Aneira's charisma is 17 and is the face of the party in this campaign. Her Diplo is +12, so I think the party will be fine.
And it's Baba Yaga, with one 'b'. Baba means grandmother in the Slavic tongue.
Rain as for being the "face" of the party, if you said that "you'd" be fine, I'd agree with you.
But if the party walks into a town of 2,000 people I'm pretty sure half of us would stick out like a sore thumb; and if Dhaavan and Variel start off with Charisma's of 6 and 7 respectively, that probably should mean that your diplomacy roll would first have to be to offset their terrible charisma; in short - a town who was considered "Neutral" to our party might have slid over to "unfriendly" as their primary starting element.
If that isn't the case, what it means instead is that there's no reason for me not to drop my charisma to 7 and my Intelligence to 7 also as a fighter. If I don't elect to do that, I'm in danger for falling behind the people who do, and when the monsters come, they'll be built for optimized heroes and I'll quickly be dead.
Meanwhile, thank you for pointing out the stuff about the Slavic Language and culture. You were correct; I made an error spelling that word.
Sorry about that.
Remember too, Venja's CHA is 15.
If we walked into a town, wouldn't those with the highest CHA be the ones approaching the citizens and speaking on behalf of the group, like in all our other games?
And, I have yet to see a GM penalise a character for a very low CHA.
But Immortal will adjudicate on this once he's up tomorrow morning.
Addendum: btw I am not optimized and have no stat dump.
I'm not optimized and don't have a dump stat though I could - just pointing out that not everyone is min-maxed.
Remember too, Venja's CHA is 15.
If we walked into a town, wouldn't those with the highest CHA be the ones approaching the citizens and speaking on behalf of the group, like in all our other games?
Here's my main point:
The GM builds CR to be competitive.
If the party is "too good" he'll up the CR a bit to make it a bit more challenging.
If you don't become "better" - if you decide to avoid making your character "optimal" you'll be killed more easily.
Right now I'm playing a fighter; I could make my character better by dropping my Intelligence and Charisma to 7 each. If I did that, I'd have 28 points to spend on the other 4 stats and the fact that I have 7's in those two stats don't matter.
I don't have some extra skills; but the skill monkey steps up and takes care of everything, so I don't have to worry about it.
I don't have to worry about Charisma either, because I have someone else in the group to do all the talking.
If my character has a total of 7 for Intelligence you'd think he couldn't read and would have trouble remembering where he left his sword; but those penalties don't apply because there's no "rule" for them.
With a 7 in Charisma you'd think people would ride him out of the community on a rail, or something like that. But Rain, you've pointed out the main issue: GM's almost never penalize anyone for having a low Charisma. So why do we even bother investing points in that stat?
There's no penalty for having a low charisma, it just effects some rolls. And as Variel pointed out, for the cost of 5 skill points he's negated the penalty that comes from taking a -3 to his stats. That's a pretty good trade-off; but even if he didn't up his diplomacy it wouldn't matter because you would be there as the "face" for the group.
The thing is, currently there is absolutely no reason that anyone who isn't a Charisma Caster doesn't just drop their charisma to 7.
But I don't want to play that way.
On the other hand I'm just worried that if I don't play that way, it will be a problem in the long run.
I'm not optimized and don't have a dump stat though I could - just pointing out that not everyone is min-maxed.
I know that Venja; and I also noticed that when I had looked at Rain's sheet.
But the thing is - shouldn't we all be optimized instead?
If I can say that my character has a 7 in Int. but can speak intelligently and never forgets things - then why not just be a fighter with a 7 in Int?
And why not be a wizard with a 7 in Strength? I don't need strength; I'm a wizard!
If we're playing a game when stats have no bearing on anything but rolls, and our stats don't effect social RP - then I could have made him different, that's all.
Okay, changed over my pic for Aneira on my profile page. I'm not sure which one I prefer more, but this one seems apt with the snow. lol
p.s Venja, I checked your new pic out and love it.
Your pic of Aneira is awesome... love it!
With a 7 in Charisma you'd think people would ride him out of the community on a rail, or something like that. But Rain, you've pointed out the main issue: GM's almost never penalize anyone for having a low Charisma. So why do we even bother investing points in that stat?
I do it for the hot chicks!
Once they go gnome, they can never go home!
But while I'm not a dump stat/optimization kind of guy myself, I wouldn't let it bother you.
Variel the character,it seems, is lucky enough to have found love, a woman who sees through his stand offish ways. Who realizes that while he might be prickly, or even unintentionally rude sometimes (or however the player views it); he's a decent caring guy with a lot to offer.
From that perspective, it adds a bit of depth to their story I think. Heck, Xanxan probably didn't like the guy the first time he came into his shop, but figured with such a nice lass interested in him there must be more to the grumpy (?) guy and got to know him. Once he did, alignment (via deeds) started to show through, and Xanxan got to like him as well and they became (?) friends too.
Obviously all the above is conjecture on my part, Variel's take may be quite different from that and it is HIS character, but my point is it's easy to make sense of to me and I wouldn't worry about it.
...........
As for the Rabbit, I suppose Stewpot would be out as names go. It might give us bad ideas when it starts to get cold and we run out of rations ;)
EDIT: whoops...missed this
Anyway, sorry for all of that. I shouldn't have gone into it; please ignore the posts and you guys do what you want to do with how you do your builds no worries. Meantime, I'll still enjoy playing my guy either way, so it's all good.
Sorry about my rambling then when you'd come to peace with it
Ooh, pics! Gotta wait ti I'm home to see em tho... =/
As for stats, only reason I got a dump-stat is cause I'm kinda MAD needing Str, Wis, Con, and Dex, cause spells and melee. Your archer should be fine tho, not much Str but you can boost that later and fighters get Weapon-spec and training so that 1 point is less necessary.
Charisma...?
I do it for the hot chicks!
...From that perspective, it adds a bit of depth to their story I think. Heck, Xanxan probably didn't like the guy the first time he came into his shop, but figured with such a nice lass interested in him there must be more to the grumpy (?) guy and got to know him. Once he did, alignment (via deeds) started to show through, and Xanxan got to like him as well and they became (?) friends too.
Obviously all the above is conjecture on my part, Variel's take may be quite different from that and it is HIS character, but my point is it's easy to make sense of to me and I wouldn't worry about it.
So Xanxan, what about the town hobo? He's never had need of a tailor, and it seems like you wouldn't be in business with Beck for supplies, so what's our dea gonna be?
We've got mutual friends, as Beck hangs with Venja, and she introduced him to Aneira and Variel. Plus he and Gabby (can I call you Gabby, thanks =) hang out and hunt...
Would Xanxan and Beck have really had reason to interact much even tho Beck's been around since before many of you were even born?
So Xanxan, what about the town hobo? He's never had need of a tailor, and it seems like you wouldn't be in business with Beck for supplies, so what's our dea gonna be?
We've got mutual friends, as Beck hangs with Venja, and she introduced him to Aneira and Variel. Plus he and Gabby (can I call you Gabby, thanks =) hang out and hunt...
Would Xanxan and Beck have really had reason to interact much even tho Beck's been around since before many of you were even born?
Hard call. Xanxan isn't short lived himself, being a gnome. The 'friend of a friend' angle works fine for the reasons you mentioned. If you want other angles though, there is always the possibility that Xanxan ended up wounded once*, and Beck healed him up out of the goodness of his little tiefling heart causing Xanxan to remember you can't judge fabric by its color!
Could even be a source of friendly annoyance for Xanxan that he probably tried to repay Beck in fine clothes, but the druid keeps wearing the same old rags.
* Perhaps Xanxan was doing a bit of midnight resource resorting to help a poor family from an abusive minor noble and fell off a roof, breaking his leg. Without the healing he'd have gotten caught.
Charisma is a measure of glib, charm, personal magnetism, presence etc. A quiet, nondescript man who's socially awkward, self-conscious, shy, boring, dull, introverted, etc. can just as well describe someone who is not very charismatic as opposed to someone who is outright socially-offensive (and thus offensive to everyone in the group).
Basically as far as it goes in game, I just usually expect people to play their abilities. For instance if you have a 7 intelligence, I don't expect you to speak like you read a thesaurus as a little light bedtime reading. If you have a 7 constitution, I expect you to be sickly or chronically injured in some way. If you have a 7 Wisdom, I expect you to be somewhat absent minded, flighty, prone to distraction, that sort of thing. If you have a 7 charisma, you can either play it as socially withdrawn/awkward, and forgettable or you can play it as someone who is lacking manners, who breaks wind at inopportune times, hits on married women, lacks personal hygiene, etc.
I do expect people to play their abilities...however I do not want ANYONE telling another person that they aren't playing their character correctly. That is my job so let's just leave that there.
And after healing the gnome, his pet at the time liked Xanxan, Beck turns into a gnome himsef with a pop and leads the pursuers off on a willd goose-chase.
I like that one, they're friends but cause of stuff they don't really discuss (Xanxan's . . . Hobbies)
(Alter self doesn't seem to affect movement). And if I can stilll use my Fiendish running power when altered, that's a lot more mevement.
Works for me!
So far it looks like we've got reasons for almost everyone to know each other on decent terms and get along. We're all good aligned so far that I've seen, so heroism should come naturally for us.
Hope that's what you were hoping for DM Immortal :)
Once they go gnome, they can never go home!
Good times :)
With such a nice lass interested in him there must be more to the grumpy (?) guy and got to know him. Once he did, alignment (via deeds) started to show through, and Xanxan got to like him as well and they became (?) friends too.
It would probably have the same effect, but slightly opposite.
In other words; as Gabryjel is the youngest member of the crew and he's seen mostly frontier towns and wilderness, he's not really sure how to conduct himself around women in general.
Also the "nobles" of Taldor are a pretty contemptible lot to him; so he's touchy around "high and mighty types".
Now you got Rain's girl and she's clearly a high and mighty type; some obvious noble sort who's natural beauty and grace preclude her presence from even associating with the rank and file sorts.
But what's this? For some reason she's decided to marry a guy like Variel; a bookish killer with no social graces at all.
Meantime, Gabryjel already felt sorry for a guy like Variel; clearly he's a social pariah (at the least I'm envisioning him more of a Sheldon type - extremely smart, but no ability to deal socially with people).
But where Waiph is earthy and somewhat crude; it's clear that Variel is more of a guy who's smart enough to fit in but simply can't do it well. So he'd feel for the guy; because Garbryjel hates bullies and powerful people who put down the little guy and he'd suspect that Variel - an extremely smart guy with no social skills - is pretty much akin to a "nerd". There are plenty of really nice nerds, but the thing is - most of them are picked on for a lack of social skills.
When he meets Rain's character he sees that she doesn't care about social graces and that she's not so "hoity-toity" like a typical powerful noble type.
Instead, she's willing to marry him; so that means she's not so bad after all. And as he gets to know her through Variel, he discovers she can be pretty cool, too :)
As for the Rabbit, I suppose Stewpot would be out as names go. It might give us bad ideas when it starts to get cold and we run out of rations ;)
You leave Stewpot out of it!
Meanwhile, to thwart your nefarious plots I've already taken precautions as evidenced here :)
Well, that said, I'm eager to start, but I guess we'er waiting on the GM now :)
Okay for flavour sake, Variel and I decided to change our surname to 'Whitestorm'.
This is my new avi ... with the new name. Variel will get his done by tomorrow. Sadly, it would not let either of us change/edit the name of our original avatars.
This is just a heads-up to the GM and you guys regarding the name change, so you know what to call us in game. Thanks. :)
Variel has given a pet name to his wife: He likes to call her Anee when they are alone. Because of how close you have grown to Aneira, both in your professional and personal lives, I was thinking that it would be okay that within months, after Venja hears Variel call his wife by her pet name, that Venja could use it every now and again as a show of familiarity and closeness between the women? What do you think? Aneira will still be introduced to people by her full name but when the women are on their own ... they do not need to be so formal.
Cool, well if anyone else has more social details vie their character backstory that'd be sweet.
Venja, helping on the Vet work's pretty good so far; I like the concept pretty well, and I'm down for Beck coming with us for the hunting and gathering bit.
Xanxan, hanging back to fletch arrows and clean animal hides for you to sew into furs is something I'm down with, too.
Variel, I'm not sure how we'd interact with each other yet. Do you have any ideas on that front?
After we get that hashed out I'll most likely be able to figure out how I'd relate to Aneira, but I don't think I'd be approaching her right off the bat for right now; again - given the fact that she's a married woman who's three times my age and impressively regal, she's kind of socially intimidating for me, so I'll probably have to approach her through you.
Once we figure that dynamic out I should be good to go.
Aneira is 24, being she is half-elf. That isn't three times your age, Gabryjel, but 3 years older.
And going by Aneira's personality (on her profile page), if she saw Gabryjel on the street in town or out in the woods, she would smile and say hello/good morning/good day. She is a friendly, companionable sort. Her manner would be encouraging, so you wouldn't feel so shy or less forthcoming in her presence.
Using Anee as a pet name with a sense of sorority and familiarity sounds great.... I like it.
Thanks, Venja. Glad you're okay with it. :) Cements their friendship, so to speak.
Aneira is 24, being she is half-elf. That isn't three times your age but 3 years older.
Ah, sorry. I thought you were 68 for some reason. I think I must have been looking at the wrong page earlier.
No worries, it's all good.
And going by Aneira's personality (on her profile page), if she saw Gabryjel on the street in town or out in the woods, she would smile and say hello/good morning/good day. She is a friendly, companionable sort.
I have no doubt about that; but Gabryjel is pretty nervous around women, and I've seen your profile pic.
Your girl is hot; and my guy has spent most of his time in the mountains; riding on the plains; hunting and trapping; and lately serving in the army. He's seen lots of killing and bloodshed, and he's kind of a rough character. He's certainly not the kind of guy who spent a lot of time around girls in general.
Like I suggested earlier; when he meets you he'd probably treat you like Sam treated Galadriel. You know - sort of respectful awe or reverence.
But Gabryjel is also more of like a "cowboy" type, too. Think of him like a younger and more inexperienced Lt. Gatewood from the movie "Geronimo". So even after he got to know you he'd tip his hat to you and say "Morning, Miss Whitestorm" - and that sort of thing.
Understood. :) (btw Oriana in the other game is 68. ;))
Well, Aneira will be patient with your guy - she won't push at him and make him feel more uncomfortable but continue in her gentle manner, accepting his polite courtesies and reverence (possibly feeling a little shy/embarrassed to be receiving such reverence).
If she goes into the wood, she may ask Gabryjel to accompany her and Venja, as a guard of sort (for extra protection).
Cool; well, if she asks, he'll certainly come.
Meantime, Gabryjel is a pretty good rider and fairly good at hunting and tracking.
In the field he's pretty much all business; no real chit-chat because he's intent on the job at hand and focused on the path before him.
When he's on guard duty with you guys he'd probably be the same way.
Basically he'd be extremely intent on his surroundings; he'd be focused, on guard and silent - he's not about small talk if he's offering protection; he's about making sure that he doesn't fail his in his duty via protecting you both from any danger and he takes that duty pretty seriously.
No one's going to be harmed or injured on his watch, especially his friends; he'll die before that happens.
Now, back at town he'd probably walk you to your door, tip his hat and bid you a good evening; seeing that you're a bit closer to his age than he is he'd probably be more aware of your beauty and take greater precautions not to say the wrong thing around you.
However, as you're married he's better able to keep a respectful distance from you via a psychological buffer zone he put up between you both, so it will help him from getting too close to you and doing the wrong thing.
Everyone that hasn't already, please post your character sheet in your profile. I am going to open up the Gameplay thread tomorrow so that you can start interacting in character if you like. My only request is to stay in the village. Perhaps meet up at the inn and talk around the table or something to get a feel for your characters and the interactions. Also a good chance to practice playing your abilities. I will give you more details about the village when I have the chance to post them.
I think the angle of Gabryjel meeting Variel first and then Aneira seems reasonable given they are a married couple. Variel looks after the protection of the village (I believe) and Gabryjel would work with him (being that is the nature of his profession).
Variel is more reserved around people - so he is conservative with his charm and social niceties. His manner is direct, so he may come across as gruff or tactless if he speaks before he thinks. Since meeting Aneira and spending time with her, it has softened his harder edges and he is most comfortable around her and his closest friends. He still makes a few faux pas' every now and again, but they are unintentional. Does that help a little with Variel's ingame personality, Gabe? The rest I'm sure Variel will fill you in.
Everyone that hasn't already, please post your character sheet in your profile. I am going to open up the Gameplay thread tomorrow so that you can start interacting in character if you like. My only request is to stay in the village. Perhaps meet up at the inn and talk around the table or something to get a feel for your characters and the interactions. Also a good chance to practice playing your abilities. I will give you more details about the village when I have the chance to post them.
Well, I already have my sheet up already with the pertinent stuff.
How much more do you need?
;)
updated my pic to make it stand out a bit more.
Gabe, all of it. Anything that is not on your profile I will assume doesn't exist. ;-)
I feel like Beck would likely have at some point as soon as he'd heard the name, called Aneira Anee as a matter of course, had he heard the name. If she'd not be comfortable with it, Beck'd totally stop, but if she got used to it, or through the game says it's ok, he'll go with that.
And he'd likely be able to tell after a while if it bothered her (no way she makes ALL those bluff-checks)
Do we have a party Lie-detector? someone with good sense motive?
Aneira's sense motive is +6. But I think you meant another of our party. ;) LOL
Okay, I believe that Aneira would reasonably accept Beck calling her 'Anee' (after he hears her being called that) because it is in her nature to. But her husband Variel? We'll see what he has to say on the matter. haha.
I can so totally see Venja getting ultimate mirth out of seeing Variel burn a little when Beck calls Aneira Anee... lol of course she'd never show it, but if it bothered Variel, she would try to tone Beck down a bit.
I think it would be one of those great scenes with Variel's expression and tone being something to behold. ;)
yup... I can just picture it too!
GM - some stuff came up and I need to get going.
I'll update my sheet tomorrow.
It will be done then.
I'm glad the discussion of CHA seems to be over... it was getting a bit long. I'm sure in the fullness of time, how Variel chooses to play his low charisma will come out, and as long as it is acceptable to Imm, it will be fine and the rest of us will just have to roleplay accordingly.
CHA, like all stats, is just a number, and the roleplay that surrounds it is what defines the stat for that character. How about we leave it at that and let VAriel's roleplaying reveal his nature?
Personally, I think it's cool that someone with limited cha has found a lasting relationship and I'm sure will have a calmer, sweeter demeanor with his lady than with others.
Whatever happens, it is what it is. Let's move on and discuss other topics, eh?
Like cookies!
I make delicious chocolate ship cookies. Sadly my li'l bro doesn't do gluten nor sugar, and i just can't make cookies that he could eat that i'd like. it's rather tragic.
So we'll see how Variel reacts to Beck's familiarity with his wife. =P Not that there'd be any inappropriate intentions, (plus she's about 1/4 his age). perhaps we'll RP that encounter tomorrow?
I have no problem with rping the encounter or any other conversation tomorrow. Actually, I look forward to it!
Imm, grabbing Skill Focus Handle animal willl give me a +9 to my check to control my pet, making it a success on a nat 1 for the DC 10 basic check. So that should mean that I don't need to roll except for when pushing, right?
Also, can it be assumed that Sheelah, my cat was trained before game with DC 20 training checks?
GM - just had a quick moment to stop by my computer between jobs as now I'm back to work on both jobs.
I'll have a more complete update for my guy this evening; I may end up tweaking him a bit, too - if that's okay?
His personality and background will still be the same generally, with a few modest changes.
I'll have something up soon, and I sent you a quick PM, too.
|
Gabe, as far as how Variel and you could interact, as Aneira mentioned, Variel does what he can to protect the community from small stuff. wether it is a rogue goblin, a wild animal etc so that is one way they could have met. Also, Variel has eeked out his living traveling even though he is not a merchant. In additon Variel can make weapons and work a forge so if Gabe needs anything from Variel that is another path we can take.
Well, I believe I'm ready. Unless I missed something
Imm, would Variel been able to craft his weapons himself? If so would he have been able to do a normal and cold iron rapier?