The last entry lists tomorrow's date at Rosuc - Silver Spirits.[/b] She produces the ledger and lays it on the table. Seems like the Duresu's were involved with the selling of Pesh. We could go after these past clients or we could just go after this one scheduled for tomorrow...I would say hang on to this one for now. Just a feeling. Didn't we mention something at the beginning of the campaign about developing a secret method of communication? Can we go ahead and act on that?
Yea, that information is already out.
As for secret communication you can use bluff, and the receiver use sense motive, to pass hidden messages. Of course other listeners have a chance to pick up on those. Though I would give the members of the group a small circumstance bonus as they know each other better.
Your other option would be to choose a language you don't think others will speak by each taking a rank in linguistics.
My goal was not so much secret communication, just a way to quickly contact each other. If we suddenly find we can hit the rogue's hideout we want to be able to go grab the Mage group 'cause we are not going in alone. :)
With no word from Talathel or Mikal, if anyone has a friend they believe would be interested in joining let me know.
Since we know the thieves are intentionally leaving those feathers, could they somehow leave them to throw us off - some kind of misdirection?
Any interest Cindy from any of your friends?
None, I am sorry to say. I'll see them Thursday but do not recommend we wait. I did want to let one other person know about the opening but have not had time to do so yet.
Update: One of the guys was on vacation and did not see the mail. I texted him and he is interested. Working up something now.
I was invited by a member of the Merchant's Guild. I am an active poster on the boards and would like to join my friend. I am currently on vacation, but brought along my iPad and iPhone. Since I left my laptop at home (no herolabs), I will get some help creating the character. Thank you for the possibility of playing in this campaign!
Hello Jman, will be interested to see what you create. Not sure how much info Cindy Lu has already given you.
Current group consists of a Air Elementalist 5, Monk 5, Cleric 5, and Scarred Witch Doctor 5.
Original recruitment thread with full details on character creation, etc, are here
Original Recruitment
Here is a recruitment thread for one additional player in addition to Jman.
All here are welcome to post comments regarding any applicants in that thread.
Thank you for the information. I am working on the character. I love the background. It looks like some awesome RP opportunities.
I am looking at a skills/melee guy. Probably ranger/rogue/fighter/inquisitor/barbarian or combination of two of those.
Let me know how I can help. I have Herolab handy...
I believe I have a 6th player. Should be able to confirm later tonight.
Working on a halfling Knifemaster/Scout Rogue. Should be done soon. I am doing my character by hand so it is taking a little longer.
I think the 6th is creating either a ranger or a barbarian, not sure yet.
I PMed you my build and some questions for a background ;)
Hey Jman! Glad to have you on board!
If you put up your build here after out DM clears it we call all nit pic, er, I mean offer advice. :)
Hey Jman! Glad to have you on board!
Thanks! ~Jman
Build is in the profile!
Very nice build. Glad to see that +2 cloak. Not sure how much money you have left.
Glad you have a disguise skill and not just the hat. I just caught a Mage guy with a hat in his disguise with a detect Magic. My protocol when out and about is to keep that spell going when I can and look for people using illusion magic. Point is that sometimes you will want to use the skill over the hat. A disguise kit is cheep and could help.
It would be great if you had some way to fly in case of emergencies. I note your climb skill is not great. Potions are 700 though.
What about a wand of Inv. with a few charges? A single dose of Dust if Disappearance in case we have to fight another party?
Is there anything that you can have that can create a distraction to allow you to stealth once you have been seen? Even a smoke stick can work wonders.
We may never have to fight one, but I still worry about enemy summoners with eidolons or fast summon. Not sure what we can do about.
@Shiv. Couple comments on the build.
You have +10 to hit with a dagger. +3 BAB, +5 Dex, +1 Mwk. I'm missing something else or this should be +9.
Skills you have 40 points. Most of your skills you've listed points spent in () for a total of 37, but this is missing for Disguise and UMD. At best you could have one of those skills at a final value of +7 and drop the other. Or put one at +5 and the other at +6.
River Rat is technically not from the allowed source books, but I'm fine with it, keep it.
Adopted: Tusks - where is this trait from? I'm not sure on the source book or rules for it.
You took Offensive Defense and Combat Trick (TWF) for your rogue tricks?
Knifemasters lose trapfinding, so no bonuses to perception/disable device on traps.
You have a spellbook listed in your equipment - not sure if that was intended?
I'm calculating all of your saves should be one lower than listed. Fort +1 (rogue 4) +2 con +2 cloak. Ref +4 (rogue 5) +5 dex +2 cloak. Will +1 (rogue 5) +1 wis +2 cloak.
Can I also have you split your AC to 22 (23 vs small blades) +3 after SA.
All minor and easy corrections and you are good to go.
You have +10 to hit with a dagger. +3 BAB, +5 Dex, +1 Mwk. I'm missing something else or this should be +9. ----> Small +1
Adopted: Tusks - where is this trait from? I'm not sure on the source book or rules for it.---->ARG:
Toothy Some half-orcs' tusks are large and sharp, granting a bite attack. This is a primary natural attack that deals 1d4 points of piercing damage.--->Adopted allows this
You took Offensive Defense and Combat Trick (TWF) for your rogue tricks?---> Weapon Finesse
I'm calculating all of your saves should be one lower than listed. Fort +1 (rogue 4) +2 con +2 cloak. Ref +4 (rogue 5) +5 dex +2 cloak. Will +1 (rogue 5) +1 wis +2 cloak.----> Halfling Luck
You have a spellbook listed in your equipment - not sure if that was intended?---->Oversight. I copy/Pasted you example and filled in the blanks
Skills you have 40 points. Most of your skills you've listed points spent in () for a total of 37, but this is missing for Disguise and UMD. At best you could have one of those skills at a final value of +7 and drop the other. Or put one at +5 and the other at +6.----> I will look over these adding by paper and iPhone.
Can I also have you split your AC to 22 (23 vs small blades) +3 after SA.--->Yes
Knifemasters lose trapfinding, so no bonuses to perception/disable device on traps.---> Mistake on sheet. May be left over from copy/paste
Thanks for checking. On vacation and did full character on my phone. I will change the things I had wrong.
Ouch for doing that on the phone. That had to have been quite tedious. And my error forgetting the various halfling bonuses.
Welcome, Shiv. Another skill monkey among the merchants' allies. At least we know where the money's at.
Welcome, Shiv. Another skill monkey among the merchants' allies. At least we know where the money's at.
Hey Aria! Who are the skill monkeys (Current group consists of a Air Elementalist 5, Monk 5, Cleric 5, and Scarred Witch Doctor 5)? Shiv is actually built to do damage and has some skills since the campaign looks RPer friendly. I am hoping the 6th character does a melee beast. Looking at the other groups this group looked light on damage and skills.
@GM Changes made: I made sure skills=40 (8x5), fixed my AC to read as you asked, deleted trapfinding and spell book, made separate section for rogue talents.
We all are to some extent. I don't think a single one of us has put skill points only in the skills typically reserved for the classes. Just because we don't have someone with a high number of skill points doesn't mean we haven't been investing them in unusual things. As far as damage goes, I find it almost easier to remove the enemies' capacity to deal damage. But before I get too snarky and drive off anyone I think I'll be quiet. :P
Anyway, nice to have you aboard.
We all are to some extent. I don't think a single one of us has put skill points only in the skills typically reserved for the classes. Just because we don't have someone with a high number of skill points doesn't mean we haven't been investing them in unusual things. As far as damage goes, I find it almost easier to remove the enemies' capacity to deal damage. But before I get too snarky and drive off anyone I think I'll be quiet. :P
Anyway, nice to have you aboard.
Ouch. Sry if I offended. I thought skill monkey meant a character built to be extremely successful out of combat (not one that has stealth, bluff, and disguise because the GM said it would be smart to do so). I agree on taking people out of combat. I love witches and wizards due to the fact they are very good at this. A well balanced party is what I was attempting to build around. I figured I would leave the "removing" to the wizard, witch, and CMB monk and attempt to bring some extra skills and melee damage. In my experience, teamwork is the most effective tactic.
And the question about who the skill monkeys were was an honest question. I thought I was missing a character. I attempted to build my character in a way that stayed off of toes and helped the group as much as possible. I would love some constructive advice of how I could do this better if you have any. ;)
Hi all,
I heard the merchants were in need of another player and decided to join up. I was told I couldn't be a Ferengi so I'm being a barbarian instead. Hopefully I can catch up on the story line and events quickly.
Hi all,
I heard the merchants were in need of another player and decided to join up. I was told I couldn't be a Ferengi so I'm being a barbarian instead. Hopefully I can catch up on the story line and events quickly.
Nice build! I have a flanking buddy!!!!
Dirty Fighter +1 damage when flanking
Hello Shiv and Vayga! Glad to have you on board!
Hello Shiv and Vayga! Glad to have you on board!
Thanks Vados. It looks like a great group from reading some of the gameplay!
Welcome Vayga. Glad to have you on board. I looked over your build and like what I see, but have one immediate question - Human or dwarf?
And would you appreciate any min/max critique/fine tuning? You are pretty good to go just as you are but we could help you squeak out some efficiency if you are interested. Normally it would not be that big of a deal, but we have some Summoners to deal with at some point and might need every advantage.
One question for our DM is do you want our newcomers to receive the treasure cut from the two players? I can go back and see what items they ended up with. I think the gold share was around 2300.
A quick synopsis for the two new comers.
The group started out fending off pirates, protecting the interests of Anton di Alkanov, second seat on the merchant council.
The following morning it was heard numerous murders were committed throughout the city, including Drail Banden (a man who owned several warehouses in the docks), and the Duresu family - spice merchants. Over the next two days two merchants were robbed - a bakery, though the only thing stolen was several loaves of bread and pastries. And a fruit shop where a coin box was stolen and a small bag of cinnamon was stolen.
A search of the Duresu home uncovered a bag of pesh. Pesh is a hallucinogenic drug, often mixed with food, and is illegal in the city - though there are places in the city where pesh flows freely. Pesh is also sometimes used in rituals of darker deities. Also found with the pesh was a sheet of paper listing names, locations, and dates. All but the last entry were past dates. The last entry is one day from now with a name of Rosuc and a location of The Silver Spirits. The Silver Spirits is a tavern near the south gate.
In the bakery was found a dirty handprint outside a broken window, and a muddy footprint inside. Both were small suggesting a younger person or small adult.
In the fruit shop the coin box was missing and a small piece of dirty cloth was found snagged on a lose board outside the shop. Also missing was a bag of cinnamon that the owner had recently purchased from the Duresu's.
Also going on was the discovery the one Mr Jumai, a glass merchant, has been accosted by four thieve's who have pressed him into paying monthly protection fees. He gave the group a black crows feather that the thieve's had left behind.
The group then met with several representatives of the Tower of the Heavens and arranged for a scrying on both the black feather and the piece of cloth. Fortune favored the group and the black feather lead to a person with a familiar resemblance to Drail Banden.
The cloth lead to a viewing of a teenage half-elven girl hanging out on Beggar's street - which is where the group is now.
There are more details of course, but that is the gist of things.
Yes, each of them should have started with 12300.
Yes, each of them should have started with 12300.
Awesome and thanks for the update. I read the past three pages of game thread, but wasn't sure how much you wanted us to read.
Human or dwarf?
Dwarf :) Despite the avatar, and the mistake on my character sheet. Thanks for pointing it out.
And would you appreciate any min/max critique/fine tuning?
Sure. I'm still new to the whole non-mmorpg type gaming. My son helps me out some too, but I'll take help from wherever I can get it.
Very cool. I have two kids and game with both. My son, having been raised as a gamer, has always been quick to grasp a rule set and create maximized characters. And my daughter is no slouch either.
Gotta run to a loooong meeting in a sec. My first comment is that your weapon of choice, while iconic, is recognized as the least optimized two handed weapon in the game. So, if changing it, and potentially your last name :), is an option for you consider the advantages of higher crit weapons and reach weapons. In very general terms Falchard > Falchion > Great Sword > Great Axe. The idea is that as you grow in power as a fighter your adds in damage (from Strength, power attack, etc) are more important than the random number you roll to add to that roll and the chance to crit becomes more important. This can become even more true with big adds like a Paladin's smite or special crit focused feats. Oh, and the Falchard is an exotic weapon so you gotta take another feat to be proficient (or use some of that extra money to buy a certain cracked ioun stone for 1500).
So, axes are cool, and an axe crit at X3 damage can end a fight, but over the long haul many weapons are better. And if you decide to stay with the Great Axe, for flavor, or whatever reason, Cindy is carrying a +1 Great Axe that is party treasure that she might could be talked out of. So that might save you 2000.00 gold right there.
This is another topic, and I do not have time to discuss it in detail now, but the boost you get from a magic weapon over a masterwork one is likely not worth it at level 5 UNLESS you need the magic to overcome DR of a creature. The extra 2000 gold is only buying you +1 damage. You might be better off with a point of AC from a ring or broach instead, and I am pretty sure you would be better off getting your longbow upgraded to a composite strength bow with that money. 500 gold would have you doing your strength bonus of +5 with it.
an axe crit at X3 damage can end a fight...
That's what I was loving, but I can see that I'll love critting more often too. Gotta love a good crit. So I've decided to go with the Falchion.
You might be better off with a point of AC from a ring or broach instead, and I am pretty sure you would be better off getting your longbow upgraded to a composite strength bow with that money. 500 gold would have you doing your strength bonus of +5 with it.
I was misinformed on the cost of making my long bow composit. (I was told $300g instead of $100 per point of strength.) Where I wasn't willing to spend $1200 I am willing to spend $500. I have taken your advice and dropped the +1 from my ax... err falchion. After spending the gold to upgrade my bow I just need to save up another $250g to able to afford a ring or broach. Shouldn't take too long.
Thanks for the advice.
Did not mean to steal the show there folks. Glad Cindy is out of there alive and hope she did a good job both ending the current threat to the merchants from this group of thieves (at least for a time) and gaining intel on the group responsible for attacking/extorting Master Jumai. That went way different than I envisioned.
A few questions to the group, and the first one is my main concern.
1) Are we ready to try this? We need everyone on board and ready to go all out if we are going to go PVP. That means commitment both IC and OOC in the form of availability to post. We can't this with a post a week from people.
2)What other resources might we be able to get? What support from the merchant's guild? From the Mages? I would rather include the Mages if possible. Thoughts?
3) What do we need to buy to help make this a success in the way of consumables - potions and scrolls, etc? Thinking buffs, antitoxins, etc.
Oh, and now I get the black feather - The "Crow"
3) What do we need to buy to help make this a success in the way of consumables - potions and scrolls, etc? Thinking buffs, antitoxins, etc.
Something to boost Garion's CHA would be nice.
I think we need some form of telepathic communication device. But other than that, Aria is pretty much willing to go along with what everyone else suggests. (With a few roleplaying emotional conflicts.)
If you want to pick up any extra equipment, consider that potions of whatever variety are readily available.
Wands and scrolls of specific spells may or may not be available without a days advance notice to get it crafted - though the merchant's guild may be able to help locate specific items in a shorter time span (it will be a % chance rolled randomly on my end).
Map is up, but it looks like it only shows the first floor of the building. Lots of little rooms. I think I see stairs up, or down one. Which is it? I only see one way in, and can't tell where the windows are. Can we get a little more detail from both recon from the outside and from Firyin? Any known secret doors? A basement? There has to be other ways in and out.
Aria, we have Message, and that is better than nothing. Pretty good actually. But I am hoping that we can stay together and focus fire to bring them down one by one. If we don't we may die, because I bet they will. Do you have some kind of wind spell that could let us contact one of the Mage guys? DM says they are out of town at the moment.
What I want to do as soon as Firyin provides the location is to start watching the building to note who comes and goes. Can Firyin handle that for us? Could we use your familiar Aria? Its critical that this is not noticed so I am talking about likely something from afar, or someone that would already be in the area anyway. Ideas?
If we catch a subset of them leaving we could maybe jump them. I do not want to go in to find them not there. That would cost us our element of surprise. And we better start thinking about where we stay and how that is protected. Can the merchants provide us a safe area in a protected compound?
If we assume we are going in either the front door, like we own the place, or a window, sneaky like can I get everyone to post what first and second level buffs they would want running as we move in? We have the option of some longer duration buffs being cast for us for a price. Other buffs we can try to get scrolls for. Between us we can cast a number of scrolls. And there will likely be a few potions that are worth buying too. Maybe a get out of a tight spot potion.
Spells I can provide include:
Guidance, Enlarge Person, Mage Armor and invisibility, plus False Life on myself.
Makes sense to have Detect Secret Doors running on at least one of us. Also I would like protection from Evil cast on me, but it is not on my spell list, so that might be a potion. The alter Self spell lasts at least three minutes, can grant darkvision and give you +2 to strength or dex. I may also buy a scroll of Perceive Clues and a potion of Mirror Image.
An unseen servant lasts an hour and can load crossbows and open doors. Find Traps is a cleric spell and might be of use.
That is all I can think of for now.
This is seriously intimidation. I really don't know what most of these potions/scrolls/spells etc. are.
I am committed to posting at least once a day and will do the ic roll playing as best I can. Other than that I will rely heavily on the discussion for what I should buy etc. I was hoping to save up the last 200g (woot only 950g with my 5% merchant discount) for a broach or ring, but that can wait if there is something more important. Please let me know and please don't get frustrated when I'm clueless.
The stairs lead up. There is no basement level (or at least not a known one).
Firyin could have it watched, but if you aren't close by to take advantage of it? I guess that depends on what your exact plan is for having it watched.
Make sure your quarry is inside? Or that they are leaving so you can follow? Other?
The merchant's can provide a safe house if needed.
And if anyone asks a question that I fail to answer bug me about it.
Yes, Cindy Lu is our rules expert. I too am mostly a roleplayer. I lightly use the rules to live the character. So we'll have fun either way. :P
I love to role play too, but PVP is another matter all together. I would wager large sums that the other side is more maximized for combat that us, and I am not a betting man.
Here is my assessment:Our advantage, surprise, allows us to buff before entering. But without some intel on where the enemy is inside, we likely loose the advantage completely as we will almost assuredly be detected before we can locate them. In a couple rounds they will be organized and buffed and we will have a fair fight on our hands. Who wants that. :) And it really will not be fair because they will have home field advantage.
So, unless we can get some good intel, or some shock troops, I say we do not go in. Just too dangerous. I would much rather catch them outside than fight them in a closed area where they can flank (they are rogues after all) and I cannot fly. :)
I can help recommend some buffs for you Vayga, and maybe even provide a couple. Aria's spell list is a lot larger than mine though, so she would be more capable of using scrolls to buff us than me, in general.
Gotta go do some work. More later on buffs. Lets keep talking and work out a plan.
What is our objective, capture or elimination? Or just information gathering?