Crimson Throne of Lore

Game Master LoreKeeper


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And National Cleavage Day 2012 is upon us!


Pagrip Staurmbar wrote:
I'm not entirely certain what he's going to buy yet though. :)[/ooc]

Fullplate! now wait...that is Esme :p Anyone have a few hundred for Esme for fullplate? :p

Esme would like a potion of ... Fullplate! Whatever potion you think is best. Also remember the new crafting rules that our great GM has made? Your total craft value at lvl 3 is 1500 (market value is 3000). That is from all things crafted. Don't know if alchemists get some sort of bonus on this.


scratch that full plate. Esme is saving for sumthing else. Like a +1 weapon mebbe.


Don't suppose Ten could brew up some cure light potions?

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Avianfoo wrote:
Don't suppose Ten could brew up some cure light potions?

Ten can and shall. It's 25 gp and two hours for one at CL 1. If I remember correctly, potions didn't count against the crafting limit. How many do you need?

Ten can also brew:

comprehend languages
enlarge person
jump
reduce person


comprehend languages and enlarge person are always useful. 1 of each?


Jatori wrote:
Looking at Caulder's stats... Improved Unarmed Strike opens up some style feats at level 5. I can see Caulder learning Monkey Style :P

Style feats have too many prereqs. He only gets 3 skill points a level. I don't know. I guess maybe Warrior Priest would be okay, but I never cast defensively. Concentration check's too high, and I've never found a situation dire enough to risk losing the spell slot entirely.


Just having high AC solved the concentration check problem: if they can't hit you, the spell works ;)


...which makes Warrior Priest a worthless feat, if one never intends to cast on the defensive, and puts me back to not knowing what to pick for a feat. :P


Skill Focus: Knowledge (local) ? Really? Now Caulder is really a know-it-all... we will never hear the end of it :p


Considering it's not a class skill and he has no Int bonus, the trait and feat together just put him up on the level Pagrip obtains naturally. If he makes it to level 10 to get the extra +3, then he might be a prodigy. :)


What happened to the Harrowers head in the box again?


I believe Pagrip had it last, although Zellara said it was okay to bury the decomposing body part and just keep the Harrow Deck for her to manifest through. I assume he has the deck, too.

Do hope something's been done with the head almost two weeks later and he's not still carrying it around. ;)


Did nobody realize the stench? :p


Male Human (Chelaxian) Cleric 3

"What? I thought that was just how dwarves smelled."


Joana wrote:

I believe Pagrip had it last, although Zellara said it was okay to bury the decomposing body part and just keep the Harrow Deck for her to manifest through. I assume he has the deck, too.

Do hope something's been done with the head almost two weeks later and he's not still carrying it around. ;)

Hmmm... I recall getting the harrow deck (although didn't add it to my inventory; I've corrected that now), but I don't recall having the head as well. Pagrip certainly would not have been carrying it around for several weeks if he did. He would have seen to getting it buried or otherwise properly interred.

At any rate, I've finally got Pagrip updated to third level. Sorry for the lengthy delay. My home life continues to be a bit weird, but there are steady improvements being made. One day, I'll be back to normal. :)

Summary of level changes:
+4 hp
increase to Fortitude and Will
New abilities: sneak attack +2d6, trap sense +1
New feat: Combat Reflexes
1 rank in each of the following skills (favoured class bonus going to skills): Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Knowledge (local), Perception, Perform (dance), Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Use Magic Device

I still have to do his shopping list. Coming soon...


Last reference to the actual head in the box I could find was here:

Pagrip Staurmbar wrote:

Pagrip holds his breath as he searches the hatbox, and tries not to wretch as he moves the head aside. When he pulls the cards out, he looks over them carefully.

"When you say to carry you with us," he says to Zellara, "I hope you mean the cards and not the head. Now what's all this about insight into the future and dark times ahead and all that stuff?"

Although looking back a few posts, it does seem that Ten was holding the actual box while Pagrip was searching. I shudder to think what the alchemist might have done with that raw material over two weeks....


Sometimes, just sometimes, you look at Reginald and wonder. There is something ... strange about that.


So that's why Reginald looks so familiar?

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Way to ruin the surprise reveal of my level 6 discovery. :D


Discovery being "one harrower"?


So, what are your thoughts on the Peglegs & Eye Patches sidebar in the S&S Player's Guide, Lore? Sounds like something that's right up your alley. ;)

Must say, I'd prefer a scar to instant death regardless of my current hit point total, given the choice between two optional rulesets. :P At least it provides a reason for regenerate to be in the game.

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Joana wrote:

So, what are your thoughts on the Peglegs & Eye Patches sidebar in the S&S Player's Guide, Lore? Sounds like something that's right up your alley. ;)

Must say, I'd prefer a scar to instant death regardless of my current hit point total, given the choice between two optional rulesets. :P At least it provides a reason for regenerate to be in the game.

I've played a lot of 40K RPG, especially Rogue Trader. 40K has a lot of field amputations and a nasty critical hit table (I cut off Lore's seneschal's arm once). Rogue Trader, specifically, has a lot of ship-to-ship combat too. On paper, the S&S rules read well enough. When I do get to play with them, I'll be comparing them to RT. So, I think I'll reserve judgement until then.

However, should I cut out a player's eye, in S&S, I may allow them to implant an ioun stone of lasers into the empty socket. :)


Quote:
So, what are your thoughts on the Peglegs & Eye Patches sidebar in the S&S Player's Guide, Lore? Sounds like something that's right up your alley. ;)

Just shows I'm ahead of my time ;p

Quote:
Must say, I'd prefer a scar to instant death regardless of my current hit point total, given the choice between two optional rulesets. :P At least it provides a reason for regenerate to be in the game.

Jatori has a good opinion that is related to this: "I won't cheapen a character's death". He usually intends for it to mean that he won't pull strange tricks to have a character survive.

I like the basic idea, but like to think of it going in both directions: a character's death - when it does happen - should be meaningful. I don't like having a random shark critical out-right kill a character at level 1 before the character has come into his own. I'll also invoke special effects to keep characters alive - like converting Jatori's original character into a blind oracle - as payment for stopping a TPK.

But then, some deaths do and will happen; and when they do, I like to think of it as nice if they become more than a footnote. It should be something memorable (whether or not it is a happy memory or a tragic one, that is irrelevant).

To me the game is about fun and the collective story. The dice are important, but they shouldn't dictate the events to the exclusion of all other things. I don't like roleplaying to be a simulation - because the numbers are stacked staggeringly high against the PCs. (Assume that there's only a 1% chance of a character dying in any given encounter, then over the course of a level (which Paizo sets as 20 "on CR" encounters) mean there is better than 18% chance that the character will die over that level.) Something to laugh and cry about is better than statistics.


Ah, this is the famous genesis of the chase rules, isn't it? And 3 out of 4 of us with 20-foot speeds and a penalty from the start. This should be fun. :P


Was bleak the first time me and my ex played it - we were both acrobatics and roof chaser builds (monk and rogue with high dex each); and both of us got stuck right at the start, while the slow paladin in fullplate (almost) managed to succeed. :D


may the dice be with you


Pagrip Staurmbar wrote:
Pagrip sighs and mutters under his breath, "I seem to recall saying something about discrete."

Shouldn't have let the paladin take charge. Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. :)


Because the party is made up of such charismatic fellows. :p

Holy carp. I just realised Pagrip is the second most charismatic.
Take charge more, man...er..dwarf!


Lol.

LoreKeeper wrote:
"No! Not the damned market!"

I thought he was being like "Noooooo! Not the market of the damned!". That's a market for vampires and she was in with the wrong crowd.


Quiet this weekend! My apologies - we've instead had 2 live RPG sessions. I've played Legend of the 5 Rings for the first time (Jerall being the GM). And I'm really impressed it was a tremendously fun session and the game system is very solid and well fleshed-out.

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Also, Lore killed me, for the third time, in our Jade Regent game.

April/May tends to be South African productivity month - a lot of public holidays and liberal use of annual leave quotas.


Jatori wrote:
Also, Lore killed me, for the third time, in our Jade Regent game.

Was this your cleric-turned-oracle? Lore oracles are utterly useless. 80% of their revelations equate to "take a bonus on a Knowledge check." They're basically an NPC class.


Well, he's a barbarian now. So all's good. :)

Quote:
Also, Lore killed me, for the third time, in our Jade Regent game.

I actually feel bad about it; I figure I'll try to reign in the AP a bit. The second part of Jade Regent is currently my absolute favorite AP part that Paizo has published. But it tends to be have some really nasty surprises - apart from Jerall's character, Isi's bard was very much on the verge of death as well. Both cases of dedicated assassination attempts.

There is a "safety net" of sorts. But that is going towards spoiler territory so not for Joana's eyes :)

Quote:
Was this your cleric-turned-oracle? Lore oracles are utterly useless. 80% of their revelations equate to "take a bonus on a Knowledge check." They're basically an NPC class.

I don't know, I like some of the revelations - I'm just heavily averse to casters and non-melee characters in general; so I don't really touch them. But my pbp paladin has 1 level of oracle (for that sexy sexy Charisma instead of Dexterity for AC revelation).


Lore Mystery revelations:
Revelations: An oracle with the lore mystery can choose from any of the following revelations.

Arcane Archivist (Su): Your experience with lore-filled tomes has granted you the ability to cast arcane spells as if they were on your spell list. Once per day, you can cast a spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list as if it were on your list of spells known. The spell consumes a spell slot one level higher than the level of the spell. You must have a spellbook containing the spell to cast it in this way, and the spell is erased when you complete the casting. You must be at least 11th level to select this revelation.

Automatic Writing (Su): Once per day, you can spend a full hour in uninterrupted meditation. During this period, your hands produce mysterious writing that pertains to the future. At 1st level, the prophetic writing manifests as an augury spell with 90% effectiveness. At 5th level, the writing takes the form of a divination with 90% effectiveness. At 8th level, the writing manifests as a casting of commune with no material component required.

Brain Drain (Su): You can take a standard action to violently probe the mind of a single intelligent enemy within 100 feet. The target receives a Will save to negate the effect and immediately knows the source of this harmful mental prying. Those who fail this save are wracked with pain, taking 1d4 points of damage per oracle level. After successfully attacking with this ability, you may use a full-round action to sort through the jumble of stolen thoughts and memories to make a single Knowledge check using the victim's skill bonus. The randomly stolen thoughts remain in your mind for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier. Treat the knowledge gained as if you used detect thoughts. This is a mind-affecting effect. You can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day at 5th level and for every 5 levels beyond 5th.

Focused Trance (Ex): You can enter a deep meditation, blocking out visual and auditory stimuli and allowing you to concentrate on a single problem, philosophical issue, or memory. This trance lasts 1d6 rounds, during which time you can only take move actions. During this period, you gain a bonus equal to your level on all saves against sonic effects and gaze attacks. When you come out of your trance, you may make a single Intelligence-based skill check with a +20 circumstance bonus. You may enter your focused trance a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier.

Lore Keeper (Ex): Instead of encyclopedic knowledge, you learn most of your information through tales, songs, and poems. You may use your Charisma modifier instead of your Intelligence modifier on all Knowledge checks.

Mental Acuity (Ex): Your explorations into the secret mysteries of the world have granted you a preternatural understanding of all things—and you just keep getting smarter. You gain a +1 inherent bonus to Intelligence upon taking this revelation and another at every third oracle level gained thereafter. You must be at least 7th level to select this revelation.

Sidestep Secret (Su): Your innate understanding of the universe has granted you preternatural reflexes and the uncanny ability to step out of danger at the very last second. Add your Charisma modifier (instead of your Dexterity modifier) to your Armor Class and all Reflex saving throws. Your armor's maximum Dexterity bonus applies to your Charisma instead of your Dexterity.

Spontaneous Symbology: Your knowledge of the secret history of the world has unveiled the mysterious symbols that govern reality. You can cast any “symbol” spell using a spell slot of the appropriate level, even if the spell is not on your list of spells known. A symbol spell is any spell with the word “symbol” in its name. You must be at least 11th level to select this revelation.

Think On It (Ex): Once per day, the oracle of lore can re-attempt any previously failed Knowledge check. On this attempt, add a +10 competence bonus on the check.

Whirlwind Lesson (Ex): You can quickly browse through a magical tome or manual, gaining its benefits with only a single 8-hour study session (rather than the usual 48 hours over a period of 6 days). At 7th level, you may allow another character to join in your study; both of you gain the full benefit of having read the book. At 15th level, you may share your whirlwind lesson with a number of characters equal to your oracle level. The benefits to you are permanent, whereas your students gain the tome or manual's benefits for a number of days equal to your Charisma modifier but then forget what they have learned.

So, from top to bottom, that's:

  • the chance to use up a spellbook, spell by spell, that you could otherwise sell for surprisingly good money;

  • the chance to sit around for an hour to get a yes or no answer or bit of cryptic advice (note that the seer archetype gives you the same ability which only takes one minute, making it possible to actually be used by someone other than an NPC, so Paizo obviously realized what a terrible mystery this was and retconned it);

  • the one useful lore revelation, but which is best used against the enemy with the highest Will save and which, if they make the save, has no effect whatsoever, not even half-damage;

  • +20 to a Knowledge check after 1d6 rounds;

  • bonus to Knowledge checks (assuming your Cha is higher than your Int);

  • +1 to Int every third level -- but wait! they just gave you a mystery to replace Int bonus with Cha bonus so these two are mutually exclusive;

  • bonus to AC (assuming your Cha is higher than your Dex);

  • add symbol spells you already have access to to your spell list;

  • +10 to Knowledge check once a day;

  • read a tome or manual in 1 day instead of 6 -- because you know how often adventurers run across dozens of tomes and manuals. You'd use this maybe twice in your adventuring career if you're lucky?

    Compare that list to any of the other mysteries and tell me it's not ridiculously underpowered and/or fitted for an NPC sage in town and not a PC. It's like a crippled bard. Someone once told me my lore oracle should have taken Extra Revelation instead of Expanded Arcana, and I pointed out that I didn't want all the revelations I was entitled to already. I honestly thought Paizo would add more revelation choices to the mysteries they had as they went along instead of leaving the list at that and just adding more mysteries. :P


  • Ya, the idea is quite clearly that most oracles shouldn't want all revelations that are potentially available to them. And there are definitely more awesome mysteries than "Lore" - I mean, it is the "I"m a know-it-all" mystery.

    I do think Brain Drain, Mental Acuity and Sidestep Secret are very nice. I don't think anybody has a reason to complain for free +1 Int bonuses. If nothing else it gives you sets of additional skills.

    Spontaneous Symbology is not so bad - since it is effectively more spells known for free. Given that spells-known is a pretty limited number, getting free ones is quite alright in my book.

    The rest... well meh to them.

    There are definitely more exotic oracle mysteries.


    The problem is, if go all the way to 20, you have to take 6 of them, and I don't think there are 6 there I want. Of course, my lore oracle is playing RotRL so she's not going to see the final mystery anyway. Suppose I ought to consider multiclassing, but I don't know what other class a shy, pacifist librarian with a 10 Str would be suited for. Guess I could do the oracle/sorcerer/mystic theurge thing Gilfroy is doing.

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    I did take the Seer archetype from UM, which traded out the bonus spells and swapped out two revelations. I rather liked the character, but I doubt that I'd roll up another oracle any time soon.


    He was constantly reading the flight of the birds, the fall of the sand, and the guts of some fresh slaughter. Ironically the last one (to add to saves) was absent at the time of his demise.

    I quite liked his oracle too; he had a fun interaction in the way his (blind) curse affected the game play. On the plus-side, the new blacksmith (barbarian) that he's playing has lots of potential. He keeps deriding other peoples' weapons.


    Honestly, I like the character of my Lore Oracle; she has a meaty backstory and interesting relationships with the rest of the party members. She just can't do anything, nor does she have the prospect of being able to do anything at any point in the future. :P


    Other than spontaneously cast awesome divine spells! None of that "I didn't prepare protection from evil today".


    As the only healer in a group of 6, all she ever gets to cast are cure lights and cure moderates. :P

    LoreKeeper wrote:
    The rules are as follows: you are on step 1; Trinia is on step 4; if Trinia gets to Step 5 she escapes.

    So all Trinia has to do is succeed once and it's game over? This should be a short chase. :P


    Oops. Correction posted.


    LoreKeeper wrote:
    Esmerelda Darkbane wrote:


    The "pass 2 checks to move 3 spaces" really doesn't make thematic sense. "Then suddenly a shortcut!" that only you can use seems like such a cop out.

    You're misinterpreting then. You see both short-cut elements; but your character may decide one or both are too risky to try. Also, the lot of you are chasing along separate paths - which is the reason you get unique short-cut opportunities.

    Rubbish. (I was going to use a stronger term that starts with bull and ends with carp but I decided to be polite.) They are following the same path otherwise the race would branch and different players could have different obstacles.

    Lets go with an example from one of the chases in a game I ran:
    There was a pond (scummy water) surrounded by a slippery stone path. PC's could either Swim through it or do Acrobatics to get around it. So how? HOW? does passing both these checks suddenly whisk you past a market place full of people and a cart blocking the way onto a rooftop? PC got creative with a bar of soap and made a watery launch pad? (thankfully this didn't happen)

    If one PC found a freaking shortcut and another PC was in the same area, he would point this out and they would both use it.

    Beyond this rule the chase rules make sense and are sometimes quite interesting. This is a blatant catch up mechanic that is left up to the GM to give a hazy explanation. "You passed both checks? F#$%#. Um a Tardis picks you up and dumps you 90 feet away before you left."

    </rant>

    So anyone got a haste spell handy? It's a spell that breaks chase scenes.


    As I said in the mechanics, the speed bonus from haste will give you a trifling +6 to your checks.

    A fly spell would net you +10 instead.

    Anyway, the obstacles aren't next to each other, but after each other.

    Esmerelda - Free Step - Leap of Doom - Scramble of Chimney. The total distance over all 3 steps is maybe 20 ft, probably less. If you chose not to do the Scramble of Chimney you get 12-ish ft done, and next turn the chimney is circumvented by your free step.

    Everybody has their own path because the obstacles are packed really really densely. Every 5 ft you have at least two different options on how to proceed. Don't think big expanse with 2-kinda-big obstacles. Think highly intense urban roof-top clutter.

    But. If somebody wants to follow exactly in the footsteps of one of the other characters, that is of course fine.


    lol.

    That's not what it says in the rules. The base assumption is that each area is 30ft across.

    Plus haste is +6 to everyone's checks ;p

    Though everything is up to GM discretion (which basically means you have to change all the rules to make it semi-workable) There was one obstacle which was moving a beast pulling a cart of hay out of the way. You could either escape artist under the wagon or handle the animal to make it move along. It doesn't make sense that once one person has succeeded to move the beast along that other players have to still do that obstacle. (You could have ruled that there were infinite beasts with wagons but in my mind that is really pushing it)

    Plus side, the random rolling of obstacles for a chase scene is quite a nice idea I think.


    I was going to point out the 30ft distance thing, not so much to argue against it, but to point out that it drastically affects ranged options. Not that this group has many ranged options at the moment, but if we did, there would really be no chase. Making each step only 5 ft puts Trinia well within range of any non-touch spell and easily hit with ranged weapons (in the unlikely event we wanted to attack her). Indeed, my initial instinct was to pull out a tanglefoot bag to throw at her, only to discover to my dismay that Pagrip doesn't have one. (I could have sworn I got him one ages ago. Stupid me.) If you don't mind how shortening the distance affects things, then by all means, go ahead. I won't argue. I just wanted to make sure you're aware of the implications. :)

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    Navior wrote:
    I was going to point out the 30ft distance thing, not so much to argue against it, but to point out that it drastically affects ranged options. Not that this group has many ranged options at the moment...

    Well, we do lack non-lethal ranged options at these distances. I doubt that Esme and Caulder would approve of fire bombing.


    But while the paladin's away... ;p


    That's a good point - perhaps it should be a more intermediate thing. In my head the chase (to step 15) is not more than 100m (or about 300ft). That would make each step be worth about 20ft.

    Keep in mind that is the "as the crow-flies" distance. The characters are actually going through a much more zig-zag course that elongates the actual distance traveled.

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