Joana's page

I have a family wedding this weekend so am like to be scarcer than usual for a few days. Rehearsal dinner tomorrow; wedding Saturday night; recovering on Sunday. :)

1d6 ⇒ 5

Ugh. I still have that recurring nightmare where I've forgotten to go to class all semester but still have to take the final. :P

Good luck with the transition, Zeta. Hawaii to Michigan is going to be a pretty big change, both climate- and culture-wise, no? But if you've been in the Air Force, you're probably used to living in lots of different places. A couple of childhood friends married Air Force men, and they've been in Hawaii and England and Germany and Texas and all over the place.

There's a PFS scenario set in Riddleport, Severing Ties, and the serialized fiction in the Shattered Star AP is also set in Riddleport.

Damon Lindelof has admitted the scene was gratuitous and apologized for it.

(And oh, the irony of a blog post chiding moviemakers for objectifying a female character with a lingerie scene headed by a large picture of the the scene itself.)

Yeah, Mark, I missed the edit hiding behind the little spoiler box. Ultimate Equipment is no help for pricing furniture, and the building rules in Ultimate Campaign only include furniture as part of the cost of building a whole room from the ground up. So I can tell you what it would cost if you wanted to build a stand-alone bedroom in an empty lot and furnish it but not just what the furniture costs. :P Stand by for a wild stab in the dark.

For the book, it's just under 70 pages on generating character background, just under 60 on downtime, and 56 on kingdom-building and mass combat rules. The most interesting part looks to be chapter 3, 64 pages covering alignment (slightly longer write-ups on the classic 9 than the CRB and a 9-point alignment-tracking chart), bargaining rules (kind of over-complicated looking), companions (GM controls animal companions and player controls cohorts and familiars, in a stunning reversal from some of the arguments I've seen on the boards), NPC contacts (also looks rather over-complicated to me), hex-based exploration and random map generation, an optional "honor points" tracking system, rates of return on investments, lineage (dealing with PCs' family members), an expanded discussion of magic item creation, relationship rules (the bane of Jade Regent: force someone to love you by giving them gifts! :P Also weird: a parent is given as an example relationship -- so you have to start your relationship with a parent at "association" ("You and the NPC know each other but not well enough to have a significant bond") and "grow" it from there through compliments and gifts?), reputation (earning and spending prestige points), retiring a character, retraining rules (somehow you can retrain your bloodline as a sorcerer??), taxation rules (for when the GM has given out too much treasure, I guess), and rules on young characters (ability score adjustments, only NPC classes which can be retrained per the new retraining rules, and random starting age chart).

I'd say if you have a campaign focused on kingdom building or mass combat or if you have a hard time coming up with character backgrounds or are willing to roll your character's personality and motivations up randomly, it'd be a worthwhile buy. The Story Feats (part of the character generation chapter) sounded interesting from the previews, but it turns out there's only 28 stories in the naked city: It rubs me the wrong way that every PC who finds a long-lost family member ends up with the same boring old +1 on saving throws. :P

Overall, I'd say it left me kind of flat. If you're looking for rules for a specific niche in your campaign, it ought to be very useful, but it doesn't look as interesting as I'd hoped it would be at a first perusal.

The party in my campaign has moved into a wing of an inn as their HQ, and the halfling wants to buy appropriately-sized furnishings to replace the bed, desk, chair, etc., in his room. Ultimate Equipment doesn't have prices for furniture (unless I'm missing it somewhere) and Ultimate Campaign includes furniture in the price for building a room. About how much would you say basic furnishings like a bedstead, table, and chair cost to purchase or have made?

I'll get a reply up for Qhude tomorrow. Tebati's going to have a bit of tension with Ansha as well, but it's probably better brokered with Kieran as middleman.

Yes, take a look at it when you get a chance, Mark, and tell me if you think I'm overreacting. The sheer amount of Page-Downing I had to do when I thought I was just going to take a quick look to get a feel for the system was alarming all by itself, but it's possible that it's not actually as complicated as they've made it appear.

Here's a handy guide to the prevailing conventions.

Downloaded Ultimate Campaign today and am somewhat daunted by the fact that the Downtime chapter runs more than 50 pages, including a "Downtime Tracking Sheet," a glossary of Downtime Terminology, and a 4-phase system to cover each day of Downtime, consisting of 16 separate "steps" and 17 pages of random generation tables. Paizo subsystems seem to me to have an unfortunate tendency to take something that ought to be fun and creative and turn it into advanced math. :P

I'll take another look when I get the physical book in hand next week. I'll probably borrow some concepts, but I can't see keeping up with that whole checklist of rolling and earning capital and subtracting upkeep and determining capital attrition (which I'm totally not making up, by the way; it's like doing your taxes) every single day. And, yeah, I know, thus far our days have lasted months of real-time (although it took us 952 posts to get through the first 24 hours and only 711 to get through the second so we're obviously gathering dangerous momentum); that's just a level of granularity too granular for me.

Hey, I bought a spell component pouch when we got to Freehold. If Ansha gets Eschew Materials for free, I want my 5 gold back! ;)

I actually find the component pouch immersion-breaking, what with the butter and live bugs and mini-pies and dirt and cobwebs and bits of wire that are all mixed up in there together and yet instantly distinguishable from one another as a free action. :P

According to this, I leveled her up more than three months ago, if I just go looking for the HeroLab file.... Ah! There she is. Skills are listed in the old post, and I'm taking Diehard for her feat.

1d4 ⇒ 1

There was a printing error with the book, as noted on the product page. The missing pages are available in PDF form from its page here.

What happens to the consciousness of a character possessed by a ghost's Malevolence? The text says it acts as magic jar but without a receptacle, so is the host creature unconscious/insensible for the duration of the possession or still aware of what's going on around it and what its body is doing but unable to act?

Good point: Make that Improved Critical, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, and Lightning Reflexes for free. ;)

Any NPC you're rollng for should get an automatic +1 CR bump due solely due to your luck with the dice. It's like a normal DM giving all his monsters Improved Critical for free. ;P

Well, soon enough AK will have us all paranoid enough that we'll go everywhere fully armed and armored, even to a beach party, and we'll all travel in a defensive block formation at all times, even through the marketplace, so we won't be constantly putting ourselves at a disadvantage. :P

I've learned that shield of faith is a complete waste of a spell slot since AK's going to crit anyway, so AC won't even come into the equation. Ought to just save the slot for healing after the inevitable hit.

And maybe one day we'll fight something that can't take us from full hp to unconscious and/or dead in a single blow. :P

I think we'd have had a chance if we'd already leveled up. 2nd-level spells and extra hp would have come in handy.

Crypt of the Everflame/ Masks of the Living God/ City of Golden Death come to mind.

Also, the new supersized modules will take PCs from (for example) 1st to 6th level.

Mark, I can't think of a thing clever for Saul to say to Phillip so feel free to move him downstairs to meet up with Larur or stick around upstairs to continue to listen in on what's left of the conversation at your leisure, whichever you prefer.

The Italian translator/publisher, I'm guessing? Like the French translator/publisher, iirc, offers a slipcover to hold the 6 AP volumes.

EDIT: Distributor! That's the word I'm looking for. Giochi, presumably.

We have the holy symbol which is known to be exclusive to big, important Iomedaean muckety-mucks. What if one of us used the iron circlet to appear as some higher-up from the home office rumored to be here to crack down on the sanctity of the temple and prevent it from being sullied by other faiths, viz. the Desnan services and any others that are held there are going to be disallowed? That ought to stir up some discontent, depending on how many dissenters there are in town.

If you'd been there, you'd have been the natural target for the spell, and we'd have a mini-Qhude running around. He and my halfling barbarian could get together.

My actual intention was for Tebati to go to the jail with Qhude and leave Ansha to handle negotiations with Zesaste. (Apparently in Elven, they use the same word for "negotiate with" and "let go." ;P ) If Zesaste had just let Tebati leave, he'd be on his way out of town with lovely parting gifts by now.

No, there are no such plans. For why, read here and here.

There is, however, a Shackled City hardcover available.

Do you calibrate these checks so I can't just take 10?

What? Hey, look over there! ;D

If you're just going to take 10, I might as well just tell you without bothering with a spoiler. At a table, I'd just say 'roll Knowledge (local)' without giving a DC, and you'd have to decide if you thought you'd be safe taking 10 or if you should risk a roll; gatewayed spoilers tend to give away the game (not to mention being extremely frustrating in that you know you've missed something and it's just sitting there smugly in its box taunting you!).

That said, you'll get the information soon enough. Someone will tell you. Maybe Samaritha, if you talk to her about what's been going on around the Goblin the last couple of days....

Well, the GMs don't have to deal with the unwanted aliases afterwards. Many of them may not be aware that aliases are not deletable. Quite frankly, if I explained to a GM why I didn't want to create a new alias without the assurance of being selected and he didn't care, I wouldn't apply to the game.

Anyway, if you choose to create an alias and post under it, it can't be deleted.

Once you've made a post with an alias, it can't be deleted. If an alias has less than 10 posts, it can be renamed and "recycled" into another character. After 10 posts, you're stuck with the name, although you can still change the picture and information in the profile.

I'd suggest creating a profile with the relevant stats/background and linking to it using your primary alias rather than posting under a new alias in a recruitment thread. That way, if you're not selected, you don't have the alias around forever.

There you go. :)

A lot of the stuff in Yellowstone requires you to park your car and take a short hike off the road somewhere to really appreciate it: Old Faithful, Upper and Lower Falls, etc. It would definitely take some time. Only driving through on the main road, you'd miss a lot. (Also, in June, traffic will likely be bad through the park as well and slow you down.) Just the countryside around it -- Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, etc. -- is really beautiful, though.

The good thing about Mount Rushmore is that it doesn't take a lot of time, from what I understand. You get to the viewpoint, oh look there it is, take a picture, and you're on your way. It's pretty much just there and once you've seen it, you've seen it.

Depending on how much time you have, I'd really suggest taking the northern route and going through Yellowstone and by Mount Rushmore. Go from LA up the coast, then cut through Yosemite National Park and up to Yellowstone. They'll both be crowded in June, but if you don't intend to come back, it'd be a shame to miss them. Yellowstone in particular is amazing. Then go through Montana and see Mount Rushmore. That cuts your nothing-to-see-but-flat to the drive through South Dakota, instead of going through Nevada, Utah, and Nebraska. You can hit Chicago; then I'd go down to DC, cut through Philadelphia to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, and end in NYC. Mapquest link.

Our current plans read-
Day 1- Drive to city
Day 2- Drive to next city
Day 3- Look around
Day 4- Drive to next city.

So what are you going to do between, say, Denver and Chicago? Or do Lincoln and Topeka and Sioux Falls count as cities that need looking around at?

The middle of the country's a really monotonous drive. There's not a lot but flat between the Rockies and the Appalachians.

California coastline's a beautiful drive, though. Be sure to see Hearst Castle.

EDIT: Didn't realize you'd been away from home all that time, Zeta. I guess the internet was decent in Dhaka. :)

Sadly we don't get to keep the hoods, they rent them for us now.

How cheap. You didn't pay them enough in tuition over the years for them to spring for a hood? ;P

Congrats on getting your hood! I think mine got lost when my parents moved several years ago. :P

Yeah, Kieran acted here (and should have agitated to keep his original roll), and Ansha did nothing helpful except get out of the line of fire. ;)

Are we back to Tebati? I don't like to assume since we're obviously in over our heads at the moment and I'm expecting all kinds of arcane stuff to blow up in our faces....

So, after we do a little bit of getting-to-know-you chat now that you're all in the same room for the first time in months, what are everyone's plans for the day -- or the morning, at least? I've got Braddon and Malkith heading for the ferry, Publican House, and Windward to follow up on last night's information, Phil going to visit the carpenter with Larur and possibly meet Ethel for lunch, and Tendal doing some schmoozing with wealthy clients as Saul deals with returning the stolen jewelry and then maybe going to visit Liry? That sound right? Anything else?

Quote:

A panicked creature must drop anything it holds and flee at top speed from the source of its fear, as well as any other dangers it encounters, along a random path.

Merely a desire to "get away"? That random path bit is going to cause havoc.

Yeah, it's basically DM-controls-your-PC time for the next x rounds. And then it takes a second x rounds to get back once the fear wears off. And Douena has expeditious retreat on, so she'll be a mile away and weaponless and lost in the jungle. And she doesn't have Survival so she can't find her way back but will have to wait for someone to come look for her.

Hence, why I hate fear effects. :P

*nudge* You're up in Legacy of Fire, AK -- although what you're going to do other than take another round of bleed damage, I don't know.

Did our front line just crumble?

Yeah, that's three melee combatants and the healer out for the encounter. Have fun, guys. See you in a week or so if you survive. (I hate fear.) :P

Okay, I remembered the bard but not that he had a troupe -- although it makes sense that a performer wouldn't be traveling alone through dangerous northern lands.

Perhaps we could play up the Law-Chaos divide? Spread rumors that the Iomedaeans are planning a crack-down and will be amending the agreement that allows the Desnans to share the temple?

Do we have any idea what the split is in town between Desnans and Iomedaeans? Or which townspeople fall on which side of the divide? (I presume Bostarg took a headcount of the Desnans at the service he attended and noted any familiar faces?)

Which Iomedaeans are you talking about framing: civilian worshipers, the soldiers of Balentyne, the temple clerics themselves? And who exactly are the 'travelling troupe?'

Sense Motive 71d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Sense Motive 6 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 2 = 5

Okay, I know the DM's out for the week so this seems like a good time to regroup. Where's everyone else? I know AK's back(ish) now. (Are you off for the summer, AK, or will you be doing more coursework?) Mark, Bostarg's the ringleader; we need him pushing us to action. He's got a bet with a bugbear to win, and I haven't a clue what his plans are. Buggula, Aedorn's got a date with a tarnished angel; you still around?

Diplomacy 1d20 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 1 + 6 = 18

Glad to see you back, Dan; I was getting worried.

Back to solo combat between Zeladiel and the swarms while everyone else just stands around and bleeds. ;P

Phillip raises an eyebrow before pointedly casting a glance to the other inhabitant of the room that Tendal had clearly forgotten to mention... Bojasc.

Not sure if that's an unintentional player oversight on Zeta's part or a conscious choice to have Tendal overlook the "help" as part of the furniture, but it's hilariously in-character. :D

Yes, if only we'd had access to that +11 to Diplomacy, we might have come to a civilized arrangement already. ;)

(Of course, if you were due for that 2 you rolled on initiative, maybe not.)

Well, I think I will be sticking with the current one for Kieran.

Oh, good. I know it doesn't look much like his physical description, but it would be unsettling to have him suddenly change. Like when they recast Darrin in Bewitched.

Mark's changed his default avatar, and it's quite disturbing. Like I don't even know him anymore. ;P

Thanks, Mark! (Although I tend to view it as a made-up holiday to support greeting card manufacturers and florists.) Hope you're doing the same for your wife. :)