#this is a pathfinder supporting blog

[zarvasace]

I'm so dang proud of this, it feels like it's been forever since I drew something that isn't fanart. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but there's something about original work that feels freeing!

Anyway this is Raighbhearteigh (pronounced sort of like Rafferty, the Anglicized spelling), a luminous sprite alchemist/thaumaturge for my Pathfinder 2nd edition game. :) (My old character was getting way too unwieldy to play so I simplified. To alchemist. Yes. I love bookkeeping and support and I heckin love the alchemist class. Just in time for Treasure Vault too!)

[catgirlforeskin]

"even the most gentle suggestions that trying out other games could be good." ^ .... ?? "We should round up everyone who still likes DnD 5e and hold their faces down into hot coals until the smell of charred melting flesh suffocates our noses! Who’s with me!" "an rpg so alien to the design philosophy of DnD that hearing it makes cr fans’ heads explode into tf2 gore giblets" & you keep saying that you'd give people a list of other ttrpg's to play... and you don't. you just shit on stuff and whine. i don't even like dnd anymore because all the manuals are "big" but insubstantial and wizards of the coast are greedy and making the game worse.. but it doesn't mean you have to be rude to the people who still enjoy it.

You’re right, we don’t have to be rude to people who still enjoy 5e. We have to kill them

I’ve had several posts about other systems to play, usually as answers to asks I’ve gotten, if tumblr search worked better you could look on my blog quite easily. But for posterity’s sake…

Crunchier games:

-most similar to DnD 5e: Pathfinder 2e. All rules free online, extremely popular

-faster, high stakes cinematic combat with more flexibility in setting: Mythras

-apocalyptic survival exploration with good gun-based combat: Twilight 2000 4e. Easily reskinned for other settings that keep the same thematic core

-people will get mad if I don’t mention Lancer, it’s a mech game, I just think it’s okay personally.

Pf2e and Lancer are combat as sport while mythras and t2000 are more combat as war (explainer here)

Lighter Games:

-OSR: Old School Renaissance, this is a school of RPGs based on original DnD and adventuring with fragile characters defined by gear instead of abilities who should always fight dirty and creatively, trying to outwit opponents instead of engaging head-on. Mausritter and Dragonbane are my current favs, but there’s hundreds of games in this genre of all different kinds of themes. Favors GM rulings over written rules⭐️Great for people who already play 5e in a much more freeform style⭐️

-PbtA: Powered by the Apocalypse, a school of RPGs based on Apocalypse World. Strong mechanical support for collaboratively making your story at the table. ⭐️Great for people who prefer roleplay and narrative⭐️. People often recommend Dungeon World because it’s similar to old dnd, personally I just think it’s okay. Current fav is The Sword, the Crown, and the Unspeakable Power for Game of Thrones feeling stories, Fellowship is good for LotR style fantasy. Hundreds of games in this genre and the subgenre Forged in the Dark (FitD) for games based on Blades in the Dark. Current fav is Rebel Crown.

Closing thoughts:

-Umm suck me off :)

-Free League Publishing makes a ton of rpgs and pretty much all of them are good, I highly recommend anything they do. FIST is a fun osr and pbta hybrid. Riddle of Steel and its successors are cool rpgs trying to simulate real sword fights unfortunately mostly made by reactionary dipshits. There’s tons of unique rules light stuff outside of OSR or PbtA design space as well, go on the various rpg subreddits, go to rpg blogs, go to itch.io and explore. r/rpg is a great resource and I’ve learned about so many good systems from it.

-I hope this one shows up when searching my blog for rpg posts in the future so silly people don’t go “you never recommend games you’re just a HATER!” I love to hate but it’s slightly more fun to play good rpgs with friends than it is to be a hater online. Oh my god I didn’t even mention GMless games, good lord uhhh check out Quiet Year and The Zone okay love you all bye bye I want 100 5e player scalps xoxo

[anim-ttrpgs]

Hey just wanted to say that the work you do is really inspiring. I think the TTRPG community has needed an urban fantasy noir sort of thing for a little while and I really like the direction you're taking it in. Looking forward to stuff in the future!!

Thank you! Basically all our projects come from a place of need, each one being something that we wanted to play ourselves, but either it just didn’t exist, or the people who did do it didn’t do it to our satisfaction.

Since it’s our blog we can toot our own horn a bit, and yeah, the TTRPG community did need Eureka. The whole idea originally came out of our dissatisfaction with investigation and mystery-solving gameplay in most of the other more well-known TTRPGs that attempt to tackle this genre, such as Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green, and Gumshoe. They either make it too easy for bad dice rolls to get the party hopelessly stuck by relying too heavily of the PC’s skills, or make things difficult on the player by not giving the PC’s skills quite enough input, which can make efficient mystery solving very difficult across sessions with a whole week or more of real time in between them. (And it’s barely even worth mentioning that the most popular TTRPGs such as D&D5e and Pathfinder just plain cannot do investigative gameplay to any respectable degree at all.)

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy’s Investigation Point and Eureka! Point system, whereby each skill check to investigate something fills a bar on the character sheet until the investigator gets a “Eureka!”, which can be spent to retroactively gain information from an investigation skill check that they previously failed, as well as many other specific rules that are too nuanced to go into here but that you can read about in the free version of the rulebook, are part of our answer to that. As you are putting the pieces together in your own mind, so is your character, and this system acts as a failsafe, but not a crutch, to prevent a single bad dice roll from leaving the party totally twisting in the wind.

And I personally have always been really autistic about folklore, which is where Eureka’s unique approach to playable monsters comes in. No RPG had ever really done certain monsters to my satisfaction, particularly vampires. Folkloric vampires have a great deal of quirks and weaknesses that usually get cut from any sort of vampire media because they’re too “silly,” but I disagree. I want them all, and so when a monster is playable in Eureka, it’s its own unique experience, unlike playing anything else in any other game or even within Eureka. (I am very, very proud to say that a number of V:TM veterans have said that Eureka does vampires much better than V:TM itself.)

Not every playable monster in Eureka is 100% strictly folkloric, which was a bit of a struggle for me, but ultimately the small exceptions that were made make the RPG better, so I can’t complain, especially because we managed to weave some pretty cool themes into all of them, which I will touch on more when I finally get finished writing that big huge post about, well, Eureka’s themes.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is kickstarting from right now until May 10th! Back it while you still can!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[thydungeongal]

Heya! Your blog has been super eye opening and helped me actually voice a lot of my frustrations with 5e and dnd in general. Over the last 7 years I've been workshopping an original fantasy setting (originally for dnd) which I was trying to port to Pathfinder 2e since they share a lot of cosmology and general flavor text, which I'd borrowed from liberally. Are there any games you'd recommend that better lend themselves to themes of espionage, courtly intrigue, and/or bounty hunter style combat? I'd love to introduce my friends to a new game rather than keep trudging over the ones we keep trying to beat into the desired shape. I'm just not sure how much of my setting I'll have to rewrite if we finally do broaden our horizons.

Burning Wheel is a game that lends itself well to social intrigue and meaningful combat that doesn't drag, but it's also a lot to take in. It's an extremely crunchy game and takes a lot of time investment to really click, but it has a lot of support for playing characters informed by strong beliefs getting involved in political struggles. Its implied setting is heavily Tolkienistic though, so it would probably necessitate and a setting overhaul.

Mythras is a bit more trad in structure (it has a lot of mechanical parts that should be familiar from D&D/Pathfinder) but has a lot of broad support for playing fantasy games that are a bit more grounded than D&D. It's effectively one of the later versions of RuneQuest but without the RuneQuest name and the ties to Glorantha as a setting. What Mythras lends to the above: better support for characters growing through social skill use and not just power-scaling in combat ability (like, in D&D and its clones even when you're playing a social intrigue campaign characters will still mainly grow in combat power), and it also codifies organizational attachments, character beliefs, and passions. There's also a social conflict system in the Mythras Companion.

I think of those two I would recommend the latter: Mythras is a solid base to build on and is more easily adaptable to various settings. It's also a lot easier to wrap one's head around than Burning Wheel.

[crownedinmarigolds]

Welcome to my art/hobby/fandom/etc blog! My name is Kelsey, CrownedinMarigolds on Tumblr, and I've been on this website since 2012? Yep I'm an ancient being. If you're interested in supporting me or giving me a little tip for doin' what I do, here is my KO-FI! Zero pressure of course.

My favorite subjects to draw are primarily OC based, and the sandbox I play in is usually Vampire the Masquerade/World of Darkness! But of course I love all manner of TTRPG. While I have things I like consistently, I will reblog and talk about all kinds of different things that may be out of left field! This is my mish-mash blog, just be warned! I'd also like to shout out my true love, my muse, my baby-daddy: @thesixthplaneteer. He's a very talented writer and a lot of my work and his work are intrinsically tied together! Most of my OCs are drawn with his and his work provides some context for all the fun things I draw for us!

My art commissions are: open!

My quick-sketch commissions are always open!

If you're interested in commissioning me, please see my commission information here! Here are examples of my work//my art tag in case you'd like to get a feel of my art style before making a decision. I love a messy and painterly style so please understand that before reaching out! I am open to art trades!

Here is how I usually schedule my time when I'm working on commissions, in case you were interested!

Tag Guide (If you want to block or what have ya!) : I self reblog often, so it is under the self reblog! tag. I often reblog others' commission post under commission boost I post personal little dribbles about my life under personal Information on my various Vampire the Masquerade stories/Chronicles: The Poisoned Peach: ATL by Night - my actual VTM game I'm playing with my husband. It follows Khloe Osborne, a fresh Thinblood trying to navigate the vampire world without really knowing anything. She has a coterie and the Camarilla currently runs Atlanta, Georgia... but for how long? Wilted Roses - The overarching full canon to the plot of our World of Darkness. This is a mixed bag of information and stories that aren't necessarily in a Chronicle but flavor the world! Nyth and Noa are probably the stars of this overall story. OC Directory beneath the cut, just felt like making it!

My OCs:

Noa Hidalgo-Giovanni - my main OC, my Giovanni/Hecata necromancer! I will probably draw her across multiple AUs/fandoms so don't be surprised to see her.

Khloe Osborne - my current VTM/V5 PC in my husband's chronicle, The Poisoned Peach, ATL by Night! She is a Ventrue Thinblood, in a coterie with three other Thinbloods as they try to stop the Atlanta Camarilla from enslaving the local Thinblood populace! I also like to put her in Baldur's Gate 3 art too.

Parvati - another favorite character of mine. She was originally my first real Pathfinder PC that I played for a long time. I also started writing a book about her titled Crowned in Marigolds, sort of based on the Pathfinder world she had been placed in. She is now my Vampire the Masquerade Ravnos Elder who is in the Ministry/Followers of Set!

thesixthplaneteer's OCs (the OCs I treat like mine but are actually not!)

Dr. Nythanel Loken PhD- Elder Thinblood, the Thriceborn! The big favorite and Noa's other half. Cute and full of the audacity!

Ralph - The perfect man - a Thinblood that got cursed with the Nosferatu bane (lite). He's Khloe's boyfriend in my current Chronicle. Former Spec Ops but Embraced out of spite because he was hot. (Did NOT go well for the sire!)

Stakebait Coterie - The group Ralph and Khloe are a part of which also includes Christian and Kyle! The four best friends that anyone could have!!

[dailycharacteroption]

Marshal (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by Llyncis on DeviantArt)

A long time ago on the blog, I covered the six mythic paths of the mythic adventures subsystem, and that was lots of fun to look at. Now, however, we’re looking at a second edition archetype that shares a name with one of those paths, the only one to make that jump in it’s own way.

I think the reason why that is probably has to do with what they original mythic paths were originally. Most were pretty much “class or collection of classes but better”, such as champion or archmage. However, the marshal, well, certainly tactical buffing characters that do so by giving orders isn’t really a thing beyond certain flavorings of the cavalier, so someone probably guessed it would be good as an archetype in Second Edition (rightfully so!).

Despite the name, this archetype can be used with any sort of character in a leadership role, not just military commanders, though perhaps those in such roles probably make the most sense.

Either way, with the right force of personality and leadership style, these leaders can give the right command at the right time, and inspire allies to fight past fear and pain.

For the base dedication, marshals improve their training in either diplomatic or fear-based social skills, and their presence in turn assuages the fears of those nearby.

Some associated with the Firebrands learn to inspire allies to be clever with their wit.

Those who prefer to strike fear can inspire allies to become more deadly and fearsome.

Meanwhile, those that focus on being more inspirational drive their allies to act with more dedication and steadfastness, making their attacks more accurate and steeling their minds against those that would undermine them.

Marshals from Lastwall might inspire allies to better resist the horror and tricks of the undead.

With a firm shout and an appeal to their better nature, these leaders can attempt to snap allies out of mental effects.

Others use their commands to help an ally brace, better resisting damage and attacks to their body.

With a cadence call, they can set the rhythm of their allies movements, letting them move with surprising speed for a few moments, but by doing so, they end up slowed later.

Striding into battle, many marshals inspire others to keep fighting with their own mighty charge.

With their focus on combat, it’s no surprise that many marshals learn to strike when gaps appear in their foe’s defenses, punishing them when an opportunity presents itself.

They even support their allies while surrounded, preventing them from being flanked by all but the most thorough surrounding forces.

With a rallying cry, marshals might be able to spur allies to battle, moving into position or striking.

Some even work with their allies to topple foes over, gaining a distinct tactical advantage.

Charging into combat can also inspire allies to move and attack as well.

More talented marshals can improve their cadence to quicken allies without exhausting them afterwards.

Finally, ranged marshals may learn to fire their weapon at gaps created by their allies’ offense, compounding pain and injury against their enemies.

This archetype offers a lot of different types of combat support buffs with the flavor of giving orders and commands, all of which can be quite fun. And the best part is, any character with a decent charisma can make use of the archetype, be they mighty champions or fighters leading the charge, or tactical genius mages leading from the back and supporting with covering fire and magical buffs.

Now obviously military roles are the most common reason for why someone might have this training, but consider other possibilities as well, such as bounty hunter groups, organized bandits, ninja clans, or anywhere else where a group would benefit from obeying a tactical leader without question. Additionally, while marshals no doubt have a major role in battle decisions, one has to ask if they also fulfill the role of team leader in other situations, and if not, who does?

They say that the dread pirate Shalan is as terrifying to her crew as she is to her foe, but while she is a harsh taskmaster, she cares deeply for those under her, and has always been fair to them both in terms of shares and in what she demands of them.

Those who have only ever faced orcs in battle might assume that they are brutish and fierce, but while they put on a fearsome display against their foes with their war chants, they are equally compassionate during times of peace. Nowhere is this more clear than Ubo Elkcall. While he may be named for how his voice carries on the battlefield, his preferred focus is on using his arts to heal and guide his people.

On the young world of Agur, only the longer-lived peoples like elves, serpentfolk, and dwarves have begun to develop civilization, but even the primitive humans are developing in their own ways, becoming master hunters and farmers. Hunting mammoth in particular is extremely dangerous, so they hunt leaders are expected to be obeyed without question when the hunt begins.

[monstersdownthepath]

Got a bit inspired by the WotR CRPG's Lich path, but what changes, if any, would you make to the Lich template to fit an Archlich, from DnD's older editions (Forgotten Realms wiki indicates they were first mentioned back in 2e, and last in 4e, not very common though)? It may not entirely fit Golarion's cosmology of Undead = Bad, but I find the idea of a spellcaster going into Lichdom for altruistic reasons (like, say, needing an emotionless, painless, nigh-inexhaustible army to stem the tides of the Abyss) fascinating. If nothing else, it might get the Church of Pharasma more interested in a particular cause to get this Lich to up and die peacefully and willingly. And I mention 'changes' since apparently the process of becoming an Archlich was both more difficult, but could yield greater power. Although I can't really find anything to support this claim otherwise, can't find any pages on stats on the topic and searching up 'Archlich' just makes Vecna show up.

-----

Oh wow that's bizarre, I had no idea there was a Good-aligned Lich equivalent in older editions! I'm a little baffled by the fact they didn't think to name themselves anything more creative than just "Better Lich," but the implications of their existence and their creation process sort of does make them Better Liches. If what I'm reading here is correct, the primary difference between becoming an Archlich and a normal Lich is that a normal Lich takes shortcuts in their paths to power, forcing other creatures to bear the brunt of the trauma of their transformation, draining life and soul from others away to sustain themselves. Meanwhile, the Archlich must undergo a quest to discover a 'secret spell' and must learn every single spell required in the ritual; they cannot skimp on any detail, their ascension cannot be done another way, and carries a very real and very intimidatingly large chance that all their preparations are rendered meaningless and the ritual fails by pure bad luck.

Interesting! There's something to be said about the rewards that come from rejecting the path of least resistance.

Also, I wouldn't say Undead are always Bad And Evil, but as we've discussed at length on this blog, in the Pathfinder universe it's very difficult to be an undead that's Good-aligned and especially difficult to STAY good once the transformation is finished. Becoming undead for altruistic and good reasons doesn't change the fact that your soul will now itch to cause destruction and entropy. The urge can certainly be steered in acceptable directions, and in fact in the very video game you've mentioned it's one of the more powerful and useful Mythic paths for doing exactly that in the way you've suggested... but in-game it doesn't stop Pharasma from leering at you, and to complete your transformation into a full-power Lich in WotR you do in fact have to purge Good from your soul. Even your mentor, Zacharius, became a lich for an ostensibly good reason, only for undeath to slowly warp him into something ruthless and pragmatic.

... anyway, that wasn't your question. You asked what I would do to make the Archlich! The good news is that I do happen to have the book their stats appear in (Monsters of Faerun), stats I apparently never read or never found interesting enough to retain, but the bad news is that they're not especially different from a regular Lich, with a few notable exceptions:

--Archliches cannot be Turned by Good-aligned Clerics and are immune to channeled positive energy.

--Archliches have a constant Water Walk effect on themselves.

--The Paralyzing Touch of an Archlich sets the victim in a death-like state of suspended animation, during which the creature does not need to eat, breathe, or drink.

--Archliches can send their spirit outwards from themselves 3/day in a manner akin to, but not quite, Astral Projection.

There's apparently some more details in even earlier books, such as the ability for an Archlich to destroy any Undead being they create with a touch (presumably to end their service), immunity to the attacks and spells of any creature with 6 or less Hit Dice, and perhaps most impressively the ability to passively regenerate spell slots, but I do not have access to that particular book (Lost Ships) at this time to confirm for certain.

[seasidewanderers]

intro post time!

times someone at work called us by another name that's neither our chosen name, nor our anagraphical name today [21/08/2024] : back to 1 😔

we've had this blog for... around 3 years now I believe, and never made an intro post, so here it is!

we're the Seaside Wanderers, a polyfragmented/complex DID system. please call us alters or headmates! we go by Aaron, Ae/Ea, or Martin (pick a name, get one free!)

infamous Maternity Blackwood asker

we work in electric power&gas trading! ask us about it! weird ass job that your grandma won't believe it's a real actual job people do

(alter intros are under the cut along with other personal information)

no DNI, feel free to interact. if you'd have to break yours to interact with us, however, isn't the DNI kinda pointless anyway?

the meaning of our system name is nothing special; we all love playing LOTRO (the Lord Of The Rings Online, a MMORPG based on LOTR. highly recommended!) and one of the titles you can get for your character is "Seaside Wanderer". it stuck with us as we love the sea, love walking on the beach, and love how it sounds.

our alter tags are as follow for now, we'll update if someone else wants to participate in this blog:

#of rage and black tidings

#and no other choices

#tinker's curse

#vulpine era

#waterfront

we believe in endogenic plurality. we acknowledge it's a different thing from DID though, and also endogenic DID is NOT the same as endogenic plurality with DID.

CDDs [Complex Dissociative Disorders, a term that encapsulate all traumagenic and dissociative disorders such as DID, OSDD-1, P-DID, and those cases of UDD that cause systemhood] are trauma-based

we believe you can be plural without trauma, and you can be plural without a CDD, and that plurality isn't in itself a symptom of any mental disorder

we support informed and researched self-diagnosis

we support ALL plurals and ALL headmates! traumagenic, endogenic, mixed, median, empty systems, disordered, non-disordered, created, spontaneous, adaptive... I can't list all but I love and support YOU 🫵🏻 and I hope you're safe and having a good day, week, month, year and always! YOU deserve to feel good! yes, you! yes, you, person who might not agree with me, and who I might not agree with

personal, non-syscourse info here:

warning: flashing lights for a blinkie under the cut!

adult (turned 24!)

we work full time. we have a job in electric power&gas trading. we may talk shit about stock prices now and then

we're collectively gendervoid, trans/non binary neumasc-leaning, use they/them, it/its, and ae/aer pronouns, and are omni gay and queer

we are also physically disabled and neurodivergent, DID aside. we have chronic pain and chronic migraines, schizotypal personality disorder, and psychotic depression, so you might see us posting about it now and then

individual introductions for us alters (divided by layer)

this won't be all of us, just those more likely to participate in this blog. due to our system's nature as polyfragmented we wouldn't know all alters, either. updating this a few at a time so we don't get overwhelmed

Jackdaws

James, 18ish, he/him; fictive. annoys Edward for a living. very opinionated. caretaker 🤎

Edward, 23+, he/him; fictive. likes blabbering about his source and sing. pirate enjoyer, annoyed with the fact we don't own a sword yet. role anarchist/does whatever he feels like 🩶

Waterfront

Oscar, 300+, he/they + ae/aer; OCtive (homebrew Pathfinder 1e campaign), half-elf, sylph alchemist, vivisectionist/wasteland blighter archetype. I may talk about it sometimes and I like answering questions about it. I like my source a lot. married to Celain. trauma-related role, protector/persecutor 🩵

Celain (pronounced as Colin), immortal, he/they; OCtive (homebrew Pathfinder 1e campaign, same as Oscar), elf angel (planetar agathion to be specific), cleric angelfire apostle archetype. I follow Pathfinder's fictional pantheon, but I'm making it work with our religions and spiritualities. married to Oscar. trauma-related role, protector/caretaker 🧡

Finnegan/Tristan, 19, he/they/it; OCtive (homebrew Pathfinder 1e campaign teehee), kitsune, bard fey prankster archetype. I love talking about Pathfinder please ask me about Pathfinder like right now thank youuu. token extrovert. my role is to stay silly in these trying times 💖

[tortellini-time]

Pinned post

Hello! Im @tortellini-time

I like I like: Epithet erased, drawtectives, genloss, rusty lake, dnd, art, drawfee, the magnus archives, empires smp, spiderverse, avatar the last airbender, the kysohi books, minecraft, the webtoon nevermore, over the garden wall, the owl house, frankenstien, knives out and some other stuff.

I rarely post art, when i do it's usually nevermore webtoon fanart, and occasionally i'll draw peoples ocs.

Feel free to ask about my dnd campaigns/ocs i love to talk about them.

I will not share any more information about myself so please dont ask!

Also some very cool people made some art of some of my minecraft skins so im giving that a spotlight here! i thought it would be funny to pin it on a fridge.

(art by @ dinnerbug and @ neonflxme)

I dont have many tags i use, generally i tag magnus archives spoilers but sometimes i forget, i use #my dnd campaign for my dnd campaign and sometimes separate tags for specific characters, and #my oc mori for my pathfinder character.

Im ok with being tagged in picrews/uquiz/tag games but i may not answer them because i forgor.

I never reblog posts like "reblog if you support___", that doesnt mean that i dont support that thing, i just dont want the clutter on my blog.

Also my pfp is by @ undeadkyart

[proloser-spiral]

The other legends third wheeling because I think it's funny

Lifeline: They're the original Armageddon trio. She can't say she saw it coming but she can definitely see where it started. She's just glad Fuse has mellowed out a bit. She DOES get a little grossed out by the flirting sometimes, but DOC is there to support her through it.

Octane: Annoyed. They're so slow when they're oggling each other. see: art on my art blog ccat-harsis

Mad Maggie: I don't think anything has changed with her. She hates the two of them, they hate her. Doesn't matter to her whether they're Just Besties or something else. Bonus: When Bloodhound gets put on her team without Fuse, they will try and get information about his favourite things from his younger years in between jabs at her.

Gibraltar: He's vibing, he thinks it's cute. He'll pick them up and smoosh them together in a hug and ask when's the wedding whenever they're flirting around him.

Pathfinder: Bless his heart, he wants buttsmacks and kisses too. He has no idea. Fuse trying to explain like sure mate but like, between us it's different, you get that right? And Pathy just like ah. I get it. It's because I do not have a butt or lips.

Catalyst: She literally does not know any different. She's sure they've been married for years. She offers that if they want a room she could reinforce the door for them.

Valkyrie: atm I feel like she'd be trying to be good spirited about it but like... girly's not getting enough love from Loba so I think she'd be envious and come across a lil bitter. I feel like Fuse would be worried and maybe take her out for therapy drinks after their game

Bangalore: Literally just trying to get them to stfu and move. Come on people, we've got games to win.

Mirage: He feels severely ignored and will at every moment try and get a hologram between them. Please guys, please. There is more to life.

Crypto: Mostly ignores them. Will sometimes try and get information out of Fuse about Bloodhound, seeing as they're the one legend he knows least about. Fuse is like haha nice try mate.

that's all I've got

[terrors-and-tables]

As a way to give this blog some purpose, and give myself something to do, I’ve decided to start writing out my RPG musings in my spare time. I’ve been slowly working on a campaign setting for several years now, and it’s become a little creative space for me to hammer out a hypothetical kitchen sink to throw my fantasy ideas in. I’ll probably end up using it for a Pathfinder game (where I’ll finally get to use Spheres of Power/Might, and maybe even Guile), but I’ve thought about running it with an OSR game as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll run it over several different systems. Without further ado, here’s the first installment!

Post #1: The Ottoguard

This idea was created using Ultimate Engineering, the most recent (and final) Pathfinder product for Spheres of Might from Drop Dead Studios. I contributed a bit to the playtesting and had a great time, and its author spent two years fine tuning it, so if you're interested, go support them and take a look. At the time of writing, it should also be on the SoP wiki any day now.

In the core of the setting, the city of Scalmoor treats scientific advancement like its own fom of magic. They build marvelous contraptions of steel and glass, whether powered by tightly wound clockworks or by burning coal and spewing black smoke. In this city, the law is kept by those with the most money to build the biggest toys, and one such toy is the Ottoguard.

Standing at eight feet tall, an Ottoguard is a hollow sort of mechanical construct, but bears no magic or animating consciousness like a golem. Instead, a trained fighter pilots it, wearing it as a sort of incredibly heavy armor that carries itself. Ottoguards don’t do all of the policing, usually accompanied by a few regular guards who can do things like fit into buildings, move obstacles aside, bully civilians up close and personal, and so on and so forth.

Ottoguard CR 1 XP 400 Human Warrior 3 LN Medium Humanoid (Human) Init +2; Perception +5

Defense

AC 17; Touch 12; Flat-Footed 15; (+2 Dex, +5 Chainmail) 21 HP (3d10+6) Fort +5 Ref +3; Will +3

Offense

Speed 20ft. Space 5ft; Reach 5ft Melee Sap +4 (1d6+1 nonlethal) Ranged Light Crossbow +5 (1d8/19-20) Special Attacks Snag (Swift action, render target battered as melee touch attack)

Statistics

Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk ; CMB ; CMD ( vs. trip) Feats Extra Combat Feat Skills Craft (Technology) +6, Intimidate +5, Perception +5, Sense Motive +5; Racial Modifiers Languages Common SQ Gear: Mwk Chainmail, Light Crossbow, Longsword, Large Crossbow, MwK Large Sap, Potion of CLW, 8 gold pieces, 13 silver pieces. Martial Tradition: Mechaguard* Martial Talents (2 talents from progression, 1 talent from feat)

Equipment Sphere: Bounty Hunter’s Tools Armor Training Tinker Sphere: Transportation Package Mechanical Arsenal Transportation Mastery Wrestling Sphere: (Constrictor Drawback) Hammerlock Clinch Strike

Those stats above are for if our unlucky Ottoguard pilot is caught… off-guard. They’re there to represent what’s inside the fantastic mech and what he’s trained to do in a fight, particularly specializing in nonlethal capture- even when fully kitted out he’s here to apprehend criminals, not brain them. The crossbows are just for emergencies. So let’s break down what he’s capable of as a third level warrior, namely his talents:

His Equipment Sphere talents are there solely for proficiencies, for the Sap and for medium/heavy armor. The Athletics Sphere lets him run pretty quick (five times his speed in medium armor, at a hundred feet per round)- he won’t be able to outrun most people, but he won’t fall too far behind either. Tinker is much more complex, opening up an entire subsystem, but the bulk of why it’s there is to build and maintain his precious Ottoguard, with Mechanical Arsenal allowing him to outfit it with custom-crafted plate-mail for free, and Transportation Mastery allowing him to make an immersive cockpit that responds to his movements with a complicated array of levers and pulleys. Wrestling is there so that he can tackle a criminal and, if needed, beat them unconscious. It’s alright though, because even if it’s scaled up to be sized for an ogre, a lead rod wrapped in leather will still deal nonlethal damage.

Mechanoid Statistics: 4th level Mechanoid N Large Construct Init +2; Perception +5

Defense AC 24; Touch ; Flat-Footed ; (+9 Full Plate, +1 Dex, -1 size, +5 NA) 27 HP (3d10+12) Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +3 Defensive Abilities ; Immune Construct Traits

Offense

Speed 20ft. Space 10ft; Reach 10ft Melee MwK Large Sap +8 (1d8+5, Nonlethal) Ranged MwK Large Light Crossbow +5 (2d6/19-2) Special Attacks Snag (Swift action, render target battered as melee touch attack)

Statistics

Str 20, Dex 14, Con --, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk +3; CMB +9; CMD 21 Feats -- Skills Perception +5, Sense Motive +5, Intimidate +5; Racial Modifiers SQ 6 Upgrades (Arms, Legs, Cover*, Focused Design (+2 Str), Immersive Cockpit, Armor Slot, Alternate Size) *Free upgrade Gear MwK Large Sap, MwK Light Crossbow,

The Ottoguard, while piloted, can benefit from its pilot’s skills, feats, saving throw bonuses, base attack bonuses, et cetera, while keeping its own physical ability scores, armor class, and better weaponry, while also having its own pool of hit points. The pilot isn’t totally sequestered, however, and some parts of him are still visible, even if they’re behind hatches or a visor, and he may be attacked separately from the Ottoguard- though he benefits from Cover, gaining a +4 bonus to Armor Class.

An Ottoguard isn’t cheap, of course, but by the rules of Ultimate Engineering, Project Materials (for things such as mechanoids) may be acquired freely with time and successful crafting checks (DC 15 for 50 gold worth of material, +50 for each increase of 5, gathered over the course of 4 hours per check), meaning that by carefully sourcing and repurposing parts, the Ottoguard may be constructed from scratch by its pilot for free. This process of assembly and subsequent maintenance are drilled into pilots’ heads from day one. At a cost of 500gp for the average Ottoguard (100 per level, +200 for being large size), and about 100gp of Project Materials being acquired per day, this means an Ottoguard can be fully constructed in a week’s time (not counting the weekend of course). If in a proper settlement and in a real emergency, 500 gold pieces can be paid outright to acquire exactly what is needed almost immediately, after which construction of the Ottoguard takes 1 hour. All of this means that while Ottoguards are probably extremely similar on the outside (serving as somewhere between uniforms and police vehicles, they probably should), a pilot knows their machine inside and out, and there may be differences in the internal construction.

Ottoguard Adventure Hooks

1. A pilot’s Ottoguard has been stolen, likely to be reverse engineered by some enterprising criminals.

2. A pilot has been found guilty of illegally modifying his Ottoguard with blades, flame projectors, and stronger leg actuators. After causing several fires and deaths, he’s gone on the run with his new death machine.

3. A chaotic druid has caused trees and vines to grow over all of the city’s Ottoguards overnight, and has ruined the Ottoworks. With the city’s strongest defenders disabled, and Scalmoor’s stingy oligarchy unwilling to fund that many replacements immediately, the city is in shambles!

4. A mad tinker wizard has stolen the blueprints for the Ottoguards, creating one with an integrated Artificial Intelligence. It’s been going on its own patrols, blending in perfectly and disappearing before it can be apprehended. What is its purpose?

*New Martial Tradition

Mechaguard Equipment Sphere: Bounty Hunter’s Tools Armor Training Tinker Sphere: Transportation Package Wrestling Sphere: (Constrictor Drawback) Hammerlock

Inspirations:

FantasyNameGenerators is a wonderful site, and I used it to come up with the name Scalmoor

Appleseed (the 1988 OVA) is what really inspired this idea, bringing that movie's Landmates into a technologically advanced fantasy setting

[utilitycaster]

I've been playing pf2e since 2019. I'm a Paizo subscriber and I've been to Paizocon several times. I don't interact with the online community often (I don't like interacting with people online much, honestly), but I have made some posts on Paizo's forums and have spent some time on the pf2e Foundry Discord looking for - and receiving - technical support. Based on my experiences, I would not call the community 'rancid'. It's not perfect. We definitely have our share of grognards (tho a lot of them left when pf2e came out), I don't love everything Paizo the company has ever done, and I don't have much patience with the '5e is bad play Pathfinder' crowd myself. I'm sorry you've had to deal with them. But a lot of the pf2e community is just people who like a thing and are freaking out because that thing is under direct attack from its largest competitor (you yourself said Paizo is the main target of the new OGL). Some of my happiest memories are of the stories my friends and I have told together while playing pf2e on Foundry VTT. The idea that I might lose that because some suits decided they weren't making enough money is... upsetting.

Look, I am going to delete further defenses (or to be fair, attacks on, or any editorializing at all) regarding Pathfinder in my inbox going forward but like. This is about my experiences. I'm very glad you've had positive experiences. I believe it's entirely valid for people who play Pathfinder to be worried and upset about the potential implications of the OGL. I'll admit I am not terribly concerned about Pathfinder from a personal standpoint, but I do have an eye on it in terms of legal implications, and I have a number of concerns about the OGL 1.1 which I've outlined elsewhere. They are actually not relevant to this post. I was already pretty put off by Pathfinder well before the OGL 1.1 stuff, and I do very much include pf2e, because every single mention of pf2e I've encountered has been "5e is bad, play Pathfinder 2e". The people saying that specifically in the tags of my OGL post, or worse, spamming the tags of actual play D&D shows, have moved me from "generally irritated" to "I will never play this; I would honestly rather write my own game if nothing else meets my needs," but this is otherwise not connected to the OGL for me.

There is no way to cancel out how I feel by saying that you do not feel that way, because of the fundamentally individual and unique nature of human experiences, and so, on my own blog, in a post and a follow up that still, put together, have under 30 notes, I am going to say whatever the fuck I want about how I feel about the Pathfinder community. The fact that two separate people have looked at it and instead of saying "man, that sucks but it's not about me, so anyway, going to go have a good time playing Pathfinder", have felt the need to come into my inbox and wring their hands about the relatively tame and mild phrase "rancid vibes", is not helping matters.

[koalammas]

Tagged by @rochastocade

1. Are you named after anyone?

Not that I know of. Had i been amab, mom would have named me after the man she believed should have been her soulmate (but wasn't my dad). They met in Italy while she was interrailing and her wristwatch died when he introduced himself. (His name was Alex)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Around and after April 19, after hearing the news of Moon Bin's passing.

3. Do you have kids?

No, but I would love to have someday. I'm just not in a situation where it would be wise for me to raise a child, I feel.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

No, that's not really my speed.

5. What is the first thing you notice about a person?

Outfit and overall expression of self. The manner in which they treat me. (I mostly meet customers. You can tell instantly which ones are nice)

6. What’s your eye color?

Green. The type of annoying green that ya authors wax poetic abt lol you know what I mean

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

These two are not mutually exclusive. A satisfying ending is more important, but I would prefer if its also a happy one. I'm trying to watch more scary things.

8. Any special talents?

I can pop most of my joints. I love organising and categorising things for myself and for others. It's pretty difficult to deter me.

9. Where were you born?

Ivalo, northern Finland. I have not lived there since I was a toddler

10. What are your hobbies?

Gardening, bullet journaling, digital drawing. Tabletop rpgs (starfinder and dnd, we used to play pathfinder). Reading and trying to be more active in watching different movies. Id love to say video games but ive only really played The Sims 4 and Acnh lately. Running when the weather allows it.

11. Do you have any pets?

Not anymore, but I used to have an older gentleman miniature poodle who was too tall to actually fit the miniature category. I love him dearly. One day I would like to get another dog, probably another poodle. I love how particular they are about things.

12. What sports do you/have you played?

I used to compete in swimming until I started high school. I've also danced a wide variety of genres from ages 7 to 19, and attended a couple of national competitions for modern dance. I had to quit because my joints got too fucked up and I fell out of friendship with my back then bestie. Now I just run and do home youtube workouts because I don't like going to the gym.

13. How tall are you?

161 cm ish I think? Which is like... 5'3 or sth

14. Favourite subject in school?

I've always loved languages, and had incredibly supportive teachers both in finnish and English as a foreign language. Swedish as well, but I never quite clicked with those teachers on the same level hence why my Swedish is more ..so-so. Art obv. Honestly? Everything else except for maths, physics and chemistry I found enjoyable. Oh and .. social economics? Probably would have liked the subject but I hated the teacher. Aside from those, learning new things has always been a joy.

15. Dream job?

Honestly? Something that won't drain me and actually leaves me with savings and a will to live.

Bonus: any significance to your blog's name: its the finnish version of my main blog's url, koalamb. Literally just a mashup of two fun little guys who are both known to be .. not the smartest cookies out there.

Tagging @varsbaby @moviestarmijoo @zeesqueere @seekingthestars @sapphicshawol @alexanderfuckingwept @phoradendron if you're up for it, but honestly if you see this and want to do it you can say I tagged you xoxo. Feel free to ignore, but I'd love to learn more abt mine moots

[ivanovaisalwaysright]

Watch "WotC breaks their silence" on YouTube

Link to WotC statement: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1423-an-update-on-the-open-game-license-ogl

They've cut the royalties and the ability to claim 3rd party content as theirs. But they maintain the decision to replace the original ogl and make no mention of the being able to change it any time with a 30 day warning part.

___

Paizo (creators of Pathfinder and starfinder) and other creators are coming together to create their own Open RPG Creative licence (ORC).

https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6si7v?Paizo-Announces-SystemNeutral-Open-RPG-License&utm_campaign=893500_ORC%20PR&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Paizo%20Inc.&dm_i=4XTJ,J5FG,30BDLC,245YT,1

We believe, as we always have, that open gaming makes games better, improves profitability for all involved, and enriches the community of gamers who participate in this amazing hobby. And so we invite gamers from around the world to join us as we begin the next great chapter of open gaming with the release of a new open, perpetual, and irrevocable Open RPG Creative License (ORC).

The new Open RPG Creative License will be built system agnostic for independent game publishers under the legal guidance of Azora Law, an intellectual property law firm that represents Paizo and several other game publishers. Paizo will pay for this legal work. We invite game publishers worldwide to join us in support of this system-agnostic license that allows all games to provide their own unique open rules reference documents that open up their individual game systems to the world.

In addition to Paizo, Kobold Press, Chaosium, Legendary Games, and a growing list of publishers have already agreed to participate in the Open RPG Creative License, and in the coming days we hope and expect to add substantially to this group.

The ORC will not be owned by Paizo, nor will it be owned by any company who makes money publishing RPGs. Azora Law’s ownership of the process and stewardship should provide a safe harbor against any company being bought, sold, or changing management in the future and attempting to rescind rights or nullify sections of the license. Ultimately, we plan to find a nonprofit with a history of open source values to own this license (such as the Linux Foundation). 

[thydungeongal]

Hi, I'm someone who's only been a DM for like 2 5e homebrew games, is there a system you would recommend for a campaign featuring the following? :

1)Battles with larger groups where player actions matter,

2)quicker combat but with multiple interesting player options in low level encounters,

3) A magic system that has horror/gothic vibes, and

4) political roleplay/ meaningful non combat skills + encounters

I don't really know where to start looking as my only experience has been blades in the dark (little too freeform) and pathfinder (very shortlived oneshot). Really great blog btw loving the resources you've linked about different systems + dming styles

Hi anon! I sadly don't have anything that quite fits this recommendation, because I can think of many systems that fit one or two but not all of these requirements. I'll list some of them here.

Older editions of D&D and their clones are often conducive to combat with larger groups and quick resolution due to them not being quite as zoomed in as modern D&D, and depending on the specific game they can also feature magic tuned towards evoking feelings of horror and the uncanny, but they often have little in the way of support for political intrigue and also tend to have less emphasis on character skill. I think FORGE might be worth a look.

Zweihänder, a grim and perilous fantasy RPG, is basically Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay but without the Warhammer license. It's got support for alternate modes of play, including social challenges, but its combat system is also quite zoomed in, so it won't necessary fulfill the promise of quicker combat. I also don't have an exactly glowing opinion of the author, but I'm still willing to shout out his game because he's not, like, the worst.

Mythras, basically a setting neutral clone of RuneQuest. Things Mythras would lend to this style of play: combat that has meaningful choices, including the question of whether characters want to engage in combat, because that shit is deadly. Mythras has support for multiple modes of play, including social conflict, and its system of passions makes character relationships meaningful. However, its magic system is, by default, not exactly tuned for dark fantasy. Combat is also mostly "quick" in the sense that it's deadly, it is still quite crunchy and fine-grained.

These two are sort of out there, but I've heard good things about Heart and Spire by Grant Howitt, they are Forged in the Dark games of weird/dark fantasy, so I think there might be something good there? Normally I wouldn't recommend games I haven't had a chance to read yet, but I've heard so much good stuff about those two games I can recommend them based on that alone. Like, people whose opinions I value and whose tastes align with mine have shouted them out.

[nymposting]

So ppl have actually followed this blog which I did not expect dhfhfhfhfh so imma write up a small bio for my lad

Name: Nym Delakov (he/him)

System: Pathfinder 2E

Class/Archetype: War Cleric/Champion

Deity: Nocticula, the Redeemer Queen (formerly, Saloc, the Minder of Immortals)

Ancestry: Fetchling - a humanoid people that emigrated to the material plane from the Shadow Plane a very long time ago. He learned to speak Aklo, a language spoken by natives of the Shadow Plane, before he learned Common. This has resulted in a strong accent and mild speech impediment.

Description: Nym is just under 2 meters tall and, as described by his coworkers, built like a brick shithouse. He prefers to stick to the back and not speak, often coming off as a silent hulking shadow with glinting eyes lurking behind the party. Despite being a vicious melee fighter, he has a gentle nature. He is fiercely loyal and trusting to a fault.

Backstory: Nym is currently the oldest of eight children. As a teenager, he became a mercenary to help support his family. He ended up getting mixed up with a thieves’ guild, and worked as hired muscle for them for some time. At some point his conscience caught up to him, and he joined the church of Saloc, a figure of redemption, in an effort to change his life for the better. More recently the goddess Nocticula reached out to him, and he ended up converting to follow her.

Creatures killed by the party typically end up being cooked and eaten by Nym, or used as craft materials. He Does Not Waste. (not magical crafting, mind - more fiber arts, carving, mending, other mundane practical skills)

The events of our campaign have taken him and his cohorts on several excursions to the First World (Pathfinder’s Feywilds basically). Taking in the inherent magic of the First World is causing gradual physical changes in him. Currently the most prominent changes are working gills and opal scales on his nape. His physiology continues to be open to change basically as long as he keeps swimming in the waters of the First World and eating every tasty fey plant and critter he finds.

He has also encountered several fish that worship him? Or at least they’ve been calling him God. And telling other fish that he’s God. He has stopped correcting them.

This is a veeeery incomplete intro to the lad but I hope it helps put some of the vibes into context c: I’d be glad to tell more stories about him if y’all want - there is a TON written about him outside the campaign, and the campaign itself has been running since January, so the lad’s got a lot to talk about ^^