Congratulations! We're going to take a couple days to finalize all details, talk about overlapping spell selection, possible party tactics and/or possible shared background connections. I am also going to audit everyone's sheet in detail now before we get started.
Please use this thread for all OOC questions/comments/discussion not directly involved with the current in game scene.
Everyone please post with their character's favorite color. There are millions of colors out there and you have access to google. Please be creative, and specific. Feel free to link. I'm gonna go ahead an presume that Poppy's is "rainbow"?
I added some more background info to the Campaign Info tab. I'm thinking that there's no chance of Cho'ankai knowing any of this going in though. Unless you can give me a convincing reason he would.
Vega - You should have 79 HP (12+55+12). I would suggest changing out your construct bane shuriken for evil outsider or giant bane ones. Everything else looks good, I didn't catch any other errors.
Gror - Your HP should be 115 (12+55+48). Eidolon's THP should be 90 (54+36). Your claws/rend should be at +18 (9 BAB, 12 str, -3 power attack). They are all primary and the rake is circumstantial. So no multiattack penalty.
I just realized you only have the base four legs as well. That means you need to evolve another set of legs for your second set of claws, or drop the rake. You need four legs with claws and two with rake. You can get rid of reach and switch out another feat for extra evolution or you can drop rend or grab. CMB should be 22 (9 BAB, 12 STR, 1 size), CMD is right at 35 (10 base, 9 bab, 12 str, 3 dex, 1 size).
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I'll look at the others later today. I should be able to finish them all.
Male Human (Taldan/Tien) Gestalt Monk/Summoner 12 || HP: 75; THP: 72 || AC 56; Tch 31; FF 47; CMD 43: +2 vs Evil || DR 2/- || Fort +15; Reflex +21; Will +21/25: +2 vs Evil || Perception +40
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
Hi all, looking forward to gaming with you! Jelani, thanks for creating this very interesting campaign, and for giving us the opportunity.
Color:
For Gror it's clear. He's never at ease like he is in the mountains (and has spent much more of his life above ground in the granite and snow than most Dwarves, so much that he doesn't have Darkvision without his Eidolon). He tries to keep focused on his quarry, but knows that careful observation of the terrain has tactical importance...and uses that as his excuse to enjoy the subtle and occasionally sharp colors of the mountains, especially the rust, gold, and fiery reds of lichen, clinging to the granite and peeking out from the snow.
An initial tactical question:
What are the various ways we can lose our Eidolons? Obviously they disappear if knocked to 0 HP. How else can they be lost? I bought a Eidolon anchoring harness as a safeguard, but this seems like a potentially exploitable weak point, and I want to make sure I (and we) understand how it can be exploited and how to defend against it.
Jelani, thank for reviewing my crunch. I'll correct HP, TPH, and the multiattack penalty. I think that his claw/rend ends up as +17 because he still needs a -1 for being Large. As far as the legs, I meant to ask if you need to dedicate a set of legs to rend, but that makes sense. I'll have to think about what to do there.
Male Human (Taldan/Tien) Gestalt Monk/Summoner 12 || HP: 75; THP: 72 || AC 56; Tch 31; FF 47; CMD 43: +2 vs Evil || DR 2/- || Fort +15; Reflex +21; Will +21/25: +2 vs Evil || Perception +40
... 12 + 55 + 12? Not that I don't mind the extra 4 HP, but I must ask... are you sure? I could have sworn it was 8 (max HP for a d8 HD monk at 1st level) + 55 (half d8 HD +1 for all other levels = 5 x 11) + 12 (toughness feat) + 0 (con score of 10 in normal form, so no bonuses there for normal HP).
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
In terms of rejiggering my evolutions, it occurs to me...I have Mage Hand as an orison. Does that give me ability to use wands/rods/open doors? If so, his tail may just become cosmetic fluff. Any mechanical disadvantage of doing so?
Male Human (Taldan/Tien) Gestalt Monk/Summoner 12 || HP: 75; THP: 72 || AC 56; Tch 31; FF 47; CMD 43: +2 vs Evil || DR 2/- || Fort +15; Reflex +21; Will +21/25: +2 vs Evil || Perception +40
Gror: Eidolons are also susceptible to Dismissal, Banishment, and (depending on your alignment) Blasphemy, Dictum, Holy Word, and Word of Chaos.
DM: I may switch some out, but I won't remove all of them. The shurikens are primarily there for the things that are immune to non-lethal damage, even if they are very rare encounters. But I will consider adding to the variety of types. :D
EDIT: Gror some more: Mage Hand is limited to 5 lbs or less, and only accomplished slow, simple, crude movements. Doors are generally too heavy, and the activation of wands is often considered too intricate. Sorry.
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
Jelani, wondering if Know(planes) helps with Kostchtchie as an outsider, and/or if Know(arcana) helps with Baba Yaga (and/or if Gror gets any circumstance bonus since this is his territory). If not, hopefully my compatriots will be better informed than I.
...and I've added another set of legs, losing reach on his left paw, and trading vigilant eidolon (and +8 PER) for a 2nd extra evolution feat (but gaining a bit of speed).
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
Dorialis, I think we should try to be in Eidolon form whenever we're awake (and think hard about how we protect ourselves when most of us are sleeping).
Some armor/shield to make the worst case scenario slightly less terrible isn't a bad idea...but I suspect if the challenges are set against our "suited up" power levels then we'll be in a world of hurt without them.
Male Human (Taldan/Tien) Gestalt Monk/Summoner 12 || HP: 75; THP: 72 || AC 56; Tch 31; FF 47; CMD 43: +2 vs Evil || DR 2/- || Fort +15; Reflex +21; Will +21/25: +2 vs Evil || Perception +40
Gror Durrikson wrote:
(and think hard about how we protect ourselves when most of us are sleeping).
Via me. ^_^
I only need to "rest" for 2 hours, and during those two hours I am fully aware of my surroundings (no penalty to perception), so even while "sleeping" I have a +40 perception. (though I will likely occasionally hear strange voices, see visions, and have prophetic moments of realization during that time as well thanks to being a Ki Mystic)
I'm sure (especially if we don't all need to same amount of rest each night) we can set up a good rotation so we're never all without active Anima at the same time. Looks like Poppy and Ophelia also only need 2 hours, so an effective resting rotation should be quite easy to accomplish.
EDIT: I'm MDT, so UTC -6 in summer, -7 in winter. ... which means I should go to bed now, as I work early tomorr... er, *looks at the time* ... today in a few hours. >_<
Current in Eastern but will be in Central after the weekend of August 10.
Alright, gang, time to help the wizard pick the remaining spells for her spellbook. I have plenty of gold left, so make any suggestions. Given that fact we are facing the reality that we're three spell levels behind what the module intended us to have, facing buffed up enemies, and living in the level era of that lovely thing known as spell resistance, just remember that it might be best to avoid anything that directly affects the enemy. Here's what I have already.
0th (24 Pages): All except Divination and Enchantment
Gror Durrikson wrote:
Dorialis, I think we should try to be in Eidolon form whenever we're awake (and think hard about how we protect ourselves when most of us are sleeping).
My suggestion? Rope Trick now and park someone at the entrance, and hopefully Mage's Magnificent Mansion next level. If that Druid gets a Ring of Sustenance, Cho'ankai's going to be a great bodyguard. Moreover, we also have Vega for all the reasons he stated.
... 12 + 55 + 12? Not that I don't mind the extra 4 HP, but I must ask... are you sure? I could have sworn it was 8 (max HP for a d8 HD monk at 1st level) + 55 (half d8 HD +1 for all other levels = 5 x 11) + 12 (toughness feat) + 0 (con score of 10 in normal form, so no bonuses there for normal HP).
-face palm- No, you're right. I dunno where I got 12. >_<*
In terms of rejiggering my evolutions, it occurs to me...I have Mage Hand as an orison. Does that give me ability to use wands/rods/open doors? If so, his tail may just become cosmetic fluff. Any mechanical disadvantage of doing so?
Mage Hand wrote:
You point your finger at an object and can lift it and move it at will from a distance. As a move action, you can propel the object as far as 15 feet in any direction, though the spell ends if the distance between you and the object ever exceeds the spell's range.
It does the above, and only the above. So no, it can't be used like a real hand/tentacle.
Jelani, wondering if Know(planes) helps with Kostchtchie as an outsider, and/or if Know(arcana) helps with Baba Yaga (and/or if Gror gets any circumstance bonus since this is his territory). If not, hopefully my compatriots will be better informed than I.
...and I've added another set of legs, losing reach on his left paw, and trading vigilant eidolon (and +8 PER) for a 2nd extra evolution feat (but gaining a bit of speed).
Kostichie can grant spells, so he's an outsider, but more of a deity really. Knowledge (Planes) will get you the basics that he's the demon lord of giants and rage. But that's about it. Arcana same thing, you would obviously know who Baba Yaga was but not nearly as detailed as in the campaign info tab.
How often are we expected to be in eidolon vs everyday?
I have regular armor, wondering if I should drop it.
It's ultimately up to you, but I'd expect you to be bonded with your eidolon every moment that you're not asleep or the minute after you wake up to summon it. Why wouldn't you?
Rest of the Reviews:
Dorialis - Need to lower the claw damage to 1d3, still need to remove the Iterative from the claw routine. The eidolon multiattack thing only lets you do that if you have less than three natural weapons. You've got 5, (4 claws, tentacle). Everything else looks good.
Cho'Ankai - That's an amulet of mighty fists (holy) right? Not +2 and holy? Other than that your sheet looks good.
Ophelia - I didn't catch any mistakes, looks good.
Poppy - Can you put the hit dice next to your HP? Something like (12d8+x). Your natural attacks should all be at +4 damage from your str. Can you put a space between each revelation? They all kind of run together as it is now. I also need to know how much everything you bought cost, and how much gold you have left. Everything else looks good.
With reviews out of the way lets talk about formatting and stuff.
I like speech bold, thoughts italicized and ooc, in ooc. Please try to use third person narrative.
When you're making a post please put the narrative at top, followed by a line like this
__________________________________
With ooc, and rules descriptions of actions below.
I.e. I move to AX, and attack the goblin #3.
Other than that I don't really care. Each post in combat should list your current AC, any buffs or ongoing effects on you, and your current THP and HP.
Okay, I know I said a couple days, but I thought it would take me longer to look at people's sheets. Once you've posted your character's favorite color, made final spell selection and purchases, and fixed any mistakes/requests I had go ahead and head over to the gameplay thread. There's no super rush here, it's the weekend which isn't good for some people. Once I see everyone over there hopefully next day or two I'll move things forward.
Huh. It seems that I've said it's been two entire decades since Ophelia's participation in Rise of the Runelords, but it only seems that it has actually been a mere three years (RotRL starts in 4707, and this story begins in 4710). Either deities in Golarion have the power to punch through time (which is somewhat believable), or I am going to need to revise some details from my end. Any suggestions?
Huh. It seems that I've said it's been two entire decades since Ophelia's participation in Rise of the Runelords, but it only seems that it has actually been a mere three years (RotRL starts in 4707, and this story begins in 4710). Either deities in Golarion have the power to punch through time (which is somewhat believable), or I am going to need to revise some details from my end. Any suggestions?
You know what? I'll revise twenty to two years (I said her took the group about a year to complete RotRL). The Call was written in Ophelia's perspective, and her weird elven sense of time might be occasionally prone to mental math errors, especially after a lot of studying and doing taxes. In the first formal post, she will remember that it has only been two years, but it has certainly felt much longer. If anything, the time revisions make her a more well known given that everything happened not that long ago.
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
DM Jelani wrote:
Kostichie can grant spells, so he's an outsider, but more of a deity really. Knowledge (Planes) will get you the basics that he's the demon lord of giants and rage. But that's about it. Arcana same thing, you would obviously know who Baba Yaga was but not nearly as detailed as in the campaign info tab.
OK thanks, can you take a look at my Know skills and let me know if you think I've allocated them accurately for Gror's focus on defending against threats from Irrisen in general and the Witch Queens in particular?
I'd focused mostly on Arcana, Planes, and Nature. If those seem like reasonable foci for Gror, given his quest, then I'll leave them as is. If you think that he'd more realistically have studied more/less on some, please let me know.
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
By the way,I just realized I could rake two birds with one stone by buying arms and losing the tentacle instead of adding more legs. That, together with losing reach, let's me keep vigilant eidolon.
Gror - I would change out nature for local. Other than that if you are focusing on learning about Irrisen and the White Queens a smattering of Geography, Nobility and History might be called for over planes. I think most of Gror's nature stuff could be covered by Survival.
Male Aasimar Druid [Menhir Savant]/Summoner [Synthesist] 12
I mixed up Cho's skills a little to better represent his communal role as shaman. Lowered his arcana and spellcraft ranks and added Survival and knowledge (religion), since it wouldn't make much sense to be knowledgeable about the spirit world without being able to identify and recognize undead.
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
Re skills: thanks, I'll modify today.
Back to protecting our eidolons from banishment/dismissal, it sounds like strong Will saves are the first line of defense. I'm conservatively inclined to wear a eidolon harness for extra protection. What do others think? The other potential safeguard I see is the Summon Eidolon spell, which will bring it back in as a standard Acton for 12 rounds (and after which presumably combat is over and we can redo the standard 1 minute summons). Maybe that's sufficient?
Male Aasimar Druid [Menhir Savant]/Summoner [Synthesist] 12
I considered spending money on an eidolon harness (a body slot item that prevents an eidolon from being dismissed. full stop.) but it didn't make sense to have one before he became a synthesist.
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
Right, I think the chronological order's a bit weird here. In game time, we haven't become Summoners yet, which means we wouldn't have summoner-specific gear, or feats. My impression is that (in gametime) we're just about to get transmogrified by Iomedae (or her agents), and that once we do we'll be as we've written up our characters (including, in Gror's case, his anchoring harness and his Extra Evolution and Vigilant Eidolon feats).
Male Aasimar Druid [Menhir Savant]/Summoner [Synthesist] 12
I wedged the eidolon staff into Cho's starting gear by way of making it some old stick passed down through his tribe. The harness might have been harder to justify.
Init +6, Perc +14, Darvision 90' Dark Sight 15' Low-light x2, Light Sensitive AC 32, T 20, FF 29; HP 84+72/84+72; Saves F13/R18/W15
Work had a power outage so I'm behind. I should have the updates corrected soon.
Probably going to downgrade the armor to bump up the amulet of mighty fists.
If I have the critical stuff on the character headline (AC's, Saves, HP, Perc, ongoing spells, etc), would you have an issue with the profile being a link to a google doc?
Dorialis - As long as you keep all those stats up to date and in the profile then I guess. It is your profile that I will be looking at. You also need to track your resources in the profile.
Gror - If you want to buy an eidolon harness you can. It would be something that they give you after you change. For me, the loot you have is more about fairness between players than making sense RP wise why you have every little thing. Maybe they noticed that Gror had a bunch of gold laying around and his tendencies told them he would appreciate an eidolon harness.
Cho - Same goes for you. If you want an eidolon harness for your character and the only thing preventing you is that he wouldn't have one before becoming a super-synth don't worry about it. Go ahead an buy one before we really get started.
I'm adding a real world language key to the campaign info tab. I like when speaking in languages other than common to use google translate and then spoiler the text in English like Cho'Ankai did.
Picture | AC 47 (T 20, FF 41) | CMD 38 | Init +9 | Per +29 | HP 99/111 | THP 62/90
Loot: I think several of us took Wands of Rejuvenate Eidolon, which again would only make sense post-Josiah. Saying they'll be granted us when we get transmogrified works for me.
Language key: I like!
Makes me think though: Is it plausible that Gror doesn't know Skald? I'd taken Abyssal as my extra language (with Dwarf and Common as gimmees)...but it seems I should trade out Abyssal >> Skald.
I was thinking gaelic for Elven...As for Skald, if Gror wants to be seen as a native of the Lands of the Linnorm kings then he should know Skald over abyssal. How would he have learned abyssal anyway?
What is this game?:I will be running the Witchwar Legacy, a Paizo published adventure module for 17th level characters, with the twist that you will be part of an elite team of gestalt synthesist summoners gathered and formed specifically to take part in the events of the adventure. It will also be part optimization challenge as your characters will only be 12th level. I'm going for a super-hero team feel here. You were normal adventurers now suddenly given huge power and responsibility by immortal forces that you only partially understand.
Adventure Background: Half a millennium ago, the reign of Queen Tashanna of Irrisen drew near its end, and the time approached for her to abdicate her throne and abandon Irrisen—and even Golarion—for other worlds and dimensions. Tashanna, however, chose a different course. Rather than give up her throne and the kingdom she had so carefully nurtured for nearly a century, she sought to depose her own mother, Baba Yaga, and retain her rulership of Irrisen. After years of research, she was finally able to locate the Torc of Kostchtchie, an artifact containing the mortal soul of the Demon Lord of Giants and Cold. Knowing of Kostchtchie’s hatred for Baba Yaga, Tashanna used her possession of the torc to convince the demon lord to ally with her in a rebellion against Baba Yaga. This short but bloody rebellion became known as the Witchwar.
Unfortunately, Tashanna underestimated Baba Yaga’s personal power. The Old Crone had created both Kostchtchie and the torc, and possessed the means to undo them. Baba Yaga first faced Kostchtchie and savaged him with her magic, sending him fleeing to Iobaria to lick his wounds while her loyalists decimated his giant forces. The Queen of Witches then turned her attention to Tashanna and quickly defeated her rebel forces as well, capturing her daughter and ignobly parading her before her own defeated troops. Baba Yaga executed every one of Tashanna’s followers and created a huge magical necropolis wherein she interred Tashanna’s defeated army and purportedly the deposed witch queen herself, along with the magical torc that led to her downfall. Known as the Veil of Frozen Tears, this hidden necropolis, filled with traps of the Old Crone’s devising and foul guardian spirits, remained inviolate for 5 centuries—until now.
Now Queen Elvanna, Fourteenth Daughter of Baba Yaga, nears the end of her own reign over Irrisen and faces the uncertain future of her sister-queens who have gone before her. She hopes to hedge her bets with the possession of a powerful artifact, such as the Torc of Kostchtchie. To this end, she has discovered the location of the Veil of Frozen Tears and sent mercenaries to penetrate its wards in order to recover the torc for herself. But the dangers of the frozen necropolis are manifold, and none of her hirelings have yet returned from their quest. A side effect of their meddling, however, is that some of the necropolis’s wards have been breached. Kostchtchie is now aware of the location of the tomb and Elvanna’s efforts to reclaim his torc. Remembering well the humiliating and painful results of the last time someone possessed his torc, the demon lord has sent his own agents to bring it to him. These two factions are heading for a confrontation over the hidden necropolis, and woe to those who get in the middle.
Your In: Whatever your character would normally be doing gets interrupted by the following:
With a flash of bright white light a lithe and beautiful nude woman with skin the color of marble appears before you, hovering upon powerful white wings and radiating a sense of serenity. "Fear not mortal, I mean you no harm." she says in your native tongue. "My name is Mariah. I am an Archon of Iomedae, The Inheritor." Her voice is like beautiful music, pure and without fault. She carries a long thin gleaming silver trumpet that is covered in swirling, natural-looking patterns. "I am here because your deeds are known to us. My mistress bids me invite you to take part in mission of dire importance. Events have been set in motion that if not stopped, will lead to a terrible evil being unleashed on Golarion. We have prepared a gift for you that will make you stronger than you've ever been before, hopefully strong enough to avert disaster. My commander awaits us, with answers for your questions. Time is of the essence, will you come with me?" Her chest-length, midnight black curls wave gently in an unseen wind, as she extends one perfect hand out towards you, a look of urgency in her iridescent blue eyes.
Character Creation Rules:
Level: 12 Gestalt
Point Buy: 20
Races: Core+Featured
Alignment: Any non-evil (good characters strongly preferred)
Classes: You MUST gestalt with synthesist summoner at every level. Your other class(es) can be any combination of anything Paizo. No 3PP.
HP: Max at first, half+1 after that. Half+1 for all eidolon hit die. (ie. d8 gives you 5 (4+1))
Feats: No leadership
Traits: 2
Gold: 140,000 GP (No crafting other than consumables)
Firearms: Guns everywhere. Keep in mind that RAW, rapid reload does nothing for advanced firearms. That's how we'll be running it.
Create your character as a gestalt, however when writing your background treat it as if you didn't have your summoner levels. You will get them at the beginning of the game. Like getting super powers and becoming a super hero.
What I am looking for in a player:
People who can commit to post 1/day during the week (and hopefully on weekends) for potentially the next 6-9 months while we play through the adventure. I prefer experienced PBPers, but I will consider people new to PBP if they show that they can follow instructions. Good, interesting writing is essential. PBP is a slooooow medium for gaming, the only thing that makes it fun is taking the time to write well, and really RP your character. You should also have a working knowledge of Golarion, it's lore and history. Depending on interest, I will be taking five or six players. I will attempt to go for a balanced party (arcane, divine and trapfinding covered if at all possible). If during gameplay you fail to post regularly, your character will do nothing. If you disappear for a week+ with no explanation, expect to be removed from the game and replaced.
My GMing style:
I use Google Drive to put up maps for combat. I will roll initiative for everyone, then run combat in initiative blocks. The highest roller for the party and each type of monster will set that block's initiative count. Then player actions will occur in posting order. I will put the monster's essential stats in my profile, so you can resolve your own actions (AC, saves, CMD, AOOs etc.).
I try to follow the rules as written as closely as possible. If you make a mistake that I see, I will correct you. If I make a mistake, please correct me and point out a rules reference. I will gladly fix mistakes. As far as flavor text/fluff goes I usually follow the rule of cool. Tone wise, I go for gritty and mature. Killing monsters involves lots of blood and guts and mental trauma.
My other games for reference:
My Worldwound Sandbox game ~1700 posts, doesn't include previous threads that have been abandoned/consolidated.
What you need to apply:
You should create an alias for your character. It needs to have your complete mechanical crunch, a character background and a description of your character's appearance and personality. Bonus points for finding/drawing a reference picture. The more grounded your character is in Golarion the better, also remember that you're one of the more powerful people around. You should have a background that reflects your status as a higher level character.
I also want an in character writing sample that shows how your character reacts to the "Your In" paragraph above, and demonstrates your style a little.
Recruitment will stay open until Sunday July 14th, noon GMT+8 (that's midnight Saturday the 13th in EST). I will only leave recruitment open longer if there are not enough acceptable applications by that date.
Definitely interested - I will tentatively put together a NG Half-Elven Alchemist(Trap-breaker/Vivisectionist), a freedom-fighter, Fetchling sympathiser, and folk hero from Nidal.
Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. Will have something up soon.
EDIT: A few quick questions.
-All of us will be able to afford the Large evolution; is this campaign going to have significant indoor components, making that evolution impractical? By significant I mean can't be circumvented by a few 'Reduce Person' spells.
-If so, how do you feel about some sort of Ring of Reduce Person? Paying more to have it work through the Summoner's Share Spells ability (another GM priced it at 7000).
-One question I was never quite able to resolve- when gestalted and fused, do we get our Eidolon's BAB or do we add in a full-BAB class? I ask because the Monk's BAB and flurry is worded differently to a Synthesist's fused BAB.
Interesting, I think I may throw my hat in as well. I have a few character ideas floating around already... OH MAN now that I'm thinking about it I have several character's I'd love to play again!
Vega Surtova, pacifist traveling monk (Ki Mystic/Four Winds/Sacred Mountain) who used non-lethal attacks unless absolutely necessary, is a gardener by trade, and is heavily inspired by Ip Man. The pictures I used for him last time I played him were of Donny Yen playing Ip Man.
Nicholas (aka: Bots), a multiclassed Rogue Gunslinger and natural goofball, heavily inspired by Vash the Stampede (aka The Humanoid Typhoon) from Trigun, using pics of Vash himself for him last time I played him.
Attila, sexy Varisian Pilgrim/Gypsy Harrower (Cleric of Wicca/Fate/Moon + Harrower PrC), who focused on fortune telling with Harrow Cards (I own a deck, and had lots of fun mixing the mechanics with actual in game fortune telling for both flavorful and mechanical boons to future events) and is a naturally gifted dancer (often mixing exotic weapons with his dancing, bladed scarf, urumi, whip, etc). I used a variety of Johnny Depp pics for him.
... those are probably the three at the top of my list of existing characters I made that didn't get nearly enough play time and would like to bring back.
Arkwright - It's all indoor. However, the indoor is giant sized. Shouldn't be too much of an issue. As for BAB, you use whichever is better. So if you were a fighter 12/synthesist 12 your BAB would be 12. A wizard 12/synthesist 12 would have +9 while fused and a +6 while unfused. If you have multiple classes gestalted with synthesist you add them all up like a multiclass character would and then compare it to the synth and use whichever is better.
I'd hope (or at least, I'll be building my) characters to be effective without being synthed with their Eidolon. The premise of the adventure above (from what I've gathered) seems to be that you were originally just your non-summoner class until this event occurred, and then you were suddenly bestowed the gestalt. So it would make sense to be effective as non-synthed (otherwise, how did your character survive to get to level 12 in the first place).
Otherwise, everyone may as well dump all physical stats to 7 and use those points to up your mental stats, as they (physical stats) will never be used unless something prevents you from Synthing... and those things to exist)
It's up to you how much you invest in your non-synth half. I'm not going to penalize people who build their characters with the synth half in mind all along. They were selected specifically because they'd be good for this procedure. They may have been mediocre 12th level characters, but they would be excellent as gestalts. Someone like a spellcaster might just have a bad str or dex anyway. Basically, do what you want. This is a level 17 module, and I'm not going to hold back.
Everyone - One thing to note, the way I rule it, you use your character's Con score to determine your bonus HP to your class level hit dice, not your ediolon's. So it's a bad idea to dump Con. Str and dex however...-shrug- Depends on if you want to be a fish out of water if you loose your "suit". Also, you will have hero points, forgot to mention that. 3 unless you take feats for more.
Name: Enkidu Noneson, First Sword of Andoran
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Paladin
Alignment: LG
In Summary:
Captain America! Thought this could be fun. Planning to have Enkidu based firstly on Captain America, and secondly on this quite excellent quote- "Imagine the worst thing that's ever happened to you. Now imagine that it's not just happening to you, but to everyone you care about. That's kind of what evil feels like."
"Blaugh! That sounds unbearable! Why would ANYONE want to become a paladin?!"
"So others don't have to."
Backstory:
Enkidu's life and memory began as one of Cheliax's many slaves, servant to one of the lesser nobles. He was told by the family that his parents had abandoned him, a half-blood, and because of that he was worth less than dirt. Believing them, and being given constant back-breaking work, Enkidu entered the lowest part of his life- treated as less than nothing, a slave, and believing that was all he deserved. However, among the noble's other servants, a small family of halflings took pity on him. Quietly evading or pretending to misunderstand the nobles' instructions, the halflings protected Enkidu, gave him food and drink when the noble's whims dictated that he should starve, and told him stories of different lands, of different times. Partially in return, Enkidu stood up for the family when the other servants or street-urchins or thugs would pick on the family. And when the halfling family unearthed enough information to pay for rescue by the Bellflower Network, they took Enkidu with them.
The trip to safety, to Andoran, was grueling and the family and Enkidu often came within a gnat's wing of death, avoiding slavers and hellknights, robbers and wild animals. Near the end of the journey they happened upon a small abandoned barn where, inside, a man was being horribly tortured by men wearing Chelish colors. The halfling family, concerned for their children, hurried on. Enkidu grabbed a fence post and ran in, striking one of the men in the side. The man turned, laughed, and sliced at Enkidu with his blade, biting him deep in the side, sending Enkidu almost to the floor. As his companions continued torturing the screaming man, Enkidu's tormentor raised his blade. Begging for the strength to protect the stranger, Enkidu suddenly felt the raw aura of darkness and evil in his tormentor. Gripping his pole, he roared and drove it up under the man's chin, the faintest aura of white light surrounding it as it blasted into his brain. His friends turned, furious, and the tortured man suddenly went silent, grabbed a sword from the belt of one of his torturers and slew the rest before they could turn around.
Standing, the man scraped the blood and dirt of days of torture from his skin, lent against the table and asked if Enkidu was alright. The youth burst into tears, adrenaline vanishing from his system. Bending over, the man pressed his hand against Enkidu's side and healed his wounds with white light. After a few minutes of silence, the man revealed himself as a Paladin of Erastil. Giving Enkidu an small carving of Erastil's insignia, he thanked him and quietly left.
Eventually reaching safety in Andoran, Enkidu took the insignia and went to the nearest church of Erastil and begged to be taught to be a paladin. He was accepted, partially because of the insignia and partially because of his evident skills. Enkidu spent the next few years mastering the skills of battle and faith, serving with distinction in the various missions and battles the Paladins would be sent on. As time went by however, Thelion found himself believing less and less in Erastil- not out of any disrespect for his teachings, more out of a realization that all the good that came from Erastil, and the good that he was able to do, came from Andoran's promotion of freedom, and freedom of religion. Finally, after a great battle against a secret 'false flag' invasion of Andoran by Cheliax, Enkidu was brought before Codwin I to be thanked for his role. He was asked for any boon he might wish for. Falling to his knees, Enkidu asked to be allowed to swear fealty to Andoran, and to its people. Out of gratitude for the service of the young man, and partially out of a desire to cement his political power by recruiting such a strong and popular fellow, Codwin granted Enkidu his boon, and named him the First Sword of Andoran.
Enkidu has since served well in the military, defending Andoran.
Enkidu looks cool. I was thinking earlier someone could do an eagle-like eidolon with tons of talons and be a paladin. The smite would be wicked. I'd like to see a little more detail in the backstory though. Perhaps a few of his more important missions detailed. Were you thinking of using a shield as a weapon? Or just basing the personality off Captain America?
Does a bipedal Synthesist need the Weapon Training evolution to use weapons? Or (since they use the Summoner's feats) can they use whatever weapons they were proficient in?
They do not need the evolution, however they can take it to get proficiency in something instead of taking a feat. But you also get the proficiencies from any class you gestalt with as well. I.e a bipedal fighter/synthesist could wield a greatsword or longsword with no issues.
Eagle-like? So... take plenty of Legs evolutions and stick claws on each of them? Eh.
More important missions detailed? Hmm I'll see what I can do.
Just basing the personality off Captain America, planning for him to wield a big freakin' sword, though I'll see what I can dig up from the weapons list.
My idea is an Osiriani soldier, one of the top fighters at the Ruby Prince service. The non-synthesist part of the gestalt would be a 2-handed basic fighter.
I would like for his Synthesis to be strongly rooted in the Living Monolith Prestige Class (found in the Osirion campaign booklet). I considered taking the PrC with the fighter side of the gestalt but that seems very unefficient and you promised a tough challenge.
The idea is that even as he progressed as a very skilled Fighter, he never felt ready to be judged by the Sphinxes to become a Living Monolith. Finally he died in service of the Ruby Prince, and of course, given his skill, he was considered to be raised by the Prince to become part of the Risen Guard. But at the moment of resurrection, Mariah appeared to him in sphinx form and gifted him with the Synthesist powers.
This form should be either construct-like or sphinx-like, or most likely a mix of the two.
Big OM - Any synthesist can cast spells, you just need to be able to talk and gesticulate with something. Be is hoof, hand, tentacle wahtever.
Airon87 - We'll handle the gifting of the eidolon in game. But the concept seems fine. Write it up according to requirements.
Arkwright - Well, I was thinking quadruped, with maybe another two legs added on, flight (to whatever degree), large, pounce, bite II, claws x6, improved natural armor, etc.. The idea would be a fast flying pouncer, with max number of attacks. Using smite evil to get past DR and deal high burst damage. Normal damage would kind of blow against DR. It was just a thought, do whatever you want by all means :)
so, The Living Monolith main skill is that of becoming Large, through enlarge person spell-like ability.
If I pick the Large evolution for my eidolon, will I need to have two different sized weapons (or one size-changing weapon) for my merged and un-merged form, or will the weapon change size as I merge forms?
Since I suppose the weapon will not change size, is a size-changing weapon present in any manual?
If you have a large eidolon, you're going to want a large weapon. If you cast enlarge person, the weapon grows with you. If you've got a large eidolon with a large weapon and it gets dismissed, you can't wield that weapon.
Alright, depending on whether an application in another thread gets accepted I will either be applying as a tactician fighter (called shot and tactics specialist) or an unarmed fighter/rogue
You've got weapon use, primary attacks, and secondary attacks. I see:
Max Attacks wrote:
This indicates the maximum number of natural attacks that the eidolon is allowed to possess at the given level. If the eidolon is at its maximum, it cannot take evolutions that grant additional natural attacks. This does not include attacks made with weapons.
I see that I can buy evolutions that grant either Primary or Secondary attacks (and that with Multiattack I can reduce the attack penalty for 2ndary attacks from -5 to -2). I *don't* understand if there's a practical reason not to take 5 primary attacks. Do secondary ones compete for the same 5 slots?
Next, how do weapon attacks fit into the picture? Are there any ways that an Eidilon can get > 1/round (either at full attack bonus or at -5)? As a gestalt character, do I get my other class's attacks as well (or instead)?
One more (Inquisitor-specific) question. I see
Bane wrote:
an inquisitor can imbue one of her weapons with the bane weapon special ability as a swift action.
I'm clear that this only effects one weapon at a given time. Can it be put on a natural weapon (e.g. one of my Eidilon's claws)? Or only a manufactured one?
I'm working on my Dwarven Inquisitor (Witch Hunter)/Summoner (Synthesist). I imagine him taking down evil and chaotic magical menaces in the service of Angradd...until he gets "the call". I see in the intro that the call comes from an Archon of Iomedae. Does it make sense that Iomedae would be tapping an Inquisitor of Angradd's? Would it be better to make him a servant of Torag? Or Iomedae herself? (In general, I'm happy to collaboratively develop a character who'll be an interesting fit in the setting.)
@gyrfalcon
Many primary and secondary attacks compete for slots- pincers override claws for example. And primary attacks tend to be more expensive (2 points for Gore). By all means try and stack up on primary attacks, it's just you'll probably end up spending points on extra arms of legs to stick those attacks on.
Weapon attacks! I'm well familiar with these. Basically you can take a full-attack action where you make all your weapon attacks at full BAB and then you make all your natural attacks, except that all those natural attacks become secondary attacks. Note that you can't make an attack with limbs which are wielding the weapon- IE you can't stick claws on hands holding a longsword and try to attack with both in the same round.
My understanding was that natural weapons counted as light weapons so... maybe? Maybe you could Bane a single natural weapon?
@Monkeygod- You'll need arms to wield your weapon. If you just want to attack with natural attacks there shouldn't be any issue with having your weapon fused to your side.
Note that you'll need arms or some equivalent to satisfy the somatic requirements of summoner spells.
Has anyone else made any headway with their character? I'd like to look at one to see if I'm doing this right. Some of these numbers are getting pretty absurd. Granted this is my first high level synthesist, much less synthesist gestalt.
Monkeygod - Yes. ALLLLLLL Paizo. I stated several times the more grounded your character is in Golarion the better. You need arms to wield weapons in eidolon form, but not to cast spells. A paw can gesture as well as a hand. However, if you don't have fingers you can't manipulate components, so no spells with material components while fused.
Gavmania - Yeah, sure. Are you asking to use age modifiers to ability scores? That I will have to consider on a case by case.
Gyrfalcon - Primary and natural attacks both count as one "attack" for purposes of the limit on the eidolon chart, unless they say otherwise. Rake for example gives you two attacks for one slot. If you make manufactured weapon attacks in a round, you take all your iteratives based off BAB like normal, and then can tack on any naturals at -5 penalty with only half your str bonus to damage (as if they were secondary naturals). Arkwright is correct that you also need the limb/appendage free. Bane can be applied to any one of your weapons, natural or otherwise. This means if you have claws and you put your bane on them, one claw gets bane, not all of them.
Fluff wise, it's Iomedae because she's Kostichie's enemy. If your character wouldn't answer a call from an archon of Iomedae then obviously they aren't a fit for this game.
Question with regard to the Dimensional Assault feat. The dimension charge is based partially on your base speed; must this strictly be your land speed, or can you base it on your fly speed?
Ptolmaeus - Yeah, your numbers will be really high. Especially AC.
Everyone - Once your alias is finished post with it once saying its ready and I'll begin a list of applicants and review each one for mistakes. If you don't have everything I asked for in the original post I will ignore it until you do.
