House of Blades (Inactive)

Game Master Wrong John Silver

Silver, I was tossing around a couple of ideas that would place me at or in proximity to Mulmaster and wanted to see what we could do.

1) Since non-Cloaks are forbidden to practice within the city, is it feasible to have apprenticed with a former Cloak Mage. Maybe he was part of a subversive element within the Cloaks while I was apprenticed to him and later killed or exiled. Maybe I am being watched in effort to see where my loyalties stand or possibly exiled along with him.

2) I might be a part of a diplomatic entourage from another land accompanying my master/mentor where things take a turn for the worse once we are in Mulmaster proper.

3) I'm a local from the surrounding areas who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time during a visit to procure some item(s) for my master/mentor when things go horribly awry ;)

My knowledge of D&D 2nd edition is very limited, and mostly comes from playing Baldur's Gate back in the day. I had some interest in playing a smart but naive half-elf conjuror. But after thinking about it, you're probably better served selecting someone with more familiarity with the rules and setting, so I'll withdraw from this one.

Happy gaming to all!

Im going to bow out as my i dont think i can complete my vision of a character with the guidelines.. To many years playing heavily modified 2nd ed i suppose.. Good luck to all!

OK, 1/2 elf bard, true bard kit in bard handbook.

I have output from Ed Frielanders chargen program, but it's a little overwhelming.
I'll parse down later.

Do not Bard cast with intelligence in 2e?

List of prospective PCs:

Norgrim Malgus - Norgrim Malgus, Human Mage
Marcus Robert Hosler - Marroar Gellantara, Half-Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Alexandros Satorum - Maeve Luckbringer, Human Fighter
haruhiko88 - Rission, Moon Elf War Wizard
Sissyl - Dlatha Shaertree, Human Specialty Priest of Lathander
Tangaroa - Dharen Clearwater, Half-Elf True Bard
SamuraiRuy - Slobad Ironbelly, Hill Dwarf Thief

Players who have rolled, but not created a character yet:

Spazmodeus -
Algar Lysandris -
grimdog73 -
Krisam - Bladesinger?
Ashe -
LitanyOfCurses -
Bilbo Bang-Bang - Fernis Stoutanvil

Let me know if you've done more and aren't on this list! (If you've said you withdraw, I've removed you from the list)

Do not Bard cast with intelligence in 2e?

Bards use Intelligence to cast, yes, and will (starting at 2nd level) have a spellbook with Wizard spells.

Rission's additional spells are Scatterspray (FR Adventures) and Message.

Marroar, your spellbook contains Read Magic, Detect Magic, then choose three spells. I will give you two more afterward.

Does anyone have any more questions about their characters? Possible kit choices, Equipment questions, Proficiencies, Background, anything?

Up-thread I posted a few different scenarios as to why I would be in the area, let me know what the circumstances end up being so I can get a better idea of background. Other than that, I think I'm good to go ;)

Right...

Regarding the Cloaks, only Cloaks are allowed to cast arcane magic in Mulmaster. However, to become a Cloak, you have to be at least a 4th level Wizard.

So, it's still officially illegal to cast 1st and 2nd level spells in Mulmaster, but the Cloaks won't bother you as long as you're otherwise behaving. But if they discover you're into bigger illegal activity, then they'll use this as an excuse to trump up the charges. It's a crime, yes, but there's a lot of disorganized crime in Mulmaster. And when it becomes clear that you have mastered 2nd level magic, you'll be asked to become a Cloak.

How that will affect your background, I'll leave to you. You certainly can say you study with the Cloaks, or are a member of a noble house in Mulmaster. If you want to go the noble route, I'll recommend you look at the Patrician kit.

Also, although Mulmaster is presented as an evil city, it's not an anti-good city and you'll be generally unmolested by the authorities if they don't think you're a threat. Mulmaster's greatest enemy at this time (two years after the Time of Troubles, but before the Spellplague) was the Zhentarim. They'll gladly accept the help of anti-Zhentarim good guys.

Ah 2E, the origins of my RPG life. Are the specialty priests from Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities available?

Lets see what I get for rolls

4d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 2, 6) = 20 18
4d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 6) = 17 14
4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 5, 6) = 17 14
4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 4, 3) = 16 13
4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 1, 4) = 13 12
4d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 6, 4) = 20 16

Edit: Holy crap!

exceptional strength: 1d100 ⇒ 91

Edit 2: HOLY CRAP!

Ah 2E, the origins of my RPG life. Are the specialty priests from Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities available?

No, but the specialty priests from Forgotten Realms Adventures are.

...Everyone keeps asking about Faiths and Avatars. I just checked, I had stopped buying AD&D stuff in early 1995. I bought Skills & Powers and went, "Hm... no." Stopped for a while, with the exception of Ravenloft.

Got tons of Ravenloft. Love it. But not for this adventure.

Where do bards fit into the illegal spellcasting reality (especially since becoming a cloak doesn't sound particularly like my style)

I think the Patrician kit makes the most sense at this point, that and I can more fully flavor his skills. I'll re-post his 'sheet' with his background shortly.

Where do bards fit?

Don't get caught. (Evil city, they do crap like that)

Still, they'll probably turn a blind eye for the first two levels of spells anyway.

I think I am going to go with Corran Thunderfist, NG dwarf fighter/cleric (champion kit) of Moradin, orginally hailing from Citadel Adbar, a member of of the prestigious Hammers of Moradin. Athough he has many classic dwarven traits, being a superiorly skilled crafter of weapons and armor, and a lover of a good beverage, he isn't as uncouth as many of the rest of his kin and likes to enjoy the finer things in life whenever possible.

DM i have Pm you my character yesterday.

I'll pm it you again.

DM i have Pm you my character yesterday.

I'll pm it you again.

Thank you! Found it. Meridith, Dwarf Champion, is added to the PC list.

Tks :)

Norgrim Malgus

I made a few changes that better fit the concept of Patrician , such as switching his Dex score with Charisma and other small changes. Also, I figured a close ball park number of remaining GP, I really don't want to track everything down to the nearest Copper, lol, reminds me too much of Accounting ;) I included his background as a part of the post as well.

I did post my character back in post #70, but here he is again. I waited with the spells in case you wanted to choose them or something? I need to read up on events for that year and the years immediately previous so I can come up with a background that meshes into the story well... or maybe I'll wait with that 'til I know if I get chosen. I understand that the elven Retreat was canceled, though? That might be an interesting jumping-off point.

Okay finishing touches, I have a small background that can obviously be expanded upon later. Came up with a catchy name for the unit my war wizard would be in, and added those last two spells. I think Rission is complete.

Goldz!
2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3 - 30 gp

Spell Book:
1st: Read Magic, Detect Magic , Alter Normal Fires, Armor, Charm Person

I did post my character back in post #70, but here he is again. I waited with the spells in case you wanted to choose them or something? I need to read up on events for that year and the years immediately previous so I can come up with a background that meshes into the story well... or maybe I'll wait with that 'til I know if I get chosen. I understand that the elven Retreat was canceled, though? That might be an interesting jumping-off point.

Thanks, Krisam! Got your character.

Spell Book:

1st: Read Magic, Detect Magic , Alter Normal Fires, Armor, Charm Person

Add Phantasmal Force and Fist of Stone (Tome of Magic) to your book.

Okay, so here's the list now:

Norgrim Malgus - Norgrim Malgus, Human Mage
Marcus Robert Hosler - Marroar Gellantara, Half-Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Alexandros Satorum - Maeve Luckbringer, Human Fighter
haruhiko88 - Rission, Moon Elf War Wizard
Sissyl - Dlatha Shaertree, Human Specialty Priest of Lathander
Tangaroa - Dharen Clearwater, Half-Elf True Bard
SamuraiRuy - Slobad Ironbelly, Hill Dwarf Thief
Algar Lysandris - Meridith, Hill Dwarf Champion
Krisam - Kiesylan Velthiel, Moon Elf Fighter/Mage

Players who have rolled, but not completed a character yet:

Spazmodeus -
grimdog73 -
Ashe -
LitanyOfCurses -
Bilbo Bang-Bang - Fernis Stoutanvil
Gambit - Corran Thunderfist, Dwarf Champion

I'll be making my choices tomorrow. If you would like to see your PC adventuring with any specific other PC, please PM me and let me know!

Best of luck to everyone! If you still have any questions, I'll make sure they're answered for you first!

The last time I did anything with second edition I was running a FR game, I've wanted to play in one for a while but I have no gms near me that will touch AD&D because it's not shiny anymore.

I distilled Dharen Clearwater into something a bit more readable.

Character sheet

So Weapon Proficiencies and non-weapon proficeiencies.

Is "# levels" the number you get per level or the number of levels it takes to get one.

When do multiclass characters gain them? It says use best progression, but is that for every level across every class or like the "average" class level is what you get or something?

Can you devote multiple weapon proficiency slots to the same weapon? Does that do anything? Same question for non-weapon proficeincies that talk about using multiple slots for it.

So Weapon Proficiencies and non-weapon proficeiencies.

Is "# levels" the number you get per level or the number of levels it takes to get one.

When do multiclass characters gain them? It says use best progression, but is that for every level across every class or like the "average" class level is what you get or something?

Can you devote multiple weapon proficiency slots to the same weapon? Does that do anything? Same question for non-weapon proficeincies that talk about using multiple slots for it.

"# levels" is the number of levels it takes to get one slot.

Multiclass characters use best progression, so Fighter for weapon, and Mage for nonweapon.

Nonweapon: Yes, you gain a +1 bonus to proficiency rolls for each additional nonweapon proficiency slot you devote.

Weapon: It depends. There are things you can do in the Complete Fighter's Handbook using weapon proficiency slots.

So how many levels would a Fighter 1/Mage 1/Thief 2 have?

You count as a 1st level fighter for THAC0, 2nd level thief for thieving skills, and 1st level mage for casting and your saving throws. You start with fighter weapon proficiencies, mage non weapon proficiencies, and all the fun thieving stuff. You don't add all the levels as you go, you grab stuff when it comes first. So when you hit 4 or 5 FIGHTER you get another weapon prof slot, and when you hit 4 or 5 mage you get an additional nonweapon slot. When fighter overcomes mage for saving throws you start using that table instead. Just remember you cannot use thief skills if wearing gauntlets, nor can you cast spells while wearing armor (you are a fighter/mage/thief not an elf fighter/mage unless fighter mage thief has that weird sentence in their description)

and then again only The only armor a Mage/XX can cast spell while wearing it are: Elven Chain Armor and Elven Plate Armor

(elves have no special ability that allow them to cast in armor...)

Also due to the nature of the combat system it is nearly impossible to cast a spell while engage in melee combat.

Most Spell in 2nd Ed take a very long time to cast (each spell take a certain amount of segments to cast-usually long- while swinging a weapon is -depending on the weapon speed factor- faster) during a round. If you are hit during the casting you lose the spell.

(a fav tactic or ranged character is to wait to see someone starting to cast a spell and shoot at him). But they have no special bonus regarding casting in armor

Muticlass Mage/xx usually learn and use the spell Armor (that rather last-AC6) and the spell Shield (that give a very good protection - AC4 vs most weapon and AC2 vs missle weapon)

available at first level

The Bladedsong technique (used alomost exclusively) of the Bladesinger (Elven Fighter/mage kit) alows them to Cast their wizard spell with only one hand and get a bonus to AC while doing so (they can not attack with their weapon during the round they are casting a spell)

(=> like any other multiclass Fighter they can not take any weapon specialization)

3 rd level Blasinger can take the fundamental of Bladesong to any one (rarely to a non full Elf) you would get the following style Techniques: Bonus to AC / to hit(spending weapon proef slot for it) and Attack and parry.

But the ability to cast with one hand (with the AC bonus) is only for the True Bladesinger

You count as a 1st level fighter for THAC0, 2nd level thief for thieving skills, and 1st level mage for casting and your saving throws. You start with fighter weapon proficiencies, mage non weapon proficiencies, and all the fun thieving stuff. You don't add all the levels as you go, you grab stuff when it comes first. So when you hit 4 or 5 FIGHTER you get another weapon prof slot, and when you hit 4 or 5 mage you get an additional nonweapon slot. When fighter overcomes mage for saving throws you start using that table instead. Just remember you cannot use thief skills if wearing gauntlets, nor can you cast spells while wearing armor (you are a fighter/mage/thief not an elf fighter/mage unless fighter mage thief has that weird sentence in their description)

So, what if my thief levels gain proficiencies before my mage levels?

While I would really like to play in this setting, I think I've gotten too used to the ease with which I can understand Pathfinder. I'm getting a bit confused about the old rules, which used to make sense to me before 3e. I think I'll withdraw from the running - best of luck to the rest of you, and good gaming!

It is actually worse than that... IIRC if someone has taken a single point of damage they can't cast spells at all that round.

no really Sissyl you can take damage after you cast a spell (and so some extent before also)

PhB page 111:

Once the casting has begun the character must stand still [...] During the round in which the spell is cast the caster can not move to dodge attacks. Therefore no AC benefit from Dex is gained by spellcasters while casting spells. Furthermore, if the spellcaster is struck by a weapon or fails to make a saving throw before the spell is cast (ie completed due to the incantation time of spells)the casters concentration is disrupted. The spell is lost in a fizzle....

=> Acid Arrow spell is a caster's bane :)

Sorry to see you go Krisam, and good gaming to you as well.

I know it's been a while, but once a Wizard rolls initiative and declares he's casting spell(x), is he not considered in the process of casting regardless of the segment on which it activates?

it depends if the optional casting time rule are in use.

PhB page 114: If a number is given (by the spell entry) the casting time is added to the caster's initiative die rolls

(reprinted under spellcasting and initiative page 127)

(My example)

=> example Willo the Wizard during round 1 rolled a modified init of 5

Since he is going to cast a spell he has to stop moving. (loss of Dex to AC)

if he gets hit before he goes nothing happens and if he survives the hit at init 5 he can start casting that Melf's Minute meteors (casting time of 3)

he finish casting the spell on segment 8. It no one hits him during those 3 segments the spell goes off.

if he is hit (even for 1hp) or has to make a save (pass or fail it doesn't matter) the spell Fizzle

---
The book Spell&Magic (pg: 53) introduce the skill Concentration (as well as technique for reducing the casting time of spells)

But Concentration had a limited effect: If the character is struck by an attack that cause 2 or less points of damage, he is permitted to attempt a proef check to ignore the distraction and continue to cast his spell)

=> its utility was to ignore the difficult environmental problems (like casting on a rocking boat, or in a hail storm etc...)

----
The book Combat&tactics introduce the notions of Aoo and threats as well as a whole bunch of other things( lile 1/2 move actions / full move actions, special attack options: block, called shots, disarm, grab and special weapon maneuvers...).

Ahh, ok. I roll 5 for initiative, which is the count I would start casting the spell and it activates x number of segments later based on the casting time entry for said spell. I think I'm tracking now, ty.

YW (don't forget that a high Dex gives you a bonus to reaction time)...

Switched my Dex and Cha to fall more in line with the Patrician kit, it's all good ;)

All right, it's decision time!

The party will be:

Norgrim Malgus, Human Patrician Mage
Rission, Elf War Wizard
Meridith, Dwarf Champion
Marroar Gellantara, Half-Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Dlatha Shaertree, Human Priest of Lathander

Discussion page is Here!

This was a really tough decision--the sort of thing I didn't enjoy. I needed to make sure we had a group capable of covering the bases in a few different ways. Check into the Discussion thread and we'll make sure we have everything ready to play!

Damn, my business of yesterday prevented my finalizing of my character. I was going to switch to a Human Justifier Ranger since there was already another Dwarf Champion.

Congrats to everyone who was chosen, hope the campaign is a blast. ;)