Talking Head Tavern - The One is in the Water (Inactive)

Game Master Harad Navar

An Expansion of the RP within the Talking Head Tavern thread.


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male keleshite human monk 4

This thread is for player discussion on what to do. I will post the actual game rounds/turns/hours/days in the Gameplay Thread.


male keleshite human monk 4

Character Development
I propose that we use the following structure for this side campaign.
1) We need to discuss what will be the level for the party. I suggest something between 4th and 8th inclusive. I believe that this will be an equivalent power range for EE in PFO.
2) Once a level is established generate the character using the 20 point buy system in Pathfinder. Use the three races that we know will be in EE: humans, elves, dwarfs. Use the four roles (classes) we know that will be available in EE: fighter, rouge, wizard, cleric. Hit points will be max at 1st then 75% each level after (modified by Con bonus): fighter (10 at 1st, 8 at 2nd, 7 at 3rd, etc.), rouge (8 at 1st, 6 each level after), wizard (6 at 1st, 4 each level after), cleric (8 at 1st, 6 each level after). For multi-role characters the max hip points is for the first role selected. All other role levels will be at 75% regardless of role.
3) Use the Wealth by Level table to determine your starting coin resources.
4) If you do not have Pathfinder source books to buy your equipment, you can use this link to buy equipment. If you need help getting magic weapons or armor, PM me.
5) I will have maps linked to Gameplay that will show you the initial encounter terrain. They will look similar to this, but on a much smaller scale.

Game Play
The initial play will be in days until we get to the location of the ruined tower, unless an encounter occurs before that. When we are in rounds, I am proposing a system that will hopefully give us the feel of play in EE.
1) At top of round each character may speak a 12 word (max) statement to the group in the Gameplay thread to inform the other players. About what is up to you.
2) After those posts (post "Silent" if you have nothing to say), PM me with your proposed actions. PMing rather than posting in thread will reduce unintentional metagaming. If your action requires a roll please use the "dice=" tags. (see How to format your text, below)
3) After I receive all action PMs I will work out the results and post those in the Gameplay thread. This will include updated map link showing what you see.
4) Start the next round.

Let me know your thoughts.


Male Half-dork 5 Nerd (universalist)

So you plan to dispense with initiative? Will there be any system in place that gives bonuses to replace the initiative bonuses, or are those just lost?

Are there any traits for our characters?

I am fine with whatever starting level best fits what you have planned.


male keleshite human monk 4

I am open to expanding the class/race to be more like Pathfinder than a simulation of EE in PFO. Any thoughts?


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

I'm personally playing a dwarf wizard, so the class/race restrictions don't bother me.


male keleshite human monk 4

Here is the Game Map.

Grand Lodge

Harad, have you decided what level we are to begin with?


male keleshite human monk 4

I think that we will start at 4th level. That will give everyone an ability point boost and some reasonable abilities. That means a 1,150 gp starting equipment level. I also have re-thought the emulation of PFO. We just don't know how that will go so let's use standard Pathfinder rules. There will be initiative. I do not have a requirement for daily posts. We'll start with a description of travel from the Talking Head Inn and when we have an encounter I will ask you to roll initiative and give you the order to post. If someone is busy and has to take a few days, I'm fine with that if the rest of you are.

Let's just have fun with this. You can use the Paizo Pathfinder Core Rules, the Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment (no special stuff, just what is in the books), and the Advanced Race Guide. Use the 20 point buy system with your character's racial modifiers to create the character. PM me the build and any questions.

I would like to start December 15th. There will be no Santa Clause monsters, but possibly dire reindeer. I will post in the THT thread to free that up.


Male Half-dork 5 Nerd (universalist)

Any traits?


male keleshite human monk 4

You can use any traits from the books mentioned. If you want something from another source PM me.


male keleshite human monk 4

Add to the references the Inner Sea World Guide. Cyneric, yes to race choice.


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

Stat block up on the profile.


male keleshite human monk 4
Alk Caskenflagon wrote:
Stat block up on the profile.

Thanks, I'll add it to PCGen.


male keleshite human monk 4

It appears that you still have 2 ability build points to spend plus the ability bonus for 4th level. How do you want to spend those?


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

Oh, I built it with 15 point buy for some reason. >_> Stat block updated.


Female Human Rogue 4

oh.. not paying attention to the THT for a while, so didn't realize the party had moved.

Do you want me as part of this?

(Disclaimer: EU time zone, PbP virgin and haven't played PF/3.5 in years. I may need some pointers to get the hang of it, and I'll play an "underpowered" character. But if you want me along for the ride, I'll have Foxglove statted up tonight)

/doeeyes


male keleshite human monk 4

Absolutely. Read the update in Gameplay and PM me with your character.


male keleshite human monk 4

Character development info here.


male keleshite human monk 4

As Foxglove pointed out, I misread the wealth table. The actual starting wealth for you as a 4th level character is 6,000 gp, not 1,150. IT's CHRISTMAS!!!


Female Human Rogue 4
Harad Navar wrote:
As Foxglove pointed out, I misread the wealth table. The actual starting wealth for you as a 4th level character is 6,000 gp, not 1,150. IT's CHRISTMAS!!!

And here I was worried because my "essential luxuries" package came at 1400gp. Well, I guess the jewelry and fine wine gets to stay then, along with 4500 gp of magic. PMing you a list for you to approve. (Warning: having fun just playing in character, so make-up kit is high priority while skipping wand of CLW - despite metagaming instinct yelling me to repent and change my ways).


Female Human Rogue 4

Harad: i'd like to see some info about your character (at least appearance and visible gear), unless you want it deliberatly hidden. I can retrace the THT thread but would prefer to have info from clicking at you avatar (and you might want to make an alt just to separate this from the general PFO discussions.

Hobs: i'm not sure how to treat the cat. Is it a character or part of the scenery (or a mystery for now) ?
If it keeps following us and is cute and/or intelligent (for a cat) Foxglove may well choose to 'adopt' it. (She fed it before and has a weakness for graceful, well-groomed creatures with hidden claws).

Harad: We are waiting for Brax the sage (only), correct?


Redhead:

Cat appears as a large cat (14 inches at the shoulder, 36 inches nose to tail, 24 lbs.) with black silky fur. She has a white crescent moon shaped mark above her left eye and two gold hoops in her right ear. Her eyes are green.

Mystery for now seems the best choice. :)


male keleshite human monk 4

I'll fill out the bio on my account tomorrow. I had forgotten about Brax. Somewhere I seem to remember he backed out but I can't find a PM record of that. I'll PM him.


Female Human Rogue 4
Hobs the Short wrote:

Cat appears as a large cat (14 inches at the shoulder, 36 inches nose to tail, 24 lbs.) with black silky fur. She has a white crescent moon shaped mark above her left eye and two gold hoops in her right ear. Her eyes are green.

Mystery for now seems the best choice. :)

My in-laws had a cat that size, that's a big cat!

Two gold hoops is significant information, Foxglove will definitely not assume its a stray and adopt her, but will on the other hand distinctly remember the cat as the one from the Talking Head.

Harad: thanks for the bio, getting a better idea of the appearance now. Is the headband conspicious (ie covered in symbols?)


male keleshite human monk 4

I have heard from Cyneric who would like to join us. I am waiting for his character info (if he replies). Have not heard back from Brax as yet. I will have a trip to the Golden Eye ready tonight. I love it when players make me scramble.


Female Human Rogue 4

So, preparations done and the adventure begins.

1) leadership: Harad is the questgiver and defaults to party leader, but is a DMPC. Alk could well take charge by virtue of being a local, experienced 'careful traveller' and overall organized guy. Foxglove is too impulsive and independent (anti-authoritarian). Cat is a cat.

2) marching order, should it be important. We have excellent perception and stealth capabilities but may not survive running into an ambush. Potential suggestions.
a) travelling if Alk is completely hopeless: Harad in front, Alk's horse bound behind carrot and both mount lead by Foxglove.
b) travelling if Alk can stay on horse without help: Harad in front, Carrot bound behind Alk's horse. Foxglove walking on the (left) side, chatting with Alk, Harad and the animals interchangably .
c) investigating suspicious stuff: Mounts tethered or held by Harad. Alk and Fox stealthed some 20-30' apart. (assuming we know Alk is a stealthy little bugger.


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

Alk shouldn't be totally hopeless when it comes to staying on the horse. If it rears unexpectedly because it's frightened, it would only take a DC 5 check to stay in saddle, then on my action I could take a move action to dismount. The tricky part would be to make sure it doesn't bolt when combat begins. Relevant SRD page; link.

As far as party leadership is concerned, I'm fine with anyone acting as leader.


Small updates to profile: removed some armor check penalties that were there from before + updated AC due to ring.

PS: Harad, had another look at your character and my GM sense started tingling. Stealth +12 looks like you added Wis and not Dex (or is there a zen ability I don't know about?)
In any case we are a party of very 'careful travellers' - at least if we drop the mounts.


male keleshite human monk 4

I have the trait "Wisdom in the Flesh (Irori) - Dexterity" from the APG (page 333) which allows me to use wisdom as the bonus for a selected dexterity bases skill, in this case, Stealth. Although it appears that PCGen has given me the High Jump 5th level feature at 4th level. I have to make sure I remember that.


male keleshite human monk 4
stealthy redhead wrote:
Is the headband conspicuous (ie covered in symbols?)

Yes, except that he keeps it hidden underneath a simple silk cloth folded into a headband.


Female Human Rogue 4

Merry Christmas all!

(here in Scandinavia it's the evening of the 24th that's the big event, but with a house full of little kids it's going to be full circus all day for the next 2-3 days. But I'll still check the threads every night).


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

Harad, it would be helpful if you kept links to the currently relevant maps in the campaign info, that way none of us has to hunt for the larger maps in the thread.


How tall is the grass in the current area?


male keleshite human monk 4
Alk Caskenflagon wrote:
Harad, it would be helpful if you kept links to the currently relevant maps in the campaign info, that way none of us has to hunt for the larger maps in the thread.

I will be posting updated encounter hex maps with each round. See Gameplay.


male keleshite human monk 4
Pax Hobs wrote:
How tall is the grass in the current area?

About a foot tall. You can make a Stealth skill check against a DC15, which you can not fail, but you can only move at half-speed when using Stealth.

There is a rouge talent fast stealth which allows you to move at full speed with Stealth.


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

I should have been more specific; I was referring to the larger maps that you made.


Cat is hopping down and stealthing towards the tree in the southern end of the map.


male keleshite human monk 4
Alk Caskenflagon wrote:
I should have been more specific; I was referring to the larger maps that you made.

Have added Main Map and maps for the traveled hexes to Campaign Information.

Will keep adding maps as we go along.


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

Thanks.


male keleshite human monk 4

I wanted to get a combat encounter out of the way quickly to test out how I could run them. I think the system seems to work fairly well. Any thoughts?


"Round 6 Current Positions" - this and another previous map are not showing for me...they have the broken pic/link symbol.


male keleshite human monk 4
Pax Hobs wrote:
"Round 6 Current Positions" - this and another previous map are not showing for me...they have the broken pic/link symbol.

I'm not sure why. I have linked them as I always have and they do work for me. I just went to my wife's computer and could see them fine and I was not logged in to Google at the time.


Male Dwarf Wizard 3/ Rogue 1

I could see the pictures fine.

I think the only issue I had was not knowing what the different terrain features were. Some method of labelling and describing them might help.


hex vs squares:
i'm old enough to like hexes. But the 4-digit hex numbering has me going back to the map all the time to double-check numbers. Is it possible to change one axis to letters in the encounter maps?

visibility:
the maps are gorgeous (and work fine on my pc), but I'd prefer the clearer visibility for characters (and monsters) you get from using a heavier outline/frame around them.
Also a clearer indication of terrain features (text or map legend) would be appreciated - Foxglove might not have (t/f)umbled through the thorns if it was clear that was dangerous.
Note that I love terrain features, it's just hard to exploit them if we don't understand what they are. (Expect me to want to take advantage of high ground, cover, concealment and/or difficult terrain in most encounters).


male keleshite human monk 4

So far the terrain has been flat. If the image of the plant is solid it is difficult terrain. Plant images with no visible gap between may be impassable without extra effort or possible risk. The leaves of the tree are dimmed, indicating that they do not impede movement. The tree trunk is solid and you can not pass through the 2308 hex. The grasses in the previous large hex made that smaller hex difficult terrain, but the gaps around it indicate that the small hex itself is traversable. Foxglove passed through the hedge at the gaps between the plants, but that still had danger from what thorn branches were partially blocking the hex. You could not have passed through the hexes filled with thorn bush without cutting your way through.

I will make a legend entry or a note on the map about difficult terrain. I will be adding contour lines later when the elevation changes across a map are more than a foot. The detailed encounter hexes are 100' across flats.

The hexes are actually numbered on an x-y axis plane. The X coordinate is the first 2 digits of the hex number. The Y-coordinate is the last 2 digits. Because of the staggered pattern of a hex map, each column of hexes is regular, while the rows stagger. I'll look into a different numbering system. If I go to numbers/letters along the sides of the map, and no numbers in each hex, would that be more clear?


Thanks Harad, all good suggestions. This stuff wouldn't be an issue in a tabletop game, but it's good to have it covered upfront here.

* I'm reading that dimmed images are 'scenery only' (not difficult terrain) but solid images are difficult/cover/etc. That's a fine general rule. We can discuss further when sneaking and concealment becomes more of an issue.

* Any hex numbering becomes familiar after a short while. Mainly I just want to replace two digits with a letter to reduce the chance of mistyping (or more accurately my need to double-check each coordinate)
* On the map number+letter in each hex would be my preference, and hunting for coordinates on the borders increases error frequency again.

* I'm now assuming it's all going to be simple for you to implement; if the software comes with preferences I wouldn't bother making the changes as the effect is marginal.


male keleshite human monk 4

I am using Adobe Illustrator rather than a mapping program. I make a template for use with each 100' encounter hex and then paste symbols from mapping programs.


warning to Alk: Foxglove is good at coming up with creative (and persuasive) ideas but not necessarily good at thinking them through and too impatient to wait for the right moment (deliberately hi-int/hi-cha/lo-wis).

Curiosity killed the cat and may well kill the cunning fox too.


Just so no one thinks I've been absent, I've been keeping Harad up on my movements and actions all along. :)


male keleshite human monk 4

Sorry for the confusion around Alk's move. I missed his post. This post is correct

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