The Tragedy of Hero's (Inactive)

Game Master fnord72

Alright, might use possess object instead.
basically I can't see any way to keep the familiar (which is also my spellbook) alive in a fight.
That's okay, because I can resurrect him every night if necessary.
Unfortunately there are a few too many things that destroy his body. Then I can't bring him back.
I can put him in an extradimensional pocket of the vest and he'll suffocate and die every morning, then resurrect him every night but *that* sounds just a bit mean.
So I put his soul in a gem, put the dead body in my bag. The soul then takes over an object (letting him walk around or whatever). If nothing happens when I stop for the night I take the body back out and he re-possesses that. If he does get killed I've still got the body to bring him back. Plus an object might actually have armour class better than 20.

You know it's an epic level campaign when the only reason you don't keep kill and raise your familiar each day is ethical!

Hase why would your familiar be at your side all the time. It can keep its distance, depending on the type it may even get ignored. Smart monsters wont kill every bird or rat they come across. You dont really need your familiar in arms reach all the time do you.

Portable hole and bottle of air could work fine, too.

Thinking through option here. If I got an iron dog statue...

Okay. Iron golem weighs 5000lbs. that is therefore the weight of a huge iron construct.
gargantuan is doubled in every dimension, so *8 = 40000
iron is 1sp per lb, so 4000gp in raw materials.
How much to craft it?

What? You think I'm nasty and powerful? You better show me proper respect, or I'll sic my familiar on you!

Could someone please stuff him in a portable hole? Air bottle optional...

Trouble is I need it with me to do my spells, so it can't just snuggle up at home.

If it isn't with me and I get trapped/ported/shifted whatever I'm screwed. Anyone who knows Hase is a Witch can identify he'll have a familiar, and that if it is kidnapped he'll do anything to get it back.

And I like the idea the more I think of it. I can imagine a small raven, sick of always being the little one, jumping at the chance to be a gargantuan animated object.

Will that cause teleporting issues? Xara can cast hate 17 times per day, so that may help somewhat...

Edit: Stupid auto-correct. Obviously, I meant she can cast gate, not hate. If we need hate cast, Trig can do it at will...

@Trig: :)

Well sadly pathfinder does not have a shrink spell for animals. That way you turn him into a pinky size animal and have him in your pocket or tiny cage.

You could use the share spells ability to cast reduce person and permanency on "yourself". That could make a tiny familiar diminutive.

@Xara: good catch. gargantuan is 8 creatures, so needs CL 24 to teleport.

Losing your familiar is like losing your spellbook for a wizard. I think you have it confused with a wizards bonded item, you lose that and every spell cast without it is a gamble. Anyways you can alway get another one thru a ritual, you just have to refill it with spells as if you lost a spellbook. Also you can get a vermin familiar, they are really small to begin with so could try that too.

Winter Witch has a limited selection of familiars.

Trouble is unlike a wizard I can't make a backup.

Yes you can. Witch can cast clone, clone the familiar! Do it! @.@

Or how about get a wizard/sorcerer to cast a binding spell and use Minimus Containment.

I would go for option 2 as it sounds like what you want. I would pick the gem container for class, a jar would kinda be insulting.

RE Binding: That's pretty cool.

Man, I really want this dog now. Maybe I'll scale back to Huge.

shakes head scale back to Huge...

The trouble is if I clone him, and then am stuck somewhere when he dies, I can't raise his body because his soul is now in the lab.

I think you may have missed me with PMs DM. Just letting you know.

If I remember their is an item that keeps things in stasis. Just make/buy one for the cloned body of your familiar or carry a few of them if your nervous and have the money. I think it was called the death head box or something, it was crafted with craft wonderous item and gentle repose. I may be wrong on that last part.

But I think the binding would work fine unless I am missing something. Or do both having the clone for backup.

Was thinking about the effect, and I've decided I like magic jar. It can pick up differences of 4HD, and always has an empathic link to me. There's something awesome about just turning and having a conversation with some random passer-by who happens to be my familiar at the moment. I'm getting images of the film "Fallen".

@Gelein: Absolutely Binding is a great way to go. Probably the safer way in all honesty.

Finally managed to hammer out the last little bit of backstory. Damned writer's block prevented me from putting out the last three paragraphs or so for a while.

any extra-dimensional space (haversack/bag of holding/portable hole plus bottle of air and your familiar should be golden.

Unless you start using it in combat, then it becomes a fair game target.

Barding, magic items, tiny cloaks of resistance...

Sorry Derric, I will get one out to you soon.

I keep Ophelia in my Handy Haversack in fact, undead don't need to breathe :)
Though for RP it's just really my very shadow beneath my body, and to "raise" it I need to spend a move action ^^.
It's difficult to enhance a shadow via items, since it's incorporeal :/

I am putting up profiles for Nosoi and Rogar.

DM: If Rogar is 17th level (I think he is) how much gold does he have. I assume he can't get Leadership himself, so we're 'sharing' the cohorts, if that is okay.

Also, I put some money aside for material components, and swapped spite for a less expensive spell (Divination)

DM: How do you want to do effects that are cast every day stat-wise (eg mage armour, mind blank)

For maintenance spells, I'd like to see a notation where the spell effect occurs (for instance an extended/heightened mage armor should have a notation in the AC section that the bonus is from mage armor).

For all such spells (like Endure Elements) should be listed in your spells/day spells memorized section as used.

I would have it noted like this:

SPELLS:
Spells per Day: 5/6/5/3/0/0/0/0/0/0
Maintenance Spells Cast upon waking: Endure Elements

3rd Lvl: Haste X2, Summon Monster III
2nd Lvl: Command Undead, Create Pit*, Scorching Ray X2, Web*
1st Lvl: Endure Elements (cast), Grease*, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist*, Silent Image
Cantrips: Acid Splash*, Disrupt Undead, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand

If you have a better way to keep track of it, i'm okay with that as long as it is easy to see for those times when you get woken up before you get to renew the spell, or you get dispelled, etc.

I believe I previously stated that cohorts used the heroic attributes and cash per level of a heroic NPC and needed to use the suggested breakdown for the cash. (Can't spend it all on one sword).
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/npc-classes/non-player-characters

@Derric
Would Gelein have run into you?
While Gelein has no problem with your ideals or protection of the planes. He would take issue with you being a known spellcaster killer, that could have lead to a conflict between them. Also Derric's disdain for all gods, Nethys among them I would guess, would also be a issue with him.

@Vanshoon
Would Gelein have run into you?
The temple incident looks like the only thing that could have made Gelein come after Vanshoon, if so would Vanshoon attempt to defuse the issue or what. Also would the temple incident be a great enough issue to warrent Gelein's involvement?

@Xara
Would Gelein have run into you?
Gelein is not a planes hopper as their is little that involves Nethys among the planes. Also the two gods dont really share a relationship. So would he know anything more then she is a summoning specialist?

@Hase
Would Gelein have run into you?
He really does not involve himself in much outside magical affairs and ruins. So would Gelein know anything about Hase besides him being a witch with a habit of bring back the dead. So glad I am not a priest of Pharasma right now ;)

So we have our stories right when we meet. Btw the board is a little glitchy today, ate my post twice. >.<

When Xara isn't off plane hopping or in service to Desna, she's also on the faculty of the Korvosan Academy. She isn't highly placed there, despite being able to single-handedly mop the floor with most other members, as she isn't a true wizard, and her methods are not academically derived. Still, she is allowed to teach languages, planar physics, and some techniques of rapid monster summoning. The later year professors butcher the foundation she lays with the technique, however, and that's why the method produces such strain on the body.

Still, she's content with what she has and secretly smiles at the puffed-up wizards with ruffled feathers. She tries not to respond when the grey-hairs inform her quite seriously that she wouldn't be able to summon as well as she does if she knew how to do it properly!

So if he has any contact with the Acadamae, then he might know Xara.

It's possible that Derric has run into Gelein at some point in the last few years, he does travel quite a bit with his 'advising'. If we did meet at some point, there might have been a bit of friction, though probably more about the whole caster-killer thing than the disdain for the gods. Derric's pretty subtle with the whole disdain for gods thing, it's more along the lines of he doesn't make any worship of any kind, rolls his eyes when someone beseeches a god, etc. He's not incredibly vocal about it.

I can see more conflict coming between Derric and Xara rather than with Gelein.

And Xara doesn't worship Desna really. She admires her in a way similarly to how I (as a professional musician) admire somebody like Yo Yo Ma, probably because 20th level (while still a giant step below gods) is pretty powerful.

It's not so much the whole worship thing, it's more of the fact that you're a planes-hopping summoner.

In that case I think Derric and Gelein would know each other if only as associates. They dont dislike or like each other but their is a sort of professional respect, I would think Derric does not roll his eyes at Gelein like he would other divine casters at least. ;P

As for Xara he would likely not have met her. While he is in the area, sense he lives on bloodglister island. He does not visit mage schools and such unless something has gone wrong in a big way, they have Xara for that so he is not needed.

I really need to build that cohort, keeps slipping my mind. >.<

What would be some good favored terrain and favored enemy choices?

now wouldn't that be cheating?

How did your cohort ranger grow up?

Well I dont want my ranger to end up with none of her terrains or enemies being on that list. Even AP's give you a hint in their players guide.

She is originally from Kyonin, I have Outsider (evil) and forest in there because of that. But the rest is kinda wide open sense she is well traveled. I dont have her full background in mind yet just kind of a rough draft.

well as the most populous race human is always good, as well as undead, i'll see about any hints I want to hand out...

Well, if we're looking for ties... :)

@Gelein: How about around level 14 Hase comes to see you to see if his patron is Nethys (its not)?

@Derric: I can imagine a reasonably professional - if strained - relationship between Derric and Hase. Derric leads a group of spellcasters with a purpose: stopping rifts and gates. Hase is putting together a group of spellcasters that can support each other, but is setting up an extra-dimensional refuge for them. Quite possibly they've talked and Derric's LN and Hase's CG outlook are different enough they wouldn't join up, but might still cooperate on stopping demons.

@Xara: Hase might have turned to the Academae looking for answers (and not getting them). Given his recruitment and demiplane only occurred relatively recently, he might have used Xara's demiplame as a model. Interested in being friends?

@Vanshoon: Ironically Vanshoon and Hase might get along quite well. "Ironically" because I can't see a good way to meet them up.

I had a look through Derric's backstory. I can see where friction could occur, though certainly Xara would have been on his side, fighting summons with summons. Though given his hatred of demons, she may have an interesting revelation that will help build some trust.

Xara's always willing to be friends. Her plane is pretty recent as well; she probably got it a couple levels ago at most. Nothing says we couldn't share Demi-planes.

Gelein, from looking at your background, I can see these as appropriate favored enemies: undead, human, monstrous humanoid.

For terrain, I could readily see: jungle, urban, mountain, underground.

I can't really give you a players guide that says you will be fitting fey in their home forests. As an epic campaign you can expect that the terrain and combatants will be varied.

@Hase
Sure why not, but you never know Nethys does not always answer. ;)

@DM Fnord
I got her basic stats done, now I just need to work on her gear and backstory.

@DM Fnord: Got UE and there's a rod of thanatopic metamagic now! Is it okay if I shuffle things around a little to get it?

Also, realised that despite describing Hase as creepy he has no intimidate. Okay if I switch UMD and Intimidate?

go ahead, but we are quickly approaching the point where adjustments can only happen as they would in game.

Is their Psionics in this game?

Btw anyone heard from Vanshoon?

I have not heard from him, missed posts for more than a week and he gets worked to the sidelines.

I am not currently using psionics.

Alright so what do I do now?

If Gelein does not know about something and his god is not talking he would go to the oldest and most detailed libraries in the world. Which would be Absalom, Nex, and other such places. None of which would put him near any of the other PCs.

Do as your character would in these circumstances. Follow the information he has received, ignore it, sleep in, seek out other highly experienced and knowledgeable individuals, etc.

All of the characters received a letter with a big button on it and a warning that they would be contacted in three days.

The characters do not need to come together before then. This is the period where I get to build tie-ins for each character, learn about the player's writing styles, and verify the character sheets, etc.

So if you want to go to Absalom, Nex, etc and spend a couple days searching for what you can learn about a Library your highly experienced character has never heard of before...

What's stopping you?

And I know that RAW commune and knowledge checks would pretty much be "i win" buttons. The information needs to be so obscure that part of the adventure is hunting it down.

Even Zeddicus spent weeks working in a library to find the answer.

I was not expecting the info right off the bat. I expected at least a hint. Unless I missed something Gelein has no leads, no hints, and no way to get any. Sense he is so high lvl anything that would have any useful information would likely be off plane. For the sack of the adventure and his own nature I dont want to send him off plane. In that case I guess he just waits until the three days are up then touches the botton for lack of any better options. Better then risking that he is on some other plane when the time comes.

Axis I think would be the best choice if he did go off plane, its orderly nature would keep great records. ;)

Planar travel would certainly be interesting at this juncture.

While some of the clues may not mean much now, they will in the future.