TWO's Mythic Kingmaker: Fey Winds Blowing (Inactive)

Game Master The Wyrm Ouroboros

This is Zayne. One done. Druid to go. This is the Hunter with her trusty big f$*$ing Mountain Lion. Once the druid is done I will write up their connection. She is Tiefling but comes with high praise from House Medvyed. Warned them ahead of time of a plague beast from Iobaria that had crossed the mountains, possibly saving Brevoy. Has scouted and guarded the Icerime peaks and eastern Gronzi forest for the last 50 years. She has a Hat of Disguise if it would serve the group best to not have horns and tail poking out.

I don't know how you guys are having trouble with the items. I have 1800 left and still haven't gotten any potions. I'll load up on those in a bit but the important stuff is done I think.

Sorry if this is just a common term I'm not used to, but what do you mean by "spellbooks not initially tracked?" Does this mean that we just don't keep track of how many pages are used, can't add to the book during downtime, can't copy spells off of scrolls, etc.? Or something else?

Hmm. I'm honestly considering an Expedition Pavilion as my big magic item (for a city slicker traveling *in style*), but a) this is a big hit to starting capabilities, and b) does an item like this sort of cheapen the survival experience to the point where it's not a great idea?

thunderbread that is a brillant item and I am now considering it!

And another question, this time regarding the Blinded Blade Style feat. It seems--based on its only activation requirement being impaired vision--to be always on, unlike other style feats which clearly specify an action requirement to use, and thus only grant their benefit in combat. Is this a valid interpretation?

Nevermind on this question, brain blanked after a few hours of staring at various game stuff. Blinded Blade Style works just like other style feats and only applies in combat.

Oh! Should our submissions include potential kingdom-building and/or mythic roles?

Will probably make some minor tweaks both of them are 95% done.

Leader: Lyda, Tiefling Hunter 7

Cohort: Deneb Flynvias, Halfling Druif 5

Hey GM. I was wondering if I could maybe coerce you into allowing me to

A: Take a wolf as a medium Samurai (I just really dislike horses both mechanicaly and in terms of aesthetics)

B: replace the katana/nodoichi/Waikazashi stuff with Bastard sword/halberd/short sword stuff. (I like how the samurai feels as a class but don't like eastern stylings in this characters backround)

I will respect your decision as the GM (of course) and will most likely play a different kind of character if the decision is no.

For my blind character, could I use a combination of the Sleight of Hand and Perception skills to pick up and properly interpret impressions left behind by a pressure-based writing tool on a surface?

Perception (tactile) is the skill you want; while Sleight of Hand relies on digital manipulation, which a high degree of tactile sensitivity can improve, the latter is not necessary for the former, and so Sleight of Hand is unneeded. You should, however, realize that you're looking at a massive penalty for this. Detect less than specifically (and correctly) interpreting it, but not by much.

The Sword-Devil is an archetype written by Erik Mona and published in Pathfinder Worldscape #1. He gives an overview of the archetype in this blog post.

Hm. I confess I am not, at this time, willing to shell out $5 for the comic; if you are willing to write up the archetype in its entirety and PM it to me, I'll be able to make a judgement. I don't think I'm willing to import Scathach, but again, there are at least a handful of Golarion deities you can use.

Hmm. I'm honestly considering an Expedition Pavilion as my big magic item (for a city slicker traveling *in style*), but a) this is a big hit to starting capabilities, and b) does an item like this sort of cheapen the survival experience to the point where it's not a great idea?

A) It is.

B) The game isn't about surviving in the wilderness or 'roughing it'. If it were about that, I'd be sending you to the far north, or the nastiest mountains, or whatever.

I will say this, to be helpful - while the pavilion IS fantastic, in the long run it will prove to be of comparatively limited use. Get one in a level or two, when you have money for (comparative) frivolities. ;)

Oh! Should our submissions include potential kingdom-building and/or mythic roles?

Intended Mythic path / role wouldn't be a bad thing; kingdom role ... wouldn't be bad, but then you might run into debates with your co-applicants. ;) I'd give at least 2-3 options on that side.

Sorry if this is just a common term I'm not used to, but what do you mean by "spellbooks not initially tracked?" Does this mean that we just don't keep track of how many pages are used, can't add to the book during downtime, can't copy spells off of scrolls, etc.? Or something else?

Partly correct. The way Hero Lab works with Spellbooks (and other such things) is that you have to pay money for every spell you transcribe - which includes the spells granted from leveling up. Instead of whacking people who use spellbooks (or recipe tomes, or whatever) with 3000 gp (or whatever) in cost for that, I'm not tracking it. Pages are still used up (so if you're past those 100 pages, you now have two spell books you have to concern yourself with), but at game start - i.e. what 'initially' means - I'm not requiring you to pay those costs.

Later on, though, you'll have to obey the rules re: ink, new spells, etc.

Thank you for answering the questions about Followers. I was asking because I calculated Aramil's leadership score with the penalty for moving around in the first place, so I'll stick with the -1 which gets me 5 followers.

I'm also going to give Aramil a slight rework in terms of his build. I initially built him to be a Strength Magus Swordlord, but I realized I wasn't particularly happy with the end result, and it doesn't fit the theme of Swordlord anyway. So, I'm switching him to Dex-based with more Swordlord attributes. He's more appropriate and fits the theme better that way, too.

I'm good with the rework. Like I said, the swordlord is, at its heart, a Dex-based path.

For the Legacy players:

*looks back, reads forward, hunts around a lot* All right, here's the dealio.

Of the 9 'reboot' messages I sent, we have five individuals coming back - almost had six, but Lord Christian didn't feel this was going to be sandboxy enough, instead wanting to not feel scripted. (Note, everyone, that watching 'Downton Abbey' for a peek into the social structure and attitudes found in a quasi-egalitarian society with nobility is kind of research for this game. Or any RPG in which actual nobility is to be involved.) Two are of the Restov Coursers (Aramil and Azrael), two from the Righteous Wanderers (Aolis and Trawets), and one is from the Blessed Hospitallers (Amavin).

Three elves, five humans, a half-elf, and a gnome. Three maguses, two (and a half) paladins, two wizards, a sorcerer, a bard, and a half a monk. All good, of one flavor or another. Practically all of them are (or will become) spellcasters.

What say we make you lot one of the groups, since you have (after all) had some experience interacting with each other? Bandit / Numerian-barbarian fighting along the western border, perhaps? Doing this would in fact not impose the -1 'moving around' penalty, as you would at the very least have a city in which you are based. You may not have stronghold / base of operations / 'guildhouse' of your own (which would go out the window with the move anyhow) to get that modifier, but you would not receive the 'moves around a lot' penalty either.

Thoughts? Following this, I'll put up the first page, and you five can get started with RPing.

I think I want the Tongues curse for the Oracle and I was wondering if I could add Sylvan to the list? She received the 'gift of visions' from her time with the Fey so that one makes sense.

Going by the Effect, at this point (5th or 7th level, either way) you can speak and understand two languages. I'm going to GM fiat this and decide your languages for you: the second will be Abyssal, and the first ... well, people who speak Sylvan and Aklo will both be able to generally understand you, and you they, but both would say that you have a very strange and exotic accent.

I can get a mount though a mystery and i would like to have something other than a horse. If I took the monsterous Mount feat at the same time I get the mystery could I have a griffon come into my life?

Yes. Don't forget that in order to ride it while flying, you need to acquire the Monstrous Mount Mastery feat as well.

Will probably make some minor tweaks both of them are 95% done.

Leader: Lyda, Tiefling Hunter 7

• I think you muddled up your Point Blank / Deadly Aim calculations; the latter (and combos with them) should, I think, be one less.
• It helps if you list your feats like you do your racial abilities and traits.
• Kasha is ... right, a mountain lion. Please put the race in the stats somewhere, preferably right at the top - 'N Large animal (mountain lion)', for example.
• You spent 4000 on an Amulet of Mighty Fists for your companion. 4000 is a lot; care to share with the class what enchantments are on that amulet?
• Remember to put the cost on that Aegis of Recovery - 1500gp. ;)
• Are you interested in a Tiefling Heritage?

Cohort: Deneb Flynvias, Halfling Druif 5

Q: Took 'pioneer', likely for one of the +1 trait bonuses. Which bonus? Also, what are you / did you do with the horse? Feed it to the roc? ;)

Otherwise, both look pretty good. Will look at the background in a day or two.

Hey GM. I was wondering if I could maybe coerce you into allowing me to

A: Take a wolf as a medium Samurai (I just really dislike horses both mechanicaly and in terms of aesthetics)

B: replace the katana/nodoichi/Waikazashi stuff with Bastard sword/halberd/short sword stuff. (I like how the samurai feels as a class but don't like eastern stylings in this characters backround)

For A), understand that you would not be able to ride the thing (if you're playing a Medium-sized character) and, as a consequence, lose a handful of useful items on both the character and the wolf.

For B), katana / nodachi / wakizashi would be bastard sword / two-handed sword / short sword. The asiatic halberd variant would be a naginata. I theoretically have no problem with this, but I would very much like to see your proposed background, and have explained why you're wanting to take samurai but change it so much, when instead you could simply use its root class, cavalier.

For anyone taking dangerous animal companions / mounts / familiars / whatever:
Remember that this version of Kingmaker is going to include a far heavier dose of politics than is normally found in the campaign, including right off the bat. If your companion / mount / familiar is of a race that is usually dangerous to humankind (wolf, cougar, roc, boa constrictor, etc.), your character will not be able to have their companion with them when they go into such social settings. More often than not you'll have your companion with you, and there will be times that the companion's ability gets a spotlight (e.g. scouting for the roc or the wolf, that sort of thing), but you can't bring your roc or your wolf along with you into the city, much less the palace. Realize this is part and parcel of taking a large predator for a companion.

For Everyone:
Updates to the Campaign Info page. Names have been changed to protect the guilty. Additional information on 'them other people what'er comin' with us' forthcoming.

Also, when it comes to Feats, Traits, etc. - please write out what they do, at least a short version; I am not so conversant with 3.5e/Pathfinder that I know just at a glance all of what's happening on or with a character sheet.

Three elves, five humans, a half-elf, and a gnome. Three maguses, two (and a half) paladins, two wizards, a sorcerer, a bard, and a half a monk.

You forgot that I took advantage of a better character creation and I'm a Warpriest :)

What say we make you lot one of the groups, since you have (after all) had some experience interacting with each other? Bandit / Numerian-barbarian fighting along the western border, perhaps? Doing this would in fact not impose the -1 'moving around' penalty, as you would at the very least have a city in which you are based. You may not have stronghold / base of operations / 'guildhouse' of your own (which would go out the window with the move anyhow) to get that modifier, but you would not receive the 'moves around a lot' penalty either.

I'm fairly happy though with linking us together. Bandit hunting is very much something Amavin would be interested in handling, and we have a good mix of strengths in that group. No objections here.

Thoughts? Following this, I'll put up the first page, and you five can get started with RPing.

I'm ready for RP :)

There's a feat that allows medium characters to ride medium mounts. (With GM ruling, could be used to give a relatively-short human a riding dog mount; I personally enjoy using it to ride pigs into combat). (Otherwise, a wolf companion typically increases to large size at level 7—which is pretty terrifying to people who have never seen a dire wolf before).

* * *

And thanks for another helpful round of question answers! But now I've got to write out descriptions for ten different feats on my main character, oops...

Adding descriptions to my feats at the moment, and I thought of something I neglected to ask. I made a minor dwarf noble from the Golushkin Hold, which is closely tied to House Garress and Highdelve. Would it be okay to take Noble Born (House Garress)? The benefits seem to fit my character well.

Yeah, I have him up on one of my (many) tabs, Pendrak. I like the background. In regards to the trait, however, the +2 bonus on Appraise checks seems to me to be double-dipping with the dwarf's natural bonus. I'm good with the movement benefit, though.

Thanks, thunderbeard; wasn't aware of that one. Good to know.

I would like to express my interest in the campaign. I'm currently invested in creating a husband and wife, the husband being a half-elf wizard who works with the masons and the wife a human cleric of Abadar. While the wife currently serves Abadar directly the husband is a devote follower of the God of Walls and Ditches.

Edit: To clarify, the husband would be the main character, while the wife is the cohort.

I plan for my character, cohort, and followers to invest in assorted trade goods. Can I get by with assigning a set gold piece value to the category for each of them, and if I need (or want something) in particular, I can just say that so-and-so has that and deduct the cost from that character's total on the spot? Or must I specify and track each particular item and quantity?

Because, while I do take a certain pleasure in details like that, that would be excessive to write up and track for 7 characters at once.

Hi!

I'd like to express my interest in joining the game. Currently, what I have in mind is a Swashbuckler or Fighter, who's the son of a defunct Swordlord but despises the Swordlords himself and aspires to create a brand new fencing school, given the opportunity to found a new realm.

His cohort would be a religious old man, probably Cleric, who was best friends with his father and swore that he would take care of the kiddo.

About me: As you might have had the opportunity to realise, I'm not an English native speaker. Therefore, I make mistakes, and sometimes I might sound weird. Having read your recruiting post, I thought it would be worth mentioning, just in case it poses a problem. I don't really want to make people feel weird or waste anyone's time.

Having said that, I'm writing the background right now, then I'll set the crunch. When all is done, I'll post both characters with their corresponding aliases.

Oh, and please, if your eyes happen to bleed due to anything you read in my posts, any corrections will be welcome - no corrections, no improvement.

Going by the Effect, at this point (5th or 7th level, either way) you can speak and understand two languages. I'm going to GM fiat this and decide your languages for you: the second will be Abyssal, and the first ... well, people who speak Sylvan and Aklo will both be able to generally understand you, and you they, but both would say that you have a very strange and exotic accent.

So the first one is Sylvan or Alko? That way I know what to write down. Also I am completely fine with you picking for story reasons.

For anyone taking dangerous animal companions / mounts / familiars / whatever:

Remember that this version of Kingmaker is going to include a far heavier dose of politics than is normally found in the campaign, including right off the bat. If your companion / mount / familiar is of a race that is usually dangerous to humankind (wolf, cougar, roc, boa constrictor, etc.), your character will not be able to have their companion with them when they go into such social settings. More often than not you'll have your companion with you, and there will be times that the companion's ability gets a spotlight (e.g. scouting for the roc or the wolf, that sort of thing), but you can't bring your roc or your wolf along with you into the city, much less the palace. Realize this is part and parcel of taking a large predator for a companion.

Woot! I found a GM who does the same thing I do! You have no idea how excited I am that you said this :D

Woot! I found a GM who does the same thing I do! You have no idea how excited I am that you said this :D

I thought most GMs do this? (at least in PbP, not IRL)

Hats of Disguise are always a (pretty terrible) option (technically letting you disguise your mount as another animal), if you want to ride a horse that growls a lot and mysteriously frightens the other horses.

Aramil would be perfectly happy to maintain his alliance with Azrael, and has no problems joining with Amavin, Trawets, Aolis, and their cohorts. I'll have to come up with another follower, since I'm no longer taking a -1 penalty to leadership. Probably a warrior type, since I already have 2/3 of my followers with PC classes.

Looking forward to beginning RP.

I have not run across a lot of GMs who do that. People just accept that the lady with the longbow has a wolf with her or the guy with the scimitar who has a roc. Child do no run and no one panics. So for me it is weird. But something that I do as a GM and have since I started.

The idea behind taking the Samari rather than cavalier is mostly just because of resolve. Its such a cool class feature that I can never find the right character that samari would make sense for.

That is until Talon lawsric, and his wife and children (yet to be named or made) popped into my head while pondering this campaign.

A father on the run from a noble family in his home town on the border of Ustalav due to him marrying their daughter without permission. Moving to an unsettled region with his wife and children after constant moving and resettling, He is determined to live here and will fight to his last breath defending his new home.

P.s. About the wolf, yeah I get that most people won't want it coming into their castle or whatnot. Also I can technically ride it, I just don't plan to often. He'll probably only be ridden should things go t&@@ up and I need to get away very quickly.

Work in progress build of Talon

So the first one is Sylvan or Alko? That way I know what to write down.

Write down 'Alvan' or 'Sylko', whichever tickles you more.

I thought most GMs do this? (at least in PbP, not IRL)

Hats of Disguise are always a (pretty terrible) option (technically letting you disguise your mount as another animal), if you want to ride a horse that growls a lot and mysteriously frightens the other horses.

No idea. If this were HERO system, they'd have a built-in and clear Disadvantage, but sometimes in other systems you have to whack your players upside the head with the Atlanta phone book to warn them.

A hat of disguise ... would work for the people, to a limited extent. But the 'horse' wouldn't act like a horse, so it'd realistically be of very limited use. Of course, you can't take a horse into court either, so ...

*character stuff*

While I can get behind that, be warned that the campaign will very quickly blast past just 'defend my forty acres' - plus he has a cohort and non-family followers. You might need to think a bit beyond just your farm village, so to speak.

P.s. About the wolf, yeah I get that most people won't want it coming into their castle or whatnot. Also I can technically ride it, I just don't plan to often. He'll probably only be ridden should things go t$#+ up and I need to get away very quickly.

If the wolf is progressed to Large (I REALLY need to figure out how to do this in Hero Lab), then yes, no problem. If it's still a Medium critter, I believe you'll need the feat referenced above.

To all, even those not of the US --

Happy Thanksgiving. May we all have, and continue to have, and receive more, things to be thankful for. And may all the conflict in our lives be restricted to IC PbP situations

Going to go with Sylko since Alvan makes me think of the Chipmunks.

I am torn on which one I want to be the higher level. The fighter is the older sibling and far more social skilled. Mostly I am torn on if I want the Oracle to get the disciple mythic path thing. I rather like the flavor for that one.

Okay, many thanks. I don't own Hero Lab, so I wasn't familiar with the concept.
Also, Darivan and Sylvia are nearly on their final drafts. Naturally, their backstories might still change a bit as we get some interweaving going on, but stat-wise, they're basically done. One question I do have, though, is on your thoughts on having a familiar being a peregrine falcon. They used to be considered 'noble' birds in France/Spain, so I don't know how that would translate to Brevoy. As far as stats go, the Familiar Folio suggests using the eagle's stats, but also says to get GM permission.

• I think you muddled up your Point Blank / Deadly Aim calculations; the latter (and combos with them) should, I think, be one less.
  
• It helps if you list your feats like you do your racial abilities and traits.
  
• Kasha is ... right, a mountain lion. Please put the race in the stats somewhere, preferably right at the top - 'N Large animal (mountain lion)', for example.
  
• You spent 4000 on an Amulet of Mighty Fists for your companion. 4000 is a lot; care to share with the class what enchantments are on that amulet?
  
• Remember to put the cost on that Aegis of Recovery - 1500gp. ;)
  
• Are you interested in a Tiefling Heritage?

• Fixed
  
• Fixed-added to racial and traits.
  
• Fixed
  
• That's the base price for just a +1 bonus. No other enchantments.
  
• Fixed
  
• I was but wasn't sure I could take it at first. Because she doesn't know her heritage, I could pick what fits best mechanically. Div-spawn would have made Cha better and possibly saved me a few points. But I wanted my abilities to match the description. That she is still pretty despite the obvious signs of devil blood. So spending 5 points to hit the hard limit of 12 fits. Then I remembered archery is really strapped for feats. I'd have to give up rapid shot or deadly aim or take a few levels of ranger. I would like to be at least as relevant as the companion in combat.
  

Q: Took 'pioneer', likely for one of the +1 trait bonuses. Which bonus? Also, what are you / did you do with the horse? Feed it to the roc? ;)

Otherwise, both look pretty good. Will look at the background in a day or two.

Couldn't find a racial or campaign trait that really fit so +1 to Perception. Now noted in profile. As for the horse, that could work.

"For your service to House Medvyed we present you this horse."

Curtains are pulled away to reveal the horse lying on the ground. Garuda lifts up his head, whcih is covered in gore, from behind the body.

*Gasp*
*Woman faints*
*Baby cries*

Or if someone just needs a horse?

Asking again because this apparently got lost in the crowd.

I plan for my character, cohort, and followers to invest in assorted trade goods and adventuring gear. Can I get by with assigning a set gold piece value to the category for each of them, and if I need (or want something) in particular, I can just say that so-and-so has that and deduct the cost from that character's total on the spot? Or must I specify and track each particular item and quantity?

Because, while I do take a certain pleasure in details like that, that would be excessive to write up and track for 7 characters at once.

Also, I'm thinking a pair of heavy wagons for transport and cargo. But I'd like to do them up Varisian-style. There is, oddly enough in light of how many times Varisians feature in PF material, not one single pricing for wagons of that type that I can find. So, can you give me a cost and cargo capacity adjustment to the base values for a heavy wagon to turn one into something suitable for long-term, on-the-road habitation by up to four people?

Hi! I'm working on a Cleric (Evangelist) of Abadar.

Now to my question:

How do you handle class abilities that grant Leadership, e.g. the nobility domain (and its subdomains)? Can it be replaced with a different feat (or some other ability)?

Thanks.

Hi, GM TWO! I wanted to drop a line here to see if you have any thoughts on a couple of concepts I've got rolling around. I know ultimately the character you should build and submit is the one you most want to play, but I'm torn between two ideas and I wanted to see if either would mesh particularly well with plans, if you foresee problems down the line, anything like that. If you've got the time and inclination, please let me know what you think!

GM TWO,

Do you mind if I re-use this alias? Its an elf whose personality I feel would fit this game rather well. He needs a complete overhaul, of course, but the basic mentality is the same.

Aw, I just fell upon Shielded Gauntlet Style and pictured an Eisenfaust duellist from 7th Sea... would do a nice fighter, don't you think so?

So, with this in mind, one question:

Slashing Grace: In the explanatory square it states it works with bucklers and some other special things. What would be your ruling about using it with a spiked gauntlet?

So, with this in mind, one question:

Slashing Grace: In the explanatory square it states it works with bucklers and some other special things. What would be your ruling about using it with a spiked gauntlet?

While it's a GM call, this is a neat combo that, RAW, seems to work—"While receiving this shield bonus to AC, your gauntlet or spiked gauntlet is treated as a buckler for the purpose of using other feats and abilities (though you are also considered to have a free hand). "

Good. I know it's not the best style in the world, but it will certainly make a very distinctive fighter (gauntlet+longsword) with a style peculiar enough to present something different to the Aldori.

Well, RAW also means you can't use it to TWF, which makes the chain a bit weaker. But you could always get *really* creative with Slashing Grace... a Dwarven duelist who fights gracefully with a double waraxe; or perhaps a scorpion whip fighter, or, i you want to get really crazy, a rope gauntlet. Of course, it might be more fun to just buy two agile spiked gauntlets, dual-wield, and call it a day.

Nah, the idea here was to use the gauntlet as a defensive weapon, and do the occasional disarm trick on an AoO. It's more expensive gold and feat wise, but way cooler, imho.The only problem I am having with the Fighter is skill starvation (no Diplomacy, no Perception, no Sense Motive, way too few points), I'll see how I can go through it.

If you can double-dip I bet you could do something cool with Crane Style too.

GM Two, how many Followers do we have to have? That is kinda the hang up I am at with my Character(s) right now. I have an idea of two guys who go to Brevoy because of what is going on there and what their ultimate goals are but I cannot figure out how to incorporate followers.

Deaths Adorable Apprentice wrote:

So the first one is Sylvan or Alko? That way I know what to write down.

Write down 'Alvan' or 'Sylko', whichever tickles you more.

"Why yes! I do speak Sicko. Sadly most people find it rather disturbing and some tend to gag as soon as I open my mouth..."

I understand Gobo Horde!

Nah, the idea here was to use the gauntlet as a defensive weapon, and do the occasional disarm trick on an AoO. It's more expensive gold and feat wise, but way cooler, imho.The only problem I am having with the Fighter is skill starvation (no Diplomacy, no Perception, no Sense Motive, way too few points), I'll see how I can go through it.

Pardon my input, but perhaps the sensate fighter archetype might help you some? It gets some interesting class skills--Perception and Sense Motive among them--and has an intriguing overall vibe. I had considered it for my own fighter character, actually.

GM Two, how many Followers do we have to have? That is kinda the hang up I am at with my Character(s) right now. I have an idea of two guys who go to Brevoy because of what is going on there and what their ultimate goals are but I cannot figure out how to incorporate followers.

Well, that depends on your leadership score, which is basically Cha mod+Lvl+3 (for 'Renown' and 'fairness and generosity')+any other random modifiers.

Note that GM TWO has stated a minimum of 12 Cha, Cohorts have a max level 2 below yours, 1/3 of your followers have NPC levels, and Cohorts are basically 2nd characters and are built similarily.

As for me, I am making a kind of school in exile feeling :)

(While I'm trying to post less build advice in-thread, there's been enough fighter proposals in general I'm sharing it here)

Nah, the idea here was to use the gauntlet as a defensive weapon, and do the occasional disarm trick on an AoO. It's more expensive gold and feat wise, but way cooler, imho.The only problem I am having with the Fighter is skill starvation (no Diplomacy, no Perception, no Sense Motive, way too few points), I'll see how I can go through it.

Actually, a pure fighter (no archetypes) can get more skills/level than any other class. This is what I'm banking on (as a party face/skillmonkey swordlord).

Going to go with Sylko since Alvan makes me think of the Chipmunks.

That was, actually, my intent. :D

I am torn on which one I want to be the higher level. The fighter is the older sibling and far more social skilled. Mostly I am torn on if I want the Oracle to get the disciple mythic path thing. I rather like the flavor for that one.

You'll notice that between Coalhouse and Alysandra the latter is the older and more socially adept of the two, but the former is the leader; he has the drive. I would prefer, for various reasons, that the Oracle be the main character and the fighter her guardian interpreter, as it were.

Okay, many thanks. I don't own Hero Lab, so I wasn't familiar with the concept.

Also, Darivan and Sylvia are nearly on their final drafts. Naturally, their backstories might still change a bit as we get some interweaving going on, but stat-wise, they're basically done.

Took a quick look, spotted a couple things that need to be changed.

First, you do not want to use the 'shared mind/energy' thing as an actual explanation, meaning that's the real effect; emotionally connected, sure, but 'part of the same mind/energy/soul' is going to be very, very, I-can't-possibly-explain-how-totally-very bad for you - between your allies and your enemies, 'puppets on a tangled string' pops to mind. So close, used the spell so much, know each other so well you know just by subtle physical movements what the other is thinking/wanting to say, yes. But not actually soul/spirit/mindlinked. If you want to keep this explanation, I will not say no - but, having forewarned you, I will use and abuse both it and you ruthlessly.

Second, noticed this in part because I love the feat chain myself - Sylvia must possess dimension door as a spell before she can pick up Dimensional Agility as a feat. Yes, it says 'ability to cast', not 'possess'; IMO, this is a basic error in writing, since the feat has in its description 'after casting dimension door ...' Ergo, you need to possess the spell, which will require 7th level at the earliest.

One question I do have, though, is on your thoughts on having a familiar being a peregrine falcon. They used to be considered 'noble' birds in France/Spain, so I don't know how that would translate to Brevoy. As far as stats go, the Familiar Folio suggests using the eagle's stats, but also says to get GM permission.

... huh. Idiots suggest a muscle car in a speedfreak position.

The peregrine falcon is essentially a hawk, which is (fortunately) already an option for familiars, granting 'a +3 bonus on sight-based and opposed Perception checks in bright light.'

Falconry, as it happens, is one of my hobby-wannabes, right next to with smithing; both of them have startup costs of, honestly, around $3,000. Having done research, however, some useful/useless information for you. Peregrine falcons are considered birds to be flown by middle- to high-noblility; The Book of St. Albans restricts the peregrine to the Earl or Count (and, of course, higher nobles). As it is a very light bird, in modern times it tends to be flown by women; in all times, because it is a very light bird, it is highly sensitive to weight gain/loss, and a matter of a few ounces will make it fly well or not so well. This latter would be one main reason why only Earls/Counts, Dukes, and royalty could, realistically, fly it - they were the only ones really rich enough to be able to hire someone specifically to take care of the mews.

So now you know. ;)

That's the base price for just a +1 bonus. No other enchantments.

Remember that the Amulet of Mighty Fists does not need a bonus to grant weapon abilities; simply putting down the cost doesn't clue us (specifically me) in to what it does. Be specific; the GM loves specific, because it helps him understand what you're doing with your character.

I was but wasn't sure I could take it at first. Because she doesn't know her heritage, I could pick what fits best mechanically. Div-spawn would have made Cha better and possibly saved me a few points. But I wanted my abilities to match the description. That she is still pretty despite the obvious signs of devil blood. So spending 5 points to hit the hard limit of 12 fits. Then I remembered archery is really strapped for feats. I'd have to give up rapid shot or deadly aim or take a few levels of ranger. I would like to be at least as relevant as the companion in combat.

I do not require the 'Fiendish Heritage' feat for alternate tiefling sources; you give up something to gain something else, just like every alternate tiefling ability. I also do not require you to roll for tiefling abilities; select three, and I will pick the one I feel is appropriate or interesting. Whether or not you go this route is up to you, but I did want to put it out there.

Or if someone just needs a horse?

Maybe one of the at least 5 followers? :D

I plan for my character, cohort, and followers to invest in assorted trade goods. Can I get by with assigning a set gold piece value to the category for each of them, and if I need (or want something) in particular, I can just say that so-and-so has that and deduct the cost from that character's total on the spot? Or must I specify and track each particular item and quantity?

Because, while I do take a certain pleasure in details like that, that would be excessive to write up and track for 7 characters at once.

If you go this route, I will first presume they are carrying spices instead of trade metals, due to weight restrictions. I will secondly restrict the 1st level characters from having any such things, and any higher-level followers you have may possess no more than 10% of their total starting cash invested in such trade goods. No, you don't have to write out the entirety of your followers (although, granted, I did so for all of Coalhouse's original twenty-plus followers), but unless you write them out otherwise, they WILL have decent equipment - which needs to encompass basic needs. I would suggest you put together and cost a 'basic package' - '1/4 Large tent, 20 days trail rations, grooming kit, bag (2), etc. etc.' - and then drop it on each of them. Packages, honestly, are ease-of-use the hands-down best ways to go.

N.B. to everyone - if you DO use kits, such as the various class kits, it behooves you to list WTF is in them, because sure as hell I don't have them memorized.

Also, I'm thinking a pair of heavy wagons for transport and cargo. But I'd like to do them up Varisian-style. There is, oddly enough in light of how many times Varisians feature in PF material, not one single pricing for wagons of that type that I can find. So, can you give me a cost and cargo capacity adjustment to the base values for a heavy wagon to turn one into something suitable for long-term, on-the-road habitation by up to four people?

Hm.

Jade Regent uses caravans with wagons of various attributes - armored, prisoner, fortune-teller's, supply, and finally covered, which is what you would want. A covered wagon houses and carries 6, though its cargo capacity is reduced from 10 (that of the supply wagon) to 4, and consumption (number of horses) goes from 1 to 2. Hmm.

I'm going to stick with the cost (500 gp); the weight left for cargo is a tough call, because Jade Regent varies from 50 lb per cargo unit to 500 lb per cargo unit (to 56 cu. ft. per cargo unit). Not that PF wagons are especially accurate (as a Conestoga wagon is designed to carry 8 tons - 16,000 lbs - as compared to the 4000 lbs the 'heavy wagon' has the capacity for). Hm. Treat this as a Medium wagon, with 3/5 of its carrying capacity removed, so it can now carry an additional 800 lbs of stuff.

Hi!

Hi!

I'd like to express my interest in joining the game. Currently, what I have in mind is a Swashbuckler or Fighter, who's the son of a defunct Swordlord but despises the Swordlords himself and aspires to create a brand new fencing school, given the opportunity to found a new realm.

His cohort would be a religious old man, probably Cleric, who was best friends with his father and swore that he would take care of the kiddo.

That ... may prove interesting. Looking forward to seeing your application.

I'm not an English native speaker ... and please, if your eyes happen to bleed due to anything you read in my posts, any corrections will be welcome - no corrections, no improvement.

You are forgiven all your future confusions. I will do my best to remember, but I will say now that you are eminently understandable.

How do you handle class abilities that grant Leadership, e.g. the nobility domain (and its subdomains)? Can it be replaced with a different feat (or some other ability)?

Gave some thought to this previously. What it works out to is that the Leadership feat is a required feat; if you have already gotten it by some other route, then you may simply take something else as a free feat.

I wanted to drop a line here to see if you have any thoughts on a couple of concepts I've got rolling around. I know ultimately the character you should build and submit is the one you most want to play, but I'm torn between two ideas and I wanted to see if either would mesh particularly well with plans, if you foresee problems down the line, anything like that. If you've got the time and inclination, please let me know what you think!

Both could be useful; both could be (very) disruptive. I would have to say offhand that the 'scoundrel' might be more useful, if they can manage to be 'not scum'. It does, however, sound like you plan on him being, for want of a better word, a Surtova lapdog (or weasel, however you want to describe him); that could be a problem for 'getting in', to be honest.

However, I'd have to review the entirety of the background and character crunch to make a definite decision in that regard. Meanwhile, I do recommend you yourself take a look at what's known of the King you'd be serving.

Do you mind if I re-use this alias?

I have no problems with alias re-use. I cannot say anything re: characterization, because there's no characterization on that alias. :P

** Shield Gauntlet Stule / Slashing Grace Feat discussion omitted **

RAW says yes. RAW also says you'd not be able to use the TWF / gauntlet as a weapon otherwise, i.e. for your disarm trick. GM's interpretation would be that if you DID AoO with the gauntlet, you'd disable the Slashing Grace feat for the round's worth of attacks following such a maneuver. (I.e. the ones in this round if you haven't attacked yet, the attacks in next round if you have.) This would be alleviated by actually having the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, in whatever manner you acquire it.

GM Two, how many Followers do we have to have? That is kinda the hang up I am at with my Character(s) right now. I have an idea of two guys who go to Brevoy because of what is going on there and what their ultimate goals are but I cannot figure out how to incorporate followers.

Gobo Horde has explained it quite well.

Everyone, understand and remember that you are 7th level, and are meant to possess some amount of fame. Fame, not infamy; you are asking a good man who is to become a king to take you along and allow you to rule a portion of his people and influence things in his land. You need, in short, to give him a reason to be able to say 'yeah, this person is better for my needs than that person.' So this isn't just a matter of writing up a good and interesting character concept; this is also writing up a history of being an upstanding citizen, whether that happens to come from following the laws (Lawful) or upholding freedom (Chaotic).

I would like to express my interest

Welcome. Go to.

Actually, a pure fighter (no archetypes) can get more skills/level than any other class. This is what I'm banking on (as a party face/skillmonkey swordlord).

Mmmm. I will be paying close attention to your details; please be explicit at all times as to what you gain from what, and all that.

I don't know if the GM would want to actually use this, especially considering its another subsytem to learn and/or keep track of, however using the Fame table as at least a general guideline for our PCs might not be a bad idea.

Much like Leadership, Fame is your character level plus Cha mod. So, base of 9.

Look through the table, and pick out a few relevant and reasonable fame events that you could weave into your backstory.

Obviously, things like confirming two crits, or gaining a PC level make no sense, but consecrating a temple to your deity(or at least helping) or receiving a medal(and the story behind that) definitely would work as really interesting background elements.

Also, I would strongly suggest crafting a ten minute background to help come up with various important points, themes, and hooks for your PC.

Will do! (I'm not fully maxing out what a fighter can do, but certainly getting a lot of flexibility. If the other Swordlord is a few levels lower, that means he can also watch me for inspiration, which is cool)

And backstories where people are famous are the fun ones! Right now I've got "... recently won a duel against a Numerian tinkerer at court, drawing his sword fast enough to block a bullet from a mysterious contraption—an exhibition that eventually earned him a great deal of praise from the Swordlords, and a single second of laughter from the king..."

RAW says yes. RAW also says you'd not be able to use the TWF / gauntlet as a weapon otherwise, i.e. for your disarm trick. GM's interpretation would be that if you DID AoO with the gauntlet, you'd disable the Slashing Grace feat for the round's worth of attacks following such a maneuver. (I.e. the ones in this round if you haven't attacked yet, the attacks in next round if you have.) This would be alleviated by actually having the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, in whatever manner you acquire it.

Thank you, I'll take that as rule. Still unsure as to whether to use Str or Dex. Calculating the different options...

Pardon my input, but perhaps the sensate fighter archetype might help you some? It gets some interesting class skills--Perception and Sense Motive among them--and has an intriguing overall vibe. I had considered it for my own fighter character, actually.

Nice advice, though I'm reticent to lose Bravery, since it's what will be my first line of defence against the Aldori's nasty intimidating combo. I'll have a close look at it, though.

To The Wyrm Ouroboros -

Thank you for the greeting. I'll work on getting caught up on the thread this weekend so that I can be more aware of any answers you have supplied to previous questions and know what kind of other applicants we have possibly going into this grand expedition.

I plan on making a suggestion to some of those fellow applicants within the next section and would appreciate any insight you might give us from your side The Wyrm Ouroboros.

To Derz, gyrfalcon, and any other potential Abadaran applicant -

Seeing as each of us have chosen to have the Abadaran faith play a role in the stories we are creating, I thought it might be beneficial for us to communicate with each other. Who knows, it may even lead us to collaborating with each other.

From what I have seen so far, I feel like we all have given our characters a shared goal of expanding the church of Abadar within the Stolen Lands. With that thought in mind, perhaps the church has invested more of it's interest in this undertaking than any of us had initially thought. Instead of sending one or two of our characters, the church sent all of them to increase the chances of success.

Might this interest any of you?

I'm really excited about this game, it sounds like a lot of fun. I've been lurking and planning for a while, gathering up a few questions as I went. Here goes:

1) I'm toying around with a Charisma-based character (specifically an Overwhelming Soul Aether-kineticist), and I'm finding it not terribly difficult at all to get to a 17 leadership score (17 base cha +2 racial +1 4th-level-increase +2 headband = 22 cha or +6 bonus; level 7 + 6 cha bonus + 3 leadership bonuses +1 for natural-born leader trait = 17 leadership score), but you only gave info for up to L3 followers. With a 17, you get 1 L4 follower. So, question would be, is this allowed to have a L4 follower, when our cohort is only L5? If so, what would equipment rules be?

2) How quickly into the campaign can we expect to go Mythic? Will we be starting at Tier 1? I've never played Mythic before, but I've read that normally on average tier = level / 2, so I wasn't sure how that would work for entering Mythic at a later level.

3) With your Mythic Leadership feat, you are allowed to have a cohort equal to your level. How will this work with our existing cohorts? Will they automatically gain 2 levels to bring them up to equal with us when we take that feat?

Thanks!

Sounds good to me. I was writing my character as what amounts to an accountant with a sword anyway. It would make sense that the founding of a country would warrant more than one or two auditors.