#Ironfang

[ben-the-hyena]

All hail my short kings

[warcrimesimulator]

screenshots of my wolf RP pack in Feral Heart, 2015

[chill-vibes-but-rainbow-panic]

I still haven't convinced myself to write the fic, so I am going on an Almost-Middle-Of-The-Night-Rant/Ramble about the scene in my head instead:

(This is about School for Little Vampires; just fyi, for my followers/moots who aren't into that show)

So you guys know the (according to the wiki) Season 4 episode "So Long Klott" (Spoilers btw), where the Count decides Klott is too young to go to a regular school, because he keeps fumbling his tests, and ends up making him leave with Dr. Ironfang?

Yeah, imagine, you're Alarich. Your students are all mentally in shambles, because not only did they lose their friend, they probably feel like they've failed with helping him study. And your teachers were also technically heavily against sending Klott away. So now, you have to go and hope that Ironfang hasn't driven across the country by now, so you can swiftly bring the boy back.

Well, you find the doctor's car, except not only is there no one inside (except maybe the driver? idk how my guy's car works), but it has stopped in front of what is very obviously a trap.

But you probably don't worry too much. Dr. Ironfang is a decently competent - only occasionally off his rockers - vampire, who probably took the boy with him, as to not leave him alone at the very obvious trap.

You follow the footsteps in the snow, or the bait, or whatever, and what do you find? DR. IRONFANG IN A GODDAMN CAGE.

This is somewhat more worrying. You go and free him, probably isn't too hard, because nobody's around, and you learn what happened with Pollidori.

But then, looking around, you do a double take and realize that there was no Klott in the cage.

'Cause guess what? He was forced to escape into the forest, where he is currently actively being chased, by Pollidori, the vampire hunter.

Klott, the probably 5 vampire-year old boy (I'm really bad with guessing ages tbh), who

Doesn't know squat about anything (at least theory wise, as he proves his knowledge in the eps) and

Is literally not tall enough to bite somebody's neck

is alone, in the forest, in the snow, with Pollidori, who may be kind of an idiot, but has also managed to capture you around three or four times now. He is also actively planning to murder you, and your staff, and your students, every night.

I can imagine the time between that, and him and Dr. Ironfang finding Klott, were probably not a nice five to ten minutes.

I mean, maybe I'm also exaggerating. After all, Alarich (at least imo) is not know for being very expressive. But dude does care for his students, that is obvious.

It's just that thinking further about it, while we of course knew he was going to be fine, Klott was technically in incredible danger in this episode.

This concludes the rant/ramble

Feel free to add your thoughts :)

[enablerprime]

A short, two fic series about my poor, dead unchained rogue.

[thecreaturecodex]

What's your options on bugbears in Golorian being all serial killers or atleast obsessed with fear? I think that has room for, improvement. Definitely feels weird for them though.

I love it.

It's one of my favorite lore changes between D&D and Pathfinder. It makes bugbears feel less like "goblin, but giant". And Paizo has made it clear that some goblins mutate and just grow to Medium size, so you can have giant goblins if you want 'em.

@monstersdownthepath suggested that bugbears have a demonic taint to them. Despite their CE nature, I'd suggest sahkils instead. Bugbears are the Fear of Marauders, of Banditry, of Murder. Only they're mortal. But I bet a lot of their souls end up in Xilbaba when they die.

I imagine that small groups of bugbears are somewhere between bandit gangs and terrorist cells, roaming around and striking for maximum psychological impact as much as to get material goods. Larger communities would be like Halloweentown, only much less friendly. With running competitions for "most blood drained in a single evening". And adopting more terrible monsters into their numbers as Honorary Bugbears. Life's no fun without a good scare! If the Thing Hiding Under Your Stairs and The Shadow on the Moon At Night really wanted to kill you, and then looted your supplies and took over your village until the well runs dry or next year's crop doesn't plant itself. That's a bugbear clan.

I also love the implication in Ironfang Invasion, through characters like Scarvinious and Scabvistin (great naming convention too, IMO), that some, but not all, bugbears are envious of hobgoblins. They like the idea of civilization, of order and rigidity. And so they enlist. And because of their strength and power, they can succeed. If they "beat the bear" out, in Scabvistin's words.

So if you want to give bugbears another hook, here's my alternate, but not necessarily incompatible take. They're brood parasites. Because what's scarier than a baby that's not yours taking over your life?

We know that in Pathfinder canon, goblins and hobgoblins are both communal breeders (thanks to nursery locations in both Rise of the Runelords and Jade Regent). A mother bugbear sneaks into a goblin creche and leaves her baby behind, after killing one of the young and either eating it themselves or feeding it to Junior. The somewhat addlepated and mutation-prone goblins won't notice or mind a slightly hairier infant, right? And then the bugbear baby takes more than its fair share of resources, maybe knocks off a few of the other kids, and then either leaves the goblin colony at a young age in order to find more bugbears, or stays and muscles his way into a leadership position.

Doing the same to a hobgoblin community is riskier. The hobgoblins are much more in tune and observant. But in this case, it becomes more of a mutualistic relationship that could tip into parasitism on either end. Maybe the bugbear can get along in the hobgoblin village by learning discipline, or be content with the role of scavenger or brute. Or the bugbear could try to take over, if the hobgoblins are weak. And if the bugbear doesn't have the resources to survive and thrive, the hobgoblins send them off on a suicide mission.

And even though they only rely on other goblinoids for raising their young...most of the time, there are rumors that they do this to other peoples. Even if it happens once in a hundred years, everyone will know the story of how the Munson boy got very hairy and very big very quickly, and then slaughtered and spit-roasted the family dog when he was only 4? That kind of fear keeps the bugbears powerful. And makes the bugbears very happy.

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Ohancanu

CR 5

Chaotic Evil Large Fey

Adventure Path: Ironfang Invasion: Fangs of War, pg. 88-89

Yes, Fey. Not Humanoid or Monstrous Humanoid, despite their resemblance to a Cyclops. The mistake is an easy one to make and a fatal one to fall for, given that Ohancanu bear the Fey’s typical Damage Reduction 5/cold iron, something that makes them resistant to many of the weapons a squad of guards and soldiers could bring to bear against them and all but impervious to the weapons a commoner may raise in defense. And they’ll need to raise a defense; Ohancanu are destruction incarnate, rapacious destroyers who live to cause ruin, pain, and death. These aren’t Fey who guard the forests they dwell within, no. They block up rivers just to save themselves the trouble of fishing, they cause landslides just to drum up hiding prey, and they chop down trees rather than climb them to get at hidden nests. They also do all three of those things just for the fun of it, and if they see any sign of civilization? They’ll go out of their way to destroy it in whatever fashion amuses them the most. They’ll fell towers, break dams, crush houses, slaughter livestock, and of course kill any man or elf they see.

Ohancanu are noted to be able to survive off eating any organic matter, surviving easily off tree bark, grass, and carrion, but of course none of these faux-giants would ever settle for such things. They like it when their meals have flavor, prizing berries, fruits, and of course all manner of meats, especially the meat of sapient humanoids because we all know what carnivores on Golarion are like. Ironically, they’re not seeking humanoids out of some addiction to sapient flesh, but because humanoid settlements grant them opportunities to destroy more complex items, as they take great pleasure in smashing human structures, especially if doing so causes some terrible domino effect (like smashing a water tower, bridge, or dam). To sate both their appetites these Fey are constantly migrating from place to place, never settling in one area for more than a few days at a time as they casually plod in great circles in their old-growth forests.

The only form of nature the Ohancanu respect are ancient trees, which they sometimes guard with their lives. This is due to their absolutely bizarre method of reproduction: every few years, the usually-solitary giants congregate with one another to share stories, wrestle with one another, point out new locations to hunt in, tell their friends where they may find caches of weapons or small campsites (which litter the forests they dwell in), and to slaughter the elderly Ohancanu among them. The old and feeble fey may fight for their lives, but the young among them outnumber and overpower them, killing them and scooping out their organs while consuming the rest. The organs are buried at the base of an old tree, and after just one year, a new Ohancanu (or perhaps even several; upwards to three at a time!) bursts from the soil, able to walk, speak, and wield weapons, possessing rudimentary skills that were somehow taught to them by the spirit of the departed elder, skills they must hone as they age.

It’s good that they’re typically solitary, as their enormous axes deal a guard-splattering 3d6+9 damage at base, a Barbarian-splattering triple damage on a critical hit, and they have Power Attack if they don’t mind sacrificing some of their +10 to hit for extra damage. Anyone trying to attack them from a range can get beaned by their Rock Throwing, their single-eyed aim nonetheless good enough to give them a 100ft range with stones dealing 1d8+6 damage, softening targets up until they can close in with their masterwork greataxes. Their massive bulk, powerful axes, and DR are usually all they need, but Intimidating Prowess and a +12 to Intimidate checks tends to mean their victims are shaken up and even less likely to be able to harm them back.

Thankfully, Ohancanu have a few weaknesses one can take advantage of. They’re idiots as a rule, and greedy at that; they’re easily tricked and mislead, and on the uncommon occasions they deign to work together (typically when assaulting settlements), they’re easily turned against one another if canny prey takes advantage of their combative tendencies. If prey-to-be willingly offers itself “only to the strongest” of the group, the gang may dissolve into senseless bickering and bloody infighting as they try and determine who that is, giving the prey a chance to escape. By far, however, their biggest weakness is their love of riddles; Ohancanu adore riddles of every sort, and hearing an especially interesting one may get them to pause their rampage as they ponder the answer... however, one must be careful, because again: they’re idiots. A riddle that’s too hard will simply frustrate them into attacking, and if the fey itself posits a riddle as part of some hunting game of theirs--almost always simple ones, or ones that have been asked and answered hundreds of times--answering accurately too quickly may make it angry. The book amusingly notes that finding a riddle JUST difficult enough to make them think but not so difficult they cannot solve it is a puzzle in and of itself!

Really, though, the real purpose of any riddle is to either escape as they ponder the answer, or convince the dimwitted creature to lean down so you can whisper the answer to them and take advantage of their oddest weakness: their White Hairs. In a tragic bit of artistic miscommunication, the Ohancanu are supposed to have heads of red or dark hair, NOT the woolly white present in the artwork above, so as to make their 2d4 White Hairs better stand out in their shaggy manes. These hairs are connected to their very souls, and successfully using a steal maneuver on one--or plucking one from a helpless fey as a standard action--irresistibly inflicts 2 negative levels to the massive fey which cannot be alleviated until the hair grows back a day later. Stealing even a single hair is catastrophic to their morale, the pain and sudden weakness too much for them to bear, and only the bravest (or most foolish) of these fey will stay and fight in any combat with an enemy that knows this secret weakness. The rest will abandon the battle, trampling over their own allies in a frenzied dash if they have to, to get away from the hair-plucker. One must wonder if they think of barbers.

You can read more about them here.

[talesfromaurea]

Arc 2 of Tales from Aurea, Iron and Ice, is starting now! 🎉

Hi everyone, we're coming back from our break with the first chapter of Iron and Ice - Session 9, Winds from the Steppe - which can be read right now on Royal Road (link here) 🥳 Enjoy!

Chapter Summary: A few weeks after their encounter with the Irkallu and dragon Bhorovane the Red, the companions are approached by Ordo Draconis agent Dimitri Vasiliyev, who comes with an unusual job offer.

Taglist (ask to be +/-): @drippingmoon, @kainablue, @splashinkling, @space-writes, @aroyalpaininthecass, @thelaughingstag

Curious what this story is about? Check out the pinned post here

Chapter preview under the cut

Dimitri Vasiliyev walked the length of the underground corridor accompanied only by the hollow clicking of his boot heels on limestone. Though the occasional administrator hurried by with a stack of parchment or bag of scrolls, the Ordo Draconis headquarters was otherwise an unusually quiet, barren place. The resurgence of the Irkallu meant every agent was working overtime in the field and fewer and fewer were making it back home. Dimitri’s jaw tightened. Astinos, Ferial, Bandrigan, Lucretia; they and dozens of others had already been lost. Dimitri himself suspected he might be joining their ranks soon.

He was scheduled to leave for Datharia the next day, though he couldn’t for the life of him understand why. The Emperor was convinced that Gorzog Ironfang was the problem of the Snowskull Steppes, and not the Empire. Instead of allying with the ferix, who knew the Steppes and Ironfang well, the Emperor had chosen to leave Datharia naked and exposed. Dimitri could only imagine that his post would involve watching Ironfang’s armies approach Datharia from across the brown, bleak grasslands. 

And who among their neighbors could they rely upon? The city states of the former province, Ascalaria, were tied up in petty squabbles in the lead up to the winter moot where they’d allegedly elect a new High King; and the raiders of Bathissica were more likely to loot Aurelia’s corpse than ride to defend her. 

The southeastern natiuhan state of Culacalli may come to the Empire’s aid but, unless they sprouted wings and flew, there was no way they’d make it before Ironfang hacked his way through the Aurelian peninsula and to the island of Aurea itself. The way Dimitri saw it, an alliance with the ferix was their only chance to stop Ironfang in the Steppes. Once he reached Aurelia, Ironfang could barricade himself in an old Castrum, or even in Barsicum, and no one would be able to uproot him—not with the Irkallu bleeding the Empire from within by a thousand tiny cuts.

Dimitri took in a weighty breath. As it stood, if he was lucky he’d be killed defending the ramparts of Castrum Solis. Something nice and quick—an orc crossbow bolt, or maybe just dropping dead before anything particularly bad happened. He snickered at how darkly comforting the idea was.

[ashes0909]

"I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you" for your taylor swift lyric prompts!! 🥰

This one...got away from me. It's definitely turning into a stand alone, one shot fic. I wanted to share where it stands though, since the prompt inspired me so much! Thank you!

22. I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

Ship: Stony

Steve’s thighs pressed into the saddle, securing his takeoff as Valorwing pushed off from the cliff’s edge. The wind immediately picked up as they rapidly gained height, pushing Steve’s hair back from his forehead and whipping his face into a wide grin. The only thing that kept his eyes from watering were the goggles affixed to his cowl. 

Valorwing banked left, then right, playing in the air currents as if they provided her with as much joy as they did Steve. Steve knew his dragon loved the open air, but seeing her dance among the clouds made him so glad he brought her out this afternoon. 

Even if Steve had an ulterior motive for this journey all along. 

Below him the landscape shifted, the snow capped mountains giving way to an endless valley of green grass and wildflowers. Somewhere along that valley denoted the border between Brooklandia and Man Hatton. Even as Valorwing’s flight path remained sure and steady, Steve’s stomach swooped as he crossed over the valley. It was only a matter of time before--

On the horizon Steve caught sight of him: Ironfang, no more than a dot along a late afternoon sky. Steve pulled his reins to the left, towards the direction of the one man he’d been hoping to see. Then it was just a matter of minutes passing--five, eight, ten--before Steve could make out the shape of the rider, lithe and confident astride his dragon. His leathers came into view before his face, red and gold, wrapped around a chest Steve remembered the touch of, arms he felt around his waist. Just a few more minutes and Steve pulled the reins tight, slowing Valorwing’s flight into a hover. Across the sky, Tony did the same.

“You know you need a visa to fly these skies,” Tony greeted, his wide grin clear even below the goggles and helmet he wore. His laugh warmed Steve’s chest and he shifted forward so Valorwing could move just a bit closer to the other magnificent dragon. 

“Maybe I like getting intercepted by the head of Man Hatton’s guard.”

“Maybe? Now there’s an understatement.” Tony laughed, then pulled his dragon’s reins to the left and dropped low in the air. Steve followed, Valorwing taking to the air next to Ironfang like she belonged there. In the sky, they danced as they flew, flight paths intertwining and laughter echoing across the open air. Hovering over the lush valley, the ache in Steve’s cheeks brought on by joy and laughter, Steve wondered if the afternoon could get any better. He wanted Tony in his arms again; he never wanted to stop flying in tandem with him. They whipped off their helmets, taking in the sight of one other as they chatted the afternoon away on dragonback.

It was because they were so caught up in one another, because Steve was paying more attention to the crinkled corners of Tony’s eyes, that he didn’t see it. Valorwing and Ironfang reacted first, coming to a stop over the grass, scales shifting into a defensive arch along their backs. It was only then that Steve pulled his focus away from Tony towards the horizon where  the jet black dragon rapidly approached from the South. 

Hydraxus. 

Steve caught Tony’s gaze one last time before reinforcing his armor and helmet and taking to the air, pulling up higher, higher, higher. He needed to get to an advantageous height before the fiercest dragon the Kingdom of Hydra had ever seen made its way over the border and into the valley.

Behind him, Tony did the same, and they rode side-by-side into what was sure to be an oncoming fight.

To be continued...

Taylor Swift Prompt List

[trans-lykanthropie]

If there's one thing I've learned from the museum I went to today is I would totally have made a splash in Anglo-Saxon era Northumbia or something. I woukdbe been a legend or myth or some such, maybe with a band of warriors and a dope honorific like 'Ada Ironfangs' or something

[dolceaspidenera]

OC meme

Thank you for the tag @senualothbrok, sorry it took me a while to do this!

Tagging @cleric4vampire @phasebun @astarionposting @hartsvale @wyrmtongued @vspin (as usual, no pressure and sorry if you were already tagged)

B A S I C S

Full name: Sameira of the Ironfang (she abandoned her former surname in favor of her adoptive father's clan) Gender: Female Sexuality: Bi, demi Pronouns: she/her

O T H E R

Family: Beregorn (adoptive father), Olga (a barista and brothel owner in the Gate who eventually became found family), the tadfools Birthplace: High Forest Job: is stealing a profession? She also worked as a bounty hunter (for reasons), and as a sort of healer for the poor in Baldur's Gate. Phobias: F̵̣͈͙̗͗̉̊̊̉ͅȃ̵̢̝̘̟̗̂̐̉͛ț̶̯̙̯̣̉̌͌͗͊h̸̖͈͎͎̗̍̒̈́̉̕ë̴̛͙̞̝̦̹́̇̅̒r̴̹͖͖̻̰͗͑̐̊̚, loosing control of her powers Guilty pleasures: lying in bed until late (having lived for many years among the lowlifes of Baldur's Gate, she is used to little sleep, when she can finally feel safe she likes to indulge and oversleep), eating sweets Hobbies: carving animal bones, reading and learning about weird animals and creatures, she's picked up a new interest in the mushrooms of the underdark and Blurg's research

M O R A L S

Alignment: Neutral Good Sins: Wrath Virtues: Insightful and empathetic

T H I S  O R  T H A T

Introvert / Extrovert Organized / Disorganized Close-minded / Open-minded Calm / Anxious / Restless Disagreeable / Agreeable / In between Cautious / Reckless / In between Patient / Impatient / In between Outspoken / Reserved / In between Leader / Follower / Flexible Empathetic / Unempathetic / In between Optimist / Pessimist / Realist Traditional / Modern / In between Hard-working / Lazy

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

OTP: Astarion Acceptable Ships: never thought about it OT3: None Brotp: Karlach, Jaheira, Halsin (can I put everyone in here?) Notp: I don't really ship her with anyone else but as long as it isn't offensive/harmful I don't care

Credits: dividers

[enddaysengine]

Proud Mentor (Paths Beyond, Centaur)

It’s the end of another school year, so I’m busy wrapping up the last legs of marking and report cards. So clearly it’s the right time to say “And now for something completely different!” Today I am looking at one single ancestry feat, the stories it comes from, and then how they can inform worldbuilding and characters.

Proud Mentor has undeniable mythic roots, referencing the centaur Chiron, the mentor of Greek Gods and heroes. While Chiron is known for healing, astronomy, and philosophy, this feat makes a centaur better at any type of Aid action - ensuring they can't make things worse and bolstering the when their pupils succeed. It speaks strongly of the values of teamwork and cooperation, which is worth remembering if you want to lean into the more philosophical side of things. This fits with almost any faction within the setting, but is particularly appropriate for The Knights of Lastwall and the Magambya. With that said, don't discount Proud Mentors within the Hellknights and the Ironfang Legion. While these organizations are less classically heroic, they strongly value order, so educating new initiates via strong mentor-pupil relationships would be highly valued.

Speaking of relationships, consider what this feat means from a plot and esoteric perspective. Having Proud Mentor says something about the character's personality - even if they aren't the most sociable, they seek out and build relationships with others. Take it from an IRL teacher, that's what our profession is actually about - forming bonds and using them to help someone grow. So how can others use that bond? Do they manipulate the mentor or pupil to stir up some intrigue? Do they attack one as a proxy to harm the other? From a more esoteric perspective, occultism is all about bonds, connections, and symbolism. Think about the ways an occultist could use that mentor-pupil bond as a symbol or sacrifice. They may not even care about the precise individuals involved, but about the bond itself. If the occultist is the centaur themself, they may use their status as a mentor to build connections to others, then draw their magic from the stories surrounding those relationships.

Even before he aspired to be an adventurer, Balston the Bard aspired to be a teacher. In the young centaur's travels, he has mentored dozens of youngsters like himself and then used their stories to inspire others. Unfortunately, while he is enthusiastic and inspiring, Balston's occult magic has started to feed back upon itself. Every time he draws upon his mentorship stories to create magic, occult ripples form about the stories' subjects. Given enough time, they will form dreamscapes or brainchildren, putting Balston's former protegees in grave danger.

There are few respites on Abaddon for mortals or the Hunted, but Rotting Hollow is one of them. Ivius the Dark rules with a fair but iron-clad hoof, ensuring both that no one steps out of line and everyone has the skills they need to survive living so close to Plaguemere. While Ivius is skilled in the traditional centaur skills of medicine and wilderness survival, he has no intent of using them to help those beyond his community, for he is one of Apollyons' faithful. He mentors his acolytes not to use their skills to relieve disease but to incubate and spread it as far as possible.

Some centaurs worship the demigoddess Nephele as their ancestry's divine mother and cultural hero. Once Nephele was a stormsoul sylph who taught horses how to survive on their stormy islands. As the equines learned more from the geniekin, they became more like her and other humanoids, eventually assuming their current hybrid forms. Mentoring is a form of worship to these centaurs, especially when teaching another how to predict the weather and read Nephele's omens in the clouds

[ben-the-hyena]

I realized a pattern

[cre-skies]

New PFP pic! :D

I'm so happy how this came out, Zuli is one of my OC's I created an is a ship child of MK and Red Son and this drawing is by far one of my favorites I made of her.

Zuli Monktavius Ironfang is her name úwù

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 14: Chernasardo Warden

(art by Brett-Neufeld on DeviantArt)

Fantasy is full of specialists, those whose skills and talents lend themselves towards being able to handle different problems. This is the base premise of the entire class system that Pathfinder and many other RPGs use, to both its benefit and detriment.

However, when it comes to being a freedom fighter or a guerilla warrior, sometimes it helps to have a little bit of everything in your playbook for those times when you are alone and away from your comrades.

Which is the base premise of today’s prestige class, the Chernasardo Wardens!

Named for the southern region of the Fangwood in Nirmathas, the rangers and other specialists among this group fight to keep the region safe from threats the civilized parts of the nation will never know. Mostly this is monsters, but more and more their hunts involve Molthune scouts and the like testing the borders of the nation, and soon, will include hobgoblin forces in the coming Ironfang Invasion!

That’s right, this prestige class was introduced in the Ironfang Invasion AP, but I’ll try to keep things spoiler-lite if you plan on running through that storyline.

Essentially, this archetype is all about injecting a bit of ranger vibes into theoretically any character, no matter their class. It also offers some flexible “stances” and an experimental ability to recoup some of the abilities from your previous class at certain levels.

I’ve said it before, but I do like how a lot of the non-hardback prestige classes in Pathfinder (i.e., those that weren’t carry-overs from 3.5 or featured in one of the hardback books) are heavily tied into the lore of various organizations in the game setting, and these commandos are no exception.

And with that, let’s take a look at what makes them special!

The prerequisites of this prestige class are somewhat weird, because while it is possible to get into it as early as 5th level if you’re playing a full base attack class and spend your skill points well, it also has a very tall special condition. Your character has to defeat a foe that is overwhelmingly stronger than you (a CR of 5 higher than your level). Now if you read that and sucked in your breath through your teeth, you’re not alone but luckily, you don’t have to fight such a foe alone. Whether you lure a superior foe into a clever ambush that negates it’s advantages or participate in a larger scale battle and bravely contribute against it, that qualifies you to be trained in this prestige class as long as there is a Chernasardo ranger nearby to witness the deed.

In any case, these wardens learn what amounts to a crash course in primal magic, gaining limited use spell-like abilities rather than actual spells periodically as they grow in power. These star simple, with options like sensing danger, surviving in the wild or boosting physical abilities, but later improve with choices like creating fog cover and hazardous terrain, enchanting weapons to hit harder, healing magic, tree disguises, and even magical hideaways.

They also cultivate the stubborn bravery that caught the attention of their mentor in the first place, making it harder to affect them with enchantment spells, as well as drive to visit deadly reprisal against those that try such tactics against them.

One of the biggest boons of the prestige class, however, is their ability to choose a single other class you have and periodically gain the benefits as if you had taken another level in that class (sans the purely numerical increases to saves and attack)

They also gain bonus feats from a small selection ranging from increasing the number of held actions they can prepare to shoot to learning ranger traps, to improvements to dirty tricks, those that benefit hit and run tactics, and so on. All together it makes for an arsenal of techniques perfect for ambushing foes from cover and ending fights quickly.

And this brings us to the other big ability of the class, their guerilla tactics, a serious of abilities they can switch to on the fly as long as their resolve isn’t disrupted. These include getting free combat maneuvers by exploiting weaknesses in their foe’s style, sneak attack damage, being able to be more stealthy while sniping, and moving quickly and without fear of being vulnerable while climbing. Later on, this expands to include more actions when attacking from surprise and performing ranged dirty tricks with a bow.

They even learn to implement two of these tactics at once eventually.

Finally, their prowess is perfected so they move with agility through all mundane difficult terrain, and they can either add extra precision damage or strike fear into foes when they strike from ambush a few times per day.

This prestige class has a lot of good options for a base class to go into, but obviously those that focus even a little bit on survival and physical ability are the best choices (though a spellcaster could be very fun). The ability to shift between useful abilities on the fly and gain a few level’s worth of abilities from your original class can make for some fun builds. I personally recommend a versatile build that can do a bit of ranged and a bit of close combat as well, making full use of those guerilla tactics.

While the group this prestige class is associated with is very “border guard meets classic actual Lord of the Rings ranger”, it can just as easily be used with any group in your setting that aims to master the wild, from ranger groups to bandits, all depending on how you want it to be used.

The drow and dwarves have been at war for about 100 years now, a silent conflict occurring deep below ground that occasionally flares up, and the dwarves are slowly losing. However, they won’t go without a fight, for their territory is guarded by their wardens, who use the subtle tactics of their foes against them, striking from ambush and striking fear into them with bow and axe and hammer.

The party’s warden guide vanishes in the middle of the night, but surprisingly, he left behind a trail. However, if the party follows it, they find a recently opened barrow hill that has an ill aura about it. Further investigation reveals a slew of undead, including the reanimated organs known as a tekenu that strangled the guide. However, no sign of the creature that lured him away.

A powerful wish-granting artifact has been shattered, and the wild magic of the event transformed the shattered pieces into powerful unnatural monsters that now roam the wilds with their own agendas. With no way to track them on their own, the party must ask for aid from the Ghosts of the Forest, an enclave of rangers and survivalists who know the forest and it’s surrounding wilds better than anyone.

[enablerprime]

The beginning of my new vanguard slayer, Auria

[thecreaturecodex]

got any advice for new DMs? I've been playing as a PC for quite a while but I am nervous about running my first campaign

First order of business: don't panic.

Being a GM can be stressful. But at the end of the day, everyone around the table is there for the same reason; to have a good time playing pretend with their buddies.

I started GMing in a completely different age. Literally 25 years ago this year. So I imagine that some of the stresses and expectations that are on GMs now are different than they when I started. Like, I started running the Dungeons and Dragons in the 3.0 era for power hungry teenagers, who were often trying to see what mechanical tricks they could get away with to deal 500 damage in a round by level 10. Nowadays, for running D&D at least, one of the biggest worries I see from novice DMs is that their game won't live up to the expectations set by Let's Play series like The Adventure Zone, Dimension 20 and Critical Role.

Your game is not Critical Role. And that's okay. The high profile Let's Plays are scripted series made by entertainment professionals to appeal to a wide audience. Your game just has to make the 4-7 people around your table happy, including you.

So my first piece of concrete advice? Manage your expectations. My second piece of advice? Stick to 6 players max.

My third piece of advice is to figure out what you want from your game. Figure out what the overall tone of your game is, and what you want to accomplish with it. Do you want your game to be combat heavy? RP heavy? Lots of exploration and puzzles? A story with specific narrative beats? A more casual hang-out vibe sort of game? Should the characters come to the table with goals and backstories, or is this the sort of game where "Carric the Cleric; they heal people" is enough?

And then let your players know. One of my least pleasant recent GMing experiences was for a Pathfinder game where none of the players really knew what they were getting into. It was Ironfang Invasion, and the players voted to go for it, when I told them that it was going to be combat heavy, exploration medium, RP light. And then they proceeded to be unhappy with how much combat there was compared to RP. I tried to rebalance things, to some success, but that game fell apart anyway. In large part due to a player who refused to learn the Pathfinder 1e rules and resented that they weren't those of their preferred gaming system.

Some people just like to complain. So try to screen for those folks ahead of time. Personally, I prefer to be friends with someone first before running a game for them, because the vast majority of the player/GM conflicts I have had have occurred with people who I only sort of knew.

Also, on a related note, check for specific triggers, especially if you're running a published Pathfinder AP, because those tend to be Hard R content. One of the players in that Ironfang game I had been playing with for like two years at that point, he loved violent combat... but had a very specific trigger about skinning that I didn't know about. Running a module where the main villain's gimmick is that he skins his enemies. Whoops.

My last piece of advice is don't go into every game expecting it to be a long running story, especially if you're a brand new GM. Start with a one or two shot. If the players like it, figure out what they especially liked and lean into it. If they didn't, pivot.

GMing is absolutely a skill that develops with practice. So don't be afraid to practice! Have fun, and good luck.