Caliphas Noir: Thicker Than Water

Game Master The Dread Pirate Hurley

Discussion thread open!

This will be open for OOC discussion not directly related to the game, as well as for anybody reading along with us to play peanut gallery.

I hope to have a gameplay thread open this weekend, but we'll have to see how things pan out. Before we get too far into the game, I also hope to have a timeline up in the Campaign Info tab that includes the dates of some important events that modify the setting just a little bit. I'll also have a link to the map of Caliphas up, and eventually a roster of supporting cast NPCs as they appear.

For now, I bid you welcome to...

Caliphas Noir!

Having gameplay threads up early is good, if only so they can be dotted and followed more easily. XD Here's Selene's profile.

Important Things To Know About This Character:

-Selene is using a somewhat modified version of the Revenant Bloodletter from Liber Vampyr (free download here at Paizo.com - check the store). She generally lacks vampiric weaknesses, but doesn't have the 'real' vampire powers either (turning into gas, summoning animals, et cetera). I plan to focus her vampiric development on improving her bite and social abilities, but no vampire spawn, familiars, or anything like that. She's not so much a Lord of the Night as she is someone with some freaky blood magic. Any true vampire would probably look down on her... right before she punched them in the face. XD

--At the moment, she does have some very nice sensory powers. Detect Blood is an at-will power, acting as Detect Animals or Plants but focused on creatures with blood. Vampiric Senses gives a pretty big boost to Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival to spot/follow tracks for 1/min level, although it costs a blood point to use. (Blood Points aren't daily - she needs to feed to replenish them.) It seemed like a good choice for a police officer. XD

-I have Background Skills and Automatic Bonus Progression in effect. Between that and Crafting Mastery (her mythic power), she should be pretty much set in terms of gear. I HAVEN'T really spent her wealth. GP rewards and treasure should be roughly halved to accommodate this, unless you really enjoy pouring gold over players. XD

-As mentioned, she has the advanced template (which is almost a necessity in solo games). She has no higher than 18 in any ability before her racial adjustment (+2 Charisma). So... solid overall, but not abnormally high in any area. I am emphatically trying to avoid min-maxing, after all.

-In addition to her three natural attacks, Selene can gain more natural attacks when she transforms. She can also use the Energy Blade talent and the Improved Energy Blade feat as a swift action to add her Destructive Blast's power (2d6, or 3d6 if she spends a spell point) to her next successful attack. This does provoke an AoO unless Selene casts defensively, but I plan to get her the Melee Blaster feat soon, which will let her do this without provoking. Functionally, this is about 1d6/odd level of extra damage, or more when I'm willing to pay the price. So, it's basically a magic Sneak Attack, but only on one hit per-turn. XD

--A notable power of the Revenant Bloodletter is its Bloodlust technique. Basically, she gets an enhancement bonus to Strength when around living stuff that's been hurt... including if she's hurt it. XD That starts as a +2 enhancement bonus (so +1 to accuracy and damage), and scales up at later levels. Being the type of bonus it is, it doesn't stack with a lot of other stat-raising options, so I'll be avoiding those.

-I took drawbacks for some of her Spheres (if you aren't familiar with that yet, it's basically grabbing a weakness in return for an extra talent, and it helps with customizing characters). Most notably, this means she can't use Alteration (transformation), Protection (defense), or Warp (movement) on other people. She's also unable to create undead.

-Feel free to ask me about literally any aspect of the character you want to know more of before the game starts. XD There's probably a lot of abilities here you haven't encountered before (indeed, their rarity is part of what I'm testing!), so I'm happy to explain in as much detail as you'd like.

Oh, and I should probably note this earlier instead of later - I've GM'd Carrion Crown's "Trial of the Beast" and "Wake of the Watcher", but not "Ashes at Dawn".

*Glances up at name*

...Maybe I should make a new alias, actually...

That's fine about having GM'd some of the Carrion Crown modules. I'm actually not using much from that AP besides material from the Caliphas gazetteer, most of which is going to be modified anyway.

I'll have a gameplay post up by the end of tomorrow. I plan to start in media res near the conclusion of a relatively mundane case to give us both an opportunity to get into the swing of things.

*Nods*

Ah, and let me know when you'd like to get started planning for your own game. ^^

I'm still familiarizing myself with the Spheres of Power material. Do you have any unusual abilities that are always on, or that you intend to deploy frequently? Also, would it be too much trouble for you to embed hotlinks into your character statblock. There's rather a lot of non-standard rules being referenced and it would be very handy to be able to check them easily. I'm willing to do it myself, but you're better able to navigate the material.

You've got mythic power. I don't have a problem with that; it's another hook to hang a story on. Do you have any ideas you'd like to share about why Selene is mythic?

Regarding the other game, I'm in talks with some others about that. There are some people that I'd love to duo with if they're available. I also have a possibly strange request. Would you be willing to run a game for somebody else instead of me, on my behalf?

You're right, that is a bit strange... but yes, I would be willing to do that. XD There's no rush on my end, so take whatever time you need.

The closest thing Selene has to an 'always on' power is probably her Extradimensional Storage, from the Warp sphere, which is basically a slowly-growing Bag of Holding. She can also get a Bite anytime she wants (as a Bloodletter), and has a pair of claws that are extended or retraced as a free action. Most everything else she actually has to activate at some point in order to use. I'm very likely to have her transform at the start of battle with the Alteration sphere (to adjust her somewhat to the fight), and to cast Protection spells whenever she's likely to be in combat in the near future. If I'm not surprised, her AC will typically be 4-5 points higher.

Oh wow, you respond hella fast. I edited in some more questions into the post you responded to. I'll have to stop editing after posting if you're going to make a habit of playing ninja :P

Yeah, I've been known to respond quickly. XD I'll see what I can do to link the Spheres and such. Liber Vampyr... uh, I'm not sure that's actually up anywhere. o_O But the PDF is free here on Paizo.com, so there's that. Although, as mentioned, it was a bit edited for usability, giving some of the issues with the original. That's part of what I'm testing. And in the meantime, you are ALWAYS welcome to ask me about literally any part of her character. XD

For the mythic power, I suspect it's an offshoot of whatever gave her the blood-based powers she has. Her magic was probably tied to the same event. Maybe she staked a mythic vampire as part of a Constabulary operation (with lots of hired backup, of course - put those spellcasting services in town to good use!), and managed to absorb a part of its power? That could explain why she has vampiric powers, but is not actually a vampire.

EDIT: Okay, I updated her profile with links to the Spherecasting classes, and each Sphere down in her special abilities now has a direct link.

The links are appreciated. I'll get Liber Vampyr downloaded as well.

I can work with the staking of the mythic vampire. That will give your character some history with a few NPCs that I'm looking forward to introducing down the line.

The important part is that it was a team effort, because there's no way she did it on her own. XD She might have done the actual staking, but she'd be the first to say it was only possible with everyone else's help.

(...That, and despite everything, I have no desire to create a special snowflake who manages stunts way outside the rules. XD Anyway, she wasn't mythic then, so there's not even that excuse.)

I've perused Liber Vampyre; most of that material is fairly straightforward. I'm assuming that Detect Blood will see a lot of use outside of combat.

I'm currently going through the Spheres of Power material. Energy Blade needs a better name; I totally thought it was like a Soulknife. Nope, it just lets you blast and strike together.

We'll have to decide how to handle the interaction between PF casting and Spherecasting, since they don't necessarily map. The Archmage's Wild Arcana ability allows you to cast a spell on your spell list, but you don't have one of those. You've got sphere effects, but those appear to be different than spells. Do you imagine that Wild Arcana is simply one free casting of any effect, or did you have something else in mind that I'm not privy to?

Yeah, Detect Blood is mostly a "help find people" power. It seemed appropriate. XD It's not like the whole game needs to be violent combat all the time, after all. Wild Arcana I've actually had used in another game, and I wrote this up for it:

Wild Arcana (Spheres version): Activating Wild Arcana is a standard action and uses one Mythic Power. When you use Wild Arcana, you can cast any basic sphere ability at CL +2 and apply the effects of one Talent from the appropriate sphere (even if you do not know that Talent). If you use Wild Arcana to cast from a sphere you already know, you can also apply any other appropriate Talent(s) to the ability if you would normally be allowed to add more than one. You do not have to pay spell point costs for Talents added to a sphere casting by Wild Arcana, but you do have to pay spell points for Talents added normally. If two Talents could not normally be used together, Wild Arcana will not allow you to circumvent that limitation.

(There are two important exceptions. First, no using Wild Arcana for the Conjuration sphere. Second, no access to Advanced Talents.)

Wild Arcana looks fine. I trust that you've designed it well, but I'm curious - why no Conjuration sphere?

Also, would you be able to throw up a Discussion thread for planning the other game? It would be easier for my potential partner and I to communicate and get your feedback than PMing back and forth. So far we're looking at Skull & Shackles, Mummy's Mask, Serpent's Skull, or a homebrew set in Alkenstar.

Conjuration's kind of "Eidolon, the Sphere". It's really more of a class feature than a set of spells, and it can be much better than something like the Summon Monster list, especially if you give it Magical Companion to let it repeatedly cast pretty much anything you want. It's balanced around the idea that you have one companion with set abilities - if you could completely customize it every time you summoned it, as Wild Arcana would allow, it would be a little too powerful to be fair. Gimme juuuuuust a sec for the other game.

All right, here you go. I added a gameplay thread, too, so you can dot it and get it onto your campaign page for easy access. ^^

Vampiric Senses (Vampire)

You draw upon your stolen life essence to heighten your
senses, sharpening them beyond any mortal’s.

Prerequisite: Cruomancer level 1st.

Benefit: As a swift action, by spending 1 blood point, you can gain an enhancement bonus on all Perception and Sense
Motive checks, as well as on all Survival checks made to spot
or follow tracks, equal to 10 + your cruomancer level. This
benefit lasts for 1 min./level.

If your cruomancer level is 6 or higher, you can
activate this ability by spending only a single blood point.

RAW, you're right, it doesn't cost a swift action after level 6. That doesn't actually make any sense though, as all actions have some sort of action cost associated with it. The wording of the second paragraph, "by spending only a single blood point", would seem to me to imply that the blood point cost was reduced. In either case, it's poorly-written rules text.

That said, I'm inclined to allow it as a 1 point cost. I'm only making the argument as a matter because part of the reason for running this is to test out some of these different rulesets. I'll leave it up to you to decide how crucial the matter is to your testing.

I fully agree that it could have been written better than it was. XD I'm inclined to treat it as a free action, myself - with the added caveat that any other vampiric powers that are also free actions (if they exist - I'll have to doublecheck that) can't be activated in the same turn. Honestly, the difference probably isn't going to matter 99% of the time. This character isn't very swift-action heavy to begin with.

I'm fine with that as long as you are.

I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. XD

...Also, any idea that requires stacking things that weren't meant to be stacked probably isn't a very good idea to begin with. o_O It's not like I'm trying to make Pun-Pun.

I've read Painlord's guide, but it's definitely good to refresh, especially since I'm now in a position to put it to practice.

I'll have another gameplay post up late this evening; those suckers take a lot longer to write now.

Alright, there are a couple things on my to-do list for the weekend. I'd like to get the Campaign Info thread updated with an alternate history timeline that reflects the changes I've made to the setting, as previously mentioned. I'll also put up a list of different organizations and factions where I can note things as they come up.

I've got the beginnings of the faction list posted in the Campaign Info tab. I'll have he next gameplay post up this evening (Monday).

Right-o. ^^ I'll take a look.

I've been doing some research on the history of policing in Europe, looking for something to give me an idea of what powers and limitations the police were working with in the 17th and 18th centuries. I'm not turning up much. I'm thinking that Selene is allowed to use whatever means available to her, until the Captain hears complaints from the wrong people.

She also holds something of a unique position in the Department. Selene has done more than enough to distinguish herself from the other Constables, but Department policy caps the number of Investigators at no more than ten per Constable. Even though she only holds the rank of Constable, she has a much longer leash than most. The arrangement is as precarious as it is unofficial, as any of the ranked Investigators can take over a case she's working at any time they feel like stepping in.

In-fighting, politicking, and bureaucratic red tape are important elements of this flavor of detective fiction. However, I'm open to suggestion or criticism if you don't like the arrangement described.

Speaking as someone who GM's a lot of games, my opinion is a very simple one - I think you should run the kind of game you think is going to be the most fun for both of us. XD Besides, variety is the spice of gaming.

*Rubs chin* That reminds me - I never did spend my starting wealth. Since I took Crafting Mastery, would you say Selene had the opportunity to craft a Merciful Amulet of Mighty Fists? That's the only method I can think of that would allow all of her natural attacks to deal nonlethal damage, and she's the sort who usually wants to take suspects alive. XD

I'll keep that in mind. Since this is a custom solo game, I want you to feel that you have input while we're still fleshing out and establishing the character and her place in this world. Selene has some history with the city already. There will be NPCs that you'll meet that Selene would already have some kind of relationship with based on prior events. I intend for there to be opportunities for you as the player to have some say in certain relationships, because at the moment I believe that giving you those opportunities would be fun for both of us. For example, there's the matter of your one free confidant in the Department.

EDIT: Yes, there would be plenty of time for her to have crafted an amulet.

Yeah, that confidant is gonna help. XD The whole blood points thing is a fairly major part of one of her classes, after all - and it provides a really easy entry point for plot back at headquarters. I'll do my best to roll with the NPCs when they're introduced.

That's fine. You're right that the confidant is going to be helpful, but there will be opportunities for other sources as well, especially as you discover and interact with some of the other factions. You won't have to worry much about running out of your abilities that recharge daily; urban sandboxes tend to be pretty generous on 15-minute adventuring days and crafting downtime. But blood points are a different story. Even from volunteers like your confidant, it's a whopping 5 points of Con damage per blood point, so those powers will have to be rationed.

Well, let's just say there's a reason I took the Life Sphere's "Greater Restore"... XD And Improved Vampire's Bite brings it down to 4 Con/point. It'll definitely get easier as I keep leveling.

Ah, yes, I forgot about the reduced cost from Improved Vampire's Bite. Still, even your friends will only be willing to give so often, even with the restoration afterward.

My posting will be a bit slower this week. I'll be attending multiple job fairs and related activities.

I'm also mining history for details on the development of policing and judicial systems, since this is shaping up to be something of a procedural.

Thank you for your patience. Posting will resume this weekend.

No problem. ^^/ Games are supposed to be fun, after all, so you should never feel pressured to post when there's important things to take care of.

I'll get the next post up tonight.

Unless you say differently, standard protocol for transitioning between days will be a scene change to the next day when Selene reports back to Whiteshaw.

Selene has more-or-less free roam privileges; she isn't required to walk a beat except in rare circumstances, and she can work on cases at her own pace, as long as she's getting results. If Selene would like to go somewhere specific (tavern/restaurant, shopping, social visits with NPCs), just indicate that in her intentions.

Yeah, free roaming is probably easier for games. XD And you're the GM, so go with what works for you. I might want to do some shopping later, after she gets more wealth - for now, though, I think she's pretty much ready to keep doing her job.

Well now I'm paranoid. Any lurkers here?

If there are, I suspect Yidhra will pie them in the face. o wo/ Nothin' to worry about.

Now would be a good time to mention some of those key differences that I've made to Caliphas as published. I never did get around to making that timeline that describes how it came about, but Caliphas has a neighborhood specifically for Tians. Officially called the Jade Quarter, it's known colloquially as Tiantown. Its placement on the map is just north of The Seventh Eye (marker 20) on that bland gray area that juts out into the lake. The Prince acquired an appreciation for Tian culture in his youth and once he moved the court to Caliphas, he invited Tians to immigrate to Ustalav, sponsoring a number of journeys as well as granting them their own small district in the city.

The other important difference that's worth mentioning at this time is that the dominant ethnic group in Caliphas Noir is mixed Varisian-Taldan. Before the Whispering Tyrant's reign, most Ustalavs were settled Varisians, but the Varisian ethnic majority intermingled with the Taldans who stayed in Ustalav after the Shining Crusade. Most of the common folk and virtually all of the nobility are of mixed blood, leaving the pure Varisians as second-class citizens in their own ancestral country. The only ethnicity lower on the totem pole are the Kellids, who were here even before the Varisians settled Ustalav.

Yeah, that's probably important. XD

Alright, the maps have been moved to the header at the top. The combat map is up; ignore the closed off circles, the turrets are open to the room. The top of the combat map represents "West"; the NPC in the north-western turret is the one you already knocked out.

The Caliphas map has also changed, updated with neighborhoods and points of interest.

Lastly, the Caliphas link on the Campaign Info tab now directs to a picture of what Caliphas might look like up close.

Since we last discussed it, I've fleshed out some details about that encounter with the mythic vampire. I'm not sure if we spelled it out exactly, but the bloodletter revenant powers and the mythic power were both direct results of that encounter.

Were you looking to gain mythic ranks as well as levels? I don't recall having discussed that specifically.

As part of what I'm testing... yes. XD Tiers could be plot development, tied to levels (every even level is a good shorthand), whatever works for you.

I will make sure to take that into account.

(Mainly, it helps with surviving and such - though I plan to focus on utility over damage-dealing. XD No Mythic Vital Strike here.)

No worries. I might even add in some extra powers on top to go with it.

To continue the tangent about language acquisition without cluttering up the gameplay thread, I'm very supportive of Selene learning other languages. Her efforts to do so would present opportunities for her to meet and interact with certain groups in the city, and it would be a waste to let that slip away by simply hand-waving the acquisition via level-up. The urban sandbox approach hinges on the variety of organizations and individuals with their own agendas and interactions and the way they influence and are influenced by the protagonist. Ultimately, I'm trying to introduce enough groups and characters to cause a plot snowball effect, and to do so in a natural way that doesn't feel forced. As such, Selene seeking out and discovering new factions to further her own goals is premium-grade fuel for the game's engine.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens when that snowball starts rolling. Selene has already surprised me twice, and both times have created opportunities for deviations from the game's baseline (which is absolutely a good thing).

Also, I'm planning to use skill checks with impossible DCs as a way of foreshadowing and creating dramatic irony. The previous DC 30 Perception check was an example of that. I hope you don't mind.

Not at all. XD The point is to have fun and tell a good story - and sometimes failures are good for that.

(In other news: The Shapeshifter's Handbook is up on the wiki for easy reference.)

Just a quick announcement I'm posting to all my games.

I've just started a new job! My posting might be a little spotty over the next week or so while I adjust to the new schedule, but such issues should be minimal and temporary.

I promise to get a post up tonight.