I don't see why not.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about the campaign now that you're up to date.
That's a lot of reading! Great, Scholar! Definitely dot and delete to make things simpler for you.
What are your thoughts, Kazador? Anything that you'd find useful up front? Maybe a grappling animal companion or something?
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about the campaign now that you're up to date.
It's been an awesome read. I can't even begin to count the crowning moments of awesome. All the times that I thought: surely, this is the most awesome thing I've read recently. This paragraph, this line. Except it wasn't true, because I'd been reading awesomeness in it's purest undiluted form, namely the gameplay thread of this campaign.
I read the profiles and backstories of all the characters (if you don't read the other player's backstories, it's like starting a book without reading the prologue. Seriously.) before I started, so I had as much emotional investment to them as I do to the main characters of a well-written book. Cyrus Lem's came like a suprise bucket of ice water and I was forcefully reminded that this was a game of Pathfinder, not a novel. There was no plot armor for good people with tragic pasts. My expectations were also colored by the fact that I'd already seen current party: I knew that Vors and Hirda weren't in it. At the time I didn't know that they retired the characters for INR reasons, I hadn't seen the second recruitment thread. So I was 100% sure that Hirda was going to die defending the river approach with her husband and her son, and every time that Vors through himself into harm's way to protect the others at the gate, I was thinking "This is it. This is where Vors dies." Pretty much the whole read (at least, before the party left Brookside) I saw them as martyrs walking.
When Vors survived the orcs' attack, I wasn't relieved. Instead, I was certain he'd lose his duel against Halak! Fortunately for my overwrought nerves it was at that point in my read-through that Perrin linked me to the second recruitment thread for the character generation rules, and I found out that Vors would be staying in Brookside as others further embroiled themselves in the intrigue.
Hm. Rereading what I've written, I've noticed my tendency to prattle in full effect. You probably don't need a blow-by-blow account of the campaign; y'all wrote it!
Now that I'm current, it's looking to me like being referred by the Bishop would be an easy way to introduce a character. He seems like a genuinely stand-up guy, though I suppose he could have ~15 ranks in bluff we don't know about. Class-wise, I'm leaning heavily towards a Medium. Have a bit of an idea for the character, too. There's lot's of role-playing potential in a character who channels ghosts. I've also never gotten the chance to play one before, so that's exciting and new!
Afore I finalize anything about the build, though, I'd also like Kazador's take on what'd be helpful!
My take is simple. PbPs live or die based on player and GM investment. If you play a character you enjoy, then everything goes well. If you don't? It goes south.
I'm also (and this may come as a shock) not a big believer in all roles having to be filled. I'm in one campaign that is fighter only. There are big issues, but nothing that can't be overcome. I'm starting another that is paladin only. I'm sure that the party will also stumble over many things (I'm guessing anything knowledge/skill related will smack us hard). But no matter what, it'll be fun. And likely more fun than having a fighter/barbarian/cleric/wizard/rogue/bard party, where every party role has a specialist.
So you want to play a medium? Great! We'll make it work.
---
Also DM_Scholar, this is Iorskan from your kingmaker campaign. Glad to see you here!
In case you missed it, I never posted Mel's full background on her disguised-as-a-human profile. Much of it was secret at first, though it's basically all out now.
The full thing can be found on this profile I'm posting from.
Glad to hear it's enjoyable to read! Cyrus' backstory did draw me into the character much more than most so I was definitely hit by his death as well. I also though Hirda would die with her entire family there... Was a pretty rough skirmish.
I'll PM you about some ideas with the Bishop.
I agree with Kazador about party roles. We'll handle everything no matter what. But since you wanted ideas, I just wanted to make sure no one felt like their area was being crowded. That said, sounds like medium will work very well.
In case you missed it, I never posted Mel's full background on her disguised-as-a-human profile.
I actually read the profiles of all the current party members before heading off to page one to read the game. ... hm. Does that mean that the other players didn’t know that Mel was an elf at first?
My take is simple. PbPs live or die based on player and GM investment.
We’re of like mind! I was just having a hard time thinking of a character who fit the mood of the campaign, so I wanted restraints to trim down the amount of things I had to consider.
Also DM_Scholar, this is Iorskan from your kingmaker campaign. Glad to see you here!
I was glad to see you too! I’m a bit more forum savvy then I was back when I opened recruitment for the Kingmaker game, I know to check aliases to see who’s behind them now. X)
I'll PM you about some ideas with the Bishop.
Awesome!
Does that mean that the other players didn’t know that Mel was an elf at first?
That's right! There wasn't exactly a big reveal as clues to her identity leaked out slowly over time while the characters were really in the thick of some big things but it did complicate matters!
And here I thought they were just good at keeping character/player knowledge separate!
I'd just like to say that I really liked the storytelling in the inn scene. Props all round.
Agreed. That was good stuff.
I'd just like to say that I really liked the storytelling in the inn scene. Props all round.
It is moments like that which distinguish adventurers from murder hobos.
Leaving some rolls here for the GM.
Sorry for the delay here, my bookstore post is half-written. I often sneak in a bit of writing at work, but today the stars did not align, and now I get to go GM a session, so it'll be later this evening or sometime tomorrow.
Sounds good, Mel.
My character is largely done, stats-wise. (Though I'm still in the process of making seven more character sheets to help me keep all his different class features straight; I'm in love with the absurd complexity of the Medium class, it makes me happy on a spiritual level even as it absorbs all of the time I have free to work on such things.) The alias I'm posting with is still an incomplete mess, though.
As a Relic Channeler Medium, I get two spells of first, second, and third level off of the sorcerer/wizard or the cleric spell list that I can cast while I'm channeling the Archmage or Heirophrant, respectively. Once I make the decisions they're cast in stone, so I thought I'd ask the four of you for advice. One of the second level Archmage spells is going to be false life (to save my melee bacon and make up for my putting my pointbuy in more exciting stats than CON), but besides that I don't know what spells to take. Thoughts?
And, a question for the DM since I'm already here. What languages would be useful to know? My character wound up with seven ranks in linguistics so that I could use the Occult skill unlock, but I don't know what languages are most common on the Continent. (Besides common, that is. Common is the most common.)
Blessing of Fervor is a useful level 3 cleric spell. It's sort of the clerical equivalent of Haste, plus some stuff. The ability to allow your allies to apply certain metamagics to spells for free is particularly handy for dealing with areas of magical silence. Mel would gain no particular benefit from that use, as her only three spells are SLAs anyway, but it could be helpful for Perrin and Kazador.
Feather Fall, perhaps. It's situational ... but when you need it, you tend to really, really need it.
I don't think we've really addressed languages beyond the basic racial defaults -- elves speak elven, dwarves speak dwarven, etc.
Blessing of fervor would be great, but I think it's level 4. Fortunately we should be okay with silence and such, since Perrin's got a rod for it now and Kazador's casting works as SLAs too.
That said, haste itself wouldn't be a bad pick, though it's level 2 on the medium list so you might want to just take it as a normal spell and grab invisibility with the archmage spirit. Or slow could be nice, especially since we've got a whole bunch of tanglefoot bags to use as power components.
Feather fall is great, but I'm not sure whether you can take the free action to enter a spirit dance while falling.
If you want another long-duration spell to help shore up your hp you could consider protection from arrows or defending bone.
Do you have a specific theme in mind? It's hard to make recommendations over such a broad space of possibilities. I'm noticing a couple spells for mental influence and deception, and the wizard list has plenty of options for that: charm person, sow thought, detect thoughts, major image, etc. And if your gearing toward buffs you could go with some of the classics, like bless, heroism, prayer, or magic circle against evil.
Looked up medium. Cried. Went back to fighter.
Anyways...welcome!
Ah yes, you're correct -- Blessing of Ferver is level 4. My bad.
I really have no idea what mediums are like. I've never even read the class. So this'll be interesting.
Yes mediums are wacko. Perrin made a gestalt medium/barbarian in one of my other games that can easily do ~130 dpr on a full attack. So I keep things interesting by making sure he only gets full attacks every now and then. ;)
Yes the main racial languages could all come in handy. I'll PM you a few other suggestions of what may or may not be useful.
Looked up medium. Cried. Went back to fighter.
Heh. I understand the sentiment . . .
That said, haste itself wouldn't be a bad pick, though it's level 2 on the medium list so you might want to just take it as a normal spell and grab invisibility with the archmage spirit.
When I cast invisibility, I'll likely want to combo it with the Trickster spirit, which is why I decided to know it as a Medium spell. I think I'll swap out suggestion for haste, though. Only get two second level spells a day, so I'll save them for when they count, I suppose.
Do you have a specific theme in mind? It's hard to make recommendations over such a broad space of possibilities. I'm noticing a couple spells for mental influence and deception, and the wizard list has plenty of options for that: charm person, sow thought, detect thoughts, major image, etc. And if your gearing toward buffs you could go with some of the classics, like bless, heroism, prayer, or magic circle against evil.
I don't have much of a theme, which is the problem. In fights, I'll usually be channeling a different spirit than the Archmage or Heirophant, so there's no real point in learning spells that are useful in combat. I suppose what I want in spells are situational things like condition removal, general utility, and buffs that last long enough that I can cast them at the start of the day; but each one of those will take a round of my spirit dance.
I adore these overly complicated classes in theory, but the decision paralysis gets me, especially in character generation.
I don't mind complexity in building a PC, but I'm not a fan of PCs that are complicated to run. One of my longest-playing PCs I got up to level 18, and it had ... let's see ... 7 levels of wizard, 1 level of Sleepless Detective, and 10 levels of Arcane Trickster, plus I went VMC rogue. So the build was not exactly straightforward and required some planning.
But in play it was very simple. I would become invisible and sneak attack things with rays. There's nothing quite like the joy of sneak attacking with Disintegrate. Sadly I never got to sneak attack anyone with Meteor Swarm, because that last level was granted after the last fight of the campaign, and the PC was one caster level behind a full wizard. So I only got ninth-level spells in the epilogue.
That character sounds amazingly fun to play
For mapping fun, if you find a full body image of your character you’d like to use, share it with me and I’ll remove the background so we can use that on the map from now on. Totally optional but I think it’ll look cool.
So does anyone want to do something with this mirror or basement or wardrobe? Maybe take a pickle while you're down here?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A wardrobe? Oh, that accounts for it! The kid's just wandered off into Narnia. Don't worry, he'll be fine.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oh yeah. Narnia's very safe.
Ooo, a Mirror Hideaway spell, eh? I've not seen that one before.
How interesting that it doesn't specify a method to get out of the mirror. I mean, other than waiting for the spell to expire, which isn't an option on a permanencied one.
I mean, you'd think creatures who walk in should be able to walk out. But it never actually says that, and anyway this one is apparently malfunctioning anyway, so all bets are off.
Do you think David might be trapped in the mirror?
I’m not sure how he’d’ve gotten past the never-before-moved furniture, but this was the last room he was seen in.
There was supposedly space for a kid to slip behind the wardrobe... what I'm wondering is if something came through and took him.
Hadn’t thought of that. Shyt that’s creepy
I think he's in the mirror.
There was supposedly space for a kid to slip behind the wardrobe...
Somehow missed that. This is why we don't post at eleven o'clock at night, self.
If this were a regular magic mirror spell, smashing the mirror would let everyone out with no more harm than some nausea. But with the mirror malfunctioning and all the bets being off, it's probably not the risk.
I'm kind of hoping to get Perrin's reaction to his finger being stuck before proceeding. I wonder what's up. He usually posts very regularly, but there hasn't been a peep out of him since Wednesday.
Sorry, I've been super busy, I'll get a post up soon.
My latest post has a throwaway line about maybe the Bishop knows somebody who can deal with magic, and Kazador or Kelian could go ask for such assistance. That might be a good way to introduce Captain Muse.
He is trained in Arcana.
It also gives me a deadline to finish the character. Which is a good thing. I work best with a deadline. Which is to say, I work when I have a deadline.
https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html
I'm pushing you into action, Brolin! Focus on the story elements for now and figure out the crunch when you can. Hopefully I've given you enough of an idea where you stand right now that you can improvise your way into the story. I'll PM you with a couple more suggestions. You don't have to leap in immediately. Just giving you the option.
I'm enjoying this party split, at the moment, though it certainly gives me more simultaneous work to do! :)
Quite the split it is, too! We're apparently split across two or maybe three different planes of existence. That's pretty definitively split.
I’ll have a post up on Monday!
Yes it is, Mel!
Sounds great, Brolin!
Oh dear. I hope the guy in his '50s isn't David, all grown up due to a time-dilation effect. It would really through the campaign for a loop if half the party was gone for a few minutes only to discover they'd actually been gone several years.
No such worries. I'm not intending to wreck this campaign. That would be an interesting twist, however!
The typical adventurer would, I think, jump at the plot hook on account of it being a plot hook. But . . . and I don't mean to be difficult, but Captain Muse isn't an adventurer. He's gotten an audience with the bishop, so he'd really rather not leave the lobby, and on top of that the actual authorities are already involved. He certainly wouldn't want to get in their way.
I did, however, write up more about Brolin's history and motivations. I've got a pretty solid idea for the character now . . . somewhat a pity that it's a character who minds their own business.
No problem! I appreciate the dedication to your character. You and I will craft a better plot hook for him but I wanted that to be an opportunity if that was the kind of hook Brolin would take.
Hey GM, alright if I take Improved Familiar so Ev can reveal her secret identity as a quasit in bat form?
Perrin's alignment doesn't match, but with the Haagenti connection it seems very appropriate.
Level up notes:
1) Gained level 7 of unchained rogue (phantom thief).
2) Gained 7 hp (5 from hit die, 1 CON, 1 favored class).
3) Gained 10 regular and 2 background skill points, spent thus:
Regular:
+2 Heal
+6 Knowledge (planes)
+1 Stealth
+1 Perception
Background:
+1 Craft (bows)
+1 Knowledge (Nobility)
4) Class features:
Social Sense increased to +2 (Bluff, Sense Motive, and initiative for rounds involving surprise based on bluff or sense motive).
Lastly, I get a feat and a new Refined Education skill. These are redacted for dramatic effect. The GM knows what's up.
GM, Mel took 6 damage during the mirror bridge scene, then gained 6 more hp from level. Can I assume she's only six down from her new max and will heal up naturally with a night's rest?
Lvl 7...last level before PrC!
Feat: Divine Obedience Torag (+1 Hit hammers)
Class: Elementalist Shifter (1)!!!
HP: +10
Saves: +2 Fort/Ref
Skills: +4 Diplomacy
Elemental Speech (gains the benefit of tongues with creatures of the earth elemental subtype )
Minor: Swift action +2 Con, 4 min/day. Usable in 1 min increments
Elemental Strike: Swift action +1d6 acid damage for round
Kazador is 1 lvl away from being a sentinel of Torag. Was very excited to find this archetype. This should provide a nice damage boost. While water was better mechanically, earth fits the character better.
Yes Perrin, that is fitting.
Looking forward to it, Mel. Yes to natural healing topping you off.
Awesome, Kazador.
Cool stuff all around.
Heyo, so, half of you already know this, but my posting might be fairly limited until next Saturday. ‘Course, my posting was already pretty limited, on account of not being in the game yet. But it’s good form to post these things in all of the discussion threads, right? In retrospect, I probably should have typed up a fully general notification and copy pasted it. Ah well.
I’ll still be reading everything, and I’ll post when I’ve something to say.
I’m not good at writing conclusions. I guess now ... I just stop talking? Yeah, that’ll work.