Apathy Blogs

The secret to making foes quickly is to make them up. Yes, I know, this is blasphemous to those who say you must meticulously be built with the same rules as the players. I say balderdash. Your players will not care why the foe they fight has a +15 Fort save. By the time you reach this level of play, you should have a good idea of what a balanced foe looks like. A good GM knows how to present a challenge to their players without being unfair. I don’t play as an adversary trying to defeat my players. There are plenty of ways to build lethal foes legally if that’s what you really want to do.

If you use a GM screen, I suggest you print out this chart from the Bestiary and paste it inside:

Even when preparing ahead of time, only bother to write down what you will need. For example, last game my PCs faced the Silver Surfer and Galactus. Here are the stats I prepared.

Silver Surfer
NG Medium outsider
Init +14; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +28
Defense
AC 40, touch 30, flat-footed 20 (+10 Dex, +10 dodge, +10 natural, +10 deflection vs. ranged)
hp 400 (20d10+200);
Fort +25, Ref +14, Will +23; +4 vs. poison, +4 resistance vs. evil
DR 15/epic; Immune cold, petrification; Resist acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 35
Offense
Speed 50 ft., fly 150 ft. (good)
Melee 2 slams +23 (2d10+40)
Ranged Energy Blast +20 touch (4d10+100 force)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 30, Con 30, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 20
Base Atk +20; CMB +25; CMD 45

It’s hard to tell, but I started by copying the basic stats out of the Bestiary. I forget if I used an Archon or an Angel as a base. As you can see, I trimmed out everything I didn’t need. That’s another great trick though. If you need a tough caster, pick a casting monster from the Bestiary and select new spells for it. And don’t bother to pick that many. If your caster NPC can cast 9th level spells, just pick spells for 9th-7th levels. On the odd chance they need to use a lower level spell, just let them cast whatever is needed. Your players most certainly won’t notice the difference.

You will also notice, I didn’t even have stats for Galactus. I figured I’d use a similar AC, +30 for all saves, and I gave him an energy blast of 36d6 (my small dice box) DC 30 reflex half plus a single target disintegrate (or was it destruction?) (also DC 30). HP lots, but he would retreat and leave the planet alone once the PCs did around 500 damage to him.

By staying flexible, and fudging when needed, you can run all sorts of high level games without too much trouble. Spending dozens of hours building statblocks is no fun. Steal and adapt from Bestiaries and other adventurers in your library and be on your way. Your players will thank you for it.

Before we get into how to challenge characters who can throw around spells like destruction, disintegrate, and power word: kill, let’s talk about what not to do. When your players come up with an interesting solution to whatever problem you’ve thrown at them, don’t try to figure out reasons why it shouldn’t work. Say “cool” and let them do it.

In fact, I recommend not having solutions to puzzles in mind. At this level the characters have access to fantastic abilities. Even the non-casters should have some interesting resources from magic items. Never underestimate the versatility of a rogue with ranks in Use Magic Device and a staff or wand. So give them grand obstacles and let the players figure out how to get past them. Don’t make things totally impossible. You should have a variety of possible solutions in mind. In fact, write a few tips for if the group gets stuck and calls on some form of divination for clues. Just don’t try to force a single solution on them. Let them enjoy outsmarting the villain’s traps with creative uses of their tools.

When my group tackled A Paladin in Hell there was a metal maelstrom blocking their path to a tower. It was in effect an epic, spherical blade barrier. The book’s solution was mostly to dimension door inside the center. That could have worked. My group flew above it with a summoned airship. They cast fly on themselves to cushion their fall. Then they created a sphere of iron around them and fell space marine drop ship style straight through the deadly swirl of metal and rocks. I let it work, because it was awesome.

Also don’t be afraid to throw in easy encounters. If a group of soldiers tries to stop them, realistically they shouldn’t be 15th level or something crazy. So let the party bluff their way past with ease. Or if there is a fight, hand wave it without any rolls. It’s ok if high level characters throw their weight around every once in a while. If they let the power go to their heads you can always send a paladin champion to have a talking with them later.

Bottom line is, if you try and run the same sorts of challenges that worked at low levels, you are going to frustrate yourself to no end. Embrace the fact that high level characters are up there with Hercules and other mythic figures. Look to super hero comics for inspiration if you have to. But above all, let the characters be awesome.

Knowing a rough outline of what you have planned is invaluable. I tend to outline things at least five levels beyond wherever my group is currently at. That way if they decide they don’t want to do a particular adventure or skip to the end more quickly than I expect, I have a vague idea of where they’ll be headed next. I can usually wing the first part of the next adventure if I have to.

Campaign Outline

1. Modron March I: Modron March [Level 4]
2. Infinite Staircase 1: Planewalkers [Level 4]
3. Modron March II: The Unswerving Path [Level 4]
4. Modron March III: Ambushed [Level 4]
5. Interlude in Sigil: Aasamir’s Revenge
6. Infinite Staircase 7: Reflections [Level 5]
7. Well of Worlds: Recruiters [Level 5]
8. Infinite Staircase 6: Dream Well [Level 6]
9. Modron March IV: Politics of the Beasts [Level 6]
10. Infinite Staircase 4: In Disarray [Level 6]
11. Interlude in Sigil: Harbinger House [Level 6]
12. Infinite Staircase Tale 2: Lost Sovereignty [Level 7]
13. Interlude in Golorian: Hunting Dragon Turtles [Level 7]
14. Interlude in Arborea: A God’s Favor
15. Modron March V: Modron Madness [Level 7]
16. Modron March VI: Law in Chaos [Level 7]
17. Infinite Staircase 5: City of Air [Level 8]
18. Infinite Staircase 8: Kyton Challenge [Level 8]
19. Modron March VIII: Camp Followers [Level 8]
20. Infinite Staircase Prologue: Ants vs Salads
21. Dead Gods 1: Circean Embers [Level 8]
22. Dead Gods 2: Crux [Level 8]
23. Dead Gods 3: Masks [Level 8]
24. Modron March IX: Sidetracked [Level 9]
25. Dead Gods 4: Message from Thanatos [Level 9]
26. Dead Gods 5: Bottom of the Multiverse [Level 9]
27. Dead Gods 6: The Vault of the Drow [Level 9]
28. Dead Gods 7: The Ruins of Pelion [Level 10]
29. Dead Gods 8: Deepest Pandemonium [Level 10]
30. Modron March X: The Flower Infernal [Level 10]
31. Vault of Lost Souls [Level 10]
32. Modron March XI: The Last Leg [Level 10]
33. Dead Gods 9: The Dead Book of the Gods [Level 11]
34. Faction War [Level 11]
35. Die Vecna Die [Level 12]
36. Demon God’s Fane [Level 13]
37. Paladin in Hell [Level 14]
38. Building a Better World 1: Apocalypse Stone [Level 15]
39. Interlude: Coliseum Morpheoun [Level 15]
40. Building a Better World 2:Picking up the Pieces [Level 16 - 19]
41. Building a Better World 3:True Test of the Starstone [Level 20]

Don’t get overwhelmed. I started the outline when I realized I wanted to interweave Modron March and the Infinite Staircase adventures. Anything that says interlude was likely added an adventure or two before it happened. The original outline had less than a dozen entries. When I first wrote this, there were some question marks on which Infinite Staircase Tale would happen where. I left room for the players to pick. As the game went on, the outline grew.

Around level 11 or 12, I realized I had nowhere to go past A Paladin in Hell. Levels 15+ were a void. There weren’t any good higher level Planescape modules to steal from. Paizo’s high level modules are rare and didn’t really fit. So I decided to strike out on my own. I found the Apocalypse Stone and it sparked some ideas. The characters are tricked into stealing a stone that acts as a planar cornerstone for the world. They were told it was the Test of the Starstone, a path to divinity. Instead the stone anchors it into place in the planes. I decided that the near apocalypse that is caused would end with planar travel being cut off. The characters would have to travel to several domain hot spots, the vistegial remnants of the world’s connections to the outer planes. They would have to absorb the energy through a ritual, becoming a conduit for that domain.

Once each character is a conduit for for domains, they will be able to perform a greater ritual to restore the plane to balance. They will then have the opportunity to take the actual Test of the Starstone and become new deities of those domains for the reshaped world. Or they could choose to relinquish the domain power and retire as mortals. We’ll see when we get there.

There was only one problem. The characters are based in Sigil. They don’t care very much about any particular prime world. The impact of seeing a place they loved destroyed isn’t as great if they don’t have a real connection to the world. Fortunately, Bort the Fighter is from “Ancient Greece”. A version of our world where mythology is true. So even if the characters only have a loose connection to the world, the players are intimately familiar with it. They’ve already worked with the Greek Gods in an interlude in Arborea before. I just needed to lure them to “Ancient Greece” to begin the arc.

So with this in mind I decided that the paladin they would be rescuing during A Paladin in Hell would be a paladin of Apollo. Back tracking further, I made him the same paladin they’d worked with during the Modron March (Ambushed, Infernal Flower). To make his connection a little more immediate, I had him be the one that asks the party to come with him to the Demon God’s Fane. During the course of that adventure he was corrupted by a demon spirit and slain in the final battle. A Paladin in Hell began at his funeral, at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Since I knew where I wanted things to go I could drop hints and clues several adventures ahead.

So they are currently travelling to domain hotspots around the world. This actually makes it easier, because now they know what is going on. So I can ask them which domains they plan on hitting up next. So far they’ve tackled:

• Knowledge – Bort the Archivist
• Madness – Bort the Binder
• Trickery – Bort the Rogue
• War – Bort the Fighter

Since I already have a good idea which places they’ll hit next (Strength, Luck, or Runes) I can think ahead. Knowing where your group is headed, or likely to be headed, is key to staying one step ahead. Even if they take an unexpected turn, you’ll always be halfway prepared in your mind.

Few people have actually experienced a very high level Pathfinder
game. I’m fortunate enough to be running one at the moment, so I thought I would start a series exploring the ups and downs of my campaign.

First a little background. This campaign has been running for around 4 years now. That means it started life as a 3.5 campaign and migrated to Pathfinder Beta and then Pathfinder. The basic premise was originally to do a Planescape game. This quickly expanded into running the best of the old Planescape modules. My players have been through Tales of the Infinite Staircase, The Great Modron March, Dead Gods, Die, Vecna, Die and quite a few sidetrecks along the way. All before hiting 15th level. This does mean that my group levelled slowly and got more wealth by level than expected. A lot more wealth.

The game is currently at 17th level, but I’ll back track a bit and start talking about their adventures around 15th level. It’ll help prevent spoilers if my players bother to read the blog. And give me a bit of a buffer, so I have plenty to talk about for the forseeable future.

House Rules

Spell DCs

The DC for spells is equal to 10 + 1/2 caster level + stat. This means a 10th level wizard with an 18 Int has DC 19 for all of their spells. From Sleep to Fireball and beyond. Overall it really doesn’t change that much. Most of the good spells are still the highest level a caster has available. On the other hand, it is way easier to keep track of. When I write an NPCs statblock I just have to calculate that once and put it next to caster level in the statblock.

Metamagic

I use the metamagic system from Book of Experimental Might. Every time you take a metamagic feat it gives a number of uses per day. It can be applied at the time of casting to any spell. Powerful feats are limited to once per day (quicken, maximize), and less powerful ones are three times per day (empower, extend). This does mean my high level casters can have quickened maximized 9th level spells. That’s probably a little overpowered. On the other hand, enemy casters still fall in short order.

Critical Hit Deck

We use Paizo’s Critical Hit Deck. It makes things a lot of fun. Especially on those rare magic criticals.

d20 Playground

While the core rules are Pathfinder, I allow material from a wide range of sources. From Wizards of the Coast to Open Design to Green Ronin. I also pull from a wide range of monster books. In some ways this unbalances the game. In other ways it really doesn’t matter at this power level.

Cast

Bort – Female half-elf fighter. Uses two scimitars with improved critical and staggering criticals. Used to be a male centaur barbarian, but he got tired of dying in every fight. So early 15th level they decided that the centaur was like a cocoon and Bort the Fighter emerged fully formed from the husk of the centaur’s body.

Bort – Female tiefling rogue. Uses two short swords. One of them is the Sword of Kas (now named Starscream). Also has boots of hellstep which allow a dimension door as a swift action but without the restriction on actions afterward. Can hide in plain sight after a dip into shadow dancer.

Bort – Male dwarven archivist. Like a cleric, only he doesn’t know all cleric spells and can’t channel energy. On the other hand, he can give some bonuses to attacking creatures with an appropriate knowledge check.

Bort – Male human++ binder. A very strange class. If I were to start over I’d make all the abilities (sp) instead of (su). Also it uses con as one of its primary stats which I would probably switch to Cha. Overall, while there are a few bindings I should tweak, the class is strangely underpowered in combat and overpowered in non-combat.

Did I meantion my group is a little silly? The binder for the longest time was the only PC not named Bort. After winning the cup of dreams from the Coliseum Morpheuon the group decided to use their first wish to rename him Bort. Some future year they plan on wishing that he enjoys being named Bort. So I will have to say Bort the Rogue or some such whenever I talk about a character in the game. On the other hand, I never forget a PCs name anymore.

I created a visual representation of the popularity of classes in the Pathfinder RPG. I uploaded it to it’s own page to avoid the blog formatting.

Enjoy.

I received a free pdf copy of Conflict Roleplaying for review. When I first heard about it, I was a bit cautious. I mean, I already have rules for how characters fight each other. After a quick glance through the book, I was already impressed. Conflict Roleplaying goes beyond characters fighting to explore the concepts of an arena game. It really takes the idea to a new level.

The core new concept are battle points, which rate characters and their gear. The game is really designed for teams of characters of characters to compete with each other in various games, like king of the hill or capture the flag. In fact, I would say that Conflict is to Pathfinder RPG as Team Fortress is to Half-Life. A great add-on the builds a whole new game out of an existing one.

There is also a lot of thought that went into making the arena more interesting. Most scenarios allow each team to purchase map elements to help customize the arena. These can be hindrances and traps, or beneficial areas for your own team. These help make any map different each time, and can be easily customized to suit your tastes.

I do regret that I haven’t had a chance to really play with the rules. Maybe when my party is between adventures I will have them bet on some games. They could build the teams and have money riding on them. A great way for me to take a break, make them do all the work for once.

I’m definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the box set. At $30 for the book and a map, it is a great value. I am also glad I already have Paizo’s Arena Flip Map. I know it isn’t an officially tested battle arena, but I’m sure it will work too. The best thing about this product is it makes you start thinking about different ways to use your existing game. That’s an A+ supplement in my book.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

Want to learn more about Conflict Roleplaying? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Episode 042: Conflict Roleplaying
• Mad Brew Labs: Adding PVP Conflict to Pathfinder
• Apathy Blogs: A new way to play Pathfinder

One of my first reviews was of the Pathfinder RPG Beta. It is probably a testament to Pathfinder’s growing popularity that it is, to date, my most read review. So with the release of the final game, I felt I should contribute my thoughts on the official product.

First a little background. When Wizard’s of the Coast released the 3^rd edition of Dungeons and Dragons back in 2000 they did something remarkable. They released the core of the rules under a license known as the OGL. This license, which is irrevocable, allows other publishers to create works that are compatible with the d20 system that was the basis of that edition of D&D. The idea was to make it easier for more material to be released for the system. This would in turn drive up sales of the core books and other supplements by WotC. A number of publishing companies were created specifically to take advantage of this opportunity, and a new era of gaming was born.

One unintended consequence of this open license was the possibility for other publishers to rewrite the rules of the game. There are now quite a few variant rule systems out there, from Arcana Evolved to True20. Some companies created even more drastic changes, creating totally different game systems from the d20 system. When Wizards released the 4^th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, they did so under a much tighter license. There will be no games like Mutants and Masterminds based on 4^th edition. Which is really too bad, because I think it would be a great system for a superhero game. But that is a discussion for another time.

With 3^rd edition retired, but still available under the OGL, Paizo stepped up to carry the torch. Pathfinder is the d20 revision that is most like 3^rd edition. It doesn’t chance the fundamentals of the game the way that Conan or Iron Heroes did. Instead the goal was to create a game that was mostly compatible with the old material. Paizo wanted to continue making 3^rd edition adventures and supplements, but wanted the rules to still be available in print. So they took the opportunity to tweak the system and clean it up along the way. The Pathfinder RPG was born.

Unlike most role-playing games, Pathfinder underwent a yearlong public beta. Anyone could download the beta version for free and provide feedback on the forums. 3^rd edition had already undergone one major revision in its lifetime, so the fundamental game is really quite refined. If you are looking for a drastically new system, Pathfinder isn’t it. It is more like a distillation of everything that made the d20 system great.

The book itself is physically quite impressive. It weighs in near 5 lbs and has 575 pages. It is in full color, and is beautifully illustrated throughout. It contains all the rules that used to be in the old Player’s Handbook and Game Master’s Guide. The book may have a hefty retail price, but the PDF is less than $10. There is also a rules reference document provided online for free. Paizo wants everyone to have access to the rules and give them a try. It is probably a little daunting for newcomers though.

I’m not going to go through a detailed list of how it is different from the old rules. The key changes I will point out are an easier skill system, a streamlined maneuver resolution system, and generally more options for character classes. Similar skills have been consolidated together and skill ranks now match levels directly. This is something I will port into any d20 game I use in the future. Special moves like grapple, trip, and bull rush all use a fairly simple combat maneuver system. Most classes now have more options to choose from. For example, sorcerers now can pick from several bloodlines which give them different bonus powers as they level.

I think the biggest strength of the system is also its greatest weakness. The d20 system has always been a very customizable rules set. Characters can mix and match classes at each level. There are a wide variety of feats a character can use to add variety to abilities. So while building a first level character is fairly easy, a new player joining a high level game for the first time can be overwhelmed with choices. If you want a game that has the potential for a lot of complex customization, this is it. If you are looking for a light rules system there are plenty of other good choices out there.

Paizo put a lot work into making this an amazing book and a great system. If you are interested in fantasy role-playing games, you should definitely check it out. It may not suit everyone’s taste, but the OGL will ensure that the d20 family will continue to evolve. The Pathfinder RPG another step forward in the evolution of the game.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.