Bullets, Lies, and Open Skies

Game Master Eben al'Jol

Nope. Just giving options as you guys consider how your crew works. I've been assuming you'd be your own crew.

Right now, it sounds like we all sort of agree a PC-as-captain makes things easier, but that none of us actually want to be the captain, haha. Gizmo (my halfling has a tentative name, anyway) is not good captain-y material as I was envisioning her.... arguably a genius, but not so great with things like 'sound judgment'. More mad-science.

Just to verify from the houserules: I'm building Gizmo as an alchemist-- but I'd be using Awareness for my main attack stat when chucking bombs? Hrrnmmmm.

Yep. I realize these modified attribute uses cause pretty much everyone to be a bit more MAD, but that's actually part of why I like them.

Anything I can help you with, Dien?

Well, we still haven't heard from the final player on concept. He may or may not be interested in the captain seat. We'll see.

I didn’t realize the Boon Companion feat had changed. This version is way more versatile. I'll have to remember that.

I’m certainly not against you taking the feat a few times. However, I’m not a fan of the idea that you’ll be running around with a brood of dogs. It just seems like it would complicate combat fairly quickly … or at least very likely slow it down, something I’m not really keen on in a pbp game.

How many were you envisioning and how do you think you’ll want to use them?

Three at the most, and that's awhile away. For most of the time I'll just have two with me (and all of the class features are really built around multiple dogs being with you). I'm planning on maybe an attack dog, a hunting dog, and a guard dog. I may have other dogs on the ship, but they woukdn't leave the ship or fight (just pets, not in the official "pack".)

I understand your concern about bogging down combat, but I think I can avoid it. I'll make an alias for the dogs with all their stats and try to stay organized--they don't have too many combat options, so I think it should be okay. Now my phalanx soldier with combat reflexes and ready pike, that's annoying in PBP. Every round i have to post all these contingencies based on how many/which enemies move through my reach. I've stayed pretty quick with my updates with that character.

Regarding the captain--I can pretty easily modify my vision for the character to make him the captain if no one else wants the job. He's smart but not educated and has the (invaluable) leadership trait of knowing his own weaknesses and surrounding himself with the best crew he can to compensate. He'll get the best navigator, the best mechanic, best fighter pilot, etc, and defer to their expertise.

Is Street Smarts a skill? It's listed in the attribute section but not the skill section.

Also, are any knowledge skills added or removed? Like, suppose i want to understand how the ship works to be able to diagnose problems. Is that just prof (aership mechanic), or something else like know (engineering)?

as to your question ben, I was not planning on owning the outflier. im thinking my guy will be a mix of Jayne and zoe, so to speak. Former military, handy in a fight, and loyal, probably in some way beholden to the captain (whomever that ends up being).

but not particularly wealthy enough to own his own ship. though one of his other motivations for being on the crew may be to have enough $ to purchase his own fighter.

oh and originally I was planning on making him kind of gruff and blunt and not captain material. but if we for whatever reason don't have any other takers for captain, I suppose I could bump his Cha and take the job, though I don't particularly see the practicality in having the captain out risking his life in dogfights. hehe.

On the whole captain thing, let's wait to hear from Lekku. Maybe he's interested in the job. I'll go give him a shout to see if I can light a fire on his concept. :)

Is Street Smarts a skill? It's listed in the attribute section but not the skill section.

Also, are any knowledge skills added or removed? Like, suppose i want to understand how the ship works to be able to diagnose problems. Is that just prof (aership mechanic), or something else like know (engineering)?

Street Smart is a bit of an artifact, actually. I had initially planned to overhaul the available skills to better reflect this world/setting.

But I abandoned this as i was getting bogged down in the details and wanted to get something up that was working (and not make you guys wait any more). If you guys are interested in using these skills instead of the standard ones, we certainly can.

Street Smart was going to be a hybrid knowledge/info gathering skill for city streets living. But when I switched back to standard PF skill list, it seemed really unnecessary. I could be convinced to leave it in, but Knowledge: Local and Diplomacy (Gather Info) will accomplish the same thing for now.

Either way, I’m likely to play a bit loose with how you guys can use skills. If a skill seems appropriate to a situation, you can likely use it … especially as it pertains to having knowledge of a situation. Specifically for the diagnosing a ship system issue (as an example), I’d allow someone with Profession (Mechanic), Craft (aership engineer), or even Knowledge (Aership Sciences) to make the attempt. Though it’s unlikely that a Pilot attempt could be made … at least not at the same DC. That make sense?

@ dbauers: cool. all that sounds good, and I look forward to hearing more details of his backstory as he comes together. Feel free to shoot me any questions or concerns you have as you progress.

I'd be inclined to not switch up the skills for the playtest unless you think there is a compelling need to do it. Know:Engineering could work as a good default for many tech skills.

Major update: I've removed the Attribute section from the house rules. Use regular Pathfinder stats. This should simplify things (a bit) for everyone.

Also, Lekku told me he's fine running as the captain. It seems to work with what he's talked me through on his concept, too. :D

Yay, a cap'n!

I should have a finished sheet soonish.

Gilly (nicknamed Gizmo at an early age, you can call her either) is the definition of a gearhead. The only thing she likes more than putting machines together is taking them apart. (And if she can take them apart with explosives, that's even better.)

She's of Dunhaven stock, but has spent less time on the ground in Dunhaven than she has in the air or in a hundred aerport cities. She's something of a military brat: both her parents worked as mechanics for the great aer-fleets in wars going back generations, as the nimble little halflings were often the only sort of people who were willing to do stupid things for the military like 'climb around on the envelope of a volatile aerum container in the middle of a pitched battle in order to apply an emergency patch'. This is the tradition Gilly was born into, and some of her earliest memories are being strapped to her mother's back while her mother scaled the outside of an aership, thousands of feet above the ground, while the scents of ozone and burning metal filled the air.

It's an occupation that leads to a lot of dead mechanics. Gilly was still fairly young, just in her late tweens, when the ship her mother was on was brought down in one of the last big battles of the War. Gilly herself was on a smaller fighter craft at the time, helping keep it in the air after it had taken some crippling damage, and thus survived the battle.

Someone else might regard the IssLaani as her mother's killers-- Gilly doesn't. It's war, it happens-- she thinks of the enemy craft as only cogs serving their role in a great machine, just as she is a cog on her side. And, frankly, Gilly just isn't that attached to people: her first thought when she saw the battlecruiser going down was not for her mother, but sadness for the great beautiful engines going down in smoke and flames. She mourned her mother, but accepts her mother's death as just part of the dangerous life they live-- and it's a life Gilly wouldn't trade for anything. (Similarly, Gilly isn't particularly close or attached to her father-- he was posted to other ships, and they haven't been in contact for several years. Gilly isn't bothered by this.)

The only problem with the military life was that it ended, as far as she's concerned. With the war concluded, the majestic dreadnoughts were decommissioned or parked; the swift scouting craft were scaled back. Hundreds of crews found themselves out of work, or on part-time duty minding ships that only stayed at port. This was not the life Gilly wanted: she took her last pay chit, resigned from the service, and set out to hire herself to any private ship needing someone who was handy with a wrench.

As long as she's airborne, Gilly is relatively happy: she gets stir-crazy on land or in port. She needs the hum of engines in her ears, and the weird tang of aerum in her nose. She obsessively experiments with pet projects like a new refining process for aerum, or new propulsion systems or guidance systems-- never happy, always feeling everything can be tweaked in some fashion or another and made better.

She's a bit of a cross between Kaylee and Goblawrence from Guilded Age. Nowhere near as personable as Kaylee, heh, and not exactly an a~&*$*& like Goblawrence-- just very, very into her work.

Gilly likes things that go boom. She's found a number of chemicals work well together in a pinch when you need to chuck them at someone who's boarding your ship.

She is brown-eyed, brown-haired, and physically unremarkable, except for the fact that she frequently covered in grease and various chemicals.

Stats are in profile, but I still need to tweak a few things for game legality as opposed to Hero Lab's limitations.

Hey! Gizmo! I like her.

I'll likely have some questions on her build and backstory, but on a first glance, she's looking good.

We got our mechanic!

I'm liking Gizmo!

First of all, and this is a general “my bad”, everyone is treated as if they have the Weapon Finesse feat if they qualify for it (along with Power Attack and Combat Expertise). So go ahead and work that into your character sheet if you want to. That goes for everyone.

(Obviously if you're strength-based you can feel free to ignore this)

Easy Peesy!

Callum Rhen, Captain.

While he is Lassaian by birth, he hasn't called that land home for years. Any land, really. Things on the dirt tend to root, binding you to that place. The sky, the wind, his ship are the only home Cal knows anymore.

Though he doesn't talk of it much, the crew has gleaned that he served on a greatship during the war, and resigned his commission once it ended. While he's tight-lipped about his past and sometimes has a tendency to brood, he is fair and open with his vetted crew, and fiercely loyal. "On board, it's us; out there it's them."

To the outside world, he seems to be just another rough-around-the-edges ship captain: six-gun on hip, engines hot, with a fuzzy view of the term 'legal.' It's little known that he's also a 'Binder' - given the common fear of such mystic arts, it's unsurprising that he doesn't announce that particular fact to the general public.

Hi, guys and gals. Sorry for the delay; Crunch is in the works, and will appear on my bio, soon.

.... and then there were three. Looking forward to the crunch, Captain Rhen. :)

Now we just need to see some backstories/profiles from the Bauers Brothers.

I like everyone's characters so far! I have some ideas for a backstory, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to type it up. Hopefully before the weekend, but we'll see.

Cool. Look forward to it. I've been calling him the pound puppy pilot in my mind. :D

'Puppy pilot'? He's a freakin' Vargr! Hide your cats!

Not going to lie, I just spent way too much time looking up information about dog breeds in Victorian times. Wow. Anyway, here's some of my tentative background. Let me know if this works for your vision of Dunhaven:

Since a very young age, Ambrose learned a great many things about the Almighty, at least from his parents' perspective.

It is good to appreciate the things you have, to accept the lot you've been given in life, and to work tirelessly at whatever that role is, without silly thoughts of changing your station. If God had wanted you to be a king, why were you not born so?

And so he worked the land, and helped his parents with their endeavors. They bred dogs for many different purposes, and Ambrose took well to working with animals. But though he was grateful for his family and all that he had, he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering skyward whenever the familiar sound of an aership passed by.

Daemon's gifts--vile temptations to draw us away from the Lifegiver's love. The skies are for the angels--our place is on the ground.

But the Almighty never struck him blind for looking at the ships, and he never lost his sense of awe at the flying wonders.

Before the war came, he decided he had to forge his own path and joined an aership crew...

This is the part I'm stuck on for now--I want him to join the crew as a dog handler and use his wages to pay the ship's pilot for flying lessons, learning about how the aership works over time. What purpose could that serve? Maybe as kind of "drug dogs" to search for smuggled goods? That gives him some prior knowledge of how to avoid getting caught when he's on the crew now. Then he gets into some trouble, the Captain gets him out of a jam, and the rest is history. Still a bit more work to go, but there's a start.

And the dogs:

Rowena—Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Gray and White, short fur, short and powerfully built). Very competitive—loves to play (fetch, tug of war).

Elsie—Newfoundland (Black, shaggy-furred). Mistrusts strangers but affectionate towards people she knows well.

Hester—Bloodhound (Brown and black, long-eared). Energetic, begs for food.

My two cents? I was kinda thinking we might be the ones smuggling goods from time to time, but I'm sure the dogs would come in handy by alerting us to danger, if suspicious types are lurking about on the ground, by intimidating would-be thugs and robbers, and guarding the ship or our gear/ride if we have to leave them behind to go into some reputable establishment. Shudder.

Even if you don't have a lot of skills, I'm sure there's something you personally are bringing to the table that could be beneficial role on the crew. Since the dogs are well trained and presumably don't cause chaos on the ship, it could just be that they make it a little more 'home-y.'

You haz questions, I haz answers~

Okay, I think I have all of Giz's mechanics correct now. I rejiggered some of her skills (taking away Spellcraft and Kn: Arcana because really there is no reason she would have those in this setting), bumped some others.

Not going to lie, I just spent way too much time looking up information about dog breeds in Victorian times. Wow. Anyway, here's some of my tentative background. Let me know if this works for your vision of Dunhaven:

Ha. There are far worse ways to spend time on the internet. O.o

As for Ambrose’s story, you have some good stuff going for you. Your take on Dunhaven is good. It could work for people in a few of the different nations of the Realms, but the earthy, down-home feel is a particular theme in Dunhaven.

A few thoughts occurred to me while I was reading your post, considering it, and considering your character’s suggested (varied) skill sets.

First, with this wildly different set of skill sets, interests, and elements, you could totally play him as that guy we all know that seems to have a personal life story about every topic imaginable. “that reminds me of that time I was flying over Machu Pichu and the pilot let slip that he’d never actually flown a plane before.” “Let me tell you, man, if you’re ever in Mexico City, and they ask you if you want some of the Carne Especial … YOU SAY NO.” “That kinda looks like one’a them octopus that float in around the south side of Australia … with the colors all shifting constantly. Ha. You really should see them some time … but don’t get too close, those bastards can give a hug that’d make a bear blush.”

Maybe this not-very-old, nothing-looking Dunnish guy has been on more aerships in more places doing more things than he has any right to. He grew up raising dogs on a farm in Dunhaven. He spent a season as a deck hand on the famous Admiral Jesiree’s infamous royal Lassaian ship Endurance when the ship flew its famous bombing run over the IssLaan mountain ranges. Maybe he was a military police for a while, working with dogs to both inspect ships as well as track down military refugees and escapees. Kind of a Forrest Gump thing but with dogs and aerships.

Also, this made me think of my grandfather… Grady B Jolly (yes, his actual middle name is the letter B). He flew in WWII as a Flying Fortress pilot stationed in England. Successfully ran his full career of bombing runs (most of them over and into Germany, many over Germany’s larger cities) and came home relatively unscathed (well, physically). He was just this likable, dependable, farm boy from west Texas who signed on for the Air Force because his country called him (and partially because he knew he would never be much more than a farm boy if he didn’t go see the world). He excelled at formation flying because “it was just like plowing rows on the tractor”. When he had to pass a swimming test to enter pilot training—and he had never learned to swim—he simply pulled himself across the creek bed to the other side “because it seemed like if I could cross a road, I could cross a creek”.

Partially I just wanted to share, but maybe there’s some inspiration for you in all that (I know i’ve been inspired by him in my life).

If you went this way (with the common man with a million life experiences), it also gives you the opportunity for him to have had painful, dark experiences as well. it’s likely he’s far less open with them, though in the right setting (or with enough of Gizmo’s throat-searing moonshine that doubles as engine quick-starter fluid) he’ll tell you a story or three of personal failure, tragedy, or regret. Maybe there’s a story of this type that explains his fierce loyalty to the captain. I don know … food for thought.

Totally unrelated, I had a funny thought when I was considering this pilot and his pups on a ship like this. Callum often joking “I don’t know … he came with the ship and I didn’t have the heart to kick him out.” just seems funny. What if Lockhart had a history with this ship that predates his relationship with the captain? Maybe those loyalties are intertwined? I don’t know. Again, food for thought. I just like the idea that no one else on the crew has a single memory of the ship that doesn’t include Ambrose or his dogs.

Another random observation: I absolutely love that Ambrose’s suggested fierce and unwavering loyalty to the captain is like the type of loyalty attributed to his beloved dogs. I think that’s poetic in a way.

My two cents? I was kinda thinking we might be the ones smuggling goods from time to time,

Oh, it wouldn't be Firefly-esque if you didn't. "I aim to misbehave" and "Got us some crime to be done" come to mind. :D

Even if you don't have a lot of skills, I'm sure there's something you personally are bringing to the table that could be beneficial role on the crew. Since the dogs are well trained and presumably don't cause chaos on the ship, it could just be that they make it a little more 'home-y.'

Well, among other things, I believe he's our Wash. "I am a leaf on the wind" as a ship the size of a football field weaves gracefully through a full-scale aerial conflict. And he's got the skills to be one helluva tracker and wilderness survivalist, as well. I'd say those are some useful skills right there.

Okay, I think I have all of Giz's mechanics correct now. I rejiggered some of her skills (taking away Spellcraft and Kn: Arcana because really there is no reason she would have those in this setting), bumped some others.

Looked it over. Looks good to me.

Also, I can't even begin to tell you how much it makes me smile to picture this 4 foot, 50 lbs soaking wet, grease-smudged girl cursing out a 7 foot hulk of a trullkin dockworker in his own tongue for touching her ship.

'Puppy pilot'? He's a freakin' Vargr! Hide your cats!

Holy crap! It's a space dog riding a space-motorcycle! How the freak aren't we playing that game?!

That could really give our crew an edge. Go hire this space-motorcycle-dog immediately!

So I was thinking about having Zedd be a former fighter pilot in the war who had his wings clipped when he punched his commanding officer in the face.

He doesn't talk about it ever, but it was something along the lines of: "Anyone who is willing to send a squadron into Hell should be flying right beside them".

So he got bumped down to infantry grunt work, which he took to quite well on account of his massive girth, and his preference for "Up close killin'". His friends (aka no one except maybe the Captain) call him "Tiny".

Don't wanna finalize anything without talking to Lekku first, but if they served on the same cruiser, it would give a perfect reason as to why Zedd is on the ship now. Callum would clearly go to battle for his crew, and that's all "Tiny" really wants.

: looks at Private Aerman Zedd's military profile :

Officer's notes: has problems with authority. And a mean right hook.

---

From what I know of Callum's story, that would seem to fit. Lekku may have some specific thoughts on that as well.

so im kind of intrigued by the "heavy weapons wielder" feat. if i take that at level 1, any chance i can start with a gattling gun? i promise not to call her Vera. :)

right now im leaning towards:

level 1 feat) Heavy Weapons Wielder
level 1 bonus feat) Skill Focus: Pilot Small Ship (focused study alternate human racial trait)

level 2 slayer talent>> rogue talent>> combat trick (Combat Pilot Feat)

And then of course taking "born to fly" as one of my traits.

are ship to ship guns considered martial? if not, i feel like i should probably also take gunny in case i for whatever reason cant go out in the outflier.

I'm still fleshing out Cal's background, but I think that works for me. As long as it wasn't me that he punched!

Heavy Weapons Wielder: YES PLEASE! I make these things so I can see how they pan out in play. I'd love for you to take the feat, and i'm fine if you take that as your one good item to start with (the rest of your gear will need to be standard and mundane). I had kind of forgotten about it, and it's sat on that page unchanged while the rest of firearms have gone through a few iterations. I say that so you'll know that that feat will have to be modified to bring the gatling gun in line with the rest of firearms. Specifically, assume this is the second half of the feat language (i'll update it shortly):

"When using this feat to wield gatling guns in personal combat, you take a -2 penalty to attack rolls due to the unwieldiness of the weapon. Additionally, when wielded in this manner, the misfire chance for the weapon becomes 3, and the weapon jams when it misfires (requiring a move action to unjam it before it can be fired again)."

Thematically, gatling guns wielded like this require the harness because of their size, but also because they have to be cranked constantly to turn the barrels (and pull ammunition into the chambers). So basically, the gun would be anchored to your waist or back, your front hand would stabilize and aim the gatling gun, and your other hand would turn the crank (or pull the jam-clearing action when necessary). That make sense?

Fighter pilot feats, skills, traits: For the time being, treat ship guns as martial weapons. I think Born to Fly is a good choice for you. Also, I'm giving every character a few mechanical freebies and special abilities based on their role in our crew. As our crew's out flyer fighter pilot, I'm thinking you'll begin play with Combat Pilot as a free bonus feat.

I'm still fleshing out Cal's background, but I think that works for me. As long as it wasn't me that he punched!

lol naw. it was someone else. im thinking he probably met Cal after said punch

My two cents? I was kinda thinking we might be the ones smuggling goods from time to time, but I'm sure the dogs would come in handy by alerting us to danger, if suspicious types are lurking about on the ground, by intimidating would-be thugs and robbers, and guarding the ship or our gear/ride if we have to leave them behind to go into some reputable establishment. Shudder.

Oh yes, I fully intended to be "bending the law" with the crew. I just meant that he could have originally been on some sort of "customs" ship, so now he knows all the tricks of the trade and how best to avoid getting caught. Something along those lines.

Ambrose Lockhart wrote:

Not going to lie, I just spent way too much time looking up information about dog breeds in Victorian times. Wow. Anyway, here's some of my tentative background. Let me know if this works for your vision of Dunhaven:

Ha. There are far worse ways to spend time on the internet. O.o

As for Ambrose’s story, you have some good stuff going for you. Your take on Dunhaven is good. It could work for people in a few of the different nations of the Realms, but the earthy, down-home feel is a particular theme in Dunhaven.

A few thoughts occurred to me while I was reading your post, considering it, and considering your character’s suggested (varied) skill sets.

First, with this wildly different set of skill sets, interests, and elements, you could totally play him as that guy we all know that seems to have a personal life story about every topic imaginable. “that reminds me of that time I was flying over Machu Pichu and the pilot let slip that he’d never actually flown a plane before.” “Let me tell you, man, if you’re ever in Mexico City, and they ask you if you want some of the Carne Especial … YOU SAY NO.” “That kinda looks like one’a them octopus that float in around the south side of Australia … with the colors all shifting constantly. Ha. You really should see them some time … but don’t get too close, those bastards can give a hug that’d make a bear blush.”

Maybe this not-very-old, nothing-looking Dunnish guy has been on more aerships in more places doing more things than he has any right to. He grew up raising dogs on a farm in Dunhaven. He spent a season as a deck hand on the famous Admiral Jesiree’s infamous royal Lassaian ship Endurance when the ship flew its famous bombing run over the IssLaan mountain ranges. Maybe he was a military police for a while, working with dogs to both inspect ships as well as track down military refugees and escapees. Kind of a Forrest Gump thing but with dogs and aerships.

Also, this made me think of my grandfather… Grady B...

Very cool stories and some great ideas here. I didn't enough time last night to post everything that I wanted, and I don't now either, but I wanted to say that how I envision Ambrose is very close to what you describe here.

A shortish man, round about the middle, skin tanned from being out in the sun all day every day. Dark hair, dark eyes, typical Dunnish (is that the correct term?) Thick arms, calloused hands with a vice grip for a hand shake. He's quick to laugh and slow to anger, and generally gets along well with most folk (which goes great with the world traveler idea).

He's not learned in the traditional sense, lacking formal education, but he's got a curious nature and loves to watch/listen to experts in various fields, picking up what nuggets of wisdom he can.

I also like the idea that he's been on the ship longer than any of the other crew.

Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but I'm thinking his weapons of choice are the net, double-barreled shotgun, and maybe some big bashy melee weapon when things get rough.

oof. you posted just before I put up my next planned post, so I’ll interrupt that to respond to you. :D

Dunnish = adjective. (“I didn’t know she was Dunnish!”)
Dunman = noun. (“That damn Dunman stole my hat!”)

As for Lockhart, I like it … salt of the earth but born for the sky!

Also, “maybe some big bash melee weapon when things get rough”… *scratches head* I thought that’s what the gun’s stock was for. ;P

Seriously, though, I like what I’m hearing. Keep on keeping on, man.

Alright, so it looks like the Crew is shaping up. I know we're still working on some characters, but in the name of proactivity, I think we should open up the subject of ...

: drumroll :

... the ships!

So I'd love to start hearing from folks. What do you want it to be? Is it a busted-up old trader that Gizmo can barely keep flying? Is it some rarely-used super-modified transport that allows for all kinds of smuggler-ports and custom elements? Is it a reclaimed military ship that you guys have painstakingly brought back to working condition? Is it a straight-up Serenity clone?

And what are we hoping to have on it? Is it a pretty standard trader with only a gun or two? Have you guys overhauled her so she sports three or four pretty powerful weapons? What's her defining attribute? Is she surprisingly fast? Tough enough to use as a battering ram in a pinch? Does she have cargo room? If so, how much? Are there any additional rooms you guys let out as passenger spaces for making a few extra bucks? Is it outfitted with salvaging tow cables? Cannons?

And what about the fighter? Is it a small single-seater that's zippy but fragile? Is it a big bird, with a double-cockpit and top-side turret that's tougher than she looks with an intimidating arsenal?

Love to hear thoughts. And Im happy to throw some suggestions together. Ultimately, I'll have final say on what ships you'll have as well as what features they'll sport, but I sure want them to be the ships you guys want to fly in.

Oh, and images for inspiration is a plus. :D

I'm mulling over the ship situation... but FIRST a question about spell-casting Eben.

So if I cast a spell that goes beyond my Potential, I take strain damage to my HP and have to make a Concentration check to get the spell off successfully. The question is... which Concentration check? The one to cast X level spell defensively? The one modified by the Strain damage I took? Something else?

Trest it like a Defensive Casting attempt.

Actually, let me noodle on that further

Also, “maybe some big bash melee weapon when things get rough”… *scratches head* thought that’s what the gun’s stock was for. ;P

That was my first choice, honestly, but I didn't want to eat the -4 penalty for using an improvised weapon. Mechanics won out over flavor, sadly. :-)

For True Daemonists casting using Strain, the concentration DC to successfully cast the spell is 5 + the Strain they are taking to fuel the spell. Does that make sense?

Yep, that works. I also assume that if the total Strain loss will knock you unconscious that the spell automatically fails. Or are you going with the uber heroic option that you can literally cast yourself unconscious and as long as you make the Concentration check, the spell still works?

Uh ... I'd let it stand. Until we find that it's somehow broken or unintuitive, let's go with the uber-heroic version where you can cast your self silly unconscious.

Two mechanical questions:

Do we automatically receive agile maneuvers, too? Or do we still need to choose that if we want it(thinking about Weapon Finesse).

Can I get Improved Trip with one or more of my dogs? It's not listed as a feat that an animal companion can get, but I suspect that is due to the combat expertise requirement (which is waived here, right?). Of course, for some reason it still has a 13 Int prerequisite, so it may be moot. Apparently you need above-average intelligence to trip someone. :-/

You still need to take Agile Maneuvers if you want it.

I agree with the silliness of the pre-req's of Improved Trip and Disarm. Ignore them for this game. As for your dogs taking it, it's still on the list of feats that require your dog to have an Int of 3 or higher to take. So they couldn't start with them, but with that first stat bump going into Int, your dogs could pick it up.

You still need to take Agile Maneuvers if you want it.

I agree with the silliness of the pre-req's of Improved Trip and Disarm. Ignore them for this game. As for your dogs taking it, it's still on the list of feats that require your dog to have an Int of 3 or higher to take. So they couldn't start with them, but with that first stat bump going into Int, your dogs could pick it up.

Ok, great. I started statting up Ambrose and the girls yesterday, but it's going to take me a bit longer. Maybe I can post some of it tonight.