The original thought on the PF version was to keep it fairly streamlined in terms of rules, so that it kept most of the 4e NPCs intact, but stayed close to Pathfinder rules for what creatures could do. This meant removing a lot of the wacky abilities that can be put into any NPC/Monster in 4e and generally reserving it for monsters/special NPCs in the PF version.
One of the big problems (especially in lower level adventures like the ones we have now) is that 4e style abilities that translate to grappling/bull rushing are difficult to work in to NPCs, who need a variety of feats / equipment to properly pull off. This turns our NPCs into one-trick ponies, where the 4e version may have 3-4 'cool things' the NPC can do.
If more people are interested in seeing more 4e style uniqueness with monsters/NPCs in the PF version, I know I can work that into the adventures! Our concern up until now has been the reaction from hardline PF players who might not like the 'everything is special' approach that tends to come from 4e.
Perhaps other people have suggestions/thoughts on this? Would anyone here explode in rage if we started giving level-based NPCs some wacky abilities to spice up encounters that aren't necessarily found in the core rules? Or, would you prefer if unique abilities were reserved only for the really important NPCs / specialty monsters?
Well I wouldn't say I'd fly into a rage but, yeah, NPCs and PCs gotta play by the same rules in Pathfinder.
OK, I'm at a bit of a disadvantage in not reading the spoilers as I plan on playing in Zeitgeist. My view probably parallels Cheezmo's - we all play by the same rules. Unusual creatures/monsters sometimes get abilities that PC's don't have access to, and that might even extend to some very special NPC's (likely ones that have somehow gone beyond the "Mere Mortal PC Race).
If it takes a four feat chain for a PC to accomplish a specific result, the NPC should not be granted extra feats nor given a "special feat" to accomplish it. But, with that said, I see a few options for adding unusual abilities:
- perhaps this is a variant class archetype, so the character gives up some abilities he would normally have to gain access to other abilities. Especially for one off encounters, the NPC may have an array of class features that aren't as useful in the role he plays in the scenario, and can give up a lot of abilities a player would be reluctant to sacrifice in order to gain the abilities specially suited to this encounter. I wouldn't want to see a ton of this, but the GM gets the out to indicate, say, "Yeah, your rogue could do that too if he sacrificed 6 skill points per level and the ability to use Sneak Attack in melee to take this archetype". A racial variant could also work.
- more relevant at higher levels, maybe it's a prestige class (and one that's hard to qualify for), similarly sacrificing some class abilities for others.
- maybe it has some unsavoury requirements. There's a witch hex in Ultimate Magic that has some very powerful effects, but requires cooking and eating an intelligent creature, cited as "always an evil act". Maybe a special ability of a Fey servant, or a specific PRC, requires swearing absolute loyalty to the Fey, or slows your learning process so you only gain half the xp of your teammates/only advance in level half as quickly (OK, that one is extreme enough to be the same as saying "no PC may take this ability").
-maybe it's a new feat (or even chain). Third party publishers can publish these, I believe.
- Perhaps any of these could be tagged as being unique to the Zeitgeist setting (sure, GM's can still allow them to be 'ported, but it's not mandatory).
- maybe the ability comes from a Theme Feat not available to Risurians. Do all major NPC's have, and use, a Zeitgeist Theme feat at present?
I'd avoid going hog wild with this - to paraphrase Cheezmo in a less politically sensitive manner, if we wanted to play 4e, most of us would play 4e. We're playing Pathfinder.
