Here's one thing that's been bugging me, mdt. The cover page says "great majestic skyships powered by elementals". One of the languages we can learn is Auran. Now, we have winged humanoids, I get the language, if only for the technicality. But where are these magical summoned or planar-bound elementals coming from? And wouldn't they explode in the magic storms? Do the skyships have fire elemenals running the steam engines, or air elementals in genie bottles to drive the sails?
Detect Magic says that Elementals, along with Outsiders, aren't magical by themselves. Now, the actual binding process, on the other hand, may or may not be magical.
In addition, the only way they detect as magic is if they're summoned, which means that if they're Planar Allies, for example, or from some other variant of Calling, or brought back via planar travel, or what have you, they'd be fine.
I'll put the same post here that I have elsewhere.
I've been stuck in a situation where I can very seldom post, so if I need to be botted, please feel free to do so.
I'm in a real pinch IRL, so I seldom have time to be online at all. Sorry for any difficulties this causes, but I'm trying to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.
As Alister points out, Elemental's are not, in and of themselves, magical. Unless they are summoned.
If you check the psion list, you'll see Planar Travel. Unlike magic users who enslave elementals, the Atalantian travel to the elemental plane, and negotiate with the powers of those planes. A hundred years of services to something that is effectively immortal isn't a major thing, especially since they mostly only need pure file and water elementals, who are usually loyal to a higher power who can be negotiated with.
No problem Alister, it's the holidays, everyone is a bit hectic for everyone.
I'm in 'hold' mode for now. I am waiting for everyone to say they are done RP'ing/Getting to Know the new people.
I'm good, I figured I took a bit of the spotlight earlier, so I'll let other people have it for now.
So far we've only shared names. I'm waiting on Selvan, since Connor was near-unconscious at the time. Then there's the "sizing up" talk that we need. :)
Connor - expendable meatshields (Astral Construct), recon (psicrystal), and brains :) Along with the only healing. Soon to pick up lockpicking.
Alister - meatshield & close-range hammer-time
Reaghar - mid-range attacks (along with lockpicking?), tattoo-maker, luck-changer
Elrohir - far-range bow attacks, sniper
Alys - up close & personal attacks
Sammark - mid-range attacks
Selvan - connector/communicator & tactician
If we get any moola out of this Connor's going to get psionic tattoos of Natural Healing, Inertial Armor, Force Screen, and Vigor for everybody.
As Alister points out, Elemental's are not, in and of themselves, magical. Unless they are summoned.
If you check the psion list, you'll see Planar Travel. Unlike magic users who enslave elementals, the Atalantian travel to the elemental plane, and negotiate with the powers of those planes. A hundred years of services to something that is effectively immortal isn't a major thing, especially since they mostly only need pure file and water elementals, who are usually loyal to a higher power who can be negotiated with.
Actually, mdt, Astral Caravan is far lower in level, albeit the voyagers need Sustenance and Astral Traveler as well. I once played an Elocator who had a history of using Astral Caravan to go to the Plane of Earth to pick up mundane crystal and deep crystal.
Well, if you knew the answer, why'd you ask? :) Just wanting to show up the GMs knowledge on psi powers? :)
No, I didn't know the answer - the elementals could have come from anything. Even trade with magicians on the surface. I was just wondering which was stronger and more widespread, the elementals or the steam engines.
Who said they aren't the same? :)
What they do is bind a water elemental and fire elemental into a single engine. The water elemental provides water, the fire elemental provides heat, and you have a perpetual steam engine.
Man, mdt. I was aiming for a prank, not an R-rated response. 8-o I didn't expect Alsatia to get all serious. Consider Connor chastised. (And Hero furious at being left out.)
Gotta admit, last time Kalvant saw Selvan, he was drunk.
Heigh-ho, hello, it's off to the skyships we go... ;)
Losing all our stuff isn't so bad, as long as we can get it back later, in theory. Here we go with only the clothing on our backs into Level 2. Usually my characters cannot afford extradimensional storage until Level 3, or even Level 5, but being a Shaper with Call Item and Ectoplasmic Creation is looking better and better. (My characters are always packrats.) So if Connor can score even a Belt Pouch of Holding, he'll ask for it before we get onboard.
Connor's doing all the talking here, and taking all the GM-derived damage. :) C'mon guys (and gal), don't make me do all the hard work here...
Reaghar is taciturn, especially when folks get face-kicked for being talkative.
Reaghar didn't have a lot of stuff really, most of it was stuff that can be carried in small pouches.
That said, is this essentially a total gear and gold reset? If so, what are the parameters for new equipment?
Heigh-ho, hello, it's off to the skyships we go... ;)
Losing all our stuff isn't so bad, as long as we can get it back later, in theory. Here we go with only the clothing on our backs into Level 2.
Kalvant waves a hand. "It's been impounded. If there's something you especially need, I'll get someone to sneak it out. Otherwise, it can wait until you're rehabilitated. That's actually help, now that I think about it. All new equipment, some new haircuts, hair dye, keep you from looking like yourselves until you get out of town."
Well, I'd planned on just having him let you all get reasonable equipment from the Mintakia Security supplies (Which is both what they buy, and what they confiscate from criminals). I was basically going to let everyone outfit at level 2 with WBL (1,000 gp).
Ok, everyone work up their level 2 character selves.
I'll be available for questions, queries, and posers.
I am not planning on advancing the plot until after Christmas (not because I don't have time, but because I don't want to interfere with other's plans).
You can continue to RP with yourselves, I'll eventually have Alsatia and Mirandi come back. I plan on posting a game update either Thursday or Friday night.
You can assume you can get ahold of anything that's not totally amorally illegal from Mintakia Security stores (and even then, you can ask). :)
Full WBL for level 2.
Well, I'd planned on just having him let you all get reasonable equipment from the Mintakia Security supplies (Which is both what they buy, and what they confiscate from criminals). I was basically going to let everyone outfit at level 2 with WBL (1,000 gp).
Not complaining, mdt. I appreciate the free gold for Level 2 resupply. It's just a reset on our material goods. :)
You can assume you can get ahold of anything that's not totally amorally illegal from Mintakia Security stores (and even then, you can ask). :)
Full WBL for level 2.
Whoot! Level 2! I sincerely wonder if it is worth asking for a Belt Pouch of Storing based upon the Classic Treasures Revisited Minor Bag of Holding. It'd be 1,000 gp; I'd wipe out all my gold (unless mdt allows the gold coin Connor has on his person - 70 gp). The team would have no healer's kits, thieves' tools, or bloodblock then. Oh well. :) I'll go for masterwork tools instead.
Question for item creation, mdt: in past games I have "kits". I calculate what it would take to scribe a scroll of 1st level and pay the cost up front, carrying the materials for future use. No need to stop in a town to make a scroll. Can Connor buy "kits" of needles and gemstone ink for Reaghar to tattoo with? I.e., 75 gp of "tattoo materials" would allow for 3 1st Level tattoos or 1 2nd Level tattoo.
Yeah, no spending all your gold on one item. :)
25% Offense, 25% Defense, 50% other.
I'm willing to be flexible on that stuff, obviously (A MW weapon is 300+GP, which is more than 250GP, but if you want one, that's fine). But try to keep it in that general range.
If you have a craft skill or crafting feat, you can absolutely buy raw materials and carry them with you for use in the field to craft on the move. Just remember the crafting rules for crafting on the move. Ship time crafting usually follows town rules unless it's something very sensitive to sudden movements (like explosive alchemy or something).
Also, you may want to put a point into Profession (Sailor) as everyone is going to get a crash course in it prior to leaving, so they aren't baggage on the trip.
I've also added some 'story arc 2' stuff you can look at in the Campaign tab. I won't answer questions just yet, at least specifics about the story arc or characters. You can ask about the ships on a general level if you want.
Well, there's a monkey wrench. :)
I guess we may end up with split plots again. :)
If someone doesn't have the energy to talk him into it, I might make up a temporary character to play until you find a good place to bring him back in.
If someone doesn't have the energy to talk him into it, I might make up a temporary character to play until you find a good place to bring him back in.
I like a challenge. :)
Ah, forgot about that Sammark. :) We'll see how things go. If need be, you can make a temp character certainly. Level would stay the same no matter what (IE: If the group levels up during the plot, Sammark would too doing work for Kalvant).
Hey Sammark? Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just OCD and I always check over things.
Sammark HP :
Level 1 : 8 + 1 (Con) + 2 (Psionic Body)
Level 2 : 5 + 1 (Con) + 2 (Combat Manifestation)
11 + 8 = 19
Did you roll for HP and I just missed it? Or am I missing something that gives you another 2 hp?
Favored Class? Did I forget to list that somewhere?
Yep, that would be it. :)
Just do me a favor and put that in where you have HP and we're good.
Man, mdt. I was aiming for a prank, not an R-rated response. 8-o I didn't expect Alsatia to get all serious. Consider Connor chastised. (And Hero furious at being left out.)
Who said Alsatia was serious? She was having fun making Connor blush. :)
I believe I will take average for HP, this way I can make sure I get a solid amount of HP per level.
1st Generation : 1st Generation Airships use balloons to provide lift, along with fire elementals to heat the air to a very high temperature and keep it there, providing lift. 1st Generation ships are slow, ungainly, and easily crashed by Dragons. There are only a few 1st gen ships still in service, and only used around the islands themselves. There are also smaller 'sport' craft that use the same concept but are under 20 or 30 feet and used for fun.
2nd Generation : 2nd Generation Airships use wood from the Plane of Wood to ignore gravity. They are slow however, and require a lot of sail to move, since the wood tends to resist movement. They are therefore quite slow, but they never crash (except into floating things). Getting one to raise or lower requires a great deal of effort or very strong up or down gusts. Most 2nd Generation ships are only used around the islands, where a more modern ship can haul them up or down if they get out of alignment. Many families use them as housing now, as they are all rather large. They are somewhat vulnerable to fire.
3rd Generation : 3rd Generation Airships have been the workhorses of the Atalantian Navy for hundreds of years. They use wood made of Anrivan Magebane trees. Magebane trees have adapted to use the insane amounts of magic they live in to actually live off of. They absorb magic through their very trunks and leaves. The wood, once dead, will still absorb magic and use it to regenerate over time. This acts as a major defense against dragons, as even their breath is absorbed by the wood, limiting their damage capacity. Third Generation ships have air elementals bound into their structure, and use water elementals to fill containers with water for balast to descend or ascend more quickly than the air elemental's can do.
4th Generation : 4th Generation Airships use the same Magebane construction as the 3rd Generation ships, but use more control surfaces and directed ducting engines. These engines are powered by bound fire and water elementals, producing steam engine that turns turbines that turn fans, or else the steam itself is ducted out to form propulsion. 4th Generation ships are significantly more maneuverable than 3rd generation ships, and can bank and turn rapidly. Some 4th generation ships contain Planar Wood, Mithral, or both in their construction, but it's only in limited manner.
5th Generation : 5th Generation Airships use a complex combination of Mithral Metal, Planar Wood, and Magebane Wood to make an extremely strong and light ships. They can be built much larger and better armored than 4th generation ships, or they can be built much smaller and sleeker with better reaction speeds. Larger ones can mount massive cannons for firepower that can ruin the day of even a great wyrm. They are almost non-recognizable as sailing ships, and rarely use sails for anything other than control surfaces.
I believe I will take average for HP, this way I can make sure I get a solid amount of HP per level.
Good to go then.
I don't suppose you'd allow me a composite(+1) masterwork longbow, would you? Sadly, since it seems we lost our starting gear, it would cost the full 550g, as I no longer have the base composite bow(+0).
Planar wood - zounds, you've reinvented upsy-daisym from Rocky & Bullwinkle! Or the floating stones from Vision of Escaflowne anime.
@Elrohir - Given you're an archer Elrohir, yes, I can go along with that. You'd have needed a new one anyway, I'm one of those nasty GMs that don't let you rebuild a bow once it's built, and don't allow the masterwork spells. But like I said, I can be flexible to some extent.
@Connor - Basically. It doesn't repel gravity, it just ignores it. You can push it if you push it hard enough, up, down, left, right, but if you just leave it alone it floats there, not moving (other than relative motion imparted by the universe itself). Basically, it sticks itself into reality and ignores anything that it doesn't want to pay attention to.
So, if my Str ever increases to get a +2, I'll need a brand new bow? Ouch.
Or, in a level or two, you get Adaptive on it, and then you never worry about it again. Straight gold cost, not level adjust.
If Connor keeps it up, I really will need to make that temp character.
MDT- would you mind if I used the Feral Heart Soulknife Archetype from Psionics Augmented?
As long as it's dreamscarred press, I'm fine with it. But you'll need to send me the details, they don't have it on the pfsrd site. And I don't have my PDF of the new dreamscarred press printing where they combine everything in one book yet.
Because Sammark and Selvan would be oh so sad to be away from each other. :P
To be fair here there's almost literally nothing that could be said by anyone in the group that would make Sammark change his mind.
Probably, but Selvan sure manages to go out of his way to make himself look like a bigger fallic object.
Probably, but Selvan sure manages to go out of his way to make himself look like a bigger fallic object.
In my head he sounds like Alan Rickman playing the part of Elrond.
If Connor keeps it up, I really will need to make that temp character.
MDT- would you mind if I used the Feral Heart Soulknife Archetype from Psionics Augmented?
#$%&!
More roleplay, more roleplay, more roleplay! :)
As a side note, as we are all getting the 1,000 gp equipment reset, may I recommend everybody getting a Psionic Tattoo of Natural Healing and/or a vial of bloodblock (APG)? For 25-50 gp you'll get the low-level stabilize on yourself from another when you fall in battle again. Since we don't have a dedicated healer pul-leaze buy some individual healing for yourself, don't make the guy picking up the cross-class Heal skill pay for it all. :)
But yes, I'm buying a new healer's kit and several vials of bloodblock and some healing tattoos if mdt will allow it. Man, psions have it hard when it comes to healing, compared to the usual MagicMart with healing potions.
Buy anything you want within the guidelines previously provided.
If you have scribe tattoo, buy tattoo's at craft cost.
If you have Craft Alchemy, but alchemical items at cost.
If you have scribe tattoo, buy tattoo's at craft cost.
I will, mdt, thanks, but nobody has Natural Healing on their class list, and it has a range of "Personal", so that means full price.
I'm getting flashbacks of ROTC with the Supply Room or Fort Bragg when I was going through clothing issue. You stand at a counter and tell the guy behind it what you need, and he goes in the back and gets it for you. I wonder if it's the same here.
But I fully intend on putting the maximum (20) tattoos on Connor, with Reaghar's help. At Level 2 Connor picks up Force Screen (which Sammark also has if his character stays with us!) so he'll offer it as a tattoo to everyone else at half price. Just wait until we have downtime on the skyship.
You might ask Alsatia, who actually has it on her class list, and knows it, to expend it for the crafting of tattoo's.
You might ask Alsatia, who actually has it on her class list, and knows it, to expend it for the crafting of tattoo's.
That'll work. :) Let me get to it in the roleplay and ask Reaghar to use Alsatia while Connor is the canvas. :)
Edit: mdt, what's the weather and season like where we're going? Any hot or cold weather clothing or blankets needed?
If you ask, you'll be told you'll be travelling for about 6 months, and could end up anywhere from tropical to arctic, and should have appropriate clothes for all situations.
Ok, questions asked and answered! :)
Connor should be Level 2 now on his stats. I made a new tab on his Google Docs spreadsheet, so "Equipment List 2" shows the 1,000 gp list. Plus whatever Connor had on his person. We won't need much gold coin onboard a ship, just for the shore leave, if any. But 200 gp of tattoo ink and needles, a couple of power stones, more tattoos of Natural Healing that Connor will spread around, masterwork thieves' tools, a healer's kit and enough bloodblock vials for everybody, and lessons learned from the Battle for Kol's Hideout, like smelling salts. :)
I'm the kind of player who likes to level during the night, and wake up to a new level. So I'll hold off on the additional power points and powers during the library interaction. Connor should be able to make tools using Ectoplasmic Creation, which he'll practice at on the skyship.