If you all wanna talk, and Cross shoots them, they're exactly as dead as if you didn't care or agreed with him.
Oh hey Leinathan. I wanted to ask if i could do a minor rebuild of Jin using a few options from the Pact Worlds book? Specifically: the Biotechnician theme and Data Jockey archetype.
Can you throw the info up in the thread? I don't have that book and it's not online yet.
In general? Yes, when new material comes out, you can always feel free to re-build if it matches your concept better. I just need to see it.
Am i allowed to just copy the info into the thread? I am not sure if that is against Paizo's rules or not...
Not sure. You can PM me if you're nervous about it.
Fun Fact: Food is a biological hack to make people calm down. It basically reverse-psychology's your basic instincts because you wouldn't be eating if it weren't safe. Therefore since you are eating you must be safe.
Alright, just so I don't feel the need to rebut the mercs every time they play Negative Nancy I'll lay out Cross's point of view on the major sticking points here. It is very, very important to note that I am not complaining or griping about the situation (I got to witness a blow-up in a different PBP game thanks to a similar situation so I am cautious). What I want to do here is explain everything neatly for the players and GM as opposed to over-sharing in character and dominating the posts for several pages. No one wants to read Cross arguing with NPCs and getting nothing done because he can't shoot them.
On the Race and the Money:
While it might not be strictly and immediately necessary, having a surplus of cash on hand alleviates a lot of logistical concerns Cross would have about setting out across space with an untested crew, an unknown ship, and no outside support. Outside of supplies and repairs, there are docking fees, bribes, and specific acute issues that money would nicely address. Our collective cash balance is pretty darn low, even if he sells his bike back. Money is something he would rather have and not need, than need and not have.
On the Whole Hostage-Taking Thing:
They literally just up and made off with most of the people on this crew in a bid to be treated like adults or make their own way. You know what makes Cross really unlikely to treat someone like an adult? A petulant power play. They took hostages and elevated the stakes considerably. It would have been one thing to withhold services until properly brought into the loop. This was beyond the pale.
On Shooting People (Just a Little):
If they had continued to not listen, Cross probably would have shot them. The gun's presence in this recent conversation was more about limiting risks than outright threat (though Cross could have probably used a smaller gun for that). Cross is not a complete loose-cannon and is not about to murder people because it is more immediately convenient for him. Loose-cannons in deep space tend to end up dead, hopefully before they can get anyone else dead.
All totally fair concerns. I'm just trying to keep everything not-too-easy for you guys by inserting some tension and pressuring you guys to speed up! Hope it wasn't too annoying.
No problems here, I'd be more worried if Cross was effortlessly succeeding at everything.
It wasn’t too bad. I do wish that the conflict would have been the race though. I mean, Ayda was bein just a wee bit needlessly combative there. Regardless it seems to have mostly been resolved thanks mostly in part to perfect timing from Emily.
I think Cross' actions were justified, and I hope Emily's reaction didn't upset anyone. She probably shouldn't be as readily forgiving of Ayda as she is, but Em is naive and just wants to ease tensions so everyone can talk.
Maldor actually completely understands Cross' reactions, having absorbed a lot of the Institute's military training tactics and techniques. He would not have used those tactics himself, but from a military tactical perspective, it was what Mal was trained to do!
You need to seperate your speech man, I gotKorvan mixed up with Ayda because you made it all loook like her talking
Oh, you're right. I forgot the non-speech text. Whoops!
So question, i feel a little awkward in this game and Baronmaker because i feel like i am taking too much of the spotlight, is this true?
I try to give gaps between me talking so it's not constantly Jin and Victor doing things (to let others respond) but it seems like whenever i do things just get dead and silent?
Haz - I only have one shot a day to post, so Maldor / Fa'zakar will likely seem pretty quiet. I certainly don't mind and your characters contribute nicely to the stories!
In addition, Cross and Amaryst have been off doing their own thing for awhile. Their activity is pretty dependent on me.
It should be different once we get off-world and we're all together. I have several adventures planned which involve everyone all together.
Hazrond, I played in another game with 'that guy'. You are not that guy. You are on the right side of the line between taking over a game and keeping it moving.
Jin can be convinced to come along, he just won’t convince himself
See? I knew Cross stepping out would do wonders for negotiations. I'm tempted to pick up Rollo on the shore and go get drunk or something but that might distract from the core plot.
Because I like to hand out levels before big challenges so that you can choose abilities proactively, and I find they tend to increase excitement...
Please post everything you gain here in the Discussion thread.
1. When you level up, you only gain half the listed number of hit points, rounded up. You still gain the normal amount of stamina points.
Cross mostly gets a bunch of +1s to things, but he does get evasion at this level and his first exploit. Rather fittingly, I chose to pick up Uncanny Pilot
Are you putting ranks in all the same skills?
Yup
Cool! But no time now.
Guys, do we have any backup healing? If not Amaryst will drop 50 on a serum of healing 1. Keeping back 27 for incidentals, she'll have 100 to wager if she needs to buy the serum or 150 if she doesn't.
And let's take Rollo along. I trust him more than Ayda and Savael, but I'd rather he not spend time alone with them.
Jin is a bit more conservative. That bike cost 150 of his 400, leaving him at 250. So he’s gonna put 100 on Cross and keep 150 in case of emergency.
Please post everything you gain here in the Discussion thread.
Emily picks up the Mind Link and Channel Skill abilities. She (mostly) put ranks in the same skills, except Physical Sciences, with that point going to Computers instead. Fear my mighty +2 Computers skill! For spells, she picked up Fear and Grave Words. Disguise self was so tempting, but doesn't seem to fit her theme or recent experiences so much.
EDIT: Also, with the 2nd rank and the +1 from channel skill, Emily has a +10 Sense Motive now; which means she can take 10 and hit the default DC of 20 for her Empathy ability.
Mal also gets Mind Link and Channel Skill (Medicine & Mysticism). Skills are in Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Intimidate, Medicine, Perception, Profession (Healer), and Sense Motive. New cantrip is Daze, new 1st level spell is Life Bubble.
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I finished rebuilding Jin with his new Theme and Archetype. And this level is when he got his first ability!
He gained the ability to research stuff quickly and also to use predictive models and prior data to reliably predict the results of psychic magic (Read: He can make Mysticism checks with the Computers skill).
He also increased his skill in pretty much all the same skills he was already using, as well as finally updating his sheet to reflect the Scattergun he has been carrying for forever now.
Hey, could i have done some work on the bike overnight? If i took 10 i could give it the Toughness improvement on top of it's speed boost.
No, you could only choose one.
Mal also gets Mind Link and Channel Skill (Medicine & Mysticism). Skills are in Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Intimidate, Medicine, Perception, Profession (Healer), and Sense Motive. New cantrip is Daze, new 1st level spell is Life Bubble.
I primarily want the serum in case Maldor goes down. If anyone has backup healing please say so now, or I'll buy the serum.
ANd I will get to leveling up A__, probably tonight. Ended up at work til 10 last night. A friend needed a long talk this morning, and now I've got chores to do.
Em has the 1/day healing hand thing that all mystics get, and I could take Mystic Cure instead of Fear for my new 1st level spell. I just don't want to step on Mal's toes by taking the heals.
DOn't change what you wanted to do with your character. we're only talking 50 credits.
+7 stamina +3.5 HP (round up to 4?)
Combat Feat: weapon focus (small arms)
Base scores: BAB +2 F +3 R +0 W +3
5 New or improved skills: Piloting, Stealth, Acrobatics, Athletics, Diplomacy
Adding Rollo's grenade and a new healing serum to her stuff.
Implementing ...
I think she's ready to go. After buying the serum, she's got 100 credits to wager.
Time for another dip into Cross's mind, because while he isn't a sharer, I am and I happen to think that when one plays a distinctly terse character still letting everyone understand what is going on in his head is important
On Getting Made:
Generally, he is confident in some inherent opacity to the situation. There a few things an outside observer probably won't piece together. The guy who took too much interest in Mal's spell, let's call him 'Agent A', left after sending a message but before Jin collect Mal and hustled the psychics off.
There are a few things to remember:
-Cross has not directly interacted with the others outside of messages since getting here.
-Cross has previously not had much in the way of a support crew when racing, what with him being a grouchy and often asocial cyborg.
-Agent A left before seeing Jin corral Mal and the other psychics.
On the Safety of the Race:
There has been a sharp drop-off in just how safe the race is, but for the moment (and a personal investment in the race aside) it is one of the safer places for them to be. There are a lot of criminals and criminal-adjacent people at this illegal race in an abandoned water treatment plant. As such, there are a lot of guns and people ready to bail at the first sign of trouble. Going in ham-fisted is likely to make a lot of chaos and make retrieving the psychics difficult, if not really dangerous.
At the same time, bailing now means they will be painfully obvious to any surveillance net around the site of the race and much easier to pick up now that they have broken cover. The safest place is with the event organizers who, by virtue of being used to escaping raids on this sort of event, probably have a back way out.
As far as Cross is concerned, their best option is to wait for the end of the race and leave through the back way while the rest of the punters mob the streets outside to take advantage of the strain the resulting chaos would place on a surveillance net. At the same time, by sticking close to the Ferguses they are positioned by the folks most like to escape should the authorities show up mob-handed.
On the Race Itself:
He does appreciate the offers of sabotage and mind games targeting the competition, but he was serious about playing fair. He doesn't even shoot at other racers unless they pull on him first. This is very important to him for reasons that I might go into later in the game.
I'll post us forward tomorrow.
Vacationing this week. Hope to have internet every night, but who knows. If I'm holding things up feel free to play Amaryst.
I'm going to be away at a church retreat this coming weekend and will not have any access, so please bot me as needed during both of these periods!
Also, I'll be in Morocco from 1-10 May! I am unsure of the internet access in some fo the places we will visit, so please bot me as needed!
Now time for that sweet payout!
Alright, what I think would be best would be to give out 575 credits to the player characters and Rollo, then keep the remainder as a group fund. That will recoup everyone's investment in this scheme, satisfy Cross's concerns about emergency funds, and his vindictive streak against Ayda.
Yay? Nay?
I'm fine contributing to a community chest.
so that leaves 4025 going into the general party fund if i am calculating this right?
Hmm, let's bump it up to a nice round 600 then so we've got a remainder of 3875 in the pot. I was doing some quick and dirty math before rushing to work this morning, I was shooting for about half the winnings to remain as the group fund.
If I can get my new ID for 600, I'm good with it!! But I am NOT advocating for my ID to come out of the group fund. K-Van's - yes. Me? No. Honestly, Mal is happy only taking what he needs to get off the planet with everyone and letting the others divide the rest or keeping it in a group fund.
=)
A single fabricated ID costs 10,000 credits. The plan seems to have moved beyond needing them.
yeah robbing a bank was a terrible idea, at least in my opinion.
Well, you figured out an alternative, which is very good :)
not a terrible plot i'll clarify, just a terrible idea IC xD
Hello! Thank you for the invitation to join this campaign! I am looking forward to playing with you all.