To all the players in my games:
I'm sorry for my spotty attendance lately. It's been a fairly awful week at work. I haven't been home before 10:00 or seen my kids awake in the evening in days.
It's short term, though and I'll be back at it soon. Thanks for your patience.
Thank you for bearing with me. I'm leaving tomorrow for a legal conference out of state and won't be back until Sunday. I'll have no Internet access. More accurately, I will have no laptop. I'm not nuts enough to try to GM on an iPad. So I'll just see you on Sunday.
Cheers!
Uh, can anyone see my post? It's like it should be posted on the next page, but I can't get to it.
Nope. Try again?
Headed on a trip and likely won't have good internet for about a week. Please play Tilver as needed. Enlarge person is probably gone, but his str mutagen is still running.
Hi! I just got my Internet connection back after four days of outage. I'll be posting soon!
Sorry friends. I've had a week that kicked my rear. I'm doing my best to catch up, and try to have a post up by the end of today (Wednesday). I just wanted to let my games know I'm alive and kicking the week back as best I can.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!
Everyone else, happy Thursday!
I'm sorry for going MIA. All I can say is I'm sorry, and depression sucks. I'll get caught up as quickly as I can.
I hedged a little with Tilver not telling the Church everything he knows about the Banewarrens and certainly not about the Inverted Pyramid. But Tilver is a devout follower of Lothian like most in the city. Informing the Church makes huge sense to him in terms of fighting whatever evil might be coming out. He has no reason not to trust them, especially with Kalercent fighting and nearly dying there.
As a player, I'm open to putting our loyalty with another group if that's what we want to do, but Tilver needs to be shown why the Church shouldn't know pretty much everything. (and I might agree that they shouldn't)
I think deciding who in the city we're going to trust and have as a sort of patron is a cool part of Ptolus. It can change the tone of the game.
Merry Christmas!
God Bless Us, Every One!
Family emergency means I'm going to be AWOL a bit.
As I noted in Gameplay, that was the end of Chapter Three of The Banewarrens and our 5th chapter over all.
As a reminder, we are playing through both The Banewarrens and The Night of Dissolution, a suggestion by Ptolus's author, Monte Cook. That'll take us through 10th level. I've made plans to take us right through to 20th, if you're all still with me!
Does anyone have strong feelings either way about staying with 1st Edition or switching to 2nd?
Of those two, I think I'd prefer staying with 1e. Since there's no investigator in 2e yet, I'd really have to rebuild Tilver. Not saying it couldn't be done, but it'd be different.
That said, I just got an email today from Monte Cook games about him re-releasing Ptolus for Cypher and 5e. The 5e conversion might be interesting.
Ooh! Can you forward me the e-mail? I'm all over that!
So I forget. How did we calculate hit points?
I am thinking of going into Dragon Disciple, but I don't necessarily want to go all 10 levels in the class. Can I bounce back and forth between the two? I just want to confirm before I decide.
Average hp, rounded up.
Yes, you can make the decision at each level which class you wish to take, so you can switch back and forth. At least in Pathfinder 1e.
Tim, I wrote to Monte suggesting a Pathfinder version.
Since then I've been thinking of doing up a PDF with a PF2e conversion of the NPCs.
If converting our game will help you with that, then I'm willing. Tilver can probably be made as a rogue/alchemist or fighter/alchemist. I will miss playing with Inspiration though. And the instant lighting of lanterns.
Although I am quite interested in giving 2nd edition a try, I am concerned that Dain may not translate easily. The Oracle class isn't due to be released until summer from what I understand, and I've heard that the playtest version that currently exists only has a couple of basic Mysteries worked up (and I am certain that Streets wouldn't be one of those).
I'm fine with continuing as 1e. Why don't we take it up again at the end of the next chapter?
I have not tried 2e but I would be happy to try if it is easier on you to change over. I would like to give it a try eventually and I am not making any game days now.
Well, I've been playing 1e since the beginning, so I'm comfortable with it. What I'm really thinking is that 1e math begins to get bonkers around 8th level and go completely sideways by 11th level. To really keep things balanced, I'd like to be switched over by then. But for now, I'm willing to wait.
Has everyone (or anyone?) leveled up?
Isabel took
Spells:
0 -Breeze
3 - Dark Vision Communal (I thought this would help us not advertise our presence in the Barrens and dungeons we head through.)
Skills:
UMD
Spellcraft
Stealth
Bluff
Know Noble
Appraise
All my saves go up by one.
Tilver is leveled. Of note:
No increase to saves or BAB.
Gained False Life extract
He can now sacrifice extracts to create Daylight and Discovery Torch.
Gained Underworld Inspiration, allowing him to use inspiration for free on Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, Intimidate, and Slight of Hand checks.
Dain levels up in Oracle. He gains:
+6 hp (40 hp total)
+1 BAB
+1 to Fort, Reflex, and Will saves.
6 skill points to spend (4 + 1 (Int) +1 (favored class bonus)):
Heal, Knowledge(Local), Perception, Sense Motive, Slight of Hand, Stealth
+1 to Concentration Check
Spells:
Gained 1 2nd Level spell/day
Gained 4 3rd Level spells/day
Get to pick 1 new 0 Level spell known (Mending) and 1 new 3rd Level spell known (Prayer)
Get Cure Serious Wounds as a known spell (class feature)
Get Glyph of Warding as a known spell (Streets Mystery bonus spell)
Magill gets:
+3 hp (20 total)
+1 BAB
+1 to Will saves
+1 to Heal, Knowledge(Local), Perception, Sense Motive, Slight of Hand, Stealth
Cool. Just waiting on Velika and Silas.
Velika is done. Also added some shopping items at the bottom of the post.
+6 hp
+1 BAB
+1 to Fort, Reflex, and Will saves.
9 skill points to spend (6 + 2 (Int) +1 (favored class bonus)):
Dance, Sing, Linguistics (Infernal), Keyboard x2, Know(Machines), Sleight, Spellcraft, Stealth
New Versatile Performance, Dance
+2/day Bardic Performances
Class Feature: Suggestion
+1 to Concentration Check
+1 2nd level spell per day
+1 2nd level spell known: Cacophonous Call
Purchase: 2 Potions of fly , Scroll of Acute Senses, 2 Scrolls of Versatile Weapon
I leveled up. I stayed Bloodrager for level 6.
+1 BAB
+1 to all saves
Feats- Cleave (Bloodline),Iron Will
+8 HP
Know Endure Elements
Keen!
Let's get back to it.
I'm checking the thread daily. I wanted to give others a chance to respond. Isabel isn't good at diplomacy.
I hope everyone is doing well in these uncertain times. I'm working from home, and under a stay at home order currently.
Yeah, I'm sort of feeling that this (among my favorite games of all time) isn't particularly popular with the players. It'd be a shame to close it down, but if people aren't interested maybe we should.
I also hope everyone is safe and well.
I am enjoying it, but I also run into the fact that I am not great as the party spokesman.
Sorry guys, things are pretty crazy for us right now with work, especially for me (we are helping hospitals convert rooms into Isolation Rooms/Negative pressure rooms and it's pretty time sensitive as you might imagine). I'm having a hard time finding the energy for much of anything else.
I can't promise I'll be able to post anything soon, but I'll try.
Thank you for letting us know what's happening, Jaime.
Thank you also for being part of the fight to keep us all safe. "Thank you for your service," as the saying goes!
Take your time - games should be recreation, not a job.
Isabel would like to get a scroll of Invisibility, Mass or Invisibility Sphere, and a scroll of Silence.
She's short funds so if the church can help out, that would be amazing.
Rules question: Investigators can learn formula from wizard spellbooks using the same rules wizards do. However, wizards can also learn add spells to their spellbooks from scrolls. Can Investigators learn formula from scrolls?
Yes.
I have created a guide to the Pathfinder Second Edition Wizard.
HERE IS THE FIRST DRAFT. I would appreciate your comments and criticisms.
Also, enjoy!
I should have pointed out the discussion page HERE.
I have created a guide to the Second Edition Fighter.
HERE IS THE FIRST DRAFT. I would appreciate your comments and corrections HERE.
Enjoy!
From this week to the end of the month, my posting will be less frequent/irregular. We're preparing to move and until we get to our new place, it'll be hard to stay consistent. I do plan to post when I can, but please don't be surprised I'm absent for a few days at a time.
I'll be at GenCon Online all weekend. I'll check in here as time allows.
I've written Tarondor's Guide to the Pathfinder Second Edition Rogue.
You can find the discussion page HERE.
ISSUE ONE: WHAT NEXT?
We have come to the end of Chapter Four of the Banewarrens. Congratulations! You are now 7th level!
Those of you who have been with me for awhile know that I like to check in with you, the players, at major points in the story to see what you're thinking and how you're liking it.
Our original plan (still in progress) was to play through two different multi-chapter Ptolus stories at the same time, using a plan set forth by the author, Monte Cook. Those two stories are the Night of Dissolution (about a bunch of cultists trying to bring on the end of the world) and The Banewarrens (about the reopening of an ancient vault of evil, the banes it releases on the world and the factions that try to control it.) Monte's plan was to interleave the chapters of the two adventures in a particular pattern to form, if not a coherent whole, then at least a related whole.
You have already played through the first two chapters of The Night of Dissolution (Pythoness House and the confrontation with the Chaos Cult over their recruitment of young Iltumar Shon.). Then you played through the first four chapters of The Banewarrens, culminating in this point.
So again, I want to reiterate the plan and make sure everyone's still onboard.
In almost four years, we have played six chapters. Combined, the two stories cover 16 chapters. If our speed remains consistent, it will take us another six years to finish both stories. That will take us through 10th level. To me, that sounds awesome. I've always been a sucker for long-form storytelling. But I never assume that everyone else is.
Since this is the point where we'll leave the Banewarrens behind for a chapter, it's a good time to speak up if you're feeling like you want to shorten the whole thing. We can leave The Night of Dissolution alone and just continue with the The Banewarrens. Of the remaining ten chapters, four are The Night of Dissolution and six are The Banewarrens.. I think they make an interesting whole, but one is not necessary for the other.
So what do you think? Proceed as planned? Or make a change?
____________________________________________________________
ISSUE TWO: WHICH EDITION?
When last I asked you whether we should stay with the First Edition of Pathfinder or transition to the Second Edition, the decision was to stay with 1e, but several of you noted that once the Advanced Player's Guide was out and you had more options for characters, you might be interested in switching over to 2e. Well, it's out now, so let's discuss.
Personally, I strongly prefer 2e as both a player and a GM. I love 1e, but I won't be starting any new games with it. Also, we are now moving into the character levels where 2e's more balanced math is going to make a difference - it's about this level that the more, let us call them well-leveraged builds of 1e begin to take off in power.
However, I am willing to be guided by the wishes of the group. I first ran these adventures in D&D3.0, so Pathfinder 1e will work just fine. You might have to deal with me slowly forgetting the rules, though!
In GMing the Age of Ashes adventure path, I've come to the conclusion that 2e is superbly put together, but balanced a little too tough. Should we choose to switch to 2e, we'll be leveling up twice before coming back to the Banewarrens.
Okay, those are my questions. What are your thoughts?
I am totally on board with continuing with the current plan. If there are those who want to just focus on one or the other storyline, I am open to the idea, but there is nothing leading me in that direction.
I've really enjoyed my limited experience with 2e (Tarandor's Kingmaker game), and I am definitely interested in exploring it more. But...looking over the Oracle mystery options I don't see anything that would work to translate Dain over, which makes me fear a switch in edition would mean leaving Dain behind. If others are eager to switch, I will take a more in depth look at how 2e can replicate the essential bits of Dain, but I'm happy with what I've got for now.
Nick, I'll work with you on that. Why don't you figure out what's close and I'll work with you to kit-bash it into shape.
Are you specifically referring to the City-based elements? I think it calls for developing our own "City" Mystery. Your patron could be Asche, god of cities, or it could be Castle Shard, or something else.
Still onboard with the storyline. This is an interesting plot with two major world-ending events happening at the same time.
I'm willing to go 2e if others want. I'd be interested in kicking the tires of the new Investigator. I haven't read much on the class, so it'll take a bit for me to see what will work. The way armor proficiency works in the new edition, I don't think he'll be as tanky as he has been.
Still onboard with the storyline. This is an interesting plot with two major world-ending events happening at the same time.
I'm willing to go 2e if others want. I'd be interested in kicking the tires of the new Investigator. I haven't read much on the class, so it'll take a bit for me to see what will work. The way armor proficiency works in the new edition, I don't think he'll be as tanky as he has been.
Don’t forget you could’ve a fighter with the Investigator archetype or vise-versa.