I often wish I still lived there myself. Though I what I honestly miss the most is: H-E-B
Last time I left, HEB was still only in one or two cities. Taco Cabana was only in San Antonio.
When I got back, they are now both EVERYWHERE.
What I missed most was warmth. Too thin-blooded, apparently.
Shopping at HEB again has certainly been nice. man i missed good guac and tortillas living overseas.
We're back now, and things are still a bit scattered but working.
Glad to hear you're stateside! Yeah, good guac, tortillas and that whole bean Taste of San Antonio coffee!
GM - Can I get a ruling/opinion from you?
I'd really like to get Bazikian up and back to functional so he can participate. Nyalis could whip up a Cure Light Wounds infusion but probably can't use it on Bazikian (the whole infusions become inert when leaving the Alchemist's possession thing) based on strict rules as written. However, Nyalis intends to take the infusion discovery at level 2, which should fix this issue.
So, will you let me pour a CLW infusion into Bazikian's mouth and have it work now or do we need to let him heal up naturally? I promise not to pull a fast one and pick a different discovery when we level up.
I just needed to see out one more round and y'all would have stolen those zombies' attention - so close!
Funny enough you should ask, as you are all now up to level 2. for story's sake to let Bazikian interact with the people in the lodge I am ok with you infusing somethign now. story-wise it could be that this is how Nyalis figures out that particular discovery.
For leveling up, please make a post here in the discussion thread detailing the things that you gain for your new level and make your HP rolls.
Remember to update all of your saves, perception, initiative and HP totals in the stat tracker on the maps link. I will always just grab the roll generators there when you need saves, and I leave it up to the players to make sure those are correct and up to date.
Ranger (Woodland Skirmisher) 2
HP +11(+9+1+1)
+1 BAB
+1 Fort
+1 Ref
Combat Style Feat (Archery): Rapid Shot
Skills: Knowledge (Geography, Local, Nature), Perception, Profession (Guide), Stealth, Survival
GREAT!
And Baz was doing exactly what the group needed Baz to be doing. We just asked you to do it one round too long.
I'll have a gameplay post later today. In the meantime, Nyalis's Level 2 setup:
+1 BAB
+1 Fort, +1 Ref saves
New abilities:
Discovery (infusion)
poison resistance +2
poison use
Bomb 6x/day - DC15 for half damage
8 skill points:
Acrobatics, Craft(Alchemy), Heal, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Local), Knowledge (Nature), Perception, Spellcraft
New Hp's:
3 L1 extracts/day
New formula: Longshot
Will update the trackers and my profile as well.
And Baz was doing exactly what the group needed Baz to be doing. We just asked you to do it one round too long.
I'm glad I managed to hold them up for a bit. I must admit, I thought it was the right move, but I felt a bit silly just saying "Total defence!" every round. Can't say I've used that tactic before.
At first I was sure I knew which Rogue Talent I'd choose this time around (Trap Spotter), but now I'm getting indecisive and I'd like your opinions.
Trap Spotter (Ex): Benefit: Whenever a rogue with this talent comes within 10 feet of a trap, she can attempt an immediate Perception check to notice the trap. This check should be made in secret by the GM.
Fast Getaway (Ex): Benefit: After successfully making a sneak attack or Sleight of Hand check, a rogue with this talent can spend a move action to take the withdraw action. She can move no more than her speed during this movement.
Fast Stealth (Ex): Benefit: This ability allows a rogue to move at full speed using the Stealth skill without penalty.
Minor Magic (Sp): Benefit: A rogue with this talent gains the ability to cast a 0-level spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. This spell can be cast at will as a spell-like ability. The rogue’s caster level for this ability is equal to her rogue level. The save DC for this spell is 10 + the rogue’s Intelligence modifier. A rogue must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 to select this talent.
This has a lot of interesting options. I was thinking maybe Spark. But not sold on it yet.
Terrain Mastery (Ex): Benefit: A rogue with this talent gains a favored terrain, as the ranger class feature of the same name, but the bonus does not increase with her level. A rogue can select this talent multiple times, each time applying it to a new terrain.
(Favored Terrain: A ranger gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when he is in this terrain. A ranger traveling through his favored terrain normally leaves no trail and cannot be tracked (though he may leave a trail if he so chooses).)
Trap Spotter looks like a very reasonable choice to me. We are bound to stumble on hidden traps sooner or later and Brom seems the kind that would head scouting before the others so Fast Getaway would be a good match for him too.
Minor Magic is pretty much always useful if you pick a decent cantrip. As Easlis noted, traps are sure to show up - this is a Pathfinder AP! I think Terrain Mastery is the only one I wouldn't be so keen on. Unless it really suits your backstory/concept.
Not helping much, am I?
+ CON mod (2) = 17hp
Rogue, Unchained Knife Master (Lvl 2):
HP: +6 (3+1+2)
+1 BAB
+1 Ref
Abilities:
Evasion (instead of 1/2 damage on successful Ref save, take no damage).
Rogue Talent: Trap Spotter (GM makes secret perception roll whenever I'm within 10 feet of a trap).
9 Skill points:
Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Kn(Dungeoneering), Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth
Good choice :)
I'll get my level up done over the next 24 hours, that okay GM?
no rush, things move slow enough in PbP that it shouldn't hurt you to take a bit of time to get it all set up
Magus ( Hefcafter ) lvl 2:
+
Skills:
Spellcraft, Perception, Intimidate, Knowledge Arcana , Knowledge Planes, Use magic device
Class Feature:
Spellstrike
+1 BAB +1 Fort +1 Will
I seem to have forgotten adding some of my initial spells that come with the attribute modifier so I will add them now.
New Spells:
Burning hands, Enlarge Person, Ill Omen, Magic Weapon, Shield, True Strike
Cleric level 2
Well that sucks. Guess that's where my FCB is going. Total of 6.
+1 BAB, Fort, Will
Skills (2): Diplomacy, Heal
That's all my choices. Boring level for me, looking forward to 2nd level spells and a better HP roll next level :)
Yes I'm eager to see lvl 3 as well! Sneak attack will be 2d8 and I'll actually be able to add my Dex mod to my damage rolls! I'm sick of 1d4-1 haha
Just as a heads up, my mom is coming to visit this weekend (well, let's be honest: She's coming to visit her granddaughter. I her father just happen to live in the same house ^_^).
So I'll probably be able to post at some point, but I can't guarantee it.
Thanks!
Yes, grandchildren are their ultimate distraction.
If you get past a certain age and haven't got them grandkids, you'd never hear the end of it.
Have fun this weekend!
Generally, yeah. But I, for example, am never expecting my now 30-year-old, single, gay son to provide grandchildren. His 27-year-old brother and 25-year-old sister are handling that well enough, anyway. The sister's pregnant with her second, actually.
Yeah, my family never came out to visit us just one state away for the 9 years I lived in Texas previously. My wife and I went back to see them a few tiems for holidays bu that was it. as soon as my first daughter was born, though, they were visiting at least twice a year!
All, sorry for my unannounced delay and absence this week. Real life and work did a number on me. I hope I did not stall the story too much.
Not a problem, things are moving forward at a good pace still. Out of combat it is easy enough if one person gets busy. in combat is more of a drag if we're waiting on someone who didn't mention they were busy.
Off to BSA Troop Campout. I will be back Sunday. If you need to bot me, just treat me like a point defense platform.
So, to clarify, I'd love to get brominate a mithral shirt because it boosts his AC, is 10lbs lighter and takes away that pesky armor check penalty. So if someone has more money than they need to spend (...), and they're willing to part with it (...), in character they could trade with Brom. It's asking a lot, I know. I technically could afford it if I sold several of my really useful things. But they are things I find I'd rather not part with. This adventure be hard and we'll need all the help we can get.
I'm not as concerned about the cold iron dagger. I'm miles away from affording that.
I find rogues aren't incredibly useful until level 3 when I add dex bonus to both my attack and damage rolls (when using daggers, anyway).
But my heart won't be broken if people need their hard earned coinage and can't, or don't wish to, help. I simply have a feeling if I don't get it now, it will be a long time before we're back here, or anywhere I'd be able to get one.. Just my personal guess.
I mean... I don't want to try to steal from these townspeople...but Brominate is a former thief and if he gets desperate enough... well, anything can happen in a busy marketplace
So, why is the guy pocketing ane hiding loot from the rest of the party forcing qn even distrivution of funds instead of waiting to see what the player chooolses to do?
Me first is only appropriate when you do it?
If we're discussing loot distribution. I just wanted to let you know that I've sold some of the mundane items and the jewelry, that amounts to about 92.5 gold pieces. We still have some masterwork items, scrolls, oils to sale if in need.
Since I don't technically need the money at this point (excluding the part from the sold items for transcribing spells) I'm dividing my share of the reward evenly among you guys, assuming Grimsgisli doesn't retire with them. Or if I still have a share after finding out I gave away the masterwork axe.
We'll see how we can role play this.
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I'm not a massive loot lover- one of the things I really like about 5e is that there's no expectation PCs get any loot at all - but in PF character wealth is kinda baked in the the game. Brom, pretty sure you have hundreds of gold worth more treasure than anyone else currently. We probably need to discuss as players how we want to handle loot distribution. As Grim says, if Brom as a character gets to unilaterally decide to do what he wants with loot he finds, that means other characters get the same right to decide.
Having said that, I think there are better ways to do it than "character finds, character decides". However we do it, though, we need to be generally consistent. For me, I prefer rational player discussion based on general parity without sacrificing the "best use" principle. I.e. we try to keep our character wealth levels roughly even, but if there are two wicked (and valuable) items that suit a magus perfectly, then it makes sense to give them to Easlis, as that will benefit the party the most.
Thoughts?
As Baz mentioned, keeping the same wealth level (with items included) for all party members seems to be the fairest option.
It would be probably for the best if we post in the discussion thread if we want to take a more expensive item for ourselves and try to even out the balance when the loot is split, such that if a character had the misfortune of not stumbling across items not suitable for him (eg medium size), he would have the funds to buy the items he needs.
So, why is the guy pocketing ane hiding loot from the rest of the party forcing qn even distrivution of funds instead of waiting to see what the player chooolses to do?
Me first is only appropriate when you do it?
And that's a solid example of why I don't like trying to post from my phone at work.
You're completely right Grim! Apologies! I actually forgot that I had Brom pocket coins secretly. I can rectify that.
I didn't mean to take away your choice Grim, I'm truly sorry about that.
Wow, I kinda feel terrible now.
I'll update loot sheet to remove the distribution of the payout.
I'm honestly very ashamed right now. I wasn't even thinking, y'all.
Well, I was thinking, but only of myself and pushing forward with the adventure.
Grim, I'm sorry for overstepping my bounds and for acting selfishly. To the whole party, I apologize.
To quote Boy Meets World:
"I am shame-faced."
Hey all, just to be clear, I'm not foreshadowing any PvP with Bazikian's moral outrage at Easlis's killing of the fey, just playing up the tension a little bit. One of my favourite love/hate (hate/hate?) relationships as a young reader was between Raistlin and Sturm in the original Dragonlance novels. It never came to into play in any other way than heated exchanges between the characters in non-combat situations, but I found it compelling when it came to the fore. I often play badass or strictly rational characters, but with Bazikian it's all heart, so just embracing and enjoying that to the full with no intention of any real schism :)
To be honest, I enjoy seeing conflict between characters of a party, I think it makes them feel alive. It is to be expected with these characters: one if very calculating and cold the other emotional, kind.
I understand that in some cases this would lead to a disagreement between players or the party on the brink of a wipe because two of its members have decided their enemy is not the villain but their comrades.
So, are we all set about how we do loot distribution and what we want to acquire?
Coming a bit late to the loot party. I think the sheet is a bit behind. There are at least a few scrolls of lesser animate dead (around post 608 in gameplay) that were not yet accounted for. I added them to line 48 of the loot tracker sheet but there might be a bit more. Will scour the gameplay thread some more.
Nyalis would use the MWK Studded leather and MWK Longsword as they are both incremental upgrades. Other than that, he mostly has an interest in some snowshoes or a MWK backpack. He'll RP that interaction.
Outside that, any issue with Nyalis making Endure Elements potions at the apothecary? He'd hand them out to the party if needed and it simplifies some of the cold/winter issues we have to deal with.
I haven't posted to a single one of my games while I've been working through my position on this one game, and this one player's behavior in the game.
In some systems, player capability is not tied as directly to player wealth as it is in D20. In D20, though, this aggressive me first attitude towards party loot actively prevents others from acquiring the capabilities the system expects them to have by given experience points.
I refuse to accept being handicapped by one of the other players at the table because he thinks that's how he should play the game.
I can't change anyone else's behavior. I know that. But I do not have to submit myself to it on an ongoing basis.
I'm out.
First of all, it's not healthy to keep things that bother you all to yourself. They tend to pile up until they overflow. Better say them out loud and clear, leaving all politeness aside.
I understand how some players enjoy optimizing the "capability" of their characters, but I think most of us are here primarily for the story and interactions (Good job everybody so far! )
So instead of leaving outright why not suggest a method you consider fair for loot distribution and let's discuss it like mature people.
We've been RP ing for almost half a year and I at least would be sad to see you go.
When I called him on the behavior, and he apologized for telling me what my character did, but not for not only effectively stealing from the group, but then compounding it by trying to sell what should have been group goods to individuals?
D20 is too dependent upon everyone having an expected character wealth spent on materials to improve their capabilities for me to want to waste my time with someone who is going to explicitly work to handicap everyone else in the group.
I had to wait until we got back to town to see what he was going to do with/about the stuff he had been pocketing. Then he immediately went down the path that hurt the entire group, and seems to think it was completely appropriate that he do so.
The game engine is built around several assumptions, one of them is that the party works together. Everyone should be an expert in an area, and the group synergizes beyond what any one expert can accomplish by working together.
I can't change anyone else's behavior, but I do not have to submit myself to it.
I've sort of stayed out of the middle of the whole pocketing issue but it looks like it's now a party issue so my input:
- I like the group and our interactions. Each of us has a few neat things about their character that adds depth and (for me) to the fun. Like Easlis, I'd hate to lose that.
- It seems like we are at least open for having a discussion on how to move forward. Hopefully, we are not past the point of no return.
- It is also true we need to decide on a way forward. Based on where we are, I don't see us being handicapped from a game mechanics perspective but Grim's concerns are not completely unfounded if it happened with a rare or unusual item or something that we need to advance the story.
So, is it possible to work this out in an IC way? Perhaps have Brominate feel bad and come clean? That could handle this discussion as well as allow for character growth.
All I can do is apologize to this group. I don't want anyone to leave because of me. And all I want to do is make it right.
Whatever has to happen to make that right, I'll do it.
It was never my intention to hurt the party or handicap anyone, but the intention is irrelevant. My actions hurt the party and I see that.
Please don't leave on account of what I've done. If you don't think we can get past this, I'll drop out. I caused this.
But I'd like us to work together.
All I can offer is a pledge of full cooperation and team synergy going forward, and to ensure anything I have acquired up to this point effectively party loot, available for anyone to use.
No more pocketing coins, taking away player's choices, or selfish playing.
If this is not enough, then that saddens me, but I will drop out so Grim doesn't have to.
I get where Grim is coming from, but that's a pretty complete and unreserved apology from Brom right there.
As a reminder, if you are having issues with another player due to decisions made in the game, please feel free to reach out to me. I am happy to go behind the scenes through messages to try to work out conflict, especially if it comes about through a misunderstanding of what other people intended.
As GM, I am leaving the loot entirely up to the party because I don't like to micromanage that side of things. But I will encourage you all to keep things as balanced as possible. As Grim stated it is really important that the PCs stay pretty close to each other in terms of resources.
Rogues often have this sort of RP issue, where it feels like naturally a rogue would be looking out for themselves and pocketing a bit of extra shiny along the way. however for a group game, this never ends well. it takes a real experienced group of close friends to have stuff like that not end horribly (See the glass cannon podcast for an example of this done really well). If you are going to roleplay out pocketing loot or hiding things from other PCs, you need to have a clear plan on how it is going to be worked out in the end. either by having the character feel bad and turn over his coin after selling his treasures, or by taking less from the party distributions OOC to balance things back out.
All that said, I really hope that the two of you are both able to continue. I am enjoying the inter-character development in this game, and it would be a shame if something like this lost us our first player...
Finished work, dinner, my Monday night chat game (ended early, actually, when the GM's headset died between encounters), and ran through all my other games.
Time to see about the fallout and stress I've created.
I agree that last post was pretty explicit. And I hope we can all agree that Baz's reference to sexual music was both funny and misplaced.
I have enjoyed the interactions in this game as much as anyone else has, I think. I'm not really in a hurry to walk away from that, either, but cooperation at the player level is not optional in the game design. Note I did NOT say character level.
I truly don't care about the specifics of how we work to advance everyone's capabilities, as long as we do. I've seen groups run like accounting firms, where every copper value is tracked and the loot is distributed primarily on assuring provably equal value. I've seen groups that focused first on improving everyone's damage capability, then their AC, then their skill modifiers, and around. I've seen groups that try to help each character improve however they desire, rolling through the group one at a time, possibly skipping someone if they got an unusually expensive item recently.
The options are limited only by our imagination.
My Monday night chat group is amazing about loot. Anything that can be used (well) by someone in the party goes directly to them without thought. Hand-me-downs are assumed (though pretty rare because of the lack of build overlap). Spending cash starts out with a quick "what did the last couple of sessions show we need to get better?", and gets spent that way. Everyone has a wishlist, and we look for ways to advance through those lists. Having a crafter in the party helps quite a bit, too, since there's enough downtime to actually craft. I don't think that's an option in this AP.
It would probably be a good idea to formalize at least a structure for how the players will deal with loot. Character interactions have to result in implementing the player decisions, but they don't have to actively support those ends . . ..
Like I said, when he started pocketing things, I didn't assume he was going to do anything with them. I had to wait to see what the player's choice was.
What kind of structure makes sense to this group?
Pointless edit: Monday night chat group make-up - Unchained rogue; oracle (crafter); psychic; and shifter. No serious armor. No significant martial weapons (1 rapier, IIRC). Heck, only 1 character that really uses weapons. No real overlap in specialty items desired. Rings/cloaks are the primary hand-me-downs that actually happen.
Just a heads up folks, inside the last two weeks till my thesis is due, so stuff's a bit crazy on my end till that's all done. I'll do my best to keep up, but feel free to bot me at any point!
So long as we work together, I'm game. I'll have to be more conscious about my actions and also work it out IC.
Quite honestly, Brominate will most likely see some family with little, but sharing what they have with others. Heart stirred, he goes and buys back anything he just sold, so he can ensure nobody in the party would want it first. Whatever is unwanted would be sold, and all funds go to the collective party loot.
Just a heads up folks, inside the last two weeks till my thesis is due, so stuff's a bit crazy on my end till that's all done. I'll do my best to keep up, but feel free to bot me at any point!
No worries, things will likely slow down a bit with the holidays coming. I will do my best to keep things moving so that the game doesn't die off, but I am happy to bot people a bit more and be more lenient on posting expectations during December.
Honestly, I was hoping someone would propose a sharing method so I could feel a little less ham-handed.
My favorite method is the "where does this do the group the most good?" method. In most cases, it really will be obvious where something found will do the most good. When it isn't, a quick discussion can usually find an amenable solution,
as long as everyone is working in good faith.
Treasure distribution has to happen to cover expendables, and especially to cover scribing spells and purchasing expensive material components that will benefit the group (Like the components for Restoration and Stoneskin, eventually. Maybe.)
Do we want to maintain a central fund for agreed group use, or just pass everything out and seek contributions if something comes up? I am not going to go so far as to recommend everything stay in a kitty. This group of characters is a long way from being able to support that kind of choice. A group that starts with close ties (like Varisians from the same caravan) might work that way, but that ain't us.
I second the idea of "where does this do the most good" method. It seems simplest, and most efficient.
I don't have a preference on party funds. Equal distribution seems simplest to me, but there are merits to having a lump sum that players can pull from when necessary. Regarding a central fund, would we set a "max spending limit" on a single item or total purchase, anything beyond which needing party approval? Or pretty much let it function as "common sense usage", or something in between?