
GM Fuzzfoot |

Please check in here, feel free to discuss any out of character topics here. Feel free to dot in the gameplay thread with a short note. You are all just gathered with the rest of the town to participate in a ceremony.

Torith Torson |

Torith Torson ready to bash some giants with flying rocks!
I'll update his quick reference details this evening after work.

Gundar Forgelight |

Gundar checking in! An all dwarven party... don't see that a lot on here.
Also, so that the other dwarves can decide how well they know Gundar/what they know about him/what they think of him, here's a brief account of his history and some general guidelines to his personality/behavior.
This is what Gundar would share easily with anyone he speaks to, and so would be public information to anyone who had bothered to ask. The history in his profile represents a more private and in-depth account.
Gundar grew up in a subhold of the Sky Citadel Kraggodan, but it was a primarily subterranean hold that guarded an entrance to the Darklands. Thus he never saw the surface until he was almost 25. Shortly thereafter he was sent away to become a ranger. He studied under a half-elf around Skelt for a time until he came further north to help in the defense of Trunau. He has lived here fairly happily for five or six years now and considers it his home.
He usually takes part in long patrols outside the town to scout for signs of enemy activity. While not on duty he is usually found drinking at the tavern, sitting silently by the Hopespring with Silvermane the druid, or hiding out in some secluded corner of the town practicing on a flute that he whittled himself. He's not very good at it and never talks about this, but it's sort of an open secret about town.
Gundar doesn't talk much, which some people take for standoffishness. However he is friendly enough - but his years in the wilderness with very little company (and often imminent danger) have made him taciturn, preferring to watch and listen to any goings-on.
Some rare exceptions include when he speaks about the beauty of nature, especially when he's been drinking. In most other things Gundar is a typical dwarf who admires good stone and metalwork and other forms of crafts, as well as tradition, history, and family.

GM Fuzzfoot |

Yah, I think this will be fun! The broad variety of dwarf characters really made me want to try this.
We will wait for all to check in before getting started, but if you could, please add your basic stats to your tag line like this:
Male Halfling Empiricist Investigator 2 / Alchemist 2| HP: 25/25 | AC: 18 (14 Tch, 15 FF) | CMD: 14 | F: +4, R: +10, W: +4 | Init: +3 | Perc: +13/+14TF, SM: +9 | Active conditions: none
You can add additional info if you like, but this is good quick reference for me, especially during combat.
Also, if you don't have it, please add your character sheet to the profile so I can access it. If you prefer to keep it in a different system (Mythweavers, Dropbox, etc), just add a link that I can get to it quick enough.
I am using Google Sheets for tactical maps since some who play via phone seem to have a better time with that. I have also put up a map of Trunau, and a key in the Campaign Info area.

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

Is this alright with you? Made two lines, one with rage and one without.
Also, for everyone. I plan to do the following:
Lvl 3: Lessor Beast Totem (gives everyone 2x primary natural attacks doing 1d6 damage)
Lvl 6: Beast Totem (with rage penalty taken into account, gives everyone +2 AC)
These will apply with inspired rage. So at Lvl 6 he will be giving the entire party: +2 str +2 Con +2 AC +1 Will saves
Lvl 9: Damage Resistance (1)
Lvl 12: Greater Beast Totem (pounce)
Lvl 15: Damage Resistance (2)
Lvl 18: Damage Resistance (3)
If there are any rage powers you want in place of one of the above please tell me.

Gundar Forgelight |

Doesn't seem like it? So far we look like a ranger, paladin, skald, occultist, and kineticist. Without delving very far (and admittedly not knowing much about the Occult classes), I don't think we have much/any healing in this group until the paladin hits level 2 or unless we're still missing a character. Aside from your own heal spell, of course.

Thuradin Drackenforge |

Sorry everyone. I had hoped to get a post up earlier, but it's been a busy couple of days at work. I'll get a post up in the game play thread later tonight.

Thozar Earthchanter |

I am possibly the final member and I'm a druid! Not a healer though :/
Will update character sheet more tomorrow night

Gundar Forgelight |

Big party. Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

Given how we're all dwarves, our battle plan should be somewhat organized.
Looking at it, we have...
Front Line
Kragmyr (Skald, axe and shield)
Gundar (Ranger, axe and shield)
Belir (Battlehost, axe and shield)
Second Rank
Ulark (Paladin, longaxe)
Ranged and Casters
Thozar (Druid...no gear selected. Suggest a reach weapon to fight in the second rank and to cast safely)
Torith (Geokineticist)
Thuradin (Warpriest. Has a hammer and light crossbow)
So for combat, my idea would be to create a shield wall. Three heavily armored dwarves in front to tie up the enemy. Two reach weapons behind. A ranged build. And our warpriest. Who might want a reach weapon as well? A Longhammer would work well. So we'd have 3/3/1 for the marching order.

Gundar Forgelight |

Gundar also carries a crossbow for ranged engagements, but he's very much a front-liner. And certainly makes sense for us to arrange ourselves with discipline once we get out at the enemies - though maybe not all of us grew up among lots of other dwarves?
Do love that so many of us defaulted to axe and shield. Dwarven brigade, indeed.

Thozar Earthchanter |

I havent done my gear yet, but will tomorrow night. With a 10 strength, I don't intend on really touching a weapon. I think that plan will work well for us. We have the numbers to do some legit tactical planning, hooray! :D I think we are going to wreck shop

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

More late game, but...
Heavy Wooden Shield (+2 AC)
Stoneplate (+1 AC)
Cestus (Hand is free for casting spells. Hits like a dagger)
So you still focus on casting, but get to rock (literally) 21AC. You could then drop your Dex to 12 and get Str13.
Finally...maybe you could even make your own stoneplate. Replace Greed with Craftsman. Take 1 skill point in Craft-Armor (or stonework if the GM would let you). So at lvl1 you have +8. It's a DC19 to make. Kragmyr or another dwarf could even help you for the aid another bonus. So you should have the stoneplate by lvl2.
Especially with this trait (Spark of Creation (Magic)
You gain a +1 trait bonus on Craft checks, and the cost of creating magic items is reduced by 5%.)
That gives you +9 at Lvl1. Enough to take 10 on the craft roll.
The armor costs 1800 gold. Making it yourself costs 600 gold. And you can later even use your intelligence and skills to start imbuing the power of nature into the stone (i.e.: make it magical)
For your second trait....go with rich parents. Your starting gold is now 900. Make your own suit of armor, have more than enough left over for any other gear you need.
---
And now that I think about it, if you do want to go down that path I'll switch my axe/shield for a dwarven longaxe. They whistle when you swing, making them great skald weapons (thematically, at least)

Torith Torson |

I'm going to switch Torith's feat and infusion selection. The melee option for Kineticist is handy but taking it at level one delays taking Precise Shot, so i've gone off that idea.
I think we have a nice mix of characters and options here, and it'll be REALLY fun to have an all Dwarf party!

Thuradin Drackenforge |

I think either Belir or Torith should roll for the initiative as they both have a +3 modifier.

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

Switched my axe and shield out for a longhammer. Why?
(1) Easier to cast
(2) "These heavy-headed bludgeons are often carved or cast with monstrous faces or drilled with tiny holes to create a menacing whistling as they are swung through the air."
- Thus the description just screams 'skald'
(3) Casting from the second rank with a reach weapon means no casting defensively

Gundar Forgelight |

Took me a bit of digging to realize who Kharl and Trini were, Ulark! And I thought I'd read all the available backgrounds already...

Thozar Earthchanter |

I've been look at everyone's character sheet to get a gist of what we can do as a party. Belir, what exactly is a Battle-Host? I'm not very familiar with the Occult classes beyond the kineticist.
Ulark, let me know how you like the Tortured Crusader! I have one in another PbP campaign and I'm loving the flavor/RP options of being a grittier paladin (which is just my take on the archetype).

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

I've been look at everyone's character sheet to get a gist of what we can do as a party. Belir, what exactly is a Battle-Host? I'm not very familiar with the Occult classes beyond the kineticist.
Ulark, let me know how you like the Tortured Crusader! I have one in another PbP campaign and I'm loving the flavor/RP options of being a grittier paladin (which is just my take on the archetype).
Battle Host: "Well versed in military history, battlefield lore, and the occult, a battle host forms a supernatural bond with a chosen weapon, suit of armor, or shield, from which he can channel psychic energy to cast spells, conjure the spirit of the object's former owner, increase his own physical might, and produce a number of other remarkable abilities."
http://www.thedicedecide.com/mack-blog/pathfinder-occultist-guide-part-four /
"Battle Host
The first archetype helps to create a melee focused Occultist. It gains a couple of knowledge skills, and doesn’t give anything up directly for the boost. They aren’t impressive (local and nobility) but they don’t hurt. Most notably, however, is the gain of Heavy Armor and Tower shield proficiency. These couple very well to create a martial minded character, especially defensively.
You’re going to only have 2 implements until level 10 (when you get your third). Those are likely going to be Abjuration and Transmutation, which work to make you a competent frontliner, especially once you have a magic weapon and start giving it Bane. Alternatively, you could choose just Abjuration (for defense) or Transmutation (for offense) and then take a more casterly implement school. This can give you a battle-caster style that can be hard for other classes to get right."
-------
So, as far as I can tell...he's a front-lining spontaneous caster. Bane sticks out to me. Being able to apply that as needed is pretty awesome, especially as it looks like he can toughen himself up too.
I'm picturing him as something of a runesmith at this point, imbuing his armor and weapons with magic. Am I picturing it right?

Thozar Earthchanter |

Very nifty, I'm excited to see this play out. I have an oracle of battle in PFS as my take on a frontline caster and would love to experience how other classes do their version of it.

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

The other cool one is the Dwarven Marshall Magus
* Need to use Dwarven weapons for the class to work
* Get free skills each level in Knowledge Engineering and Profession Miner
* Add weapon enchantment to overcoming spell resistance
* Add 1/2 your weapon enchantment to spell levels. Can also use your arcane pool to increase weapon enchantment.
So for example. You are a Lvl 5 Magus with a Dwarven Waraxe+3 and Str16. Usually your shocking grasp is 1d10+6d6+ 6. But you use your arcane pool as a swift action to make your axe +4. Your damage now jumps up to be 1d10+7d6+7.
So grab an axe and buckler (free hand needed for casting). Cast shocking grasp and roll an insane number of d6s. It's a mini-nuke in your hand!
For me though the best part is the free skill points. Especially when playing with background skills. As they both use your intelligence (and it should be 16) you'd then be able to pick up craft armor and weapons. Giving you the most Dwarven of Dwarves.

Thozar Earthchanter |

I have no issue with using any of the listed methods to accommodate splitting the party.

Gundar Forgelight |

Alright, who let the dogs out?

Thozar Earthchanter |

*tap tap taps pointy stick*

Thuradin Drackenforge |

Sorry for the delay in posting but it's not often we get temperatures in the 70's in February so my family and I took advantage of it and I just got home from my RL game and am dead tired, so I'll get a proper post up tomorrow. GM Fuzzfoot, you are correct, Thuradin would have a room at the Ramblehouse.

GM Fuzzfoot |

Competent assassins = deadly AP! In fact, if it wasn't for a really good perception check, this could have been a TPK. And this is actually designed for a party of 4???
I haven't yet decided what to do about character deaths yet. But I am not planning on losing anyone from the campaign this early!

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

I like it! I grew up on WFRP, and I've lost plenty of characters to competent opponents. I'll never complain about opponents acti smart.
Especially as this is our fault. They just tried to kill us. We knew about it. And like fools we all went to be without setting a watch. So we paid the price. If we did our due diligence we'd be fighting really weak foes.
+2 to hit
1d6+2 damage
Most of us would have AC17+ and much better combat stats. It'd be a slaughter. So if we survive we'll learn from this. Heck, one of my old DMs would be happily killing the downed dwarves right now and making us re-roll....
Hell. When I saw what was happening I was already thinking up new characters. Was going to go for either a zen monk or a stonelord. :p Probably Zen Monk, fluffed to be a dwarven trapper who only wears heavy fur clothes.

Gundar Forgelight |

I had been thinking about adding a note that Gundar would try to "sleep lightly" because he no longer assumed Trunau was a safe place. Oh well. Might not have mattered mechanically. The IC decision to rush out of the room rather than take the extra round to put my armor on probably will, though...

GM Fuzzfoot |

Yah, I might have given a slight perception bump for that, but nothing beats setting a watch, alarm spells, etc.
Luckily, these guys biggest strength is in surprise and stealth. They also have the gangup feat, but it is fairly useless here due to the cramped quarters...

Thozar Earthchanter |

...he says right before he gangs up on Gundar and facerolls him... Might want to think about that dead PC policy ;)
On a hopefully lighter note, how are the other groups fairing?

Thuradin Drackenforge |

Well if this thing goes totally south you can always have Kurst and the town guards save our asses.

GM Fuzzfoot |

The first group decided to all sleep in different parts of town, so I split the assassins up to cut them a break. If they had all attacked one at a time it would have been a very short game. And they also got a very lucky roll on a perception check.
The third group hasn't gotten there yet.

Thozar Earthchanter |

I forgot Ulark isn't here! XD talk about a tortured crusader. There is going to be some real guilt coming up!

Gundar Forgelight |

Well if this thing goes totally south you can always have Kurst and the town guards save our asses.
Well, that's something I should have thought of. Had I not been IMMEDIATELY critted, I would have called for the watch. Hint. Hint.
On another note, it's nice to see that my armored coat wouldn't have done s*++ against a critical hit in round one of combat. Bodes well for Gundar's future in the campaign, I'm sure. Guys, when we tell this story later, there were twice the number and they were very, very skilled and tough.
And on a final note, GM Fuzzfoot - I don't know why I completely forgot about the existence of dwarven waraxes, but is it a big deal if I swap out Gundar's battleaxe for that? Whatever equipment he has he probably brought from home.

Torith Torson |

Oh i wish i'd picked Kinetic Blade now! Being ranged in this combat is very difficult. If it didn't take so long to open doors, etc, i'd send Torith the long way round to... errr flank.. certainly not retreat ;)

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

One wounded dwarf against two assassins. And going from past dice rolls, he has a 50% chance of being critted!
One of two things is going to happen:
(1) Belir is going to rise to the occasion and be a hero, or;
(2) Ulark is going to earn that 'tortured' crusader title and will have to call his clan for reinforcements.

GM Fuzzfoot |

I added a party treasure link at the top. If you want to transfer something to your personal inventory, just do so in character, and I will adjust the list and track it (so we can make sure it is somewhat fair over time).
Just so you know, I follow the basic rules for treasure. You can sell gear back for 1/2 listed price, trade goods and gems are full price. Art and jewelry are typically half. Also, you can't sell too much to a small economy. Again, I refer to the settlement size rules.
Trunau is a Small town of 780 residents (201–2,000).

Kragmyr Grudgekeeper |

Thanks for adding the party treasury link! Very useful.
OK, so here's the deal. The priests of the temple will provide Heal checks for each of you each day until you are fully recovered, at no cost (although you should expect to donate something, either service or monetarily, if you want continued good support). Kragmyr seems the worst off at 17 dmg, which is 5 days, if he keeps to complete bedrest for the whole time.
They can also offer spellcasting services and potions at normal cost.
First for this. We have 2 healers. Kragmyr (Skald, cure light wounds 2x times per day) and Thuradin (Warpriest, cure light wounds). Thuradin is at -1 HP. Give him the healing potion and he will be back on his feet.
After 8 hours of rest he will have cure light wounds up. He then gets Kragmyr back into positives. I will then have 2 castings, which will get another dwarf back up. Both of us rest for 8 hours, and we will have the entire party back into positive hit points. Rest another 8 hours, and we should have everyone back to full hit points.
So if we follow this plan, I suggest that we just do a post each describing what we are doing (ie: healing), and for Ulark, either helping tend to the wounded or reporting this to the guard.
Eventually, I expect you will search the bodies of the assassins. You do find that each has in their possesion: potion of cure light wounds, antitoxin, smokestick, leather armor, light crossbow with 10 bolts, short sword, thieves’ tools, beryl worth 50 gp, 4 gp. You can sell back equipment at 1/2 cost. 2 escaped, but that gives you a little to work with.
Of all of this, the only thing that I could use is the light crossbow with 10 bolts. But I don't plan on playing a ranged character, as I'm using a reach weapon. But a backup ranged weapon never hurts. Anyone else want it? I think we could also keep the antitoxin and smokestick, while selling the rest back and splitting the gold.
But on second thought, I say that we could give the beryl to the clerics as a 'thank you' for tending to our wounds free of charge. Dwarves don't only remember grudges, but also those who helped them in times of need, eh?

Gundar Forgelight |

Gundar's already got a crossbow. And I agree with donating the beryl to the temple. With their help and getting our own healer's up we should be back in order relatively quick.
As soon as Gundar is conscious, he would mention that we should check on Omast Frum and anybody else connected to Rodrick, including his girlfriend/wife/whatever.

Thozar Earthchanter |

I don't need any of the items. I can also prepare cure light wounds in the morning if we need it. My preference is to donate the beryl for the goodwill, but also use our own spells to speed up the process of bedrest. Thoughts?