Who would you like to hear about next?
How about Del's 'love interest'?
It's pretty late, here. I'll get a start on this, but it'll probably be tomorrow evening before I get everything leveled.
Redeemer (Paladin) +1
+10 hp
+1 BAB
+1 Fort, +0 Ref, +1 Will
Divine Grace, Lay on Hands
Skills:
+1 Diplomacy
+1 Knowledge (religion)
+1 Ride
+1 Sense Motive
Favored Class Bonus: +1 Skill Point
More than likely remaining strictly Ranger, but I'ma poke around some archetypes and see if something adds up nicely.
Just to say all choices made so far seem fine to me. When everyone's fully levelled I'll do a quick character sheet audit but I'm sure all will be fine.
@ Pellius; some pages back we discussed how to make the sudden appearance of new spells in Pellius' spellbook logical in-game. For now, I'm content to assume that those spells were already there in 'draft' form, but it's only now that Pellius has properly worked out how to cast them.
@ Pellius; some pages back we discussed how to make the sudden appearance of new spells in Pellius' spellbook logical in-game. For now, I'm content to assume that those spells were already there in 'draft' form, but it's only now that Pellius has properly worked out how to cast them.
That's fine. You could also slip in the odd scroll or two in future loot or even have a scroll that someone in the caravan would be willing to sell to Pellius.
BTW, awesome story! I'll try and introduce that to my games.
a scroll that someone in the caravan would be willing to sell to Pellius.
Remember Zriorinta has magical supplies.
On Iomedae
Reading through her in-depth write-up in The Sixfold Trial, no specific mention of 'a hand over the heart' gesture is made. However, her aphorism is "For victory, for the heart", so it doesn't seem too far-fetched an action to take.
The same article also emphasizes the use of swords in nearly every ceremony, even the touching of a hilt in a baby-naming ceremony. Perhaps touching a sword hilt would be a common gesture to revere Iomedae in situations where subtlety is needed.
Another, more dramatic gesture might be drawing a sword and raising it skywards, or in situations where baring blades would be inappropriate, simply acting out the movement without actually taking the sword from its sheath.
I've been using 'fist to heart' as a way to 'invoke/honor/etc' Iomedae. Is that correct or is there another way? I know Pharasma is making a circle near your heart and I swear I read 'fist to heart' for Iomedae but I can't find it now. Help? Pyotr?
It's nothing I'm familiar with. Like DM, the number one thing I've found is the focus on the sword.
Iomedae manifests in the form of mundane objects
reshaping into sword-like forms, mysterious white or
golden lights on a person or object, or a compass-like pull
on a longsword or other long metal weapon. Common folk
in need of a weapon to defend themselves may happen
upon an old, rusty blade that still has the strength of a new
weapon and grows shinier the more it is used in the name
of justice and honor.
Most
ceremonies involve the use of a sword;
even the naming of a child requires
touching the hilt of a sword. These
weapons are always suitable for
combat, though some become extensively
decorated after decades of use; to the
faithful, a sword that isn’t serviceable as a
weapon is useless.
It is traditional for a young priest of the Inheritor
to receive a gift of a sword when she leaves the temple
to enact the goddess’s will; in some cases this is a
weapon once used by a senior priest or other hero of the
church. There are many blades that have been passed
down several times in this way, as Iomedae believes it is
wasteful to bury a perfectly good weapon with the dead;
the only time a fallen hero is buried with his weapon
is if it was broken or if there is unusual magic tying it
to him, and even in these cases the weapons have been
known to turn up in the hands of those in great need as
if plucked from the tombs by the goddess herself. So great
is the church’s fixation on swords that even wedding rings
for those married in the church are usually engraved with
a sword as a sign of devotion and fidelity.
It is common for the faithful to bury
a small token sword (often just an inch long and usually
made of copper, tin, brass, or bronze) with their dead,
believing that the sword will watch over the departed
in the afterlife; in effect, the sword will fight battles on
behalf of the good soul so that person can remain at rest.
In poorer communities they bury paper or wood stamped
or branded with a sword symbol.
Hit Points: +1 =
BAB +1
Fort Save +1
Ref Save +1
Combat Style Feat (Archery): Rapid Shot
Favored Class Bonuse: +1 Skill Point
Skills: (6 Ranger + 1 Int + 1 Favored Class)
Manic day! Will update tomorrow morning.
I'll just leave this here.
I'll just leave this here.
Erm, mystified.
I'm traveling so my posting will be erratic for a couple of days; I should be able to post tonight though.
@DM Tadpole: I sent you a PM about something other than this game and I just want to make sure that you got it.
@DM Tadpole: I sent you a PM about something other than this game and I just want to make sure that you got it.
Got it, but snowed under with essay marking at the moment. Hopefully will be able to put together a reply soon, or at least this month!
Although we've been 'Following the Flood Road' for a few months now, in-game the campaign is only a few days old, and has only covered two combat encounters. So from one perspective it might seem a little bit premature to be levelling up (although in my experience, players rarely feel that way!). If you feel it needs any justification, just consider all the experience your PC earned before our adventure began!
From the DM's point of view, I realised having some PCs who were a little less 'squishable' was to my favour, as it allows me to play rougher without unintentionally breaking anyone. That will become important as things progress. Glancing at your character sheets, I see Pyotr and Pellius have some fairly healthy hit point totals already.
Although when launching the campaign, I made some noises that levelling would happen fairly slowly, I've concluded that wasn't necessarily a wise choice. As it stands, I see the PCs going up fairly rapidly* through the lower levels and slowly down as they become more accomplished (when we start hitting 5th or 6th level).
*'rapidly' being very much a relative term in PbP!
I'm cool with the system. I really see PC levels as a way to make sure the 'adventures' waiting for them are a decent challenge (not too much and not too little).
I'll welcome the rapid leveling because my other two PCs are only 2nd and 3rd level so a 5th-6th level PC will be nice.
I'm always happy to reach level 2. There is just no margin for error at level 1. By the time you realize a fight is beyond you, it is a tpk.
Levels 5-6 are where I think most of my characters start to feel fully fleshed out into the character I envisioned. By then, everyone has 3 feats, most of their staple class abilities, 2nd-3rd level spells, plenty of skills, etc.
So, sounds like a good plan to me!
I think the pace of PbPs lends itself better to allowing the DM to kinda overrule conventional experience gains as it suits the story. Having said this, how close to a stoning would Bonegrit be if he snuck off to explore an abandoned keep? Haha!
I think the pace of PbPs lends itself better to allowing the DM to kinda overrule conventional experience gains as it suits the story. Having said this, how close to a stoning would Bonegrit be if he snuck off to explore an abandoned keep? Haha!
Pellius is very interested in all 'soldier-stuff' so he would go along with you as long as it's done during the caravan stop and wouldn't delay their movement. So sneaking off for part of the night is very doable.
Start something and I'll back you on it.
@DM Tadpole: Would it be Ok for Pellius to leave a 0-level and a 1st-level slot open to memorize during the day when/if needed.
Some insanely severe thunderstorms wiped out power to most of the city, last night. My restaurant was in one of the only sections that kept power. It was a nightmare. 60+ minute ticket times all night. We ran out of everything. I'll be all day just trying to find enough product to make it until my next truck comes in. I can't even fathom where I'm going to find it. I may not surface for air until Sunday.
Just bot Pyotr if necessary. He's happy to go along with whatever.
Some insanely severe thunderstorms wiped out power to most of the city, last night. My restaurant was in one of the only sections that kept power. It was a nightmare. 60+ minute ticket times all night. We ran out of everything. I'll be all day just trying to find enough product to make it until my next truck comes in. I can't even fathom where I'm going to find it. I may not surface for air until Sunday.
Just bot Pyotr if necessary. He's happy to go along with whatever.
Sorry to hear that Pyotr, looks like you're in for a rubbish weekend! We'll see you when we see you!
@DM Tadpole: Would it be Ok for Pellius to leave a 0-level and a 1st-level slot open to memorize during the day when/if needed.
That's fine so long as the spell preparation rules on page 218 of the core rulebook are followed. Just give me an updated default spell list which includes the blank slots.
Some insanely severe thunderstorms wiped out power to most of the city, last night. My restaurant was in one of the only sections that kept power. It was a nightmare. 60+ minute ticket times all night. We ran out of everything. I'll be all day just trying to find enough product to make it until my next truck comes in. I can't even fathom where I'm going to find it. I may not surface for air until Sunday.
Just bot Pyotr if necessary. He's happy to go along with whatever.
Sorry to hear that. Keep your chin up!
Where do you live?
@DM Tadpole: Would it be Ok for Pellius to leave a 0-level and a 1st-level slot open to memorize during the day when/if needed.That's fine so long as the spell preparation rules on page 218 of the core rulebook are followed. Just give me an updated default spell list which includes the blank slots.
If by the rules bit, you mean spending 15 minutes to memorize then I am on board for that.
Looking at my spell list, my default memorization will be as follows:
o-level (4)
Acid splash
Prestidigitation
Light
Read magic (automatic)
OPEN SLOT
1st level (3)
Shocking grasp
Frostbite
OPEN SLOT
I'll update my PC sheet with this if you're OK with it.
If by the rules bit, you mean spending 15 minutes to memorize then I am on board for that.
I've conducted a quick audit of your character sheets, and everything is looking quite shipshape. Thanks for keeping things up to date. One thing we've all forgotten about is Hero Points; having levelled up, everyone gains a hero point. This means all the PCs have 2 hero points, except Bonegrit, who has 1.
Some individual points;
Bonegrit
- Should be 5 masterwork arrows after the gift to Modoru.
- Need to update your profile line so that is says Ranger 2.
Delkaneth
- Update 15 gp from horse sale.
Pellius
- Update 15 gp from horse sale.
Pyotr
- All good, presuming you added your 15 gp.
This hunched figure has iridescent, compound eyes and fleshy antennae curling over themselves like the scroll of a fiddle. Wearing a makeshift coat of rotting swamp grass, it runs with a hopping gait. Slender hands dance skittishly, mimicking the quivering feelers of the hundreds of coin sized bugs scuttling over its skin.
Conductor of the Fens CR 4
XP 1,200
NE Small fey
Init +3 Senses low-light vision, Perception +10
-----Defense-----
AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural, +1 size)
hp 33 (6d6+12)
Fort +4 Ref +8 Will +6
Defensive Abilities raiment of roaches Immune sonic
-----Offense-----
Speed 20 ft.
Melee claw +7 (1d4-1)
Ranged masterwork blowpipe +7 (1d2 + large scorpion poison)
Special Attacks cicadic crescendo (6d6 sonic, DC 16)
-----Statistics-----
Str 9 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 12 Cha 15
Base Atk +3 CMB +1 CMD 14
Feats Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +9 (+15 jump), Craft (alchemy) +6, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception +10, Perform (conduct) +10, Stealth +12, Survival +3, Swim +5, Use Magic Device +7
Languages Sylvan, Boggard
SQ swamp stride
-----Ecology-----
Environment temperate or warm marshes
Organization solitary, sinfonietta (1 plus 6d6 giant crickets) or orchestra (1 plus 6d6 giant crickets and 3d4 boggards)
Treasure standard
-----Special Abilities-----
Cicadic Crescendo (Ex) Conductors can rouse the squealroaches and harpybugs clinging to their bodies to sing louder and louder until their music climaxes in a burst of destructive sonic energy. After a round inciting his bugs to increase their volume (a free action), the conductor triggers the crescendo (a standard action) on the second round. The crescendo is a burst with a 30 foot radius, deals 6d6 sonic damage and leaves creatures stunned for 1 round. Any who make a DC 17 Fort save only suffer half damage and are not stunned.
Raiment of Roaches (Ex) The crawling insects clinging to a conductor’s skin are thickly armored in chitin. As a free action, the conductor can instruct some to halt their song and nestle around his vital organs. Using this ability, the conductor can raise his natural AC bonus up to 4 points. For each point increase in AC, the save DC for the conductor’s crescendo ability is reduced by one. In the second round of its cicadic crescendo attack, the conductor cannot make further adjustments to its AC.
Swamp Stride (Ex) Conductors can move through any sort of natural difficult terrain at its normal terrain while within a swamp. Magically altered terrain affects a conductor normally.
In depths of the Mushfens, the chorus of insect life sometimes plays with a beauty and complexity beyond the dull, droning refrain common to most swamps. This is the work of a conductor of the fens, a race of fey so jealous of their strange symphonies they seek to kill any mortal creature that hears them.
Conductors are cowardly, refraining from combat themselves, sending giant crickets (stats as giant cockroaches, immune to sonic damage) and crudely deafened boggard servants against their foes. They exert a fascination on any insect that can sing, chirp or click, and encourage the loudest and most grotesque to use their bodies as a home. They are offended by the silent beauty of butterflies and moths, but enjoy snacking upon them. Grigs are despised utterly.
Conductors live for centuries, motivated only to coax weirder music from their insectoid orchestras. The oldest create serenades so strange it sets will o’ wisps dancing above their heads, and turns the brains of men to slush inside their skulls.
I am so sorry guys. I had a great time, but I need to pull out of the game. I just can't devote enough time right now. You are all some amazing writers and it was a honor to have played with you all. My vocabulary thanks you =). Good luck to you all. I hope the game goes on for years to come and continues to be just as interesting and enjoyable!
Well, nuts. I can certainly appreciate how life can overwhelm your gaming. I started doing pbp precisely because I can no longer be available for tabletop sessions.
Best of luck to you Dunagan. It was a pleasure to play with you.
I am so sorry guys. I had a great time, but I need to pull out of the game. I just can't devote enough time right now. You are all some amazing writers and it was a honor to have played with you all. My vocabulary thanks you =). Good luck to you all. I hope the game goes on for years to come and continues to be just as interesting and enjoyable!
Dunagan, it’s a real shame to say goodbye to you. Thanks for letting us know, it’s been a great pleasure playing with you. You brought some touching moments to this campaign as well as great humour. It’s a pity when we won’t get to see Dunagan scale the heights of ancient Koldukar or forge great weapons of power aboard his moving wagon-forge.
In game terms, Dunagan will now become an NPC. He’s unlikely to go exploring Harchrist’s Blockade with you, but he might be available for the odd spot of healing or weapon repair. When the caravan arrives at the Freedom Town, I’ll probably contrive for some reason to send Dunagan back to Vigil. Dunagan’s player has already shown how devoted the dwarf is to his family; a death or serious illness amongst his immediate kin might well convince him to abandon his quest and return home.
Dunagan: sorry to see go and I hope real life gives you a break soon so you can start playing again. Good luck.
All: from my perspective another player (or two) would be welcomed as we've seen how player activity wanes and waxes. I always wait for at least three players to respond before adding more info.
I also agree that Freedom Town seems like the best place to add people although, having said that, you did a marvelous job at introducing Modoru, which could have turned into a PC.
Is the idea to add someone to complement the party or will you open up the recruitment to any type of PC?
Also, in the interest of full disclosure.........I had submitted Delkaneth for another pbp before being accepted for this one, and looks like their rogue-type dropped out and the GM asked me to fill the slot.
I made a different profile and some tweaks to the character, so theres another slightly different "Delkaneth Sargan" out there who will start posting soon.
The other group accepted him under that name and jumped right in so hopefully adding the surname is enough to avoid confusion going forward. Hopefully that's okay with everyone??
Don't worry, two of the other campaigns I was in have dried up so even adding this new one won't be a strain on my posting frequency.
Hey Del,
I don't have an issue but you may after a while because your character memories will overlap.
Why don;t you change the name and the pic of the other one. The new game couldn't have seen much of the 'new Del' so it should be an easy switch for them.
Like I said, no skin off my back but it may help you.
@ Delkaneth; no worries on my part. I'm sure there are a few people walking the roads of Golarion named Delkaneth, and I hear the unshaven, becloaked look is a popular one.
Aw shucks. I have a soft spot for dwarfkind, and Dunagan in particular; going to suck to see you bow out, but I won't begrudge you the decision. Life trumps games (usually!) most assuredly.
If you do decide to open recruitment back up, I have a buddy I might be able to coax into applying. Granted, I understand his applicant will be subject to the same scrutiny as everyone else's characters, I can at least (almost) guarantee at least one more character making an appearance in the application thread. While I by no means have any reservations about rolling forward with just the four of us, I wouldn't terribly mind seeing a new face or two to fill out the roster.
On replacing Dunagan:
I think we could cover all the bases pretty well. Three of us could use wands of CLW or condition removal spells. Pally's are pretty decent secondary healers and have some condition removal. We have decent damage potential, plus good stealth/scouting and knowledge. I feel fairly sure we could be successful as we are.
That said, I wouldn't turn my nose up to another pure caster. A witch would be cool.
First out, I haven’t had a chance to check character sheets myself, but I hope you’ve noted and made any necessary adjustments as per my post upthread (above the Conductor post). This might have been missed whilst we shed tears for our departed dwarf :-)
As for bringing on new players, I probably won’t even open recruitment until we arrive at the Freedom Town, giving us a couple of ‘in-game’ days to see how you operate as a foursome and to mul over the pros and cons. Incidentally, we’ll probably dwell in the Freedom Town for a little while; as there as lots of opportunities for adventure and roleplay and it’s the last piece of civilization before it’s just orcs, orcs, orcs!
In terms of the party, I agree that you can probably manage fine as a foursome. As I’ve said before, as DM I can build encounters to be appropriate for the make-up of the party. That being said, some extra healing potential might be of benefit, especially as the tiresomely ubiquitous wand of cure light wounds might not be readily purchased in the Hold.
However, on the roleplay side, some new blood might be invigorating, and as Pellius pointed out, might help keep things ticking along as posting rates wax and wane.
Incidentally, with regards to Modoru – he’s actually an straight out of the NPC Codex; considering we were passing through his stomping ground I thought it’d be fun to fit him in.
If we do open up recruitment again, I’ll welcome all submissions, but give extra kudos to those submissions which complement the party plus submissions made by people who originally posted in the recruitment thread. Ultimately though, it’d be those who have the best RP and story potential who’d make it in.
Also, if there’re any submissions you thought had potential during the initial recruitment phase; please feel free to mention them.
For myself, my current feeling is a yes to more player(s), but if the general feeling of the group was a no, then I’d happily go with it. Let’s see how people feel when we reach the Freedom Town!
Not attempting to stifle the recommendation that we leave the horses, but Amiro's shaping up to be my animal companion and as such Bonegrit views him more as "one of the boys" than a means of conveyance. He's got a decent bit of stealth though, so it should be okay.
No worries. Just a recommendation. Though if one goes mounted, we probably all would. Torshen's Hammer isn't very sneaky, covered with bells as he is...
I am dabbling with the idea of taking the Squire feat from Knights of the Inner Sea. Also, we could always try to influence some other NPC's to accompany us in a "follower/mount-tender" kind of way. So, eventually we may have someone to competently guard/care for the horses.
I thought you were building some repoire with Shambles! Dogs can make great Ranger AC's, with their trip attacks. Maybe not the best for archer builds, though. =)
It has taken some time, but I finally had a chance to read through your Conductor of the Fens.
First off, I love the flavor of this guy! It makes for a great encounter or mini-boss. I think you did a good job putting the stats together, too. Everything seems to be dead on for Fey.
The saves and hitpoints seemed high to me, when I read it initially. I think it's because the stat allocation. Would you consider beefing up CHA and WIS, and dropping CON a bit? That would make him much more reliant upon his "Sifonietta" or "Orchestra" (which are fantastic names for his groups!), and enhance the "Conductor" aspect, which fits in with your description.
Conductors are cowardly, refraining from combat themselves, sending giant crickets (stats as giant cockroaches, immune to sonic damage) and crudely deafened boggard servants against their foes.
The only thing I spotted is in the stat block for Cicadic Crescendo you have DC 16, while in the description below you have DC 17. Is the DC charisma based? If so, it seems a little high in both cases. With 6 hit die, if you put it on par with a full spellcasting class, it would be 10 + spell level (3rd, in this case) + caster stat, or 10 + 3 + 2 = 15.
If I'm breaking down his stats correctly, it looks like you used a 20 point buy, with a +2 racial modifier to CHA, or possible a 15 point buy with +2's to DEX and CHA. If you drop STR to 8, CON to 12, then you could increase CHA to 17, which would bring the DC up to 16, while dropping his hp to 27 and his fort save to +3.
The charge and release design of the Crescendo is nice, but seems a little overpowered at that level, with the 6d6 + stun burst-effect. Basically, he initiates it and still gets his full action for the round, making it essentially a really powerful standard action sound burst that he casts on his next turn. Since it is an (Ex) ability, there is no real option for interrupt after he starts (unless you kill or incapacitate). It might work better just as a full-round action. That would still allow you to utilize the penalty associated with the Raiment of Roaches ability, which makes for a great combination of powers.
Did you consider giving him access to a few of the Bardic Performance abilities? I think the Countersong, Distraction, and Fascinate abilities would fit well with the flavor and design of the creature, without overpowering him the way Inspire Courage might. It would give him some options to fend off opposing casters/ranged attackers who would try to just ignore his minions and stay out of range of his burst.
I hope I'm not overstepping by offering some feedback/suggestions/critiques. I wanted to see his stat block because I really liked the idea of him when you introduced him. After seeing him, I still really like him! It's a pity you didn't make it into the creature round. I think this is a really strong contender!
Oh, I just read about Castles of the Inner Sea.
One of the featured castles is Castle Everstand: A borderland stronghold standing between the pastoral lands of vigilant Lastwall and the vicious orc hordes of Belkzen.
Can we go, please? :)
Hey everyone,
I will be running a Skull & Shackles PBEM and posted an add here. Take a look and let me know if you are interested.
Happy gaming!
Hi all, our modem is being replaced so no gameplay until tomorrow
My apologies!
No worries! We've all been overtaken by life's little interruptions recently.
@ Pyotr; thanks for your comments concerning the Conductor. I’m glad you liked it/him!
In response to some of your observations (as far as I recall).
• It’s interesting you consider some of his attributes overpowered. When building him, I was rather concerned he was too weak. This feeling led me to ensure his hit points were higher and that the crescendo ability delivered significant damage.
• As far as I can recall, I think the Conductor’s ability scores were just assigned rather than using a point buy (he’s a monster after all), using my feel for the monster as a guide rather than anything else. He is after all, covered in bugs, so he’s probably not that charismatic! I think the saves were more or less standard for a monster of his CR rating. I think the crescendo DC was set at just above the standard score, but that seemed logical to me considering the limited offensive options available to the monster.
• The thing with the crescendo is that really it’s his only offensive power; his melee and ranged options are pretty pathetic. Thus I upped the DC and the damage to give it some heft. My thinking was, due to the delay in the power and the conductor’s slow movement, PCs would probably not get hit again after the first blast. They’d figure out the building crescendo would mean another incoming blast of sonic damage, and do their best to get out of the way. I envisaged this would act as a compelling ‘cat-and-mouse’ aspect to encounters, especially if those encounters were complicated by fighting the conductor’s own minions.
• The Superstar Contest word count precluded me from adding anything else to the Conductor, but I certainly considered adding some more bard-like abilities. Certainly stacking some class-levels on a conductor would make it a much more dangerous foe.
@ Pellius; I haven’t got Castles yet, but I knew Everstand was in there and the book’s on my hit list. As I recall though, Everstand’s quite a few miles south of Firrine, so considering the direction the PCs are heading, so it’s unlikely they’ll be stopping by anytime soon.
Finally, thanks for the kind words on my map-making skills. I think my frustration lies in my current map-making technique is incredibly inefficient; I always end up doing things the hard way as I try and fathom the intricacies of Photoshop. I had a drawing tablet which packed up last year, that used to make things much easier than struggling away with a mouse!
Ugh... Word count. I'm pretty sure I edited and re-edited anything resembling "Superstar" out of my wondrous item, just to accommodate word count. It never factors in for me... Going to have to work on that for next year...
A quick gander of character sheets finds everything up to date, except that Pellius still needs to add 15 gp from the horse sale to Modoru, and some people haven't included their hero points yet.