Fantasy Craft: Golarion

[Takeru]

I've been LOVING the Fantasy Craft Sunchaser setting (currently working an Assassin 8/Gallant 1 through some awesome sunchasing using knives and high fashion), but I've always been more of a DM than a Player. One of my longest running campaigns, Curse of the Crimson Throne, is going to be winding down relatively soon and I've decided that I'm going to forgo the Pathfinder Rules in favor of Fantasy Craft rules for my next campaign...

But using the Golarion setting, as it is probably the best setting I've ever seen before. I've got a few questions for how I would go about making this work. Obviously Magic and Miracles would both be turned on, but I've got some mechanical issues that I'll need to work out before actually running the game.

1: How would I go about factoring in the incredibly high number of deities, most of whom do not have a clear-cut opposition? Would I simply change the power to alignment-based and have the individual deities be more of a character choice that modifies what paths they get? Would I need to stat out each Deity as an alignment and just make the opposition happen between Good gods, Evil gods, and maybe Unaligned? I'd allow holy magic into the game, but I'm really curious as to how I should go about fleshing out the incredibly huge number of deities that Golarion has with the Alignment system. Another idea I had was just going with Good, Neutral, and Evil (maybe also Law and Chaos?), but I'm wondering how to do Neutral.

One option I have is doing Good <> Evil and Neutral <> Both, or I could just go Good <> Evil and leave neutral with no opposition but also having no one oppose it. How important are the opposition alignments?  If they're not very important at all I could just have Good <> Evil, Law <> Chaos, Neutral <> None.  But if they're very important maybe neutral could be against everyone, and everyone could be against neutral? Leaving only the truly neutral Gods like the true-neutral god of magic (who is both good and evil, lawful and chaotic) for ones who gain huge bonuses against but have huge weaknesses too other members of the faith.

2: What Campaign Qualities should the baseline world of Golarion have? Obviously Miracle and Magic, and the campaign itself should have qualities based on what kind of tone I'm going for and what the setting is, but I'm wondering what the baseline world as a whole might have. Can anyone help me out with suggestions?

3: I definitely want firearms in the game at the "Gunslinger" (PF Class) level of having black powder weaponry. Are the FC Guns about that level of tech, or do I need to tone some down? There's also a -lot- of racial weapons and regular equipment that is not included in the FC Rules, how easy is it to make a good balanced weapon transfer over from PF to FC?

4: Races. There are a -lot- of races in Pathfinder. Are all of them able to be made using the FC base races and such? I'll probably limit Drakes since having really large quadrupedal PCs kind of limits what kind of encounters you can go on (no adventuring with the Gnomes for you, drakey!) but are all the other base races able to make the basic Pathfinder races? Not sure if the racial feat system works or not, never had to use it before.

5: NPCs. I use a lot of pre-written Pathfinder modules and adventures, so I have to ask how easy it is to transfer a PC from PF (and thus 3.5) and still have them hold about the same abilities in Fantasy Craft. My DM says it's really easy handling making new NPCs, but I've never had to do it and I'm not quite grasping the rules in the book when it comes to actually transferring pre-made NPCs over from another source.

Thank you very much for your assistance. I'm a long-time DM, but I'm rather new to Fantasy Craft and it seems like most of the changes are on the DMs side

[Jake]

1. Limiting things makes everything easy. Make the deities you want your players to use, 4-8, and tell your players due to their nationality/species/astrological signs they are of one of the following alignments. Remember, alignments in FC are optional. Not all alignments have to have an opposing alignment but if they do have one they don't have to oppose each other very much. 2 gods may irk one another just enough to create a rivalry.

Here are some guns. I wouldn't use them unless you want everyone to use them.

4. Again, easiest thing to do is limit the races to what you want your players to play and construct anything that's not in the book. Post what you make on the License to Improvise boards and you'll get feedback. Also, if you have the Adventure Companion (you should) there is a table in there about converting DnD races to FC just by using species feats.

5. NPC conversion is easy. Party is going to fight some goblin brigades? Grab the brigade from the Rogue's Gallery, slap on the goblin template and adjust gear if you see fit. Shopkeeper that might beat the PCs if they nose around what's going on in the back of his shop? Grab the merchant out of the Rogues Gallery, give him Pole Arms Basic/Mastery and watch the PC's surprise as he topples and guts them with a push broom (say a crude man catcher). If you have big ugly monster just grab something close from the Bestiary and add and remove abilities as you like until it looks right.

[Krensky]

Frankly, I feel Fantasy Craft does Golarion better to my taste then Pathfinder does.

1: How would I go about factoring in the incredibly high number of deities, most of whom do not have a clear-cut opposition? Would I simply change the power to alignment-based and have the individual deities be more of a character choice that modifies what paths they get? Would I need to stat out each Deity as an alignment and just make the opposition happen between Good gods, Evil gods, and maybe Unaligned? I'd allow holy magic into the game, but I'm really curious as to how I should go about fleshing out the incredibly huge number of deities that Golarion has with the Alignment system. Another idea I had was just going with Good, Neutral, and Evil (maybe also Law and Chaos?), but I'm wondering how to do Neutral.

First, find out if it really matters. Figure out what sort of characters your players want to play. If no one is going to play an aligned character, they don't matter. If they do want to play one, determine the deity and stat them up. Paths don't really matter much for NPCs, just give them powers you want. So what if no two adversary priest NPCs have the same powers.

Plus, I've done a lot of the work for you.

http://www.crafty-games.com/content/alignments

There are some blank spots, Abadar, Erastil, Pharisma, and Nethys particularly, but that's because I haven't had a player interested. I'd be glad to help if you need those filled in.

2: What Campaign Qualities should the baseline world of Golarion have? Obviously Miracle and Magic, and the campaign itself should have qualities based on what kind of tone I'm going for and what the setting is, but I'm wondering what the baseline world as a whole might have. Can anyone help me out with suggestions?

Baseline? Sorcery and Miracles. Flexible and Greater Magic Items will let you better emulate D&D/PF items when you want. I also use Beneficent and Warring Universe. I use a number of other, but they're less world and more play-style things.

3: I definitely want firearms in the game at the "Gunslinger" (PF Class) level of having black powder weaponry. Are the FC Guns about that level of tech, or do I need to tone some down? There's also a -lot- of racial weapons and regular equipment that is not included in the FC Rules, how easy is it to make a good balanced weapon transfer over from PF to FC?

I use FC guns unmodified. Well, not quite. I have a Double Barreled upgrade that adds +5 complexity, +75% weight, and +250 cost. Both barrels can be fired at once for -2 to hit and if you hit by more then 5 both shots hit. I also dropped the Complexity of Ammo to 10.

Beyond that, I have a Gunslinger specialy and recomend that players who want to use guns pick up Surge of Speed, Quick Draw and look at the Crafting and Favored Gear chains.

I also did a Gunslinger specialty (along with two takes on the Witch, the Chymist, Magus, and Summoner).

4: Races. There are a -lot- of races in Pathfinder. Are all of them able to be made using the FC base races and such? I'll probably limit Drakes since having really large quadrupedal PCs kind of limits what kind of encounters you can go on (no adventuring with the Gnomes for you, drakey!) but are all the other base races able to make the basic Pathfinder races? Not sure if the racial feat system works or not, never had to use it before.

It works fine. If someone wants to play a gnome you might want to make a fae based one to better capture Golarion gnomes. Similarly you might want to make a more conventional D&D style Elf, but I haven't. I did write up the Changeling. I'd also not allow the Giant and Rootwalker, and severely limit the availability of the Unborn. I'd also change the name of the Goblin and work them in that way, and convert the Ogre to a 1x1 large folk with a new name. Mainly because Golarion Goblins and Ogres are not PC material, but they're too cool to not have in game.

5: NPCs. I use a lot of pre-written Pathfinder modules and adventures, so I have to ask how easy it is to transfer a PC from PF (and thus 3.5) and still have them hold about the same abilities in Fantasy Craft. My DM says it's really easy handling making new NPCs, but I've never had to do it and I'm not quite grasping the rules in the book when it comes to actually transferring pre-made NPCs over from another source.

It's not really hard at all, but it is more art than science. Where are you having issues?

[Mister Andersen]

Speaking of using FC to run PF, Kren...

[spinningdice]

Since some abilities like having opposition alignments you could always default them to opposed (original PF) alignments, i.e. a CG god is opposed to all L & E. 
Since most PF deities don't seem to have fixed opposition (except Rovagug vs everyone) it may be better to play it by ear. i.e in this adventure followers of x god are trying to defile something, therefore as a worshipper of y you may count him as an opposed alignment.

[Takeru]

That's actually a good idea about having the aligned deities oppose each-other. It leaves Nethys flapping in the wind a bit, but I think that's the point since he's so random and silly and weird. Might not even have to bother with it, but I like being prepared as one of the people I play with rather enjoys playing Dwarven Clerics of Torag.

A few followup questions I've got:

1: Just how important are opposed alignments anyway? Are they vital to class features to a point that every alignment should have an opposition, or will classes work just fine without having a group that is outright The Enemy Of Our Faith?

2: I'm still having trouble figuring out how to convert things from Pathfinder to Fantasy Craft. The rules seem a touch..complicated... and I don't really understand all of the Grades and Qualities and such. I'm getting a grasp on the rules to make a brand new NPC, and I'm liking the rather impressive amount of customization, but I'm still having trouble figuring out how to convert a named and intelligent NPC from Pathfinder to Fantasy Craft. If I were to want to convert, say, Laori Vaus from the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP, how would I go about doing that? She's a level 11 Elf Cleric of Zon-Kuthon who fights with a spell-storing Spiked Whip. A lot of what she does is tied with her class abilities like the aura that increases everyone's damage, Channeled Smite, and other 'Make the whip hurt with undead power' abilities.

It seems like converting your bog standard Bandit or Thug or Mercenary is already done for you, but I'm finding it a bit hard to know where I should go about converting things from PF to FC...also I'm having trouble figuring out about what XP range is a good threat to each particular level, so I know how to keep them roughly balanced for that kind of group.

3: Is there a lack of gun feats? I'm not seeing much to improve someone who wants to try the Gunslinger route and have firearms be their primary weapon. There's the feat that lets you get two free Handle Item checks a turn, and the bandolier to reduce the load quality of any weapon by two, but I'm not seeing anything for black powder weapons the way that other weapons get special stuff. Is their high base damage at range basically all they've got going for them? There's a lot of cool stuff you can pull off with firearms in PF...which leads me too...

4: How well does the system handle new feats being added to it? I'm not sure how much is already in the system, but Gunslingers in PF can do things like blast locks, trick shots to disarm people or scoot objects around, stop bleeding with the barrel of their gun, do some damage even when they miss, target specific parts of the body, and fire their gun into the air to scare people. How well would FC handle new feats for Black Powder Weaponry, or has someone already tried making such feats?

Sorry if it seems like I've got a lot of questions, the basic mesh of the world and rules goes great, but I just want to get rid of those little niggling bits since I never know what my players are gonna want to be next. Especially if I opt for Skulls and Shackles as the next game I run, in which pirates are pretty much The Thing.

[spinningdice]

1. Opposed alignments aren't a requirement, but a couple of feats do.key off them.
2. Complex npcs you're often best reimaging them. Especially when they afe built around a specific mechanic.
3. Adventure Companion has a few feats with blackpowder in mind, though still usable with bows
4. In general fc feats are.bigger than pf ones, but also a bit stricter with straight bonuses.

[Jake]

She's a level 11 Elf Cleric of Zon-Kuthon

Clerics are casters, I'd use spellcasting over Paths.

who fights with a spell-storing Spiked Whip.

That reeks of Rune Knight abilities.

A lot of what she does is tied with her class abilities like the aura that increases everyone's damage,

That would be the Captain's Battle Planning ability.

Channeled Smite,

Still sounds like the Rune Knight.

and other 'Make the whip hurt with undead power' abilities.

Rune Knight.

So the basics for this NPC would be:
The Captain's Battle Planning I with Crush Them and No Prisoners.
Rune Knights Rune Carved ability, slicing rune would be fun use and lets the PCs see her whip cuts through steel. Plus 1 more rune of the damage type your prefer.
Whip Basics/Mastery along with a chain whip.
For the 'Make the whip hurt with undead power' I might go with an extraordinary attack. A 20' beam attack that forces a save vs drain attribute or fatigue. A low save though.

After that, the easy thing to do is to grab an NPC from the rogue gallery, add the above abilities to it (and Sig Skill Spellcasting IV or so) and trim away anything the NPC already has that doesn't mesh with the new concept. Or just build from the ground up.

...also I'm having trouble figuring out about what XP range is a good threat to each particular level, so I know how to keep them roughly balanced for that kind of group.

Look at the art of not killing the PCs on page 243.

[tfwfh]

also I'm having trouble figuring out about what XP range is a good threat to each particular level, so I know how to keep them roughly balanced for that kind of group.

It doesn't scale that way.  An NPC at a given XP value will be a roughly equivalent challenge across all 20 levels of play.  You may find that as the PCs get to higher levels you may want to spend a few more XP to keep an NPC interesting, but it won't be necessary to keep them challenging.  Instead, you should be considering how much XP per encounter produces the challenge you're looking for.  Personally, I find that an encounter worth 100 XP is easy, but not so easy that it's not fun.  75 XP is something of a cake walk, and 150 XP is a definite challenge.  With planning, my players can reliably overcome about 250 XP worth of encounter, but I very much doubt if they can do 2 of those in a row.

[Krensky]

1: Just how important are opposed alignments anyway? Are they vital to class features to a point that every alignment should have an opposition, or will classes work just fine without having a group that is outright The Enemy Of Our Faith?

I pretty much just play it by ear. They effect some specialties and spells. Sometimes the gods are opposed to each other, sometimes they're not. Other then Rovagug hating and being hated by almost everyone and Zon-Kuthon not touching his sister it's all variable.

3: Is there a lack of gun feats? I'm not seeing much to improve someone who wants to try the Gunslinger route and have firearms be their primary weapon. There's the feat that lets you get two free Handle Item checks a turn, and the bandolier to reduce the load quality of any weapon by two, but I'm not seeing anything for black powder weapons the way that other weapons get special stuff. Is their high base damage at range basically all they've got going for them? There's a lot of cool stuff you can pull off with firearms in PF...which leads me too...

The AC has the Blackpowder chain and the Firearms Master feat. Other feats for the blackpowder user include Quick Draw, Surge of Speed, and Bullseye.

Beyond that, a lot of what the gunsligner gets is reflective of design flaws in Pathfinder.

blast locks = We have rules for attacking objects.
trick shots to disarm people = Already part of the Disarm action.
scoot objects around = We need rules for this? See the Target Shooting and Distracting Shot tricks in the AC.
stop bleeding with the barrel of their gun = See the Refresh action.
do some damage even when they miss = Can't do that one, but honestly, missing should not be a common occurrence with Practiced Shot, free aim actions and all the other stuff.
target specific parts of the body = Called Shot and Cheap Shot tricks
fire their gun into the air to scare people = Threaten action, also the Unnerving Shot trick

[Blankbeard]

3: Is there a lack of gun feats? I'm not seeing much to improve someone who wants to try the Gunslinger route and have firearms be their primary weapon. There's the feat that lets you get two free Handle Item checks a turn, and the bandolier to reduce the load quality of any weapon by two, but I'm not seeing anything for black powder weapons the way that other weapons get special stuff. Is their high base damage at range basically all they've got going for them? There's a lot of cool stuff you can pull off with firearms in PF...which leads me too...

If you want firearms with multiple shots, Here are ones I modified.  With paper cartridges you can reach a load of 1.  Since these weapons can be fired multiple times between reloads, you might let the gunslinger use the ranged multiattack feats.

[Takeru]

Woah you guys are GOOD. I had no idea how much of this stuff was already a part of Fantasy Craft, I guess I just had to do a bit of digging to figure it out. Looks like I won't need to do nearly as much prep work as I thought if somebody comes into the game wanting to play one of the odder PF-Style classes.

Thanks for the help, I'll keep rooting around and coming up with any questions I can find.

[Krensky]

There's a Pathfinder Conversion thread with a bunch of monsters and NPCs from Serpant's Skull and Runelords, my specialties, a feat or two, and I think two of the Iconics (Valeros and Amiri if I recall).

[paddyfool]

With regards to the Gunslinger, you may also want to look at the Deadeye expert class in the Adventure Companion.