I am considering introducing a new houserule and would like your opinions on it.
The basis is about adding more skill points in the form of each class getting a rank single specific class skill equal to their class level.
For example: a 3rd level wizard would get 3 free ranks in Spellcraft, a Cleric in Knowledge Religion. A multiclass character only gets them for the levels in the classes they have Ftr 3/Rog 2 would get 3 in intimidate and 2 in Knowledge Local.
If you all agree to this, then it will become retroactive, and any points you may have already spent in your specific class skill will be returned to spend elsewhere (since you would have already had the class skill).
Neva - Knowledge Religion
Raliscar - Survival
Rutter - Knowledge Local (4)/Intimidate (2)
Vyshael - Intimidate (1)/Spellcraft (5)
Vyshael, I will PM you about Hell's Rebels
I'm okay with the house rules you already have in place in your other games. I'd be less interested in the extra skill points that you're considering. Maybe if it was ranks in class skills that no one ever takes, but those skills could be a matter of debate.
I'm afraid I have to decline the invitations to another game. Thank you, though. I've got my hands full with a capstone project, and following up with a job search.
I'm ok with the first house rules, but I also could skip the extra skill rank. I think there's enough skills.
I'd love to say "yes" to Mummy's Mask, but I'm way too busy. Sorry.
Hello! DM Aardvark has extended an invitation for another character in this game. I hesitated to take him up on it, but he said the posting rate was pretty conservative. I think I can hold up my end in that case.
Before I give this too much thought, though, I'm curious what your preference would be for a fifth character. I'm leaning toward a sorcerer, perhaps a gnome illusionist-type, but I haven't investigated the party's style and, like I said, would like to know your thoughts before I try to draw up a candidate.
Welcome, Pixie!
As for what we could use, from an entirely and shamelessly meta perspective: someone who can cure lycanthropy! =P
As for party style, we've got a shape-changing caster with a sword, a switch-hitter dwarf who prefers his crossbow over a sword of his own, a rogue who likes to have flanking buddies, and a matronly cleric with the healing and knowledge domains.
As for party role, I think style is more important than class mechanics in this case. We've done pretty well in our fights so far but for one ridiculous house-wide chase for a casty-rogue. So long as you've got a character in mind who's not standoffish and who likes to participate, I think whatever you cook up'll be a fine fit. =)
Oh, and as for the skill point house rule, I love skill points. Love em. And I am happy to take all the bonus points the other players don't want on their behalf. =D
Well, it would be a gnome, a trickster illusionist, probably chatty and friendly (my characters often seem to be), hopefully a little insane and a bit of a prankster.
He might be a bit annoying and hopefully amusing to other characters, but I would intend to avoid being such to other players.
Friendly is good! I think Raliscar and Rutter have the "party grump" angle pretty well covered between them. We seem to take turns =)
Ha! Duly noted!
Okay, waiting to see how Vyshael feels about the skill points, and if we need a tie breaker, Pixie could vote as well.
Pixie, I'm glad you decided to join, as I do enjoy the characters you have in the other games we are in together.
I forgot to mention Char Gen
6th level
Core races only (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half Elf, Halfling, Half-Orc, Human)
Classes Allowed are all PF classes except: Gunslinger, Ninja, Samurai, and Antipaladin.
20 pt buy
2 traits (AP trait not required)
WBL: as per lvl, no more than half on any single item
(though I would prefer the guidelines of "25% on weapons, 25% on armor and protective devices, 25% on other magic items, 15% on disposable items like potions, scrolls, and wands, and 10% on ordinary gear and coins" be considered).
HP/lvl are rolled or half, whichever is higher (of course max at 1st).
Encumbrance, Vision/Light, and Rations will be tracked by the players.
I'd be less interested in the extra skill points that you're considering. Maybe if it was ranks in class skills that no one ever takes, but those skills could be a matter of debate.
Not that I'm trying to sell the rule, just explain my mindset in why I chose the skills I did. I tried to find a skill for each class that seemed appropriate regardless of what build/archetype/flavor the class was, and always from the list of class skills.
Both Barbarian and Fighter got Intimidate, for the idea that a capable warrior can generally be intimidating without really trying. The way they carry themselves belays that.
Rogues, get Knowledge Local, because whether they are looking for gain, avoiding threats, or even just have a niche set of skills, the key to almost all rogue's success is based on knowing their area and the people in it.
Clerics, Paladins, and Inquisitors get Knowledge Religion, because the idea that someone can be so devout to a faith, but not actually have any skill in knowing what their deity represents or stands for seems anathema to me.
Alchemist, Magus, Witch, and Wizard get Spellcraft, because all four of those classes cannot add spells (beyond the few leveling freebies) to their repertoire without that skill.
Given that, it starts to feel like it a becomes a dedicated skill point selection. Like there is a skill point that they don't get because it is already reserved for that given slot. By adding it, that allows the player to spend more points on skills that better define their characters, over the skill that should be on almost every character of a given class.
Pixie, I'm glad you decided to join, as I do enjoy the characters you have in the other games we are in together.
Aw, you're making me blush. Seriously, I hope I can perform up to expectations. It should be a lot of fun and I appreciate your considering me - even though I really wasn't looking for another personality to add to the melting pot that my head has become.
I forgot to mention Char Gen
6th level
Core races only (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half Elf, Halfling, Half-Orc, Human)
Classes Allowed are all PF classes except: Gunslinger, Ninja, Samurai, and Antipaladin.
20 pt buy
2 traits (AP trait not required)
WBL: as per lvl, no more than half on any single item
(though I would prefer the guidelines of "25% on weapons, 25% on armor and protective devices, 25% on other magic items, 15% on disposable items like potions, scrolls, and wands, and 10% on ordinary gear and coins" be considered).
HP/lvl are rolled or half, whichever is higher (of course max at 1st).
Encumbrance, Vision/Light, and Rations will be tracked by the players.
Maybe I will sound too eager to say this, but I looked enough to find the original char gen rules in your original thread. I guess that's the point when I should have said, "yeah, I think I want in" ;)
I'm not trying for anything terribly exotic, but I will run it past you before I make an alias. One thing, though, since I have steadfastly avoided reading the adventure, I really don't know the first thing about what I should know - other than the little bit of an aborted adventure where we took out Lamm and the game fell apart almost immediately afterward.
Anything anyone can offer that they think I should know is much appreciated. Unless there is a serious anti-gnome or anti-entertainer/illusionist vibe in the city, I'm thinking I've been in the area all along and might well have been known to one or more PCs, just not actively involved in your escapades. If that's cool, I will try to work through the previous posts in the thread - I have avoided them so far just in case there's more there than I should know. And, well, I haven't had time.
I'm certainly not going to object to free skill points, especially given that Spellcraft is pretty much a "take 1 rank per level" thing.
That said, given how some folks do build a little variation in their characters, it might make a little more sense to have a shortlist fir each class, with people picking an appropriate skill from the shortlist at level 1 and it can't be changed. For example, Wizards could pick from Kn(Arcana) or Spellcraft, clerics could pick from Kn(religion) or spellcraft, etc.
In term of houserules I'll miss the take 10 mechanic, but I'll live.
This is starting off auspiciously. Am I correct in thinking the 1 and 2's become 3's, or do you alternate half and half plus one like some folks do?
OK, I find that as I build a character, it kind of builds itself as a theme catches my eye and I chase it. My as-yet-unnamed gnome is turning into a linguaphile, a lover of languages (if my search-fu didn't lead me astray). He has become a collector of languages and a collector of skills.
I'm debating whether to use the gnomish alternate racial trait that basically trades his illusion-based abilities with language-based abilities, but I don't think I want to go that far.
I also think he's going to have been something of a traveler rather than the homebody I was imagining, so any suggestions for places he's been and languages he's learned (preferably that would be useful), I'm all ears!
Don't worry about not knowing anything about the adventure, Pixie. I had a similar experience with starting off once and getting up to Lamm before I hopped into this. I still don't have a clue what's going on really, but I'm enjoying the ride =)
Pixie, the widely known events happening in Korvosa up to this point are as follows:
The king had died, and his fairly young wife stepped up into her role as the new regent.
There was chaos in the streets, and it was fought in each their own way by the Sable Company Marines (griffon riders), the Korvosan Guard (the official city guard), and the Hellknights (Order of the Nail I think). The queen also institutes a new personal guard, given more authority than any of the other branches, known as the Gray Maidens.
Word went out that the King was poisoned by a young painter commissioned to do his portrait.
She was sentenced to die in a big public affair, but was saved at the brink the city's vigilante hero (a la batman), known as Blackjack who then spirited her away.
Lately, a fierce disease has been spreading throughout the city, come to be known as Blood Veil.
There have been riots at churches and a high body count of those suffering from the plague.
There is an order of doctors (known as the Queen's Physicians) fighting the illness, and bolstered by the Gray Maidens, that have been rounding up the sick and treating the ill at what was once a warehouse.
This building is known as the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden.
Based off whatever background/concept you come up with, we can figure out how much more you would know, and what will put you with the group where they are now.
Given Korvosa's Chelish links, it wouldn't be odd if you were a Brastlework gnome -- though that would generally lead to learning regional languages more than racial ones.
I'd be less interested in the extra skill points that you're considering. Maybe if it was ranks in class skills that no one ever takes, but those skills could be a matter of debate.Not that I'm trying to sell the rule, just explain my mindset in why I chose the skills I did. I tried to find a skill for each class that seemed appropriate regardless of what build/archetype/flavor the class was, and always from the list of class skills.
Both Barbarian and Fighter got Intimidate, for the idea that a capable warrior can generally be intimidating without really trying. The way they carry themselves belays that.
Rogues, get Knowledge Local, because whether they are looking for gain, avoiding threats, or even just have a niche set of skills, the key to almost all rogue's success is based on knowing their area and the people in it.
Clerics, Paladins, and Inquisitors get Knowledge Religion, because the idea that someone can be so devout to a faith, but not actually have any skill in knowing what their deity represents or stands for seems anathema to me.
Alchemist, Magus, Witch, and Wizard get Spellcraft, because all four of those classes cannot add spells (beyond the few leveling freebies) to their repertoire without that skill.
Given that, it starts to feel like it a becomes a dedicated skill point selection. Like there is a skill point that they don't get because it is already reserved for that given slot. By adding it, that allows the player to spend more points on skills that better define their characters, over the skill that should be on almost every character of a given class.
I understand your logic. I figure, though, that the designers took those required skills into consideration when they chose the skill points for each class. Sure, there's cases where you could argue an oversight, such as sorcerers (avg int) getting the same skill points as wizards (high int to supplement the measley 2pts/lvl). But keeping to the rules also makes for a common experience. For an extreme example, if some GM had a house rule that feinting in combat is a free action, then someone playing a rogue in that campaign will likely have a different experience than someone playing a rogue in a campaign without that rule.
An extra skill point is nowhere near game-breaking, but another thing I think about re: house rules is the danger of introducing logic. Sure, it's logical that every wizard know spellcraft as part of their training. But then it would also be logical that Rutter has acrobatics for free, since he grew up thieving in Korvosa, so running among the Shingles should have been a daily practice for him. And should Neva get heal for free, since she was a midwife? Should every native Korvasan have swimming as a class skill and 1 free rank? Korvosa is a coastal town, likely they'd have learned to swim growing up.
Continuing with logic, why is the skill check to swim in calm water as high as 10? It's not that hard to move forward in calm water. In real life, I probably have the equivalent of 3 or 4 skill points, and I have no trouble swimming forward for 6 seconds. There's absolutely no chance that I'd flail about and make no progress (fail by 4 or less), or dip underwater (fail by 5 or more). But then, I guess that's what taking 10 is for.
For me, when I think about applying logic to create new house rules, I feel like it's a slippery slope, and in the end, I'd end up with a huge unwieldy list, and I'd probably have unbalanced the game. So I defer to the game designers. There may be inconsistencies, but at least they're consistently inconsistent from one GM to another.
Mostly I'm rambling here. I'm not as opposed to limited house rules as the length of this post would suggest. Like I say, a slippery slope, just thinking about them.
Welcome, Pixie Rogue. If we wanted to introduce the new character early, we could say that he's in the waiting room, either sick himself, or thinking he is, or pretending to be sick to try to gain admission to look for someone he knows that was admitted earlier and not heard from again. If he knows Neva, it would give a reason for us to trust each other enough to join forces for this (and stick together afterward, of course).
Adding to Rutter's advice, Neva is a middle-aged midwife who's been delivering babies in southern Varisia for the last two decades. There's a possible connection there.
He's shaping up to have been a traveler - how far and how much will be kind of vague - so he could very well have met Neva. I'm sure Varisia would have been on his itinerary. He certainly would have stepped in to aid if she needed help, perhaps with an actual delivery, perhaps to get a worried father-to-be out of the room.
He's largely built and submitted for DM approval. I haven't given the name much consideration, but I think that's all that's lacking. Other than any corrections that DM Aardvark points out, of course.
Raliscar used to drive a wagon from Korvosa to and fro the other nearby cities and settlements if you think that could serve as a connection, Pixie.
Like, a passenger wagon? That would be a good choice.
I don't think he's probably formed deep relationships with anyone, but he's a bit of a social butterfly and could well have met a lot of people. And he should be a bit memorable in appearance if not personality.
I'm planning on a pretty outrageous appearance, but haven't settled on one yet.
Pixie, were you still intending on being an entertainer? If so, knowing Raliscar in conjunction with that allows for a fairly easy work in.
I didn't see anything outright that I had issue with for your character.
A passenger wagon is exactly it. Raliscar kept his simple and plain looking so as to not be as attractive for bandits, and he chased off the ones who didn't care what the wagon looked like with his crossbow. =)
He's a renaissance gnome, mostly to keep enough coin to keep him fed. He will use his charisma and illusions to tell tales for coins, but he's not the actor or musician type.
I didn't think I had anything broken. Suboptimal, I'm sure, but broken I tried to avoid.
I will see about making an alias when I get home this evening.
A tiny fellow with aqua-colored hair, a top hat, green cravat, brown coat with tails, and black-and-white striped leggings doffs said hat. "Greetings, my fine fellow traveler. Say, have you heard of the city of Kaer Maga? Fascinating place, that! Pardon me, Feldivarxon Rumblestithem, at your service! Please, feel free to call me Fel or Feldivar, anything really, as long as you don't call me late for supper!"
Okay, Feldivar, here's what I'm thinking. So, the previous connection you discussed with Raliscar works, and here's a way you can rope it in.
The city is in shambles, for the most part, having erupted into chaos either before or not long after you arrived (not sure on Raliscar's timeline of arrival.
You have connections and know people among the general entertainment crowd, mainly as it is the only real way to scrape coin together since the King's death. Recently there was a big to do, on the outset of the plague's arrival. Not that you were hired, but you knew a few of the more noteworthy entertainers... none of which have been heard from since.
The scuttlebutt on the streets is that some crazy lady killed everyone at the event and turned them into zombies, and that it was a group of folk tied to the Korvosan Guard that took her down. One of them is an old familiar name; Raliscar.
Tracking him down (for whatever reason you choose), you find him and his crew breaking into the Hospice of the Blessed Lady. The place where all the sick are supposed to be taken to fight the plague.
This is all suggestion for a tie-in, nothing required for your story. The only thing immutable is the facts about what happened at the party. That all happened in game.
I think that sounds fine. Do I find them when they are committed and drag him along rather than argue with him or does someone have a different plan to bring him in?
I might be a bit slow to post for a while, folks. I'm sneaking this up from my bed in the Emergency Room at present. It's nothing life threatening, but I could be out of comission for a short spell.
Yikes! Get healed up, sir!
Get well soon, Raliscar. May your healers' d8s roll high.
Will be out of town 'til Monday.
In the meantime, Vyshael will just be a little less snarky, but still quite pleased with the hitting of bad things.
I might be a bit slow to post for a while, folks. I'm sneaking this up from my bed in the Emergency Room at present. It's nothing life threatening, but I could be out of comission for a short spell.
Totally missed this! Glad it sounds like everything turned out alright.
Aard, should Rutter change out his finesse rogue talent (equiv to weapon finesse) since the new house rules would have given him weapon finesse for free?
Rutter, yes, I was going to ask and make sure you took that into consideration. Since you would have started with finesse, there would have been no reason to take the rogue talent.
Feldivar, could you put a status bar with your profile (like the others), with the AC HP and all that?
Oops, sorry. Will do soon.
Okay, since it looks agreed upon, everyone remember to add/rearrange your skill points to account for the class-specific rank/level.
Feldy, as an Arcane bloodline (given that it says any knowledge), I will say your class-specific skill point is in Knowledge Arcana.
Alright, I had 5 ranks in Survival before the Great Skill Point Endowment of 2016 occurred.
Shifted those over to Stealth, leaving me with a full 6 ranks there and 6 shiny gmfiat ranks in Survival. Mmmm!
My single point in Knowlege (arcana) was moved to Linguistcs and now I have a much better chance of knowing the answers to magical questions!
Feld, wasn't ignoring your post, just role-playing Neva not seeing or hearing Raliscar having a conversation :-)
Oh, I know. I thought it was rather classic, honestly.
Oof. If I knew those Physicians had sneak attack, I wouldn't have stayed there. Alas.
But fear not. In the words of Jeff Spicoli: "Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it."
If anyone's going to know the best place to utilize a scalpel for maximum damage, I'm thinking it's a physician. But I didn't know, either.
Yeah, I think the point of this whole thing was for the physicians to be surprise baddies. =\
On vacation, but should still be able to post. If there is a day or so delay, it's likely travel and should clear up.
Aard,
When this fight is done, can I swap out Rapid Reload for a different feat since it doesn't work with Crossbow Mastery like I thought it did?
It's doing less for me than Endurance - and that's a preeeeeeetty low bar =P