Saevox's Gauntlet: Team 4 (Inactive)

Game Master The Rising Phoenix

This will be the main discussion and gameplay thread for your team. You will use this thread moving forward for all internal discussions and gameplay actions specific to your team. The GM's will monitor all five game threads daily and check in as needed.

The main recruitment thread will remain active and serve as a global discussion and announcement thread for the game. The GM's will notate things such as the completion of a round or other global game related information. Unless otherwise instructed, post your game actions in your team gameplay thread and not the global one. The GM's will handle cross-group communication and interaction if and when that should arise.

Please proceed with your team discussion specific to your character design, party makeup, party benefactor/driving force (how is it your team is one of the four contestants to this trial?), equipment provisioning, etc.

When your party has completed their build please notate this for the GM's so that they can perform a quick verification of your character. We do not intend to delve into the details of each and every character, we expect everyone is honest and fair in their build and do not purposely try to cheat. If someone catches a mistake we ask that you simply correct it and we move on. We're here to have fun!

While a central theme is not required for your team, you have a unique opportunity here to build a party that defies many of the "standard party creation" rules. We hope you have fun with this and create an interesting dynamic!

Have fun creating, let us know if you have questions.

Alright! This is gonna be exciting.

So, Philo Pharynx had the suggestion that we be a team where everyone is capable of some kind of healing. We become a team that survives not by being tougher than the others, but because we keep getting back up. If we each buy a wand of CLW (or infernal healing if everyone's cool with that), we should be able to keep coming no matter what. There are plenty of classes and archetypes with some degree of healing, so it should provide a lot of variety.

For a faction/group, I made the suggestion of all of us being in the Pathfinder Society in the Recruitment thread. Anyone else have any good ideas for that? Is there any class anyone would like to play?

I was also thinking that if a couple of us have pets/companions/mauler familiars etc, we have more actions and spread out the targets. We have to heal more, but if we take people down faster that's not an issue.

I was thinking of a gnoll hunter.

Hi team! The character I had in mind fits well with whats been discussed so far. Ive almost finished building an elf witch focusing hard on the slumber hex. I picked up a wand of CLW and they obviously come with familiars.

The basic idea is a "somnomancer", pumping slumber and picking control spells. I'll purchase another wand or two to buff and debuff when needed. I have a visual in my head of how they look and act as well. Like they said, we're still roleplaying, just tactically! Im open to thoughts and ideas.

Well, that is either a very exciting character or a very boring one, depending on which side of the slumber you're on! What's your plan for things that don't sleep?

@Philo Well that's why I have you guys! I'll have a backup light crossbow and my spells will be more towards buffing and debuffing. I'll be tossing out hexes constantly to try and tear our enemies down for the party's benefit.

I like the idea of every member being able to heal and The Pathfinder Society should be an excellent patron to us. We should consider why they've chosen us. Were we all a group previous and if so, for how long?

@Philo: If you go gnoll hunter, would the Pathfinder Society be a good option, or would you prefer a different benefactor? Any reason you chose gnoll? I know the one group was planning on being all gnolls, and not many campaigns would allow them, so it is a unique opportunity.

@MerceMary: That idea sounds fun and exciting. It’s also fairly flexible, regardless of our overall composition. Looking forward to the final outcome :).

Thanks! I think it'll come out fun. I hope she can be helpful to the group. Here is a rough workup of my witch.Just to give an idea of the direction I'm leaning.

I am torn between a couple of choices that I’ve narrowed it down to.a Magus (Armored Battlemage), a Cavalier (Emissary), a Rogue (Unchained), or a Monk (Unchained). Oh, or a Kineticist. Human for most, but an appropriate elemental-ish type for the Kineticist...

Preferences?

@Everyone - Welcome to the Group 4 discussion page! I am excited to see this moving forward, and looking forward to seeing how quickly I can kill you all off and go back to trying to find a Starfinder game :D

All kidding aside, I am looking forward to this, ever since GM Shadowlord first posed the concept to me a few months ago. We've been woodshopping the encounters since then, trying to find the best mix of exciting/interesting/deadly.

As you get your character concepts roughed out, I will be looking them over for legality only. It's not my place to make suggestions on what feats to take or how your character should work, as long as it is within the guidelines posted for character creation.

@MerceMary: Looks good. First thoughts - Mage armor won't stack with the Ceremonial Robes. I'd recommend choosing one or the other. Plus, Mage armor is good for 4 hours, so I don't think you need two preparations.

@Arknight: We've been talking about having everyone choose a class capable of healing itself in some way (a wand with UMD is perfectly acceptable), and Philo thinks it might be good if we all consider rolling the pet class route so we have twice the actions. Magus, Unchained Rogue, and Kineticist are both good options for having healing options.

I've been considering going Summoner, but I probably won't do so if you go Magus. If you go Rogue, that will help me with Eidolon selection, as it will rule out an Ancestor Eidolon with the Rogue simple class template.

Okay, I just saw that we are entering in a 10x10 area. That might make companions a problem. I might go with a small hunter who can ride their companion, or switch out. Let me think about it a little more.

Just as an FYI - the starting area is a 10x10x10 cube. If you want a bear companion, you'll be carrying him :)

Philo, I'm in a face to face Wrath of the Righteous where one of the PCs with Leadership has his cohort as a Ratfolk hunter riding a dog. It's quite viable, and he plays it like a Cavalier in combat.

I'm considering one of the following: Alchemist (Crypt Breaker), Bard (Archivist), Inquisitor, or Unchained Summoner. Likely Human, although I'm messing around with the possibility of an Ifrit for the Summoner. Anyone have any thoughts?

@Phntm888 Oh nice, good call. Sorry I didn't see that. I'll pick different first level spells.

And all those options could prove super useful. We definetly need a dedicated skillmonkey/trap handler, but summoners can be expert meat shields when pressed.I'm leaning towards the alchemist but I guess it depends on what Arknight plays.

@DM Bigrin Good to meet you! I look forward to dying horribly on this expedition.But jokes aside, please let me know I can help in any way.

@Philo That's the route I'm going. Was going for elf, but that gecko's spiderclimb will theoretically help keep me out of enemies range and lets you guys focus less on having to protect me.

Here's a question for the GM: can we choose campaign traits as one of our traits? Trap Finder from Mummy's Mask seems quite appropriate for this one, as does Scholar of the Ancients from Rise of the Runelords.

Just as an FYI - the starting area is a 10x10x10 cube. If you want a bear companion, you'll be carrying him :)

Well, there goes the Barbarian with a dinosaur concept.... lol :)

Looks like going Rogue (Unchained) (Knife Master)

@Phntm888 - Yes, Campaign traits are available.

Okay, then I am going to go Bard (Archivist). Much as I considered the summoner, I find myself unhappy with the various Eidolon configurations I've tried. Plus, I've already got an Archivist Bard built. Just have to adapt his backstory from Carrion Crown and level him up to 4.

This should give us:
Philo Pharynx - Hunter (small size, riding companion?)
MerceMary - Halfing Witch
Arknight - Unchained Rogue (Knife Master)
Phntm888 - Human Bard (Archivist)

Sound about right?

I'm still playing around. I'm thinking that some of the other teams will have optimized the hell out of themselves.

A small hunter isn't working well in terms of keeping up. I'm considering starting having used a potion of carry companion.

Mary, would you consider taking the alternate racial trait to get a speed of 30'? We are in a race.

Phantm, I haven't seen the archivist in play. I'm worried that it will be a bit too focused on the knowledge part and not so great at the combat part. We're going to need both parts.

We also need to figure out the bonus teamwork feat. I think two of us will live precise strikes and two of us will hate it. It'll change which animal companion I take.

I have Outflank as my fixed teamwork feat and Pack Flanking (which is companion focused)

Since we have you, your companion, and an Unchained Rogue likely for melee, I was building for ranged. His current feat selection is Lingering Performance, Point-Blank Shot, and Precise Shot. Fairly basic setup for an archer bard. Current stats Str 10, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 14.

Do you have an alternate suggestion? I've found that Naturalist keeps up with Inspire Courage pretty well overall, but I'm open to changing things up.

If it helps, here's the general build. I haven't spent all his money yet, but hopefully it helps with deciding if I'm going to be able to contribute to both.

@Phntm888 - The build looks good overall, but I think you shorted yourself some points in the point buy. If I take your array, assuming +2 to Dex from Human and +1 to Dex for level 4, it looks like you've only spent 15 of your 20 points.

I'm still liking the gnoll. I can make it fit in the pathfinder society. I could suspect that I ran into the rest of you while hunting the monster that killed his family. After teaming up, we kept going and on coming back to civilization, you guys sponsored me.

I'm thinking greatsowrd and fangs for his main fighting style. I'm thinking bear or wolfdog for my companion.

@Arc,
Archery is a good tactic. Since it's dungeon, I suggest having something for if they get past the front line. Not that they will, but just to be well rounded. ;)

My issue with Naturalist is that it's focused on one specific species. I can see it being roughly equal to inspire courage for encounters against one thing, but it falls off a lot with mixed foes. I suspect that the GM's will rule that you can't change subjects during the extended rounds of lingering performance, so you'd have to use an action and another round if we finish off the type you have your song for. Inspire courage simply works no matter what you are fighting.

I like the base bard more than most archetypes for this one.

@Mary,
A wand of snowball might be better than the crossbow for attacking. It's touch and doesn't require reloading or two hands. It's more expensive, but more reliable.

...Apparently I rearranged my point buy so many times I forgot how to count properly. That also makes a mithral shirt less of a priority, cause now the Strength gets to go up.

How does that look?

You know, Philo, I think I'm actually willing to concede on this point. As much as I love the Archivist, I've only played it in campaigns where most encounters tend to be of fairly similar types (Carrion Crown, for instance). The flexibility may be more important for this one. I'm still going to look over some other archetypes, but a regular bard might be the way to go.

What do you think about the Arcane Healer archetype for this? We don't have a cleric, so a once a day channel could be handy.

My current melee backups are a dagger and a spiked gauntlet, but that was when I was worried about carrying capacity. Might be worth it to grab a shield and a longsword for backup.

Okay, here is the character and alias for my bard. I still have money to spend, but let me know if everything looks good.

I considered arcane healer. Without selective channeling, the benefits are more if we are in a time crunch out of combat or if we are fighting undead. If you're okay with the skills, that's great.

If you can't think of other things to spend the money on, we should have potions/scrolls of some of the exotic healing stuff. Like remove blindness/deafness, etc.

Ok, slight change from Knife Master. Went with Eldritch Scoundrel instead. I can go back if prefer, but I think this will make for an interesting addition to the team. :)

Any suggestions on must have spells/items?

Okay, here's mu first draft.

Arknight: Curious how you got proficiency with an Elven Curve Blade. I didn't think Unchained Rogue gave proficiency in that.

As for must have spells, I'd say lean towards things that are touch attacks and avoid saving throws - chill touch, frostbite, and shocking grasp, for instance. With an Int of 14, you aren't going to really have the DCs to make saving throw spells stick, and if you have to make an attack roll and the spell deals damage, you get to add sneak attack to it. For must have items, a healing wand of some kind would be beneficial.

Philo: Looks pretty good. You might want to make sure you have a ranged weapon and a way to overcome type-based DR. Actually, Arknight, I'd suggest the same for you as well.

I'm working on purchasing other stuff now. Alchemical items might be handy.

Okay, everything about the character should be ready to go. I went with the base bard, sans archetype. Spent most of my gold.

Arknight: Curious how you got proficiency with an Elven Curve Blade. I didn't think Unchained Rogue gave proficiency in that.

As for must have spells, I'd say lean towards things that are touch attacks and avoid saving throws - chill touch, frostbite, and shocking grasp, for instance. With an Int of 14, you aren't going to really have the DCs to make saving throw spells stick, and if you have to make an attack roll and the spell deals damage, you get to add sneak attack to it. For must have items, a healing wand of some kind would be beneficial.

Philo: Looks pretty good. You might want to make sure you have a ranged weapon and a way to overcome type-based DR. Actually, Arknight, I'd suggest the same for you as well.

I'm working on purchasing other stuff now. Alchemical items might be handy.

I didn’t notice that that wasn’t listed. It’s the Military Tradition Alternate Racial Trait.

Military Tradition: Several human cultures raise all children (or all children of a certain social class) to serve in the military or defend themselves with force of arms. They gain proficiency with up to two martial or exotic weapons appropriate to their culture. This racial trait replaces the bonus feat trait.

Chose the Elven Curve Blade and Longbow (He grew up among Elves...) he’s got a wand of CLW, and a wand of Mage Armor since he’s not proficient with armor or shields. What would you recommend for the overcoming DR?

Ah, that answers the question. Just wanted to make sure everything was accounted for.

I’d suggest a cold iron sickle and a silver light mace. Both finessable, and not too expensive. Also, ranged weapons are good to have in case of flying creatures. We’re kind of gonna hope adamantine DR doesn’t come up, I think.

/me listens in on the bit about adamantine and takes notes

I've made a post about what's due and the timeline for the next week week in the master thread. You can find it HERE.

...and takes notes about adamantine...

...How much do Adamantine arrows cost again?

We need to select a teamwork feat. What we pick may affect our characters. My suggestion is still precise strike. It'll potentially get us 7d6 damage per round.

Just a reminder that completed characters are due Tuesday 04/17 for GM review. If you have any specific questions, please let me know. Also, make a post stating that "this is my submission" so that I can easily distinguish proposed builds from submitted ones.

Roll20 is being used for our map AND our backup method of submitting your action in the event that Paizo forums are unavailable/down. I'll create a separate post on the latter part later, but for now please create a Roll20 account if you don't have one. I will be granting permission to move your token to everyone on your team. This will allow those who can't get to a map at a particular time to allow teammates to move them accordingly (This also allows teammates to move your token if your don't post your action before the 48 hour mark). Join the Saevox's Gauntlet Roll20 game HERE! I'm planning on using your character's profile picture for your avatar in Roll20. If your Roll20 name is different than what your alias is here and I can't logically make the connection, please PM the details. Joining the Roll20 game is due by Tuesday 04/17.

Precise Strike is only good in melee. If MerceMary is in melee, we have a problem, and my goal is to stick to ranged support. Lookout, on the other hand, guarantees that as long as one of us is aware of a threat, we all get to act in the surprise round. I think that will be more useful than Precise Strike for the majority of us.

Also, I've joined the Roll20 game. I've set my Display Name to my Alias name.

Also, I've joined the Roll20 game. I've set my Display Name to my Alias name.

You should be all set!

As for DR, I'm good. Most things we face will be DR 5. I do 2d6+7, +1 for flanking. For 4 minutes a day, I get an extra +1. Things not immune to crits gives me an extra d6. So even against DR 10, I can get an average of 6 points through. My bear gets 3 attacks at +8 with power attack, and also gets the extra d6 against things that can get precision damage. So good against DR 5, and a decent amount against DR 10.

Okay, I took precise strike for my character. I'm not a fan of lookout. While it's useful, it's very situational. It only helps in surprise rounds. I prefer something that's useful more often.

Shake it Off gives an untyped bonus to all saves when we have people adjacent up to +4. The drawback is that we have to deal with Tswift jokes.
Tribe Mentality allows us to take the best roll when multiple people are subjected to compulsion or emition effects. While it's fewer saves, we don't have to be adjacent, just affected by the same effect.
Swarm Scatter gives +1 circumstance to AC per adjacent ally. No cap. Being immune to rat swarm distraction is very situational, but the AC bonus is the real effect.

Character finished except for bonus TW feat, and updated in Roll20.

That's the name of the one I couldn't remember! Shake it Off!

I'd be good with that one. The save bonus could mean life or death. The only drawback is that if we're adjacent, we're more vulnerable to AoE spells.

I'm posting an introduction tonight to help give you some context. Feel free to do some pre-game RP with your teammates to help you slip into character before we start!

Just a reminder that character submissions are due TODAY!. So far I have Keydas and Ghyrryn.

Here is my character! Signed into the Roll20 game and here is my submitted character minus teamwork feat.

As far as teamwork feats are concerned, it sounds like we need to be conscious of space so there might be instances where we can't help but be cramped. AOE's might be unavoidable so we might as well enjoy that save bonus. With that said, 'Shake it Off' works fine for me.

Ok I have setup the Roll20 characters for Snótra, Keydas and Ghyrryn, you should each have permission to see through a characters vision and to control/edit the character. We are now just waiting on Arknight.

Snótra - Let me know what your familiar's name is and I'll update Roll20