Let's Make a Deal

My Heroes of Sandpoint Pathfinder campaign will be coming to a close in a few weeks and my mind has already moved onto what I'm going to do next. Likewise, my players are currently brainstorming what kind of characters they want to play and one of them has a concept for a Pathfinder character that might sound a little strange.

He has an idea for an elemental sorcerer who happened to be born blind. Wishing to give their child sight, they traveled to the land of Alkenstar and managed to have the engineers of the duchy extract his useless eyes and replace them clockwork ones. These new, technological eyes would grant him the darkvision ability that dwarves and half-orcs possess. 

Now, I like it when my players come up with interesting concepts and I always try my hardest to help them represent some of those concepts within the rules of the system that we happen to be using at the time. I also believe in making deals with players who want something for their characters because nothing comes for free. 

Using the above example, the players wants their character to have artificial body parts that grant them an ability that humans usually don't have within the d20 system. However, I don't want to give it too him for free. So, if he decides to use this character, I'd probably have him trade the bonus feat that humans usually receive and replace it with the darkvision ability. 

I really believe more Game Masters should be willing to make these deals with their players. All you have to remember is to make the player agree to a condition or make a payment in return for the ability.

For example, let's say your player wants to begin the game with a masterwork rapier that his father once forged for a customer with an extra finger on one of his hands. However, the father refused to give the blade to the customer and was killed by him for it. This blade is all the character has left of him and hopes to use it to kill the customer and gain vengeance for his father. A very original concept indeed.

Being the GM of this hypothetical player, I would most likely allow him to have this masterwork rapier with one, simple condition: they can never sell or get rid of it. Since this is the only thing the character has of his father's left and it symbolizes his current purpose in life, I think that's a pretty fair condition.

However, there should be a limit to this. You shouldn't make a deal if the only reason the character wants something for purely mechanical reasons. Also, you shouldn't make the deal if the thing the character wants would make them really overpowered or the equivalent payment would most likely make the character unplayable. For example, making a deal for a player who wants to be able to use finger of death as a spell like ability at will might be a little much.

Just remember to keep the deals in check and make sure the payments and conditions are equivalent to what the player wants. If you keep those in mind, making these kinds of deals shouldn't be problematic. 

Rest In Peace, Dave Trampier

Photograph of Dave A. Trampier

On March 24, Dave Trampier passed away at the age of 59. Most people within the gaming community probably recognize Trampier as the artist behind numerous TSR illustrations, like the original cover of the 1st Edition Player's Handbook and Gamma World. While he had a falling out with the company and left the industry, his name and work are still remember and celebrated to this day. You will be missed Mr. Trampier.

Art by Dave Trampier

Elemental Dwarves

Art by Beastysakura

While most of the community seems to favor the long-eared bastards more commonly known as elves, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for dwarves. I've always felt some strange connection with the bearded individuals and enjoy playing them. 

However, I find it incredibly annoying how dwarves seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes interesting reimaginings. Besides the occasional exception, almost every published campaign setting I've ever read has dwarves acting exactly like the ones found in Tolkein's works. 

So, I think its time to change that. 

I've been toying around with different ways to make dwarves a little more unique and different while keeping the core elements that make dwarves what they are. That's when it hit me. Why not make them pseudo-elementals? 

Long ago, when the world was young and life was still new, the deities that had created the mortal realm decided to create a handful of races that would act as guardians and caretakers of the world. The dragons were giving dominion over the skies, the fey were given the forests and fields, the mermaids would watch over the oceans, and the giants were given the mountains. 

While the giants were content at first to spend their days watching over their rocky domain for their divine masters, they eventually grew tired and wished to create servants of their own. Using powerful, primordial magics, the giants forged a species from stone and gave it life through divine fire. This race was the dwarves. Although the dwarves were excellent servants at first, they started to rebel agaisnt their giant overlords because the giant wizards had overlooked something when working their magic: they didn't realize the magic would continue to evolve and would eventually give their creations free will. 

Now, thousands of years later, the dwarves are no long under the control of the giants. While their kingdoms have risen and fallen during the ages, the race continues to remain strong and refuses to let their failures break them. After all, they were forged from stone itself and a literal fire rages inside of them. Dwarves are strong and solidly built, with skin colored stoney shades of black, brown, gray, or white. While all dwarves appear vaguely earthly, a few bear more pronounced signs of their elemental heritage skin that shines - like polished onyx or rocky outcroppings protruding from their flesh. The most pronounced physical feature of dwarves are the flames that extend from their heads like hair. While a warmth radiates from these flames, they strangely do not burn those who touch them. Dwarves usually possess eyes that are as black as obsidian or a fiery red. 

I admit, the "forged from stone" part isn't the most original origin for dwarves. However, I feel like you have to have that be apart of their origin if you want to make them pseudo-elementals. I basically took the physical descriptions of Oreads (earth elemental planetouched from Pathfinder) and azers and combined them for these dwarves. Mechanically, they are the same as your standard dwarf. 

Fantasy Fiction Tuesday: The Black Company (1984)

Last Month, I talked about one of my favorite fantasy sub-genres: dark fantasy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a high fantasy tale just as much as the next person. I just like grim & gritty fantasy stories more. Well, as long as they're well-written and don't become "grimdark."

While there are numerous examples of great dark fantasy stories out there (with a certain series by George R. R. Martin being the most obvious one), I thought I might go with something a little older and more classic: Glen Cook's The Black Company. 

The first of a series of novels that share the same name, The Black Company follows an elite band of mercenaries called the Black Company. After breaking the contract with their previous employer, the Company travels north to fight a growing rebellion which hopes to overthrow an evil empress known simply as the Lady and her powerful servants, the wizards known as the Ten Who Were Taken. 

The Black Company is a perfect example of dark fantasy done right. Unlike other authors, Cook doesn't seem to revel in the gritty elements of his story. Instead, Cook has his narrator (the Company's annalist and surgeon Croaker) present the story of their time in north in a somewhat dispassionate way, treating these events as just that: events that happen during wartime, whether you like it or not. I feel like that was the right way to go with this kind of story, and choosing to tell this tale as someone recording it for future members of the Black Company to look back on really works as well. 

Cook also does a fantastic job in the character department and introduces some interesting concepts. One of the most important elements to any dark fantasy story is a cast of character that we can like and care about (despite their actions). Cook does this by showing the camaraderie between the members of the Company and using the first person perspective. I also love his minimalist approach to worldbuilding, just giving you enough so you'll get the idea but leaving just enough room to make you wonder and want to learn more about those same elements. Also, I'll go ahead and say the Ten Who Were Taken are some of the most interesting villains I've ever seen and I love how mysterious and weird they all were. 

However, The Black Company isn't a perfect book. Personally, I felt the novel's pacing grew a little sluggish in the middle and it made reading those chapters a little difficult at times. While you could blame this on the fact that its basically someone recording the group's history and no one in the novel ever says Croaker is a particularly good writer, but it did make parts of the book a little tedious.

Even though the pacing wasn't perfect,  I still really enjoyed The Black Company and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dark fantasy, stories with interesting characters, or war tales with a fantastical twist. While you might have trouble with parts of the book, just keep reading. You won't regret it. I sure as hell don't. 

Pathfinder Legends: A Big Finish Audio Adventure

Who doesn't like a product with a cool warrior and some goblins on it?

Big Finish is a British production company best known for their work on the Doctor Who audio dramas (which are fantastic by the way and if you're a Whovian, you should definitely give them a listen). Not too long ago, Paizo announced they were working with Big Finish to produce a series of audio dramas based on their Rise of the Runelords adventure path. The first part of that series, titled Burnt Offerings, has finally been released. 

Burnt Offerings takes place in the small town of Sandpoint, located along the coast of the region known as Varisia. Four adventures (the wizard Ezren, the ranger Harsk, the rogue Merisiel, and the fighter Valeros) arrive in Sandpoint during their annual Swallowtail Festival. Unfortunately, the festivities are cut short when a horde of goblins attack the town. 

After defeating the goblins and saving the town, these adventurers uncover the truth behind the goblin's attack and a plot to resurrect an ancient evil. Can these brave adventurers put an end to this devious scheme before its too late? 

While I've only listened to a small portion of the audio drama, I've liked what I've heard and Burnt Offerings possesses the same quality that I've come to expect from Big Finish. If you're interested in purchasing this audio drama, you can do so here.

Three Unique Magical Weapons

Last year, I talked about making magical items more unique and I stand by the statement that your basic +1 longsword is incredibly boring. I'm definitely not the first person to say this and I highly doubt I'll be the last. Recently, I've noticed a few different bloggers posting a number of unique magical swords that anyone could use. I decided to jump onto the bandwagon and post a small handful of magical weapons as well.

These magical weapons were designed for the Pathfinder RPG, but it shouldn't be too hard to adapt them to other systems. I also tried to use more than just your typical swords. While they are iconic, there are more weapons out there and I wanted to give them some time in the spotlight.

Rukh-Shmekheh: Forged by a dwarven king centuries ago during a rather nasty war with an orc horde, this greataxe was made from a strange metal that was harvested from a meteor. The handle of the axe is wrapped in black leather with an orc skull with rubies resting in the eye sockets attached to the head. These rubies glow a bright red whenever an orc is within 100 feet and magically enhancing the wielder's fighting capabilities against said orcs. ((+1 orc-bane adamantine greataxe)).

Aga'Anguthi: This ornate chakram has several rubies embedded within the steel and the image of a drake eating its own tail engraved onto it. Aga'Anguthi once belonged to the leader of a cult dedicated to an exotic fire god, signifying his connection to said god. When the wielder says the word "aga", the chakram bursts into flames (which do not harm the owner of the weapon) and have the ability to return to the user once thrown. ((+2 flaming holy returning chakram)).

Eis: This longsword was belonged to a warrior who was once the bodyguard of a powerful cryomancer. After the wizard started to delve into forbidden magics and was driven mad, the warrior slayed his master with this very same sword. When he pulled the sword free of the cryomancer, the blade was covered in a layer of blue, sharp ice that refuses to melt and the sword always feels cold to the user. ((+2 frost longsword)).

Fantasy Art Thursday: "Shelyn VS Zon-Kuthon" by Yu Cheng Hong

((Click HERE to check out more of Yu Cheng Hong's Work))

Due to the amount of times I've talked about the subject on this blog, it should come as a surprise to no one that I have a strange obsession with fantasy deities and the religions that surround them. Whenever I purchase a setting book, one of the first things I read is the religion chapter and see how this setting handles it. When I create my own settings, one of the first things I work on is the deities and religions. With that in mind, it wouldn't be that big of a leap to think I enjoy seeing gods and goddesses depicted in artwork.

The above piece by Yu Cheng Hong depicts two deities from the Pathfinder Campaign Setting. For those of you who aren't familiar with Golarion, I'll elaborate. These two deities, named Shelyn and Zon-Kuthon, are actually siblings. Zon-Kuthon was once a good deity like his sister, but he traveled to the dark places between the planes of existence and was possess and tortured by an evil being. When he returned to Golarion, a violent fight broke out between him and Shelyn, who desperately tried to reach the brother she knew and loved that was buried deep inside this dark being. Eventually, Shelyn managed to wrestle away the golden glaive the two had shared as a symbol of their power.

I feel like Hong's piece captures that piece of Golarion histor perfectly. I love how he has depicted the differences between the two deities, both physically and with their surroundings. I also like how Shelyn has more of the glaive in her grasp, showing that she is currently winning the struggle for it and how Zon-Kuthon's scenery looks like its being pushed back by Shelyn's. Finally, it's just a really well done piece of art.