Third level! Woo! Feats, don't fail me now!
Regarding blink dog PCs...
Thanks for voicing your concerns Kennen. Let me see if I can allay some of your worries.
I did give a lot of thought as to whether or not to include a blink dog as an NPC or PC or at all and how to implement it. I read up on monstrous PCs and lurked some games that had done the same to see how they played out.
A quote from my recruitment thread:
Level 3 equivalent. Blink dogs are CR 2 critters with three racial HD. Your character is a 3 hd blink dog +1 class level of your choice, which roughly equals a lvl 3 character. In some respects this does put you ahead of the curve power wise, but there are disadvantages as well - not being able to select your own initial feats, being two levels behind for spellcasting if you choose to go that route, and, you know, not having hands.
I still stand by that. The character may look powerful on paper, but I expect this is a case where theory isn't born out in practice.
Let me run down the concerns you raised one by one:
full BAB: Yes, magical beasts get full BAB, sorcerers do not
one extra HD over us: Yep. At the expense of pre selected feats for those HD and no favoured class bonus.
better saves: Not by much, no. When considering the idea I did a quick comparison of saves to other multi class options at lvl 3 and its in-line.
50% miss chance all the time: Not all the time. Turns out a constant power is not actually constant - it still has to be turned on and off (albeit as a free action), it just has an unlimited duration. And bear in mind that using it imposes a 20% miss chance on all his own attacks.
essentially permanent ghost touch: Which I assure you won't be an issue in a campaign that is not expected to run past level 5 or so.
swift action teleportation: Yes, a pretty cool ability which makes the character very mobile. But he can't teleport others with him - this is where I expect you'll see far less utility than you expect to. A pack of teleporting blink dogs can coordinate their actions and support one another. Extremely high mobility on one member of a party who doesn't even have hands to open a door for the rest of the party is less useful however.
full casting: Well yeah, but at lvl 1
AC is the only thing low but spells can fix that too: No, spells can't fix that. Again, campaign isn't projected to move past lvl 5ish. Who in the party currently has the ability to significantly move another character's AC? Who's planning on developing into a buffer?
But probably most important of all, I've gamed with Hrungir's player before and trust him not to abuse or minmax the character to the detriment of the story or the fun of the other players in the game.
If you think there are other specific issues that I should be aware of, please let me know via PM - I like to be prepared :>
I'll need a day or two to get Dolph to the next level.
Thanks GM.
Extremely high mobility on one member of a party who doesn't even have hands to open a door for the rest of the party is less useful however.
That is another thing. How are you casting any spells? Every single one of those spells except True Strike has a Somatic component and that one needs a material component. If he can't open a door, how can he cast a spell or retrieve a materiel component?
I didn't realize we were going to level 5 so a caster is probably best since they don't get a lot until after that but how is he going to even cast?
I think maybe you are forgetting that Hrungir is a Sorceror, and so has Eschew Materials.
Also, perhaps I should refer you to Rule 0.
The text for Blink dog specifically mentions them being Sorcerors...so that's why I chose that class honestly.
Basically that's the same way dragons cast, far as I know. Make them sorcerers, eschew materials and wiggle their nose or whiskers or something similar.
Level three
4 HP + 2 Con + 1 FC
One feat: extra Talent
Talents gained including from feat: restore soul, extended range (destructive blast), Imoroved Haste
Spell points 7/day
7 skills: KA, KG, KL, KN, KP, KR, SC
Also, DM, I realized I was wrong on my destructive blast damage last level. It was 2d6, only if I expended a spell point. At third level, it is 2d6 all the time now, and 3d6 if I expend a spell point. Sorry for the mix up on my part.
Level 3
Evolution: Glide
Enhanced Natural Attacks
+1 BAB, +1 Will
Fav class: skill point
Skills: Acrobatics, Fly, Perception, Stealth, Survival
Feat: Improved Initiative
I don't remember how we're doing hit points (average+.5?)
I'm also assuming the Glide evolution gives me access to the Fly skill. ("You cannot take ranks in this skill without a natural means of flight or gliding. Creatures can also take ranks in Fly if they possess a reliable means of flying every day (either through a spell or other special ability).)
I don't remember how we're doing hit points (average+.5?)
Yes
I'm also assuming the Glide evolution gives me access to the Fly skill.
Sure.
What!?! You are going to trust a talking dog?? Varamar''s rant takes on a desperate tone as his cage starts to ratchet slowly back into the murky water. [ b]. You're making a horrible mistake! You need me! You haven't heard the last of Vara...glub glub glub...[/b]
.
I love tropes...
Yep. By the time we get back, he'll be long gone plotting revenge on us!
Yep
Hello everyone,
I'm taking my family to Disney World from Feb 24th to March 4th. During that time my posting may be sparse, I'll try to post from the hotel at night but I can make no promises. If this is a game in which I am a player do not hesitate to bot me if you need to. If this is a game in which I am the GM, please bear with me for the next couple weeks.
Thanks,
Niles
Hi all, sorry for the sporadic updates this week - better now...
To all my games. Going to be on vacation from tomorrow to Sunday. I will have my phone but I hate posting using a touch screen. Phone is new a little sensitive so some words don't come out right.
Have a great vacation
And, ugh, yeah I hate posting from my phone too.
I'll also be out of town for a few days (not quite as long as Kennen). I'll post as I can.
I apologize for being absent for a while. I had to force-disconnect myself from the internet for a while and it made doing play-by-post games difficult.
However, that is part of the reason for this post. I've realized that I've been putting way too much time into play by posts, and have signed into WAY too many games for me to reasonably handle with my current workload and changes to my life situation. I needed to cut down the number of games I am in, and this one is one of them. I am sorry. I was having fun, but these games were getting to be one of my causes of stress, and that was what tipped things for me. Thank you for the opportunity to play with you all, and I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Right, I could have made that clearer... The old woman invited Kennen over to pass the time while waiting for his friends - that's why she sent Olki over. When the friends showed up, she assumed their "tea date" was off, waved farewell and went inside, rather abruptly.
Yeah, I was figuring that was what happened. I figured if she got in the house, we'd never get her out, so I sort of jumped the gun, I guess!
I read up on this topic before hand - scent allows perception checks in situations where other senses may not, but does not give bonuses to those checks per say. So if a creature were disguised, Hringir would still make a perception check following all the rules in the disguise skill write up. We may choose to apply different situational modifiers, ie a familiar scent may be more obvious.
There is no map currently, so no worries there.
Waiting for Warden?
No, Warden has dropped out and I have not the energy or inclination to ghost another abandoned PC, so - poof! he's gone! Carried away by the dreaded ethereal purple people eater.
Actually, I was patiently waiting for you guys. Kennen and Hrungir are on the porch. Kee-rik is stealthily swimming up to the side of the building. Dolph has just teleported over the porch, and the old woman has shut herself in the hut after seeing Hrungir at her doorstep.
The next move is yours. Sorry for not making that clear.
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So, while the question of whether or not teleporting into a body of water is similar to teleporting into a solid object is an interesting one, its not one we have to answer in this situation.
Mechanically , the results are the same, whether Hrungir teleports directly underwater or to the surface of the water then splashes down. Since the depth is less than 10' ( remember the goblin chid poled across), all parties are adjacent either way.
How far under the water are Kee-rik and the hag?
How far under the water are Kee-rik and the hag?
nvmd
I must admit that I have completely forgotten and need a reminder: How are Hero points being handled?
- What version of them are we using?
- How can one spend them?
- How can one gain them?
I've never used hero points before, so I don't think about using them. I think I need to try them out and get a feel for them.
Yep, that's the biggest problem with them - no one remembers they have them. But, in a campaign like this that uses story-based leveling points rather than XP, I find its a good alternate reward. You gain 1 each time you level up, and I give them out for accomplishing plot specific goals as well. You can only have a max of three at any given time, so you're better to use them than to hoard them. I've copied the info from the campaign tab below for your convenience - these are essentially the same as appears in the PRD, with a few teaks to accommodate the PBP format.
Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.
Act Out of Turn: You can spend a hero point to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.
Bonus: You may spend a hero point to grant a +5 bonus to any one d20 roll. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero Points spent to aid another character grant only a +3 bonus
Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.
Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the GM for a hint about what to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero point is not spent.
Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.
Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.
Special: You can petition the GM to allow a hero point to be used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM. Possibilities include casting a single spell that is one level higher than you could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spellcaster), making an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack. Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional hero points may be spent on such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.
Cheat Death: A character can spend 2 hero points to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, with negative hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends 2 hero points, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed, and that he made his stabilization roll at the end of his turn. Cheating death is the only way for a character to spend more than 1 hero point in a turn. The character can spend hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion, eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.
Just fininshed a seven day stretch at work...so tired.
Rest up, and let us know when you're good to go. [That "Special" in the hero point section gave me an idea about the bad food ...]
Been a while. Everything alright?
Sorry, I'm having some serious time management struggles right now.
Hang in there, DM!
Okay, Its time for me to admit that I just can't keep up with this game anymore.
Thaks all for participating, and happy gaming.
Greg.
:-(
Thanks for the game, DM! Good luck to you and everyone else!