I built the teams before I picked the trials :D. I just went middle ground for most of them with a bit of common sense.
Ish, anyway. None of the NPC's are built extremely optimally for any challenge, it was more about giving each team a kind of theme and building around that, if that makes any sense. The team Qhude and Picklebeard are up against now are a group of slavers, hence the net tactics.
Each NPC team would have had the same information as you had so they sent members they thought would suit best to each trial. As you saw, the bounty hunters thought their dastardly, tough half-orc (16 con) would serve them well in an endurance race, but they didn't expect the race to be so short.
It goes without saying you appear to be hearing some red herring rumours from the crowd as well as true ones- no one really knew much about the teams competing except the guards.
Edit: As for which trials to pick, I borrowed some from chapter 5 in Kingmaker, put in some fantasy tournament staple events, thought about the Sargava celebrating their victory over Cheliax theme, and wanted to find a way to use a Chase scene for one of them. The eight trials are the result.
Also, I presume that the stipulation that the winning team can recruit replacements for any casualties from the other contestants means that if you kill any PCs, the bereaved player(s) could theoretically pick up one of the "pregen" NPCs as a PC.
Thats the idea. I wouldn't make them play a pre-gen though; they could fully stat out a character under one of the five rough themes available. Thats one of the reasons the teams are so diverse, to cover a lot of bases.
I don't actually expect to kill anyone though. The race was probably the most lethal trial, barring a sudden crit in the paired combat.
Yeah, I thought it was interesting that the footrace looks to have more fatalities than the actual combat trial. Taking the expression "the devil take the hindmost" a little literally, are we? ;)
I was rather surprised by the devils. The Dm is a tricky one.
No offense, Olondir. It's going to take Tebati some time to come to understand and value any of the non-Mwangi's strengths and contributions. :)
A little down the road but I wanted to make this ruling clear. Here is the 5th level brutal pugilist ability that replaces improved uncanny dodge. I have bolded the section I am editing out-
Improved Savage Grapple (Ex)
At 5th level, the brutal pugilist takes no penalties to Dexterity, attack rolls, and combat maneuver checks when she has the grappled condition. She also is treated as one size larger than her actual size when determining whether she can grapple or be grappled by another creature.
That second perk is utterly irrelevant. A tiny creature can grapple a colossal creature, RAW. The developers clearly forgot this and it was supposed to be a fairly significant bonus. Heres my replacement to that sentence, again in bold.
Improved Savage Grapple (Ex)
At 5th level, the brutal pugilist takes no penalties to Dexterity, attack rolls, and combat maneuver checks when she has the grappled condition. She may also make attacks of opportunity against targets other than the creature that is grappled, when she is the controlling grappler.
These attacks of opportunity are still made at the -2 penalty that the grappled condition gives, but gives a nice unique benefit in lieu of the completely irrelevant one.
I thought that the bolded section referred to monster abilities like:
Grab (Ex) If a creature with this special attack hits with the indicated attack (usually a claw or bite attack), it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. Unless otherwise noted, grab works only against opponents at least one size category smaller than the creature.
Meaning that I'd be treated as large for those type clauses?
I don't have any issues with it the other way you propose though either.
I've looked around the issue and the original thread's FAQ says its been answered in the errata- except it hasn't.
We could have you treated as one size larger for Grab if you like but thats a really minor and incredibly situational bonus.
Essentially, the dev was in 3.5 mode when he wrote the ability...
I'm happy with your way AK. As you say, the treat as larger for grab ability wouldn't really come up that often.
Fingers crossed we can wrap up this bout quickly so we can keep on chugging forwards :)
Just waiting on Picklebeard- he can't evil eye the same stat twice.
Man I'm goofing up all over the place. :C
Don't worry bout it :)
Edit: Especially as it was my bad :P.
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What I lack in intimate rules knowledge, I hopefully make up for it in dwarven swagger.
This was a very entertaining trial.
Wonder what's next for our dynamic duo?
A well-earnt rest!
A well-earnt rest!
And a bath! The tent smells of blood and sweaty salty dwarf!
Oh dear. Looks like I am up next...
And a bath! The tent smells of VICTORY!
Fixed that for you.
And a bath! The tent smells of VICTORY!Fixed that for you.
Ha!
Well you and your victory stay here. We don't want it spooking the horses.
Phew - that one came down to the wire in the end. I got lucky with the thin guy fluffing a few attack rolls, but we work well as a team little dwarf!
Perhaps you should join me in the pit fighting circle as a double-act?
Barker on a street corner: "The Mwangi Monster and Salty Dwarf in person, one night only at the Eleder Pit of Pain! Tremble before his beady eyes, groan in pain as they punish their opponent's groin. Be there or the bearded lizard will eat yer gizzards!"
ONE NIGHT ONLY. SUNDAY, SUNDAY,
Just noticed something that I must have been blind not to see the first time - the final teamwork trial is a naval battle.
Colour me intrigued :)
Ha! Naval battle? How did I miss that too?
My timbers are shivering already!
Yup.
The big all on all melee. I am hoping we have control of a ship and can get some say in who we engage. If so I think the Adventuring party should be the first target.
ONE NIGHT ONLY. SUNDAY, SUNDAY,
If you're not there, you'd better be either dead or in jail. And if you're in jail,
Ha, Jez you're lurking too...good isn't it...Go Picklebeard!!!
though I'm not sure where!!! LOL!
Jakob your CMD appearss to be off on your profile-
"CMD 16/12ff"
You don't get armour to CMD so I make it 12 (10+ 2 strength + 0 dex)
Jakob your CMD appearss to be off on your profile-
"CMD 16/12ff"
You don't get armour to CMD so I make it 12 (10+ 2 strength + 0 dex)
Um I add my CHA rather than my dex to my CMD at least I think that Nature's Wispers lets me do that. Good eye though.
Nature's Whispers (Ex): You have become so attuned to the whispers of the natural world, from the croaking of frogs to the groaning of great boulders, that your surroundings constantly keep you preternaturally aware of danger. You may add your Charisma modifier, instead of your Dexterity modifier, to your Armor Class and CMD. Any condition that would cause you to lose your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class instead causes you to lose your Charisma modifier to your Armor Class.
Ah yes, I got it mixed up in my head that it was the Lore revelation that also added to CMD. No problem.
Edit: Your last IC post didn't close the dice tags though.
Jakob-is your spoiler tag a reference to the song from Fallout New Vegas?
Please try to refrain from editing your posts until the following bug is fixed-
Its an issue I brought up some time ago thats not getting any attention from the staff sadly.
Jakob-is your spoiler tag a reference to the song from Fallout New Vegas?
Nope I was referencing the old Tex Ritter song. I have New Vegas but I have not ran across that song yet. I love the music in the fallout games.
Please try to refrain from editing your posts until the following bug is fixed-
Its an issue I brought up some time ago thats not getting any attention from the staff sadly.
Aha! No edit mode activate!
Thanks for the heads up.
The Tex Ritter song is indeed the very same song. I'm actually currently listening to a cover of Big Iron by Marty Robbins.
Oh boy I hope that works. I either set us up for a lovely back-stab or bought us some insurance. No way to know til the final round.
Oh boy I hope that works. I either set us up for a lovely back-stab or bought us some insurance. No way to know til the final round.
Eh, the halfling on his team seemed like a honorable fellow in Tebati's race. Although I'm cynical/paranoid enough that I couldn't help but wondering if his attempt to shake hands wasn't delivering some kind of contact poison or magical bug or delayed-action curse or something. ;)
Quivering palm! It was a quivering palm! ...what? Palms touched and I am sure there was at least a hint of quivering...
A lot is riding on whether or not they stand to gain a lot by betraying us. If we have such a commanding lead that disposing of us early would make them gain nothing then it would be good, I guess.
Oh well. Picklebeard, unless told, will have no idea of any dealings we have with any other group and is fully expecting to personally thwack the nuts every goon that comes near him with his staff with his dwarven mining ninja skills.
This will be an interesting sell for Jakob in character to the rest of us during the break time between trials, but probably a good move overall.
Looking forward to see it play out :)
This will be an interesting sell for Jakob in character to the rest of us during the break time between trials, but probably a good move overall.
Looking forward to see it play out :)
I am dreading that. I do not think Tabati will greet this with joy.
Still, it should make for a fun conversation among the party members. Heh...
Still, it should make for a fun conversation among the party members. Heh...
The Spartacus gambit, down in flames. sigh.
I can't get an image out of my mind that we go through with the plan and then they betray us.
Like we're congratulating eachother and then the taldan goes over to Jakob to congratulate him and says "The things I do for love..." and knocks Jakob off the boat!
On an entirely unrelated note, anyone got his hands on Ultimate Combat yet? I still have to wait for a few more days to get the PDF, but from what I have gathered from the forums, I have to say I find the Kensai magus archetype, the Martial Artist monk archetype and the martial arts style feats really really interesting indeed. :-)
On an entirely unrelated note, anyone got his hands on Ultimate Combat yet? I still have to wait for a few more days to get the PDF, but from what I have gathered from the forums, I have to say I find the Kensai magus archetype, the Martial Artist monk archetype and the martial arts style feats really really interesting indeed. :-)
Not yet waiting for one of me FLGS to get the print version. I am interested in how the unarmed fighter and the martial artist monk look when put side by side.
Tebati's take on it is more that she does not see the other teams as her enemies unless they make themselves so; in her mind, the Sargavan authorities setting up the Trials are the real enemy. If Jakob takes that as assent to his plan, that's his perception, but her real commitment is to see no one else die for the entertainment of the crowds. The more teams we can get to assent to the same philosophy, the safer everyone will be.
And I'm enjoying the intraparty squabbling, too. I don't think there's any danger of anyone really walking out, not least because the authorities were wise enough to pack all the Trials into a single day. Even the most impatient or unhappy PC ought to be able to stick it out for a few more hours. :)
Joana, if I may take my imaginary hat off to you. I positively love how you play Tebati. :-)
Here's to hoping that the dice gods will look favorably upon Kieran, so that he may prove -or at least hint- that there is perhaps a bit more to him that this 'useless fop' demeanor.
Also, squabbling and a bit of 'butting heads' among the companions is not only to be expected, but makes the whole premise of how they got together and what each of them is about all the more believable and realistic (oh dear, the dreaded R-word reared its ugly head in a fantasy roleplaying game! :-P). I mean, we have people with such diverse backgrounds and frames of mind and personal ideologies that having them work as a perfect team such a short time after their forming said team would be just a tad odd. Just my way of seeing things, is all. :-)
Oh, I agree. Butting heads and the RP is not a problem and in fact enhances the game, but I felt I should say something just in case (people can take IC arguments very personally sometimes). I've only played with Joana before and I know shes ok with it, didn't know for sure with the rest of you.
Joana, if I may take my imaginary hat off to you. I positively love how you play Tebati. :-)
Here's to hoping that the dice gods will look favorably upon Kieran, so that he may prove -or at least hint- that there is perhaps a bit more to him that this 'useless fop' demeanor.
Thanks! She's an interesting character; I find more out about her the longer I play her. She has this vulnerable side she only shows to N'bellocq, a virtual stranger who might or might not actually be a distant relative, but she's so homesick she just latches on and adopts him.
I always enjoy the "meet-up" period when a group comes together. Everyone always has reservations and preconceived notions of what the other people are like, not to mention secrets of their own and schemes in how they present themselves; it's interesting to see how relationships evolve over the course of a campaign.
Joana, if I may take my imaginary hat off to you. I positively love how you play Tebati. :-)
**PomPoms**