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I love that the cartoon of them has the gold-plated d6's. Attention to detail.


If you're still looking for people, I'm thinking of making a guy.
Something like:

An unimposing aristocrat born into a house focusing on the Arts, he was an early disappointment to his family when he displayed little aptitude as an artist (producing only incomprehensible abstract pieces) and instead directed most of his energies toward his studies with the house's master-at-arms.

Consistently evading tutors and dodging the subject with his elders did little to bring him into better standing with his house, but proved a reasonable training ground for developing skills of deception.
In fact, while his father thought he was avoiding his responsibilities and birthright, he himself saw deep beauty in the crisp movements of the swordsman, and felt his studies were in line with his houses's history. He kept this observation to himself.

His father was nonplussed, and all involved were surprised, when the aging master-at-arms willed his storied blade to the disfavored youth instead of to his replacement upon his death.
Deeply honored by his mentor's actions, and on the verge of being disowned anyway, he was happy to set out with the other Swordsmen, and he has done some modest campaigning (possibly spy type work) since then.

I am thinking a rogue with social skills and deception skills (as well as being an artist!)

The sword is a rapier-equivalent. Maybe mithral. It's unusually slight, and is supposed to be supernaturally fast and sharp (though doesn't currently display much along those lines). I haven't come up with a good name yet.


Well, it's a bit embarrassing to just come out and say it, but I don't think I'm surprising anyone. Despite playing D&D for 30 years, I am not that good at it. Can you guys offer any advice about personality traits and whatnot for Heinrich?

I will try to play him more decisively in the future.

I was thinking he would have a sort of '20s/Robert-E-Howard thing going on -- years of civilization and success, being insulated from threats, etc, have started to make House Koening weak; we shouldn't have had to expend so much effort subjugating those pathetic/disorganized orcs, but our commanders were ineffectual fops from the capital; wilderness living hones men to a sharper edge; etc. He finds this weakness particularly offensive as it's sort of repugnant to Seigot. His hope is that pushing the kingdom out into a new frontier will bring some of that back.

Unrelated: what exactly is our charter? Are we hoping to set up a new Duchy? or expand Vipera? or just here to clean out the bandits and make maps? or what? (Sorry - you read it too fast for me to get it all down in my notes and I can't remember.)


raw notes from the session, in case that is helpful in some way
===

Heinrich was involved in the tail end of the Orcish pacification, some success converting them, but that was ~5 years ago, it's tamed down, they're conquered, nothing much to be done.... this is a good opportunity to go out and pacify/conquer/missionary.
The God is not monotheistic...other gods exist, this is just the best one... heathens/heretics are generally druids, that is the evilest religion...druidism, fey s$%+, is right out. with extreme prejudice. there is no nature god, so it's heretical to worship a non-god god. Savio fought a druid with grigs (grasshopper people) at some point.
(Savio's sword (Viper's Kiss - Basio de Serpentine or something like that) might have a poison a couple times a day thing?)

Arcos the bard will come with us. May add more guys later. Savio is technically related to Arcos as his sister married one of Arcos's brothers.

Erobern - name of the kingdom.
The god's name is Siegot

we have each (including arcos) been given a Royal Charter, "Be it so known that the bearer of this charter has been charged by the grand warden of Eroburn, acting under..." yadda yadda
exploration
explore 60 miles west, 36 miles north and south from a trading post
take care of the bandits
the penalty for banditry is execution by sword or rope
Heinrich and Savio didn't know each other prior.

Heinrich kn(local) - in recent years this is the 4th such charter of its type issued...the western wilds and the trading post are a bit off the map to the west of Vipera, cone out from gap between the hills ... other charters had been for different regions north and south of where we are exploring. one was to cleanse an area of some barbarians...one was to secure a trade route through a swamp to another human kingdom...third [i don't know about ed will change].

traveled from the royal city through Ft Jointly (joint vipera and smythe administration) ... kingdom claims the area but not really enforced, just mountain men and s@$!, trading post is the last thing resembling civilization. 4 days from Ft Jointly on track.

it's early spring.
passable during the day, cold at night.
roll into Olfeg's trading post from the east mid morning...off the road a bit on the right side...it has a pallisade surrounding it about 10' high. corner 20' square towers, run-down ballista. one entrance, 30' wooden gate facing east. to the west, green line of the marches a few miles away. not very large (~160' on a side). 4 buildings inside the walls. middle area clear... 15x40 building irght, larger building left (stables), unhitched wagon. roofed/fenced storage area. far right largest building, trading post. fire pit & tables & benches. see noone, not even on the gate.
tracks: recent past few days near the entrance. there's tracks from a person.
we stable horses and then go to the trading building. squat but solid building, 10'x30'.
"Gruff looking middle-aged man".
Heinrich buys some provisions.
A younger (than olfeg) woman also there. offers us some food.
here about the charter. the messenger he sent to the local magistrate came back and told him to expect the explorers. He wasn't asking for explorers, asking for some help. Bandits that have been robbing them every month, protection fees.
The bandits are due tomorrow morning.
how many?
the first time (4 mos ago) threatened to burn & kidnap, hand over trade goods. dozen of them. leader a woman. jerk her lt.
second time only the lt came with 6 men.
last month lt with 4 men.
lt carries a longbow. Haps is the lt's name.
We will help them. Svetlana and Olfeg are up for it.
We'll hide or horses somewhere & ambush once they come in the trading post. trying to trap them in the building so the bow guy can't manuever. Argos will hang outside and try to tie up and seal the guys in the building with us.
the bandits come just after dawn - 4 guys on horses with 2 spare horses.
savio jumps a guy.
guys: leather armor, longbows, shortswords
savio kills one and then heads outside, kills another guy. Argos puts a guy to sleep. mook and I miss each other. savio comes back inside, we kill the other guy. we execute both prisoners for banditry.
search all the guys, take off haps gear.
loot: 2 vials of alchemist's fire, 2 days rations, mghty+2 bow, 65gp. bows, shortswords, leather armor, cloaks. we take the cloaks and wear them.
they say we can stay there for free.
Olfeg wants wife's wedding ring back.
We track the horses accross the plains, better part of a day, hit the edge of the forest 12mi away. continue along the edge of the forest for a couple of hours. we set up camp inside the forest a bit. we set a watch. uneventful. continue following the path. couple miles then it cuts into the forest. 10 miles into the forest. sleep again. find a trail the next day, we can move a little faster. goes to a river ne/sw, trail turns sw along the river.
mid-afternoon...come to a fork in the river. there's a fjord. hear a bell -- we're spotted!
heinrich dismounst and slowly starts making way accross the rocks.
savio dismounts and starts swimming in the stream toward the guys. guy misses me with an arrow. there's a sort of tree fort platform thing 20' up. Another platform. an archer on the ground near me. There's a clearing with some log benches and stuff.
woman dual-wielding hatchets, studded leather.
guys flank Heinrich, he takes one down.
Savio steps up on a guy, feints, kills a guy.
chick attacks me, crits big. arcos fails to sleep her. I hit her back.
archers hit savio.
chick hits me again. argos heals me.
savio flanks and knocks her down.
other archers start running away.
we stabilize the chick. search the camp.
platforms have rope ladders.
tents, firewood, food, other supplies.
loot: 50gp shortsword longbow arrows leather armor x 3
loot: 2 mwk handaxes, 4 daggers, studded leather armor, vial pot clw, 80gp, silver necklace, pendant with a stag's head.
search around. find a clearing where they keep their horses. 6 horses there. tracks indicate there are usually at least 12. 20 tents.
"the stag lord" a deadeye with a bow, strong, a monster of a man, creepy stag helmet he never takes off, drinks like a fish, on a decline. in a fort west of here, 2 days ride, north bank, follow the river west. doesn't think he has more bands like hers. at his fort, maybe a dozen men but more than that work for him. maybe 30 or 40 altogether. gives her a place to hole up. some of his men tried to kidnap her, she roughed them up, followed them back to his fort, he recruited her.
she'll tell us something if we let her go.
stag lord doesn't know why he's out here either. keeps a weird old man locked up in the basement. thinks the old guy is in charge. we let her go.
bunch of loot under the tents and tarp: 321sp, 90gp, silver earrings 150gp, wooden music box 90gp, crates of furs and hides 50gp ea, polished wooden case of potent herbal liquor - 8 bottles at 20gp ea. No wedding ring.
we take lots of rations, teh liquor, the small stuff.
we should stash some weapons, rations, armor, etc around in case we need it?
we head west along the river. by the end of the day we come out of the forest into hills. we camp for the night.
next day... set out again. after a few hours come up on "location Q", a bridge accross the river, we could get to the south side if we wanted to. bridge is of simple constrction but old, predates the bandits. tracks indicate there has been some foot traffic there in the past few days. we continue on the north bank.
2/3 of the day we come to a fork in the river, we stay on the north side. there's like a pond there, slow moving and shallow, could cross there. river is wider here, mayne 50-60' generally.

we camp again and then early the next morning. we see the fort from a few miles off, it's on top of a hill. wooden pallisade around it. path zigzags up the hill, no cover. most approaches devoid of cover but tehre are some boulders and stuff, on a hill. fort is a little bigger than Olfeg's fort. 3 watchtowers.

We ride up openly. We claim to be guys who slew bandits and came up to bring the stag lord his booze, want to talk to him. Gate rolls aside, we dismount and walk in. a guy comes to meet us -- with chainmail, longsword, heavy steel shield, comp longbow, silver chain with stag's head. big guy.
fort looks like there used to be a stone fort here, couple hundred years old, that the bandits are trying to restore and build on top of.
guy talks s*&+ to savio, we charge him. he rages, attacks mark, misses. some archers miss. A half dozen other guys are coming in. standard bandits. a different guy is watching from the watchtower, dressed in a patchwork nobleman's outfit, tailored over his studded leather armor, many daggers and a rapier, manicured. "a combat fop."
Arcos tries to sleep three guys, gets one.
Savio tumbles around to flank the barbarian, takes a hit on the way.
savio hit, kills barbarian. arcos heals savio.
savio kills a guy
2 more bandits running toward us.
loud bestial roaring/screeching sound from in a building, bandits startled by it. owlbear charges out and kills one of the bandits.
savio kills a guy
heinrich charges the owlbear. owlbear kills the guy it was grappling. another bandit runs away. savio flanks owlbear. owlbear misses. stag lord stumbles out to see what is going on. bone helmet, shirtless, longbow, longsword, arms and legs armored. "Who let beaky out?". owlbear grapples heinrich. savio feints the owlbear and then hits it. heinrich hits the owlbear from inside the grapple. stag lord misses savio with an arrow. Argos hits the stag lord with alchemist's fire. owlbear deals damage to heinrich. savio downs the owlbear.
heinrich charges the stag lord but misses. stag lord 5' steps and shoots heinrich. stag lord burns, argos hits him with another fire.
heinrich studies stag lord, crits him, demoralizes him. stag lord misses heinrich. argos heals heinrich. savio feints but then misses stag lord. heinrich misses. stag lord shoots heinrich. savio and heinrich miss. stag lord can't get out, drops his bow, draws a long sword, misses. savio and heinrich hit him. he hits savio.savio and heinrich miss. stag lord stabs argos.
savio disarms stag lord. heinrich hits him. he's down.
everyone else fled the fort. patches is running.
argos is out of spells. heinrich heals everyone.


Savio is an exceptional thief.


Sorry, I was supposed to do that. I am getting (from the Savio stories) a bit of a feel for the tone of it, but I was still struggling. Thanks.

Mark, did you think about the shatter defenses feat line? They always seemed a bit too complicated to really work, but I've never tried them out and maybe for Savio they would be good? who knows. (What you really need is that Iaijutsu Master, but I don't think he made it into pathfinder.)


So I seriously don't have to cart around a carload of 40k s$%* this weekend? Nobody wants to sneak in a killteam or anything? What a relief!


I feel that I might have benefited from hearing some of the potential explanations of M Stoog.


Sounds good to me.
So, what are you guys thinking for the NPCs (post #1)? It does sort of seem like we would need more guys.


You might be right (e.g. the first time i can't bypass alignment DR...) ... I'm just sort of desperately looking for things that reduce the amount of "X/day" that I need to keep track of. (This exercise has sort of reminded me how ridiculously complicated Pathfinder is. And I didn't even try to figure out what a "Mythic Tier" is yet!)


I'll do it tonight, we just have a bunch of rollerskating and other b*~&!&*& going on before then


Perfect! Now he can be Bester.


I didn't finish this yet, but thinking something like this:
==============
N Human Inquisitor 6

str 14
int 13
wis 17
dex 13
con 14
cha 12

init +5
mv 20'
hp 27 = 8 + 5*2 + 2c*3 +3fc
ac 19 = 10 + 6a + 2s +1d

f 6 =3+2+1t
r 2 =1+1
w 6 =3+3

bab 2

mwk bastard sword: +5 1d10+2 19x2
...judge: +6 1d10+2 19x2
...judge,pa: +4 1d10+6 19x2
...2h: +5 1d10+3 19x2
...2h,judge,pa: +4 1d10+9 19x2
mwk mty longbow: +5 1d8+2 20x3
...judge,da: +4 1d8+6 20x3

feats/abilities
T1 Omen(faith): +1 intimidate; 1/day demoralize as a swift action
T1 Veteran of Battle(Religion)?: +1 initiative; may draw weapon as free action in the surprise round
T1 Resilient(combat)?: +1 fort saves
D1 Paranoid: DC to aid you is 15 rather than 10
H1 Toughness
1 Gang Up: considered flanking when 2 allies threaten him
I1 Domain: Conversion - +wis instead of normal stat on bluff/diplomacy/intimidate
I1 Judgment 1/day: swift action, lasts until combat ends. +1 sacred to hit (or some other options).
I1 Monster Lore: add wis on knowledge checks to identify monsters
I1 Stern Gaze: +lvl/2 morale to intimidate, sense motive
I2 Cunning Initiative: +wis to initiative
I2 Detect Alignment: at will, per spell.
I2 Track: +lvl/2 to survival to track.
3 Cleave
I3 Solo Tactics: you still benefit if allies don't have TW feats.
I3 TW: Paired Opportunists: +4 on AoO when adjacent to ally; you may AoO on threatened enemy when he provokes from ally

skills 3 * (6+1i+1h+2bs)
bluff 10 = 3+3 +1+3
intimidate 9 = 3+3 +1 +1t +1sg
perception 9 = 3+3 +3
sense motive 10 = 3+3 +3 +1sg
stealth 8 = 1+3 +1+3
survival 9*= 3+3 +3 [+1 tracking]
diplomacy 5 = 1+3 +1
disguise 5*= 1+3 +1 [+10 disguise self]
heal 7*= 1+3 +3 [+2mw]
climb 6 = 1+3 +2
swim 6 = 1+3 +2
kn(arcana) 5*= 1+3 +1 [+3id]
kn(nature) 5*= 1+3 +1 [+3id]
kn(religion) 5*= 1+3 +1 [+3id]
bs:kn(geogr) 3 = 2 +1
bs:kn(nobil) 3 = 2 +1
bs:kn(hist) 3 = 2 +1

spells (lvl:known:perday:dc:list)
0:6:-:13: sift, create water, detect magic, detect poison, light, read magic
1:4:4:14: disguise self, comprehend languages, clw, remove fear

fc: hp,hp,hp

25 pt buy
s 14 5
i 13 3
w 15 7 +r2
d 13 3
c 14 5
c 12 2


aha! savio can replace combat expertise then i think.
and i can continue to sit on the 1H/2H fence indefinitely.


that sounds good. mark, do you object to my guy being sneaky? paladin is also an option. it might be good to have a guy go reconnoit first? but if that will not work i can think about it.
ed, what is the conquerers' god's favored weapon?


Yes, inquisitor. I am thinking he's sort of a missionary / problem solver who they are sending as he is wualified to try a few different approaches with the bandits and maybe one of them will work.

(sorry, not too good with my phone)


(Talking myself into it.)

I am thinking something like (chime in if this doesn't make any sense or if you have a better idea): a minor nobleman/churchman from the royal family, who has some experience in the diplomatic core. They are sending him out to see if he can resolve the situation by one method or another.

Additionally they may be happy with the opportunity to send him away, as he makes them uncomfortable for some reason (he is sort of a throwback to the old days or something, perhaps. I don't have a good feel for what "the old days" were like in the central kingdom...more religious? more opportunity for righteous combat against the now-conquered neighbors? more machiavellian? I don't know. (I'm liking the last one.))

Some details questions:
What is the favored weapon of the conquerors' deity?
Are the background skills and power attack ed-rules still in?


being a staunch fence-sitter, i am considering a talky inquisitor.


The intent was to scout around for things that might be a threat to the group. I was thinking of pursuit, other caravans (e.g. heavily armed ones), patches of quicksand, blue dragons, arrakeen sandworms, etc. I guess if there were 100 caravans out along that road then he probably wouldn't spot pursuit, but if there are like 3 or 4 then I think he would probably notice them.


I guess I thought you can charge through allies' squares. But, maybe not -- oops!
50' move is so terrifying.


I think it would be useful to know if any of us gets a sense motive off of the child, or happens to know about the cloak rule from knowledge(local), or anything like that.
Has Barega noticed any people wearing cloaks entering or exiting the gate?


A picture and a backstory scene for Barega.

---

The man winced and emitted a sharp yelp of pain as blood trickled from his leg.

Barega grinned. "We must set the bone, or your already clumsy gait will soon include a limp as well."

"I know," said the man. "You needn't take such joy in it."

The halfling continued his ministrations to the man's wound.

"That should do it," Barega said, finishing the splint and turning away. His hands were covered in the Man's blood. "Get some rest." His thoughts began to drift. It had been a close thing, this fight. This arcanist was clever, and his mercenaries fierce. The big one had nearly taken this man's leg off at the knee with his hammer, and it would have been Barega's head if the man hadn't interposed himself. Another debt that he would find it hard to repay.

"Don't even think about it!", the man exclaimed sharply.

Startled, Barega noticed that he had been licking the his fingers, and was salivating slightly. He paused. It had been a while since he'd had a good meal... The skin around his eyes crinkled. "No, not today, Man. Maybe tomorrow."


Hey guys, thanks. I'm still here, we were just traveling this weekend and I am still trying to get caught up. Should do so tonight.


My wife works in a library. I gave her a "librarianship challenge": to find me some ebook versions of "D&D novels in the dark sun setting, probably from the 90s, about halflings, that aren't terrible."
She said, "I can't promise that!" We'll see what she turns up. :)


Hey guys -

This is the anemic story I have put together so far for Barega, a halfling druid. I'm not as familiar with Athas as I would like, suggestions or corrections are appreciated.

---

Barega hails from a border tribe/settlement in the Forest Ridge. Early in his youth, he discovered an affinity and a sort of joy in the Wind, and he has followed its fickle direction for most of his life.

A great turning point in his life came when he, as a young hunter, set off on a on a walkabout that turned into many years spent "chasing the Wind". He chased it far and wide, and spent considerable time learning its ways in the Alluvial Wastes. During this portion of his walkabout, Barega was approached by a stranglely ageless man (a "tall one"). After getting past a somewhat tense initial encounter, the two men traveled together for some time. Barega found, to his great surprise, that the man was a sort of kindred spirit, another chaser of the Wind.

[Undecided if this should be a human, or another halfling instead. I originally wanted it to be a man, to sort of make it easier for Barega to go around with the other PCs. But Fabian thought it is implausible. I think he should have some sort of mentor, though, as I don't think Druidism would be easy to self-teach.]

In fact, the man was a Druid who had been stealthily observing Barega's progress and natural talents for many days. Barega was enthralled by the man's stories about the Land Spirits, and the Blue Time, and by his deep knowledge of the Wind and the Land. They traveled together for many years, during which the man taught Barega his ways, and they performed together many minor yet valiant acts of resistance against various defilers.

When the man judged that Barega had learned sufficiently, the two parted ways. Barega returned to his tribe wise beyond his years, and with an uncommon (if minor) tolerance toward the Tall Ones. He grew once again into the community, taking a particular joy in teaching his youngers and the preparation of holiday meals. He felt he appreciated it more for his years of solitude, but his fellows noted forever thereafter a bit of an oddness about him, who had once willingly spent some alone and in the company of Men.

With his unusual intimacy with the land and the Wind, Barega eventually came to find himself leading bands of his fellows in violent actions against intruding Defilers, with a fair degree of success. It was on one such excursion a few years back, where he met the Preserver.

Barega and a band of his hunters had been tracking Dhojakt, an ambitious up-and-coming Defiler with whom they had tangled several times in the past, through the jungle for many days. When they finally cornered the Wizard and launched their attack, they discovered that they had been chasing an illusory decoy. Dhojakt had spotted them, and sent them off after his illusion while he doubled back to hit the tribe's settlement (whose defenses had been thinned to populate the hunting party).

Furious and terrified, the hunters ran for a day and a night through the jungle, losing many of their number along the march, in an attempt to catch the Defiler in time to assist in the defense of their village. Their progress was slowed by Dhojakt's minions (whom they slew with their best brutal efficiency, but who still cost them time and men). Finally, exhausted and almost certainly too late, they made it back to their settlement.

But they did not find what they expected. There was a tall one, an old man, who had intervened and slew [or chased off?] Dhojakt in the hunters' absence, when it seemed that he was about to overwhelm the remaining halfling fighters.

Humbled and ashamed at his lack of caution, Barega pledged his service and gratitude to man. They spoke at length, during which the man revealed himself as a Preserver, and then the man left.

Barega learned a sort of caution from this experience, and would no longer allow the hunters to accompany him on his actions after this. He took to splitting his time between performing priestly duties at the village, and going on extended solo patrols around the perimeter. He never truly forgave himself for foolishly exposing his family to such danger, and he continuously looks for opportunities to redeem himself.

One day as he was preparing a succulent Baazrag chilli, a messenger from the Preserver found him...

---

Barega:
- is creeping toward middle age, but still has many years
- is more comfortable and trusting around "tall ones" than most halflings (which makes him a better adventurer)
- is somewhat more individualistic and comfortable with solitude than most halflings (which makes him a better adventurer)
- is generally jovial and collegial (as anyone on Athas is, anyway), but there is an element of restraint and introspection to him
- is deeply committed to restoring the land
- listens to the wind, and often heeds its advice
- deeply enjoys eating meat, feels a moral aversion to eating Athas' scarce plants
- hopes to one day meet his Druidic teacher again (he never did learn the fellow's name, he just called him "Man" for the several years. The man got a sort of kick out of it.)


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yeah man it's on the strength chart, page 14 of the PHB with the winged helmet cavalry guy. For example, if you have an 18(76) strength then your bend bars/lift gates is 30%.


Here is a submission for Joshua Larkin, beaurocrat-turned-insurgent (inquisitor/ranger).

Larkin:
Joshua Larkin is an unimposing man in his late 20s. Through use of disguise and bluff, he tries to create the subtle impression of being older than he is, trying to come accross as a kindly, middle-aged beaurocrat.
He fervently maintains his innocence to anyone who he thinks might care, but astute listeners may notice that he never quite specifies what he is innocent of. He has a tendency to speak in evasions or misleading truths, rather than outright lies.

Larkin was a minor dignitary in the local government. He was subverted, some time ago, by a member of a diplomatic mission (or perhaps a covert agent) from a neighboring lawful evil nation. Since then he has been acting as a spy, trying to foment revolution, but was recently found out due to bad luck. The neighnoring nation is now probably as pissed at him as the Talingarders, for he is guilty of the one unforigivable crime -- Failure!

His (now quite faint) hope is to win his way back into the good graces of his former benefactors, by acting on his own to accomplish some tremendous feat (dissolve the kingdom, assassinate the king and his heir, or something similarly preposterous).

(I don't know much about the setting -- asking for some help to fill in details (which nation, which religion it has, which domains are available, etc).)

NE Human
Gestalt Inquisitor (Mephistopholes?) 1 / Urban Ranger 1

str 14
int 12
wis 16
dex 14
con 13
cha 14

F: 3 = 2 +1
R: 4 = 2 +2
W: 6*= 2 +3 +1t [+2 vs charm/compulsion]

HP: 15 = 10 + (1c+1fc)*1 +3t
Init: +2
AC: 12

BAB: +1
Club: +3 1d6+2 20x2

Feats/Abilities/Traits:
T: Birthmark (holy symbol; +2 vs charm/compulsion)
T: Weathered Emissary (+1 surv/ling, ling is class skill)
T: High Treason (+1 will save)
H: Toughness
1: Alertness
B1: Deadly Aim
R1: FE: Humans +2
R1: Track: +1
R1: Wild Empathy: +2 (+lvl+cha)
I1: Domain: Knowledge - Lore Keeper (touch attack, knowledge result 15+lvl+wis=19)
I1: Monster Lore (+wis to kn when identifying monsters)
I1: Judgment 1/day
I1: Stern Gaze (+lvl/2 intimidate and sense motive)

Domain... I don't know what dieties or domains are available.
I'd love to have Travel(Trade), or perhaps Knowledge(Thought). What is available?

Skills: (6+1i+1h+2b) * 1
Perception 9*= 1 +3 +3 +2a [+FE]
Survival 9*= 1 +3 +3 +1t [+1 track] [+FE]
Sense Motive 10*= 1 +3 +3 +2a +1sg [+FE]
Intimidate 7 = 1 +3 +2 +1sg
Bluff 6*= 1 +3 +2 [+FE]
Diplomacy 6 = 1 +3 +2
Kn(Religion) 5*= 1 +3 +1 [+wis vs monsters] [+FE]
Kn(Local) 5*= 1 +3 +1 [+wis vs monsters] [+FE]
Disable Device 6 = 1 +3 +2
Disguise 6 = 1 +3 +2
Linguistics 2 = 0 +1 +1t

Spells (lvl:known:perday:savedc)
0:4:-:13: Sift, Detect Magic, Light, Create Water
1:2:2:14: Cure Light Wounds, Disguise Self

Languages: Common, Infernal

============
25 pt buy
str 14 5
int 12 2
wis 14 5 +2race
dex 14 5
con 13 3
cha 14 5


I'm interested in doing one of those (doesn't matter which). I have played pathfinder a fair bit but never PbP'd. I could generally do evenings (Eastern US time).


Thanks guys.

I think I hadn't realized that they put "the old cleave" back in as cleaving finish. I was planning to have power attack and come-and-get-me, and combat reflexes.
I considered enlarge, I guess there is always a potion.
I guess that I currently have a different guy (lore warden) who enlarges and trips everybody, so that is why I am not immediately jumping on that option (just because it'd be boring to have two guys doing the same thing).

The smoking bottle thing is interesting, I have to think about that. I thought of something similar with darkness, but for some reason the smoke didn't occur to me.

As an aside, the guy I am thinking of (sort of a wandering, half-mad desert gnoll) could be a horizon-walker/ranger or a barbarian/ranger/horizon-walker, that seems to lend itself well to that (ethereal terrain mastery gives a limited concealment-ignore, underground terrain mastery gives blind-fight), a gnoll could plausibly take the orc scent feat, and I could try to do some kind of sandstorm theme on the smoke. The only problem with that route is, I keep looking at the ranger feats and the favored enemy bonuses, and wanting to make him an archer. Whereas I want him to be an invulnerable, foaming at the mouth, in your face, kind of guy. (I also liked the terrifying howl thing, though I guess it's just a gimmick.)

Anyway, the sense I am getting is that it's better to just do normal stuff like great cleave and combat reflexes and enlarge, instead of trying to do fancy weird pathfinder stuff like dreadful-carnage/terrifying-howl, "desperate combatant" feat, ground-breaker/vicious-stomp, etc. That is probably accurate, but just seems so boring. :)

Does the answer change at all if the guys are tougher than "mooks", so they don't go down in one hit? Like, the level 8 barbarian vs 8x level 10 warriors, or something. Obviously there is only so far you can go, but is there something that could tip the scales in such an encounter?

Thanks for your help!

Here is a second, completely unrelated question:

This guy is going to have hundreds of hit points and no real healing capability. I don't know what the other players will make, but I think the world is sort of conanesque and healing magic is not as common as it would usually be in D&D. I don't want the guy to be laid up for two weeks between adventures. Are there any good tricks for natural healing?
I can take the heal skill and do the "treat deadly wounds".
I saw there is a feat that doubles your natural healing rate, but it seems to have a lot of prereqs.
Eventually I want to try to get him a ring of regeneration. (The 2nd edition thing where the guy would just start regenerating when he had a high enough con would be perfect!)
An approach that could work, and I sort of like is: is there a way to convert lethal damage into non-lethal?
Maybe an out-of-combat way? Then he would be back on his feet in a day instead of a week or two. I saw the "flesh wound" rage power, but it's going to be good for 20 points or something, out of the 200. Do you guys know of any weird pathfindery stuff that accomplishes that?
Or, of some other trick?


CampinCarl9127 wrote:
I was under the assumption that it already was, unless the entire adventure is everyone piled together at the center fighting to see who gets to stand on top of everybody else.

Side note, but:

It's actually a curious property of hollow spheres and an inverse square law, that there would be no gravitational force at all inside a hollow sphere. i.e. people just float around, they don't fall toward the center or toward the shell. (it's something like: the math works out such that no matter where you are, the section of the crust to your left is pulling with equal force to the section on your right, so there is no net force.) (I guess if it were spinning, there would be a force pushing you to the shell, strongest on the equator.)


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If I wanted to make a barbarian who specializes in fighting multiple (weaker) opponents, what kinds of things (feats, rage powers, etc) should I look to pick up? I am picturing him running into a crowd of guys, being surrounded and slaughtering his way out of it; or maybe holding a pass against an army (i know barbarian may not be ideal for this); etc.
I thought that I should not trade away uncanny dodge, since he'll probably be flanked.
I know that AC is good when fighting multiple weaker guys.
I thought about Dreadful Carnage and Terrifying Howl.
I think one would have a hard time getting whirlwind attack on a barbarian, but could possibly get cleave. I don't know if it's that good, though.
Any other ideas?


hmm, ok. I guess that does make sense. It is sort of too bad that way, but it would be too good the other way.
I guess you could try to tumble while you're overruning the guys? or maybe take mobility? yeah, i think neither of these would work very well. Ah well, tasmanian devil barbarian will have to wait.


If it were me, I'd make an apache alias or rewrite rule, or a filesystem symlink. (It could well be google's fault, but I think it's easier to add the symlink than to try to figure out how to make them fix it.)


Hello,
Is there a consensus on how attacks of opportunity work with overrun? Does taking improved overrun protect you from all AoO's from moving through threatened squares during the overrun?
Or does it prevent the target from attacking you, but other people can?
Or does it just mean that the target doesn't get an extra AoO on you for doing the overrun manuever, but he still gets any AoOs on you from moving out of squares he threatens?

For instance:

Human A starts out 15' away and is overruning human B.
1) if A doesn't have improved overrun...does he provoke one AoO, or two (one for moving out of a threatened square, one for initiating the maneuver))?

Now say that A has improved overrun.

2) does A provoke one AoO, for moving through a square that B threatens, on the way to overrun him?
3) If B has a reach weapon, does A provoke now?
4) If B is standing next to ally C, and A moves through C's threatened area as part of his overrun of B, does A provoke from C?

Say that A is also a barbarian with overbearing onslaught (or whatever it is that lets him overrun a bunch of guys), in addition to improved overrun.

5) A overruns a bunch of guys, say, B,C,D. Does he provoke from any or all of them?
6) Does he provoke from them if they have reach weapons?
7) if A moves through E's threatened area as part of the overrun, but doesn't overrun E (only BCD), does A provoke from E?
8) If the overrun fails somewhere along the line, does he provoke then?

9) If A provokes as a result of movement, does that apply a penalty to his overrun CMB check (like it would if he provoked as a result of initiating the maneuver, e.g. if he didn't have improved overrun?)

It seems like it would be decent, and unusual, to make a barbarian (with greater overrun, combat reflexes, maybe spiked destroyer, etc) who just sort of runs around through all of the bad guys knocking them down, like the Tasmanian Devil or something. But, it's unclear (at least to me) whether that would provoke N AoOs, or 2N AoOs, or what. If it does provoke from everybody, then overbearing onslaught is sort of not very good (Though I suppose it could work, sort of, with Come and Get Me...can an AoO provoke another AoO?).

Thanks.


Well, I mean something like: if the players expect 10 encounters a day instead of 2, then the spellcasters and the paladin are going to pace themselves more, and so they will not consistently outdo the fighter. Plus, I sort of find that more fun/more reasonable. You can't always rest for 8 hours between each room in the dungeon, or while the bad guy is getting away, or whatever.


Just run like 25 encounters between rest periods, the fighter will be great.


Hello,
I don't know what the deal is, but I noticed that when I try to go to the PRD inquisitor page, I get redirected to the homepage. I can get at other parts of the PRD Ok, so it's something to do with that page or URL.

For example:

$ curl --head http://paizo.com/pathfinderrpg/prd/advanced/baseClasses/inquisitor.html
HTTP/1.1 302 Apple
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 14:22:02 GMT
Server: Apache
cache-control: private
cache-control: no-cache
cache-control: no-store
cache-control: must-revalidate
cache-control: max-age=0
expires: Sat, 20-Dec-2014 13:00:33 GMT
location: /paizo
pragma: no-cache
connection: close
MS-Author-Via: DAV
Content-Type: text/html;charset=utf-8

I think it's been like that for a few days, maybe. At least, I noticed it a few days ago. I don't know that it has been solid since then.
I have the book and all, not a big deal, but I just figured I would mention it since it is odd.

----
Edit:
Oh, I see. it's /pathfinderrpg/ instead of /pathfinderRPG/ ... But, google gave me the bad link here: https://www.google.com/search?q=prd+inquisitor
So it seems like it must have been working sometime in the recent past, for google to index it, and something changed? I don't know.


wait, so why do you have a level 9 monk in a party of level 1 characters? I think any level 9 character is going to trivialize an encounter to the extent that level 1 characters don't feel like they are doing anything. There are larger issues here.


I don't see what the problem is with letting him grapple 2 guys. He does get the -4 on all of the maintains, etc; they're much more likely to escape than if he is just grappling the one guy twice a round. It's perfectly consistent with the rules. You get one standard action per round. If you're not using it for anything else you can grapple a dude.

What is this, like, a level 9 monk? At this level the wizard can dominate one guy and make him fight the other, or he can confuse 28 (pi*15*15/(5*5)=28) guys and make them fight one another, or he can grapple FIFTY (pi*20^2/(5*5)=50) guys with black tentacles, or he can wall them off with a wall of force, or he can just cloudkill them. Who cares what the monk is doing?

I don't think he could (per rules) tie them up in the manner you described, because he needs some kind of action to get the rope out. (Though, again, what would it really matter if he could?)

(Thalin, the intent is that you can grapple a guy and then pin him in the same round: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2kr28?Greater-Grapple-feat-grappled-and-pinned- in#3)


make a middle-aged guy.


i told you guys, he's recovering from that bender


greater magic weapon is an hour per level, not 10 mins. So that could be something you just do every day.

keen edge and flame arrow are 10 mins/level. when i was the mage, the archer had all three of those on all the time. Just saying.


Fake Healer wrote:
Umbral Reaver wrote:
Zouron wrote:
No a Drizzt class is an abomination unto nuggan! :p
You do know the ranger was based on Drizzt, right? :P
Please tell me you don't really believe that.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10


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human ranger, elf fighter, dwarf fighter, human fighter, wizard, and four halflings


i'm just saying ... i don't think the guy is sitting over there in his dr claw chair stroking his cat or his goatee, sitting with his finger over the big red button, preparing for the midnight reveal ...
i imagine he'll probably like get in from work late, get drunk, pass out ... sometime tomorrow he'll be stumbling around and be like "oh yeah, i wonder if my internet D&D thing is ready yet ... i should really get around to going to look at those character submissions..."


a player who just wanted the mechanically best thing would be an archer anyway. a player who didn't care about that wouldn't be bothered that his bonus feat options are not optimal. The guy you mentioned who wanted to be a greataxe ranger would just take power attack and be done.


well, you're probably going to be up anyway ...
But I don't think the guy is going to post right at midnight.


the time has come
to awaken him
musta
krakesh


Brin Kingmaker wrote:
Dwarven druid? Intriguing.

I figured i would make a guy who is a little weird. I am not really a great role-player, so it helps me to have some kind of extreme shtick I can keep referring back to. This is part of what I sent in (mildly corny, but i think that is characteristic of "high fantasy"):

Spoiler:
In his youth, Belegost Skaldorsson worked as a stonemason in the depths of the Golushkin mountains. While he enjoyed the challenge and accomplishment of his craft, he always felt that he had missed some important path he was meant to travel.

For many years, he attempted various explorations to fill (or at least understand) the mystery of this void -- ranging from study in the Mountain Kingdom's venerable libraries, to dabbling in other professions, to extended, contemplative sojourns through the vast caverns of the Mountains' subterranean wilderness. He enjoyed these latter the most, but he never quite found what he was looking for. As time passed, he grew increasingly restless and disturbed by this situation, retreating more and more from the company of his fellows.

A few years ago, Belegost made a breakthrough of sorts while traveling with a merchant caravan on a trip to deliver Dwarven craftworks to [some Rostlander settlement, a ways from the Mountain past an area of wilderness, but along the Issian border]. (The caravans often included some of the craftsmen, for the purpose of discussing particulars of newly commissioned work. Belegost usually managed to avoid these sorts of responsibilities, but occasionally his luck would fail and he would wind up assigned to such a task.)

While the caravan was passing through an unpopulated stretch of wilderness, it was set upon by raiders. This was quite a startling event in generally-civilized Brevoy, and something didn't add up ... Keen of eye and wit, Belegost recognized both men with the look of Issian soldiers and that of mercenaries among the raiders. The merchants were routed, killed or fled into the forest. Belegost attempted (unsuccessfully) to fight, and was left for dead.

Belegost spent several days unconcious and feverish on Death's door. During this time, he experienced various hallucinations and visions, which he interpreted as a sort of religious experience. Whether this was really true or not, when he awoke, despite being broken, bloodied, and starving, he felt better than he had for most of his life -- he had found his calling in the Wyrd.

Belegost woke to find caravan's treasures plundered, the wagons burned, many of his kinsmen dead, and the rest several days' gone. He was in a state of shock. It took him many months to recover from his physical and psychological wounds, and from his strange religious experience. He spent much of this time distracted by the day-to-day struggle of survival in the wilderness.

While the forests of the northern Rostland were not anything like the caverns and tunnels he explored in his youth, there were yet similarities. And always now, he felt the guiding hand of the Wyrd steering him. He survived, and over time it became startlingly easy to do so. He found a great deal of peace and joy in his solitary life.

But as he had more and more time to think about the attack, he began to put things together. Had he heard rumors of strife between Issia and Rostland before he left? He cursed himself for how little attention he had paid, for being so withdrawn from the world. But he thought he had heard such rumors. And his caravan was carrying supplies intended to shore up the walls and defenses of [whatever border settlement it was]. And why had the merchants brought along skilled Dwarven stonemasons to consult with the humans? He seemed to recall that it was related to walls and fortifications.

Yes, this attack made all too much sense now. Belegost began to harbor a hatred for Issia. Over the next few years of his solitary life in the wilderness, this hatred grew hotter, past the heat of the Forge, rivaling the heat of the molten pools below the Mountain ... Nobody holds a grudge like a dwarf.

During these years also, the wilderness he had made his home faced slow encroachment by populations of Men. He must have cut a strange figure to the men, a gaunt and sunburned dwarf with wild hair, moss in his beard, and a strange fervor in his eyes... But he came into contact with them more and more, trading goods, services, and information. He preferred the solitude, but he had made several good friends among the men. These men, inspired by the moss, called him Belegost Greenbeard.

When he heard through these men that the Lords of Rostland were chartering adverturers to explore the vast wilds of the Stolen Lands, Belegost considered this deeply. It was appealing to him to strike off away from the noise of civilization... But he would not withdraw from the world again. He had a duty.

It was only when he began to suspect the political motivations behind the charters that he submitted his application. He would not be withdrawing from the world at all -- but on the contrary, potentially playing a pivotal role in it. And best of all, he would be setting Issia on the path to ruin.

He was as surprised as anyone when his application was accepted, and eagerly set out south.

[It may be that one of the men he traded with is another of the PCs, and they go together.]

I don't know really anything about the setting, but I found this thing http://paizo.com/products/btpy8dqh?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Kingmaker-Play ers-Guide and was looking around online some ... it seems like the Golushkin dwarves disappeared at the same time as the conquerers (Rogarvia or whatever). So, I think this dwarf would have had to be living on the surface for 10 years or something like that, and so he won't know what is going on with the mystery.


just in case ... did you see the plant domain (or metal subdomain of earth) granted powers?

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