Discussion thread open.
As noted in the recruitment thread, the party is low on healing. Sam, did you want to swap out a spell?
Was there any changes to character creation like background Skills or anything
Atsushia had asked but it doesn't look like she used it. I'm ok with allowing it as long as everyone takes advantage of the tweak.
Good to be here and to be chosen!
I for one would vote in favor of Background Skills.
But...
Is Lazarus Bear intended as a magician who raises and controls undead?
If so, Morthak might not be the best fit for this party as he and Lazarus may end up enemies. Morthak is a devotee of Pharasma and thinks undead are an abomination.
Thought it best to put that out there now.
Aye, background skills are always fun. And hello one and all. :)
Good to be here and to be chosen!
I for one would vote in favor of Background Skills.
But...
Is Lazarus Bear intended as a magician who raises and controls undead?
If so, Morthak might not be the best fit for this party as he and Lazarus may end up enemies. Morthak is a devotee of Pharasma and thinks undead are an abomination.
Thought it best to put that out there now.
What if he uses background skills to refluff a bit?
There is a Pharasmian Heresy, where they use alchemy to raise the dead. The idea behind it is that because it isn't using necromatic magic, the soul of the deceased is unharmed.
So background skill: Craft-Alchemy and Profession-Alchemist.
That might smooth things over.
As noted in the recruitment thread, the party is low on healing. Sam, did you want to swap out a spell?
Yeah I can do that. Swapped Enhance Water with Cure Light Wounds.
Lazarus Baer checking in. Thanks for choosing me.
I'm ok with background skills as well. I can shift Knowledge (History) to a background skill and replace with Knowledge (Nature) and add Profession (Farming) as the second background skill, since it's in line with Lazarus's history before tragedy befell his family.
I see the potential conflict between Morthak and Lazarus as a good RP opportunity. Lazarus is trying to stay on an ethical line with his abilities over the undead, but he's very vulnerable to crossing that line. He'll need the occasional nudge to keep him honest.
So it looks like we're just waiting on Atushia to check in?
Everyone else, please update your characters with the background skills.
RE: the conflict between Lazarus and Morthak, I agree with Lazarus that it can make for some interesting RP. As long as Morthak doesn't see his presence alone as the need to start inter-party combat, I believe it can make for some interesting tension.
@Lazarus - for clarity, are you going down the minion-mancer path or more of a "white necromancer" approach?
RE: the conflict between Lazarus and Morthak, I agree with Lazarus that it can make for some interesting RP. As long as Morthak doesn't see his presence alone as the need to start inter-party combat, I believe it can make for some interesting tension.
@Lazarus - for clarity, are you going down the minion-mancer path or more of a "white necromancer" approach?
I understand the appeal of wanting to play a "minion" necromancer - I have considered putting together my own.
But Morthak's whole concept as a faithful Pharasmin makes him an enemy of anyone involved in that. I have a hard time envisioning a way for him to let it go. Which is why I am saying that I am willing to bow out rather than disrupt the game.
Since creating undead is, as defined in Pathfinder, always an evil act, you should check to see how our Paladin thinks about that too.
If you are not planning on having undead minions, then there wouldn't be a problem.
I see Lazarus as trying to be closer to a "white necromancer" even though his abilities control the undead. He'll be doing things like making undead stand still so his allies can cut them down, or ordering the undead to attack one another.
He sees it as a more novel approach to dealing with them. He wants to make them as helpless as his family was when the vampire slaughtered them.
But there's always the possibility he'll be seduced by the control he has over the undead and will seek to do more. As a first-level character, he's just getting the hang of his abilities and eager to test them and push the boundaries.
So is there the potential for conflict? Sure. Is he going to start the adventure with a couple zombie servants carrying his gear for him or anything like that? No.
TL;DR He's trying to be a white necromancer, but he's also captivated by power.
For the record, Lars could care less if you summon a demon. Just so long as it leads to vengeance. And...well, only damn your own soul. If you are a necromancer and you cross the line, the gods will judge you. It's not his job.
Alright, updated with background skills and as far as I'm concerned he currently isn't raising dead so there will be no issues, and if he does later well we will burn that heretic when we get to it.
As an aside, ive played a necromancy-specialized witch up to level 9, and there is a ton of fun things to do with necromancy that don't involve making undead. Curse spell specialization makes for a great "I do to the bad guys what they do to us" vibe.
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@Morthak - it's entirely up to you. If you feel that your character concept prohibits you from journeying with anyone that uses necromantic magic, and you don't want to tweak/submit a variation of something else, please do what your most comfortable with. As it stands, with a paladin in the party, I believe that when push comes to shove, fear of the blade will keep Lazarus from performing any evil necromantic acts, but the constant moral grey area will create some interesting discussions before that.
@Lazarus - if I'm making some assumptions here, please feel free to add additional information.
I sent a direct message to Atushia. Hopefully I'll get a response soon.
Hi sorry for being late
@Morthak - it's entirely up to you. If you feel that your character concept prohibits you from journeying with anyone that uses necromantic magic, and you don't want to tweak/submit a variation of something else, please do what your most comfortable with. As it stands, with a paladin in the party, I believe that when push comes to shove, fear of the blade will keep Lazarus from performing any evil necromantic acts, but the constant moral grey area will create some interesting discussions before that.
@Lazarus - if I'm making some assumptions here, please feel free to add additional information.
Fair Enough. It sounds like Lazarus doesn't intend to be raising skeletons and zombies as his main thing. Morthak doesn't have a problem with other kinds of necromantic magic; it is strictly the animation of the dead that is an issue.
It could make some good RP if Lazarus starts to "fall" as it were, but it wouldn't do to surprise someone with it.
@All - please feel free to start posting. In classic fashion, we'll start the group at an inn waiting to meet Sheriff Hemlock to accept the task. I assume most folks on these boards are familiar with Sandpoint and the surrounding area, but if not I can provide more detail.
Goblins with bombs! We're doomed.
Also nice touch moving Lars in the opposite direction after rolling a 1 on track. :)
Morthak's tactics:
Overall Morthak doesn't have the potential to do too much damage unless he is flanking and is able to do a full attack.
So most of the time if he is in melee he will use Aid Another to try to give someone else a boost. He has the Helpful trait so he gives a +4 instead of a +2.
So if we are engaging the same enemy let me know if you would prefer a boost to AC or to-hit.
I'll be boosting using raging song, so don't worry!
I'll be boosting using raging song, so don't worry!
As a DEX-based character, raging song doesn't do that much for Morthak. Not sure if I'm willing to trade a +1 to damage for a -1 AC.
Well Lars will gladly accept it. He's a Str based two handed weapon user. So rushing forward and splatting goblins pretty much is his playbook.
You know I took Exotic Weapon Prof for flavor but FFS
I apologize, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to bow out from this game. I've had some unanticipated things come up at work and I've had less time to give this the attention it needs.
Since this one's still getting off the ground it's easier for me to withdraw at this time and hopefully it'll be easier to bring in an alt.
I apologize for any inconvenience I've caused. I hope everyone has fun.
Thanks.
Best of luck to you and hope everything works out
No worries. Life comes first. Too bad it was before the "fun" stuff.
You know I took Exotic Weapon Prof for flavor but FFS
FFS?
For F+*# Sake in reference to rolling 2's for both damage rolls on a 1d10 weapon
Just an FYI, I'm going to let this play out to see how the party wants to handle the situation. Just let me know when you want to resolve the scene or move on.
Basically while Lars and Sam have the 'same' alignment, Sam's got an angel parent and there's some things she doesn't like. Like torture. Putting a defeated enemy down, that's fine. Inflicting pain and fear on someone needlessly? Not okay in her book.
A personal ethic, if anything. Out of character, I'm okay with Lars disagreeing, it's very likely from differing viewpoints. If he wants to discuss out of character here how we can resolve this situation before posting in gameplay, that'd be fine with me.
The thing about Lars is that he is beyond obsessed. A year or two ago he'd have agreed with Sam. But Trevol murdered his daughter, which in turn led to alcoholism, loss of his job (and identity) and the destruction of his marriage. All he's driven by right now is inflicting painful justice on Trevol, because failing to do that would mean actually grieving and facing his failings in the tragedy's aftermath. That's why he is so brutal right now. And yes...he could become just as bad as Trevol given the way he is willing to torture these goblins.
For RPing, I tend not to plan anything out. Rather just writing whatever feels natural for the character. That said, I certainly invite you to try and either steer him to a better place, or to point him at our enemies and let him go.
Would that kind of pain be evident in his anger? Something that Sam could (with a decent roll) detect with sense motive?
Without a doubt.
Just a check to see what you guys think so far...
Its good!
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Its good!
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Seconded
enjoying it!
Good to know. Pacing is difficult to judge via pbp, especially when the chapter calls for building atmosphere.
Sorry all - the wife went into labor last Friday and we were released late Monday. Sleep-wise, I'm still trying to recover and adjust to having a newborn around the house. Posts may be delayed a bit.
Oh god. Yeah i remember that. Take all the time you need. Get sleep, love your new family member, and congratulations!
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Been there before. I'll echo what Sam said. Take your time and put family first. Worst comes to worst just PM me and I'll be here for the campaign.
Congratulations!
Thanks all!
I just thought I'd check to see what everyone thinks so far. You're in Chapter 2 of the adventure, so you have made progress despite what you might think. I understand the adventure isn't as lead-you-by-the-nose, which can cause some questioning. Still, it is intentional per the adventure design.
One thing I am finding a bit frustrating is that there are a lot of things that I speculate might be happening that would be totally out-of-character for Morthak to know about.
Also, the primary source of clues are coming from the "Luc" character in the form of prophetic riddles. But I am betting that the module was not written for Golarion, because in the current Age of Lost Omens, everyone on Golarion knows that prophecies fail and are a waste of time. So I also find it would be out-of-character to pay much attention to him, even though it looks like it is written into the adventure as a vital clue.
No comments from anyone else?
Out of character, it might be useful to share here, just to make sure the player experience is enjoyable. The setting is very gothic and follows that style. Ambiguity, uncertainty, and a sense of dread are intended. The primary source for clues is not the luc character, although he is one lead and acts as a source for ominous foreshadowing.
Well I suppose this is more of a personal point of view. But this was billed as a hunt for a murderer. I designed my character specifically around said hunt. The campaign feels like we have wandered into fey woods, where time, space and reality have little meaning. Lots of ominous things are happening. Less in a 'oh no a bad cult' or 'big monster', but more of a 'nothing makes sense. We aren't in Kansas anymore' type vibe.
Lars is acting up so to speak because his identity is tied up in vengeance against Trevol. It feels like they have not only lost the trail but have lost a grip on reality as well. Hence why he is not into figuring out what is happening and is instead lashing out as a tenuous grip on sanity frays.