Wizards are always scary, and anyone who pretends otherwise is just asking to get turned into a frog or something. XD
That said, I suppose my goal is Commander first, minions second. Pretty sure we can handle the little guys - I just want to break their morale as fast as possible and get my surviving minions towards the west if those guys don't flee.
Very busy day, might not get a post up - and if I do, it'll be in the evening.
This has been a fun combat, but man has it taken awhile!
Well, that happens with giant battles! ...At least the XP gain should be nice. XD
I agree there is a lot of xp, but it is split a lot of ways.
Thus endeth another big fight. I hope that if/when you guys get off this island, you get involved in smaller fights for awhile. (I know I know, my own fault. Makes for a nice opening adventure though).
A bit of news:
Dante will be changing his class. I admit that I personally never liked the fit of the summoner archetype and his background, and we have opted to switch him to a Bladebound Magus. For RP going forward: We're going to be playing this as a handwave retcon - nothing changed, Dante has always been like this, etc etc.
Luca has a couple smaller nerfs coming her way which I'll be posting a bit later as I finalize them. My initial changes are still mostly sufficient, in my mind, for the class at large, but when we pile on the special summoning list and how powerful many of those creatures are, I think a bit more balancing is in order. I WILL be justifying this through RP: basically, Luca (or the Void, acting through her) slightly burned out her powers by going whole-hog during that battle. Necessary (and awesome, and great job Luca both crunch and fluff-wise), but there are consequences.
Nyahahahaha~
I'm fine with that. I, too, think at least some nerfs are in order - how about limiting active uses of Summoning Mastery to 3 at a time? I also think one or two uses will be enough for average combats... after all, she's pretty weak once she's out of that power, and I'll generally prefer to have some left over for later.
x10=150gp
Got rid of Rich Parents trait. Still working. What will be my new custom trait. I doubt the old Ancestor's Blade will work.
And how was hp done?
Changes up for review.
HP was max at first level, roll after (but reroll any 1s). I'll take a look at your build and make any comments a bit later.
As for the custom trait, what sort of "direction" would you like it to go in? I try to make it flavorful for the character as well, something that reinforces their desired strengths or plays to their concept. If you don't respond I'll read through your background again and think something up.
Full casting. Haha. I kid. Or do I?
Well the Magus is a little light on skills and ranks. I wouldn't mind a bump of +2 ranks or all the knowledge's as skills again. I lost engineering and that played a rather large part in this battle. You could just all it Learned.
All I can think of right now. I would like to hear your ideas though.
Alrighty, here's what we've got:
Aside from needing to roll your actual HP, everything looks good. One nitpicky thing I'd like you to change about your fluff: I don't think the blade should have been a "black blade" all along. Thus, your family should just think that it was a special sword, magical, but that its power had faded. Even you don't know it's about to wake up again. :)
Also, just to make sure you're aware (I imagine you are): historic rapiers aren't the wire-thin blades they use in modern fencing. They were on the lighter side for a sword due to decreasing armor usage and popularity amongst civilians, but were very much combat blades. Here is a good example picture. Your use of the phrase "thin foil" implies the wrong kind of mental image. Doesn't really matter to the game, but I'm a sword geek and it bugged me!
As for your special trait, how does this sound:
Dueler's Deflection: A deft blade can do more than attack. The difference between a scratch and a killing stroke is sometimes paper-thin...
When fighting against a medium-sized creature using a one-handed weapon, you gain DR 2/- against their attacks. This ability can apply to only one enemy in a particular round of combat, though you can change who it applies to (this decision must be made before combat rolls are made).
Okay, a couple changes. Hopefully these will be the final adjustments we make to your archetype, but I don't guarantee it.
1) (This one I decided on awhile ago, can't remember if I told you yet) For you Look Into the Void ability, add this to the end of the description: Subject can make a DC 15 Will save to suffer the effects for only one round.
2) You can use your Summoning Mastery skill a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. (So, you currently have 7 uses per day and the possibility for more. Note than any spell effects which increase your modifier temporarily also increase it for this purpose.
3) Your uses of Summoning Mastery are subject to the randomization discussed for the Otherwordly Guardians Feat: When you use the ability, roll a die equal to the number of creatures on the list you are summoning from. (First creature on the list = 1, next is 2, etc). It summons that creature. This ability applies until the tenth level of Void Caller is gained.
So, a bit of randomization to the creatures you summon, which makes sense as the forces sending them are entirely alien and don't much understand the exact "needs" of a mortal situation. Let me know if you think any of this reduces you too much of if you have any other comments or critiques on the changes: we'll talk it out.
EDIT: Oh! And I forgot to mention 4) You are immune to the effects of any monster abilities from monsters you summon, so long as they are under your control. Don't know what to call that one yet, but it makes sense due to the number of large-space effects some of those summons tote.
I've decided my goal with Tyrus is to be able to cast Deathless as an immediate action.
Is it okay if I look under the spoilers? I have terminal curiosity.
And comparatively it is smaller. I am imagining his family as knights wielding claymores, lances, bastard swords, and the like. I realize actual rapiers are actually thick enough to take and deflect a strike and hard enough to pierce armor with the appropriate force. Though compared to the assassin's dagger it would be significantly bigger.
I like the trait but I think I would rather have something that improves his skills to show off how much he studied. If you don't mind though I would love to take that as a feat instead.
None of it is actually secret, all are welcome to read them both.
They kept it because it was originally a greatsword. Are you forgetting your own fluff? ;)
But when Dante reached for it, it nearly jumped into his hand and transformed from the large greatsword it currently was to a slender rapier
That it was special and magical in the first place helps along the fact that it suddenly transformed, but I wanted the sentient blade thing to be new.
Vis a vis the trait: Hmm... I think it might be a bit powerful for a standard feat. Let me think on it thought, and if I decide you can take it you'll be able to pick it up at third level. Beyond that, we can find other ways for you to pick it up. You'll all be gathering lots of special bits along the way.
"I would rather have something that improves his skills to show off how much he studied."
Give me an example of what you're thinking please; I'm not sure what you mean.
I thought it was going to be relegated to a full time rapier. Now I understand.
Ah, gotcha. Also I edited the spoiler with some info about your trait, please re-read.
Well I think knowledge is important for him. He had knowledge before he had the sword. The Summoner had them all which was nice but the Magus has only three. I know I can just put ranks in them but the +3 for being class skills would go a lot further. Plus, even though he is a competent swordsman, the rapier is still rather new to him so it seems odd to have advanced skill in it. Maybe I can pick it up as a Magus Arcana.
Ah ha, I see what you mean, and good point. Alright then, how about...
Book Worm: Your tutor always told you books were to minds what whetstones were to swords.
Pick any three knowledge skills. These count as class skills for you. Twice per day you may reroll a knowledge skill and take the higher result.
Blatantly stealing a line from Tyrion, yes.
Immune to their effects: GOOD. I was actually wondering about getting this as a custom feat at some point (making Luca immune, plus 1 ally per CHA modifier or so). But yeah, some of those wide-area effects are... less than convenient. XD
Totally Randomized Summoning: I... don't think that would be a very good idea. XD; As in, I'd have to seriously consider asking about retraining to a different archetype and focusing on the Eidolon because I would be unable to effectively contribute to the team otherwise. Caps on active uses I can handle, but she's be literally unplayable with this.
I'll take it and the bonus. Thanks.
Indeed, and given that they are sent to protect you makes it weird that they could potentially basically kill you. I'm thinking that eventually you'll be able to grant the immunity to others as well, yes.
You think the randomization is that bad? It seems to me that in the majority of situations you'd be able to use what you get pretty effectively. What are the situations you're thinking of that would make it unplayable? Perhaps I'm underestimating the disruption.
Made the changes. Big drop in damage and to hit but retained the versatility.
Most summons are highly situational.
Sagari - which would have a 1/3 chance of being summoned from the first list - are both very small and very low in HP... it's possible even a group could be killed by an enemy before even getting close enough to attack. (Anything with Combat Reflexes...)
From the next level list, Reefclaws are aquatic, and near-useless on land. Not a great option most of the time. Executioner's Hoods have Light Sensitivity and thus have little value during the day - and their accuracy isn't that great to begin with. Summoning's main value is its versatility - calling up the right creature for the situation, much the way a smart Wizard chooses the right spell at the right time instead of flinging things out like mad. Luca already has reduced daily uses of both her primary ability and her spells. The inability to even summon the most appropriate ally in a given situation - and, indeed, possibly waste her very limited powers on something utterly useless - would be that bad... especially because it would also totally annihilate any chance of non-combat uses of her power (for example, calling a Vilstrak to sink into the ground and scout up ahead).
Question. Why do most magus guides suggest the scimitar and dervish dance? Dervish Dance requires Weapon Finesse but you can't use weapon finesse to get dex to attack with a scimitar. Unless I missed something, the scimitar is a onehanded melee weapon and the weapon finesse can only be used with light weapons+a few others. The scimitar is not included.
Sorry - that was a very long edit.
I think that you can use dex to hit and damage with those two feats. Incredibly cheesy, but hey.
Good points all, especially about the out-of-combat usefulness. I certainly don't want to penalize ingenuity. Forget the randomization!
Don't forget to re-roll your HP. Looks like you should be at 1d8 + 8 + 2, before any favored class hitpoints.
*Whew* XD
I'll also see what I can do about voluntarily toning things down and limiting the uses of her beasts. I honestly shouldn't need more than one or two uses of the ability during most combats (giant goblin wars excepted, of course), so I'm not anticipating too many problems there.
I am so gonna die now. I am also changing to a scimitar so my attack and damage don't suck without spellstrike.
Heh, one of the reasons I thought up that first trait was to help your survivability. But with wonder-doctor Tyrus along and the likelihood that you'll pick up that feat eventually, I wouldn't worry too much. You've still got a pretty decent AC once you start adding spell effects.
Plus, now you can dance!
As for you Luca, I don't want you to have to handicap YOURSELF. You should be utilizing your abilities to the max, it's silly to do anything else. I just need to make sure those abilities aren't game-breakingly good. Don't worry about toning down. From now on, if you're too powerful, I'll just throw bigger challenges at you. Buwa ha hah...
Tyrus: Are you silent because you are ready to move on? I was waiting for you to post something to the same effect. As you are going to be slightly ahead of Luca and Dante chronologically for a bit, I'll wait until tomorrow to give you a chance to respond.
Liking how fast Dante and Luca are cooking along! IF we enter combat with just you two I'm hoping we can move along at more than one round per day.
Yup... the fewer players there are, the faster things can go. XD I'll certainly try to keep up!
Tyrus, why must you be on the other side of the world! :)
But with that, I'm done for the night.
Indeed!
Sorry, I thought you only wanted me to shout out if I wasn't ready to move on. Probably should have said something anyway.
I sent Torble along at least partially to have some agency, so I'm happy for Tyrus to be 'on hold' if you want him to wait for D & L to catch up.
It may come to that, but I hope not. Also, good thinking on the Torble thing!
As Luca mentioned, Obanese is the dominant language in this area of the world. There is no such thing as Common in Eldreon.
Apologies for today guys, very busy and no time to get a proper post up.
Roger that Tyrus, thanks for letting us know.
We're going to go ahead and wait for Tyrus to get things sorted out before we continue on: it'd be very difficult to move forward without him at this point. Dante and Luca, feel free to post all you like or talk with each other or NPC's in-character.
Sorry guys
Move has happened. Now in the unpacking stage. I've got a little free internet time, and I can try to prioritise replying.
Apologies to Luca and Dante that there is a brief lull in the action for you here. Should be over soon!
No worries. ^^ Take whatever time you need.
Not much for me to post while you guys are talking. I'll step back in when it looks like you're winding down or when somebody interacts with the world/npcs.
Hey GM Mercy, sorry about the delay. Did I get it right?
Looks complete and accurate from the info Tyrus has!
Sorry for the delay. Odds are I won't have time to post tonight - but I WILL be posting over the weekend to make up for it.
I am under the impression Tyrus could convince Kris to hand back the weapons - at least temporarily.
Doesn't seem like much of a scene, but he'd explain the mission like this
"I've reason to believe the old Dwarven wizard had a laboratory near the ruin where you were housing the tunnelers. If we can find a record of how he trapped Lianna, perhaps we can find how he intended to free her."
"I've convinced some of my former 'cell mates' to return with me - you'll need people here. Dante, Luca - I've told them, they'll help. Also Yllaine and Dara, though they don't know the real reason. All have valuable experience in this sort of unearthing, and so long as we can arm them we should be safe enough if we travel during the day."
Mostly the truth, though a sense motive roll from Kris might be in order.
Throw out a diplomacy roll, and yes he'll be opposing with sense motive. However as you've noted most of what you've said is truth and as he trusts you, you'll have a decent bonus.
If I post today (depending on if Dante posts, I'll wait for him due to my own missed days) I'll roll the check for you.
Nothing left to add.
-Posted with Wayfinder