Slow and steady, aye :P
Nah, I do hope to return to a more consistent posting rate across all my games, soon.
And you're welcome, Shadow...you picked up plenty of tables and dropped games...I just figured I'll extend the same courtesy :)
Sorry I have been really sick and I found it hard to post with my lung feeling enflamed. I appear to be better now so I'll get a post up tonight.
No worries, take your time getting better. We're not in a hurry ;)
I'll try and update when possible, but nobody should feel rushed :)
I've been absent these past few days for medical reasons.
Apologies for any inconveniences that may have caused.
I am still recovering, but hope to catch up and get back to posting again soon.
Not a problem, I've been laid out with dental surgery myself and haven't had the will to post, take your time.
Well, back at home for a couple days now. The little ones are still clingy, most of the paperwork is dealt with, I finally have time to get back to gaming. I started catching up with games during the last weekend, and today, finally got around to updating the games I run.
I will be taking it a bit easy at work for the forseeable future, so that should allow me some more freedom. I promise it won't be such a long wait to the next update(in fact, I'll try for sunday).
Hey sorry, but I'm still here. There was just a massive heatwave in my part and it killed my will to post. I'm just getting back into the groove of posting again.
As said, no worries, no hurry -
I'm just trying to update somewhat regulary for the time being ;)
Thral, did you want to post? :)
I figured I'd give you a week or so, but as said, opting to get into a more steady posting rhythm again, so will update tomorrow regardless.
Sorry, I'm on vaction now. About to post now, apologies for the wait.
No worries, and thanks. As said, I plan to post more steady updates, but neither did I want to force people to adopt a faster pace just because I want to prove I'm here :)
I'm already glad you, Belrim and Granite are still around.
I'll try and update tomorrow, and PM Randee later this week.
To further clarify: I have no problem with people reading spoiler tags not intended for them.
You may be spoilered if you check them, but I trust that people are able to keep player knowledge and character knowledge separate.
Specifically, what is true for your character is exactly what is taking place in the spoiler tags intended for it(that means, for sake of example, that if, say, Granite acted in his spoiler tag, that action does not necessarily translate into the spoiler tag of other players, for a variety of possible reasons).
I don't intend to force parties to split, but right now, we are still in a special situation.
Also, the heat wave in europe got to me as well and kind of sapped most of my motivation to do much other than take cold showers and refrain from any strenuous activity outside of work - but yeah, no posts since a week, again.
As said, I am very much dedicated and willing to see this through, but I've not PM'd Randee yet because I want a posting cycle that seems steady before inviting him back. I intended to try twice-weekly...weekly is also okay(hence why I post now, a week after the last update). Every other week, in my opinion, gets too slow for PbP without cutting a lot of stuff.(thats 26 updates/posts a year...)
There was some bumps early on. I had not planned to run another game and took over from shadow spontaneously. I had to aquire the materials, get familiar with it, then had medical issues. But I would hate if it all goes to waste because of the rough start.
So I would appreciate if you chime in and re-affirm your intent to stick with the game.
Still here and still intend to stick around.
I'm also pretty sure I know what's in the spoiler tag that's not meant for me because I skimmed everything that was posted before I joined and all the character introductions follow a certain pattern :-)
GRRRRRRR! I'll stick around.
That's 2 so far. A few more days for Thral, and I'll ask Randee anyway. If not, we'll have to bring our numbers up again a bit.
I'm back (tm)
You know Modred, with this campaign more might be the merrier. If you still have friends who wish to join, I don't see a problem.
testing.
*edit*: I'm back aswell, the site has been down for me for sometime for me.
Glad to hear it. Site had serious issues. Been getting maintainance Goblin for the better part of last week.
Lets hope its more stable now, I've got a family visit over the weekend, but I'll try and update on monday.
Goblin? Damn, I got a g+*#&!n ratfolk! Lucky you!
Ha, yeah, the server goblin was the old image...now it's that ratfolk mechanic - it's all gremlins to me -_-
With the site working again for now.
*knocks on wood*
I'm ready to continue.
Aye, let us hope it stays working.
I was on vacation in the last week but found myself unable to announce that previously as the site was in both planned and unplanned maintenance, every single time I checked.
A lot of work, commute times and 2 small kids means I have to set aside 'game time' on a schedule and am not very flexible with it - so events such as this time of instability are painfully destructive for my posting rates.
I am back now, will catch up on all my games, and try to post in all of them before the end of the work week. Apologies for any inconveniences caused by my inflexibility.
Hey everybody! My wife and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary Thursday, so no posts tomorrow from me. I'm be back on Friday.
Well, hope you had a nice celebration.
In other news, it would seem Thral and Randy did not check back in after the lenghty paizo downtime in september.
Now, I could try and write to them again. Or maybe they will check back at some time?
Anyway, I was wondering how to proceed from there.
Should I bring in a GMPC(Ran, who originally was built for this game, then picked up by Storyteller for the stopped game I shared with Granite)?
GMPCs are always a mixed bag, so I'm asking.
We can also, theoretically, recruit if you prefer that(I would contact Thral and Randee once more before going that way).
I do not have a strong preference. Randee's player seems to have posted recently elsewhere, but Thral's player doesn't seem to have posted since around September 11th, so I'm not sure messaging the latter would do much. For Randee I would suggest messaging him to see if he wants to continue; given that he hasn't posted here in a month, it seems a little unlikely he will just come back on his own/without a prompt.
In the meantime, you could just bot them. As for GMPCs, I guess I'm slightly against them because my one and only experience with them was pretty negative. But I guess it depends a little on what the PC to DMPC ratio is. One might be fine if Thral is indeed gone, but if Randee doesn't want to come back, half the party feels a bit odd.
Hm, I suppose I will message them around the weekend.
Thing is, I took over because I was, in multiple games, affected by Shadows shutdown too. Figured I'll help soften the blow by picking up one table. It was opportune and seemed right, but I did it so people could continue their game, continue characters they made.
Not because I wanted to run a new game with new characters. I suppose thats why I am slightly biased if it comes to recruiting.(Also because creation rules were pretty liberal, and I don't really have time to run a proper recruitment right now giving each person the same fair chance by in-depth checking)
But yeah, that's why I'm asking :)
Truth be told, while I would like to play him again Ran would probably not be a great fit for a GMPC. IF you remember him from the other game, he's rash, impulsive and rushing towards action. Properly, such a role should be a support char covering niches(the clichee classic: Bard tagging along chronicling the story of the heroes). So yeah, you may have a point there even if your reasons are different ones.
I did finally get around to writing them.
I had not updated in the past 2 weeks on purpose. We'll need to sort out where we stand and where we're going.
We do have Belrim and Granite, but that's not a party. If Randee comes back, a point could be made for 3 Godlings being sufficiently powerful to suffice as a group (similar to 3-player gestalt parties).
The GMPC is a no, with only Granite's input and Belrim abstaining.
I thought about recruiting, but the reason I took over (and very suddenly, I might add - the long time needed to aquire materials and prep was definitely not helping in the beginning) was to support Storyteller and keep some of his players in a game that would otherwise be dropped.
With half the original cast no longer frequenting the boards, and another one essentially missing, running a recruitment to 'fill the gaps' would kind of go against the original purpose.
So the key question is: Where are we headed from here.
If you do have thoughts on the matter, I would request you PM me.
Wether you want to continue, or would rather call it a day and pack up, or just want to vent, do drop me a note.
If we continue, I'd appreciate if you'd include your preferred handling of dropping below critical player threeshold in that PM.
Thanks.
The sanitarium seems like a slog, but not all campaigns have to start out the gate like gangbusters! I'd like to continue, but I understand your situation, Modred, and if you wish to cancel the adventure, I'd live with it. If we continue, can those who stayed get a boost somehow, like re-rolling better stats, extra feat, etc.?
So, I waited until after the weekend - just in case - but no response from Randee.
Granite sent me a PM.
It seems both of you do wish to continue!
Which brings us to the next point: How to proceed about this. 2 people is definitely too little - action economy breaks down that way - one save-or-suck incapacitates half the party.
I've had good experiences with parties of 3 in gestalt-format. The added power is offset with a biased action economy, and picking different kinds of classes rather than stacking one aspect of the character gives added versatility(e.g. instead of Fighter/Barbarian which purely stacks martial melee, something like Warpriest/Gunslinger or Shaman/Unchained Monk)
But there's two problems with that:
The first is that there's only 2 of you, and with GMPC out of the picture, that means we need one more. Does either of you have someone they want to direct-invite? I'd rather not run a full recruitment for the one slot.
Secondly: Godlings are already ahead of the power curve. Storyteller equated a Level of Godling with a Level of Gestalt. And they are vastly flexible classes with the Divine Traits, so all sorts of unforseeable wacky interactions with other classes could happen.
So yeah, I'd prefer them not gestalting with other classes.
We can use the following alteration of build rules:
Point buy gets upped from 20 to 25 points.
Hit Points are already at max/level.
Background Skills are a thing(I think it was in one game, not in the other)
Extra Racial Feats at even Levels for Levels 2,4,6,8, and 10
(both Human and Dwarf have some great picks. Whoever gets to join you can pick a race that will benefit nicely from this as well).
So...before we start 'rebuilding' for the 3-player continuation...does either of you have someone we can use as third player?
And would you prefer to keep the Godling-Theme or swap to Gestalt? We can mix and match(one player godling, other player gestalt), but I am not keen on Godling PLUS Gestalt.
I can't think of anyone who'd be willing to join. I'd would like to rework Belgrim if we move forward. Gestalting would be easier, but it's your campaign and will comply.
I don't have anybody in specific in mind for a 3rd player. I could post in one of the other games I'm in to see if anybody's interested if we want. Though if I do that, I feel I should ask about what our intended pacing for this game is going to be, so if we stay at once every week-ish I can make sure anybody interested knows that going in.
I'm also not sure I agree with Storyteller that 1 level of Godling = 1 level of Gestalt. The Gestalt will probably have all good saves, good BAB, and at least a d8 HD but the Godling will be less MAD and have almost as much flexibility (though they gain that more slowly since they're still only getting 1 thing per level as opposed to Gestalt's 2). That being said, you could probably break the game with either a Godling (especially the spellcasting Godlings) or Gestalt if that was your desire. You could also probably break the game without needing either.
Not that I'm arguing for Gestalt on top of Godling; I just disagree with Storyteller's assessment. As for which I'm likely to stick with, I'm probably going to keep Godling; it's unlikely I would get to play the class in a different game and the closest Gestalt to what Granite currently is is a witch/oracle, which is more MAD. I'm likely to switch out my spell list though since Summoner is mostly buffs. Probably to something more flexible/with more options. I might also switch out my feats, depending on what tweak Belrim wanted to make to his character.
As said, the option is either to go gestalt or to stick with the Godling.
Even if you stick with Godling and rework it, there's some boons added as per the post above.
While I agree that you can break the game in a multitude of ways, Godlings are especially adept. As said, it's not that I am afraid THEY are too powerful, it's what they COULD do in alignment with a different class and their immense flexibility.
Channel Energy? Just a scion talent away. Get half your level on all physical skills? Done. Pick up Revelations from 3 Oracle Mysteries, 1 School Power and stuff from 2 Bloodlines? Quite doable.
Not any one of those things is 'broken' alone but if you add a whole other class on top that can take advantage of it things tend to spiral out of control - and if I wanted to play rocket tag, I would add Mythic rules, so yeah, not adding Gestalt to Godlings. I simply meant to offer it as an alternative. I think one problem is that the Godling classes among themselves are not exactly 'balanced'(as in, equal in power).
Regarding the pacing...yeah, I want to keep going with at LEAST one update a week, preferably two.
Some days work needs overtime, some times I have to watch the kids, and other days I'm just spent and need some time to recharge. Unfortunately my current work schedule does not guarantee I have a daily opportunity to post during weekdays, so yeah, I'll try and be realistic and say one-two updates a week. Maybe more when possible(e.g. during a combat) but opting not to drop below weekly again.(True for both games I run).
I posted in one of the games I'm in. I'll let you know if anybody says they're interested in joining.
Well, we'll see.
Considering the current situation, it's not a given someone interested would join.
We'll give it a few days.
If someone joins, awesome, we'll get the trip on the road again as soon as you all settled on roles and how to rebuild.
I do have a contingency plan, but here's hoping it won't be needed.
Granite tells me that you are seeking another player/PC. I’ve never played this AP, know nothing other than that it is Lovecraftian, which I love.
You’re discussing gestalt? I’ve never played gestalt before, but I’m interested. Are you also doing this racial feat thing on even levels?
I saw the GM suggested dwarf and human as having good racial feats. Aasimar and tiefling also. Gnome, elf, orc, goblin, hobgoblin, kobold, and halfling have some. The elemental races also. I don’t know what races are legal for this AP
What exactly are the others playing?
Hello.
Gestalt is an option. Originally, it was supposed to be all Godlings - supposedly, Storyteller might have had some special plot twist in mind, or not, and he just wanted a special flavor. Either way, I was, as an alternative, offering to use Gestalt instead.
Both for Godlings and gestalt, the racial Feats on even Levels 2-10 will be available, yes.
There are many races with a few good Feats, but some are lacking.
By mentioning Human and Dwarf specifically, I simply meant to say that while this boon was introduced AFTER their race selection, they do have plenty of useful options so are not getting shafted with that boon.
Undine, as counter-example, only do have 6 racial Feats listed, and by far not all of them are worth it.
Regarding races - core, featured and uncommon are all fine. But as mentioned, some of those will have few or not very good racial Feats listed - so there may be an incentive to stick closer to the popular race picks.
The others, as of now, are a Dwarf Mighty Godling and a Human Adept Godling. Of course, that may change during this rebuild.
Possibly then a question to the two existing players is “what functions/roles” are you guys covering down on?
Can you gestalt with Unchained classes? Archetypes?
No darkvision on the human in the group, right?
Unchained Classes are fine, as are Hybrid Classes or generally anything Paizo. Archetypes are fine as well, of course.
Just for reference: d20 Gestalt Rules
Sitting here with loads of ideas, but I defer to the others to choose first, as they’ve got seniority.
Belrim? Granite? Anything you plan to change that you can tell Skarn about? Sticking with your class/role would probably also be worth confirming/pointing out.
Sticking with godling class.
And Granite had earlier stated a desire to stick with what he had with minor tweaks. He viewed what he had as roughly a witch/oracle sort of thing. I think that tells me enough to work with.
Responding here instead of in PM, but yes, I'm sticking with godling. I can't say too much about Belrim's role/how combat works since we haven't had any combats together. IIRC from glancing at the earlier gameplay posts, he does melee attacks. I will be casting spells in combat, but adept godlings at early levels have a pretty limited number of spells per day and only ever get up to 6th level spells, so when I'm not spellcasting, I will probably be in melee but I will not be DPS. I currently have Bodyguard to use an AoO to increase an ally's AC and I was considering at later levels crit fishing with Butterfly Sting to pass my crits on to an ally though that only makes sense if there's someone who really benefits from crits.
I have a number of knowledges fairly well covered, but I also have finite skill points, so if you want to coordinate on knowledge specialties, we can do that. We're missing someone who can deal with traps and party-face skills. There are other skills we're missing, but you can probably figure them out by just looking at our character sheets (my skills at least are unlikely to change other than putting 1 rank in all my class skills for that nice +3 bonus). If you can only focus on one skill, my guess is Disable Device will be the most useful, as I figure we're pretty much bound to run into traps and locks.
If you want a spellcasting class, I would suggest a prepared caster as I'm limited to spontaneous casting regardless of which spell list I choose (which means I'm not a good choice for utility spells/spells that are likely to be situational). I think I'm probably going to have my spellcasting focus on summoning with some other thing as backup. The other thing is TBD and will depend on what Skarn makes. Some possibilities for my backup casting are healing (hopefully less needed if summons can soak up some damage), situational evocation for when weapon damage may be less effective (elemental damage or AoE), or sticking with buffs/protection-y spells.
So, my thoughts are:
Zen Archer//Empyreal Sorcerer
Zen Archer//Inquisitor
These both provide great DPS, ranged damage, and some spell casting, albeit not with completely open spell lists. The Sorcerer option provides some buffs, and probably Fireball, maybe go Arcane Archer. With the Inquisitor, once I get to having Bane (5th level), suddenly I'm hurling out Bane arrows at a rate of 4 or 5 per round. I could likely do the Face job with the Inquisitor option here.
I can take a trait to make Disable Device a Class skill if desired for these options
Fighter//Rogue
This would provide a more tanky type, and I'd take a feat or two and get sneak attack damage more often than normal. There are some interesting Orc racial feats related to Cleaving.
Oracle//Paladin
This would likely not be as huge on DPS. And there's the obvious alignment issue many parties have with a Paladin.
I also have thoughts of a Ranger//Cleric, not sure how I'd build that. Maybe a Fighter//Cleric(or Inquisitor), probably using Whirlwind Attack, but that seems difficult to get all of the feats and the right stats to pull it off well.
I had originally considered some small character with a medium mount, but that doesn't feel like what this AP needs.
What do you guys think?
That's something for you guys to decide amongst yourselves - but I'll say that possibly, one more person might be coming in for a full party of 4 in total.
That said, do expect that in the AP, there might me several problems that you cannot resolve with damage output alone. Not saying it won't help...it helps in all AP's...just saying a - roughly spoken, lovecraftian setting - is maybe not the one where DPS needs to be optimized :)
Hahaha, I totally get that. Ok team, something Bardish?
I have no real preferences/opinions beyond what I've already said, so it's up to you.
Alright, I have a guy crafted up. I’ll make an alias (or reuse one) and get him posted up today.