Between Annie and Sven, the hole in the door is now large enough to shoot through or reach through to unbar the door. The goblins are now outside and have vanished into the bright light.
Gulver gave up his search and walked over to the door to check on Annie's progress. "Do you see the goblins? No? I agree with Zander. We should kill them before they alert the rest of the tribe. Shall we open the door and give chase or try to shoot them from the clifftop above us?"
Annie shoulders the mallet and redraws her bow. She squints as her eyes adjust to the glare above ground. She heads through the door, but stops at the edge of the bridge. She pokes the ropes with her foot. "Hey Gulver, is this thing safe to cross?"
Gulver examines the bridge which extends about 40' across the gully. The anchors that hold the bridge to the walls are ancient and well-forged, but the bridge is clearly a recent goblin construction. It seems sturdy, but probably slow going for larger users as the handholds are low.
You can't see anything on the other side of the gully because the goblins have disappeared into another dark doorway, made opaque by the sunlight.
Stealth:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 (for use on other side)
"It seems safe enough. Let's go!" said Gulver. With his bow slung over one shoulder he was able to place his hands on the support ropes on either side of him. He hastened across the bridge. Once across, Gulver would make a feeble attempt to hide in the shadows of the dark doorway of doom.
Stowing his axe Sven swallows nervously, looking out over the gully. The handholds seemed infinitely far away from his grasp, and the entire structure made him nervous. Stepping out onto the rickety bridge he stooped down, his mail rattling as he plodded across.
Upon reaching the other side Sven falls against the wall outside the doorway, readying his axe once again.
"I've been told that some magicians can create light from magic alone, are any of you capable of this feat?"
Zander nervously makes his way across the bridge, holding his breath the entire way. Once on the other side he pauses to adjust his gear and peers into the darkened doorway, looking for some indication of what lies within.
"I did not ask Desna to gift me with that spell today. However, I do have some torches and candles should we need them."
The room at the end of the bridge is uncannily quiet, and, as your eyes adjust to the darkness, you see that the room is, in fact, empty of goblins. This room is long and narrow, extending only 5' to the left and right, but 40' to the opposite end from the bridge. In the far, right corner is the top of a spiral staircase leading down.
Empty? thought Gulver. This could be a trap. The gnome drew his bow and nocked an arrow. He walked warily through the narrow room toward the spiral staircase, keeping his expert eyes open for traps.
Following Gulver's lead across the desolate room Sven prepares to take the lead once the party is ready to descend the stairs, hurrying along with a wary haste. If the way becomes too dark he will light a torch, resolving to wielding his axe with one hand.
"No doubt the archers have warned the remainder of their nest..
Gulver notices, in the center of the room, there is a chute leading up through the ceiling. There is no ladder or other way to reach the chute. It's nearly 10' off the ground and appears completely smooth from your point of view.
There does not appear to be any light source further in, so before you descend the stairs, a torch will likely be necessary.
To answer Gulver's earlier question Sven cast his torch at a goblin during the scrap and then promptly forgot about it. I have two of my own that I can lend you, and owe ya a pint ;)
Gulver said, "Thanks for lighting a new torch, Sven. I see much better now. There is a chute in the ceiling. We cannot easily use it as an entrance, but the goblins may be able to exit through it. Should we leave a guard here or descend the staircase together? What do you think?"
"I have rope but, alas, no grapnel. I don't see anything up there for a grapnel to catch on at any rate. I think I agree with Annie in that we are going to have to go down."
You proceed about 2 floors down the spiral stairs and find yourselves in the center of 30' square floor, walled in on the north, south, and west. To the east, the floor drops off abruptly and continues another 15' or so. You can't see the bottom of the lower area, so you can't tell how deep it is.
However, you can immediately see that this room once served as some sort of laboratory, as there are tables, instruments, broken flasks, and various oddities laying about. There are also several sets of rusted, old manacles attached to the walls and tables, suggesting that the participants in these experiments were not all consensual.
There are goblin footprints all over the dusty floor, but they are so mixed up that you can't tell which are fresh. You can tell, though, that most of them lead towards the drop-off.
"Far beyond goblin artifice I think. Let's see if there is anything of use to us." Annie searches the room for any intact vials or other useful gear. Afterwards she lights a torch of her own and tosses it over the cliff on the East side.
After the party gives the lab a good once over Sven shoulders his axe and passes his torch on to whoever will take it. Knocking an arrow in his shortbow he peers over the cliff, hugging the north wall.
Sven can see that, after the drop-off, the room continues for another 20' or so. The drop appears to be about 10' down, and there are more manacles down below.
Also found are the goblins you were chasing. And some friends. 4 friends.
As soon as Sven see the goblins down below, they spring into action, rushing towards two ladders leading up to the top level where the party is.
Goblin init:1d6 ⇒ 4 Party init:1d6 ⇒ 2
The little beasts get a head start in the dim light. They rush to the ladders on either side of the ledge, and one lets out a wretched wail and hurls a glass bottle up onto the higher floor. When the bottle hits the ground, it shatter, and the liquid inside bursts into flames.
1/9 chance to hit a PC. 1d9 ⇒ 4
Roll for location 1d36 ⇒ 18
The fire lands in the dead-center of the room, covering the bottom of the stairs in fiery liquid.
The dots represent goblins. They are lined up at ladders, and the first two have reached the tops of the ladder by the time you can act.
Gulver drew his bow as he forced himself to walk, not run, toward Zander. Then he nocked, drew, and fired an arrow at the goblin at the top of the northmost ladder.
Zander moves to the ladder in front of Annie, placing himself to the side and back a bit, so as not to spoil her shots, not to be next to the ledge and still have a free shot with the reach of his lobgspear as each goblin comes up.
As he gets into position, he makes a powerful thrust at the goblin who just reached the top.
After the first goblin is down, Zander will ready an action each round to power attack a goblin as soon as they pop over the ledge. If they move out of the square in front of the ladder and are still in range of my longspear, I will make an attack of opportunity (still power attacking) takinbg the -1 to hit on all my attacks after the first one each rd.
ALSO
My router died at home. I apologize for not posting sooner. Will be fixed tomorrow.
The Pitch
I’d like to start an old-school style game of Pathfinder – A classic hex-crawl with wilderness travel, wandering monster checks, and non-CR-appropriate encounters. You characters are motivated by wealth, most likely, or perhaps fame, maybe a quest for an artifact, but they will very likely die, especially if you aren't cautious. As such, I’m not recruiting characters, but players. You can make new characters. Play only goes up to level 6, plus a little bit, so the whole game will be naturally low-powered. A crew of 5 level 1-2 mercenaries can lay waste to a cocky adventurer party. A CR 8 young green dragon is a gigantic big deal. If you want an idea of the game-style, try these articles:
P6 – We will be using the P6 Abridged Ruleset, which is derivative of E6, which comes from this article. Basically, levels cap at 6th because at that point the characters are essentially approaching superhuman status. Everything about the world is scaled appropriately, meaning that 90% of everyone is level 0-1, and a world-class achiever is level 4 or 5.
Experience - XP will be earned by spending gold equivalent to requisite XP cost to level up according to the slow advancement path. The gold will go towards training costs associated with your chosen field. This, naturally, will slow down XP gain substantially, in addition to emphasizing non-combat strategies.
Feats – I don’t have the time or desire to pare down the preposterous number of feats out there in the world, so please select feats according to these guidelines:
A feat should not permit a character to do something that any character can attempt. Instead, it should make a character better at a given action.
Covering the core rulebook, everyone can use, at any time, power attack, combat expertise, deadly aim, and use them as prerequisites for other feats. Furthermore, there are no feat chains. If you meet the BAB requirement, the feat is available. This will advantage fighters in combat, which is fine.
Skills – No special rules, but please bear in mind that a lack of skill proficiency does not prevent your character from trying something and skill points represent learned improvements, not natural ability. For example, obviously, anyone can jump. Having 3 ranks in jump represents spending time and money on training on how to jump beyond natural ability. Likewise, anyone can hide in a closet. Ranks in stealth gives you a trained ability to hide where other cannot.
Miscellaneous Fighters and Rogues only may move and make a full attack in the same round.
CharGen:
Homebrew hex crawl Pathfinder P6
Looking for 3-5 players.
Starting at level 1.
Roll 3d6 in order, switch any two, may reroll twice. Please roll live in the forums.
Roll for HP.
Roll for gold.
Races and classes from core preferred.
Backstory is fine, but your characters will very likely die, so don’t get too attached.
Forum Rules:
At least one post per day, except weekends.
Team initiative, if you don’t post, you miss your turn.
We will probably not use battle grids unless we really need them.
Absolutely. That entire blog rocks. I don't agree with everything, but you can't argue that it's very well-though out and written. Plus, I've played a game with the author on Google hangouts and it was sweet.
How do you rule on Sacred Summoning? Does it only work on creatures with the alignment subtype on the standard monster or does it also work on Celestial/Fiendish versions of normal monsters?
@Sir Gavvin - I don't even know if the celestial template confers alignment. Honestly, I don't care a bit about your alignment, so you can do whatever works for you.
@Cronax - Any humanoid except aquatic, monstrous humanoid, magical beast, animal, dragon, undead, vermin. There's a pretty good mix of stuff to find.
@GypsyMischief - I'm indifferent to archetypes.
So, who is seriously in on this and ready to play in a couple days?
I am in. I haven't played a game like this in many, many years. I am looking forward to it.
As for alignment...
When a good caster summons a non-aligned monster, he gets a celestial version that matches his alignment. Sacred Summons allows clerics to summon monsters that match their alignment as a standard action. As written, it really only works for monsters with an alignment subtype, but there is a LOT of table variance and I have had DMs before allow it to work on standard summons.
@Sir Gavvin - I'll stick with the (I guess standard) ruling that it only works on creatures that already have alignment subtype. I don't really have a need for traits or flaws. I'd rather the characters be defined by their actions rather that their stats when at all possible.
@VanceMadrox - Yeah, it's PbP. I'm up for an occasional Google hangout if anyone wants, (Jacob DeCourcey on G+) but my internet situation limits when and how often I can do that.
You really could go either way. With pre-approved access to power attack and combat expertise, fighters have a much more interesting selection of choices at 1st level.
If a third person chimes in soon with a confirmation, we'll officially start tomorrow.
after racials...
Str 14+2
Dex 15+2
Con 11
Int 15+2
Wis 19+4
Cha 11
Solid.
2d6 ⇒ (2, 6) = 8 80 gold
crunch:
Lucky Wilkins
Dwarf Druid 1
N Medium humanoid (dwarf)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +2 shield, +2 Dex)
hp 12 (1d8+4)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +6; +2 vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities
Defensive Abilities defensive training
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee heavy shield bash -2 (1d4+2/×2) and
. . battleaxe +2 (1d8+2/×3)
Special Attacks hatred
Druid Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +5):
1st (2/day)—entangle (DC 15), faerie fire
0 (at will)—purify food and drink (DC 14), mending, create water
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 19, Cha 11
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14 (14 vs. bull rush, 14 vs. trip)
Feats Toughness
Skills Craft (leather) +6 (+8 on checks related to metal or stone), Craft (traps) +6 (+8 on checks related to metal or stone), Heal +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +8 (+10 to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors in stone walls or floors), Survival +10; Racial Modifiers craftsman
Languages Common, Druidic, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin
SQ hardy, nature bond abilities (animal companion), slow and steady, spontaneous casting, stability, stonecunning, wild empathy
Other Gear Hide armor, Heavy wooden shield, Battleaxe, Artisan's tools (Craft [leather]), Artisan's tools (Craft [traps]), Backpack (16 @ 48 lbs), Bedroll, Hammer, Piton (2), Rope, Tent, small, Trail rations (10), 23 GP, 7 SP
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Animal Companion Link (Ex) You have a link with your Animal Companion.
Craftsman +2 on Craft/Profession checks related to metal/stone.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs monsters of the Giant subtype.
Hardy +2 Gain a racial bonus to saves vs Poison, Spells and Spell-Like effects.
Hatred +1 Gain a racial bonus to attacks vs Goblinoids/Orcs.
Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Can cast spells with a target of "you" on animal companion, as touch spells.
Slow and Steady Your base speed is never modified by encumbrance.
Spontaneous Casting The Druid can convert stored spells into Summon Nature's Ally spells.
Stability +4 Gain bonus to CMD vs bull rush/trip while standing on ground.
Stonecunning +2 +2 bonus to Perception vs unusual stonework. Free check within 10 feet.
Wild Empathy +1 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
The Wee Bird:
The Wee Bird
Roc
N Medium animal
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 Dex, +5 natural)
hp 8 (-2)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +3
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)
Melee bite +2 (1d6+1/×2) and
. . 2 talons +2 (1d4+1/×2)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 12, Dex 19, Con 9, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 16
Feats Iron Will
Skills Fly +8, Perception +5
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Flight (80 feet, Average) You can fly!
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
"Yes, I've lived under a rock for the last fifty years, what of it? I'll take a bath when I need one."
@Big OM - I really don't care about alignment, however, in the case of the paladin, his profession requires that he be lawful, as he has a strict code of conduct. There is a huge range of personality that fits within those parameters. I'm really flexible, though, on the whole. Just make it work.
@Versys - I only allow 3 sets of rolls. Don't worry if you don't have the stats you'd like. Your cleverness as a player has much greater influence on the success of your character.
There are currently 7 people that have responded, so that will be all for recruitment. Report in tomorrow for the start.
You'll be starting in a border town. To the west and north is nothing but civilized heartland with no adventure. But, to the south and east, there is frontier, ancient gold, monsters, and who knows what else. The land is dangerous and chaotic, with monstrous races and pitched battles over resources. Be prepared, or become yet another casualty of the untamed frontier.
I'll take roll 3 and switch charisma and wisdom if that is ok and go gnome sorcerer having not played a gnome (or sorcerer in pathfinder) before this could be interesting.
Okay, I know that you have "closed" recruitment but this is freakin' awesome so I am going to roll up a character in case someone who posted in here before me doesn't end up showing up (I have seen it happen many times in recruitment posts) for the actual game.
Ok, by my reckoning, we have something like 4-8 players ready to rumble. I'll go ahead and take more than I initially planned since some folks always drop out. Plus, the more hands on deck, the less chance of horrible deaths.
Get your characters ready and go check in on the gameplay and discussion threads with. Everyone who is seriously playing needs to post something of substance once in each thread today.
The first person in the gameplay thread sets the stage. I don't care how you do it, but explain how everyone is together. Sitting in a tavern, met on the road, answering a classified set out by one of the players, etc.
@Daniel & Vance - don't check out yet. Not very many folks have reported in yet. If a few more hours pass and we're still fewer than 5 players, jump in.
------------------------- Equipment ------------------------
Name QTY LBS
Total weight carried:
Current load: Light
Encumbrance
Light: 12
Medium: 25
Heavy: 37
--------------------------- Magic --------------------------
Innate Spells
Dancing Lights (Evocation) - 1 per day
Saves: None
DC:
Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 minute [D]
Range: Medium (110 ft.)
Components: V, S
SR: No
Effect: You create up to four lights that resemble lanterns or torches.
Target: Up to four lights, all within a 10-ft.-radius area
Ghost Sound (Illusion) - 1 per day
Saves: Will disbelief
DC: 14
Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 rounds [D]
Range: Close (25 ft.)
Components: V, S, M
SR: No
Effect: Ghost sound allows you to create a volume of sound that rises, recedes, approaches, or remains at a fixed place.
Target: Illusory sounds
Prestidigitation (Universal) - 1 per day
Saves: See text
DC: 14
Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 hour
Range: 10 ft.
Components: V, S
SR: No
Effect: Prestidigitations are minor tricks that novice spellcasters use for practice.
Target: See text
Speak with Animals (Divination) - 1 per day
Saves:
DC:
Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 minutes
Range: Personal
Components: V, S
SR:
Effect: You can ask questions of and receive answers from animals, but the spell doesn't make them any more friendly than normal.
Target: You
() - per day
Saves:
DC:
Casting:
Duration:
Range:
Components:
SR:
Effect:
Target:
() - per day
Saves:
DC:
Casting:
Duration:
Range:
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Sorcerer Spells
SPELLBOOKNAME0
Level 0
Ghost Sound (Illusion)
Saves: Will disbelief DC: 15 Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 rounds [D] Range: Close (25 ft.) Components: V, S, M
SR: No Effect: Ghost sound allows you to create a volume of sound that rises, recedes, approaches, or remains at a fixed place. Target: Illusory sounds
DESC: Ghost sound allows you to create a volume of sound that rises, recedes, approaches, or remains at a fixed place.
DESC 2: Ghost sound allows you to create a volume of sound that rises, recedes, approaches, or remains at a fixed place.
Light (Evocation)
Saves: None DC: Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 10 minutes Range: Touch Components: V, M/DF
SR: No Effect: This spell causes a touched object to glow like a torch. Target: Object touched
DESC: This spell causes a touched object to glow like a torch.
DESC 2: This spell causes a touched object to glow like a torch.
Mending (Transmutation)
Saves: Will negates (harmless, object) DC: 14 Casting: 10 minutes
Duration: Instantaneous Range: 10 ft. Components: V, S
SR: Yes (harmless, object) Effect: This spell repairs damaged objects, restoring 1d4 hit points to the object. Target: One object of up to 1 lb.
DESC: This spell repairs damaged objects, restoring 1d4 hit points to the object.
DESC 2: This spell repairs damaged objects, restoring 1d4 hit points to the object.
Ray of Frost (Evocation, WaterSchool)
Saves: None DC: Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: Instantaneous Range: Close (25 ft.) Components: V, S
SR: Yes Effect: A ray of freezing air and ice projects from your pointing finger dealing 1d3 points of cold damage. Target: Ray
DESC: A ray of freezing air and ice projects from your pointing finger dealing 1d3 points of cold damage.
DESC 2: A ray of freezing air and ice projects from your pointing finger dealing 1d3 points of cold damage.
Level 1
Color Spray (Illusion)
Saves: Will negates DC: 16 Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: Instantaneous; see text Range: 15 ft. Components: V, S, M
SR: Yes Effect: A vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from your hand, causing creatures to become stunned, perhaps also blinded, and possibly knocking them unconscious. Target: Cone-shaped burst
DESC: A vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from your hand, causing creatures to become stunned, perhaps also blinded, and possibly knocking them unconscious.
DESC 2: A vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from your hand, causing creatures to become stunned, perhaps also blinded, and possibly knocking them unconscious.
Grease (Conjuration, EarthSchool)
Saves: See text DC: 15 Casting: 1 standard action
Duration: 1 minutes [D] Range: Close (25 ft.) Components: V, S, M
SR: No Effect: A grease spell covers a solid surface with a layer of slippery grease. Target: One object or 10-ft. square
DESC: A grease spell covers a solid surface with a layer of slippery grease.
DESC 2: A grease spell covers a solid surface with a layer of slippery grease.
