@DM
Couple of tricky things to check with you.
So it turns out Alter Self *won't* let an octopus familair breathe air. Is it fair to have an "airbreathing" spell (like water breathing) that lets acquatic creatures breathe in air?
Is it okay to take the Ustalav noble trait, representing he's now part of the hereditary but overthrown/constitutional monarchy? Figure Graf is the right title.
Was going to have a rod of lesser extend as a cane. The rules say that they can be used as clubs or maces, but give no details. Okay if I buy a magic mace and declare they are the same item? Should I pay extra for the gaffa-taping?
You may detect a subtle war of the worlds flavour here.
Steam powered tripod carriage. a huge animated object. Spherical. Three long legs that come out of it. Three tentacles (slam, grab, constrict). Huge so it can have a small lab inside.
Steam powered (somehow) with a steam vent at the top (that can whistle woooh-wah) - means it loves heat and takes damage from cold.
Magically Bought as a 7HD animated object, with Metal, brittle, Faster (land), Grab, Constrict, Imp Att, Extra Natural Attackx2.
need to buy the base object. I figure 2 carriages, an alchemy lab, a Huge breastplate and a signal whistle is enough?
This is going to be where most of my money goes, I think.
Ah, here we go, this is La Siréene in his original form, which he will very rarely use. Actually, he uses his real name for his other form but never in this one, and this name is one he gave to himself for the purpose of that form, as it is effectively his real exterior.
And here he is in his default Alter Self form. I put La Siréene's statistics in the previous entry, most of it is on Myth-Weavers (there is a link in his entry), but linked descriptions and items are on the Paizo page. Note that Alter Self gives him Darkvision and +2 STR for this shape.
Huh, I made the mistake of rolling all six dice when rolling for health. I guess I have to reroll, then...
*edit* and the result is less health. Damn. Can I use my original result instead? It had to advantage of only being about 1 hp away from my characters average health.
Anyway, I am pretty much done with the basic character concept, the mechanics and the sheets here on the paizo boards and on Myth-weaver. Time to finally get started on that backstory. As such, I must ask: How should I make my character a part of the campaign world? I would like some background on the setting to work with so my character is true to it. I apologize if this is asking too much.
@DM
Reporting for duty, Sir! Just finishing up alternate racial traits and gear.Half-Orc Barbarian 3/Rogue 3 (no archetypes yet). MELEE!
@applicants
Quick question though to you rogue types out there... You guys got "trapfinding" covered? I'd forego it and go into an archetype, if you do... My non-physical attributes are low... so I'm not the best at it.Let me know.
Don't want it to be a waste... redundant, etc...
Sandru
Archaeologist bards get trapfinding abilities through the clever explorer class feature. Ianez can disarm magical traps, has a decent Perception check, and also has the trap spotter rogue talent. So, no worries on that account.
ETA: Hit points - Including CON bonus and max HP at first level, total HP 38. OK, I suppose, for a non-front line character.
@Caromarc - rather than create an airbreathing spell, we will just say your octopus was originally an outsider that "blinks" in and out of this plane into an oceanic plane, but that the blinking is so rapid that it's unnoticeable and has no benefits other than to let your octopus familiar continue to live. The creature's anomaly means it is effectively trapped on our plane (even it subjectively experiences its blink phase on our plane as one discontinuous experience, and has no perception of the water plane other than to know that it exists...the mechanics of this are only known because at one time it was the property of scientists who during tests detected the blip (of the blink) as measured in the vibration of its cellular fluid.) Also, for the purposes of our plane, the creature loses its status as outsider and manifests as a normal animal of its type.
Too much? :)
Ustalav noble - ok
I think you can use a rod of lesser extend as a supplementary light weapon, but a more powerful mace would be something else in its own right.
I like the WotW steam powered carriage. Is this something that you would add to throughout the campaign to make it more powerful or would it start out pretty powerful? The components you listed seem adequate to me.
Are there things like Airship?
Thanks for the call out. But paranoia dictates I take trapfinding as a backup. Bomb squad, first responder (damage-taking tank). I see some synergies in the crunch, now.
@Sandru: I've been pondering whether or not to take Sift as one of my 0-level spells, if that makes a difference. Might make trapfinding less dangerous...any thoughts?
@Gaston: That's a useful spell to have, especially with your Perception check. I also took it for Ianez, figuring he's all about finding the traps before they find him.
@Caromarc - Another option (and perhaps simpler) for octopus is he can wear a little steampunk style mask that helps him breathe air.
@all - I will provide more background later today.
Background - The Ustalav you find yourself in is a world that has seen technological progress and industrialization, and yet...this has happened while beset by monsters of old.
Another folk saying...We have gas for our lamps, but the streets remain dark.
The more technological forms of transportation are steam-driven and/or have a romanticized element to them, e.g. zeppelins (airships), horse and carriage, steam locomotives, bicycles, trolleys, etc.
Small towns saw urbanization with its attendant problems of overcrowding, poverty, etc. Some citizens are able to rise above the common standard of living, but many fell below. Particularly influential are "gothic authors", "mad scientists", "handlebar-mustachioed entrepreneurs", artists, and progressive social activists...although the last group varies widely, ranging from people fighting slums to "ladies' societies" encouraging temperance. Problems of urbanization include disease, child labor, immigrant ghettoes, prostitution, and illegal gambling/fights, etc.
In the realm of science, many wild and exciting things are going on. Investigations into the study of space/time that weirdly coincide with crazy doomsday rantings on street corners, rumors amongst astrologists, and crazed ramblings of those suddenly taken with mysterious fevers. Mental hospitals overflow. The proverbial "cat lady" and "hermit living in the haunted house on the hill" are not uncommon. There are secret societies. Paranoia runs high. Children are kidnapped from their bedrooms at night, the only clues left behind are bloody claw marks of a beast. Scared townsfolk walk the streets at nights hunting for vampires. (There is speculation of a town council person being a vampire.) Parishioners flock to churches, although faith levels are low.
Some people have household servant constructs. Some people support the arts, some people condemn the arts. Some people are brilliant composers and ingenues, some people are circus side-show attractions. Some people curse the Tian shop of exotic curios, some people shop there for wards against evil. Some people fashionably drink absinthe, some people shamefully soak in gin.
The situation has been degrading for a while - the rational in denial, the superstitious in despair. You find yourself in a time when the air crackles with odd green and purple energies. Weather patterns are constantly unusual. Everyone feels closed in, distrustful. Magic is an old friend who visits, but you don't recognize anymore. Faith has consolidated to a preoccupation with death and Pharasma. People see themselves as avenging angels. They strike out at darkness, hoping to land a hit.
And by the way...
The darkness is hungry...and coming for you.
As for you La Siréene,
Are there things like Airship?
Yes. But beware the harpies that burst into flames...
@DM - Nice background... I can imagine Sandru fitting in well. At least he shouldn't stick out like a sore tendril! If you wouldn't mind giving him a once over, I'd appreciate it.
OK, I tweaked him a bit... trying to establish him as the "brawn" (lurch/ninja - they're creepy and their spooky). Also trying to accentuate certain aspects due to the experiments run on him since birth.
For game purposes, he's a half-orc. In actuality he could be an enhanced human, who's physique and mind have been tampered with.
He's Neutral Good, so whatever they did... they didn't damage his soul. So full of primal spark and life energy that he can stabilize a dying creature with but a touch. A thing even he still marvels at. He especially like helping animals with this ability.
As to what they did to him, they made him strong and tough, with the ability to rage and increase both. He has become nearly unbreakable, his gift... to endure.
But, somehow... though they damaged his brain to some degree and erased some of his sense of self, they unlocked some aspect of intelligence which controls observation, spatial understanding and mechanical logic, the cause and effect of levers, gears and tumblers. Seeing what should be there, what others ovelook.
With the help of an accomplished practitioner of the arts, Sandru escaped his bondage. He enjoys stilling his mind, and taking care of his garden and his animals.
When he is called upon however, he is ready, willing and quite able to walk into the encroching darkness, undaunted. And, perhaps... just maybe push it back a little.
Look to the past, if you would understand the present and build a better future.
The tall weatherbeaten man again reads the motto, engraved in archaic script on the bracelet he wears. For the past fifteen years, he's lived by those words, searching the ruins of the ancient world to unlock the riddles of the modern age. Safely isolated by his scholarly studies and by distance, though, he had lost sight of what had become of his beloved homeland. Those riddles have grown far more tangled while he ignored them. He crumples the newspaper in his hand, suddenly sick to death of the too-bright Absalom sun and filled with longing for the cool of Ustalav's mountains--the land of his birth, the way he remembered it instead of what it had turned into. It's time, he thought, to go home. And to set that home right again.
RE: waterbreathing
I love the steampunk gasmask, and happy to have that as a foci for the waterbreathing spell (or perhaps air bubble?)
But I also want to use Octopus+Alter Self to whip up my owen version of
Ephram Waite's veiled wife in The Thing On The Doorstep.
with cha 3 (-4) and no disguise ranks and a take 10, normal people will accept she's human (16) but a lot of people are going to realise there's something wrong, or she's not human (or elven, or whatever).
Turns out Alter Self doesn't let her breathe air, and I'd prefer she didn't have to wear a gas mask or keep her head in a bucket. I figure for that one there's a prosthetic on her chest or lower neck.
Is that okay?
@ Sandru - I really like your concept. I gave it a once over, and it looks good, but I will give it a second look in a couple of days.
@Caromarc -
@DM: the alter self?
@GM-thanks, that helped. It got a little long thought, but eh. It was fun to write. Admittedly, it does not go far back in time, for a background, but then again, Nameless and La Siréene Dorée are not that old.
Once, there had been… someone? Damn, what was his name? William? Michael? Something like that? Eh, it doesn’t matter, he was the Original, anyway, that’s the point.
La Siréene, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie, smiled a beautiful smile at the nurses as she was finally leaving behind this bastion of helpfulness
At first, there had only been the Original. But that poor empathic sod could not handle the way things changed around him, how his beloved city became warped. So he made himself some company, some friends to share his brain’s living space with. The Original, Endbringer, Maria, La Siréene Dorée, Nameless and a few other ones La Siréene cannot remember.
The nurses and doctors had been good to her, and she was grateful.
It worked, for a while. The Original became happier, healthier. They had certainly been more at home with the city, since they were so much like it, shattered like glass. But this was not enough for Endbringer, oh no. He wanted more. He wanted control. So he took it. With force.
Of course, they did not recognize her as the one who had spent their time here for so long, but what can you do.
Endbringer slaughtered them all. The Original, Maria, La Siréene Dorée and a bunch of others. He wanted the body for his own. But Nameless loathed that irrational man, so unlike itself, and to kill. And succeeded. It was a strange feeling indeed, to have the body for its own.
She is just a well-dressed visitor, they think to themselves. And maybe that isn’t far from the truth.
Then, when the only mind left in that ravaged body was one that had never bothered to select a name or shape or gender for itself, the body stopped insisting on such things as well. Nameless had decided to use its memories of La Siréene Dorée as its main face towards the world, as it remembered her with fondness.
Nameless, in the shape of La Siréene Dorée, exits the hospital, intent to enter the world anew, and to enjoy itself among the beings unable to free themselves of the minds that held them fettered.
Although I truly love RP and being immersed in a story, when it is time for combat... Gonna love finding ways to combine Rhino Hide +2d6 with Sneak Attack for 5d6+5 with a charging Cutlass/Scimitar, unless he Crits for 6d6+10.
Chills...
@DM, cutlass or scimitar for the setting?
Are you happy with this format for discussing character stuff?
With a 16K budget, I'm looking at
rod of lesser extend
cloak resistance +1
belt con +2
Homonculus
noble's outfit
jewelry
signet ring
spell component pouch
Walker: (at about 9K AFTER halving the magic cost)
7HD animated object, with Metal, brittle, Faster (land), Grab, Constrict, Imp Att, Extra Natural Attackx2
2 carriages
alchemy lab
huge breastplate
Signal whistle
Is this all okay?
I'm going to withdrawal from this one, just can't seem to come up with anything i like. That being said they're plenty of interesting characters here and I'll likely keep an eye on this one as it unfolds.
Good luck to you alll!
@Caromarc -
I think this is an ok format for discussing character stuff. Should I send pm's? I am new to this board, so I'm learning etiquette. If I do something wrong it is me being awkward, I don't mean to offend. :)
@Sandru - I found this in another thread, which I sort of like.
a scimitar lacks a basket hilt, whereas a cutlass has one and gets a +2 bonus on CMD versus disarm attempts. No bonus on attempting such moves, just a bonus to defend against them. I also let the character wielding a cutlass punch for lethal damage and give him a +1 bonus on damage if he punches an opponent with the basket hilt.
You can use whichever one you want because otherwise we'll consider them the same. But my vote -
@redclover - Sorry to hear, but thanks!
Awesome :) Thanks.
I only started a little while ago. I signed up to a few games, and it seems like every DM has their own preferences.
I really like your setting, by the way :) Have you run in it before?
updated roster -
Ianez Gastnicht, NG male Human Bard (Archaeologist)
Graf J V Caromarc, ? male Human Wizard (Teleportation)
Inspector Gaston Blackacre, LN male Human Inquisitor (Ragathiel)
La Siréene Dorée, N male Human Druid (Urban)
Sandru, NG male Half-Orc Barbarian 1/Unbreakable 1/Rogue 4
Darious the Second, CN male Elf Ranger
@Caromarc - I may have missed it, but did you select an alignment?
@Darious - You listed eight traits. Were those just ones you were considering and are going to narrow down? You may select two total for your character.
@Caromarc - Thanks. I haven't run this setting yet. I created and ran a campaign about a banished wizard and phylactery of five rings, etc, that went well and I liked the cinematic world-building aspect of storytelling...so I took other things I thought would be cool together like Lovecraft, Crowley, etc, and there were a couple main ideas for the setting that I just built upon and am excited about because I think the end result is gothic and creepy. :) You can never have too much gothic and creepy, lol.
I forgot to mention, your list of supplies was fine.
SO: Nameless and The Original? Not the best of names. Not names at all, really. Just descriptions. You see why I preferred La Siréene Dorée. But here we are. Nameless is, basically, a shape shifter without gender and without any attraction to his basic form: As long as he has been in control, other options have been available. The story from its perspective will in many ways be its first chance at first-hand experience of basically everything.
This is just as I wanted it, but I was unsure how to get here within the setting, so I really appreciate Kinetic_Cards's assistance in this regard. I would appreciate suggestions in the regard of pronouns and such, as I am not entirely happy with “It”.
I have finally finished his item section as well; It is detailed on Myth-Weaver
I am really looking forward to this campaign!
I'll be out of town for the next couple of days, and with my laptop out of commission won't be able to readily post. Back Sunday evening, though.
reviewing character sheets all at once...piece by piece...
1. stats (20 point buy)
Gaston, Sandru, Ianez - check
Caromarc - 10 pts in INT would result in a 16 (add +2 racial +1 level 4)... I get 19. Is there an extra point?
Darious - Your stats seem too high. With +2 racial in DEX and INT and -2 CON, I keep getting a 24 point buy.
Nameless - I tried to access mythweavers but it didn't let me see the page you linked to. I also see a couple of character sheets posted in this thread, the first one I looked at the math didn't add up, but the second one it did if this is correct
Str 7 (-4 pts)
Dex 12 (+1 pt, and then +1 level 4)
Con 12 (+2pt)
Int 12 (+2pt)
Wis 24 (17pt, and then +2 racial and +4 headband)
Cha 12 (+2pt)
Is this right?
2. skills
Gaston, Ianez, Caromarc, Sandru - check
Nameless - can't see skills, assuming maybe on mythweavers sheet?
Darious - looks correct, but pending double-checking INT stat
3. feats
Ianez, Nameless, Caromarc, Sandru - check
Gaston - I count one extra feat but you list rapid reload/toughness on the same line, so maybe I misunderstand what you mean.
Darious - You get one more feat because you get three for your level and then 2 combat feats as ranger at level 6.
4. traits
Sandru, Nameless, Gaston - check
Ianez, Caromarc, Darious - select 2
5. languages
Sandru, Ianez, Gaston - check
Nameless - am assuming you put 1 rank in linguistics
Darious - tbd
Caromarc - looks correct, but question about INT modifier (see above 'stats')
6. saves
Ianez, Gaston - check, Darious - ok pending stats
Sandru, Nameless - what is the math for your will saves?
Caromarc - your WIS mod is -2, so should your will save be 3?
7. initiative
Ianez, Nameless - check, Darious, ok pending stats
Sandru - your initiative is +4 with the reactionary trait
Gaston - your DEX mod is +2, what is the other +2 to get +4 for initiative?
Caromarc - you haven't listed, but i think 2?
PS. I just realized I'm writing 'check', which could look like 'check your work', but it means 'ok' if that wasn't clear. :P
8. hit points -
Darious your HP looks low, it would on average be around like 36-40 or so. You can redo to get closer to that if you want.
9. gear/equipment -
Gaston - check
Sandru - looks ok, do you have a magical weapon?
Nameless - with Craft Wondrous Item feat, can half cost of items you could make (if you have spell to create the item, such as the belt)
Ianez, Darious - tbd
Caromarc - will look over your list of items soon
10. armor class -
Nameless, Sandru, Darious, Caromarc - check
Ianez, Gaston - tbd
11. BAB/CMB/CMD
Ianez, Nameless - check
Sandru - CMD 21 (including +BAB)
Gaston - BAB 4, CMB 13, CMD 19
Darious - BAB 6/1, CMB & CMD tbd
Caromarc - CMB 3, CMD 15
12. appearance/background
Sandru - is your companion going to be making an appearance?
Ianez - I hope for some long-winded pontifications. ;)
Nameless - I like the psychological complexity of your character
Gaston - great noir concept
Darious - great steampunk details in your description
Caromarc - like the references and how you're incorporating lore
for ALL - you must start out the campaign either with
1. an excuse to be on the streets in the dead of night
OR
2. a reason to be in a hospital (as patient, staff, visitor, etc...also of course, in the dead of night same hour)
RE 7. Initiative -
Gaston - sorry, nevermind I see you have the cunning initiative ability.
13. class abilities -
Nameless, Gaston - check
Gaston - I think Law domain will work well for this campaign, imo
Sandru - what is your math for raging 11 rounds per day?
Ianez - per your CHA mod do you get an additional 1st level spell?
Darious - tbd favored enemies and favored terrain
Caromarc - need list of spells in your spellbook
14. attack -
Sandru, Gaston, Caromarc - check
Ianez, Nameless - tbd
Darious - need math on weapons
That's about it so far...
FYI - anyone can feel free to PM me. I am flexible as to how we communicate during the campaign.
DM: I sent you a PM because I have limited posts left before this name locks down.
I have Caromarc v2 written up almost completely (save the questions) ready to go on a google doc, happy to share with you, PM, post here or put in alias as you prefer.
Thanks! You can PM or post here in an alias. I will reply to the questions in your PM soon.
Sandru:
6. Saves, Will Save 3 = +1 Rogue Lvl 4, +1 Wisdom, +1 Cloak of Resistance.
7. INIT, was toying with swapping that trait out, sorry.
9. Gear/Equipment, should be a "+1 Cutlass" in there.
11. BAB/CMB/CMD, thanks Boss... always found this confusing, and most of my characters go the direct route... straight up attack.
12 Appearance/Background, Companion is currently slated to be Caromarc if we're both accepted. If Sandru is accepted and Caromarc is not, that companion is left vague as it could be anyone willing to tie the backgrounds. Ianez Gastnicht also offered to tie background, or we could tie them three ways of all are accepted.
Sandru has become a "night watch" of sorts, a vigilante... taking to the streets and stalking those who would stalk others. He only needs 2 hours sleep per night. He's either out kicking azz, or got in over his head an is a patient (hopefully didn't lose gear).
13. Class Abilities, sorry and thanks - oversight when I rebooted the classes. Should be 7 = 4 + CON Bonus (3), as level 1 Barbarian.
I'll make the approariate adjustments.
Point Buy:
Str 7(-4)
Dex 12(+2)
Con 12(+2)
Int 14(+5)
Wis 17(+13)
Cha 12(+2)
24-4=20
+2 Con belt,+1 ability score incrase for 4th level in Wis, +2 Racial bonus in Wis, +4 Wis for Headband, +2 STR for Alter Self. End Result:
Str 9(+2)
Dex 12
Con 14(+2)
Int 14
Wis 24(+1,+2,+4)
Cha 12
My Myth Weaver does not work? Damn, I'll have to post those stats later today, I got to go to work now.
@Nameless (APAI) - You are using Alter Self to change from a human form into a different human form? In that case, you are already assumed to benefit from the the +2 STR (relative to a small creature), so Alter Self does not bestow that bonus upon you.
@Nameless (APAI) - You are using Alter Self to change from a human form into a different human form? In that case, you are already assumed to benefit from the the +2 STR (relative to a small creature), so Alter Self does not bestow that bonus upon you.
Two links, for your convenience:PFFAQ(you will have to scroll down a bit), Alter Self.
The size bonus to STR is not relative the original size, but is always bestowed by the spell when assuming medium humanoid shape. This would be true for Gnomes, Dragons, Minotaur’s and Humans alike. Note that La Siréene's Darkvision and +2 STR are noted on the sidebar as Special Abilities. Here is the Aasimar entry, by the way.
Man, I forgot to make Nameless Myth Weavers public, try to view it again and it should work. Do tell if it still does not work, so I can do something about it.
Ref +2 Druid, +1Dex,+2 Resistance Bonus=5
Will +5 Druid, +7 Wis, +2 Resistance Bonus, +2 Resist Temptation versus Divination and Enchantment=14/16
Everything else should be on the Myth-Weaver Page. I apologize for the inconvenience.
As for the reason to be up at night- Nameless just got out of the Mental Hospital, and is bound to be about exploring the city, shopping for supplies and enjoying itself at this point, so Nameless will be out and about, do not worry.
Ok, +2 STR bonus. Thanks for the character sheet.
Reviewed everyone's character sheets. @All - thanks for the clarifications. Need Darious info and then looks about ready to go.