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Monday, May 31, 2021

Collected Easy Hybrid Races PDF


Greetings all!

At the bequest of T. Bunting, who hunted me down on Facebook, I have collected all seven "Easy Hybrid Races" articles into a single PDF document. If you would like a copy, you can download it from this link. I will also include a link to it in the Pathfinder RPG Links section of the RPG Links page.

Sincerely,

Tim Wallace

Monday, February 26, 2018

Rogue's Field Guide: Rare Races on DriveThruRPG

Greetings all!

I am excited to announce that in the two weeks since it has been published, Rogue's Field Guide: Rare Races has received two reviews on DriveThruRPG, with an overall rating of 4.5 stars. Feel free to pick up a copy and tell us what you think. You can pick it up at DriveThruRPG.com, RPGNow.com, or RogueRobotStudios.com.

--Tim


Tuesday, February 20, 2018

New 5e Character Sheet

Adam Frank (frequent co-author of the fluff to my crunch) recently got me back into 5e, and after spending some time with the standard character sheet, I couldn't help but brainstorm some ways to make it better (for me, at least). Here is a link to the new 5e character sheet I created. Please enjoy! 

--Tim

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Product Spotlight: Rogue’s Field Guide: Rare Races

by Tim Wallace

Hello, Readers! Yes, I know, I lost my job, and after promising a return of at least every-other-week posts, I disappeared. I am sorry. I will not bore you with excuses.

Today, I want to share with you the main project I worked on while unemployed, which will finally be seeing the light of day, the Rogue’s Field Guide: Rare Races. Shortly before I was laid off, Rahul Kanojia of Rogue Robot Studios, a fan of this blog, contacted me about contributing to a project he was developing. Having had a rough development and publishing process with my second project for a third party publisher, the Martial Arts Guidebook (which got a new 5-star review this past December, yay!), I was a little gun-shy about developing material for someone else again; but he said I would get to design new races, which I love, so I ultimately said yes.

Here is the publisher’s blurb about the book:
Join us in the adventure!
Break free and explore brand new, untold possibilities with the Rogue’s Field Guide 1: Rare Races. Inside you will find twelve brand new, original and rare races, ready to bring some wild action to your next game of Pathfinder. Come fight for the fate of worlds as the planar-touched branchads. Come explore hidden wastes as a khartajan, one of the sword-horned, lords of the desert.  Brave the vast labyrinths and cavernous realms of the world as an iwaningen. Flip the page to encounter the obscure and enigmatic pallesytes, shining star-children that hail from dark corners of the cosmos. Unleash your wild side with the totem animal revering tiervesen. And if they don’t excite you enough, come take a wild ride exploring the world as one of the rough, tough and rugged roughriders known as a verechelen. All of these races and more await you to take the plunge into the Rogue’s Field Guide 1: Rare Races.
This 283-page supplement features:
·       12 playable races, all created using the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide
·       13 racial archetypes for popular classes!
·       13 ready to play and insert Iconic Characters with complete stat blocks for levels 3, 6 & 12 ready to insert directly into your next game of Pathfinder.
·       A special Racial Template to apply a mind-bending twist to your next character!
·       Favored class options for all races included as well as racial deities and expansive lore for each race.
Break free with these new races today!

One of the races that I enjoyed developing the most were the branchads (pronounced BRAHN-CHUHDZ). This is a much-varied race of native outsiders descended from neutral-aligned planar races, much as tieflings are descended from evil-aligned planar races and aasimar are descended from good-aligned planar races. Here are the base racial traits for the branchad race.

Branchad.png
Artist: Naiche Washburn aka Aggroart; © 2015, Rogue Robot Studios, used with permission
Standard Racial Traits
·       Flexible (2 RP): Branchads are exalted for their innate insight and eclectic knowledge. Branchads characters gain +2 Wisdom and +2 Intelligence.
·       Type (3 RP): Branchads are outsiders with the native subtype.
·       Size (— RP): Branchads are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
·       Speed (— RP): Branchads have a base speed of 30 feet.
·       Languages (— RP): Branchads begin play speaking Common and any outsider-derived language of their choice. Branchads with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following:  Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, D'ziriak, Draconic, Infernal, Protean, and Sylvan.

Defense Racial Traits
·       Planar Resistance (3 RP): Branchads have cold resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits
·       Skilled (4 RP): Branchads receive a +2 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks.

Magical Racial Traits
·       Spell-Like Ability (2 RP): Branchads can use blur once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the branchad’s character level).
·       Axial Magics (2 RP): A branchads with a chaotic alignment adds +1 to the DC for all saving throws against spells they cast with the chaotic spell descriptor and takes a –1 penalty on saving throws against spells cast against them with the lawful spell descriptor. A branchad with a lawful alignment adds +1 to the DC for all saving throws against spells they cast with the lawful spell descriptor and takes a –1 penalty on saving throws against spells cast against them with the chaotic spell descriptor. A branchad with an alignment that is neither chaotic nor lawful gains a +1 racial bonus on saving throws against spells cast against them with either the chaotic or the lawful spell descriptors.

Senses Racial Traits
·       Darkvision (— RP): Branchads can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

TOTAL RP: 16 RP

In addition to the base racial traits for the branchad race, I got to design a bunch of racial heritages from specific neutral-aligned planar races, three of which I will showcase here.

Aeon-Blooded: (Equalists)
·       Ancestry: Aeon
·       Typical Alignment: N
·       Ability Modifiers: +2 Str, +2 Wis
·       Alternate Skill Modifiers: Knowledge (planes), Perception
·       Alternate Magic Trait: Aeon-blooded gain calm emotions as a spell-like ability usable once per day.

D'ziriak-Blooded (Hivebrood)
·       Ancestry: D'ziriak
·       Typical Alignment: N
·       Ability Modifiers: +2 Con, +2 Cha
·       Alternate Skill Modifiers: Knowledge (arcana), Use Magic Device
·       Alternate Magic Trait: D'ziriak-blooded gain flare burst as a spell-like ability usable at-will.

Psychopomp-Blooded (Wayfarers)
·       Ancestry: Psychopomp
·       Typical Alignment: N
·       Ability Modifiers: +2 Str, +2 Wis
·       Alternate Skill Modifiers: Perception, Sense Motive
·       Alternate Magic Trait: Psychopomp-blooded gain deathwatch as a constant spell-like ability.

For the full write-up on the branchad race and the 11 other races available in the Rogue’s Field Guide: Rare Races, be sure to pick it up on DriveThruRPG.com, OpenGamingStore.com, Paizo.com, RPGNow.com, or the Rogue Robot Studios store on February 12th.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Trade Wizard (Arcanist and Wizard Archetype)

Greetings Faithful Readers,

If we have been wondering where we haven't been posting the past few months, I will tell you. I lost my job. And while that would seem to make more time for writing and posting blog posts, it actually turns your schedule into a maelstrom of chaos. Anyways, my co-conspirator, Adam, kept bugging me to get my act together, and now weekly or every-other-week blog posts will resume. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
Tim Wallace

Illustration by NathanParkArt and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. (original image)
Trade Wizard
by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Covered in various powders, oils, and inks, the Trade Wizard is a master craftsman. While many magic users are able to create the mystic from the mundane, the Trade Wizard has honed their crafting to an art form. They specialize in outfitting themselves and others for the various trials of adventuring. It is often said that a Trade Wizard is never caught unaware and this has certainly proven to be true. The knapsack of a Trade Wizard, while often a powerful magical dweomer in itself, holds countless mysteries of the arcane ready to help the arcanist out in a heartbeat.
Some Trade Wizards prefer to settle down and create a shop of magical wares and goods. These individuals are known for taking old junk like worn out boots, rusty old swords, or well-worn armors and breathing new life into them. They will buy items from almost anyone and turn around to sell it back with some new enchantment or another, always turning a tidy profit.
Always willing to bark their wares, the Trade Wizard is constantly carrying a plethora of scrolls and potions for various occasions and are always willing to help someone in need for the right price. A Trade Wizard seems to always show up at the right time to offer a magical solution to a problem, should one arise. 

Trade Wizard (Arcanist or Wizard)
While oftentimes underappreciated, the Trade Wizard can be useful anywhere and at any time due to how prepared they tend to be. They have created both some truly wondrous items and some terrifying cursed charms. It is said even that some of the most powerful Trade Wizards can store pieces of their souls in the wonders they craft, imbuing them with sentience.
Bonus Feat: At 1st, 9th (or 10th level if she is a wizard), and 15th level, a trade wizard gains a bonus item creation feat from the following list: Brew Potion, Craft Magical Arms and Armor, Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, or Scribe Scroll. At 9th level, the following feats are added to the list: Craft Rod, Craft Staff, and Forge Ring. A trade wizard need not have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them. This replaces the arcanist exploits gained at 1st, 9th, and 15th levels for an arcanist, or the Scribe Scroll feat and the bonus feats gained at 10th and 15th levels for a wizard.
Master Artificer: At 5th level, a trade wizard receives a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks, and may create magical items much more quickly than normal.  Whenever a trade wizard makes magical items using Spellcraft, use the item's gp value as its sp value when determining his progress (do not multiply the item's gp cost by 10 to determine its sp cost). This replaces the arcanist exploit gained at 5th level for an arcanist and the bonus feat gained at 5th level for a wizard.


Friday, July 15, 2016

Faerie Bestiary: Caterpillar

by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Caterpillar
Sitting on a giant leaf is a small blue caterpillar. You observe him smoking a hookah and he looks at you. In a smooth heavy baritone he says “recite.” You aren't sure but you think you may have also seen the smoke from the hookah spell out “recite” as well.


Caterpillar      CR 11
XP 12,800
CN Small magical beast
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15
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DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 24, touch 14, flat-footed 21 (+3 Dex, +10 natural, +1 size)
hp 133 (14d10+56)
Fort +13, Ref +15, Will +9
DR 5/cold iron; Immune illusions
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee slam +14 (1d4-1)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +19)
   Constant—prestidigitation
   At will—ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, ventriloquism (DC 16)
Special Attacks bardic performance 35 rounds/day (swift action; countersong, fascinate (DC 22), inspire competence +4, inspire courage +3, suggestion (DC 22))
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 9, Dex 22, Con 19, Int 17, Wis 6, Cha 20
Base Atk +14; CMB +12; CMD 28 (can't be tripped)
Feats Battle Cry, Discordant Voice, Esoteric Linguistics, Orator, Skill Focus (Linguistics), Skill Focus (Perform [oratory]), Voice Of The Sibyl
Skills Acrobatics +3 (-5 to jump), Bluff +6, Climb +21, Craft (poetry) +17, Diplomacy +6, Linguistics +23, Perception +15, Perform (oratory) +26
Languages Abyssal, Boggard, Common, D'ziriak, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Infernal, Orc, Protean, Sylvan, Tengu, Treant, Undercommon
SQ bardic knowledge +7, madness
Other Gear bag of holding II, traveler’s hookah (value 1,500 gp; Alchemy Manual), writer's kit (chronicler's kit)

The Caterpillar is a strange denizen of Wonderland. The only one of his kind and yet many have professed to see him transform into a butterfly. There are a few theories for this, the most common one being that he may be a magic user of some sort who prefers the larval form of a caterpillar for whatever reason. Another common theory is that there is in fact a genus of caterpillar in Wonderland that all smoke hookah and speak with passerby condescendingly.
For reasons unknown, the Caterpillar refuses to side with the Queen of Hearts and tends to keep to himself. He does, however, enjoy the company of passerby and will often try to wrangle them into some sort of conversation, oftentimes by asking the passerby to recite something or tell him a riddle.

The Caterpillar avoids combat at any cost by disappearing into his hookah smoke or becoming a butterfly to escape. While he loves conversation, he abhors violence of any kind. An adventurer who sits with the Caterpillar can be sure that he will receive interesting poetry, intelligent riddles, and scathing personal remarks.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Faerie Bestiary: March Hare

A personal note: I apologize for how extremely late this article is. The day before I was originally going to post this two weeks ago, I lost my job. The following two weeks have been a bit crazy as I have been trying to sort out a new schedule and figure things out.

Sincerely,
Tim

March Hare
by Adam Frank and Tim Wallace

Sitting down to tea next to the mad man with the hat is a cheery kharagosi. His sandy fur and long ears are a stark contrast to his well-tailored suit. His communication is very animated and he seems excited about everything. Suddenly from a now empty tea-pot lazily floats a small mouse that moves to perch on the shoulder of the hare.


MARCH HARE      CR 6
XP 2,400
CN Medium humanoid (kharagosi)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +0
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DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 deflection, +3 Dex)
hp 40 (7d6+14)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +4
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft.
Melee mwk heavy mace +4 (1d8-1)
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (10/10), arcanist exploits (arcane barrier, bloodline development, familiar, first-world face thief), consume spells
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +8)
   1/day—comprehend languages, detect magic, detect poison, read magic
Arcanist Spells Prepared (CL 7th; concentration +10)
   3rd (4/day)—explosive runes, illusory script (DC 16)
   2nd (5/day)—illusory maze (DC 15), pyrotechnics (DC 15), whispering wind
   1st (5/day)—animate rope, color spray (DC 14), hypnotism (DC 14), mage armor, magic missile
   0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect magic, flare (DC 13), ghost sound (DC 13), light, mage hand, prestidigitation
   Bloodline Maestro
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 7, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 16
Feats Alertness [B], Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Improved Familiar, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (heavy mace)
Skills Acrobatics +12 (+16 to jump), Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +13, Knowledge (planes) +13, Perception +0, Spellcraft +13, Survival +0
Languages Auran, Common, Common, Gnome, Sylvan
SQ beguiling voice, bloodline (maestro)
Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of animate rope, scroll of arcane disruption, scroll of blur; Other Gear mwk heavy mace, cloak of resistance +1, handy haversack, ring of protection +1, belt pouch, scroll box, travelling spellbook (contains all 0-level spells; all prepared 1st-level spells plus charm person, floating disk, protection from law; all prepared 2nd-level spells plus flaming sphere, knock; all prepared 3rd-level spells plus lightning bolt, slow), 22 gp
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
Arcane Barrier (Su) As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to create a barrier of magic that protects her from harm. This barrier grants the arcanist 8 temporary hit points, and lasts for 7 minutes or until all the temporary hit points have been lost. Each additional time per day the arcanist uses this ability, the number of arcane reservoir points she must spend to activate it increases by 1.
Arcane Reservoir Points from the arcane reservoir are used to fuel many of the arcanist's powers. In addition, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir as a free action whenever she casts an arcanist spell. If she does, she can choose to increase the caster level by 1 or increase the spell's DC by 1. She can expend no more than 1 point from her reservoir on a given spell in this way.
Beguiling Voice (Ex) The March Hare can use the sound of his voice to lull a target creature into taking no action. This ability acts as the daze spell, except it is language-dependent, has a duration of 1 round, and affects a living creature whose Hit Dice do not exceed his sorcerer level. He can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier.
Bloodline Development (Maestro) The arcanist gains maestro bloodline's beguiling voice bloodline power as though he were a 1st-level sorcerer. As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from his arcane reservoir to bolster his latent nature, allowing him to treat his arcanist level as his sorcerer level for the purpose of using this ability, which lasts for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Consume Spells (Su) Once per day, an arcanist can expend an available arcanist spell slot as a move action, making it unavailable for the rest of the day, just as if she had used it to cast a spell. She can use this ability a number of times per day equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Doing this adds a number of points to her arcane reservoir equal to the level of the spell slot consumed. She cannot consume cantrips (0 level spells) in this way. Points gained in excess of the reservoir's maximum are lost.
Cursed (Sp) The March Hare has a permanent –6 penalty to his Wisdom score (reflected in the statistics above) due to being the target of a bestow curse spell.
Familiar Bonus The March Hare gains the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
First-World Face Thief (Su) The arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to assume an illusory disguise as disguise self. If she expends 2 points from her arcane reservoir instead of 1, the duration of the effect increases to 10 minutes per level.

THE DORMOUSE (FAMILIAR)
CN Tiny magical beast (air)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +5
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +2 size)
hp 20 (3d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +4
Defensive Abilities wind blessed, wind form
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Melee tail fan +8 (1d4-2/×3)
Ranged air blast +8 (2d6+3)
Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft. (5 ft. with tail fan)
Psychic Magic (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
   5 PE—alter winds[APG] (1 PE, DC 15), gust of wind (2 PE, DC 16), whispering wind (2 PE)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +4)
   Constant—feather fall
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 6, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 9, Cha 13
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)
Feats Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Finesse[B]
Skills Acrobatics +13, Climb +9, Fly +21, Perception +5, Perform (oratory) +4, Spellcraft +11, Stealth +17
Languages Auran, Common, Elven, Gnome, Sylvan
SQ basic aerokinesis, improved evasion
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Air Blast (Sp) A chuspiki can make a ranged attack with an intense air blast, as the kineticist wild talent of the same name, using its Hit Dice as its kineticist level.
Basic Aerokinesis (Sp) A chuspiki can use basic aerokinesis, as the kineticist wild talent of the same name.
Wind Blessed (Su) A chuspiki is treated as a Large creature for the purposes of determining the effects wind has upon it.
Wind Form (Su) Three times per day as an immediate action, a chuspiki can become insubstantial for 1 round. It gains DR 10/magic and becomes immune to poison, sneak attacks, and critical hits. It can't attack or use any of its spell-like abilities while in wind form, with the exception of basic aerokinesis.

The March Hare is a powerful kharagosi arcanist who was cursed with madness and found his way to Wonderland with his chuspiki familiar, whom he calls the Doormouse. He has sandy fur and a constant smile. The only thing he seems to have saved from his traditionally skittish heritage is an inexhaustible amount of energy. From a simple tea party to a pitched battle the March Hare is always excited and raring to go.
He isn't overly combative and his friendship with the Mad Hatter doesn't lead to much fighting but he will fight to protect his chosen home of Wonderland and will, if necessary fight to protect the Queen of Hearts whom the mad kharagosi sees as a just and fair ruler. He has on more than one occasion served as a juror or witness at one of the Queen's mock trials.
If it comes to combat the March Hare will do his very best to fend off his enemies with his various magics and do what he can to end the hostilities. He doesn't enjoy killing and will only do so as a last resort but he does support his queen's various moods whatever they may be to the utmost of his abilities.
The Doormouse seems to constantly be drowsy as if under the effect of some drug or another. The normal skittishness of the kharagosi his master lost seems to have found a sort of home in the chuspiki and it tends to hide in various nooks or stay close to his master. He loves poetry and is commonly heard quoting it.