Clebsch GM Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path

Game Master Clebsch73

Eastern time here as well. Enjoying the nice fall weather in Kentucky right now!

PST - Paizo Standard Time. I'm in the Puget Sound region.

Lol I am based out of Ohio but work in Kentucky. I mostly ask so i can calibrate when someone says "I will post tonight" when tonight starts. I have a weird schedule and am up until like 4am most days.

Question regarding the scales: Do we know how they work, or is it just a sense of the power with a thought of the magic it may have? Does it require the item in hand, or does it require concentration or focus? Wanna get a sense of how to RP it when I first use the scale.

Alter Self merely changes my form, providing me with either a +2 Dex/Str bonus and some of the listed abilities on the spell. In addition, Paizo lists this quote in its Magic/Polymorph section.

Paizo wrote:

If a polymorph spell causes you to change size, apply the size modifiers appropriately, changing your armor class, attack bonus, Combat Maneuver Bonus, and Stealth skill modifiers. Your ability scores are not modified by this change unless noted by the spell.

For Instance, Bugbear Franti:

I am now a bugbear with:

• +10 disguise bonus to appear as such a member of the race as per polymorph spells
  
• the outfit of a fool still donned, as well as my gear.This would likely result in someone questioning by bugbear identity, with a Disguise vs. Perception
  
• +2 strength as it is medium
  
• Scent and Darkvision.

Second Example, Gnome Franti:
I am now a Gnome with:

• +10 disguise bonus to appear as a member of the race as per polymorph spells.
  
• A Gnome fool wouldn't be too suspicious, but strange activities may have someone question my Gnome identity.
  
• +2 Dex as it is small
  
• Low-light vision.
  
• As I am now small, with a +1 AC, ATT, +4 Stealth, -1 CMB/CMD, in addition to my +2 Dex bonus.

Does this all look right? I just want to make sure before I turn into something ridiculous.

The key statement to keep in mind is: "Your ability scores are not modified by this change unless noted by the spell."

Since the Alter Self spell only specifies the bonus to str for medium size or dex for small size, those are the only ability modifiers you get. The spell also mentions darkvision, low-light vision, etc., so if the creature you change to has those features, you get them in the altered form. But if you changed into a humanoid form of a creature that, say, has tremor sense, you would not get that, since it's not specifically mentioned by the spell.

There is a clarifying discussion here (link).

So with only the +2 DEX, I still gain the AC/ATT/Stealth bonuses and CMD/CMB penalties when small. In addition, I can get those listed bonuses.So my idea of being small and the stats I listed are correct then? Just again want to clarify, not trying to rules lawyer or finagle my way into something better than what I got.

Right. Any small sized creatures gets a +1 size bonus to AC, a +1 size bonus on attacks, a +1 size bonus on CMB, a +4 bonus to stealth.

There is also a size penalty of -1 to the CMD (Combat Maneuver Defense) for small sized creatures. Although the RAW doesn't specifically mention that, I'd be inclined to include it, since it normally applies to all small sized creatures.

The +2 to Dex has some side effects that also affect AC and CMB, as well as attacks that use the Dex modifier (such as ranged attacks). So the net effect to AC when shifting to a small creature would be a +2 and the CMD would remain the same, since a higher Dex modifier would offset the size modifier penalty. Perhaps that is why the CMD was not mentioned.

Question regarding the scales: Do we know how they work, or is it just a sense of the power with a thought of the magic it may have? Does it require the item in hand, or does it require concentration or focus? Wanna get a sense of how to RP it when I first use the scale.

You know how to activate the effect and you only need to be carrying the scale (not necessary for it to be in hand). It works like a Spell-like ability, which is cast like a spell, but without the need for any words, hand gestures, material components, or other spell casting paraphernalia. It does require concentration and so it can provoke an AOO if you are in a square that is threatened.

One other thing to note, if you have more than one scale, none of them work, so you can't pass them around and bundle their effects onto one person. You could trade them if you wanted to.

I am in central Virginia, which is Eastern Time, (Daylight Savings, for another week). My work schedule shifts every five weeks generally from an evening schedule to a morning schedule. So this is my last week working nights. Starting next week, I'll be teaching in the morning and so I won't likely post much until the afternoon/evening, although I may have time for a quick post while I'm drinking my coffee. When I work nights, I mostly post in the morning and early afternoon. I can post after I get home, like tonight, but I'm sometimes too burned out to be very creative.

This week is going to be rather busy, as I'm wrapping up this term with grades due on Friday. Sometime on Friday I will be driving up to upstate New York (Woodstock) to visit my brother. So I won't be posting much after Thursday night. After things settle next week, I think my schedule will be more open and I'll get more done. I'm also going to quit one of the games I'm in as a player.

I grew up in Indiana, so I'm familiar with the climate of Ohio and Kentucky. I also lived for ten years in Southern California. I've visited Seattle a few times. I visited the offices of Wizards of the Coast while I was there in the 90s; my college roommate, Jeff Grubb, went on to FRP fame working for TSR and eventually WOTC.

Hah! Funny how that works I lived eight years near Richmond, Virginia, then five near DC. Moved to Illinois and lived in the suburbs there for around ten years, then finally moved out here. Both my parents are actually from Ohio, too.

Lol My wife is from Springfield, VA. Her dad was friends with Dave Arneson who helped create DnD.

I live in Richmond right now. Small world!

My posting schedule is dictated by the fact that I'm looking for a job right now, so I've been spending a lot of time working on my resume, applying for positions, and attending various functions. Luckily, it does leave me with a lot of free time even with all of that going on. It does lead me to be awake at odd hours, though...

Small world indeed. Gameplay post is up with the start of a new melee. Post in initiative order if possible, but if you need to post in advance of your turn, put your actions under a spoiler and I'll describe the results once your character's turn comes 'round. May the dicebot always roll in your favor.

Preparing for round two if combat isn't ended this round, I am in a good flanking position for beetle#1, possibly Beetle#2 if Karas re-positions.

I may get another post tonight or tomorrow morning, but I'm going to be otherwise unable to post from now until Monday evening. I will be traveling on Friday, visiting my brother on the weekend, returning on Monday. I might be able to post on the weekend if I have some time and access to the Internet, but I may not have access to my pdf resources.

Feel free to role play discussions you might have at free moments during the slog through the underground, perhaps giving a more detailed introduction to yourself and your experiences, religious feelings, attitudes toward the situation or whatever you think your character would share.

Next week, we'll continue the AP, picking up at the next major encounter.

Saturday and Sunday I will be unlikely to post. Saturday is my wedding :)

Saturday and Sunday I will be unlikely to post. Saturday is my wedding :)

Congrats on your big day!!

Lol, Ellena is happy that Avelina has a ton more fancy outfits, so she doesn't feel bad anymore! Ellena might never pass a Sense Motive check...

It's okay; I just thought it was funny since when I rolled a 7, I was like "well, guess everyone is gonna make that...." and then two people roll lower right after lol

I know very few paladins with good sense motive, actually. In fact, I think both of them are mine, now that I think about it. My PFS -1 actually has skill focus and a trait in it.

It makes sense that a paladin would be pretty good at sense motive, I think. I'll have to put a tank or two in it, if Ellena makes it that far. As she gets more experienced, she might learn a bit more about people.

Totally back and ready to go :)

Signs of life?

I'm guessing the GM got back late yesterday and wasn't up for posting.

That's my assumption as well. just wanted to show a little life in the discussion. Very ready to continue, having a lot of fun.

Same, of course!

Are we going to divvy things up as we go or is someone going to run a party loot?

Hmm...party loot tends to be the most effective way to handle loot in my experience.

That said, I'm not particularly keen on doing it, so I would prefer to only do so if no one else really wants to.

I have spreadsheets for inventory, I can manage what we have, and we can divvy it up at breaks and pauses after appraising things for value. Not sure if I can carry it all, but I can at least track it.

Franti, you do seem to have the most ability in the book keeping dept if it wouldn't be too much trouble. As far as carrying goes, Ellena and I should be able to split the haul fairly well. especially with the Masterwork backpack.

Ok, have an Google Spreadsheet ready to share. Tracks total items, amount for each item, weight, value. In addition, you can put your name in the "Dibs" column to claim an item. The spreadsheet will automatically tally the value of the item claimed to each player's total count and add the value for unclaimed ones. When we sell junk, we have a running tally of the unattended items' total value.

@Cleb: Should we use appraised values for gear, or actual values? The former is more in-game, while the latter is more fair for breaking up loot, but is technically meta-gaming.

Here is the Loot Tracker thus far. Will tune it up for better weight tracking in the future.

Completely beyond my wildest expectations. You are delightful, Franti!

Franti, that is amazing!

I recommend you list the cost of items rather than selling price. If someone decides to keep something for personal use, it's easier to work out shares. Anything sold can then be calculated at the going rate and the amount divided. If someone decides to keep an item, it can be counted toward his/her share of the treasure.

Example, you find a bunch of stuff that includes a cold iron longsword. Someone decides to keep the sword, which would cost 30 gp new. The other items are sold for 270 gp. Add 30 to that for a net value of 300 gp. Divided 6 ways that is 50 gp per PC. The PC who took the sword gets 20 gp plus the sword. Everybody else gets 50 gp.

I'll put a link to the spreadsheet on the main campaign tab when I get a chance.

The party is about to come upon a new challenge, but I don't have time to introduce it tonight, so that will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, most likely.

I'll hold onto the CLW potion if no one else does. Avelina's probably the least useful in-combat person right now, so if someone goes down, it doesn't hurt the party's action economy as much for her to spend a whole round force-feeding a potion to someone.

I would still consider it The Party's CLW Potion though.

No issues here.

Ok, think I have updated the loot with all values, weight and all encountered items thus far. In addition, on the Loot Breakdown page, everyone's weight is now dynamically calculated depending on who is carrying it.

I added the Longsword and the Crossbow as they have some degree of value towards them. Slings and stones are practically worthless so I am ignoring them. Tell me if I missed anything.

Starting tomorrow evening, I am going to be out of town at a convention (playing Pathfinder, of course). I'll still have my phone so I will be able to make a post in the evening, but I will not be online as frequently so I won't be able to get particularly long posts up or post very often.

Have fun!

Also is there a door to the building we can see?

Have fun, Anarya!

I was just curious I guess, it is the kind of place I'd hide a little treasure for players in my games. Sure it don't make much sense, but I'm not sure a fool is supposed to. It was just one of the first thoughts in my head, so I guess my whimsy carries on to Franti.

I might need to reign it all in though: Me throwing things or asking people to throw things has caused most of the combat thus far. If we end up fighting the Storm King, we can all count on me throwing something and alerting him to our presence.

That may not be such a huge issue, Franti. Especially if we take the Lookout teamwork feat at some point.

A good teamwork feat when there is one person in the group that always acts in a surprise round, has a +11 initiative bonus at first level that is likely to double or triple before we face the Storm King.

That's a plenty good reason for me, Franti. Anarya is just much mote direct in her thinking. It's good to have someone who thinks outside the box.

I think Franti's antics do a wonder for nonlinear thinking and really help everyone figure things out. Even if Karas doesn't always get it lol

I love Franti's antics! It really plays to that "show don't tell" aspect of storytelling, and it makes his character's personality very vivid. If it once in a while gives us a slight disadvantage in a combat, then it is worth it.

Franti is lovely! Don't change a thing.

From the GM's perspective, a party that does everything "by the book" at every possible encounter just inspires the GM to use their methodical approach against them by designing an encounter that requires a different approach. Being creative and sometimes doing things that would normally be considered unwise can sometimes trigger dangerous events, but those will usually be triggered anyway. So that leaves the possibility that the creative out-of-the-box thinkng may sometimes create an advantage.

Beyond all that logical thinking, doing unexpected things keeps the game fresh and interesting.

That said, I can recall dungeon crawls where a party found itself fighting some nasty monster in one room and a thief in the party decided he would try a different room to see if he could find some unattended treasure to abscond with while the rest were distracted. Instead he found another monster and then the party was fighting two monsters at once. So some kinds of impulsive behavior are generally not recommended.

["Why can't we get into the running car?" "Are you crazy?! Let's hide behind those chainsaws!" Love that commercial!]

And if Franti suggests, "Let's split up; we can cover more ground," you may want to hit him with his own sap.

Y'all are too sweet. If my antics are fine now, we will see if that is the case at 3rd Tier mythic when I can freely go invisible/Drop a mythic point for Greater Invisibility. Hopefully I'll live that long, hopefully one of these thrown objects won't be the death of me.

I won't abandon you all in combat, well, until demons show up maybe, but that'd be for cowardly reasons, not for a little bit of gold. I suppose when we know a threat is coming, I should consider sneaking and sneak attacking them. Someone'll have to push me to make that first attack though, don't know if Franti' would do it on his own yet.

Most sane people would say you'd have to be a fool to attack a demon, so perhaps he will be on the front line when the first demon shows up.

Question: What do you call an unemployed jester?
Answer: Nobody's fool.

Question: What do you call a self-taught jester?
Answer: Someone who made a fool of himself.

Sound effect: Sha-dum bump.