Your understanding is correct, and I don't intend to use them all, certainly not.
The ones that I'd use right of the bat are the Stamina system and the Background skills system. I'd also be willing to use Fractional Bonuses and the incremental magic item system - where all capes are also cloaks of resistance of a certain level and whatnot and all rings are rings of protection based off of whatever else they are and whatnot.
I don't want to introduce new rules for the games I'm already running unless you guys want them, though.
OK. Since I don't have access, would you be happy to run through any rules changes that would be applicable to me e.g. I understand the background skills gives 2 skill points/level but only in certain skills, but I don't know what skills are available. I don't know what the Stamina system is, or fractional bonuses and presumably I'd be able to change my existing magic items, so you might have to talk me through that.
Background skills is only, I think, Craft, Profession, a few Knowledges and skills that are called Artistry and Lore. Those are basically more specialized Craft and Knowledge skills.
Stamina is something I'd implement by default for fighters only - it basically gives you a trick for each of your combat feats, and an amount of stamina equal to your level + Con mod, and then you can spend the stamina to do the tricks.
Fractional bonuses allow you to keep the same progression of saves and BaB as if you were not multiclassing when you multiclass.
For example, multiclassing between investigator and bard - both are 3/4th BaB and good Will and Reflex saves.
With the old system, a level 5 Bard has +4 to their good saves, +1 to their bad save and +3 BaB. If they take a level in Inquisitor, they gain no BaB, and +2 to both Reflex and Will. With the new system, because both classes have the same progression, they progress as if they had not multiclassed - gaining +1 to all of their saves and +1 BaB.
Basically, it outlines that saves and BaB are fractional, and allows you to have fractional bonuses in them - Good saves are 1/2level +2, bad saves are 1/3rd level, and BaB is either 1/2, 3/4 or 1/1. You take the fraction you gain from the level, add it to your own and you round down to the nearest integer.
Am I considered a Fighter for the purposes of your Stamina implementation? I haven't read up on those rules yet, though I am unlikely to have a problem with them.
Not unless you take actual fighter levels, no.
I can post us forward tonight - there's been a gap that's a bit too long for my tastes.
Oh, sorry, let me get on a post right now.
The lawful in me kind of wants to arrest Habe. Partially because of his attitude towards us, but mostly because of the conditions here. He seems to have categorically failed in being any help to any of these people. I don't know. We could leave him here under supervision? I don't feel super strongly one way or the other. Thoughts?
*squints* So. Okay. Just clarifying. We're letting the necromancer continue to raise the dead for his own purposes/experiments/to perform menial labor for him (that is what I personally am reading 'you may continue your experiments' to translate as; please correct me if I'm misinterpreting what you meant) (and it's something about which the town would freak out if they knew*), but we're arresting the asylum manager for not giving two figs about his job?
(*per the result of Pick's knowledge check that the townspeople of Sandpoint, would consider the animation of the dead, especially without their consent, an evil and illegal act. I may have forgotten to express that IC-ly; I'll go toss up a post in game just to be sure that's clear.)
I mean, I don't think either of them are great examples of ethical people, but one of those is very clearly more evil than the other, because animating the dead, which he has confessed to, is considered a bad bad thing.
Which, uh... double-checking you're just fine and dandy with expressly allowing him to keep doing that, Rhanloi, as a NG character?
I'm sorry, I really don't want to sound like I'm telling anyone how to play their character, alignment-wise. It's just a bit surreal to me when I'm in a group and the good-aligned characters seem to be roughly of the same moral pragmatism as my recovering-evil, currently-neutral-but-kind-of-deranged duergar.
I'm also not the GM, so it's not anybody's business but their own how they envision their character's alignment. So I'll hush, after making that post in game.
I would argue that raising the dead is not inherently evil. Killing someone and using their blood to commune with the spirits? That's evil. Killing people to turn them into your personal ghoul army? Also evil. Recycling dead bodies that are of no use to their original owners anymore? Could be acceptable. "Reduce, Resue, Recycle!"
And as a Universalist magic user, Rhanloi appreciates ALL schools of magic - even necromancy. Heck - he has studied it a bit and even knows some spells! Magic is a tool, and like all tools it is not inherently good or eveil - it is the use of the tool that matters.
=)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
School necromancy [evil]; Level antipaladin 3, cleric/oracle 3, sorcerer/wizard 4; Domain death 3, souls 3
What Leinathan said.
Again, this is not about the school of necromancy, which is probably neutral if it is anything; it's about the specific spell and act of animating the dead as soulless horrors.
(Also, in this case, explicitly raising people who have nobody responsible to advocate for them and who can't possibly give any sort of consent... in order for this guy to have flesh slaves to do his menial labor for him, which is kind of the definition of a 'selfish purpose.')
Undead creatures are invariably evil in Pathfinder. Skeletons and zombies, unless directed otherwise by the will of their creator, actively seek to destroy the living. People who animate dead aren't just "making use of otherwise wasted materials;" they are creating monstrosities who hate the living and must be continually controlled and stopped from doing so.... and that's assuming the will of an ethical person behind that, as opposed to the will of, say, Caizarlu, who was all to happy to have his pet undead attack us when he was confronted about things.
I believe it's also implied by the rules that the creation of undead stops the souls of those individuals from being able to proceed to whatever their afterlife is, since most of the less powerful raise dead type spells cease to function on a corpse that has been animated as undead.
So, just to be clear here, Caizarlu is doing this with the bodies of unconsenting, mentally handicapped individuals whose 'steward' was happily allowing this.
Pick and Kyra are not people who are bothered by this. But if you have a G in your alignment, then it is my personal opinion that you probably should be.
That said, I am, again, not the GM, and I already said I would shut up about this, so I'll stop beating the reanimated horse corpse. *zips lips*
Yeah...you're right, and Flibble would definitely not be happy about letting this guy carry on. Best that could be said is that he would rather he is brought in to protective custody than be allowed to roam free, even if it is an evasion of justice of sorts.
If that's so, that Flibble wouldn't like to allow this particular activity to carry on, may I make a suggestion in good faith--?
A valid tactic when convincing a neutral-or-evil person (like Kyra) not to do something, other than playing the 'but it's morally wrong' card, is to say it's dangerous or detrimental to their plans. In this case, it could definitely be dangerous or detrimental to Kyra's leadership for Caizarlu to be allowed to continue to animate the dead, since it could well result in a lynch mob if it ever got discovered.
So, proposing that 'hey, maybe Caizarlu can continue to study the bodies of those patients who die of natural causes, and he definitely has to inform us if ghoul-infected patients show up, but that he is banned from animating more dead until or unless Kyra gives him specific orders to do so, on pain of our exposing him to the town and punishing him, etc'-- that seems like a good middle ground solution, because it means that an evil practice gets stopped (which the good characters presumably want), while simultaneously preserving Caizarlu as a potential resource and asset for Kyra (which Kyra wants, and Pick too since he'll back her orders).
It also means that good-aligned priests could be brought in to minister to the ill (which I also think good characters would want), because they would in essence provide a level of supervision over Caizarlu, as he'd be aware of the fact that he'd likely be caught if he tried to animate dead again.
Just my two cents, and, of course, contingent on whether Kyra would go along with that.
That is a good solution and Kyra would certainly go along with that.
It's not necessarily that undead are universally evil - there are some types of undead who have the capacity for neutrality or even Goodness. Mindless undead are universally evil, are are types like ghouls and ghasts, morhgs and wraiths, undead who are defined by their hatred for the living or their continual hunger. Most of the time, vampires are the same way, due to the fact that they must eat forever. I'd say that some vampires can be Neutral, though probably not good.
Ghosts are undead but can be of any alignment.
Just popping in. I'm ready whenever you guys give me the word to move us to the next scenario.
I'd say that non-evil undead are extraordinarily rare exceptions to the general rule. At least, in most games of Pathfinder I've played or been in. :P
Anyway, grand philosophical discussions aside, the sort of undead Caizarlu is creating are the evil, mindless undead mentioned, so allowing their animation is still contributing to the creation of evil monsters.
Yeah, I guess that Flibble could live with that - he's not lawful, but he is good so stopping an Evil practice would be a higher priority than seeing justice done. Caizarlu also needs to be aware that the priests are gong to be coming and they will take exception to any attempts to raise undead, or any evidence that such has taken place. So long as he's a good boy, everything will be fine.
Why do I feel we are setting ourselves up for a fall?
How are the conversions going?
I'm essentially done, I just need to make a note on Pick's proper sheet of the stuff he's picking up. Probably Dodge for the feat because I can't think of anything really cool for him and his AC is awful so yeah. Drawback of building a STR rogue.
Haha, I face the same thing as a STR monk.
I'll have mine done tonight. I have it written up in a Google Doc and just need to drop it into my profile.
Is there anything I need to convert?
No, the only altered classes were Monk, Rogue, Summoner and Barbarian. And I'm not planning on using any of the alternate rulesets just yet.
Unless I missed anything, which I might have done, Kyra should be converted.
Okay, Pick should be done.
I'll have a post or something up pretty soon - I'm leaving room for Khalbar and Kyra to post something, but I'll stop waiting and just move us forward.
I am good with proceeding.
Well, with a fabulous sense of timing, I broke my laptop, and it'd be a minimum of $200 to get it repaired. Having dumped Wis, I'm going to attempt a fan replacement myself, but this is likely to take me several days while I get the new fan and fumble my way through disassembling a laptop using nothing but the user manual and my own pig-headedness. I can still check the boards via my phone, but writing actual posts on my phone is about as enjoyable as nailing my toes to plywood, so..... this is essentially a TL;DR post to say "I probably won't post much the next few days, please GMPC as needed."
And wish me luck. :-\
Good luck!
I'll post you guys to your destinations today or tomorrow. It's a bit of a sizable post.
Looks like everyone except for Khalbar has Knowledge (local), which gives you an idea what you guys should be rolling for those Knowledge skills.
Does anyone know a simple way for me to map the manor for you guys? It's not for being tactical but because there are four levels and it could possibly get confusing.
I could add an overview of which rooms are on which floor to the campaign info tab? How does that sound?
I could make you a map of the manor and just reveal the parts we explore, if you like. I have the map already mostly made, since I have run this part with my group.
That...would be very helpful, actually. I haven't really figured out maptools yet, being the one who uses white-boards in my tabletop games and eschews the use of maps for my play-by-posts.
If you would do that, though, I'd appreciate it a lot.
I am a bit pressed for time tonight, but will try to get you something to use tomorrow.
I haven't really figured out maptools yet, being the one who uses white-boards in my tabletop games and eschews the use of maps for my play-by-posts.
I operate the same way.
I love maps myself; my favorite site so far for handling things like that is Roll20. I've also dabbled with using Google Drawings for an alternative that doesn't require people to register for a website. I still need to try out maptools.
I've used a grid overlay in PowerPoint and blacked out walls, then saved it as a .jpg and posted in Google Drive...a bit of work to start but a possibility. Here's an example!
Ok, here is Google Drawing map of Foxglove Manor as imported into Maptools. I can clear the blacked out areas as we open the doors and explore.
You should be able to cut and past our little icons onto the map to use as tokens if you like. The link should be editable by anyone, so feel free to move yourself around.
Pick raises an important point; our options are:
(1) attack A'letta and brave whatever dangers are within
(2) Get A'letta to guide us past the dangers, then attack her before we see the BBEG. There is a risk that we will leave it too late and end up facing both her and the Master, but it gives us an opportunity to find out about the Master.
I think these are the best 2 options, though we really need to 'cleanse' the house anyway, so we will have to face the dangers at some point, but we can come back to do that if necessary.
Can you reveal the first room, Khalbar?
Also, if you're going to attack her - only three characters can engage her in melee at a time, and the ones on her right and left have a -4 cover penalty to hit. Kyra is in the center.
At the same time, she has the penalty to hit you too.
If not - Sense Motive reveals that she's not threatening you at all and that she appears sincere in her admiration for His Lordship and her desire to bring you to him.
Oh, Pick believes she's sincere. :P He just expects that should we go to the Master, and turn him down, then we'll be dealing with a double fight... But all options may be equally rotten in Denmark, or something.
Yeah she doesn't seem at all threatening now, but I expect that would change rapidly once we not-so-graciously deny Aldren's offer to make us into gross ghouls.
Map is updated.
I think this wife may be a way to find a weakness, but we shall see.
Tomorrow is our two year anniversary!
Holy s*#&, you're right.
That's incredible.
I will be on Holiday July 27 to 31, but I hope to be able to get wifi access.
I am a bit flummoxed on what to do here. Perhaps someone who has been quiet for a bit can jump in?
It's not because of a lack of situation clarity, is it?
Nope! I mean, obviously there are things about the situation that I don't know, but I know the things that I do know, haha.
but do you know the things that you don't know?
Seems to me that she wants - at least in part - to see her husband, and that doing so is at least going to distract him. I vote we suggest that we take her to her husband.
Isn't that why we sought her out in the first place - to use as leverage or an ally? Let's just invite her to come with us to see the guy. And then stand back and watch! ;-)