Hi,
i´m about to start the AP with my friends.I´ve chosen a human monk with the vow of poverty.Is that a good choice for the AP?Also our DM is not such a Deathmate:)
Please do not bost any spoilers!
So far, this seems to be one of the most favorable AP's for monks, at least so far as I have seen.
Sounds good.Until what point are`ya?
Hi,
i´m about to start the AP with my friends.I´ve chosen a human monk with the vow of poverty.Is that a good choice for the AP?Also our DM is not such a Deathmate:)
Please do not bost any spoilers!
From what I have heard any class that has high saves or immunities to disease or poison would be good in a jungle environment. Think Cholera, Typhoid and other funky illnesses and lots of poisonous snakes and critters. How many are in the AP, who knows, but it makes sense to be prepared.
The Monk's flavor is a little weird for the AP (but IMO the Monk's flavor is weird for 90% of campaigns/modules available for purchase, so take that with a grain of salt).
A Monk would be decently capable in this AP. There are no "red flags" with that class choice. (Unlike say, "Cavalier", which you really shouldn't take in this AP.)
Of course, the composition of the rest of your party, yadda, yadda, etc, matters more than your own individual choice.
However, the Vow of Poverty is cause for concern for two reasons:
1) There's a lot of really "cool" magic items in this AP. They're not nessecarily "powerful" but Paizo raised the bar as far as "really fun items" in this particular go-around. By choosing VoP you are denying yourself this bit of fun. Again, it won't make you weaker, but you'll have to watch all of your party members doing crazy stuff that you can't touch for longer than a round.
Also, some of these items might be plot-items. Sure, you can always have another party-member hold the plot-item, but then you're not a candidate for the spotlight, which disappoints some people.
2) The other concern I can't really go into with spoilers. So just ask your DM if he's "sure" that "VoP is a good idea in this module", and ask him to take a 2nd look. Sorry I can't be more specific than that!
Flavour-wise, a monk may not seem so out of place. I haven't read the player's guide for Serpent's Skull, but I do know that (without spoiling much at all), The Red Mantis capital city Ilizmagorti, is a destination choice for PCs when they board in the very beginning. There is a nice write-up on the city in "Cities of Golarion". Although an assassins' guild, I don't think a monk would be too strange in a city devoted to pirates. Maybe he's an aspiring assassin, a prodigy who is being scouted by the Red Mantis...or maybe he has something to run from, or just trying to achieve enlightenment through travel. An inspired player can find a place for a Mammoth Lord in Osirion, so don't let that trouble you.
The Monk's flavor is a little weird for the AP (but IMO the Monk's flavor is weird for 90% of campaigns/modules available for purchase, so take that with a grain of salt).
A Monk would be decently capable in this AP. There are no "red flags" with that class choice. (Unlike say, "Cavalier", which you really shouldn't take in this AP.)
Of course, the composition of the rest of your party, yadda, yadda, etc, matters more than your own individual choice.
However, the Vow of Poverty is cause for concern for two reasons:
1) There's a lot of really "cool" magic items in this AP. They're not nessecarily "powerful" but Paizo raised the bar as far as "really fun items" in this particular go-around. By choosing VoP you are denying yourself this bit of fun. Again, it won't make you weaker, but you'll have to watch all of your party members doing crazy stuff that you can't touch for longer than a round.
Also, some of these items might be plot-items. Sure, you can always have another party-member hold the plot-item, but then you're not a candidate for the spotlight, which disappoints some people.
Actually i´m quite aware of not having all the cool magic shinyones.But VoP is gonna make it worth in all ways.I´m shure!Also playing a monk for years i realized that magic items which are specificly desinged for them are very expensive for all leveltypes (low,high and epic). That was another reason why i have chosen the VoP.Something else i realized is that in most AP´s Designers never think of putting magictitems for monks in treasure.So the DM always has to pick something exotic.In 80% of the cases i had to remind my DM´s which got me freaking out.
Oh, and i´ll be thrilled whats gonna happen to our Cavalier:)in the AP if you say so.
I'm not sure I'd agree with the Cavalier sentiment.
[spoiler=Some Minor Spoilers, Maybe] Much of the AP is outdoors so far. If I were DMing this, I'd allow the horse to make it to Smuggler's Shiv, and be rescued if it survived. The first three APs could be really good for a Cavalier. Yes, there are part where the horse would be left behind for certain dungeons. And yes, it sounds like Vaults of Madness and beyond may be near impossible to bring along a horse. However, I'd do my best to not gimp this facet of the PC if I could. And I would suspect that by that level, he/she would figure out a way to bring along her animal companion via magic. /spoiler]
Gray, the only problem I see with what you're saying is the nature of the terrain. Check out the top of page 13. The way James is describing the terrain, I'm not sure a horse could navigate that. Steep hillsides, trackless swamps, dense jungles. He lists a very steep overland movement (1 mile per 2 hours!). Of course, he notes that is a simplified rate to be used for this setting. Finally he sums it up with the final sentence.
...that it's never possible to move in a straight line in the wilds of Smuggler's Shiv.
Not at least until you get to the trails (which are of course laden with traps!). Based on that, I think recommending would-be cavaliers to reconsider their class choice is still a good idea.
Right now, I'm telling my Druid PC he could move faster than the party, if he wants to venture off alone. He's not interested. :)
And as always, everyone is free to run it the way they see fit.
guys, seriously, if you want to have fun playing this game, stop making optimized characters for certain situations.
Back in the old days, before anyone knew anything about what the DM was going to do, you just made a character and come what may!
Want to play a monk? Play one.
Improvise, adapt, over come!
ROLE play!
download the companion it will tell you stuff without spoilers if you want to avoid taking a useless charcter for a certain AP.
In my opinion there arent alot of APs where cavaliers can get alot of use from mount,
or maybe you shouldnt make a druid with a aquatic companion for example,
but other than that BE suprised!
Trust me, its fun!
We have had tons of fun with the with dwarf paladin in the heavy armor in the jungle.
He's ill suited for this kind of adventuring, but he'll be danged if hes gonna suit down to studded leather!
(the druid has threatened to rust his armor while hes sleeping)
Gray, the only problem I see with what you're saying is the nature of the terrain. Check out the top of page 13. The way James is describing the terrain, I'm not sure a horse could navigate that. Steep hillsides, trackless swamps, dense jungles. He lists a very steep overland movement (1 mile per 2 hours!). Of course, he notes that is a simplified rate to be used for this setting. Finally he sums it up with the final sentence.
...that it's never possible to move in a straight line in the wilds of Smuggler's Shiv.Not at least until you get to the trails (which are of course laden with traps!). Based on that, I think recommending would-be cavaliers to reconsider their class choice is still a good idea.
Right now, I'm telling my Druid PC he could move faster than the party, if he wants to venture off alone. He's not interested. :)
And as always, everyone is free to run it the way they see fit.
Dude i wanted NO SPOILERS! If you don´t get it post somehwhere else okay?!!To avoid futher flaming i flagged your comment.I hope they lock this threat soon
Hi,
i´m about to start the AP with my friends.I´ve chosen a human monk with the vow of poverty.Is that a good choice for the AP?Also our DM is not such a Deathmate:)
Please do not bost any spoilers!
quite simply: in my opinion as a player in and also owner of this AP, a monk will do fine.
Dude i wanted NO SPOILERS! If you don´t get it post somehwhere else okay?!!To avoid futher flaming i flagged your comment.I hope they lock this threat soonGray, the only problem I see with what you're saying is the nature of the terrain. Check out the top of page 13. The way James is describing the terrain, I'm not sure a horse could navigate that. Steep hillsides, trackless swamps, dense jungles. He lists a very steep overland movement (1 mile per 2 hours!). Of course, he notes that is a simplified rate to be used for this setting. Finally he sums it up with the final sentence.
...that it's never possible to move in a straight line in the wilds of Smuggler's Shiv.Not at least until you get to the trails (which are of course laden with traps!). Based on that, I think recommending would-be cavaliers to reconsider their class choice is still a good idea.
Right now, I'm telling my Druid PC he could move faster than the party, if he wants to venture off alone. He's not interested. :)
And as always, everyone is free to run it the way they see fit.
I see no spoilers in what Watcher has written. There is nothing there you wouldn't find out from the description given on the back cover of book 1 or that given by any halfway competent DM asking if you want to play it.
I believe he's specifically referring to the reference to the trails and what may be found there. Warning someone about traps in a specific area seems pretty spoiler-ish.
A monk could be interesting. There are a lot of encounters where I imagine their abilities can be interesting. And a lot of the other martial classes are gimped by a lack of gear.
Just, for the love of god, take the Jungle Warrior Trait. No matter what you end up playing (except those who get woodland stride, obviously).
thats meta gaming, as the PCs set out they would have no idea they will have much to anything to do with jungles...
I could see a certain PC from the area had made a ranger or something, seeing as there are alot of jungles near by....
but the PCs dont set out intending to have jungle adventures and most of the starting campaign traits done have much to say about jungle origins for characters.
thats meta gaming, as the PCs set out they would have no idea they will have much to anything to do with jungles...
I could see a certain PC from the area had made a ranger or something, seeing as there are alot of jungles near by....
but the PCs dont set out intending to have jungle adventures and most of the starting campaign traits done have much to say about jungle origins for characters.
I know. But seriously, that AP has so much difficult terrain that it has made my wife consider switching out her character because she can't DO anything. Refluff it and call it something else, call it "Cloud-Step of the *insert your fictional order of monks here*" or whatever. Seriously, I am starting to HATE combat in this AP because of the CONSTANT bogging down and not being able to do squat. If I had not made my paladin a switch-hitter and thus viable with a bow, I would be spending at LEAST 2 out of 3 rounds of half the encounters in part 1 and 2 just moving two squares as a double move to get close to the action. It freaking sucks the fun out of it.
thats meta gaming, as the PCs set out they would have no idea they will have much to anything to do with jungles...
I could see a certain PC from the area had made a ranger or something, seeing as there are alot of jungles near by....
but the PCs dont set out intending to have jungle adventures and most of the starting campaign traits done have much to say about jungle origins for characters.
Eh when I GM I want a certain amount of metagaming during character construction when running something like an AP. I am planning on telling my players that I am planning on running a campaign set in a jungle setting with some Indiana Jones type ancient temple exploring involved, rather than spring the game on them with little or no explanation as to what sort of gaming experience they are about to face.
I don't want a player to create a charisma based rogue who specializes in dealing with cities unless they realize they are going to be playing a fish out of water type character. That might be fun for some and could turn into a great roleplaying opportunity but I always want my players to go into a long term themed game like an adventure path with at least a foundation to build a character concept that would be fun for them to play.
I know. But seriously, that AP has so much difficult terrain that it has made my wife consider switching out her character because she can't DO anything. Refluff it and call it something else, call it "Cloud-Step of the *insert your fictional order of monks here*" or whatever. Seriously, I am starting to HATE combat in this AP because of the CONSTANT bogging down and not being able to do squat. If I had not made my paladin a switch-hitter and thus viable with a bow, I would be spending at LEAST 2 out of 3 rounds of half the encounters in part 1 and 2 just moving two squares as a double move to get close to the action. It freaking sucks the fun out of it.thats meta gaming, as the PCs set out they would have no idea they will have much to anything to do with jungles...
I could see a certain PC from the area had made a ranger or something, seeing as there are alot of jungles near by....
but the PCs dont set out intending to have jungle adventures and most of the starting campaign traits done have much to say about jungle origins for characters.
There are loads of ways to mitigate the effects of difficult terrain. I would recommend getting the nimble steps line of feats for this particular AP, and boots of the jungle is nice outdoors. Get Ewan to cast fly on her once in a while, that should take care of the problem pretty well. Personally I love the tactical challenges the terrain in this AP offers, and remember that most npc's and monsters suffer just as much from the limited movement as you.
There are loads of ways to mitigate the effects of difficult terrain.
Just found a spell that would help a bunch; Feather Step - Bard/Druid/Ranger 1. If we can retroactively say we spent some of the party loot on a wand in Kalabuto, life would be so much better for us slow-pokes.
Not complaining about being challenged, I love variation, using terrain and being forced to think in new ways. Heck, when you are a full martial character, that is about the only variation in play you get. But that's also just it. When there is difficult terrain everywhere, it gets to be like a gore-flick, where it just gets to be too much.
There are loads of ways to mitigate the effects of difficult terrain.Just found a spell that would help a bunch; Feather Step - Bard/Druid/Ranger 1. If we can retroactively say we spent some of the party loot on a wand in Kalabuto, life would be so much better for us slow-pokes.
Not complaining about being challenged, I love variation, using terrain and being forced to think in new ways. Heck, when you are a full martial character, that is about the only variation in play you get. But that's also just it. When there is difficult terrain everywhere, it gets to be like a gore-flick, where it just gets to be too much.
That's true, luckily you are mostly done with jungle now, at least for a while. Now you have to worry about the hazards of ruins instead, not to say there won't be vegetation and such. I new about feather step, but wasn't sure if anyone in your party had access to that spell. As for retroactively buying a wand I think it is a bit late for that, so you will have to rely on the ranger and cleric for now. You will soon get access to new supplies however so you just have to be patient.