Masters of Golarion II

Game Master fnord72

The continuing saga of a group of mythic saviors.

Present.

Accounted for.

Here.

So what's the plan from here?

I will be mining the old forum for the critical pieces that places the characters on their current quest.

Then we can get this show back on the road.

Of course, if anyone is bored or has excess time on their hands, feel free to do some mining.

I will do some mining over the weekend and early next week to get myself set for the relaunch. Glad this is still here!

Anything in particular you want help with fnord?

Just any tidbits from your characters perspective of why and where.

Kind of get us back in the mindset after such a long delay.

I deeply apologize for any delay. My job had me going through some large transitional times. That and just getting over being sick does a lot. I have been reading over the previous gameplay thread and getting into the mindset that I had for Katja.

Fnord, do you want me to post this anywhere? Or just remember it for the game?

Go ahead and post it in gameplay. Any style you want.

I'm working on a reminiscence from my cohort's perspective. Just something to remind you where you are and what you're looking for, from your perspective.

This will also help me fill in any gaps that the players may have.

I have a post up. I believe I have the gist of everything. Let me know if I missed any details.

*sniff sniff* Does anyone still want to play? I had hope that we could keep this going. If not, I am going to make a new interest thread sometime to get another high-level game going.

I want to. Should we just reboot this from scratch?

I haven't heard form the others.

From what I recall of the Paizo forums, after a period in which there is no activity the notifications stop coming up. Let's PM them first. How much time should we give it before we do a reboot?

How about a week?

I really like the characters we have, and we have all spent a lot of time on them.

Opening to recruitment is fine with me, I'd like to revisit some of the rules and allow for adjustments in a reboot as well. Especially considering that the person that made the original build rules hasn't been here for a long time.

You took the exact timeframe I had in mind too. A week is reasonable. I am at lunch, so when I get back I will make a PM and get them sent.

As for revisiting the rules, let's talk about that in greater detail. What would you like to see?

I don't plan on making any changes to my own character, per se.

But allowing edits for the more recent releases seems fine to me.

Keep in mind the old rules are scattered all over some really old posts, so reiterating and formalizing in a single list would do well.

25 point buy for attributes.
2 traits, a third with a drawback
Most Paizo material allowed (not sure on pummeling style, there seems to be some disagreement on what weapons can be used with it), provided it is referenced online. No 3pp.
Any paizo race. No custom races.
25th level. Races with HD or CR greater than 1 use the higher of the two to determine levels of class available. I.e. a minotaur is CR 4 but 6 HD, 25 less 6 leaves 19 levels for classes. Other than dragons, no monster advancement, monster races advance with class levels. Templates may be applied, no advanced template. The CR of the template takes up class levels as exampled above.
Class progression above 20th level is per the advancement rules as noted on the psrd20 site.
Alignment: Must be good. This is a high level game of protectors that have their own areas of influence but willingly come together to address issues that threaten the greater good. Your character should reflect this.
Wealth: 1,505,000. No item may exceed 250,000 gold. Anything that gives a game mechanical benefit must be accounted for. I.e. having followers that manage a chain of taverns does not require you to spend gold, unless you want to use the followers as a spy network, free food/lodging, etc. Downtime rules may be used for pricing buildings and employees. Use the gold cost. Magic item crafting is available. However, you must have the feats and do the casting. Your followers/cohorts may not craft your gear.
Additional spells written to a spellbook, tomes consumed, and other such items must be accounted for from beginning wealth.
Leadership feat: cohort is capped per the table. Followers should be designated as your church, townfolk, tavern workers, etc. All equipment for cohorts or followers comes from the player's starting gold.
Mythic: yes, rank 1.
Background: Extensive. What did your character do in its life that got it to where it is now? How does your character know the existing characters? What role does your character take in Golarion currently?

Character sheets should include breakdown's to easily allow verification of math. This includes crafted gear, stats, saves, skills, etc. Narrow interpretations of vague rules will likely not be accepted.

Please note that your character sheet will be reviewed by other players, and GMs. You will be asked to explain unusual capabilities.
This game is about more than just having the highest possible attack or damage. Characters that are narrowly focused will likely not be considered. You must be willing to accept criticism of your build and suggestions to merge your character with the existing characters.

This game uses cooperative rule enforcement from players and the DM. The characters are too complicated to leave all of this to a DM.

I believe that has the gist of what we used to make our characters.
Other options would be:

Increase the level limit
Gestalt (I'm a sucker for more options, I like gestalt. I did consider allowing people to slowly gestalt as we complete adventures, i.e. 25th level on one side, only a couple of levels on the other side, but increasing as time goes on)
Mythic (more ranks, I'd actually like to keep this low as it is an opportunity to advance after encounters since so much experience is needed to get to level 26. I had planed on granting another rank after the completion of the desert scene.)

What do you think?

After reading your list there, I find that everything seems agreeable. I like the restricting alignments to good as it makes it easier to determine why the PCs would be together on such an endeavor.

I have yet to formulate the PMs (got busy here at work) but I should have that written up tonight and sent out. Once I have those sent I will let you know.

I keep almost all communication and character info saved in text files and saved on Google Drive. With 100GB, it gives me quite a few options. I also keep my Hero Lab portfolios stored there as well. I came to the conclusion long ago that I would never lose anything again. This has served me well. On that note, I am going to set up a Google Drive folder for everything campaign related and give all players (and Gm) full access. This way the players can collaborate easier to accomplish the necessary game preparation. Anything to make it simple.

PMs have been sent. One week it is!

I think a restart is a good idea. I also agree about recruiting more players. As for the new rules, those are fine. I will make a new character then.

Nagato was fun, but between the time this game started and now, my favorite classes swapped from a tie of Druid and Sorcerer to Oracle and Arcanist, so I am probably going to create a new duo based around them. Moreover, her class arrangement meant that she could only be Lawful Neutral, and that is not allowed under the new guidelines. For the Oracle Mystery, I am definitely selecting Lunar. I have always wanted to try out that one's final revelation.

It has been a very long time. As much as I like sorcerer, I'd like to try out arcanist as well. Even bloodrager seems fun. But all in all, a restart would be a good idea, it seems.

If everyone else wishes to go into casters, I could pick up a more martial class.

It seems that everyone is in agreement. A reboot would be a good thing. The main question on my mind is, how many more players would we like to recruit? Before we open it up to getting more players we should hammer out our characters and any rebuilds/adjustments we want to make.

I have to recreate Katja in Hero Lab as I do not have access to my desktop. I have everything else needed, it's just a matter of getting the build done. I do want to look at her spells and reevaluate a bit. That should cover what I want to do on my end.

As for the rebuild rules, Fnord seems to have a good list of how we want to handle the character generation. Does anyone have anything they would like to see for rules? Anything they are not fond of?

I have a folder set up on Google Drive for the creation rules and any other files we wish to put there. I have 70GB of space remaining so feel free to put stuff there as you need.

Linky to the folder. The folder has permissions set to allow anyone to add and/or modify the files there. Enjoy!

PS: I still like playing a silver dragon. I think I will stick with her.

As much as I enjoyed Jacob, I've got an idea from a game with my college buddies I'd like to flesh out here. The only thing I was concerned with is that the guy I have in mind is a bit young for this and I'm trying to weigh between Invulnerable Rager barbarian and Primalist bloodrager. The concept would be an Ulfen boy who lost his brother at the Worldwound and takes up his brother's sword in a rage.

As much as I enjoyed Jacob, I've got an idea from a game with my college buddies I'd like to flesh out here. The only thing I was concerned with is that the guy I have in mind is a bit young for this and I'm trying to weigh between Invulnerable Rager barbarian and Primalist bloodrager. The concept would be an Ulfen boy who lost his brother at the Worldwound and takes up his brother's sword in a rage.

I would like to hear more about this concept. Sounds cool.

I've got some art from the other campaign here. He's only 16 in that campaign, but he'd obviously be older here.

Instead of being a paladin like his brother, his code of conduct is not as focused as a paladin's. He does, however, believe himself to attempt to hold to a similar devotion to Ragathiel.

You could write as if he completed the AP for worldwound, that would certainly up him in years and experience.

I plan on keeping Valdik pretty much as is, I may just do a couple tweeks here and there.

Oh, and the generation suggestions I posted were from, the original forum that these characters were generated from.

I have been looking over the current list that we used for building our current characters. I am going through in greater detail to see if anything should be considered to change or stay the way it is. I'm going to make a bullet point list to detail what I am thinking on each point.

Warning: each spoiler is a long read.

The following details player conduct (for the new players, not us. I feel that we are already on this level). I know it shouldn't have to be said, but for some people it needs to be stated explicity in the rules or bad things start happening.

Thoughts on all of this?

Also, any changes we agree upon should be entered in the document located here. I am fine with this being linked in the campaign tab.

I'm fine with all that stuff. I just dunno which rage user I want. Though I feel like I'm gonna want to put post-20 levels in warpriest or some such.

I don't think I'll get Leadership this time. I'd rather think Weyland could have a good standing with factions instead of exactly try to rule one.

I like those addendum.

I'd like us to think of a way to weed out those that don't get or understand play at a level like this.

I had a situation where I described a phenomena that was taking place in the sky from one horizon to the other. Player said they were casting fly and going up to meet it.

Same player then said they were casting prismatic sphere to protect an entire temple... Obviously hadn't bothered to check the spell and note that it only covered 10', not hundreds.

I like those addendum.

I'd like us to think of a way to weed out those that don't get or understand play at a level like this.

I had a situation where I described a phenomena that was taking place in the sky from one horizon to the other. Player said they were casting fly and going up to meet it.

Same player then said they were casting prismatic sphere to protect an entire temple... Obviously hadn't bothered to check the spell and note that it only covered 10', not hundreds.

Check out the second document I have made regarding General Conduct. I think I will make the character generation and conduct files read only when it comes time to open the game to recruitment. This way nobody can alter the files and say their point was in the rules. I will make sure that those who need to access them have permissions set. Just send me your email address in a PM and then request access to the file. This way I will know that it is one of you.

The files are not complete by any means. These are just starting points. Plus it helps to put things in writing. Solidifies it more than just thinking about it. The only thing I would like to see is that when anyone makes changes that they post a summary here in the discussion thread so we know what has been modified.

PM sent.

What do you think of requiring an extensive google doc character sheet (or something similar)?

Spoilers only go so far when it comes to easily finding information.

A couple of pro's:

Player can easily hyperlink just about everything on their sheet.
Player can also bookmark their character sheet to quickly locate data.
Character sheet has more formatting and space to detail development information (like crafting cost, attack bonus, AC)
Player has room for keeping notes of important people/events rather than digging through old posts.

Feel free to look at my sheet and you can see how I have quite a bit bookmarked and hyperlinked. (you can also copy the hyperlinks from my sheet, they all go to d20pfsrd).

I did notice one missing item with leadership/cohorts/followers.

Here's my suggestion:
Companions, followers, and any other retainers use the basic NPC attributes as outlined in creating NPCs on d20pfsrd. Equipment owned by these is their personal equipment and requires typical negotiation and is subject to DM ruling on availability to the player. Players may provide, from their own funds, specific equipment they may call on. Generally this will be available, but is still subject to DM ruling. i.e. providing a temple with a few scrolls to be held for your character.

A cohort/mount gained through leadership uses the heroic attributes.
I'd like to consider changing cohort gear to the NPC heroic list instead of from player wealth. This is in line with how the cohort is supposed to be equipped.

A caveat would be that said equipment should generally be for the use of the cohort. The cohort is not a mobile bag of holding/ buff bot for the player character. Specific equipment to be held by the cohort for the primary purpose of the player character should come from the player character's wealth. I.e. a fighter that carries a pearl of power for their master would be counted from the player character's wealth.

Reasons like this is why I don't think I should take Leadership on this character. I'd just take a mount and ride off into the sunset, entirely disregarding followers and the like. Though I could possibly flesh things out, given the time to think over things.

As for the google document, if there's a template, I'd be happy to use it. If not, I was thinking of just using a similar setup I had for Jacob's page. Would this sort of thing be okay for presenting a character's information?

I did notice one missing item with leadership/cohorts/followers.

Here's my suggestion:
Companions, followers, and any other retainers use the basic NPC attributes as outlined in creating NPCs on d20pfsrd. Equipment owned by these is their personal equipment and requires typical negotiation and is subject to DM ruling on availability to the player. Players may provide, from their own funds, specific equipment they may call on. Generally this will be available, but is still subject to DM ruling. i.e. providing a temple with a few scrolls to be held for your character.

A cohort/mount gained through leadership uses the heroic attributes.
I'd like to consider changing cohort gear to the NPC heroic list instead of from player wealth. This is in line with how the cohort is supposed to be equipped.

A caveat would be that said equipment should generally be for the use of the cohort. The cohort is not a mobile bag of holding/ buff bot for the player character. Specific equipment to be held by the cohort for the primary purpose of the player character should come from the player character's wealth. I.e. a fighter that carries a pearl of power for their master would be counted from the player character's wealth.

I like your proposed changes. Now we need ace and CDL to weigh with their opinions.

And of those documents I posted, anyone is free to edit them. Ace and Cosmic, PM me your email addresses and I will add both of you to the list of those who can edit.

What do you think of requiring an extensive google doc character sheet (or something similar)?

Spoilers only go so far when it comes to easily finding information.

A couple of pro's:

Player can easily hyperlink just about everything on their sheet.
Player can also bookmark their character sheet to quickly locate data.
Character sheet has more formatting and space to detail development information (like crafting cost, attack bonus, AC)
Player has room for keeping notes of important people/events rather than digging through old posts.

Feel free to look at my sheet and you can see how I have quite a bit bookmarked and hyperlinked. (you can also copy the hyperlinks from my sheet, they all go to d20pfsrd).

Since you posted this idea last night I have been thinking about this a lot. The more I think about character sheets, the more I realize how much work it will be for the GM. Even with spoilers it isn't quite the same as a full sheet.

I am in favor of a very detailed Google Docs character sheet as you have put forth. This makes it easier to critique the build of a character for viability in a game like this.

While I am thinking of it, how do we want do HP? Roll or some other method?

Validk has max HP, I'm assuming that's what had been decided in the past.

We did max HP last time.

Sounds good to me.

Since you posted this idea last night I have been thinking about this a lot. The more I think about character sheets, the more I realize how much work it will be for the GM. Even with spoilers it isn't quite the same as a full sheet.

I am in favor of a very detailed Google Docs character sheet as you have put forth. This makes it easier to critique the build of a character for viability in a game like this.

I'd just like to ask if there's a template someone has in mind for the sheets. I was under the impression that the statblocks in our earlier characters were fine when we were setting this up before. However, I'm up to greater detail if everyone else is.

Grand Moff Vixen wrote:

Since you posted this idea last night I have been thinking about this a lot. The more I think about character sheets, the more I realize how much work it will be for the GM. Even with spoilers it isn't quite the same as a full sheet.

I am in favor of a very detailed Google Docs character sheet as you have put forth. This makes it easier to critique the build of a character for viability in a game like this.

I'd just like to ask if there's a template someone has in mind for the sheets. I was under the impression that the statblocks in our earlier characters were fine when we were setting this up before. However, I'm up to greater detail if everyone else is.

I checked and couldn't find a template for the documents. The spreadsheets are a different matter. There are about 3 that look nice, though they do not allow hyperlinking.

One problem with the pathfinder spreadsheet templates, they do not have the mythic tiers programmed in. Even when manually typing the name it reverted it to what it was before. I will probably have to make a base document to start from and make a copy for my own use.

I would say follow the general format of the statblock for now, but with expanded detail.

For the total money to start, I have reviewed the starting wealth and I feel that it is fine where it is at.

Does anyone else desire any changes to what is currently written?

I am going to redo a bit of Katja's mythic tier. I am going to take mythic spellcasting. What are some considerations on the spell I could take? I was wondering about disintegrate. It would do a boatload of damage dice. Although, fireball might be nice as well. Maximized plus mythic? Ouchies!

Haste might be one to consider. Mythic haste gives an additional move action. Plus movement bonus increases to 50'. Very nice.

Would I be be able to take the mythic version of control weather? Katja has the regular version of it as an at-will SLA. Can I upgrade it? I never thought of this before!

Would I be be able to take the mythic version of control weather? Katja has the regular version of it as an at-will SLA. Can I upgrade it? I never thought of this before!

I just found out that this is not doable since an SLA is not considered a spell. It was a fun thought while it lasted.

Nothing says you can't learn it as a sorcerer spell and gain the mythic version, however. I know with Jacob, I had looked primarily into a blaster caster, grabbing things like Chain Lightning and Horrid Wilting, at least the former of which has a significantly pleasant mythic version. In my experience, Mythic Haste is a wonderful thing to bring to the table, especially when there are martials around.

Does anyone have anything against the new Divine Protection feat? Because I was considering picking up some levels in warpriest to grab at it. I'm just not sure if It would be a fitting for a "not entirely holy, but devout warrior".

Where is it coming from?

I might take it since I mostly qualify for it. I'll have to take a look at dipping for the blessing/domain/mystery class feature.

Would divine source (3rd tier mythic ability) count as a domain class feature?

I'm building an Oracle, so I certainly do not oppose Divine Protection.

I'm not certain that would count, Fnord. From what I saw, mythic abilities don't count as class abilities.

As for the feat itself, I only bring it up because I'm toying with the idea of making a paladin-like rage-user. The more I think of it, the more I don't think warpriest works for me, thematically, since it's his anger at his loss pushing him on more than blessings. The only way is if I justified Fervor is totally reasonable for a guy who prays to an Empyreal lord given the nickname the "General of Vengeance". Seems to open itself right up as a possibility when put like that, but I'm still thinking that simply going Chevalier could be paladin-y enough. Hard to say. Hard to say.

Nothing says you can't learn it as a sorcerer spell and gain the mythic version, however. I know with Jacob, I had looked primarily into a blaster caster, grabbing things like Chain Lightning and Horrid Wilting, at least the former of which has a significantly pleasant mythic version. In my experience, Mythic Haste is a wonderful thing to bring to the table, especially when there are martials around.

Thing is, Katja already has the SLA at will. I wouldn't make much sense to use one of her few spell slots to gain the regular version just to get the mythic one. I only get 2 slots which are taken up by resurrection and greater restoration. I think those will come in most handy.

I have been narrowing down the list of spells being considered for mythic. Either fireball or haste. With fireball, I can use the magical lineage trait, and then apply the intensify spell feat. I then use the greater maximize rod on it and BOOM! 150 guaranteed points of damage on a 3rd level spell slot. I will make the final spell selection when we have the new players selected and they have their classes chosen. More martial means haste is awesome, with fireball becoming less useful due to being in melee combat. We'll see.

The damage dealt increases to 1d10 points of fire damage per caster level (maximum 10d10). Any creature that fails its Reflex saving throw catches on fire (Core Rulebook 444), taking 2d6 points of fire damage each round until the fire is extinguished. Attempts to extinguish this fire use the spell’s save DC.

Augmented (6th): If you expend two uses of mythic power, the maximum damage increases to 20d10, the area increases to a 40-foot radius spread, and any fire damage dealt by the spell bypasses fire resistance and fire immunity.

Depending on how much you're willing to tinker, you could pull the trick I did with Jacob. Mythic Paragon gives you two extra mythic spells known if you have Mythic Spell Lore. I don't recall if MSL is the path ability or the mythic feat name, but the two are largely interchangeable. Furthermore, if you take Mythic Paragon, the mythic spell path ability and the mythic spell feat, you can get a good deal of extra spells.

On top of which, MP lets you get augmented Mythic Haste right out the gate, if I recall. As if I weren't giving enough of a glowing review of that feat.

Also, I'm definitely thinking of going more martial. Bloodrager gets some magic ability, but not enough to be a powerhouse.

So, I'm starting to think of what to do before throwing any gear up. This is what I've come up with so far.

I was thinking that even though Primalist doesn't allow for Extra Rage Power to be available, a level or two in Ulfen Guard would suffice. As for bloodlines, I'm trying to pick between Aberrant and Arcane. Anyone have any thoughts?

I wouldn't be able to look at the class just yet. I do not have the ACG. It does sound good so far.

Just make sure you have a method of traveling long distances.