Tableskills: The Proactive DM Voice

Deity: The Walker of the Wheel

“ Traveler! Why don’t you pull up a stone and rest your weary self, Come share a tale, join me in a song.  Between us there are as many miles to go as there are stars uncounted, but maybe we can number a few of them before we’re through”. 

Setup: There are some gods that demand the worship of all, who seek to spread their gospals to the four corners of the earth. Then there are the small gods, the humble guardians who preside over their little corner of reality and ensure those who journey through it are well taken care of. 

The Walker of the Wheel is one of the latter, a guardian god of roads, travelers, and the infinite horizon who protects those who venture far from home. Appearing as a broken down tramp, a traveling mapmaker, or an adventurous youth, the Walker eschews a concrete identity or even a name, preferring to intercede in the guise of a fellow wanderer rather than act through miracles or celestial agents. 

Holding no temples save for the small roadside shrines erected by fellow travelers, the existence of the Walker is lore held only by those who live their lives on the road, cobbled together out of scraps of road-lore and tales of secondhand encounters. 

Astral travelers are also known to draw the attention of the Walker, who holds stewardship over forgotten gateways between the realms. 

Adventure Hooks: 

Exhausted and woefully lost with darkness closing in, the party hears the plucking of an old guitar drifting across the landscape, leading them to a small campsite and the hermit who presides over it. The old codger offers them hospitality and a drag off his jug of barleywine, in exchange for their tales of adventure and woe.   When the party awakes in the morning, they’ll find the Walker gone and themselves a stonesthrow from their destination, having crossed valleys and rivers in the span of a single night. 

Those that impress the Walker are likely to be rewarded with good luck charms touched by a bit of his divine grace. Dented compasses that point the way home, guitar picks that conjure visions of the past when used to strum a nostalgic song, well worn walking sticks that allow for tireless travel over harsh terrain. These items all show evidence of having many owners in the past, as well as handetched patterns of stars and constellations. 

While generally a god of good spirits, the Walker cannot stand those who prey upon travelers, and woe to any robber or highwayman who draw his attention.  The party bears witness to this wrath when bandits attack their inn, hoping to kidnap and ransom a merchant who also happens to be staying there for the night. The Walker appears partway through this standoff, and with a strike of his stick dissolves the bandit’s leader into a pile of road dust. 

Titles: Our Old friend, Master Dust, The Starry Hermit, Wornboot Bill, The Roadwarden

Signs: Whirling Stars and Nebulas, music on the edge of exhaustion, dreamlike landscapes.  

Symbols:  Hobo Marks, Migratory birds, A long road beyond a gateway. 

Avatar/dollmakers

Here’s a list of various avatar creators/dollmakers/Picrews for writers who don’t draw, can’t afford to commission an artist, or who are just lazy, or procrastinating, or don’t have time, or … really, anyone. Sorry for taking so long to post it, I forgot this was in my drafts <3

I’ve split them into sources (aka which website they’re from) and I’ll write a short description for each that describes the artstyle, whether the characters you can make are gendered in a specific way, how varied the skintone options are, whether or not there’s a specific genre or clothing style expressed, like fantasy or sci fi etc, and how much of the character you can see (headshot, bust, half-body, fullbody etc), and how many body types are available.

I should also mention that there are hundreds, probably thousands of these things, so if you don’t like my selection, feel free to go to these websites I’ve linked and see for yourself! Unfortunately the death of Flash has impacted a lot of dollmakers so not everything that seems cute in thumbnails will work.

Putting under a cut in case of link rot or potential future updates.

Keep reading

Figuring out your OC's 'voice' and physicality/characterization

I often struggle with creating distinct characters, so I came up with some questions about your OCs that I haven't seen in any other lists.

I recommend answering these for each character once you've already spent some time with them on the page.

What irks other people about the way they converse?

What kind of conversations do they usually have?

Are they a good listener?

How do they react to confrontation?

How do they react to being corrected?

How do they correct others?

Do they tend to speak in long sentences, short & clipped sentences, or somewhere in between?

How likely are they to heed social cues when talking to others?

How likely are they to use body language rather than words to express discomfort and other emotions?

Do they care more about getting their way, or more about how others feel?

What's their favourite skill?

What niche thing are they competent at?

What trait immediately draws them to other people?

What trait immediately repels them?

Even if they haven't met (or even if they're not even in the same universe!), what would your other OCs' first impression of them be?

What makes them angry?

What makes them sad?

What makes them happy?

What's their posture like?

How do they want others to see them?

How do they move through a room?

Do they prefer being barefoot, and if not, what kind of footwear do they usually like best?

What kind of climate do they prefer?

What would make them distrust somebody?

What would they consider the greatest betrayal?

Monster hunt: Goudslok the Gorger 

“ Fellers, yer not going to ‘alieve this, but I was siftin through all this pickrel and I think I found me ol’ keys, how’d ya think they ended up ‘ere?”

Setup: The gnomish village on the shore of a great lake is seasonally plagued by the appearance of a tremendous golden carp. Nicknamed “the gorger” by the locals, this golden monstrosity emerges from the depths to devour all the fish at the height of the catching season before returning to the muddy deep for another year. 

Furious after years of plundered nets, a fishergnome by the name of Lennart Trawley has found the biggest boat he could, gathered a crew full of cousins, and stockpiled an arsenal of harpoons and cable. He’s still looking for a few strong backs to aid in his Ahabic vengeance quest and the party look like viable candidates for a pressganging.  

Adventure Hooks

While the Gorger is an easy enough quarry to find, catching it is another matter. The massive fish is capable of splintering hulls with a slap of its tail and causing weaker vessels to tip over with its trashing. What’s more, no mundane line or net is capable of holding the creature, as it seems preternaturally able to break any bond forced upon it. If the party manages to pick themselves up out of their first sodden defeat, they may wish to seek out artisans capable of crafting unbreakable or otherwise enchanted fishing gear, perhaps a blacksmith that works in adamantine or a fey tinker who can spin a promise into a rope? 

Not one to waste a good catch, Trawley and his crew will pull Goudslok’s body to shore for the butchering, revealing a belly full of still-wriggling fish as well as a trove of strange objects The gorger has seemingly scavenged off the lakebed. loose coins and gemstones, bewitched items, even a still-locked treasure chest, a portion of wish the party will be allotted a share based on their participation, along with as much fish as they can carry. Some of these items include: the ring of a rivergod who’d very much like it back, oddly familiar keys that open doors to places they shouldn’t go, and a weighty, invulnerable breastplate that compels its wearer to go swimming against their better judgement.  

Goudslok is not a normal fish, as anyone can tell, but few could guess that its true origin lays somewhere in the feywild. To be swallowed by this great, glimmering beast is to be spat up on those shores of primal wonder, as the party may discover should their hunt go very, very badly. Likewise, slaying the beast in the mortal realm is not enough, as it will continue to return each year unless slain in its home domain. Doing so is easier said than done, and may require bargaining with whatever fey lord keeps the now miniaturized gorger as a pet. 

My DnD headcanon is that 5e Dragonborns actually work in a similar way to TES Kahjiits.

Depending on the temperature their egg was kept in before hatching, they can be one of four things:

A standard PHB Dragonborn.

An elf-like humanoid, with minor details like colored scales near their eyes or sharp fangs.

A medium-sized, wingless, dragon.

A tiny lizard.

All of this involves no actual change to the official rules, your Dragonborn just looks weird, that's it.

The swirling blade glows with flame, imbued with powers of metallic magic powered by the genasi’s ancient ancestors. As she chops the treants to bits with her scorching magical strikes, the smell of bonfire reminds her of home.

I have always loved forge-based subclasses, and really I think only forge domain cleric currently does the theme much justice among official classes. I figured that sorcerer becoming a whirling gish of metal and magic seemed like a good way to start! The updated homebrewery link is here, while the permanent PDF of the above image is here. Hope you all enjoy, and please leave your comments and feedback!

Pathfinder 2e New Player Resource Masterpost

Hey there! Looking to get into PF2e? You’re making a great decision, but you may not know where to start! I’ve put together a handy list of resources you can consult while getting into the game. As always, if you ever have questions about PF2e, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I love this system, and I love helping new players!

Official Resources

The Archives of Nethys are the official host for the PFSRD. You can find ALL of the rules of the game for free there. Literally everything that is not Golarian specific is on the Archives, and all of it is laid out incredibly well. It may not look quite as flashy as beyond, but its search functions and layout are superior. 

If you buy one product from Paizo as you get started, I HAVE to recommend to BEGINNER BOX. This thing is fantastic. It simplifies the rules, gives you GORGEOUS character sheets that highlight all of your abilities, and have a fun little adventure that dovetails nicely into either their Troubles in Otari or Abomination Vaults modules. (As someone who has run both of those now, they’re both fantastic as well and I highly recommend them.) 

Beyond the Beginner Box, I would also suggest picking up a Core Rulebook. It is true that all of the rules information is already laid out in the Archives, but having a CRB on handd is nice for the art, plus the book is laid out incredibly well. If you can’t afford a CRB at this time, though, you’ll still be good! You might also watch for Humble Bundles, as they often have great Pathfinder packs on there, and sometimes it includes Physical CRBs, in addition to a load of other great PDFs. 

When looking to GM, I recommend the following pages in the CRB first. I’ve also linked the corresponding Archive pages: 

Introduction, Pages 7-31. This will give you the rundown on key terms, how characters are created, the base flow of the game, and the action system (the best part of pf2e!)

Playing the Game, Pages 443-481. This is the longest section of the rulebook to read, but there’s a lot of great stuff in here. This will give you the rules for checks, combat, conditions, resolving actions, and the differences between encounter, exploration, and downtime mode. The most important is encounter and exploration mode, so you can feel free to only skim the downtime mode section of this part. 

The Gamemastering section has a lot of great stuff, but for a GM, your two most important sections will be the following:

Encounter Building, pages 488 and 489. The rules for building encounters work in this system, and they work WELL. Obviously, environment, terrain, and how a specific groups strengths and weaknesses compare to a monster affect things, but if you budget a moderate encounter, it can be expected to be moderate. Just be sure you recognize that Moderate encounters are still meant to be challenging in this system, and Severe encounters are potentially deadly. Extreme encounters should be used incredibly sparingly. Maybe 1 or 2 times per campaign.

DC Charts and Adjusting DCs. Pages 503 and 504.  If you ever need a quick DC, these charts are your friend. You don’t need to memorize them, but you’ll want to have them in an easy-to-reference spot.

Youtubers

There are a lot of great youtubers for PF2e. I’ll only be highlighting a few of my favorites here!

How It’s Played  is probably the best resource for a new player, and helped me a ton with all of the rules when I started GMing. They do close looks at different subsystems, and clearly break down how the rules apply. You don’t need to watch all of their content before you jump in and play, but if you watch a few of their main series on PF2e between each session, you’ll be a rules master in no time! 

I also really enjoy The Rules Lawyer. He always has well-reasoned takes on things going on in the hobby, and and has an enjoyable calm/measured tone. I highly recommend his “Combat Tactics” videos, as he highlights some of the major differences with 5e and what things are now expected to survive. A lot of common 5e tactics are a way to a quick death in PF2e, but you do have the tools to survive!

The final Youtuber I’ll be highlighting is Nonat1s. He’s puts out quite a variety of videos, including skits and other fun things, but is also a wonderful ambassador for the game and gives great character advice as well. I want to highlight his “Welcome to Pathfinder Second Edition” video, which is just perfect!

Other Resources

I can’t create a list of resources without calling out Pathbuilder! It is hands down the best character builder, and its available on desktop and mobile. It’s mostly free, with a small donation being required to unlock premium features. At this time, there is no crossover between the web app and desktop besides being able to save and access characters from google drive.

The Pathfinder 2e Subreddit  is a wonderful community of people, and it’s a great place for discussion. There’s weekly question megathreads, discussions about releases, people highlighting great builds and fun things in the system, and it’s probably the quickest place to keep track of announcements. There’s also a lot of love for 3pp there!

Speaking of 3pps, I LOVE the Battlezoo line! One of my players is OBSESSED with dragons, and they have a whole book that was tailor-made for him, and it’s incredibly balanced and fun. They’ve also got a whole bunch of other cool stuff that’s been kickstarted and will be releasing soon. 

What VTT should you use if you’re playing online? My hat is thrown into the ring for Foundry VTT. It’s my VTT of choice. It’s wildly powerful with the Pathfinder 2e system, and a wonderful community of devs have gotten the system almost entirely automated so you can focus on RP! It’s a breeze as a GM as well, and the only difficulty is in self-hosting, but even that isn’t too bad. Their site has a great set of guides, starting HERE with the ways you can host. If you choose to self-host, you only need to make a 1-time payment of 50 dollars for the software, and only one person needs to actually do the hosting. Split between a group? That’s incredibly affordable, especially considering there is no subscription!

I’m gonna shout MYSELF out here. I put together a List of Actions you can take in combat that isn’t just moving or attacking. Coming from 5e, it can be easy to get stuck in the loop of move and attack, but there are so many more options, and those options are very crucial. This isn’t comprehensive, but covers the basics characters can have access to with only minor skill investment.

More Non-Monetary Rewards

People seemed to like the previous list, so I thought I’d make some more.

Honorary Titles (courtesy of Vlad)

Free passage aboard any vessel in the fleet

A scroll of any spell the court wizard can cast

A manual outlining the fundamentals of the local language

A portion of land with a fixer-upper of a keep

The finest hound from the kennels

A large, unidentified, jewel encrusted egg

The captain of the guard as a retainer

A map detailing the location of a mythic treasure

The book of vile darkness

A willow extract that cures headaches

A book of coupons (near expiry)

Web Spinner Conclave: Ranger

Time to become your local neighbourhood, web-swinging hero.

[G Drive Link]

Looking for a random cause of death for a character? Click here.

Looking for a random city? Click here.

Looking for a random city that people have actually heard of? Click here.

Need a random surname for a character? Click here. (They also give prevalence by race, which is very helpful.)

Helpful writing tips for my friends.