Ascension - Thieves Guild - Reboot (Inactive)

Game Master bbangerter


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Welcome to the discussion...


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

Dotted...

I do believe this is where I am supposed to write.

More will be written here, such as, but not limited to, Introduction, what I bring to the team, greetings, happy wishes and what I think will be Brick's more weak points...

Probably in another post, but most certainly here.

So... Salutations until then.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

so everyone who already has a claimed slot, could I please have you chime in?

It would be good to know what the intentions of your characters are so we can start figuring out who among the candidates works best for our fifth.


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

Well, Brick is, as you can see, a Slayer and an Assassin, which I had made to fit a sneaky kind of enforcer build.

His strength would be that he is quite good at sneaking, making locks not matter and just a general kind of Assassin-y feel.

When I have the Crunch uploaded to him, his strengths will be quite visible, but at the moment he has a good sneak, solid bluff and a passable Disguise... If I have to say so myself. He also has a good Disable Device to make doors go up. He also have some quick fingers (Sleight of Hand) and just a general kind of brutish Thief.

So as it is, Brick will be a 2-Weapon fighting rogue going for the "surprise! You have 4 new wounds in your back" typical build and if the fight ever moves out from the shadowy surprises, he will typically fight with unfair methods, kicks under the belt, blinding them with a quick flash with the sword and etc, to get the edge again.

So anything else is A-Okay with me. Spellcasters, skillmonkies, snipers and everything in-between. I am well aware that a thieves group can't only be one thing... Then they are just going to run their head into the wall once they get out of their areas...


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

That was more of a Crunchy post...

The more Fluffy one, is that Brick partially grew up with the thieves guild. His dad was a thief, but left him before he was old enough to walk. His mother never knew that the man she loved was a thief, but his uncle, from his dads side, knew and told Brick once he got old enough.

Raised by his uncle, as his mother got more sick, (She called it a broken heart), Brick grew up in the less legal part of town, using a generous amount of time in the Inn his uncle owned. The inn, The Minotaurs Head is known by the "wrong" kind of people as being a safe way out of town with it's secret way out through the wall.
Growing up with smugglers, he got taken into the Thieves Guild as a young brawn and taught how to hit where it hurts, general sneaky-ness and the attitude of taking everything and giving nothing back.

Fast Forward...

Brick has been looking at the events unfold while working with another member for the guild. (The Mysterious other player). Laying low and waiting to be called in, Brick intents to make the guild grow into a major thing in the city once again, even more powerful.


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

O.k, so Nyx was really designed to infiltrate anything she can. The idea is that she can disguise herself as a specific individual, walk right past any defences and guards while bluffing her way past if anyone has any questions, and then brazenly walking out with whatever item she wants. With her linguistic skills, Nyx is quite capable at forging documents to either grant her access to restricted areas, or to "swap" specific information documents or the like. Her extract list is mostly going to aid her with this (since unfortunately, extracts are self only until I can get infusion), while in a combat setting she will drop Studied Combat and attack foes in melee with her weapon.

As far as weaknesses go, she's dependant on primarily being in melee, and isn't really the tankiest person out there, compared with some bulkier classes out there. Still, I'm pretty sure that she can adapt to most situations on the fly and come out ok.

As far as preferences go, I'm fairly open toward what sort of character we end up selecting provided to doesn't end up doing exactly what someone else ends up doing (for instance I'd prefer picking up someone other than a Slayer since we have someone involved with that). Thats just me though.


Male Human Investigator 7

I am slaving in the fluff mines, to find the proper fluff for this disgusting crunch. It took me hours to create a character from a concept and now I can really let my creative writing skills flow.


Male Human Investigator 7

Howard Edgar King, or just Mister King, is the fat-bellied and jolly proprietor of the “Golden Swan”. The Golden Swan is nothing less than the most lively, resident watering hole for gamblers and sin-seekers of all ages and tastes. It specializes in providing only the finest ecstasies and thrills to the paying patrons. Mister King himself should by all logic, be loathed and reviled in most of Coran for having such an establishment of ill-repute and taking the wages of honest workers for a mere game of dice, however, contrary to such a belief Mister King’s reputation seems to have been rising steadily in the latter years.

Perhaps it is due to his charitable donations to several altruistic foundations in Caron, perhaps it is due to the lax-atmosphere in the Golden Swan and its favorable prices. It might just be because he seems capable of selling even the hottest wares, getting his grubby hands on even the most illegal kind of merchandise and even due to his status as “problem fixer”. With an excellent ability to make “problems” disappear permanently, without as much as a trace and an even more excellent ability to avoid being implicated in such troublesome events himself.

Officially, Mister King is a social pillar of the community with some philanthropist streaks, but behind the scene, he juggles with a full-blown smuggling operation, acts as a money-lender wit exorbitant rates and prides himself on having his fingers in some wide-reaching protection rackets. Of course, such operations are not easily kept away from the Mageocracy and as thus, valiant and hard-working guardsmen who operate in Mister King’s area often receives a healthy pouch of tokens from Mister King’s “out-reach program”. A good bribe keeps such establishments out of trouble with the law-man, after all.

Appearance:
Mister King is an obese middle-aged human male with short, graying, oiled and carefully trimmed hair. His face is dominated with a crooked nose, his imperial-style moustache and thick muttonchops, which leaves only a fleeting hint of his narrow, darting eyes behind a thick set of –gold-framed glasses. He is most often seen in a brown-colored long-sleeved frock coat with a long V-cut neckline, which has been flung over an impeccably pressed white-shirt. The coat’s sleeves has been decorated with frilly gray cuffs. His trousers seem to have been made with the same droll material as his coat and has been topped off with an equally non-descript belt, which seems to be in a losing fight to keep back a rolling stomach. To top it off, he wears a solid pair of black colonial boots.

Background:
There was little extraordinary about Howard Edgar King’s childhood. He might have been born to a relatively well-off family, which had sufficient pull in the grand scheme of things to afford a proper education for Howard. To say that his childhood was weighted-down by books would not be incorrect and most of the contact he had with individuals outside of his family home was with a range of etiquette governesses, who sought to instill upon him the airs of the well-mannered and gentle. It all proved to be rather successful and King sought to capitalize upon his good fortune by opening up a business of his own.

He tried all manner of trades: writing novels and books for the rich, proved to be less successful and his attempt to move into other fields seemed futile for a while. That was, until a representative of a local business-association contacted him: The Thieves’ Guild.

Suddenly everything seemed to be going smoothly for Howard. He got in contact with the right folks and was suddenly able to grease the right hands and suddenly he ended up with a small establishment of his own. The Golden Swan, of course, was a lot less lucrative back then, but through the ages a long range of criminal activities, done under the cover of the legitimate business, has made the Golden Swan soar into fame in Coran and Howard has even managed to hire a relative of his to keep out the disturbing elements of the community.

That’s not to say that Howard was resigned to the life of a bachelor, in fact, for most of his life he had been married to the love of his life. A childhood sweetheart at the academy, Lola Craftwell. Nevertheless, fate had another course for their union and Lola King died, giving birth to Howard’s heirs.

NPC Weakness:

Howard’s family is endlessly dear to him and his two heirs are dearest of all to Howard.

Charles King – 8 years old -The first-born son of the King family and an endless little rapscallion and vandal. Charles King is usually resigned to the Golden Swan by his father, where he gives an endless range of disciplinary teachers and educators the challenge of their life.

Lola King – 8 years old - Lola certainly takes after her mother and name-sake and is her father’s little gemstone. She is endlessly kind and compassionate and has her father's intelligence and cunning. She currently studies under a hired magician. The latest ingenious trick to ensure that she is set up for life.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

everyone with focus on social stuff, do make sure to read the bit GM ascension has on house rules, It might save you some investments you could otherwise use on different aspects of your character.

Fluff is in the profile. But I'll go ahead and copy/paste it here so you don't have to click over one more page.

appearance:
Alexia is 5'7'' with light red skin, hazel eyes and dark brown hair. She is often mistaken for some strange variety of half-elf due to her long pointed ears and having pupils(which normal elves do not) but the learned know she is a tiefling. Alexia wears a high collared duster of fine leather over common street clothes, though her tastes in clothing tend more toward male fashion than female fashion finding it easier to be taken seriously in a suit rather than a dress. She wears a pair of glasses though does not truly need them finding they help when reading the smaller text in older books.

Background:
Character Alexia Hebert "Bishop"
Alexia Hebert was once a rising star in what some call the foot of heaven. The college that trained eager young mages in the shadow of the great city's tower. Now though she exists as an entity in the Issust Hold, a member of the Usturn commonly called in to deal with significant problems and provide magical expertise. She is more interested in lore than people, suspicious by nature and experience. She solves problems by coming at them from unconventional angles seeking to maintain a professional distance but still indulging in the occasional sardonic remark.
Birthplace and history:

Alexia does not know where or to who she was born, though divination into the matter show that she has the lineage of an ancient outsider in her veins. its true nature being hidden by powerful defensive magic beyond her ability to pierce.
Alexia was found squalling in the desert by one of the desert hermits, he brought her to one of the village leaders of Issust Hold, Barnabus Gralrund. The man took in the infant and raised her, perhaps not like one of his two other children but well enough. While Barnabus's children drifted out of Alexia's spheres of influence Barnabas followed though and got her all the way to young adulthood. She demonstrated an uncanny grasp of magic and a local tutors services were purchased, she swiftly outpaced them in what they could teach moving to others until she sent an Arcane thesis to the Tower of heaven academy hoping to become one of the three students selected each year to attend the school on a scholarship. She managed to gain such a lofty gift over the hundreds of other applicants on her second try. At a young age she left the only place she knew as home to become a student at the greatest home of learning in the world. Her father was furious that she would dare to leave home, that she felt herself better than her brother and sister who had found work in Issust Hold. She departed from home in tears, knowing that such a glorious establishment as the Tower of Heaven would take her in with open arms.

Alexia arrived and was inducted into the student body, stars in her eyes and a song in her heart. She made several friends in the a mousy young woman named Tabitha and an old orc blooded groundskeeper who referred to himself as 'Turn'. It was at this time she also met someone who she would eventually consider more fondly than even her family. A newly arrived teacher of the Conjuring arts that dabbled in many things the bald headed human had a boisterous laugh and welcoming smile.
It was Professor Abu that provided Alexia the additional schooling she needed to overcome her non-magical background, who provided answers and gentle nudges for spell casting methods. Over the two years she spent at the campus she grew closer to the man as her common background and opinions ground against the upper crust sensibilities of her class mates. She was swiftly labeled a bad student and others perpetuated the rumor, warning others of her dangerous nature. With such limitations, lack of peers to work with and inability to turn to family for help Alexia found herself at a crossroad. She began leveraging her familiar a Rat she had named Barbatoreum to spy on other students and teachers using magics to see through his eyes or understand his words and learning magic that way. She saw many things in those whispered sessions indiscretions and dark magic being the major themes. Inevitably her spying was discovered and all of the bad things whispered about her legitimized.
It was at that point she started working almost entirely with Durain, her other teachers often making it a point to single out her flawed areas and hammer on them. Pushing her until her already stressed facade would crack or she would leave half way through the lesson. It was the last week of her second year that is all changed, a transmutation gone wrong and a massive blank in her memory. Waking in a hospital ward under guard, chained to the wall. Her terrified screaming woke the night shift and she was swiftly dressed in penitents rags. The questioning she received was brutal and her trial a closed court, she was charged with the murder of Durain Abu Professor and foreign visitor. The funeral had been last week, a closed casket affair the professor had no relatives and was buried at the cost of the tower.

Even with mind fogged over in vibrant shades of grief, agony and confusion Alexia knew leading questions when she saw them. They wanted her to shoulder the blame, she managed to demand a cleric of the city arrive and administer a zone of truth. With such a public presence she was able to get a fair trial, with no other witnesses to present evidence and Professor Abu's body damaged beyond use they could only present circumstantial evidence. They could not prove she was the culprit but after the inquiry she was presented with the costs of the third years tuition and informed that Students with scholarships were not permitted to have altercations with the law.
So, with her bright future in ruins, the teacher she considered a father and any friends she might have still had in the campus gone Alexia wrote a letter of resignation and left in the dark of the early morning.
She discovered Durain's familiar Xabu had stowed away in her belongings a bright spot for the grief stricken girl.

She arrived home to find a sympathetic ear in Barnabus who had heard of her treatment in Coran. It was at this point she was offered a job to come and work with her adoptive father and learned that he had been a leading man in the Hold's criminal world for many years. With her rocky trip home she accepted and began a gradual entry into crime, helping with prep work at the start and progressing from petty theft to full robbery, assault and magically assisted murder.
Whatever scraps of innocence Alexia might have had before her journey to Coran was assuredly removed from the descent into crime. The years in illicit services taught her that much of what she had been taught in her schooling was incorrect. The kind did not prosper, the strong did and with all the knowledge in the universe unless one could leverage it you would still die with a knife in your gut.
She obtained more teachers for her mystic arts by hook or crook, digging into every contact she could find and learning a dozen different concepts of magic by the end of it. Be it a Demon, undead, abberant monster or simple corrupted man if they had knowledge she wanted Alexia would do everything in her power to get it.

It was eight years since the events in Coran, and Alexia journeys again to the towered city with her possessions. The month before she had been sent a transcript of several conversations in the Tower by Tabitha Fairsbrook, head clerk of the towers legal division. Along side an apology for taking so long to bring such to light. Seeing it himself and knowing from some of her tales how much she had trusted the professor Barnabas presented her with the option to work in Coran for a time, making nice with the local night guild.
Durain had uncovered a secret from one of the masters, he had been a mere breath away from obtaining a seat himself and swinging the powerblock that kept the more progressive of the Seven in check. Apparently one of them even knows who her actual parents are.


NPC ties:
Alexia has several weaknesses but the defining flaw is her controlling nature. Alexia does not like going into situations blind, she learns all she can finds the gaps in her enemy and exploits them to the fullest extent. The problem being that when an enemy catches her off guard her first interest is escaping them, she does not fight battles she has a chance of losing. She also has a burning desire for Political and Knowledge based power to ensure she is never stuck in a situation like he time at the academy. Beyond this is a lack of self-esteem and the haunting specter of killing her favorite teacher making her a distant and cold person.

As to people she represents a major guild in Issut Hold, Barnabas his family and many people who work in the town. She is known there and were events to happen in the hold she would take notice.
Durain Abu's gravestone, which has received a well preserved purple cactus flower on March 14th every year (this day being his birthday being unknown to effectively everyone.)
And with the newly delivered lead on Durain's killer Tabitha Fairsbrook has become someone Alexia would do quite a lot for.


Short version is that Alexia is a cleaner from the Issut Hold, having been sent to the city to gather more information on the events occurring.
She uses magic in oblique and twisted manners to do horrible things.

I'd been wanting to try the Brownfur Transmuter but with how painfully limited the spell selection list for the Arcanist is I really don't think it makes sense to do so. So I'll likely be undergoing some character tweaks before we start game.
Alexia is shaping up to be a save or die specialist using the Potent spell arcansist ability to make painfully high saves.
A boring method to win but a quick and effective one.
I'm also planning on abusing the ever loving crap out of familiar action economy and single use magic items in case of bad times.
Xabu has already served as an excellent scout for the party after being shrunk so as to fit under the gaps of doors and be easily mistaken for a common vermin.


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

We should be covered on social stuff since I can use Linguistics in the place of Bluff, and Howard has his mod pretty high as well. Between Howard and I, we should have most skills covered =]


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

As I can see it, we have this in the group for now:

Social - Howard, Nyx.
Combat - Brick.
Spells - Alexia.

Funny enough, we are all stealthy enough to substitute the need for a pure ninja/Rogue in that aspect and all of us are... Not completely, pretty efficient skill monkies on that point.

So I can't really see what we might be needing in this group other than maybe... Divine caster? Ranged? Anyone else have a certain wish for a character, because I already think that the group has a pretty good composition as it is...


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

I think picking up another caster, or someone that has synergy with existing characters is a good idea. For example, something like a witch/shaman helps Alexia nail those SoD spells, Cleric's have access to channel and all the other variant options if they like, Oracles/Druids etc are all naturally versatile and so on.

That said tho, by and large I don't have a specific "wish" for a character, because as Brick pointed out, we do have a stable composition already, and could possibly pick anything and still do ok.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

@Nyx
What I had meant by that was this.
---------------
Diplomacy and intimidate skills don't exist. They are all rolled into the bluff skill. If your chosen class has diplomacy or intimidate as a class skill you instead have bluff as a class skill. Feats and traits that would increase diplomacy or intimidate instead affect your bluff skill, however these do not stack with other feats or traits that would increase one of these skills.

In game when you are using your bluff skill please specify what you are actually trying to accomplish. i.e., still state you are trying to intimidate someone, or calm someone with diplomacy, etc, but your bluff skill will be used to modify the d20 roll to determine the effectiveness.

Because of the potential PvP encounters realize that using the bluff skill to get someone to act more friendly towards you (because of good diplomacy or fearsome intimidation) in a social situation may or may not work, though role-playing in this area is certainly encouraged. Combat uses of bluff skill can also be used to apply the shaken condition (as per intimidate) or apply class specific abilities that rely on one of these skills.
-------------------

Bluff is effectively the only social skill. You can save on ranks and put them elsewhere.

As to our positions in the group. It is somewhat sad to see we have no alchemists due to them being badasses.

Yes brick looks to be our combat character
A few questions relating to your character though.
Is there a purpose you have in selecting the Assassin prestige class?
Slayers kind of already do everything the assassin class can.

Dropping out a L6 means that you lose out on getting to use Studied target as a swift action (Slayer7) And the Stalker ability that nets you Intimidate/disguise as studied target bonuses.
Additionally the L10 slayer assassinate talent is phenomenally better than the assassin's death attack. Yes it requires you wait to access it but Assassinate only requires you stand there like a mook for 1 round before getting to the good stuff.

Secondly have you seen the Shield master feat as an option for your two weapon fighting. using ranger combat talents you can access it at this level. normally it is restricted to 11th level characters (and for good reason)
Shield master is insane for two weapon fighting (you take no penalties to your off hand. full stop.) and would make you emulate your name in being a pain to actually harm. We could seriously use someone in the group with a not terrible (For a front liner of our level) AC.
Somewhere in the range of 28+.

Now as to player selections.
Thunderbeards concept for an evil green arrow makes my inner nerd happy. I know him to be a reliable player and love the fluff he has provided for his concept.
I'm thinking I can help him get access to some cheap/ free poisons with Alexia's ability to speak with insects which would make his concept viable even with the loss of his abundant ammunition trick.

Alfrazar/Taleth is unfortunately also a slayer, and doesn't seem to add much to our little band.

CampinCarls rogue is cool, but again falls into the that same "so you are sneaky...and?" pit that many of the submissions have now.

Erebor (the half-drow Synth) is potent, ill give him that. but I can't help but feel like the characters design was built and then a story built around it rather than coming up with a fun story and finessing the rules to work the way you wan them to.

Toxicdragons small inquisitor looks like it would fit great with this group and while she has a similar focus on social stuff to Nyx the inquisitors divine spells and other boosts will likely keep them seperate enough.

Drovic is going to be the one to select if we want some healing power.
Hex vulnerability and the healing hex means we are set when it comes to hit point damage, and a full caster is always great to have around.

So my potential picks as of now are Toxicdragon, Thunderbeard and Drovic.


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9
Quote:
Bluff is effectively the only social skill. You can save on ranks and put them elsewhere.

I'm confused, I don't have any ranks in Diplo/Intimidate :/

I'll have another quick look at what's been submitted so far and come back with a Top 3


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

Huh, guess I missed that. Though I was pointing it out to everyone in the group rather than you specifically.
It amuses me the amount of utility an investigator can get out of the orator feat.

Also we seem to have a good number of players in the group now that don't possess dark vision.


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

I agree, Slayer 7 is the better option, I just took the Assassin for more of an Sneaky feel... But if you (The group) would rather have me more effective, I will just grab the slayer instead.

Also, on the Darkvision thing. I have sent a PM to GM about an idea I had on the problem that Brick has encountered with it.

Basically, I asked if it was apossibility to get Darkvision cast on him for 5k GP instead of getting the item to 12k GP. If it get's through, then great, if not, then we have something to play around.

About the Shield Master thing, No. I have never considered it, because I have never played a character with a shield, so I simply didn't consider it.
I will have to make a pretty nasty shield to make up for the fact that it just doesn't feel very sneaky to have a shield when sneaking up on people. But yeah, it seems pretty strong, so I will toy with the idea of making the other shortsword into a shield, meaning I will stand and fight on the front while the rest of you does your thing. such as running away or the like.

As for possible candidates: I haven't really had the time to give the time those characters thrown around the time to read properly up and bring out a good response on each of them, except for posion archer (Thunderbeard). He seems pretty nice and fulfills the role that we might be missing in the shape of Ranged "take-out" so we don't have to rush straight into the fray to get 1 guy down.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

I didn't want to outright say it for concern of offending but just about anything is better than the Assassin prestige class when it comes to effectiveness.
It makes me sad how badly Paizo has treated that prestige class.

Tiefling and Half orc would also very likely fit your concept while netting you dark vision if you felt like changing.


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

Hmm, my best 3 list shares some similarities with Alexia. My favourite atm is prolly Drovic, since I like the synergy he has with our existing party. Thunderbeard is also a good choice because activity is one of the biggest things in PbP and he strikes me as an active player. Erebor is potentially my third favourite mostly because I appreciate his plot hooks a little more, but thats just me.


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

Having some free time, read the others. I stick to the thunderbeard, poison archer because of the entire "death from above" feel.

But I also like Drovic, with his slave witch. So I am saying that I am cool with both.

Also, I will most likely switch to full fledged slayer and look into the shield thing... so I will most likely drop the info here tomorrow.


Male Human Investigator 7

I can't say that I dislike any of the options, and I am having a rather powerful internal struggle on the topic of which candiate I wish to show my meager support to. On one hand, I am dazzled by the options and the range of possibilities there lies in some of the player bids.

On the other hand, I think I have to lay my support on either Thunderbeard or Dovic. Both of them just feels so right.

Anyway, I realized my BG was rather lacking, so I will be looking into making it a lot more concrete and putting a lot more work into what Howard has been doing lately.


Male Human Investigator 7

I foresee, due to the knowledge I happen to have of Brick's player, that Brick risks becoming an unchained rogue now.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

And T-beard has bowed out. Well I guess that makes deciding a player easier.

@Howard.
I'm going to hope we can keep the group as it is, we seriously will need a tank. I'm not going to be able to drop everything we encounter and both you/Nyx are focused on the skill/social spheres of things.


Male Human Investigator 7

Perhaps.... Perhaps it is a smidgen redundant to have two social/skill based characters. It is not entirely impossible or even improbable that I could consider switching to something a bit more physical and martial.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

Oh not what I was trying to say at all. I'm saying that two is just fine but if three of the five characters in the party are going to be skill monkeys then the group is going to get imbalanced.
It will mean that instead of being unsuited to the traditional encounters of a DnD game that we upgrade to it being a terrible idea.
three rogues and a wizard does not a successful combat encounter make.

I know most of the group in the previous game was stretching their skill points to fill in gaps while keeping their specialty.
Fairly sure the lowest social stat in a group made up of Inquis/Summoner/Ranger/Ninja/Arcanist was a +11.

Think the highest of the group was the inquisitor at something like a +23.


Male Human Investigator 7

Oh, certainly, certainly. I never meant to implicate that you wished that I changed from one concept to another, however, the point remains that having two heavily-skill focused characters seems a bit redundant for the group and while we are members of the thieve's guild and it logically should be dominated by highly skilled individuals, we're not going to be able to compete with the other groups. Unless the high and lordly GM is going to protest, I might delve into the darkest realms of character creation and slave some more in the fluff mines and create something viable.

As thus, I am trying to create a some-what skilled Swashbuckler. A gentleman thief, of some sort.

Or perhaps some manner of gunslinger hit-man? What was the setting's level of gun advancement? Emerging? Common?

What do you lads think?


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

Just because of what we have talked about, Howard, doesn't mean that I will do it once I see the group we are in.

Seeing as we already have enough skill monkies that you can barely throw a dart in the shadows without hitting one, I think I will try and make Brick more... Like a wall.

Meaning, I have looked on the Shield Master feat and I will try and see if I can replace the sword on his left with a shield. That way I can boost my AC to somewhere up with... 22 maybe?

Now, this isn't really the highest number and nothing to go screaming about, but it is higher than 18, my current number.

So instead of being a blade swirling, likeable enforcer, Brick will embrace his stereotype a bit more and go into being a tad more beefy.... And having a shield to bash into people...

But, and here I am asking you wonderful people, should I still go with the Dirty Trick or just remove them and get some extra feats to make me even more scary with my new found shield?


Guns are emerging.

I have no objection to further tweaking and adjusting till we actually get started.


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

Wonderful, thank you GM.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

@All
So I feel like ultimately our choice for a player has been made for us with Thunderbeard's withdrawal. it seems like All of us had him or Drovic as a bet in this one.
Do we want to have another round of discussion on the topic at this juncture? I know GM Ascension was saying he planned to wrap the recruitment soon.

@ Howard
You might find some interest in the Daring Champion Caviler. Order of the cockatrice might fit a braggart gentleman.
One of the other more low-key orders could also fit if your desire is to not strap a gigantic target to your chest.
Plus if you wanted to be a bookend character with Brick you might consider the Shield-trained trait. It would make a heavy steel shield something you are proficient in and make it a light weapon. Which would mean all your swashbuckler tricks would work with it.

Amusing Tangent:

You know that trait means that an unchained rogue could use the same treat to get Dex to damage on a shield bash. It would take a rediculously long time to get rolling but a rogue using the same TWF/Shield master tree I just suggested to Brick could be brutal in a higher level game. After all Rogue sneak attack doesn't multiply with a crit, so the damage increase won't be terribly satisfying.

That or the Magus arcana that lets you steal the best bits of the Swashbuckler class.
Swashbucklers suffer severely from the number of abilities that they have which consume their swift action for the round.

Though regardless of the idea on this I will say that were this gentleman thief concept to possibly include some manner of Intimidation trick so Alexia would get her spells to land more often wold be lovely.

@Brick
You might consider a second option, Shield Slam makes bull rush an amazing option for Shield bash builds.
It effectively attached a Bull rush effect to each of your attacks as a bonus. Play pinball with your foes and place them into flank with your friends or into the conveniently created Pit by one of your spellcasters.
Also that bit about rendering people Prone with no save if they hit a wall. Like you were a trip build with absolutely no investment.

It is a shame that the slayer list of available rogue talents is unlikely to ever increase. The Rogue talent Sneaky Maneuver would work to make Dirty trick an actualy viable thing to do in combat as it would only eat a swift action and SA damage on an attack rather than consuming a standard action.

-----------
Do feel free to mention when you'd like me to stop on this advice, I'm always happy to engage in such theorycrafting and optimization as it amuses me. I'm also aware that many folks could give less of a damn about how they could do what they are doing better and just want to play the character that they are playing right now.
So just let me know when you are done with my litany of words and I'll stop.


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

Oh no Alexia, by all means, keep up the theorycrafting on my behalf.

When it comes to seeing certain opportunities, I am either horribly short-sighted or looking so far ahead that all I find myself saying in-game is "Just wait until X level, then you'll see!"

So, keep em coming, but know that I will most likely finish the Crunch for Brick today and then get the Fluff posted properly.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

Will do my best to see you turned into a horrible murder-beast then.

@All
So do we want to go ahead and take a vote/wrap the recruitment? I'd very much like to get to discussion of characters and then get into the meat of the game again.
I have gotten to do frustratingly little as Alexia and am itching to run her again.


Male Human Slayer 7
Stats:
HP: 84/84 :: AC: 23/13/20 :: Init +4 :: Saves +9/+9/+6 :: CMD 20

My vote is on Drovic... If i have any vote.

By the way, Alexia, I have sent you a pm.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

Everyone who is already selected as a player has a voice in this.
Were new arrivals to be restricted I'd be the only one with a choice in the matter aside from our GM.

Read and returned a response on your PM.

Eh... I really like Toxic's inquisitor but I can agree that Drovic looks to be the better option mechanically.
Obscure Dweomer is a sweet sweet spell to have available to a sneaky bunch like us.

EDIT:
*Glances to recruitment thread*
Well never mind then.
Welcome Drovic.

Now we just need to hammer out what our group is planning to do character wise.
Looking at the group the Brownfur archetype is next to useless with all your cursed dependence on gear. Though I suppose the aberration form sell could work with that it is the only one that does.

Both the blood line and School archetypes look cool but I'm thinking I'll just end up selecting the core Arcanist. There are lots of cool exploits to try out after all.


If everyone could please finish up their characters by/over this coming weekend. Plan is to launch on Monday.


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11

Drovic checking in! Thank you for the invitation. I am very excited to be a part of this campaign. Please feel free to look over my character and make suggestion (spells etc) that would improve our team. I can't wait to get our plot line going. One thing that I learned from my previous time in this campaign is that teamwork/communication is vital.

If you guys would like for me to keep notes of plots, NPCs, loot etc; let me know. Thanks again!!


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

@GM
Got it. Will do my best to see that happen.

@Drovic.
communal Mask Dweomer. Avoiding pinging as a magic Christmas tree is critical for the jobs we are likely to be doing.
forgetful sleep and I think there is a witch spell that is like conditional suggestion.

If you are willing to keep such notes that would be great. We didn't do much after you left. You got counter ambushed by the mage group. Then we geared up to deal with Firyian and it crashed as we were setting up to assault the home he was in.


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

@GM

Nyx should be ready when we start, unless I need to do any last minute changes somewhere.


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11

I am going to try to read over the previous gameplay thread again this weekend and jot some notes to start the journal. I also plan to work out what happened to Drovic and write an addition to his background. GM Ascension said he had some ideas for Drovic if he was selected by the group. I am also going to add a little section for Drovic's motivations and weaknesses. Reapplying to the group got my creative juices flowing. I want to get into Drovic's mind to prepare for roleplaying.

By the way, I am loving everyone's backgrounds/personalities.

@GM Ascension: Is there anything you want me to focus on while taking notes on the previous gameplay thread (or skip altogether)? I know this is a new group and you may want to take us in a different direction, according to these characters' backgrounds.


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11
Alexia "Bishop" Hebert wrote:


@Drovic.
communal Mask Dweomer. Avoiding pinging as a magic Christmas tree is critical for the jobs we are likely to be doing.
forgetful sleep and I think there is a witch spell that is like conditional suggestion.

If you are willing to keep such notes that would be great. We didn't do much after you left. You got counter ambushed by the mage group. Then we geared up to deal with Firyian and it crashed as we were setting up to assault the home he was in.

Communal Mask Dweomer Nice! I'll add it.

Forgetful Slumber This was originally a Half Elf only, but is allowed if GM OKs. GM Ascension are you OK with this? It is definitely flavorful for my character.
@Alexia Is this worth more than Black Tennacles for now? I only get two 4th level spells and I feel like I need to take Dimension Door as an "OH $HIT" spell. I know the RPing implications of a character/NPC forgetting an interrogation is HUGE.
Sow Thought?. I love this spell. It is somewhat GM dependent on how it works, but GM Ascension is always fair.

I switched Accursed Hex feat for Extra Hex to grab the Charm Hex. With a successful diplomacy check from one of you guys followed up with this hex, we can cause an NPC's attitude to jump 2 levels: ie. Indifferent to Helpful

I love the RPing spells, but PVP is super deadly. We definitely need to try to avoid it and have an escape plan in place if I choose more RPing spells, which is what I prefer anyway.


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11

NPCs:

Mistress Diguri aka "Shadow of Shadows" Current guild leader (Drow)
Priestess Illvaria *Deceased* Chief Lieutenant (2nd in command) Led a mutiny against the "Mistress" (Drow)
Firyin kin and loyal to Illvaria. Lead antagonist to the former group. Former group was ordered to kill him. He hangs out with a merchant family named Murdoch. It is rumored he is creating an army of Drow soldiers to overthrow the Mistress. He is recruiting them from beneath the mountain to the North of the City. (Drow)
Maklo loyal to Illvaria. Captured and taken by city guard. Still in jail. Former group was ordered to kill him. He is no longer friendly with Firyin . (Drow)
Captain Silvers Corrupt Captain of the guard. Informant (Human)
Kleonna Owner of the Wailing Spirits. Friend to the Guild. Tavern/Brothel used as a hideout. (Older Human)
Cheyle Formerly loyal to Illvaria. Turned by Tony. Loyal to Diguri now. (Drow)
Tony Former Group Leader. Still around. (Human)
Sic Group Member. Cleric of Norgorber (Half Orc)
Vaek Group Member. Ninja (Human)
Sorad Group Member. Monk. (Dwarf)
Tasem Guild Lieutenant. Loyal to the Mistress (Human)
Milah Works for Tasem
Smet Works for Tasem
Lizbeth "The Unmaker" ?
Radgar Former Paladin? Went crazy after his wife was killed. Is now a killer running loose. Thinks Drow were behind the death of his wife.

Please let me know if I missed anyone important!

Places:

Wailing Spirits Brothel/Tavern/Hideout
The Crow Tavern. Previous group was attacked by the Merchant's here once.
Murdoch Estate Rumored Hideout for Firyin

Former Group's Unresolved Plot Hooks:

1) Merchant Jumai (glass maker): Sold the former group out to the Merchant guild and had them attacked. He disappeared (probably under the Merchant Guild's protection)
2) Kill Maklo (in jail)
3) Kill Firyin (may be staying at the Murdochs)
4) Stop Firyin's recruitment of Drow
5) Spread rumors that Firyin the Drow, with the Merchant guild, was responsible for Radgar's wife's death.

I just finished reading through the entire game play thread. Good Stuff! I hope Tony and Sic show up as NPCs every so often. They were some awesome characters!


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Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

Just on this basis, here are some things Nyx would cover.

Firstly, its really not that hard for her to forge documents that indicate Firyin was responsible for Radgar's wife dying. I can drop them off somewhere he would find it, or you can make the documents publically available and let the rumors spread themselves.

-Killing Maklo shouldn't be that difficult. I can perfectly mimic a specific guard, walk right through the prison, and then, I don't know, just kill him? SHouldn't be hard for me to bring others with me as well.

-Merchant Jumai is trickier, but eliminating him would be a good thing to prioritise. We would need to lure him out into the open, or find someone connected to the Merchant's guild who would know his location.


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11

GM Ascension may send us in a different direction... I like the way you think though Nyx!!! I just wanted to help everyone have a quick idea of the world history thus far.


Thats a long read Drovic.

Brick, can you please include your back story in your profile?


Male Human Investigator 7

You have put me in a pinch, Alexia! I might have some understanding of the game-system and what's good and what should be avoided at all cost, however, I still remain entirely unsure what I should pick for a class.

Is the Daring Champion really better than the swashbuckler? I have seen people denoting it as a straight upgrade, but I could use some confirmation for an expert, such as yourself.


Female Half-Elf Investigator 7 HP: 45/45 | AC:13 T: 11 FF: 13 | Fort: +3 | Ref: +7 | Will: +5 | Perception: +14 Sense Motive +12 | Initiative: +2 | Inspiration: 9/9

I'm sure that Alexia is much more qualified than I am, but in my humble opinion, the Daring Champion really is a better upgrade for the following reasons

1. Daring Champion has a much better fortitude save, but a weaker reflex save. This is balanced out however due to being a Dex based class, which ends up reflecting on it having slightly better saves than the Swashbuckler. The Swashbuckler will have access to Charmed Life, its true, but it encourages the Swashbuckler to be a little more MAD, as well as burn an immediate action (on a swift action gated class) to boost those saves.

2. The Daring Champion gets access to an Order and the Challenge ability, which_should_stack with Precise Strike. Since the Daring CHampion still gets to keep access to the "good" deeds that the Swashbuckler gets, this is largely the reason why people consider the archetype a straight upgrade over the class.

My 2 cents


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11
GM Ascension wrote:

Thats a long read Drovic.

Not too bad with the combat pages being so easy to read. It took about 3-4 hours. It was enjoyable (like reading a good fantasy novel). I want to immerse myself in the world this go around. When I joined the group last time, they were jumping from combat to combat.


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Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

For the reasons Nyx has mentioned.
It has the limitations of not coming online until L4 but after it hits that level it is better in basically every way.
The Magus arcana I talked about lets you grab swashbuckler tricks and use Arcane pool points to fuel them. Which is a horrible trade off but it lets you grab precise strike even if you'll never use the panache expenditure.

For the Daring champion Challenge being an untyped bonus stacks with Precise strike and unlike precise strike will multiply on a critical hit.
As the caviler does not rely on charisma for any of the swashbuckler abilites they obtain (aside from amount of panache) one can tank charisma boost wisdom and make some very interesting combos.
So you can tank your charisma, invest in the Extra panache feat and act like you had a 16 cha for the sake of it.
Never mind the fact that with the Panache feather magic item at 1000gp a pop the idea of actually running out of panache is laughable at higher levels.

Order of the Flame and order of the Cockatrice are two you might find fun for what you want to do.

@Nyx / unresolved plot lines.

I'd actually been planning on dealing with those as well. Though my methods would have been decidedly more over the top.

Jumal- was not aware of his existence.
Maklo- Alexia can shrink her familiar and send it into the Jail with a intensified shocking grasp attached. DC60-ish CDG fort save is unlikely to be survivable.
I'd been planing to just light the Murdochs house on fire with my shrunken accelerant. fires at each of the exits encouraged by 60 odd gallons of oil will mean everyone in the building dies quickly. If not see above plan for Maklo.

I'd actually been planning on making an attempt to have Firyin's death look like it was done by Radgar and merchants. Planting proof on either his corpse or close by. This would serve the dual purpose of giving the a red herring to the Butcher (so he doesn't come to murder us) and ensuring we have a good idea where he will be going next. (to find out who is attempting to frame him for things he hasn't done)
Catching the butcher and bringing him to our version of justice would serve to establish quite a lot of credit with Mistress Diguri. Might even stop the gang war in process. Oh and it would make the Mage group look like a bunch of buffoons, which is nice.

@Drovic

Black tentacles, Dim door, charm monster and enervation are all good options. Also scrying.

With how long the charm hex lasts I'd say it is unqiuely terrible as a hex.
The scar hex would let you heal us at range or easily scry on people.
Not sure if Ascension would let you have it but the Mud witch Hex is amazing for escape entry purposes.
Ooze form is really hard for a building to defend against.


Female Tiefling Arcanist 7

So any other thoughts, comments or concerns while we still have the time and ability to modify our characters to work with it?


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11

GM Ascension: I added a post death background in my profile. If you do not like my creative licenses or were thinking something different, please let me know. I figured I could leave the person who raised me as a mystery for a plot hook.


Male Half Orc L7 Scarred Witch Doctor HP 91/91
Quick Stats:
Init +9 | AC 21 18, t 14, ff 14 | hp 91/91 | Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +8 | Perception +11
Alexia "Bishop" Hebert wrote:

So any other thoughts, comments or concerns while we still have the time and ability to modify our characters to work with it?

One thing to add is the language: Cyclops. It is the secret guild language.

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