DM Delmoth's Strange Aeons (Inactive)

Game Master Delmoth

I've got 2 spare languages, any notable gaps or good shared languages?

I already have common, infernal, aklo, and draconic.

Necril has come up in the past for research. Currently, we're in Qadira, where the locals speak kelish (as do Mara and Dervak). Mara and Theo know sign language (to communicate with a former PC).

Jabbing Style! DEX is Damage!

Theo--and The White Rabbit--are not concerned with those ideals. The White Rabbit knows that he is more Intelligent than most humanoids...lol!

Theo does Summon Monster as his offensive bit to participate in flexing. He isn't particularly attached to any at the moment; but he does fancy devils and demons.

Theo is insane and chaotic....ask his friends!

Everybody knows the The White Rabbit is the moral compass.

Everybody knows the The White Rabbit is the moral compass.

Best he keep chasing it then, and see how deep it goes.

Not a legal build so... still tweaking. I just noticed the silly amount of prerequisites.

@ DM Delmoth is this the next morning that we will be finding ourselves? Full power and all that?

You've taken 2 full days for rest is my understanding.

@Delmoth, what do you think about Versatile Channeling since I've got good, evil, and then some neutral who can do either within the Godclaw pantheon? Also, how do you feel about Variant Channeling? Thoughts/opinions from the rest of you appreciated as well.

Versatile channeling is fine. If you're planning on negative energy bursting in combat probably a good idea to pick up selective channeling. Variant channeling is also fine, not sure what you should take if you do.

Delmoth, would it be reasonable to have a bit of background (like, in what little I've played so far) to represent having followed the case a little bit or would it be better to be coming in "cold?"

I’ll write a little something explaining how you got to where you are when I get to making a new in game post.

Will WARDED AGAINST NATURE cause a problem?

If you do end up taking this please remind me when I mess it up.

Let me know if I missed one.

@Delmoth,
I added Endure Elements and Ward Against Nature as my always-active conditions. I might buy some crap with my remaining few hundred bucks, but aside from that I’m ready.

Updated! Now just the little matter of updating my backstory.

@Delmoth, I went with the halfling I mentioned this morning. Wasn’t sure I’d have time to adjust race, so I re-statted Li and just made racial and size adjustments. Same stats, different point-buy (s:3, d:7, c:5, i:2, w:5, ch:-2).

Thanks, all for the tips, especially you, Dervak. I think I’ll enjoy a dex monk!

I wrote a background—not my most exciting stuff, but enough for me to play off of.

It hints that Pocky joins Allegra and Ci-Ci after the two had already met (which is technically true).

Apologies to Sister Li, but kindly boot her, Delmoth.

I audited myself and discovered that I need Combat Expertise for Greater Trip. I might even want to play Feat Tetris and move that to Lv.1 just to be sure. (Y’know, in case it’s a prerequisite for leveling from 1 to 2.)

That feat must hold a record for most-purchased and also least-used.

Dirty Fighting is a nice option to qualify for Greater Trip; you don't need the 13 Int for Combat Expertise, and it lets you get a greater bonus on the CMB check when flanking.

Oh! You’re right… and come to think of it, I did tell Delmoth I’d take Dirty Fighting just to avoid changing my stats, and “on general principle.” (That principle being to never take the universal prerequisite that is Combat Expertise.)

Aside from having to wait a few levels for Medusa’s Wrath, I kept my other feats by taking them all in a particular order. The amulet is now a Greater Trip amulet which doesn’t sound as cool as a Jabbing Master amulet. But what matters most is I didn’t have to change any of the math.

I did get a fair amount of use with Combat Expertise once with a Dawnflower Dervish Bard. My character had such a high attack bonus that I could sometimes use Combat Expertise to increase my AC, fight defensively, and still hit on a 2! It helped that that game had a generous stat method, making it easier to afford the required 13 Int.

Dervak uses Fighting Defensively sometimes for -4 to hit and +3 AC... I'd rather have Combat Expertise for -3/+3 but a 13 Int was not really an option. I do have a character who stacks both (a halfling Ftr/Rog with Helpful and Bodyguard... she only needs to hit AC 10 to do her main thing in combat).

I beg to differ, good sir! Combat Expertise is one of my favorite Feats! Dodge bonus that levels, stacks with everything, and I get access to some really fun Feats.

I had a Fighter 7/ Student of War 10 that just loved the extra dodge bonuses. He ALWAYS had Combat Expertise and Power Attack going; still hit plenty and he did great damage. His AC was tops at our PFS table, save the Champion of Irori; but monks cheat!

LOL!

I've always wanted to play a Student of War... looks like a cool class.

That Anticipate ability looks so good because several high-level spells and effects are "Save and you're still screwed."

I had a Bloodbuckler who would only rage when she got hit. She would start with combat expertise going. Having expertise, power attack, rage and my non-commitment to any particular weapon lead me to have a spreadsheet of possible attck lines. It was a good time.

Looks like we're ready to start moving again. I'll get a post up in a little bit.

Galena Sage Lazarus the Undying Human (Vudrani) Fighter 7/ Student of War 10 is tied with Aristotle Aasamir (Peri-blooded) Arcanist (White Mage) 20 as my favorite PFS characters.

Lazarus had some many skill points, he rivaled the 2 wizards at the table for Knowledge skills. It was a running joke that if Lazarus doesn't know; nobody does.

SoW abilities are just great. Best of both Fighter and Rogue. Although, my only complaint is SoW levels don't count as Fighter levels for Feats. But the class is so much fun to play!

Thinking if Theo bites it (again); The White Rabbit may Awaken into SoW...lol.

her weight likely shy of three pounds.

Wasn’t trying to exaggerate. I meant to type 30 pounds. In my head Pocky’s 2’11” (average roll), 29 lbs. (average roll -1 lb. from not eating all week).

I figured that was the case. Three pounds is roughly the weight of a chihuahua. :)

Just waiting for Allegra's reaction before doing anything to move the scene forward.

It seems like her reaction will be quite important because she knows who we are, and I don't want her to have too much to catch up on.

But otherwise I am with Mara on continuing exploring.

Thanks for holding off. She's on vacation last I heard so probably will have a lot to catch up on. I'm enjoying the interaction so far.

Oh that's right.

It would be inconvenient to have to do a screeching rewind to where Allegra decides to arrest us all for drunk and disorderly behavior/murder/tax evasion/etc., but she did say she could just show up late to the party.

I’m up for at least keeping interactions going.

On the first SA table, before Delmoth took over, I was in Asia for 2.5 weeks just after the dream and jailbreak. My character was ‘in the back, with the rescued torture victim hoisted over her shoulders.’ (A grown man was a light load thanks to carry-capacity-enhancing traits.)

So yeah... I’ve been there. (There, as in on vacation at the start of a campaign.) Catching up isn’t so bad. I’m willing to be ‘that guy’ to give a TL;DR summary if we need ‘that guy.’

"Pocky." Sounds like it is a nickname. Short for something. Pocky... Pocket? Pock-mark? Apocryphal? Apocalypse?

He’s not wrong. Note the two links above.

When I considered 3 of the 4 style strikes I want are kicks, and lightning is the element I want, I had this mental image of Pocket Fighter Chun-Li doing a lightning kick. That’s about the moment Delmoth got a text in Discord expressing my interest in a halfling.

So it’s not something my character will necessarily bring up, but she may have been called the Pocket Fighter in addition to Runt of the Convent. Pocky, Runt, and Mother Superior’s use of the phrase Little One end up as terms of endearment.

_____

Speaking of things my character didn’t bring up, but on the old table: here’s a fun fact about Vix’s hero complex that I was really looking forward to the reveal of: Vix’s memories (all 5) were scenes from a comic book about the Vermilion Vixen. Delmoth even had a dream with Vix leaping across rooftops in The City of Rooftopolis.

My only regret is not having that psychic read on the boots!

She was a cosplayer (tailor and orator skills) and wore a Wonder Woman outfit under the Vermilion Vixen outfit.

Once we confirm that we're joining forces and working together, Mara will want to meditate to fill her remaining spell slots. Her spell preparations did not assume that new allies would be literally just around the corner. After recalling a Barkskin with her pearl of power, she'll cast both Barkskin and Heroism on Allegra and Pocky.

Dervak wrote:

"Pocky." Sounds like it is a nickname. Short for something. Pocky... Pocket? Pock-mark? Apocryphal? Apocalypse?

He’s not wrong. Note the two links above.

Dervak is not going to pry - he'll refer to Pocky as she introduced herself - but his head-canon is that it is "Apocalypse."

He is not particularly bright, but he has had an education and knows a few big words. That's one of them.

(I do try to keep most of his dialogue to fitting with an 8 Int, which while not jaw-droppingly dumb is somewhat below average.)

Unless Allegra would rather not be up front, it might be better to have Pocky second in line. She can move 50ft, and her flying kick allows a 30ft move (through air, so no DT) and make a full attack.

That said, she has stealth and perception. No trap specialty, though.

Would Allegra want an Enlarge Person from Dervak? That would increase the greataxe damage to 3d6 (for a 6d6 Vital Strike), as well as giving +2 Str. It does penalize AC a bit, but Allegra seems able to afford that. (Unhindering Shield is quite nice.)

I am not sure it is the best option with these hallways, but an idea to keep in mind.

Slide 5 has my interpretation of your default marching order for single, double, and triple file. Change it however you wish.

Theo feels comfortable with those arrangements...lol. The White Rabbit likes it also; because he is placed centrally for passing out stuff: like freshly popped popcorn!

@Delmoth,
Am I unable to use Mage Armor? I thought the item didn’t count as armor, based on our discussion.

If you meant that it doesn’t affect my being a monk, but does prevent Mage Armor, I’m fine with that call. I just want to know for certain and not miss out on a buff over an assumption. By now, Pocky should know IC whether or not she can use Ci-Ci’s spell.

Bracers of Armor normally stop working (including stopping providing their special abilities) if you get a larger armor bonus from any source.

If Bracers of Armor don't work that way with ABP, then Dervak will pick up a set to get Bolstering and Deathless without needing to subtract those from his available ABP armor enhancement bonus.

Where is that rules quote? I'm not finding it.

For ABP purposes bracers count as your armor and must still pay for the armor special abilities out of your attunement pool normally. So Dervak yes you could do what you describe but it wouldn't change how much it would cost you.

I have the treasure sheet up for everyone now. I probably should describe how I use it.

I will put items onto the Party page and the Vendor Trash page as you find treasure. From there it is you the player's responsibility to remove them from that page. When you claim or sell an item you delete the entry from the party page or vendor trash page. If you claim it add it to your page. There are also spaces for money.

You don't have to use your page if you don't want to, but I still ask that if you claim/sell an item you still remove it from the party/vendor page. If its apparent that you don't use your page on the treasure sheet I will not be able to track your wealth by level. That means I won't see if you fall behind and generally means you won't get any custom designed treasure.

It's right under Bracers of Armor:
"If the wearer receives a larger armor bonus from another source, the bracers of armor cease functioning and do not grant their armor bonus or their armor special abilities. If the bracers of armor grant a larger armor bonus, the other source of armor ceases functioning."

My reading comprehension should be better. That will always be the case for ABP bracers of armor.

I'm going to meditate on how to house rule this.

My understanding is I’m not taking a penalty from Bracers as far as monk class goes. But I may still be doing something wrong. Please clarify and I’ll act accordingly:

• I have the +2 attunement to my monk AC. Can I not do that?
>> I can = I leave AC as is.
>> I cannot = I deduct 2 from my AC, including flatfoot.

• I am not wearing armor. Regardless of answer to above question, can I benefit from Mage Armor?
>> I can = I ask Ci-Ci to cast it.
>> I cannot = I won’t ask.

EDIT - in bold: my guesses based on exchange above my post.

Right so as with weapons you have to pay for armor special abilities out of your attunement pool, +2 for armor. So your brawling bracers are +3 which means it eats up all of your attunement bonus. This means your bracers provide you with no armor bonus to AC if you enable brawling.

RAW you can't benefit from both your bracers and mage armor at the same time, only the larger bonus counts and it will always be mage armor. I'm leaning towards keeping it RAW so Ci Ci shouldn't cast mage armor on you, unless you don't want to use the bracers.

Mara took the scroll of lesser restoration from the party loot.

Ci-Ci should take the wand of Scorching Ray.

Did the new PCs find scrolls in their starting room? Don't want to lose track of any scrolls of Raise Dead!

EDIT: Mara's weight totals status on her loot sheet page shows her as overburdened. Note that she casts Ant Haul at the start of every day, tripling her carrying capacity for 20 hours.

Right so as with weapons you have to pay for armor special abilities out of your attunement pool, +2 for armor. So your brawling bracers are +3 which means it eats up all of your attunement bonus. This means your bracers provide you with no armor bonus to AC if you enable brawling.

RAW you can't benefit from both your bracers and mage armor at the same time, only the larger bonus counts and it will always be mage armor. I'm leaning towards keeping it RAW so Ci Ci shouldn't cast mage armor on you, unless you don't want to use the bracers.

Okay…

AC: 25 / 22t / 17ff, 29 vs AoO = 10+5d+3w+2c+1f+3abp(+4f)+1z

I think this is correct now:

10 AC base
+5 DEX / not included in flatfoot
+3 WIS
+2 Monk Class AC Bonus / not included in flatfoot
+1 Dodge Feat / not included in flatfoot
+3 ABP deflect/tough, but not enhance / not included in touch
+1 Size

And I get +3 from Barkskin to AC, including flatfoot?

Wondering if Ci-Ci's name is inspired by the song Red Barchetta, by Rush?

Mara took the scroll of lesser restoration from the party loot.

Ci-Ci should take the wand of Scorching Ray.

Did the new PCs find scrolls in their starting room? Don't want to lose track of any scrolls of Raise Dead!

EDIT: Mara's weight totals status on her loot sheet page shows her as overburdened. Note that she casts Ant Haul at the start of every day, tripling her carrying capacity for 20 hours.

Thanks for the reminder. Yes 1 scroll of raise dead, 2 scrolls of restoration. I'll get to it later if you don't beat me to it

@Pocky yes +3 nat enhancement from barkskin and it does apply to FF

Okay, I think my math is right. (I keep breakdowns in my profile, though as a self-audit. I don’t expect anyone who’s not me to use that.)

Parenthetical stats apply when displayed.

That’s a lot of 37s.

…in a row?

:: Refrains from linking Clerks video. ::

Added to profile: images of the three cloud sisters.

• Iris
• Aella
• Nephele

All are from Greek mythology, but the images are clean.

EDIT - Iris is topless, but her pose does not expose her curves.