In this case please consider Bryce moving to C-9 (move action) and drawing a weapon - short sword, since he heard Reggie's warning of ineffective bludgeoning weapons (standard action).
Alright, I did some "research" on the topic of the "short sword" and why it cannot slash.
I think the closest historical weapon is the small sword.
It says they're typically used for piercing attacks, but doesn't explicitly state that they have no edges; rather, that they might not have one. These swords are also a lot more modern than I would have imagined. Fair enough, I guess.
The arms and equipment guide makes the distinction between a gladius (a piercing and slashing weapon) and a short sword: the gladius weighs 1 pound more but it is still a short sword for the purposes of.. everything. So yeah. WHATEVER. Haha.
I'm definitely fine running two clerics in the party, especially with their differences. And having two of us with Eyes of Darkness down the road will be just plain wicked, especially if we come up with ways for the other PCs to deal with it.
On the point buy, I'll just wind up backing both Wisdom and Charisma down a notch to hit the 15-point buy.
|
15 point buy can handle MAD characters fine. I think a lot of us get into the mindset that effective characters need 16-18 in their primary stats. It's really not true.
Here are some of my ideas for the CotCT game so far...
* Unarmed Fighter (maybe dipping 2 levels of MoMS) that focuses on combat maneuvers. Dragon Style (plus another style if I jump into MoMS), the Ki Throw line, and anything else to do with grappling, tripping, and bull rushing. I'm thinking a character like Vi from League of Legends in persona. :) Would be good to link to a more law abiding character...
* Some kind of combat focused Dragon Disciple. Not sure if I'd go Paladin, Ranger, or Fighter for this, but probably would pick a Gold Dragon bloodline. A vengeful holy warrior out to eat some evil face in dragon form.
* Paladin of Sarenrae. Very motherly and caring healer. Possibly Hospitaler, maybe Warrior of the Holy Light...
* A wild shaping-focused melee Shoanti druid (or maybe shapeshifting ranger, possibly multiclass?). Could well be tied with Ninivic's Shoanti (same klar/tribe? siblings?)
* Varisian fighter using a bladed scarf. No further ideas here. I just love the idea of bladed scarves. :P
* I'd love to play a Paladin of Cayden Cailean (if Adam is the type to houserule that paladins can be 'any good' or uses the alternate paladins from Unearthed Arcana) but I'm not banking on it. She was originally designed for a Council of Thieves game and is interested in liberating the populace from the stranglehold of devils and corruption, which works just as well in Korvosa as it does in Westcrown.
...
Also, TIL short swords don't do slashing damage. O_o
Welcome to the House of Madness. Good men are condemned to die on the whims of evil lords and ladies. All that is holy is blasphamous, and the lies spoken by demons and devils are all too true. Peasants exact taxes on royalty and sane men are chained for the safety of others while lunatics rule the raven's roost. Welcome brave cowards, for freedom lies in slavery and salvation spells your doom.
Lots of fun ideas there...
Another Shoanti would be very interesting and we could definitely tie that together. Same tribe would make a lot of sense and give us a good connection in both background and purpose. Would also set up even more of an interesting cultural contrast in the group and with Korvosa.
|
|
Aaaand the current round of combat emphasises most clearly why you 1) do not split the party and 2) do not walk around a dangerous dungeon singing at the top of your lungs.
I am also highly amused that a single CR 1/2 zombie is doing more damage than a CR 3 gelatinous cube or five CR 1 gnolls could.
Not for long >:D
Oh, I forgot that I had heavily edited my short sword post, and it didn't have any context.
I was talking about how it was kind of lame that short swords don't do slashing damage. Most people think of a gladius or some other edged weapon when they think of a "short sword", rather than the mini-rapier that it actually is. It turned into more of a "thinking out loud" post by the end of it. xD
P.S. - I didn't know you played League of Legends! I used to live on that game until I started school. So addictive!
Yeah, I like to watch people streaming while I do homework and stuff. I wish I had the time to play more, but school has been so demanding. Sometimes I'll play an ARAM or a Dominion, but it's rare that I have time for a Summoner's Rift. Boo. I'm Riddlewrong on there. I'll add you. :)
Wow, that's awesome! I'm going for a restricted access program of study, so nobody will give me any scholarships or grants until I'm accepted. It sucks because even though I'm getting perfect grades, I still have to pay for all my prerequisites out of pocket. x.x
What are you majoring in, or have you decided?
|
|
Advance note: university degrees here work quite differently to how college degrees work in the US, as far as I can tell.
I'm starting a Computer Science degree this year. I finished an Arts degree (majoring in Linguistics/Japanese) last year. I was in a combined degree program, Arts/Science double degree, but I got totally jaded by my Science studies that I decided to switch entirely. I only did it in the first place because I had no idea what I wanted to do out of highschool and felt like I should do something more "worthwhile" than just an Arts degree.
I honestly should've gone into CompSci in the first place, but I was worried I couldn't handle the maths and various other stupid things like that. It took a year spent in Canada for me to decide what I wanted to do. Which wasn't a bad experience at all, really. :P
I'm a career student though, alas.
CompSci is actually pretty broad. If you're good at logic, you should be okay. Most of the time, the math used is of the boolean kind. The only times it gets complex is when you start doing simulators, data aggregation, and graphics. One thing I will say is learn how to use your tools. I didn't and I am really regretting it. On the other hand, I'm in web development, so most of the time testing involves going to the site and seeing if anything broke. :)
|
|
Yeah, back when I was a fresh highschool graduate I had come to some weird conclusion that only super maths nerds could possibly handle CompSci and there was no way I could do that kind of thing. I am now somewhat less silly and afraid than I was at 17. :P
I think I'll be fine! I'm telling myself that at least. Believing is half the battle.
Luckily I've got all my math out of the way. Medicine is more about learning the twisted labyrinth that is the human body. It's not as interesting as it seems, but it has its moments.
I originally wanted to be a chef, and I worked on that for a while before realizing that the food service industry is for people who want to be overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated. I was also a vegan, so starting out with that handicap made the potential job field incredibly narrow.
Since all that, I've undergone a radical fitness/lifestyle change that doesn't really emphasize food as a source of pleasure or art anymore. I'm in a better place, and heading towards a goal of helping people instead of making them fatter. xD
Congrats on the scholarship AM!
If you listen at the door for some time, you can make out the conversation to an extent. It's nothing particularly interesting--there sounds like there's some kind of dice or card game going on, and that intermingles with a rather lewd conversation essentially boiling down to bragging about one's notches on one's bedpost. Another conversation seems to be going on at the same time about receiving payment for something. You think that there are at least a half-dozen different people in the room, maybe more.
I would assume they are using common as a language and sound more or less like humans/humanoids (not hissing like kobolds or alike...)?
Loved the Journey Quest reference Reginald gave. Can't wait for season 3.
Can Raseri guess at the number of prints, or is it too muddled?
Alright. Do we do the smart thing, the clever thing, or the dumb thing?
I vote for the dumb thing.
I just verified that Raseri is probably our best negotiator.
I am now truly scared.
I did the same thing before volunteering you. Yeah, its bad. Really bad. We're definitely a guns blazing kinda group (pun intended).
15 on the roll, so we should be okay as long as their not hostile right off the bat.
Nah, we's good. A fighter actually makes a good face.
"Please don't make me use this sword as big as me on you. I just got the last bits of blood from the last guy cleaned off of it."
^_^
|
|
I kind of realised slightly belatedly -- apologies if the situation is uncomfortable for you, Raseri. I would NEVER EVER do anything to a character that the player did not want, and I DO NOT under any circumstances want to imply that rape is something that would occur or be treated lightly in my game. I want to underscore that thirty times over.
But I think that, considering the situation, that is how a bunch of bandits in a dungeon would react to a single pretty lady approaching them all of a sudden asking for help.
... Also, I don't know about you but I like cutting a+!$*~#s like this in two with a greatsword. It becomes doubly enjoyable. :D
Let me put it like this - me, as a player, I am fully aware that, if we turn this into combat, this is going to be one hell of a challenging encounter.
But, player knowledge and meta-gaming aside, Bryce is on the edge of simply stepping forward and placing a crossbow bolt into the half orc belly. I am very, very thorn right now as to what to post...
|
|
I don't blame you. :P
Rappan Athuk is very much designed to have combats that you probably can't win very easily, if at all. Sometimes you'll just need to come up with a smart plan to run away. It might not be exactly what your characters want to do, but on the other hand, your characters probably don't want to die, either. And you have a clear IC way of gauging the strength of an enemy force now as well.
But if you want to try the bandit nest, have at it! I believe in you!! (... kiiiinda.)
I want to preface what I'm about to say with this, I absolutely DO NOT condone rape, sexual assault, or anything of the like. That said...
To be honest I did think that you wouldn't have anything like that happen, or at least not explicitly. Golarion is a darker, harsh place than the places most people grow up in. It can bring out the worst in people and bandits tend to be scum at the best of times. Having the threat over Raseri's head makes things a little more interesting and deepens the story being told because, yes, these are the kind of people that would do things like that, and yes that does make hacking them to bits with a BFS very satisfying.
Personally, I like that we are all doing what relatively inexperienced (1st level) characters would do instead what we as players would do. As players we have heard/read reviews of Rappun Athuk and its lethality but our characters certainly don't know this. Despite the consistently bad tactics that Reginald displays, it is very much in character and realistic and I like it.
@Alice - As far as rape/sexual violence, I think how you are handling it is completely appropriate. Evil people probably think like that.
Anyway, here's to one hell of a battle!!
Well, Corporal Black figures its a deathtrap because the Commander sent him and he's sure the man has it out for him. But, he's certainly in for a round or two :)
BTW, here's a link to squeezing. Bottom line is that Reggie should be fine, but it will take him an extra square to get through the door. And he wouldn't be able to charge. But with Raseri there right now, he can't do that anyway.
Personally, I like that we are all doing what relatively inexperienced (1st level) characters would do instead what we as players would do. As players we have heard/read reviews of Rappun Athuk and its lethality but our characters certainly don't know this. Despite the consistently bad tactics that Reginald displays, it is very much in character and realistic and I like it.
I'm glad that you get it. At the same time, I realize something about myself: I can be a bit disruptive, especially to people who like to play Pathfinder efficiently. I play characters that act according to their own personal agendas, opinions, or whims -- even if I know for a fact that it's a poor choice. I get flack from people out-of-character for making these decisions. "Play the game right" is something I've heard a lot, and it bugs me. I like to play characters, not statistics. I don't always take the flanking position. I don't always make a perception check when I should. I pull the lever before we know what it does. Sometimes.. I just charge! My characters are usually flawed and I try to make that a part of the way I play them, even if it's not the most effective way to "play the game".
That being said, if it ever gets to the point where you feel like I'm detracting from the fun of the game, feel free to let me know.
Reginald, I believe I understand what you mean. For a time, most of my RL gaming group adopted this "strategy" and we simply played our characters "to the hilt".
But...after some time we understood that this type of play, although sometimes very liberating, actually lowered the overall "fun factor" for the group. We sat down, talked it through and modified our play-styles a bit. We are still trying to role play our characters, but only up to a certain point. Sometimes good role-play, if you really stick to playing your character right will simply lead you into a very deadly situation. And you might even survive it once, or maybe even twice, but third time you'll be dead. And probably the rest of the group with you. And player deaths are rarely a "fun thing". But of course, it all depends on your view on the game, and your group's overall view of the game also. I know some guys who play it almost as a pure tactical (squad leader) type of a game. Some others are considering it a type of art, and insist on playing their character "just the way it is right". Again, for third type, it's a beer&pretzels kind of a game, with lots of goofing around. So, it all depends on your view, and how it fits the view of others.
So far, I have no issue in the way you play Reginald (or anyone else's play-style). You are playing your character, and it is a bit "on the edge", but so far it is fine. Now would maybe be a good time to see our overall "motivation/play-style". What do you want of the game, girls and boys (this relates to our esteemed GM as well)? What type/kind of the game you hope for?
For me, for this specific game - I see it more as a challenge, than as my "typical roleplaying game". This is Rappam Athuk damnit! I want a shot at it...this is legendary, I want to give my best to survive and succeed, where numerous others have failed. If that means (and it probably does) that I am more on the "tactical" than "roleplaying" side, so be it. IMHO, this is not a type of a game for character development, deep emotional dramas, inter-party conflict and whatever. This calls for some amount of story and fluff, and all the tactical acumen we can garner. If I am to "metagame" a bit for Bryce to survive another room, than probably I would do it. But that is just me, for this specific game. I would like to hear your motivations, views since I consider myself a team player, and if majority of the group have a different view, than I would probably try to adapt to it, in order to increase "fun factor" we all get from this game.
Wow...pardon for ranting a bit there, girls and boys, I'll get off my soapbox now :-)
|
|
I'll echo the sentiment that Rappan Athuk probably encourages metagaming and tactics and discourages drama and extensive character development more than most games. That's partly why I picked it to run-- I wanted something different to my usual games. (You might be able to tell from my often long-winded narrativist style that I am very much about character development and story. :P)
@Bryce - you make some very good points. As Alice points out we probably do need to metagame and play as both players and characters. I guess this could go into an argument about dungeon design, but I think it's fun and legendary and am just glad that Alice gave us the opportunity to play it.
So, I guess I agree with both of your versions of play (what an easy way to get out of it! ;) You can probably tell by some of my posts I like to imagine what Olo is doing in the moment.
Anyway, Reginald is a bit on edge. Maybe the next time he wanders off he actually dies. Maybe this gets us all killed. Ironically, we are discussing all this when Reginald has been at his most restrained!
Actually with all I just said I re-reviewed the map and the Enlarge Person spell. So, time for me to metagame.... Do you all think it would make more sense for me to cast Enlarge Person on Raseri? She is already in the room and most likely to attack/be attacked first. I realized the reach is 25' + 5ft/2 levels (so does that mean 25 feet now and 30 at 2nd level or 30 ft for levels 1-2?) so I could probably target her.
They have the advantage in numbers and probably raw physical fighting power. Raseri may be a bit suicidal, but she's not stupid and will be retreating to take that advantage away.
I'm still following the action here, but I was trying to finish up my Rogue for our CotCT game. I'll post for Reggie in the morning!
@Bryce - As for how I see Rappan Athuk? I'd like to get through it. I'd love for us all to succeed! I'd get really bored if I didn't roleplay Reggie being himself, but I understand that there's a certain line that you can't really cross. I also don't mind my own character dying or being hurt, but I wouldn't want to actually cause a TPK because of a silly in-character action.
If we were in a normal situation, I probably would have had Reggie throw the door open, jump in, and scream the moment Ninivic popped that lock. I was tempted to do it. I even POSTED that temptation. But.. I didn't act on it. That was me being conscious of myself as a player and realizing that the end result wouldn't have been worth it in the overall "fun factor" of the game.
I do like to think that I have at least some sense of my limits for "on the edge" gameplay. I did build Reggie to be pretty tough, so I'm hoping that overall you will consider him an asset when all is said and done. :)
P.S. - Burn all zombies.
|
|
No worries!
I'm just gonna say, if you guys just wanna make a bolt for it now you won't have much problem outrunning the bandits and returning the way you came. They are greedy and evil, but they're not so desperate as to chase you down the (notoriously dangerous) halls of Rappan Athuk.
They'd much rather wait until you get caught in a trap or harried by a monster and attack you then!
All the more reason to send them running. It's never smart to leave behind a group of enemies when they can cause a nasty case of being dead.
Good point - especially because we can assume they know much more about the dungeon then we do and may even have buddies....
Alright, I'm moving my OOC spam from the Gameplay thread to the Discussion thread.
This is the current map: MAP
What's going on right now is that Olo wants to enlarge Reggie, and Raseri and I think that's probably going to backfire because of how narrow this area is.
If we had a larger area, it would absolutely be beneficial to enlarge one of us, but I think the risks outweigh the benefits right now. Our positioning just isn't very good to start this off that way. If we're granted a surprise round for jumping out from behind this corner, the furthest Reggie can get is P6. His initiative is +1, so it's unlikely that he's going to get into that room before they've all had a chance to get out of range and/or pelt him with whatever ranged weaponry they may have.
I think we're at a disadvantage because of how far away we are. Alice said they're unlikely to chase, but I guess we can just wait it out to see if they come out into the hall. If they do, let's fight. If they don't, let's leave. Thoughts?
That works. We'll have to come back and take care of them later though.
If we could figure out a way to prevent them from leaving (or slow their ability to do so) that might work out better than fighting them.
I've got some slightly risky but possibly useful ideas.
We could come back in an hour or so and jam the lock on the door with disable device.
We could cause this tunnel to cave in at several points to prevent them from being able to get out. Knowledge (Dungeoneering) or Knowledge (Architecture) would probably help with doing this efficiently. All we'd need outside of that are a couple of pickaxes or some explosives. Okay, so we don't really have those things. BUT, if we acquire some later, it's an option! We should keep it in mind, especially if we head back to town.
If we determine that the southern end of the secret corridor (back towards the pillar entrance) is a dead-end, we could seal the pillar door. How? I don't know. Maybe we can figure out a way to collect a little of that crazy glue stuff and smear it on the door frame before we close it.
Or.. we could just fight them. I dunno. I'm trying to think of some creative ideas. Maybe we'll find something interesting soon that will give us some more options. It's up to you guys to decide!