Rise of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master McBugman

Welcome!

So, we're running Rise of the Runelords. It sounded like you'd want to run gestalt, would that be a solo game, or should we pick up some others?

If you're wanting more than one other player, I feel like it'd be hard to have the characters be gestalt and the game remain interesting at the same time, so if you want to do that, I'd recommend a two-person party.

Solo is fine too, though.

Sweet! Kingmaker thread.

I'm thinking this will be gestalt solo. The old character was an Eldritch Scion Magus. At the moment thinking Rogue/Cleric, Magus/Inquisitor, Rogue/Wizard, Fighter/Sorceress... we'll see

EDIT: Actually one of the players from that failed game has gotten back to me and is interested, so 2 player Gestalt, final answer. I'll direct him to this thread.

I've mild OCD when it comes to discussion/gameplay distinction, could you open a discussion tab for the kingmaker game?

And good to hear you found a partner. That makes roles a lot easier to handle.

For character creation, since there's two of you, let's go with this;

Level: 1 gestalt
Point Buy: 25 points.
Traits: 2, one of them may be a campaign trait, but you don't have to.
Wealth: Max for level 1.
Unchained: Background Skills, Stamina is free for fighters at first level.
Allowed Material: I'm flexible. Everything by Paizo for starters, ask about the rest.

Discussion is open for Kingmaker.

With gestalt are you open to using archetypes within the classes?
All races are fair game?

All races... Exept maybe the 20RP+ ones. Kasatha and up are probably a bit over the top monstrous.

Archetypes are definitely allowed. They have to be legal to use with each other if you use more than one for a single class, same as always.

Sweeet, so first idea is:

Female Suli Unchained Rogue(Scout/Swashbuckler) /Cleric(Protection:Defense,Rune)
STR 7 +2 =9
DEX 16 +0 =16
CON 12 +0 =12
INT 12 -2 =10
WIS 16 +0 =16
CHA 14 +2 =16

Traits: Signature Moves(MW Cold Iron Elven Curve-Blade) and (Exhalted of the Society or Cleansing Light)
Feat: Channel Smite or Toughness

From my research, Channel Smite and Sneak Attack should stack.. thoughts? The whole idea of Dazzling Display sounds great too but with the limited action economy of a gestalt character I'm just not sure if it's worth it.

I feel this is a stronger build than a charisma Magus while still casting and swinging a stick around. Will need to suffer through the -1 to damage until lvl 3 but then wouldn't be a problem. It all depends on what Mantic0re comes up with too.

Hey guys, thanks for the invite!

My initial thought is to re-tool my paladin into a gestalt. Early idea is Paladin+Bard, but that's not set in stone.

I will post updates and ideas here as I have them.

Cheers.

Sweeet, so first idea is:

Female Suli Unchained Rogue(Scout/Swashbuckler) /Cleric(Protection:Defense,Rune)
STR 7 +2 =9
DEX 16 +0 =16
CON 12 +0 =12
INT 12 -2 =10
WIS 16 +0 =16
CHA 14 +2 =16

Traits: Signature Moves(MW Cold Iron Elven Curve-Blade) and (Exhalted of the Society or Cleansing Light)
Feat: Channel Smite or Toughness

From my research, Channel Smite and Sneak Attack should stack.. thoughts? The whole idea of Dazzling Display sounds great too but with the limited action economy of a gestalt character I'm just not sure if it's worth it.

I feel this is a stronger build than a charisma Magus while still casting and swinging a stick around. Will need to suffer through the -1 to damage until lvl 3 but then wouldn't be a problem. It all depends on what Mantic0re comes up with too.

Channel Smite definitely stack with sneak attack 100%. You might consider Energy Channel a better alternative to Channel Smite, if you have one of those domains - the damage return is better, and it applies to non-undead too.

One thing though - I do enforce weight limits on your armor + weapons (only those things, though. I don't care about the other stuff, but you have to be able to at least carry your combat equipment around). Otherwise strength becomes way too good a dump stat. 9 strength only yields you 30 pounds of capacity, so you may not be able to wear chain shirt armor.

@Mantic0re, welcome to, bard//paladin sounds cool. Bard provides some well needed arcane spellcasting, and the two of you will make a really skillfull team.

One thing though - I do enforce weight limits on your armor + weapons (only those things, though. I don't care about the other stuff, but you have to be able to at least carry your combat equipment around). Otherwise strength becomes way too good a dump stat. 9 strength only yields you 30 pounds of capacity, so you may not be able to wear chain shirt armor.

Totally, I love the ol' 'have everything non-combat in a backpack and free-action drop it at the first sign of trouble' mechanic. I was thinking I'd go MW studded leather at low levels until I had the 1,100gp for a Mithral Chain shirt. Nice thing about the Signature Moves is I won't be spending gold on a weapon for a while, frees up the personal economy a little.

You might consider Energy Channel a better alternative to Channel Smite, if you have one of those domains - the damage return is better, and it applies to non-undead too.

I read up on the feat, it really is awesome... when it says "This effect lasts for your next three weapon attacks or until the end of combat, whichever comes first." is it implying that using one channel will power 3 attacks with this elemental damage?

Definitely thinking I'll go With Earth Domain over Rune now though..

That's how I read it, at least. It's very cool, and I just found out about it yesterday, so I go around recommending it to everyone I can shoehorn it at.

Consider me shoehorned!

This is the character that I'll be playing.

What are you thinking for backgrounds Mantic0re? Since there's only two of us we could tie in somehow.

Burnscar, do you allow the purchasing of partially charged wands?

This will be my character for the upcoming campaign. Paladin/Bard.

Just need to figure out how to balance my AC if I get a strict spell failure penalty for medium and heavy armor. Any ideas?

I haven't gotten to background yet, but I think we should tie together in some way or another, it would make more sense for us to adventure together if we have a history.

I'm planning to be CN and playing similar to Chrona with the bluffing diva personae. You could be escorting me to somewhere for a misdemeanor charge or collecting me for someone I scorned?

Mage Armor will be key for us both. At level 4 I'll bump my STR to 10 and get a MW buckler. Otherwise use a feat on dodge? In a world where I go Dodge, Mithral Chain Shirt, and MW Buckler... thats AC = 19 at lvl 4. MA buffs to 23. Not horrible. I'm assuming you're the same but you can use shields so 20(heavy steal shield) and 24 with MA.

Vasalor, you could take the Arcane Duelist archetype. They get medium armor at 10th level, and heavy armor at sixteen. A long time to wait, I know.

Until then, get yourself a mithral breastplate and wear that? You're only splitting the loot two ways, so it should be available relatively quickly.

a +1 mithral breastplate is only 5200gp, for 7 AC. I know it's not fullplate, but hey, this way you get to move 30ft instead of 20!

Völva, there's just 1 problem with your buckler plan, you don't actually get any AC from the buckler if you attack with your curve blade. That, and it still gives -1 to hit.

Völva, there's just 1 problem with your buckler plan, you don't actually get any AC from the buckler if you attack with your curve blade. That, and it still gives -1 to hit.

Ahh but of course, I forget about the two-handed weapon asterisk on bucklers. Well, that saves about 150gp! More gold for buying wands!

I know this is a long shot, but I was reading pathfinder forums and saw the Battle Caster feat mentioned. It is from D&D 3.5, but might translate well enough and would solve a major problem for my character mixture.

Battle Caster

What are your thoughts? No hard feelings either way.

Yes! I'd allow that, it seems fair use of a feat.

Alright, I believe my character build is complete.

Just need to complete my 10 minute background.

Feel free to review and let me know if you find any inconsistencies.

VV

Finished my background, personality, and appearance.

GM is it okay if Völva doesn't have a specific deity and is instead spiritually connected with the world through her Janni heritage/upbringing? I see her as a pagan worshiper of the elements, soul, and circle of life.

As a note, she can be manipulative but is not evil. I'm wanting to make her a realistic character who is flawed. Her centered, spiritual side is at odds with her materialistic, superficial side. All a part of growing older and wiser right? Anyways, being true neutral alignment gives her some room but I don't want her bluffing and love for fine things to make her fall out with her Cleric powers. Gems are of the Earth, one big reason why she loves it so!

My idea for Vasalor's faith and background is to make him a 'faith guidance councilor' of sorts. In short, he personally worships all the good-aligned major deities and tries to steer others to their service as well. He would prefer to convert sinners than kill them, and only uses violence as a last resort.

Despite his strict adherence to goodness and his acknowledgment of the necessity of laws for a peaceful society, Vasalor also respects every deity regardless of their alignment. He would argue that the gods' presence, power, and role in the world is undeniable and they should be revered accordingly.

Vasalor only practices the teachings of good gods and looks to spread their influence throughout Golarion, but it would not be unlike him to show reverence equally in Erastil's wilderness or a chapel of Rovagug.

This video is a good point of reference for the inspiration for Vasalor's charismatic ability. It's from Kill Bill Vol 2. Vasalor's charisma is not derived from physical beauty, which is not to say he is ugly, he just has a n uncanny snake-charmer sort of affect on people while speaking.

For gameplay, I will take perform (oratory) as a main skill as it will be used in combat, then I plan to take perform (woodwind/flute instrument) as one of his background skills. The other background skill is going to be Handle Animal, which will also play off his snake-charmer ability.

I like that a lot, a fresh detour from the righteous paladin. The mystic vibe will mesh well with Volva's yogi personae. Sticking with our characters will be familiar with each other from social functions in Magnimar ans seeing each other at the Sandpoint festival will be a coincidence?

It sounds like you're moving along nicely. I'm reading up on RotR too, and could in theory start the game up now, if you feel your characters are complete enough.

I'm good and ready. As I mentioned before, we were in a RotR game before that doed early. If you're wondering what plot secrets we know or how far we got the game is here.

I'm ready to go, and I will update my background ASAP.

Posted the opening. Goblins won initiative, and have taken their turns.

Let's call it 50/50 whether a 5ft. step gets you flanking.

2 is flank: 1d2 ⇒ 2

There you go, you can add +2 and sneak attack.

Very nice, appreciated! Updtated the post. I remember you mentioning mild OCD with ooc talk in the gameplay thread. Next time should I post the ooc stuff in here?

@ GM Burnscar: I just realized I posted my action before Volva (and potentially the goblins? Not sure if your last post and them entering the scene was their turn?).

Anyway, what's your opinion on the strict adherence to the initiative order? In my previous campaigns it was played a bit loose. Typically those players with turns before/after the enemies place in the initiative order could act in unison to keep progress moving.

Things like ooc description or ooc recount of actions, (i.e. 'casts firebelly') is fine and even encouraged in the ooc, as it keeps things clear. What I'm against is stuff like questions, commentary, or planning (i.e. 'I think we should take the left tunnel here') and the like.

Sorry, I should have been clearer about that.

Vasalor, that last post was them entering the scene. I generally think something similar to your last group's way of doing it is a good thing.

I think we'll run with something called block initiative.

It goes like this; each npc 'faction' rolls 1 joint roll, players roll individual rolls.

Then, all combatants who are adjecent to allies in the initiative order, can act in whatever order they like.

For example, in our combat, the Goblins rolled a 12, Vasalor rolled an 8, and Völva rolled a 21.

So Völva goes first, then the goblins in whatever order they like, and then Völva and Vasalor have adjecent turns, so the two of you can act in whatever order you like. This means that Vasalor's goblin execution happens after the goblins have acted, and counts as his upcoming turn.

This does wierd things to spell durations, but that just means you count durations individually for all creatures.

For example, if Völva and Vasalor were on adjecent turns in the round, and Völva acted first and dropped a Caster Level 1 Haste spell, then on Vasalor's turn, he acted with haste.

However, if on the next round, Vasalor acted first, then Haste would be over, despite Völva not having acted yet.

It's a little wierd, but it makes sense.

As it seems this will be relevant in a minute, here's a diagram of Völva's standoff with the goblins:

e-V-e
g-g-g
e
e
e
e-e-G

'e' meaning 'empty square'

Stepped back
to do
the

ec
ccc
ccc

Shaped cone.

There we go. Now both of you can act again, in whatever order you like.

If I am kneeling on top of the goblin does it require a move action to stand as it would if I were prone? Or could it just be part of my move action to stand? That would largely change how my turn develops.

No, it being part of your move action is fine.

This is not looking so good. Interesting stuff.

Utterly hilarious, please continue to pull no punches. I am completely happy to TPK and roll new characters who are witnessing this at the festival!

Agreed with Volva, don't pull any punches! If we are going to TPK, maybe it's best that it happens first encounter.

I can imagine the campaign continuing on after this. The town leaders have to hire two experienced combatants after a goblin raid killed civilians and amateur defenders.

That said, if Vasalor can pull this off it'd be a comeback for the ages.

Well, considering the goblins kept stabbing the dog long after it was dead I'd say we're toast.

Looks like we may need to consider characters that are a bit more tank-focused.

@GM - My first ever PC death / TPK! Pretty exciting.

Alright! So maybe we both should be tanks eh? Take toughness, and have an AC of 20? With the action economy, group attacks are huge to have.

Well, that was a bit of a bust. You were really unlucky there, I honestly thought Völva's breath weapon had it mostly handled.

Are you up to rolling up some new characters?

Ha I know right! Guessing they had 5 or 6 hp? I was so optimistic about that max damage.. oh well. Definitely game to continue rolling. Thinking a fighter/ranger. If I can figure it out, two-weapon fighting with bastard swords that he can throw would be sweet.

LOL. First encounter TPK. That was classic.

What are your thoughts on me retooling Vasalor to make him more defensive, then changing the name/background info so he's a different character? I'm really enamored by the idea of that class combo, and think it would fare much better than that small sample size suggests.

Want to start a band? We could both be part bard...

Ha I know right! Guessing they had 5 or 6 hp? I was so optimistic about that max damage.. oh well. Definitely game to continue rolling. Thinking a fighter/ranger. If I can figure it out, two-weapon fighting with bastard swords that he can throw would be sweet.

Two-weapon fighting with off-handed weapons is generally inadvisible. Not going to be a downer though, if that's what you want to do you should go for it. It's also a little light on spellcasting, which you will definitely need before this adventure is over.

LOL. First encounter TPK. That was classic.

What are your thoughts on me retooling Vasalor to make him more defensive, then changing the name/background info so he's a different character? I'm really enamored by the idea of that class combo, and think it would fare much better than that small sample size suggests.

I have no immediate objections against that.

Want to start a band? We could both be part bard...

Bardic music is a little redundant. Bard and Skald, on the other hand...

Yeah the more I looked into the idea the more it seemed like it wouldn't work. Playing around with an Alchemist Barbarian or Bloodrager now. It's hard to fit in arcane with a good AC or a hardy class without hindering it, if you have any suggestions let us know.

Moving down this path due to lack of free time at the moment.

That name rolls right off the tongue, LOL