Burnt offerings, being part 1 of Reptilian's RotRL campaign (IC thread)

Game Master Philippe Kavanagh

I'm sorry but I think Venmirl already used his 3 spells of the day (magic weapon, one cure on himself and one cure on Izbahn).

Oops thought I had one left. So I'm at 11/21 and -4 con.

"I'd love to, but I'm pretty beat up and I have no means of healing left. We can explore, but may need to retreat if we find anything else that needs killing."

Sighing, when the battle is over and looking at others, Algar leans against the wall. So many things had happened and he started to feel better. I don´t see anything against the suggestion to continue exploring. We might find something interesting.

Thinking back, the adventurers come up with two possible areas they could explore more fully. The first is beyond the double doors to the south east. It's the cathedral-like room where they first encountered and fought the quasit. It's also the location of the strange triangular pool that the small demon used to spawn one of those long-limbed creature. The second is the area of the red marble woman statue, close to where they defeated Koruvus. Several unexplored passages lead away from it.

"Let's go check out the double doors here. We know there is a cathedral on the other side, where we first encountered her before."

Venmirl slowly stands up, his bones aching like that of an old man. "I'm ready, let's see what we find."

The adventurers take a few minutes to catch their breath and bandage their wounds as best they can (All magical effects end except for Izbahn's mage armor). They then open up the double doors to south east and explore the room beyond. It is much like Darst saw it initially.

The room beyond is huge and has very high domed ceilings, in fact it looks like nothing more than an immense underground cathedral. The walls are carved with strange, spiky runes. In the center of the room is a large pool, a ring of polished human skulls balanced on stone spikes arranged in a circle around the deeper midsection. At the far end of the room, a pair of stone stairways leads up to a pulpit on which sits a second pool, this one triangular and filled with churning, bubbling water that looks almost like translucent lava.

While wisps of what looks like heat and steam rise from the strange orange liquid, the room is still deathly cold (but not enough to force you to make saves, that is unless you plan to stay there for hours).

Izbahn stands at the doorway to the cathedral, and stares at the contents of the cathedral, and casts a magical cantrip, to detect magical auras.

Cast Detect Magic, concentrate for 3 rounds, and try to determine schools of magic in here.
Knowledge, Arcana 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Spellcraft 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

Izbahn looks around the room, then turns back to the others, "That pool in this room...it has the essence of all of the schools of magic. I am sure this is how that quasit was able to create those sinspawn." He shudders, "I would advise us to leave it alone, I cannot control what the magic will do here if we trigger it."

Izbahn looks around the room, then turns back to the others, "That pool in this room...it has the essence of all of the schools of magic. I am sure this is how that quasit was able to create those sinspawn." He shudders, "I would advise us to leave it alone, I cannot control what the magic will do here if we trigger it."

"So what's we do? Hide it? Moving it?"

"So what's we do? Hide it? Moving it?"

"I would advise us to leave it alone for now. If this is an old Thassilonian ruin, then this could be Thassilonian magic."

Crunching and muttering to himself, Algar hands tighten and body trembles from the feeling of hatred, each moment passing by getting him frustrated and angrier.

I don't know... but I feel like just punching you people to face or smacking your body around the floor. This is odd feeling and this room especially... all the time I felt more angry than before and now... I just see red

Looking to others and face showing emotions of hatred and rage, Algar is for now keeping it under control. What is this place... I would say to get out of here, since I will not promise what I will do if we don't move out here and as he said those words, Algar withdraw from the room

Izbahn remembers feeling those sensations before, and realizes they must be related to the magical aura radiating from the pool. Thassilonian ruins, indeed!

"All right, lets backtrack to the room with the marble statue. Algar, do you want to take point, in case there are any more surprises lying in wait?"

The group backtracks, leaving the cathedral and the triangular pool behind. They return to the statue room.

There are exits on the room's four walls. [They] entered from the corridor to the south. There's a stone door similar to the one already encountered to the north. The west wall is pierced by a carved tunnel, like the one that brought the group to this complex. Finally, to the east, a corridor leads to a few steps going up in the darkness. The main feature of the room, however, is a full sized red marble statue of a strikingly beautiful but, at the same time, monstrously enraged human woman. Her stony expression is twisted in fury. The woman wears flowing robes, and her long hair is held back from her face by an intricate headdress of hooks and blades. She faces east and carries a large book with her left hand. The book's face is inscribed with a seven-pointed star. Her right hand holds a glittering metal and ivory ranseur.

The tunnel to the west goes either north or south. To the south is where the combat with the quasit started and where the dead Koruvus and his two remaining weapon are lying. To the north, the passage leads to an apparent dead end but there's a hole on the floor that could be explored with some effort.

Nodding to Izbahn, Algar grunts.

Later as they walk around and look for more ways and come to hole on the floor, Algar looks at it for a while. Walking nearby carefully and looking down while also listening for a moment. Turning to others Something here and seems to be leading somewhere, but got no idea. Apparently will take some time to explore but we got time now

1d1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Izbahn examines the statue again, looking for any clues as to who the human female may have been. He also scans for magical auras as well.

Once finished, he nods to Algar, "Go ahead and check it out, but be careful."

Cast Detect Magic.
Knowledge, Arcane 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Knowledge, History 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Spellcraft 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

The hole is barely large enough to let Algar squeeze his body through. With his darkvision, the half-orc can see that the hole is about 3 feet deep before it opens up into what appears to be a small square cell. The cell is empty, save for a few human bones that litter the floor. From the top of the hole, Algar can't really see what's beyond the rusted metal bars that form the cell's northern wall.

Izbahn doesn't know more about the statue then he did 2 days ago. Perhaps if he consulted the proper books and/or experts he could learn more.

Izbahn studies the statue for a moment. While he doesn't recognize the woman, the style of her robe and headdress is reminiscent of similar articles of clothing 'worn' by ancient statues he saw drawn in various history books. From what he remembers, those statue are from old monuments that dot the Varisian landscape. They represent the mighty wizards of Thassilon who were the strength behind the ancient empire. If he's correct, Izbahn thinks this statue could be a representation of one such ancient wizard. Who she was and how powerful she was remain a mystery. In any case, the statue is in excellent condition if it was really made at the time of the ancient empire (several thousands years ago).

There's nothing magical about the statue but her ranseur appears to be somewhat valuable.

Venmirl sees Izbahn eying the shiny weapon. "I'm not sure who she is, but I wouldn't be too sure that weapon isn't cursed or trapped."

Izbahn glances at Venmirl, and replies, a note of acerbicness in his voice, "I am not a tomb robber, I was just noting the fine quality of the weapon. As for it being cursed, there are no magical auras on either the weapon or the statue."

Once Algar returns, he says, "Are you ready to continue exploring?"

Are there any other passages we have not explored? What about the stairs to the east, and the door to the north?

Are there any other passages we have not explored? What about the stairs to the east, and the door to the north?

Neither have been explored.

Izbahn glances at Venmirl, and replies, a note of acerbicness in his voice, "I am not a tomb robber, I was just noting the fine quality of the weapon. As for it being cursed, there are no magical auras on either the weapon or the statue."

Once Algar returns, he says, "Are you ready to continue exploring?"

Are there any other passages we have not explored? What about the stairs to the east, and the door to the north?

"Good quality? So it is worth the shinies?"

Izbahn looks at Darst. His face holds a barely concealed smirk, as he replies, "It is good quality, You can carry it, if you'd like."

If no one wants to do anything else...then I suggest checking out the stairs first.

Nodding to Izbahn I agree although I have a bad feeling somehow. These... creatures or monsters just keep popping back up even after we killed them. Where did they come from actually, since I have never saw something like them before in my life Algar asks while walking in front of others

Wondering what all this is, so many things has happened in such a short time...What time of day it is even now

"Algar, the demon we killed summoned then from her own blood! She uses the magic from the pool somehow. I have no idead how, I need to study this further."

"So it's not cursed?" Naomi says thoughtfully as she regards the weapon. "I think we should take it so we can sell it and buy supplies."

"I won't stop you from taking it , Naomi, but just keep in mind we are not here to loot this place, we're here to stop the goblin invasion."

Not paying attention to Izbahn, Darst approaches and eyes the ranseur carefully. He tries to climb up the statue and pull out the pole arm.
Climb: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Strength check: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9

"It would seem, Izbahn, that Darst has already started trying to beat me too it." Naomi say softly as she watches the goblin.

Izbahn sidles up to Naomi, and whispers in her ear, "Yeah, maybe I should tell him we can return here after we are done exploring this place...naaahhh...this is more fun."

"I wouldn't mind learning more about who this statue is supposed to be. And maybe the weapon holds some key to learning that, but I don't want to carry it." Venmirl says, unable to suppress his superstitions.

Perhaps fascinated by the beautiful bronze and ivory that make up the weapon, Darst easily climbs on the base of the statue and manages to detach the ranseur from the marble hands. There's no apparent consequences to the goblin's actions, unlike some of the others had feared. With its long pole and heavy head, Darst has some trouble keeping the polearm upright. It is clearly too big of a weapon for him.

Darst hears Venmirl's words, and pauses. Then, with a shriek, the goblin drops the weapon and leaps off the statue at Izbahn. "Curse! Curse on me! Curse on me!" He tries to latch on to the mage's leg.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Grapple if needed: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Grapple if needed: 1d20-1

Heheh, Izbahn can repel the goblin's 'embrace' ... if he wishes so.

The ranseur falls down on the stony floor with a loud 'CLANG'.

CMB check for grapple 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Izbahn is surprised by the goblin's actions, but he is able to avoid the goblin's 'embrace'. He glares at Darst, as the ranseur flls to the ground. "Care to make any more racket?"

"Just as I feared, it's cursed. Cursed with the unfortunate announcement telling everything in this place that we are here!!" Venmirl angrily says in a now unnecessary whisper.

Naomi calmly picks up the ranseur and props it over her shoulder.

"Or Darst is just mad it's to big for him. I can't use it either without making a fool of myself, except to sell it. I suppose I could use it to pay my family for the cold iron mace that's being brought, since we killed the quasit I wanted it for. I don't really need it now, do I?"

"Equal shares for us all before I do that though."

Venmirl stands still for a few moments while watching Naomi closely. When she doesn't turn into a statue he relaxes a bit and turns to Izbahn "Let's move on a bit more then. Darst, can you check out this passage? Maybe a little more quietly this time."

Venny just motions in one direction. I don't have a preference which way we go.

Shaking his head as he watches this show of strangers. Goblin jumping and grabbing ranseur, the noise and the comments, Algar shakes his head for disappoinment No sense of of balance, believe of curses... and most of all, what was that! Fist is all you need but smile appears to his face, as he sees Darst "embrace" attempt.

Grunting and turning to follow Venmirl, Algar shakes bad feelings of his shoulder. Continuing talking from earlier with Izbahn So, you say that monster made some more monsters by dropping his own blood to that liquid or well? Did it do something special or just dropping blood? Can't we try it or something? clearly curious about this information

Izbahn shakes his head at Algar, "I have no idea how that pool functions. I don't know if it is keyed to her blood or not. And even if you created one, then there is no guarantee you could control it."

If no one wants to do anything else...then I suggest checking out the stairs first.

Let's go for that. Feel free to continue discussions.

The group heads east and climbs four short sets of stairs, each followed by a 5' by 5' landing, before coming up on another stony door.

Perhaps not trusting the little goblin to be quiet, Venmirl sneaks up to the door to take a listen.

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Venmirl doesn't hear anything coming from beyond the door.

Venmirl cautiously opens the door...

Venmirl slowly pulls on the thin stone door and looks at what's beyond it. It's a small round room, about 15 feet in diameter, with another door on the opposite side, further east. Water ripples quietly in a circular stone pool lined with sculpted skulls in the room's center. Smears of what looks like blood mar the pool’s rim in places. Beside these marks, the pool's water looks clean.

Izbahn sees the pool ,and immediately thinks Another one? He chants his cantrip and again scans for magical auras.

Detect Magic.

Izbahn can see a faint magical aura on the pool. Whatever magic is in effect here, it's far less powerful then that triangular pool they encountered earlier.

"This place is reminding me more and more of ancient temples, filled with traps and old magics and monstrous guards..." Naomi says as she looks around the room. "What was the temple for though?"

Perception(looking for clues to the above question):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Izbahn glances at Naomi, seeing how enchantingly beautiful she looked when she was searching for clues.

"I don't know, Naomi. I am not sure this is a temple, I suspect this is an old Thassilonian complex, maybe constructed for magical experiments. It would explain why we found a quasit here."

Perception 1d20 ⇒ 6 Yeah, he only has eyes for Naomi, he he.

Anyone else who enters the room and looks around can roll a perception check too.

Algar follows after and looks around but laugh as he sees Izbahn only starting at Naomi. Muttering to himself with low voice, which might be heard by others Women... and human at all! What's so fascinating about them... I prefer some muscle and ferocity

Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Those who head north from Magnimar along the rocky coastline quickly find themselves in a peculiar country. Fog drapes the rolling landscape, floating spectrally along damp and lonely moors. Small woodlands grace the region, their tangled depths redolent of nettles and pepperwood and pine sap, while further inland, river valleys lined by majestic redwoods wind between ragged tors and limestone escarpments. This vastness and the sense of isolation have earned the region its local name. This is the Lost Coast. Amidst these wildlands stands the small town of Sandpoint. Founded 42 years ago on old Varisian camping site, Sandpoint is a thriving community today. Over its four decade history, Sandpoint has been thankfully free of major disasters. Five years ago, however, was the period that has came to be called the 'Late Unpleasantness' by the locals. Over the course of an horrible summer, a murderer nicknamed 'Chopper' killed and tore apart 25 townfolks, including the local sheriff, before his identity was revealed and he was executed. About one month after the death of Chopper, a great fire destroyed the town's church along with most of uptown. These two events, occurring in such close and recent proximity as they have, are generally lumped together even though they didn’t have any obvious links. Natives of Sandpoint are reluctant to talk about either event, preferring to look ahead to brighter times. Indeed, they now prepare to consecrate a new cathedral to replace the old one. An so, on this first day of autumn, the traditional Swallowtail Festival will renew the site’s blessings from the gods and it will be as if the Sandpoint Fire had never occurred.

It could happen ...

First, here's my review of the 6 characters in details. It's all very 'matter-of-fact' and impersonal but bear with me. I'm just a bit of a perfectionist.

Syeira Iliosana
Languages : Paizo must have changed it's mind about having a Cheliaxian language at some point because the more recent publications consider it to be Common (and the same as Taldane). So just select another one.
Hit points : I also don't see any hp total and, from what I can gather, it should be 7.

Calla Shadde-Quah
Rage : You can rage 6 rounds/day
Skills : You should have 5 skill points since you're human.

Izbahn Douvurk
Languages : You can select 2 more languages, +3 intel bonus and a linguistic rank should give you 4 bonus languages.
Skills : You wrote that you have 6 skill points but I only see 5 spent.
Gear : I don't see any gear listing so I presume you aren't done with your purchases. In any case, you should at least get a spell component pouch.

Venmirl of Skoan-Quah
Weapon proficiencies : I'll be generous and say that the favored weapon of your 'deity' is the klar (it makes sense anyway) because otherwise you wouldn't be proficient with it.
Skills : You don't have the Totem Spirit (Skoan-Quah) feat so you shouldn't get the bonus to heal (but see below in the traits). Also, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of different specialties/skills, so you need to choose one specialty for your skill. Inquisitors are proficient with Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (planes) and Knowledge (religion) so you probably want to choose one of those.
Gear : I don't see any gear listing so I presume you aren't done with your purchases. In any case, you should at least get a 'holy' symbol or some sort of tribal object to act as your divine focus.

Zelazny
If you only have the beta version of rules, you can always consult the prd for the most current rules.
Weapon proficiencies : Human don't get a free weapon proficiency anymore.
Skills: With Trapfinding, your disable device should be +8 and Perception for traps is +5.
Starting money : It should be 140 gp not 200.
Favorite class : You don't seem to have the bonus from a favored class.You choose it at first level and whenever you gain a level in that class, you gain an extra hp or skill point (your choice). In your case, it will probably be rogue or sorcerer.

Satieah Flame's Daughter
I understand this one is a work in progress and there's a few thing missing (languages, gear, a trait)
Favorite class : You don't seem to have the bonus from a favored class.You choose it at first level and whenever you gain a level in that class, you gain an extra hp or skill point (your choice).
Touch of flame damage should be 1d6 not 1d6+1.
Also, I really think she should be a Varisian rather then a Shoanti. The dance and sing skills and the weird powers at birth all scream Varisian to me. But that's just me, she's your character :).

Next, here's the trait I'm giving you, along with the one you selected. Feel free to comment, suggest, etc ...

Syeira Iliosana
Rich Parents (Social)
Riddleport Gambler (Regional) : You've spent a lot of time in the many gambling halls and dens of Riddleport. Having played against pirates, crime gang members, cyphermages and other unsavory characters that live in Riddleport, you know how to reconize who's cheating and who's bluffing. Choose 2 skills amongst the following: Bluff, Perception, Profession (Gambler) and Sense Motive. You gain a +1 trait bonus to both skills.

Calla Shadde-Quah
Courageous (Combat)
Exiled (Social) : For some reason you were forced to leave your native home. It was tough but you survived. The hard experiences have made you stronger. You gain a +1 trait bonus to one of your saving throw (your choice).

Izbahn Douvurk
Classicaly Schooled (Magic)
Twilight Academy Graduate (Regional) : You've spent 10 years of your life learning wizardry in the Twilight Academy of Galduria. The school is known for its studies into unusual and dangerous magic. You had to cast spells in difficult situation and try to manipulate powerful magic energy beyond your capabilities. This special training has made your own magic somewhat unusual. Choose one of the following benefit: gain a +1 trait bonus to caster level checks to overcome spell resistance, gain a +1 trait bonus to concentration checks or gain a +3 trait bonus to caster level checks to activate scrolls of high caster level.

Venmirl of Skoan-Quah
Armor Expert (Combat)
Totem Spirit – Skoan-Quah (Religion) : You are closely and mystically tied to your tribe’s sacred totem. The clan of the skull is known for honoring the ancients and the dead, their respect for the elders and their hate of the undead. You gain a +2 trait bonus to heal checks or a +2 trait bonus to weapon damage against undead (or +1 to both if you wish).

Zelazny
Magical Knack – Sorcerer (Magic)
Fey Touched (Magic) : Somewhere in your past, you've made a pact with a fey creature. Since then, you have been blessed with the luck of the fey. Once per day, after seeing the result of a saving throw roll, you can add a +2 trait bonus to the result. They say that dealing with the fey is treacheous. It remains to be seen if your pact will have some dire consequences in the future.

Satieah Flame's Daughter
Birthmark (Religion)
and another

Last but not least, I get to show off my new alias, and present you with my house rules. Once again, feel free to comment. Hopefully this isn't to much of a wall of text.

Spontaneously modifying a spell by way of a metamagic feat or a class feature doesn’t augment the casting time (for example, a druid's spontaneous summons don’t take 2 rounds to cast).

You can only have the +2 at level one 'good' save bonus once for each save. If multiclassing would give you this bonus twice, use the good save bonus progression the prestige classes get instead (+1 for lvl 1 and 2, +2 for lvl 3 and 4, etc).

Group Initiative
To try to prevent combat from bogging the game down, we’ll use a special kind of group initiative for this game. I’ll roll 1d12 for the enemies and 1d12 for the players and I’ll add the average initiative bonus of the groups (I won’t ‘auto-round down’ in this case). The group with the highest score gets to act first.

When it’s the players’ turn, their characters act in the order of the players’ posts. You can ready an action as normal to act during the enemies’ turn. You can also post in advance and announce that you don’t act until player character x has acted.

After a reasonable period of time (2-3 days I think, but I may adjust this depending on how things go), I’ll post the enemies’ actions (they act in whatever order I decide) and it will once again be your turn to post actions. If you haven’t posted in time, your character is either assumed to continue what he was doing or, failing that, have delayed until the next turn. If that would make your character ‘auto-delay’ for two rounds in a row, I’ll npc his actions using my best judgement.

Reserve points
All player characters get a ‘reserve’ of hit points equal to half their maximum hp. After taking a short rest (2 to 10 mins, depending on the situation), you can spend any number of these ‘reserve points’ to regain the same amount of hp.

You only heal naturally 1 hp/HD for a full day of rest but regain all your reserve points after resting for 8 hours.

Long term care (with the Heal skill) gives you 1 hp/HD for 8 hours or 3 hp/HD for a full day of rest.

Once per day as a full round action, you can draw on your reserves in combat and spend up to your con bonus (minimum 1) multiplied by your hit dices in reserve points to regain same amount of hit points.
You can’t regain or use any reserve points while disabled, dying or otherwise at or below 0 hp.

You cannot spend more reserve points then you currently possess and those cannot bring your current hp total above its maximum value.
Temporary hit points and short term constitution boosts don’t change the amount of reserve point you possess (it can change the amount you can spend in combat however).

Example: A lvl 4 Barbarian with a constitution of 14 (+2) and 39 hp has 19 reserve points (rp). After a short skirmish with some goblins, she was slightly wounded and lost 12 hp. While resting after the combat, her cleric ally channels energy and heals 8 of these hp. She personally uses 4 rp to bring her hp total back to the maximum and has now 15 rp left. Later on, her group encounters the hobgoblin warlord leading the goblins. She rages (bringing her hp total to 47 but not changing her rp total) but gets badly wounded during the combat. With her hp total down to 7 and many foes still standing, she decides to draw on her reserves. Her augmented constitution bonus is +4 and her level 4, so she can spend up to 16 rp to heal with a full-round action. Since she only has 15 rp left, however, that’s all she can regain. Ignoring the pain of her wounds, she jumps back into the fray the next round, with 22 hp and no rp left.

Note: Animal companions, familiars and such don’t have any reserve points.

Loss of Hit Points
The most common way that your character gets hurt is to take lethal damage and lose hit points.

Effects of Hit Point Damage: Damage doesn't slow you down until your current hit points reach 0 or lower. If an attack reduces your hit points to 0 or below, you're disabled and you must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or start dying. This roll is called a death save. Characters take a penalty on death saves equal to half their negative hit point total. If a character misses this roll by 10 or more, he’s killed outright. If your negative hit point total is equal or greater then your massive damage threshold (25 or half your maximum hit points, whichever is greater), you die without any save.

Massive Damage: If you ever sustain a single attack that deals an amount of damage equal to half your maximum hit points (minimum 25 points of damage) or more but it doesn't bring your hp total at or below 0, you must make a death save (with no hp penalty). If this saving throw fails, you are dying regardless of your current hit points. If the save is failed by 10 or more, the character is dead. If you take half your total hit points or more in damage from multiple attacks, no one of which dealt more than half your maximum hit points (minimum 25), the massive damage rule does not apply.
Note: most monsters and enemies will simply die at 0 hp but some important villains might also follow these rules.

Disabled
You’re disabled if you hit point total gets to 0 or below and you successfully make your death save. You gain the staggered condition and can only take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. Unless your activity increased your hit points, you must make another death save or start dying. You can’t die outright from this damage.

Losing more hit points while disabled forces you to make another death save or start dying. You die if you miss this save by 10 or more.
You can also become disabled when recovering from dying. Healing that raises your hit points above 0 makes you fully functional again, just as if you'd never been reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.

Dying
You start dying if you fail a death save. A dying character immediately falls unconscious and can take no actions. He also needs to make a death save every round on his turn or lose 2 hp. If the save is failed by 10 or more, the character is dead. If he makes this check by 10 or more, the character becomes stable. The character also becomes stable with a natural 20 on this check. Characters taking continuous damage, such as from an acid arrow or a bleed effect, can’t become stable until such condition is removed or ends.

Stable Characters and Recovery
You can keep a dying character from making death saves and make him stable with a DC 15 Heal check. If any sort of healing cures the dying character of even 1 point of damage, he also becomes stable. Healing that raises his hit points to 1 or more makes him fully functional again, just as if he'd never been reduced to 0 or lower. A spellcaster retains the spellcasting capability she had before dropping below 0 hit points.

A stable character who has been tended by a healer or who has been magically healed eventually regains consciousness and recovers hit points naturally. If the character has no one to tend him, however, his life is still in danger, and he may yet slip away.

Recovering with Help: One hour after a tended, dying character becomes stable, the character must make a death save to become conscious. He doesn’t die or lose any hit points if he fails this check. Conscious characters with negative hit point totals are treated as disabled characters. If the character remains unconscious, he receives another check every hour to regain consciousness. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. Even if unconscious, the character recovers hit points naturally. He automatically regains consciousness when his hit points rise to 1 or higher.

Recovering without Help: A severely wounded character left alone usually dies. He has a small chance of recovering on his own. Treat such characters as those attempting to recover with help, but every failed death save to regain consciousness results in the loss of 2 hit points. Even worse, if the check is failed by 10 or more, the character dies. An unaided character does not recover hit points naturally. Once conscious, the character must make a death save once per day, after resting for 8 hours, to begin recovering hit points naturally. Failing this check causes the character to lose 2 hit points, but this does not cause the character to become unconscious. Once again, if the check is failed by 10 or more, the character dies. Once a character makes this check, he continues to heal naturally and is no longer in danger of losing hit points naturally.

Note: Non-lethal damage and coup de grâce rules are unchanged.

Diehard
You are especially hard to kill. Not only do your wounds automatically stabilize when grievously injured, but you are also surprisingly vigorous at death’s door.
Prerequisite: Endurance.
Benefit: When your hit point total is at or below 0, but you are not dead, you automatically stabilize. You do not need to make death saves each round to avoid losing additional hit points. You also can make a standard action while disabled without losing any hit points or having to roll death saves. However, you’re still staggered while disabled and unconcious if you fail a death save.
You also gain a +1 bonus to all death saves. This bonus can stack with Great Fortitude.
Normal: A character without this feat must make death saves while dying and loses 1 hp if he does a standard action while disabled.

Orc Ferocity (half-orc racial trait)
Once per day, you can reroll a death save. You can then use either rolls. You also gain a +1 bonus to all death saves. This +1 bonus doesn’t stack with the one from Diehard.

First, here's my review of the 6 characters in details. It's all very 'matter-of-fact' and impersonal but bear with me. I'm just a bit of a perfectionist.

Izbahn Douvurk
Languages : You can select 2 more languages, +3 intel bonus and a linguistic rank should give you 4 bonus languages.
Skills : You wrote that you have 6 skill points but I only see 5 spent.
Gear : I don't see any gear listing so I presume you aren't done with your purchases. In any case, you should at least get a spell component pouch.

OK, I have updated him with the changes recommended

Izbahn Douvurk

Classicaly Schooled (Magic)
Twilight Academy Graduate (Regional) : You've spent 10 years of your life learning wizardry in the Twilight Academy of Galduria. The school is known for its studies into unusual and dangerous magic. You had to cast spells in difficult situation and try to manipulate powerful magic energy beyond your capabilities. This special training has made your own magic somewhat unusual. Choose one of the following benefit: gain a +1 trait bonus to caster level checks to overcome spell resistance, gain a +1 trait bonus to concentration checks or gain a +3 trait bonus to caster level checks to activate scrolls of high caster level.

Updated as well. See profile for details.

Reserve points

All player characters get a ‘reserve’ of hit points equal to half their maximum hp.

Should we round up or down, I am assuming up according to the example given, but wanted to be sure.

Woot, glad I got chosen :D I look forward to playing with all of you.

I was still using the beta, apparently. I'll update my stats.

I've updated the profile with the suggestions you made :)

And I took Perception and Bluff for the +1 trait bonus from Riddleport Gambler.

Can't wait to start, the two other PbP campaigns I'm in .. are a bit slow going.

Thanks for choosing my character :)

See you all in Sandpoint.

-TDL

Reptilian wrote:

Reserve points

All player characters get a ‘reserve’ of hit points equal to half their maximum hp.

Should we round up or down, I am assuming up according to the example given, but wanted to be sure.

Down, 39/2=19.5 :)

Also, my whole death save thing is sort of a playtest so things might just have to change a bit.

I'll make the changes you recommend to Calla. The trait you chose seems like a good fit, and I'll apply the +1 bonus to Will, which is going to stay low for a long time if I multiclass!

Thanks for running the game, and I'm glad you chose Calla to participate. Can't wait to start! - Mike

Just a quick thanks for getting in. I'll update my character and show what equipment I have sometime today.

Thanks!

Alright, I've made some adjustments, bought my gear, and added the trait that you gave me, so I think I'm good to go :)

Alright .. we're almost all here .. Hope the rest can post their final character soon.

When will we be able to start the "introduction" part ?

-TDL

Also, my whole death save thing is sort of a playtest so things might just have to change a bit.

Sure, the reserve points sounds very much like another edition of DnD that will remain unnamed, he he. My first impression is it will be more deadly, although being the party wizard, it is pretty much deadly regardless what system you use, he he.

My suggestions:

- remove the "miss by 10 or more" instant kill for all death saves.

- use reserve points to auto stabilize yourself if you are below 0 hp and dying. You would need 2 RP for each one below zero hp to stabilize the bleeding. This would also encourage saving them as well.

- or an alternative is to use the RP to offset the penalties for the death save by a 2/1 margin for being in negative HP. In other words if you are dropped to -8 hp, your death save is at DC 19 with the -4 penalty. If you spend 8 RP, you cancel the penalty completely. This reflects the bodies reserves keeping you alive. You cannot use the RP to lower the DC below 15.

My character sheet is good to go now.

My suggestions:

- remove the "miss by 10 or more" instant kill for all death saves.

Either this suggestion by Eric or remove the instant death if failed by 10 for the massive damage roll. Or remove both and just make it very hard or even don't allow for many resurrection spells. Of course, I understand that you are trying to balance this with all of the RP's you are allowing.

In my games, I have no massive damage and I make the self-stabilize rolls better odds but I really restrict resurrection. So most likely if your character dies, he is dead-dead. Players treat combat and wounds much more seriously when I do this.

It's your game though, so I'm down with whatever you choose!

Sure, the reserve points sounds very much like another edition of DnD that will remain unnamed, he he.

Well, that goes without saying :). What I'm trying to do with the reserve points is to further remove the need a cleric in the party and/or the need to rest very often.

My first impression is it will be more deadly, although being the party wizard, it is pretty much deadly regardless what system you use, he he.

Yeah the goal wasn't so much to make it much deadlier but to remove the whole 'I don't need to tend to him, he still has x rounds to live'. It needs to be a bit more dire and random imo. In any case, you 2 are probably right, now that I think about it. It's probably far too deadly. I think I'll just keep the reserve points for now and do the death and dying as per the book until I can think of something else.

Alright .. we're almost all here .. Hope the rest can post their final character soon.

When will we be able to start the "introduction" part ?

-TDL

It should be soon enough, maybe monday night. We still haven't seen one of you in this thread, however.

Eric Swanson wrote:

Sure, the reserve points sounds very much like another edition of DnD that will remain unnamed, he he.

Well, that goes without saying :). What I'm trying to do with the reserve points is to further remove the need a cleric in the party and/or the need to rest very often.

Eric Swanson wrote:

My first impression is it will be more deadly, although being the party wizard, it is pretty much deadly regardless what system you use, he he.

Yeah the goal wasn't so much to make it much deadlier but to remove the whole 'I don't need to tend to him, he still has x rounds to live'. It needs to be a bit more dire and random imo. In any case, you 2 are probably right, now that I think about it. It's probably far too deadly. I think I'll just keep the reserve points for now and do the death and dying as per the book until I can think of something else.

Actually I remembered seeing this in the 3.5 UA book. so maybe it wasn't in that unnamed edition after all, he he.

Yeah probably best to do it like that, especially since we don't have a cleric.

It depends on how you want to run this, high heroic fantasy or a more gritty low fantasy setting. Either way works IMO.

TDLofCC wrote:

Alright .. we're almost all here .. Hope the rest can post their final character soon.

When will we be able to start the "introduction" part ?

-TDL

It should be soon enough, maybe monday night. We still haven't seen one of you in this thread, however.

Not trying to hurry you along or anything, I was just curious :)

And, indeed, we're missing the Flame Oracle ... Hope he/she can enter his/her character asap.

Go go Swallowtail Festival :P

Curious and eager, in my case xD

Just posting to "bump" and say I'm still here. Hope we can get started sometime soon, but no rush.

We're all waiting for the Flame Oracle :)

And just being patient here, no big hurry.

Just can't wait to start my character, and the AP, been reading good thing about the whole AP ...

-TDL

We're all waiting for the Flame Oracle :)

And just being patient here, no big hurry.

Just can't wait to start my character, and the AP, been reading good thing about the whole AP ...

-TDL

There's no sense in keeping 5 of you waiting. I'll get the game going soon (I just need more free time :) and whomever ends up taking the 6th spot can always join you later.

Ok, here we go: IC thread.

Reptilian, I'll be leaving Saturday for Vegas, returning back on Monday evening. I'm considering taking my laptop (not just for this), but I doubt I'll be posting much. Just a heads up.

Reptilian, I'll be leaving Saturday for Vegas, returning back on Monday evening. I'm considering taking my laptop (not just for this), but I doubt I'll be posting much. Just a heads up.

Don't sweat it, most games usual slow down during the weekends anyway.

Hummm ... a travelling bard with a trained monkey and dog(s). What does that remind me of?

Well, Rémi, of course!

Anyone else? Anyone? No probably not ... I don't think it had much screen time outside Japan and french speaking countries. I still had to blurt it out since it was so striking (to me at least).

Oh, and one more thing. There are some passages in the adventure path that are pretty gruesome. So if you are a bit hyper sensitive tell me now cause I don't intend to pull any punches. It's not that I like gore so much but I feel that evil monsters should after all be a bit disturbing and horrifying. Anyway, back to the game.

Hummm ... a travelling bard with a trained monkey and dog(s). What does that remind me of?

Well, Rémi, of course!

Anyone else? Anyone? No probably not ... I don't think it had much screen time outside Japan and french speaking countries. I still had to blurt it out since it was so striking (to me at least).

What do you think made me want a monkey ;)

I forgot about the dog though :P

So, I'll probably start off with a dog.
And now I really want a dog that looks the part ofcourse.

-TDL

Hummm ... a travelling bard with a trained monkey and dog(s). What does that remind me of?

Well, Rémi, of course!

Anyone else? Anyone? No probably not ... I don't think it had much screen time outside Japan and french speaking countries. I still had to blurt it out since it was so striking (to me at least).

Reptilian, I haven't heard of Remi before, but I do remember reading an old comic when I was a child called Tintin, which was done by a Frenchmen.

Linky

Yeah, I know all about Tintin and I'm an old fan. It's, after all, THE classic of the french-belgian style comics (with Astérix ... maybe). Rémi was more obscure: an early 80s (or late 70s?) japanese cartoon based on a french novel. Anyway, I'll stop here before I bore anyone with useless trivia :)

About the monkey, it might be possible to find one in a larger city, such as Magnimar, Korvosa or Riddleport. Who knows where you guys will end up?

Yeah, I know all about Tintin and I'm an old fan. It's, after all, THE classic of the french-belgian style comics (with Astérix ... maybe). Rémi was more obscure: an early 80s (or late 70s?) japanese cartoon based on a french novel. Anyway, I'll stop here before I bore anyone with useless trivia :)

About the monkey, it might be possible to find one in a larger city, such as Magnimar, Korvosa or Riddleport. Who knows where you guys will end up?

I know Remy ... Here in the Netherlands it's called (roughly translated) alone in the world or translated from the french title ... without family :P

I read the book, and I think I also saw the animation.

And ... who doesn't know TinTin. Better yet, who doesn't know the Captain. Great character ...

About the monkey .. It would be nice to acquire .. someday :)

I'll start with the dog, if all goes well, the next few days after the festival .. It depends .. If I need to teach it the tricks it needs to know .. I probably won't. Since it takes a few weeks to teach him/her.

We'll see how far the rabbit hole really goes ;)

-TDL

And ... who doesn't know TinTin. Better yet, who doesn't know the Captain. Great character ...

-TDL

I will second that!

Posting the requested shout out.

Posting the requested shout out.

** spoiler omitted **

Welcome to our soon to be rag-tag group of adventurers ;)

Naomi Fairchild wrote:

Posting the requested shout out.

** spoiler omitted **

Welcome to our soon to be rag-tag group of adventurers ;)

Why thank you. I just want all of you to know, the goblins will pay...

Speaking as the resident wizard, I say WELCOME!

Posting the requested shout out.

** spoiler omitted **

Hello! I'm glad you decided to join us. We can probably integrate you in the game once the current fight is done, which shouldn't be too long. I've looked at your sheet and I just have 2 little demands/question: 1. You should have some sort of divine focus (maybe a symbol of one of your gods or a family symbol). 2. I think your spellcraft bonus should be at +4 but I might be missing something. As for your trait, I'm not sure what to give you just yet, but since your 'family' seem a bit like a gang of thieves (no offense) it will probably be bonuses to 'thieving' skills like disguise, bluff, disable device, stealth, etc ...

While I'm at it, TDL, I don't know how I missed that at the start, but your sheet is missing a few stats. Nothing I can't calculate from the rest of your stuff but it would help me if you wrote down your AC (flat-footed and touch too), your ranged and melee attack bonuses, your BAB, CMB and CMD as well as the number of rounds per day that you can use Bardic Performance.

Hello! I'm glad you decided to join us. We can probably integrate you in the game once the current fight is done, which shouldn't be too long. I've looked at your sheet and I just have 2 little demands/question: 1. You should have some sort of divine focus (maybe a symbol of one of your gods or a family symbol). 2. I think your spellcraft bonus should be at +4 but I might be missing something. As for your trait, I'm not sure what to give you just yet, but since your 'family' seem a bit like a gang of thieves (no offense) it will probably be bonuses to 'thieving' skills like disguise, bluff, disable device, stealth, etc ...

1) Bought a wooden holy symbol

Gang of Thieves comment: No offense taken, it's what I was going for. I was planning on taking a level of rogue and shadow dancer later to let her be a bit more of a "shadow" cleric.

While I'm at it, TDL, I don't know how I missed that at the start, but your sheet is missing a few stats. Nothing I can't calculate from the rest of your stuff but it would help me if you wrote down your AC (flat-footed and touch too), your ranged and melee attack bonuses, your BAB, CMB and CMD as well as the number of rounds per day that you can use Bardic Performance.

I'll update that in a second. No problem.

-TDL

Gang of Thieves comment: No offense taken, it's what I was going for. I was planning on taking a level of rogue and shadow dancer later to let her be a bit more of a "shadow" cleric.

Funky concept, but I like it.

Here's the trait:
Gang member (Social): You've spent your life as a member of a closeknit gang of thieves and con men (some say a 'family'). Even if you may not be a thief yourself, you know a trick or 2. You also always have someone to turn to in case of trouble. Choose 2 skills amongst the following: Disable Device, Disguise, Sleight of Hand and Stealth. You gain a +1 trait bonus to both skills. Alternatively, you can choose only one of them and gain a +2 trait bonus to diplomacy checks made to gather information in civilized areas.

Like I said earlier, none of your characters understands Goblin so you can't understand the goblin song. But since it's awesome, I'll just reproduce it here for your own enjoyment.

Goblins chew and goblins bite.
Goblins cut and goblins fight.
Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force!

Goblins race and goblins jump.
Goblins slash and goblins bump.
Burn the skin and mash the head,
Goblins here and you be dead!

Chase the baby, catch the pup.
Bonk the head to shut it up.
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We be goblins! You be food!

Haha, I love the last line.

I think them boys have got some talent, lets get 'im on American Idol, he he.

rofl .. it's awesome indeed .. !

It might be a good idea to pick up the language perhaps ;)

You can buy a shirt from Paizo that has the song on it.

Does the fall of the last goblin mean I can join in? I may wait for an appropriate moment.

You can buy a shirt from Paizo that has the song on it.

Does the fall of the last goblin mean I can join in? I may wait for an appropriate moment.

I think I'll post a little introduction explaining how you got separated from your 'sibling' and you could take it from there.

Hey quick question?

Does Izbahn have to keep chanting to maintain the spell effects? According to the spells effects it has a duration, but the description shows the wizard starts chanting and gesturing for the spell to take effect.

Thanks.

Hey quick question?

Does Izbahn have to keep chanting to maintain the spell effects? According to the spells effects it has a duration, but the description shows the wizard starts chanting and gesturing for the spell to take effect.

Thanks.

Nope, I think the description just tells us what the caster needs to do during the casting time. Just remember that any perceived threat can break the spell.

You only need to continue chanting (or whatever) if the spell says "concentration" in the duration.

Izbahn cursed mentally to himself What the hell was I thinking when I memorized that spell? I wish I had memorized a magic missile! This spell wasn't designed for a combat situation!

Hehe, well now I know why this spell is rarely used (in my experience). At least you helped Venmirl to remove the threat of the fire spreading to nearby buildings. Hypnotism could still be great in other situations, like to avoid a fight or to influence someone.