Hey guys, congrats! Just dot in for now, and if any of you would like to link your backstories together at all, feel free to do so. Expect the first gameplay post to go up some time tomorrow. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask. I'll be around.
Hey! Congratulations to all on the picks and thanks to Jon for the selection :)
Been looking over the party and it seems like there's quite a bit of overlap between Lewys and Chandra.
Do you think we would be a bit more balanced with more arcane support? I would happily put forward my other submission, Abraham Maedrhos, for that purpose since Daniel and Chandra would have knowledge and face roles well covered
But happy to discuss with the rest of you guys and the GM of course
Looking forward to the adventure! I would like to make one change to my feat selection, replacing Persuasive with Point-Blank Shot, as mentioned in my PM reply. I'll add a whip to her gear.
I originally selected the both of you for a few reasons. The primary reason being that I really enjoyed the backstories for both of your characters. In addition, Lewys' archetype gives him certain combat options that stack with the standard bard's typical buffs. Chandra also mentioned the possibility of taking a few levels in the Unchained Rogue, which would allow her to fill an alternate party role.
That said, if you'd like to switch characters, feel free to do so, but I don't think the overlap will be much of a problem for very long.
Awright! Can't wait to get started! CoT was the first AP I ever read and I've been itching to play it ever since! It'll be interesting to see two different monks interact in a fight.
Hello everyone, Daniel reporting in. I look forward to playing with you all! Thank you for selecting me DM :)
Oh ye DM, did you want Daniel as a ranged, a melee, or a switch-hitter combatant primarily? I don't mind either way, but I figure you asked for a reason :)
I would be interested in taking the Diva Archetype, if the 'famous' archetype feature would work in the setting of the adventure path. It reads, in part,
At 1st level, a Diva may choose a region where she is famous, and within that region, the locals are more likely to react favorably toward her. The bard gains a bonus on Bluff and Intimidate checks in that area and to influence people from that area.
At 1st level, this region is a settlement or settlements with a total population of 1,000 or fewer people, and the modifier on Bluff and Intimidate checks is +1. As the diva grows more famous, additional areas learn of her (typically places where she has lived or traveled, or settlements adjacent to those where she is known) and her bonuses apply to even more people. At 5th level, the region is a settlement or settlements with a total population of 5,000 or fewer people, and the modifier on Bluff and Intimidate checks is +2.
Although Westcrown is certainly more populous than 1,000 people, Chandra's fame could be limited to the aristocracy who attend theater. Assuming the PCs do things that draw attention to themselves, then the circle of fame could expand to other subsets of the population.
The benefit to bluff and intimidate isn't that important, but I like some of the alternative bardic performances and improved armor proficiencies without arcane spell failure chances.
Posting in to say hello and that I'm looking forward to playing with all of you! I'm posting from a public wi-fi on the road at the moment, but I'll try to check in again tonight to say more and go over if anyone has a potentially linkable backstory.
I looked it up because I was curious.
Westcrown Population: 114,700 according to Pathfinder Companion: Cheliax, Empire of Devils. In comparison, the capital of of Ustalav, Caliphas, has a population of merely 15,640.
I'd suggest perhaps you could be well known in one of the smaller sectors of Westcrown. The smallest sectors seem to be Rego Scripa and Rego Pena, or the Scribe's Sector and the Coin Sector. However, the Treasure Sector Rego Aerum, while about 3 times as large as the smaller ones, has a theater called "Nightshade Theater".
Peruse this map of Westcrown if you want to have a look for yourself.
...but I'll try to check in again tonight to say more and go over if anyone has a potentially linkable backstory.
Blast, what do you say that the Alchemist's shop your grandfather set aflame was Daniel's? He already has a deep fascination with the psychic and the occult. Daniel would think meeting a psychic the silver lining to the cloud of getting his fledgling shop destroyed.
Hmmm...Naberius, you think our characters might have met as kids? We've got similar origins and were both with gangs in our youth (and the juxtaposition of infernal and abyssal tieflings makes this even MORE interesting!).
Hello everyone! Quick hello and thanks for the pick! I look forward to getting to know you all better.
I will look over Viktyr again make sure everything is 100% right but I can't wait to start! It seems I will be out tank and moral compass :P
Looking over background stories, I don't see much overlap between the other PCs and Chandra. She grew up in the luxury of a noble family, doted on by parents and relatives famous in the world of theater. The hardships faced by Lewys, Aristaios, and Blast would break her heart if she knew about them, but she would never cross paths with such except perhaps if Lewys had been a slave in her household or the household of one of her relatives or friends.
She might know Daniel due to her recent activities visiting the lower class parts of the city incognito, which has led to friendships with some idealists. She has observed meetings of Milani and wants to participate in some adventures to help people in need. It sounds as if he might be such an idealistic adventurer. She might even find him attractive. She has the sense that the male adventurers won't take her seriously, thinking her just a girl who is looking for some thrills.
So it's likely she won't know anyone at the start, except in a very superficial way. Which is okay. Looking forward to role playing the introductions.
Aristaios, I think that could work well. Blast's gang operates mainly out of the north of the Parego Spera, just south of the separation wall, so there wouldn't have been a lot of interaction and they probably weren't in the same gang. But word would likely spread of a tiefling thief who can pick pockets from thirty feet distant and throw things with his mind, and it's not unbelievable that the groups would work together from time to time.
Daniel, while it seems that Blast witnessing the destruction of your own burgeoning alchemist shop is a lot of convenient coincidence--and the entire episode was included for myself as a throwback to Blast's original backstory--I also really like it, as a touch of fate at play in the party, even if it only seems that way, can be extremely interesting.
I meant overlap in terms of mechanical abilities between Lewys and Chandra. We both look like we are going down the archery route which would then be well covered by Blast, Daniel and Chandra and our abilities like Inspire Courage would get in the way of eachother.
I think a full caster would compliment the party dynamic better and make us more rounded so I think I am going to switch to Abraham.
But... I appreciate you picked Lewys for a reason GM, and if you'd like me to stick with him because you feel it would serve the story better I am happy to do that :)
...She might know Daniel due to her recent activities visiting the lower class parts of the city incognito, which has led to friendships with some idealists...
Daniel lives in Rego Scripa currently, after his shop was destroyed, but works his "shadow liberation" in the worse parts of town, primarily Parego Spera and it's subsectors. Therefore, if you're famous in Rego Scripa, Daniel would definitely know Chandra ;) She might be have learned some things about her faith from him if they have actually talked?
Daniel, while it seems that Blast witnessing the destruction of your own burgeoning alchemist shop is a lot of convenient coincidence--and the entire episode was included for myself as a throwback to Blast's original backstory--I also really like it, as a touch of fate at play in the party, even if it only seems that way, can be extremely interesting.
My thought's exactly ;) Could very well be that Blast is assisting Daniel on his nightly hunts, seeing as he has the "Shadow Child" trait as well. Unfortunately, Daniel is unable to assist with your troubles financially, but he could offer a safe place to sleep and some honest work.
I meant overlap in terms of mechanical abilities between Lewys and Chandra. We both look like we are going down the archery route which would then be well covered by Blast, Daniel and Chandra and our abilities like Inspire Courage would get in the way of eachother.
I think a full caster would compliment the party dynamic better and make us more rounded so I think I am going to switch to Abraham.
But... I appreciate you picked Lewys for a reason GM, and if you'd like me to stick with him because you feel it would serve the story better I am happy to do that :)
I like Lewys as a character more than I like Abraham when thinking of non-mechanical party dynamics such as part social interactions.
DM, I plan to craft Daniel a revolver at some point, unless we find one as loot, so I'd like to know if you allow for retraining. I ask because the Steel Hound archetype grants proficiency with only a single typ of firearm, and I'm going to have to take Rapid Reload: Pistol. Both would have to be swapped out for Revolver at some point, if allowed.
Also, do you allow Alchemists and Investigators to take crafting feats?
Looking over everyone's profile, i see we have some very interesting characters. Viktyr being relatively knew to Westcrown i wouldn't think he'd know any of you, and again being of the faith he would mostly keep to himself he may not think it's right but he's not going to go on a one man rampage spouting the better side of Iomedae. But he also knows he can do good here, as the shadow spat him out and changed him he know his path is right.
I like Lewys, but i think Abraham might be better for us. A full caster and the brown fur transmuter seems really interesting. At the end i suppose it up to what JZ really seems himself enjoying.
...At the end i suppose it up to what JZ really seems himself enjoying.
Hear.
I meant overlap in terms of mechanical abilities between Lewys and Chandra. We both look like we are going down the archery route which would then be well covered by Blast, Daniel and Chandra and our abilities like Inspire Courage would get in the way of each other.
FWIW: I don't intend to make Chandra an archer in the sense of giving her lots of archery related feats. I just want point-blank shot and precise shot so she can contribute to battles without being on the front line. My plan for her combat abilities is to focus on working toward whip mastery, so she can make helpful attacks without being toe-to-toe. Even then, she's not going to be doing a lot of damage, but can perhaps make strategic impact with trip and aid. [Of course, with the right magical whip, she might become much more lethal.]
As for Inspire Courage getting in the way of each other, it seems more important that we have twice the rounds of inspire courage to contribute, so long as we don't both try to use it in the same round. It gives options if one is knocked out.
I may take two levels of rogue to give her sneak attack options and a rouge talent to add a combat feat and give her whip mastery two levels sooner.
I second the opinion that the player should play what he/she thinks will be the most fun and assume we can deal with the rest.
I'd suggest perhaps you could be well known in one of the smaller sectors of Westcrown. The smallest sectors seem to be Rego Scripa and Rego Pena, or the Scribe's Sector and the Coin Sector. However, the Treasure Sector Rego Aerum, while about 3 times as large as the smaller ones, has a theater called "Nightshade Theater".
Thanks for the suggestions, but my vision of her as a famous actor starts with her fame being mostly at the highest levels of society. So I'm not interested in the feature if it means assuming she's doing smaller theater parts in certain parts of town only. If the GM wants to allow a combination of these, perhaps her being famous in the most affluent part of town first, that could work. But it's not a big deal, just something that seems to go well with the character concept and which would offer some interesting options down the road. I have an inkling that it is part of the adventure path for us to become famous, so it may already be taken care of assuming Chandra survives to higher levels. I've seen a map pack for this adventure path and the Nightshade Theater is one of the maps, so I suspect we will be there eventually.
The more I think about it, the less I care to weave Chandra's background in with anyone else's. It seems unlikely that anyone will be familiar with her acting career. A high knowledge (Local) roll might justify having heard of her or even seen her, but I would think that those who've lived their lives in the streets would have a significant penalty to such a roll.
If the initial contact for the PCs is in a low-class setting, Chandra will be incognito, wearing a red wig and having made other disguise touches to keep from being recognized. She will even speak with a lower class accent (I'll make an acting and disguise rolls to see how well this works) to keep her identity as hidden as possible. It's possible some of the PCs may have seen her in this guise before, but we might as well assume no interaction, so we can role play that when the time comes.
A perceptive observer, of course, may well spot clues that she is not all she pretends to be. Her armor, while not masterwork quality, will be new and unmarked. She has a masterwork rapier, so that could raise some questions, if anyone gets a good look at it. So sooner or later, it may become obvious that she comes from money and higher class society, even if she is not recognized her by name.
If anyone recognizes her as the famous actress or as having a rich background, then he will be justified in assuming she is a rich girl getting her kicks slumming it with the little people and react accordingly. She knows she may have to endure some hostility should this happen and will just have to prove herself sincere and capable in action. So feel free to insult her and otherwise harass her should her true identity come to light. I (the player) will take no offense.
Chandra sounds a lot like a Vigilante from the new playtest material ;)
Crud, I forgot to pick a 0-level spell for Aristaios' Infernal Bastard trait!
I'll have to do that tonight when I finish hammering out his backstory (I got home from work last night later than I thought I would, and went straight to bed because my family wanted to treat our dad to a breakfast buffet for Father's Day).
Long story short, Aristaios received a vision of a monastery in the mountains in a dream, and hitchhiked his way to the Aspodell Mountain range to find them. The abbotess took him in and over the next decade he learned how to be a monk and earned the grudging respect of his fellow students. Now the abbotess has nothing left to teach him, so he decided to return to Westcrown.
Ok after a lot of thought and going back and forth it is going to be Abraham that helps you guys take back the streets from Shadow creatures and corrupt Hellknights.
I'm going to amend his backstory to make him more vested in what is going on and not just "I'm a mage and I want to get more powerful so I need to get into the lost Pathfinder Lodge and grab some sweet loot!"
Basically, I will be taking the Conspiracy Hunter trait instead.
I appreciate what Chandra said about doubling inspire rounds and not overlapping too much but the utility, control and buffing of a full caster I think will really help the party out.
Look forward to getting started with you guys now!
I'm honestly disturbed by the possibilities of having a level 0 spell to cast at-will. If I picked Guidance or Resistance I'd effectively have a permanent +1 bonus to something, or to all my saves...
@Abraham: That's fine with me. I really enjoyed Lewys' backstory, but if you would rather play Abraham, you're more than welcome to. The character is not half so important as the player, after all.
@Chandra: If you'd like to take the Diva archetype, I'll make it work for you. I do agree that she sounds something like the vigilante, although with her current backstory I could also easily see her taking a few levels of swashbuckler. I have a player in my home game playing that combination; it's rather deadly.
@Aristaios: This is true, although you do have to *cast* it, which does take the action. However, a well-selected 0-level spell can be very helpful.
@Daniel: In response to your earlier question, feel free to develop Daniel as you wish. In regards to party dynamic, he would probably be most helpful as a switch hitter; he have a few dedicated melee characters and a dedicated ranged character, so a mix of the two would probably provide the best utility.
And now, to all of you. Sorry for the delay, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get the first gameplay post up tomorrow. I've been working long hours at work (longer than I'm supposed to, for that matter) and I've been pretty beat. If not tomorrow, definitely Tuesday, as I'm off. Once we get rolling I should be fine, but I'm trying to finish reading through the entirety of the adventure path before we begin.
I'll do my best to get it up tomorrow, but expect it on Tuesday, most likely.
I think I'll do guidance. I can fluff it as Iomedae giving her tiefling servant a nudge in the right direction when he needs it, especially in social situations where he might lose his temper (plus it shores up his social skills when Charisma is the closest thing he has to a dump stat).
Thanks for the tip on the vigilante. The dual identity certain fits, but I'm not sure which of the specializations I would pick. Just for future reference, would the class be available for future levels?
I'm familiar with Swashbuckler, since my alternate character was one. I'll keep various ideas percolating while working through level 1. I think the Bard Class does well with rogue type multi-classing, as the Bard's spell set is rather weak at first and never gets a lot of spells per day. And they don't get much that boosts their fighting. So augmenting it with other classes that buck up the fighting options will be something I'll be thinking about. I'd still like to get a bard up above 5th level sometime.
Take your time getting things started. Right now, I'll be posting mostly in the afternoon and evening M-Th but sometimes I can squeeze a quick post in during a morning break (Eastern U.S. Time). But my schedule is prone to change to evening shifts from time to time. I'm available to post just about any time Friday-Sunday.
I am in the UK so my posting times might be a bit out of synch with the rest of you but hopefully it shouldn't hold things up
If I took a level of unchained rogue later, would it be possible to get an extra combat feat or two as compensation for the fact that everyone has the weapon finesse and agile maneuver feats, plus the damage bonus from dexterity? Just something to think about.
@Chandra: The Vigilante would be available at later levels, if you wanted to take levels in it, as would the Swashbuckler. 5th level is really the sweet spot for that multi-class; +1 to attack and +6 to damage is a nice boost, not to mention the deeds.
EDIT: In response to your question, yes. Classes such as the Unchained Rogue, Swashbuckler, and Gunslinger will gain other abilities, likely feats, to compensate redundant class features.
@Abraham: I doubt it will cause too much trouble. I'm up at odd hours, and I know Blast is as well, so that's at least two people who likely won't have much of a problem with it.
DM, do you allow retraining and/or crafting feats on alchemists/investigators?
Aristaios there are some really fun 0 level spells guidance being one but it a competence and so is Inspire Courage so they wont stack just thought you should know that before you pick. It will still be good if inspire goes down or it's being saved for a big fight tho.
Still browsing over Viktyr myself i don't plan any big changes just polishing him up.
No problem about the tuesday stat Jon, better to start when you're happy and we're all milling over our charters too it seems. I'm also in the UK but work from home so mostly at my computer all day so no problem there.
Ok so a few final tweaks to Abe and then I'm done. Changes are likely to be:
-added the conspiracy hunter trait
-change race to Elf
-slight tweaks to ability scores
-alignment change from CN to CG so that he's less, you know, of a dick
-backstory has been altered
-pushed back gaining Dimensional Slide as an exploit until level 3
At the moment I have taken Improved Initiative as my first feat. Jon, I was wondering how you dealt with initiative and turn order because I have seen Improved Init devalued somewhat in the pbp format in order to keep the game moving smoothly
I'm not going to take the Diva Archetype.
I'm thinking I've changed my mind. Guidance does seem redundant if we have a bard, since they'll likely have Inspire Competence later too if I wanna do negotiations. And besides, they'll be more likely to lead in negotiations anyway. Aristaios tries, bless him, but he's more suited to aggressive negotiations.
Should I take Create Water or Prestidigitation? Both allow Aristaios to stay clean (Iomedaeans are notorious clean freaks) and Create Water allows Aristaios to produce clean drinking water for places where the water may not be safe to drink so he can share with others, but on the other hand it feels kinda metagamey and out-of-character...
Prestidigitation can be used for a multitude of uses. Mage hand is also neat. Create Water is likely going to be a more roleplaying power because I've never really seen it put too that much use in game.
Dancing lights is also great, as is open/close
Prestidigitation is my favorite 0-level spell. The number of things you can do with it is hilarious, and it can remain a viable option for a lot of scenarios far later into the game than you might expect.
Agreed.
Any thought on ny initiative question Jon?
@Abraham: I'm... not sure what you mean? I'll be using initiative as normal, so it should be just fine. If someone doesn't post within 48 hours in a combat situation, I will simply post FOR them, attempting to act as in-character as possible in that situation.
That's fine then :)
I'll give you an example I use in pbp. All heroes roll initiative, all enemies roll. Whichever group has the highest (average) goes first and all members of that group act in whatever order they post. That order can change round by round for the heroes because they act when they post. This keeps combat moving very fast and prevents a single combat taking a whole week but equally it has other effects like devaluing a high individual initiative, makes certain spells more powerful, others less so, risks an individual enemy getting mobbed and so on.
It is definitely not without it's problems but the fact it keeps a potentially slow medium moving makes it fine by me.
Ah, gotcha. No, I'll be using normal initiative rules, at least for now. If I find it moves too slowly I may switch to another initiative system such as the one you listed. If I do, however, I'll allow you to retrain that feat if you wish.
Also, the first gameplay post WILL be going up sometime tonight!
Prestidigitation can be used for a multitude of uses. Mage hand is also neat. Create Water is likely going to be a more roleplaying power because I've never really seen it put too that much use in game.
Dancing lights is also great, as is open/close
I don't need dancing lights, I've got darkvision!
Prestidigitation it is, then!
Prestidigitation can be used for a multitude of uses. Mage hand is also neat. Create Water is likely going to be a more roleplaying power because I've never really seen it put too that much use in game.
Dancing lights is also great, as is open/close
I don't need dancing lights, I've got darkvision!
Prestidigitation it is, then!
I know but the range of the spell is greater than the range of your darkvision so it still has uses :)
Personally I would still go for prestidigitation or mage hand though
Abraham has a point with dancing lights but... I'd always pick Prestidigitation, it has so many uses in game and RP wise it never goes out of style :P
First gameplay post is up! Feel free to describe yourselves, and any of you that decided to link backstories can show up together, if you wish.
PS: While I hate to tell you all this just as we start, for a few days next week I won't be able to post. I'll be traveling to a doctor's appointment out of town, and then picking up my girlfriend to spend 4th of July with her. About a week later, I'll be taking her back to work, and again will be out of commission for a day or so.
Next week I'll be traveling from 6/29 to 7/1, arriving sometime that night, when I'll likely post. I'll be around for the following week, so expect frequent posts from me then, and on 7/7 I'll be leaving again that night, and getting back sometime late the next day.
I'm hoping you'll all be able to talk amongst yourselves for a bit, as at least most of you have never met anyone else in the party.
I've written you into my backstory Blast, just thought I'd let you know for when you introduce yourself. Should be both a surprise and a relief to see a recognized ally. (not yet on the profile).
I've written that after the shop was wrecked by your grandad, you've been assisting Daniel with his nightly endeavours, in return for some bread or a place to sleep when necessary. Daniel does not blame Blast at all, and is simply glad he has a chance to "study" a psychic up close.
Just a heads up: I might not be able to post for the next 2 days. I'll be celebrating one of my friends passing an important exam :)
Daniel--sounds fair, and Blast would be willing to assist you on occasion when he isn't busy helping the other urchins and thieves. He preferably hasn't mentioned what exactly was the cause of your shop's destruction, though; he's doing his best to keep the whole "My grandfather's a demon lord and wants me to do stuff for him" thing under wraps. You know how people get when they think you work for a demon lord...
Sorry I haven't posted yet, by the way--lost track of the game in the last couple days because it wasn't on my campaigns page yet and I've been busy.
I'm trying to place Chandra's life story within the larger context of events in Cheliax and Westcrown. What is the current year? According to the timeline in The Inner Sea World Guide, which assumes the present is the year 4711, Aroden died 105 years ago which began 3 decades of civil war in Cheliax (4606), House Thrune took control of the country 71 years go (4640), and Shadow beasts first appear in Westcrown 35 years ago (4676).
If the year is not 4711, let us know what it is.
Let's go with 4711. Seems nice and simple.
DM, I might take a level of swashbuckler (inspired blade) since you mentioned that we could get something different in place of stuff such as Weapon Finesse. What kind of compensation did you have in mind?