Speaking of the inspire-birds synergy, it shouldn't have existed, apparently. Bardic performances with audible components are language-dependent, so the birds wouldn't understand the song and thus couldn't be inspired by it. (A bardic performance with visible components instead would have worked, but then everyone would need to be able to see Derek to be inspired, which wouldn't be optimal for combat.)
In any case, the way the template is written, it's hard to justify its smite working as the Paladin-ability. So I'm going to decide that it works only as the template says.
Oh wow, you're right. Birds cannot be inspired by a singing bard.
Oh well, summoning was dumb anyway. =/
James says this:
http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz2egu?Bard-performance-and-melee#33
Would it be difficult to say Derek's inspire is occasionally something visual like some kind of rousing weapon display since inspire courage isn't necessarily tied to any sort of perform skill?
I'm okay with losing the Inspire Courage + Hoard of Summons combo but losing Inspire Courage + Summons in general is kind of sad.
Well I guess it's not that bad as long as Derek is okay with occasionally doing something other than singing.
Derek do you think you can hook a brother up?
Inspire courage can be either audible or visual, as selected by Derek when he begins the performance. So yes, he could do a visual inspire courage if he wants to. But then everyone who is to be inspired would need to be able to see him.
In most causes visual won't be that hard to take advantage of.
How often are we blinded or separated by terrain?
Well, if you're on opposite sides of, say, a Huge skeleton, then you wouldn't be able to see the performance :)
It's a skeleton. It has gaps!
Edit:
It's also huge. You could look between it's legs.
You could, but would you? :)
Anyway, simply being around a corner would cut you off from the inspirational view. That could easily happen, especially within any sort of building.
Well I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
In the meantime Maddok's combat summons will be tied to when Derek decides to do a visual Inspire Courage. Ultimately, it's probably for the best. This way it's more Derek's thing.
Edit:
You could, but would you? :)
Harhar, I just got this.
Har har, indeed.
Well done, Are.
:)
Given that it's a skeleton, I imagine if you're looking for thrills between its legs, you're likely to be disappointed. At least for tricerotops.
Now, if it were a walrus, its pubic bone would make a nice greatclub...
As to Derek inspiring courage on summoned animals...
Inspiring bird-calls anyone? I'm picturing him whistling now...
Guess Derek will need to learn Celestial next level, that should sort things out.
Heads up, I won't be home to post until at least Sunday, possibly Monday. Feel free to Bot me until then Are.
I'm going to Denmark, against my will I might add, the going bit, not the Denmark bit.
That wouldn't help; the Celestial template doesn't add any languages to the birds. Even if they're from an upper plane, they're still animals.. speak with animals would work, though :)
Thanks for the travelling heads up!
Yeah, Derek the best way to inspire my summons is to do a visible performance - some sort of weapon flourish, acrobatic stunt, or heroic pose. Unfortunately the summons that can understand you normally aren't really good for fighting. =/
Nothing to see here..
Not ominous or anything.
Semenya do you think you can clean these up on your own?
I've got 6 more 1st level spells left, 4 more second level spells and 4 more third level spells. Provided I don't get too messed up by a Fort save, I should be able to clean this up...
But ye gods, this is a lot of rats.
Trip got cut short, don't ask, you REALLY don't want to know.
Too bad I could not play Derek as a "Thundercaller" like the Shoanti bards are, using a special spear that have hollows and can be used as wind instruments, even when using them in combat.
Semenya might want to consider moving into the corner and chucking a lightning bolt. You'd be in a bit more danger but you'd get like 7 swarms.
That's what I'd call good advice :)
Yup.
Semenya rarely get a chance to let loose. This encounter is practically made for her.
Yahirma's been absent for 24+ hours.
Besides, Semenya can probably clean up the rest of the rats on her next action.
Peculiar question:
If Semenya took Lingering Spell, could she double the duration an instantaneous spell lingers by also adding Extend spell?
An extended spell lasts twice as long as normal. A spell with a duration of concentration, instantaneous, or permanent is not affected by this feat.
Instantaneous spells can't be extended. =/
I would say no, even though it could be argued that Lingering Spell grants the spell a duration of 1 round. It's certainly debatable.
Fair enough - I was entertained by the idea of combining them and making a fireball or lightning bolt that lingered for two rounds. Not sure how useful it would be...but it would sure look cool. ;)
That would be kind of cool. I imagine it as a blast of flame that pulses several times over three rounds.
Brief timeline explanation as regards Delvehaven:
~100 years ago: Aroden's death, followed by civil war in Cheliax. The original Pathfinders sealed Delvehaven, hoping to return once the war ended. Unfortunately, they were either killed or vanished during the wars.
~70 years ago: House Thrune gained control of Cheliax following the civil war.
~33 years ago: House Thrune decided to reopen Delvehaven, using their own loyal "Pathfinders" to explore the building and refusing access to any other Pathfinders.
~32 years ago: Livia lived in Delvehaven for a time, along with the then-current Mayor, while the explorations and scavenging of treasures went on.
~31 years ago: The loyalist treasure scavengers all perished while exploring Delvehaven's lower levels. Khazrae was hired to reseal the Lodge, and was then unbodied.
~30 years ago: The shadowbeasts began appearing in the streets of Westcrown.
This helps a lot.
So the information from Corianna/Ghaelfin is the oldest (so likely not the most up-to-date but they're probably the only ones that know anything about the areas downstairs.
Did Khazrae ever mention if she made it downstairs at all or did sealing the lodge just refer to the outdoor entrances?
For some reason the conversation Yahirma had with Khazrae was very brief, and ended as soon as Khazrae agreed to help.
She wasn't asked much about what she did there, and she's not particularly likely to give out information without being prompted.
Her task was to prevent people from entering the lodge, because Thrune was afraid of someone allowing whatever was responsible for the deaths of their people to escape outside. Going down into the basement herself would have been somewhat counter to that task.
That's the assumption Maddok is operating under.
***
As for going downstairs, Maddok would like nothing more than to charge downstairs - traps, vampires, and whatever else be damned to rescue Vahnwynne, but while he may be fearless I am not.
That and certain OOC requests have been made that I not split up the party unnecessarily. =/
That and certain OOC requests have been made that I not split up the party unnecessarily. =/
I suppose it will be useless to point out that Derek has been deciding where to go?
Maddok wanted to go down, Appario wanted to finish the top, and Derek (who currently has volunteered for point) decided to check out the kitchen?
If you want to go charging off, go nuts. It would be a fitting end for you to end up as a vampire, joining Vahnwynne in an eternal afterlife: just like Twilight.
Does that mean we get to star in a movie franchise that makes hundreds of millions of dollars for seemingly no reason?
That would be contrary to Abadaran doctrine. The movie franchise must make hundreds of millions of dollars for giving good entertainment value to the people who enjoy it. Even if that entertainment value is mocking the people who watch it.
It is the realization that vampires eventually lead to franchises like Twilight that cause Abadar to have Paladins to smite undead; living eternally off of the blood of others is simply a holy transaction.
Making sparkling vampires who love baseball and cause teenaged girls to flock to theaters? Now, that, that my friend is a sin before the Founder of Cities. Those girls should be doing something worthwhile and commercially valuable!
I say the best vampires are the rift vampires, there is a certain satisfaction in killing an undead menace with...a squirt gun.
And you do not even need HOLY water.
=(
Wouldn't Semenya know that the Daylight spell doesn't actually count as daylight?
Unfortunately, immediate actions cannot be used while flat-footed, which rules out any means of pulling myself out of this one.
Yes, it was a pretty unfortunate series of rolls in general..
9+ on the initiative roll would have let Yahirma act before the haunt and allow her to use misfortune. 4+ on the Will save would have prevented the entire effect, and 9+ on the Fort save would have left her only mildly injured.
I'm struggling a bit with this one, actually. Even though I have a "let the dice roll where they may" approach to roleplaying, I have a question: Would anyone consider it too much of a cop-out if the actual death is this-room-only, and if brought outside the room Yahirma would be alive but in a catatonic state?
I am a huge opponent of save-or-die entirely.
If you wanted to house rule them into oblivion I would be wholly on board.
I think a this-room-only does feel like too much of a cop-out. Why not just change the worst case scenario results for Phantasmal Killer to be inline with how the other save-or-dies were changed in PFRPG?
For example, check out how Slay Living was changed.
That's a good idea. Since phantasmal killer is one level lower than slay living, perhaps 10d6 is a fair amount? Alternatively, perhaps the worst case result could be the aforementioned catatonic state instead of death.
(Strangely, I used to be a fan of save-or-die existing in the game, but I've never actually had a player fail their save against one before. That event has rapidly shifted my perspective.)
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That's a good idea. Since phantasmal killer is one level lower than slay living, perhaps 10d6 is a fair amount? Alternatively, perhaps the worst case result could be the aforementioned catatonic state instead of death.
(Strangely, I used to be a fan of save-or-die existing in the game, but I've never actually had a player fail their save against one before. That event has rapidly shifted my perspective.)
DM Are, I trust you with whatever you decide.
You rock and you have my faith.
-Pain
10d6 or 12d6 would be fair. It may be a level lower but it requires two failed saves to get the most effect and it has fairly limiting keywords on it.
Over to something a little more pleasant: How are everyone's posting capabilities during the holidays?
I'm probably not going to be able to post at all on Christmas Eve (except possibly in the morning), since there's going to be a large family dinner (and those tend to last pretty long in our family).
The same might be the case for New Year's Eve, and perhaps also for the 27th, depending on circumstances.
I'll be pretty good for the holidays...my iphone handles posting competently when I'm AFK, but I should have access most of the time. I'm traveling a bit, but it's short.
I'll be checking less often, but that may mean only every other hour, rather than every hour. :)
I should be at full posting capacity throughout the holidays.
I take my phone with my everywhere!
The more I think about it the more I like your suggestion for Phantasmal Killer. Perhaps failing both saves just drops you to -1 because you 'think' you're dying. Sort of like the 2nd edition Psionic Ego Lash.
I am adaptable for all of the above - both phantasmal killer and for the holidays. My family certainly has a few plans, but we also spend a fair bit of time doing our own things over the holidays. I will at least be checking in once a day.
My family obligations boil down to two telephone calls, one of which is being wished a happy birthday. (My birthday is Saturday the 24th).
One of the 'methods' of RPGs is that nearly everything has an action/response/decision/realization-of-peril loop.
Save-or-die breaks this convention and is generally unsatisfactory.
In some ways, it might actually be better to have Yahirma at -1 HP and spiritually bleeding out (and making stabilization rolls).
Having slept on this, I've decided that 10d6/12d6 damage is unsatisfactory. That makes it too similar to slay living, while phantasmal killer should feel different (I think of it as being so afraid that you have a heart attack). I'm going with the "at -1 hp and making stabilization rolls" approach as the worst-case scenario.