Katapesh.

The bazaar of the bizarre. Land of heat, sand and pesh. It is said that anything that one desires can be found here - for the right price. The deserts and wastelands can be savage - death soon finds the unprepared, whether quickly or slowly - but there is beauty to be found there too. Similarly the cities and their sprawling market places, savage and beautiful, and dangerous to the unwary.
This is a land where adventurers may be forged into heroes … or burnt to ashes.

Welcome to the discussion thread for our Legacy of Fire game. The current player roster is Aubrey, Brashen, Mark, Patrick, Ragadolf and Seeker.
Reserves are Robin, Nspicer, Sully and French Wolf.

We will be using the D&D 3.5 rule set, with some house rules and taking some options from the Pathfinder Beta rules as detailed below.

Character Creation

Create first level characters suitable for the land of Katapesh in the world of Golarion. Ability scores can be generated using either 4d6, drop the lowest, six times assigned as preferred or using a 32 point buy system. Please let me know which method you choose to generate your character. If a character with rolled stats looks to be significantly better or worse off than one using point buy I’ll reserve the right to suggest to you to re-roll or reduce or increase stats in the interest of game balance. Starting gold may be rolled or the average amount for each class taken (as described in the PHB equipment chapter).

Use the core rule books, the Legacy of Fire Players Guide and the Character Traits download to create your character. Options from other sources will certainly be considered and in most cases probably allowed, but please run them by me first. I’ll typically allow most things from Paizo produced Golarion products, the “Complete” series and PHB2, but I’ll tend not to allow things from sources I do not have access to or am not at least passingly familiar with.

We will be using character traits as described in the Players Guide. Each character may choose two traits, one must be a Campaign Trait (either from the guide or modified somewhat).

Races should be restricted to those described in the PHB, given a Golarion spin. Human characters in particular should choose a Golarion ethnicity.

We will be using Achievement Feats as described in the Players Guide. Please let me know which, if any, such feats you are thinking of working towards. The onus of tracking these is on the player.

House Rules

I intend to implement the following house rules:

Classes:
Bard: Bardic Knowledge works as described in PFRPG Beta. They get Well Versed at second level as per the Beta rules.
Cleric: Channel Energy as per PFRPG rather than Turn Undead. Clerics get .
Druid: May choose to take a select Cleric domain (cleric domains work as per core 3.5 rules) rather than an animal companion (as per Natural Bond in PFRPG Beta).
Fighter: Gains Bravery as per the PFRPG Beta
Paladin: Channel Positive Energy rather than Turn Undead. May choose to take a bonded weapon as per Divine Bond (PFRPG Beta) in place of a special mount.
Ranger: Gain the Favoured Terrain ability as in the PFRPG Beta.
Sorcerer: Gain Eschew Materials as bonus feat at first level. May take a meta magic feat or a bloodline feat (that you meet all the prerequisites of) as a bonus feat at first level.
Wizard: May choose to have a bonded item as per Arcane Bond (PFRPG Beta) rather than take a familiar.

Favoured Class: This will work as per the PFRPG Beta (+1 hit points or skill points each level for taking a level in favoured class. No xp penalties).

Skills:
Spot and Listen (not search) become Perception
Hide and Move Silently become Stealth

Magic:
Spellcasters who get 0 level spells get bonus 0 level spells per day equal to their ability bonus (if any) in their prerequisite spell casting ability (charisma for bards and sorcerers, wisdom for clerics and druids, intelligence for wizards).

Hit Points:
If you roll under half hit points for your class when levelling, you may take half hit points instead.

Initiative:
Although I generally use individual initiative I may sometimes use group initiative to speed up play.

I sometimes change the abilities, powers and vulnerabilities of some monsters. For example, some types of undead and plant creatures may be subject to critical hits and sneak attack, whilst some creatures with damage reduction may have it overcome by different sources as described in the MM. For the most part these changes would not be common knowledge, but may be determined by the relevant knowledge checks.

I cannot think of any other house rules that I regularly use. If anything else occurs to me during play I will try to inform or run it by the group before I introduce it. If at this stage anyone can think of any house rules they would like to suggest for the game, or if you really don’t like any of the ones I am proposing, please flag it for discussion.

Please give particular thought to your character’s origins, background and motivations, and how these things inform the characters choices, class and personality. Characters may have shared backgrounds, but this is not required.

I generally do not allow evil characters, unless the player can demonstrate that such a character would not be overly disruptive to the game, and what would motivate the character to travel and work together with a (presumably) mostly good party over a long term, and why such a character would find themselves choosing to save the village/city/nation/world.

Keep in mind that we are playing an adventure path, and there’s a certain amount of railroading inherent in such. To my mind there’s a bit of a social contract here; it’s the GMs role to ensure that everyone is enjoying the game within the constraints of the published adventure, and to try to keep obvious railroading to a minimum. It’s the players’ role to create and play characters who are motivated to go where the story steers them, rather than continually wanting to go “off the map”, or pursue their personal demons over the ones that threaten the village/city/nation/world.

I realise that many of my pool of players have access to the adventure(s). I’m not going to tell people not to read them; I’ll leave it up to you as to whether doing so would be likely to enhance, decrease or have no effect on your appreciation of the game and the adventure. I would prefer that people not read at least the first two adventures in the series until after we’ve played them, but I understand if you want to or need to (because you’re running them for your home group or what have you); I further appreciate that even with the best intentions its hard to avoid spoilers sometimes. Just for my own benefit, let me know if you are reading them. I may mix things up a bit, and probably won’t stick 100% to the script at all times; how much I’ll deviate remains to be seen.

PBP Guidelines

Feel free to roll your own dice, use an online roller or what you prefer. I won’t require dice rolls to be proved, or need invisible castle links.

Please try to check the game (and post) at least once every two days or so; I’ll try to do so as well, if not more often. During combat and other tense situations I’d prefer you respond, when its your turn, within 24 hours. If you’re unable to do so, I may chose to delay, skip or NPC your turn in order to keep the pace up. In order to keep things moving, try to pre-empt dice rolls that may be required, or post “if/then” statements where appropriate.

If you know that you’re not going to be able to post for a few days try to let us know before hand. If it becomes necessary for someone to leave the game - and I understand that things happen - please let me know rather than just stop posting (as has happened in a few games I’ve been in).

Try to keep posts as clear and legible as possible. I don’t by any means expect perfect spelling, grammar or punctuation, just clear and easy to read posts. Make it obvious when and what your character is speaking. Use ooc text for out of character conversation and mechanics text, and/or shift long or off topic ooc talk to the discussion thread.

I’ll sometimes keep combats fairly freeform, but more often than not I’ll likely either provide a map (linked from Photobucket) or grid coordinates for you to draw one up. Where we are working with a map or grid coordinates, please try to keep your character’s location clear to everyone whenever possible.

With that all out of the way, onto making characters! To recap the ideas and suggestions so far;

Mark is going with a belly-dancing bard
Patrick is planning to play a crusading cleric of Sarenrae;
Brashen is thinking of playing a rogue or scout;
Ragadolf might go for a rogue / sha’ir or some other type of arcane magic user;
Aubrey is considering an elemental blooded human sorcerer specialising in blasting;
Seeker was awaiting confirmation of the rule-set before deciding.

ya, first in, first in! May I use the PHB2 druid shape shift?

Dangit! (semi) close second! ;)

ya, first in, first in! May I use the PHB2 druid shape shift?

Yes, no problem.

Nifty,I never liked how breakable the 3.5 druid was and this always seemed a nice flavorful fix to me

Will go human druid then more then likly unless something else calls to me

Just saw this...Awesome! And I get my godbomb! Over in the Opal game, that feature just saved their bacon ...

So, what do you guys think, male or female cleric of Sarenae?

How I do pat is work on the background the sex and race will always come and just fit in even if it's not the ones ya planned at first

Ehh, I suppose so. I usually don't like playing women, but I keep picturing this character as female.

I don't normally myself but I have if that's how the pc seems to evolve

So far I am thinking guardi desert nomad druid

Nifty,I never liked how breakable the 3.5 druid was and this always seemed a nice flavorful fix to me

Will go human druid then more then likly unless something else calls to me

Yeah, I like it too. Sounds good so far.

Ehh, I suppose so. I usually don't like playing women, but I keep picturing this character as female.

So do I. I blame Kyra.

In the end its up to you; I'm sure you can make the character work either way, it's whatever best fits your concept and what you feel most comfortable with. I have no problem with people going transvirtual if they've got a cool concept to work with.

Patrick Curtin wrote:

Ehh, I suppose so. I usually don't like playing women, but I keep picturing this character as female.

So do I. I blame Kyra.

In the end its up to you; I'm sure you can make the character work either way, it's whatever best fits your concept and what you feel most comfortable with. I have no problem with people going transvirtual if they've got a cool concept to work with.

yeah, that's most likely it. It's amazing the iconics have that kind of pull, eh?

So I'll tinker with the concept, get something pulled together tomorrow.

Definitely going with Keleshite member of the Cult of Sivanah. The extra 0 level spells should be a pretty good balance.

Ok i think im leaning towards a Halfling rouge with a serious distaste for Gnolls. I may take a few levels of fighter or maybe ranger down the track.

I’m thinking of going for the Gnoll Killer campaign trait. I figure that my father was part tour guide part guard and part conman to visiting merchants and tourists. Began accompanying my father to learn the trade. Whilst taking a group of merchants out of town the party was attacked by gnolls, with my father and several of the other guards being killed and the rest of us captured. On the way back to the city to be sold, I managed to escape and flee, but have held a huge grudge and desire for vengeance ever since. Perhaps we were even attacked in the area of Kelmarane, and I cling to the desperate hope that the same gnolls that killed my father and disrupted my life are now dwelling in the village. Obviously needs some fleshing out, but thinking something along those lines

This is what I've got so far. Now the writing part. Stats were rolled, skills include bonus for human, bonus for favored class and bonus to knowledge skills

So far this is me very much a work in progress.

Nice guys. I'm working on two theories tight now,

1) Start as street urchin (al-la Alladin), who discovers his powers at 2nd level, instead of finding a lamp he discovers and 'binds' his elemental gen, (who, as per original 2nd ed info, maybe happens to THINK it's a full-fledged genie!?) Should make for interesting playing and helps make 1st lvl caster less fragile,

2) Start as 1st lvl wiz. Has it's own drawbacks and advantages.

I REALLY want to try the Sha'ir, both for flavor and fun, but am a little concerned about the viability of a caster who has to wait for spells to arrive! Can we narrow down/agree which version of the Sha'ir we are talking about?
If I'm not mistaken, the Dragon mag update (which I believe was also listed in the Dragon Compendium?) basically allows the Sha'ir use ANY spell, but spells he 'knows' are easier/quicker to fetch than spells he does not, and finding divine spells takes even longer. Also, once a spell is fetched, the Sha'ir can 'hold' onto it for up to an hour per caster lvl. SO he can do a certain amount of planning ahead.

Hmmm,... over the course of typing this, I think I've typed ,... er, TALKED myself into it! I'll go for 1st lvl rogue, Sha'ir after. It will make for an interesting RP opportunity for me, and I still get to play with magic! ;)

Just a name for now, but Inshah Sarenrae I will get some more settled in.

dragon 315 has them. You request the spells b4 ...can hold them for 1/hour a level before having to send the spirit to fetch em again or until cast. You have a set number you know like a sorc, all in all it's an interesting and fun looking class

. If you do not have it I can share the info with ya if you would like

Thx Seeker,
I do have the info, but as I mentioned before, it's kind of buried right now. ;P (hopefully before I'm in this house 2 years I'll get to unpack my books!)
Do you have an e-mailable way to let me see it? My email is Ragadolf-at-veeshan-dot-com.

DO we understand the reading of the class the same way?
-The Sha'ir can cast any spells of both arcane and divine? (subject to his castable lvl?)
-As per our earlier discussion on the recruitment thread, The spells the Sha'ir 'knows' means the spells he is 'familiar' with, and can find easier? (As per the list of spells 'known' at certain levels being zero, but the Sha'ir has 1 or 2 slots of that lvl per day he can cast) This interpretation allows the Shair to be the ultimate adapter, which makes up for his lack of spell-preparedness and the time it takes to retrieve the spells. Which definitely fits with the 'genie's-magic' feel of the class!)

Mothman

Can I switch the bard's longsword proficiency to scimitar considering the setting? Also since it is a common bellydance prop.

Can I switch the bard's longsword proficiency to scimitar considering the setting? Also since it is a common bellydance prop.

I don't see any problem with that. Go ahead.

Mothman

** spoiler omitted **

No worries man, hope it helps.

Thx Seeker,

I do have the info, but as I mentioned before, it's kind of buried right now. ;P (hopefully before I'm in this house 2 years I'll get to unpack my books!)
Do you have an e-mailable way to let me see it? My email is Ragadolf-at-veeshan-dot-com.

DO we understand the reading of the class the same way?
-The Sha'ir can cast any spells of both arcane and divine? (subject to his castable lvl?)
-As per our earlier discussion on the recruitment thread, The spells the Sha'ir 'knows' means the spells he is 'familiar' with, and can find easier? (As per the list of spells 'known' at certain levels being zero, but the Sha'ir has 1 or 2 slots of that lvl per day he can cast) This interpretation allows the Shair to be the ultimate adapter, which makes up for his lack of spell-preparedness and the time it takes to retrieve the spells. Which definitely fits with the 'genie's-magic' feel of the class!)

~sigh~

Guess I'm going to have to dig out my Dragon magazines now aren't I? :-)

3.5 Sha'ir was in one of the Campaign Classics issues wasn't it?

Just a name for now, but Inshah Sarenrae I will get some more settled in.

Cool!

So far this is me very much a work in progress.

Looks good so far Seeker. Let me know when you've finalised things a little more.

This is what I've got so far. Now the writing part. Stats were rolled, skills include bonus for human, bonus for favored class and bonus to knowledge skills

Looks great so far Mark.

~sigh~

Guess I'm going to have to dig out my Dragon magazines now aren't I? :-)

3.5 Sha'ir was in one of the Campaign Classics issues wasn't it?

Heheh,...

(I've moved so much since Katrina, my stuff is actually very organized. Just still packed away!)

I’m thinking of going for the Gnoll Killer campaign trait. I figure that my father was part tour guide part guard and part conman to visiting merchants and tourists. Began accompanying my father to learn the trade. Whilst taking a group of merchants out of town the party was attacked by gnolls, with my father and several of the other guards being killed and the rest of us captured. On the way back to the city to be sold, I managed to escape and flee, but have held a huge grudge and desire for vengeance ever since. Perhaps we were even attacked in the area of Kelmarane, and I cling to the desperate hope that the same gnolls that killed my father and disrupted my life are now dwelling in the village. Obviously needs some fleshing out, but thinking something along those lines

Sounds good.

Halfling rogue eh? ;-)

I have 3.15 right here I can make the info ya need into a txt doc and mail it to ya.

Very niffty class

Ragadolf how it works is you send your spirt to go fetch it Its a dc 20 diplomacy check.
Mods are
+1 per spell level
+2 if its a known arcane spell

The DC goes up if
+2 per level of the spell
+6 if unknown divan spell
+1 for every meta magic level increase
+2 per failed try to gain that spell

for know spells it takes the gen 1d4+spell level rounds
for unknown it takes 1d6 mins +1 min per spell level
Divan spells may only come from the domains of air,chaos,earth,fire, knowledge,law,luck,sun and water
and take 1d6 hours +1 hour /spell level

Any fetched spell stays with you 1/hour per class level
any spell slot not used maybe refilled.

Thx seeker!

Wow. The BASE DC of the DIPLOMACY roll is a 20?!?!

How on earth does a first lvl Sha'ir ever get anything cast? I mean that is a BIT stiff of a DC for a 1st lvl character. Unless there are other bonuses to the roll I don't remember?

Still want to do it. But DEFINITELY deciding on 1 lvl of rogue first. For the bonus skill points i'm gonna need! ;)

Please verify for me, Sha'ir is a Wiz-type caster? His primary stat is Int, correct?
(That will help with the skill-points too!)

Working on basics now,...

well the dc for level one spell would be 22

As you are a cha based caster lets say your mod is +2 at lest
With max ranks in dip and using a known spell the that's a +9 at first level so it's not that bad all in all better then a level 1 fighter hitting some folk

well the dc for level one spell would be 22

As you are a cha based caster lets say your mod is +2 at lest
With max ranks in dip and using a known spell the that's a +9 at first level so it's not that bad all in all better then a level 1 fighter hitting some folk

Too true. 50/50 is better odds than all but fighters get at 1st lvl!

Ah, Cha based caster is it? alrighty then, let me rejumble some numbers,... :)

don't forget ya have a gen familiar as well, they can have other uses

Right, I’m really going to need to dig through my study to find my copy of the Dragon Magazine in question tonight; I’m less familiar with this class than I thought …

Rags, if you’re going to start as rogue (which is cool) I’ll need you to give some thought as to how and why your character is going to manifest his Sha’ir powers, especially as we will probably be levelling up mid game, with probably no down-time.

I can send ya the word doc if ya need mothman I am almost done writing itm out

Here is the start of your (future) Rogue/Sha'ir.
I'm looking at half-elf. Gives no stat bonus, and I have grown too fond of the human bonus feat to lose it without a grumble, but it DOES give darkvision, (Important for a rogue!), and he gets a +2 bonus on Diplomacy! VERY important when dealing with Fickle genie-kind that can Wish you into non-existence at the slightest offense! :D

This portrait is not what I was looking for, but the grin did it for me. Captures the fun-loving attitude of a street-thief turned extra-planar con-man, don't you think? ;)

Moth, I'm gonna need your help on how to write his development into a Sha'ir during the game. Obviously I can include the basis into his background, but the actual happenstance is up to you now!

EDIT- Obviously great minds think alike! I'll figure out a reasonable explanation and put it in his background Moth.

I can send ya the word doc if ya need mothman I am almost done writing itm out

Seeker, if you’re writing it out anyway, that’d be awesome. I’m mothman77 (at) hotmail (dot) com

Moth, I'm gonna need your help on how to write his development into a Sha'ir during the game. Obviously I can include the basis into his background, but the actual happenstance is up to you now!

EDIT- Obviously great minds think alike! I'll figure out a reasonable explanation and put it in his background Moth.

Let me know what you have in mind (when you have it) and we'll see if we can iron out the details and the mechanics of it.

Rolled up stats, will finish making the character by tomorrow night

Just an observation; the party composition is looking to be very skill and magic focused. That’s cool, but just be aware that it’s looking like there may be a bit of a gap in the party abilities when it comes to combat / melee. Now, depending on their builds, the cleric, the druid and the rogue might end up being quite combat able, and I know that conventional wisdom has it that magic users far outshine their combat focused companions at higher levels … that said, there are times when you really appreciate a full BAB warrior-type able to dish out lots of damage, who can stand toe to toe with the inevitable high AC, made of hit points type opponent. From past experience, the Paizo Adventure Paths tend to have a lot of combats, some of them pretty tough.

I’m not suggesting that anyone should change their character concept or class, but just be aware of where the party weaknesses are, and either individually or as a group figure out how you can cover those, either with your character builds or in your approach to the game.

Humm I could make sefu more of a combat build if needed, shapeshift however does lack the power of wildshape and the animal companion so only so much I can do, but can do a little to boost us there