GM SpiderBeard's Second Darkness (DrEvil Group) (Inactive)

Game Master Barvo Delancy

Now empowered with mighty magics flowing through her, "Briza" stands her ground and hammers the oozing horror multiple times with her axe.

I'm taking the extra attack from haste and the +2 on attack rolls and AC from fervor.

Battleaxe attack, power attack, fervor: 1d20 + 13 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 13 - 3 + 2 = 29
Battleaxe haste attack, power attack, fervor: 1d20 + 13 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 13 - 3 + 2 = 13
Battleaxe attack #2, power attack, fervor: 1d20 + 8 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 - 3 + 2 = 8

Yuck.

Battleaxe damage, power attack: 1d8 + 5 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 6 = 14

AC 28 due to fervor.

GM, I can't really tell because of the way you format your rolls, but I wanted to make sure that you remembered the Ill Omen last round. 'Cause I'm going to do it again.

Lifelink happens. See discussion for tracking.

As Brenna's wounds began appearing on Lyra's body, she added a rain of fire to Zoso's torrent of arrows.

Tangleburn bag, Attack vs. Touch, point blank, haste, fervor: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 7 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 31
Fire Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 18
Bonus Crit Fire Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Alchemist Fire, Haste Attack vs. Touch, point blank, haste, fervor: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 25
Fire Damge: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Not taking my Iterative attack. I don't trust my attack bonus and every alchemical item is money.

If Hit by 1st attack:
Target is Entangled for Rounds: 2d4 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3
Target must make a DC 15 Reflex save or be stuck to the floor.
Target must make a DC 20 Reflex save or catch fire.

Brenna, you need to make a DC 15 reflex save against the alchemist fire (if it hits) or take 1 point of fire damage (sorry, I'll heal it next round)

Blessing of Fervor 2/8 (taking +2 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves this round)

Reflex save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

No worries, splash fire happens.

Gotta remember the buffs. Please add +2 to that "to hit". I wish there was some sort of Active Buffs panel that we could reference and update.

We could try all appending a buff string at the bottom of our posts, modifying it for any action taken in your turn. That way someone just needs to copy/paste it in their post to pass it on most of the time. I start the string here as a test.

"And when it has gone past we will turn the inner eye to see its path," Zoso continues his countersong.

Rapid Shot, Deadly Aim, Haste, Fervor: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 + 1 + 2 = 23
Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Rapid Shot, Deadly Aim, Haste, Fervor: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 9 + 1 + 2 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Iterative Deadly Aim, Haste, Fervor: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 1 + 2 = 12
Hastened Deadly Aim, Haste, Fervor: 1d20 + 11 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 11 + 1 + 2 = 30
Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

AC is 23

Active Party Effects: Haste, Blessing of Fervor, Lifelink, Countersong

Vex aimed her tiny wand at the creature again.

Ill Omen.

The group continues to move in on the irnakurse, pelting it with brutal attacks. The creature lets out a hideous shriek once more, but the tangleburn bag flies straight into its gaping maw. It chokes wildly before Brenna leaps onto it, and puts an end to its horrific "life" with one final blow.

End of Combat

The duergar, who were hiding behind bars and figuring out whether or not to defend themselves from you, slowly emerge. The reticent dark dwarves don't say much until the bartender herself walks out, kicking the twisted body.

"Damned fleshwarp things. Someone doesn't like me I reckon." She turns to look at all of you warily, clearly not quite prepared to trust your lot. "Your timing saved my bar, and probably my life. I am in your debt. What do you want of me?"

"Briza" wipes off her axe and stows it and waits for one of the talkers to barter out some information.

Zoso finishes his litany as the mangled beast dies, "Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." He plucks the short bow string once and grimaces at the loss of his beautiful longbow.

"That was unexpected, is there anything here worthy of Drow to drink?" Zoso first asks, trying to get a feel for being a Drow still and their art of being dicks. He sighs and smacks the wood of his bow into his open hand, "We have come to ask Vorjans Gost a few questions, the fella around?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (9) + 14 = 23 If Intimidate is thematically preferred, the roll is the same.

Intimidate would require a rewrite of your post - hopefully you know how drow operate and it's been established y'all are funny drow.

The duergar blinks at your tone and then mutters something before producing a bottle. It's at this moment you notice the back of the bar is lined with mason jars holding eyes. She tosses Zoso the bottle.

"You're looking at her. Easier to keep a low profile when the drow think they're looking for a male. That bottle is Spiderblood wine. I hear it's good but I don't touch the stuff. Cost enough. Consider it a "let's get this over with" gift. Now this ain't the kind of bar you come for questions. My business is about privacy."

She points at the preserved eyes. "That's what happens to snitches around these parts. Understand? But I can't stop you from asking a question and a debt is a debt. Go ahead."

Fascinated, Beshtori comes out from behind cover to examine the abomination, and poke at it.

[ooc]Besh isn't looking for anything specific, but is curious about what the thing is, how it was formed, and what gave it life. Let me know if there's any specific roll I should make, otherwise: Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Zoso hands the bottle to Lyra.

"Tell us about the community of driders to the east Zirnakaynin and what you know of Rikhrys, Ryldtrin, and Yazfein." he asks, half expecting the question to cause violence to break out.

Lyra took a small sip, more for professional curiosity than desire. She held it in her mouth for a long time, deconstructing the taste with her knowledge of Alchemy. She swallowed and passed the bottle to Saphren, letting Zoso continue to do the talking.

Saphren shrugs and after watchjing for an adverse reaction from Lyr takes a drink himself.

Lyr, playing his role as well as he can, takes a mouthful of the spiderblood wine, forcing himself to think about it as an alchemist rather than a gourmand. Shockingly, it doesn't appear to be blood at all, but is likely made from fermented fungus, although has a far more delicate, lighter flavour than one would expect. There is a sharp, painful bite to it as well, which Lyr immediately knows as spider venom. Apparently just enough for flavour and a little danger. Probably not something to binge.

Beshtori pokes at the irnakurse and as he looks over it more closely he realizes to his horror this creature was very likely once an elf. Its body has been inflated, stretched, and twisted, and whatever tortures it underwent certainly drove it mad. This looks like a result of the fleshwarping processes that created the driders he's heard a lot about.

---

Vorjans levels a gaze at you in response to the question, her manner changing quickly. Her voice drops and becomes very, very careful.

"Never heard of 'em."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Saphrne tisks and then states flatly And here I thought that after we did you this big favor that we were gonna be friends... He re-draws his blade and moves towards Vorjans with a slow pace and steady eye contact.

Zoso holds his hands up in a shrug, bow still grasped in the left, "Honey, I have no leverage over this guy. You'd better cut the s~+@," he says referencing Saphren's approach.

"The Driders, NOW." Something rises up in Zoso, some of the screams begin to surface from the elf within the dwarf within the drow. He can't act like everything's ok forever. The Darklands begin to coax out a temper.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29

Revulsion mixes around with fascination when Brizree notices that the others are moving in on the duergar.
Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

With no clue what is happening, <he> moves to support the others:
Aid Another (not that Zoso needs it): Intimidate: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Black lightning crackles from elbows to clenched fists as Brizree maneuvers to a clear view of Vorjans.

Her face turns white as she looks at you and Zoso and Beshtori, to their own surprise, manage to scare the living hell out of the duergar. She lets out a shaky breath before turning, defeated. "Fine. Follow me. Mickin, you have the bar."

---

She leads you in to a back room where she paces nervously before she sits down, staring at the floor, furious and unable to do anything. "If you knew to come here, it was going to fall apart anyways. They never paid well anyways. Better their hides than mine. And I owe you. Fine, this is my debt paid. The driders you're looking for have fled to a place called Last Hope. Anyone in the know has a vague idea about it, but attempts to find it have been thwarted. My job was to serve as a go-between between a svirfneblin who represents them, and arrange a pick up for the driders. They all have some basic spells, so an invisibility spell gets them to the meet-up point, and they then get their escort out of here."

She inhales deeply. "I don't know how big Last Hope is. Your driders will either be waiting for their pick up or already moving to the community. The pick up point is beyond Citadel Toraiyor out by the hinterlands of the area."

You get a simple map giving you directions. "I sincerely hope I never see any of you again. Ask your questions."

"Escaping to a better life, eh? I doubt that such a thing exists in the Darklands," says Briza. "Who made arrangements for them? They couldn't have just walked away from the family compound and stumbled into someone who was going to happily get them out for free."

Kn Local: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
'Stupid Darklands, none of this is familiar or makes sense..'

Zoso takes the map and studies it, "Who else is in the know and how do you interact with this svirfneblin? How can we contact them?"

"The driders have their own motives, I don't pry. The svirfneblin offered me money to be a stable contact for driders in the city, and I took it. Her name is Durthee Gemcutter. She's a merchant who specializes in drug sales - you can usually find her in the Drashes district to the north. She wanders, but is always wearing this stupid hat with a big pink feather in it. Says it attracts addicts. She's hard to miss."

Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18

"That is what we needed to know. Let's go." she said, turning to leave. She did not thank the Duergar or acknowledge her further.

Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

We are looking for a dark stalker gangster named Xomos Fain, who uses a gang of drow to enforce a protection racket on the area.

Brizree brightens: "Cool! So, Fain leads us to Gemcutter who leads us to somewhere near Citadel Toraiyor where we'll either find our driders or find our way to Last Hope. Easy-peasy!"

Reaching for the door, <he> turns back quickly to the others: "Was there something else? Should we go now?"

Lyra says keep quiet. Don't say anything else about what our plans are. Vex's mental voice said int the group's heads. If you want to talk about where we are going or what we might do next, use me to pass the message along.

With Vex hinting at the group to use their telepathy, you leave one of the rougher parts of town, and head for the roughest part of town.

While the non-drow area that the Blind Eye was in a relatively tough neighbourhood, it was still in the middle market district. Now you are going to the area known as Ghenavoc, the cavern floor, where the poorest toil to survive.

The unsettling beauty of drow architecture gives way to hovels and dwellings dug out of rock formations as you descend a lift into Ghenavoc. There is also a notable lack of magical lighting here, and soon your darkvision is your only real source of light, letting you see no more than ninety feet in front of you.

Despite the danger in the area, a group of heavily-armed drow in house sigils may draw attention, but you are not attacked. Yet. It becomes very obvious as you move further into the Drashes that everyone is paying attention to you, and that after a short while, you are being followed.

After around ten minutes of exploration, it's clear that you've picked up a trail of a few people on the streets, and a few others scampering across the top of buildings.

Let me know if you want to address your fans or keep on. Reminder you can speak through Vex telepathically.

What races follow?

We seem to have gathered a following. Saphren notes.

Vex telepathically relayed Lyra's words, embellishing with a few of her own.

We're outsiders, we are clearly well off, and we just did something out of the ordinary for Drow. They're probably trying to figure out whether or not they can manage to convince us to do things for them, or kill us and take our stuff.

Remember, murder and theft aren't illegal here, unless it's from a Drow noble or their retainers.

I don't think we have a choice here, if we're not going to blow our cover we'll need to drive them off or lose them. My only idea is to intimidate them like some honest Drow would. Anyone have anything creative in mind? Zoso thinks back. Maybe I could 'speak' to them and give them a 'suggestion' to get busy somewhere else.

Intimidate is good.

Briza starts to open her mouth, then shuts it with some force. She closes her eyes and thinks REAL HARD.

I BET I COULD SCARE THEM OFF

Zoso stops walking, Ok, on three. One.. two.. he thinks.

When the timing is right, the drow turns and faces the crowd that has built up behind them. "BACK OFF OR STEP FORTH TO F$#~ING DIE ALREADY!" Zoso yells at them all, hoping he isn't alone.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24

Briza turns on her heel and hefts her axe. She bounces the thick handle in her hand a few times, the adamantine blade giving off a faint ultraviolet glow in the otherwise gray darkness.

"Or I could just cut your d!cks off and keep them as souvenirs," she says.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28

Saphren pull the very large falchon and smiles evilly. Evidently he does not manage to pull it off though. Sigh. My rolls since I have been back are dismal.

Assist to Intimidate: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

"Pick a group and light them up!"

Picking a tightly clustered group on top of a building, Besh mutters a word and the group bursts into bright blue flames.

Faerie Fire: 5' burst, unfortunately not modified by level.

Aid Another (Zoso): Intimidate: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Lyra simply turned around. She was playing the role of a Drow commander, standing back to observe while her underlings handled the situation.

Readied Action to cast Obscuring Mist if the crowd becomes hostile.

They are all drow.

The group suddenly turn and start calling out challenges. This is apparently not the normal behaviour, and the figures on the rooftops shrink back and pause for a moment. Further down the street, the figures that were shadowing you stop in their tracks. They don't quite seem to be sure what to do.

Besh's SPell Penetration: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Faerie fire lights up up three of the drow on the rooftop, only aiding to the intimidate effect. Although you are outnumbered, you are very well armed, and very confident. One of them finally calls out.

"What do House Vonnarc's pets want with the Drashes?"

Give them nothing. That is our business. Vex said telepathically. Drow do not answer to demands from their lessers.

Or give them a lie. Whatever we say they'll guess it's a lie, but a good lie is respected here.

Detect Magic. Take 10 on Knowledge Arcana to figure out any existing magical auras. I'm specifically looking for any divination effects. I'll dispel any existing effects and Counter any that are aimed at us.

Lyra put an arrow to her bow, saying nothing.

Saphren simply continues forward.

To the one who spoke, Zoso points his bow, "YOU, come here. You will give us answers," he commands while purposefully ignoring the drow's question.

Another Intimidate needed?: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

We'll take one and get answers on Fain, this is likely his drow enforcer gang.

Are there buildings or shops on this street that we could step into?

You're in an alley rather than main street right now, but there are doors you could step in to.

Zoso seems to grow into his role as a drow and his voice rings out in the alleyway with incredible presence. The one speaking for the drow tailing you cautiously steps forward, a crossbow leveled at Zoso, but he is clearly intimidated. He stops after he shows clearly enough.

"Y-you're not in charge here!" he squeaks. "Xomos Fain runs this territory, and there's a toll!"

"Let me explain how this will go," says Brenna to the crossbow-wielder, still bouncing her axe in her hand. "You'll shoot me with your crossbow, then I'll cut off one of your appendages with my axe. Maybe your arm, maybe a leg, maybe your head or your... other head. Right here and now, Xomos Fain isn't in charge of sh!t."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31

Zoso waits to see how the drow reacts to Brenna. If they insist he'll continue.

"Fain. Bring him to us. We'll be waiting in there." Zoso commands without specifying where he meant.

Saph, Brenna. One of you want to kick in a door of something that doesn't look too embarassing? We need a place to meet this Fain. With the way they're all shaking we might be able to keep this upper hand and do it on our terms.

Vex crawled from one side of Lyra's shoulder to the other. Or, at least that's what it looked like.

In actuality she vanished when she was behind Lyra's back and an illusion of herself crawled onto Lyra's other shoulder.

Moving behind Lyra, casting Improved Invisibility Then casting Silent Image. The image moves to Lyra's other shoulder. Vex takes off and gets out of sight before the the invis duration runs out.

Stealth: 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (14) + 28 = 42 with additional +20 while invisible

If they leave I'm going to follow them.

Just how close is the one with the crossbow?

"Y-you're not in charge here!" he squeaks. "Xomos Fain runs this territory, and there's a toll!"

"HAH!"

From this initial 'threat' through his party's responses, Beshtori is beset by a fit of the giggles, which are one part nervousness, one part disdain, one part amusement at the thought of Brenna lopping off 'appendages.'

Saphren 10 feet away.

Brenna is probably the largest drow anybody has seen. A female of that might is enough to completely terrify the thieves. He stumbles backwards, falling over a crack in the cavern floor before righting himself. "Y-You haven't heard the last of us! Xomos will know!"

And with that, they all turn and bolt away down the alley. The faerie fire makes it pretty easy to spot.

I've got Vex following them but let me know if there are immediate actions to their fleeing. You folks are scary!

Saphren was about to spring attack and take one down. Only not knowing the disance OOC save the crossbowman. lol Gotta teach this rabble not to raise weapons against House Vonnarc. :)

Opening discussion thread where you can meet each other OOC and discuss how great I am while you wait for me to actually get the game started.

Hi there!

Hello. I had applied privately and was accepted as well. I'll be assisting with much of your sneaking and trap finding. Looking forward to playing with you all.

Hey Trig,

This is a long shot, but by any chance could you be the player of another gnome with the last name Glittergold from years back and the Living Greyhawk campaign? One Gnarl Glittergold, an earth elementalist wizard?

No sir, this is the only Glittergold I've played. Name is from the old-school D&D gnome god. Seemed appropriate for a family of gnomish merchants.

Hi everyone!

Magnus, signing off! Gear and traits need fine-tuning,just stuck up a feat path that I might not necessarily stick to but it should give you some idea, and while I'm reasonably sure I know where you stand on ultimate campaigns drawbacks, an extra trait would really help Magnus' class skill pool, so I'll ask anyway.

With skills for magnus I'll be aiming for 5ish in his class skills, just enough to reliably aid another or take ten. Will finish his alias asap. I wanted to look at alternate race traits also.

Hello folks. I received a PM from the Doc informing me that I made the 'second chance' draw, so thank you!

Since Vris is now officially the sidekick/supporting character to the group (in a good way), what changes to her build - if any - do folks think may need to be made to assist the party? I'm happy to make any tweaks required to better suit a given role (provided they don't require a major background story rewrite), and I know the Doc will be happier if I make such changes now, rather than forgetting to check with him first...

Gah! My class is slamming me with homework/test tomorrow. I will have the Character Sheet up by tomorrow afternoon/evening, I promise!

Also, Doc Evil is Tha Bomb!!! Seriously!

In all seriousness, thank you for inviting me and having patience with me & I apologize to everyone for this. It didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but it still managed to sneak up on me better than I would like...

Yay! A vote for Vris is a vote for progress. I am delighted my paladin will not be eaten by your wolf. Yet.

I think that you fill two vital roles with Vris - healer and face. No issues with your build. :)

Do you have elven weapon familiarity or some other racial trait? It seems to me that a shortbow would be better than a crossbow because you can't load a crossbow and fire and move more than 5' in a round.

Hah, I'm a moron. First Inquisitor. I can totally use a shortbow or longbow with this class. I'll swap out the lame-o crossbow. Thanks for catching that Trig!

heh, I actually meant that for Vris, but that certainly applies to you too. If you have proficiency in shortbows, I always say by all means use them!

Hah. Oh well, life is more fun if I assume everyone is referring to me at all possible times.

@ Trig - That thought has occurred to me, and I agree a shortbow may be of greater utility for movement, given the need to take up a move action to reload a crossbow, despite the latter's slightly higher damage potential.

Unfortunately as a cleric she doesn't have the proficiency for shortbow - she could use a damned glaive as a cleric of Shelyn, but not a bow - and Half-elves do not get elven weapon familiarity. She could take the Elven Battle Training feat at third level - which may be a good idea actually - since she'll have the +1 BAB prerequisite by then.

However I could obtain the Ancestral Arms alternate racial, which would give her proficiency with a single martial or exotic weapon, at the expense of the Adaptability trait. At present I have already swapped out Adaptability for the Sociable trait - giving her the ability to re-try a Diplomacy check within the normal 24 hour limit. I think the latter suits her character better, but being able to use a superior ranged weapon is definitely a good reason to swap.

An alternative would be to take the Heirloom Weapon (Proficiency) trait, which I could do if I dropped Charming, but again that would be a stretch given her background. Alternatively I could drop Selective channeling and take Additional Traits, permitting me to pick up the Heirloom Weapon and possibly Elven Reflexes instead.

Happily it will be a moot point anyway by second level - assuming she survives that long - as Vris will be taking a level of bard, giving her proficiency with shortbow.

Hmm... sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into an essay. Trig makes a good point nonetheless. Any other suggestions?

Forgot she was a half-elf, sorry... the avatar looks like an elf so I goofed. If you're taking bard at 2nd level then just stick with that plan, I'd say. Other than that, you look good. The men-to-women ratio went up significantly when Saphren joined -- you help move it in the right direction!

Forgot she was a half-elf, sorry... the avatar looks like an elf so I goofed.

Yeah, there just aren't many good avatars for female half-elves, so I used the portrait of Shalelu from RotRL for Vris.

Evangelist cleric instead of a bard level! Hear me out. I'll make my case when I get home.

I looked at the Evangelist archetype Twigs. Let me tell you why I didn't go there for Vris, then you can present your counter-arguments...

1. She would lose Spontaneous Casting - Vris would no longer be able to convert prepared spells for cure/inflict spells of the same or lower level. The alternate list for Evangelists which allows them to spontaneously cast Command, Enthrall, Tongues, etc. is a poor trade-off by comparison for a healer.

2. See #1 above...

Yes, the Evangelist archetype would also give her Bardic Performance abilities, and Perform as a class skill, but without giving her the additional skill points necessary to use Perform. She would also lose one of her two chosen domains (which I admit is a lesser concern).

I can see that the evangelical performance abilities would then scale at the same rate as her spells for cleric, as opposed to having to split her class levels between bard and cleric, so that Vris would get higher level cleric spells sooner. That's a vote in favor of the idea.

Now, please do make your case as to why Vris should become a daytime Christian-TV host... in the meantime I'm going to open up Hero Lab and play around with the idea. :)

Yeah, there just aren't many good avatars for female half-elves, so I used the portrait of Shalelu from RotRL for Vris.

I actually have the opposite problem with male elves. Both of my two elf PCs here have had half-elf icons. Yes, even Seldon with his giant ears. I'm actually happier with Magnus' icon than I've been with any PC to date. He just looks so, so very grumpy about something.

Okay, so the evangelist is pretty much the ultimate support character. I feel really pushy now that I'm sitting to write this post, but I did promise. Here are my long and disjointed thoughts:

Hmm... sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into an essay. Trig makes a good point nonetheless. Any other suggestions?

Do not drop Selective channeling. That is my only suggestion. Oh, and when you consider bard, look at all the sweet archetypes. So much goodness...

Vris Fontessa wrote:

Hmm... sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into an essay. Trig makes a good point nonetheless. Any other suggestions?

Do not drop Selective channeling. That is my only suggestion. Oh, and when you consider bard, look at all the sweet archetypes. So much goodness...

Selective Channeling stays, no question; I was only mooting ideas when I suggested swapping it out for Additional Traits ("Crazy talk, crazy talk! Change the subject Tick..." Arthur/Mothman from 'The Tick')

Some of the bard archetypes are pretty nice, but I probably won't take any that replace Versatile Performance - that is potentially a huge skill point saver for Vris depending on which Perform skills she chooses.

Did you have any specific Bard archetypes in mind Saphren?

Made some tweaks on my end. Reva had too much social stuff and a decent charisma isn't appropriate for this character.

Found a less awful picture (human with hidden ears = victory), dropped social skills and took some stuff that makes her more about knowledge and dex skills. Character sheet should be easier to read too. Switched favored class to fighter. I may take a level 'cause I want more feats and weapon proficiencies than I can have. Character's behaviour and role in the party remains unchanged.

D'oh! Like Trig did with mistaking Vris for an elf, I thought Reva was a human. Rolled a natural one on my perception... :p

You people and your constant tinkering....what's a DM to do. I bet if I held off on the game for another few days, someone would actually switch to being a bard...

I am working on build review against the Hero Lab rules engine today, and may have some questions for you if I run into discrepancies. Please do NOT make any more changes without checking with me first.

Cherry Blossom, I need to see that full alias sometime soon.

Just a few things about my style and mechanics(Vris, Magnus, and Saphren should already know most of this):

- I will roll initiatives and post the order. You can post anytime given the restraints of PbP and I'll re-order the actions in narrative. If your chosen action makes no sense based on prior events, I'll let you re-post, or move to next logical target etc.

- Spoilers are meant for the intended party only. So no peeking! There may be times where it directly affects the game or your fun, so don't ruin it.

- I will try to post at least once per day; sometimes more including weekends. Try to keep up, if not and it's sat on your turn for 24 hours, you will get defaulted to DM-PC. I won't do anythnig crazy or stupid with your turn and will eventually learn your specific tactics and try to model as best I can. The 24 -hr rule is to keep the game moving and may be shortened by popular demand (like in a combat).

- If you are going to be away, just drop us a note. It'a courteous thing to do. I will make every effort to do the same.

- I will keep official count of treasure and gold on a Loot Tracker worksheet that I will post on the Campaign Tab and the top margin area of each page. If you spend, loot, or steal, it needs to be here or it doesn't count.

- For now, maps etc will be on Google Share and you'll be able (and expected) to move your own token. I may move the maps to roll20 at some point, because the mapping is so much better.

- On maps, please show your path of movement using the line or arrow tools. Sometimes it's important for traps, AoO, etc and I don't want to have to decide for you when "death is on the line".

- Have fun. Call me out on the rules that I break/fudge. I am not a rules lawyer, and try to research things first, but am a fairly flawed person and sometimes flub up unintentionally. I won't be offended if you call me on something, but you have to respect my rulings on grey areas. These aren't the kind of things that get PC's killed, usually.

I am sure there are more. But we'll stumble over them when we get to them.

All of the above is understood. And tweaks are done, promise!

Saphren wrote:

Vris Fontessa wrote:

Did you have any specific Bard archetypes in mind Saphren?

Let me look at your build and see how you play. I'll have a recommendation before we level to 2. :) There are some good guides for building bards in the messageboards. Look for "guide to the guides" for an easy way to find it. At least one goes over archetypes and lists pros and cons. Of course none will take into account your prior level of cleric.

Well, I have the alias now. I will finish equipment later tonight.

Vris, What are you intending to go Bard for? I inquire because there is actually a rather interesting Bard Archetype in Faiths & Philosophies that might make a better healer than multiclassing between Cleric & Bard, although granted you wouldn't get the advantages of Domains or Domain Powers.

Vris, What are you intending to go Bard for? I inquire because there is actually a rather interesting Bard Archetype in Faiths & Philosophies that might make a better healer than multiclassing between Cleric & Bard, although granted you wouldn't get the advantages of Domains or Domain Powers.

I'm intending to go bard for for a level or two for two reasons;

Calling her 'Boo' actually works fine. She will also accept Blossom. She will likely constantly correct you with "Bú", but most people won't be able to 'hear' the difference unless they go ahead & learn Tian. Regarding the friends, I was actually thinking something similar myself, but then I've always had a weakness for that picture of Shalelu.
Yes, Bú is bi. She is also as flirtatious, carnal & provocative as you might expect from a worshiper of Calistria. If anyone starts getting uncomfortable with how I play her, please let me know & I will either tone her down or move things 'off camera', as you prefer. I don't intend to get graphic anyway.

Channel Energy (Su): At 2nd level, an arcane healer gains the ability to channel positive energy as a cleric of one level lower than his level. If a creature within the channeled energy’s area of effect would be allowed a save against its effects, the DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 the arcane healer’s level + the arcane healer’s Charisma modifier. An arcane healer can use this ability once per day at 2nd level, gaining an additional use per day every four levels thereafter (6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th), to a maximum of 5 times per day at 18th level. This ability replaces versatile performance.

Inspiring Healing (Sp): At 5th level, an arcane healer gains the ability to expend rounds of his bardic performance to provide extra healing to his allies. By expending 2 rounds of bardic performance, an arcane healer can cast cure light wounds as a spell-like ability. At 11th level, the arcane healer can expend 2 rounds of bardic performance to cast cure moderate wounds as a spell-like ability. At 17th level, he may instead expend 2 rounds of bardic performance to cast cure serious wounds as a spell-like ability. No single target may be affected by an arcane healer’s inspiring healing ability more than once in a 24-hour period. This ability replaces loremaster.

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edit: Oh Hey, DoctorEvil? Per RAW White Hair is effectively only useful for combat, given that it doesn't mention any of the non-combat uses that Prehensile Hair does. Do you intend to go with that, or can we consider that it is as useful as another arm & hand would be? I.E.: Fine manipulation, picking up & touching things, things like that...

Expect Trig to be fascinated by your hair. :D Not in a sexual way, just in a gnomish way.

And Reva to be horrified. :D

Also...

Her hair can manipulate objects (but not weapons) as dexterously as a human hand.

That's for the standard prehensile hair hex. So your super-hair should be even better! I think the idea is it really is supposed to be like another limb, but with the restriction it can't wield weapons for balance purposes. Of course DocEvil may have his own uh, evil plans.

Expect Trig to be fascinated by your hair. :D Not in a sexual way, just in a gnomish way.

I can't remember what movie it was, but it was animated one I was watching with my nieces a while ago, which had a scene where a lab monkey was sitting on a moustached guy's shoulders. The guy was trying to talk, but the monkey kept trying to surreptitiously reach around and pull off the guy's moustache, causing him to snap his head around all the time to try and catch the monkey in the act.

I now have this mental picture of Bu trying to go about her daily activities, all the while being stalked by Trig who keeps trying to cut off a lock of her hair; "Soooo very shiny..."

Stealing that. :D

After all, gnomes want to experience the world through all their senses and every way they can, or else they literally get bored to death.

Trig Glittergold wrote:

Expect Trig to be fascinated by your hair. :D Not in a sexual way, just in a gnomish way.

I can't remember what movie it was, but it was animated one I was watching with my nieces a while ago, which had a scene where a lab monkey was sitting on a moustached guy's shoulders. The guy was trying to talk, but the monkey kept trying to surreptitiously reach around and pull off the guy's moustache, causing him to snap his head around all the time to try and catch the monkey in the act.

I now have this mental picture of Bu trying to go about her daily activities, all the while being stalked by Trig who keeps trying to cut off a lock of her hair; "Soooo very shiny..."

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs perhaps? That is the only recent animated movie I can recall with a Monkey, although it sounds like something that might have been in Curious George.

Now I have a mental image of Bú/Blossom simply preemptively gathering Trig up in her hair & carrying her along, Trig grappled but not caring because she & the hair are playing pat a cake or some such...

I think as long as the prehensile uses were minor in nature and not combat or skill affecting then I could probably deal with it.

Sorry my build review is taking longer than expected due to a major summer cold that has struck me. I feel asleep at the keyboard yesterday...not very productive...

Will get it going soon, promise!

By skill affecting...
Well, as an example, at 6th level her hair has 10' reach & she can initiate a Pull Maneuver per RAW. Would you consider it acceptable for her to use her hair to climb up into a room's rafters? Essentially, pulling herself?
What about possible Slight-of-Hand attempts, particularly at later levels when the hair gets really long, by 12th level her hair will have a 20' reach.

Summer colds suck. I've recently had a bout of 'flu myself, but it's the tail end of winter down here so that's expected. No-one expects to catch a cold when it's summer... <Vroosh!> "Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition... er, the Spanish influenza... oh bother, let's try that again."

Take care Doc, and use it as an excuse for breakfast in bed and other things if you can wrangle it that way.

PS. If nobody gets the Spanish Inquisition reference I may have to crawl into a corner and cry myself to sleep...

Gah, feel better! I think I'm getting ill myself. Misery loves company or something. And the chief weapon of the Spanish Influenza is exhaustion. And a sore throat. Our TWO chief weapons of the Spanish Influenza are exhaustion and a sore throat. And a nausea. Damnit. Our THREE chief weapons..

Summer colds suck. I've recently had a bout of 'flu myself, but it's the tail end of winter down here so that's expected. No-one expects to catch a cold when it's summer... <Vroosh!> "Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition... er, the Spanish influenza... oh bother, let's try that again."

Take care Doc, and use it as an excuse for breakfast in bed and other things if you can wrangle it that way.

PS. If nobody gets the Spanish Inquisition reference I may have to crawl into a corner and cry myself to sleep...

Have no fear, my father's girlfriend has the entire collection on DVD. The last time I took my son to visit we wound up watching that episode at least...

Thank you Boo and Reva - I don't know how many times now that I've made similar references when tutoring younger students and they've given me blank stares. <Sigh> I'm finally old enough to be on the receiving end of the generation gap... :p

By-the-by I asked the Doc to let me make one change to Vris, which was to swap the Love domain for the Purity domain. I liked having a +1 to all of my saves - increasing by +1 every five levels - more than being able to maybe stymie a single attack a few times per day (with a DC13 to resist it won't be any use at later levels). It doesn't really change her focus as a priestess of Shelyn much either. Now, who wants to be the first to tell me why I shouldn't have done that? :)

It's not too different in theme. Pure love :D

Ok, I think build review is done. Several questions sent out and some already back in (thanks!).

Give me a chance to get intro's ready, and we can likely start tomorrow or Friday late.

Boo, you can use your hair for skills as it specifically relates to the superpowers it gives you. We'll play the rest by ear...

I don't want to be that guy today. But resistance bonus' won't stack with a cloak of protection and you lose all those charm domain enchantment spells, although I suppose you can cast them as a bard, and uh... Oh dear. I've become everything I hate! Too much time on the forums, I guess. :P

I'm being dragged out of the house against my will. Magnus will have a warhammer, a throwing axe, some dwarven-dice and either a heavy coinpurse or as many worldly posessions as I can fit in a rucksack. I'm not certain if he'd have a hovel near the gas-forges or lodgings elsewhere, though, and I want to fill his pockets with food, trinkets and odds and ends. The bare minimum is in Magnus' profile though, so I can do my shopping in game if I dont get a chance to pour through Ultimate Equipment tonight.

Sorry for being so slow with my profile. Fluff I can do from anywhere, but for crunch I have to sit down with the SRD for a while and I've been practically living on campus lately under the illusion that it makes me more productive (instead of seeing me wittle away what little money I have on coffee, curries and at the bar...)

Got my feedback and made my changes (I hope).

The Monty Python revival that was big in my teen years (I'm in my early 30s) didn't stick around. So many people under 25 don't know who they are. Although I did get to delight in showing some people Holy Grail for the first time. :D

And I actually like the purity domain. Enchantment spells are useless against LOTS of different creatures, and the domain spells you get from purity are solid. No cleric should leave home without protection from evil. I am also the worst min-maxer ever.

I'll have a soft start, as I'll be at Dragon Con by then...

Speaking on behalf of people under 25... I cant think of a soul that wouldn't get that reference, and if I met one I'd sit them down to watch as much Monty Python as I could while my John Cleese poster glared at them.

I suspect the lot of you are youngsters. :P

I suspect the lot of you are youngsters. :P

Cough *forties* Cough