Gods and demons are a vital part of the swords and sorcery genre – as are their followers. Conan battles evil priests while swearing, “By Crom!” Elric surges into combat promising blood and souls for his divine patron Arioch. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser often find themselves pawns in the schemes of Nehwon’s conniving gods. …
Here in the Old Margreve, adorable woodland creatures are running hither and yon…FOR THEIR LIVES. That’s because Kobold Quarterly issue #20 is out today and this time the focus is on archers! With an all-new elven archer base class for Pathfinder RPG, a shadow fey hunting party on the prowl, and new arrows carrying acid, …
Q: My group has been discussing the nondetection spell and its usefulness against various divination spells. We’re divided into two camps, whose positions can be summed up as follows: Camp One: Nondetection works against all divinations spells, period. If you’re protected by nondetection no divination spell reveals anything about you unless the divination user makes …
Q: Is it possible to use the major image spell to emulate the effects of other spells? Most of us are aware of the three different types of illusions and that things like major image shouldn’t be able to deal real physical damage since that’s the realm of shadow spells, but we’re interested in your …
Q: Is it possible to “take 10” or “take 20” on an initiative check? You can “take 10” on a check only when you are not threatened or distracted. Combat, even impending combat, is both threatening and distracting. So, in general, you cannot “take 10” on an initiative check. I can think of one possible …
Q: Does a suggestion spell leave the subject any way to evade the spell’s effect? Once the subject fails the save, the spell works continuously and the subject seems to have little recourse. In a recent session, a player character gave an opponent (an active combatant in an encounter) a suggestion to “stand still and …
Entangled is a condition that represents a creature dealing with something stuck or entwined around its limbs (if it has any) and body. An entangled creature takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls and a -4 penalty on Dexterity, can move at only half speed, and cannot charge or run. Sometimes, an entangled creature cannot …
Need clarification on some mechanics in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game? You’re in the right place. Take a seat with veteran game designer Skip Williams. Not sure how a spell works? Curious why that monster does what it does? Trying to get your feats to play nicely together? Skip has the answer. Post your new questions …
Ask the Kobold: Were-bonuses and Laughable Actions Read More »
(This week’s column uses 3.5E rules. The next one, however, will be the first to use the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules.) Spell descriptions contain a great deal of standardized nomenclature that helps explain what each spell does. The questions presented here involve a few of them. Aiming a Spell Aiming a spell involves choose exactly …
That’s right, folks, Skip Williams will now be answering Pathfinder Roleplaying Game questions in his regular column Ask the Kobold! Is there some aspect of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game you’re a little fuzzy about? Did you just switch over from 3.5E and just aren’t sure how something translates? Do you just want to try to …
What are the differences between touch, ranged touch, and incorporeal touch attacks? What ability modifier applies to each of these attacks? All these attacks have one thing in common, the target’s armor, natural armor, and shield modifiers can’t defeat the attack (though incorporeal touch attacks provide some special cases). Enhancement bonuses that increase armor, natural …
How would do you adjudicate an unhallow spell when is has a silence spell added to it and the caster chooses to make evil creatures immune? My guess was that creatures save once when entering, and that the spell goes away when they leave, but they need to save again when they enter again. I …
Ask the Kobold: Unhallowed Silence
and Making Tough Calls Read More »
Why in the world is the shadow walk spell 6th level when teleport is 5th level? Is seems to me that shadow walk’s travel limit of 50 miles/level is less useful that teleport’s 100 miles/level. Besides, teleport is instantaneous travel, whereas shadow walk can eat up hours of game time. Why shouldn’t shadow walk be …
Is it possible to learn enough about a location through a scrying spell so you can teleport there? The combination of scrying and teleporting seems very potent and capable of breaking an adventure. Is there a way to limit this combination of spells without cutting them off completely?
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