Heh it fits the fact that he looks 'down' on people, despite physically looking 'up', as mentioned in the intro post. I think its excellent!
Yeah your doing a good job Kage...I think I'm gonna drive over to your place and punch you just to stay in character. Lol
Heh I am doing my best to avoid being 'that guy' (or in this case, that character). I have a tendency to slip into the condescending know-it-all when I play wizardly/educated/noble types (I like to use big words :p) so trying something a little different.
So, just out of idle curiosity, purely hypothetically speaking what is you position on PvP Crusty? *innocent smile* Or perhaps more importantly what is the Cyphermage's position?
The Cyphermage's position is the same as Pathfinders - don't. Certainly rivalries exist and due to the higher concentration of south-of-neutral alignments in the organization there is more fighting than there should be, rules or not, though.
The Cyphermages, prior to Karzoug, were known to be secretive and rivalries often formed between members - the fact that they were also led by a crime lord was another reason. That being said, the Order of the Cyphers has always looked down upon inter-member conflicts - at least lethal ones. If anything, spell-duels were relatively common - nonlethal ones primarily, though summon-duels were also quite popular.
As for *me* - keep it nonlethal if you have to do it. I'd highly recommend against it, though - you guys are going to need to get along and work together if you're to survive.
The fact is, while you guys are able to 'retreat and recouperate' unlike in Reign of Winter, having interparty conflict might screw you over. :P
But hey, hopefully when you guys TPK due to interparty conflict at a critical time, your replacement characters will be a little more amiable towards each other ;)
'Cuz again, unlike RoW, its easy to start anew with a new group should you all perish. Theres no "Impending Doom" clock like there feels to be in Reign of Winter.
At least.. not yet.
Heh, fair enough then. I figured it bore asking considering the alignments on show :p
@Valko: Updated your picture/token on the roll20 link, is that one good? Its from the Advanced Players guide - if ye have a different version o' the Alchemist ye want, lemme know.
I like this one though, since he looks like he's on something. XD
Looks great to me.
I hope there is no rule against player versus player bodily functions :P
I'm also enjoying getting under Valko's skin. I've never played a character with 8 in all their mental stats before...but I'm having fun. If Ferit's crudeness is offending anyone out of character I can tone it down a little though.
What are we waiting on? Just Rob right? He said that he probably wouldn't be posting much and that we should move on, no?
Or is Gyrfalcon going to join as well?
Not offending out of character, no :p
I find his crudeness hilarious, actually.
We're waiting on Rob and Bi0 - should Bi0 not finish by Friday/Saturday, however, I'll not only move us along, but I'm going to be bringing Gyrfalcon in here, as he is active and eager. Granted, I understand Bi0 can't help that he's busy, but as it stands, Gyrfalcon is likely closer to being finished.
Should Rob not post by tomorrow, he can include his intro post when he gets around to it.
So expect us to move along no later than tomorrow. I'm enjoying the interaction so far anyways. :P Though I am looking forward to getting this show on the road, as well.
Hey Crusty my man, I'll go ahead and bow out and let Gyrfalcon fill my shoes, as he is eager to join.
That'll be in the best interest for all of us, but like the other Ruins of Pathfinder games I'll be keeping an eye on it.
And feel free to leave me on a reserve list, should attrition occur in the future, and my schedule loosen up.
Thanks guys, sorry to keep you good folks waiting.
Yeah I'll definitely put you on the reserve list, not to worry!
Bi0, sorry it didn't work out for you but thanks for the heads up. I'm excited to have the chance to join this crew! I've been playing with options but my head's still spinning a bit. I may post a few Qs here for input.
What I know:
* BRAINS!! I'm totally taking this opportunity to play a divine necromancer...though right now I'm going back and forth a bit between an oracle(juju) and a cleric.
Input welcome (roleplay wise or mechanical). In particular, are there deities (obscure or major) you think make interesting choices for a necromancer?
More questions and/or a character draft coming, hopefully by EOD.
I would suggest, if allowed, following a divine belief over a particular deity, as most of the deities that would work are very much hated.
How are they hated? This is Thassilon we're talking about - Ancient Bakhrakhan, Realm of Wrath, actively encouraged the worship of demons, for example.
Only the Good Aligned gods would be a bad idea in this campaign. Sky's the limit on anything else.
Oh yea. Keep forgetting that. Defaulted to regular Golarion. Lol
Various Gods / Entities that would work for a Divine Necromancer. All of these have the Death domain and Undead Subdomains, as a result, would be suitable for any sort of divine necromancer/undead lord.
- Urgathoa
- Orcus (Demon Lord)
- Zon-Kuthon
- Baalzebul (Archdevil)
- Charon (Horseman of Death)
- Gogunta (Demon Lord)
- Zura (Demon Lord)
- Xhamen-Dor (Great Old One)
In fact, seven Demon Lords are actually based around the seven sins, and were likely favored in ancient Thassilon alongside Lissala and the Peacock Spirit. They are as follows
- Shax - Envy
- Xoveron - Gluttony
- Areshkagal - Greed
- Nocticula - Lust
- Socothbenoth - Pride
- Jubilex - Sloth
- Orcus - Wrath
Then again, you could simply go with an Oracle, and not worry about a deity. I'm not hugely fond of 'divine beliefs'.
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Orcus is where it is at. Old school.
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So I like to find a "theme" song for each character I play. It helps me get in the mood when I write for him/her. In the case of Al'cazar I choose : 46 and 2. I recommend giving it a listen. This version is an amazing cover. The premise of the song is about Human evolution. I think it works well since Al'cazar has been changed in way that is not entirely human though the experiments of the Runelord.
Cel, you never cease to amaze me.
Undead lord is a great archetype for a necromancr.
I was playing "Ding Dong Song" while writing my intro post. Does that make me wierd, then? (That song happens to be the best song to listen to while Pvping at level 60 on World of Warcraft, as well. Especially as a short, fat dwarf paladin in full Level 60 Pvp Regalia)
:P
Also, that song was awesome, Cel!
I'm not normally a rock guy, but that was a good song. Especially since it's little kids performing it.
PS:This video from the related vids link is pretty creepy. God knows what they put those kids through to learn to play that way while still so small. (>_>)*
OK, I've settled on an oracle (dual cursed, black blooded), but I'm still playing with crunch (e.g. words of power or no) and parts of his backstory.
I figured I knew enough to get a first RP post in though, and expect to have a backstory + crunch to post by Monday AM.
Have the crunch done soon if you could - we'll be needing that soon.
You can take your time on the background, though.
Also, I will be moving us along today!
Peanuts/Wilhem, I *just* now realized that you're playing a necromancer too. I hope I'm not accidentally stepping on your toes. With luck, there'll be corpses to go around for everyone! >;0)
Crusty, I'll consider the crunch highest priority then. Today's definitely a stretch (my wife has a sprained ankle and my daughter is sick, so I'm mostly tending to them today -- and packing for a business trip to NYC) but I'll definitely have time on the plane tomorrow and *might* well be able to get the crunch done today.
A few Qs:
* Can a words of power oracle still create fast zombies? Using traditional cleric spells, they would cast Remove Paralysis + Animate Dead to do so (or Haste, if they somehow had access to it)...but I don't see an equivalent of Remove Paralysis in word casting (though undeath is pretty saucy!)
* More generally -- since I just started reading the words of power rules for the first time yesterday -- do any of you know of gotchas I should be aware of before deciding between wordcasting and vanilla divine casting? One of the reasons I rolled up a divine caster was to play a support/buff role...while (eventually) also dominating the battlefield with undead minions.
* Oh, and Crusty do you mind some reskinning of the juju mystery? I thought about making Hoosible a juju shaman but I felt there might end up being too much RP overlap with a certain saurian shaman that Crusty, Peanuts, Kagehiro, and Jelani know.
Nah, should be fine Hoosible. I'd kind of forgotten it myself until you posted your intro :p
I was planning to focus more on the debilitate your enemies side of the school than playing with corpses anyway (with a little bit of that probably. Just finished reading the bestiary 4 last night and stumbled onto the Necrocraft. We've so got to collaborate on making one of those things :p)
I'll look into it in more detail shortly, Gyr - I fell asleep and slept half of the day, so let me get us moving along first XD
One more Q I should ask in considering wordcasting vs vanilla...the Spirit Vessels revelation says:
You can channel wendo spirits into lifeless bodies, reanimating them to aid you. When using the animate dead spell, you can control 6 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level rather than 4 HD. In addition, any zombies or juju zombies you create using animate dead, create undead, or similar spells possess maximum hit points.
Since the Undeath Word parallels Animate Dead with "The caster can control no more than 4 HD per caster level of undead creatures." I'm guessing that both parts of Spirit Vessels applies to it, but let me know if you'd rule it differently.
...Not that I'm thinking about summoning undead minions. ;0)
Alright Hoos, now that I've got the gameplay post up, I'll look into your questions.
@Hoosible:
In order to make Fast Zombies while using Words of Power, you would need to use Remove Paralysis or Haste from a Staff, Wand, or Scroll in conjunction with the animating spell - or have someone else do it. There do not seem to be any Words that work for that. EVen though you're a wordcaster, you would still be able to use wands/scrolls/etc of Remove Paralysis without issue.
This guide details Words of Power indepth. I'd give it a read.
How are you looking to reskin it?
Yes, Undeath is effectively Animate Dead - Spirit Vessels will improve that as well.
A word on Undeath from the guide:
Equivalent spell: Animate Dead
Sorcerers and Wizards have to wait for 3rd level spells before they get access to this word, but I’ll include it here.
This is a really good word for aspiring necromancers! It functions very similarly to Animate Dead, with the same HD per casting limit and maximum HD of undead controlled at one time cap. While it does not have the same benefits when cast in the radius of a Desecrate spell, the Undeath word has a very important advantage over Animate Dead: it’s free. There’s no expensive component! No need for black onyx! Just find a good corpse and get a new minion! Since they’re free, they’re even more expendable than ever!
One minor note is that if you want to animate multiple corpses, you’ll need to boost the target word. It's probably not worth a 5th/6th level slot; I'd focus on one or two high HD corpses over creating hordes of weaker creatures.
While you can certainly buff your undead minions with wordspells, the sheer number of necromancy options in normal casting are simply not present using Words of Power. You’ll have access to free undead minions, but they’ll likely be somewhat vanilla. If you get creative with your buffs, and perhaps supplement them with summons, you’ll be quite the minion master, though.
The fact that you get this spell a level earlier than Animate Dead for its respective classes, combined with the lack of expensive components, makes me tempted to say this spell is better than the original.
Because of many limiting options with wordspells, and this spell being the sheer-level of badassry it is (Free? Yes please!), you might instead want to go with the Experimental Spellcaster feat - allowing you to cast one effect word, all of the target words, and the boost meta word - while still retaining your normal spellcasting abilities.
Though, its entirely up to you if you want to do this or go full wordcaster.
Heh we've just started this campaign and its already proving to be a blast. I've written ~4500 words so far alone :3
Also of note: I've completely finished planning my changes for Book 1. I need to work on the specific crunch of about half of the book still, buuut.. er mah gurd.
:P
Well, I'm off to go freeze me arse off during a walk. XD
Hmm, it's probably something of an oversight that I don't have linguistics... Oh well, I'll fix it next level.
Heh, yeah I'm having fun.
Except it's not meant to be one of Karzoug's :p The puzzles in this are kind of silly, at least thematically. I guess that's the problem with putting riddles in a publicly released product though, they have to be kind of generic.
No, but it's one of the sins, right?
Crusty, thanks for the answers and the link. I'd found some guides but not that one.
Boarding plane now. Hoping to land with complete/ready for review crunch and fluff!
Btw guys, I hope I'm not moving us too fast - I know this may mean that Isroth and Hoosible might miss out on checking out the Paradox Box, but I assume that, since they're both busy (Well, one working on his character, the other is busy), it would be best if we just got this done - plus, Valko and Wilhem are more than qualified to handle it themselves.
Also, I've got the loot tracker up - reverse engineered from Hoosible's loot tracker over on the Road to Damnation campaign. Thanks btw, Hoosible, for letting me check that out in depth!
Spreadsheets are actually kinda fun! I'm wierd.
I likes speed.
Crunch is complete (in profile) and ready to review. Any suggestions welcome.
After some deliberation I went with pure wordcaster. I expect to be able to use wands, scrolls, and maybe one or two pages of spell knowledge (like for Remove Paralysis, when I want to make fast zombies) to bridge the gaps not covered by words of power.
Fluff is coming along nicely but not ready for review yet.
I'm exhausted after a day of travel so I won't be posting in gameplay until tomorrow, but am excited to dive in.
I likes speed.
Yeah I figured, so thats why I was doing this. I just wanted to make sure that everyone was ok :P
Pages of Spell Knowledge are indeed available for usage as a wordcaster, Hoosible! Wands, Scrolls, etc of spells on the oracle spell list will be usable even though you're a wordcaster.
Looks good, Hoosible! Though I need to talk to you about your Misfortune ability.
Because this can be an annoyance for this sort of PbP campaign, (Since you have to use it after the d20 roll, but before the results) would you like me to control when it happens, provided I make sure it benefits the group in the best way I can see fit at the time?
Otherwise, should you not be interested in that, I will instead change it to work exactly like the Misfortune Hex of the Witch - to keep it simple.
Btw guys, if you could each make sure you include specific saves to various effects in your stat block up near your saves, I'd appreciate it.
See Hoosible's stat block for examples. Things like a half-elf's saves vs enchantment and whatnot.
See Valko, this is why you should wait to discuss your findings. Wilhem could identify the traps' auras and schools, but not that it was a trap, nor what exactly it would do. :P
*Cackles in delight at what he has unleashed*
Wait; you mean SHARE the glory and prestige? Naw-naw!
I was secretly hoping you'd do something like that - but I also figured you'd at least examine the box thoroughly first. :P
I'll tell you more about the trap once we finish here - I actually found it to be quite fun to design! What, did you guys think the word puzzle was the main focus of the Paradox Box, with how easy it was? >:)
Crap, realized the map doesn't line up with the grid. Bah gotta fix that with photoshop real fast before I move us along.
Crunch is complete (in profile) and ready to review. Any suggestions welcome.
After some deliberation I went with pure wordcaster. I expect to be able to use wands, scrolls, and maybe one or two pages of spell knowledge (like for Remove Paralysis, when I want to make fast zombies) to bridge the gaps not covered by words of power.
Wilhem depending on circumstances would probably be okay with collaborating (I don't see why he wouldn't take Haste unless Isroth beats him to it, but then he can just steal it from his spellbook) :)
Alright, map is up on the roll20 link! Working on the gameplay now.