Once More into the Breach - GMF's Wrath of the Righteous (Inactive)

Game Master Fanguar

Welcome aboard folks.

I do have a couple of changes from VoV's character creation guidelines. I'm dropping the point buy down 20, average starting wealth and no channel divinity trait, because I'm a mean DM.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks so much for running this! I'll drop Ruarc down to 20 point buy before I go to sleep.

Edit:Okay, changes should be done. Let me know if you want me to change anything else.

Morning buddy, checking in

Snazzy.

Hey, all! Just checking in. I informed Celeador about the circumstances, but I'll let everyone know: My restaurant was struck by lightning earlier this week. Everything is gradually coming back online, either being repaired or replaced. But, it is agonizingly incremental. I have been at work for 36 of the last 48 hours, now. I don't want to hold up anything. But, it may be a day or two before I get time to adjust Rakeesh to the new settings, and a bit more before I can jump into frequent regular posting.

Is there a mythic tier for crisis management? =)

I have Mythic Adventures. This is going to be a trip.

I'm certainly glad that Celeador/Maeve was able to set it all up. We were in close contact through the planning period, and hand-picked everybody from the VOV recruitment thread. I think this group is going to be considerably better for in-depth roleplay than the group that VOV took.

For those of you who don't play in Celeador's or my games, be warned: we don't come with small posts. We generally don't post daily, except maybe while in combat. We post long, in-depth posts a few times a week. We like to delve into some pretty interesting places. This won't be a run-of-the-mill PBP. It's going to be amazing - if we all work towards that goal.

Way of the Wicked - I play Mikhail, Celeador is the DM, and Fanguar is Barnabas.

I'll be adjusting Joao, after digging through more icon pictures.. Heck, he's a blank slate save for the intro and tropes. I don't think the quality of my writing is quite up to the level of some of these guys, but I do what I can. I've DM'ed several games, though I was most proud of my "Faith and Steel" game, for all that half of it was played on Google Wave. The rest got split into the boards when that got taken down.

That one petered out due to time constraints on my end, but it was fun. I should have it done before the sun sets today.

Just noticed this. Should be interesting. Dotting for lurking purposes. Carry on.

I've played/play with Celeador in a few different games. Seen Fanguar around but not sure if we've ever played together or not, same for Me'mori. The rest of you I've never played with. I have a lot of free time, especially for the next two-three weeks until school starts back up and I have to teach more classes, so I will probably be the most frequent poster if this is anything like other games I'm in.

Are we still trying to have a party leader? I'd prefer not to and let something like that develop naturally. VoV had us all as soldiers, but the actual AP doesn't appear to require that.

What about campaign traits and the trait tie-in scenes/powers/mythic stuff. Are you planning on making sure we still get to participate in those without the campaign traits Fanguar, or should we take one?

Pytros is updated. I dropped his INT from 16 to 14, which filtered through his skills and languages. I also dropped some basic equipment.

Good Evening Guys,

Like Isaac, I am really looking forward to this game. Fanguar knows what type of game I was hoping for and I am glad that he agreed. The posts tend to be longer and more detailed, but occur less often. I tend to put up a post every two days. Tonight I'll bring Maeve down to a 20 point buy. Barnabas, how do you feel about partially charges wands? Also what sort of wealth do you want us to start with? Finally what is your take on the campaign traits? In the meantime, I am not going to post in the discussion thread because I like to see it open with a really nice intro post.

Also while I am considering things, how do you want to handle battle, initiative and the like? I feel that Hero Points aren't compatible with mythic rules, but how do you feel about scratching out VOV's touch of divinity, starting us out with a hero point and then later we lose it in exchange for becoming mythic?

I am going to edit Maeve's history as well. I like the idea that she was the grandchild of Vorlesh, but I want her father to have been a captured riftwarden and pick up the campaign trait.

Fanguar, do you have anything else you want to cover, like character sheets? Headers or posting style (dates, formatting and the like?)

As far as a party leader goes, I think it is important for us to have one. In pbp's the game can slow down and it helps to have one person make a call in the end. Often groups will take days or even a week to make a decision. I know that Pytros was made for the leader role and I know as a player he would do a good job.

-Maeve

One thing I do want to say, especially with this group of posters: DM, if anything reflexive is needed for my character (Saves, default Initiative checks, reflexive skill checks) please feel free to roll for me if that action is needed to continue the narrative flow of a post.

One of my peeves is a perfectly good post that has to halt because you have to wait for one character to post a single line of a dice/dice roll.

I prefer games where initiative is run in blocks, because it's faster and easier for everyone. But if you want to do individual initiative that's fine with me too. In either case, please roll for everyone, and please roll reactive checks for us as well like Me'mori said.

@Rakeesh: Yikes! Talk about your random back luck. As always, RL trumps PbP, so no need to worry, we'll be here once things settle down on your end.

Are we still trying to have a party leader?

I’m not sure that there is any need to pick a ‘leader’ from the get go. Usually that kind of thing just falls out as the party dynamic is established, but I want to have one. This is mostly for things like dungeons, as a DM it’s nice to not have to constantsly as which way you guys want to go next.

What about campaign traits and the trait tie-in scenes/powers/mythic stuff. Are you planning on making sure we still get to participate in those without the campaign traits Fanguar, or should we take one?

Ugh, this is a tough one. The first PDF isn’t available to buy yet (for me at least, I’m not sure how paizo handles their releases), so I don’t know how integral they’ve made the campaign traits to the overall campaign progression. I’m guessing fairly significantly. That being said, they are kind of generic. I think you could probably modify some of them quite substantially and still have them still fit the overall narrative (eg surviving a demon attack a year ago vs as a child, or like with Maeve instead of her and her twin being born in the slave pits, they could have been sold to slavers after their parents died), but without having the whole campaign laid out in front of me I can’t say for sure.

I will say that I don’t really want to have to rewrite substantial parts of the AP if I don’t have to, so if you can make one of the campaign traits fit with your overall background, please do. If you absolutely cannot, then I will try to shoehorn your PC into the narrative, but make no promises as to how well that will match up compared to the canned ones. Everyone should also share what Mythic path they are interested in taking

Barnabas, how do you feel about partially charges wands? Also what sort of wealth do you want us to start with? Finally what is your take on the campaign traits?

Average wealth. Partially charged wands are fine for popular spells, by which I mean those that aren’t class specific.

Also while I am considering things, how do you want to handle battle, initiative and the like? I feel that Hero Points aren't compatible with mythic rules, but how do you feel about scratching out VOV's touch of divinity, starting us out with a hero point and then later we lose it in exchange for becoming mythic?

I will roll initiative. Actions are resolved in initiative order, but I don’t care if you post in order during a round. Just please don’t post your following round’s action until the current round is complete. No hero points.

Fanguar, do you have anything else you want to cover, like character sheets? Headers or posting style (dates, formatting and the like?)

Thanks for the reminder. So to steal from my betters:

Character sheets: Look at Maeve’s profile. Make’s yours look the same.

Combat posts: Start each post with something alone the lines of

Round 1, Init 20
hp 10/12; AC 14/12T/12FF; CMD 14
+4F/+2R/+2W
Bardic Performance: 5/6

Then indicate what your move and standard actions are for the turn. I will include the vital statistics of the enemies, so feel free to RP the outcome of your combat actions. Also feel free to keep combat posts short.

As for date headings, I’m undecided at present. They can be useful, but I’m terrible at keeping track of time.

One of my peeves is a perfectly good post that has to halt because you have to wait for one character to post a single line of a dice/dice roll.

Completely agree and I will do so. Similarly, as you have access to the enemies’ vital statistics, I expect you to do the same for your own spells and what not.

Speaking of combat. How do you folks want to go about it? Full map and token, theatre of the mind, or something in between?

Boom! Have the adventure.

I'll open the gameplay with a bang tomorrow, but here some details to help finalize your characters

At the start of the campaign, your PCs only need a reason to be in Kenabres and attending the opening blessing for the festival of Armasse.

Traditionally an opportunity for scholars and priests to come together to study the lessons of history from wars past, since Aroden’s death, this holy day has become more about training commoners in weaponry, choosing squires, and ordaining new priests. Over time, Armasse has grown to encompass jousting competitions, mock duels, battle reenactments, and other festival events. In Kenabres, the festival (which takes place on 16 Arodus) is eagerly anticipated, for it provides distractions from the horrors of being on the front line of the war. Smiles on faces normally marred by downcast eyes and furrowed brows do wonders for city morale in the weeks leading up to the event.

I strongly prefer full map and tokens. I could even make them for you if you don't have time. All I'd need is screenshots of the maps from the PDF e-mailed to me or something. I was going to buy the AP, but I don't want to until after I've played it.

I'm going to trade out one of my traits for one of the campaign ones. I'm downloading mythic adventures now. After I read it I can choose

I'm also going to probably change my background a little since we're not shoehorned into being soldiers now. I'd much prefer that Ruarc decides to become Kenabres' vigilante demon cult fighter, than a soldier. That way he can keep an eye surreptitiously on his sister and Irianne.

Okay, I'm almost positive I'm looking at Champion, which means the Stolen Fury trait. Is it cool with you if Ruarc was subjected to the ritual at some point after my father's death by cultist infiltrators within the cult of Ragathiel? Since he was living with them I was thinking they kidnapped him in his sleep, drugging him, and then subjected him to the ritual in an unknown location. Ruarc was so traumatized that he literally can't remember the event at all, except for the vague nightmares he has about it. Just flashes of fire, and chanting, pain and the sickly feel of dark magic. He awakens from them in terror. Since he can't remember the night, he's always just wondered why he has that same horrible dream over and over. Sound good?

@Rakeesh: Yikes! Talk about your random back luck. As always, RL trumps PbP, so no need to worry, we'll be here once things settle down on your end.

It's kind of hard not to see things like this as an omen. All that aside though, insurance and equipment/repair companies did not drag their feet or give me a lot of hassle. All the warranties and coverages are being honored, parts and equipment are arriving same day or next day, and technicians and such are all arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled times.

Also, all my ovens and fryers, etc., are still operational. So, handwriting tickets, and using the old carbon-imprint-hand-cranked credit card doohicky for a few days while my server was brought back online didn't kill me or my staff. And I never had to shut my doors. That is all a blessing!

Rakeesh will probably go Guardian path, with the Exposed to Awfulness trait. It will take some slight rewriting of the background to make this fit, which will take time I'm afraid I don't have today. I will ensure that Rakeesh's stats are redone at the 20 point buy, and equipment is at correct starting wealth, by tonight, so I can fully participate at the start of the adventure.

Speaking of combat. How do you folks want to go about it? Full map and token, theatre of the mind, or something in between?

For me, it depends purely on the importance of the battle and how memorable and exciting you want it to be. If it's a random encounter of zombies in a tunnel, and you'd rather not create a whole map for a battle likely to last for 2-3 rounds, that wouldn't bother me at all.

I used to be big on maps, but I've been running combats without them lately. Celeador doesn't use them either, and it works fine. Of course, this build might be more map-dependent, as it relies on tripping and triggering attacks.

Regarding the traits, James Jacobs said that they aren't "load-bearing." They can enhance the game, but aren't necessary to the plot. A number of people were complaining, as almost all the traits assume long-term living in Kenebras, which is something that does not apply to Pytros.

Morning Guys,

Maeve has been corrected to a 20 point buy. I also switched out Freedom Fighter for Riftwarden Orphan. I thought since Maeve never knew her father it would be possible that he was a Riftwarden that had been captured by Vorlesh and part of her plan would be to breed the father was Vorlesh's granddaugther. Hopefully they story will allow for it. I also switched out my Diplomacy for Knowledge Planes since I think we have better faces in the group.

So you guys know what my plan is, during combat, I intend to Evil Eye a target for the -2 and then use demoralize for an additional -2. Maeve is built more to be a support hexer rather then direct damage. I'll eventually get into control as well, but for now that is my plan.

Until then waiting for the opening post!

Joao has been updated as well, though it will be DM's call to tell me that I'll have to rework it more into Maeve's style in the formatting.

As with Pytros, Joao is in the same situation regarding the Campaign Traits. I could work with "Chance Encounter" if necessary, though I'm a bit curious about whether recognizing the person that helped you is relevant. Joao could have gotten lost on the way to Kenabres, and that would allow it.

As for his fighting style, he'll be trying to set up flanking situations whenever possible, though I doubt he'll be able to be "as smoke" just yet, though he's definitely going to be driving towards maximum efficiency with minimum risk on his targets. Maybe the Dodge tree, with steps into Snake Style or Panther, alternately Adder Strike and Pinpoint Poisoner. It really depends on how the AP goes, since I expect Demons may become more and more of a focus.

Speaking of combat. How do you folks want to go about it? Full map and token, theatre of the mind, or something in between?

I am with Rakeesh on this one. If positioning is relevant due to broken ground/encroaching environmental threat/etc, all of us are capable of whipping up some sort of map, I suspect (I use YOMM coupled with GIMP 2 usually), so just let us know what is needed if you'd like to divvy up the responsibility.

Where is Aglamore, the tortured (literally) cleric?

I messaged him. He is at GenCon and said he would be back on Monday.

Ruarc is very melee combat focused. His wisdom's not that good yet, and his spells are going to be mainly used for disguise self in situations where he doesn't want to appear as a tiefling.

With the champion path, I'll be focusing on mobility powers. After I'm satisfied with Ruarc's mobility I'm thinking about making Justice into a legendary weapon. We'll see how things go. Advancement is slow in PBP so we have plenty of time to see how the characters develop.

Rakeesh - Since we're both worshipers of Ragathiel and the empyreal lords tend to have small mystery cults rather than large temples it's probably pretty likely that we've at least met. I'm not sure what your background is, but I'm guessing by your name that you're not from Kenabres.

Rakeesh - Since we're both worshipers of Ragathiel and the empyreal lords tend to have small mystery cults rather than large temples it's probably pretty likely that we've at least met. I'm not sure what your background is, but I'm guessing by your name that you're not from Kenabres.

Pre-Player's Guide, I was going for more of an Osirion-y feel. But, if his name seems Mendev-y, that works out great!

Ruarc Bataar wrote:

Rakeesh - Since we're both worshipers of Ragathiel and the empyreal lords tend to have small mystery cults rather than large temples it's probably pretty likely that we've at least met. I'm not sure what your background is, but I'm guessing by your name that you're not from Kenabres.

Pre-Player's Guide, I was going for more of an Osirion-y feel. But, if his name seems Mendev-y, that works out great!

I meant his name doesn't seem like a native of Mendev. Can you add his background to the profile so I can read it over?

Edit:Actually, a lot of the example Kellid names are Arabic. So I guess he could be a Kellid. Bataar is Mongolian and I think Ruarc is Armenian. I can't remember where I grabbed it from.

Native Mendevians are a mixture of Kellids, Ulfen settlers and Iobarians.

Rakeesh Sah Tarna wrote:

Ruarc Bataar wrote:

Rakeesh - Since we're both worshipers of Ragathiel and the empyreal lords tend to have small mystery cults rather than large temples it's probably pretty likely that we've at least met. I'm not sure what your background is, but I'm guessing by your name that you're not from Kenabres.

Pre-Player's Guide, I was going for more of an Osirion-y feel. But, if his name seems Mendev-y, that works out great!

I meant his name doesn't seem like a native of Mendev. Can you add his background to the profile so I can read it over?

Edit:Actually, a lot of the example Kellid names are Arabic. So I guess he could be a Kellid. Bataar is Mongolian and I think Ruarc is Armenian. I can't remember where I grabbed it from.

Native Mendevians are a mixture of Kellids, Ulfen settlers and Iobarians.

Ah. It's in my profile now. It's just cut and pasted from my original version for the previous recruitment, though. It needs some cleaning up to fit with the campaign trait.

I can certainly play it under the assumption that they have met, if you'd like. Prior to having any details about the adventure, or the player's guide, I was envisioning him just rolling into town to join the crusade. But, there's no reason it has to be that way. We could certainly be part of the same "mystery cult".

Were you planning to use the feats and PrC from Chronicles at all?

As promised, Rakeesh's stats should be complete.

Okay, I'm almost positive I'm looking at Champion, which means the Stolen Fury trait. Is it cool with you if Ruarc was subjected to the ritual at some point after my father's death by cultist infiltrators within the cult of Ragathiel? Since he was living with them I was thinking they kidnapped him in his sleep, drugging him, and then subjected him to the ritual in an unknown location. Ruarc was so traumatized that he literally can't remember the event at all, except for the vague nightmares he has about it. Just flashes of fire, and chanting, pain and the sickly feel of dark magic. He awakens from them in terror. Since he can't remember the night, he's always just wondered why he has that same horrible dream over and over. Sound good?

Yup that sounds fine.

Gameplay post is up. Feel free to RP what your character was doing/thinking during the chaos before their entombment.

So maps it is (though I'll probably go mapless in situations where space isn't limited). I normally use a shared google drive image for my maps where you can move your own tokens. I know that not everyone can access google drive all the time, but I find that it's the easiest for me. I don't mind posting a blank map to imagur or something just so the google driveless folks can get an idea of the general layout of the battlefield.

I'll change the trait out, make some final tweaks to background and then post in gameplay.

Rakeesh - I'm planning on using the feats and going for the PRC. Why don't you just ignore the "when you were a child" part of the trait and make it a recent event. You left Osirion after you were forsaken by Ragathiel, and then when you got to Mendev a demon broke through and f'ed you up. That's why you're all grey and droopy?

As for us meeting, I'd say that we only met once. You were in the church of Ragathiel recovering from your encounter with the demons and Ruarc came through to question someone while he was still with the guard. Since you were a fellow worshiper and a foreigner the priests introduced us. Shortly after that I did the whole kill a prisoner and eat his sins thing, which made the guard kick me out and the mainstream cult of Ragathiel to declare me a heretic. You probably heard about that, and haven't seen me since. Sound good?

Hey Folks, I had a busy weekend, so I'll try to get a gameplay post up tomorrow.

Couple of things:

@Rakeesh: Thanks for posting that bit about Aglamar. That works nicely.

Maeve's healing will take 3 hours as is, though Aglamar can wake up on his own if he posts before I do, so what are you going to do in the interim?

Lastly, with 6 PCs and 3 NPCs, there are going to be a lot of conversations flying about, so could you please all indicate who you are speaking to when you post. Either with a (@Ruarc) "Yada, yada, yada." or Pytros says to Maeve. "Blah, blah, blah." would be fine. Private conversations should be in spoilers, with the standard DC15 perception check to overhear.

@GM Fanguar: I am assuming that each of the scales only has 1 power? I also assume that the scales could not be given to another and the power then reused? Just want to make sure we are on the same page.

@Everyone: So we have six players, and six scales. Glancing at what we have, I think this might be the best assignment for who gets what. (Let me know if anyone disagrees) I tend to do this in the games I play in to speed things up. I try to keep it fair and assign by WPL and what items fit each character best.

I was going to stat preference for either disguise or cloudwalking. My third choice would be sacred weaponry.

@Ruarc: *nod* I thought that you might like the cloudwalking. Since your going for a batman style character, I could see you rising up on a pillar of smoke and then diving off it to make a charging attack. It really fits you.

@Everyone: Did anyone else have concerns about what scale they would get?

Hi. Sorry it took so long to check in. First GenCon and then a serious bout of the Con Crud. At least today I feel well enough to type. Barely.

I'll be adjusting Aglamore to 20 points and absorbing the rest of this thread later tonight.

See you then.

@Maeve: Yes, each scale only has one power and it's 3 uses per day period, it doesn't reset when passed around. You could pass it around and have 3 people each use one charge.

@Aglamore: Thanks for the update.

No points in disguise as of yet, though that may change as it becomes relevant.

Guardian was tailor made for paladins. Swift action self-heal makes shield other amazing.

Some of the others could be mixed and matched, though. Pytros seems to be set up in battlefield controller build, so paralysis might be good for rounds where he is unable to get into melee. Joao could certainly benefit from the align weapon ability, especially when he get's into flanking position. Anyone could benefit from Cloudwalking and Resistance, though Ruarc and Rakeesh already have some resistances.

I'm thinking that circumstances may dictate who holds which scale at any given time. In Mendev, a tiefling might need disguise just to survive. When the adventure moves into the Worldwound, the aasimar paladin might need it. =)

Aglamore made more stupid to fit the 20 point limit. He may need some things explained to him. :-)

Although truly, nobody considers a 13 INT to be genius, so 7 INT isn't moronic. Just means he reads Archie and Jughead, not Proust.

I have to point out that alter self is an amazing combat buff that never gets used as such, since its range is personal and it's limited to wizards and bards.

Use it, choose goblin or ratfolk and gain all the benefits of being small:
+1 size bonus to AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.

Plus darkvision, plus a +2 bonus to Dex. All for 1min/level.

Yeah, my first instinct for me was the Disguise scale. I can already alter self once per day, but Ruarc is pretty paranoid about letting people know he's a tiefling. He'd snatch any opportunity to have more disguise options. I don't have ranks in the skill yet since I'm low on skill points, but level 2 will let at least put one rank in everything I want (including disguise).

Levitation would be cool for getting onto buildings and things, but I'm already going to get that kind of stuff through my mythic abilities (eventually).

I guess I kinda blew revealing I'm a tiefling in-explicitly by saying that I could see in the dark, but tieflings aren't the only ones who can. So until one of you examines me closely and makes a DC 14 perception check I'm a human to you (who can somehow magically see in the dark).

Pytros gave Aglamore the Align Weapon scale - both because I think it would be handier for him, but also because it fits better from a roleplaying standpoint. He could use the resistance scale in more tactical ways, too.

Fine with me.

Ok, so a bit of a change then for Scales:

Seems good. Let's try not to get too proprietary about each of these either. We'll probably get the best use out of them by moving them around situationally.

Also, can I just say... Campaign Traits that read more like pretty darn good feats, minor artifacts handed out at the very start, a host of skilled NPC's, and Mythic Tiers to come...? I am suitably respectful of the difficulty this AP is likely to present. Get your game faces on!

@GM Fanguar: Are you ok with any of the following feats: Squire and/or Leadership? Maybe not with a party this size. But, with down time and kingdom building rules coming into play, wilderness, mounts, and dungeons all seeing time, I could see this being useful even if they don't get involved in combats.

Angel Blood and Angel Wings: I'm very interested in this line. It may substantially alter how my character is constructed. Particularly in this AP, I could see this being extremely good.

Unsanctioned Knowledge: I like it. Probably can't afford it if I take the Blood line of feats.

@Rakeesh(/all): Tentatively, Squire and/or Leadership should be fine. I imagine that certain NPCs you encounter will available to serve as cohorts later (paizo did this for Shattered Star, so I imagine the practice will continue). I'm boosting the CRs for encounters to account for the increased number of PCs, so cohorts shouldn't skew the difficulty anymore than usual, they will slow your levelling speed though. I will say that since you guys are going to be Mythic and your cohorts would not be, they would be relatively fragile. Angel Blood and Angel Wings racial feats are fine and so is Unsanctioned Knowledge.

What with GenCon and its lovely parting gift (something that may or may not be the flu), I haven't yet read the Player's Guide. I will within a day or so, though.

I'm fine with the disguise scale, switching items may be practical in some situations, but not always.

I guess I'll have Ruarc find it stuck to the dead spider goop or something.

@Pytros: Technically, you can't use a scorpion whip to do lethal damage from 15 feet away without Whip Mastery. Super technically, since you are not proficient with a scorpion whip, you can't do lethal damage with it at all and it is effectively just a whip. It's all a pretty stupid design decision by paizo and more of a headache than it's worth. I'm more than willing to allow you to take Whip Mastery at level one, if you want to swap out Improved Unarmed Strike.

Personally, they should just drop Whip Mastery's BAB requirement to +1 and get rid of the scorpion whip.

This whip has a series of razorsharp blades and fangs inset along its tip.

Benefit: It deals lethal damage, even to creatures with armor bonuses. If you are proficient with whips, you can use a scorpion whip as a whip.

Weapon Feature(s): performance (plus disarm, reach, and trip if you are proficient with whip.)

Scorpion Whip