War for the Crown with DM Vayelan

Game Master vayelan

Has anyone heard from Bartolo? He hasn't posted since August...

I had to kick that player out of my game due to inactivity.

Yeah, I've been wondering about Bartolo too.

I found a single post on one of his alias' that may explain things:

Sep 1, 2020, 04:45 pm - "Hello, everyone, I'm here to apologise for my second disappearance. With the year being what it is, I'd had to relocate on a short notice, and my schedule is looking increasingly busier for the foreseeable future, so unfortunately I'd have to bow out."

He may intend to come back, but has not said anything so far probably because he's too busy and there has been nobody who has addressed him (his character) first. I speculating of course...

I hope he comes back. He's tons of fun.

I will mark him as inactive.

Should we recruit a new player?

I'm not sure if we NEED another, but we might want one. Role wise, I could see a full caster join the adventure. Any full caster really.

I love Bartolo, and he's sorely missed in my game. I didn't have a strong opinion of him in this game.

Greenly, would Photine want to come back?

I love Evgeni as a roleplayer, sad to see them go, but I had no connection to Bartolo.

About my wife, I recently asked how they would feel about returning and they said no; they miss the game sorely and would love to return, but can't commit to anything presently.

Not to speak for them but things could be different early next year? They are going off to visit family up in Vermont for a few months, so when they get back and have settled into routine again, maybe things will have changed.

I wouldn't bank on it tho.

Would Chana be willing to return?

Otherwise I am comfortable moving forward with four for now (although I reserve my right to change my mind at any point).

I hope Bartolo is OK, and I have no problem with Chana (or anybody) coming back. With that being said, I will StFU now.

=)

Hey sorry for the radio silence; I've been very sick this week and mortified at the possibility of it being COVID (especially with me visiting family I would hate to transmit it to them), so in my anxiety I let things slip. I got tested today and hope to have the results tomorrow.

Good luck. From what I understand I wouldn't wish COVID on my worst enemy, much less people I know.

Results say it is not COVID! Huzzah!

YEAH! Your sick...with something not so deadly?! Still, take care of yourself. You think its the flu?

Cold and flu symptoms, yes. Today was like, day five or six of severe symptoms. No stomach flu symptoms however.

I'm glad you tested negative for coronavirus Greenly! Hope you're feeling better soon!

I've finally posted in gameplay, although it's sort of a lame punt of a post. Just got back in town after a very extended weekend away on the Olympic Peninsula. My son and I got away for some time going on day hikes and beach walking. I'm feeling much less stressed and a little more sane than I did a week ago. I'm ready to get back to playing!

What would it take to be formally adopted by the Crabbes? I'm thinking this might be a great way of legitimizing "Lidia Espinosa".

Dame Crabbe would handle all the official business and paperwork.
She would probably just need a full name and place of birth for documentation purposes.

So I'm pretty sure we'll level up 'relatively' soon, and I'm thinking about my next level. I want to invest in things like bluff, disguise, intimidate, and maybe even stealth. Ways to represent Olivia not being a perfect shining knight, but acting somewhat corruptible as this secret police. I have a couple options that come to mind, but I'd like your feedback.

1. Additional traits. Grab traits that grant a class skill

2. Take unsanctioned knowledge as a feat, and select spells like glibness, disguise self, and invisibility. It will take a while before you qualify for some of those spells, but you'll get there eventually.

3. Multiclass, likely into Inquisitor. Since I never play optimal characters, Olivia actually has excellent wisdom. Levels in inquisitor will grant significantly more skills, grant those important class skills, and an interesting spell flexibility.

What do you think?

Hm, another level coming up. It's funny how the pace of PbP can cause me to forget higher levels do come along eventually.

Amandine will FINALLY get Studied Combat and Studied Strike and stop being such a wimp in a fight.

I think any of the above ideas is good Olivia. It really just depends on what your plans for advancing Paladin are. If you don't mind the dip, you get everything options 1 and 2 give you combined. Since your caster level in Inquisitor would be so delayed with the accompanying low save DCs, you'd want to stick with buffs and utility spells but there are plenty of good ones on the spell list.

If it came down to a choice between 1 and 2 it's hard. I'd say go with the extra skills in class if Paladins got more skill points per level. But you might find it hard to advance skills to keep pace with the game.

The extra spells from the feat is very cool, but it doesn't give you extra spells per day, meaning the extra spells compete for the sparse casting Olivia can do per day.

One extra suggestion I'll throw out is dipping into Slayer for the skills you want. This assumes of course you don't care much about spell casting. It gives you all the skills in class you'd want and even more, plus extra skills points to allocate to them. You keep full BAB and get Studied Target. Without quite a few levels in Slayer Studied Target gives only +1 to attacks and damage, but that's not a bad little boost and it' not a bonus lasting for x rounds like many are.

For 2 levels in Slayer you'd get a Slayer Talent, which gives you lots of options to choose from, including and extra combat feat if you want it. One archetype you might want to look at is Spiritslayer, which gives you blind-Fight and some other goodies that make you at dealing with invisible opponents. It's a little niche I suppose, but very handy when you need it and you get it on the cheap.

Two announcements to make:

First off, your level planning is quite prescient.
Having established yourselves as a new noble house in Meratt, made a splash with your neighbors, and even spared the Crabbe family from further tragedy, you have accomplished enough to earn a new level!

Welcome to Level 5!

...

The second announcement, or rather a proposition, regards another of my games. I started a recruitment drive for my Ustalavic campaign, and I plan to announce the selections for that game in a couple hours.

Of the players who submitted characters that did not fit our needs in that game, I thought I might contact them about joining this game.

Does that sound like a feasible idea, or would you prefer to have a recruitment drive more tailored to this campaign?

Level 5 is welcome! If you want to introduce new characters to your game, I'm fine with however you want to do it. Its your game.
=)

I'm just fine with you choosing someone Vayelan. I'm very curious now!

As long as they can make a good reason for entering this story, and becoming a valuable asset to the team.

---------

After looking at a lot of different options, I'm strongly leaning towards some levels in inquisitor. Somewhere between 1-5 levels total. I really like the abilities and spells, though the BAB will hurt a little, maybe less with judgement. Slayer was an interesting option, because I could use the talents for feats, and I have 1000 feats in mind for Olivia. It's been a hard decision.

Inquisitor really doesn't do much until 5th level when you get Bane abilities. But its up to you.

I would recommend a Prestige Class where you are at. Something like...the Evangelist.

There are no new spells, but the skills (and extra skill choices: +2 of ANY skills you want at 1st level) would be pretty good, and my favorite part:(Gained at 2nd level of the Prestige class)
*Aligned Class (Ex): "Evangelists come from many different backgrounds, and they show an unusual range of diversity. At 2nd level, the evangelist must choose a class she belonged to before adding the prestige class to be her aligned class. She gains all the class features for this class, essentially adding every evangelist level beyond 1st to her aligned class to determine what class features she gains. She still retains the Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, and skill ranks of the prestige class, but gains all other class features of her aligned class as well as those of the evangelist prestige class."

Basically you still get all your Paladin abilities at each level AND you get the prestige class bonuses and boons too.

You have to take the Deific Obedience Feat, but that has its own bonuses. You might not have the ability to take it at 5th level, but you could easily qualify at 6th level.

Evangelist.

Whatever you do...have fun with it.
=)

Hello everyone! Thank you to Vayelan for inviting me to join all of you.

I have some renovations to do with Meraki's sheet and backstory, but some things will stay the same. She's the daughter of Mauxi refugees from Rahadoum, so growing up in Oppara has required her to be a good judge of character simply as a matter of survival. She's an artisan, so will be taking the Rising Star trait.

I'm still catching up on the gameplay thread (currently at Eutropia's speech on Exaltation Day, so I have a ways to go), so I am 100% open to ideas and suggestions on how to incorporate Meraki into the group. She's an unusual person, for a quite a few reasons, but Vayelan tells me that means she should fit in just fine. :)

Okay, build and background updated! The patron associated with my campaign trait is deliberately vague, since I'm not yet sure who would be the best fit for it. I'm very excited to join you all!

Welcome Meraki! Glad to have you joining us!

If you want a specific person named as your patron, Maybe Gloriana Morilla would work. She's a supporter of Princess Eutropia's and quite a bit more down to earth than most of the other A or B list aristocrats.

I assume PFS canon carries over to this AP (or they would have chosen another name) so she's very highly place in the Pathfinder Society.

That is a fantastic idea, and gets Meraki one step closer to the rest of the party.

I'm very much enjoying everyone's antics at the gala.

You could simply pick Dame Crabbe as your patron I think? She was/is running a conservatory for artists so...you would fit right in with her too. And we are with her currently. Or that is at least an excuse for her to be where we are currently too.

May I ask why you chose Nocticula however? I have a friend who loves the idea of her as a goddess, but he's a basically a dominatrix lover so...

Well, yes, old Nocticula certainly has that aesthetic nailed down.

When I was figuring out who Meraki was, I started off with the concept of someone who was always an outsider, no matter what context she was in. That's why she is an exile from her birth nation (itself somewhat of a pariah in the world) and why her tiefling traits are so obvious and so numerous. She'll never be able to blend in, and so in order to avoid being constantly reminded of that by everyone she sees, she tries to avoid everyone. Unlike humans, she sees perfectly in the dark, so she goes out at night.

I knew she would be a cleric, so I started looking for deities that would fit. Lo and behold, there is Redeemed Nocticula, the goddess of artists, exiles, and midnight. She encourages her followers to defy societal expectations, particularly through art, and to forge their own destinies, just like she did. This also adds another aspect of otherness to Meraki, as a worshiper of a deity that most people (if they know who Nocticula is at all) will consider to be nothing more than an evil demon lord of assassins and succubi.

You might notice that Meraki has no ranks in Religion. Her parents were adherents to the Laws of Mortality, and had no real insight to give her on the gods, so Meraki doesn't really know who Nocticula is. But she does know that there's a force out there that treasures her, supports her, and protects her.

Got it! You worship the concepts that are the basis of her faith and therefore receive divine blessing in ignorance of the source itself. Interesting. I wonder how she will react if she finds out who she actually worships? Very interesting. I'm curious however...if she has a holy symbol, doesn't that give it away really to anyone who sees it and recognizes it? Or do you have the 'divine mark' trait or something like that?

She does have a silver holy symbol in the form of an amulet, but since she would only need it out to cast a spell, channel energy, or something else obviously magical, it can usually stay tucked into her clothing. It's also very different from Nocticula's former unholy symbol so a person who is familiar with her former status as a demon lord only wouldn't necessarily recognize it. But yeah, I don't expect it to be a mystery to her for very long, I just thought it would be a neat little wrinkle in the usual cleric/deity relationship.

Sounds fun! Good to have you aboard.

Having Dame Crabbe as a patron actually meshes with an idea I had to introduce Meraki.

I imagined that Dame Crabbe might hire someone, such as a cleric, to tend to and counsel her daughter after this traumatic experience. Hearing about the Betony party who helped the family through this difficult time, said cleric might then seek them out.

Alternatively, since Meraki has ranks in Craft (Painting), perhaps she is a fellow artist who seeks out the party after hearing how they helped her friend, Sepsinia.

I guess finding interesting ways for introducing new PCs is a useful skill a lot of GMs cultivate...

;-)

I will try and finish leveling up tonight. Sorry for the delay.

Quick question...this is my first time leveling with you guys. How are you doing new hit points? 1/2HD+1 or rolling normally? Etc...?

EDIT: Never mind. I see where I created the character and I simply did 1/2HD+1. So I will continue with that format.

+7HPs (+5, +1 Con, +1 Favored Class)

5th Level Bard(Busker)
Traded out Charm Person with Recharge Innate Magic.
New 2nd level spell: Detect Thoughts

New Feat: Arcane Strike

Upped a few skills.
Gained the Sylvan Language from increasing Logistics.

Gained the Lore Master bardic ability.

@Dro'gan, excellent suggestion with the evangelist. I wouldn't have even thought about it. I could make bluff and intimidate class skills. I'll work that way.

@Meraki, hello and welcome. I don't think anyone would ever be unhappy to see a cleric enter the party. Looking forward to seeing you in action. I've never come across Noticula whether redeemed or not, so this will be interesting.

Paladin 5
Hp +8 (6 for hd, 1 for favoured class, 1 for Con)
Bab now 5
Feat: Deific Obedience (Iomedae)

+1 to the following skills:
Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Nobility, Sense Motive, Ride, Profession (soldier)

Gained another 1st level spell slot

Gained Mount!

Gained the Sylvan Language from increasing Logistics.

I meant Linguistics actually...

Barbarian 5, +11 HP, Human Barbarian FCB, +1 BAB

Skills: +2 Dip, +1 Perception, K. Local
Background Skills: +1 K. Nobility, P: Soldier

Feat: Power Attack

Class Feature: Improved Uncanny Dodge

Swashbuckler 1 / Investigator 4

BAB +1
HP +8 (includes +1 FCB)
Reflex and Will +1
Inspiration +1
Phrenic Pool +1

Class Abilities: Studied Combat, Studied Strike 1d6

2nd Level Spells: Cat's Grace, Hoodwink (Tentative)

Feat: Weapon Versatility

Skills: +1 Acrobatics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Disable Device, K Arcana, K Nature, K Planes, Perception, Spellcraft, UMD

Background Skills: +1 K Nobility, Prof. Courtesan

I'm still considering spell choices. I'm leaning toward Hoodwink, which looks very cool indeed. But I also wonder if I should be choosing any debuffs with saves as a 6th level caster. I'm also still considering Mirror Image (a must have within the next level or two) or Focused Scrutiny (to absolutely kill that social encounter when it must not fail) instead...

Sorry for being a bit radio silent! I am working on a post (though I may put it on hold until tomorrow morning) but have been somewhat busy with electoral work the last couple days.

Oh interesting, I wasn't thinking Cheliax, I was actually thinking Qadiran due to her dress.

Not Chelaxian or Qadiran, Meraki grew up in Oppara. She wears a sari because I spent way more time than is reasonable trying to figure out what kind of clothing someone with wings and a tail might be able to wear. A usual dress would need custom tailoring, which isn't very practical or affordable for her, but saris are very egalitarian pieces of clothing that can be put on around her wings! I figured there's probably enough cultural cross-pollination between Taldor and Vudra that even if saris aren't fashionable, they wouldn't be completely unheard of.

Dro'gan was thinking Chelaxian due to her being a Tiefling. He's had some difficulty over the last several years with Chilaxians.

I do play a Chelaxian tiefling in another of Vayelan's games, but she's definitely not a fan of the place either. :)

Amandine is wondering if maybe Meraki is wearing body paint.

Pity about that K Planes roll.

So we have a list of things to get done and I think the very next thing we should move on to is checking up on the missing Abadaran by going to Jambis (I think that's the name).

Since it's a missing person we should hurry since we may be up against the clock.

A little odd to run off again (maybe the next day?) with Meraki just arriving, but if she's local we could really use a guide?

As far as improvements go, do the things done so far include getting the mill running again, or does that still need to be worked on?

Perhaps Meraki's spellcasting could be considered a boon to us?