GM Blood's Age of Worms in Golarion #2

Game Master David James Olsen

Kilthan, good catch there. Well that makes it stacking with a natural attack much more reasonable as it gives you at most one attack per caster level (and, like elemental fist, I would rule using it and missing expends it). Still, the shield and expeditious retreat wand (when not mounted) will always be a higher priority than the produce flame wand for Justin. Plus Justin is running around with bless to pop as std too with no roll which will be superior to produce flame with twice the duration.

Without a familiar with a high UMD that could speak and hold a wand, it is probably too low powered for our group now. Our PCs have better things to do with their std actions.

As Aarakess points out, one charge of a lead blades wand will be better than two charges of the produce flame wand. So produce flame is downgraded to a SELL.

At level 7 I plan on getting Improved Familiar and a Lyrakien for a new familiar. That should solve the UMD problem. We can give her the fun wands - Bless, CLW, Enlarge Person, etc.

Sorry for taking so long to pipe in!

Regarding the Hide Shirt. That's medium armor, which I'm not proficient in. And even Masterwork still has a -2 to ACP, which would give me a -2 to attack rolls for +1 to armor class. And then with my Mutagen wouldn't give me the full benefit fo my Dex to AC either as my dex goes to 20, and hide caps at +4.

So while I do appreciate the offer, I'd have to decline.

EDIT: Oh, and me no likey reduced speed either :)

Dryn: A Hide Shirt is Light Armor (Armor Page of PFSRD). You are thinking of Hide Armor, which is the medium armor.

Hmm, yes, I do believe I was incorrect on that. Still though, the +1 Studded Leather is better than that at present for me, so I'd prefer that. Thank you still!

Wow... When did they downgrade hide shirts from their original stats?

I think we'll need to ask GM Blood which stats he's using -- because it makes a difference -- I'd assumed the ones I posted rather than the ones Anala retrieved from d20pfsrd, which is why I suggested it as an upgrade. (Assuming it is those stats, then the +1 set offers more protection than +1 studded, though it would still have a -2 ACP -- and, to be fair, the max dex *would* reduce the effect of your mutagen.)

Kilthan, my guess is that someone interchanged terms. There is Hide Armor, which is as you are describing it, and is medium armor. And there is a Hide Shirt, which is pretty much the same as Studded Leather with a 1 lower max Dex.

I don't *think* it was accidental, considering that both the cost of *90* (or, you know, a mere 6 times the medium hide price) and the speed of 30 was also clearly listed in the description... and this whole "break it off" thing was *not*.

I believe the intent (based on stuff I'd read) was to give barbarians something to wear (that wasn't a chain shirt) that fit in with the whole "uncivilized" thing without making them have to cough up their fast movement bonus.

Also, the same stats were repeated in the Crimson Throne Player's Guide.

(I wonder if there's an errata for the non-anniversary game that addresses that... )

In any case, based on the "new" stats, I can see why they didn't bother putting it into the Ultimate Equipment guide -- it doesn't much look like an armour type most people would bother with.

Based on what *is* in UE, it looks like the original niche of a "good" non-metal light armour has been taken over by Leather Lamellar -- which posts better numbers than the "original" chain shirt for less cost..... well, except for a lower dex limit, but that's easily solved with Darkleaf.

To be fair, the original Runelords book wasn't written for PF (it predates PFRPG), so maybe that's part of it.

This could be an issue, though, because I know that at least one of my characters online is (or maybe was) wearing the 90gp version, because I bought it at chargen. ;)

Just get an Ironwood Mithril Breastplate and call it a day.

In my opinion there are too many different types of armor at this point. I still like the original stuff - Leather/Studded/Ringmail/Chainmail/Splint/Banded/Plate and call it a day. You can then deck these out with whatever you want - Dragonhide, Ironwood, Glasssteel, Hide etc. - to add flavor and allow barbarians and druids to be able to use them.

Strangely, less affordable at level 1. ;P

(Also, the hide shirt actually pre-dates the entirety of PFRPG, so it's not exactly a Johnny-Come-Lately)

It is funny, my first level characters medium/heavy armor types still typically buy scale out of habit. I can never buy the cheesy four mirror armor that costs 5gp less, gives one more AC and is one third the cost of chainmail while weighing only 5 pounds more. I also don't have all my wizards buy the +1 AC cumberbund (with no casting penalty) and enchant it rather than bracers of AC. Justin actually started with scale as he spent most of his money on a horse and dog.

I think the hide shirt ability to rip out of it like a WWF wrestler and leave it broken on the ground is worth some RP love. Though once you enchant it like the one we have, that is throwing away some serious gold to impress others.

Yeah, I don't love the way "eastern" things are put into the game and become optimal choices (katanas in pretty much every edition of D&D, for instance, make my brain hurty) -- and the cumerbund thing is just a massive bit of cheese, I agree.

However, giving your armour the broken condition (these days) just costs you a casting Make Whole, so it's not as bad as you think.. assuming you collect the bits after you pull your little trick.

For the record I am not using the new updated one with +3 armor, I am using the original one where it is +4 and not able to Hulk Hogan it.

And I am with Aarakess on the armor stuff. Sometimes more options are good and sometimes enough is enough!

And with that ruling, the original question comes back:

Say, Dryn, do you want this? More protection when not mutagenny, and I think the max dex makes it a wash when you are.

I do believe I will take it at this point then! A higher AC is always nice, especially when not mutagenned up. Not a fan of ACPs, but hey it works.

Tobar is back from his island sojourn and sinking unhappily back into the tropical heat of Malaysia. Oahu and Kauai were indeed most excellent and nascent plans are in place for spending of accrued long service leave time on Kauai. 16 hours in a plane yesterday and 6 hours time difference to acclimatise to will make recovery relatively slow - but I'm off to the game thread to read through the 70 odd posts I've gotten stacked up and get something down on electronic paper.

Just as a note, next Wednesday I will be driving to the east coast and will have limited internet on Wed-Thursday. My family is moving to the east coast and I may or may not have reliable internet access (or I may have tons if it gets set up). I am the advance party with the rest of the family following in a few weeks.

If I am slow on posting, this is likely why. I shall attempt to post at least once per day, but I really do not know how reliable my posting will be for anywhere from a day or two to two weeks. We are going to get internet from Comcast, and that is always a crap shoot at best.

Hopefully this panic has a limited duration or allows multi-saves or something because it seems that the diceroller is really co-operating with the wormy thing. :)

I'm wondering if we might want a wand of remove fear next time there's some money? (Although the +4 it grants to later saves is also a morale bonus and doesn't stack with Justin's aura -- then again, as a scouty-type person, I'm often more than 10' away from Justin...)

I remember deducting the cost of two cure disease scrolls from party treasure and annotating it on the spreadsheet after hearing about these worms. I don't see them, did we decide not to buy them?

I don't remember, to be honest.

I think we may have had some concern about the CL of the scrolls, especially since you get a mercy to make us all better later...

But having said that I don't recall us deciding not to buy 'em.

Anala has Remove Disease and similar spells available. As a cleric, it is east enough to leave a slot open and then to spend 15 minutes praying to learn a remove spell as needed.

It is a domain spell as well... one of the reasons she took it over heat metal.

everyone can advance to the next level

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WooHoo - Leveling PARTY!!!!!!!!

HP: 1d3 ⇒ 2

1d5 ⇒ 4 +5 hp

Level 6:

New Spells:
- Remove Disease
- Remove Curse
- Haste <-- Patron spell

New Hex:
- Misfortune

6th level Hit Points 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Okay, I'm having trouble finding a ruling, so I'd just thought I'd ask.

Wings Discovery

Does that require an action to activate, or can I just move, starting a 1 minute timer on it? Trying to decide if I want to go for this discovery or not. I like it being extraordinary (no dispelling!), but the limited use in and of itself isn't so good imo considering I get it as an extract next level.

My other options that look good are Concussive Bomb (for 1d4 sonic damage instead of 1d6 fire damage) or dispelling bomb (no damage, but targeted dispel on a hit).

I'm not sure it's worth the reduction in die to get at sonic, especially when you can get Force at 8th, which is effectively irresistable and can knock stuff down.

Dispelling is fun because it's a whackload of dispel magics -- but at the same time, we haven't been fighting too many things that have been all that buffed (that I've noticed, anyway), which could limit the utility also.

SMoke's not bad either -- the tactical ability to make a fog cloud at will is pretty snazzy -- and then it allows you to get at stink bomb and poison bomb, which are pretty darn nasty (as long as we're not in the area).

The alchie in my RL party leapt on Explosive Missile when he got the chance -- you lose the hitting touch AC, but (effectively) your bombs get a range equal to your crossbow -- so you can really ruin the day of people 160 feet away. ;)

The other one I find super-useful is tanglefoot bomb. It makes for spiffy, fun battlefield control.

In updating my sheet, I notice that Kilthan's carrying a potion of remove fear. Don't I just feel dumb?

Dryn'taka, the way I read it you always have the wings, but can only fly with them a short amount of time per day.

Kilthan has some good suggestions. I can't speak for everything he suggested but I can say I have seen the tanglefoot bags in play on my Monday night game which the alchemist player really likes to use. As you gain more and more levels I can see where the dispelling could come into play.

My 2cps, Drynn, is I like both of your suggestions.
Mobility is key, just I suggested flight hex for Aarakess, and it was used to great affect in our last battle. Six one minute bursts of flight is probably all you will need.

Dispel magic is critical when you need it. Rather than hold a level 3 spell slot, you have the ability to have a dispel bomb at any time ready. At the levels we are at, the buffs get more potent (haste, beast form, summon monster). Rather than sticking someone to the ground, which I think we can do with a level 2 spell very well, having dispel magic available at a moments notice seems more handy.

More critical than stopping buffs, though, is dispelling debuffs. When I am subject to the dominate spell, I want that bomb hitting he.

Note to future self, Dominate Justin or Dryn'taka to have her throw bombs at her party members

I figure my tactic is cackle, misfortune, Rain of Frogs and watch the enemy keep failing its nausea saves while getting eaten/poisoned by the frogs. Seems like a good tactic against most bosses.

No real opinion here Dryn, I can buff/debuff pretty well - Haste, Fortune Hex, EE, Cackle, Misfortune, Slumber, etc. The only problem is that most of my hexes are aimed at single enemies. Very helpful in letting our fighters take people down, but not much use in bigger fights. Getting the Tanglefoot option could be most useful.

Also, I do not know whether the Dispel Magic would dispel a Hex or not, but that might limit its usefulness to some extent. But, being able to use it on our own team if they get dominated/controlled could be very beneficial. I can always Slumber Hex them and with the DC19 on my Hexes, most fighter types are going to miss the Slumber save a good amount of the time.

Note to future self, Dominate Justin or Dryn'taka to have her throw bombs at her party members

As I said in my last post - I think that Slumber Hex could be most useful in this situation. Or EE reduce Saves followed by Slumber.

LEVEL UP Up up!!!

Class Alchemist 5 -> 6
HP 48 -> 1d4 + 54 ⇒ (3) + 54 = 57
Tiefling FC Alchemist Bomb Damage +2.5 -> +3.0
Base Attack Bonus 3 -> 4
Base Fortitude 4 -> 5
Base Reflex 4 -> 5
Base Will 1 -> 2

New extracts/formulaes
2nd 2+1 -> 3+1
Vomit Swarm Hehe, Aarakess inspired me.

Alchemist Abilities
Swift Poisoning
Discovery! (Dispelling Bomb)

Skills
Use Magic Device 5 > 6
Craft (Alchemy) 5 > 6
Perception 5 > 6
Disable Device 5 > 6
Knowledge (Arcana) 5 > 6
Knowledge (Nature) 5 > 6
Spellcraft 5 > 6
Sleight of Hand 2 > 3

I'm updated -- though I'm still debating between Impy-2-W-F and Double-Slice for my next Combat Style feat.

It's either one more iterative attack (assuming I pay the penalty to make the first off-hand, the second one's free) or +2 damage on the off-hand attacks (plus more thanks to PA).

However, at the moment, I'm leaning toward Impy because of shield slam next level.

Also: What a good level for Jadbach. +1 str *and* +1 BAB.
Who's a little burrowing buzzsaw of rage?

Profile should be updated!

So Kilthan's choices are one extra bad dice roll every full attack or +2 to an off hand bad dice roll? ;)

Kilthan, I am of the opinion that more attacks are the way to go.
Double-slice is not one of my favorites. Not until you have two off-hand attacks at least.

Plus the more dice you roll, the more the law of averages should help out.

I finished leveling, will get the mount later.

Justin is putting his first skill point in diplomacy. He actually has seen the value of influencing people now.

Haste + Fortune = 2 more bad rolls per round.

Wow, GM, that would be insulting if the dice roller didn't hate me so.

Let's stick with the off-hand bad dice roll. +2 damage doesn't help when you never hit anyway. :)

Just in increase of +1 to BAB, all saves, another 2nd and 3rd level spell, access to 6th level healing domain power.

Skills
Diplomacy 5 > 6 (+12)
Heal 2 > 3 (+10)
Knowledge Religion 5 > 6 (+9)
Sense Motive 2 > 3 (+10)

FYI: Remove Disease is a 2nd level domain spell for Anala

Let me explain how tracking them will work:

Traveling in the swamp will be 12 miles a day of travel at speed 30 or 8 miles at speed 20. I believe you travel at the slower speed.

Tracking them requires a Survival check every hour at DC 10 (but the first and last hour of travel is at DC 13 due to the mist the rises in those hours). If you fail the DC but do make the DC at -5, you find the tracks but move at half speed that hour. If you fail that check then you lost that hour of travel (1 mile)

A second Survival DC 15 check can be made at hour 1 and hour 4 to find the best paths through the Mushfens and will add 2 hours of travel in that 4 hour period

Any combat in the swamp will be difficult terrain and will add +2 to the DC of any acrobatics check

Does all of that make sense? So basically I will need someone (Most likely Kilthan with his +10) who is leading and tracking roll 8 survival checks, one for each hour of travel, then two more for best route (In the order listed below, Kilthan would only need to make Hour 1, Hour 1 best path, Hour 5 and Hour 8).

Hour 1 DC 13 (8) to track
Hour 1 DC 15 for best path (succeed gives 2 extra miles of travel)
Hour 2 DC 10 (5) to track
Hour 3 DC 10 (5) to track
Hour 4 DC 10 (5) to track
Hour 5 DC 10 (5) to track
Hour 5 DC 15 for best path (succeed gives 2 extra miles of travel)
Hour 6 DC 10 (5) to track
Hour 7 DC 10 (5) to track
Hour 8 DC 13 (8) to track

Can anyone Aid Kilthan?

They can, but a failed Aid Another will penalize by 2 instead of help by giving bad info.

If I'm tracking something, it's +13, thanks to the ranger class feature "tracking" where I add half my level.

Survival (Tracking): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

I assume after that roll, Kilthan realizes that the tracking excercise isn't an extremely challenging one, so I'll take 10 on the rest of the checks.

(DC 23?)

Kilthan, I don't think that he is letting you take-10. However, with a +13, you will only need to roll for the "best path" rolls since the minimum you could roll with a natural-1 is 14. Also, if GM Blood is allowing someone to cast Guidance (which seems most applicable when the casting is guiding someone to track), then Kilthan could not miss any of the checks.

Kilthan make one more check for day one. Roll at least a 2!

Justin mounted moves at 35'
Justin has gifted Drynn the light warhorse that moves at 50'
I think we are not slowed down at all.