GM Nayr's Second Darkness (Inactive)

Game Master Nayr Trebrot

Please use this for general chat, or to discuss your character builds as we wait for our lazy DM to get started.

Deneb, half elven cleric of Desna checking in. Looking forward to the game and to meeting you all.

Alright...well, I'm your token slut bard textbook XP

Basically, I'm planning on maximizing the utility of the bard class to be whatever you guys need me to be. I've taken as my skills:

Knowledge (arcana), perception, perform (comedy [bluff and intimidate]), perform (oratory [diplomacy and sense motive]), profession (prostitute [which is purely only for RP purposes]), spellcraft, stealth, and UMD.

Anyone want me to take any particular spells, or knowledges? I only picked arcana because it was first on the list XP.

Anyways, for spells, so far, I'm thinking Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Message, and Prestidigitation for cantrips...CLW and Grease for the 1st level spells.

At level the third, just as an FYI, I plan on grabbing a level of Fighter Archer or Lore Warden depending on how my role in combat evolves (i.e. if I spend more time pewing, I'm grabbing Archer but if I spend more time tripping with whips [scorpion] I'll grab Lore Warden).

Actually, on that note...do you 'reimberse' feats, GM Nayr? What I mean is...say at level 3 (Bard 2/Lore Warden 1) I take as either a feat or the fighter feat Combat Expertise. At level 4, let's say I take another level of Lore Warden, which gives me Combat Expertise for free. Could I just pick another feat instead (probably the improved trip feat)? Or is that a no-no for you?

Deneb has Detect Magic covered, so your zeros work for me. My skill points are low (my main problem with the cleric class) but I am decent with Diplomacy due to high Charisma and a trait that enhances it. And I am nearly broken with perception. But pretty much everyone needs that skill.

Deneb will try to tank some as his AC gets up there, taking heavy armor proficiency likely at third level IF he can afford plate by then. And he will be the main healer I think, with 6 channels per day. Glad to see that Eris has cure light as well though so someone can save Deneb when he goes down.

edit While Deneb does have Detect Magic, he is not trained in spellcraft yet so will not be identifying anything.

Deneb has Detect Magic covered, so your zeros work for me. My skill points are low (my main problem with the cleric class) but I am decent with Diplomacy due to high Charisma and a trait that enhances it. And I am nearly broken with perception. But pretty much everyone needs that skill.

Well, at Bard 2 I get an ability called versatile performance. Basically, what that does is it allows me to use my perform skill level instead of the actual skill level to do whatever that skill does. Perform (oratory) covers both Diplomacy and Sense Motive and I was planning on taking that as my versatile performance next level anyways...so while my Diplomacy and Sense Motive are crap for this level, they'll be upped to rank 8 when I ding 2. If you're hurting for skill points, I'm happy enough to do that...

On the flip side, if you wanna handle the diplomacy side of things, I'm also cool switching out that perform to (dance) so I can get Acrobatics and Fly working for me...

Or we can both do it...I'm easy like that.

HA!

XP

Hello glad you made it.

On lunch so will have to be brief. Tally is going to be taking feats that help her toughen up and deal out the pain. She can also help with Diplomacy with aid another.

More to come later.

Heh...this is like the opposite of every campaign ever...normally diplo is kinda the thing that everybody forgets about.

Deneb will keep his 2 skill points where they are. :) We can assist each other in Diplomacy if you like. Never a bad idea. Your call.

Checking in.

For reasons which should be obvious to anyone who has played an Arcane preparation caster, Spellcraft is so my baby it isn't even funny. Especially since (Unlike Wizards) if I screw up my attempt to learn from a scroll, I don't get another shot at it. Social-wise, I'm currently working from raw talent so-to-speak but later on will likely be focusing on Intimidation as my 'make friends & influence people' technique Which, on the topic of opposite every campaign ever, is SO not my normal play style. I'm thinking a little bit 'Heathers' a little bit Wednesday Addams.

Feat progression-wise, the present plan is feats that take advantage of/improve the utility of my hair, considering just how much I wind up losing for it. If it looks like I need to go in another direction, well, I will gladly listen to suggestions.

RP-wise, as I posted earlier, unless you guys have other ideas, I kind of see things as possibly being the one character who everyone else knows, not necessarily respects, but knows. The Elves from out-of-town know me because I'm one of the only Elves who actually lives in Riddleport. Deneb knows me perhaps because we both were on the trade caravan that was the last leg of my journey from Jinin to Varisia & we have kept in touch since. Eris & Kallan know me since we all follow Calistria & I might have acted like something of a 'big sister' type for him, depending on just how old he is... Right now, that is just my two copper on the idea. Opinions?

By the way, if it isn't already apparent, I have a tendency to take off running with an idea unless somebody else says no. If this is a problem for people, please tell me now so I know to keep the breaks on...

For Tally I wanted to say that I did not mean to force a friendly attitude on her. Kresham stuck with her for reasons of his own, not necessarily by her invitation, and it is likely they didn't talk much during their journey.
Kresham has heard things about Riddleport, mostly bad things, so he is going to be wary and careful, but at the same time naive. So he might be misjudging people and situations often. But his motto is "When in Riddleport, do as Riddleportians do", so he's not going to be very upfront about it.

I like the idea that Deneb knows Restless Cherry Blossom already, but I think she has been in the city a lot longer than he. He is likely seeing you in the street and trying to befriend you, and might even have taken to calling something more familiar than your full name (Cherry?) He would also be trying to get you to come into the church of Desna, unless you have clearly communicated that you strongly follow Calistria, in which case he would back off some but every once in a while comment off handed about what a shame that such a pretty and talented girl would follow such a lonely and vengeful deity. There is a better way my child...

One thought for the two non-elves. If you have room for it, it might be a good trick if we all spoke elven. Four of us already do. I note that both of you have chosen other languages, for good role playing reasons, no doubt. It could be worth picking up Elven now or later.

I like the idea that Deneb knows Restless Cherry Blossom already, but I think she has been in the city a lot longer than he. He is likely seeing you in the street and trying to befriend you, and might even have taken to calling something more familiar than your full name (Cherry?) He would also be trying to get you to come into the church of Desna, unless you have clearly communicated that you strongly follow Calistria, in which case he would back off some but every once in a while comment off handed about what a shame that such a pretty and talented girl would follow such a lonely and vengeful deity. There is a better way my child...

I really need to find out what the Cantonese or Schezuan Phoneme for Restless Cherry Blossom would be as that would be the more appropriate familiar form. Until then, Blossom will likely work best.

I like it. Blossom can be my hopeless project. :)

Eris does not worship Calistria, He was raised as in one of their temples but that temple got slaughtered by bandits who decided to sell him off into sexual slavery. So while I'm all for making bonds with other character, it isn't going to be directly through religion.

Maybe when Eris was passing by the temple, the witch and he shared in a hymm or something? You were on your way home from the temple humming a song, and Eris started singing it...and the two of us start going off like something outta Singing in the Rain?

Good stufff everyone; with perhaps the exception of the Singing in the Rain duet, though the mental image is priceless:)

For trade-offs: I'm okay with it as long as your fellow players are, but it has to be unanimous. Please let me know if anyone sees a problem with it.

Not an overly religious dude Kallan could add to his "private" sessions a place of peace, where he hides away from the criminal friends he has. This could be within some sort of holy ground of Calistria. Where he might have been somewhat fascinated with the "Elven blossom". Mostly seeing her as a strange outsider and therefore maybe one to lead him out of the awfulness of the slums Kallan is use to within Riddleport.

Kallan is not the easiest to befriend but if he sees a chance of hope for something better then he pretty much will follow blindly.

Development wise - Kallan will be a dagger throwing/wielding thief. Focusing on the word thief: Agile, Stealthy and with his hand it other peoples purse if possible.

As for Restless Cherry Blossom (不寧櫻花節) I looked it up on a translator but can get my wife (she is Taiwanese) to approve it. Pronounced it "bú nìng yīng huā jié" I believe.

Not an overly religious dude Kallan could add to his "private" sessions a place of peace, where he hides away from the criminal friends he has. This could be within some sort of holy ground of Calistria. Where he might have been somewhat fascinated with the "Elven blossom". Mostly seeing her as a strange outsider and therefore maybe one to lead him out of the awfulness of the slums Kallan is use to within Riddleport.

Likely I would have told Kallan stories of Jinin & the 'Darklands 'Quest for the Silver Tree". Which is somewhat ironic considering I left there because I didn't fit in.

As for Restless Cherry Blossom (不寧櫻花節) I looked it up on a translator but can get my wife (she is Taiwanese) to approve it. Pronounced it "bú nìng yīng huā jié" I believe.

Sweet! Thank you very much! Of course that doesn't help for a 'familiar' form so likely going to stick with Blossom for that, but still incredibly cool

For Tally I wanted to say that I did not mean to force a friendly attitude on her. Kresham stuck with her for reasons of his own, not necessarily by her invitation, and it is likely they didn't talk much during their journey.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I'm willing to work that out. Like I said she'd be ambivalent at first, but she'd probably start being more friendly as she got to know him. Just depends on how long they were together.

Sweet! Thank you very much! Of course that doesn't help for a 'familiar' form so likely going to stick with Blossom for that, but still incredibly cool

true Blossom or flower that word I at least know in Mandarin (huā) so that could be it or mei hua (beautiful flower ;-))

As for tales about the Darklands and Quests Kallan would eat it all raw - after all its a world outside. And as everyone knows the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

The plan is for Kallan not to be stupid but a bit naive toward outsiders (none-Riddleport natives). RCB would be the perfect fit for his dreams and he would go a long way to stick close by - as long as it will not harm his own skin of course.

Stupid Player question. How do you get the extra information on your Avatar title? Everyone else seems to have useful info on theirs & all I have on mine is my name?

As may be obvious, I haven't done much PbP.

Stupid Player question. How do you get the extra information on your Avatar title? Everyone else seems to have useful info on theirs & all I have on mine is my name?

As may be obvious, I haven't done much PbP.

its the class/level field on the character details .. Check out Talant profile it will tell :-)

Yep. It's useful for keeping track of things. I also put in arrows, rage rounds, and other stuff if the character needs it.

Thanks for the guidance for the others Adam; I'd appreciate it if everyone has this information included in their avatar name prior to our first combat...not like that's right around the corner or anything.

That being said, I'd like to start with some RP to get your characters loaded into the tab and to allow us to learn more of your characters. I'll be putting a post in the gameplay thread, hopefully tomorrow, with a quick outline of the current scene in Riddleport. From there, I'd like you to describe what your character is up to; feel free to embellish on your surroundings and make some assumptions for names and places. Also, feel free to interact with each other. I'll be watching and posting as NPC's or surroundings until I can get the game actually rolling along.

Cool, can't wait!

Is giddy, positively giddy, with anticipation.

^^

One request before we start play, I know I have fair-to-middling relationships with Kallan & Deneb and at least nodding acquaintance with Eris. Talant', Kresham, have either of the two of you met me or are you both going to be 'strange, martial-looking elves from somewhere outside Riddleport' to me starting out? Either is fine, I just don't want to inadvertently step on anyone's toes when the logorea starts...

You'll probably have never meet Talant'edhel (Tally for short). I'm not sure about Kersham.

Speaking of relationships, Kresham, are we just assuming that Tally knows you in passing, but not well enough to call you a friend?

Well, since we haven't started yet...Nayr, do you mind if I tweak my character a bit? I'm hoping to drop my STR from 14 to 13 (maybe even 12), and drop my INT from 13 to 12 (I'll get Combat Expertise even if I don't qualify for it at Lore Warden so there's no reason for me to keep my INT at such a useless number). I'm also considering swapping out my feat Lingering Performance for Weapon Finesse.

Assuming Nayr agrees, do you guys have any particular 'use' in mind for me (giggity, btw)? By that I mean...do you want me as a more combat focused bard (in which case I'll use those freed up points to boost my CON up a bit)? Or do you want me focusing on spells/CHA stuff? In which case I'll use those points to boost my CHA up to 18 at the expense of some survival stuff?

I think we're good on the martial front. A fighter, a ranger, and a rogue (knife master) are pretty much going to be dishing it out pretty well.

Kresham has never met Restless Cherry Blossom either.
Tally, yes, that's the gist of it. My idea was that Tally has been in combat together with Kresham as a mercenary, and that gave her some respect towards him, which is why she tolerated him sticking around when normally she would insist on travelling alone.
Eris, I would prefer a more 'charismatic' bard :) It also seems to play well with your exotic appearance.

@Eris: Given that you are the closest thing to a resident skill-monkey that we have, focusing on those aspects which enhance that (in your case, INT & CHA) would seem most effective.

Koo koo...on an incidental side note, I do have a Magus (Spire Defender)/Rogue/Arcane Trickster build I have been wanting to try out for sometime if y'all think someone more roguey would be of use.

Combatwise, he'd be kinda a switch hitter using bow, whip, and spells whichever is appropriate at the time.

We'd lose the higher CHA though, but there'd be a boatload more skill points.

Sorry all; one kid teething and the other has a cold; been a long weekend. I'll have the initial post up sometime today.

I'm okay with you switching up stats until we get into the meat of the gameplay. Please just let me know when you're done so I can review the final sheet.

Koo koo. I have swapped around those stats, making CHA 18. I have also swapped around my feat from Lingering Performance to Weapon Finesse. Also grabbed a rapier instead of a longsword for for a starting weapon.

I am still open to rolling up my AT if you guys would prefer that.

So before I actually post, I just want to make sure: this is a post we can embellish however we want right? I ask because my idea for this post would technically require a lot of checks of various kinds.

Its not gonna alter the plot or anything (well, unless you choose to introduce the people I come up with as NPCs in the greater dialogue), and its really just for fun. I'm not gonna be killing anybody or fighting in the street or stuff like that. It'd just be some innocently harmless acrobatics, diplomacy, and bluff checks and maybe a trip CMB.

Sounds just fine, Eris, though I sure may use one down the road...never can have too many developed NPC's. Looking forward to it!

Kresham, Kallan - just check in when you can

@Nayr : I have spend the last 2 days setting up a new computer but kept up with what was going on from work!
Anyway Kallan have made his first move - being a sneaky little brat he stalks the others. Reason I did not want him to join (however briefly) the happening at the window is simply it seem to strange everyone "just walk up". Now the elves and cat can probably catch Kallan with his fingers deep inside someones purse during breakfast.

Anyhow reason I write is to get something clear:
Notation!
it seem that Bold is for spoken words and light blue for "ooc" information. But should we get some way we all stick to?

Speech = Bold
Thought = Italic
light blue = OOC info (btw what tag is this?)
any other?

The three you list are PBP standards. Not sure how, but sometimes people also post in green. What does that mean and how do you do it?

Also when I speak in a language other than common I use a spoiler.

And good intro by the way. Deneb is +13 Perception, so he will likely soon notice you if you hang back only 20 feet. But that is fine. He will likely only keep an eye on you for now. :)

Spoilers are COOL - Elven language spoiler was a plus in my book - I had to hurry to my character sheet and see if elvish was one of my lang's.

Alas it wasn't so I did not press that OH SO ALLURING button!

Oh yes as for Kallan "sneaking" behind, it aren't because he is trying to keep out of sight:
First rule about being invisible in a crowd - ACT NORMAL!

That would be fine Kallan, and I use spoilers quite a bit. I will be adding my preferred posting rules to the campaign info thread, as well. As you can see, I'm really still fleshing everything out here, since my time is still at a premium. We haven't officially started yet, but I figured idle PC's could get bored, and there would be no reason for us not to do some open RP.

That would be fine Kallan, and I use spoilers quite a bit. I will be adding my preferred posting rules to the campaign info thread, as well. As you can see, I'm really still fleshing everything out here, since my time is still at a premium. We haven't officially started yet, but I figured idle PC's could get bored, and there would be no reason for us not to do some open RP.

Which I, for one, appreciate.

Same here.

Welcome, Kresham and Kallan; we're all here, then. Please don't kill each other before you even get to the games:)

Eris - by all means, have at it; there is significant room for embellishment in the Wharf District

Welcome, Kresham and Kallan; we're all here, then. Please don't kill each other before you even get to the games:)

Don't worry Kallan is too much of a wuzz to pick a fight !!!

Since we still haven't done anything of consequence, I swapped around a point from STR to CON.

I'm definitely fine with rolling the perception checks for you, if you like. Everyone please chime in with your preference and I will adapt as needed.

If you wish to roll Perception or Initiative for me, I have no objection. Not that my performance in either is likely to be anything spectacular.
Perhaps I should start putting precious skill points into Perception...