Pathfinder 1E "Page 42" for Pathfinder

[The_Gneech]

UPDATE: New link to an updated version at gneech.com, including a separate, larger and printable version.

What Was I Saying...? - "Page 42" for Pathfinder

...feedback welcome!

-The Gneech

 

[Mark Chance]

Well, my first thought was, "Wow, that looks like a table that took a lot of work to put together. Neat."

Then I thought, "How do I use it?"

You say it's my "'go to' table for quickly figuring skill DCs, improvised hazard damage, and whatnot." Now don't get me wrong. I trust you. How could I not trust The_Gneech?

But I'm also too lazy to figure things out for myself. IOW, I needs me some examples.

 

[Aus_Snow]

No idea if it'll work, but by the gods, you come out with some good stuff!

Thanks once again.

 

[The_Gneech]

Well, keep in mind that it's predicated on the idea that you've seen the actual "Page 42" ... it's essentially retrofitting the mechanics from 4E/Galaxy at War into the 3.x/Pathfinder ruleset.

I can certainly write up stuff about how to use it ... right now I'm just trying to nail down the math.

Short answer, tho: suppose you've got a party who've wandered off the map and you need to come up with stuff on the fly.

10th Level Rogue: "I want to pick the lock of Sauron's water-closet."
You: "Oookay ... that's probably 'Moderate' ... so the DC is 25."

...later...

You: "The dracolich's tomb has got to be trapped somehow. I know! It's got a falling block trap. This moves real slow, so it'll have a low attack roll, but really hurts if you get squished by it! For a 10th level party, that gives an attack bonus of +13 and does 13d6 of damage. ... Oh, and it'll be fairly easy to spot (DC 15), but hard to disable (DC 29)."

And hmm ... I just realized the saving throw DCs are missing. Oops! I'll have to add them back in.

Thanks for the kind words.

EDIT: Oh, you can also use this for things like terrain hazards. For passive hazards (e.g., a pit of acid that just sits there unless somebody gets bull-rushed into it) you should probably pick a "low damage" value at around 1/2 the average party level. For more active hazards, like a raging fire that is spreading around the encounter, you just add it to the XP budget like you would a creature of the same CR.

-The Gneech

 

[The_Gneech]

Okay! I found the saving throw DCs and glued them back on the table. Also uploaded a more legible .gif version.

-The Gneech

 

[Khairn]

Looks good after an initial scan. I had made something similar for 3.5, and have been using it for my PFRPG game. I'll give your a whirl next game and send you any feedback I get.

 

[Scott DeWar]

looks good. I may have need for it in my game. thanks! i see you gave instructions to Mark chance, so i can now understand it.

 

[ruemere]

DCs should not scale with level. Your players should feel stronger, better and more in charge with each passing level - instead, by looking at the table one is fully justified in assuming that the world is conspiring to make your life (and just your life) harder, since if a Joe Average tried to pick the same random lock, he would get a different DC.

DCs should not scale with level, part II. 4E dreadfully bland skill point distribution (i.e. skill bonus being the function of one's level instead of result of one's resource management) results in predictable skills. For 3.x and PFRPG this is patently false for skills falling outside of "must have" group.

In short, DCs should be based on scenario level and circumstances. This is Sauron's lock, so DC is XX.

Regards,
Ruemere

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

This is pretty cool! Thanks for sharing, it's definitely something I'll be looking at more closely

 

[d12]

Thanks for this! I've saved it for future use.

In response to ruemere: DCs don't scale with level, they scale with CR. It is perfectly fine to have a CR 3 trap (or monster) in an adventure for 12th level characters as long as the players understand that no xp is going to get handed out for that.