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Starting the OOC thread for the Strange Aeons adventure path.
I'll have character generation rules up tonight.
If you haven't already downloaded the Player's Guide, you can find it here (it's free).
My rule tweaks:
I don't think there is anything too crazy in here, but if anybody has a problem with something, or wants a clarification, etc, let me know. These are my default house rules for Pathfinder PbP, but I'm pretty laid back about them. These are the main ones that I've found come up from time to time (especially Detect Magic).
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"Presenting" a holy symbol
The cleric need not hold and purposefully display a holy symbol of their religion in one of their hands when casting spells, channeling, or using other abilities. They must, however, prominently display a holy symbol somewhere on their person; this display may be a large pendant, a device on a shield or tunic, or even a tattoo on their head or arm.
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Detect Magic
CASTING
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Component: V, S
EFFECT
Range: 60 ft.
Area: cone-shaped emanation
Duration: concentration, up to 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: none; Spell Resistance: no
DESCRIPTION
You detect magical auras. The amount of information revealed depends on the results of a Knowledge (arcana) skill check. When using this spell, you may make an untrained Knowledge (arcana) check.
Know (arcana) DC: Information Gained
Know (arcana) 10: Number of auras in spell's area of effect
Know (arcana) 15: Strength of auras, active vs. lingering
Know (arcana) 20: Location of each aura, school(s) of magic causing each aura
Know (arcana) 20 + Spell Level*: Effect or spell used to create each aura
*If a character attempts to identify a spell that is not on their list, add +5 to the DC.
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Channel Energy
Characters with this ability may channel this energy in one of two ways: a 30-foot burst centered on the character or a ray of energy affecting a single target.
BURST
Area: 30-ft. burst (centered on cleric)
Duration: instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will half; Spell Resistance: yes
Everything within a 30 foot radius of the cleric is affected by the channel energy ability. See below for damage/healing information.
RAY
Range: close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: one ray
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw: none; Spell Resistance: yes
A single ray shoots at a single target. It requires a ranged touch attack to hit. See below for healing/damage information.
HEALING/DAMAGE INFORMATION
The amount of damage dealt or healed is equal to 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6 points of damage for every two cleric levels beyond 1st (2d6 at 3rd, 3d6 at 5th, and so on). Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the cleric's level + the cleric's Charisma modifier. Creatures healed by channel energy cannot exceed their maximum hit point total—all excess healing is lost.
A cleric may channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. This is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A cleric can choose whether or not to include herself in this effect.
Just checking in.
I know egg and I have read the guide and I think Bob has, but not sure.
Digging the detect magic alterations.
Hey there. Thanks for jumping in to gm this.
Yeah, big thanks to Haldhin for running.
Here are the character creation guidelines (reference d20pfsrd.com):
Races: Any Core or Featured Races
Classes: Any from Paizo sources.
Alignment: Must play nice with others.
Abilities: 20 point buy
Traits: Characters start with two traits. One must be a campaign trait from the Player's Guide. You may take a drawback for a third trait.
Hit Points: Maximum hit points for 1st level. Half+1 each additional level.
Alternate rules used: Background Skills, Occult Rules
Character Background: Everyone starts with amnesia, so you may create your history now, or wait for it to evolve with the game. I'm fine either way.
For now, please pick two memories that your character has started to recall. Make them relatively general - for example, a character may remember getting married, but not what the spouse looks like, how long ago it was, where it happened, etc.
Hi guys, happy to do it. I'm a Cthulhu fan myself, so I'm excited to be running it for you.
Character creation is up, let me know if you have any questions.
Separate avatars for PCs are recommended, but not required.
Hi guys! Thanks for hosting the game, GM, and thanks guys for allowing me to stick with you. I read the player's guide already :)
@Guys: any idea what are you guys creating? I don't want to step on anyone's toes. I will try to complete the party as best as possible to help us cover the roles. I'm usually not too good with the divine classes, but other than that anything is game to me.
Glad to have you Chess. I intend on playing a spiritualist myself.
I'm pretty sure Davick is going with a mesmerist and I'm not sure about Bob but we are actually fairly used to not having much in the way of divine. No pressure from me, and I doubt from them, to play anything in particular to cover the roles. The most interesting character gets my vote, not the most helpful.
Re: Background
I had the feeling that a big piece of our backgrounds will come from the campaign trait we choose. Maybe not?
In one place it mentions early memories still being present but hazy. The only thing I had really come up with was a bit of my character's childhood. Namely the origin of the phantom. I can certainly work with two memories but my question is this: Is it kosher to come up with the entire story of my character up to a certain point(the point where stuff went down that caused the fugue state) and then remember it later? Or is much of our history dictated by the ap?
I will stick with Paizo, like the GM said, and stay away from Path of War or stuff like that. With that said, I might probably go for a martial class or something on these lines. I'll be debating some ideas tomorrow and be back here once it's more mature :)
I will stick with Paizo, like the GM said, and stay away from Path of War or stuff like that. With that said, I might probably go for a martial class or something on these lines. I'll be debating some ideas tomorrow and be back here once it's more mature :)
I think Bob was referring to ideas for him. And by the way Bob I think an investigator would be cool.
Davick and I are both doing 2/3 casters but he's going to focus more on the spells where as I plan on buffing myself and my phantom and wading into melee with a scythe. Just letting you two know the foci we're going with. So a full on martial character would be appreciated, someone else to get smacked so I don't die :)
Again though, whatever sounds fun to you is what I want to see y'all play.
As far as what you guys plan to play, based on what I'm reading, I suggest you choose something that fits the theme rather than a race/class combo to fill a party role (or ensure role balance).
Regardless of what we end up with, I'll balance the adventure around the group.
Regardless of what we end up with, I'll balance the adventure around the group.
I like the sound of that. I think this is gonna be a blast.
Petr here is going to be my(egg) character.
Hey guys! Chess here, with my character. Using inspiration from the book and bringing to life a very different paladin than what we're used to see. I hope you guys like! Please feel free to let me know if I should change anything.
Hey, it's Davick. Gonna get a char sheet template from Petr and throw it up tomorrow.
PS: My tiefling paladin of Shelyn is my favorite character. Good choice.
Should my phantom have two memories as well? Whether from before her death or after becoming a phantom?
So I uh, missed that two memory thing. I wrote up the childhood like the guide mentions. Do you want two more recent memories, or should I just pull two from the BS?
Also, as I think more about a paladin in the party, I feel I should mention I am of questionable morality, and I think Petr was contemplating undead summoning.
That's alright. Andulian isn't the typical paladin, as much as his alignment is lawful and good. He is a Tortured Crusader, and worships Damerrich, an Empyreal Lord with a portfolio around executions and responsibilities, Greataxe as his favored weapon and Death as one of his domains. I think Andulian would have issues only if the party is definitely going the evil direction, but if we stay on the gray area we should be fine. I'll wait the GM for his opinion.
Definitely grey.
I wasn't planning on going all out as a necromancer with scores of zombies following behind but I thought I might summon them up on occasion.
Usually a paladin who allows themselves to be aided by an evil creature is up for a fall right away. I can skip the undead no big deal but if you can retain your paladinhood with a zombie or two walking around would Andulian want to smite my face if I bring one out here and there?
I will wait for Haldhin's input on this one - but if he or the party wants, I won't mind changing the concept at all. I can even go towards something more... Eeeevil.
Should be ready to go soon enough
Hi guys, looking good so far!
Andulian: I do not think you need to change anything. I can certainly see a Tortured Crusader (paladin of Damerrich!) being an "ends justify the means" type of character who is fine with shades of gray around him.
I also agree that he should probably only have problems if the group begins acting evil. Using undead to fight against bad guys, no problem. Using undead to burn down the town and kill all the women and children, definitely a problem.
Petr: As a general guideline, undead will not be readily accepted by NPCs you encounter. Too much history with undead wars, liches, etc. I've got not problem with your PC raising them, just want to be clear up front about the typical reaction he'll face if NPCs see them.
As for phantom memories, your choice. Or both. Whatever seems appropriate. I'm easy.
Darin: No worries on background, feel free to pull two from that. Or choose two new - like I told Petr, I'm pretty easy about this.
Questionable morality shouldn't be a problem. After all, this is a Cthulhu adventure. That said, I should also mention that I kind of look at the whole "good, neutral, evil" thing as a guideline for game mechanics rather than a restriction on how you guys should play your characters. If I think the PCs are going down an "evil" path, I'll warn you OOC and we can discuss. I certainly won't be a DM who declares "Hah, that totally minor insignificant act was 100% evil, so Andulian has to attack you until one of you is dead, now roll Initiative!!!!"
I'm being a little silly, but I hope everyone gets the idea. I'm a reasonably laid-back DM, and I'm really stoked to run this game. As long as we're having fun, I'm good.
All that said, I'm aiming for the first game post on Monday night. Hopefully that will give everyone time to get their info finished and into their profile.
Let me know if there are any other questions, or if you need clarification on something.
Thanks, GM! It makes sense. Waiting anxiously for Monday night :)
The classic "ends justify the means" type is considered a LN character with good leanings, a la The Punisher. He could never be a Paladin. (there's an exception for evil associates in the name of a greater good, but not for evil acts from the paladin themselves) I don't know if that's the type of Paladin Andulian is, but one of the issues I run into with Paladins (a class I love) in GMing and in general is that, it can be a very powerful class, and their LG restriction and code of conduct is an actual balance mechanic against that power. I don't want to tell anyone how to play, or how to GM, and I'm not really expecting any problems, just giving my perspective here. I'd rather solve any sort of gray morality issues in character as much as possible, and any actual balance/mechanics/fun issues out of character in general.
And part of what draws me to the Cthulu adventure is the idea that it becomes almost impossible to tell what is and isn't moral and getting my mind screwed with. So hopefully we get lots of that.
Andulian would never summon undead by himself, be cruel to a creature, not offer her the chance of redemption, those things. He is very much lawful good, "restricted" by his alignment morale and acts as such. Let's, however, visit some points.
He is a Tortured Crusader, a more introspect paladin - someone who's in constant pain and angust. The deity he worships is a Lawful Good Empyreal Lord with a Greataxe and a portfolio including deserving / fair judgments and executions. He's a powerful archon swinging a big and sharp weapon against those who he judges to deserve.
More on Damerrich, the Weighted Swing, because he's awesome
While this definitely doesn't mean being someone "ends justify the means", I think the kind of game and the thematic of the archetype itself gives us some wiggling room in terms of having him work with morally gray characters towards a goal he classifies as clearly fair or good. Don't expect him to look over his shoulder and like zombies or skeletons fighting by his side, but at the same time I don't think he'd be quick to condomne the necromancer in this case. Does it make sense?
He wouldn't commit evil acts by himself, but would associate with people with "different" morale in name of the greater good, as you specified. Very much paladin, and a tormented one "perfect" for a Cthullu adventure ;)
Link no workie :(
Rule Question: I was thinking about the Comprehensive Education alternate racial trait for Human. At fist I thought it was a nifty boost to Knowledges, but then I realized the way it's written is far more powerful:
"gain a +1 racial bonus on skill checks for each Knowledge skill that they gain as a class skill from their class levels."
Which I read as applying a bonus on every skill equal to the number of knowledges you have as class skills. How do you want to interpret this Haldhin?
I read it as "If you have knowledge (...) as a class skill, it gets a +1 bonus"
For a Trait, the other reading is FAR too powerful.
I read it as "If you have knowledge (...) as a class skill, it gets a +1 bonus"
For a Trait, the other reading is FAR too powerful.
That's how I'm inclined to read it as well, but I wanted to check with the GM.
Having undead around when we are near npc's shouldn't be a problem. Petr has an odd relationship with the undead(there are hints in the info I've put on my profile so far, as we go we should start seeing whats up more clearly), he wouldn't cast animate undead outside of a dungeon very much if ever. And then he would want to destroy them once their usefulness is gone.
And even if he didn't want to destroy them Razia, my phantom, definitely would. I'm still writing her info up but she hates. HATES the undead.
Paladin discussion:
In retrospect, I should not have used the "ends justify the means" analogy. Agreed that would be closer to LN than LG. But I'm glad we had the discussion, I think we're all pretty much on the same page.
Comprehensive Education:
Works as explained by Shawn Dukes. Agreed that the wording is poor. :)
Petr:
Sounds fine by me. Excited to see the background unfold.
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Getting IC thread started and first post up now.
So before I post, is there a way you want our text formatted?
Like, how do you want to differentiate between speech and action?
Haldin, I speak Aklo. I figured that since going down the Investigator route, I would have a reason to know it.
However, if you feel that i shouldnt know this language, my amnesia will gladly kick in and ill forget that i know it.
Or hell, maybe due to my amnesia, ill only be able to pick up a few scraps of words here and there.
Petr put it in an interesting light earlier. Some of us are going mad because we know too little, but I am going mad because i know too much
Petr put it in an interesting light earlier. Some of us are going mad because we know too little, but I am going mad because i know too much
I said that, but it's all the same.
it was a 50 / 50 shot
Darin:
Please put speech in bold. That's pretty much it. :)
Shawn:
Aklo is fine to know now.
I said that, but it's all the same.Petr put it in an interesting light earlier. Some of us are going mad because we know too little, but I am going mad because i know too much
I said something similar but you were the one to put it so poetically.
Very amped now that we are underway. Very cool opening.
I just thought of something. I saw Andulian made the perception check and pointed at the belt. I assumed he was pointing out the spoiler so I looked and made my action based on that. But he didn't actually say anything. Was that ok? Or should I not have done that?
Personally, i feel that in a play by post, unless Andulian or another character says that they tell someone about it, it shouldnt happen.
You are making assumptions about what Andulian's character would of done.
After reading his post again, i do not see where he "pointed out" the spoiler.
You may of seen Andulian be rather attentive about something in the Doctor's general direction, but i do not believe Petr should of been able to deduce exactly what happened.
Just my 2 cents though
Nevertheless, he signed, pointing at the doctor's belt, trying to not be noticed by him.
He definitely pointed it out, no assumptions on his actions needed. The question is I, as a player, jumped to the idea of exactly what he was pointing to but would Petr have known what he was pointing to since he didn't have a spoiler tag in his face to clarify exactly what was on the belt? I could see it going either way but I may ought to have waited for GM go ahead to do what I did.
On PbPs, what I usually see is pointing out meaning the other players get a new perception check with lower DC. Anyway... let's wait for the DM :)
I guess I should mention I've done plenty of pbp's before, but on a different site and things are a little different.
My buddies here have not, this is their first foray into pbp ever.
So any weirdo questions come from those two factors..
Oh it's all fine and dandy man! Absolutely harmless, we're all here just for fun ;)
Oh indeed. I just don't want you guys to think we're dumb.:)
Except Bob(Shawn), he is dumb.
Another thing to warn you guys about:
We have our own twisted kind of humor/injokes that will surely start coming up here in ooc. For example, we like to make fun of Bob. I almost called out his poor reading comprehension above. It doesn't hurt his feelings, or if it does who cares right? Just kidding Bob.
that's what BOB gets for trying to post when first waking up. And yes, BOB is to blame for everything.
The fact that you had to say you were just kidding saddens BOB.
In General Andulian, please ignore everything Shawn (BOB) says out of combat until either Petr or Darin confirms it. BOB is an idiot in every faction of life
In general, when a character gets a spoiler, unless he explicitly tells /shows/informs the other PCs, they do not get it.
In this case, I would have lowered the DC by 5 for others to attempt the Perception check since Andulian pointed something out, but was not specific. (I would also allow characters another chance if they had already tried and failed the check).
All good questions. And if needed, please use "[ooc]" in the IC thread to help explain actions, intent, etc.
Alright, I will keep that in mind in the future. Still learning:)
I thought it may not be unattended but I thought I'd give it a shot. It doesn't really matter here but I want to mention that occult spells don't have verbal components.
Hey, so I'm not entirely sure how disbelief works with Ghost Sound. It's really just up to you GM what constitutes interaction to make a save and what the effect of a successful one would be for that spell.