Lol, sounds like a plan for my negative Con cleric. Need all the fort save I can get!
@Durova: If you're getting the cloak because of a low Fort save, then perhaps I should be the one receiving it... At least you have a positive value there, lol.
@LFII: if you're in a place prior to our position, you might want to avoid lurking here to avoid spoilers and such. If you're further along than us, then I'd rather not hear about it. Thanks.
Question on the Circlets. Disguise Self says you cannot change your creature type in the disguise. So humanoids only change to humanoids, while outsiders (like aasimar, fetchlings, tieflings) would only be able to look like other outsiders. That also means undead will only be able to look like undead...
Or are they special so that it acts as if we were humanoids regardless of our actual type (so we would only be able to shift into humanoid guise)?
Hmm, well spotted Anton. Looks like there's a loophole. Considering how close vampires appear to humanoids, I think we can handwave it.
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@Durova: If you're getting the cloak because of a low Fort save, then perhaps I should be the one receiving it... At least you have a positive value there, lol.
@LFII: if you're in a place prior to our position, you might want to avoid lurking here to avoid spoilers and such. If you're further along than us, then I'd rather not hear about it. Thanks.
haven't even left the jail yet
Sion would like to purchase:
2 x CLW potion
1 x touch of the sea potion
1x enlarge person
200gp
Easily done
Dane's saving his disguise for now, he's a little too Iraen pride for it unless it's necessary.
We should get Jack some armour then.
Hide or Chainmail is cheap enough for now if he can use medium armor.
It occurs to me that Anton could use Inspire Competence on whover is primarily doing the forgery to give an extra +2 competence bonus on the check. Of course that would take 10 of 11 rounds of performance (assuming it takes 1 minute to do). Not sure it would be worth the +2 to only have 1 round of performance left, but the option is there.
Glancing at others' sheets it looks like you've got the best Linguistics, Anton. So I think we'd be better off with Anton spearheading the forgery and keeping the performance use for later.
Ooh. Magical crossbows/bolts? Or perhaps just Magic Weapon enhanced? That's more likely i think.
Do i know if the sailor is dead or not? Im thinking of Touch of Corruptioning him, but being able to say that i tried to save him so the captain wont suspect.
Heh, clever. You're confident that the sailor is alive (though not for long) but unconscious. Dolphins can pack a punch, but instant death is typically beyond their ability.
You can certainly swim down to finish him off. It would be next to impossible for anyone on board (maybe Durova?) to identify the cause of death from your corrupting touch.
Of course, you could wait 2 more rounds for the sea to do the job for you. Your call.
DM, are you going to tell us when we level or do we need to keep a running count of the so totals?
I will keep track of XP where I can. Still, it would be prudent to keep track.
i lost track somehow. how much xp are we at right now?
6300 by my count. Does that sound right to everyone else?
Yeap 6300.
5k after training then 500 for the patrol and 800 for the tritons
I hadn't noticed it during the combat... There are only five crew left of this ship? That certainly makes things easier down the road, it just never even occurred to me that the ship was that small, lol. Watching too many pirate movies I guess.
Yep. Strictly speaking, there should be around 20 crew (from my studies) but the ship uses sails so 6 men could probably do it (overworked as they are). Besides, Odenkirk is a cheapskate who wants to pay as little as possible for his crew, especially when there's PCs around to use as additional guards. :)
I made the ship on the map bigger than the historical viking knarr since I dislike cramped combats. That being said, ships in D&D are bound to be a bit bigger and sturdier than real-life counterparts. In my defense, I have next to no stats from the book.
Historically, most pirates tended to have small (but fast) ships and a lot of crew. But these guys are more smuggler's than pirates.
Cheap captain that overworks his crew? This bodes well indeed!
Previously, Sion asked if and how he could become a deathknight. This presented a complication since, unlike vampirism (which requires feats to represent time and energy to master vampire powers), becoming a death knight requires a special ritual after which the person rises as an undead. However, I've come up with the following idea, based loosely on the ritual explained in the book Undead Revisited. In many ways, it works like gaining a prestige class. These requirements must be met by the participant, no one else can do it for them.
Graveknight Requirements:
- Must be 9th level minimum to become a deathknight.
- The person must obtain a patron.
- Must complete a quest on his/her/its behalf.
- Forge for yourself a suit of heavy armour (but otherwise type is irrelevant). Various blessed materials must be made into the armour, adding 25,000gp to the price.
Ritual: 6 Ranks in Knowledge(Religion)
Once the ritual is complete the PC rises as a deathknight.
However, just as vampire PCs need spend feats to gain more powers, so does the deathknight PC.
A newly risen deathknight gain all abilities except for special attacks. Deathknight PC's gain Channel Destruction only.
Devastating Blast and Undead Mastery both require separate feats.
That's it really. I think it sounds reasonable although I must admit trying to compare gold cost to feat value is never easy. Any thoughts are welcome.
Looks like I have some work to do.
Will Devil's Pact be able to be taken at 5 or will it have to be 7?
The prerequisite doesn't require a particular level. It can be 5, 7 or 9.
Level 4: Monk
HP: 5 (d8=5-2 con+1 favored class+1 toughness)
BAB: +1
Fort: +1; Ref:+1; Will: +1;
Ki Pool: 6 (Magic)
Slow Fall 20'
+ 8 Skill points
4th level increased Ability Score: +1 Dex
Level 4: Fighter
HP: 5 (d10=6-3 Con+1 Favored Class+1 Toughness)
BAB: +1
Fort: +1
Feat: Weapon Specialization: Rhomphaia
+7 Skill Points
4th level increased Ability Score: +1 Cha
Whew, ok! Between Power Attack's +4 BAB bonus, and Weapon Specialization, +5 to Damage in one level is a nice thing to see! Just one more level... and I'll get 41 HP when I switch from Con to Cha for HP. Last stretch vampire friends! We can do it! Half way through the no man's land!
Level 4: Bard
HP +4 (d8=5-3 con +1 toughness +1 favored)
BAB +1
Ref +1; Will +1
2nd lvl spells
4th lvl increase: Cha
Skill Points +9
Oops. That's right. I calculated my HP wrong. It should be a -3 con, for a total of 4.
Also, just a note, my redirection ability upgrades to allow me to use it against someone who attacks an ally.
Alright. Finished updating my character.
Just one more level... and I'll get 41 HP when I switch from Con to Cha for HP. Last stretch vampire friends! We can do it! Half way through the no man's land!
I know. I can't wait. Right now a stiff breeze could kill me. If 23 damage bypasses my DR I'm gone. One more level then I'll be at 52 hp, until then, I'll rely on the fact that I have a 21 base AC and it can go up to 29 depending on circumstances. I have a feeling I'll be spending most of my ki points this level on AC.
On a related note, this is the last level that most of us will need positive energy to heal. So I intend to use potions of CLW like their going out of style ('cause they kind of are). And Durova, don't be afraid to use that wand. We'll still want some charges for Sion after level 5, but it'll only be him, so not as much as we do now.
I need a couple days to get Durova updated. Between work and March Madness, I'm struggling a bit, lol.
No rush for the update Durova. I see no reason why combat is going to fly at you guys any time soon.
Hehe, 41 hp? Not bad. Should be interesting to see how it all comes together.
I almost forgot to mention how calculating success will work:
Once you guys get into Castle Balentyne you will need to find ways to destroy or sabotage their defenses, thus allowing the eventual goblinoid attack to storm the castle.
The rules as written provide me with a chart to measure your level of success through 'Victory Points' (or VP). The more VP you earn from your nefarious activities, the more complete your success and (ultimately) the higher XP reard you will all receive at the conclusion. Earning too few VP could well lead to a military disaster for the bugbear attackers, which would be very bad news.
I won't give many hints as to what target in Balentyne has priority (i.e. is worth the most VP) but some information gathering (and common sense) should be enough for you to make educated guesses.
For now though, I will only point out that the front defenses of Castle Balentyne has a drawbridge and a portcullis (Sakkorat would have informed you of this basic information) and this alone would cause an attacking force great difficulties.
So raising the porticulus and dropping the drawbridge are obviously what needs to be done, I assume, DM?
Durova 4th level cleric
5 HP +1 FC -1 Con
+1 to WIS
Skills: diplomacy, Perception, Disable Device, Sense Motive
+1 BAB
+1 Fort and Will
+1 first and second level spell per day
In essence, that appears to be our primary goal. Secondary objectives that have this far presented themselves appear to be mostly at our discretion, which is a really awesome system if you ask me.
Dane's personal goals are to get in the castle, and figure out a head count and who's important (spellcasters, officers, etc) and work at sabotaging the gear of the soldiers there. Poisoning the guards before the battle also seems like a good idea. Otherwise I think we'll need to get more information before we can really say what else we'll want to do.
Dane is pretty much on the money. I suppose technically, you don't HAVE to raise the portcullis/ lower draw bridge, but it is strongly recommended for obvious reasons in-game and because doing so is worth a fair few VP out of game.
But why stop there? The more ways you ruin Balentyne the more rewards you will reap. (Plus, I never said that's all you need to do to succeed. Maybe more needs to be done to guarantee success)
Find out what we can about the place. Take out the leadership, sabotage the gear and men (although, unless we can kill them all at once, this should occur closer to the assault so they don't have a chance of recovery), and prevent communication with regards to calling for help (so take out runners and the like).
We have a few ways in (and we could sort of split up or do the same thing depending on when things occur). Posing as/replacing servants could get us in (as noone really looks too closely at servants). Dane getting assigned to the guards could work since he's already established himself with a few of them as a soldier on leave (he could receive marching orders to join them - remember Mordesel and Anton can make some nice forgeries). Anton could join Ye Merrie Men to gain access to the castle (since they're supposed to play there at some point). Durova might be able to pose as a Mitran priest if there is a chapel of some kind there. Any other options?
Speaking of buying things . . . Between the captain's goods and our own I figure we have 7300 gp as a group, if we split it out it's 1460 gp. We need to decide whether we're splitting it now, or keeping the money together till after the fall of Ballantyne. I don't know when we'll get another chance to buy what we want, so now might be a good time.
We also have to decide about when we're selling the narwhal horn (not included above). I really don't want to give up my masterwork quarterstaff, but the horn is worth a lot more than that. My preference if we sell it would be to buy another masterwork quarterstaff, and then split the rest between the you (leaving 350 gp each). It'd be one of the few things where I would want the larger portion of the loot. If y'all are opposed to that, we could just split the whole thing evenly for 400 gp each. Or hold on to it for a bit. I thought I heard someone say something about enchanting it at some point. Though I didn't quite understand the reference.
Enchanting it is cheaper aparently. Good for making wands and such i think... im not sure though. I think Dane took most of the last share of loot for his armour
Since the spellcraft check was succeeded, I'll include the quote from the book in its entirety:
[The Narwal Horn] is worth 2000 gp simply for its rarity and the quality of its ivory. It is surprising durable and functions as a masterwork quarterstaff. It is also very easy to enchant. If enchanted as a magical staff, rod or wand, subtract its value from the creation cost of the magic item. Creating this item requires one day for each 1,500 gp of the base price (instead of the usual 1,000).
Obviously, this is an exception to the Core rules but the campaign trumps Core IMO.
I owe Sion 450 GP for money fronted to finish construction of the Mithral Full-Plate, and the Salvaged Mithral was given a price of 2000. So honestly I've got absolutely no room to complain about the Narwhal Horn. And if it's cheaper to enchant, I'd honestly say keep it for having a really sweet enchanted quarterstaff, at least if that's the weapon you plan on using towards end game, would be a much better investment of our resources in the long run if we saved a ton of money on enchantments for Mordesel's weapon and I'm far more in favor of wise usage of our resources than perfectly even distribution.
So for me personally? I'd say keep the Narwhal Horn, unless anyone else can think of a better use for it. As for Dane's cut of the loot, I got 1,010 after paying Sion back. Of that, I'd possibly want 100 GP just so Dane's got a bit more pocket money to jingle around to gamble with guards and whatnot, but just kick the remaining 910 towards the general party coffers to go towards paying off my debt to the party.
Also looking into ways of making armor rules (I'm determined to have a Fighter who's useful outside of combat), I think I've found something that may be of quite a bit of use to the party.
Stacking armor generally isn't useful since you don't get the bonus of multiple armor AC bonuses and such. That said, if armor can provide a benefit besides AC, layering is totally on the up and up (at least in the RAW, GM fiat can still totally override). In this, I'd recommend making everyone (sans Mordesel, since we don't want to deny him his Monk-Mojo) a set of Quilted Cloth Armor. This has no ACP, and gives people DR 3 against piercing projectiles (arrows, bolts, bullets technically, etc.), which will definitely come in handy. Even for those of us who have the Vampire 2 DR, this is still higher against that type of attack, and even if they get wise and use silver arrows and such? Still covered. If we think it's worth it, we can also spring for Eel Hide Quilted Cloth, which would give us 2 Energy Resistance to Electricity. Also, as per our previous GM ruling and confirmation from the boards, special materials don't add to crafting time, which even to make four suits of this, should only take 9 weeks of crafting at Dane's current skill level. Much, much, much faster than the plate armor.
The only downside is weight, as that's an extra 10 pounds that I'm not sure if all of us can afford. Ultimately, it'd cost 34 GP for the basic version, or 434 for the Eel Hide kind. To equip the entire party it'd be a max price of 1736 if everyone who can really benefit wants the Eel Hide version. But this tangent has gone on long enough, everyone should feel free to do with this as they will.
Is the regular basic quilted cloth you mentioned ten pounds, or just the eel skin?
Does that enchantment include making it a magic weapon etc.? It only mentions rods and wands, but it seems to me that it would include magic weapons. How do you feel about it GM?
Both are indeed 10 pounds.
Hmm, it doesn't say specifically that it can be enhanced as a magic weapon. Even so, I see and agree with your argument in principle.
My big concern is that the 2000gp effectively makes it FREE to make into a +1 weapon. A bit cheesy. Not a fan.
I think I have a fair compromise though:
The quarterstaff can be made into a +1 weapon at normal cost (2000gp) AND it automatically makes the other end of the quarterstaff +1 enhanced.
Alternatively, if you pay to make it a +2 weapon, the cost decreases from 8000gp down to 6000gp.
Effectively, this means that you're saving 2000gp from the enhancing price. This reduction in cost can only be taken advantage of once, regardless how many times you get the horn enhanced.
Both are indeed 10 pounds.
It might be worth it, as you pointed out earlier. A little DR against Electricity will no doubt come in handy down the road.
That's what I figured, DR against ranged piercing weapons (which covers pretty much any good ranged weapon) and Energy Resistance against Electricity is a good deal at market value 1,300 GP. But at craft costs for 434 GP? It's a steal. The ten pounds of weight is really the only drawback that I see. Since I cut weight with the Mithral suit of armor, I know it's on my to-do list once I've got the money for it, possibly now, but I want to kick as much back into the party as possible for the moment.