Sorry for the short update, but yeah, decisions need to be made. In the meantime, you've all leveled to level 2! Please post your changes/additions here.
+1 BAB
+1 Ref
+1 Will
10 skill points so lots of new stuff
+1 level 1 spell and 1 more use per day
Poison Lore
Poison Resistance +2
Also forgot to fill out the rest of my languages. Need three more. I always find it hard to decide on them. I am never sure what will even be useful.
All the level 1 oracle stuff. We're going to need a healer, so Oracle of Life, but I don't have a clue what to do for a curse, though I'm kinda tempted to do a haunted curse. Thoughts?
- HP
- FCB +1 Skill
- BAB +1
- Saves +1 Reflex, +5 Will
- Skills +1 to Bluff, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, and Use Magic Device
- Background Skills Profession (Courtesan), Sleight of Hand
- Class Features Towering Ego (CHA to Will saves)
- Mesmerist Trick Mesmeric Mirror
New Spells
[dice=HP]1d8
All the level 1 oracle stuff. We're going to need a healer, so Oracle of Life, but I don't have a clue what to do for a curse, though I'm kinda tempted to do a haunted curse. Thoughts?
I was going to suggest Tongues, but then I read the entry for Haunted and had to stifle a laugh, imagining the narrative after that. So my vote is for Haunted.
I'm waiting for the time when the party just bluffs or intimidates their way out of a situation because they're just too annoyed to fight.
Heavy work weekend just ended. Updates most likely tomorrow.
Kali, didn't Tish put a psychosomatic surge on her?
She did.
okay, so how does this work exactly? does the damage come out of Kali's HP pool or the temp one?
And this is the second time in as many days that I've forgotten about something like this.
Looks like a "mind over matter" thing. You can keep moving, but when the time is exhausted, hopefully you won't have taken more damage, as you might face the old Barbarian issue of being dead on your feet.
Okay, then that brings up the question about stabilization. Does Kali auto stabilize, or do I still need to roll?
As I understand it (and as DM Default seemed to run it with Otho), I think the ability "soaks up" the damage of the triggering attack, and anything left over is temp HP. So, in this situation, I think Kali would be at 4/12 (2d8+1), with 3 of those points being temporary HP.
Just based on a very strict reading of this sentence, mind you (emphasis mine):
If the damage from the triggering attack would have reduced the subject to 0 hit points or fewer, this trick grants an additional 1d8 temporary hit points.
Also, not sure if Tish gets an AoO since she only had a ranged weapon in hand, but if so, that's awesome! Went ahead and posted it anyway so as not to keep everyone waiting.
Finals are over and I'm currently competing at a national leadership conference. Should be back by Monday and resume a better frequency of posting now that schools out.
Apologies for the lack of keeping you all informed. Up until now most free time was trying to fix metaphorically shooting myself in the foot on one final.
Did we lose Otho?
Pretty sure we did. :(
Still here, just not much to do but bless out. I think Lia's check is high enough to stabilize Kali though.
Just a heads up, will be on a short family get-away. Should be back Monday to reliably post.
Have fun! See you when you get back.
Sorry Tish. It's nothing personal. Kali just wants both of you there and you weren't moving fast enough.
No worries, I don't take it personally. But, to be honest, I would rather you didn't go quite that far next time. I appreciate that it's how Kali would have acted in that situation and I feel that being true to our characters is one of the more important elements in RP, but now if I were to have Tish react to the current situation in a way that I felt was being true to her character, then I worry that things would escalate into territories I'd rather not get into as a player. As you said, it's nothing personal, and I hope that if you ever feel like I'm crossing a line, you'll let me know, too.
On a related note, now that we're down to a smaller party, I'm thinking it's time for Tish to undergo a bit of defrosting. She'll probably never be BFFL material, but hopefully I can make being around her a little more palatable while still being true to her character. Guess we'll see how that works out.
Our characters have been somewhat abrasive or antagonistic in some cases, and I was honestly expecting something to come up at some point, though with the backdrop of a riot and the threat of their (very expensive) item on loan to them going up in flames.
I love the scene, but understand that it may lead to some departing after the conclusion of this job, which is not something that the players may not like.
Okay, would anyone be adverse to me retconning Kali's actions? I don't want to drive anyone into a corner, but I don't see her letting Tish sit this out. I think her being as assertive as she was is out of character now that I think about. Still, no one's reacted, so redoing that shouldn't be an issue.
Do mesmerists normally have escape artist?
Anyway, we were probably going to head there eventually. How is not really important to me. I can roll with it.
Me'mori makes a good point though. Unless the game is going to temporarily split like it was in the beginning, we might need something a little...more to bond us together. We can cross that bridge when we get to it but its never bad to start thinking now.
Kali, I appreciate your understanding!
Owl, mesmerists do actually get escape artist, among a pretty large array of other useful skills. I've never played a particularly skillful character before, but I'm enjoying it. I'm actually considering making an investigator for one of my next characters.
Having a player feel like they need to leave is the last thing I would want, so whatever I can do to prevent that, I will. If I can't strike a happy medium between catty and helpful for Tish, I'll be happy to make a character that would better fit in with our group at the end of this module. Maybe a free-spirited, friend-to-all-living-things bard? That would be a change.
Neat. Also, I should have Escape Artist as a class skill as well. No idea how I missed that.
Aw, but who'll be a sassy counterpoint to Owl then?
I'll be redoing my last two posts. The effect, getting Owl, Tish, and Kali between the two sides, should be the same, but it should be less antagonistic and more in character for Kali.
Glad to see that you guys worked it out as players, and everyone kept their metaphorical toes unstepped or retconned unstepped.
Glad I chose you lot.
As I saw it, the common bond was the job they agreed to do for the Lord. Their feelings were unimportant, as long as the job was done— at least for Lía. I would be fine pulling her out and putting someone else in, if Owl and Tish seem too abrasive for her temperament, though my options would be to fight charm with charm (or at least buffer) or create someone that was either inured to their charms or indifferent.(for example)
I've got a fair few characters that never saw the light of a game that I could pull to fill Lía's space, presuming any of the potentials in the recruitment were not interested, but I do understand that sometimes characters don't mesh, and it isn't the player's fault— unless they're really obstinate, and then people not wanting to play with that person is less character, more the individual.
I won't lie, I don't want to see Lia go, and if she goes, Kali would probably have to go with her, I think. That said, I think Kali could, ironically given how broken she is now, be the glue that holds the group together. It'd take some fancy footwork with Owl and Laetitia, but I think I can work something out. If nothing else, she winds up owing both of them and asks Lia to stay with her since she'll be needing the support.
AS the DM, I could create a reason for you all to stay together. As this was designed to be a string of modules, it wouldn't be too difficult to create a motive that spans each location. A "rod of seven parts-eque" sort of thing.
Sorry for the delay, all! I meant to have a post up before things broke out into a fight, but this weekend was super hectic.
Again, sorry for the delay folks! Long story short, during that hectic weekend I mentioned before, we adopted a three month old puppy. She's an adorable little troublemaker and she has sooo much energy, but I don't. Keeping up with her all day exacerbates my fibro and CFS, and by the time hubby comes home to take over puppy-sitting duties, I'm too exhausted to think straight. My posting might be a bit slow until we have her fully house-trained and able to go two minutes without supervision. But I'm still here, and not planning to go anywhere!
Wow. Sounds like you've got your hands full. I'm glad that Tish is still around and I feel ya on the whole can't think straight. I'm glad to here things are going well however.
I'll post Kali's reply when I get home tonight.
When Kali talks, I can't help but picture Fluttershy from MLP:FiM, or more specifically This Trope.
Pretty much. :)
Just noticed we lost Lia/Me'mori. I've PM'd them to let them know.
I don't usually get too worried until about 10 with no posting. The player might feel they don't have much to contribute to the current situation, which is actually a common belief on the boards I've come to find. Some folks don't like posting when they feel like they have nothing to add.
However, I tend to like parties of 5-6 so there's people still posting even if a couple player's have a really busy week.
Thoughts?
I understand the not really having anything to contribute, but I still try to post that I'm still around even if that's the case.
I say finish out the module and see where we stand. If Lia's gone MIA, I think Kali's going to be following her rather than sticking around with Owl and Laetitia. I could ask some of the people in the games I'm in and GM if they'd be interested.
I still want to play in this, but I think that I'll need someone more capable of going snark to snark with Owl and Lia. We also need someone that can heal the party. Kali won't be able to until she's had a good night's sleep. If we're continuing on, I may just have Kali bow out now and bring in someone else so we at least won't be running ourselves ragged. The two fights we've had so far show that trying to play this game without someone that can cast cure wounds or channel energy sucks.
All of that said, I think getting some new players would be a good idea. I also think that I need to switch Kali out now, or we need an NPC that can be a medic.
Hah, yeah, especially if Lia's not there to keep the peace. ...Aww, I just made myself sad. Please don't be lost, Lia!
As for opening a recruitment? There might be a few holes in our party balance we could stand to patch up, but I'd wait until we hear back from Mem'ori to start looking for more people.
Speaking of party roles, what do you all think we can use? Owl has traps and knowledge pretty well covered. Kali, you're our frontline and planning to branch out to healing, right?
And Tish... I'm not even sure what role she fills. Besides the "pretty face", that is. =P
Edit: Ninja'd.
Yeah, but that was out of necessity. I've got the level, but until she can rest for eight hours, she's not going to be able to do it. Given the time frame, that is really tight.
Hmm...okay, if the party is fine with it, I'll allow character swaps to other concepts that players want to play, Lia included as she mentioned something like this.
I'm initially against the idea, but you as players have proved your current staying power, so I feel more comfortable now allowing it.
I agree though, let's wait for Lia before discussing party change ups.
I usually don't post if I have nothing to add but I am trying to break that habit. Sometimes I have nothing to add but others may be expecting something. Just helps to know people are still around, even if that is literally the only thing their post says.
I agree we are extremely lacking in certain areas for balance. Survival sticks out now. But healing as well. And we definitely need some more damage cause I have practically none until level 4. Neither fight was supposed to be all that difficult but we're not combat oriented. Might have to think outside the box for future fights.
Dear goodness, I'm loving this party. We won't backstab each other, but man the insults will fly.
Hah, yeah, especially if Lia's not there to keep the peace. ...Aww, I just made myself sad. Please don't be lost, Lia!
Sorry, I'm here, but it's been a busy past week. Real busy. Then I was out of town with no access that turned into an overnight. I'm here. I'll have a post up, I haven't disappeared.
I'm glad you're still with us, Lia! I hope things settle down for you soon.
And now we can discuss recruiting new people and/or these character swaps that DM Default is offering. As tempting as it is (I've had a few concepts rattling around my brain lately), I think I'll be sticking with Tish. What about you all?
Well, a few of things have been in my mind.
- First, We need a healer, period. Going into a Skulk den without one might as well be a TPK. As far as I'm concerned, the GM could allow Kali to have access to her Oracle spells and abilities now, or we could have an NPC cleric that can mend our wounds.
- Second, it's not going to be in Kali's character to stick it out with Tish given how beaten down she is/was and how venomous Tish's barbs can be.
-Third, Owl's right, we need a front liner or to be really clever. Unfortunately, d20 systems don't seem to reward in game cleverness that much by default (no pun intended.)
- Fourth, I don't think we can cover all the bases without two of us changing out characters. If only I swap Kali out for another character, then I have to build one that's skilled at melee combat, healing, and tanking damage. I can try, but builds like that tend not to come into their own until a few levels further in from what I understand.
Given the atmosphere around the hamlet, I wouldn't be surprised if someone did try chasing Kali out of town, which would be a convenient way to get her out of the picture. Honestly though, I'd like to finish the module with Kali, but at the moment, I don't see her surviving the raid on the skulk den without a chance to rest, recover some HP, and get access to those spells. On the other hand. We've got two days and time is of the essence. Taking eight hours to rest right now isn't really feasible.
I guess what it boils down to is I either need a bone here and permission from the GM to go ahead and get Kali up to full tanks with HP, spells, and channels without; or I need to build a new character and replace Kali with them.
You do have two days before the carnival gets booted.
Also, if you guys don't mind, I'm not opposed to recruiting one more to round out the party, either a front liner or the healer.
I don't mind a bit, but instead of opening up an official recruitment thread, do you mind if I ask some of my games?
Eh...I'm hesitant.
But go ahead and see if anyone's interested. Make sure they look at the posts you've guys have been doing and if they can be comparable.
I know how this might read, but I really am not trying to be passive-aggressive here. If you'd rather I didn't, I won't. I was merely asking. This is your rodeo, I was just trying to help. :)
I know modules are built towards a certain type of standard party, but I like how we rather have to come at the problem from different angles. Charging in face first was never an interest of mine, and cleverness ~can~ be rewarded, but it's the sole province of the DM.
We can take a day and plan, but we likely wouldn't be beating them by force, disadvantaged as we are at present. It would allow at least 4+Con HP return with Kali attended by Kari.
Theoretically, if the carnival gets chased out of town, what happens? I'll have to re-read some of the events to make sure we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. Also, don't discount Kari as a follower, though Lía will have to take a feat a ways down the road— and that doesn't help us now.
I expect things will come to a head at some point, though socially, there's no neutral buffer between the group. If Kali leaves, Lía will probably leave once this assignment is completed. That seems to be the way the story is going, since she's only staying because of Kali (and the agreement that I have to read up on). Owl and Tish are not the kind of people that she would voluntarily associate herself with, though they seem to get along fine. :p
It's a tough point we've reached by losing two people (I agree in that recruiting one person to fill Otho's role would be a boon), but it isn't impossible, and I'm enjoying seeing the interplay between characters more than I am the progress of the module.
Alright, then I'd rather you just redirect them to a short recruitment thread I'll be setting up sometime in the next couple days.