minions can even help you divide the party - imagine a boss room with two doors in and a narrow hallway where the PCs start. Simply mob the doorway half the party comes in with underlings, and have the boss assault the second doorway. Party members wishing to help will need to plow through their mess of mooks before being able to join the big fight!
Environmental Obstacles - A well-designed boss fight should include terrain that is absolutely optimized for your boss. Is he a ranged attacker? Perhaps he starts the fight on top of a cliff that players must ascend via switchbacks. If he's a melee fighter, tight quarters are his friend. Strong enemies do well with terrain hazards they can toss PCs into, and spellcasters work great with walls or doors. Imagine engaging a wizard through an arrow slit!
Mitigating Abilities and Qualities - I can't stress enough how much damage reduction and spell resistance can help shift your boss fight from "typical" to "challenging". Obscure DRs like x/good and bludgeoning will almost never come up in the PCs vocabulary of threats (and even if they do have the ability to bypass them, they'll end up feeling accomplished for doing so) and help heavily reduce incoming damage from the party. Does your party have a special trick, such as enchantment spells with absurd DCs? Enemies immune or highly resistant to this work well for heightening difficulty and forcing the party to keep on their toes.
Dominate a Theatre of Combat - In a party that heavily relies on one theatre of combat (melee, ranged, magic, etc) I like to mix things up by making a boss that is significantly better at it than them. Nobody wants to fight the Ogre Mage Lich Monk heel-dropping paralysis effects on them in melee, and if they do insist on trying to slug it out with him they will more than likely end up motionless in a pile on the floor. With these sorts of encounters, it can help to advertise his abilities before the party is forced to deal with them (with friendly mooks, for example) so that an effective strategy can be decided upon before the party is in balls-deep panic mode.

Ultimately, nobody wants an encounter that was supposed to be climactic and memorable to end up easy and unchallenging. In the event that your boss doesn't perform as well as you designed him and the party is reasonably well off, there is no shame in stapling plot-powered healing effects or more raw hitpoints onto him. Sometimes monsters just need another round or two to make that lasting impression, and as the GM, you get to decide when and if he's down for the count.

GMs, do you have any useful tips for memorable boss-construction? Players, what's your most memorable boss encounter?

Lazy Lunch Links - Volume 1

2012-03-29T12:24:00.001-04:00

Just because I'm feeling lazy doesn't mean you don't deserve some good RPG-related reading to get you through the day. Here are some links to other good RPG blogs, and some of their recent posts I enjoyed.

Speeding Things Up
Chase from Intwischa recently posted an article on how to speed the grind of RPG gaming up. It's a great article with a lot of solid tips, and I thought it mildly amusing to feature one of their articles on speeding up gaming since I was featured on their site for my "Initializing Initiative" article.

Save Versus Adorable
Ever just needed to be surrounded by adorable little ducklings? Don't worry, Sea of Stars RPG has you covered. By any reasonable mid level you can be laden with these obnoxiously cute animal generators - at 50 gold a pop you're more than able to toss around some extra change. I'm of the opinion that there definitely need to be more magic items at the "absurdly cheap" level, and this is a perfect example of that sort of ingenuity.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Reality Refracted asks the question: Why is it that some people can't take risks even when they believe their character would? The article explores with some depth the reasons why people have this problem, and offers up some excellent advice at the end. Read more about it here

Save Versus Hangover

2012-03-28T12:09:00.001-04:00

For the record, I am very hungover right now, and I was just pondering to myself how I definitely was suffering penalties for the condition. (author's note: I wrote this first sentence and then literally just did nothing for an hour). My gift to you today is something we all need; more rules bloat! Yaaaaaay!

Hangover Rules
A character can drink several drinks before the dreaded hangover kicks in, but the exact amount varies from person to person and the situation. Typically, a character can drink up to twice their constitution modifier (minimum 2) in drinks before having to worry about ever having a hangover. After that, each drink consumed forces a Constitution check (DC=10+amount of drinks consumed). Any bonuses to saves against poisons may be added to this check, and immunity to poison ensures one never gets a hangover (and, indeed, can never get drunk!). The amount of times this check is failed determines how the character will feel in the morning.

1-2 failed saves: The thirsty condition. A thirsty character takes a -2 penalty on skill and ability checks. This condition lasts until the character drinks one good glass of water, or until they have been awake for at least an hour.
2-4 failed saves: The hungover condition. A hungover character takes a -2 penalty on all skill and ability checks, a -4 penalty on Perception checks, can neither run nor charge and takes a –2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. This condition lasts 1d3 hours after the character drinks two good glasses of water, or until they have been awake for at least 1d6+1 hours.
5+ failed saves: The urrgh-what-the-hell condition. A urrgh-what-the-hell character takes a -4 penalty to all skill and ability checks, a -8 penalty on perception and concentration checks, and is considered nauseated and exhausted. This condition lasts for 2d6 hours, but if a the afflicted character consumes a gallon of water it is reduced to the hungover condition.

I'm feeling better already!

Tuesday Hooks - Dr. Dog Edition

2012-03-27T11:45:00.000-04:00

"Well I am the ancient warrior man
And I hail from the ancient warrior clan
I invented the computer man
Hubcaps and soda cans"
- "Warrior Man", Dr. Dog

The ailing Greenclaw clan of lizardfolk has recently taken in a new warrior of supposedly legendary caliber, and all of a sudden they seem revived and increasingly aggressive with their raiding parties. Their weapons are of strangely high quality and they seem to be of very high morale. Problem is, despite espionage, scrying, or interrogation, nobody can find out any information about this new chieftan. Is he real, and if not, what is the source of Clan Greenclaw's new ferocity (and supply)?
There has been a squabble in the upper echelons of the local nobility, where an up-and-coming nobleman claiming lineage to a house thought extinct is demanding what is "rightfully" his. Remnants of the house include a very successful shipping company that this man, Marquis Linden, is claiming full ownership of by blood - and all of the revolutionary new engineering successes the company has developed. The man seems ill-suited for business and even less for rule, but if his lineage checks out - which it very much seems to - then the local government will have no choice but to award him his claims. As such, they have hired the PCs to ascertain his past. Is this man really a long-lost noble? Who does he have dealings with, and who are the men that come to see him in the night so often?
The old games of the wildlands, known as the "Bloodsport", have been revived after decades of disinterest. All of the ancient warrior clans have but one entry into these lethal competitions, and it just so happens that one of the participants - a half-orc shaman by the name of Azoron - has information vital to the PC's quest. The problem lies within Azoron's request; he will not help the PCs unless they help him win the Bloodsport. Of course, the penalty for cheating is death, so the PCs have quite a conundrum ahead of them. Do they cheat? How can they rig the competitions? Furthermore, is there another way to get the information out of Azoron, or perhaps convincing him not to compete at all?

For the Darker DM: Organic Corruption

2012-03-23T15:19:00.001-04:00

Story-driven games are the heart of what makes gaming so appealing to me. The narrative that is co-authored by the GM and the player naturally unfolds into something unique and awesome, but I've noticed over the years that one aspect of the narritive - that is, character development - usually lacks the dynamic of the rest of the story. As characters are played they are often fleshed out as the player explores their nuances, but rarely do characters undergo meaningful and interesting changes that aren't forced upon them. Worse, sometimes characters' alignments arbitrarily change suddenly as an attempt to inject character growth by a player or DM that isn't very good at structuring narratives. (continued after the jump)

I was sitting in a meeting over at my office and between the sound of my brain cells committing suicide due to boredom, I overheard the boss-man (can we call him a BBEG?) talking to our social engineer about promoting the website's growth. The engineer did a little bit on "organic" growth on search engines, which involves at its most basic level creating links around the internet to your pages so google regards it as more relevant to search terms and thusly moves it higher on the totem pole.

It struck me that character growth is the same, in a lot of ways. In order for meaningful character change to occur, there's a process over time linked to a lot of events and actions taken. Different actions and events hold more weight than others, and in order for you to promote organic growth in your players, you've got to give them the tools and opportunity to change. Today, I'm going to talk about convincing your players (through the tools and opportunities given to them alone) to corrupt their morale fiber and give in to the allures of evil.

The Setup

PCs are in a constant struggle against the powers that be, who inevitably always wish them dead. Immediately establish two seperate entities of antagonism; your PCs main opponents and the corrupting party. Conflict with the main antagonists (let's call them the "bad guys") is what drives the story, and the PCs are essentially tasked with defeating them in some way. Only the problem with these guys is that they've got every advantage on the PCs - manpower, actual power, political clout, and no sense of morals to get in the way of their methods. Be sure to make them very villainous (I wrote an article on how to create hate-able villains, and if you need an example here's a D&D Villain you can hate!) so that your party will be personally invested in their downfall.

Make sure the PCs victories are downplayed, and seem to have very little effect on the organization as a whole.Breed distrust in the ranks of your PCs. Give the motivations that are not necessarily aligned with each other. Then, you can bring in your corrupting party with a special offer - whatever it is, it's powerful and definitely a game changer. But after the party has used this new power, they notice that it's got a catch - perhaps it's only capable of controlling the minds of those that the control will bring suffering to, or needs to drink the blood of innocents to power it. Players may not be able to sacrifice innocents - perhaps it draws on the strength of the wielder itself, corrupting and twisting their flesh and soul.

The key is making the power amazing. Every fight it's used in should be a spectacular use of its power, and it should be available at all times. Perhaps the corrupting party has merely opened up a conduit to nefarious energies in the PCs, and they need but activate the supernatural abilities at any time. This will lead to characters using it in their dire times of need. It could even be healing! Eventually, characters will succumb to its allure.

While everyone may not be comfortable with the change (and even speak out against it), it's likely that one character will be drawn in by its promises. You will notice a dramatic change in their behaviors as they struggle to come to grips with using these dark energies. If they seem happy to just accept mechanical penalties, be more drastic - perhaps they wake one night to find themselves in an unknown house, a dagger in hand, and a corpse violently sacrificed in front of them.

All the while, the main threat is ever-present and the focus. If the characters can shrug off the influence of this power, it is likely that they will have grown as characters for the positive by their experiences. If they succumb to the benefits and use evil to destroy evil, the public views them as just another villain and they may outright accept this mantle with justification - having slowly been twisted by their victories, thinking that it was the only way.

Next time, I'll give a specific example of how to use these tools. What about you? How do you promote character growth (whether it be good or evil)?

Skin Crawling Zombie Variants.

2012-03-22T15:18:00.000-04:00

Any seasoned necromancer knows that skeletons aren't the only tools at their disposal. When it comes down to it, sometimes a more freshly-dead corpse is more convenient or desirable for the task at hand; thus, a zombie is born. Anyone making the dead rise again that's worth their salt knows that the same subtle infusions of magic that can personalize skeletons is also used to create very unique and useful zombies.

The following skeleton variants can be raised by players by sacrificing a spell slot or prepared spell detailed in the variant along with a casting of animate dead. (For example, the "Fleshnaught" zombie variant requires a spell with the force descriptor. A wizard casts animate dead and sacrifices a prepared wall of force, and creates a Fleshnaught zombie that has a +5 bonus to CMB checks.) (continued after the jump)

Warpwalkers (Chaos): These types of zombies are infused with the fractal energies of the abyss, and their flesh seems to shift and seethe with every step. Created by spells with the chaos descriptor, Warpwalkers receive a +1 inherent bonus to attack rolls and a -1 penalty to AC for every two spell levels of the spell sacrificed. Additionally, once a day, a Warpwalker can teleport a player it has just hit with a natural attack up to 20 feet in a random direction (as per dimension door). A will save (DC equal to the spell sacrificed) negates this effect.

Rot Guards (Law): This type of zombie is fortified by the axiomatic truths of order and law. Although still in most respects a rotting, mindless corpse, the Rot Guard is capable of understanding and following more complicated rules as long as they have well-defined variables the zombie is capable of perceiving. Rot Guards are created by spells with the Law descriptor, receive a +1 bonus on will saves to resist attempts to control them per spell level of the spell sacrificed, and gain the sturdy trait (as per the dwarf racial feature).

Slush Bombs (Water): These zombies are heavily morphed by the aqueous energies used to create them, and their bloated forms betray this with little subtlety. They trundle slowly and slosh, their huge masses providing some additional protection. Slush Bombs are created by spells with the water descriptor, and gain 1 extra hit point per spell level sacrificed to create them. In addition to this, when Slush Bombs are reduced to 0 hit points or fewer they explode in a 10' burst. The resulting spray of gore and fluids creates difficult terrain in this area for an hour.

Fleshnaughts (Force): This type of zombie has been enhanced and reinforced with pure force, greatly increasing its structural capability and mass without increasing its size. Fleshnaughts, created by spells with the force descriptor, are extremely hard to stop and gain a bonus on CMB checks per spell level of the spell sacrificed. Furthermore, one a day Fleshnaughts can remove the action restriction of a zombie for a minute, but must move every round they are capable of doing so.

Body Beacons (Light): This type of zombie is lit up like a lantern, infused with the very essence of light itself. The light created by these zombies is strangely comfortable for other undead creatures and they never take any penalties from being exposed to it. Body Beacons are created by spells with the Light descriptor, and shed light out to a distance of 15' per spell level sacrificed to create them. Furthermore, this light automatically dispels any darkness effect with a level lower than the spell used to create it, and if suppressed by a higher-level darkness effect this light instantly winks back on a minute later if not still within the area of a higher-level darkness effect.

(Side Note: It was brought to our attention that the comment section of our new layout was not properly functioning, so I fixed it. There you go!)

Bone-Rattling Skeleton Variants

2012-03-21T13:11:00.003-04:00

To some, raising the skeletal remains of the dead is nothing but business. They are but minions, serving their masters thoughtlessly and generically, and the necromancer thinks nothing of these servants. To others, however, these skeletons are a grisly canvass - a blank slate - for a morbid art little have the dark knowledge to take part in. The following skeleton variants can be raised by players by sacrificing a spell slot or prepared spell detailed in the variant along with a casting of Animate Dead. (For example, the "Dry Bones" variant requires a spell with the fire descriptor. A wizard casts Animated Dead and sacrifices a prepared scorching ray, and creates a Dry Bones skeleton that had Fire Resistance 10 and deals 2 extra fire damage with natural attacks.) (continued after the jump)

Dry Bones (Fire): These skeletons seem as if they have been baked by the sun, and their bones are dusty and tanned by constant exposure. The air around them is constantly dry and smells vaguely of burnt flesh. Dry Bones can be created by spells with the Fire descriptor, and gain Fire Resistance equal to five times the spell level, and deal an extra point of fire damage with their natural attacks per spell level.

Iron Cage (Earth): This type of skeleton seems sturdier than a jail cell, with their bones taking on a slightly metallic sheen. These skeletons tend to have overgrown ribcages, and often times necromancers will place valuables within it for safekeeping. Iron Cages can be created by spells with the Earth descriptor, and their DR is increased by 1 per spell level and becomes DR/adamantine instead of DR/bludgeoning.

Tweak Creakers (Electricity): These skeletons seem unable to stop moving, their normal slow gait replaced with an almost hyperactive restlessness. Popping and crackling intermittently, Tweak Creakers can be created by spells with the Electricity descriptor, and deal 1 point of electricity damage per spell level to anyone who strikes them with a natural or melee weapon. Additionally, for every two spell levels these skeletons gain a +5 inherent bonus to their speed.

Nightmare Rattler (Fear): These skeletons are known for their pitch-black bones and surprisingly noiseless shuffle, coupled with a fear-inducing rattle right before they strike. Nightmare Rattlers are created by spells that cause a fear effect, and give the skeleton a +2 bonus to stealth checks per spell level. In addition, once a day the Nightmare Rattler can suddenly rattle it's otherwise quiet bones ominously (often right before combat), causing any creature within 60' that can hear the rattling to make a save (DC equal to the sacrificed spell's DC) or be shaken.

Turnmarrow (Healing): This type of skeleton is the betrayer of its kind, a unique undead infused with the positive energies that would otherwise destroy those of it's kind. Using the bone itself to protect the dark energies that animate it, necromancers infuse positive energy into the bone marrow of these skeletons and delight in using them to destroy other skeletons or heal their allies. Turnmarrow skeletons are created by spells of the Conjuration (Healing) type, and deal an extra 1 point of positive energy damage per spell level to creatures that take damage from positive energy. When destroyed, these skeletons explode in a 15' burst of healing light, dealing 1d8 per two spell levels of positive energy damage and healing normal creatures. (The save for this damage/healing is equal to the spell that was used to create it.)

New Look, Site Updates, and We Want You To Write For Rocks Fall!

2012-03-20T16:45:00.000-04:00

New Look

If you're here right now and you've been here before, chances are you've noticed that we're using a new layout for rocks fall. We're still working out the kinks, but rest assured everything will work eventually (and I'm pretty sure most of it already does right now).

Site Updates

I've received word that Spenser is most definitely not coming back as a writer for Rocks Fall, as he has left the world of tabletop gaming permanently and has decided to sever all ties with everyone that he used to interact with in this respect. It's a shame to see him go, but I wish him good luck in his future endeavors. Our e-mail has changed, as I never had access to it, so if you sent me an email any time in the last two years or so you might want to re-send it! It goes without saying that I am now the sole author of Rocks Fall, which leads me to my next bit...

We Need Your Articles!

Rocks Fall was never intended to be a one-man show, and while I'm perfectly happy to continue pittering away at my keyboard I'd be delighted to bring on a few more writers if you've got the spark and need an audience. For those interested, you can contact me via my e-mail (available in the newly updated contact box - this stuff really does come full circle, yeah?) with a sample article and we'll talk from there. Whether you're interested in guest-blogging to get your blog a little more traffic or finding a place to regularly publish your articles, I'm sure there's a place for you here (as long as you can write/design!).

Helping Rocks Fall

Already, Rocks Fall is averaging more readers than it ever did in the few weeks I've been dedicated to reviving it, and the steam is just building, folks. Having said that, we could definitely use your support in the form of Donations. I've got a number of plans for the site (having a domain again would be nice!) and I'd love to get a custom layout instead of tinkering with this barely-supported one but that's just not feasible with my current finances. If you like what you see and you don't want to get hit with KARMIC PURPLE LIGHTNING, considering giving a small gift to us. A button has been added to sidebar to facilitate such aid via Paypal.

As always, readers, watch out for the rocks!

-Michael Donaldson

Tuesday Hooks - Soul's Tyranny Edition

2012-03-20T11:57:00.000-04:00

The body is but a vessel for the soul, a puppet which bends to the soul's tyranny. And lo, the body is not eternal, for it must feed on the flesh of others, lest it return to the dust whence it came. Therefore must the soul deceive, despise and murder men. - Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story"

Adventure Hooks after the jump!

The PCs return home from their adventures only to find that the local aristocracy has been completely replaced by a relatively bloodless coup in their absence. While the party never quite got along with the stricter old government, this new group of nobles goes out of their way to please and pamper the party, treating them like celebrities. At all times they seem uneasy and almost subservient to the group, and defer questions about their loyalty and intentions with vague replies and silver-tongued flattery. Who are these noblemen serving, and what is the nature of their keen interest in the group?
In the middle of the PCs campaign to defeat the marauding bandit lord Gael, they are surprised one evening to find the infamous leader in their camp offering himself up for capture. He claims that he has seen the error of his ways, but feels that without the party's aid he will be executed for his crimes. Gael offers the party an ultimatum - they can help him gain clemency and he will cease his campaign of murder and thievery across the region, or he will return to his band of thieves and continue his rampage - a rampage that has had a severe impact on local trade. Will the PCs trust him? Can they convince the local government - who are quite thirsty for his blood - to forgive and forget?
Agents of the crown have finally returned from a year-long espionage mission within the heart of the dark citadel of a powerful ghoul tyrant, the Marrowfiend, whose armies grow daily and whose influence threatens to darken the fields of the far west in a terrible war. Abruptly, he levels accusations that the PCs are servants of the dark ghoul, and presents a multitude of documents that 'prove' his allegations. Wanted posters bearing the faces of the party spring up all over the kingdom, and suddenly they are fugitives. How can the party face these formerly friendly opponents? Can they clear their name? Has the agent been corrupted by the Marrowfiend, or has the ghoul lord himself taken in interest in eradicating the party?

We're Fighting More Than Just Stat Blocks

2012-03-19T15:47:00.000-04:00

Having been playing Tabletop RPGs for many years now, the one thing I have seen an excessive amount of is combat scenarios. The vast, vast majority of our statistics are centered around quantifying our character's combat prowess (or lack thereof), and the vast resources available to us allow us to make an almost limitless amount of unique and exciting characters.

So where is the variety in our combat scenarios? (continued after the jump)

As a player, I know that I am most engaged when I am using my brain. Hard fights are engaging to me for this reason - similarly, social and skill encounters that require the players to use their noggin are often times more enjoyable and involve the entire team. I feel as if the one section of good design that often gets left on the wayside is the "goals" of combat.

Why are the players murdering goblins? "Well, because the goblins have the eagle totem of the friendly nomads, that's why," the GM responds. How do the players know when their task is accomplished? This will typically boil down to the players entering the dungeon, killing everything that so much as dares to breathe, and then finding the totem in a chest in the corner of the deepest part of the dungeon. The encounters may very well be designed well - they're balanced, feature challenging and uniquely-built enemies, and carefully crafted terrain. But the end goal, ("Kill the goblins, get the totem") requires little of the players except for APPLY VIOLENCE HERE TO RECEIVE EXP.

I once ran an encounter for my party that took place in an urban setting, where they were holding all of the necessary legal documents for one of the players to become the magistrate of a small town and had ventured to the bureaucratic capital to file them. A hooded hobgoblin rushes past in a blur, snatches the documents, and speeds into an alley. Players immediately roll initiative, and the hobgoblin wins, using his excellent skill checks to quickly scale the side of a building. The bumbling party follows after, some of them prepared and others climbing a ladder on the side of the building at a much lower speed. A chase ensues, with ranged attackers whittling away at an increasingly bloodied hobgoblin who is hopping from building to building and unhooking a grappling hook from his belt. Across the battle-mat, they can see an impossibly long jump and can easily surmise based on the path of the buildings that the hobgoblin will likely escape of the players cannot incapacitate him before that. Players must decide whether or not the risk of falling several stories is worth attempting to follow the nimble thief-acrobat, and know that if he escapes the adventure will go on but their morale will be severely dampened.

The party thinks quickly, and eventually cuts off the hobgoblin, who is forced to use his grappling hook to swing over to one of the closer buildings. As the party desperately gives chase, he attempts the long jump and fails, falling to great personal injury. They used a wide variety of combat and skill checks to defeat him, but the out-of-the-box nature of the fight and the use of urban terrain kept everyone brainstorming on how to stop the hobgoblin from escaping. If they had tried to simply replicate the hobgoblin's actions it is likely that they would have slowly fell behind, as the thief was quite ineffective in combat but quite effective in escape, and essentially an at-CR encounter designed to run away.

When the party is given a clear goal, they will use their brainpower to solve it. When the goal/problem is something they have solved before a thousand times (apply hit-point damage to monsters until they all stop breathing/seething) they will not be as active or engaged in the activity. Spruce it up. The goblin is wearing the totem on his face, for example, and is standing on a hastily constructed rickety bridge over a river. Or, have the party be forced to take the evil cursed sword away from a misguided prince without doing much harm to him. Have the party board a massive airship weapons platform while it rains destruction on the city, and give them the goal of disabling the airship in as few rounds as possible by allowing the airship to destroy something they hold dear every round it still functions.

I'm getting ready to run a new game in a week or two, and the players are all founding members of a nomadic warband of monstrous humanoids. Part of the game mechanics will involve efficiently building their tribe up with powerful warriors - either recruited, or captured - and many of their best potential members will be enemies they face in combat. When attacked by the son of a dangerous warlord and his personal raiding party, they may wish to spare the life of the young ravager - or, kill him as a powerful statement. Simply slaughtering every encounter will quickly lead to unwanted attention coupled with a slow growth, and likely the end of their upstart little tribe. I'm hoping that the lingering promise of ransom, slaves, or additional powerful warriors will help erode the kill-everything mentality and lead to much more engaging and involved combat in almost every encounter.

What do you think? As always, I love to hear your opinions.

Initializing Initiative

2012-03-16T13:00:00.004-04:00

When I first started getting into computer programming (I very briefly almost learned basic C++), I decided my very first project would be RPG-related. After all, I'd used a variety of very excellent tools in the past (shout out to DMGenie for helping me make it through early high school as DM) and couldn't think of a better practical application for barely functional programming skills. What came to mind first, you ask? Why, an initiative tracker, that's what! Needless to say it never really materialized. I have a habit of getting excited about things and never finishing them.

I bring it up because I've been experimenting with a new initiative system these last few months, and I'd like to share my results with you, dear readers. As someone who often runs games for large parties, I have dealt with the crippling slowdown that can occur as initiative drags painstakingly from player to player. People who complete their turns can sometimes have as much as 20 minutes in worst case scenarios to wait for their next turn. People occasionally have a hard time staying focused, especially if there are forms of entertainment about, or something else preoccupying them (March madness, anyone?). (continued after the jump)

Someone (not sure who, wish I could give them credit!) mentioned on their blog that they were running initiative essentially in turns by faction. The breakdown looks something like this:

Everyone rolls initiative. I roll the monsters initiative by group. Each unique "group" of enemies (as defined purely by their initiative bonus) gets its own roll.
I condense initiatives by faction. If the results were [21, 15, 12, and 9] for the party and [14 and 13] for the monsters, the Initiative order looks like this: [Party Members who rolled above a 14, Monsters]. NOTE: In this first round of initiative, the party members who rolled worse than the monsters do not get to act.
Everyone who gets to act, acts at the same time in the order in which they are prepared to give me their actions. Rather than waiting around for their turn, the entire party is capable of acting all at once, and the party members not immediately prepared to give me their action will be actively preparing it while the other players act.
Once the monsters have gone, then the ENTIRE party gets to act (since the low rolling initiative characters would have gone, and then the high rolling ones next) as we condense those two groups further into a single group. Combat trades back and forth between party and monsters until finished.

Essentially what it boils down to is this: You run a normal initiative for the first round to determine how the very first moments of a fight play out (as these are the most crucial benefit of rolling high on initiative) and then immediately condense it into Party vs Monsters. Even if you have a wide variety of monsters and the players find themselves interspersed between them, you can still condense it with just a glance at your initiative sheet. First round is over and more monsters go before players? Initiative proceeds Monsters then Players, and vice versa.

When running combat encounters with large groups of enemies (and especially battles without much tactical thought or particular difficulty) this can triple or even quadruple the speed of which you can complete fights. Ever sat around during a session and spent eight hours getting through four combat scenes? (Don't lie, you know you have!) Using this method, I was able to guide a six-person party through a dungeon crawl and get through more than 15 separate combat sequences in a single session.

It works fairly well against Big Bads as well, since single opponents always devolved into Monster -> Party initiative orders anyways, and party members are more than capable of delaying and holding themselves to act in the order that they please. If you require a character-by-character turn order for a particular fight, the method doesn't actually change any of the initiative mechanic so it can be used interchangeably as you see fit.

All in all, I've noticed it greatly improves the efficiency of our combat encounters. Do you have any tips and tricks on how to slug through the number crunching of your tabletop games? Feel free to share them below.

Pathfinding: Samus Aran, Golarion Bounty Hunter

2012-03-15T12:10:00.001-04:00

First, let me start out by saying that the last Pathfinding article was a curious hit among new readers. Specifically, people have been finding us rather by accident:

This is the last 24 hours worth of search results (top ten) that led people to arrive at Rocks Fall

Humorously enough, part of our name ("everyone dies") is apparently a big keyword that people search for when trying to learn more about Mass Effect 3. But enough about that; Today, I'm Pathfinding the heroine from the ever-popular Nintendo franchise Metroid - Samus Aran. (continued after the jump)

Samus Aran

When constructing any of the characters for the Pathfinding series, I try and heavily consider what about the subject matter is most iconic. For Ms. Aran, it goes without saying that her exoskeleton is the most memorable part of the Metroid Experience. She has a detailed heads-up display, a gun arm that fires rockets and energy blasts, and can morph into a small rolling ball that can zip along at very fast speeds.

But Samus isn't always a super-soldier. In fact, the latest installment of the ever-popular fighting game Super Smash Brothers (that is to say, Brawl) features both Samus and her unsuited form (known as "Zero Suit" Samus) as playable fighters. So in order to faithfully recreate Samus, she needs to have capability inside and outside of the suit. Furthermore, her suit must be able to serve a variety of eccentric functions, and must be capable of producing a variety of offensive abilities.

So let's take a look at our goals:

Samus must have a utility suit that prevents her from harm and gives her perception options
Samus must be able to fire a projectile weapon that can produce a variety of different effects and damage types
Samus must have the ability to become a small, fast ball (or, at least, small and fast).
Samus must be able to function outside her power suit, and be able to don and remove the suit at least somewhat quickly

The first thing that sprang to mind when considering these goals was the fact that the Synthesist (A Summoner archetype from Ultimate Magic) is a Summoner that fuses herself with her Eidolon rather than summoning it to her side. Because the flavor of the class is so vague and up to the player, we can easily take a Bipedal Eidolon and fashion it into her suit of armor. Choosing evolutions such as "Low Light Vision" and "Scent" can expand the perceptive abilities, emulating a HUD (as can more expensive ones such as Darkvision and Tremorsense). Evolutions such as "Resistance" and "Improved Natural Armor" also work well, adding to the extra defense a powered exoskeleton would have. Furthermore, her Synthesist "armor" would not slow her down or encumber her at all.

Giving Samus feats to use firearms makes sense. Additionally, it makes her deadly accurate.

Lastly, we mix in a little bit of Myrmidarch (a Magus Archetype that allows for spell-striking via ranged attacks). Utilizing 1st and 2nd level Magus spells, we can create a variety of effects to channel through our gun blasts. We can also cast beneficial spells on ourselves to emulate Samus-esque features, such as "reduce person" (tiny ball, anyone?).

As always, I built this using NPC gold so she is ready to throw directly into a game. Without further ado, I present Samus Aran!

Samus Aran, Varia Suit CR 11

XP 12,800
Female human outsider Synthesist 7/Myrmidarch 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Darkvision; Perception +20

Defense

AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 23 (+5 Dex, +10 natural armor, +2 shield, +1 deflection);
hp 75 (11d8+22) Suit hp 46 (6d10+12)
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +14
Immune fire, cold
Defensive Abilities evasion, shielded meld, Magus arcana (arcane redoubt)

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 Revolver +15 (1d8+1),
Full Attack +1 Revolver +15/+10 (1d8+1),
Attack Options Shot on the Run, Point Blank Shot
Special Attack ranged spellstrike, spell combat

Evolutions Ability Score Increase (Dex), Ability Score Increase (Dex), Immunity (Fire), Immunity (Cold), Scent, Improved Natural Armor, Claws, Limbs (arms), Limbs (legs)

Summoner Spells Known (CL ^7th)

3rd (1/day) – locate creature, rejuvenate eidolon
2nd (3/day) – lesser evolution surge, haste, see invisibility, glitterdust (DC 13)
1^st (5/day) – reduce person, ray of sickening, lesser rejuvenate eidolon, expeditious retreat, jump
0 – resistance, mending, message, daze, guidance, detect magic

Magus Spells Prepared (CL 5^th)

2^nd – scorching ray, reloading hands
1^st – shocking grasp (x3), ray of enfeeblement
0(at will) – mage hand, flare, light, ray of frost

Statistics

Str 16, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 28
Feats Amateur Gunslinger, Point Blank Shot, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), Precise Shot, Dodge, Mobility, Shot on the Run, Wind Stance
Skills Climb +14, Spellcraft +18, Swim +14, Acrobatics +19, Perception +20, Intimidate +16
SQ fused eidolon
Languages Common, three languages of your choice
Combat Gear +1 Revolver, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 Chain shirt (not equipped), +1 buckler, Ring of protection +1, Amulet of natural armor +1, Cloak of resistance +2, Grappling Hook, and 300 gold worth of additional equipment or gold

Samus Aran, Zero Suit CR 11

XP 12,800

Female human Synthesist 7/Myrmidarch 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception +12

Defense

AC 23, touch 16, flat-footed 18 (+5 Dex, +4 armor, +2 shield, +1 deflection, +1 natural);
hp 64 (11d8+11)
Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +12Defensive Abilities Magus arcana (arcane redoubt)

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 Revolver +14 (1d8+1),
Full Attack +1 Revolver +14/+9 (1d8+1),
Attack Options Shot on the Run, Point Blank Shot
Special Attack ranged spellstrike, spell combat, fused eidolon
Summoner Spells Known (CL ^7th)

Magus Spells Prepared (CL 5^th)

2^nd – scorching ray, reloading hands
1^st – shocking grasp (x3), ray of enfeeblement
0(at will) – mage hand, flare, light, ray of frost

Statistics

Str 8, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 13

Base Atk +8; CMB +7; CMD 22
Feats Ability Score Increase (Dex), Ability Score Increase (Dex), Immunity (Fire), Immunity (Cold), Skilled (Perception), Improved Natural Armor, Claws, Limbs (arms), Limbs (legs)
Skills Climb +14, Spellcraft +18, Swim +14, Acrobatics +19, Perception +12, Intimidate +16
SQ fused eidolon
Languages Common, three languages of your choice
Combat Gear +1 Revolver, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 studded leather, +1 Buckler, Ring of protection +1, Amulet of natural armor +1, Cloak of resistance +2, Grappling Hook, 300 gold worth of additional equipment or gold

Tuesday Hooks - Saint Patrick's Day Edition

2012-03-13T22:53:00.003-04:00

And about her courts were seen
Liveried angels robed in green,
Wearing, by St Patrick’s bounty,
Emeralds big as half the county.
~Walter Savage Landor

Adventure Hooks after the jump!

A sweeping agricultural surplus has left the town of Eerie laden with extra wealth and good fortune. It seems as if every few days the gods are smiling on a new resident, whether it be a windfall inheritance or a newly discovered vein of ore on someone's plot. The town is in excessively good spirits. Things are not as they seem, however, and soon the residents are forced to admit that between their good fortunes some of the less desirable residents have begun to go missing. What is the cause of this supernatural luck, and what is the cost?
The PCs rescue a cheery gnome from a bandit raid, and in return the gnome bequeaths upon them a Ring of Three Wishes. The very next night, fae come in the night to assault the party, demanding to know the location of the mysterious gnome. Furthermore, they warn that the ring is cursed and that the wishes always result in misfortune no matter how they are worded. Will the party help track down the fae criminal, and what will they do with the ring?
The Festival of the Clover is an outrageous event in the region, and the PCs enjoys an uproarious night of drinking and partying as welcome guests. Upon awakening, however, they are regarded with hostility and suspicion - one of the party members finds he is wearing a pendant given to him by a stranger in a drunken haze, and that the pendant is an extremely bad omen amongst the people here. They wish to see him jailed until the Festival is over, and some are calling for his execution to appease the local fae spirits. Can the PCs find the mysterious stranger and clear their friend's name? Can they even escape the wrath of this town with their lives intact?

Make Your Monsters Deathclaws (Or, what a DM can learn from Fallout: New Vegas)

2012-03-12T16:40:00.000-04:00

Do you ever get the feeling that your monsters, or the monsters that you face off against just aren't really that scary? As a player, I've been noticing a recent trend with the enemies I face - that is to say, I confidently stride forward and engage them with the same gusto I would an enemy warrior. I don't know whether it's a fault with my own stubborn confidence, a lack of truly intimidating DM descriptions, or my DMs trying to appease what they perceive as my quest to be an unshakeable badass, but I haven't thought of a monster as truly monstrous in quite some time.

I recently picked up a copy of Fallout: New Vegas, and I was impressed at how aggressive and terrifying the harder enemies can be. In particular, I was wandering a stretch of the Colorado river when I came across a tucked-away little cliff entrance that beckoned towards me. My character (a heavily armored, short hispanic man wielding a rebar club) confidently charged up this hill, ready to violate the skeletal structure of whatever lay beyond - as he had done to many bandits and mutated bugs before. What he found next he was absolutely not prepared for. (continued after the jump)

Deathclaws, as they call them, are horrifying godless killing machines. They run faster than you. They can leap the length of a semi in an instant. My character, who has the maximum value possible for the game's equivalent of Constitution, could only survive a few attacks from a single Deathclaw and had no hope of escape once he encountered it. Determined as I was, it took me six tries for me to finally kill one using the full breadth of my available equipment, abilities, and consumables. (Note: For those of you who have played F:NV, I was level 7 with above-average gear and a Melee Weapons of 70, Strength 10, and Endurance 10)

When it was all said and done, I was left with the exhilarating experience of what felt like panting over the fallen corpse of the beast, screaming to the gods of my unbreakable might. It occurred to me that this is what killing a large monster ought to be like, and lessons could be learned from the Deathclaw.

Imagine a scenario where the party starts out at low level, and begin as refugees from their destroyed town. The survivors know very little; terrible creatures came from the night, and only a handful of NPCs escaped with the PCs through the caves beneath the town. Led by a few seasoned warriors, a precedent is set with an initial battle against some sort of cave pest (goblins? zombies?) wherein the seasoned warriors do most of the work while the PCs help out. This can lead into a tense second encounter where our Deathclaw Metaphors catch up to the party, and the PCs are instructed to run. As they flee, they watch the horrible beasts curbstomp their seasoned warrior friends (thus eliminating any urge for the PCs to try and fight them) and massacre the remaining civilians. One Deathclaw gives chase, but the party barely escapes by squeezing through a small crevasse barely big enough for a human to fit through. You can even have the Deathclaw dive for the hole, reaching his arm into it while growling viciously as the PCs just barely scramble out of his reach.

This sets the stage for truly frightening monster that can be revisited constantly at variously levels of power to great effect. When the party escapes from the section of the cave they hastily retreated into they likely will have a level or two under their belts, and perhaps later get into a very dangerous confrontation with a single one of the beasts. Giving the monster feats like Awesome Blow can help imply the immense strength of a creature. (I often find that gamers have become somewhat desensitized to high damage numbers). Be sure to make it seem as if the monster is barely taking damage at all from the players attacks, until the last hit point falls. The falling blow should be particularly brutal and triumphant, as if the character managed to just barely survive long enough to land that perfect stab to the heart after many superficial scrapes and bangs.

In the end, the DM has many tools to heighten the sense of danger that comes from engaging such dangerous beasts. Remember, I live vicariously through your comments, so please let me know of some of your most memorable encounters with seemingly insurmountable monsters!

Spicy Healer Cookbook (or, How to Have Fun With Your Cleric)

2012-03-09T18:51:00.003-05:00

During the initial stages of conceptualizing a character, I often try to look at the mechanics of a character and strip all flavor down to the barest essentials. By looking at the raw rules-relevant information, you can then begin to re-imagine the descriptions and intricacies that make up the uniqueness of your character. In the end you often come away with a very personalized avatar, even if his mechanical build does not stray very far from typical or pragmatic choices.

I had a conversation with a friend last night about playing healers, and at some point the discussion turned into a brainstorming session on how one could creatively avoid the standard fantasy trope of healing effects always being some form of "soothing light". Healers can often get stuck in the trap of feeling unheroic or cookie-cutter, especially when they are relegated to healing the party in battle. Many times this feeling of almost being just another NPC can be overcome by personalizing your healer, and this begins with your healing. (continued after the jump)

Here are some ideas for re-flavoring healing to match the healer you want to play:

A Dry, Warm Desert Breeze - Anu swept up behind Clara, who continued firing one of her revolvers sporadically towards the cowering spriggans at the end of the hall as she cradled her other arm gingerly, a deep laceration bleeding steadily down her coat. Shifting his scimitar to his off hand, he grasped a small pendant around his neck and whispered soft prayers. A soft breeze, warm and comfortable, stirred beneath them as it formed a small sirocco around the two. Clara barely noticed that her arm was considerably less stiff as she loosened it to reload. Her hair billowed slightly, and she brushed it out of her face with her free hand, drawing the second revolver once more as she began a second advance down the hallway with renewed vigor.
Grisly Reconstitution - Anskar stepped into the center of his battered troop, warriors barely keeping the advancing forces away from him as he began his ritual. Exhaling, he gathered his hands as if lifting a great burden and closed his eyes, his whole body raising towards the sky. Around him, blood previously spilled began to rise from the firmament and vibrate rapidly as the shaman began a low, guttural growl. As the magic pulsed its strongest, he let out a final exclamation and the blood snaked violently back towards the wounds it had come from, as if being sucked back into the bodies that had created it. Each of Anskar's companions hissed in pain, but fought with a renewed vigor.
Molting - Mal kneeled down next to his wounded companion, a soft smirk dancing upon his lips. Lord Akihiko lay here breathing heavily, hand grasped over his gored stomach, blood dripping from his lips. "Shhh..," Mal whispered, and lifted his hands, the grass around his lord growing taller as his skin began to crawl. Taking on a hard, chitinous texture the wound hardened after a few seconds, and to his lord's great disbelief he was able to peel the dead, wounded skin to reveal young, raw flesh beneath.

What are some ways you've reflavored class abilities or spells?

Pathfinding: Mass Effect 3's Vanguard, Coming to a Table Near You!

2012-03-08T16:21:00.001-05:00

Have you ever been playing a video game or watching a movie, only to find yourself thinking "I want to play a character like that in a Tabletop RPG"? Welcome to my new series, Pathfinding, where we show off the versatility of the Pathfinder RPG ruleset and recreate popular culture archetypes for your using pleasure.

The Vanguard

I've had a little time to tinker around in Bioware's third installment in their epic space RPG, Mass Effect 3, and the selectable Vanguard class has me positively giggling every time I play as one. I got to thinking about how one would replicate the instant charge and crushing offense of the vanguard within the confines of the Pathfinder roleplaying system, and after a little bit of tinkering I was able to come up with a pretty decent replication. (continued after the jump)

Biotics within the Mass Effect universe are really nothing more than Psionics, and that was the route I chose to take to mimic the powerful abilities of the Vanguard. If you didn't already know, Dreamscarred Press published a Pathfinder update to the old Expanded Psionics Handbook from 3.5, by the name of Psionics Unleashed. (You can order it here from paizo, and the rules are available at the Pathfinder OGC). Additionally, a quick flip through Ultimate Combat yielded this little gem:

Dimensional Assault
You have been trained to use magical movement as part of your combat tactics.
Prerequisites: Ability to use the abundant step class feature or cast dimension door, Dimensional Agility.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you use abundant step or cast dimension door as a special charge. Doing so allows you to teleport up to double your current speed (up to the maximum distance allowed by the spell or ability) and to make the attack normally allowed on a charge.

While the Psychic Warrior does not get Dimension Door, they do get a power called Fold Space that essentially works identically to Dimension Door, including the action penalty and movement distance. Therefore, it isn't a stretch to rule that the "Dimensional" feats can be applied to Fold Space as well. Combine the charge from the above feat with a Greater Psionic Weapon attack, and you have a teleporting mega slam. Combine with the Psychic Warrior's "Martial Power" ability (which essentially works as a Magus-like power delivery system) and you have the ability to deliver a power like Dissolving Weapon (+4d6 Acid Damage) as well as a Greater Psionic Weapon (+4d6 extra damage) for some truly massive blasts that you deliver at the end of the charge via Shield Slam.

Let's not forget Power Attack. Enjoy! (Note: This block was made with NPC gold, so feel free to use it as an enemy in your mid-to-high level game)

The Vanguard CR 10

XP 9,600
Male human psychic warrior 11
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +2

Defense

AC 25, touch 11, flat-footed 24 (+1 Dex, +11 armor, +3 shield);
hp 83 (11d8+33)
Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +6

Offense

Speed 30 ft. in +1 Full Plate (40 ft. base)
Melee +1 Shield Spike Charge +14 [+17 with psionic focus] (1d6+5), or +1 Warhammer +13/+8 [+16/+11 with psionic focus] (1d8+5)
Full Attack +1 Warhammer +11/+6 [+14 and +9 with psionic focus] (1d8+5) and +1 Shield Spike +11 [+14 with psionic focus] (1d6+3)
Attack Options Power Attack
Special Attack Martial Power
Psychic Warrior Powers Known (ML 11th)

4th - Fold Space, Slip the Bonds
3rd - Empathetic Transfer (Hostile), Dimension Slide, Empathetic Feedback
2nd - Psionic Lion's Charge, Body Adjustment, Dissolving Weapon
1st - Biofeedback, Prescience (Offensive), Stomp, Hammer, Grip of Iron, Empty Mind

Statistics

Str 18, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 08
Base Atk +8; CMB +13; CMD 25
Feats Toughness, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Two Weapon Fighting, Psionic Meditation*, Psionic Weapon*, Improved Shield Bash, Shield Slam, Greater Psionic Weapon*, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault
Skills Autohypnosis +18, Acrobatics +17, Knowledge (nobility) +13, Spellcraft +13
SQ weaponmaster path, brawling path,
Languages Common
Combat Gear +2 Full Plate, +1 Warhammer, +1 Heavy Shield with +1 Shield Spike; Other Gear +1 Cloak of Resistance, Shoes of Striding and Springing, Backpack, 1600 worth of additional equipment or gold
*See Psionics Unleashed for full description

At-Will Employment, D&D Style

2012-03-07T13:54:00.004-05:00

Monte Cook recently posted in the Dungeons and Dragons blog about the lethality of our genre, and asked his readers to vote on how they perceived death and how often they felt it should affect the PCs. While there is no clear consensus in his poll, I did notice that a mere 5% of those polled responded favorable to one of the "death shouldn't really happen" options. Everyone seems to more or less agree that they welcome the possibility of death with open arms as a risk of their "trade", so to speak, and eagerly delves dungeons knowing each step could be their last.

That is, until their character dies. (continued after the jump)

I have begun to notice that while most gamers actually are good sports, many profess Gamist enthusiasm but fail to embrace the penalty of failure - the fact that death is the risk they are gaming against. They will react quite negatively to the death of their character. I recently heard a story of a player becoming quite incensed in such an occasion, laying accusations of targeting and preferential bias at the GM's feet after their character succumbed to poison in the encounter. The entire session was disrupted, and only after the intervention of a third party was the aggrieved player able to be convinced that they had not been targeted by the GM for out of character reasons.

The situation played out a little something like this: The monsters were using poison, and had a variety of different poisons. Some were stronger than the others. The most devastating poison, a CON damage affliction, was thrown towards the aggrieved player's character. The party was very taxed to the limit of their resources, with the paladin on strict healing duty whilst the party consumed their entire stock of restoration potions. The dying wizard risked his life to throw one last fireball. Ultimately, the poison caused the untimely death of the angered player's character, at which point the player began to openly question the GM's choices for the actions of the monsters. The player began to argue that the GM did not like them, and had specifically chosen to target them with the worst of the poisons in a overt attempt to kill their character.

The GM, of course, denied any ulterior motives. He probably defended his decisions to the player, and the discussion took a rather heated tone about the merits of the monster's actions - whether or not they were justified by the situation at hand. The entire flow of the game and the enjoyment of the activity was at stake.

As a DM, you must resist the urge to argue with players about your actions. This is even more important during a session. Tell the player that if they wish to discuss anything about the game and how you are running it that they can feel free to approach you after the session. As long as you are not actually a horrible passive-aggressive GM (which I assume you are not, fine readers) you have nothing to gain from entertaining a heat-of-the-moment passionate dispute over the events of the game. Furthermore, the reaction may just be a reflexive displeasure over the loss - some time to cool down and absorb the loss may be all that this player needs to find "closure" and avoid aggression. Allowing players to debate your actions as a DM opens up a floodgate that you may find difficult to close. As long as you endeavor to keep everyone's enjoyment as the main goal of our hobby (which it always should be), you are the final gatekeeper of the universe your players navigate.

An apt metaphor would be an at-will employment. I read a summary that explained things a little like this: "An employee was fired when the boss spied her lighting up a cigarette in her car and incorrectly assumed it was marijuana. She asked the lawyer if she could take legal action against the employer for firing her on the basis of something that was not true, and the lawyer responded that she was unlikely to get far at all because her boss was capable of firing her for no reason at all, and so an untrue reason worked just as good as any. If she had been fired for her race or sex, she would have a case, but a reason of nothing was not protected by the law."

As the DM, you have the right to kill players for no reason at all. I can't think of any way that could meaningfully contribute to the enjoyment of a tabletop RPG, but when your players start angrily nitpicking the individual actions of a well-designed, challenging fight it can sometimes be helpful to keep things in perspective.

Rocks didn't fall, after all. Roll up a new character and keep enjoying the game.

A Long Slumber

2012-03-06T11:10:00.004-05:00

As gamers, there is a certain habit that I think we are all too familiar with. That is to say, we have all been in games that for one reason or another seem to just fade into memory without anyone putting the nail in the coffin. Meetings become scarce, people become busy (or move away), and slowly it becomes an unspoken truth that the game is simply just dead. When we were in the height of our posting glory here on RocksFall, it seemed like it was something we would do forever - something that we genuinely enjoyed doing. The words flowed from our fingertips and I in particular would compete with Spenser in trying to get the most pageviews for our articles.

But then slowly, it started to fade. When our domain (www.rocksfallblog.com) was jacked in a moment of negligence by domain resellers, our morale was struck in a way that we never really recovered from. Articles slowed down. Eventually, on one fateful day in October, we just stopped. It was never agreed upon - there was no "goodbye" post, and the cliffhanger of our last post sat on the front page of this blog like a ghost town. It was almost as if we might just come back at any moment and start writing Sunday Hooks, or bits of advice for DMs.

A lot has happened in the two years since we primarily stopped writing this blog. I almost made a video game. Spenser actually went and got his degree in Creative Writing, and is presumably on the job market now (or perhaps gainfully employed). I'm not certain. He and I don't talk very much right now, but I'm certain his writing talents are being put to good use, even if it's torturing poor newbies with certain death in pathfinder games far away from here!

I'm breaking this dusty tome back open because role-playing games are still a relevant and large part of my life. I've been collecting ideas that I used to write out in posts here, from my experiences DMing and playing, and I'm eager to share them like I used to.

Rocks Fell. Everyone Died. But as you all know, the adventure never ends there. Let's reroll!

Steam Era Transportation

2010-10-27T19:56:00.000-04:00

I've been DMing a campaign in my Ralsenna setting, the first session of which took part in the process of travelling from city to city. Since the tech level in Ralsenna is higher than in the traditional D&D/Pathfinder setting, this necessitated a bit of research on my part, presented here for your benefit.

Steam Era Transportation
Service	Speed	Cost
Steam ship's passage	5 mph	15 cp per mile
Train ride, fast	70 mph	25 cp per mile
Train ride, slow	50 mph	2 sp per mile
Trolly	—	1 cp per ride

Steam ships: Steam ships are essential keelboats with steam engines, allowing them to travel at about 5 miles per hour.

Trains: Average trains can travel anywhere between 35 and 80 miles per hour between stops, moving along a fixed track. Depending on how many cars are in the train, the vehicle can be a hundred feet long or more. A passenger car can usually hold 24 to 30 passengers, and a freight car can hold about 25 tons of cargo.

Trolly: Larger cities may have trolly systems in place, wherein an electric system of train cars travels a set track around the city at regular intervals. In a larger city, where coach cabs are in high demand, sometimes the trolly is the only way to get where you need to go.

New Magic Item: Bag of Worthless Dust

2010-10-20T11:50:00.010-04:00

Zabuzel wiped the specks of blood from the hem of his cloak and aimed his rifle at the last man standing in the hot saloon. "W-What do you want? Please, j-just let me—" "Silence," the drow gunman growled, "The bag you took from me. You know the one. Where is it?" The man looked confused, pointing behind the bar. "You came for that? But... why? It's worthless." Zabuzel let the man finish his sentence before pulling the trigger. "The same could be said of many things, friend."

Bag of Worthless Dust

Aura moderate conjuration; CL 9th
Slot —; Price 2,500 gp; Weight 10 lbs.

Description

This nondescript hemp sack constantly leaks a small amount of grey dust from gaps in its fibers. Without the command word, all that can be found in the bag is 10 lbs. of this dust. However, with the proper command word, an item placed in the bag, under the dust, becoming stored safely in an extradimensional space. The bag can contain up to 8 cubic feet or 80 pounds of material. Even when so filled, the bag always weighs only 10 pounds.

The stored items can be retrieved by speaking the same command word and clearly mentally picturing the item while reaching into the dust. Alternatively, all stored items can be retrieved at once by speaking the command word and dumping the bag's dust onto the ground.

If emptied of dust (either with or without the command word), the bag cannot be used again for one week as the dust magically re-accumulates.

Construction

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, glitterdust, secret chest; Cost 1,250 gp (+100 XP for D&D)

Single Dimension Roleplayers (and How to Fix Them)

2010-10-13T15:04:00.005-04:00

Sometimes you run into "one of those guys". It's the guy - almost always male - who makes an endless string of characters that are essentially statblocks with a single, overwhelming in-character trait that their entire character is based on. This single trait could be anything - from a Paladin that yells the word "HONOR" in every sentence, to a Wizard who acts just like Vizzini from The Princess Bride - but eventually it becomes clear that no depth exists and that this character's gags will always be the same.

More often than not this player's characters will be extremely aggressive when roleplaying this one trait, and after the first few laughs a party can quickly become sick of the perpetrator. The problem with this sort of roleplaying (although in my eyes preferred to no roleplaying at all) is that it detracts from the general atmosphere of the game and is very likely to stifle players that have problems getting in character. Newbies who feel very uncomfortable being in character are more than happy to let the Orc Barbarian chest pound to no end about how much he hates elves until the next combat encounter starts.

There are a number of ways to deal with the problem - as a DM and as a player:

Talk to Him (Out of Character!) - This option may seem too obvious, but since the offending player is obviously not shy of social situations it may be as simple as casually telling him that he might want to consider adding a little more depth to his character and that, yes, we understand that he enjoys wenches. He probably doesn't even realize that he's doing damage to the flow of the game. (Note: It's important to distinguish this from scolding the character in an in-game scenario - often times this will only feed the problem as the player receives the attention he wants for his antics.)
Help Them Develop a Backstory - Sometimes it's not a cry for attention at all - some people just don't understand how to act like someone they're not. Their idea of "someone who isn't me" usually ends up being "me plus one absurd trait". Talk with the player about their past. Sometimes just bringing it up can cause them to think about who they are as a character. As a DM, providing multiple motivational points can give them a variety of interaction choices based on their past experiences.
Integrate The Antics - Part of what makes it so easy to get away with making a character that acts in entirely absurd, unrealistic ways is how the DM handles the characters within the confines of the world. What can make single-trait characters so obnoxious is the tendency for their traits to be socially disruptive. Is the character rude? Does he seem to have no idea that his antics are socially unacceptable in the court of the local Baron? Throw him in jail for the night. Reduce his share of the reward. Just make sure the damage isn't lasting or entirely too serious - we don't want him to stop roleplaying or feel unfairly singled-out.

Keep in mind that sometimes players just occasionally enjoy playing absurd characters. This isn't a bad thing - in fact, if done well, can often make for the most memorable moments. Try and keep an open mind when eying your players or peers and give them a chance to add depth before taking it into your own hands.