Friday, February 19, 2016

100 Pre-butt Kicking One Liners.


100 Pre-butt Kicking One Liners. 

(From Adventure Quarterly #7)

1.      “There's only two ways this can end, and in both of 'em, you die!"
2.      “We haven't been introduced, so I’ll call you "Prey".”
3.      "I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced; I'm [insert your name], and you're dead,"
4.      “Tag. You're dead."
5.      “It is time you learned; you’re not in my league.”
6.      "Welcome to the end of your life. And I promise, it's going to hurt."
7.      "You have much to learn, come let me teach you.”
8.      "You shall learn what true pain is..."
9.      “OK, who ordered a painful death?”
10.   “I hope your cleric knows raise dead.” (or regenerate)
11.   "I respect that you're cutting to the chase; but I am just going to cut you!"
12.   "Don’t screw with the [Insert name of your organization or group]!”
13.   “You couldn’t kill my boredom!”
14.   "I've heard it said that we only gain wisdom through suffering... and tonight, I intend to make you very wise."
15.   “I've got to kill you now; please don't hold it against me.”
16.   “When you fight me, please do your best, you might live a little longer.”
17.    “[Insert the name of your group], SLAY!”
18.   "It seems I've been underestimated."
19.   "Pick a god and pray!"
20.   “I would promise you a quick death, but I don’t want to lie.”
21.   “The fight my fellows fought; Here, now, will end with me!”
22.   "The only one who can save you is Orcus...and since I can't bring him here, I'm going to send you, TO HIM!"
23.   “The only one who could possibly defeat me is [Insert name] …and you aren’t [Insert Same Name].”
24.   "You. Me. To the End.”
25.   “Is it time to commence hostilities with extreme prejudice?”
26.   "Defend yourself if you can; you will never have a greater need for it."
27.   “Excellent, I had hoped for a chance to smite in our god’s holy name.”
28.   “How many men are you prepared to lose.”
29.   "I've got half a mind to kill you, and the other half agrees!"
30.    “You done well; yet made the singular mistake of TICKING ME OFF!”
31.   “Not on my watch!”
32.   “Ah, talking dead folk.”
33.   “The only word you're gonna need is "ouch."”
34.   “The last thing I want to do today is hurt you…but I have reached the bottom of today’s list.”
35.   “One of us is going to die, and our cleric can raise the dead…do you feel lucky?”
36.   "I'll send you to the deepest pit of the Abyss, so you can lick Orcus’ sweaty [insert anatomical part]!”
37.   "Welcome to the land of dying!"
38.   “Is it pathetic evil minion killing time already?” [or pathetic wana-be- hero]
39.   "If any of you pretend to piety, pray to your gods now."
40.   “When the lord of the underworld asks who sent you tell him [insert your name]”
41.   “I hate to waste my energy on someone so…pathetic.”
42.   “If you try me, your existence ends.”
43.   “Good upstanding folk would never hurt you, unfortunately for you, were neither good nor upstanding.”
44.   "Sigh, and I was so hoping to avoid kicking some arse today."
45.   “I don’t want to hurt you; I want to execute you.”
46.    “I’m an inquisitor and it’s time for you to face judgement!”
47.   “Those who want to be burned alive should stay… the rest should run quickly.”
48.   “If we fight, they shall name me [insert foe’s creature type] slayer.”
49.   “My most humble apologies, I cannot let you hurt anyone, anymore, so you must die, please forgive me, I bear your honorable self no ill will.”
50.   "Misfortune follows those who hinder me; I would refer you to several folk as examples, alas they are all quite dead.”
51.   “Excuse me. I hate to be a bother but… *BAM*”
52.    “I am going to show you what it means to kill something.”
53.   “Soon you shall sleep under the flowers.” (under the stones)
54.   “Have you had your butt kicked by a [insert the description of the most bizarre member of your group]?”
55.   “That's D-A-I-N-E, I want you to be able to spell the name of the one who kicked your arse.”
56.   “Flee or die, there is no third option.”
57.   “If you stop now I will only rip out one of your lungs; if not, then hold your breath.”
58.   “Ah, it is the time of death dealing.”
59.   “Is it true that [insert monster type] meat tastes like chicken? Time to find out!”
60.   "I've fought tougher housecats!"
61.   "Your pained scream will mark your gravestone. How many 'A's should I use?"
62.   "Go ahead and run, you'll just die tired."
63.   "I'm going to hit you so hard your mother feels it."
64.   "Let me fix your steel deficiency." (Or fire, or lightning, or iron, etc)
65.   "I'm going to hit you until candy comes out."
66.   "You couldn't kill time if you tried."
67.   "Ah, I note you speak [language]. But do you speak... KATANA?!" (or Greatsword, Fireball, etc.)
68.   "There is pain, and there is what I have for you. When I am done, you will beg for pain."
69.   "You should've brought more guys."
70.   "My blade is hungry. You have the look of a meal."
71.   "Run if you like. My arrows are faster." (or spells)
72.   "Fret not. The end is nigh."
73.   "Take a good look, before your life starts flashing before your eyes."
74.   "These walls could use some color - a fresh coat of your blood will do."
75.   "Most days I aim to be a peaceful man. This is not most days."
76.   "Right now the only thing I crave more than your death is a sandwich."
77.   "I suggest you fall to your knees now, while you still have knees on which to fall."
78.   "I will give you a beating such as to make the gods question their priorities."
79.   "You are already beaten; don’t force your body to catch up to that truth."
80.   "Death awaits, so tarry not."
81.   "If it makes you feel any better, boy, this HAS been fun; I'm gonna miss you."
82.   "There is a realm of the Hells, it is said, filled with all those slain by this blade; Give the inhabitants my regards, will you?"
83.   "Yea, I have faced adversaries worthier than you ... but too few; I shall seek to remember this face."
84.   "The graveyards are full of opponents far your better. But come: try your hand, child. The wheel turns, the cards flutter. Fame or death await you."
85.   "In my lands, there are words for bravery; there are also words for foolishness. But there are no words for the grave error of opposing my technique."
86.   "Speak to me now, in your final moments, of what you would have done with the years given you ... had we not met this day."
87.   (looking at a group) "I shall leave one survivor to tell the tale. He of you with the most cunning tongue and fairest face, depart now."
88.   "I do not want to kill you. But I did not want to kill your friends, either, and look how that turned out."
89.   "Kneel, take heed of my words, and praise [deity's name] so I might bury you a believer."
90.   "A most-singular specimen, to be sure; as a professional collector, I must inquire—what part of your species is found most quarrelsome in terms of taxidermy and display?"
91.   "If anyone asks, I did this for reasons other than pure spite."
92.    (Giving order to allies) “Don’t leave a bone unbroken.”
93.   "So you want to fight?” "Fight? No, I want to kill you,"
94.    “Who are you?” “Your Doom.”
95.   “Who are you?” “Giving my name to one about to die is pointless.”
96.   “What do you want?” “Your skull adorning my trophy case.”
97.   “What are you doing?” “Preparing to beat you bloody, you really should brace yourself.”
98.   “You took [insert name of ally who died]’s life…Give me yours!”
99.   “[For fire wielder’s] “I've got a burning question for you.”
100.  (on a fumble/after a disarm) "Ha! I don't need THAT weapon to defeat you, fool!"



Friday, January 29, 2016

40 things Rite Publishing is working on.



Card Game
  1. Goblin Armies (formerly Code Name: Erlking) likely Kickstarter Spring/Summer 2016. Commissioning initial art, doing promotion for the game, writing up ad copy etc.


13th Age Roleplaying Game
  1. Book of Icons (now available!)
  2. Secrets of The Taskshaper (13th Age) a base class, in Editing.
  3. 13 Options: Wizards in development.

 
Fifth Edition OGL
  1. 101 Second Level Spells now available!
  2. 101 Third Level Spells in development
  3. 5th Edition Modules: Fire & Ice in development
  4. In the Company of Dragons (5e) in development (you know you want to play a dragon in 5e)


Lords of Gossamer & Shadow
  1. Gossamer Worlds Compendium Kickstarter Launching February 3rd to create a 250 page full color hardcover, compiling 20 of Matt Banach’s little gossamer worlds. 
  2. Addendum: Shapeshifting, Mock Layout Complete, only 3 art order to place, waiting on artist to say yes to commission (just sent email).
  3. Icon Deck: NPCs Shipping to Backers. Retail release to follow in March.
  4. The Long Walk manuscript complete, editing complete, in revisions, art complete. Awaiting finalization of the draft.
  5. Gossamer Worlds: NullDeath by Robert N. Emerson  manuscript complete, art complete, going to editing.
  6. Gossamer Worlds: Shatter Light by H. M. “Dain” Lybarger, a 32+ page full-color Print + PDF product, manuscript complete.
  7. Threats: Threshold Ghosts in development by Jason Durall
  8. No Beast So Fierce adventure by me, manuscript in playtesting/development, art is complete.
  9. Gossamer Worlds: (untitled) by Bill Collins in development
  10. Threats Series: Stretch Goals for Gossamer World Compendium guest authors?
  11. Gossamer & Shadow Adventure Path in Development



Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
  1. Pathways #55 now available.
  2. Martial Arts Guidebook Available in Print and PDF
  3. The Secrets of The Divine: Death, Healing, Law, & Madness released.
  4. 101 Urban Spells released
  5. 10 Kingdom Seeds: Hills Released
  6. Adventure Quarterly #7 print copy shipping to backers (PDF already released), retail release to follow.
  7. Pathways #56 in Development.
  8. Adventure Quarterly #8 manuscripts complete, in editing for last adventure.
  9. Kaidan Campaign Setting mock layout complete, art orders being placed.
  10. 1001 Magic Items mock layout complete, cover art complete, needs interior art
  11. 101 Not So Random Encounters Desert manuscript in development
  12. In the Company of Fiends in Development.
  13. In the Company of Rakshasa in Development
  14. In the Company of Unicorns in Development
  15. 10 Kingdom Seeds: (Part 3) in Development
  16. 101 Terrain Spells (part 6) in Development
  17. The Gateway Pass Adventure Path in Development (both part 1 & part 2)
  18. Questhaven Campaign Setting in development with me writing.
  19. In the Company of Dragons Expanded: Manuscript in Development (Foreword, Lost Isles, Psionic Dragons, Mythic Draconic Exemplars, and adventure complete), Foreword and Lost Isles edited.
  20. Ultimate Monsters Hero Lab (Book of Monster templates, 101 not so simple monster templates, 101 Monster Feats, 101 Variant Monsters etc.) assigned to the Rite Coder.
  21. In The Company of Dragons Hero Lab assigned to a Rite Coder. 


Thursday, December 31, 2015

State of Rite Publishing 2015


2nd Best Year Ever.

It will always be a hard to top 2013, the year of the Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Diceless) Kickstarter & its retail release. The core book is an evergreen product for us as are many of the supplements. Nevertheless, 2015 had the highest amount of retail sales in out 8 year history. I am well pleased.


Diceless
This year saw us continue release a small setting product each month, supported greatly by Matt Banach’s work on his series of short inexpensive Gossamer Worlds PDFS, Gossamer Worlds: GlimmerGloam becoming a best-seller. I even published Matt’s crazy idea of an entire gaming product written in poetic verse, GossamerWorlds: Poetica Mundi, to great critical acclaim.   

I also got the opportunity to work with Rob Donoghue again with his excellent work on Lucien’s Guide: Legends & Lies, plus we brought on H.M. “Dain” Lybarger who wrote Threats: Secrets of the Annunaki and my personally favorite projects, Gossamer Words: Planet Fiction, so you could ally or become the enemy of Sherlock Holmes along with many other fictional characters.

Finally, we have also started shipping the Kickstarter for our second Icon Deck of cards, to allow GMs and Players to have representations of Icons in the Lords of Gossamer & Shadow game or Trumps in their Amber Diceless games. DrivethruCards really does amazing quality cards, I could not have done this project without them.

For Diceless 2016, we will see the release of The Long Walk: Life On The Grand Stair, a massive supplement which will come out of editing next quarter. Addendum Shapeshifting which is in mock layout now. The retail release of the second Icon Deck, an Adventure written by me, and of course more Gossamer Worlds. I also hope to do one or two compilation print books. And launch a new Kickstarter once the Long Walk is complete and in everyone’s hands.


Fate
We released our supplement to our ENnie Award wining game/adventure The Demolished Ones, as Robert N. Emerson gave us A Fly In The Ointment, which to me is really an enhancement to the original story rather than a traditional supplement giving you a new experience if you run the adventure a second time.

13th Age
We jumped into a new license this year with support for The 13th Age, and while its sales are not as strong as Pathfinder or Diceless, our strongest showing being 101 Feats and Talents, it is profitable for us and we will continue to do so through 2016.

Speaking of 2016 look out for the Book of Icons and the Taskshaper.

5th Edition
While there is no official license for 5th Edition, I have chosen to follow the model of Goodman Games and many other publishers and release content under the existing OGL, as there is virtually nothing in 5th Edition that was not published in one format or another during the d20 ERA by one company or another.

As such Ed Kabara has done a number of products for us from 101 1st LevelSpells to The Breaking of Forstor Nagar, and I look forward to him doing more and more.

In 2016 I hope to bring another 5e expert on board to create some additional products for us.  

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
We had some amazing success in 2016, I was especially pleased to release the largest product we have ever done with Faces of the Tarnished Souk: An Npc Collection. Its really an amazing book doing what I wanted, and succeeding where I felt every other book of Npcs had failed.  Completely both the Kickstarter and then its retail release is something every small publisher longs for in the modern era of publishing. For a micro press like me, it’s amazing.

Another big milestone was the Martial Arts Guidebook completion after a long arduous production (I will never use Indieagogo again); we have released to our backers the PDF and are shipping the signed Print copies. The retail PDF has gained the highest critical acclaim from Thilo “Endzeitgeist” Graff with a 5/5 start + seal of approval and being recommended for his best for 2015.   I am more than well pleased.

We also saw financial success, with such products The Secrets of the Iron Titan, which let folks, finally play the construct character they wanted to. The Kaiju Codex, which brought Godzilla and Pacific Rim to your Pathfinder game. Along with great new ideas like the 101 Environment Spell Series by Dave Paul who has gone from being our go-to-editor to being a major writing force with this series.

Speaking of Dave Paul the editor, we launched our Patreon this year for our PathwaysE-zine. Allowing us to add two additional paid articles by some of the greatest talents in the industry. As always by using a different cover artist every month, we give work to new talent that micropress publishers can afford, and allow them to demonstrate the quality of work they can do on a deadline.  

This also allows us to find some of the best artists in our freelance stable like Dennis Darmody, Ernanda Souza, and Juan Diego Dianderes. Plus it allowed us to find new talents this year like Lee Pfenniger, Melvin Chan, and Manuel Castanon. I however never seem to have enough work for all the artists I love so if you a publisher check these folks out and give them some work.

We also launched a great Kickstarter this year with In the Company of Dragons, upgrading the original small PDF, that allows you to play a dragon right alongside other PCs, into a much larger book, we already have the manuscript complete and its off in editing land so we are on schedule to release it in 2016.

We also had big fun with our April fools product In the Company of Gelatinous Cubes, because who doesn’t want to play Jell-O.

Systemless
I would be remiss if I did not mention the skill of Tommi Salama’s Rite Map Packs and his amazing cartography. I really enjoy every time we get to put one of these out. He has taken the Pathfinder Rpg community by storm as I swear I now see his cartography everywhere I look.

Failures
No year is perfect, and Rite Publishing has failures like any other company. I always believe in transparency, we acknowledge our mistakes, learn from them, and move not to make them again in the future.

Kaidan Campaign Setting (PFRPG): Never start a Kickstarter without the manuscript being done.  If you do don’t every allow the burden to fall all on one author, bring in others, a singular vision is awesome but you can break the writer. Also because it’s taken so long we have lost or original artists for the project. This manuscript is done, edited, and the mock layout is done. We are now moving forward with artwork. Therefore, this is a production timeline failure, but not a failure as a product and will like the martial arts guidebook will become a success in 2016.

Adventure Quarterly (PFRPG): This is another timeline failure, not a product failure, as the adventures, art, and cartography have been stellar. We do an amazing job putting Pathways out on time every month, but I fail to get AQ out every quarter. Once issue # 8 is complete, Robert N Emerson (editor-in-chief) and I will be making changes with Adventure Quarterly so that we can fix this problem.

Gossamer Options: Characters (Diceless): I should not be an editor. I don’t have the time or the skill to be great at this. This book needed a better editor than me and any failings on its part are due to my failures as an editor and developer. It’s not a bad book, but it’s the weakest of the Diceless line, and we have set that bar so high that a standard book like this ends up coming out weak.

The Long Walk: Life On The Grand Stair (Diceless): This is a failure of timeline again, projects sometimes just get behind, it is in editing now and will come out of that next quarter, but what I should have done on this from the beginning was bring a second experienced writer in to assist with this book from day one. It’s sadly the same mistake I made on Kaidan, putting too much on one author and one editor. Now that we are past all of it, it’s an awesome manuscript, heck I am running the adventure as part of my home game. I am really looking forward to publishing this one.

So the big lessons from 2016, don’t be afraid to use multiple authors on large projects, don’t be afraid to bruise someone’s ego by bringing in another author late in a project (even your own) because you are saving their sanity and your own. Oh yeah, and I am not allowed to be an editor.

The Future
I want to do things with PFRPG Occult Adventures maybe a 1920s Noir Chicago adventure path, I want to do the Gateway Pass adventure series, where your PCs never leave the local outpost and the adventure comes to you.  I want to publish more In the Company of (Rakshasa, Daemons, Demons, Devils, & Unicorns) next year.

I want to do a Bestiary for Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Diceless) probably a Kickstarter. A series were we detail a single world in the Shatterlight series. See some fiction written for the game system, plus a guide to powers series, along with continuing the Gossamer Worlds, Threats, and Lucien’s Guide Series.

On a personal note, I hope to finish my novel Tartarus: A Superhuman Prison.


Thursday, November 12, 2015

Designing in Public: The Rituals of Choice Part I, A Witch's Choice (PFRPG conversion) post #2

You can find Post #1 HERE!

Illustration by Ryan Barger

Act I: And So It Begins

Our story begins with the characters sleeping: Ask each player what his character is likely to be dreaming about, then guide each with a giant harpy eagle to the common dream location of Zewthra‘s balcony. 
Example
As you move toward the object of your desire, it morphs into an enigmatic giant harpy eagle and flies down a hole that suddenly appears in the ground.
If the character does not follow:
Abruptly the aperture becomes a gigantic sinkhole and you fall landing next to your companions in a strange wondrous location.


Cartography by Jonathan Roberts
Full Map HERE! 


Location # 1: The Glass Balcony (EL 3)

With a feeling of instant vertigo, you are unexpectedly in the center of an open-air sheer glass balcony entirely lacking protective railing. It is half-shrouded in mist created by two waterfalls spilling into the basin far below. A brilliant rainbow arches through the balcony. The glass pane appears to connect to the brown stone door of a lovely multilevel red house with a number of similar glass balconies. Floating point down just out of reach over the basin is a brilliant crystal-woven golden longsword.

The albino harpy eagle flies up and observes all the PCs but does not speak to them or answer questions they may have. (The balcony is 30’ wide at the base, narrowing to 5’, and extends 20’ out over the falls at its farthest point.)
Let the players look about, talk to each other, discuss why they are all having the same dream. At an appropriate point, perhaps when they go to open the door or make an attempt at the floating longsword, Zewthra will open the door.


You see a dwarfish woman with red-wine colored skin, her eyes purple within black. Her long hair stands straight out like long black pine needles, her face contorted in a painfully blank expression. Her garb is a patchwork of different colored fabrics, a different pattern on each piece (polka-dots, stripes, swirls, splotches, and silhouettes) and makes her look like some macabre doll.

Let the PCs react to her appearance. She is completely unresponsive to the PCs, until at an appropriately dramatic moment.

A whisper issues forth from the strange woman: “Help me.” Then the crystal-woven golden blade disappears over the falls and appears in her hand, and she raises it as if preparing to attack. In total contrast to her actions, her face remains void of expression.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS:


TERRAIN: If a character moves their full speed, they take the chance of falling and sliding, possibly off the edge (Acrobatics DC 10, failure results in falling prone and sliding to the limit of the character’s speed in a random direction. If they collide with an object, they bounce off and move half their remaining speed).
Characters can make a Climb check to grab hold of the edge if they slide over (DC 20). A failed check results in the character taking 2d6 points of nonlethal damage (see below).

DAMAGE: All attacks in the dream appear to deal lethal damage, but in reality are only dealing nonlethal damage. A character reduced to zero or fewer hit points leaves the dream world and wakes for a moment in the real world before falling unconscious again, but gets a glimpse of Vethkar’s house along with a crazed looking Zewthra. 

1st Round: The giant harpy eagle takes the hardest blow from her phantasmal killer spell and it disappears. Throughout the fight Zewthra will attack, though her demeanor is very strange,

·       “I am sorry” she will say,
·       a tear drop will appear on her face,
·       she will scream in terror,
·       she will even make the hand sign for a ritual of greeting;

2nd Round: Zewthra attacks with her luckblade this round and each round afterwards.
3rd Round:  A 5’ section of the balcony cracks like a spider web.
4th Round:  The cracked section falls away and the cracks spread to the next 10’ section. 
5th Round: This pattern will repeat until there is nothing of the balcony left.

The best way to win this fight is to push Zewthra over the edge. She is substantially more powerful than the PCs but her Acrobatics check is poor. If they do this, the giant harpy eagle reappears and each character hears a voice in their mind.

 The choirs of heaven sings to me of a profound wrong endangering all. This wrong has caught Zewthra in its snare, help her.

The giant harpy eagle then disappears and the PCs awaken in Plunging Steam Manor.

Zewthra         CR 3 (9, cured)

XP 6,400
Female verrik witch (circle warden, see The Secrets of Adventuring) 10
CG Medium humanoid (verrik)
Init +2; Senses Perception +9
Defense
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 37 (10d6)
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +8
Special Defenses Aegis of protection.
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 longsword +4 (1d8+1/19-20)
Witch Spells Prepared (CL 9th; concentration +13)
5thbreak enchantment
4thblessing of fervorAPG, cure serious woundsphantasmal killer (DC 18), 
3rdaccept afflictionblood biographyAPGheroism, rain of frogsUM
2ndaidcure moderate wounds, hold person (DC 17), soothing word, vomit spidersAPG
1stbeguiling gift (DC 15), shield of faithcommand (DC 15), cure light woundsill-omenAPG
0 (at will)detect magicmessage, read magic, stabilize
Patron portents
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats  Combat Casting, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Magical Aptitude, Mobility
Skills Diplomacy +6, Fly +11, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (nature) +15, Perception +9, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +21, Swim +3, Use Magic Device +19
Languages Common, Verrik, Giant, Draconic, Dwarven.
SQ astral union, hexes (channel, fortune, good luck talisman), token of fellowship (luckblade), white hexes
Special Abilities
Token of Fellowship: A circle warden witch does not form a bond with a familiar; instead, she creates a special link with a fellowship. Symbolizing this fellowship is an object of great personal value, a fetish made with components bearing great significance to the fellowship, or the representation of an association (her luck blade).
The circle warden witch must commune with her token to prepare her spells. During the communion, the circle witch may link her fetish's spiritual energies to any number of willing, sentient creatures that she wishes to take upon her protection, including herself. A witch may attune additional creatures during the day by taking one hour to meditate, and draw talismans on the creatures she wishes to ward. A token of fellowship otherwise works as a familiar.
Aegis of Protection (Su): Zewthra may protect allies within the area of her wreath of community. As a move action, she may draw eldritch patterns that provide to all attuned allies within her wreath of community the properties of a protection from evil (alignment chosen during the move action) spell. The circle warden may instead provide them with a resist energy 10 (energy chosen during the move action).
By spending a full-round action instead, Zewthra creates a powerful sanctuary for any living being she wishes to protect inside her wreath of community; this ability works as normal, except that instead of protection from evil it reproduces the effects of a magic circle against evil (alignment chosen during the full-round action), and a creature needs not to be attuned to her fellowship to benefit from her protection. These effects last until the beginning of her next turn. This ability can only provide each creature with one attempt per day to suppress effects that are controlling them.
Astral Union (Su): Zewthra can leave her body as a standard action to bind her soul to one of her allies within the area of her wreath of community. This works as per the magic jar spell, except that the circle warden does not need a gem and her soul does not trap the ally's soul, nor overtakes his body. While mindless, her body is not lifeless, and it can do a move action each round. The physical and the astral body still share their actions on each round.
While bound to an ally, Zewthra may cast spells on him that are normally restricted to a range of touch or personal and use hexes that normally affect her to affect him instead. Thanks to the insight the circle warden can provide to him, the bound ally also gains the benefits of the shield of faith spell (caster level equal to the witch's level), plus the effects of a continuous Fortune hex.
If her body is slain or the ally leaves her wreath of community, her soul stays with her bound ally for 10 days after which she dies; or until the ally returns into the area of her wreath of community or her body is brought back to life, at which point she goes back into her body. During this time, her ally still gains the benefits of the astral union but her senses are limited to what her bound ally can perceive; she may also not cast spells onto any other creature than the bonded ally, nor use her wreath of community without a body.
Channel (Su): Zewthra can use a hex to channel positive energy like a 10th level cleric. Whether or not the creature makes a successful save, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.
Good Luck Talisman (Su): By spending one hour to write a mystic charm on a creature, Zewthra can ward a creature, as per the Ward hex. She can have 4 active good luck talismans at the same time equal to her Intelligence modifier.
Gyre of the Eldritch (Su): Zewthra may use a hex on two attuned creatures as a standard action, as per the Split Hex feat. This hex lasts one less round than usual (minimum 1) and may target two creatures anywhere on the circle warden's wreath of community.
4/day, Zewthra may also cast any spell with a range of touch on any attuned creature within the aura of her wreath of community, as if the spell was prepared with the Reach Spell metamagic feat.
White Hexes: Zewthra’s hexes are made to protect and ward. She cannot target unwilling targets with her hexes.
Wreath of Community (Su): Zewthra emits a 10-foot aura of abjuration. Once per round whenever an ally attuned to the Zewthra's fellowship is standing within the wreath of community's area, he may create a shield other effect in relation to any other attuned ally within the wreath of communitiy's area as a free action spell-like ability. The spell's caster level 10 (though the person activating the ability is consider the caster for all other purposes).


Description
Zewthra is autistic. Her actions are always extreme, and her facial expressions, mannerisms, and speech are usually in direct opposition to those actions. She was a gifted gambler and prankster in her youth before the autism imprisoned her. Now she can perform only the most basic tasks, and when in an extremely agitated state her powers lash out at random. Around her father, witches, faen, humans, and other verrik, she is normally very compliant. She has manic attacks if confronted by non-witch litorians and generally ignores almost all other creatures, unless they cause her harm. Zewthra values her father and the feeling of safety he has created around her. She fears her own power and within her mind she longs to be normal again. Though unable to express it, Zewthra understands her father’s finances even better than he does. She also still has friends at court. If cured she could become a powerful ally of the PCs.

History: (Diplomacy (gather information), or Knowledge (local) DC 15) All of Zewthra’s needs have been cared for by her father, ever since the accident. Fearing his government would put her in the Damned Depository, her father fled with her to Far-Rough.

Secret: (Diplomacy (gather information), or Knowledge (noblity) DC 25) Zewthra killed a young minotaur in a prank gone wrong; he was the only son of a clan leader, and a runechild (A being favored by Our Sovereigns in Heaven). Racked with guilt she chose to suppress her power rather than risk harming someone again. This has caused unusual random changes in her thought patterns, however, ultimately resulting in her autism.



Tuesday, November 10, 2015

People who are Awesome!: Perry Grosshans​



People who are Awesome!: Perry Grosshans​,
Line Editor for Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Diceless).

Perry started out with Rite Publishing back in the days of Arcana Evolved (2008) as GM play tester for monsters I created, without him To Kill or Not to Kill, never would have gotten an ENnie nomination (he was its editor). Without him there would be no Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Diceless), as Perry is the one who dared me to dream big (and again he was its editor). He has made me a better author and publisher, he also has made Rite Publishing a much richer place to work.

Sometimes the problem in this industry is that the reward for good work is more work. We don't stop and say what a great job someone is doing. Perry you're awesome, I could not do this without you.

Steven D. Russell
Rite Publishing.