Congrats, everybody! I'm excited to begin.
Hello people
Looks like we have a really mixed group, all kinds of extremes between just Cuddles and Leandric alone.
Ahoy! Thanks for choosing Katya. I am just taking the kids to their swimming lessons but will be back in a while with more, and to introduce myself properly. : )
So, what does everyone do? I hug things. And look for Lucy. And generally completely lock down the biggest target on the field.
I smash things with hammers...and preach...usually in that order ;)
Cander is rather green, but can attack from almost any range. He'll be especially good at long-range attacks once he hits level 6, which will allow him to use flurry of blows with a Longbow. (Flurry of Bow for short) He's mostly looking to establish himself and bring honor to his family name.
I am looking forward to this. I do enjoy the diversity and depth of characters that we have coming in.
It's like experimental cooking. Either this is going to be an amazing new recipe, or we are all going to die horrible horrible deaths. Should be fun to watch either way.
It should be lots of fun indeed. : )
Katya is designed to be a trip and disarm fighter, although it will be a few levels until she has all her feats sorted out. She will, of course, run into some serious problems with opponents that are bigger than her or that have natural weapons, but them's the breaks! If anyone can reliably cast true strike that will be a bonus for disarm attempts.
She is also inquisitive and intelligent, so that should serve her well in terms of getting to the bottom of mysteries. In other words, she's not your typical big dumb fighter.
She is not a big damage dealer, but she is going to be useful against humanoid foes and if she can get some decent enchanted armour she may even have a pretty high AC.
I also intend to invest points in some Knowledge skills along the way, and also might head into the Student of War prestige class.
Now, back to the gardening for me. Should be able to get back online this evening (in around six hours from now). I'll set up Katya's alias then, and introduce myself properly too. : )
I'll update my alias when I get home, but Anton will be your archetypal buffer and controller wizard. I'm seeing potential overlap with Leandric, but I'm significantly squishier. Wizard with a CON penalty is a bit ouch.
Ronza! I'm in SO MANY games with you now! What, 4? Are you stalking me?
Leandric specialises in Transmutation and Conjuration, quite like Anton. He'll change at later points though as he'll prefer permament adjustments to temporary ones and you'll see him using Wall of Stone and similar spells quite a bit, probably in unorthodox ways as well. He'll also have his weird moments as I intend for him to play with the Sacred Geometry feat (not sure if I'll also grab Calculating Mind as I have no idea if I'll need it[/url]. It adds randomness to the character but the fluff fits him fantastically.
Out of combat he is an architect and engineer by trade and knows a lot about construction. He also has a keen eye for the value of things (think he's the first character I ever made that has appraise trained). He is an intellectual and he might have some issues adjusting to people like Cuddles. Also, don't be surprised if you see lots of hexagons in his designs.
I also just realised I haven't added all his starting 1st level spells to his spellbook, so I'll get to that.
Howdy folks. : )
I thought I'd take the time to introduce myself before I get onto Katya's alias and the Gameplay thread.
My name is Mike, and I'm from Melbourne in Australia. I'm in my thirties, work in an office by day, and have two very small kids. So weekend posting is pretty rare for me, unless it's really short.
Most of the time I post in my early morning hours, which for GM Angel would be between 2-6pm (presuming you're observing daylight saving where you are, and I recall correctly that you're in the central US time zone). I tend to post in the discussion thread of games as my normal avatar (cynarion); I hope that doesn't confuse anyone, and if you want me to change, let me know.
Because I'm Australian I spell things differently, so you'll see me writing words like 'armour' and 'colour' and 'aluminium'. Although if we find any aluminium in the Greenbelt I would be very surprised.
My favourite part of roleplaying is character growth, so you can expect Katya to take ample opportunity to sit down and have a heart-to-heart when it's appropriate. Because of the way Katya's constructed, as well, I'm interested in seeing her pursuing a romantic subplot. Whether that's with another PC or an NPC, I don't mind.
Katya also has a bit of a secret that you as players should know about--she's in the Greenbelt because she can't stand to be in New Stetven any longer after she killed her childhood friend a few months ago, on the Night of the Pale in 4709. If any of your characters have links to New Stetven and want to join in Katya's backstory, I'm more than happy for you and I to work out how your PC was related to or knew Alexei (the dead guy) and whether that might have a bearing on their relationship as the party maps the Stolen Lands.
Also, forgive me Katya's avatar. She does wear more clothing than that, but this was the best I could find. Bikini armour is definitely not high on her list of things to own. ; )
See you in the gameplay thread!
--Mike
Okay... some definite overlap in planned character progression as well, then. Hmm. How can I try to make my character distinct?
Cuddles, are you getting sick of me? =[ ;-)
Hi, Mike! I'm an Aussie as well! My name's Ronnie, and I live in Adelaide. I'm a 23 year-old lass with a pommie dad, a cavalier king charles spaniel called Ruby, and also spell things the correct way. ;-)
I tend to post during the day most of the week, from 8 am to around 10-11 pm, spare Wednesdays and Thursdays, when I can ony post at nights due to work. I do semi-regular PFS, and actually run this very AP for my home group on Tuesdays. So while I know plenty, I'll make sure that my character stays pretty in the dark about it.
I also love character development. I see Anton going in two different directions - either overcoming the weaknesses of his physical form, or accepting them and focusing his mind to greater acts instead. Also, I'm calling it now: he's the most likely of us to die!
Double Aussies, that a first for me. Dare I say Aussome?
I myself am Dutch and as for spelling you'll see me using both US and UK/Aussie spelling depending on the word and my mood.
As for our characters Anton, I think it would benefit both of us if we figured out a way to make our character's distinct mechanics wise (they already are when it comes to personality I think) and turn our overlap into a roleplaying tool, either because they become (friendly) rivals, admirers of each other's work or bits of both.
If anything I see Leandric toying with the very fabrics of magic (within the GM allotted area) which could annoy or frustrate Anton.
So I've been checking on everyone's skills.
Here's what we cover reasonably well:
- Appraise; Anton and Leandric are both +8
- Diplomacy: Katya has +4
- Knowledge (arcana); Anton and Leandric both +8
- Knowledge (engineering); Leandric has +11
- Knowledge (geography); Katya +6
- Knowledge (history); Anton +8
- Knowledge (local); Anton +8, Katya +9
- Knowledge (nobility); Anton and Leandric +8, Katya +6
- Knowledge (religion); Cander +4
- Linguistics: Anton +8, Katya +6
- Perception: Cander +5, Katya +5 (but +3 due to her trait)
- Sense Motive: Cander +5
- Spellcraft: Anton and Leandric both +8
- Survival: Harsk +6
- UMD: Leandric +8
Now the bad news.
- We're all pretty average at Bluff and Heal.
- Katya and Harsk both have Diplomacy as a class skill, but Leandric is the only one in the whole party with a positive Charisma modifier.
- Nobody has any ranks in Disable Device, and nobody has it as a class skill.
- None of us have any ranks in Handle Animal, which might be problematic if we ever have to deal with irate animals. At least Katya, Harsk, and Cander all have it as a class skill.
- Nobody has ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering) or (nature). Katya plans to take a rank in (nature) next level, so that will help. We also don't have any ranks in Knowledge (planes), but I suspect that won't be a problem for a while. I hope!
- Only Cander is any good at Stealth. We may want to consider how we'd handle that; forced quiet might be useful later, when it has a decent duration.
- We only have one decent Survival score, and that's only +6.
- We don't really have a great chance of swimming across any significant bodies of water that block our way.
In general, we're not a terribly sociable bunch. Perhaps all the bards, sorcerers, oracles etc. were home with the flu. ; )
Anyhow, my intent is not to prompt changes to characters or anything, but to highlight our strengths and weaknesses so we can plan accordingly. : )
Now I'd better get some sleep. Nearly 2am. : s
--Mike
Cuddles plans on getting a rank in swim and climb before going into perception and such. Becuase of his Int score he'll never be very useful on the skills front, but I'll be diversifying a lot to at least get small bonuses to many skills.
Str checks, however, I have in the bag. :)
Both Knowledge: Nature and Knowledge: Planes are planned skills for Leandric. Similarly I'll probably be dropping some ranks in linguistics at some point to get more languages. The Knowledge: Nobility is part of his upbringing so that will hardly get any more ranks out in the wild.
Disable Device isn't needed, locks can be broken and summoned ponies can trigger traps :P
Besides, we always have Leadership (or Squire for Katya)
I actually purchased 2 more things for my gear set: A shaving kit (needed with such a moustache) and a journal
EDIT: And how do you get those bullet points?
Sorry foljs on the road will post later on, fine I'm last being a slow dwarf
We currently cannot access the map, GM :)
When you share it, ther should be an option for choosing who as access. By default, it's set to only you. You can change it to anyone with the link. In a separate, lower drop down menu, you can set it to "anyone can view", "anyone can comment", or "anyone can edit". Which you choose depends on your preferences.
Will be able to post in gameplay in a few hours. Currently at work but will be out at 5:00PM EST.
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No worries everyone, I figured that it might take a bit, thats why I set up the weekend to get everyone going.
Just to give you all an idea: weekdays I work from 8 to 5 CST. There are times I am more readily available than others, so I can post during the day. But there will be days I disappear until the evening. Weekends, I'm crazy. I have a PFS game I am going to GM in a couple of hours, so I will be out for a bit, but back later.
The map is viewable now. If you want to, you can set to where everyone can edit. This enables us to place ourselves, but it's necessary.
There is no real "right", just the level of control you're comfortable giving us. [/zen moment]
Hey folks, I'm looking after the kids by myself today, so don't expect many posts from me.
To get bullet points, type [ list ] (without the spaces) then for each bullet type [ * ], then when you're done type [ /list ]. (All without the spaces.) Hope that helps!
Leandric, how would you suggest making our characters mechanically distinct? There isn't much room for customization with two full-arcane INT-based casters.
Also, I've already called out my character as "most likely to die horribly", so I'd be happy to make someone more charisma-based if that happens.
Also? Having more Aussies is always a definite plus. We be crazy peoples. ;-)
Crazy is good. : )
You could always look at being different through spell selection. Transmutation is a big field, with a significant variety of spells. Anton, being frail, might be keen on exploring body-altering magic, while Leandric could go into reality-altering magic. At, for example, third level, that might be the difference between e.g. burrow and countless eyes for Anton and versatile weapon and hostile levitation for Leandric.
Alternatively, you could split between buffing allies and affecting enemies.
An arcanist is also slightly different from a wizard in that the arcanist has exploits, and has a slightly slower spell progression. And with the spell disruption, spell tinkerer, and counterspell exploits, the arcanist can become an excellent defensive caster to nullify opposing spells.
I don't think you need to worry too much about having similar ability scores, or the fact that your both arcane casters with the same specialisation. There are plenty of ways to differentiate the characters. : )
I agree with Cynarion. Our biggest overlap will be during the first few levels, after that we will differentiate quite a bit more. The spell example is a good one (except that Leandric might also go Burrow as he has a thing with earth and stone).
Leandric is also less restricted with his spells than Anton is, so I'll try to pick up Necromancy and Enchantment a bit. The Necromancy will just be things like Magic Jar though, rest is way out of flavor while the Enchantment would become more prominent if Leandric ends up Treasurer.
What is a boon of two prepared casters though is that, if the characters trust each other enough, they could copy from each other's spellbook, increasing both our options. Now I must admit that in the long term that will benefit Leandric more, especially once he has the Quick Study exploit, but both of us will be better as a result.
EDIT: And yeah, being the only one with a positive Cha modifier would make Leandric destined to be Ruler while I'm not sure he'd be in to that.
If you're taking quick study, then the one small advantage my character has will be gone. =[ (This seems to be a pretty common thing for me, actually...)
It's something planned for later, yes.
Just to clarify, I do not intend to make you obsolete in any way.
While my initial idea for spelle selection was something like 35% Conjuration, 35% Transmutation, 20% Illusion, 5% Abjuration 5% Everything else I can shift it a bit from Transmutation if that helps you. Like Cynarion said Leandric will focus on permanent and instantaneous stuff, so Transmute This to That, Stone Shape, Obsidian Flow, that kind of stuff. Buffs will be all yours.
EDIT: Well, with the exception of Flight, that's too good to pass on.
EDIT2: On the Quick Study: The fact that it can mechanically do something doesn't mean the character will. Buffing, beyond the occasional Fox's Cunning on himself when he struggles with a devious problem, is just not Leandric's thing.
I have no doubt it isn't intentional. It just seems to be a common theme among my characters - I make a character, and everything that character does is done better by someone else in the group. I figured it was because I work around a quirky concept and make sub-optimal choices, but other than the con penalty (girl's gotta have some quirks), this was my first attempt at a truly optimised character. It's funny, in a really sad way.
EDIT: It's late, and I've had a rough few days. I probably shouldn't even be thinking about this, because I'm sure I'm blowing it out of proportion. But right now, through the filter of "oh my god everything sucks right now", it really is hard to feel like my character isn't obsolete.
If Leandric doesn't want to be Ruler, then either we can draft someone else (long live Queen Svetlana?) or we could use one of our party with a Charisma-boosting headband. Anton, Harsk, and Katya would all be mechanically suitable. Although it would be hilarious if we elected Cuddles to the position; I can just see that our first festival would be LUCY COME HOME DAY: FREE HUGS! ; )
Alternatively, there's probably story in Leandric getting drafted into the position anyway--a sort-of forced-into-exile minor noble rising to become the Baron/Duke/King of another land. Then what will his former peers think? And what would Leandric do with that kind of power/position? Will it be the making or the breaking of the man he wanted to become?
So many opportunities for fun in storytelling in this AP. : )
And, of course, the best thing about being the ruler of a pretend kingdom that we all collectively make up is that it doesn't mean that Leandric (or whoever) automatically gets to make all the decisions. Being ruler is just a title, it doesn't confer any specific in-game benefit to the PC or the player.
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In any case as far as the Anton/Leandric thing goes, I think we're going to find out best how the two of them work together while being different through play and interaction. As a party we don't even know each other yet; let's figure that out first and then play it by ear. : )
I for one firmly believe that a character doesn't need a mechanical differentiator to be valuable to the party. In a group of six with no massive damage-dealer (at least until Cander gets his archery feats lined up), having two arcane casters with all their flexibility is going to be a great help.
For starters Leandric would very much be "hands on" ruler, working with the people and for the people. He'd probably try to steer the nation to become a centre of learning and invention.
Do note that the nation will initially have the alignment of the Ruler, LG in my case.
As for the Anton/Leandric thing, I agree that figuring out though play would be the best but I also think it's good to keep an eye on it.
Although it would be hilarious if we elected Cuddles to the position; I can just see that our first festival would be LUCY COME HOME DAY: FREE HUGS!
This is actually a fantastic idea. Well, until the surrounding lands hear about the newly established Orc king and come running with pitchfork and torch in hand. :P
So much good.stuff. As a note to earlier convos Harsk was originally skinned inquisitor and i may still dip depending on final warpriest stats in acg i see strong overlap potential.
As for overlapping characters i think personality trumps mechanics. As has been noted the mwchanical choices can diverge for many reasons and th AP rewards diversity. Magic is a big playground AND if DM allows one could always train into another school lots of places to go i honestly.think.itll be nothing but golden.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Speaking of Harsk, he appears to be built at the moment on a 15 point buy. You have a few extra attribute points to spend!
The ACG is out now (I have my subscription pdf, anyway). For Harsk, the changes I can see on a quick scan are:
ARTIFICE BLESSING
Minor: Changed from +4 damage bonus to bypassing hardness and damage reduction.
Major: no change.
GOOD BLESSING
Minor: Weapon is now also treated as good for overcoming damage reduction.
Major: no change.
Otherwise the rest remains as in the revised playtest--although, as I said, that's on a quick scan. I might have missed something.
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As for our eventual kingdom/nation, you know how the Inner Sea World Guide has little taglines for each nation, like Andoran is 'Birthplace of Freedom' and Brevoy is 'Struggle between feuding Noble Houses'? I imagine our little corner of Golarion to be 'Land of free Hugs'. ; )
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So much good.stuff. As a note to earlier convos Harsk was originally skinned inquisitor and i may still dip depending on final warpriest stats in acg i see strong overlap potential.
As for overlapping characters i think personality trumps mechanics. As has been noted the mwchanical choices can diverge for many reasons and th AP rewards diversity. Magic is a big playground AND if DM allows one could always train into another school lots of places to go i honestly.think.itll be nothing but golden.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Oh Absolutely. If you guys want to retrain, or want to refocus I do not mind at all. For Leandric and Harsk, when ACG hits thursday, I will be getting it myself as I have a lot of arcanists that I will need to rebuild myself. So we can look it over and discuss how we want to progress forward with them at that point.
I won't actually see it immediately as I'll be off starting next Thursday and be back on Monday.
That and I need to find a credit card to actually buy the book.
I'll be looking at feats for grappling, but won't leave Tetori. They just get too many sweet features at later levels. (But I guess I should read Brawler before I really say that).
For Leandric, Potent Magic has not changed. Can't see anything else that has changed (in terms of the choices you've already made).
There are archetypes, behind spoilers in case you don't want to know.
- Champion of the Faith: choose an alignment (e.g. 'good' or 'law') that matches your deity. Sacred weapon is modified to count the weapon as the chosen alignment from 4th level, and from 12th can make the weapon e.g. holy. Can use detect <opposite alignment to the one chosen> as a paladin from 3rd level. Gains paladin's smite from 4th level.
- Cult Leader: big changes; class skills, skill ranks, weapon & armour proficiencies. Gains a rogue's sneak attack and can cast enthrall using fervor. Gains hide in plain sight from 12th level. Pretty much a sneaky, religious rogue-like character.
- Disenchanter: changes bonus feat list. Channel energy replaced with abjuration channelling that allows allies a saving throw bonus vs. spells. Can use fervor to cast dispel magic.
- Divine Commander: gains cavalier's mount, tactician abilities. Mount eventually becomes blessed like a paladin's. At 15th level, gains an ability to inspire an army with fervor.
- Forgepriest: select only one blessing, but gain a bunch of spells (e.g. shield, keen edge, fabricate) to spell list. Add half level to Craft checks to make metal items and weapons and armour. Item creation feats can be bonus feats. Craft Magic Arms and Armor is gained automatically at 3rd level (replacing that level's bonus feat). Gains extra bonuses for sacred weapon on weapons created by the Forgepriest. Gains fire resistance.
- Sacred Fist: gains lots of monk features and class skills. Gains a ki pool. Gains evasion and improved evasion--but with Fort saves instead of Reflex saves.
- Blade Adept: adds the magus black blade as a bonded weapon. Adds a few relevant exploits.
- Blood Arcanist: get a full sorcerer bloodline.
- Brown-Fur Transmuter: ability-boosting transmutation spells (e.g. fox's cunning and even enlarge person are even further boosted by +2; can turn personal spells into touch spells that work on willing targets; capstone changes the boost to +4 and changes touch range to 30ft. range.
- Eldritch Font: gets one extra spell slot per spell level but one fewer spell per level to prepare. Gains the eldritch surge ability, which allows the arcanist to boost spell DCs, increase effective caster level, or force saving throw rerolls in exchange for becoming fatigued afterwards. No magic or ability can remove the fatigue, only rest.
- Elemental Master: choose an element, get an extra slot of that element (like a domain slot or wizard favoured school slot). Opposing element spells take up two slots. Get the appropriate elemental exploit at 3rd level (e.g. acid jet for Leandric). Improve the damage and range on that attack later on. Then at 15th level gain a relevant form of movement (fire increases base by 30 ft).
- Occultist: focused on summoning; adds planar ally and plane shift spells to the arcanist spell list. Gains more-or-less the summoner's ability to cast [i]summon monster spells using arcane reservoir points; the summoned creature stays for a minute. Capstone allows summoning for free (no arcane reservoir points required) and summoned monster stays until dismissed.
- School Savant: gain the wizard's favoured school and opposition school class feature.
- Spell Specialist: choose signature spells--one per spell level. You don't need to prepare them, they have higher DCs, you get bonuses to concentration checks to cast them, and you can apply effects to those particular spells by spending arcane reservoir points (e.g. add a 90-degree bend to a line spell).
- Unlettered Arcanist: gain a witch's familiar and spell list in place of a spellbook and arcanist spell list.
- White Mage: use arcane reservoir points to spontaneously cast cure/inflict spells as a cleric. Adds an exploit available from 11th level that grants allies within 30ft. fast healing.
For Cuddles, there is a chain of style feats that remove one-handed grappling penalties and allow retention of Dex bonuses to AC when pinning, then allow you to move further when repositioning grappled enemies, then allow you to grab two foes at once.
So, ya. Probably picking at least one of those up. Problem is, Cuddles already uses Snapping Turtle Style, so there will be some style juggling going on.
The first feat in the chain isn't available until BAB +6, so you have a while. : )
I also saw something about a Strangler Brawler which focuses on grappling.
Brown Fur transmuter sounds like Anton to me.
I'd actually be interested in either the Blood Arcanist (with Deep Earth or Impossible bloodline) Eldritch Font or Spell Specialist. Would just need to know what they give up.
I'm really looking forward to the book, also because I have an investigator and a hunter that need to be updated.
Forgepriest might be something for Harsk.