GM Euan's Mummy's Mask (Inactive)

Game Master Euan

I'm not sure if Nidhi will want to keep anything the party has looted thus far. Nothing really calls out to me for Nidhi's character.

Nidhi might give back the armor and just save up for a nice bow or maybe jewelry that grants a bonus to archery or perform skills.

I'm happy playing a vanilla-esk character who doesn't need spell scrolls or anything fancy.

Regarding loot, I'm fine with selling both the quarterstaff and the spear if needed, as well as the mithral chain shirt. I might buy similar items back, but it's hard to guess before we know how much are our individual shares.

Of the three (quarterstaff, chain shirt, longspear), the chain shirt I should probably keep, while the longspear seems quite out of my league in terms of wealth.

Re: loot - Right now Florence is holding all/most of the divine scrolls we found but she's happy to either pass them along to someone else *or* sell some/all of them if we could use the extra money.

As for the other stuff, she's not going to contest the Pearl of Power (Ben and Zilch can talk that one over).

*edit* Currently playing in my F2F game; will try to get a proper post up in Gameplay later once we're done.

For the leveling, I was thinking of branching towards cleric of Osiris... Thoughts?

Cahal, I think you should keep the spear and the armor. Both fit you well - and you'll grow into the long spear (and being able to switch-hit with DR is a real bonus for a while). But I'll shift the quarterstaff back to the group for now.

As for classes, play whatever your character's whims take you is my suggestion. ;D

For the leveling, I was thinking of branching towards cleric of Osiris... Thoughts?

As for classes, play whatever your character's whims take you is my suggestion. ;D

+1 to Evilan's suggestion.

But also, if that isn't what you want to hear, then let me say that Zilchus was never designed nor intended to be a solo frontliner (I mean, he'll do his best and probably come up lacking, but that's the fun) and liked having Cahal up there as well.

If you feel that Cahal's experiences so far might lead her to think of joining the priesthood then go for it! :)

Quarterstaff removed from my sheet.

Level 4:
Brawler level ;)
+1 Str
+1 AC, Knockout.
Skills: Profession (gladiator) +1, Perception +1, Acrobatics +1, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (local) +1, Knowledge (geo) +1, Sense Motive +1.

The priesthood is still an idea, but it might come in later. We'll see where the character goes first.

We're about 8 months in with over 2,000 posts. Kinda crazy to think about - in a good way :)

Man, I really lucked out getting selected for this game when I was so new to Paizo and the fourms. It's interesting looking at the number of posts versus when games were created. I really like the pacing for this game.

Here's to another 8 months and another 2,000 posts - or more! :D

Hey folks, on top of catching up on my sleep last night/today and spending some time with family I'm unexpectedly having to work a partial shift tonight. Don't wait on Flo if there's anything vital happening and I'll catch up either later tonight if work is quiet or when I get home tomorrow morning!

So is the only difference between Nidhi's longbow and the masterwork longbow (#12) that it grants a +1 to hit?

"A masterwork weapon is a finely crafted version of a normal weapon. Wielding it provides a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls." - PRD

~*~*~*~

I think the padded armor is too excessive for Nidhi is wear. (#18) I don't think she needs the bonus initiative (but that's just me.) What armor is typical for Bards? She would probably be fine in something plain and standard (and cheap.)

~*~*~*~

Nidhi is interested in the onyx and silver holy symbol of Pharasma (line #14. She'll wear it as a necklace around her neck to prominently display her faith.

Yes, MW gives you a +1 to hit. That said, you should probably be planning to buy a magical bow here when you get the proceeds from the auction.

You might consider a mitral chain shirt, my personal favorite.

I'll put your name next tot he holy symbol. It's very nice indeed!

So... would it be better to sell the masterwork longbow at the auction so Nidhi could put the money towards a nicer bow?

Just fyi: I'll be driving to the beach tomorrow (about 2 hours each way) for a day trip and returning home in the evening.

As far as wish list go, how much gold should we expect? And how does the nice equipment we already have factor in?

For Cahal, the more interesting pieces all stand a little above WBL for level 3, at around 4,000+ gold pieces. Does it make sense to plan for such? Or should I plan more around 1,500 GP individual items?

Hehehe, I'll get you some numbers later today, and can't speculate just yet.

As for your current equipment what do you mean? Will it count toward Wealth By Level? Yes, but I'll be giving you a cash amount you can spend.

Like Cahal, Zilchus has some dreams about items he'd like to buy. He's currently at about 1200 gp (with 1000 gp of that coming from the Pearl of Power) and not sure if we're going to try to keep parity with found items or do even splits and hope it works out in the end.

I think WBL for lvl 4 is 6000 gp.

I'll have a final shopping list after I see about how much Zilchus will have to spend.

Also, though it's not clear that we'll be continuing on as a party yet, we should probably collectively buy a wand of CLW or 2 as well, especially if prices are lower than usual (which may or may not happen).

Yeah, prices will be the same, not cheaper, and you will still be off a little in WBL, mostly because of a single item which is somewhat unavoidable.

As for group purchases, don't sweat that now. You'll have an opportunity to get more wands after a short while and your current wands should cover you until then.

This is the first time we really have to split some real treasure, so I’d like to make a few considerations for communal use. I’ve always found somehow unbalanced the usual way of calculating the treasure. GM Euan has done a great job in providing us a reliable document which calculates the precise amount of treasure that each character has claimed for himself, but I have a significant doubt about this way of conceiving loot.

The core of my doubt is the following: when I claim an item, it is attributed to me in its full value, as though I’ve bought it directly. Except in the case of particularly rare items, however, I can’t see why I should be claiming an item from the treasure list when I can simply buy it at full price later. Let me explain.

When I claim something, I do it because I know that if we sell it, we would gain only half its value. As such, I claim also items that are not particularly optimized for my character, because I see an advantage in claiming them: it is like I’m paying them half their price, after all! Well, not so directly, in truth: my reasoning is that if we sell it, we do so for half its value. So keeping it is great in terms of price performance.

Now, I see two option: either we change the way of attributing claimed treasure to a character, calculating it as if we were going to sell it (half its cost), or the only reasonable choice would be to claim ONLY what is perfectly suited for a character. All other good, fitting items, should be turned down because they would cost as though buying them. But I would never buy them. The only thing that makes them appealing to me is the fact that their price performance is higher than normal. If this factor is ignored, than I don’t have any reasons to claim the vast majority of items we find in the campaign.

This is, I think, both unrealistic and, most importantly, detrimental to the party, because I believe that keeping good priced items is good for the interests of the group.

What do you think about it? These are my doubts, but I’m aware that it might not be possible to find a way to change the value of attribution of treasure to a PC.

Zilchus Lyghtlode wrote:

.299.5 gp to spend

-..20.0 gp alch fire
-------------
.279.5 gp spend

..279.5 gp to spend

This is the first time we really have to split some real treasure, so I’d like to make a few considerations for communal use. I’ve always found somehow unbalanced the usual way of calculating the treasure. GM Euan has done a great job in providing us a reliable document which calculates the precise amount of treasure that each character has claimed for himself, but I have a significant doubt about this way of conceiving loot.

The core of my doubt is the following: when I claim an item, it is attributed to me in its full value, as though I’ve bought it directly. Except in the case of particularly rare items, however, I can’t see why I should be claiming an item from the treasure list when I can simply buy it at full price later. Let me explain.

When I claim something, I do it because I know that if we sell it, we would gain only half its value. As such, I claim also items that are not particularly optimized for my character, because I see an advantage in claiming them: it is like I’m paying them half their price, after all! Well, not so directly, in truth: my reasoning is that if we sell it, we do so for half its value. So keeping it is great in terms of price performance.

Now, I see two option: either we change the way of attributing claimed treasure to a character, calculating it as if we were going to sell it (half its cost), or the only reasonable choice would be to claim ONLY what is perfectly suited for a character. All other good, fitting items, should be turned down because they would cost as though buying them. But I would never buy them. The only thing that makes them appealing to me is the fact that their price performance is higher than normal. If this factor is ignored, than I don’t have any reasons to claim the vast majority of items we find in the campaign.

This is, I think, both unrealistic and, most importantly, detrimental to the party, because I believe that keeping good priced items is good for the interests of the group.

What do you think about it? These are my doubts,...

I agree with you. I RL games, we've had very long discussions about that. What you propose is sound.

Wish List:
Cahal would update her mithral chain shirt found in the temple with a +1 brawling enhancement, which would cost 4,000 gp.

With what little is left, Cahal would procure a silver dan bong.

Let me know if that creates an issue.

..279.5 gp to spend
.4390.0 gp auction loot
-3075.0 gp adamantine falchion - OR LESS!?! Depending on auction rules.
----------
.1594.5 gp to spend, TBD

As an additional item, Zilchus would be looking to buy +1 Agile Breastplate, about 1550 gp or so, but maybe Abdur can get it for cheaper.

Well, essentially what you want to do is devalue the treasure you're collecting from the hoards you encounter for the purposes of party divvy - not total Wealth By Level. That's easy to do in the treasure sheet (just a formula change in one place).

Personally I think its not necessary. In my experience, most parties balance out more or less equally without adjustment. When adjustments need to be made, they're often relatively minor. The scheme you're proposing would reduce the adjustments from very rare to extremely rare, and reduce the gp value of those adjustments if they are needed.

But it's not up to me. How the party decides to divvy treasure is pretty much up to you all. As long as you guys are reasonably fair with your shares, I'm happy. This rule won't change that significantly one way or another I think.

So we have two votes (Benedictus and Cahal) for the new system. Any other opinions?

Zilchus, no problem obtaining adamantine here.

Cahal, your list is absolutely fine, and for the purposes of simplicity, you're able to find a merchant who will swap your shirt for another, with the enhancements, at the same rate so you're not waiting on crafting time.

Hey folks I'm still here but have just been lagging on keeping up with everything the last day or two due to work. This should hopefully be my last shift for a couple of days so I will catch myself up on things and shopping and such as soon as possible :)

I just got home. Wow, a ton of new messages to read.

If you want to calculate items like wands or scrolls at half value when attributing them to your character, then that is fine with me.

The only thing (I think) Nidhi will keep from the loot is the onyx and silver holy symbol of Pharasma (100 gold.) I think Nidhi will hold off so she can buy a nice bow and some special arrows. (Although, at the moment, Nidhi doesn't have a clue what to do with her newfound wealth.) I really don't know much about loot and I have the most fun RPing, not looking over numbers.

OK guys, so there was a misunderstanding here. I thought that the party divvy was based on how much a single character had claimed before. For example, since Zilchus has claimed 10.000 gp worth of items, his share of the divvy will be proportionally lower.

Since it is not like that, I can't see any problems in keeping to the old system, although I would still prefer the new one because it is more accurate in my opinion and motivates us to keep some interesting items although not optimized.

Cahal has 430 gp left, which she would spend to get potions and a two bandoliers to put her potions.

2 bandoliers: 1 gp: 16 potions.

Potions wish list:
2x protection from evil (100 gp)
1x bless weapon (50 gp)
1x bouncy body (50 gp)
1x monkey fish (50 gp)
1x expeditious retreat (50 gp)
2x long arm (100 gp)

Nidhi, as you have a strength bonus, you should get a composite bow to take advantage of that. Composite Bows (link) allow you to add your strength bonus to damage to damage when you shoot.

So you'd get a Composite Bow set to a +1 strength = 200gp. You need it to be masterwork to be made magical, so that's another 300gp (500gp total so far). Then you make it magical, +1 to start, which costs 2,000gp for a total of 2,500gp. The bow will be +1 on attacks, and +2 on damage total (the masterwork bonus and the magical bonus don't stack).

You already have a masterwork bow, which I'll throw in here so you save the 300gp. So you owe 2,200gp to make it magical and add your strength to damage.

As for arrows, you should carry a variety. With my archers, I mostly just carry around cold iron arrows. They're a little more expensive (but still very cheap) and they overcome some Damage Reduction. There are other options out there too, like blunt arrows for nonlethal attacks, and weapon blanches (link) that help you overcome other Damage Reduction. There's also Ghost Salt (link) to help you overcome incorporeal opponents.

I also suggest you carry some arrows 'bundled' in your backpack. So buy a bunch so you don't have to worry about running out. You just refill your quivers between fights.

- - -

Benedictus, actually that is the situation.

In most cases what happens is a player takes too few of the items that fall to the party and they get left behind in Wealth By Level (usually because they don't fit the character). Then one or more items are sold and the proceeds just given to them to help them close the gap rather than split by everyone. It's fair, and keeps folks from falling behind, or picking things that are completely useless to them just to have wealth.

What you propose actually unbalances the process a little, making the items picked less valuable by comparison to the items purchased. That's OK if the party wants to do it that way, I'm fine with it, but I want to hear from Zilchus and Florence first. And Nidhi, this will be for larger items too, not just potions and scrolls.

Also Benedictus, your headband needs to be tied to a skill. What skill will the headband improve?

- - -

Cahal - those are all fine I think, though I'm unfamiliar with some of them.

As a long time fan (and player with) of GM Evilan, I prefer Euan's system as is and as it was. It's always worked for me and I don't worry too much about WBL being balanced among players (until it gets really bad, then we'll deal with it).

However, if you all want to do it differently, I'm fine with that too. But I feel the system that Euan uses works just fine.

* * * * * *

Zilchus Lyghtlode wrote:

..279.5 gp to spend
.4390.0 gp auction loot
-3075.0 gp adamantine falchion
----------
.1594.5 gp to spend, TBD

.1594.5 gp to spend

Regarding party loot and shares and the like, I tend to opt for whatever is simplest but this is in large part because I hate math and fiddling with numbers. I generally don't worry too much about WBL (or haven't in the past) but this might be due to most of my tabletop experience being AD&D 2.0 where there weren't really any *must-have* magical items and not as many considerations to keep in mind like DR and such. And also no magic-marts. Seriously, I've been playing Pathfinder for nearly four years now and I still get analysis paralysis sometimes when it comes time to go shopping. Really? I can just *buy* all of this stuff, if the town's big enough? Egads!

*cough*

Um, anyway, I'm happy to just leave things as they are for the time being but I'm not averse to reexamining it again later if things start to seem too skewed.

Also, if we come across anything that just makes you think, "That's so COOL!" - ask if you can claim it! Seriously. I am totally in favor of having some items that are 'fun' or 'situationally useful' instead everything having to be 100% practical or optimized. Flying carpets are a good example. By the time you find or collect enough cash to buy even the cheapest flying carpet in the book (for the low, low price of 20,000 gp) you've probably already got access to flight spells or flight abilities or flight potions or whatever. But who cares? It's a flying carpet. Sign me up!

~I can show you the world...~

The picture on Roll20 is different. Are we in book 2?

Nidhi, as you have a strength bonus, you should get a composite bow to take advantage of that. Composite Bows (link) allow you to add your strength bonus to damage to damage when you shoot.

So you'd get a Composite Bow set to a +1 strength = 200gp. You need it to be masterwork to be made magical, so that's another 300gp (500gp total so far). Then you make it magical, +1 to start, which costs 2,000gp for a total of 2,500gp. The bow will be +1 on attacks, and +2 on damage total (the masterwork bonus and the magical bonus don't stack).

You already have a masterwork bow, which I'll throw in here so you save the 300gp. So you owe 2,200gp to make it magical and add your strength to damage.

As for arrows, you should carry a variety. With my archers, I mostly just carry around cold iron arrows. They're a little more expensive (but still very cheap) and they overcome some Damage Reduction. There are other options out there too, like blunt arrows for nonlethal attacks, and weapon blanches (link) that help you overcome other Damage Reduction. There's also Ghost Salt (link) to help you overcome incorporeal opponents.

I also suggest you carry some arrows 'bundled' in your backpack. So buy a bunch so you don't have to worry about running out. You just refill your quivers between fights.

Mostly sure you want a masterwork Darkwood Composite Longbow (+1 strength) for a cost of 530gp, provided you can use a longbow. As an additional expense and if you plan on doing a bunch of archery (and it wouldn't be bad to go that direction), you can enchant it to +1 for an additional 2000gp.

When Nidhi brings Jharma to the auction, she is, unfortunately, turned away at the door. The guard is apologetic, but no one without an invitation is permitted inside. The room is quite full by the time the auction process begins and the barker already has to shout to be heard at the back, so on some level anyway, you understand.

Abdur is very helpful talking you through the larger points while Zilchus points out the darker wood. He does not himself have any particular affinity for bows, but he does know the basics and is happy to share. You find a bowyer, who managed to bring in a variety of options, and a plethora of arrows, for you to chose from. One bow in particular, a glistening black-wood beauty, catches your eye, though it is different from the one being shown to you.

So Darkwood makes the weapon half of the normal weight?

Nidhi will go with Darkwood Composite Longbow, enchanted with +1 to damage for a total coast of 2,530(ish) gold?

Nidhi, I'm giving you a credit of 300gp for the masterwork bow you have (essentially letting you build on top of it rather than trade it in 'cause I'm soft) so your out of pocket is 2,230gp.

I update the picture on Roll20 from time to time, but yes, we are in book 2. Barely...

Wizard spells prepared (CL 4th, concentration +10)
2st (2+2+1/day)― glitterdust (DC 18), invisibility, locate object, scorching ray, web (DC 18)
1st (3+2+1/day)― burning hands (DC 17), color spray (DC 17), grease (DC 17), ear-piercing scream (DC 17), mage armor, true strike
Cantrips (at will)― dancing lights, detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation

So I have three (Benedictus, Cahal, and Nidhi) happy to change and two (Florence and Zilchus) who want to leave things the way they are.

It's an easy tweak, so I'll go ahead and make it and we can see how it goes. If it feels skewed, we can re-evaluate.

I'm happy to keep things as is. Ben had a good point, but it seems the systems takes it into account to a good extent.

Then let's just keep things the same as they are. I dislike complicating things unnecessarily.

Ok with keeping things as they are. It's just a matter of remembering, among us, that the amount of personal wealth is not necessarily precise.

With all the screaming and commotion, would Nidhi's party members be able to hear Nidhi if she was Inspiring Courage? You know how if something chaotic and traumatizing is happening, sometimes you tune out noise? Up to the player?

Nope, they'd hear you. You're not that far away, and while there is shouting and mayhem, It's not that bad. :)

Reasonable question, but unless I indicate specifically that it'll be a problem, you can assume it should work fine.

Naturally players may opt-out for role play reasons, but I'll rarely disallow an ability unless there's a really good reason.

So are you all planning anything special for Monday's solar eclipse? I'm in Virginia but I'm more NE so I'm out of the "path of totality," lol. I can't wait to see the pictures.

No special plans aside from getting my hair done; my town lies in the path of totality so hopefully I can at least get a peek once everything goes dark!

By the way folks, my posting *might* be a little slower than usual for the next couple of months as PbP Gameday VI kicks off this Friday and I'll be running a PFS scenario for each session as well as playing in a few games. Since those games will be on something of a timer, I'll be giving them higher posting priority until we're done - especially the games I'll be GMing. So while there shouldn't be a true interruption of service on my end, it might be a little slower here and there :)

Yeah, I saw Hmm's Gameday thread but I wasn't sure what it was. What's the point of Gameday when there are new games started all year round? It lasts for a few months right? Like, what makes it any different from normal year-round games? What is the incentive?

It functions as an online convention, which means that the GMs who run games can get scenario support (which means Paizo will gift you the scenario PDFs you need) as well as boon support for both GMs and players.

It also allows us to run multi-table specials, most of which can only be run at conventions - so it gives people who might not be able to afford to go to conventions a chance to play these specials and maybe win nifty prizes :)

Please note that I'll travelling for the next week and a half, with limited access to Internet and few opportunities to post. Please bot me if needed.

Aww, I was looking forward to more details about Cahal's background :( Travel safe!

Sheesh Ben, I wish our posting times overlapped a bit more so this wouldn't seem so disjointed. :(. Such is life and we'll RP on.

That was great RP nonetheless!

I'm going to a wedding and won't have access to Roll20 tonight or all day tomorrow. I'll have my phone for board posts.

So, whenever I don't have access it's because we go over the Chesapeake to the peninsula where there is only 1 grocery store (Food Lion) and only 1 hospital within about hour of us. (To give you a scope of how rural it is.) There is only 1 internet/cell phone provider (Verizon) and the people we stay with pay for internet by the GB (sounds like a nightmare, I know.) Since they use a portable router and pay by the GB, I don't feel right bringing my laptop. But - it's a pretty mixture of farmland and beach. Some of our family just happens to live there so we visit about four times a year and Cape Charles is a popular place to get married. There have been three family weddings there in the past six years, lol. So now you know more about Ventiine :)

Sounds pretty even though my brain first read 'Chesapeake' as 'Cheapskate' for some reason :)

There's a possibility that I may be going to New York (the state, not the city) sometime in October for a week of work training; if that turns out to be a real thing then I'll let you guys know.