Alright guys, just a heads up, with the end of the month fast approaching, please start looking into modifications to your characters if you're going to make them - and let me know any changes you'd like to make.
In other news, Roll20 will be releasing a series of character sheets that you can use in the system - one of which is the Pathfinder character sheet. Servers are down for now, but once they're up I'm going to look into them, and if they're good enough, I may have everyone copy their characters over there (Or I can do it for you, doesn't matter).
I'll let you know either way. I'm really excited to get this campaign back up and running - my test run so far has been a blast, and I hope I can transfer that awesomeness right back to you guys :D (You're also in for a wild ride, heh)
Doesn't look like we're losing too many beefy bodies, so I'll keep Valko as is for now. I can just multi-class later if I feel like I want to make him adequate in a different pillar. Maybe Investigator/Slayer my way through life?
Valko, seems like a good choice in terms of party balance, as long as you're happy with a skill monkey role (which sounds likely to have a big impact on this AP).
And hey, if you're thinking about options for being a frontliner in the future, keep in mind that once you inevitably get shanked in your sleep Hoosible can reanimate your dried corpse, at which point you'll be tanking for sure! ;0)
Valko: Voted most likely to die at the hands of his teammates in the party of 4715 AR.
This will be Valko's description when I start posting campaign journals for others to read. :P
Valko is so far removed from my usual preferences, haha. Speaking both in terms of personality and build.
If nothing else, i can just pile on Aid Another actions in combat, though.
In seriousness, for anyone who *is* rejiggering their character, are you considering some face skills (and/or a personality to help the group come together a bit more)?
Assuming Cel and Robert are (sadly) not returning, the PC-With-The-Highest CHA award goes to (tie) Valko and Wilhem, with 12 CHA each. (Hoosible gets a dishonerable mention, for a 19 CHA but -4 to CHA skills due to his corpse-like appearance and smell).
Note, if no one else wants to go there, I might consider switching his second curse from Wasting to Black Blooded (which would still represent his undead appearance and ties to the wendo, and replaces the downside of wasting with -4 to DEX skills...so he'll be the least sneaky gnome you've ever seen but (improbably) will be a delightfully compelling negotiator. I won't get a ton of skill points, but I could put at least a couple into diplomacy.
Crusty, before I go too far down that path, do you see an incompatibility between dual-cursed and black blooded? They both modify the oracle's curse, but (as far as I can tell) in ways that don't at all conflict.
Having a face character would be good. Wilhem has a +6 diplomacy but he's used to dealing with books, not people :)
Alright guys, lets play a round offfff
Although blurry and hard to see, these are the Advanced Class Guide's iconic Base classes. Hopefully this specific wording in the paizo store description means they're no longer alternative hybrid classes! :3
Crusty, did you catch this question:
Note, if no one else wants to go there, I might consider switching his second curse from Wasting to Black Blooded (which would still represent his undead appearance and ties to the wendo, and replaces the downside of wasting with -4 to DEX skills...so he'll be the least sneaky gnome you've ever seen but (improbably) will be a delightfully compelling negotiator. I won't get a ton of skill points, but I could put at least a couple into diplomacy.
Crusty, before I go too far down that path, do you see an incompatibility between dual-cursed and black blooded? They both modify the oracle's curse, but (as far as I can tell) in ways that don't at all conflict.
As far as guessing the iconics...gawd, that's way too blurry! I count 9 humanoid faces, plus one wolf...and one unidentifiable green glob 2nd in from the right (between what's presumably the bloodrager and the hunter).
From R-to-L, I think I see:
Male human Bloodrager
Green blob (halforc brawler?)
Female (human?) Hunter + Wolf
Female (halfelf?) (investigator? slayer?)
(gender unrecognizable) halfling (or gnome?) shaman
Male human? (Brawler? slayer?)
Male human? Arcanist
Male human Skald
Female (dwarf? gnome?) warpriest [1]
Male human Swashbuckler
[1] Is that really an iconic female dwarf? I think it might be and I really hope so! There just aren't any good images (visual or characterization) of female dwarves.
Three of them are already definite:
The bald dude on the far right is a Shoanti Bloodrager - also seen on the cover of the book.
The half-orc is a male half-orc Warpriest of Gorum. (Big sword guy)
And the girl with the red cloak over her arm just to the left of the one with the bow is the female half-elf Swashbuckler from the Shackles. In fact, this one had a "Meet the Iconics" up already, and her name is Jirelle. Better picture of her here
=========================================
As for the others.. I have some ideas myself. From left to right now:
-The bald, dark-skinned guy is probably a Garundi Human Investigator from Thuvia.
-The guy with the long, blond hair is most definitly the Human Skald, likely of Ulfen heritage from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings - or Taldor.
-I really don't know what the short guy/girl is beneath the blond guy - she (Looks more like a she) looks too short to be a dwarf, but its possible. The color of her clothing reminds me heavily of Desna, so I'm guessing a female Halfling something, who happens to worship Desna. Looks like she has star-shaped earrings, too.
-The dude with the wierd, blue-cap is probably the Arcanist - the style of his clothing reminds me of something middle-eastern, so I'm honestly guessing Qadira, or somewhere in that region.
-The short thing next to the wolf.. is probably a gnome. But, in the case that the previous shorty is a dwarf, then this one's probably a female halfling shaman. Either way, bet its the shaman.
-The short-haired blond guy is most likely the Brawler - that face mask just looks like something you'd see a wrestler/boxer wear. No idea on his ethnicity.
-The redheaded woman is likely the Hunter, a human from Nirmathas I'm betting. Wolf belongs to her.
Can't wait till they release more Meet the Iconics!
Oh, and yes I did catch that question, thought about it, thought about what I was going to answer, then totally forgot to do so, Hoosible.
Yeah it works fine! Feel free to take those two archetypes, just one of your curses will HAVE to be the black blooded one obviously.
Alriiiight guys.
Starting today, you have one week to make any changes to your characters that you want before this opportunity is gone forever - things like feats, skills, etc. If you don't have any of it done by next Saturday, the opportunity closes!
And, starting next Saturday, I'll finally post up an update on the gameplay thread and we'll continue where we left off, which is at the Amazing Zograthy's.
If you don't have any changes to your character you'd like to make, please say so - if everyone posts "READY" before next week, we'll start it up sooner!
In addition, Roll20 has implimented fully functional character sheets that can be used with dice and whatnot - for those who are not making any adjustments, I'm going to look into copying your character over there in its entirety so we can possibly use that to track hit points, spells, uses/day, etc.
READY
The rebuild I want to do involves changing some gear...you okay with that?
Yeah thats alright, just let me know the changes - and make sure you keep the values of what you exchange the same.
Aight, I'll work on it tonight. Going Phalanx Soldier focusing on shield bashing and wielding a glaive dual wield. Goin 300 Spartan up in this. Hehe
Second question: Could I make a "bladed shield" that is essentially same as a spiked shield but does slashing damage? I think it will add more cinematic pizazz to my descriptive text in combat.
Like sharpened edges or a blade across the front? Think the former would be cooler if a bit clumsy seeming.
Anyway I don't think I need to change anything but I still haven't looked at his sheet for a while, so I'll try to do that today.
Yeah thats not an issue, go for it. Everything as part of the bladed shield will be identical to that of a spiked shield, though.
(You totally got this idea from Bærn, didn't ya? :P)
Sharpened edges. Picture a fluid combat motion swinging the shield edge-wise to slice into enemies and then bringing it down to defend. Actually have had this idea for a while after watching the sequel to 300. Just not had an opportunity to put it on paper. Granted, Baern opened my eyes to the existence of that Archetype, which fit perfectly.
Ah nice, nice!
In other news.. this Bloodrager of mine in the test run is absolutely terrifying. At level 2 he just did 33 damage in one hit without critting. Lets just say that an enraged Bloodrager using the Blood Reservoir of Physical Prowess (+8 strength) in combination with a two-handed power attack with an earthbreaker.. not to mention Hellfire Strike.. is not someone you want to be enemies with.
Okay...looked back on my sheet, and I obviously didn't have much money to start with...so I don't have the EXACT gear I'm wanting, but the build is fixed to be appropriate for the eventual acquisition of the items.
Changes:
Swapped Handaxe for a Lt Wooden Shield
Swapped Weapon Focus (Handaxe) for Improved Shield Bash
Once Radyx comes back into some wealth...he will be paying a visit to a local blacksmith...get him some proper fighting supplies.
Uhhh woopsy daisy.
TPK -2. All but two of my Test PCs just kicked the bucket. But at least the Bloodrager went out -in style-. I can't really say how without spoilers, but man was he the MVP. He was on FIRE! (Literally and figuratively)
The Fighter (A two-weapon warrior who uses a double-bladed sword) and the Alchemist (A Grenadier) made it out alive. Barely. They had their tails between their legs, thats for sure.
Definitely gonna be needing some weee adjustments to this fight for you guys.. hue hue hue.
I'll be investing in Diplomacy (and other things) with Valko asap. Always intended to, just didn't have the skill points to cover everything right off. Will pick up the investigator talent that adds +1d6 to it as well, so we should mostly be okay in that vein.
Always seems to be that way at first level.
Great Valko, I started looking at a change for Hoosible and I could do it -- it's a slightly more powerful build -- but I think the wasting curse (and it's -4 reduction to CHA skills) best reflects his condition...and he's a bit too oblivious to be a great negotiator.
Given that, Hoosible is READY.
6+Int and a favored class for good measure. Still not enough hah. Valko is good to go, ready, and a man of the people. I may throw together a Slayer as a backup in case of Valko's inevitable murderening. Probably a Vampire Hunter D esque dude, and probably not a dhampir. Oni Hunter Z! (not really)
I actually really love the second iteration of the Swashbuckler - with that feat they added at the bottom of her section, you can have a Swashbuckler who wields a bastard sword (One Handed) using finesse. Thats just awesome.
Wish the actual book would come out sooner. XD
So far we have who are ready:
Hoosible
Valko
Ferit
Isroth (DMPC)
Al'Cazar (DMPC)
Charbonardent
---------
With the three remaining, Radyx is working on changing up his character, Wilhem said he needed to look at his character, but probably won't be changing, and Charbonardent said he's considering changing characters, but we haven't heard from him since the 21st. I'll message him today to see where he's going with his character.
Those not ready still have until Saturday before we start this back up again and any chance of character changes will be lost. Should we not hear back from Charbonardent by then, I'll DMPC him like Isrosh/Al'cazar until we do hear from him. He did mention he's at the limit of his gaming, which is understandable.
Anyhoo, carry on! Just wanted to post whos ready so far mostly for my own organizational needs.
Edit: Well, Charbonardent messaged me right quick with a response, so nevermind about the slashed portions of this post. :D
ready
Thought I had said, but Radyx is ready.
Alright then, we're just waiting on word from Wilhem, to see if he's ready.
Gah! Now I feel bad :s The PFO landrush has been keeping me busily scanning and posting on the forums the last few days when I should have been working on other things (that and Diablo 3). I'll do my best to focus and dredge up his character sheet today.
Okay, yeah nothing I really want to change, so READY
Alrighteeeee!
Working on an update!
Also guys, as far as who's outside and who's inside, here are everyone's locations:
Inside:
Wilhem
Radyx
Valko
Room for 1 more!
Outside:
Everyone else
Well aware of the fact that theres not much for the outside people to do right now, which is why I included a bit of mayhem with the snowball, in case anyone wants to run with that. Otherwiiise.. them people inside can get things moving along faster if they wish :P
Will post tonight after TAFE.
Got a vote on if u want me to try Intimidating? I am for it so as long as y'all are down I'll do it.
In typical Radyx fashion, I got tired of waiting. If my descriptive text was a bit much, my bad, but with a roll like that I can only assume Radyx got a little physical. hehe
Oh it worked, thats for damn sure.. I'll have an update in the morning, falling asleep atm.
Lets just say that the DC to intimidate him was roughly a 15. XD
So he needs some new pants then?
Hey guys just a heads up: For those interested, I am allowing the Spontaneous Alchemy rules found in the Alchemy Manual to be used by those who want to do so. I suspect Valko in particular would be interested, but I'm certainly not limiting it to him. However, I am not using the optional rule regarding Eschew materials mentioned in there - you still need to keep track of your alchemy ingredients for spontaneous alchemy.
In time I'll look up possible Spontaneous Alchemy recipes for alchemical items found in the Ultimate Equipment book, rather than ones just found in the Alchemy Manual.
I like this sort of thing, so it'll be fun for me to do, but I'll only do that if anyone is interested in using said rules.
I'm also allowing the use of Alchemical Power Reagents from both that book and the Adventurer's Armory.
I'll read it over if I manage to get a moment.
I don't know what that is, but it sounds like a good thing. New Paizo product? Being a poor student again I had to cancel all my subscriptions except for the APs and comics :(
Hmm they don't appear to have Spontaneous Alchemy on the PFSRD.. though they have the feats and items associated with the rules.
EDIT: Here it is! Just look at the bottom under "Expanded Alchemy Options"
Basically though, Spontaneous Alchemy allows you to directly mix ingredients and, using a specific method and time associated with the item you're creating, make an alchemical item. Doing so is generally much faster than the Craft(Alchemy) method, but 10-20% more expensive.
Each alchemical item requires a special method to make it (Such as Calcination, Ceration, Congelation, Distillation, etc), and some may require special tools (Retort, Crucible, etc), though the Alchemist's Lab (And probably the portable version) have these built-in.
Each alchemical item also requires a number of specific reagents purchased separately as the 'raw ingredients' (Examples include brimstone, magnesium, gunpowder, saltpeter, phosphorus, and quicksilver) and a certain amount of time. Provided you succeed on a Craft(Alchemy) check, you can make the item - otherwise, you either fail or suffer a mishap (Which can cause fun things like explosions or poison you).
An example of Spontaneous Alchemy would be the Dwarven 'Magic' Ales. These require a specialized kit instead of the Alchemist's Lab, the Brewer's Kit.
Icecap Ale
This rare and unusual brew is fortified by a
process of repeated partial freezing, during
which the ice is continually skimmed off,
resulting in a draught with more than 1 O
times the alcohol content of ordinary ale.
Icecap ale grants a + 2 alchemical bonus to
the drinker's Strength and Constitution for
1 minute, as well as a +4 alchemical bonus on saving throws
against compulsions and fear. However, after this initial surge
of energy, the drinker becomes fatigued and takes a -4 penalty
on Dexterity- and Strength-based skill checks for 1 hour. In
addition, the drinker loses all memory of events that transpired
during the 1 d4 minutes directly following consumption of a
draught of icecap ale; a successful DC 20 Fortitude save negates
this memory loss. Additional doses of icecap ale imbibed
during the hour following an initial dose cause the drinker to
become sickened for 1 minute (instead of gaining a bonus to
Strength and Constitution) and to suffer all the negative effects
of icecap ale.
Cost: 40 gp
----Alchemical Recipe----
Recipe (50 Spirit of Wine + 40 Urea; Distillation; Craft DC 20; Time 1 Week; Tools: Brewer's Kit; Type: Alcohol
Actually, this may have been a poor example, as a DC 20 Craft check would mean that you would craft it in one week regardless.. and Spontaneous Alchemy would mean it would cost 45 Gp rather than 13.34 gp...
Instead, the Belkzen War Alchemy item known as Imposing War Paint, which costs 70 gp and a Craft DC of 25 (Would normally take over a week), instead, using Spontaneous Alchemy, would cost 78 gp and take 10 minutes - and only a standard action if you had the Instant Alchemy feat, which only requires a Craft(Alchemy) rank of 1.
So yeah, its more expensive, but if you just carry ingredients around (All of which can be used to enhance spells and extracts on the fly, such as Gunpowder which adds +1 to evocation spells' damage), you can whip up stuff as its needed.
Also, Valko, Wilhem, we're waiting on you two in regards to Zograthy.
Just a heads up, if I don't hear from Valko/Wilhem on the gameplay thread by Monday, I'm moving us along and assuming they're alright with what information Zograthy gave them.
In that regards, everyone outside can assume they'll be told about this as soon as possible, so feel free to plan your next moves here in the discussion thread. I'll answer any questions as well.
Also guys, as far as time goes, its 4:30 PM in-game; It gets dark at 5 Pm, and you know that there is a scheduled illegal Nidalese Slaver pickup around midnight at the red circle on the Magnimar Map on Roll20.
Travelling around at night in Magnimar, especially the lower half, is considered unsafe nowadays, and only the foolhardy do so - or those with substantial muscle. As a result, you guys should be safer than most doing so, but it remains relatively unsafe regardless.
And do make note of travel times within the city if you want to plan on getting there early or whatever you end up planning.
Due to McArmored Shorty the Gnome (Hoosible), you guys are forced to travel at 15 ft speed - the major roads in the lower half of the city reduce your speed by 25%, while the alleyways and paths between buildings reduce it by 50%.
Its been a while since I've given these rules, so I'm just reiterating them so no one forgets.
Personally, I think the Tower Girls are likely our best bet.
In character, Radyx thinks a tower full of women on his end of the morality scale is a great place to at least visit.
Hmmm, we need to get Hoosible a Papoose, so he can ride around on one of our muscly types, master blaster style.
So we have a meeting with some slavers, which Zograthy believes don't actually exist (I totally should have rolled Sense Motive on that innkeeper), a link to a female sczarni gang which she's no longer a member of, and a pissed off drug dealer.
So. Do we want to spend some time asking around about the Tower Girls, or just head home and relax until we need to leave to check out this supposed meeting.
Sorry guys, post tomorrow after school (only a half day thankfully :) )
X-Men wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but still good. I think the next one will be more to my liking (getting back to the characters from the first few movies)