The Dark is Rising - WotW Part I (COMPLETED) (Inactive)

Game Master Darkness Rising

Speaking of golems and alchemists: I don't know the details, but in Occult adventure the Alchemist gets the Promethean Disciple discovery, that grants him Craft Construct! Interested, Doctor?

OK, it looks like we have some plans. I'll get a post up tomorrow.

We need to try to find when the paladin/commander sleeps.

DM Darkness posted a watch schedule for the captains, but it must have been in a spoiler, I didn't find it when I searched. That would give us some idea, though the schedule may have changed now that they're down two captains. :D

I think whoever comes into town to deal with the golem, we should try to get the wizard or cleric aside and take care of them. Get them out of sight, take them by surprise. We've got some solid bluffers - where should we try to take them? Maybe into Caldwyn's warehouse to see what happened there? (Though it might be the focus of an investigation at that point). Graveyard behind the church, saying we should investigate where the body parts came from for the golem?

Any further notions on the plan?

I think that everyone already thought of that, but we should remember to disguise ourselves as someone else, just to make sure to not raise suspicion.

Quick change of mind - since Ottakar and Erevan (the principal mêlée combatants) are only intermittently online at the moment, thinking of doing some more handwaving and moving the main combat back a (RL) week or so - unless the rest of you are desperate to do some dice rolling combat right now.

Up to you. I always like the tactics of the fight, but if it will make things easier and keep things running, we can hand wave stuff as well. Really, if we are going to be able to trap one of the targets away from support, we should be able to win. If we are using really stupid tactics, and are going to end up with them together with an army of guards, then we should probably fight to the death (or run away with out tail between our legs (if we are Winston)).

Actually, Winston is probably smart enough to avoid getting into such a situation.

Apologies to all of you for the delay, and the wall of text; and apologies to Tkaara for... well. You'll see :(

So, let's award XP!

5 soldiers: 2,000
Captain Samuel Barhold: 2,400
Using the flesh golem to hide your own nefarious deeds: priceless 1,200 XP
Sabotaging the stone block at Balentyne: 800 XP

Total 6,400 XP

This is enough to get you to Fifth Level. Congratulations!

In addition, for callously disposing of more adversaries while maintaining the facade of your own innocence, heedless of the risk you posed to the good townspeople of Aldencross, I award you

1 (one) further Villain Point

Onward!

Oh well, it was a good run. Knew she needed a better fort save.

Note to self - next time I play a promiscuous oracle, take the endurance feat.

So, what do you all need as a replacement character?

Uuuugh...I was about to go to bed, but it looks like I'll have to write something.
Not that I'm complaining: we've lost our trollop, but it's character development!
Don't worry Tkaara: your death will leave as much as an emotional scar on Etna has Hecate did!
Evidently, things were going just too smooth, and our evil,evil DM had to throw a wrench in our plans.
And he gave us the fifth level of doom! Better not get close to the Pally-Radar. Insult to the injury!
Do we not have suffered enough, oh Darkest of DMs?

So much fun stuff! Sorry I missed it, but then again the narrative approach is nice for moving along what might otherwise be a very time-hoggy section.

Doctors are suspecting there is a lot more going on than a simple infection. Perhaps something interacting with, or caused by, my long-term health issues. Currently on a fourteen hour fast in preparation for a lot of bloodwork. Yay!

I want to thank you all for your continued patience, and DMD for your brilliant botting of my character. I love reading about the adventures of these dastardly villains, and cannot wait to take an active hand again as soon as I succeed on a couple of these Fortitude saves. :)

And Tkaara, I'm good with anything you want to play, so long as it doesn't sparkle in the sunlight. -_-

And Tkaara, I'm good with anything you want to play, so long as it doesn't sparkle in the sunlight. -_-

Ah, come on. Everyone knows that glitter is the latest craze amongst the young Talingardian elite.

So, what do you all need as a replacement character?

KU-THITE! KU-THITE! KU-THITE!

Squick the DM and give a whole new meaning to "Serve well and be rewarded"!

From promiscuity to outright depravity, hmmm?

*sigh*

You'd probably end up having to spoiler the entire thread...

Oh, yes - don't forget that we're using Automatic Bonus Progression, so for level 5 you get Deflection +1 (i.e. the equivalent of a ring of protection +1); Erevan, note that this won't stack with the deflection aura from your smite power when that is active.

Just pulling your leg. :P

Kuthite - hmmm, interesting. High charisma + love of pain. Oh the places I could take people.

Here is an interesting story(?) that is fitting about now.

So, what are you guys going to do?

You are now the Quintet Quartet of Doom.

That took some time to write. <.<

So, what are you guys going to do?

You are now the Quintet Quartet of Doom.

We just need to avoid buying string instruments and getting on big ships cruising the north of Talingrade.

Wait... What just happened? I have yet to read the IC thread due to severe connection issues. Damn, I knew I should not have gone on vacation...

Also, wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to the player of our obno... err, esteemed Doctor.

Wait... What just happened?

My feelings exactly. I suspect DMD and Tkaara have been colluding a bit, building toward this outcome for a little while, though I confess I don't understand the why of it.

But that was a long, glorious post, DMD!

Indeed it was! Awesome!

In light of levelling up to 5th level, as well as using the Automatic Bonus Progression, can I pick your -DM and players both- brains a little?

1) I cannot decide on my 5th level feat, as well as general feat progression between the following (sooner or later I will be getting all of them, but it is the order that has me stumped):

Weapon Focus (Spear) [-> Weapon Versatility (Spear)]

Furious Focus [-> Cornugon Smash]

Mask of Virtue [-> Soulless Gaze -> Fiendskin]

Ideas? Suggestions? Anything?

2) At 6th level we get Mental Prowess +2. What happens if or when we apply it to Intelligence in regards to skill ranks per level and languages?

Oh, come on, is Etna the only one that was sorry for Tkaara? We're evil, but this way you make it look like that, deep down, Etna is actually a soft-hearted, emotional person.
(Spoiler: that's because she is. Working on fixing that, but you just saw how well it worked.)

1) I'd say you could start by going Furious Focus into Cornugon Smash, and then follow it up with Mask of Virtue into Soulless Gaze.

2) They grant you Skill Points retroactively: there was a post by Mark Seitfer that cleared that up, I think. Also, I think that it generally works like that: it's only the INT bonus granted by the Headband that has that exception.

Weapon Focus gives you +1 attack on all attacks.

Furious Focus eliminates the -2 penalty right now when using Power Attack, but only for the first attack, so you will still be at negative later.

Weapon Versatility is situational. Since the Ninth is fighting many good enemies, I think they tend to have less DR that is by weapon type. Not sure though. I think this is one to leave for a few levels. Plus, don't forget that when you smite, you automatically overcome DR.

The Mask/Gaze/Fiendskin combo are pretty sweet. I think that they would be my choice. Especially since you tend to glow like a black spotlight to anyone who is a paladin or is detecting alignments.

In preference of order, I would go:
Weapon Focus or Mask - Gaze - Fiendskin - Furious Focus

Remember, you are a full BAB character, so your BAB is pretty high anyway, sure Weapon focus helps, but in this campaign, I think that the benefits from the Damnation chain are pretty useful.

Ops, I had suggested Furious Focus-> Cornugon Smash because I was sure that Smash required Furious Focus to work! In that case, you can safely skip Furious Focus until later level: for now, I agree that you could pick Mask of Virtue.

Still, I'd consider Cornugon at 7th level: you can combine it with the Hurtful feat(that's solid by itself) to practically grant yourself an extra attack at full BAB-2 each round!

Regarding Weapon Versatility, I agree that my solution with DR is just hitting them harder. :P

Maybe something like:

5th - Mask of Virtue
7th - Soulless Gaze
9th - Fiendskin
11th - Furious Focus or Cornugon Smash
13th - Cornugon Smash or Furious Focus

Or:

5th - Mask of Virtue
7th - Cornugon Smash
9th - Soulless Gaze
11th - Furious Focus or Fiendskin
13th - Fiendskin or Furious Focus

Barring any free feats anyway. This AP did give a free trait via the Cardinal's training, so who knows. I am hopeful. :-)

So, as we discuss feat selection and other aspects of leveling up, is anyone going to explain what happened to Tkaara?

is anyone going to explain what happened to Tkaara?

She died of starvation, duh. :P

I am going to go ahead and assume it has something to do with her transition to vampirism. At least, I hope so as I rather like the character.

Naaaah, she's gone. If it was about becoming an undead, and I knew/suspected something, I would have said that! But as I didn't (like in this post, where I didn't say anything about undeads or vampires), that means we've lost our favorite junkie forever!

Maybe we could have stopped this: we'll never know how the reign of Queen Tkaara the Trollop would have been. D:

Back on the topic of feat selection:

Erevan, I have been building Felrin to have a high Intimidate bonus (+14 at the moment, may go up as I level up and assign skill ranks) and have been considering some of the same feats you are thinking of taking.

I'm on the fence a bit, since I have 3/4 BAB progression, whether I should be taking Weapon Focus and other such feats that boost my melee effectiveness or go deeper into the world of debuffs through intimidation. But I'd like very much for us not to overlap too much in our builds and specializations. What do you think?

I also have this nagging feeling (which I may have expressed before) that aspects of Felrin's build - so well-suited to blending in to have survived in Talirean society - are rendered a bit useless by the circlets of disguise provided by the AP. Not sure how valid this concern is, since alter self is usable in lots of other ways as well, but it does feel like I built towards a particular sort of 'master of disguise' role that turns out not to be needed.

Well, the three Damnation feats (Mask of Virtue, Soulless Gaze, Fiendskin) I am definitely taking regardless of build, because they seem not only flavorful (signifying Erevan's more supernatural corruption/damnation, not to mention that if an antipaladin in an evil Asmodean campaign does not take them, then no character of mine ever will... :-P), but also useful. Although I find the first and third one to be the ones I like the most, the fact that the more you have makes them all more powerful is something I cannot ignore, plus an unholy warrior may as well be intimidating.

Furious Focus and Weapon Focus are also feats I am planning on taking. The former's negation of the Power Attack penalty, even if it is only for the first attack, is too good to pass up, while the latter is always handy.

Cornugon Smash and generally a build focused on in-combat intimidation/demoralisation is not something I am particularly going after, at least not necessarily. Cornugon Smash, which was the only demoralisation feat I was considering, does look interesting and useful, especially with the Hurtful feat (which I did not even know existed up until Etna mentioned it, though I am not sure I could fit it in anyway). Still, I am not married to the intimidation and demoralisation concept/build and I do not mind letting someone else go that route if they so wish. I may still get Cornugon Smash and maybe Hurtful eventually, but that will probably be the extent of his feat-based debuffing (I do have a 20th-level Erevan in my HeroLab, I think, but I will not have access to it for a couple of days more give or take to confirm what my original progression plan and build was).

Goodbye, Tkaara, we'll remember you fond... well, we'll remember you! Of course, I doubt she'll be gone for long. ;)

As for the potential overlap, well, fear is a powerful tool, and there are distinct routes one might take. For instance, Erevan could go Power Attack, Furious Focus, Cornugon Smash, Dreadful Carnage, while Felrin could go Weapon Focus, Dazzling Display, Disheartening Display, Gory Finish, Shatter Defenses, and/or Violent Display. Two different paths to making sure all that face the Forsaken tremble in fear!

Not a bad point or idea actually. Still, with the Damnation feats being a bit of a fluffy/crunchy priority, the intimidation feats will have to wait for a while probably, at least barring any changes of mind or unexpected freebies.

But I do like the idea of spreading fear to our enemies, as I am sure Felrin does as well. And being the First, I can see him as someone who would invest in intimidation, not only out of combat but in it as well.

Also, I am not entirely sure that a bit of overlap is a bad thing. It can be useful to have more than one character do the same thing -though one will probably be better at it- especially if or when the dreaded splitting of the party happens. Not to mention that AsmodeusUltima's post about the different ways such a thing can be achieved does provide food for thought.

As for Erevan's concept, I have certainly steered more towards a combat role by turning him into an antipaladin, but thanks to this AP's extra skill ranks and the good ability rolls, he still retains quite a bit of the old Erevan's people skills and deceptive ways (I am thinking actual infiltration is more Felrin's shtick). In short, I never pictured him as a blunt instrument of death and destruction and I am glad I do not have to make him that due to the class change. :-D

As for Felrin's "master of disguise" thing, I would not be so quick to call it not needed. Not only are we only in the first book still, the circlets are magic items, while spell-like abilities are innate; the former can always be lost or taken away or destroyed or even replaced by something better or more useful, while the latter cannot and is always accessible. And that is without taking into account "master of disguise" skills such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Intimidate and Sense Motive that serve to at the very least complement the concept.

So, what do you say, Felrin? Have you given your build any further thought?

About Alter Self: aside from having combat implications, the important difference between Alter Self and the bracelet is that the first is a Trasmutation effect. If we were playing by RAW, disguise self would grant a Will save to disbelieve every time someone interacts with you.
As I suppose the late alchemist "interacted" a lot with our late Tkaara, I'm assuming that is not the case.

About lots of scary Intimidating people: remember that with Soulless Gaze, you can stack fear effects: I hear that panicked is a nasty condition. :P

Speaking of leveling, I'd like to ask for your opinions on something, too: I finally get Expanded Wishcraft for a Level 1 spell!
What it's a spell that you think could be useful trough wish granting? It could be either an extra buff, or something offensive that could be easily wish-twisted by something commonly said/a common wish. Any ideas?

Good points all around, y'all. I was thinking of going in the direction AU laid out, though he pointed out some feats I didn't know about. In the near term, Weapon Focus is clearly the way to go, since it'll help in melee and is a step towards the Dazzling Display feat tree.

I think I'll probably skip the damnation feats, as I already have some energy resistances and I can get +5 to my Intimidate skill by taking Intimidating Prowess, where I'd need three damnation feats to get to +4. There are a few mechanical aspects of them I like, but now quite enough.

I appreciate the thoughts on Felrin's build - I'm liking the idea of him as master of disguise who occasionally allows his facade to drop and reveals his angry, frightful self to scare his foes. And I can mix Blistering Invective into his intimidation, so he can light them on fire as well!

Almost done leveling up. I get one more 2nd level spell known, and here's what I'm considering: Brow Gasher, Darkness, Death Knell. I already have Invisibility and Blistering Invective.

Blistering Invective is one of my favorite spells: you burn them so hard, you actually burn them. :P

I'd take Brow Gasher: I never liked Death Knell that much, and Darkness is something that me or Tkaara can take eventually, while I doubt that it would be a good idea if we close in and start trying to slash people with a dagger!

By the way, no ideas for the first level spell for Expanded Wishcraft? EDIT: Maybe protection from good? It's useful, but I won't need to spam it, so even if you have to wish for it that's not a problem. Plus, I could be able to twist some goody outsider words to be able to cast it, and it's silenced to boot!

Protection from Good is a fine idea, Etna. I have that as well, and am actually at a level that I could take it off my list and replace it with another - but it's a pretty good spell to hang on to.

I've never seen Death Knell used in play, and I like how thematic it is, drawing the life force someone to make Felrin stronger. But it does seem very situational. Brow Gasher I've used a lot - it can be great when the big guy fails his save, otherwise it's very disappointing. Next level I will have a 20 Wis, which will help with spell DC's.

Hmmmm.

Protection from good does indeed sound good and useful, especially in a pinch.

On another note, here is my level up now that I am back home.

Antipaladin (Dread Vanguard) 4 -> Antipaladin (Dread Vanguard) 5

Saves: None
Hit Points: +10 (+6 antipaladin, +3 CON, +1 favored)
Base Attack: +1
Feats: Mask of Virtue
Skills: +9 skill ranks - Acrobatics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (Religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, Swim
Class Features: Antipaladin (Dread Vanguard) - Aura of Evil (Strong), Fiendish Boon (Weapon)
Ability Increase: None
Automatic Bonus Progression: Deflection +1
Villain Points: +1

...but thanks to this AP's extra skill ranks

Can someone remind me about this? I thought we got 2 extra skill ranks to start - is is 2 per level?

It is indeed 2 per level.

Updated my character sheet. Not sure about what feat to take though. Maybe Flensing Strike? Wouldn't be a bad idea for us to all get Mask of Virtue, eventually, or drop the gold for a Ring of Mind Shielding.

Blistering Invective is my favorite spell with my PFS inquisitor, but then again he is intimidate focused. :) Brow Gasher looks pretty cool.

Protection from Good sounds good for Etna; can't think of anything better.

Beastmorph Vivisectionist 3/Master Chymist 1 -> Beastmorph Vivisectionist 4/Master Chymist 1
Saves +1 Fort, +1 Ref
Hit Points +9 (+5 alchemist, +3 Con, +1 favored)
Base Attack +1
Feats ?
Skills 11 points: Acrobatics, Craft (alchemy), Disable Device, Intimidate, 2x Knowledge (engineering), Knowledge (nature), Perception, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Class Features Discovery (bleeding attack), Sneak Attack +3d6
Extracts Learned Barkskin, Blur
Ability Increase None
Automatic Bonus Progression +1 deflection
Villain Points +1 (already max)

Hi guys, sorry for the delay - job just ended and things are a bit chaotic. I'll have us up and moving asap.

Err... Job just ended? Everything ok?

Fine, thanks - just a bit chaotic.

Good to hear.

Just pulling your leg. :P

** spoiler omitted **

EDIT - OK, post is now up. This is my understanding of your plan for the next few days:

Toilday/Wealday

shopping, getting equipped, doing alchemy to make whatever you need plus the poison for the stew and the ravens

Oathday night

Felrin to aid Mama Rosie with stew, and poison it

Fireday

poison ravens
burn arrow store
Etna to program golem to attack the wizard
kill Donnagin
kill Lord Havelyn (possibly by attending play?)
get to the gatehouse and open the portcullis and drawbridge
sabotage the siege engines on the gatehouse roof
fire off the signal rocket to bring Sakkarot's horde

Am I missing anything?

It is indeed 2 per level.

Thanks, Erevan.

On the plan and schedule - the overall to-do list looks good, but I wouldn't mind trying to get some of the Fireday items done sooner. Items that could happen sooner seem to be:

golem attacking the magister
sabotage of siege engines on gatehouse roof (now that Felrin is allowed out there)
poison the ravens
burning the arrow store

We should keep in mind that too many bad things, or "accidents", happen too close to one another and the townspeople may get suspicious of the newcomers, i.e. us. Although... Although we now have a new newcomer to pin stuff on.

This is true - I just prefer to spread things across my to-do lists when I can, perhaps it's not a habit I need to apply to toppling a fortress of do-gooders, even if it comes in handy in planning other projects. Also, they may get suspicious of us on Thursday, but they'll be dead on Friday.