I am curious: Is there a strong interest in "Ecology of" #ttrpg supplements which examine the ecology, behaviors, and other elements of specific creatures in more detail?
I.e. fleshing them out beyond brief "combat encounters". #dnd#Pathfinder
With Wizards of the Coast removing core features of D&D Beyond and making it intentionally difficult to get credit for previous purchases, I think I'm done offering them money.
With the labor of love that is Baldur's Gate 3, we got to see how amazing Faerun can be.
My advice? Buy old books, work on your own lore, and if you're feeling spicy, port everytning into a new system and cut Wizards out of the loop!
#Pathfinder 2e has will-o'-wisps as monsters who feed on fear. But to my mind, this does not mean that they actively have to kill their victims.
In fact, that might be counterproductive if they feed on the fear of sapient beings, as that will eventually result in retaliation. If they toy with their victims and then let them go, the victim might tell others - who are then more anxious if they visit the region the will-o'-wisp lives in. A win-win!
And they are smart enough to figure this stuff out. They might also simply choose to dwell in places where fear and misery prosper, such as slums, prisons, or orphanages.
Or they might even work for humans! A "Haunted House" employee who can sense the level of fear in visitors would be very useful. More disturbingly, interrogators - police or otherwise - would be greatly assisted by an entity who can sense fear as well.
There are plenty of ways of portraying such creatures, and "combat encounters" are probably the least interesting aspect.
I think in my grumpy old age, I think I just need to admit that I kinda hate battle maps, treasure, and XP (in level-based systems), both as a player and as a GM.
Unfortunately, they’re also things that most players really love, so I gotta figure out ways to do them that I find more engaging so they’re not such a chore.
For those with an interest in the #Pathfinder#ttrpg , I am currently doing a "Let's Read" thread on RPGNet on the 2E Revised books (starting with the Player Core).
Currently, we are having some fascinating discussions about the leshies, the small plant beings who've become a new "Core Ancestry" in this edition.
While this ability is useful, if I were to play such a character I could probably NOT resist making this as awkward as possible for the other player characters.
"Here, take my seed, and nourish yourself on its bounty."
"Don't worry, germination will only occur after it has passed through your body!"
I mean, fruits are part of the reproductive processes of plants. This is usually easy to ignore, but not if said plant is a party member talking to you.
I figure I could probably turn some of the other party members into exclusive carnivores before long.
I've been thinking of the social role of the "Druid" class in #DnD , #Pathfinder , and so forth. Historically, "druids" were the priest class of the ancient Celtic tribes - but modern #ttrpg have transformed them into "champions of nature", often in opposition to "civilization" (whatever that means).
But D&D also generally assumes the existence of large tracks of "wilderness", where the druids reside and which they protect. But what is seemingly missing is a population that supports them and where they draw their number from.
Which got me thinking further: In late medieval/Renaissance Europe, peasants who wished to escape their overlords had few options. They could join the vagabonds and other traveling folks who were basically outcasts. And in some times and places, they could flee to the cities where they could become free after "a year and a day". But they would have had difficult to build up a new existence outside of the reach of nobles.
But in #DnD -type world, that might have been an option!
Now I want to consider the maroon settlements in the Americas, where slaves fled from the plantations into the hinterlands and intermingled with the native population - sometimes even fighting back against their oppressors. The colonialists destroyed them wherever they could, but many in remote regions survived to the modern day!
Perhaps something similar is possible in D&D settings. Perhaps serfs would hear the promise of the wild, and flee to remote hidden villages protected by druids who would teach them how to live in harmony with nature. It would not be an easy life, but it would be a free one, and with magical assistance their living standards could certainly be better than what it used to be.
The nobles might sent expedition into the wilds to destroy these "wildling" settlements, but there is always more wilderness to hide in...
I am continuing my Skyrim-inspired maps - this one is a more generic version that is not inspired by any particular place in the game, it's more of a vibe inspiration. I also injured my thumb recently, and needed something simpler to work on for this release.
So, let's say I want to publish some stuff for the #Pathfinder 2E rules, using the #ORC license.(*) This would require using some templates for things like spells, items, monsters etc. which follow specific formats within the Pathfinder rules.
So, what are my options here?
(a) try to develop templates for these using #TeXLaTeX ?
(b) buying #AffinityPublisher , learning how to use it, and develop templates for it?
(c) something else which I am not seeing?
What's the most efficient and least painful path forward?
(*) Yes, I realize that there are InDesign templates for Pathfinder at Pathfinder Infinite. However, they are only intended for Pathfinder Infinite products, and thus not useful for my purposes.
At some point, I want to write some articles on #ttrpg monsters in the vein of late 19th century naturalist magazines, exploring the habitats, ecology, behavior, distribution and so forth of such creatures.
Well, let's see what interesting critters will be included in the upcoming #Pathfinder Monster Core book...
Question for #Pathfinder players, especially those who also play #DnD:
In your experience, do you find that a bonus or penalty of ±2 is enough to make a meaningful difference in the likely outcome of a saving throw in PF2?