Midnight-Gamer's page

Ruloc, you're a pro! Laetitia is amazing.

"Sean K. Reynolds is a professional game designer who has worked on and co-written a number of D&D supplements for Wizards of the Coast, as well as material for other companies. He worked for Black Isle Studios on the canceled projects Van Buren (Fallout 3) and Project Jefferson (Baldur's Gate 3: The Black Hound). "
Link

Sean, I never noticed your work history before. You had a personal hand in making my favorite games of all time! You've just been elevated to superstar status in my eyes.

Nice work, Mew & Ellianna are perfection.

On Full Metal Jousting they used light lances and heavy lances. Have them break lances when they do X amount of damage. Make them roll each time they take damage and add any damage to the Ride check DC to stay in the saddle like a concentration check.

I loved Full Metal Jousting. Anyone remember when that guy took a lance in the hoo-hoo?

As for the OP, riding checks, attack rolls to target areas of armor, and damage to break lances would be the way I'd go.

I'm a big fan of Adamantine, even with the high price. If it's too much, maybe Mithril would work better for you?

What about a whip? I'm using a +1 throwing returning longspear...

EDIT: I should add distance to it as well. My GM was all like "WTF really?" when he saw my build.

I was just thinking this could work with throwing and the snap shot line.

Give your dragon minions.

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Our group has agreed to split the cost of the AP's. Assuming four players, that's $5 each for a lot of entertainment.

Mazzy Star: Into Dust
Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

Oasis was on the radio while my dad was in open heart surgery. My Psychopathic boss had just laid me off that day, exactly one day before the start of a vacation I desperately needed.

I wasn't sure about the military outfit so I decided to go Andori on Danny

** spoiler omitted **

This is perfect! I especially love the face, he looks a little bit like Sean Connery. A gruff and down to business attitude is what I see from this depiction. Thank you!

I just don't see it for this character.

He isn't a fighter primarily: He is more of a detective or bounty hunter perhaps. Being good in a fight is important, but having the skill points and class abilities are more important for a character like this in my opinion.

He is definitely not an alchemist.

I say play it and have fun! Milking the absolute, most combat damage should be left to classes that specialize in that. No harm in trying different things, this build does not look gimped at all.

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I have to give a shout out for Planescape Torment. There are so many PC games that I love, but they are all topped by this classic. In my view, it transcends (pardon the pun for those who know) PC gaming and is more akin to a playable piece of literature that rivals any famous author I can think of.

Glad I could finish something today. Here's Haldyr.

** spoiler omitted ** small change of GTC included.

I really want to thank you all so far, not only for the praise(may continue, it really is motivating :P.) but also for your patience!

I'm really, really excited to see what you make. I've been following this thread with anticipation.

I have a lot of love for the Crossbowman. There's some good stuff in a thread from a few months back.

Link

Update!

Danny, the Crossbowman, has advanced to level eight and is on the cusp of ninth. The concept does what I set out to achieve thus far.
The ranged damage is very reliable although moderate when compared to other builds. Casters have much to fear.

Danny is at his best when using terrain for hit and run tactics. If he is the only one doing damage, then his middling DPR matters much less. Groups that enjoy, and are able to work as a team, will make the most out of the Crossbowman's abilities. Battles last slightly longer, but individual turns move much more quickly. This is due to rolling a single attack via Vital Strike.

The one trick pony trap that fighters can fall into has been avoided completely. Danny, with his high intelligence handles problems that would stymy the typical meat headed fighter. My Crossbowman did not need the intelligence to be jacked to function well, but it's liberating that I could do it while still contributing in combat.

For those GM's using the massive damage rules, the Crossbowman can easily achieve it by mid levels, something to think about.

Back when I was a kid, I walked to school up hill, both ways!

*Waves cane and grumbles in a old man voice*

Seriously though, this country has changed so much since I was a kid, I don't even recognize it.
I'd guess my parents felt the same way when they got older and the world looked like a different place.

There are traits that give you spellcraft as a class skill as well.

My single classed fighter actually does use spellcraft and arcana. Both skills have been useful. You might like the trait that allows you to detect magic while you're at it.

You could have the players that enjoy the building aspect build up the kingdom on a off day. Some burden will be on you to entice the players with interesting things to do and learn about in between exploration and combat.
My players attempted to frame Mivon as an agitator against a neighbor, after I dropped some hints about a looming war.

Well, If you want to avoid the Rock em Sock Robot Fighter, you could take the vital Strike or Spring Attack feat line.
You might also raise Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma higher than is normal for a Fighter. Some Arch-types might fit the bill, Tactician comes to mind. If all else fails, splash another class into your build.

Also, if I recall correctly... that weapon has a pretty horrible downside as well for any PC trying to use it.

Yep, that's how fight #2 with Armag came about in my game. Good times!

It lead to this exchange.
PC1:"Is your dwarf getting taller?"
PC2: "Er, no?! Btw, my dwarf will spend the next two weeks training in his secret hideaway."
PC1: "Why?"
PC2: "No reason."

Write in: Maximus Decimus Meridius

Midnight-Gamer wrote:

Not very intelligent, educated, or wise, her power comes supernaturally.

ZOMG you are playing Paris Hilton!?

Some brain dead model would make a good comparison. Thanks for the laugh Shifty!

Robert Little wrote:

John Woodford wrote:

Robert Little wrote:

Unfortunately, the majority of the farmers only have access to seed for crops that are unedible unless highly processed (i.e most corn grown in the U.S., meant for ethanol and high fructose corn syrup) <...>

Could I get a cite for that? Also, how does that affect things like wheat?

Two cites

** spoiler omitted **...

Thank you much...interesting reading. I was trying to work through the amount of corn used for ethanol production in the US and getting nowhere; my google-fu was weak.

Corn ethanol has been pushed by lobbyist from the corn industry. As of this time, corn bio-fuels offer a poor return for the investment. Google the EROI from corn based ethanol. EROI, stands for Energy Returned On Investment, and there's little to none.

One possible exception might be cellulosic ethanol, which is more promising.

I have two request for Ruloc, pick whichever you prefer based on my description. Btw, the artwork I've seen is superb.

Concept 1: Danny. A seasoned military man who has taken up work as a mercenary. Danny has an average build with dark features, his signature weapon is a heavy crossbow which is used to great effect at long range. His armor consist of nothing more than a old stitched up cloth uniform from his military days. Danny is based on modern special forces as inspiration.

Concept 2: Delphine. A Stunningly beautiful Oracle with inspiration drawn from the Oracle's of Delphi. Delphine will have a Mediterranean look, with light fitting clothing. Not very intelligent, educated, or wise, her power comes supernaturally.

Ruloc, it bears repeating, your art is stunning!

CBDunkerson wrote:

It is uncommon to find them in high concentrations.

Which is the problem.

In a world with almost 7 billion people and counting, any finite resource can become a problem.

The premise is entirely plausible, at least within the context of the United States. Our civilization is dependent on oil to keep running, from top to bottom.

Nitrogen in our soils is replenished with oil products, consumer products require oil to produce, our fleet of combustion engine vehicles take oil both to manufacture and operate. It goes on an on.

Large numbers of people commuting to work from suburbs does not help matters. At some point segments of the population will be priced out. What that means is the price to buy heating oil, to fuel a car, or to purchase food, will be to high.
A speculated result of this is economic collapse, once enough of the population is priced out and unable to contribute to consumerism.

I once had a fighter attend some fancy party. The door man/guard wanted him to check his weapon. My fighter points at his sword, which was battered and bloodstained from previous events. "Oh, this" he says, "it's decorative." The GM raises an eyebrow and rolls to discern my obvious bluff, rolls a 1. My fighter was armed for the eventual ambush. :)

I would like my Oracle to use a Stave of Healing as a melee weapon. Is this possible? If so, can it be further enchanted with other modifiers?

would the adamantine armor DR stack with Armags current DR?

No, it would not, but I don't believe Armag has DR due to the fighter levels anyway.

He was was used in two fights against the PC's, the DR really made a difference in fight #2

Is there any way to lighten the cost of death without pulling punches on die rolls?
I think you did the right thing, drama is heightened with the prospect of failure. I also think your right to discourage laughing, and pointing of fingers at those who had the misfortune of a dead character.
I'm not a PFS player, so I can only offer support in a general sense. Can you add freebies to resurrect fallen PC's in PFS?

I have been running a crossbowman, it's a fighter archetype in the APG. The damage has been reasonably good and the crossbow lends itself to a dynamic type of fighting style.

It is easy to take a shot from cover, or while prone. The crossbow also gains more damage from vital strike, which means your bowman can take a shot, and then move to better positioning.

The largest advantage is strength is not required to be all that high. It's likely you will have one, maybe two high ability scores. With the crossbow your not pigeonholed, you only need dexterity. My fighter has a 16 intelligence, how many can say that about their fighters?

I gave Armag, adamantine full plate to help mitigate damage from the PC's. It took two battles to kill him, during the second, he goaded the paladin in the group into single combat. Considering Armag is not evil, smite did not work and Armag got at least one kill.

The fight with Irovetti was exciting simply because the large numbers of combatants led to a battle which has been unrivaled throughout the AP. It was a continuous slug fest that lasted two full games sessions, and it was the only time the party has been substantively worn down, and on the ropes due to attrition.
I added a sense of urgency to the battle because three Pitaxian armies had overtaken Drelev Keep and the PC's were without the resources to take it back. Their only hope was to strike at the king directly.
If they have the option of sitting back and picking every opponent off at their leisure, some of the drama will be lost for sure.

I deal with this on a regular basis, try not to let it bother you too much.
My current character has less than half of the wealth-by-level of a 7th level PC, while some of the other players have newer characters with double or triple that wealth, because characters get generated at a higher level.
I'm thinking of retiring or killing off my much loved character to even the income scales.

Midnight-Gamer wrote:

This made me physically ill to read. I worked in a warehouse for six years, I have nightmares about it.

Was it anything like this article stated?

In many ways, yes. The physical labor breaks your body down and there's never time to heal. It's hard to understand if you've not endured it. The closest thing would probably be the military, or maybe a professional athlete.

I was at the doctor several times with work related problems. My physician during an examination asked me if I was an athlete, no. So he presses and asks if I spend time in the gym. No, I had so little energy after work I could only rest.

The gradual breakdown of spirit was even worse, the only thing keeping a person going in such conditions is willpower.

The workplace featured in the article takes those experiences to extremes. I can imagine those poor people working there must feel like they are in hell.

This made me physically ill to read. I worked in a warehouse for six years, I have nightmares about it.

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My old gaming group had a on going Dragon-Lance game. It's an old school setting, I understand if newer players do not get the joke.

The DM's girlfriend wanted to play a Elf he had helped her roll up. She was not really understanding the cultural differences and we did our best to educate her when this gem slipped out. It went something like...

"There are different types of Elves you can choose from. The most common are the Qualinesti elves, the Silvanesti elves...."

She interrupts here:

"The LiptonIceTea Elves?"

I almost died laughing that night, no seriously, it felt like a sledgehammer had knocked the wind out of me. :D

Some of you have mentioned that they'd like to see future sets back down to the 30-40 sculpt range. Here's the issue: WizKids tells us that they way minis are bundled is directly tied to the number of sculpts in a set. So, they can do 30-to-40-figure sets packaged in single-figure boosters (like Heroes & Monsters), or they can do 60-figure sets packaged in multi-figure boosters like this. We persuaded them to use the first two sets to try both types out, and at this point, I think sales will likely dictate which format we'll prefer for future sets.

But go ahead and tell us which you'd prefer for future sets:

• 30-to-40-figure sets packaged in single-figure boosters like Heroes & Monsters
or
• 60-figure sets packaged in multi-figure boosters like this

(To be clear, 30-to-40-figure sets packaged in multi-figure boosters is not an option.)

I prefer the price of the single figure per booster. When I visit my FGLS on game night, it provides me with something inexpensive to purchase.

The only class in the APG that I take issue with is the Summoner, I think it's border-line OP, though some would disagree. I really like Oracle quite a lot and the class arch-types are quite good.

I have no big regrets about allowing the APG in my Kingmaker game at all.

Yep, you'll need Rich Parents to get that armor. that's verging on spoilerish, but you need to know that to build your character design.

So what can I do besides taking that feat, what race would you suggest, how would you try to improve disease/poison resistance etc?

Get those saves up any way you can, the jungle is a dangerous place! Cloak of Resistance, Great Fortitude and lots of water to replace what your sweating out.

I'm a player in a Serpents Skull AP, we are trekking through jungle and I don't think it's a spoiler to say I've dealt with heat, bugs, water and terrain.

Take the endurance feat at a minimum.

I put this together for the OP. I think it would make a fun character that won't overwhelm with complexity.

RACE: Half Elf

CLASS: Ranger Level 6, Wizard(Transmuter)level 1, Arcane Archer Level 1

Assuming 15 point buy: level 8, with gear and the Transmuter +1 bonus

Strength 16
Dexterity 19
Constitution 12
Intelligence 14
Wisdom 12
Charisma 10

Feats are basic for an archer, but the ability to switch to a melee weapon is there if you want it.

FEATS:
Point Blank Shot
Precise shot
Rapid Shot
Quick Draw
Power Attack

For gear, I spent most of the eighth level starting wealth for basic stuff. If you've been away for awhile, it might not be so obvious.

GEAR:
Cloak of Resistance +2
Belt of Physical Might +2 (Str & Dex)
Ring of Protection +2
+2 Composite Longbow
+1 Melee Weapon (Any Type)

..................................................

You gain a smattering of Ranger magic, decent arcane at higher levels, an animal companion, familiar, and tons of skill points.

I'm leaving some things out, but this should get the ball rolling and it's along the lines of what I think you were asking for.

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It's late and I misread the title as "Jujitsu Zombie Dragon". Now, I'm a little disappointed.

the baroness was found guilty by all three and executed, and only the Kobold King found me innocent.

The Baroness actually perished during the battle, while brandishing a dagger at her husband in dramatic fashion. I think your misremembering some details.

I think you original build could work if you add in Toughness and favored class hp bonuses. I agree with others in that I think if you have to dump a stat, it would be wisdom.

Toughness, Iron Will, Improved Iron Will could shore those up without hurting your offense too badly, that is, if you go straight fighter. I could see mixing in Barbarian though. If you take Barbarian, go for the trait that allows knocks downs, that could save you a feat.

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Well, she's really charming once you get to know her (high CHA, Charm Person), and she's got a great sense of humour (Laughing Touch, Hideous Laughter).

Well... since you asked.

The original Barons wife was involved in a messy affair with a handsome bandit. This bandit was one of the unnamed bandits from the very first encounter. He had been captured and subsequently reformed.

The affair was the result of an ill timed event roll during the monthly kingdom building. I figured, this woman had been left alone for months on end while the husband adventured. A little fling was a natural consequence.

Fast forward a few months later, and the Barons wife and lover are plotting to overthrow the current ruler to install the bandit, here-forth known as Jack.

The old Baron, the Baroness, and quite a few others were killed in a infamous coo attempt. Jack was tried, and somehow, found to be innocent at trial.
The verdict was largely due to Jacks popularity in town, by this point, Jack had been well known for captaining the guards and his heroic fight against an enraged OwlBear.

I was amazed when, rather than execution, Jack was made Baron!

Later, Jack was coerced into marriage by a one of the PC's. I don't know what the motivation was, but said PC possessed Charisma in the stratosphere. He had social skills to go with it.

The Baron was initially hostile to the idea of marriage to the witch of the woods, but he was no match for this guys manipulation.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some details, it was a wild series of events.

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Anyone had the party attack the Old Beldame and she escaped? Looking for ideas on how others have had her react later when met with violence initially.

Details of the encounter: ** spoiler omitted **

The Beldame is married to the King in my game. It's a long story

Boggard
Lizardman
Centaur

have not been mentioned and are common to the region

Free Hand Fighter strikes me as a good fit for this concept.

Would Leadership work for your Shadow? Giving it class levels would be cool, I'm unsure of the mechanics. Maybe house rule it.