A lonely party looks for a lonely soul (Inactive)

Game Master lantzkev

Well, I've been beating around the bush over this one, pretending I don't have time for any more PbP and whatnot, but I simply gotta throw my hat to the mix on this one...

I have pondered about a group of three and what such group should be able to accomplish - I think that:

- they should be able to accumulate roles - hence my submission will probably be a Paladin, probably an Oath of Vengeance Tiefling. The idea is obviously having a self sustainable tank, as far as healing goes, able to dish out damage and hold his own;
- Not all is about combat, so I am thinking the 3 person group needs to be able to cover knowledges and other skills -> I think I can stretch my Paladin skills to cover... Religion, Planes and... let's say Diplomacy;
- The group needs to be able to deal with different challenges -> Traps spring into mind. I am not saying we need a Rogue per se, as a wizard can cover much of that utility -> hence my next point, I would think that an arcane caster would be essential -> Personally I would say a Summoner, for the added summons and versatility (I am also available to build one of these, though my experience with Summoners is quite lacking);

I'll just come out and say it - My first impulse was to build a Zen Archer. At level 20... Oh my... But, after taking a second look, he seemed kind of lacking in "outside of combat ability", so I dropped it.

Then I thought about a Battle Oracle - tough as nails, able to heal, stand his own, offering some decent skills, etc - still think this one is viable (though I like Loup Blanc's character above).

One last consideration [because I am in a hurry over dinner, kids, etc, or there would be many more :D] - in a group of three, I would say everyone needs to be able to take a punch, whether avoiding it completely by being invisible, having uncanny hps, or whatever, there is no way a "tank" can aggregate all the bad guys.

Bottom line, a group of three at this level looks to me liuke it has to be decently thought out - balanced in terms of skills, combat abilities, etc - thinking and acting like a team in all aspects, and not some sort of vanity walk - meaning it may make more sense to get the paladin flying before yourself, for example :D

Anyways, I am hoping to have a build up and running tonight.~

Cheers.

I don't have a character built at this time, but through reading the post I would "Mechanically" interested in playing any of the Following:

Wizard/fighter/AA/EK
Witch (not sure on what type)
Oracle of Life
Barbarian (Invuln Rager, CAGM)
Rogue/Assassin
Blackguard/Paladin
Zen Archer Monk

I can't build them all, but I would build one of them upon being selected or requested.

Always wanted to play a High level game.

If need be, I can adapt Myria to cover the party's weaknesses. At the moment she's mostly focused on offence and summoning. But as a Wizard, her role is fairly mutable.

I'm almost tempted to start spitballing a few more builds just to see what sticks.

Things I might also consider:
-Alchemist
-D-Door Monk, Magus or Paladin (Unsanctioned Knowledge)
-A wizard and his pet tank (Siege wizard with a tricked out colossal animated object)

Finally built this guy. Gnome sylvan sorcerer with a T-rex called Gnash. Took eldritch heritage and ended up with a familiar, too. Can summon, since the party is small. Lots of control options, and some options for blasting as well, if needed. I still need to spend all his money, but I think everything else is done. I'll buy stuff when I have some time later. It took me a while to build him, I haven't played a caster this high before.

yup cash spending take a lot of time at this level...

It's my least favorite part of creation =/ There's so many useful items, even mundane ones at level 1!

As an aside all mundane items that I consider "general purpose" I'm going to assume someone in the group has access to in a bag of holding etc. so don't worry about items that cost less than 40gp.

Also please no crafting feats, you can take them for things like a construct etc, but not for the purpose of doubling the amount of gear you get.

There *will be* time for crafting in the game potentially, but it'll be something to benefit the party or that has a chance of failure most likely. There will be no left over gold at end of creation either. I'll give gold after creation for in game expenses.

dotting. One of my games went defunct and the idea for this is incredibly intriguing.

Also please no crafting feats, you can take them for things like a construct etc, but not for the purpose of doubling the amount of gear you get.

Duly noted. I'll remove Myria's 'Craft Staff' feat (and the staff itself) as soon as I get the chance.

Does this ruling also apply to her Bonded Object? The 'Arcane Bond' class feature lets her upgrade its associated item (a ring, in this case) as if she had the appropriate feat.

For the record. I suggest judging by the tone of the recruitment and the numbers involved that people look at This followed by This.

If a group is built along these guidelines it should perform just fine with any issues developing merely from poor choices and bad luck.

Now I want to remake my character into a golem builder, and spend all my money on golems, and just have an army of golems.

I may be coming back to you on that subject.

I'm considering an summoner evangelist atm. Not quite sure what god yet.

If I finish that one quickly enough I'll also submit a summoner since I have a high level one jsut lying around I can upgrade.

I'd strongly steer away from anything that involves multiple critters etc other than your own body. I don't mind summonings, but my idea for what I want to develop a story for doesn't involve the headache extra combatants bring.

Likewise leadership is fairly well nixed, master summoners are nixed, etc. Also because of what you'll be up against summoned creatures will innately have a hard time attacking said things alot of time due to protection from "insert alignment" etc.

Hmmm makes a big difference in my plan. Will have to adjust.

Are you referring to this guy's companion as well? I can switch out his bloodline I guess. Would've been nice to know before I spent the time building him =/

a companion isn't a huge issue, but when you want to keep it small and reducing the major clogs to combat. If there is a companion in the group it'll be limited to just one character with one.

Keep in mind your characters will have done some inter-planar stuff already at some points (and the wizard is the source of your traveling through the planes)

So I should have probably said the arcane (whoever that is) will need to be able to do interplanar travel for a small group, or at least have scrolls for it.

I understand. I made sure to grab some options for him (reduce person, and that spell that turns him into a little statue). Shades was my planned method to access plane shift. Seems like a fun way to dispose of enemies as well! >=D

I have a wizard in PFS. Haven't played a lot of casters before, but I'm pretty good at controlling enemies (I guess that'd be the role of "anvil" by that guide Tark linked). That's Gerrin's primary focus, along with some buffs and damage output when needed. Lots of scrolls for utility spells, too.

I have a thing for illusions, and will make use of many major images and shadow spells, for coolness :P

I'm not perfect by any stretch, so feedback is welcome.

shades won't get you to a new plane as it doesn't replicate conjuration(teleportation)

Ok, so... this guy is only a skeleton, and my experience at such high level characters is kinda limited but he could desereve being taken out for a spin :D

After crunching him I came to the conclusion that I like him more than I expected :D

Throwing My hat in the ring as a Cleric of Liberation and Repose. Aconyte has an overwhelming familiarity with death. He lives his life trying to save who he can and ferrying the rest into the afterlife.

He is a tall Aasimar with halo and wings. He does not worship any particular deity, but instead holds up the tenants of Good and Law.

You're right! I'll grab plane shift then. Things I should know :P

About doen with the cleric. Just grabbing the last items and applying the whole mess to the sheet.

I'll throw down an alchemist next.

When I sit to think about it I get the feeling that the best thing to do is not to have any melee characters at all but load up on ranged stuff and be able to switch to melee effectively. No good summons means reduced capacity to throw meat in front. And with two slots already dedicated to mostly full casters that means whatever "other" we get will be starved for flanking buddies. So rogues are out.

I've all but abandoned the evangelist concept as well for the cleric. Inspire courage and many mass buffs areonly a waste if there aren't quite as many people to take advantage of them.

Yeah I've been thinking about this all day.

So the cleric i ahd in mind is quietly shifting into somethign else while I add items to her. And the alchemist is already turning into a switch hitter.

that is why i wend with Magus tark

A switch-hitting ranger or fighter might work well for the third slot. Damage output and melee ability when needed. With this guy my companion would do his best to help, and I'd probably summon extra targets with SM9, while hopefully keeping the baddies at range with other cc spells :)

To the paladin, if you want to splash oracle that's fine, but no to legalistic.

traits like suicidal just don't really fit for this game either.

About doen with the cleric. Just grabbing the last items and applying the whole mess to the sheet.

I'll throw down an alchemist next.

When I sit to think about it I get the feeling that the best thing to do is not to have any melee characters at all but load up on ranged stuff and be able to switch to melee effectively. No good summons means reduced capacity to throw meat in front. And with two slots already dedicated to mostly full casters that means whatever "other" we get will be starved for flanking buddies. So rogues are out.

I've all but abandoned the evangelist concept as well for the cleric. Inspire courage and many mass buffs areonly a waste if there aren't quite as many people to take advantage of them.

Yeah I've been thinking about this all day.

So the cleric i ahd in mind is quietly shifting into somethign else while I add items to her. And the alchemist is already turning into a switch hitter.

No melee at all huh...? In that case I think I may throw my Zen Archer into the fray -> He shouldn't need a tank anyway, and firing his bow in melee or not makes no difference so :D

Are we allowed more than one submission and then lantzkev picks the ones he prefers or...?

Paladin is still not finished though -> Think I will go Haunted instead of Legallistic in that case lantzkev. I'll update him.

I could also build my other idea, depending on the needs of the party-to-be. Since it's a small party, I'd probably make him a cleric of hanspur instead, focusing on spells to buff/debuff, and Cha for channeling and face skills. Probably the trade and protean subdomains. Fitting the protean influence into his story will be an interesting challenge, but it seems like such a fun ability!

How are you liking all the builds so far lantz? Is anyone's striking your fancy?

It's hard to say, I guess what I'm looking for are "heroic" not obviously demonic, not death focused (they can kill alot) or potentially psychotic characters etc.

They should all be good at their base. You can submit as many as you like as well. I'm looking for a group I want to form this story around and do this game for. I promise whoever I select I'll be running a game for you, but it will be one I'll enjoy as well =)

When I said it's for three I was serious about that, that means each character needs to be fairly strong in their own right, and I'm looking for to some extent the "usual four" of healer arcane melee (rogue who is dead and not available for players)

-edit-as far as one of my favorite, I love the angelic cleric/oracle idea.

I'll also encourage folks to strongly be versatile in skills (even if it's just a rank or two in some) to not be tied to a) someone flanking/supporting you or b) limited outside of x/day abilities/spells etc. The arcane will probably be the hardest to make and do it all (knowledge, survivability, versatility in spells etc)

Classic heroes, sounds like a good way to run such a high-level game. I tried to build the sorcerer (Gerrin) more nature-y because of his bloodline, but since you suggested optimized chars, I made sure he wasn't all-fluff no-crunch and ended up with a lot of classic spells. Since I came up with the idea pretty quick, I'm willing to change things around a bit of it fits the campaign better. The T-rex was just an off-the-cuff idea, and could be something less outstanding if desired :P

Since someone mentioned knowledges upthread, I plan to get him an int&cha headband so he can cover 4-5 knowledge skills, and some face skills. Plus scrolls/mnemonic vestment/ring of spell knowledge for some wizard-like utility.

If I'm bored the next few days I may build that cleric. I'll try to make him more on the heroic side :)

You seem to have a strong idea of the story you want to tell. I'd love to see it play out! Can you elaborate on the campaign at all, or are you saving it? :D

I could also play a 20th level fighter as a expansion of one of my current characters. It would be a tactician with a nice range of skills and focussing on Vital Strike/Called Shots.

The sorcerer is fine, but I don't think fits very well with what's in mind.

I've got some ideas in mind, but the characters shouldn't be tailored around it so I'm keeping them close to my chest so to speak.

some things to keep in mind, you're lvl 20, you've done some epic things, saved towns, nations, races, the world etc. You're heroes that to those that know your face, you're welcome idols.

Not everyone loves you of course, but your characters should be comfortable socially, comfortable in big downs, and nothing super super strange uninviting.

These are heroes without psychotic issues, they may have issues, but they aren't anything someone having a few beers with them will ever know about. Likewise any problems they used to have, have laregly been resolved by now.

Selsha Roseway lvl20 cleric of Shelyn

Pretty straightforward cleric with a few good tricks here and there. Don't let raw numbers full you. This girl is mean.

He's certainly not a typical sorcerer. Should I tone down the nature-ness? Don't want to step on any divine-caster toes.

I envisioned Gerrin as a somewhat quirky and quiet (as you might expect from being such big a hero). The kind of person who doesn't talk all the time, but when he does its usually something important. A big believer in freedom and harmony (CG and all). He'd probably leave the dino to forage if able, or keep him with using 'carry companion.'

Though, I suppose a T-rex is rather outlandish. Perhaps a leopard, or a roc? Or even a wolf/dog. If it's too much of a problem, I suppose I could get rid of him, swap for the default bloodline, if a companion & some summoning are too much for one character.

Help us fit some characters to your story Lan! :) Perhaps a bit more about what happened before the game starts (especially the arcane caster and this 'discovery'). I like the narrative focus you seem to have, and want to see where this goes.

Is this based off a campaign you played/ran before?

Edit: backstory idea

The discovery is just the start of the game is all, ie I found the rogue. =D

I took one look at the alchemist class and cried. Such a complex class to be trying to build lvl 20 from scratch on.

Oh well here we go....

I'll tell you right now, unless someone builds something amazing the arcane is most likely wizard or sorc, because they will need lvl 9 spells.

an alchemist as the "melee" can work though for sure.

Alright, I've got my called shot/vital striker build under the monk in this profile. Feel free to take a look.

Edit: Also, languages? The Vital Striker has 15 ranks in linguistics and an innate 14 int.

I'm unsure exactly what I'm looking at when I look at your profile and where the bonuses are exactly etc.

Also for abilities that have predictable patterns, I'll continue to use those patterns, so for example if you have an ability (like say oracle of life aasimar favored class, you can have a mystery function at lvl 30... Monk robes will function on a lvl 20 monk as if it were 25. IE dice increase etc.)

like with your monk, I see wis 28, dex 26, bracers +8, +1 insight, +5 deflection, +5 from monk class +1 dodge.
+9+8+8+1+5+5+1 = 35 + 10 base, so 45 ac 37 touch.

Sorry, I'll clean it up a little and add notes for relevant modifiers. It was clear when I was building him.

I built both in a bit of a fevered rush.

we're not in a hurry =D

Fighter should be clearer, I'll get the monk done in a second.

Screw it. Ima just make something that blows stuff up. Haven't made one of those in forever.

That should clear it up.

I've also been eying this for a while. I had some fun building a level 20 wizard for it to help figure out how a progression would go (have never played a wizard past around level 10). I think I might as well submit my idea for your perusal. I'm still working on the crunch and I'll make an alias when I finish.

My concept is for an Elf Evoker with a particular fascination with the primal forces of the universe. He's fascinated by the natural world and the primal laws governing it (and naturally how magic can warp them.) He's as a worshipper of Valani, appreciating in particular the god's protean and primal nature. His familiar is a Lyrakien who shares his appreciation for the natural world.

To tie in with your world, I'm thinking that our Elf is a bit vain (drawback?) and he's been obsessed with trying to discover the fate of his missing friend. He sees it as a tremendous failing that he didn't, despite all his power, save his friend. In the intervening time, I see him as having formed an informal mage's circle/school in which he can research some means of finding his friend.

One alternate idea, if we don't have another applicant who apply with one, is to make him a Tiefling. The key draw being that he'd be keenly interested in opposing the destruction the denizens of the Abyss wish to inflict on the other Planes. It could make for some nice hooks if some of his tainted family members begin to manifest their abyssal side.

How long do you expect to be running this game? Is it intended to be long term, or something shorter?

It depends on the players interest and mine to be honest. I can see it lasting a year or two or just a few months. Just depends on how well we go with it and how much of the story we keep going etc.

If you can keep your casters etc away from summoning as their main power and focus that'd be great, it's a headache I don't want to deal with mechanically much for combat.

That should clear it up.

I feel like tacticians a waste in this game. So few people to use those abilities on and maybe maybe only one other who can use them.

@Lantz. The cleric is mostly done if you need to look at it. Let me know if there are issues.

If you can keep your casters etc away from summoning as their main power and focus that'd be great, it's a headache I don't want to deal with mechanically much for combat.

Fair point, I was thinking about it and an Evoker makes more sense for my concept anyway.

Edit: I'm thinking specifically about an Admixture Evoker, by the way.

Edit2: One more question, are the Craft <Magic> feats something I should be looking to add to my build? I'm not really seeing my character as someone with the patience for it, but it might be a needed thing.