Dawn of the material plane

Game Master fictionfan

Hi I have altered Sal a little to fit in with my idea of how she works within the party and her skill set.
I wanted to explain where her 'luck' came from, so I have made her

G1=Psion-Dual Disciple Seer + Telepath L20
G2=Cryptic L20
Advanced template CR1
Psionic AI Artificial-Intelligence Template CR1

Her ML takes a hit of -1 on none discipline powers
But now she can really see a little into the future by means of
Cognitive extrapolation of probability's hence her luck.
She also known when there being scryed on etc.

Strengths: Divination focus to the max. Scrying and the like. Plenty of arcane versatility and huge knowledges(+65 on all).

Weakness: Cannot melee.

Huge knowledges wow that is good,
My 48 Int PC feels a we bit dumb around you guys.

All she can do is max one Kn roll a day at +88 Roll Twice pick best.
After that is +81 while her PP hold out.
Then down to a Flat +48

But my idea for her now is she is a Hyper Intelligent precog,
Seeing a little into the future and the past.
Not my means of magic but metaphysical Mathematical Extrapolation, thingy.
Think 'Mentat' From DUNE and you have her.

========

On another note just spotted this scary power

Seer (Clairsentience) Discipline Powers -> Metafaculty Power

Metafaculty can defeat spells, powers, and special abilities such as screen or mind blank (or even a wish spell) that normally obscure clairsentience powers. You can attempt a manifester level check (DC 6 + manifester or caster level of the creator of the obscuring effect, as appropriate) to defeat these sorts of otherwise impervious defenses.

Metafaculty is defeated by epic powers, epic spells, and epic special abilities that obscure divinations and clairsentience powers.

So while I can't see a god, I think they class as Epic,
lets hope none of them have this power and takes note of us.

We need Epic/Mythic Bared mind asap

GM err Epic Artefacts, say one for each of us that holds Epic Bared mind, if not your all powerful gods will know of us if they are as you say they are. ;(

Happy Greatest Day In History everybody!

I hope you all have a great holiday today; it only comes around once a year.

Happy Greatest Day In History everybody!

I hope you all have a great holiday today; it only comes around once a year.

?

Happened to see something about today being when Michigan was founded, but that would be a stretch IMO.

I think you're doing yourself a horrible disservice trying to quantify yourself under the normal standards of adventuring Sundakan.

I'll explain when I get home from the movie. But ultimately I've discovered that trying to build an adventurer under these kidns of rules is somewhat fruitless.

?....

.

What, you think it's the greatest day in the history of the universe because it's Douglas MacArthur's birthday?
Or even Wayne Gretsky's?

Or Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rogers, Ellen Degeneres, Vince Carter, Gideon Stahlberg, Gedion Zelalem, Sebastian Giovinco, Philip Jose Farmer, Paul Newman, David Straitharn, or Eddie Van Halen!

Nope, none of those birthdays compare to REAL greatness of today!

Saying that lets help the GM out here, Guys.

I have played in some mad level games, with all manner of things.

So I set you all a challenge,

No Epic or Mythic nasty-ness.

Can you build a changeling bad as Big-bad for this party,

CR120 as your pool.
That could be one mad bad a*s at CL 120 or lots of bads added up.
Take your pick, the The Objective it to make a challenge for the party, not a 'Rock Falls you all die' Big bad etc.

It/they can have levels, It can have templates, monster classes
No 3ed party stuff, same sources as us.

If you wish you can add in a bit of plot, a Mcguffin we need, one we have to take alive, the holy book. Artefact, or save the city.

You name it, Points for
-: Invention [out of 10]
-: Creativity [out of 10]
-: Bad aasness [out of 10]
-: challenge [out of 10]

Any lurkers You can offer up as well.

Put your challenge under Spoiler once you think its ready to post here.

Deadline is 12 days say, we can always extend that.

Once we have one we like we ask the GM to fit in it.

What ya think?
GM would that be OK with you?

Um, I am not an expert on crunch -- especially at high levels. (It was hard enough to build my PC.)

That's ok W E Ray its for the mad out of use who like crazy making stuff like that.

Happy Greatest Day In History everybody!

I hope you all have a great holiday today; it only comes around once a year.

Happy Australia Day Mate!

It's Australia's birthday, too?!
;)

Happy B-day WER ;0)

and this slowed up fast, I think we may have a game stall GM.

Saying that lets help the GM out here, Guys.

I have played in some mad level games, with all manner of things.

So I set you all a challenge,

No Epic or Mythic nasty-ness.

Can you build a changeling bad as Big-bad for this party,

CR120 as your pool.
That could be one mad bad a*s at CL 120 or lots of bads added up.
Take your pick, the The Objective it to make a challenge for the party, not a 'Rock Falls you all die' Big bad etc.

It/they can have levels, It can have templates, monster classes
No 3ed party stuff, same sources as us.

If you wish you can add in a bit of plot, a Mcguffin we need, one we have to take alive, the holy book. Artefact, or save the city.

You name it, Points for
-: Invention [out of 10]
-: Creativity [out of 10]
-: Bad aasness [out of 10]
-: challenge [out of 10]

Any lurkers You can offer up as well.

Put your challenge under Spoiler once you think its ready to post here.

Deadline is 12 days say, we can always extend that.

Once we have one we like we ask the GM to fit in it.

What ya think?
GM would that be OK with you?

Sounds cool

Think I have my new Feats laid out.

Point Blank Shot
Precise Shot
Improved Disruption
One Pattern
Vital Strike
Deadly Aim
Devastating Strike
Expanded Knowledge: Planar Travel
Imp. Vital Strike
Imp. Precise Shot

Also found a sweet new Discovery that will help me add something to the crew, and I took that. Sleeper Agent.

I'm not sure yet whether I want to keep Cryptic, swap to Marksman, or something else.

Disrupt Pattern is a HUGE damage boost for a single shot, and I like my Eternal Tattoo and Powers.

I don't know if any class can do the "One shot, one kill" thing better than someone who can lay down something like 6d8+15+10d6+29 on a hit (plus potential 10d6 Sneak Attack with Greater Invis or Stealth).

Ad it gets better when mythic comes in, of course. Though not being able to take Greater Vital Strike puts a crimp in that. So I guess in the long term I lose a bit of damage.

That! is a great find Sundakan, we will most definitely be using that.

See even the GM likes my Mad idea,
So who's up for fun.

I am thinking,

The Hidden

The Demon we'er after is using a Simulacrum host on the prime, Its true form is locked away inside a pocked Dimension.

So we have to get past here Followers and then go thought Six Demi plane rooms full of CR120 of Badness each.

re have to keep the cult intact because we need them later.

Assassins Giuld are her followers V Leadership witch is maxed.

Their mooks, BUT we have to get past all 250 of them with out upsetting the city.
Once past and in the middle of the building is 1st of 5 gates, each leading to a Demi plane room, to get past the gate we have to pay it with Magic or power, 1 level 9 power spells worth.

Once past we hit room one.

So that is room one, next player, what is in room 2?

GM gets to fill the last room, where the Demon is hiding.

Tempted to take a class with more Bonus Feats just so I can fit in Overwatch Style.

Can you Ready a Vital Strike?

Yes. But, IMA give you some much needed advivice when I get home. At work ATM.

So to explain my cryptic b@*!$!$# earlier proposing that you go to be a ranged specialist is kind of silly.

Your primary complain is that you lack agency. Turning from a melee to a ranged specialist does not solve your problem. You just go from complaining about not being able to do anything as a melee character to not being able to do anything as a ranged character.

Essentially your issue won't be solved by switching out feats and classes from one combat character to another. You need to figure out what you can do both combat and narrative wise.

I think you were fine either way combat wise. Being Arkon's match or Ven's inferior is somewhat subjective at this point as we have no idea how they'll play out in combat. There's more to it than raw numbers at the start.

Point being is your fussing over what you see on the sheets without realizing everything you can do. Or everything you could potentially do. and you won't solve the problem if you just switch from one style to another without first addressing your actual problem.

Right now you have a great start by being an alchemist. That means you can give out buffs to people they can spend with their own action. And more importantly you can give out personal targeting buffs like Shield, various shape change spells and what not. You can also go for Feral Alchemist which let's you snatch mutagen for pounce.

So what about your second class?

Welp, let's take a look at what your character is and how they affect the world then drag that into a world altering context.

For example the robot is a telepathic technician, Ven is a warrior and necromancer, Arkon is a physical exemplar and druid, then of course we've got our wizard pair because WIZARRRDDD.

Tk-Chtik is a transhumanist.

Sort of.

So my thinking?

Brownfur transmuter or egoist psion. Both options still let you get that all important planar travel. It also gives you something to do that the other currently don't really do. Alter life in weird and interesting ways. Your base stats wouldn't need to change. You'd get an equal amount of capacity to do things as the others without having to worry about stepping on toes or repeating anything.

More importantly you'd get your hands on methods and things we don't have access to. Clones, permanent alterations to critters, things that might actually be handy in the context that we're looking at. You can even walk around as living proof of your thoughts as you shift into the shape you need for the job (or other people) and do so flawlessly.

Just some thoughts. In this kind of game we're not adventurers. We're conquerors who operate on grand scales. The game should feel more like Exalted by this point as there are few things we can actually fail without meeting beings of equivalent power.

I have to agree with TarkXT there he's put the time in an thought it throw, its a great possibility he has set out.

Those were my original thoughts, but I guess I kinda got swept up in the whole "perch on rooftops and remove our enemies through walls" thing.

@ Sundakan,

I'm curious what it was that originally drew you to the Recruitment.

For me, I wanted to finally play high level gestalt (instead of DM) and I reasonably liked the campaign premise.

By the time I found that tri-stalt Planescape Recruitment, which I really loved the idea for, it was already well over 300 posts and I didn't want to show up late -- so I was way stoked to find this one early in Recruitment.

But my big fear was that most gamers interested in this campaign were going to be Mega-Powergamers. I was confident that I could make a strong high-level Wizard but I had no notion of what other Classes & builds would be introduced to make my PC a weak sister. (I initially was going Wizard/ Synthesist Summoner.)

Now, I still have no real idea if my PC is strong enough to last with you guys once we start fighting those CR 25-and-up baddies but I guess I assumed all the other PCs were going to be smashingly powerful.

If you didn't get drawn to the Recruitment as a powergamer, what was it that brought you here?

again, just mildly curious

I liked what I can thought was the concept at the time. Like a Clash of the Titans sort of deal that culminates in a good ol' fashioned god slayin'.

That is...not this game.

Plus, yeah, 20th level games are few and far between, and Gestalt allows fir characters not normally playsble.

I think I may execute my semi-original plan and make a Master of Many Forms. That, really, is what the Xixchil are all about.

I must admit, I'm curious as to what kind of campaign you think this is, then.
I had (and still have) the impression that that's exactly what is going to happen here.
I actually really love both Clash and Wrath of the Titans (the newer ones, because well, special effects), and that's what drew me here, personally anyway.

(Of course, Ozil, Ven does consider himself the most "smashingly powerful". Mostly because he's good at smashing things. It's kind of his specialty.)

Speaking of which, can I not slay all the guards, soldiers, and leaders of this wretched hive of scum and villainy and just take over already?
We're impersonating a demon lord, not Norgorber.

"These petty games of lies and secrets bore me. I want to be killing stuff already!" and other such well-phrased statements.

Ven's probably losing what he has left of his mind and sanity waiting for something, anything at all, to happen (which isn't much to start with, honestly).

I must admit, I'm curious as to what kind of campaign you think this is, then.

So far? It seems more of an intrigue, long term puppeteering game.

If anything, that'd be my closest thing to a "complaint".
I came here to kill the gods, dammit, why am I standing in a forest in the River Kingdoms above a tree playing in the dirt?

Also, DM input could be a bit better. We don't really have much information to go on, story or setting wise.
Not intended to be a crack at you, DM, just input into how I feel the game is going.

We do need more from the DM.

It's mostly the one or two sentence replies that are getting me.

I'm trying to figure out why he's only giving that much information; combining a few spelling errors that could be easily overlooked with the very short posts makes me wonder if he either doesn't have enough time to make full posts, or isn't happy with the path we've decided to take, or something else entirely.

Perhaps he will tell us what's going on?

I'm not posting again until we get a longer post from the GM, helping us out. I think we are all starting to get the feeling need more than a few lines

I am really sorry about the lack of input. This is my first game that I have tried to run without an adventure path.

Personally I don't really know how to go about increasing my input. I am sorry for wasting everyones time.

Make some stuff up, basically.

Give us a character to talk to. Something to fight. Pull something out of your ass; It gets easier with time.

I thought someone was going to come to the assassin's guild and find the cult leader with me.

GM, if you wanted a more focused campaign, the Test of the Starstone thing might have enough content for quite a long portion of the game.

Apparently, the Test doesn't even BEGIN until you navigate the cathedral deathtraps, according to someone's summary of AP #100.

That might satisfy some "kill s!$#" itch that an alarming number of us seem to have, while easing the burden of a high level intrigue campaign from your shoulders.

Yes, we passed this by before because reasons, but it's not like retcons never happened before.

I am really sorry about the lack of input. This is my first game that I have tried to run without an adventure path.

Personally I don't really know how to go about increasing my input. I am sorry for wasting everyones time.

Dos this mean your saying you can't do this or your don't know how to do this' if the latter look what I posted as a challenge at the assassins giuld just aset of room each with big bads in. Then starstone test mod. I think there is an outline somewhere.

If your saying your GM skills are not up to this then I offer my help as another sub=DM I have already talked to DB about it.

Other players how do you feel about me helping out the GM,
Don't worry I want to all Marry Jane PC on you.
I'll NPC her if needs be

Eh, I think I can see where the problem is.

You're used to a fairly narrow style where the path is laid out.

Here agency is entirely upon the players who lay the tracks out in front and you have to fill in the scenery and characters as we go.

Worse you're dealing with mechanics and power levels you have a hard time grasping.

Liek Mallichatti and Risa are having trouble with a lich and his horde of skellies.

Whereas Arkon punches hard enough to wipe out the skellie horde with the blast wave. Those guys are hapless adventurers. Arkon is a walking druidic WMD.

Thankfully, you're in a pbp setting where you can b*%+#%~% quite a bit more easily than otherwise. I had to run this sort of thing with a real group helped only slightly more by being half this level.

So here's what you need to do.

Roll with it. We're at a level and capability where we can accomplish pretty much anything that is statted. In another game wiht a level 17 shaman/alchemist I quite literally created my own jungle paradise plane for my people wiht my own flesh.

Basically what I'm saying is, the mundane s&~$ like crossing a pit trap, fighting a tribe of orcs, or talking to a merchant are so far below us that it doesn't even need to be mentioned.

So try to keep the plot points significant. Us going through the city? Insignificant. Finding and dealing with the assassin's guild? More significant.

Ven killing random wildlife coming by? Insignificant. The local fey getting incredibly terrified and informing the local royalty that there's a f~#!ing graveknight just sitting in the woods with his twin soul eating devourers whining about needing things to murder? More significant.

Basically look at this as the freedom to go ham and accept that the players can and will go ham. Let it happen adn see where it goes. Worst case scenario: Arkon succeeds in a hard reboot of the universe.

Adapt other people's work; Listen, unless you have in mind some crazy tristalt critter yourself don't bother. Jsut grab completed gestalt character sheets from the various recruitment threads and there you go. Things that can actually challenge us.

Need something monstrous? Grab some high level monsters and chuck some mythic ranks or templates on them. Take a look at the actual high level critters and see what fast tempaltes you can slap on to make them that much tougher. Ancient red dragon? Meh. Alacritous Advanced Ancient Red dragon? Scarier.

Just a quick look tells me we can feasibly take on CR24 critters without too much trouble. I don't doubt we could take on Achaekak himself if we had to.

Go nuts When one of my gestalt mythic players simply jumped off of mount celestia to follow in Asmodeus's descent from Heaven I desribed his entire journey through all seven layers of the plane, through the astral and straight down through all nine planes of baator.

This group is even nuttier. I wasn't joking when I said we operate on a massive scale. You have to think that we have a guy who is flying invisibly over the city using a magical dragnet. cities are big, we're talking thousands of crowded people and critters. He can just do that. Arkon cast a spell that told him everything of significance in 2,000 miles.

That's the size of North America.

Once you take that kind of thing into account you get an idea of the scale we're talking. You will have a hard time getting too big against that.

Don't be afraid to flip the table on us and force us to scramble up it in bullet time to prevent from getting underneath it. Maybe the four horseman unite against us and force us to act in person. Maybe I have to turn into a g!@!%#n pterodactly to chuck some a!~~~@! halfling straight into a volcano.

Hope that helps. You have the convenience of time since you can take literally hours between posts if you so choose. I've gotta wing it seconds at a time against a guy who manages to define CN in real life.

I really could use the help. Also thanks for the advice TarkXT.

Then you shall have it, I mean it, as players and I think I speak for all of us, we really want this game to work. At 20th level, the players AND GM have to make the game. None of us are new hands to this and that is a bank of Know-how that can be at your beck and call.

Ill send you a PM later outlining some ways you could go from here.
Ill CC DB as well.

I, for one, have no issue with you "leaving" us, Johnny, if you're willing to help co-GM. Or did you mean you'd still be playing as well as DM-ing?

Perhaps the three of you could set up a common GM account here, and we could restart on a thread attached to that account? That way, any of the three of you could post from the account, moving the story along.
Whatever makes it work, honestly, is fine by me.

Without rehashing what has already been said, I would add that it's okay, and probably a good idea, to take a week or so if you need it to think things through and get something designed -- small scale. We can start "playing" the campaign in mid February if we have to.

I figured that when you said Ozil knew of a powerful cult of Szuriel somewhere in the River Kingdoms that that was code for "you had some stuff ready for us in the River Kingdoms," or at least had DMed quite a bit there and that you were leading us there "by our choice" because you were prepared.

That, by the way, is a great tool: the magician's force. If you know a location really well, say, in the Darklands, where you want a CR 25 Szurielian High Priest to fight us then, instead of just telling us where to go, make it seem as though we choose to go there on our own accord -- we find a clue or we have an idea, ....that you answer leads us to your prized location.

Also, there's no harm in starting with a "small" combat. Reflavor a published CR 23 monster and a couple CR 20 mooks and see how we do. Call a Solar Angel a Szurielian War Knight and paint it black and brown; we're not going to know that it has the EXACT same stats as the Angel. Throw in two repainted Frumious Bandersnatches and an Immolation Devil, calling them Szurielite HorsemanLords, and we'll try to make them our bi+ch.
Take a day going over what they can do in a fight before we roll initiative. If we mop the floor with them, that's okay. It's going to be a learning process for all of us; we have to get a handle on what our PCs can do outside of theory. If it's a really tough fight then we'll learn that.

Meanwhile, if you're completely out of your depth in the River Kingdoms, tell us we learn the cult has left -- make us follow the trail to a place seemingly of our choice that you are ready for.

Finally, communicate with Metagame Knowledge. It's okay to say you need a couple days to prep something. It's good to say that you made an error in some detail and are trying to think of a way to rectify it.

@ W E Ray, all helpful but I think the Powergaming DM is saying he's having a hard time running a free style [Invested] game over a set module W E Ray, time away is not whats being asked for, its help in working out how to do thing.

@Ven'atorix
I'm a long standing GM who has never run a module as is and has in most cases just 'Made it up as I went along' so I've got a lot of experience and my hope was to help Powergaming DM work out where to go. As a Co-GM I would keep my PC in game bit shift her to NPC while doing some GMing for the rest of you.

I had a think and I think I know where to go from here for you guys, and a means to move things along.

But I don't want to do anything until Powergaming DM Green lights it.

Greenlight

thanks Powergaming DM,
OK could all players and Gms please report here

The Divinity War Project

I am going to NPC my PC and use her as a starting point for you guys.

Your PCs stay the same, they will change but you will get that IN game.

So head over, post in recruitment and discussion.

You will get a chance to redesign your PC,

the setting will be close to this but with sum changes.

Okay, guys.
First, I do want to apologize to Johnny...Panic. I didn't mean for what I said to sound rude or insulting, if it did sound like either. I was just saying I wouldn't be playing in the tech-Golarion you imagined.
I'm sure plenty of people would love to do exactly that, Johnny, why don't you start a new recruitment for it?

@Group: what are we thinking at this point?
Post to recruitment asking for a new DM to take it over?
Get some friend to run it?
Abandon the idea?

I'd love to get a new DM, but that's a hard sell I think. This is the kind of game that takes a looot of effort to run.

Worth a shot though.

Thats OK I made the assumption you would all be ok with my idea and that was a mistake, I should have flouted it 1st, Have fun with how this gos, all the best, Jonny.

Recruitment post posted! (I used this thread, assuming that was okay).

So is our PowergamingDM for sure not running this anymore?

So is our PowergamingDM for sure not running this anymore?

Ya Sorry.

She is made and done, all very nice, feelings and no high tech