Well, you can't blame her really. She's a business woman, not a charity. :)
Since the weekend will be slow, everyone can spend their copious amounts of free time hitting 4th level. :) Congratz.
I'll give everyone until Monday to get back to Kelliart and level up.
So it's safe to presume that Grimjowl follows us all the way to the Kalliert gates? Nothing else happens?
How many days from Vuomik back to Kalliert?
Got Sam updated, numbers should be much less of an issue now.
Yep. You get 'ambushed' a couple of times, but it's just Grimjowl's folks standing up and then stopping when they hear his voice yelling at them to sit the **** down.
He breaks off when you are within sight of Kelliart and starts heading back into the savanna with his gems. Assuming nobody attacks him or anything.
About a week.
Got Sam updated, numbers should be much less of an issue now.
Sounds good, just update your spoilers to reflect the new numbers/level.
Yep. You get 'ambushed' a couple of times, but it's just Grimjowl's folks standing up and then stopping when they hear his voice yelling at them to sit the **** down.
He breaks off when you are within sight of Kelliart and starts heading back into the savanna with his gems. Assuming nobody attacks him or anything.
About a week.
I am sorely tempted to but I doubt he is dumb enough to lower his guard. Not going to start a fight unless we can render his mooks a moot point or I can guarantee that I'll be the only one to pay for my actions.
"I've got a little list, I know they won't be missed..."
Connor, as discussed before, is getting Cleanse Body (cure ability damage) and Empathic Condition Relief (cure condition). He could get Reconstruction, but as said before, it's a singular power to heal Hero the psicrystal, when the two other powers can heal team members. Connor will look for a roleplay reason to use magic to fix Hero.
If anyone is thinking about which powers to get, with our only healer about to retire & return as a non-mindpower Aegis (or whatever Tark the Ork decides), might I suggest a healing or protective power? Something like Biofeedback (dread 1, gifted blade 1, psion/wilder 2, psychic warrior 1, vitalist 1), Energy Adaptation, Specified (cryptic 2, gifted blade 2, marksman 3, psion/wilder 2, psychic warrior 2, vitalist 2), or Share Pain (marksman 2, psion/wilder 2, tactician 2, vitalist 2). Sam's already stated he's going for max damage in his specialty.
Selvan, with you leaving/transferring, I'm going to ask Reaghar with Connor to copy as many of your Natural Healing and Inevitable Strike powers into tattoos as possible when we get to Kalliert and get some downtime.
I was worried if no one got Animal Affinity (cryptic 2, egoist 2, psychic warrior 2, vitalist 2) that Connor couldn't craft Headbands of Vast Intellect et al, but with the new crafting rules (add 5 to the DC), it's not so much a mechanical problem as it is a roleplay problem. I still appreciate Bull's Strength or Cat's Grace in the beginning of a battle at my gaming table, however. And Reaghar's Hidden Pocket has uses outside of crafting Backpacks of Storage and Bags of Storage.
A few rules of thumb for powers:
1.) If you cannot manifest, get Psionic Tattoos.
2.) If the power is NOT on your list, get Psionic Tattoos.
3.) If the power IS on your list, get Power Stones (scrolls). Or Dojres (wands). Making non-augmented Power Stones of your highest-level powers helps save your daily psionic power points for augmented powers.
I figured we really needed a serious blaster.
I figured we really needed a serious blaster.
Also Sam's class features are setting him up for a good UMD if properly exploited, if we want to get our hands on some of the standby support wands or their psionic equivalents, Sam will likely be able to use them effectively soon. He's currently got a +12 so we should hold onto any Cure wands we run across for out of combat healing.
I figured we really needed a serious blaster.
No problemlo, Sam. Every team does. Like I said, the above are just suggestions. Reaghar's got options that could have made him a better lockpick than Connor. Connor could have gone the "protective" route instead of Jack-of-All-Trades. I think Selvan's looking at tanking options. Alys still has her unique "ghost-gun".
I just want to use tattoos and power stones to make everybody better. Vigor (maximized) before battle, Inevitable Strike before a shot/ray, Natural Healing (4th level - 12 hp) to get people above 0 hp in a single use, Entangling Debris and Energy Ray (4th level) from multiple people. And Astral Construct flankers everywhere.
Question: How familiar is the group with the stuff I do when I'm not b#~@%ing about selvan's inadequacies on the board?
Yes, Selvan/TarkXT, you write gaming guides. :) I've read your guides, and I'm re-reading your Summoner guide right now. But astral constructs are not eidolons. Like I've said to one of mdt's NPCs during the dragon-airship battle, "They make better servants than fighters." At least at low levels. I've had to wring every trait and feat that I could just to get a 7-round astral construct at Level 4. If it wasn't for the Advanced Constructs list, with the Utility option, Connor would be worse off than a typical conjuring Sorcerer. Because psions don't get (Summon) Mount at 1st Level. Constructs are not summoned monsters - they can't buff others, they can't speak other languages, they can't heal others. Astral constructs are basically summonable short-lived robots. Drones.
That being said, you can max out your Psion (Shaper) at 2nd Level. Everything else is your option as a player. I chose to take Connor the "make everything yourself"/self-healer/crafter route. I could have very easily gone gish. Or pure battlefield control. There's feats to extend range (Enlarge Power) and time (Extend Power) on astral constructs. It's going to be a while before Connor even considers getting them. He's crafting instead. Because (so far) crafting is faster than buying. Especially in mdt's unique anti-magical world within a magical world.
If anybody wants to see Connor's planned progression go to my Google Docs for Connor and click on the "Advancement" tab.
I think we're one of two psionic games on the Pazio boards advancing as we do with an all-psionic team. I think it's great, and can't wait to put theory to practicality as we level.
I'd just like to say I really appreciate all the info I've gathered via this game, for both my game world and how I intend psionics to work. I now feel comfortable talking to my people about making psionics characters, and on power levels and which classes are useful and which aren't and which are front loaded and which are rear loaded.
What language do the brothers and their sister speak?
Throwing a point in linguistics.
Gnoll, Tradespeak (Common)
Shopping list for Connor, presuming we get the time before our next "guard mission". Have to make sure this one is going South, or gets back to Kalliert within 28 of 38 days left.
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One-man cart (15 gp) - to haul all the stuff Connor brought back. Don't worry, Sam, you won't be doing the pulling. That's what astral constructs (Medium-sized) are for, at least outside the city (and prying eyes).
replacement parchment sheets (.8 gp) and scroll case (1 gp) to put them into
Traveler's Outfit (1 gp, 5 lbs.) with Griffon Mane (+2 to Fly checks) (+50 gp/lb.) (250 gp total) - a tad on the rich side, this might have to wait until we get back to the flying islands for that +2 to Fly checks
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The rest of the moolah with Connor will be divided between Psionic Tattoo making with Reaghar, and Connor's first Power Stones. Those will take a lot of time as well as money. I plan on making everyone each a 6-power Power Stone for "when you are at 0 pp in a battle", as well as a 4-to-6-power Power Stone each of your highest (or most used) powers. That's anywhere from 150 gp (75 gp to make, Connor makes them at half price for everyone) to 900 gp a stone. (25*manifesting level*power level) Connor will only ask for donations if you feel so inclined. This is "make the party better", after that almost-disastrous battle with Grimjowl. Feel free to spend money on better weapons, armor, etc. This is what Connor can do for the party, along with Sustenance.
Reaghar, mdt: Psionics Unleashed, Psionics Expanded were a little ambiguous - you had to look at three different locations for crafting time on Power Stones, for instance. Ultimate Psionics smoothed crafting time out:
"Scribing a psionic tattoo which costs under 250 gp requires 2 hours to create. Scribing a psionic tattoo which cost more than 250 gp requires one day." (p. 431)
"Power stones which cost 250 gp or less require only 2 hours to create. Encoding a power stone with a cost over 250 gp requires one day for each 1,000 gp of the base price (or fraction thereof)." (p. 430)
So the good news is, if Reaghar or Connor are crafting with a Cost (not Market Price, but the 1/2 price) of less than 250 gp, they can do it in two hours. This matters to Connor because the maximum a Power Stone can hold is six powers, but a crafting day is 8 hours long (8/2=4). But Connor's Psicraft skill is +12, and the rule "this process can be accelerated to 4 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item's base price (or fraction thereof) by increasing the DC to create the item by +5." means a DC 6 or DC 7 crafting can be accelerated to squeeze 6 powers into an 8-hour day. I'm hoping to get a ruling on the "regardless of the time needed for construction, a caster can create no more than one magic item per day" by saying one Power Stone is one "item". Obviously you cannot "stack" psionic tattoos, but it would be nice for Reaghar to be able to do 4 low-level tattoos in one day.
A negative ruling on this means 1 tattoo/power stone per day, which brings us into "crafting on the go", which is 4 hours squeezed down to 2 effective hours a day. Which is how I was planning on Connor "re-filling" depleted power stones each night.
The rest of the fancy-smancy crafting will have to wait until Level 5 with Craft Wondrous (Universal) Item.
The end result is Connor with about 20-35 gp left, Alys covered in tattoos, everybody else with a Power Stone or two, and a one-man cart to haul the 50-lb crate of vegetables and stuff in going South.
One stone is one item.
Our AC could use some work too, I don't know what powers are required to layer on +1s to armor psionically or if we can even find a proper crafter in this town willing to work with us long enough to psionically empower our armor but it might be something to keep in mind.
For now I'm interested in getting a couple of power stones of Energy Missile for when things go horribly south. Energy Missile is a 2nd level power so that would run me about 150 GP. I'll also fork over the funds for three basic tattoos of Natural Healing and two of the most powerful you can craft right now. The recent fight has me painfully aware of what I target I am.
Inertial Armor and Force Screen are pumpable. You should be able to do AC 19 with max Inertial Armor, AC 23 with Force Screen at Level 4.
Connor's plan for Power Stones:
Sammark - Power Stone of Energy Missile (2 Fire, 2 Cold, 2 Sonic) (900 gp, 3 pp each, 6 powers), Power Stone of Sustenance, Vigor (4th), Inertial Armor, Force Screen, Entangling Debris, and Energy Missile (Electricity) (475 gp, 13 pp, 6 powers)
Reaghar - Power Stone of Inevitable Strike (standard, +20), Prescience, Offensive (2), Vigor (4th) (2), Natural Linguist (425 gp, 14 pp, 6 powers)
as examples. I'll do a really long Gameplay tab post with a lot of spoilers for each person when the time comes.
The flaw with Tattoos/Power Stones is lack of variability. They're potions/scrolls, so you have to make them as low-powered and standardized as possible.
Either of those powers can be used to do armor enhancements that are psionic.
I'm sorry I was a bit distracted over the weekend. Will level up right away.
This level got me a lot of hit points and I also have twice as much range now. Maybe i get to hit things from more than a foot away now.
So we got the equivalent of 10 platinum for the job. have we sold the loot yet, and if so how much did we get? I'm having a little trouble catching up on all the information in the gameplay thread.
We just got back to Kalliert, Alys. We went back to our employer's place, got paid, and learned that the gnoll brothers' sister has said that the real owner of the place, the father gnoll, is back and wants to see us all. So no time to go shopping, this is probably the next job offer. But all three gnolls have indicated their father has a bit of a temper.
At least Elrohir is not here to put his foot in his mouth again. This is probably going to be like negotiating with the silver dragon.
We haven't seen the city guards mustering, so hopefully we don't get drafted into a dragon attack.
Okay, the Pazio board crashed twice on me today, the gremlins are at work again.
Ol' Gashan apparently has the half-fiend ability with binding contracts. (Connor failed his Perception check, big surprise, so I'm going off of Selvan's and Sammark's advice.) Sam's offered to take the handshake instead. I can't see anything wrong with it, how about you guys?
1.) Three weeks on contract as guards.
2.) We probably won't be allowed any 'side trips' this time
3.) We'll be back in Kalliert well before we have to slug it out going South.
Well, nothing's stopping you from butting in and taking the claw, Sam! :)
Word from Tenfa is that it won't matter who takes the shake. Time for Connor to grow up a bit.
"Grow up a bit." Whatever. It's only three weeks. Plenty of time before we have to go back to the airship. I'm just waiting for the second shoe to drop. It always does in this gnoll family.
Connor's Medium astral construct has a STR of 17. That's a light-medium-heavy of 86 lbs,less than 173 lbs, or less than 260 lbs. Two Medium-sized constructs with a hammock-like apparatus between them can still lift 520 lbs and run x3. Constructs don't have to worry about endurance or fatigue or nonlethal damage. Connor's constructs last 7 hours now.
So Connor's going to take a hammock (3 lbs) and make it a double-wide with a cloth backing. Put a harness on each end for the astral constructs to use, make them long enough that the wings on the backs of the constructs can flap freely. Half-elves weigh 110 lbs, according to the chart, let's make him 140 lbs with that studded leather armor, light mace, and miscellaneous. Sam's equipment is 29 lbs with his fighter's kit, 16 lbs with cold and hot clothing. 185 lbs total.
The palanquin will be constructed of spider-silk rope with waterproof canvas, a rectangular cover with thin wooden poles to keep the sun and rain off of Sam and the equipment, and have some padding and linen and pillows. (3+3+5+5+1+1+5+5) Thirty-one lbs total. Sammark can tie himself in with some spare rope. Two main harnesses of silk rope for the Medium lifters and two backup Small harnesses in case the big ones are attacked or to get Sam down when the big ones fade away. Connor can make the little ones 2 hours after the big ones, and keep rotating them every 7 hours.
185+31=216, still between Light and Medium, still leaving a 130-lb buffer at Medium for the two big constructs (but only leaving 50 lbs for the "Medium" lift for the 2 emergency astral constructs). So I would say no more than 50 lbs of cargo in the palanquin with Sammark, in bags he can move around or lie on. Maybe an 8-lb plywood sheet to lean against or sit on, reducing the cargo limit by 8 lbs to 42 lbs maximum. The cargo can be tied down, of course.
12 hours in a normal day's travel = 2 Medium and two Small constructs every 7 hours = 16 power points in a day, well under Connor's new 27 power point total.
What do you guys and gal think?
Yes, slave for Sam, allow him into the sky! He will rain death from on high.
Everybody doing okay? We're at another "no posts weekend". I know mdt is waiting on Reaghar and Alys' reply to the "binding" contract.
My RL gaming table is about the same - our bi-weekly game has fallen to once-a-month due to kids' birthdays and work problems. I've had a few kidney stone scares myself this August, and I came close to not gaming for a few days, if not weeks. The pazio.com boards have also been iffy this week. Copy-and-paste before you post!
But c'mon, guys, Connor's got gold pieces burning a hole in his pocket, and we're Level 4 now. I've got to figure out a way to build a hammock-litter for Sammark, go shopping, and craft Power Stones and Tattoos in just 3 days gameplay time. Most games, I'd be buying a masterwork weapon and a Handy Haversack by now. Instead, this anti-magic paranoia has me thinking in new ways. I hope everyone's having as much fun as I am.
I find it ironic that Sam's going to be twiddling his thumbs while he is traveling, and Sam has no crafting skills among us.
Just think of what we'll be like when we get back to the airships!
there were a lot of totals thrown around. How much gold did we actually get? if i understand correctly, it was only 10 platinum each.
10 platinum each, plus what we get from the sale of that armor is about 210 gp each. Whatever you decide to sell from Tenfa's city adds to that. Connor's then going to get down to "flight weight", with a few can't-do-withouts on the hammock with Sam.
Right now it sounds primarily that Connor's going to spend 1/2 on tattoo supplies and 1/2 on power stone supplies. Minus whatever it's going to take to craft that palanquin.
If I might suggest, Connor, you might want to, over the weekend while you're bored, create a loot sheet on your spreadsheet. Makes things easier for everyone.
I've got a "Loot" tab on my own spreadsheet, mdt, but it's only Connor's loot. I'll make a "Loot" tab on "Connor's Log", above on the links, and start working backwards on it.
Well, it pays to go back and look through the gaming story. It turns out Selvan and Sammark saved all the stuff from the first ambush - composite short bows, arrows, leather armor, studded leather armor, a little bit of coin. If nobody wants what is on the "Loot" tab on Connor's Log above, then we all get another 136.8 gp or 136 gp, 8 sp in local coin after selling the stuff.
In addition, there's what we got from the armory/vault in the underground halfling city. And even Tenfa's room. (Sammark made out like a bandit.) mdt, I didn't include what the rapier might be, how much coin was in that bag, or what the diamond was worth because you didn't tell us. Although I'd be very leery of selling anything from Tenfa's shrine. Like I said before, we should probably give that to the nearest halfing (which might be a continent away).
All I'll say is that none of the things from Tenfa's room radiate magic or psionics.
Given you know the gem has special properties...
mdt, have you read Making Craft Work by Ludi Fortes of Strong Games? It's here on the Pazio.com boars for $0.99. I've used it in two home tabletop games, one with another GM. The system has advantages over the RAW in the PRD/Core. Especially with making stuff like the rope-palanquin.
Example: the PRD doesn't have "palanquin" in its' listing. The closest is "carriage" under Ultimate Equipment at 100 gp, we'll take that. Connor spent 17.8 gp and threw in his own hammock (.1 gp), which is less than 1/3 gp spent, but we'll gloss over that. The DC of the Craft chart only goes up to 20 for "Complex or superior item", like a lock, which this isn't. Connor's and Sammark's taking 20 gets a DC of 27, add in some astral constructs tying knots with DC 14, and that DC might get up to DC 29. (Aid Another is found under Combat in the new Pathfinder, not Craft, like in the old 3.5. It is DC 10.) But DC 20 times DC 29 equals 580 sp for one week's work, which isn't 100 gp, and it would take 2 weeks to make a rope-palanquin.
In Making Craft Work, the complexity of a rope-palanquin is "Moderate" ("Moderate complexity items are characterized by diverse materials or different parts that must be integrated into a whole. Examples: Most martial and exotic weapons, bows, all shields, locks, simple traps using simple mechanical triggers, acid.") Which means the time-unit is "4 days" and the Modifier (to DC 10) is "+4". So making the palanquin is a DC of 14. Connor and Sam can do a DC of 29, which means they can do Accelerated Crafting (found under Magic Item Creation, not Craft Skill), making those 4 days into 2 days. With astral constructs doing simple knot-tying or cloth sewing all night long. With Hero keeping watch on their progress during the night. (He doesn't sleep either.) The result won't be masterwork (which would add to the time and materials), but it will be serviceable.
At which point the GM waves his hands and says "Get it done." :)
Made of knotted hemp and silk rope, along with canvas and cloth, this palanquin holds a single Medium creature as well as assorted cargo. The person either lies down or sits upright via a folding chair made of cloth. An overhead rope allows a tent-like covering with waterproof cloth to protect against sun, wind, and rain. This particular palanquin requires two very tall or flying Medium humanoids to carry the hammock-like rope between them using rope harnesses. Two smaller harnesses sized for Small humanoids that fly lower allow for increased weight and maneuverability. Cargo is tied to the rope network via bags or behind the seat. The person and cargo swings like being in a hammock.
The palanquin has a flight speed and maximum weight of its' carriers with a maneuverability of "average" with four creatures in the harnesses. If this drops to two creatures, the maximum weight decreases appropriately and the maneuverability lowers to "poor".
I'm waiting to see what everyone does in town before I comment on this.
Well scratch the psionic armor plan for now, I suppose.
I'd still like to try and find a shield. I'm thinking a heavy shield, actually, darkwood is a must since I am non-proficient with them. Is that doable?
Yep, darkwood sheilds can be gotten for the price in the book (minus discount)
I need to know if anyone is doing anything other than sleeping at the warehouse and shopping for the 3 days before you leave town on your assignment.
I'm going to be sadly unavailable for the next 5 days. Tommorrow I have to get as much of the apartment moved as possible as the net three days will involve hours and hours of cleaning.
Reaghar is planning on nothing but shopping, and even then, mostly just purchases of inks. There isn't much that he needs that he can afford.
unless someone has some suggestions.
maybe some skill +2 masterwork items? I don't use weapons much, so i can use what i have / pick up. i can spend some on inks, but i am trying to save up enough to get a psionic bag of holding.
At Level 5 with the Universal Items feat, Reaghar, mdt has approved Psionic Belt Pouch of Storage (1,000 gp, 0.5 lbs, 10 pounds of storage or 500 gp, Hidden Pocket, Cryptic1). But we've got a caster/manifester level problem when it comes to Psionic Handy Haversacks - they're Level 9.
I guess if you've got the gold pieces a normal, magical Handy Haversack might be feasible, but you could never take it back to the flying islands, as it would be confiscated and destroyed or tossed over the side of the airship when we got onboard. (Although with Hidden Pocket, you just became a smuggler.) Saving up for a smorgasbord of psionic item shopping when we get back to Atalantia might work. That might be what Connor does with his pay on the next mission, converting to jewels so the gold pieces don't get a "moneylender fee" when we all go back home.
At our level I'm more interested in Psionic Heavyload Belt (3 lbs, Animal Affinity, Cryptic/PW/Vi2), which will solve our immediate encumbrance problem. That and Crystal Light replacing all our current mundane (and expendable) light sources in a manner similar to Continual Flame.
I'm going to be sadly unavailable for the next 5 days. Tommorrow I have to get as much of the apartment moved as possible as the net three days will involve hours and hours of cleaning.
Ouch, Selvan/TarkXT. Hopefully a "move up", instead of a "move back"?
Well scratch the psionic armor plan for now, I suppose.
I'd still like to try and find a shield. I'm thinking a heavy shield, actually, darkwood is a must since I am non-proficient with them. Is that doable?
Sammark, did you actually want to buy a Wand of Cure Light Wounds? It'd be a step above Connor's vials of bloodblock until Reaghar can make enough Psionic Tattoos of Natural Healing as ordered. So Selvan isn't having to run all over the place healing people.
Reaghar is planning on nothing but shopping, and even then, mostly just purchases of inks. There isn't much that he needs that he can afford.
unless someone has some suggestions.
maybe some skill +2 masterwork items? I don't use weapons much, so i can use what i have / pick up. i can spend some on inks, but i am trying to save up enough to get a psionic bag of holding.
You could get:
masterwork backpack (50 gp) that you could keep until we get to Level 9 and make it a Handy Haversackantitoxin (vial) (50 gp) (6?) (just in case, we don't have magic or psionics against poison yet)
Alchemist's fire (flask) (20 gp) (2?)
Traveler's Outfit (1 gp, 5 lbs.) with Griffon Mane (+2 to Fly checks) (+50 gp/lb.) (251 gp) for yourself
Tanglefoot bag (50 gp) (2?)
Good idea, I'll grab a couple and take some of the weight off Selvan.
Shopping done, inventory updated and ready to go.
Yeah looking for something a little more efficient than the belt pouch of storage. Something more in line with a bag of holding in terms of cost per pound.