As is the case with all other discussion threads, here is where we will conduct most of our out of game/out of character discussions.
Posting to say hi! I'm building this character as witch. I'll get the details up as soon as I can.
Hi Sevrin, this is Slayde's alias. I'm still trying to figure out my non campaign trait. I'm waffling between a couple. Also, I realized I never actually rolled for gold so let me do that now.
Stating up in progress.
Been saving his pennies...
Will roll for starting gold here as well to finish kitting out Thalin.
Average starting gold to the nose.
Just checking in! Still working some things out with my character.
Slayde, I have no problems with the "unless otherwise stated" inclusion of things like Arcane Strike (mainly because it will still be something that you will include in your die rolls, just unstated). I have two players in another campaign with improved unarmed strike that said their unarmed strikes are always NL unless they say otherwise. As long as it doesn't get to the point that I'm half playing half the characters by remembering preset "I always..." for every other action they perform.
"I'm always stealthed, and I always Detect Magic everything I look at, and always spellcraft and knowledge arcana everything that has an aura with Detect Magic."
@Aardvark: Do you have a timeline on when you want to get the game started?
@All: While Thalin will be starting the game doing a death vigil, I don't intend on playing Thalin as a dark and grim char except when the situation demands it. While he will be a bit of a stickler for the rules (LN alignment and what not), I hope that won't cause too many conflicts along the way. :)
@Thalin: I'm not seeing that as a problem. The way I see Thanion is someone who is hesitant and little fearful of his magical power to start as he has no idea how he got it. I think as he grows to control it and see it can be used for good, He'll learn to accept it.
I would like to be able to start the game some time next week, the earlier the better. Accounting for the weekend, I would say maybe Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.
I'll be ready. You mentioned a free skill rank for every class, what would that be for witches? Also as I finalize my build details I'm willing to take advice and or coordinate with others. I think I'll pick up debuff hexes. I'm worried about relying entirely on mind-affecting hexes at 1st level so I thought I'd start with Misfortune.
Sevrin, for all classes that prepare spells (Wizard, Witch, Magus, etc...) the bonus skill point per level is in Spellcraft. Without it they only ever learn the free spells per level, and the skill is necessary for them to even expand their repertoire.
I'm always a fan of Evil Eye, just because of its versatility, duration, and ability to have multiple effects going on the same enemy. I take it for every witch I've ever made to the point that I feel like it should almost be written in as a 1st level ability automatically and something else taken away.
Ok, I'll shift things around to reflect the pieces of information :)
You're just talking about the skill points, right? I wasn't suggesting you switch your Hex, just that I liked that one.
Also, I noticed something earlier. Do you mind if I ask why you focused on making your initiative so high? +11 is pretty significant, but you spent a trait, a feat, and a familiar option to get it.
I like initiative I guess. I feel like I can never too much. I could spend the trait elsewhere. Maybe to make perception a class skill, or to bolster a save. Evil Eye is going to be a either a first or second level pick regardless. it's the order I get Misfortune, Evil Eye and Cackle in that I'm debating.
One of the reasons I really pumped initiative is the witches' relative lack of defensive options. I've played a wizard a little in an irl game and going first is pretty great and it seems even more important for a witch because he might need to move around a great deal to get away from threats while staying in the 30 ft. hex range and he won't have all the defensive spells a wizard has.
No worries, I was just curious if there was something you had in mind for it, or if it affects his personality/interactions at all.
Pastiche/Braham... Are you here? I haven't seen anything from you in this thread, and wasn't sure if it was just that you didn't have anything to say.
I'm still here! As far as I'm concerned, my character creation was already finished.
I'm ready to roll anytime, bring on the cold spells :-)
Haha, actually I do imagine Sevrin as rather twitchy, so in a some sense it does affect his interactions and represent his personality. He grew up slightly built and not particularly confident, he would have been easily bullied. He starts out nervous, naive despite the knowledge he has, and easily alarmed.
@Braham
I'm glad to hear that. I do have a question, about your equipment. Now, I understand that based on the premise of apprentice, living in a borrowed(?) attic space, as well as having the poverty-stricken trait, you're not feeling he should have much to show for it. I'm more concerned that you may potentially be making it much harder on yourself. I believe that this campaign is one of the more deadly ones.
If you think the amount of money would be too much, don't think of it as a one time windfall. Consider the starting gold to be a representation of the value of what the characters have earned, found, been given in thanks, or even made themselves over their many years of personal growth leading up to the start of the campaign. The amount not spent being roughly the only actual amount coin they have on hand at any given time.
This is not to say that you have to take the money, if you don't want it for your character, as much as offering a way to look at it from a different perspective.
OK, I see your point. Actually, not being the sharpest tool in the shed, Braham completely forgot about the greataxe and chainmail that he kept hidden in his attic :-)
I've updated the sheet. Is there anything more you'd like me to address?
@Braham, did you roll for your gold? I believe you roll a 5d6 x 10, but I don't know what it is for a fighter off hand. That way, you can start off with some other gear as well, such as rations.
OK, I added a limited set of adventuring gear, but I'd like to keep my liquid gold rather low, as opposed to rolling for it, giving the fact that Braham is a poor guy...
@Aardvark: Sorry for being silent all weekend, but with it being Father's Day my wife called dibs on my time and took us out of town for the weekend. I will finish up the gear purchase tonight and will be ready to go.
Looking forward to getting started with you all soon.
Wait, isn't father's day the day you get to do whatever you want? ;)@Aardvark: Sorry for being silent all weekend, but with it being Father's Day my wife called dibs on my time and took us out of town for the weekend. I will finish up the gear purchase tonight and will be ready to go.
Looking forward to getting started with you all soon.
As long as what I wanted to do aligned with the stuff she had lined up for us, I was able to act in total independence. :)
Gear purchased. I didn't add in the -4 for the skills, but will do so with the dice roller if that is ok. Otherwise I will edit again to update those as well.
@Thalin, I would rather your skills reflect the numbers that would be the norm, and modify the rolls when different. If he will regularly have both his armor and shield on, then both his AC and Skills should reflect it as the base.
@Braham, for the sake of equality (and my preference of staying by the book), I'm going to ask that you roll the 5d6(x10) to determine what your starting gold would be. Then use that total to buy your starting equipment.
OK, here are my rolls:
Using this 230 gold starting capital, I've adjusted my sheet, resulting in a bit more liquid money.
Totally understandable. I will update now to have them reflect the times he is armored, which will be most of the time. Only when he is in a home/church/similar location, will Thalin don the formal robes he carries to do the rites of passage/sit vigil with a dying dwarf.
Okay, linked just under my alias are two documents in Google that we will be using during play.
The first is a Google Slides, for mapping. Each of you has access to modify it, solely for the purposes of moving your icon on the map. Please, do not move anything other than your icon, so that I don't have to lock it.
The second is a Google Sheet, for tracking loot, encumbrance, and personal gear. All prices on the loot list will be written as their resale value. So, if you are wearing a Chain Shirt, it will be listed as 50 gp, as that it what it is worth if you choose to get rid of it (as per RAW), same as magic items. Art, gems, jewelry and the like are the only things listed where their value is their full value (also as per RAW).
I still have to update the top to correctly reflect your Strengths and encumbrance values. The top portion of each sheet is locked, because it is where I have all the formulas. So anytime you either add or spend coinage, just add an entry in the lower portion with the amount (or - the amount for buying) and I will update it later.
I intend to have the first post up later tonight.
Okay, the gameplay thread is up. You should be able to find a tab for it at the top of the page. Also, the house rules can be found under the Campaign tab. I will also put to other things in there as they come up, like notable NPC's and such.
Feel free to jump on in the thread and get started. Once you have posted once in the Gameplay thread it will add it to your "Campaigns" tab of your profile so you can always find it there. I may do some finalizing with people's characters here if anyone still has work to do.
EDIT: Also, the map link already has the town of Heldren in it. Down in the notes section is the Key. Please feel free to familiarize yourself with the town you have been staying at least about a week for some or even longer for others.
A quick note, for the sake of formatting, I ask that you do a few things. Most of your narrative will be in the regular black text, but so I know what was or wasn't said aloud, thought, or directed toward me instead of an NPC, please use the following guidelines:
For in character speech, please use Bold, done with the bold tags: b]"You'll Pay for that, Fiend!"/b]
"You'll Pay for that, Fiend!"
For internal monologue, please use Italics, done with the italics tags: i]I wonder where he is going with that potted plant./i]
I wonder where he is going with that potted plant.
For things like mechanics, declared actions or questions to me in gameplay, please use , done with the ooc tags: ooc]Standard Action, attack the kobold dice]1d20+3/dice]
Is he wearing the amulet he was holding?/ooc]
@Braham, I'm just wondering, how is his name pronounced? Is it Brom, Bram, Bra-Ham, Bray-Ham, or some other way I didn't think of? Also, if you have more money than you intended, you can buy a Masterwork Backpack for 50gp [wt. 4 lbs]. It allows you to treat your strength as 1 higher, ONLY for carrying capacity. Is Braham from Heldren, and if not how long has been there. If he is, what happened to his parents or family?
@Sevrin, same question to you, is he from Heldren or nearby, and if not how long has he been there. If so, what about his family?
Pronunciation is Bra-Ham. I took your advice and replaced my normal backpack with a masterwork one.
The message I wanted to convey with my Background vignette is that Braham was abandoned as a baby. Therefore, he does not know who his parents are. He has been living in Heldren all his life with his foster parents, the Beckets.
Sevrin is from Heldren. His family are simple woodcutters, somewhat baffled by the strangeness of their son, but still loving and concerned. He is an onlty child. Too slight to be a good woodcutter Sevrin has made a small niche for himself gathering hard to find and obscure herbs from the local woodlands, often selling them to the apothecary.
@Sevrin, I was looking at your profile, and noticed a few things. First, your background got wrapped into your equipment because you are missing the closing spoiler tag for your equipment. Speaking of equipment, do you realize you are under medium load (carrying 25.5 lbs out of your 23 lb light load limit)? You don't have your HP listed at all, and I would like it if you marked which skills you have ranks in (don't forget you get a free rank/level in Spellcraft and a craft/perform/profession of your choice)
@Thanion, I think your weight is marked as 5 lbs too heavy, I only counted 42 from your equipment.
@Both, what is it with the Haramaki? How does an Irriseni Elf and a native to Heldren come to use such an unusual piece of armor, considering that neither are proficient in light armor? I'm not saying you can't, but I wouldn't mind hearing a little background for such a decision.
@Talin, You're missing your ACP on Stealth (not that I imagine you intend on using it much, but group stealth is one of the macros I build for rolling). Also, you only have the weight for about half your stuff.
@Aavelixia, how do you travel with Suzy? Does she follow you in and around town, or do you make her stay just beyond?
@Sia, you still don't have your HP listed. You have your 2nd level class features written in. Trapfinding gives you a minimum of +1 to your Disable Device, speaking of which, you don't have thieves' tools. Without them you take a -2 to disable device checks. It looks like you are at least skill points shy, and I don't know where you put your favored class bonus. Also, your weight is off by about 20 lbs.
Sorry for the chunk of corrections everybody, but I just sat down and went over all the sheets real quick.
@Aardvark: No worries. Will get in there and update things now. Also, is there an inn in the town? I wasn't sure how you wanted to handle my lodgings while there, so I saved some cash to make sure I could pay for lodging to hold my gear and equipment.
You are also 100% correct, if there comes a situation where Thalin has to sneak, we will really be in dire straits.
Edit #1: I just saw that making ink is an Alchemy based skill vs Craft <Ink> based skill. Is it ok if I swap that out, or are you ok with having a specialized focus on just making inks? This also leads to the follow-on question of how do you want us to do craft checks if/when the time comes?
@Braham: Hope you don't mind me using you as my segway to moving towards the guard.
@Aardvark: I found the mistake in my weight. I forgot to list the bedroll. I've updated my profile with that addition. As for the Haramaki, I really don't have a good story for it. I could have it be something Vitus trained him with like with the estoc. I was going to go for the silken robes as it was something I pictured that was light as Thanion wouldn't be accustomed to heat here. Unfortunately, my gold roll did not agree with this.
If you'd like I can cut it until I can actually afford the silken robes.
Should have the issues addressed. I forgot about the haramaki, had my doubts during creation, I'll just drop it. I'd just be making up a reason out of thin air.
@Braham: Hope you don't mind me using you as my segway to moving towards the guard.
Of course not :-)
I'll update tonight when I have my laptop. Doing all of that on my phone would be hectic.
Is there a way to set the Paizo board to send you an email every time there is an update to a thread? I figure that there has to be a better way to see if anyone posted besides constant refreshing.
It would be amazing if there was.
Sadly, there is not a way to get notifications. Don't worry, games usually start off pretty quick, but before too long checking in once or twice a day is enough to be able to keep up. Don't worry that you might be missing a lot if you don't catch the updates right away.
@Thalin, it's up to you. You can take either Craft Ink if that's all you want, or Alchemy if you prefer. As far as making craft checks, you can make it in the gameplay (after the week of work is spent). Or am I missing what you're asking?
@Thanion and Sevrin, neither of you need to remove the haramaki, I was more just curious about what the story was for it.
@Sevrin, you should have 9 skill points (2 class + 5 Int + 2 Free [Spellcraft/Profession]). Your spells section is no longer visible, and your dead at value should be equal to your Con at negative (-15).
@Braham, if you think you're going to spend the majority of your time in your armor, could you apply the armor check penalty (-5) to all of your Str and Dex based skills?
I hope no one feels like I'm being nitpicky. Given the medium of PbP, the less often I have to go chase down rules, stats, and modifiers, the easier it is for me to respond and post, especially if combat is involved as it can really bog down a thread.
Sorry I'm bad at this! I am missing 1 skill rank. He does have a profession and a spellcraft rank, marked as free. Beyond that I believe he should have 8: 2 class + 5 int + 1 human. I can't figure out the spoiler tag at the moment. I'll get it all fixed when I'm off work.
No worries. I completely missed your human skill point. So you should have 10 total.
@Braham, if you think you're going to spend the majority of your time in your armor, could you apply the armor check penalty (-5) to all of your Str and Dex based skills?
Sorry, didn't realise this was a thing, should be fixed now. Still learning all the intricacies of the rules, so feel free to point out these things as often as you like :-)
Currently I'm out of town helping family, I'll be able to post tomorrow.