GM ShadowLord's Rise of the Runelords Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master GM ShadowLord

Here's a place to discuss things.

Dot :)

Yay!

*Edit

There were a couple of things that I needed to ask about the archetype I am using from the acg and what your view on them.

1.) My weapon and Armor proficiencies change but it says nothing about the deities favored weapon. Because that is in a separate sentence in the cleric entry, does that mean that I am still proficient in the favored weapon of my god?

2.) One of the abilities prevents me from wearing any armor or shield (the exact wording is in my alias copy and pasted from the book), what I need to know is if that precludes the ability to wear bracers of armor, or benefit from spell effects that give an armor or shield bonus?

Love the concept of this archetype, just wish they had added the obvious ability of adding wisdom to ac, which they may have originally but cut the ability for space (there is another ability named in the entry that does not exist). I'll play it regardless because it is just too interesting of a concept to pass up, and I am curious to see how well I can negate the penalties/ how badly they hurt.

Jessica, for #1 from what I know, if the archetype is silent on a subject, then there is no change. You would be proficient with your deity's favored weapon.

#2 does prove difficult, doesn't it? It states you must be protected 'solely' by faith, then goes on to list armor and shields only. My ruling, right or wrong, is you can use rings/bracers. Although you also have the insta-sanctuary ability, that will become relatively unreliable once you guys progress to higher levels and the enemies can overcome the Will DC with ease.

Speaking of which, we need to formulate a strategy for said Adoration ability. PbP is a slow format, and I don't want to have to pause things every time an enemy attacks to see if you want to attempt to negate an attack. We could try something like 'Jessica will accept the attacks of incompetent minions A & B, but will attempt Adoration if Big Boss attempts to strike her' or something like that? Any suggestions on your part?

As it will become irrelevant fairly fast the way I would handle it is this order of precedence.
1.) First attack from bbeg
2.) First attack from 2-handed weapon.
3.) First attack from 1-handed weapon if hp <1/4.
4.) Try not use more than 1/4 total uses in a given fight unless near death or bbeg fight.

If it comes up that the order will need tweaking it can be tweaked as needed.
Does that seem reasonable?

Up side to low ac is most of my characters are sorcerers so I am used to it, just gotta work on getting miss chances.

That order seems fine, to me.

Any early comments on your potential companions?

Would mage armor from me help? And would those magical enhacing effects help?

As for potential players, I am looking for good rpers and classes that complement us.
If we take a skillmonkey that can alse fight frontline well, we could take another caster, preffed alchemist or summoner for versatility. Though a tank can be nice as well as I believe Kiley won't be using shields.

Rp wise for Tal I think I would have him be more of a ladies man to pass the time with just sex, and not at all interested in relationships. That comes later, potentially. Shall we wipe the slate clean from the previous rp thread? Or continue as is and have Tal just lie his way through things ;).

So yes he will be more obnoxious and arrogant in the beginning, but grow out of it.

As far as the couple of additionals we need, I know enough about the campaign to know that a ranger of some kind might be good, I rather like the idea of the trapper archetype someone mentioned though I am pretty open to anything as long as we have a way to deal with traps and find our way around. Due to my archetype another frontliner or switch hitter would be a very good thing.

As far as from specific proposed characters, I need to wait til a have a better means of reading them than my phone, and sorry for any major typos as I have a hard time typing on it without autocorrect driving me nuts.

*edit
Figures I needed to reply to a post made during typing.

Since it is a new gm I am as willing to let it reset as keep it, probably easier on our gm to reset that since he likely doesn't know about it and I would imagine not want to have to read it. That also sounds more like what I expected from Tal's original intro anyway. Always kinda figured he really would have just been wanting to get her alone and work his charms on her, hence why she grabbed the glaive on their "date".

I think everything that has happened up to date in the RP will be non-canon, and the slate will be wiped clean.

Alrighty. I'll pose the question again this evening, if I haven't had any input from you three. Otherwise you'll just have to live with the two I throw at you.

Ill try and post a decision this evening. I know the alias of the emerald duke is a great rper.

No shields, but I'm planning on Toughness and Dodge to help with making her more tanky, but she's supposed to be the sledgehammer, and I'm hoping to get her to where she can trip enemies and hit them hard while their down.

I'll look at the other characters and their players when I have a chance. I'll also get Kiley's profile updated and start post as her.

On the RP from the other recruitment, I'd like to wipe the slate clean, so we're free to elaborate a little on how we met each other, or just leave it at Tal's been here a while, and people who stay at the Rusty Dragon learn to not mess with the cook/waitress. ;)

(Also, I'm going to need to review Kiley's crunch, and I may just spring for toughness instead of weapon focus or power attack.)

I think the trapper ranger is a great archetype. He gets a tanky pet if he picks up boon companion.
Not sure why the guy went with 19 str though. Id suggest decreasing that and take some more wis or cha. I was also interested with the dwarven paladin as a tanky type. But same story with con.

I know I shouldn't say much with 20 int, but on Tal it works very well to have int as high as possible for more spells and versatility in languages and skills. Besides he IS a wuss strength wise and cha wise unless he really makes an effort in the latter category.

I would have to say with a 20 Int you have absolutely no business saying anything. LOL

Of course, every character benefits from having the highest possible score in their go-to stat, whether it be Int for Wizards, Wis for Clerics, Str for Melee fighters, Dex for Missile fighters, etc. I'm more interested in will the character mesh well with the existing party's skill set and from the little bit of observations (I'm assuming at least some of them participated in the RP banter of the previous thread) will they be a good fit RP wise.

I personally like the Monk character that Emerald Duke put out there. However, if he is the extra 'tank', that leaves both your front-liners as being punching bags for enemies, due to relatively low AC.

At least until Kiley can get some half-plate or something. :D

I'm not too worried about taking hits, I think a an AC 16 and 16 HP should keep her alive until level two. If I could finagle it without dumping more than I have, I'd try and bump up her con (May still do that with the dual talent trait, it's just losing that feat seems a little steep.)

I kinda like BoulderShoulder, though I'm not sure how well he'd mesh. I noticed we had two rangers, but no rogues, and I think only one bard, so pickin's there are mighty slim.

As far as BoulderShoulders, I think it would make a good addition since he will be useful to have a definite tank edging him slightly ahead of Vivi for that reason.

As far as I can tell only the slayer and ranger are completed so far. Both could be interesting, I like both of their back stories, but I am not sure which one appeals to me more. Either one would help to eliminate the drawback of having Vivi instead of a true tank since it is one more to help soak up some damage, especially if Kiley ends up tweaking her build like she is thinking about.

I think ultimately I would lean slightly towards Boulder for the tank factor but the rest I am up in the air over. I would kinda like to see a slayer played just to see how the class works out, but not so much as to make that any real criteria for a choice.

I'd pick Delendir over Mordecai, but I'm cool with either. As for Boulder and Vivi, I think either of them would work. I'd honestly like to see Vivi get picked because the potential for intrigue is very interesting, kinda like what you'd get with a Jade Regent in reverse. That said, I think my top three (in no particular order) would look like this:

Delendir and Boulder
Boulder and Vivi
Delendir and Vivi

(yes, there's a reason I'm running two games with double strength parties.)

I'll have Kiley updated tonight. She's definitely going to be more tanky, so that may affect the decision.

Okay, updates done! Forgot Scale is only a +5 to AC, but she's at least a little harder to hit, and she still packs a wallop.

For me it is boulder and delendir.
I was split between boulder and vivi. But we truly need something tanky, at least at first.
Delendir because I think we can have a lot of fun with traps :). I can invis him and he sets em up. Then me or someone else lures them in. I hate traps sometimes so it will be fun to have monsters experience it :).

As for boulder and vivi. Hard. So hard to pick. It is mostly that I do not know what to make of the monk class. They never really appealed to me.
Later on it won't matter much because I will control the bajezus out of our enemies.
So I can be converted if someone can elaborate it.

Tanky, for sure, but 15 AC? Sheesh. I hope he wears his scars with pride.

Ok...we have a dwarf ranger and a Desna Cleric added to the list. I think that's it. So, we have:

Delendir the Ranger (Trapper)
Mordecai the Slayer
Vivi the Monk
BoulderShoulder the Paladin
Ulfgar the Ranger (Divine Tracker) with dips into Inquisitor
Cade the Cleric

What say you all? Give me your three preferences, listed in order of awesomeness.

Hmm, I think my choices are:

1. Vivi
1. Delendir
3. BoulderShoulder

Delendir. Then either boulder or vivi. Still undecided :( but slight pref for boulder as I like to see the archetype in action.

Ok, so far we have:

1 - Vivi & Delendir
2 - Delendir & Boulder
3 - Boulder & Vivi

Me personally, I like:

Mordecai
Vivi
Boulder

That gives us:

1 - Mordecai, Vivi, Delendir
2 - Vivi, Delendir, Boulder
3 - Boulder, Boulder, Vivi

What do you say, Jessica?

I am having a hard time deciding really. I am not as concerned about the early squishiness of the monk with Kiley's tweaks in place and Vivi's taking feats to help with his ac will make him a bit harder to hit. Boulder's story seems to tie in better to me, but I think either would be good.

I think I like the feel of Delendir a bit better, though I would be interested to see a slayer in action and he would get the trap abilities in fairly short order. Overall on this one I think I lean in favor of Delendir.

Soooo:
1.) Delendir (only barely though)
2.) Vivi -or- Boulder (really can't decide between them)

1 - Mordecai, Vivi, Delendir, Delendir
2 - Vivi, Delendir, Boulder, Boulder
3 - Boulder, Boulder, Vivi, Vivi

Assigning weights of 3,2,1, we have scores of:

Delendir - 8
Mordecai - 3
Boulder - 6
Vivi - 7

Looks like it is Delendir and Vivi, then. Although, I will add that Delendir will have to adjust his buy down by 60 gp, though.

Alrighty...let's start my once-overs for equipment. Kiley, looks like you have 201 gp worth of stuff. Let me know if my math is wrong.

Tal has WAY too much stuff, but I think he knows that, from talking to him.

Teacher's Pet, Jessica, is right on the money.

Delendir is over by about 60 gp (based on the 200gp previous recruitment)

Vivi is also right on.

Reevaluated equipment based on starting gold. Should be spot on now :).

Where will we start with the rp?

Sandpoint Faithful Trait gives you a free silver holy symbol. I don't know where the extra gold piece is from.

Ok, fair enough on the holy symbol.

Equipment:

Scale - 50
4 Daggers - 8
Gladius - 15
Halberd - 10
Backpack - 2
Cooking Kit - 3
Silk Rope - 10
4 Rations - 2
Waterskin - 1

Total - 101

Of course, for the stuff in the Core Rulebook, I'm going by the original prices, so if those have changed in future printings, just let me know.

Tal, does a flask of acid only cost 5gp now? My core rulebook says 10. Also, the bolts for your crossbow cost 2 gp, so you're overspent, anyway.

It's possible that it was bought as one of the kits from ult equip which are sold at a discounted price, though it seems a few things are missing if that was the case. I really should add what all came in mine just so it is spelled out.

*edit
Oh, and how picky are you about carrying capacity?

I am not going to make you account for coin weight, but you should keep track of the rest of your gear to make sure. Movement speed accounts for a lot of tactical decision-making, so you guys have to make the decision between traveling light and fast, or having lots of stuff and moving slower. :)

K, I'll make sure to keep track of it then.

*edit
I repurchased equipment to lighten my load, I doubt I will be carrying most of it unless we are actually outside of the town.

Ok, fair enough on the holy symbol.

Equipment:

Scale - 50
4 Daggers - 8
Gladius - 15
Halberd - 10
Backpack - 2
Cooking Kit - 3
Silk Rope - 10
4 Rations - 2
Waterskin - 1

Total - 101

Of course, for the stuff in the Core Rulebook, I'm going by the original prices, so if those have changed in future printings, just let me know.

No kits, but I obviously got something for free that I shouldn't have. I'll just knock a GP from her purse and we should be golden.

Dotting, appreciate the vote of confidence and the chance to work with everyone.

Well folks, thank you for the consideration. I appreciate how difficult it was for you to decide and I understand how close it was. Good luck and have fun.

Glad to have you. Now, lets go bash some goblin heads!

:D

Delendir reporting here!
I fixed the money issue taking a heavy flail while I get the money to fix my family falchion (that was exactly 60gp difference).
I was planning to support the party with skills while regarding combat get a mixture of melee and ranged to support the true killers. I am more than open to suggestions in order to better mesh with the party both with respect to statistics and background.
On getting the trapper skills I had to sacrifice all the spell casting, including the use of wands and scrolls.
I hope we will have really good time here :-)

We have a specialist wizard and a specialist cleric, so I don't think spellcasting will be an issue. Unless one of them gets dropped. Then you're in trouble.

I plan on starting using my unarmed strikes to pummel anything I need to (same damage as my kamas, better chance to hit while I am waiting to get improved two weapon fighting) unless I am fighting something that needs to be slashed.

If I am reading it right, I should be able to use my defensive boost and flurry (for a combined negative of -2 to attack) and have it just cancel out my MAB of 2 from strength... so hopefully my raw luck will be decent.

MAB? Manly Attack Bonus?

Blush Melee Attack Bonus (vice RAB or Ranged Attack Bonus).

Well, now I feel silly.

Tal, I believe your spell save DC's are one higher than they should be. Your non-conjuration 1st levels should be DC 16 (level 1 + 5 Int) and conjuration should be DC 17 (+1 for spell focus). In addition, your snowballs should only be doing 1d6 points of damage.

As far as RP goes, you can start wherever you would like. Just coming into town, chilling at the Rusty Dragon, etc. For all who are Sandpoint residents (Tal, Kiley, Delendir?), please be reasonable as far as NPC interaction. Kiley, for instance, should know Ameiko Kaijitsu very well, but I will frown upon players that ask for favors and such from 'known' NPC's.

Great! I think Vivi will just be entering Sandpoint, hoping that he is in time for the festivities.

Jessica is only arriving the evening before with a supply caravan she rode with.

Tal, I also noticed that your prohibited element is 'water'. Therefore, I think you would need to expend 2 spell slots for that Snowball, if you still want it. I will let you exchange it for another spell before we get started, if you'd like.

I'll post an intro sometime later this evening. I will be out of pocket for a good chunk of tomorrow (executive meeting...blah blah blah), but feel free to RP with each other and your environment, keeping in mind my caution from above.

Vivi nods to the mysterious voice from the heavens' instructions.

"I will be careful in my dealings with those residing in Sandpoint, oh great Kami. Please bless my journey with fun and excitement in this strange land."

Some dcs and cls got upped by the rotrl trait. Good call on snowball I missed that so will switch it out for something, but I will have to figure out what.

Doh on the acid flask. Thought it was low but I had to redo inventory so often it got messed up some. Without it, I should be in the clear with the bolts and 3 spare gold correct?

I wanted to have Niska as aunt and she is the one that fuels my drawback. Sending me on silly requests like in my rp background. In there you also see my relationship with Ameiko. Are you ok with these? Niska wouldn't let Tal get away with anything for free. Favor for a favor.
Same with Ameiko.

Note to the residents. Tal is known as Tal or Talwin. He took a fake name to hide from a certain duke.

Gear looks good now. Hmmmmm...I don't know about the drawback. I had kind of made it clear I wanted to approve any drawbacks, in case I either didn't like them or thought they wouldn't get much use (and therefore would hardly be a drawback). I'll let it stand.

As for Ameiko/Niska, you can know the one and be the nephew of the other, no problem. Just don't make any assumptions of what they will do for you or how they will react to things. As you said, nothing for free.

I see the trait now. Gonna exchange out snowball there, as well, I am assuming? :)