GM Brunoreturns' Shattered Star (Inactive)

Game Master brunoreturns

Safe is not always pleasant (and nobody forced you to eat :D )

Regardless, she is friendly to you now and will allow you to camp on her island, if you wish

Sounds good to me...but, as before, I'll either be eating rations or going fishin'... ;)

She has a crow to stand guard.

We did bring plenty of our own rations, so heading back to the island sounds good to me. It's probably safer for the Nag anyway. I'll get Barkot leveled up this evening - it feels like it should be relatively simple because it isn't tied to a shopping opportunity.

Yeah, mine was pretty easy. Took vital strike so I will be dealing out +16/+11 (4d6+19/19-20).

Here's what I'm thinking for level 6; I'll get it nailed down in the morning.

Level 6: Oracle (last oracle level for a while)
Favored class bonus: +1 level 2 spell known
Automatic stat increases: +1 BAB, +1 Fort, +1 Ref, +1 Will (my tagline has been wrong for a while; Barkot should have been at +4 for all three saves this past level, and will be +5 for all three at level 6)
+5 skill ranks: +2 Knowledge (arcana), +1 each for Knowledge (local), Knowledge (religion), Spellcraft
+2 background skill ranks: Craft (other {drawing}), Linguistics
New language: TBD - need to go back and look at what we've encountered but haven't been able to understand. Maybe Abyssal or Aklo?
Spells known: +1 level 0, +1 level 2, +1 level 3 (cure serious wounds and glyph of warding added automatically)
New spells:
Level 0: mending. Running out of options for orisons.
Level 2: TBD - I'm still very undecided about this one, considering augury, bear's endurance, boneshaker, calm emotions, and light prison, but still looking at the list. Kylee, let me know if any of these are on your go-to list and wouldn't make sense for Barkot to lock himself into.
Level 3: I'm 90% settled on magic circle against evil - the automatic Extend Spell for spells Barkot casts only on himself (from the Reclusive curse) would mean that at level 6, this would last for 2 hours. But blindness/deafness and searing light are both old favorites for offense, so I'm still thinking it over & open to suggestions.

Also, Kylee, having a prepared caster in the party will make Barkot's Scribe Scroll feat much more useful. Fair warning, he is likely to pester you to use one of your unused low-level spells at the end of each adventuring day to help him create a new scrolls.

Kylee, let me know if any of these are on your go-to list and wouldn't make sense for Barkot to lock himself into.

I've listed Kylee's usual daily spell choice on her character page.

Also, Kylee, having a prepared caster in the party will make Barkot's Scribe Scroll feat much more useful. Fair warning, he is likely to pester you to use one of your unused low-level spells at the end of each adventuring day to help him create a new scrolls.

Makes perfect sense. She'll be happy to contribute.

I took another level in Ranger; probably take it to level 3 and get Endurance and a will bump. I need to get my will save up some time so I’ll probably take a dip into monk/zen archer after ranger...hard to beat that +2 bump to all saves at 1st level. And then I’ll probably just go back and concentrate on rogue. If any of you have ideas on other classes I should consider in the future, I’m all ears...

Looks good Barkot...what are you thinking of dipping into after Oracle?

Runeguard - a prestige class from Paths of the Righteous that is exclusively for worshippers of Soralyon.

The ancient traditions of Thassilonian magic became mired in the culture of sin due to the legacy of that land’s runelords, but taken in its purest form, Thassilonian magic is no more good than evil. Indeed, at Thassilon’s outset—before the runelords seized control—the original incarnations of these seven schools of magic were not associated with sins at all, but rather with the seven virtues of rule. This original lore is all but lost, but within the city-states of Varisia (particularly in Magnimar), a small order of spellcasters seeks to reclaim the knowledge of those empowering virtues. With the might of virtuous runes, they protect their homes from the lingering evil of Thassilon and look to the guidance of Soralyon, the Mystic Angel, to aid them in their quest. These spellcasters have also come to believe that a runelord’s return to power is practically an inevitable threat that must be prepared for and defended against.

I wasn't aware of this prestige class when we started - I was thinking of working towards the Mystery Cultist prestige class instead - but when I came across it I realized I couldn't pass it up. It isn't like I'm going to play another Soralyon worshipper in a Thassilon-themed campaign anytime soon. I'll take the Prestigious Spellcaster feat at level 7 to keep Barkot's spellcasting on track.

I have updated the Loot List - please let me know if you think I’ve missed anything. Barkot will cast mending on the broken Korvosa guard’s masterwork dagger that Deric found on the Trog v. Frog battlefield, but it’s still covered with the rancid mud and blood that are infected with filth fever. Can that just be cleaned off?

I think Ulyi has the amulet of mighty fists and nobody can use the wand of acid arrow, but did someone take the ring of swimming? Paëral, maybe?

That prestige class sounds cool...

Thanks for doing that, Barkot. I'll take the ring my of swimming for now, if no one else wants it...but I'm saving up to get magic added to my bow, so I might want to sell it and split the gold amongst us next time we go to market...

Will mending work on my durable arrows that broke when I shot the caryatid columns?

It takes 10 minutes per object - so each arrow - which isn't a big deal. I think the question is whether they are broken or destroyed, which is probably a GM call. Here's the relevant section of the spell text:

This spell repairs damaged objects, restoring 1d4 hit points to the object. If the object has the broken condition, this condition is removed if the object is restored to at least half its original hit points. All of the pieces of an object must be present for this spell to function.

How many hit points and hardness do durable Arrows have?

Researching that, GM...thus far this is all I've found:

Durable arrows don’t break due to normal use, whether or not they hit their target; unless the arrow goes missing, an archer can retrieve and reuse a durable arrow again and again. Durable arrows can be broken in other ways (such as deliberate snapping, hitting a fire elemental, and so on).

3d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 3) = 6 3d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 3) = 10

No, I think they were destroyed. Both took enough damage to destroy a small chest. I don't know what actual stats to assign to an arrow, but they can't be sturdier than a chest.

I was going to guess maybe 2 hardness and 1 or maybe 2 HP.

Yeah, I agree...looking at the damage they'd be dealt, I can't imagine the arrows surviving that...I'd imagine they shattered on impact. Hope we don't run into any more like that or I will run outta arrows...

Yeah, I agree...looking at the damage they'd be dealt, I can't imagine the arrows surviving that...I'd imagine they shattered on impact. Hope we don't run into any more like that or I will run outta arrows...

"That's why adamantine durable arrows are the adventuring archer's best friend! A mere 61gp each, they are available only in sets of 50 from your friendly local Pathfinder Society quartermaster for the low, low price of 3,050gp (cash only). Of course, you still have to find the arrows after you shoot them..." {evil laughter}

Yeah, caryatid columns are nasty. Like running into a rust monster or one of those giants that specialize in sundering - putting them at the start of a wilderness adventure like this one, with no opportunity to buy replacements for destroyed weapons, is particularly cruel.

My only regret in the way we resolved that encounter is that I thought there might be a chance that one of the columns had an adamantine weapon that Deric could have used.

Paëral actually has 12 durable adamantine arrows (used 2PP to buy 'em) but he fired Cold Iron...but I was thinking only the arrowhead was adamantine and not the shaft...am I wrong on that?

@gm icymi

Deric walks alongside Maroux as she heads to the hut. "I am interested in purchasing magical potions. Do you have any to spare or can you make some? If so which ones?"

Barkot, thanks again for the heads up on the bundle. I could not resist that deal at that price. Have been through the rules already. I like it. Especially 3 actions per turn.

Paëral, I think if you hit, the arrowhead bypasses the hardness and the shaft doesn't matter anymore than it would for an adamantine spear or other polearm.

Deric, the 3-action economy is one of my favorite things about PF2, to the point that I suggested using the original PF Unchained version in my family's Reign of Winter campaign (my players preferred to stay with the original rules to avoid confusion).

Thanks Barkot, I wasn’t aware of that...

Curious Barkot, how far are y’all thru Reign of Winter? Kylee and I are over halfway thru Book 3 (I think), after nearly 4 years of PBP. Book 1 was a killer for us, we had 2 deaths, lots of unconscious PCs, and at least three near TPKs...not to mention we had four different players drop out before the end of that book alone (one player was a Venture Agent that said she didn’t like how the AP was actively trying to kill the party). How has your players’ experience with it been?

Barkot, I agree with your approach. Just building characters is tough as hell. Whew, the changes are huge. The rules are no more clear than PF1.

@Barkot I meant to mention that everyone would be fully healed. There were plenty of free resources available, and Maroux was willing to help as well.

As for the scroll, creating it would require Kylee to have had it prepared. If she did, that's fine. If not, you'll have to take a day of downtime to make the scroll.

(If the party wants to take a day or two of downtime, you may do so).

----

Technically, I don't believe that scribing scrolls actually allows someone else to cast the spell, but I will handwave that.

Speaking of prepared spells.... I need to level up Jasper.

FWIW Jasper heard the discussions of desired spells and prepared Bull's Strength and Silence for today.

(Clerics don't get Darkvision, unfortunately)

Silence is in fact one of the spells Kylee routinely has prepared on any given day.

A day or two of downtime to scribe the scroll would’ve been fine by me...Pae could’ve gotten some more fishing in...

Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item’s creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed). The DC to create a magic item increases by +5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items without meeting their spell prerequisites.

Thanks, GM. I always interpreted the exception in the final sentence as applying only to the previous sentence, allowing creation of any item at +5 DC for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. I interpreted the highlighted phrase in parentheses to mean that “the caster” includes another spellcaster cooperating in the crafting process. I can see how reasonable GMs could differ, so I appreciate your willingness to handwave it.

As Kylee said, silence was one of her prepared spells on the day she arrived (which is why I picked it). If the group wants to take an extra day, Barkot would have scribed another scroll, either resist energy (which he knows) or anything Kylee might know & want.

Edit to add:

I knew I'd seen more definitive rules on this somewhere. It's in Ultimate Campaign:

Cooperative Crafting

If you need another character to supply one of an item’s requirements (such as if you’re a wizard creating an item with a divine spell), both you and the other character must be present for the entire duration of the crafting process. If the GM is using the downtime system from Chapter 2, both you and the other character must use downtime at the same time for this purpose. Only you make the skill check to complete the item—or, if there is a chance of creating a cursed item, the GM makes the check in secret.
If the second character is providing a spell effect, that character’s spell is expended for the day, just as if you were using one of your own spells for a requirement. If the second character is a hired NPC, you must pay for the NPC’s spellcasting service (Core Rulebook 163) for each day of the item creation.

That makes sense. I was looking at the "Creating Scrolls" section and thus missed that overriding text. It appears all of the item type sections contain the same language.

Great. All good and the party has lots of Silence ability now.

If the party decides to take some downtime days, just let me know and we can retcon anything that would have happened in the meantime.

I say continue on.

Kylee, On the slides, I have a page with character icons and a page with Initiative and Perception spoilers.

Please make sure your character information is there.

Of course. I used to wonder why the 50’ ball of twine was included in the Pathfinder Kit, but I have used it more often than any character of mine has ever needed to use the soap.

"Yes, I've been meaning to talk to you about your use of soap. I spend most of my time in the inner slums of Magnimar. You first encountered me outside of a string of abbatoirs.

Still, I find the odors coming from you to be hard to stand. Perhaps you've noticed how everyone stands upwind?"

Welcome back, Squint. Feel free to have some retcon get-to-know-yoy conversations.

@Paeral That IF is a big if, and not one that I can parse.

DO you think it can be disarmed? Magical traps are tricky. Some are triggered by proximity. There is no way to physically disable them. Some might have a tampering trigger, or the magic might interpret the action of disarming to satisfy the conditions on a different trigger. There are too many possibilities for me to handle.

Roger that GM, and sorry, I didn't state that well at all...what I meant was, if he detected it as a magical trap, he would attempt to disarm it. I wasn't sure if it was something on which a Disable Device check could even be attempted so that was what I so ineptly tried to imply...

Magical traps are tricky. Some are triggered by proximity. There is no way to physically disable them.

Sorry, GM, I missed the italicized portion of your above post on my first read through. I thought trapfinding was what allowed rogues to physically disable magical traps. How else could rogues get disarm magical traps? On one of the last specials, I had a PC with trapfinding that was able to disable a symbol of pain or something similar; the GM said that my character took his dagger and used it to alter the rune and disarm it...is that not applicable here?

Some magical traps can be disabled. But if the trigger is to go off when someone gets within 10ft, how could you disable the rune?

5E has the ability to do disable through a Mage Hand to handle that situation, but P1E doesn't have anything that I am aware of.

Naturally a GM has to rule on these things on a case by case basis. In this case, I am ruling that the attempt to disarm satisfied the language of one of the triggers. Other GMs might rule differently.

Not that it matters, but here's the link:

Disable Magic Trap

And I was wrong, it was a symbol of weakness, not pain...but this encounter led me to believe that it was possible...and I think symbols of weakness/pain have a proximity trigger of some sort but not sure...

You're a good GM and you know the rules better than I, so whatever you decide is fine...

I understand the situation you were describing, and understand that a GM could make a different ruling.

For me, I think a proximity trigger would need to be dispelled (or possibly approached invisibly, if it is a sight based detection).

The ruling doesn't change here. I had a long time to think about how I wanted to play this specific scenario.

I understand the situation you were describing, and understand that a GM could make a different ruling.

For me, I think a proximity trigger would need to be dispelled (or possibly approached invisibly, if it is a sight based detection).

The ruling doesn't change here. I had a long time to think about how I wanted to play this specific scenario.

No worries here, GM, and I appreciate you explaining your point of view. Like I said, you know this stuff much better than I...and you've always been fair. I just wanted you to know what led to my thinking...

I believe that Paeral has previously deactivated magical traps, so I obviously will allow it, but have to consider each trap individually.

This one has some "rule of cool" that feeds into it, which we can discuss much later.

This is Sorshen

This is Sorshen

As played by Megan Fox!

Yep, that’s what you might expect the Runelord of Lust to look like...

Question...is that what the well-preserved body in the sarcophagus looked like?

Yep. Down to the 'cat who got the canary' look, even in repose.

Actually, since the body is wearing 'diaphanous robes', she is probably wearing more fabric but is less concealed.

@GM
Exactly what jewelry is on her? Trying to determine how difficult this will be without touching the corpse.

a necklace of lapis lazuli, a pair of emerald-studded earrings, seven rings, and a silver and pink pearl anklet

Whew, we need dis.