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Cyrus can go anywhere in the marching order, it looks like we have lots of volunteers for the front so I will take up the rear. My AC isn't to bad.
GM Damo - I knew I was forgetting something before it all started. I wanted to get a wand of Shield with my newest 2 PP from the last scenario. Is it ok to retcon that?
So for marching order, based on what everyone has said, I would propose (please feel free to voice changes in opinion, concern)
Two Wide:
Gunari, Finarin
Miro, Amaranti
Ibid, Kaishigara
Cyrus
(Cyrus to take Kaishigara's place when she isn't summoned)
Single File:
Gunari
Finarin
Miro
Amaranti
Kaishigara
Ibid
Cyrus
That seem reasonable? Seems like we have lots of front line capable. I like in the two wide having Amaranti in the second row to use his reach weapon. Single file gets harder...
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All that works for me, with my new level and the Spellstrike ability, Round one shocking grasp hold the charge in sciomitar, round 2 move and hit, round three spell combat w/ Arcane mark Pawn for 2 attacks.
I will also be rolling spells first in spell combat, especially if I use Vanish so I can cast w/o a concentration check or being defensive.
I love leveling up and getting new abilities.
Yep! It's included in the adventure at least. Typical for PFS, though. The Pathfinder Society motto may as well be: reduce, reuse, recycle.
Hey boys, since we've had what I call "enough" interest in it, I've created a separate thread just for our off-game discussion! When you're able, dot in and/or have a chat here:
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A bard is trained to use the Perform skill to create magical effects on those around him, including himself if desired. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. At each level after 1st a bard can use bardic performance for 2 additional rounds per day. Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of bardic performance that he has mastered, as indicated by his level.
Starting a bardic performance is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. Changing a bardic performance from one effect to another requires the bard to stop the previous performance and start a new one as a standard action. A bardic performance cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the bard is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. A bard cannot have more than one bardic performance in effect at one time.
At 7th level, a bard can start a bardic performance as a move action instead of a standard action. At 13th level, a bard can start a bardic performance as a swift action.
Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both.
If a bardic performance has audible components, the targets must be able to hear the bard for the performance to have any effect, and many such performances are language dependent (as noted in the description). A deaf bard has a 20% chance to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with an audible component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Deaf creatures are immune to bardic performances with audible components.
If a bardic performance has a visual component, the targets must have line of sight to the bard for the performance to have any effect. A blind bard has a 50% chance to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with a visual component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Blind creatures are immune to bardic performances with visual components.
Bolding was mine.
So, from this, we see that no matter how you are performing, maintaining it is just a free action. You are still able to cast, fight, whatever, and still maintain, as long as you have the free action.
Hey guys, some of you have yet to dot in to the new discussion thread... just wanted to remind you to head to the Zedroom for some great chat!
Sorry all, as Silbeg pointed out, you didn't have a gameplay thread to actually "dot" into! Silly me.
I think Amaranti has been stalking me.
It's not his fault. After all, you used an anagram of his name to name me.
Incorrect. That's a 3.5ism. You cannot deal precision or crits to incorporeal undead without Ghost Touch, but you can typically crit or sneak them!...
Undead Creature type:
Note: Nothing about no critting there. With a lack of a statement that they are immune, they are not immune
I thought so! If I were to have made a ruling on the tabletop without consulting the Core Rules, I would have said crit as per usual. However, being a PbP, I resorted to the Internet to make sure. I didn't even realize that I'd gone to the d20srd instead of the pfsrd by mistake! I went back and checked my search terms, and I just had "undead traits". I almost always put Pathfinder or Paizo.com before my searches. Sigh.
Anyway, glad to see my guts were correct. The lesson here is that in Pathfinder, as in poker, go with your gut. Also part of the lesson: my Google-Fu is weak today.
My apologies for the incorrect assertion, and thanks for the pick up!
Okay guys, decision time. Door or tunnel? Post it in character, but I'm going to go with the majority of whoever has posted next by the time I make my next post. PbP can make these kinds of decisions tricky to roleplay out, I know, so let's not get too caught up on it.
Hope you're feeling better, Jack!
Opinion time!
Do you think this scenario is vastly underpowered? Or are your builds just way above average? Or have you been very lucky? Or something else entirely?
I personally think you'd be able to handle the tier 4-5 version.
I'd agree. Love all of your builds, too, by the way.
Okay, time for me to head to bed (not feeling great - part of the reason I just ploughed through the last little ghoulie). I'll get the chronicle sheets out to you tomorrow once you've given your report to Benarry!
Also, I've done a fairly critical review here of the scenario. Let me know if you think I was being too harsh. You can reveal the spoiler now that you're all but done.
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Agreed, the fights were a bit disappointing... Also, how many HP the BBEG actually had!? The stench/paralyze/disease might have been nasty (that's why Kaisharga went ahead...), but the ghast would have still dropped quite quickly.
Maybe a 1st level party without ranged weapons would've had rough time. BTW, could we avoided the BBEG, if we didn't go through the door?
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@ GM Damo I read your review, and wanted to let you know I didn't think it was too critical. That being said, I can say that I did love this module, for the most part because of the mood, atmosphere, weird happenings, and general underlying horror. I noticed you referenced reading some lovecraft to prepare, so I'm not sure how much of descriptions and mood setting was yours versus the scenario, but I thought the tension and horror build up were really interesting and eerie, and ended up being my favorite part.
Also, being a lovecraft fan, now I wonder what you read to prepare...
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At this point - we should probably start a book club. I never got IN to Lovecraft, but I would be willing to give it another go around. I am between books at the moment.
I think that's an amazing idea. I'd love to get some suggestions for things to read, plus for my part, I could try to help steer people away from the lovecraft stories that are not very good....
@Ibid: I mostly reread passages from "At the Mountains of Madness", since it seemed the best fit for this adventure. I also read some more out of "The Color Out of Space" and "The Shadow out of Time", but nothing as good as the Mountains for ideas to include. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish I'd borrowed more from "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" for the ghoul (and variant) descriptions.
Thank you so much for reading my review. I do worry about critical reviews that I write. I know authors try really hard, and that this author was an RPGSS winner (and this was likely his first "big break" for Paizo). However, I do try to remember that those factors don't make a good product - and that reviews are more for future buyers and developers' future projects than the author (as harsh as that is). Still can't believe that people were complaining about a lone ghoul ambush when they were playing tier 4-5. They must have sucked at the rolls and the teamwork is all I can say.
@Finarin: As for a book club, I'm not even able to make it through my existing reading! Especially not since I started GMing PbP (and before that, since reproducing). Don't let that stop you, though! ;-)
Back @Ibid: Glad you liked my descriptions. Mostly, they were my own. I always like to "credit" the author by putting his or her descriptions in bold and italic:
You see a room and furniture, but Paizo guidelines force me to leave the monster descriptions up to the GM - since they may be hidden or have changed their positions (or left the room entirely)... as GM Damo realised soon after complaining about it during Trial by Machine.
I'll spoiler the relevant scenario descriptions for you (no bold/italic - my comments are ooc).
Alien Architecture and Atmosphere: At first glance, the clean, rectangular design of the Gloomspires seems rather plain. However, this apparent simplicity belies the structures’ complex alien architecture, which is beyond most creatures’ ability to properly comprehend, and which manifests in peculiar ways. Explorers within a column will occasionally see the walls, ceilings, and floors appear to shift and quiver in their peripheral vision. Another, more subtle effect of this strange geometry is the slight distortion of the column’s dimensions; despite countless attempts to reconcile the numbers, explorers find the straight-sided columns are a uniform 120 feet across, yet the summits often measure as much as 180 feet to a side.
Additionally, a palpable sense of wrongness saturates the Gloomspires. Shadows flicker and move in unnatural directions, strange sounds and unidentifiable scents tease the senses, and alternating sensations of claustrophobia and agoraphobia periodically assail visitors. Though these alien features and sensations have no actual game effects, clever GMs might use them to nurture an ambiance of danger and foreboding.
The sickly sweet smell of rotting meat fills this perfectly square, low-ceilinged chamber. The east wall features a large bas-relief carving portraying a wide-eyed hag devouring her own hands.
This long, high-ceilinged hall is partially flooded with murky, stagnant water, and the sound of slowly dripping water echoes ominously throughout. A massive banyan tree has breached a large section of the south wall, and the tree’s enormous invasive roots now extend several feet into the hall. Long sheets of thick moss and other detritus cling to the twisted tree roots, forming a curtainlike barrier.
This cathedral-like hall has a vaulted ceiling supported by eight square pillars. Dominating the middle of the hall is a huge mound of undulating gray-green flesh covered with weeping scarlet boils. The entire mass stinks of a weeks-old corpse.
This large chamber has a relatively low ceiling. The far southwest wall is set at an angle, and against the center of the wall sits a heap of bones and skulls resembling a large makeshift throne. To the left of the throne sits an oak and brass sea chest, carved with images of sea serpents chasing their own tails.
Anyway, glad you liked my additions. I'm even gladder that you liked them knowing that you're a fellow fan of Lovecraft!
Heh. "Forever ago". 1.5 weeks. ;-) Seems like that sometimes doesn't it?
On a side note, I slipped in a lovecraft easter egg for good measure :)
Ooh, I missed what it was first time around! Glad I re-read it in that context. I assume you're talking about...
...we followed the unspoken pact of the living to destroy such foul and unnatural things, and erased them from existence, as if they should never had been.
Great work!
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@ GM Damo: Awesome! Thanks for all the information and background on how you do the scenarios. And it looks like in this case most everything I liked so much was added in by you. So keep doing that!
Also, the lovecraft choices make sense, and I think I could even pick up on what your were channeling. The author was definitely going for some Call of Cthuhlu with his descriptions of the Gloomspires, I.e. the stars need to be right and the geometry is all wrong. As a nod to this intention, that's why I did my own nod to Call of Cthulhu in Observation 2 of Ibid's journal.
And 1.5 weeks does seem like so long ago!
Lastly, you probably would have liked my rendition of Skull and Shackles season 2, because I tried to have a lot of lovecraftian influences throughout the season. I used a portion of the module From Shore to Sea which is heavily influenced by Shadows of Innsmouth, at other points in the season there were many references to creatures entering the world from the Dark Tapestry and effecting Golarion just by their very presence in the world, and the of course some crazy, giant elder God type entity (the blood queen) on the cannibal isles which the Pc's narrowly avoided interacting with when they infiltrated her temple. All in all, some good lovecraftian horrors versus pirates, though now it seems like a weird combination once I've written it down :)
Rats, got it wrong! Would so have loved to play S&S with you.
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..we followed the unspoken pact of the living to destroy such foul and unnatural things, and erased them from existence, as if they should never had been.
This was just me poorly trying to sound like something Lovecraft would have written. The call of Cthulhu nod is in observation 2, the stand alone sentence. It's from part in Call of Cthuhlu when Johansen's journal describes fighting off and killing the crew of the Alert. It's super obscure, and I've probably just exposed how big of a nerd I really am :)
Oh, and we played Carrion Crown ran in homebrew Pathfinder Ravenloft, run by a published Ravenloft author. He's also a fan of Lovecraft and book 4 was his perfect staging ground:
He modified it heavily, and did a masterful job. So, so loved that adventure. Illmarsh was essentially Innsmouth the way he ran it... so much so that I think he accidentally called it "Innsmouth" a few times.
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Question, how does being part of the online game day work for us? Curious as always.
@ Cyrus Holy Hyperlinks!
@ Ibid Love Easter Eggs, know too little about Lovecraft to appreciate it :(
@ Damo Awesome as always! I find when I read more, I write better. I am sure your pbp commitments get daunting so as always thank you for the sacrifice. Do you like audiobooks? I have a decent commute and do a lot of audio books to supplement the monotonous ride.
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@ Finarin Moonstep no worries, I went about as ridiculously obscure as you could get. Apparently I like to take random references further, and further, and further until no one has any clue what I'm talking about :)
@ GM Damo I know the game is going to be ending today and that we'll be stating the next after the holiday break, but would it be possible to leave this scenario's gameplay thread active for this weekend? To keep our PbP skills sharp, I think PapaSteve and I are going to have Cyrus and Ibid do a few posts hashing out some resolution to their middle school-esc quarrel :)
Boon Rolls:
Boon of players choice on a natural roll of 1 or 20
**Re-Rolls not allowed on boons**
Chronicle sheets should all be in your PM inboxes! Let me know if there are any issues.
I'm not 100% sure on what a roll of 6 means, the email from the online VC had only 3 boons and I've just asked him why I'm rolling a d20... I guess we'll find out together. ;-) I rolled so I had something concrete to ask him about first.
Ibid as for keeping this campaign active, I'd actually rather you used the Zedroom Gameplay Thread - after all, that's what it's there for! ;-)
I'm still thinking I may have you "dot in" in our classic bar-room style for new games, though. After all, I understand why players "dot", but I prefer it when it's a little more interactive than that.
Oh, and 4 wand charges to distribute evenly amongst you, I believe.