OOC discussions, questions, etc.
Checking in; I suppose there's still the matter of workshopping the details of backstories and starting points and the like. Looking forward to getting us into places we're not supposed to be!
Hey, this is Ompeet Ndongo checking in. I need to get the alias set up, and I'll take care of that tonight. Thanks for the invite!
@Andostre and Kha'Rassi: Glad to have you onboard. I picked you for a lot of different reasons but I think we're going to have a blast.
I'm online and ready to answer any and all questions. Anything I answer will be added to the Campaign Guide.
Hey, this is Ompeet Ndongo checking in. I need to get the alias set up, and I'll take care of that tonight. Thanks for the invite!
And here we go.
Historian, does Ompeet's backstory need changing in any way, or am I ready to go?
Ompeet, are you sure your acrobatics is a -3(-7 to jump?) I'm almost certain you meant +3...right?
Also, @Historian...is Ompeet's example of the little stat bar below our names a good idea for you? I can do that, unless you have something else in mind?
Ompeet, are you sure your acrobatics is a -3(-7 to jump?) I'm almost certain you meant +3...right?
No, what I have is right. I have a +1 Dex bonus, but my hide armor has a -4 armor check penalty. That brings it to -3, and in the Acrobatics skill description, the rules impose a -4 penalty for every 10 feet of speed a character is below 30 feet. With my encumbrance, I'm at 20 feet.
I'm not such a stickler for rules, but I made this PC using Hero Lab, which accounts for every little rule, even rules that many GMs don't worry about, such as encumbrance. Hero Lab saves me a lot of time during character creation, though, which is why I use it.
Ahhh, the armor. Duh.
I think my rust is showing...
Yeah the stat bar below the names is going to save me so much time. I think you've covered almost everything I need except Perception. (AC, Saves, Perception, Init and HP).
It's as good a time as any to cover how I plan on going about combats in this PbP. I went and did a fair bit of research on this too. Combat is the most lengthy and time consuming drain on PbP adventures I've seen and often one of the reasons why an adventure fails. Therefore, I want to make sure combat moves swiftly.
Cinematic Action Rules
- I will always roll Initiative for the involved characters at the start of every fight.
- Enemies will always act at the same initiative. I will take an average of the initiative rolls.
- Regardless of your initiative roll, you do not need to wait for your actual turn to come up unless you act after the enemies. Essentially there are two initiative blocks (before and after the enemies.) I prefer it if everyone posts their actions and I will handle odd corner cases where an action becomes invalid, particularly in the case of moving towards an opponent.
- If most of the group has posted actions, I will move forward with the next group immediately and add in the missing player's actions when they post.
- I reserve the right to end any combat with a cinematic flourish if it looks like the enemies are close to losing. What that means is I won't drag on the combat for another round or two if the enemies are at critical health.
- To speed up combat once more, I will roll most passive rolls such as saves in response to abilities caused by monster attacks so that we don't need to wait. This may rile a few players who will blame me for their shortcomings, but we all know the true culprit is Paizo's dice rolling algorithm.
- I will use Google Slides for maps and always have it in my stat bar with any other required links.
- I will be skipping non-critical combats. If the idea of slogging through monster after monster is your thing, PbP prob aint for you. It shouldn't take a month to clear out a few rooms. If I describe a creature or monster and declare it is a [skippable] scene, simply describe to me how you deal with the foe. This way, we can make more headway.
- I use fast experience to make sure the campaign moves ahead quickly.
Phew, that about sums it up.
Last thing I want to discuss is the proposal to use the Automatic Progression System to reduce gear dependency. I'd make a few changes, such as allowing someone to choose whether to gain their physical or mental stat boost first and then the other later.
Let me know your thoughts!
Okay, Perception is in my stat bar.
I like everything you've posted for combat, especially the parts about summing up inevitable battle endings or skipping entire battles when appropriate. I've GMed PbPs myself, and although it risks missing out on certain unexpected resolutions, it improves the flow overall.
Kudos to you for taking on rolling everyone's saves and initiative. And for keeping the links to any maps in your stat bar. I've also seen where GMs keep the links at the top of the page above the Campaign Info | Gameplay | Discussion tabs. Either is fine.
Fast experience is fine, but consider doing away with XP altogether and just telling the party when to level up. Whichever works.
ABP is fine. It makes things a bit confusing for people not used to the system trying to figure out an item's gold value, but selling unwanted scrolls and potions to save up for your first cloak of resistance +1 can also take up time.
I'm not familiar with automatic progression; I'll need to read up on that.
Otherwise, I like your proposal. Combat's by far the most central and therefore crunchiest part of Pathfinder, so anything that rounds off those edges is probably healthy for a campaign.
Especially since I don't even have sneak attack for damageCOUGHCOUGHwhat? No, nothing, I'm fine...just a hairball...
Okay I LIKE the auto-progression thing now. Getting rid of most of the numbers on magic items and leaving cash for fun stuff while not getting run over by encounter scaling?
As an aside: I wonder how useful that table would be with Starfinder...I've been trying to get my group to play it but we don't care for the whole "leveled gear" thing much...
@Ompeet: I can actually easily do away with XP. The adventure is essentially structured into 20 1-level parts anyways so it saves time for all of us then.
@Kha'Rassi: And yeah, combat's fun when it's juicy and important. When it's "kill Mook #23" it tends to get boring fast. I'll also simply have less "crowded" dungeons anyways. Not every room needs Orc Joe and his buddy Krog.
For character wealth, Auto Progression suggests decreasing character wealth by level to half the normal amount. Aside from having to recalculate weapon/armor costs, it'll also save me time when designing/statting up NPCs.
Sounds fantastic.
When do we start
... where is everyone
Wondering the same, but weekends are often low posting times for people. Wait until late Monday before you start to worry. :)
Yeah no worries Melusine, I'm online and refreshing often. I've asked and messaged Cyber and Fifth and am hoping they finalize and post in soon. As soon as they do, we'll begin.
Gonna make a couple last minute purchases before we start. Couple important things I forgot to buy...
I'm here, I've sent you my character sheet (Ratfolk Star Watcher Investigator) in PDF form, and I'll get it and my statline set up on here tomorrow.
Fifth has said he's about to dot in so as soon as he does, I'm going to launch the campaign!
I'm excited.
I work in a call center and my downtime varies but I'm online all day every day. Is it too early to call dibs on a finesse weapon? I couldn't afford anything more than a dagger XD
I'm excited.
I work in a call center and my downtime varies but I'm online all day every day. Is it too early to call dibs on a finesse weapon? I couldn't afford anything more than a dagger XD
Unless there's a full-on Spellslinger class I'm not familiar with, you're a wizard (Harry) who uses guns. Definitely our rogue and probably our investigator would have first dibs on a weapon that they can use. Just wait until you have 20 gold to buy a rapier.
Nothing fancy, just something to poke people with if they're in my face. I am a divination and conjuration focused gun toting sea mage first and foremost but I plan on a rogue dip for more treasure hunting/piracy pizzazz.
I'm no melee monster, so weapons aren't my first priority, really. I intend to make sure we're getting into places, maybe snagging things people don't want us to have, and getting things open that people want closed. I won't mind letting the first finesse weapon go, heh.
And we're live! Added rules for underwater combat/aquatic terrain in Campaign Info.
Also going to give a friendly reminder to CTRL COPY your texts before submitting since Paizo can and will time out sometimes. This way we can avoid any long silences of frustration caused by needing to retype everything.
I mean I don't even need one till lvl 2
At the same time, I'd love it if in discussion we can share our character's basic background that would be shared among the rest of the crew: place of birth, purpose on this venture (feel free to be creative), etc.
So, I envisioned a guy of Jharana (India) and Maqnaa (southern Africa) descent. You can read the full background on my character page, but the nutshell version is that Ompeet was raised in Jharana, but left there to visit Maqnaa, having a spiritual awakening there. He likes to do things that he thinks will equalize the power imbalances between different classes of people, and this often gets him on the wrong side of the law, even if he hasn't technically broken the law. He likes to stay on the move because of this, which is probably why his reputation is low enough that, like the rest of the PCs, he isn't too notorious.
Melusine is a sassy lady with family in Chasserets but she spends her time at sea. She's always looking for new breezes and open waters. She may associate with rougher pirate types but isn't a bad person, just very lenient with a finders-keepers attitude. She only ever takes anything if she wants it more than you did, anyway. Liberation. She's brash in speaking and often gets drunk on power while swinging her tromblon around. Many would say she gets too big for her britches.
Alexander is a quiet young grippli, often unnoticed due to his 3'2" (97cm) size. Curious, sincere, and fairly inexperienced, the student grew up in a small village in the Tarakona Rainforest with his family. When he was 12, a group of Strandish explorers made contact with the tribe and began a cultural study. Alexander, as the apprentice to the village's herbalist, was given as a gift to the explorers in exchange for supplies, metal trinkets, and continued contact. Adopted by the lead researcher, he was brought back to Strand to study at Reynesford College with his new ward. An eager learner, the grippli took to the natural sciences quickly and applied his own tribe's knowledge of herbalism to traditional Strandish science to graduate near the top of his class at 19, just 7 years later. Now he seeks to prove himself to his critics, that a backwater native can indeed be just as intelligent as the rich snobs at Reynesford.
How'd you get so much loot starting off?
Rich Parents trait from Ultimate Campaign, 900gp starting money.
@Melusine: It's cool to start with Rich Parents, but in the long run the other traits' bonuses tend to make up for it.
I just took it because traits are small enough bonuses I usually go for flavor rather than utility.
Benevolent DM, does my animal companion get Automatic Progression bonuses too? or can I buy her stat-boosting items like normal.
I just can't wait to rp some intimidate checks with 10 charisma lolol
Never stop shooting seems super good
@Alexander: No clear cut answer that I could find. I think character level - 4 on the automatic progression is about fair.
Yeah, Rich Parents gives you a TON of starting options for gear, but it's not the permanent boost that many traits are, so it's a short vs long term trade.
BG: Kha'Rassi is an only child; something believed to be an uncommon sight among Catfolk. She was born to well-off parents by most standards; they didn't spoil her, but neither did they neglect her. Since she brought no littermates with her, her parents had plenty of extra resources to devote to educating her. Much to their dismay, the trappings of high society never quite took hold; she was more interested in exploring, spelunking and most notably, climbing. By the time most children her age could climb a fence, she was scurrying up houses, towers, and cliff faces.
Giving up on getting her to blend in led Kha'Rassi's parents to instead focus on what they knew best: learning how to spot trouble and get out of it. Much to their frustration, she usually used her skills to get INTO trouble instead.
Kha'Rassi left home because she grew tired of the sheltering, the rules, and the posturing for other rich folk, but what grated her nerves most was that none of what she had was hers. The money, the clothes, all the "friends" she was introduced to--all part of her parents' bid to protect her from old foes and the like. Leaving home was her solution to three problems at once: her parents wouldn't have to try so hard to "protect" her, she could make her own way on her own terms, and whatever she earned out here would be hers alone.
Alasdair is, in fact, one of the rich snobs at Reynesford. The son of a Loch Aislinn laird, he studied broadly rather than deeply, dabbling in the humanities, the sciences, and the arcane. Since his graduation, he's done fairly little of significance; he's continued his studies and research, but without remarkable results to show for it in any field. Fortunately, his family's wealth has let him sustain the lifestyle of a gentleman-scholar despite his lack of success and eclectic theories. He's joined this expedition in the hopes of finally putting his wealth of knowledge to good use, making a name for himself, and just doing something other than sitting around Strand expounding on philosophy.
I just realized I overlooked the swim skill too. -_-
Plot twist, Melusine's mom loved swimming but after she suddenly got caught in an undercurrent and drowned Melusine's been afraid of swimming
I have an animal companion with a saddle and a swim speed of 30 so I put it as a low priority, especially because I get 4 skill ranks per level :(.
Updated the Campaign and will be adding a few pages to the Campaign Guide to reflect the backgrounds and common knowledge presented here. I hope this increasing trove of lore is something you enjoy.
Added Reynesford College and Kolam (Grippli territory). Feel free to ask for any kind of description as a lot of information requires no Knowledge checks to make and it gives me a way to fill up the Guidebook.
As far as history tells us, Captain Zantares last sailed the waters of the Soley Islands before returning to Strand, supposedly to give up pirating life for good.
Where are the Soley Islands?
My network system won't let me view the guide, could you put it in a regular forum post please? <3
@Ompeet: Cetza. Added the locations and sub-locations from Recruitment into the Campaign Guide as well.
@Melusine: The Guide is multiple pages long so that might be a big problem especially since I update it constantly. It might end up being 50+ pages by the end of the campaign easily. I'm surprised you can't access the Google Doc. Let me try and figure something out.
I can at home or on lunch break on my phone. Honestly I was surprised I could log on to this site
@Ompeet: Cetza. Added the locations and sub-locations from Recruitment into the Campaign Guide as well.
Thanks!
Would anyone here benefit from the Enlarge Person spell when we're down there fighting? I can supply it, but I need to know the target in advance.
Would anyone here benefit from the Enlarge Person spell when we're down there fighting? I can supply it, but I need to know the target in advance.
Ompeet would, but not if he's already in the boat or wanting to get in the boat.
Would anyone here benefit from the Enlarge Person spell when we're down there fighting? I can supply it, but I need to know the target in advance.
No way. Detect magic is a lvl 1 spell for me for some awful reason if you could do that though