On Abadar's Secret Service (Inactive)

Game Master James Martin

Songan, I'd vote for Pathfinder Chronicler, although Arcane Archer is also a good option (don't you have to be an elf for that though?)

They removed the Elf requirement for Arcane Archer in Pathfinder, so all you need is BAB +6, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus, and 1st level Arcane spells.

I've pretty much decided against straight Bard...I'm either going to shoot for Arcane Archer, in which case I'd probably go to Bard 6/Fighter 2 for the versatile performance and a couple bonus feats then prestige over to AA, or shoot for Pathfinder Chronicler, which would only take me putting a few skill points in required areas. Decisions, decisions.

I got a question, what happens to those not involved in fights and stuff. Do we have to worry in lagging lvl wise due to not enough exp?

No, I count all players equal when doling out XP. Usually I just tell you when to level, actually.

I'd say go with whichever option seems most interesting to you.

Ditto bro. Don't know much about Pathfinder Chronicler, but Arcane Archer is pretty cool.

Sense we have been talking future builds. Would anyone prefer Leralt go Diabolist or Genie Binder. I am still making him a crafter but having a little extra on the side wont hurt and it wont effect my void powers, sense unlike others they rely on CL rather then lvl. ;)

Would like any input on this.

Ditto bro. Don't know much about Pathfinder Chronicler, but Arcane Archer is pretty cool.

The Chronicler is basically focused more finely on the story-telling and and explorer aspects of the bard. They forgo all spellcasting but continue to advance in Bardic Knowledge and Music, though the latter is at -2 levels, and they get some special abilities. It'd be simpler to just give you a link to the class...here: Pathfinder Chronicler.

I personally have a soft spot for a class like Genie Binder, but that's more because I was an Elemental Binder in an Eberron game once and had tons of fun with it.

I have a question about the Deep Pockets ability. It reads as follows:

Songan: I'm pretty sure that's how it works- there was a similar ability in a 3.5 class or feat from somewhere and it was really fun in our game a few years back. OMB's interpretation may be different.

Leralt: I don't know much about those classes but Genie Binder sounds cool :D

Songan, that's how I would interpret it. Seems like a pretty useful trick!

It does indeed. However, the ability to instantly generate enchanted arrows to suit the needs of the situation could also be very helpful. Again I say...decisions, decisions.

Well, you could always dabble in both, I suppose. A level of this, a level of that.

Leralt, another option along the same line of Genie Binder is Daivrat, though I'm not sure how much of a "genie friend" Leralt would want to be.

I'm no closer to my own decision; I suppose I could dabble, but I'd rather choose a specialty and focus on it. It basically comes down to going Arcane Archer to focus on combat archery and (to a lesser extent) spellcasting while losing the bard's skill versatility and performance abilities OR going Chronicler and maintaining the bard's skill versatility and performance abilities while sacrificing his spellcasting.

Catila, what are your plans? Are you going to go straight Bard or were you considering multiclassing at some point?

Yeah the reason I chose those two is because they dont effect spellcasting. Daivrat makes me lose one level in spellcasting. Thats a big no no as a full spellcaster and crafter in my book.

I want whatever class I choose to be a kind of addition to my abilities, trying not to lose anything in the process.

Gotcha. Was kinda hoping for the same thing with whatever prestige class I ultimately go with, but whichever I choose, I'm going to be losing something. It's just a matter of which I can deal with losing more.

Although when I look at the composition of our group, we currently have:

2 Bards
1 Alchemist
1 Paladin
1 Rogue/Inquisitor
1 Druid
1 Elementalist Wizard

So...every single person in the group is able to cast spells of one form or another. Guess I'd be safe if I did wanna go into a non-casting class. Also, it just occurred to me that it's kind of odd that Arcane Archer doesn't mention elf/half-elf as a racial requirement, considering the description of the class makes specific mention of elves a half-dozen times.

True but their are only two full casters. Me and Orin, I cover Arcane and he covers Divine.

While it may be tricky character wise I think Diabolist would work best. I already have like half the requirements. It has full spellcasting progression and should give me some nice options and bonuses.

Talk about irony xP

Diabolist should be an interesting choice, given the presence of Paladins in the group. I like the possibilities... ;)

You do not have to be evil to be one. You can be LN which I am, also when your god deals with the god of devils you really cant talk. ;D

True. Still, devils. Always a fun trick to add to the mix!

Another question: The Chronicler abilities "Call Down the Legends" and "Lay of the Exalted Dead" behave as a Horn of Valhalla in summoning X number of barbarians but it doesn't say anything about what these barbarians' stats are. Any idea where that could be found?

It tells you their lvl and race (human) but they act as constructs so they have their immunities and such. You just slap on a NPC stat build and you got them. The more advanced version you get at 10th lvl tells you whats added on, like lvl and gear etc etc. If your lazy like me just use Berseker Cannibal from the NPC list (making some changes due to being constructs) for the 4th lvls then add a lvl and the extra gear when you get the advanced version later on.

Hope that helps.

I'm honestly tempted to lean more towards Chronicler right now; the question now becomes one of weighing the abilities granted by the PrC against the spellcasting and other benefits of the base class.

New question: Are there any feats that grant limited spell progression if you have levels in both a spellcasting and non-spellcasting class?

In Pathfinder I am not sure. Not that I know of, then again I avoid losing spell progression at all cost.

I know in 3e their is a feat that gives you +4 CL as long as it does not put you over your HD. But thats not pathfinder.

Oh sorry, to answer your question Songan, hadn't really put too much thought into it yet. Not sure at present which other classes or prestiges would work with the detective bard.

Sorry for my extended absence. I have been very, very busy.

No problem. Your feuding people still wait for you... ;)

Yeah, that's kinda the situation I'm in too, Catila. The more I think about what I'd like to do the more unsure I become. While it's true that we only have two casters, we also only have one party member with a full BAB, so someone who could serve a dual role as both a caster and combatant seems like it'd be very useful.

To that end, now I'm thinking I might go Bard 7/Fighter 1/EK-whatever. Bard 7 to get 3rd level spells and Bardic Performance as a move action, Fighter 1 for a bonus feat and the martial proficiency, then EK because I'll still get the full BAB and lose only one level of spellcasting as opposed to three. With the combination of Good Hope and Inspire Courage, I'm not terribly worried about losing the next two levels of Inspire Courage.

Flavour wise, you can never go wrong with dragon disciple ;)

After going over ALL the Paizo prestige classes, which is not something I had yet done, I think I'm going to go either Eldritch Knight or Harrower. I just read the latter for the first time tonight and the idea of a Bard/Fortune Teller seems just chock full of flavor. Sure I'd lose out on some BAB, but I'd keep full spell-casting and all the skills align with the Bard's and the lack of skill points is offset slightly by the fact that I'd have two instances of Versatile Performance by then.

Also, Leralt, I know you said no losing caster levels, but Pathfinder Savant seems like it might actually be worth losing one caster level, especially since it seems to fight right in with you wanting to make him into a type that is good at making magical stuff. And getting to add six spells to your spell list from any other classes list in the game seems like a pretty darn amazing ability. A wizard packin' Blade Barrier? Barkskin? Good Hope? Oh the possibilities...

Pathfinder Savant looks perfect for my guy but that lost spellcasting just kills me. Wonder if the DM will give me a way around that xP

Pathfinder Savant looks perfect for my guy but that lost spellcasting just kills me. Wonder if the DM will give me a way around that xP

Har har! Have you ever looked at the Harrower? What do you think of that for a PrC? My only complaint about the class is the per-day limit on Harrow Casting. I mean, really. At level two, you have only a 1/6 chance of getting ANY benefit at all, and even then you only get a bonus for beating spell resistance? And you can only do it twice a day? I suppose that making it unlimited would make it really strong when you get to the higher levels, but early on, that limitation makes an at-best-mediocre ability rather unimpressive.

Camping this weekend, so no posts from me from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening. Feel free to put me in NPC mode if needs be.

It's kinda nice that Pathfinder did such a good job of making the base classes appealing enough that deciding to prestige out is such a tough choice. I actually think I might stick with a straight Bard now just because I didn't create him with the intent of prestiging out.

I think in my next PbP I might submit a clouded Oracle with the specific intention of going Harrower. The blind fortune-teller is such a classic literary device it's a difficult temptation to resist.

Out of curiosity, I'd like to see what everyone else's opinion is on the number of PbPs it's appropriate to be in simultaneously. For example, I'm in three right now: This one, a Jade Regent game, and a Skull & Shackles game.

I was thinking about skipping Shattered Star and waiting for the next one to join another, just because I don't want to see myself as joining too many PbPs and preventing others from having a good time with them. What do you guys think? How many PbPs is too many?

It depends how many you can keep up with, their posting speed, and your free time. So its really a person by person basis.

Exactly.

Also, while I'm all for giving newbies a chance to get in on some games, at the same time, it's really up to the DM and they (I assume) end up choosing the PC/Players they feel is the best fit for their game. If there's a game you'd really like to be in, and you would be one of the best fits for it, why deny yourself and everyone else the pleasure you'd all derive from your being in it?

I'm currently in, ahem, Nine PbP's. Yes yes I know, some may feel that's being greedy, but I prefer to phrase it as 'Blissfully Addicited', for truly, often I'm staring at my campaign page waiting for more posts , willing them to come now, Right Now! Ahem, but I digress.

Some of those games are more active than others of course, but for the most part, they're are pretty regular. And many of them I've been in for a while, the longest going back four or so years now. I've always been in Many more games than that that were short lived for various reasons.

So, while it's certainly possible I have a biased opinion, I say just apply for whatever game you want. If the selection is close between you and a newbie or someone in only a few games, well then, sure, you might want to take the high round and bow out.

Anyway, how's Skull & Shackles?? I really want to get into that game but haven't applied in time to one yet. And Jade Regent, that good too?

I'm really enjoying Skull and Shackles, and Jade Regent too. JR is the first PbP I've ever played in and one of the players invited me into the S&S game he was starting.

The S&S GM just hand-waved part one of The Wormwood Mutiny, though; that chunk involves twenty days of two-actions-a-day interaction with the crew to try and get on their good side before the AP's namesake mutiny occurs. It's taken us three months to get through the first five of those 20 days in part one of this AP. The DM finally said that he didn't want to spend the first year of the PbP in just the first part of book one, so he's hand-waving the other fifteen days by asking us what our overall plan would be for the remainder and, as he phrased it, montaging "the hell out of it and then we can get to some adventurin with a capital A".

Ya I'm in 8 currently, but I'm addicted to character builds, it's a problem :) Really though, considering how many of these things shrivel up and die, I would be surprised if all of them were still running a couple of months from now.

@Catila, Skull & Shackles is pretty fun, but more so than any other AP I've run or played, it really helps if you build a character that works well in sailing/piracy setting.

Agreed with Orin. Whatever kind of character you make, it needs to be one that is actually wanting to be a pirate, be it the benevolent kind or the skulduggerous type.

This is my first and only Pbp game so can't offer much insight but I personally have enough going on with work, study and other games that this one game is enough atm. (really enjoying it btw- my first actual game set in Golarion too :D )

currently DMing a S&S game with my old high school group.

@OMB

Could I get my roll results before being called off to deal with a hammer issue. Honestly mithral is light, just get a normal run of the mill hammer and see which one is heavier. If its the normal one then its mithral and the woman is right so it belongs to her. Don't tell me no one has a scale, what kind of abadarnite does not.

If they don't have a scale large enough, you could always do a water displacement test.

Leralt, apologies. I missed your post in my race to recover from the weekend before last. I think everything is up now. If I missed anything or if you have further questions, let me know.

Also, I dig that science is being used to solve the dispute. Yay!

Bought a house! Moving today. Will be MIA for a little while.

Congratulations, fellow homeowner! My wife and I are approaching the third anniversary of our first home purchase. It's a great thing! Good luck with the move!

Ok can we make a list of the magic items we have all found recently. Here is mine.

-Demonic statue

So thats a protection from evil and a identify spell he will prepare for tomarrow. I will update the list and spells prepared if more are added.

Anyone else, more details the better.

Yeah I did not want to say this because its OOC knowlege and a guess. But this honor they talk about is likely being infected by the mold that creates their kind. Thats how they reproduce, by using humanoids as living soil pretty much. Also depending on the DM they absorb your soul in the process or at least some memories.

Songan good luck with that. I will keep my soul in Nethys hands thank you very much. ;)

;-)

I assume they called Leralt that as a slang for mages sense nothing about him gives away his tiefling nature. Not without careful and close physical examination. His horns for example would only be exposed if his hair was cut. Even true seeing would not work sense its just the way his nature appearance is arranged. Being a mage he knows the best way to fool anything that would expose him. ;)