Rise of the Runelords: Chosen of Sandpoint (Inactive)

Game Master polyfrequencies

Bump for potential discussion, especially from Drasven, Ro, and Izzy.

Ai yee. I missed something?

Draven will go where he's needed to go. My shtick is to wander around anyway.

I will try and get a post up for the days tomorrow. Been very busy the last couple days, apologies.

No worries, Lia: I just got back from a holiday.

@Drasven: we're just discussing potential downtime stuff before the story continues in earnest. I'll give to the end of the week for any downtime stuff before I begin moving the group towards Turtleback Ferry.

I did plan to do my downtime today, but my little one disagreed with me having a free evening :) I did get SOME stuff done but did not prioritize seeing we'll have until end of the week before moving on.

That, and I'll need some time to reconsider the shopping list.
(Also, Ro, you can have your Hat of Disguise back now, Lia will likely get her own :D)

Thanks for you great patience everyone. I'd planned to do more with the post, but sometimes just getting it done at all matters more.

No problems Ro! Real life is always more important.

Did we really find 12x Ioun Torches?

If so, I would like to take one or two myself.
As a full human they could be quite niffy in dark places...

It was either 8 or 12, whatever I described in the given post. It is a good idea to hang onto them for just that reason. And who knows, they make nice party favors for NPCs you meet.

I was hesitant about the song selection this time. It's probably the most instantly recognizable one I ever used, and I generally avoid that kind.

But, this is the Dolly version for sure, not Whitney, they hit differently. If you know the story behind her writing the song, it's actually something quite different than most people think. One read, the most common, is it's very romantic or sappy. But the one I prefer is that it's the ultimate "it's not you, it's me" excuse while you have your hand on the door opening it for a quick exit. XD

I loved it. It felt organic.

And to change genres completely, "All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again." Peter Pan or Battlestar Galactica? You decide.

(I quoted J. M. Barrie, but I was thinking about BSG. For spoilery reasons about recurrent motifs and apparently anachronistic speeches and song choices appearing.)

---

Oh, this reminds me! Lia and I were talking in another game about some flavorful rules that we were interested in implementing here.

Favored Class Bonuses: I don't know how everyone has allotted their favored class bonuses so far, but I want to allow the PCs to gain a bonus skill point and a bonus hit point and their race's unique favored class bonus. Anyone can also choose from this list or the final batch of this list. These possible bonuses include:

Drasven

Just so I'm crystal clear on this...

I have Eclectic already, so applying that and my 4 levels of ZAM and 3 levels of Sorcerer:

For the ZAM, I will get +4 HP, +4 SP, and 1 Ki Point (4 x 1/4 pts)
For the Sorcerer, I will get +3 HP, +3 SP, and (what I've already taken) 3 spells.

In addition to all that (which I LOVE BTW) I also get a free feat? Am I reading that correctly? Or is the free feat in the case I don't want all those free HP, SP, and Bennies?

I hadn't even noticed that! So yes. Since you already have Eclectic, definitely look at a Story Feat!

But yes, 7 more hit points, 7 more skill points, 1 ki point, and 3 extra cantrips! And a story feat!

Sweet! On it!

Am diagnosed with Hyper tension.
Also some concerns as X- Ray picked up a white spot on the upper area of my left lung.
Sone giddiness as I stand and walk. Nothing if I Sit down or remain still.

Bouncing in and out of hospitals is making me more tired then One would expect.
So. Apologies to all my games.

Ha, I'm still working on shopping and finally getting in a gameplay post :D

Either way, I ALSO already picked up Favored Prestige Class(mostly so I can get Prestigious Spellcaster). :)
And to clarify: For the Sphere Singer Favored Prestige Class, I would also get +1 Skill Point, +1 Hit Point, and one of the listed boni?

(I'd probably be vastly uncreative and just bolster Flutters HP - with one quarter of mine, he's so squishy, wouldn't want him to be randomly included in some hostile AoE and vanish for the day from a single instance of damage.)

Regarding the Story Feat...with Lia it's a bit more difficult. I think the best match is:
Fascinated by the Mundane It's flavor line opens with "Your perspective of normality is slightly skewed, and you are easily awed by things such as commonplace tools or mundane activities. You struggle to find your place in a world that seems continually poised to overwhelm your senses.".
The boni are pretty straightforward as well, and the completion benefit is sweet but not really necessary for this to be decent.

Lia's strong CHA-suites are Diplomacy(which is not included until completion) and Performs(which have no mechanical purpose), so it also does not seem TOO strong to get that untyped +2 bonus.
(And I can totally see her have some Fey or even Azata ancestor in her bloodline somewhere - may be the source of her arcane prowess even if she is an arcanist, not a Sorcerer.)

(But of course, that is looking at the character and past...the goal is not really something she can "work" towards going forward.
I had also considered Glimpse Beyond, Truthseeker, Eldritch Researcher, and Our Bounty, Our Glory - but ultimately most of them also don't really had something that I could aim for, really.)

Wow Drasven, I hope you're alright. That's a lot of health stuff coming at you all at once. I'm keeping you in my thoughts.

That's a tasty little package you're giving us Poly! Thanks!

I don't think one extra, HP, skill point, and Orison is worth spending a feat on Eclectic to get. So, that's 6 levels for Ro.

I'be taken HP every time so far, so +6 skill points. I'll probably take 2 cantrips, 2 rounds, of performance, and 2 1st level spells. I'll have to look at spells before a final decision. I'm limited to 2 1st level spells though so I don't think I'll change my mind.

The story feat is kind of tough. I've only scanned them quickly but there's no ideal match. True Love might have been good, but Ro f$@~ed that up a minute before it mattered. XD

Magnum Opus would be ideal, but Archaeologist trades away Versatile Performance so it's rendered useless outside of pure RP. Not the worst thing, but a fallback option at best.

Prophet, Thief of Legend, and Truth-Seeker can all work in a way if one squints just right.

The feat will take some thought.

I suppose if we're really trying to match a story feat to our characters in the way they seem to be meant for, the Enemy Cult feat is the best choice for Ro. It's also a good fit for anyone in the party really.

The Skinsaw Cult looks like a perfect match, and there's even a path to completion, assuming Xanesha and/or that sister is running the show.

It's a fairly powerful feat though.

You have crossed paths with a cult opposed to everything in which you believe.
Prerequisites: You must have encountered a cult whose general alignment is opposite to yours on at least one axis or who threatened your beliefs or way of life, or you must have the Angelic Encounter, the False Witness, The Omen, or the Terrible Secret background (all of which are found in Ultimate Campaign).
Benefit: Choose an appropriate detect chaos/evil/good/law spell that would aid you in opposing your chosen enemy cult. You can cast this spell twice per day as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level.
Goal: Thwart the enemy cult, whose leader must be a challenging foe. You must deal that cult leader a decisive defeat, and additionally eradicate the cult or drive the cult from the area.
Completion Benefit: You gain a +2 resistance bonus on saving throws against evil creatures and a +2 deflection bonus to AC against evil creatures’ attacks. These bonuses double against evil summoned creatures.

Yikes, Drasven--very sorry to hear that! Please do take care of yourself as much as possible. We'll be here when you need a break from the troubles of the real world.

---

For those with Favored Prestige Class, yes: you get +1 hit point, +1 skill point, and a unique FCB. For the Sphere Singer, Lia could also choose to Add +1 to the sphere singer's total number of starsong rounds per day. For the Evangelist, Drasven should treat the the Aligned Class as continuing to progress his racial Cleric FCB.

Definitely take your time thinking through story feats! We're in no rush for that, as I'm just lolling through the river journey to Turtleback Ferry and dropping little story and/or worldbuilding kernels in your paths.

I still need to go over Story Feats for Karmid...any suggestions are appreciated.

Favored Class (Ranger) bonuses:
I like the Half-ELf and the Kobold
*Half-Elf (Horror Adventures pg. 40): The duration of the ranger’s companion bond increases by 1 round.
*Kobold (Advanced Race Guide pg. 133): Add +1/4 to the number of opponents the ranger may select when using hunter’s bond to grant a bonus to allies. All selected creatures must be of the same type.

So I can take +3 rounds to the duration, and +1 (total of 2) to the number of enemies selected at 7th level.

I would also like to suggest maybe something new for the future:
*Favored Class (Ranger) for the Shoanti: Gain a +1 bonus per point spent to Reflex and Will saves vs. a specific favored enemies' special attacks, spells, or spell-like abilities. This ability maxes (per enemy type) at the total bonus the Ranger has against that type of enemy.
(So I could get up to +2 vs. Giants and +4 vs. Undead saving throws...)

Still mulling over an appropriate Story feat... but it reminded me of your questions about Virtues, Vices, and Campaign Traits. Were we supposed to add the Campaign Trait to our character sheets?

@Karmid: Just change the wording of "number of enemies" to "number of allies", and you're golden on your FCB!

Bonuses to saves are very strong for a FCB, though, even limited to favored enemies. I could see increasing by 1/3 or 1/4 (more likely the latter). 1/4 would be in line with certain race's gaining of a dodge bonus to AC vs their favored enemies.

I do like the idea of leaning a bit more into Karmid's Shoanti heritage, though, especially if it's representative of his lost quah.

@Issengrim (and everyone): Yes, please do add your campaign traits to your character sheets as well!

My notes suggested that people had tentatively aimed for the following:

I've added the campaign trait but I haven't allocated it to an enchantment spell yet. Ro only casts 2nd level and lower spells right now, and I will be choosing something higher than that for it.

I do have a question about the interaction between Archaeologist Luck and a spell. Archy Luck says this:

Archaeologist’s luck is treated as bardic performance for the purposes of feats, abilities, effects, and the like that affect bardic performance.

The spell Saving Finale works like this:

You must have a bardic performance in effect to cast this spell. With a flourish, you can immediately end your bardic performance when a creature within range affected by your bardic performance fails a Saving Throw, allowing the subject to immediately reroll the failed Saving Throw.

Will Archy Luck work for this spell?

Yes! Flavor it as lifting a prayer to Desna to shift that luck from you to someone else.

Just in general, in case you can't tell, I am 100% for enabling more things instead of less, especially in the service of storytelling. The mechanics are useful insofar as they promote balance and fun for everyone at the table. If I can find a reason for it, I will try!

It's always easier to draw back down if we discover that a particular choice has unbalanced play.

@Karmid: Just change the wording of "number of enemies" to "number of allies", and you're golden on your FCB!

I cut and pasted that. It should be correct unless you are changing the idea. And the Ranger ability works on all allies in range that I can see. Adding additional allies doesn’t really make sense.

@Karmid: I don't quite follow, are you picking the Half-Elf one or the Kobold one? I may be wrong, but I think the intent was to pick a race that gives a bonus you like, not to freely mix and match?

If it is the latter, then I definitely want to take a look at different racial boni as well - I mean, Halfling would give me a full new Arcanist Exploit, before tuning into Sphere Singer for extra rounds per day...

Also, definitely taking the extra starsong rounds.

None of the traits were really good flavor-fits and neither did they really do something mechanically, especially with trying not to double up. I'll consider a bit more before locking that one.

Other than that, I could probably upgrade.
Story Feat: Fascinated by the Mundane
FCB: +7 HP, +6 HP Flutter(or 1 Arcanist Exploit), +1 Round Starsong.
Trait pending.

Oh, right--I was mis-reading things. Thanks, Karmid. But before we go too far...Lia has a good point: I was hoping to find one race and an ability that Karmid felt typified his quah.

The others had multiple options either because of their multiclass (assuming they took Eclectic) or because the alternate lists I found for different class FCBs included multiple distinct, viable general options.

So let's talk Shoanti lore! Obviously Karmid doesn't know who his parents were and what Quah they belonged to. But maybe he feels drawn to one quah more than the others.

I could see him belonging to any of the...
Shundrar-Quah (the Spire Clan) - (Karmid's pick probably!)
Sklar-Quah (the Sun Clan) - (This would be my pick...)
Skoan-Quah (the Skull Clan)
Tamiir-Quah (the Wind Clan)

I just don't see him and the other three mixing as well, but technically any would work as far as he's concerned.

Campaign Trait: Yes, Hagfish Hopeful was my original choice I believe.

If I have to pick only one of the two, then I will simply add the Half-Elf bonus to the duration of the Hunter's Bond ability.

Possible Shoanti Trait? Making it 1/3 or 1/4 AND limiting it even further really waters it way too far down to be very useful as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather just turn the Kobold bonus into a Shoanti style bonus, but make it 1/5 (instead of 1/4) if it makes you feel better.

Either way I'm good.

Story Feat?
'Wily Warrior' looks cool, but no way would I meet the Prerequisites and I would have to spend all my new skill points on Sense Motive to even make it worth it.

So Ro is probably right: 'Enemy Cult' would be Karmid's strongest choice. Or maybe just 'Nemesis' for the Lamia.

Regarding the save bonus suggestion from the Shoanti Trait - I think you MAY have talked at cross purposes there.

Karmid was suggesting the bonus would apply to ONE of his favored enemies.
I concur that a +1 per point to two saves would still be too strong, it would also mean that the bonus outpaces the class progression(at level 2 you would have it maxed, with the next opportunity to invest only at level 5).

But if it applies to only one favored enemy type, a + 1/2 to both saves, or a +1 to ONE type of save might be reasonable.
The +1/4 levels one you suggested, I think, should apply to all favored enemy types - with one caveat: Will is supposed to be the rangers weak save. So I think it should EITHER boost will, or fort+reflex, not mix.

Maybe simpler, then, to make it +1/3, across all favored enemies, on 1 save of Shoanti choice.
So by Level 6, Karmid could have +1 Reflex, +1 Will on saves against all favored enemies. By Level 9, +1 Reflex and +2 Will, by 12 +2/+2..., it is clearly something that starts weaker but scales strongly into the lategame - by level 15 thats +2/+2 for saves on 4 different favored enemy types(+3 on one save for all that are +4 or higher, or +1/+2/+2).

Sorry for interjecting myself in the talk, but I think the idea is not a bad one, but one interpretation too strong, one too weak, just trying to suggest some middle ground as food for thought.

Okay, this is what Ro is picking up:

All Racial FBC will use Human to pick up spells. They must be one level lower than the highest level Ro can cast. This gives her 3 cantrips and 3 1st level spells.

0 = Oath of Anonymity, Grasp, Spark

1 = Saving Finale, Deja Vu, Liberating Command

The 6 skill points will be allocated like this: +1 Acrobatics, K Dungeoneering, Survival, Swim, +2 UMD

After thinking about for a longer time, I am going to choose the True Love (Rynshinn) story feat after all. I can just alter the story line from "You found love, only to have it denied by the cruelty of fate." to "You found love, only to have it denied by your fickle personality and fear of commitment."

Ro will certainly be at a deficit in terms of gaining the completion bonus now. But since I've been investing in that side-plot for so long, it really deserves to be the thing that gets a story feat. It fits Ro better, and also avoids repetition in characters' story feats if Karmid takes Enemy Cult.

Izzy is updated. I took the Blessed story feat.

Flutter seems to have articulated a reasonable compromise.

Whaddya think Karmid?

---

I have a bunch of notes on peoples' PCs now, so if I may need occasional reminders (or in-character pushes) to keep story feats in mind. Some of them will happen fairly naturally over the course of experiencing the story as written, but others may need to be actively pursued.

And if someone chooses to make Xanesha their Nemesis or pursue her as the leader of the Enemy Cult, then that means I get to advance her to be even stronger...

>:D

And if you crank up Xanesha, well... I mean her boss can't be less dangerous than his/her minion, right? XD

Why do I have a feeling we're going to run into a Runelord with the Fiendish, Swarm, Psychic Vampire, and Void Creature templates?

NO SPOILERS.

^_^

LOL! Sorry! Didn’t realize I had played Guess-the-DM’s-Nefarious-Plot so well.

Flutter seems to have articulated a reasonable compromise.

Whaddya think Karmid?
>:D

That works for me. But there were multiple suggestions. I was thinking Will and Ref saves made the most sense because the base ability is based on ‘knowing’ the enemy your fighting, but thats (will and ref) not a requirement of course.

It was just something I was throwing out for fun… I always thought it was weird to get bonuses for pretty much everything except saves for favored enemies, it just made sense to me sometimes someone would figure out how to apply that knowledge to saves too, at least partially.

Are you ok with this suggestion:
“ Maybe simpler, then, to make it +1/3, across all favored enemies, on 1 save of Shoanti choice.
So by Level 6, Karmid could have +1 Reflex, +1 Will on saves against all favored enemies. By Level 9, +1 Reflex and +2 Will, by 12 +2/+2..., it is clearly something that starts weaker but scales strongly into the lategame - by level 15 thats +2/+2 for saves on 4 different favored enemy types(+3 on one save for all that are +4 or higher, or +1/+2/+2).”

I also meant for these ‘new’ bonuses to be added for future levels, not the current ones I have already earned. Something Karmid ‘figured out’ over time basically? I would still plan to take the half-elf bonus for all of, or at least most of his first 7 levels.

That works for me, Karmid!

That works for me, Karmid!

Bargained well…and Done.

For now, I will take 6 levels of the half-elf bonus (+6 to duration of my Bond) and start with 1 out of 1/3 starting the Shoanti favored class Bonus. Thanks everyone who inputed!

=)

I believe I finally finished my shopping...and theoretically the updating.

19700 funds
- 2000G - Ring of Sustenance (previously rolled for)
- 5500G - Boots of Striding and Springing 1d100 ⇒ 62 (upgrade from Alpenstock
- 1800G - Hat of Disguise 1d100 ⇒ 61 (Lia fell in love with it when she borrowed Ro's)
- 7700G - Headband of Fortune’s Favor 1d100 ⇒ 94 (instead of Eagle Cape)
- 2000G - Handy Haversack 1d100 ⇒ 23 (Guess not)
- 2200G - Ring of Feather Falling 1d100 ⇒ 13 (And not that either)
- 2x1000G - 2xPouch, Pathfinder 1d100 ⇒ 93

Subtotal 19000G

- 100 Masterwork Ocarina
- 100 Masterwork Lyre
- 50 Masterwork Backpack

Should be 450 Gold left, and Lia certainly had at least some spare coins saved up to pay for random expenses.

So I think that small bag of 50 Platinum from the Mayor will be transferred to Kira in Sandpoint, together with a letter detailing what had taken part since Lia's departure.

I DO have one more question regarding the Alignment System we use in place of regular ABP - ABP makes no mention of it, but the Mental Prowess variant gives a permanent enhancement bonus to INT, which should come with Skill Ranks(which the item normally provides for a skill, keyed to that item.).
Now obviously the goal is not to re-align and simply move ranks from one skill to the other, but I was wondering if it would be valid to pre-define up to 3 skill that will then always get boosted IF we get the aligned Int Bonus(at +2, +4 and +6 respectively?) It is just curiosity, if there are no skill ranks, as a means of balance for the increased flexibility, I am perfectly fine with that, but it's kind of an instinct that when changing Int to a higher number, I also do skills :)

Also, I will need to catch up in gameplay. And see if it even makes sense to do more than a short "Previously on RotRL'-segment in a current post - I'll get to that tomorrow, hopefully.

Regarding the trait, while Lia is friendly to pretty much everybody she meets, I don't quite see her hanging out with Sczarni - or the people at the Cathedral letting that happen - she is still quite young, so if that happened before the campaign...
Merchant Family would have been REALLY good for the group, but just doesn't fit Lia. But then, thats what I have been struggling with, none of them just feel "right". Goblin Watcher could work, I could see her sit at Junkers Edge and just observe. Sandpoint Faithful, obviously, but the +1 on magical healing feels like a bit of a wasted trait at this point. Scholar of the Ancient would be fun for Thassilonian as language, but she would not use the Knowledge, and she definitely did no dogged research on anything.
So, I wanted to petition if, just maybe, I could instead pick up "Intrigued by Thassilon" from Return of the Runelords - in terms of flavor, it would be her limited prescience that may tell her that there is something going on with it. It would give the language, too, and regular Skill Points that I would all put into Linguistics to learn more languages :)
(I am not trying to get a power spike from the trait, just a tiny bit more than what the remaining ones that even remotely fit Lia offer.)

Oh yeah, we did decide to let the bonuses be able to be reassigned. Yes, I think that ability modifier enhancements (at least for Int) should more or less be permanent, at least as far as skills are concerned. There are class and racial abilities specifically around more flexible skills, allowing them to be reassigned on a daily basis. I don't want to just give that sort of flexibility away.

So if people are okay with that, I'll make this change to the ability scores: for intelligence at the very least, any bonuses applied are permanent and cannot be reassigned.

---

I'm reticent about Intrigued by Thassilon. I'm usually happy to reflavor traits, but it is very strong, especially compared to the others on offer. But if the primary intent is to gain more languages, then that's something I'm going to be more chill about. (To that end, I have something to message you about.)

---

I will be ready to move us along after this coming weekend wherever we are in the current conversation. I'm headed out of town for a family wedding and will be back Monday evening, so please have anything settled that you want settled by then. Turtleback Ferry approaches.

Yeah, I need to put all my new stuff and bonuses together and update Karmid again.

@Ability Scores/Int: I will likely not find myself in a situation where I would want to downgrade.

But I think the easiest thing is that any choices one makes for it are 'permanent'.
So I could get +4 Int, and pick to have Climb and Swim as associated Skills.
The next day I could not have Int, and lose Climb and Swim.
The next day I get +2 Int, and have to take Climb as associated Skill.
2 weeks later, I get +4 Int and am back with Climb and Swim.
If I want a new skill, I have to wait until I'm at +6, and then lock in that skill, getting Climb, Swim, and Escape Artist.
As in, just lock in a +2, a +4, and a +6 Skill and we're good :)

(As said, I don't mind as I doubt I'll ever want to downgrade my primary casting stat, but maybe someone else would pick up +2 Int, then would like to retrieve the attunement points for something more valuable to them in the next level - which makes sense, just if they ever go back to +2 Int, they would be locked into the same Skill they previously choose.)
But I'm totally fine either way.

@Thassilon: I wondered what was so strong about it, and kind of didn't even read the final line, which I am happy to drop - or key it to some otherwise empty old Wand of Cure Critical Wounds(or lesser).
(So that she can, once per adventure, Heal someone for 4d8+7 via the empty wand, but not get any other use out of this).
But as said, totally ok with dropping this as well, it was more of a "hey, at least I can get some languages out of this" that Lia will randomly pick up while she travels :)
(And then randomly start talking in Gnome during breakfast or something.)

Also, I'd like to point out that shopping has allowed Lia to pick up a Level in "Hippie".
The headband is a "multicolored headband with beaded tassels" - totally par for the course. And it won't be changed by the Hat of Disguise now providing illusionary clothing while allowing her to remain "au naturel" (as long as it's not too cold for that.)
That also allows more mobility, being unhindered by dresses or something, which explains the higher speed and better jumping from the Footwear.
Finally, she can totally zone out for a while(and making food optional - something to enjoy rather than a necessity) or stay up way past midnight stargazing, without having to worry about getting enough sleep thanks to the ring.
It's basically a Pathfinder Hippie Upgrade Package.

Pity she gets coughing fits from flayleaf.

And here I already assumed Lia was gestalting in Hippie ^_^

Karmid should be updated finally with all his new equipment and bonuses.

I think?
=)

Okay, I put the Amulet on. Would have, anyway :)

Now, just wondering, any saves to avoid becoming chaotic evil over time? Tentacles or non-euclidian creatures visiting me at bedtime? A weird feeling of being observed at all times that will develop into well-founded paranoia? An urge to defend my precious against the nasty Kellids trying to take it from me?

Or just some terrible tax coming at some later point in the game?

(Mostly asking if I want to update stuff and consider it available, or if I'll never put it on again after tonight :D )

No worries if you don't want to say something now, but if you can spoiler-free state that "for the forseeable future" there is no trouble, I'd go for updating.

There are no deleterious effects that Lia knows of!

For now...

>:D

Will there be? Who's to say? Certainly not moi.

The follow-on curse is horrible.

In 6.66 months, Lia will feel an unstoppable urge to buy impractical shoes and mutter the damnable phases "Er-mah-Gerd" and "totes-ma-goats".

All good, as said, I do expect that long term it may not be a good idea, but if there is no soon-to-come detrimental effect, I'll just slot it in for now.
Just figured I'll ask if I can save myself the trouble because next morning it's attempting to turn me evil or something.

So, that stuff totally sounds like it can be cleansed with some serious magic. I can work with that. I was more afraid of "In 9 months you are going to have Rovagugs baby" or something.

Also, @gameplay, I had to involve flutter as Lia is notoriously oblivious to flirting/romance/sexuality, and I didn't want to make Izzy explain what he meant.
That would have been cruel :D