Oops, Hilde = Aluriel
Oops II - "Vildeis" - I'll try to remember. Of course, right now, I'm trying to remember the names of 400 drugs for my test Friday, so I make no promises. 8)
Inspired Spell being one of my favorites, and likely the primary reason I'd grab the Hierophant path as a battle-oriented oracle, as it seriously increases your versatility, allowing you to cast any divine spell on your class' spell list of a spell you can cast, even if its not one you know. Not to mention, you can add apply metamagic feats you know to this spell and it counts as 2 levels higher.
Inspired spell is definitely on my list and it does increase versatility. On the other hand, versatility isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Detect Magic is really important - until every caster in the party has it but you need to detect poison. Then you really want the non-versatile guy that took the seldomly used cantrip.
Heirophant isn't bad. Marshal isn't bad. Champion isn't bad.
Guardian is OMG awesome for a melee character however and nicely fills in an oracles weaknesses. Fast Healing 20. DR 15/Epic - DR 35/epic when something really bad hits the fan. Caged Enemy makes someone with a reach weapon almost unchargable. Mythic resolve to reroll saves.
All of those are core abilities for the melee archtype whether buffer, damage-dealer or tank. A lot of the other abilities are good, but they are situational and core always beats situational.
This isn't really surprising however, and it's exactly what I've seen over and over in MMOs. I made Aluriel a hybrid and I get the impression Unafe is one as well. Hybrids can be really effective, but you need to pick one role to focus on and let the other abilities provide support. Now that I've looked at the rules, it doesn't make much sense for a hybrid to focus on their support abilities at the expense of their role.
I'm not so disappointed in Heirophant for a caster cleric. It's even pretty good for a druid, with a lot of pet abilities. I am disappointed in Marshal and think they really need to clarify "ally." Are you your own "ally" or do most of the abilities only affect others? And why do many of the best abilities affect things no DM will really let you do?
You can have double the followers with the Leadership feat. Players are rarely allowed to take Leadership, and even when they are, no DM wants to deal with all your followers on top of a cohort. Then there are two or three abilities that let you buff these followers, but not mythic characters.
Another ability lets you give your surges to ONE other mythic player. Who wants to play a Surge battery for someone else? Way back in the day they gave that role to Necromancers in Everquest and every person that played one made a new character.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not really griping. I'm just disappointed in Marshal unless you are playing a paladin or very stereotypical bard. Most of the "Paths" seem to pigeon-hole characters too much. It was breaking out of these very same pigeonholes that I like the most about Pathfinder.
I'd love to hear other opinions however. I will also admit that I thought Champion and Guardian were about even in desirability until I really looked at Guardian. Sure, Guardian only has 4-5 great powers, it's just that they scale extremely well - for any class. A guardian cleric would be awesome. So would a guardian wizard. So would a guardian...anything. 8)
PS: I apologize for typos. I type about 160 wpm, faster than is probably wise. Because I type phonetically, I sometimes accidentally switch there, their and they're because I type without thinking. It's also why, when I misspell a word, I misspell it the same way every time. I usually just fly along and then go back, proofread and edit. That's not been possible lately however, thanks to school.
PPS: The fast typing speed is probably also why my posts are so long. I type the same way I speak...on and on and on.
As far as my own build...Treatmonk argues strongly for optimizing a druid either as a combat caster (maxing WIS and dumping STR) or as a melee combatant (maxing STR). I think (both with a 25pt buy, and with the added oomph of mythic power) that while it may not be completely optimized that I can genuinely get away with both. I'm picturing Unafe starting most big combats summoning (dinosaurs, once she's high enough level) to join our front lines, and then charging in there beside Yakini. With a 16 WIS her DCs won't be great, but her summons, buffs, and non-save control spells should be just fine. Once she's brought in some friends she'll typically join the melee (though she'll have a slightly lower AC and HP than most front-liners, so she may need to retreat at times) or can cast buffs/battlefield control/healing, whatever seems most called for.
I think I'll be using feats and mythic abilities to add extra punch to my summons and (when I finally get Wild Shape at 6th level) to my abilities when in trampling about as a Huge dinosaur.
Looking in more detail, I'll almost definitely dual path into Guardian. I agree with you, Aluriel, it's very sweet -- and it has way more buffs for my wildshaping and companion than Heirophant has, though Heirophant will have a few sweet abilities like Inspired Spell and Mighty Summons
Along the way, let me say up front that I'm new to running a Druid (as well as to the Mythic rules, though I've been enjoying reading them) and I enjoy conversations about build options so (if anyone's interested) feel free to offer any suggestions/critiques of her build, spell selection, or combat strategy. I appreciate it!
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I'll join in on this discussion, for whatever it's worth.
I'm used to powerhousing. This time I've taken a different approach and I'm focused on skills, knowledge, and (of course) thieving. I wanted to jump at the opportunity to play in a mythic setting and be a mythic thief. There are more than a couple of path abilities that have grabbed my attention. As far as combat, I'll be controlling the battlefield a little and just trying to sneak attack. Though I do plan on going a couple of levels of alchemist a little later (Perfect Recall is the main reason. Jack has eidetic memory for all intensive purposes, so I figured that, extracts, and no loss in sneak attack was an attractive enough reason to dip into alchemist).
Also, I hadn't originally put Jack's race traits in his profile and I just fixed that. So if my profile looks any different, that's why.
I'll be using the trickster's ability to take abilities from other paths, and some of their other stuff to make Xander really good with his gun. At least that's the idea. It'll be a legendary weapon ASAP as well.
The Legendary Item stuff is awesome, and I wholly approve of you guys taking that.
Also.. as for posts, we're waiting on Ardeshir for his first post still, and I believe everyone else has arrived at the villa - so you guys may banter around till Ardeshir posts, then I'll move us along.
Ardeshir, if you're having any sort of problem posting - real life issues or whatnot, just hollar.
I haven't looked at the Legendary Item rules. I guess I figured that I don't play on making items and so figured I'd buy what I could. Seems like I should probably read it when I can.
I have a test in thirty minutes - Clinical Medicine and then the big boy - Pharmacology on Friday. I will have a weekend to read fun stuff after and then I have to start studying for the 2nd midterms.
I don't, and won't, have the time to do a lot of reading outside the game so I really appreciate guidance. As long as I get to play the character how I like, the rules only really interest me as a framework. We will all have a better understanding of what we'd like to do before we have to make these decisions, so I've been letting them ride a bit.
I goofed around last night and assigned Aluriel's non-mythic feats to 12th level. Doing so was kind of disappointing however because now I kind of feel I'm just playing to some kind of schedule. I don't think I'm going to do that with her mythic feats. It seems more fun to play as I go instead of just pushing for the next level.
Maybe that's just me however.
So... should I start looking into the Mythic stuff, or is that in a distant future?
Good Afternoon,
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here, I have just had no time to be able to really post anything this week. I've already clocked in a full work week and it's only Wednesday. I hope to post something soon, but I don't want to promise tomorrow and then not be able to deliver.
No worries Ardeshir - I'm probably going to move us forward tomorrow, and assume that you're there in the background until you're ready - if we get to something that you need to be a part of (Such as combat), then I'll DMPC you, as I don't want the campaign to be held up too much due to one player, even if said player has very legitimate reasons for being busy (Which you do). When you do get around to posting, you can retroactively post, so we know what you were doing.
Also Sasbrek, you guys have a few levels before you hit Mythic, so you have time.
The Legendary Item rules are completely separate from Mythic Crafting; it's a universal path ability that allows you to give some of your equipment (can be taken multiple times for the same item or different ones) bonus powers and it's own surges and stuff, and eventually become a minor or major artifact.
I goofed around last night and assigned Aluriel's non-mythic feats to 12th level. Doing so was kind of disappointing however because now I kind of feel I'm just playing to some kind of schedule. I don't think I'm going to do that with her mythic feats. It seems more fun to play as I go instead of just pushing for the next level.
Maybe that's just me however.
I know what you mean there, but it is fun to look ahead and see what the character can become. I almost never entirely remember or follow the projected feat path anyway. Things come up in the campaign, priorities change, and you end up with a different character anyway.
Yeowch, exams suck. hope they went and go well.
Also Sasbrek, you guys have a few levels before you hit Mythic, so you have time.
A few levels! This is an outrage! I demand to see you manager young man!
..I got called an old man the other day by some kids. Who are you calling young :P
Granted, I'm only 24, so I'm still not old, either
Anyways, I'm using Wrath of the Righteous as a guideline - you guys will hit Mythic Tier 1 around level 6ish. Normally, that would take ages in a pbp, but as you know, we're going on the super-fast leveling track - so expect a couple of months - but again, thats just a goal. Perhaps we'll level up faster, depending on how things go.
Booooo! Hisss! *throws rotten fruit*
Still younger than me then! (at the ripe old age of 26 :p)
Get off my lawn you damn whipper-snappers! (27)
26 here too. Surprisingly homogenous.
Ermm, let's see if I can add a little heterogeneity...my d12 is older than all y'all. ;0)
(I'll be 43 next month, and I still have some of the dice that came with the D&D Basic Set I got in '81.)
I doubt there's anything to make up for...I'll be very surprised if my AD&D familiarity will help me much in this game, and I'm actually quite new to Pathfinder, having mostly played 3.5e and Iron Heroes over the last decade.
I'm in my 30's and I am older than your d12.
I'm in my 30's and I am older than your d12.
Excellent! My d12 feels younger already. ;0)
Glad you made it through your busy stretch, and that we've all arrived at the Halib's villa.
Staring down the barrel of 30. Got my start at 9 years playing AD&D 2nd edition.
I am thoroughly upset that I didn't get a chance to play DnD (outside computer games) or indeed any other pen and paper RPG until my late teens :(
I've got some dice my neighbors/baby sitters gave me when I was kid, that are from the 70s. Ancient and full of luck. I've been gaming since 1999, Alternity -> 3.0 -> 3.5 -> Pathfinder
My first D&D game was the one that had a villain called Zanzar Tem or something like that. I think it was a quasi board game, that then morphed over to D&D. I can't remember anymore. Also played Keep of the Borderlands early on. Eventually switched over to AD&D 2nd edition.
Hey guys just a heads up, I'm having some internet issues and will have trouble posting until I can secure myself a new router. Hopefully that won't take too long obviously, but I just wanted to let you guys know.
I'll still try to get us moving along of course!
Going to be out of town until Tuesday, and won't be able to post during that time. Feel free to DMPC my character as needed.
Looks like it's well timed though, given your own issues.
Thanks for bearing with me through another round of midterm Hell. Grades are back for 3/4 tests and I passed all of them. I even made a B on the Clinical Medicine midterm so I'm kind of tickled. Hopefully I passed Pharmacology but if I didn't it should be close enough to make up next exam. I have never been so ill-prepared for a test as I was that one.
I am 47. I first saw Dungeons & Dragons in 1978 (I was 11) when three college students were playing at FSU with saddle-stitched rulebooks. They let me play for an hour and although my character died, I was hooked. I talked my mother into buying me a rulebook for my birthday a few months later and it turned out to be the first edition Player's Handbook. I gave away all of my old DnD stuff four years ago when I started medical school so I don't have any of it any longer. I still had some of my dice, two boxes of the first Ral Partha miniatures and every Ravenloft book written for 2nd Edition.
It's kind of funny, but I really don't feel almost fifty years old. I feel more 30ish except that I can't fight all day in full armor like I used to.
Ok guys, I've tentatively got my router working - I'll have us moved on tomorrow, provided I still have router-ness then. Otherwise, I'll be back to possibly not being able to get on as much - hopefully that won't be the case!
'Course, here I was hoping to have a good excuse to get a better router.. this D-Link one isn't all that great, even when it works properly. XD
Well, I hope your router woes are over... But in case they persist, Unafe Two-Hearted thinks the Asus Dark Night is the best router in the whole Mwangi Expanse.
I live on a tropical island - Grenada - which sounds much cooler than it actually is. My router is made of bamboo, coconuts and spit but because there are so few people on the internet here, I guess I don't have much competition for bandwidth.
Ordering something on the island usually takes three months, if you get it at all. I pay a minimum of $50 in shipping and a 50% tax for anything I get, except when I pay a 75% tax because they figure out how to gouge me for more money.
Good luck with your router. I can't wait until I get back to civilization and can go down and buy something as simple as an ultra-fine point sharpie without having to wait three months only for it to not arrive.
PS: I didn't mean to make Aluriel's post a mile and a half long, it just seems mandatory if we're going to have a conversation that lasts five minutes in game without lasting 30 days out of game. Please forgive me if it was too much to read.
Alrighty guys, sorry for the delays! I'm going to be working on getting the post up today! :D
I think you guys'll like whats in store for you..
Whew! Its up :D I'm sorry again for making everyone wait :x
Hope you don't mind as my character defers to Nexander and Jack regarding the contract. My character is going to be following your leads. Ardeshir is smart enough to know that there is some danger in the contract, but not well learned enough to find the legal loopholes, however he is wise enough to recognize those who can.
Got a job interview today, but updates will be forthcoming over the course of late-tonight and early-tomorrow.
If you guys would post what you purchase/craft in OOC over on the gameplay thread, I'd like to know what everyone gets. Lets me see how well they used their money :P
Oh, and as for items with partial charges, such as wands: You are not able to purchase them with partial charges like you could during character creation. You have to buy them full.
I also just remembered I forgot to get Eto's stats up.. woops.
Decisions, decisions....
What do you mean, post what we purchase/craft?
With the advance money?
Yeah, Nexander. Unless, of course, you want to lug around 200 platinum coins in the desert known for its raiders ;)
Also note that, you get to keep the chests they came in.
So that's 2000 GP right?
Yeah. 1 pp = 10 gp = 100 sp = 1000 cp. Makes things easier to carry, as 1 pp weighs the same as 1gp, though is worth 10x more. 200 coins weighs 4 pounds. So 2000 gp would've been 40 pounds.. even if you guys were going to spend most of it, should you wished to save it, you would've had to carry that around :D
And yes, as you can tell, I am going to make you keep track of coin weight. 50 coins = 1 lb.
Can we exchange coins for gemstones at a 1:1 rate? Ie, can I trade in 200 gold coins for a ruby worth 200 gp?
What is the pricing for advanced firearm cartridges in Eto?
Full price - 15 gp.
And yes, you can; Speak with Halib, he'll be able to set you up with that.
As far as food goes, Unafe has +9 Survival and Yakini has the hunt trick.
Taking 10 on Know(Nature) for a 16, does Unafe know if they can expect typical levels of game along the way? Wondering if she knows how much of her and Yakin's food (and possibly others' as well) we can expect from hunting desert mammals and birds (e.g. ostrich) as we progress across the desert?
Also, can Unafe take 10 on hunting? If so -- in typical terrain -- she can feed herself and 4 others (and Yakini's skill would be sufficient to find enough to feed herself).
(She'll bring rations of course for backup, but she and Yakini will both be happier if they're hunting and eating fresh meat.)
You should be able to take 10, but it reduces your speed to half (the hunting, not the taking 10).
I bought a wand of cure light (750 GP), a wand of abundant ammunition (750 GP) and ten potions of endure elements (500 GP).
Which means between weighing the coins and the potions I'm at medium encumbrance :(
Next purchase...handy haversack.
Ok, so.
Sasbrek would like a reptilian mount instead of a camel, and I figured in Golarion it should be easy enough to buy one.
I was apparently mistaken, since there's pretty much no medium or large desert-dwelling quadruped reptiles.
Also, a Combat Trained Giant Frilled Lizard costs 550 gp. That's a CR 5 monster and is in the "purchasable riding animals" in Animal Archive. That's insanely cheap, I don't want to upset the party balance.
Does anyone have any advice, or is it better to just go with a camel?
As far as food goes, Unafe has +9 Survival and Yakini has the hunt trick.
Taking 10 on Know(Nature) for a 16, does Unafe know if they can expect typical levels of game along the way? Wondering if she knows how much of her and Yakin's food (and possibly others' as well) we can expect from hunting desert mammals and birds (e.g. ostrich) as we progress across the desert?
Also, can Unafe take 10 on hunting? If so -- in typical terrain -- she can feed herself and 4 others (and Yakini's skill would be sufficient to find enough to feed herself).
(She'll bring rations of course for backup, but she and Yakini will both be happier if they're hunting and eating fresh meat.)
There are a few issues with living off the land in this case. One: Pinkerton seeks to travel fast, and as a result, would prefer to spend as little time in the open desert as possible. Should any delays arise, he'll allow hunting/foraging, but otherwise seeks to travel at full speed. Two: The region you guys are going in is one of the least hospitable regions in Osirion. Called the Parched Dunes for a reason, there are no Oasis, and animal life, beyond birds and bugs, are rare. As a result, I'm going to be upping the DC to 15, and every 2 points after that feeds one additional person.
However, that being said, you guys will be outskirting the Pillars of the Sun mountain range at first - though quite harsh as well, the DC to find food is normal. However, the big thing is that Pinkerton wishes to move swiftly, otherwise he would not have mentioned bringing a ton of food.
Though if you want to forage/hunt, thats fine. Pinkerton might get a little grumpy at the delays, though :P
*Edit*: You can still take 10 of course - you just won't be able to feed as many as you could in the dunes due to the higher DC.
Ok, so.
Sasbrek would like a reptilian mount instead of a camel, and I figured in Golarion it should be easy enough to buy one.
I was apparently mistaken, since there's pretty much no medium or large desert-dwelling quadruped reptiles.
Also, a Combat Trained Giant Frilled Lizard costs 550 gp. That's a CR 5 monster and is in the "purchasable riding animals" in Animal Archive. That's insanely cheap, I don't want to upset the party balance.Does anyone have any advice, or is it better to just go with a camel?
Go ahead and buy it if you want to spend the money. I fully approve of the image of a kobold riding a giant lizard XD. However, do note that, in order to manage it properly in combat, you'll need to use the Handle Animal skill to direct it, not to mention the Ride skill to fight along with it, as per those two skills. Handling the animal without some sort of link (As Unafe has with Yakini) is a standard action.
Also, unlike Unafe's animal companion, I will be controlling your mount in combat - though you may still Handle it, it will not be under your direct control.
Just know those things before you spend your money on the lizard.