niel's page

Mothman wrote:

I just found out that one of my cousins is back in hospital with a bad infection after a bone marrow transplant a few weeks ago. In intensive care and on dialysis, the prognosis is not good.

Sadly my cousin didn’t make it. RIP Paul, you were a good man, you will be missed.

You have my condolences.

I went thru a bone marrow transplant 2 1/2 years ago.
Sad to say, several of the other patients on the transplant ward with me had that same result.
There is a very risky period after the transplant that can last months while your immune system works to replenish itself.
If you had to transplant bone marrow cells from someone else, it takes at least three times as long.
Even after that, you can have reversals.
Please tell the family from someone who went through the process that, well actually there's not much to say.
I can say how much I appreciate the people who were there for me throughout the process.
I'm sure your cousin would like to thank those who were with him, too.

My thoughts are with your family.

Word.

(Or not, as the case may be.)

str 3d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 2) = 9
dex 3d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 3) = 9
con 3d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 2) = 7
int 3d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 6) = 13
wis 3d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 4) = 15
cha 3d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 1) = 9

desk bound Mystic Theurge with a crotchety demeanor, all the way

Very impressive work!

Well concieved and well executed.

Congrats

As far as I know, there are no seperate morale rules.
'Morale' is a type of bonus, like dodge, sacred, armor, or profane.
It is listed so that , when adding bonuses, you do not add two of the same type, which is prohibited except for dodge bonuses.

I believe Shaping Focus says "to a maximum of four higher, to a maximun level equal to your character."

So a 6th level druid would not be able to use the feat.
A 6th druid/2nd rogue with the feat would wildshape as an eigth level druid.
A 6th druid/6th ranger with the feat would wilshape as a 10th level druid.

Your example of a lion shaman 16/ alchemist 1 (if he had the feat) would elemental shape as a druid of 16(base) - 2(not a lion shape) + 1(having the feat and one level of alchemist) = 15th.

d) all of the above.

And possibly even on the same side.

I like playing druids because you can base your roleplay on feelings rather than needing facts. A sort of 'go with your heart' type of thing.

A druid who is pigeon-holed into one thing is being played like any other class who is being overly simplified. People aren't simple, characters don't need to be, either.

If you must put a unified concept on the class, I like to think of the druid as someone who dances to a different music. Fighters think about attack and defense, clerics about the tennants of their faith, wizards are concerned with arcane power. A druid hears the sound of the world and follows that muse.

First edition had all druids as part of a single group, clustered in areas by grove, but ultimately all one group. To the extent that the higher levels of druid had limited numbers and progression involved defeating those above you in the organization. Pathfinder does not include this, but there is a holdover in thought that all druids share a single goal. Incorrect.

You can play a druid as someone who feels a greater connection to the simpler world than the complex. Religion is reverence without the need for a god, politics is style rather than country, war is about outcomes rather than victory, etc., etc., etc. Rely on yourself rather than needing your allies to do for you.

A druid can be someone with their own strength who has chosen to act in such a way as to be an example for others to follow. Or they can be someone who acts as they see fit, without needing the approval of another or a hierachy to verify their choices.

I wish our CEO would double my paid vacation time.

Easily done.

Wait- didn't you get the memo?
All paid vacation time was reduced to zero.
And zero doubled is what you have.

I wish I could throw my cold away like an apple core.

I'll be out of town from thursday thru monday on a trip with the beloved wife.
DRA can run San Pen as necessary while I'm out of touch.

Just out of couriousity, What are the Dungen master's domains?

I'm guessing Trickery and Glory.

Reaper has a dwarven monk named Burl Oakenfist (or something like that).

Go to reaper minatures figure finder, enter male, Dwarf, empty hands, any, martial character and check the results to the right.

I'm no good at links, but you can have fun using the figure finder.

It's a special gaze attack.
It's not whether you can see the moustache- it's whether the moustache can see you!

niel wrote:

Be aware 'The Keep' is only the first book of Wilson's Adversary Cycle and that the other books of the cycle are being re-written. The cycle includes Repairman Jack novels as well as others.

Why is he rewriting them? To tie them all in?

He's been upgrading the individual books one by one.

Evidently, even though the series was completed, he wanted to add stuff.
Also, the Repairman Jack stuff keeps adding background that pertains to the Adversery Cycle.
Including a series of young adult books covering the teen years of Jack.

Currently reading the horror classic, The Keep by F. Paul Wilson.

Be aware 'The Keep' is only the first book of Wilson's Adversary Cycle and that the other books of the cycle are being re-written. The cycle includes Repairman Jack novels as well as others.

Pacing and game comfortable so far.
I'm good.

Shaving requires a balance.
Shave the face with a good quality razor. Disposibles suck.
Don't shave the upper lip.
A quality moustache shows class.
And you don't have to worry about shaving the curvy lip parts.

niel wrote:

Jess Door wrote:
niel wrote:
Jess Door wrote:
Brother is going to move away from me, to VA.

dumb brother. :( I will miss him. It's a good move for him, though, I think.

Where in Virginia?
I'm in Newport News/Williamsburg near Fort Eustis, Thing is in Portsmouth.

Dunno yet. Final negotiations for job proceeding, but it's looking likely. NASA is not a good place to be right now.

Yes, my brother is a rocket scientist. Well, I guess an engineer. I and my two brothers are all engineers... What can I say? Being a geek runs in the family!

Let us know where he ends up. We'll do what we can to make him feel at home.
Is he a gamer, too?

He loves board games, especially long strategy games, or games like Settlers of Catan. Not a role player, though. My other brother introduced me to gaming, and my parents were gamers in the early 80's, but I'm the only big gamer in the family at the moment. :)

Gamer or not, he's FAWTLy family.

Let us know if he needs anything from us.
I'm OK with engineers (and texans) :)

That bonded item argument he presented was lacking.

1.If you can get close enough to take away the bonded item then you are close enough to kill the wizard, and the bonded item is not at the top of the priority list at that point.
2.The item is not used when you cast spells if you pick something like a ring so there is no way to find out which of your items is the bonded one.
Just because the GM knows something that does not mean the NPC's are supposed to know it.
3.In a low magic world casters are the best class to be. While other classes are trying to get magic items you will have magic at your fingertips literally.
4.The crafting skill can allow you to make another item. Just be sure to take the correct one. I would just spend free time making backup items if he goes into meta-game mode.
5.The concentration check is hard at low levels, but later it becomes trivial.

This is the kind of return arguments I was looking for.

Although, as replacement for a bonded item takes a week and costs 200gp times the wizard class level, so crafting a new bonded item may be a problem.
Is there any way to get a bonus to the concentration check?
DC = 20 + spell level is not trivial for a long time at slow experience gain when your bonus to the roll is wizard level plus stat bonus alone.

How are the combat based characters going to advance their weapons in this world? What will happen to the fighter is his sword is sundered? Will he just have to soldier on with only a dagger? Maybe for a short time, but I'll bet that he would eventually be able to replace it.

If your bonded item breaks, it leads to a short period of time where your wizard sucks. Just like your fighter will be less useful if his sword breaks or is lost. However, it's not the end of the game, your bonded item can be replaced with just about any magical goodie that you get along the way. So unless the GM is planning to give you nothing except coin and jewels, you'll be able to use something to replace the bonded item.

A fighter can carry multiple weapons, switching between them as necessary. And could just pick up a club or staff. A wizard can have only one bonded item. Loss of a piece of equiptment affects them differently.

Has there been anything official said about changing types of bonded items during the wizard's career?
For example, if I lost my amulet, could I bond to a wand I had found?
Would the cost for changing the bonded item be covered by the value of the found wand or would it be in addition to the cost/value of the new bonded item?
If I still had my ring, but wanted to switch to a staff, do I just break it and spend a week without? Or keep the ring, incorporate into a staff and never go without?

Not really going to be low magic, just more lost world type terrain, so no cities to buy magical supplies like scrolls or wand materials.
In most game there is no reason to know what the supplies are that you need to scribe a scroll or put a spell into your spell book or replenish your casting bag, but when you're in the wilderness 'spend 100 gp times the level of the spell to put it in your spellbook' has new meaning.

niel wrote:

Jess Door wrote:
Brother is going to move away from me, to VA.

dumb brother. :( I will miss him. It's a good move for him, though, I think.

Where in Virginia?
I'm in Newport News/Williamsburg near Fort Eustis, Thing is in Portsmouth.

Dunno yet. Final negotiations for job proceeding, but it's looking likely. NASA is not a good place to be right now.

Yes, my brother is a rocket scientist. Well, I guess an engineer. I and my two brothers are all engineers... What can I say? Being a geek runs in the family!

Let us know where he ends up. We'll do what we can to make him feel at home.

Is he a gamer, too?

I was discussing an up-coming campaign with my GM last night, as we began talking about party roles.
(It will be our first full Pathfinder game.)
He implied a wizard would be a bad idea for campaign reasons (lost world adventure, little access to other wizards and few items available).
He then went on to suggest that the arcane bond was horrible as the item could be broken or taken, costing too much to replace (lost world means little access to casting goods we don't make ourselves, let alone straight cash) and making it impossible to cast without heinous concentration checks.
I like the bonded item, but wasn't able to come up with an argument to answer him.
What do ya'll think?

Brother is going to move away from me, to VA.

dumb brother. :( I will miss him. It's a good move for him, though, I think.

Where in Virginia?

I'm in Newport News/Williamsburg near Fort Eustis, Thing is in Portsmouth.

Taking the alias's out for a dusting?

Nice work.
How do they stat up?

It's official. I declined the grad school offer. I feel like it is the right choice, although it's been a very difficult one.

Congratulations! The courage to make the tough decision is what will bring you the happiness you deserve.

Best wishes.

May God have mercy and look with favor on the souls of the living and the dead, the virtuous and the sinner, the faithful and the unbelievers.
Amen

Condolences and best wishes to the family and friends.

COOL.

Not carried by the Paizo store, I guess.

EDIT: Of course, you could just use this table and not spend money on yet more dice.

But with Ten Commandment Dice (tm), I can roll for a radom sin at need!

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

No need to rush into anything.

Just give one night to enjoy my new blankets.

Carnage

I enjoyed it.

But could we do the next one with Fort saves?

Nice work!

Did you make the clear base yourself?

Thanks.

For cash, I believe you said + 100 gp. Is that added to randon starting gold?

Any sort of standard items we are expected to have? Uniforms for the militia or some sort of badges showing membership in the expedition?

True

Heh, if someone tried this in my campaign, the first time they hit with the arrow it would break.

Now, with quickdraw or a handy haversack, could you keep drawing and using new arrows until you ran out?

Neat exploit.

Would you even need quick draw or a handy haversack?

I believe you can draw ammo as a free action from a quiver.

Fire burns, but it brings renewal as well. The fires I have learned will help bring a new day to the lost lands of the Brinewall. Hired by the kingdom to join this expedition, I burn to explore a new land. Let this journey renew me as well.

Wizard, fire elementalist, joining as a specialist from Varisia, possibly with a dark past

Hey, I'm looking for thoughts on Belanos' 2nd level fighter feat. Weapon focus gives a sort of duelist feel to him. Furious Focus makes him more of a get'em type.
What do ya'll think?

swings new sword a few times

"Nice. Good balance, comfortable heft. I'm going to enjoy using this."

frowns, realizing what he said

"I mean, using this to protect the rights and honor of the people."

Did I end up with a missle weapon from somewhere? And is it OK for me to take a bag of holding? A pack would ruin the hang of my Uniform coat.

Dahling, that sounds Fabulous!

nathan blackmer wrote:

Oh, my group is starting King Maker next week. Any suggestions for a character?

I'm running a Kingmaker game. The game is different from others - it gives you a good chance to try different character than would work in your typical campaign.

Some interesting things in Kingmaker:

This is a long running campaign. Age and longevity can actually be a factor

Lots of outdoor adventuring - this is a really good chance to try a mounted character and get good use out if it.

Lots of wilderness adventuring. At least one person in the group should be comfortable outside the city!

Check the player's guide (free pdf here) if you haven't. It's easiest for everyone to pick a rulership role from the beginning so your stats will fit the role you wish to take and there's more party unity.

I'm also running Kingmaker. For 8 players. Bleh. Games here grow to include the regulars, so end up big.

Anyway, the most crucial characters in the game so far (near end of book two) have been:
Fighter- started with tower shield and long sword, moved on to reg shield. Has held the line in every combat so far- he's specialized in defense but has been a strong damamge dealer as well
Sorcerer- red dragon bloodline. Is the Baron and has been using fire spells successfully (because it works)
Druid- Scout and K(Nature), primary support caster.
Bard- Player is a strong role-player who has been decisive out of combat and the bard/bard bonus goes a long way with a large group.
The other players are cleric, wizard, ranger, and a kobold ninja.

Because of the large group, they're running behind on loot, but it hasn't slowed them down.

Grimjack is the street name of John Gaunt, a sword-for-hire, ex-paramilitary, war veteran and ex-child gladiator. He operates from Munden's Bar in the Pit, a slum area of Cynosure, a pan-dimensional city to which all dimensions connect.

Don't forget the time he spent playing combat rock and defending the Heart of Rock and Roll.

Absolutely. But it may work until 3rd level when you get a new spell and a bloodline spell. And a feat.
Though I did have a really good time with an Enlightened Fist (?) in Ebberon. A prestige class for arcane caster / monk.

Does feint work against undead? He's got a good bluff and a long stick.
And the view is better for Belanos if Erfan is behind him, using that long spear. Heh, heh. Behind

to go with the obvious

niel wrote:

Is that a carp on his banner pole?

Is that a serious question or are you being koi?

Something seemed fishy about that banner pole.

Is that a carp on his banner pole?

Good to hear.

How's the family?