GM Rednal's Northlands Saga Complete (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

@Rednal: The rescue difficulties: Is it a one-check-thing? As in, a Swim Check and a Strenght Check? Or is this something taking multiple round, and requiring multiple checks of the sort.
For one round, I am tempted to try to get Hallbjorn back on board at least...but if I need to make multiple DC 20 checks over several rounds and not fail a single one that's a lot less likely to be successful/be a desirable course of action. Still pondering, just asking...

Successful checks will allow you to save one person in a round, and would need to be repeated for each additional person rescued. If you fail, you will also be in need of rescue. Attempting to save people who are in the water in the middle of a violent storm, with waves in excess of 30 feet, with little aside from your muscles and a bit of rope to do it with, is dangerous as hell. The multiple high DC's reflect this. It's okay to say "this may be beyond me" - Frog God Games thinks knowing your limits is a good skill to have.

(Note that as the person furthest away, Hallbjorn also has the highest DC's.)

----

On a different note, are any of you interested in trying the Spheres of Might system?

Yes. You will give it to me.

And yeah, this is gonna suck. GM, can I use the Warp Sphere to grab some people, and what do I need to roll to make it happen? I know the Northlanders don't like magic very much, but I suspect they'll like dying in the frozen waves even less. And I'm already well known to be a magic user, so this won't come as a shock.

I'd rather have those people alive and resenting me than dead with there full respect. Afterall, Grandfather Wotan gave me magecraft for a reason.

(I ask mostly because the SoM content will be up on the Spheres of Power wiki starting around the 26th-ish, and I'll be allowing it for this game. Anyone who's interested in retraining - either by swapping feats, grabbing an archetype, or by actually changing a class - is welcome to ask questions about it. XD For this game, it would be basic (i.e. non-magical) talents only. Before it's up, though, I can explain the basics of the system.)

As for Warping people... you don't have Ranged Teleport, Eydis, so you'd have to make the Swim check to reach someone. In addition, you'd need to make a Concentration check for violent motion (DC 15 + spell level, which for you is Caster Level/2) to successfully cast and send someone to the ship - and would need to even if remaining on the boat, actually. Without a rope tied to the boat to drag you along - it wouldn't go through a teleport - the boat would get one distance increment away on a failed swim check (close to medium, then medium to long), potentially requiring multiple swim checks to try and reach someone.

Incidentally, the NPCs have swim checks of their own to meet in order to try and keep pace with the ship, so there is very much a time limit. And you have to decide if rescuing people is worth not bailing out water and risking the whole ship suffering more, particularly because too much water can add penalties to everything else. 8D ...As is probably obvious by now, storms like this one are nasty.

I don't have long range, but I can spend a spell point to it to Medium range, which for me is 140ft. Would that be sufficient to reach at least some of them? Unless we're using some extreme rope, they shouldn't be too much further.

My plan is to grab those further away first, however, so I may need to take a swim to do so.

So...I would need to make a Swim Check for anyone beyond 140 (Which I assume our captain, at least, will be, since he's the most awkward to save), a Concentration check to teleport them and a spell point for distance.

But for the swim check would be lower for the more at risk, since I can stay closer to the ship and reach them, and DC 17 is easier than a DC 20 Strength Check. And for at least some, I hope, I won't have to swim at all.

*Coughs* That's the distance to teleport to, not teleport from. You need Ranged Teleport to warp people from further away than touch, so Swim checks are needed to save anyone.

(Otherwise, a first-level, introductory talent would let you chuck enemies around the battlefield at range - with a save, admittedly - and that's a little too strong for a basic talent. XD)

Darn, I never noticed that. I really must focus on Teleportation for a level or two, since I'm constantly not able to use it in important situations.

So, effectively, it's a Caster check rather than a strength check?

The Strength check is essentially a combo of holding onto the rope (in very violent waters, which is why it's high) and being able to tug someone back to the ship (which takes a fair bit of effort). If you want to hold onto the rope (which will prevent you from going too far away), you'd need to make that check. Otherwise, you can try to warp yourself back to the ship.

Hum...I had hoped to get Hallbjorn back aboard, but reading it again, with cumulative +2 checks for distance and him being furthest away, that would need a natural 20 to even have a chance...so...have to pass. Guess we're the captain now :P

So, basically, if I used magic to help I'd be adding an extra roll and an extra chance of failure rather than making this any easier? I'd still have to make the same swimming check, and then strength check, and then a spellcaster check which would, in effect, be pointless if I made the first two? Well...that sucks.

Can I at least use Warp to get closer to the ship if I do fail a roll dismally and lose my grip on a rope during this?

You can Warp yourself, yes. Still gotta make that Concentration check, though.

(Casting on normal ground is one thing, but in the middle of a violent storm? Even magic only gets you so far. For what it's worth, the idea was you swimming and warping people back instead of using the rope, then probably trying to warp yourself back at the end. So, basically replacing the Strength check with a Concentration one.)

*pokes Aelfred*
Everything ok?

He might not have spotted the login problem.

That is possible, yes - it's been making everything a bit wonky. XD;

Additional note: Anyone in this game who wants to retrain into Spheres of Might is welcome to. It might help you realize a concept better - though if you'd prefer to stick with what you've currently got, that's also fine. XD

Sadly, yes, it looks like re-recruitment.

Indeed it does :( checked a few other aliases, no posts newer than that of Aelfred in those.
Oh my, that storm cost us a lot of good men and women.

Clearly. So, uh, what sort of new friend would you like? XD;

Whoever looks useful, honestly. We're pretty fighty, with Warpriest an Fighter, and I've got a fair whack of magic. Sigurd has Rogue for skills and the odd trap. More healing would be nice - two healers out of three would leave a nice margin of error - but not needed.

Maybe something Skald-ic with Ranged Potential?
Someone to sing praises to my heroic deeds?

J/K but Bard or Skald would add a bit of casting without another full caster, and with Spheres would allow some Healing and some Dabbling, fulfilling that request of Eydis.

I am switch-hitting, but limited by range and, for the forseeable future, ammunition.
Someone properly able to use a bow would be welcome, but it's no necessity.

So I'm with Eydis, pick whoever looks useful...and reliable(from posting history or other games).

A third part is fairness. "One full caster slot" has been the rule for this game from the very beginning, and I try to avoid changing those sorts of rules mid-game. (Otherwise, previous applicants wouldn't have had the same opportunities, y'know? "I denied you earlier because I didn't have any full caster slots, but I accepted this other person because that rule changed" would be a really awkward conversation to have.)

*nods*

Are you telling the other submission why I couldn't have my combined Familiar/Animal Companion Raven/Bird?
(Not gravely serious, with one player gone, the basis for decisions may have changed, but if he gets both a Raven and a Wolf, I'll be envious.)

Combined companions in general are kind of iffy, and not just because of the different ability growth rates. XD Especially since I try very hard to avoid letting gestalt characters gain TOO much power. We'll just have to see how the rest of the application process goes, I suppose.

Aye, but split apart, companions quickly fall behind in Gestalt.

Also, too much power? I was proposing a Raven back then. As in, a tiny bird. Not like it was likely to overshadow the characters - the combination was mostly to make it more survivable and provide both Intelligence and Feats, as would be expected from a legendary bird ;)
(As no less than a legendary bird would be worthy of being my companion in the songs they will sing about my deeds) (Unless I unceremoniously die a sudden RNG-death after boasting about future deeds in discussion by ways of some cosmic karma)
(Also, the reason given was that one player was strongly connected to Thor, and the other had a Animal Companion...so my Raven would have been offensive on two fronts, there - hence why I said, the basis for that decision might have changed.)

On a side note: I did get a chance to look at Spheres of Power, not sure if I want a complete do-over, but I might try to fit Coiled Blade into my Vanilla Fighter. Since some of the Spheres 'duplicate/count as' certain Feats(e.g. Barrage=>Point Blank Shot) that may be less painful than I expected(the opposite, actually), while letting me play around with some of the Spheres stuff.

Raw power is less of a concern than action economy, the most valuable resource in the game. XD

And yeah, Spheres of Might (Power is magic, Might is martial) can fit in with quite a few different builds. Aside from full classes and archetypes, you can also trade feats to get a progression line, or use feats to pick up talents individually. It's quite flexible that way, so you can use the system without your character necessarily revolving around it.

Aye, but action economy? It had no meaningful attacks, nor hands to wield wands or something of the sort. No breaking anything there. Would just have been a pool to outsource knowledge skills and do some Recon for us off-screen. *shrug*

And yes, I meant Might, of course - and I saw the other aspects, it seems very intriguing on a couple levels - unfortunately nothing to directly support my style, but enough stuff that has decent utility. I also quite like that there's quite a few 'Feat Taxes' and more niche Feats 'outsourced' into aspects here. (Not in a means of 'more power', but in a means of 'I would not usually pick that up but would here')
So even though I only superficially managed to poke at it, I'm very intrigued. May need to take a closer look at the options for the other Rednal-Chars.

*scratches chin*
Hum.
How does Spheres of Might interact with the automatic Feat Progression active here?
E.g. Dual Wield Sphere has Two-Weapon Fighting as associated Feat, or Sniper-Sphere has Precise Shot.

The reason I am asking: If one could 'pick it up' with spheres, then get free upgrades, that may be unintended. At the same time, it seems to be a unintended Tax if I need to spend a separate Feat on Improved Two Weapon Fighting to get Greater for free, later, simply because the first Feat in the Chain was invested into access to the Sphere.

I would humbly suggest that if an actual Feat Slot is used to gain the Sphere, said Feat does progress even if 'replaced' by a substitute. Perfectly fine with it not working the other way round(spending a Sphere 'slot' to start the Feat Chain)

Only feats automatically progress. Spheres do not. Though, spheres do count for prerequisites, and you only need to invest one feat beyond the ability the Sphere gives you in order to unlock the whole feat line.

(Spheres of Might has a somewhat different progression system, and it's better to not mess with that too much.)

Aye, it just means that one either has to accept picking up 'Duplicates'(as they often do just about exactly the same thing, and don't stack), or go for something else. (Duplicates as in it doesn't matter if you pick up Basic or Improved to the Feat Chain, but latter down the line there may be more interesting, other options so waiting for improved to become available may come with an added opportunity cost that makes picking up the Basic Feat early AND the sphere(to gain access to other stuff) doing the same thing the better choice..)

It's a pity, but I think I'll avoid those spheres that would force me to double-pay on things, then.
(Due to the nature of the 'auto-progress' Feat Lines you mention, I only came across regular 2-Feat or 3-Feat lines qualifying for this(and some of those I thought might, you told me through PM did not) - That means that effectively, for a 2-Feat Chain, you pay full price(Sniper Sphere + Improved Precise Shot Feat), no discount there. For a 3-Feat chain, it goes from a 1 Feat-Investment to a 2-Feat investment - so instead of 200% 'bonus' on the spent Feat, it's a 50% increase now.)

By all means, I understand your ruling, just explaining that the perceived cost seems too high and I will thus likely abstain from some spheres that could make sense thematically, but would require me to pay taxes. :)
Sufficient other good stuff to work with, in there :)

Hm. Sounds wrong, still, let me add to that:
Adding Spheres is a definite step-up in terms of versatility and potential power. But because there's so many new toys, there's no need to 'double up' on things only to get access to more powerful options. Plenty of fun paths to take without taking that turn.
Thats the main reason. The 'economic' cost is mostly a turn-off from pursuing weaker, more flavorful options that then cost 2 Feats from a more limited(less Bonus Feats) Feat Pool(since, as said, the inquiry only dealt with Spheres activated via spending a Feat on them - requiring another Feat to be spent to get the chain activated).

Thoughts on the submissions?

(Feel free to PM them if you want to.)

No need for PM. I can write my thoughts freely, as they are just that, personal opinions. If any of the players means to read it as a means of feedback, they should take it with a grain of salt. I may be way off with some thoughts, but those are my impressions:
Also, I had one thought on this to share per PM, and I already did that several days ago.

@ DarkLightHitomi - Sonya of the Ice Sea - Rogue/Incanter(Warlock)
While I do understand that she does not wish to adapt from Full Caster, Sigurd was originally a Partial Caster and I adapted into Non-Caster...plus Rogue overlap with me and Incanter overlap with Eydis. So, sorry to say, but under the creation rules, this one is disqualified for the position.

@ Vagabonds.. - Unnamed - Bard (Geisha, Ringleader, Savage Skald)/Conscript
An concept interesting in Mechanics, but I'm not sure if a Zookeeper Sniper is the best pick for the setting/game. I also see the animals either falling behind in the power-curve of a gestalt-game, or them dominating the action economy if somehow able to stay on equal footing. In other words, it seems hard to balance this and make it work, and if the animals get wiped while we're away on a raid/quest, the build could be seriously gimped until such time as we can replace them - considering the pace of some other games, where 'one week' of game-time can translate to 2-3 levels worth of encounters and action, that could be a hefty handicap.
Overall, I see too many 'buts' with this to feel it's a good fit.

@ Amergin the Wise - Logi the White - Barbarian(Invulnerable Rager, Primal Hunter)/Shifter
As you yourself said, that seems stacking things on top of each other. A Shifter is strong in Melee as-is. A invulnerable Rager Barbarian even more so. The result could be a real beast.
There's also the public relations-issue. While a Raging Berserker is already something eyed with suspicion, a Raging Berserker changing into a Were-Form could probably be mistaken for Grendel in half the places we visit. A berserker alone could have been an interesting fit, but I feel the second class potentially stacks on the Combat potential...with Bestial Traits one has to go out of their way to not enhance it, the enhanced Physicality adds to both Casting and Combat Performance(as does Raging, for that matter). The fact he has DR against nonlethal that will always be higher than the 'demand' from draining casting, but no 'immunity' to it is a creative way to nullify the drawback, but seems unintended.
All in all I have no doubt that he is great at what he is doing, but it seems very optimized all around and with a high potential to stack up in one role - there's also the low Mental Attributes - with Will as a Weak Save on both sides, a 10 in Wisdom and no Rage Bonus, that could be a serious weakness(one I currently share - so an area/multi-target Will effect could easily get us both - i would prefer different weaknesses), and with the 10 Int he's entirely reliant on the 4 skill points from the two classes.(Kinda like Eydis with 2 skill points and 11 Int, patching it up with Child of Heroes Skill Point option) leaving me as sole skill person for most tasks - I wonder if a different SoP class(Thaumaturge? Eliciter?) wouldn't have allowed a more diverse build, while still maintaining the Lycanthrope-Feel with a few Alteration-Spheres and the Feat...
As said, it could work, but it's not a first-pick.

miteke - Bulk - Hunter/Conscript
There's too little there to really analyse the build...it's a start of a character. One thing is that with the Attribute distribution and the Wrestling Focus, he seems to be a Melee Specialist.
It could be an interesting concept, definitely not min-maxed so far, but I kind of requested a Ranged Char, so yeah, I'm not entirely too happy with this simply based on our perceived needs.
But mainly, it's too incomplete to fully judge where it's going...e.g. Magic Spheres are missing entirely, as is a declaration of intent on what is planned on. I understand that he means to discuss picks IF selected, but the one thing I can focus on now is that he is very clearly not a great Ranged Attacker, so other picks, based on that requirement, are more attractive to me.

Sapiens - Blommhilde Bjornsdottir Thricebound - Conscript/Hedgewitch(Triple Goddess, Bloodline)
Fighting Chicken - Sigrid Ingedottir - Ranger(Nature's Blade)/Hedgewitch(Triple Goddess, Spiritualism)

Those two are my favorites. Both combine a combat-based class with the Triple Goddess Hedgewitch & have no weak save, the cunning woman lineage may be more flavorful, but the spiritualism tradition + more secrets is definitely more flexible on that side.
The other way round for Martial, the Conscript is more flexible, the Ranger more flavorful.
So, based on the fact that I was denied a Raven familiar because Odin is Eydis thing, I would feel slightly...envious with another Character getting a Wolf AND a Raven and getting away with that. So purely out of personal vanity, I'd slightly prefer Sigrid Ingedottir(with another name). I also like that the theme is followed(with a Weavecaster tradition and Warleader Sphere(which, to me, kind of has a 'Fates' Magic Sphere flavor) as Nature Bond replacement)

But it's closest between those, with a slight edge for Ingedottir.

Eydis?

I'm intending to send some thoughts tonight. Apologies for the slow response - my day has included, but is not limited to, a close friends infant son being hospitalized, my best friends place of work having a minor fire and being told the other guy who shares my job will be off for yet another week, so I'll need to cover.

It has been...less than excellent.

@Sigrid: You're almost fine, but as Sigurd alluded to above... we will need you to pick a different name, since it's a biiiiit too close to an existing character's name.

@Blommhilde: I'm actually going to have you to pick something other than a Raven familiar (possibly not going for a familiar at all, actually - that's quite a lot of action economy, and companions of that nature may have a preeeeetty rough time in this game. Like, "get tossed overboard at sea during a randomly-rolled storm" tough. XD;

Also, thematically, Ravens are a symbol of Odin/Wotan and Eydis is the one with that story point. (Symbols and themes are quite important in this game, so it matters rather more than usual.)

Hello and thank you for the chance to play! I've read about the animal companion/familiar problem, I can easily drop them both. They were mostly there for flavour (both intended as symbols of Odin, as it is). I'll grab a couple of different spheres.

Also for overlap, as we have two Triple Goddesses, do you want me to pick different talents/a different archetype? There is a Fate Sphere Handbook in the playtest with several new talents, and although they are tarot-flavored they could be spun as divination runes (yet another Odin theme there, I fear, but a rather minor one).

Otherwise I could switch to Prodigy, abandoning the focus on bows and those three spheres for yet increased flexibility.
It could be stronger than intended, as Gestalt granting double access to combat and magic talents means I'd have double the resources for making up combos: surely I'd be more versatile but a bit all over the place.

Just a crazy idea, there, but if your character image suggests you are not the 'youngest' folk out there, maybe you guys could slightly adapt background and be mother and daughter?
Would make sense to pass on the 'Triple Goddesses'-thing in a lineage, and could offer for some interesting RP :)
Just throwing that out there, no idea if either of you would be interested.

The spin I was giving was that I had aged beyond my years (also to avoid having to deal with aging bonuses/penalties) but I'd be good with that. Or being a tutor, with Ingedottir as my pupil.

@Rednal: I see you added Associated Feats/Skills on the Wiki - Fencing / Read Foe has Sense Motive as associated Skill which is missing there, thought I'd mention it :)

That said, I mostly wanted to inquire if there's any Feats or Spheres that interact with the Tension Mechanic or if I simply missed that?
Something akin to Extra Tension - there's only Extra Striker Art which is not applicable.
Since Sigurd is built with 12 Con, that leaves him at a low Maximum Tension of 2 currently - I was looking for ways to increase that before APB raises Con/the regular leveling increases the maximum.
(Technically at Level 18, it would be 4(from Con)+6(from Levels) for 10 Tension maximum...so it's not exactly that it would be limiting later, it just scales badly for me because that mechanic did not exist when I decided on the attribute distribution, and it's a core Feature of the Sphere Fighter Archetype, so I would like to be able to make good use of it rather than just have it around until later.
I mostly bring that up because IF some supplement adds in that area in the future, maybe you'll remember and let me know? (Or maybe there will be an interaction with Combat Stamina that lets you convert points at a ratio that will 'lock' the stamina used until a Full Rest(as in: use 2 Stamina Points in place of a Tension, but a short rest will not recover those so they are gone until you get a chance to fully rest up.)
Alternatively, might I be allowed to swap Con and Str Attribute Values? - With Crushing Thrower allowing me to treat Thrown Attacks as Melee, I can depend on Finesse Training, rather than needing Strenght for Ranged attacks - so STR is actually a lot less important to me now, compared to Con...(would only be 1 more Tension, but every little bit helps. And +4 HP&+1 Fortitude would be preferable to a +1 in Climb and Swim) )

There is also one more question: How does Combat Stamina interact with associated Feats? Does it allow access to the associated Combat Trick?
Or not? I'm currently not assuming it is so, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask-

Having two of the same archetype might be a little much, yeah - I'm not going to demand a change on that, but if you'd like to look for something else with good flavor, that's certainly a possibility. ^^ Probably better to not double down too hard on the combat spheres, though.

@Sigurd: There are no feats that interact with the Tension mechanic. That said, what's this about Constitution? The Coiled Blade (not Snake, by the way) uses your Practitioner Modifier, not the Striker's, so you get to pick from the three mental stats (probably Charisma, given your build). That gives you a pool of three points right now, which isn't so bad.

As for Combat Stamina, yes, you can get that with associated feats. (AF's count for powers that modify the feat's function, and as far as I'm concerned, "granting you an additional effect you can use with Combat Stamina" is modifying its function.)

Ah, right, I missed the usually cannot go higher than his practitioner modifier (minimum 1) in the coiled snake.

I had focused on the part in striker saying: Her tension goes up or down throughout the day, but usually cannot go higher than her Constitution modifier (minimum 1), though some feats, abilities, and magic items may affect this maximum. which does not mention the pracitioner modifier and flat out states Constitution(which happens to be the Strikers Modifier).

So, yeah, Charisma it will be, and that gives me more wiggle room right now with 3 Points now, 4 points at Level 7(from level), 5 at Level 8(from +Cha Level increase), 6 at Level 9(+2 Cha from ABP), and 7 at Level 10(from Level)

That nicely sets me up to make some use of it now and really get into it around the mid-levels.

That said, I'm still wondering if I might be allowed to swap STR and CON Attribute-Values as part of the rebuild.
It's just 14 and 12, there was not a wide discrepancy to begin with but I'd still prefer a bit of survivability over the +1 to swim and climb(which I keep maxed via Athletics anyway(and later potentially boost further with Rogues Edge)). *shrug*

@Combat Stamina/Associated Feats: Much appreciated, I'll keep it in mind!

Alternative 1: My idea for the prodigy was to take magic talents on that side through Blended Training, combat ones on the Conscript's side. It would give me many magic talents (20) but due to the way Sequence works, I'd spread myself thin over many spheres. I'd lose the bloodline, but I can still pick up a bit of the Life Sphere to act as a secondary healer.
Adaptation is basically the Spiritualist's flexibility, so I'd drop Martial Flexibility on Conscript side to avoid stacking. It would be a flexible generalist, requiring no changes to background.

Alternative 2: Being an Antiquarian Armiger and taking magic talents via Mystic Bond. As my spin on flavour, I could use different weapons, linked to different gods (spear for Odin, warhammer for Thor, longbow for Freyja, etc...) to store related Sphere abilities (respectively Fate, Weather and Mind, for example). I'd also go much more generalist in the combat field, trading out some archery for melee abilities. It would work even better if I could exchange the 10 combat talents from the class progression for 10 magic talents as Mid-Caster (basically turning the Armiger fully from SoM to SoP).

Alternative 3: I could go for Geomancer Elementalist. I'd take the alternate casting ability to key it back to Wisdom for the druidic feel. Too bad that there isn't any Weather Sphere Handbook around yet.

Alternative 4: Thundercaller (Sphere) Bard. I'd have to change my background significatively, but drumming up storms is pretty Viking. Possibly also Savage Skald (they both replace suggestion, but they get the same ability in exchange, so it could possibly stack). This would require me to change ability scores and background, but would open up more skills and relieve Sigurd partially of face duties.

Also: if two ranged specialists are redundant, I can change talents in any needed way. If you'd like more of a frontliner/tank, I can go Sentinel.

@Sigurd: The relevant text for tension is in your archetype, not on the Striker's page. ^^ And feel free to swap those two stats.

@Blommhilde: Sentinel might actually be a pretty good choice. Some of the encounters in this campaign are truly nasty, and a solidly tanky character would do a lot to help the party. (It's also thematically appropriate - a hero who wades into danger and comes out strong is very epic. XD)

If you do want to adjust Triple Goddess, I'd stay away from ones that give you many magic talents, as well as the Armiger stuff. (Have I mentioned that the North doesn't have a whole lot of powerful magic? Because it really doesn't. XD This campaign's expected build rules are quite different from the norm - and yes, I'm aware of how awkward this can be to work around.) A Geomancer Elementalist is more doable - being good in one Sphere is more appropriate than being good in all of them, and at any rate, most Mid-Casting classes give you full progression in something. Avoiding that is actually pretty hard.

@Rednal: Thanks a lot :)
I think the confusion was with the mention of This works in all other ways as the striker’s tension class feature, including gaining the defensive determination and maneuvering momentum tension building options. - these two mechanics need to be looked up in the Striker page and I suppose I 'read around' a bit too long there - but of course, the archetype text trumps where it differs. My mistake, I simply didn't catch there was a difference in that part

@Bloomhilde: Regarding 'relieving Sigurd of face duties' - I am perfectly fine performing the role, no worries. But the North is a harsh land. When I mentioned in the analysis that there would be no 'back-up' for most of the skills, I literally considered what would happen if Sigurd would die. If nobody else was there to cover for the skills because everybody goes with minimum Skill Points and 'rugged out-doormanship'(swim, survival, climb, perception, ride, acrobatics...), then that shoe-horns me into making a pure carbon-copy to cover all the skills again. Also, if I'm out for another reason...or we need multiple people making checks simultaneously - lets just say there's a good number of situations I can think of where you want SOME overlapping coverage for skills.
That said, Knowledges ARE covered with the basics, but will be Sigurds weak suite despite many skill points, Associated Skills and Skill Unlocks.
(with retrainings or APB-Int-Boosts I intend to reinforce Professions, add stuff like Oratory or Sing and maybe learn another Craft(maybe woodworking to make nice figureheads for the ships...) anyway, what I'm saying is there's probably no need to specialize in those skills Sigurd is able to cover, but some backup would be appreciated and Knowledges could be very useful (even if I have extra Skill Points, Sigurd is not a Scholar - he dabbled, he knows from stories and sagas, the bases are covered...but there's a very real limit to his knowledge of obscure topics) (which actually was the consideration basis for that combined Animal Companion/Familiar(Sage Archetype) - Raven I wanted - *grins* - would literally have been imparting the wisdom of the gods...)

That all said, a dedicated Tank could be good. My own survivability should get a boost at Level 6 if I make it there(Resiliency, Shielded Gauntlet Master, Shield Sphere and Combat Reflexes come online that level) but that's hardly a reason not to have someone else capable of soaking up attacks :)

Hi All!

I'm looking forward to playing with you all. Glad to see Sapiens made the cut as well- I liked their submission quite a lot.

Name change - check! I went with Asta, which means "divine beauty."

Regarding changes/overlap, I'm happy to make some to my PC as well. If it matters, Asta is designed to be a very focused caster - fate sphere only. So, she's less a triple goddess then a single goddess (she'd actually probably have been a thamaturge if the build rules allowed for it).

I'm happy to stay fate sphere only, which will minimize overlap between Bloomhilde and Asta. Or, I could do away with Triple Goddess and go no archetype, and focus on divination talents, which would with this PC's backstory as well. However, there's one catch - divination talents are better the more additional spheres one knows, and I have a pretty narrow theme.

This could be ameliorated with the expanded divinations talent, which would allow for picking up alternate divinations. Is there a way that anyone knows of to increase caster level for hedgewitch without going TG? Or perhaps it doesn't matter so much with divination talents? I'm not that familiar with them.

I realized that I've still got to pick my class secrets. I'll wait on that if that is OK until I know better what, if anything, I'm changing.

@Asta: Hiya and thank you! Glad that I wasn't the only freak seeing the Norns/Moirae in the Triple Goddess.

@Sigurd: Sadly, skill ranks come with Intelligence and Int-focused, scholarly characters just don't feel much nordic to me. I've thought about going Sentinel/Bard but it would be the most MAD thing I've ever seen. I'd need every ability high, save for Dexterity.

@GM Rednal: Geomancer Elementalist is a bit- I don't know, I just can't find a playstyle for it that I like. Not to mention that Evasion is wasted on heavy armor.
Would a Shaman Soul Weaver be acceptable if I cut down to Mid-Casting? I can even go Low-Caster, as the other class abilities are still pretty magical, and I've been itching to play a Soul Weaver for months now. Or maybe Mid-Casting, giving up Channel Energy and activating blessings with spell points.
I'd take some healing duties off Eydis, my background would remain mostly the same, but flavored as dealing spirits rather than fate-telling.

(I've had a horrible, horrible idea about a Giant-Blooded Resizer Mageknight for the martial side, but it would be a social nightmare, I think)

@Asta: Spheres of Power has tons of ways to increase Caster Level. The most notable part from your position is somewhat unique to this game. We're using ABP, and normally, you can get an enhancement bonus to your weapon by attuning to it. However, casters are allowed to apply that to a sphere instead (as if you're using a Sphere Staff).

@Blommhilde: Well, Necromancy is a "run you out of town" sort of deal. XD Undead are part of the Sceadugengan, or "Shadow Walkers", broadly fearsome and culturally veeeeeeeeeery not to be trifled with. (Mind you, it's not like all undead are inherently evil. The party's actually met some not-particularly-hostile ones. Most people who theoretically could do such a thing just flat-out wouldn't because the culture is so opinionated about it. ...Again, this game is way more specific and precise about this sort of thing than most. XD I really do want to keep the nordic/viking feel, though, which is why I pay so much attention to this bit.)

A Dual Channeler Soul Weaver would be tolerated fairly well if they didn't go around showing off. Such a character who lived in a town would probably refrain from using their channeling most of the time, saving it for serious injuries. (Culturally, there'd be an element of 'your injury was ordained by the fates, and spurning them over every scrape and bruise would only invite their wrath. I'm not that stupid.')

(Dropping down to Mid Casting is okay if it makes a character you'd have a lot more fun playing. ^^)

I know I looked at the Triple Goddess stuff too, but wanted more magical oomph.

Just to throw it out as an option - the Scourge Sorcerer as a possible alternative, as it still gets the various thematic bloodline options but only 6 levels of Spellcasting/Mid Caster.

Oh, and welcome some more new folks.

@ GM Rednal: Asta's more a hunter with a splash of magic, so I think I'll stay with the ABP affecting her bow. Thank you for pointing that option out, though.

I've got an alternate magical build below. It would mean switching out triple goddess for base hedgewitch. She'd probably go with the traditions spiritualism and black magic (refluffed as fates, but I have no idea as curses go - legalistic maybe, refluffed as binding oaths, with savage consequences if they are broken, because the fates don't like oathbreakers?). Talents are all be spent on divinations, and would be into the future.

I'd also be switching out the extra secret feat for an extra talent feat.

If I go this route, I may switch out Asta's dex and wisdom (giving her an 18 dex and 17 wisdom). This would leave her with lower save DCs for her hexes and talents (though there's no talents to save against right now) and with one less spell point than posted below.

@Bloomhilde, if you want to keep triple goddess, I'm quite happy to go this route.

It's true that the Fates don't particularly like oathbreakers. ...Frankly, the Northlanders in general don't. That IS the sort of thing that gets you cursed. XD For that matter, liars are considered little better than cowards.

^ Excellent! That will be the curse, then!

@Skills: I mostly meant to mention it's an open niche. Some of them, like Knowledge Nature or Geography, could easily fit the Nordic without being 'scholarly' - that kind of stuff would go with the 'wisdom' stuff pretty nicely, I didn't mean to suggest stacking up Knowledge(Engineering and Planes) ;)

For the same reason as your consideration, and because I'm effectively a martial character, I only cover the basics of Knowledges(except Saga Lore)...I did consider some local and history to complement, but I will not get any Skill Unlocks or other boosts for any of those so they would be a great chance for others to shine(even with low Int, ranks would accumulate over the levels-) ;)