Heading for a job interview (nothing special, just cash register stuff). I'll post the update when I get back.
Sounds good.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yes. It had actually never occurred to me to read it any other way. DC 20 (passive) to notice the presence or absence of invisible creatures, vs Stealth modified by Invisibility to pinpoint.
In my games I make both checks modified by Stealth, though still passive to notice presence.
Boosts stealth, without the tediousness of KCs change IMO.
As we're just about at the end of the dungeon, I'm giving this house rule another look.
Active check (pinpointing) is DC = Stealth check. This part is unchanged from the basic rule.
Passive check is DC = Stealth check -20 (meaning without the invisibility bonus). This made more sense to me initially. That said, I'm starting to see the same hole Eben did, and I'm starting to regard this as a messy house rule.
What's a bit funny is that, in this adventure, the house rule has been tested twice—and both times gone against the party. Invisible Stalkers have good stealth bonuses, so not having to use the flat DC 20 works out great for them (it would also work quite well for Farrukh or Jelani's upcoming eidolon). But for Eben, a flat DC 20 would actually be preferable.
Like I said, it's getting messy. The invisibility rules have always thrown me for a loop, and the house rule I felt would even things out is just turning inconsistent. I prefer there not being a flat DC 20 for all passive checks (maybe using Eben's interpretation, which was actually my own until maybe half a year ago). And I still favor the "automatic passive check against adjacent foes" rule. But the rest was clearly just impractical.
I'm alright with simplifying the house rule and just using the flat Stealth check for both. Some house rules work out, some don't. Thank you all for your patience, and my apologies to Rynjin, who saw this coming and whose warnings went unheeded. :P
So, as a follow-up, here's how we'll be handling it:
If an invisible creature is attempting to conceal itself, the DC to realize it is there is its Stealth check, including invisibility bonuses. Otherwise, the DC is 20. We're not gonna get into what would happen if a creature with a penalty to Stealth is invisible, because I'm sure that will never come up.
It is the same DC to pinpoint as it is to notice. You do, however, get an automatic check to pinpoint as an Immediate Action if an invisible creature moves while adjacent to you. It's one check per five feet moved, for the record.
Sound good? This seemed to be what people preferred, and it seems to work out more simply.
As Tanith has both mediocre perception and zero stealth, I’ve been avoiding this topic.
Should I start paying attention?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
No, don't bother. You won't notice anything anyways.
Oh, also, when are you guys looking to do the funeral? I think we can assume Astraden's been casting gentle repose on Cuetzpalli's body during the week, and the funeral can be handled the day/night before departure. Might want to do some sort of service for Godfather at the same time, too.
That's a good idea. How about the night before we're planning to set out again?
That'll work fine for me.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
And that's what Farrukh's 7 CHA gets him...
Hey, Farrukh is decidedly...average looking. He's just not god with people. Or animals. And he can't dance, sing, and has no other talents beides murdering things and getting into places he shouldn't.
But he looks like a plain old guy!
In fairness, Jharan is a little bit insane. He has his own set of standards.
And this was going to happen to whoever got cocky with their Knowledge (local) check. I figured it'd be Eben or Rodrigo, but hey, you're adventurers—it pretty much came down to whoever posted first.
My eyes are literally watering with laughter.
Hey, he didn't say Farrukh's ugly, just that he's unpleasant to look at. From Farrukh's bio:
He's not particularly pleasant to look at,
Time to eat your own words! (Take comfort in knowing you could smash him into a wet splotch resembling his own painting palate with one swing of your shield...)
I was wondering if anyone would notice that. While looking for ways for Jharan to respond, I checked Farrukh's profile for tips. What I came out with was, "tall, Kethite, not particularly pleasant to look at". Well, everyone in this party is tall, that's racist, and so we'll go with #3.
There's always a risk when your only method of interacting with others is: murderfy.
Eh, it's what I expect when I make a low Cha dude without any of the usual social skills (Frex I have a low Cha, middling Int Barbarian with Bruising Intellect, so he gets to be the razor wit).
I was wondering if anyone would notice that. While looking for ways for Jharan to respond, I checked Farrukh's profile for tips. What I came out with was, "tall, Kethite, not particularly pleasant to look at". Well, everyone in this party is tall, that's racist, and so we'll go with #3.
Carina's not. She's 5'1''.
I'd consider purchasing at least an AC booster. AC 20 is likely to be less than 50/50 hit starting in this next part.
For 3k you can up that by 2 for some +1 armor and an Amulet of Natural Armor.
The funeral is the night before we're headed back into the sewers, right? If I had some stuff I wanted Eben to be doing all week (aside from his new modeling side gig...), can i post it in as a retcon? (I thought I'd have him do some street performances/maybe entertain at the Crooked House at night & make some Perform checks for spare change.)
Sure, go ahead. The taproom of the Crooked House is often busy late into the night, and things can sometimes get rather lively, especially when a local bard or street performer stops by to entertain the guests (there's a small stage for anyone who wishes to try it out). Tarquin does not take a cut of the earnings made by any of his performers, and instead offers them free drinks so long as their performances draw more business.
In case it's not clear, Cuetzpalli's service is basically up to you guys.
I'm about to write a few words for the service.
Shall we assume mister insane wizard explains the workings of wayfinders? What ioun stones does he have for sale? If he's got them Tanith's going to buy like ten of the cheapest ones he can get.
Why is Tanith going to buy ten of the cheapest ones he can get? What is the in-character reason for "I want to use resonance, but the rules on randomization are inconvenient for this exact build"?
To gamble with resonance effects!
Okay, speaking just to my own opinion, I think this is pretty damn cheesy and silly. And besides that, I don't really get why you want immunity to charm and domination in the first place when Tanith is tied with Astraden for the best Will save of the group. But there's nothing wrong with cheesy, and none of that is exactly a reason to exert GM influence and say "no", so:
Ph'rexis has a number of ioun stones lying in various locations throughout the house. You can buy up to fifteen (that's how many he has) of any types costing 6,000 gp or less. He has up to five of any one type. Up to two can be cracked or flawed, though he doesn't know what effects those might have on wayfinders.
You know how I feel about abusive optimization. I'm not trying for any sort of cheese (or at least no specific cheese) and I'm not aiming for the immunity to mind control necessarily. I just like the idea of rolling a bunch of dice and hoping for something cool. Rolling on a big chart is fun (though I'm still not a fan of reincarnation).
If this makes your DM-sense tingle I'll drop the whole thing.
Alright, well, like I said, go nuts. Just don't try any shenanigans with dull gray stones and we're good.
I was leaning toward the 200g cracked +1 to a skill stones. Ten would cost 2k and I figure Tanith can always hand the non-resonant ones off to the party as presents.
You can buy up to fifteen (that's how many he has) of any types costing 6,000 gp or less. He has up to five of any one type. Up to two can be cracked or flawed, though he doesn't know what effects those might have on wayfinders.
Tanith can, of course, choose to buy the other five elsewhere. It's all adjudicated the same, just a minor matter of realism—Ph'rexis doesn't run a professional joint and doesn't always have what people need.
They're split up by stat. Incandescent Blue Sphere is for a wisdom skill, Pale Blue Rhomboid is for a strength skill, etc so I'd be getting two of five different types but I just noticed your cracked limit. All the cheap ones are cracked or flawed. Just like in real life.
Sorry, that was poorly written out. Up to two of any one type can be cracked or flawed (he generally avoids such mishaps in his craftsmanship, but over the years a growing pile has formed). He uses the damaged ones for marbles, or to see how many he can fit around his head at once.
So he should have lots you can't play marbles with two marbles.
Can Tanith find additional damaged ioun stones elsewhere? Possibly with some sort of information gathering check...
Two of any one type. Meaning he doesn't have ten flawed ioun stones of the same type, but he might have two of one type, two of another, etc.
Also:
Tanith can, of course, choose to buy the other five elsewhere. It's all adjudicated the same, just a minor matter of realism—Ph'rexis doesn't run a professional joint and doesn't always have what people need.
Reading hard.
Also, I'm about to sit down to see Kingsmen.
Let me know what you think of the ending. I hear it's very distinctive.
The ending was... colorful.
XD
Let me know when you're all ready to move on. Everyone's putting together some really touching posts here, so I don't want to interrupt until we're set. Nicely done.
Tanith's got to finish up his shopping but I'm otherwise good to go.
Yeah, the middle of a sentimental funeral seemed a poor time to suddenly start rolling Perform checks. (Although, for the record, if/when Eben dies and can't/won't be raised? PERFORMANCES AT HIS FUNERAL. And elephants.)
I'll do all that once the mood is a little lighter.
Man I just realized something.
This campaign might be the one of the only times a PC could conceivably qualify for the Pain Taster PrC.
If Farrukh dies, can I be a Drow torture victim? Or hell, if he gets captured I wouldn't mind too much retraining for it. I think an experience like that is quite traumatic enough for a severe personality change.
It'd have to be something that happens as we play though, not asking you to specifically plan for Farrukh to get nabbed by Drow . But if the AP calls for it, it could be rad as hell.
That's assuming Farrukh dies at all. Or gets captured by Drow.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So watching Tanith unload his wallet on ioun stones so he can slot them in his wayfinder and see what they do, it occurred to me...
We have now successfully replicated in a RPG the feeling of buying a new booster pack for a CCG.
This campaign might be the one of the only times a PC could conceivably qualify for the Pain Taster PrC.
Out of curiosity, why is that?
The Pain Tester seems okay to me.
This campaign might be the one of the only times a PC could conceivably qualify for the Pain Taster PrC.Out of curiosity, why is that?
The Pain Tester seems okay to me.
The final prerequisite:
"Special: To become a pain taster, a special ritual is performed that involves extensive torture and conditioning of the mind. The priestesses of the drow excel at this sort of activity. The agony is so intense that the recipient must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or die in the process. Alternatively, the recipient can choose to forgo the Fortitude save and instead make a DC 20 Will save in the ultimate exercise of mind over body. Once again, failure results in death, but, if successful, the recipient receives a permanent 1 point increase to his Constitution, having discovered new depths of willpower in himself."
That's assuming Farrukh dies at all. Or gets captured by Drow.
Given the rate of survival for this group, better to hedge my bets. =)
Besides, I like having fun back-up concepts. And I've been in love with this PrC for years. It's not really that great (though it's not bad, either) but the imagery of whipping myself and loving the pain and then whacking some other guy to "share the love" as it were...seems cool.
"Special: To become a pain taster, a special ritual is performed that involves extensive torture and conditioning of the mind. The priestesses of the drow excel at this sort of activity. The agony is so intense that the recipient must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or die in the process. Alternatively, the recipient can choose to forgo the Fortitude save and instead make a DC 20 Will save in the ultimate exercise of mind over body. Once again, failure results in death, but, if successful, the recipient receives a permanent 1 point increase to his Constitution, having discovered new depths of willpower in himself."
Yeah, I saw that. Are you saying this because you're now facing drow? Or because bad things happen to people a lot in this AP? :P
So, Tanith, you want to take the Fleet ioun stone and I'll take the poison-save one?
"Special: To become a pain taster, a special ritual is performed that involves extensive torture and conditioning of the mind. The priestesses of the drow excel at this sort of activity. The agony is so intense that the recipient must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or die in the process. Alternatively, the recipient can choose to forgo the Fortitude save and instead make a DC 20 Will save in the ultimate exercise of mind over body. Once again, failure results in death, but, if successful, the recipient receives a permanent 1 point increase to his Constitution, having discovered new depths of willpower in himself."Yeah, I saw that. Are you saying this because you're now facing drow? Or because bad things happen to people a lot in this AP? :P
Little of both. Neither are particularly common in games.
I can testify to drow not being common in games (despite them being one of my favorite races for villains/PCs/in general). But bad things not happening a lot to people? I don't think that's entirely accurate...