GM Rednal's War of the Burning Sky (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Just so we can move along - no, Umbriak has no Throw Anything skills or anything. It's a move made out of pure frustration, not a good idea. But, you know...

Berserker.

So is that the whole village dead?

Isn't Farod still singing?

Yep. Singing all the while, but realizing no one else is made me renew the effort.

@Umbriak: That would be...frustrating. I mean, we went to all that trouble to save them.
Not that I think we could have done anything differently based on the knowledge we had at the time, but that would give my paladin-side a serious guilt-trip...especially since that fire-beast is not even evil. It's just neutrally slaughtering a whole village of people to further it's own agenda. Makes one question a lot of life decisions.

The whole village is not dead - the singers have been battered fairly heavily, but there's, oh, 20-30 fey who haven't even been attacked yet. Mostly because they weren't singing. (Mind you, they're in no mood to even try fighting this thing. The last time it caused problems for them, they had to go find a hero to deal with it, and they've been singing a song that includes the tale of that literally nonstop ever since. And yes, it's still not evil.)

Also, Farod...

As you renew your efforts to sing the Song of Forms, you realize that there's no support from the fey, and so the full burden of using it rests squarely on you. As you give form to dreams, you feel your own substance starting to weaken... without a permanent channel to life like the fey, you must use your own essence to give the song the power it needs.

Take 2 Con damage. I suspect this isn't actually going to come into play, but you'll take another two points every ten minutes you continue to sing. Yes, this is in the book.

Hehe, not complaining.
Just saying in-game, it will take some contemplation or answers(about it's nature) to come to terms with the fact it's non-evil.

Also, will jot that con damage down before tomorrows update.

*Scratches beard* So if we sing, he'll have to come to us eventually...?

If he wants to stop the song, yes.

...

And he totally does.

Wish I knew the song D:

Well, you can ask the fey to teach you later. ^^ Assuming you survive this fight, of course. Who knows? It might come in handy later...

...But speaking of the fact that he would have to come to you, you know he gets AoO's on you if you rush him. Did you want to try and bring him to you and hopefully get into beatdown range without provoking?

(This is a preeeeetty nasty fight, so if you wanna plan together and adjust your actions a bit, I don't mind. ^^)

Well, Umbriak is large, and simply wants to hit him as hard as inhumanly possible. So no great shakes about AoO on his part. The frustrating part is not being able to actually hit him.

Which begs the question - Can I charge him this round, or is this gonna be another 'Umbriak tried to follow' round?

You know, the tactically sound option would be for both of you to come to me, then ready actions to attack.

If it comes for me to stop the song, you know where it will be.
And you can take a 5-foot step as part of the ready action, so no AoO for Tchakar.
And Umbriak may be able to step into the line of the charge, forcing him to try and overrun you to get to me.

Just, you know, speaking up in case we do want to plan together and adjust actions...

Assuming we live, I'll have to pick up sylvan next chance I get, As well as diversifying my combat options, likely through more diverse spell selection.

If it looks like he's going to wheel around and come for Farod, I could position myself in his path next to Farod with a readied action instead. Either he attacks me to get to Farod, or attacks Farod over my head and Farod might get cover and I get to punch. Both options should at least give Umbriak a good opportunity to get close.

If it's not clear that's his intention, my actions can stand. Tchakar's not terribly used to fighting as a team. Usually he worked with a team, but when things went badly everyone split and ran. He normally would only fight when cornered, and being surrounded by a blistering burning forest on all sides pretty much qualifies.

Someone will need to shout over Umbriak. He'll think it's a good idea, since he has yet to trigger rage, but he's too frustrated to think of the idea himself.

@Tchakar: Yeah...that was pretty much what I said. Get into his line towards me, then ready to punch him(as the 5-foot step does not provoke, you are basically guaranteed to get a chance).

@Umbriak: Fine, I'll shout it in-game, too, but considering I already told the Fey to rally to me, especially the singing ones, you may catch on yourself despite frustration.

I mean, this thing is rocketing around trying to kill everybody who sings. I am the last one singing. If you're not in rage yet, you could probably guess where he's going next...

Teamwork Issues or Frustration aside, I think if we're offered a bone, we should bite.
Because, you know, a good hit would likely off me, and then nothing's holding the guy here...which would offer a frustrating ending to the whole arc.

Can't 5 ft. step if I move this round, but still overall better situation.

Aye, my mistake, I thought it was one of those 'take up your next rounds 5-foot-step' instances.
That said, why aren't you large in the first place :( I have enlarge person...

OK, so I suppose since we're now levelling up, and the Living Blade will reshape to whichever one of us is using it...whose gonna have the biggest stick?

Well, Umbriak's the one who pulled it out... *Coughs* It's, uh, already bonded with him.

Ah. Ummm. Ooops?

I assume the bond can be switched somehow, if one of the others really wants it?

...Somehow, yes. XD All things considered, though, Umbriak is probably the character who'd get the most out of it.

I know, and I have some story ideas for him as things go if he does keep it, but I wanted to give the others the option of the cool toy before I just run off, laughing, waving a greataxe in each hand and one in my teeth. It's hard to laugh with a greataxe in your mouth but Umbriak is talented as well as good looking. On the other hand Farod might find a bow he can modify with different strength ratings as we go really useful.

Tchakar is new, and also prefers to fight with his bare hands and feet, so he's out of the running.

I am perfectly fine with Umbriak swinging it around for the time being :)

Could be interesting to 'borrow' it sometime down the road for a level just to use a cool toy, too(we all fought together to fulfill it's purpose, so it could well consider us a team, rather than as individuals, and not object to being 'shared' in that manner).

That said:
I'm going to look for a Adaptive Endless Ammunition composite bow in the long run ^_^
You know, so I can utilize actual size Boni - which incidentally often includes changes in Strenght, as well.

Should have gone to bed long ago, but here's my updates:

+1 Oracle
---------
Curse: Immune to Sickened
New 1st level spell: Touch of Blindness
New 2nd level spell: Spiritual Weapon*
*Can I use CHA as my stat for Spiritual Weapon instead of a cleric's wisdom? If not, that's fine, I'll just pick something else, like Spear of Purity. The goal is to get a decent ranged option for when engaging in melee is either too dangerous or not realistic.

+1 Rogue
--------
Skill Unlock: Acrobatics: Moving through threatened areas at full speed is only a -5 instead of -10. Should help with the next burning stag.
+1d6 Sneak Attack

Skills
------
+1 rank in Acrobatics, Bluff, Perception, Disable Device, Craft (gemcutting), Profession (herbalist), Linguistics (Sylvan, Dwarven), Sleight of Hand, Stealth
+4 ranks in Escape Artist

Feat
----
Sap Master

Could I use this Level-Up opportunity to rebuild utilizing Spheres of Might?

I would opt for Paladin(Dirt-Splattered Angel, Tempered Champion)/Sorcerer(Dual-Blooded(Arcane, Orc)) (maybe pure Orc - with Eldritch Heritage Arcane)

That should somewhat keep everything intact flavorwise - no specifics yet...just asking if there's an opportunity to do so.
(We did talk about a downtime being necessary to fix the build after discovering that Dragon Disciple is not a valid option for what I am trying to accomplish - but IF I am going to swap over to Spheres, I'd like to do it in one go - so either now, at level-up, or sometime in the future during the downtime).

Yeah, I'm planning to Spheres up Umbriak tonight as well. No idea what I'm actually doing yet, though.

@Farod/Umbriak: Yes, you can rebuild using Spheres of Might. Incidentally, if you wanted to look into the Gish stuff at all, Champions of the Spheres will be up on the wiki starting the 15th.

@Tchakar: Your levelup looks good. Also, yes, you can use Cha instead of Wis for that spell. (Some early spells were written before the idea of a Cha-based Divine Caster like the Oracle. As a general rule, it *is* appropriate to substitute your actual casting ability modifier for those older spells.)

Awesome. I'll get my sheet updated to reflect those choices then.

I'm looking forward to the new spheres things, though probably not going to use them for this character. Maybe limited access through feats, if I find something that really catches my eye, but I'll probably save the idea for a future concept.

Has Champions been released? I should have that myself if it has.

It has been released, yes - almost two weeks ago, to be exact. Check your email for an update?

Yeah, I found it. The e-mail got buried in my spambox (over 1000 messages in there...yeesh) so I'm reading it now.

Update: I SHOULD be mostly good. Some severe cleaning up left to be done, and a once-over to check for artefacts and mistakes. Just wanted to give a status.

As said I tried to keep pretty much everything intact and perform the conversion with the minimum amount of alteration needed.
Skills are almost untouched, certain defining qualities are still there(albeit from other sources...e.g. Familiar(Figment) and Fire Resistance now come from Wizard School, instead of Flurry, there is Barrage etc.)

I'll try and be ready ASAP for review(right now, no good, but I'm hurrying up :P busy season we have right now is not helping much - still lacking a good number of presents :(

Sorry, I'm being slow. I know what I'm doing with Umbriak's martial side, but I feel like the Warpriest is a little too much martial on top, so I've been considering replacing it or multiclassing out. Just haven't found an option I like...that isn't Charisma based.

What are you trying to do, exactly? I may be able to suggest something else that fits the role.

Something with more utility and less crush, kill, destroy! which Umbriak already does well. I'm also considering having him be a little more bound to nature, but his God is kinda the Dwarf lord of the Forge, so Druid or anything that doesn't do metal is right out. I'll be taking some Nature (Metal) Spheres later to show it, but...

Tool or magic-based?

Either, I suppose. Umbriak already uses Magic, but tools do make sense for his personality. After all, he's good with his hands.

Well, alchemy-style things can get you a lot of utility. Aside from the Alchemist class, Spheres of Might has a whole Alchemy sphere that's very tool-y.

Well, I'm already picking up some Combat Spheres on the Barbarian side, so I'll take more of a peek at Alchemy.

Ha...and there I was, thinking you were waiting on me and hurrying up ^_^

No rush, no worries, Umbriak. Take your time!
As said, I've no lack of real-life tasks that need to be taken care of - any breather I get right now is welcome.

Also, I have to say I am very interested in some of the synergies...and how they will play out.

I mean, some seem intended(e.g. "Focused Reload" from Sniper Sphere, with "Unimpeded Positioning" from Scout Sphere) and I think that's a really interesting way to handle things.

Others seem...less intended(e.g. "Challenge Package" from Guardian Package with "Targeted"-Mercy from Paladin..."Hey...hit me. What's up? Why are you not hitting me? You can't? Too bad, loser....") but will be interesting nonetheless.
For the record, I picked up Guardian for Endure Pain...transforming some damage into nonlethal will be great with lay-on-hands - and a Sanctuary that may randomly screw people over seems fancy, too - but the potential interaction was unplanned, I just stumbled on that later.

Also, it seems pretty clear from the Wiki, just wanted to re-verify.
If I do an Attack action, I may simultaneously apply ONE Special Attack Action(such as Deadly Shot from Sniper Sphere) and Feats/Abilities that alter it(such as Vital Strike)?
That said, less clear, but is a Barrage a Standard action? It seems to say it's a Special Attack, which is part of an Attack, which is a Standard.
It just seems so...full-attack-y that I wanted to verify.

Anything that can apply to an Attack Action can also apply to a Special Attack Action, as long as the ability still qualifies. Vital Strike, for example, requires you to make ONE attack during your attack action, so it's incompatible with powers like Barrage, but you can totally apply it to the Sniper sphere's stuff.

(This is actually noted in the Attack Action description, albeit with the Boxing sphere instead. XD For that matter, the system honestly kind of expects you to be Vital Striking...)

Barrage is a Standard Action. All Special Attack Actions are also Attack Actions, and all Attack Actions are Standard Actions. The Dual Wielding sphere also lets you make multiple attacks as a Standard Action.

Time to go take a look at the boxing sphere...

Once we get to level 8, improving a move + standard attack routine might be very valuable.

As usual, I suggest looking at the Spheres with a concept in mind. Basically, figure out what you WANT to do in combat, then look for ways of making it happen. ^^ It may help to look at the character roles again. SoM is especially good with damage dealing, tanking, and debuffing.

Damn, prodigy looks cool. This might finally be the way I can make a Gandalf style character that doesn't suck.

And for Tchakar, I'm only looking to fill out some abilities gaining spheres through feats. I think his core concept is pretty cool how it is (oracle provides spells and ki, rogue provides skills, damage and ki using abilities).

Looks like Athletics might actually be fantastic for me, if I can afford the feats.

The one I really want to try is a Mirrored Soul Summoner. It would work for a concept I've had ever since I found out about the Dvati race of long ago. It wouldn't work for Umbriak - the world can barely contain one of him - but it's definitely something I wanna do down the line.

As for Umbriak, the only thing I found that caught my eye was a template, and therefore not in this game. I'll stick with Warpriest for now and keep an eye out for Mutliclassing options I like more as I go. I should have the updates done in a day or so, but I'm a touch down right now (yet another dead family member...yay...) so it may be a touch longer.

My condolences, Umbriak.

As said before, take the time you need, there's no need to hurry.

@Rednal: Thanks for the confirmation that it indeed works as I though. I figured it was there, just meant to make sure I didn't misunderstand anything.

@Concept+Role:
Aye.
I'll barrage stuff until it looks hurt, then Headshot it for the kill(Or go right for the kill if fully buffed).
That, and draw some attention to me by challenging and casting. Little will they know that I'll in late-game I'll have a decent pool of temporary HP(Berserk Sphere+Creative Destruction), and even until I get there, I'll effectively almost double my lay-on-hands healing by transforming damage I receive into non-lethal via Endure Pain and the delayed Damage Pool - and Bloodline Feats Thoughness and Diehard extending the total 'HP'-Buffer.
That is to say, I'll be a trap. Unarmored Caster telling people to pick on him instead, then soaking that up and making them into a pincushion. (Challenge being a move action fits well with a Fireball to the face as a Standard - then when they charge at me, I can shoot them in the head, and 10-foot-step away while reloading to disable full-attack for next round and regain focus.)

Casting side still has the primary Attribute of the build high, and with Orc Bloodline Arcana and Blood Havoc(+Spell Focus Evocation) will be decently 'blasty'(don't judge, it's fun) with some control and buffing.
(Of note: e.g. the VMC Elemental Fire/Smoke School I follow(to fit the game theme, after red dragon is no longer valid) lets me share Smokesight. So, if we know we're going into trouble, I could pre-share it(lasts an hour), then use smoke-spells to break line-of-sight only for our enemies. Some tactical application there, too.)

@Tchakar: Aye, Athletics is awesome. I wanted to pick it up, too, but already did so in another Rednal Game, didn't want to double down on it and instead explore other aspects the system offers :)

Right now, I'm just musing over the familiar. Previously it was not to feature a prominent role, staying in Tattoo Form basically permanently. With the archetype gone, it will be more present. To deal with survivability, it will be a figment. Which means I don't want to depend on it, but could also buff it up and use it offensively(share spells is there, so...turning it into a Dragon and having it smash stuff is totally a thing - or alter-selfing it into a clone of me and having it serve as a decoy.) Previously it was a Scorpion, because I figured that would make a great tattoo and Init-Bonus was nice. But something with a better initial strenght rating would make that Dragon-Trick a lot more valid - say, a Fox. Maybe reskinned into a small hunting dog, to make it fit with Erastil(no Stag-familiars, there...)

Thanks Farod, I'm mostly OK. My father and I didn't get along at all, so it's more helping to support my sister emotionally that's been tiring. That, and I've had...a lot of deaths in the family these last two years. In and of itself it's becoming tiring.

On the plus side, I had an idea and I'm off to badger Rednal into letting me do it. Whoo!