Rigor Rictus Killfest (Inactive)

Game Master LastNameOnEarth

Welcome aboard. This will be the team, so start discussing how you will best work together as a team, and giving each other whatever build advice remains to be worked out.

Hello! Thanks for picking me. Excited to kill!

I'll just repost my last post from recruitment here.

I thought I'd share my checklist of possible situations and how Angelo would deal with them.

Flying enemies - (Angelo can fly)
Foes with DR - (Angelo does high damage per hit)
Foes with energy immunity - (Angelo relies on melee damage)
Deeper darkness - (Lesser evo surge Tremorsense)
Incorporeal - (Lesser evo surge Shadowform)
Swarms - (Fuse grenades, acid splash)
Invisible foes - (Glitterdust/lesser evo surge Tremorsense)
Traps - (+15 perception/trapfinding, +14 disable device on traps)
Ability drain/damage - (Scroll of restore eidolon)
Water - (Lesser evo surge Gills or Swim)
Extreme hot/cold - (Potion of endure elements)
Elemental damage - (Lesser evo surge Immunity)
Burrowing foes - (Lesser evo surge Tremorsense)

Normal fighting wise, round 1 he will vanishing trick and cast Haste, then move into a good position. He will always take a full attack with sneak if that's available to him, burning Ki when necessary to vanish or get an extra attack. If the enemy can be tripped he will try to keep it that way via flurries of trips.

Preferably we could switch off hasting each other to leave 2nd level slots open for Lesser Evolution Surge and Summon Eidolon. First level spell slots will be saved for healing.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on places I could make improvements to the build.

Awesome! thanks for the selection. This should be a blast! :D

Here is my build and gear.

Heroism adds +2 Morale Bonus on Attack and Damage, and Inspire Courage adds +2 Competence bonus. So they stack. Herolab's output says morale for Inspire courage, but only the saving throw on charm spells is morale typed.

I took toughness, but if someone has a better feat suggestion there, let me know. Or even suggestions on spell selection.

Just realized I need to add traits! lol

Too cool! Thanks for the opportunity Rigor Rictus. Gonna try to hammer out my crunch and shopping this evening.

I'll make the same offer Jeska did - if anyone has some better spell selection ideas; I would much appreciate hearing them.

Reporting for duty, and ready to shred some enemies :-)

Seeking an opinion on a rules question that concerns my character. He is a Synthesist Gunslinger who has four arms and uses four revolvers at the same time. So the question is this: how would Rapid Shot work?

Rapid Shot (Combat)

You can make an additional ranged attack.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Point-Blank Shot.
Benefit: When making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, you can fire one additional time this round. All of your attack rolls take a –2 penalty when using Rapid Shot.

As usual there are two ways to read this:

Reading through the forums, there are opinions, but nothing official, as it is an obscure case that is only possible with revolvers. Most I've seen say only one extra shot, but usually for the reason that the other answer would be cheesy. Grammatically, as it refers to full attacking with a weapon and getting an extra attack, there is nothing restricting this from applying to each weapon you full attack with.

Thoughts?

Gameplay and combat
I've intended Gameplay to be fast and down and dirty in this game, and I'll be using a few tricks to help it run faster.

Please copy and paste this into your Gender field on the character profile. See Rotann for an example.
{spoiler=Stats]Init: Per: HP: XX/XX AC: FF: T: CMB: CMD: F: R: W: [/spoiler]

Initiative: I will roll Initiative for the whole group at the start of any fight. The group will go in a clump, either before or after the enemies, and the highest initiative will determine if the group goes first or second. Once the groups turn comes around, initiative will occur according to posting order, so you can assume anything posted above you has really happened just before your turn.

Combat Resolution: As advertised I will be posting the monster's statblock and you will resolve the action yourself. I expect everyone to not abuse this too much, by adding in the +1 you need to hit after you've seen the preview, or using a different weapon because you saw the kind DR/ you saw on the critter's write up. I'll post the Knowledge DC's you need to hit to let your character use that info (usually 10+CR) When you post your action, you'll look at the stat block and see if you hit or not, and add your own descriptive text (should be appropriate to the amount of damage you inflicted). Any suggestions on where the most convenient place would be to post those stat blocks?

Maps: I'll post simple maps via Google Drive and set it up so you can move your own icon. Please don't mess with the map, just make your moves, and keep 'em legal.

I think that's about everything. If some thing comes up I'll let you know. If you have any other suggestions for fast and easy play, let me know.

Also, you've now seen our team. What level Module should we play? I have two level 10's, a level 11, and a level 13. I'm tempted towards the 13 actually, after seeing the stat blocks and lining them up against the baddies. Some CR 9 creatures in the modules look like they might have trouble against individuals in our party.

Sounds good to me. The Campaign Info tab might be a good place to post the enemies stat blocks.

If you think we won't die horribly versus the level 13 module, I would be okay with it - I foresee DR being a bit of a problem for this party, though (well, insofar as it will slow combats down).

That said, if this PC *does* die, I am sure that Raven's suit will simply find some other patsy to take over ;-)

Regarding Rapid Shot, I am pretty sure that it only gives a single extra attack per round; the wording seems pretty clear on that:

"When making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, you can fire one additional time this round."

In the same way that you don't get iterative attacks with the non-primary weapons, you would not get additional shots thanks to rapid shot

Well, it is true it says one shot, but it also says one weapon. The feat wasn't designed with a mind to weapons that could be dual wielded and fire repeatedly. I suppose what I looking for is not the intent, but rather looking to see if this is an acceptable loophole.

Well, it specifies that you can fire 'one additional time this round', which seems pretty clear to me.

That said, you are the GM, and can make whatever rules you want :-P

I foresee everything dying in a hail of gunfire, and *many, many* bullets being used, though.

For a DMPC I usually like to treat the other players as the arbitrating GM. If a rule is acceptable, I'll go with it, but if it doesn't, I'll respect that. The idea with this character is to have fun alongside the group, and not steal the game. If I make special rules for me, they is probably what will happen. That's pretty annoying for everyone involved.

Just to be clear (as I realise my previous post may have sounded a little confrontational), I was not saying you were *making up* rules, more that you were interpreting them as you saw fit (which is your perogative as GM).

Thanks for the selection, Rigor! I appreciate it.

Any of you melee fellas interested in taking the Outflank feat?

Well, it is true it says one shot, but it also says one weapon. The feat wasn't designed with a mind to weapons that could be dual wielded and fire repeatedly.

Bolded for absolute trueness. Seeing how there is no weapon that can be fired without having to use both hands, the cats at Paizo didn't see this coming when they created the gunslinger and his revolvers.

I will say I have a hard time disagreeing with Luke, but with this whole revolver bit that needs no extra hands to arm it, that's a dang good question. I can't help but question it.

So, for what it's worth, I asked James Jacobs. I'm curious as to his thoughts on it.

But like Luke also said, you're the GM, you can roll how you want to.

Me personally? I think it would be pretty cool to see GUN'S A-BLAZIN' BAY-BEE! :)

Personally I'd allow both weapons to get an additional shot.

RE:Firearms
I would say you only get one extra shot no matter how many weapons you're wielding. That's clearly the intent, and it would be the only feat in the game that gave you a variable amount of extra attacks. You don't make a full attack with a single weapon, you just make a full attack action. You can't make four full attacks, so you don't get four extra shots.

Yes, it's kinda badly worded and probably needs to say "When making a full-attack action with ranged weapons, you can fire one additional time this round." We're already badass enough without bending/breaking rules to make ourselves more so.

Also keep in mind that RAW, rapid reload doesn't do anything for pistols. So with four revolvers, you're going to need quick draw and a bunch of move actions to reload every few rounds.

The reason it doesn't work, in case you don't know, is that it doesn't state it reduces reload time by one step, it simply reduces one handed firearms to a move action, since revolvers are already a move action it does nothing.

So you can rapid shot for four rounds, and single shot for the fifth round and then spend four move actions to reload them. More if you don't have quick draw since you need two hands free to reload revolvers.

I've had this rules issue come up several times, and unfortunately there's no way around it. You could house rule it, but I'm against any house rules, especially for the DMPC's sake. You're still going to be putting out 29 bullets in five rounds though, and most combats aren't even going to last that long. You also get the added fun of beating the sh*t out of us with CR 13 monsters.

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Jeska - Spells wise I would possibly replace one of your first levels for Vanish and then replace invisibility with glitterdust. That spell is one of the best on the bard list. Other than that I don't have any suggestions.

Rost'Nomm - I'd say get rid of Tongues for Dispel Magic. We're gonna need that and you're the only one who has the option of taking it.

@ Angelo - Thanks for the spell list look over. Unfortunately I cant drop Tongues as its given from his Mystery spell list. I would have to drop Searing Light. Still probably worth it.

I agree about not house ruling for the DMPC sake. thanks for the heads up on rapid reload, I hadn't noticed, and I'll have to look into it to see what I can manage to fugue out.

Any other thoughts/opinions on the game play set up I've suggested?

Im all for the group initiative and the other ideas sound good as well.

Gameplay set up sounds perfect to me. I can't think of any other tricks to make PBP go more smoothly.

Angelo Fortunato: Looks like you were right about Rapid Reload, at least within the description of the feat. However, I also found the following in the Firearm section regarding reloading.

Loading a Firearm: You need at least one hand free to load one-handed and two-handed firearms. In the case of two-handed firearms, you hold the weapon in one hand and load it with the other—you only need to hold it in two hands to aim and shoot the firearm. Loading siege firearms requires both hands, and one hand usually manipulates a large ramrod (which can be wielded as a club in combat). The Rapid Reload feat reduces the time required to load one-handed and two-handed firearms, but this feat does not reduce the time it takes to load siege firearms.

Loading any firearm provokes attacks of opportunity. Other rules for loading a firearm depend on whether the firearm is an early firearm or an advanced firearm.

Early Firearms: Early firearms are muzzle-loaded, requiring bullets or pellets and black powder to be rammed down the muzzle. If an early firearm has multiple barrels, each barrel must be loaded separately. It is a standard action to load each barrel of a one-handed early firearm and a full-round action to load each barrel of a two-handed early firearm. It takes three full-round actions by one person to load a siege firearm. This can be reduced to two full-round actions if more than one person is loading the cannon.

Advanced Firearms: Advanced firearms are chamber-loaded. It is a move action to load a one-handed or two-handed advanced firearm to its full capacity.

Emphasis added.

If the feat reduces the time required to reload the weapon, and the time required to reload the weapon is a move action, reloading the weapon with the Rapid Reload feat must be less. This is a situation where RAW contradicts itself, but RAI is very clear. The rapid reload description was written with early firearms in mind, but citing the above section this was clearly an oversight, and Rules as Intended clearly indicates it was meant to reduce the time. Typical time would be a move action, except for special cases they forgot to mention.

It doesn't really contradict itself. There are tons of threads about it in the rules question forum. The loading a firearm section is referring to early firearms by default. But that doesn't change what the feat does.

It's not an oversight. It's intended to balance the five range increment touch attacks, and lower misfire rates, as well as the much higher capacity of advanced firearms.

That being said, if you want to run it that it reduces them to a free action it's your game. That's a house rule I'd be totally okay with, as it will have little effect on anything. In any fight that lasts long enough for you to need to reload, we're going to need all the help we can get.

Tactics wise, do the other two synths agree that we should switch off hasting the party? We'll take turns, one doing it as their first action each combat.

Either way, it's something that only comes up every 5 or six rounds, so it might be better to replace the feat with something else anyway. He has quickdraw, so a John Woo style New York Reload is a possibility too.

Sorry to triple post, but to avoid an edit getting missed, can I know what module we'll be playing? I'd like to pick a favored enemy that will actually come up during play. Otherwise it's just a wasted ability.

I need to read through the Level 13 module and see if there is a way to streamline it to be action heavy, RP light. (Usually I'm trying to do the opposite).

If we do play it, it will be Academy of Secrets and the chief enemy will be

RE:Firearms

I would say you only get one extra shot no matter how many weapons you're wielding. That's clearly the intent, and it would be the only feat in the game that gave you a variable amount of extra attacks. You don't make a full attack with a single weapon, you just make a full attack action. You can't make four full attacks, so you don't get four extra shots.

Yes, it's kinda badly worded and probably needs to say "When making a full-attack action with ranged weapons, you can fire one additional time this round." We're already badass enough without bending/breaking rules to make ourselves more so.

Also keep in mind that RAW, rapid reload doesn't do anything for pistols. So with four revolvers, you're going to need quick draw and a bunch of move actions to reload every few rounds.

The reason it doesn't work, in case you don't know, is that it doesn't state it reduces reload time by one step, it simply reduces one handed firearms to a move action, since revolvers are already a move action it does nothing.

So you can rapid shot for four rounds, and single shot for the fifth round and then spend four move actions to reload them. More if you don't have quick draw since you need two hands free to reload revolvers.

I've had this rules issue come up several times, and unfortunately there's no way around it. You could house rule it, but I'm against any house rules, especially for the DMPC's sake. You're still going to be putting out 29 bullets in five rounds though, and most combats aren't even going to last that long. You also get the added fun of beating the sh*t out of us with CR 13 monsters.

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Jeska - Spells wise I would possibly replace one of your first levels for Vanish and then replace invisibility with glitterdust. That spell is one of the best on the bard list. Other than that I don't have any suggestions.

Rost'Nomm - I'd say get rid of Tongues for Dispel Magic. We're gonna need that and you're the only one who has the option of...

Replaced CLW with Vanish, and Invisibility with Glitterdust.

Tactics wise, do the other two synths agree that we should switch off hasting the party? We'll take turns, one doing it as their first action each combat.

I'm up for it, though unlike the two of you, I do not fly. That means if you want me to cast it, you will have to be close enough for me to do so.

If we go with that mod I'll change my favored enemy to evil outsiders then.

I plan on sticking close. Flying is mostly in case the enemy is flying, or some spot is inaccessible.

Think I've everything accounted for now. Switched out Rapid Shot for Arcane Strike, and Rapid Reload for Clustered Shots (for DR busting).

If your character is complete and ready to go, please shout out. Rost and Raven (and Darnak if you have not) please list your stats in your Gender field. Spoilered or not is your preference.

Edit: Actually, I like what Angelo did with his, and so I changed mine to match.
Edit II: Except that I would like it to include CMB, which I've updated on mine now.

I am ready!

Me personally, I prefer using the spoiler tag just because it's less of an eyesore in the IC thread. I've seen folks with 2 or 3 lines of info and it feels like all I'm looking at is their information. It takes up more of a post than the post itself. But that's just me.

Ready to roll.

Either is fine, but I can see the point. If yours goes over one line of text, please use a spoiler.

Those of you who are ready can get started in the game play forum. Let's get the killing started.

Hmmm... Well, based on the module, I am making a few small changes to my equipment, but otherwise, it looks good :-)

Any of you fellas have any use for Outflank?

Let me know if not. I'll switch it out for a different feat.

I kinda need all my feats where they are. I'm gonna pass on outflank.

Range fighter; sorry.

39 AC! Nice. I thought I was doing good at 34. Of course I could sacrifice some damage to get up to 36, but that feels like overkill.

Any of you fellas have any use for Outflank?

Let me know if not. I'll switch it out for a different feat.

Sure, why not? I can trade out toughness for it.

I can now see why the majority of folks don't like Summoner(Synthesist). Man that class is really powerful. A +9 Natural AC is nasty.

And I see that Angelo has a +12 NA. Man that class truly is way super powered.

I know nothing about them so I don't get it how any of it works.

@Jeska: Cool! I was just going through feats to see what to replace it with, 'cause I figured no one is probably gonna use it. But If you're sure, bud, then I'll keep it! I don't like teamwork feats at all because I just don't think they're any good, but I sure like Outflank. It's quite the handy. Just ask Malak Jaedoom, hey Stiehls9? :)

I didn't even think of this, but a synthesist 6/master of many styles 6 gestalt with feral combat training feat could be a serious badass.

Dragon style+quadruped form+pouncing flurry!

Burn a ki point and get Bite, bite, bite, claw, claw, rake, rake on every charge. Without haste. O_O I have to double check but I think that rake only counts as one attack towards the eidolon's attack limits. If so, throw on a gore attack for even more carnage!

MWAAHAWHAHWAHWAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA. Okay. Done now.

39 AC! Nice. I thought I was doing good at 34. Of course I could sacrifice some damage to get up to 36, but that feels like overkill.

If I lost a pair of arms and burned a feat I could get it up to 42. Reallocate some funds to more defensive enchantments and I could probably do 44. At what point does it become overkill?

Javell, you are not wrong about Synthesists, and now I can see why they are so disliked. They are pure overpowered cheese.

To allow them in a real game I think I'd say they had to use their own stats for the base form of the meld, and that they only got the Eidolon's con x hit dice worth of HP in temp HP; not all of them.

They don't have to be overpowered cheese. That's the player's choice. I've played them in several normal games with no issues. Also keep in mind that by giving them gestalt, tons of cash, 30 pt buy and extra feats we've severely exaggerated their power.

They are cool because they let you be whatever you want to be. Any form or idea you can come up with synthesist allows you to do it basically. Especially if the DM follows the rule of cool and lets you reskin appearance of things.

Im pretty close to done. My apologies for the delay on this but RL has been a drag lately. I just have 1500 gp to spend! Any ideas?

Otherwise my sheet is ready for review.

Angelo has a good point, that this game shouldn't necessarily be representative of them, but I still look and see so much massive potential for abuse. I haven't been asked to GM one in a regular campaign yet, but if I am, I will likely approach it with caution.

As one should with all things :)

Rost

Character looks good to me, and everything appears to add up. Given his combat stats, I think I'd recommend he try to stay out of melee range if possible, so a range weapon might be a better idea than the falchion, or in addition to it. Get a composite longbow, or even a double barreled musket, as they are considered martial weapons.

If anyone has any finishing touches to do, please get them tidied up now, before our first combat.

Angelo and Raven

Gaining a fly speed myself has made me look up the rules again on flying. Remember that it is a skill, and that certain maneuvers have DC's to accomplish. You may want to note that in your skill selection. Raven, it appears you did not even take the skill at all. Magic flight does give a perfect rating, but that only provides a +8 to the Fly skill, putting you at dex(2)+8 for 10. Angelo's wings give him Good maneuverability for a +4 on his skill.

Table: Flying Maneuver DCs
Flying Maneuver Fly DC
Move less than half speed and remain flying 10
Hover 15
Turn greater than 45° by spending 5 feet of movement 15
Turn 180° by spending 10 feet of movement 20
Fly up at a greater than 45° angle1 20