
DM Irthos |

A wide field of shattered weapons, barrow mounds, and mass graves surrounds the city of Absalom, a vast plain known as the Cairnlands. Rising from the war torn earth like the grasping arms of the dead are countless siege castles, towers, and fortresses contructed over the millennia by would be warlords who tried to take the great city and inevitably failed. Like forgotten monuments to failed conquerors, the siege castles of Absalom beckon the brave, the fearless, and the foolish with the promise of adventure and untold treasures, ever ready to create heroes or to entomb the fallen.
Welcome, now that I have that out of the way this is the OOC thread. I would like the PCs to know each other before hand. Any ideas are welcome, you dont have to be buddies from years ago just know each other enough if you get my meaning. If you rather I come up with something off hand let me know.

Indeo Hospice |

Thanks for the chance to play. I've been wanting to get into a game for a long time now but it's nearly impossible to get a RL game going.
I hope I don't drag you guys down too much, please if anyone sees an error in anything I've done or will do don't hesitate to point it out. I'm not that conversant with the rules yet but I do enjoy role-playing.
I'm going to re-read everyone's backgrounds and try to find someone to have some history with.
Also, where can I find a regional map of this place? I'd like to get to know at least the basic lay of the land. I don't currently own any of the pathfinder books but I'm not adverse to buying 1 or 2 if they are needed.

Indeo Hospice |

hmm, the only background that makes any sense with mine might be Nngara, or possibly Deslin...well anyway, hows this sound?
Indeo is sitting lotus perched upon the ships anchor windlass, his hood down and long white hair blowing in the wind. His eyes are closed and he appears at peace and oblivious to the world as the young (well, to him anyway) elf Nngara Erebrain approaches soundlessly as elves tend to do.
Indeo cracks one eye open as she pulls up next to him and mutters to her "The sea air is good for the soul, no?"
Her obvious discomfort at being noticed by an apparently comatose dwarf is quickly eased by his warm smile and proffered hand. "Pleasure to meet you Elf, the name's Indeo Hospice, healer by trade, carouser by reputation!"
To this he guffaws loudly and takes the elf rather roughly around the waist. "Come lass, let us see what manner of drink can be found aboard this rotten floating cork."
The next few weeks of travel the elf and dwarf form a strange friendship. Their shared feelings toward helping others and changing things for the better has drawn them together. While far from the best of friends they do seem to share a common goal, of sorts. They arrive at Absolom at the same time and while they have since parted ways, they do occasionally come together for a drink or two on the rare occasion.

Deslin Swifthand |

Thanks for choosing Deslin!
About how the characters could know eachother, they are all newcomers to Absalom, so meeting in the ship that brought them here or needing a job would work quite well in my opinion. Deslin may be a cynic about authority, but he is openminded and naive about individuals, so he may have approached some characters just out of curiosity. I mean, a 300 years old dwarf healer? an elf wizard come from mysterious land? a battle-hardened mercenary? a lizardfolk paladin?! Seriously, this city is AWESOME!

Zerrosk |

This is definitely going to be interesting. :) S'skaar is a concept I've had for a while and never gotten to run with him. Curious to see how he turns out. I do expect a bit of prejudice and some fear, but hopefully he'll be able to overcome it. He also needs a nickname, any suggestions? :)
I agree that the trip to Absalom is probably the best way for the characters to have met and know each other. Being cooped up on a ship for that long might make for some forced interaction. :)

Nngara Erebrian |

Meeting on a boat works. You all could easily have your origin be through Andoran. Deslin is from there anyway, Indeo could be from a monastery in/near the Five Kings Mountains which is dwarven and just north of Andoran. S'skaar, the temple could be anywhere, but there are numerous rivers in Andoran which could fit. And Colyne - you had problems in Cheliax and could easily have travelled through Andoran on the way to Absalom. For me, it is a little harder since I am coming from way south, but if I was unable to find a boat directly to Absalom from say Osirion, then going through an Andoran port is not unthinkable.
Also, thanks for letting me join, this should be fun.
As an additional question:
Is this going to be the OOC thread or the game thread? Just want to make sure that I do not miss anything and get the correct one bookmarked.

DM Irthos |

You get an extra 1st level spell due to wis and domain spells are added as an extra spell as well but only one domain spell. So your guy should have 3/2+1, the +1 being a domain spell.
Example
1st- Sanctuary (D), Bless, Bane
0 (at will)- Stablize, Detect Poison, Create Water
Hope that helps.
Edit- Just so you know if you channel positive energy then you can spontaneous cast cure spells. No real point to preparing cure spells unless your an evil cleric or channel negitive energy.

Nngara Erebrian |

- a few notes.
1) You need to select a deity, I suppose the dm can let you go without one, but that would be strange. Since you want Healing as one of your domains, you should probably choose
Sarenrae NG Goddess of the sun, redemption, Domains - Fire, Glory, Good, Healing, Sun, Preferred weapon - scimitar
- note, Sarenrae prefers the scimitar, but it is not a requirement as far as I know.
2) I know you get only 1 domain as a Merciful Healer, and it must be Healing - which makes sense with your background. However you might want to consider the other domains which you could have. I think that your Deity would probably be Sarenrae whose domains are Fire, Good, Glory, Healing and Sun. I am listing the domain powers below. You could still play your character the same as the merciful healer, but have the additional Domain powers. Good or Sun would probably fit well.
3) You might want to add all the skills that can be used untrained - for instance we will probably have to do a lot of Perception rolls and Sense Motive rolls, it is easier for you and the DM if these are all on your character sheet. I also usually put in parentheses what the bonuses are for each skill (ie. +5 Int, Rank 2, +3 Class Skill, +2 Alertness Trait, etc.)
4) It is your call on the selective channeling, but unless you do not want to heal some of us or harm certain undead, I am not sure about the usefulness of this particular feat. (I suppose if we are in a fight you could choose certain enemies to not heal.) If you want to maximize your Channeling, taking the extra channel feat give you 2 more per day.
5) Definitely do not memorize Cure Light Wounds since any Cure spell can be spontaneously cast in place of a spell of the same level.
Think about these things and I will look at your character a little more closely this evening.
Fire Domain
Granted Powers: You can call forth fire, command creatures of the inferno, and your flesh does not burn.
Fire Bolt (Sp): As a standard action, you can unleash a scorching bolt of divine fire from your outstretched hand. You can target any single foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack with this bolt of fire. If you hit the foe, the fire bolt deals 1d6 points of fire damage + 1 point for every two cleric levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Fire Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, you gain resist fire 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you gain immunity to fire.
Domain Spells: 1st—burning hands, 2nd—produce flame, 3rd—fireball, 4th—wall of fire, 5th—fire shield, 6th—fire seeds, 7th—elemental body IV (fire only), 8th—incendiary cloud, 9th—elemental swarm (fire spell only).
Glory Domain
Granted Powers: You are infused with the glory of the divine, and are a true foe of the undead. In addition, when you channel positive energy to harm undead creatures, the save DC to halve the damage is increased by 2.
Touch of Glory (Sp): You can cause your hand to shimmer with divine radiance, allowing you to touch a creature as a standard action and give it a bonus equal to your cleric level on a single Charisma-based skill check or Charisma ability check. This ability lasts for 1 hour or until the creature touched elects to apply the bonus to a roll. You can use this ability to grant the bonus a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Divine Presence (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot aura of divine presence for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. All allies within this aura are treated as if under the effects of a sanctuary spell with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Activating this ability is a standard action. If an ally leaves the area or makes an attack, the effect ends for that ally. If you make an attack, the effect ends for you and your allies.
Domain Spells: 1st—shield of faith, 2nd—bless weapon, 3rd—searing light, 4th—holy smite, 5th—righteous might, 6th—undeath to death, 7th—holy sword, 8th—holy aura, 9th—gate.
Good Domain
Granted Powers: You have pledged your life and soul to goodness and purity.
Touch of Good (Sp): You can touch a creature as a standard action, granting a sacred bonus on attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws equal to half your cleric level (minimum 1) for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Holy Lance (Su): At 8th level, you can give a weapon you touch the holy special weapon quality for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level. You can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and an additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th.
Domain Spells: 1st—protection from evil, 2nd—align weapon (good only), 3rd—magic circle against evil, 4th—holy smite, 5th—dispel evil, 6th—blade barrier, 7th—holy word, 8th—holy aura, 9th—summon monster IX (good spell only).
Healing Domain
Granted Powers: Your touch staves off pain and death, and your healing magic is particularly vital and potent.
Rebuke Death (Sp): You can touch a living creature as a standard action, healing it for 1d4 points of damage plus 1 for every two cleric levels you possess. You can only use this ability on a creature that is below 0 hit points. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Healer's Blessing (Su): At 6th level, all of your cure spells are treated as if they were empowered, increasing the amount of damage healed by half (+50%). This does not apply to damage dealt to undead with a cure spell. This does not stack with the Empower Spell metamagic feat.
Domain Spells: 1st—cure light wounds, 2nd—cure moderate wounds, 3rd—cure serious wounds, 4th—cure critical wounds, 5th—breath of life, 6th—heal, 7th—regenerate, 8th—mass cure critical wounds, 9th—mass heal.
Sun Domain
Granted Powers: You see truth in the pure and burning light of the sun, and can call upon its blessing or wrath to work great deeds.
Sun's Blessing (Su): Whenever you channel positive energy to harm undead creatures, add your cleric level to the damage dealt. Undead do not add their channel resistance to their saves when you channel positive energy.
Nimbus of Light (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot nimbus of light for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. This acts as a daylight spell. In addition, undead within this radius take an amount of damage equal to your cleric level each round that they remain inside the nimbus. Spells and spell-like abilities with the darkness descriptor are automatically dispelled if brought inside this nimbus. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Domain Spells: 1st—endure elements, 2nd—heat metal, 3rd—searing light, 4th—fire shield, 5th—flame strike, 6th—fire seeds, 7th—sunbeam, 8th—sunburst, 9th—prismatic sphere.

Indeo Hospice |

@DM Irthos, that makes sense. I'm looking over the spell list now and I'll have them set before we actually get into combat. I kinda just threw some up to flesh out the crunch.
1) I have already selected a diety, Irori->http://www.pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Irori I thought I had listed it in my stats but it is mentioned in my backstory.
2) I really like the benefits that merciful healer gets especially the harmful conditions I can remove along with the healing from channeling. With proper application later on I could keep the group swinging no matter what is thrown at us. I also really like the combat casting where I take no AOO's to cast healing or keep the group going.
3) I liked the way you had your skills set up so I've adopted that format.
4) Thanks for pointing this out. I had indeed intended to select extra channeling instead of selective channeling and forgot to change it.
5) I'll have my spell list fixed by the time you read this.
Thanks for checking. Anything else you see I very much appreciate the advice.
Also to anyone else, feel free to read the spoilers between Nngara and me and weigh in on the subject. Personally I feel like Indeo should be purely for support and I intend to limit the number of offensive spells and actions he possesses and uses, mostly due to his pacifistic nature. But if you guys would like I could drop the Merciful Healer variant and make him a more well rounded cleric.

Indeo Hospice |

Couple more questions to the DM. Will we be using action points in this game?
Also, I saw in the original thread you said we get 100g extra for starting wealth. I've seen several different listings as to how much starting capital we each get so I thought I'd get clarifications on exactly how much we can expect to be able to spend. So far I'm just a tad over 100g spent I believe.
@Everyone Should we have appoint a leader or just let whomever wishes to take the lead in a given situation do so? FYI our Bard, Deslin, happens to have the highest diplomacy at this point (+8).
[edit]The PRD says Cleric 4d6 × 10 gp (ave) 140 gp
I couldnt figure out how to do 4d6x10 with the dice roller automatically so here's this
4d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 6, 4) = 15*10+100=250
if anyone figures it out let me know (fyi 4d6*10 doesn't work)

Nngara Erebrian |

Indeo - check your skills - you have a bunch of knowledge skills listed with values next to them. My guess is that these are class skills so you will get +3 in them. However, unless you have a rank in them, you will not be able to use them as they are skills which require training to use (unless the DM allows otherwise). Essentially for a class skill, the first rank is worth 4 points, but is still 0 until you add the first skill point.
The way I do it is to list the skill if it is only usable trained AND it is a class skill, but I put it as +* for the value, that way I know that I cannot use it. Look at my character sheet, I have a bunch of knowledge skills which would be +8 (+5 Int, +3 Class Skill), but are unusable as I have not put skill points into them yet. I will probably add these within the next few levels, but for right now they are unusable.
Other than this, the character looks good. One note, you have 13 Charisma, as a dwarf, this required 15 Cha to start which is 7 points. Since 12 and 13 are the same, it might be beneficial to drop the starting Cha to 14 --> which would then drop to 12, and use the other 2 points in some other stat -- Dex most likely since you appear to be playing a less combative cleric.
I assume that you are not using the age variances as these would drop all your Str/Con/Dex by 6 for your age and add 3 to your Int/Wis/Cha.

Indeo Hospice |

I just finished fixing my skills right before I read your post. They should be good now.
I hadnt really considered the additional points required to get to 13 charisma. If its ok with the DM to change at this point I'll move the extra points to Dex as you suggest. That would bring me to 13 Dex, correct?
I was unaware of the age table. I thought I had read that an old dwarf was 300 or so and for flavor I wanted Indeo to appear old but have the vigor of a much younger dwarf leaving most people to wonder how old he actually was.
If the DM wants to use those rules I will readjust his age.

Nngara Erebrian |

Indeo -
For your skills, you still are including the Class Skills bonus on skills that you have no ranks in, I believe, and someone correct me if I am wrong, that you do not get the class skill bonus unless you have put at least 1 rank into them, you currently have no ranks in the following skills, but are including the Class Skills bonus
+5 Appraise (Int +2, +3 Class Skill),
+5 Linguistics (Int +2, +3 Class Skill)
+5 Spellcraft (Int +2, Class Skill +3)
See:http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/usingSkills.html
Skill Checks
When your character uses a skill, he isn't guaranteed success. In order to determine success, whenever you attempt to use a skill, you must make a skill check.
Each skill rank grants a +1 bonus on checks made using that skill. When you make a skill check, you roll 1d20 and then add your ranks and the appropriate ability score modifier to the result of this check. If the skill you're using is a class skill (and you have invested ranks into that skill), you gain a +3 bonus on the check. If you are not trained in the skill (and if the skill may be used untrained), you may still attempt the skill, but you use only the bonus (or penalty) provided by the associated ability score modifier to modify the check. Skills can be further modified by a wide variety of sources—by your race, by a class ability, by equipment, by spell effects or magic items, and so on. See Table: Skill Check Bonuses for a summary of skill check bonuses.

Indeo Hospice |

Indeo -
For your skills, you still are including the Class Skills bonus on skills that you have no ranks in, I believe, and someone correct me if I am wrong, that you do not get the class skill bonus unless you have put at least 1 rank into them, you currently have no ranks in the following skills, but are including the Class Skills bonus
Fixed :D

DM Irthos |

Absalom has plenty of city transport sense it is the biggest city in the inner sea. It does not cost much, but this does not extend outside the city where your going. The siege castle is only a few hours walk outside the city so you dont need mounts to get to it. Also Absalom has few horses sense their are no natural herds due to native centaurs seeing them as a threat to their lands and harpies eating them for easy food. Camels are the common mount of choice in Absalom, but their are alot of other kinds. Such as giant flightless birds, dogs, giant lizards, elephants, and giant vermin.

Nngara Erebrian |

Ok, for future battles if we all survive this one, what is our marching order. I say the fighter and paladin in the front, me in the middle and Devlin and Indeo in the back. Neither Indeo or Devlin are strong hand to hand, but both are much stronger if attacked than me. With only two real fighters, I say put both in the front. The other option would be to have Devlin in the front for stealth and trap detection as we do not have a true thief or ranger in the party.

Indeo Hospice |

I will take rear guard. I can't do much damage but I am well armored and intend to remain heavily armored for the duration. Besides, if all else fails there is always sanctuary, haha. I'm fine with your initial proposed marching order.
Another thing though, how long during battles are we going to wait for someone to post actions? I understand that posting tends to slow down on the weekends and I certainly don't want to step on anyone's toes but I think it might be good to set a precedent to prevent future incidents. Say, 36 hours then dmpc? Just throwin it out there.

DM Irthos |

As I said from the start I am new at DMing so if you could point me to the rule that would help. Also I rarely play melee PCs so bear with my limited knowledge of them.
I looked up the rule btw. Colyne should look it up to sense he has two weapon fighting feat, it effects your draw but in a good way.

Nngara Erebrian |

I would also like to know what happened to rolling for initiative[/ooc]
Usually in the pbp I have seen, the DM does an init roll for everyone - I did not see the roll this time, but DM Irthos did list the order in a spoiler.
.ie:
Devlin 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Nngara 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
S'skaar 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Coylne 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Indeo 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Monster 1 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Monster 2 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
.
I have no idea if these init modifiers are correct, so please do not quote them.

Indeo Hospice |

Yeah I just noticed that about CLW spell. I got it confused with channeling I think.
I was actually looking at my spell list and I think I've made a mistake with it. As a lvl 1 cleric I should get 1 level 1 spell plus 1 domain spell (which in my case having only the Healing domain would default to a CLW) plus another one from having high wisdom (at least I think its just one, I couldn't find where it lists how many you get for what wis score).
Long story short I believe that I should have 3 total spells and one of these Must be a CLW. So if you dont mind, DM, I'll go ahead and swap Doom out for CLW and if you want me to reroll so it will be 1d8+1 I will, or we can just let it sit as is.
Also, my vote for marching order is basically what Nngara posted above
Colyne
S'skaar
Nngara
Devlin
Indeo

DM Irthos |

Its called a siege castle and fortress but to me it looks like a tower. It has a small spiral staircase in the middle and four rooms set up in each direction. It also has a open roof level, look below for a rough example. You guys entererd from outside thru a fallen wall from the east.
-
-
-- R
R S R
-- R

Nngara Erebrian |

DM Irthos - do you only want us to post in order? If someone is away, or only able to post once or twice a day, this could really slow things down if there is a lot of combat. I figured post your action with one or two if/then scenarios
ie:
I attack spider 1 with my dagger
if Spider 1 is dead, then I drop my dagger and cast magic missile at Spider 2 if it is still alive.
That way combat will probably be greatly sped up.
Just a thought.

Nngara Erebrian |

DM Irthos - How do you handle Critical hits? I know the standard is that if you get a d20 roll in your crit range, you get to make a second attack roll and if it is a hit, you get a crit (double damage essentially) -- What happens if the second roll is also a crit? Or a natural 20, do you allow for another potential crit? Thus tripling, or potentially (1 in 8000, 1 in 160000, etc) quadrupling damage?
Just wondering before someone rolls a 20 on a crit.

DM Irthos |

@Nngara
If combat slows to a crawl I will change things. But as it stands I want things in order because one move does often change things. Putting down one or two options is not a valid tactic, this will hold true more and more as the game goes on and you fight enemies that use more then just basic hunting tactics.
As for crits you only get a confirm roll. Thats why they have weapon abilities like vorpal and such to cause massive or stacking dmg.

DM Irthos |

Ok ground rules for combat posting. If you dont post with in 24 hrs of your turn you will be passed over. I suggest you have someone to cover for you in such an event. I would rather avoid controlling any PC as I do have inside information.
Scar has gone over the 24 hr limit so he is being passed over. Colyne your up.
Yes I would prefer OOC things stay here as I check this thread at the same time I check the game thread so I wont miss anything if you guys are worried about that.

Nngara Erebrian |

Can someone simply do a strength check for Skaar? - Just assume that he would have attempted to break the web. That way he, and the party, is not a round behind. I will bot-play him for this battle if you want.
I know it is frustrating, but having him just sit idle as one of our front line fighters really does not help much.

DM Irthos |

Well in my exp the pace is dependent on the players and DM. I dont think I have ever known a pbp game to limit how active you are. More often it is limiting how inactive someone is. Personally I check the threads every once in a while or more depending on how active it is. Been in a very active game that burned thru 5 or so pages, so 50 post a pop thats more then 250 post by a group of people in a day.
For this game I would like at least 1/day post but you wont hear me complain if we can do more. :)