Tag Archives: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

The Wizard’s Mask – Book Review

Recently we had a major snowstorm in Japan, which meant I was stuck on trains for more than 11 hours. Hours in which I felt like I was slogging through the muddy writing of Ed Greenwood’s “The Wizard’s Mask“.

There are many great pieces in this novel, during which the light of Ed’s writing talent really shines. The problem is that most of the book feels forced and rammed together, leaving those “great pieces” to suffer.

I’d love to see what Mr Greenwood could do if he gave this another pass or two with his writers pen, but right now “The Wizards Mask” is a poorly told, bland story that often makes for unwieldy reading.

 

Dungeons & Dragons Classics

Inquisitive Kitsune Cub NPC

Inspired in Japan

 

Presenting the inquisitive kitsune cub. Unable to resist the temptations of the local mountain village festival, he dons his disguise and joins the crowd. Before long he’s in over his head.

Kitsune Cub & Vixen
Kitsune Cub & Vixen by R Sloan. Interior art for the upcoming “Where Heroes Stand” adventure.

Kitsune Cub
XP 200 CR 1/2
Kitsune rogue 1, CG Medium Humanoid
Init +7; Senses perception +5

DEFENCE_________________________________
AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+1 armour, +3 Dex)
hp 5
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +1

OFFENCE_________________________________
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger -2 (d4 – 2/19-20) bite -2 (d4-2)
Ranged dagger +3 (d4/19-20)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5ft.

STATISTICS _______________________________
Str 6 (-2), Dex 16 (+3), Con 13 (+1), Int 15 (+2), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 12 (+1)
Base Attack Bonus +0; CMB -2; CMD 11
Feats Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +2, Disable Device +7, Disguise +5 (+15 in human form), Escape Artist +7, Perception +5, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7, Swim +2.
Languages Common, Sylvan, Tengu, Celestial
Combat Gear 2x Dagger (hidden in clothes), Blowgun and darts (20) in Den, Quilted cloth armour, Thunderstone (hidden in clothes).
Other Gear Flint & steel and small steel mirror in belt pouch. Baggy yukata conceals daggers and thunderstone for escapes (DC 19 perception to observe, DC 15 perception to frisk).
Special Abilities lowlight vision, change shape, agile (included), fast shifter (shift form as a move action), bite attack (natural form only)
Tactics When discovered he uses his thunderstone to stun opponents, then shifts form and flees back to his den. If cornered he makes ranged attacks with his daggers until he can shift and flee.
Description: A wide eyed teenager, who seems both a little out of place and uncomfortable in his own skin. He has little understanding for human ways and often makes mistakes that could easily give him away. He stares wide eyed at everything he sees and wants to take in as much as he can, knowing he won’t get such an opportunity again until next year.

Kamen, Land of Masks
Kamen, Land of Masks

This is the third of three NPC previews from my upcoming Pathfinder adventure, Where Heroes Stand. Check out the humble mountain villager and the samurai bodyguard from last week. For more NPC goodness check out my recently released NPC Strategy Cards on DriveThruRPG or Paizo.com.

Samurai Bodyguard NPC

Inspired in Japan

Presenting the samurai bodyguard. He delights in pushing the peasantry around, roughing up his masters enemies and otherwise bullying anyone who stands in his way.

Samurai wearing a nodachi.
Samurai wearing a nodachi, or field sword.

 

Samurai Bodyguards
CR 3 XP 800
Human Warrior 5, CN Medium Humanoid
Init +0; Senses perception -1

DEFENCE_________________________________
AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+8 armour, +0 Dex)
hp 39
Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +0

OFFENCE_________________________________
Speed 30 ft.
Melee  mwk nodachi +10 (1d10+3 /18–20 ×2)
mwk wakizashi +9 (1d6+3 /18-20 x2)
Ranged short bow +5 (1d6 / x3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5ft.

STATISTICS _______________________________
Str 16 (+3), Dex 11 (+0), Con 12 (+1), Int 9 (-1), Wis 8 (-1), Cha 10 (+0)
Base Attack +5; CMB +8; CMD  18
Feats Intimidating Prowess, Skill Focus (Intimidate) , Weapon Focus (nodachi), Dazzling Display.
Skills Climb +3 (+0 in armour), Intimidate +14, Ride +8 (+2 in armour)
Languages Common
Combat Gear  master work Nodachi, master work wakizashi, dagger, short bow, 20 arrows and master work agile half-plate.
Other Gear Leather belt case containing (2x antitoxin, 2x meditation tea, 2x smelling salts, 2x soothe syrup, 3x vermin repellent) and light combat trained horse with riding kit. 72 gold.
Tactics Pairs of bodyguards use their Dazzling Display to demoralize foes, then focus their attention on the nearest threat; who they cut down without mercy.
Description
These heartless oafs love nothing more than pushing around peasants at their lord’s command. They carry huge swords both as a sign of strength and as an effective means of crowd control.

Kamen, Land of Masks
Kamen, Land of Masks

This is the second of three NPC previews from my upcoming Pathfinder adventure, Where Heroes Stand. Check out the target of the bullying samurai bodyguard,  the humble mountain villager, from last week. For more NPC goodness check out my recently released NPC Strategy Cards on DriveThruRPG or Paizo.com.

Mountain Villager NPC

Inspired in Japan

Presenting the humble mountain villager. Strong, hardy, and ready to run at the first sign of a katana wielding samurai.

Mountain Villager
CR 1/3 XP 135
Human Commoner 1, LN Medium Humanoid
Init +1; Senses perception +0

DEFENCE_________________________________
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+0 armour, +1 Dex, +1 Dodge)
hp 6
Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +0

OFFENCE_________________________________
Speed 35 ft.
Melee dagger +1 (d4 +1 / 19-20 x 2) or club +1 (d6+1/ x2)
Ranged dagger +1 (d4 / 19-20)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5ft.

STATISTICS _______________________________
Str 12 (+1), Dex 13 (+1), Con 11 (+0), Int 8 (-1), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 11 (+0)
Base Attack +0; CMB +1; CMD  12
Feats Dodge, Fleet

Skills Craft (choice of carpentry, leather, pottery or traps) +3 or Profession (choice of brewer, butcher, cook, driver, farmer, fisherman, herbalist, innkeeper, merchant, midwife, miller, tanner, trapper or woodcutter) +4, Handle Animal +4.
Languages Common
Combat Gear Club or dagger
Other Gear Rice bowl and cup, well worn kimono, grass hat, jacket and woven grass shoes.
Tactics Villagers know that in a fight their best bet is to run away, and, having lived their lives on the side of a mountain, they are particularly fast on their feet.

 

Kamen, Land of Masks
Kamen, Land of Masks

This is the first of three NPC previews from my upcoming Japan based Pathfinder adventure. For more NPC goodness check out my recently released NPC Strategy Cards on DriveThruRPG or Paizo.com.

Pathfinder Sale on DriveThruRPG

DriveThruRPG is having a massive Pathfinder sale, but hurry, it ends in a few days!

Gnome News

Copies of the Claustrophobia! Beta rules are flying off the shelves and feedback is streaming in. My thanks to everyone who downloaded the book so far. It’s never to late to send in your feedback and I’m reading it all, keep it coming!

An update is in progress, mostly rules clarifications at this stage. Remember that once you order the PDF, you can always download the latest updates from the DTRPG site, you don’t need to buy a new copy.

More is brewing too. I’ll be on summer holiday soon and that will mean some interruptions, but hopefully I’ll deliver some juicy new content to you soon!

Online Role-Playing

I had my first go at GMing a game using Roll20, a browser based virtual tabletop. Currently I’m kicking off an initiative to get Pathfinder Society going in Japan, starting with the English speaking community of teachers from the USA, South Africa and other parts of the world. Because the community is quite spread out, I turned to Roll20 to connect easily with players and allow for more game time. We’ll see how that works out, but so far so good.

 

Continue reading Online Role-Playing

Pathfinder’s Box – Cracking Open The Beginners Box

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box has been around for awhile now but I figure it’s worth a review. Today we’ll crack open the box and look at the highs and lows of this game.

If you haven’t already bought something from Paizo before then let me put you at ease. Today gamers expect quality and Paizo delivers in bucket loads, both visually and content wise. In fact, Paizo polish would be my main reason for recommending anything they sell. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, if you don’t know, is actually an improved version of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. You’re not getting a new game here, you’re getting the next generation of a game that won a place in the hearts of role-players everywhere.

Continue reading Pathfinder’s Box – Cracking Open The Beginners Box

UPCON 2012 Module – Death in the Deep

I could trace the origin of this blog back to many sources, but one of the most prominent must be when I started writing modules for the convention circuit back in Gauteng South Africa, specifically for UPCON and ICON. ICON was actually the first convention I ever attended, going there for comic books (Spider-Man mostly). I came out of that convention with a box of Warhammer 40k, which eventually lead to role-playing. So I kind of think ICON was where most things began for me in a way. But enough rambling, this year again I’m submitting a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure, Death in the Deep.

So, wouldn’t it be neat if players and GM’s could get additional information about the module online? Wouldn’t it be great if other interested readers could get a taste of the adventure? Well, that’s what this page is all about. I’m posting it now, but it’s sure to change as more information and downloads become available here.

#NEWS FLASH! – 30 March 2012# Just submitted the module and all the character sheets. I’m pretty proud of the outcome. I reckon this is my best work so far.

#NEWS FLASH! – 13-14 April 2012 Play Test# Our Japan group, who were a witch, wizard, fighter and stow away rouge (she only joined the fight when the Loreley split in two, managed to wound the sea serpent so badly that it ended up with a Dex of 8 and made it’s escape. The adventurers then made it to land where they sheltered for the night, uncomfortably close to a boggard camp. They then made their way on foot and by horse to Dead Mans Landing, passing the town of Gold Bridge, ruled by Duke One-Eye. They found Lantern Tower to be trapped, a store house for the 8-9-3.

 

Gear Up

It pays to be ready. All the following items are not required, but may prove useful to GM’s running the module.

 

Player Characters

You can check out the player character sheets here. Please note, check the files for viruses, I can’t be held responsible if your computer crashes and burns.

 

Avernos

Read more about Avernos, the setting of Death in the Deep, here.

A New Year of Awesome!

Mastery is not about perfection. It’s about a process, a journey. The master is the one that stays on the path, day after day, year after year. The master is the one that is willing to try, and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.

George Leonard – Mastery
He is / was a 5th dan in Aikido
Thanks Maarten for this one.

2011 was great. 2012 will be even better. Why? Well, life is what we make of it, after all, and this is what I think 2012 has in store for Julia and me.

Japanamazing

We’re in Japan, working, living and learning. I think 2012 will see more opportunities as we get even more at home here, learning the language and travelling. Our goals for this year are to learn more Japanese, to travel and experience more of Japan and for me to take Iaido to the max and finally get some rank to my name. Most importantly we’ll be putting more effort into finding a Church.

Marriageamazing

This year we’ll reach three years of marriage, and it just gets better all the time. Julia is super and truly is my better half, we are growing all the time. Being able to face the highs and lows of Japan together has been so good, and we are looking forward to growing and strengthening our relationship together.

Creatamazing

Last year I managed to write a novel, wow, I can’t really believe that (okay, still needs a few more words to reach my target, but it’s close enough). I’ve also been pumping out the blog posts at Rising Phoenix Games, including a whole solo campaign for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game that includes three maps I made. I’m also writing for a small project Julia and I are working on for foreign English learners, but more on that later. 2012 will see more writing and creativity, hopefully with something going up on Drive Thru RPG by the end of this month even.

I hope…

That your 2012 is full of promise and that you manage to grab all the right opportunities and hear God’s call for your life. Have a great 2012 everyone!