Sorry, folks, had some IRL chaos, such that I actually thought I'd posted about it in here but clearly did not. I'm back in action.
My internet has been out for a few days. Sorry guys.
Who has the other relics? Did we lose people with them?
Does the mask do anything yet?
I have the Envoy Ring and either Olivia or Amandine has the crossbow, Amandine has the sword. Currently, I think the Ring gives a Dip bonus, the sword is nice and the crossbow is good at not missing
The party has accomplished two "Triumphs" so far that empower the relics you've collected: rescuing Martella Lotheed from the assassins and restoring the common people's faith in Taldor by shifting Stachys' attitude to helpful.
Since the Envoy Ring and Dignity's Barb were present for both triumphs, they have reached their second level. Koriana's Blade was only present for one, so it is at its first level. Since you just acquired the mask, called the Subtle Mask, it is still in it's dormant state.
Here are the current properties of your relics:
With each triumph, one of the gemstones on the sword’s pommel (determined randomly) repairs itself. Once repaired, a gem can be activated as an immediate action once per day to make the sword’s wielder immune to a single effect of a particular type, as described below, just before she would be affected by it. She must choose to activate the gem before attempting any save or other defense against the effect. The black gem protects against negative energy, the red gem protects against fire effects,the pink gem protects against mind-affecting effects, and the green gem protects against poison effects.
= Green gem
So once per day, you can activate the green gem to be immune to a single poison type effect.
Incidentally, the magic missile protection effect is tied to the white gem in the pommel, which was the only one of the five gems that began unbroken.
The wearer gains a +2 competence bonus on Sense Motive checks and can use comprehend languages once per day.
Olivia has both the crossbow and the sword. Amandine is an inspired blade swashbuckler, well 1 level, so she's limited to rapiers.
Can I take the mask then? The mask fits in my Wheel house as a bard/spy.
It's fine with me if you take the mask. None of the artifacts really line up very well to synch with Amandine's abilities. I suppose the ring would be useful, but no more so for her than anyone else. She could use the crossbow, but it's a much weaker choice for combat than melee for Amandine.
Maybe the crossbow is a good fit for Meraki since she is unarmored?
Works for me.
Shall we move on to the 'special' party planning?
Or do we need to work on the county more first?
Do we have anyone who still isn't at least Friendly if not Helpful? Wouldn't hurt to check in on the neighbors
We still have Baroness Voinum to work on. She is the one Olivia clicked with. Also there's Lady Sittas and her pal Lt. Gortias, who were very cool, but who also haven't shown up in any way since the Jubilee. They may not be around anymore?
The crossbow is one of the exactly 5 weapons I am proficient with, though I don't expect to be taking any ranged combat feats. Still, even with the -4 penalty for shooting into melee, I'll still be 5% better at shooting somebody than trying to bite them (+3 vs +2!).
Side note: is its special ability really to reduce miss chance due to concealment by 10%? That seems redundant with its seeking enchantment, which eliminates the miss chance entirely.
You're mostly a spellcaster Meraki.
Hmmm...I have to say the crossbow may be a better fit for me really. I have the Killer trait that allows me to add damage to weapon crits too. I'm very sure I can use crossbows too.
Do you want the Mask Meraki? My guess is its abilities get pretty interesting later once it leaves dormancy.
For sure, I am 90% a spellcaster. The remaining 10% is because while they took away my weapon and armor proficiencies, I've still got my 3/4 BAB!
Speaking of spellcasting...if Dro'gan or Olivia have any spells they want scrolls of, let me know. I took Scribe Scroll during character creation but haven't had enough money to really make use of it for myself. It's arguably even more useful for the two of you, with your very limited slots/spells known.
So is that a yes?
=)
Sure...some scrolls of Summon Monster would be nice and versatile.
Feels like all we got left to do is one last tour round the county, rally together our allies, finish some favors, then march on the palace?
I think that's about right. Off the top of my head only Baroness Voinum left. She has sort of been Olivia's connection, but we should puch on regardless.
The only other rumor I remember hearing is that there's a damn big fish in Lake Pensaris. Maybe if we want more face time with Okerra?
Ah, I'd forgotten about the fish.
Amandine is always up for more face time with Okerra.
I believe the two significant rumors that have not been investigated or acted upon are 1) tales of a giant catfish called the General in Lake Pensaris that has sunken boats and eaten anglers and 2) rumors that the hamlet of Sotto hasn't been paying its taxes to the count, and while Baroness Voinum has been covering for them so far, there's speculation that the Count may take drastic action and make an example of the tiny settlement.
Why not ask the Swan Maiden about the Catfish? Maybe she knows something, or would be willing to check into it for us? We can deal with it ourselves, we would be simply ask her to investigate.
On the hamlet not paying their taxes...I can go check them out in my Busker persona? Get the feel of the place and see what might need to be done to fix, or at least improve, the situation. I could even take Meraki with me! Her exotic appearance, would make any shows I do a instant hit with those who rarely see such things. Once I have actionable intelligence, we can contact the rest of you immediately.
Do you think it might be a little awkward to ask Atratus about the fish considering she's the lake's guardian? I'm not saying that's the case, but something to think about.
We have several things to do when we visit Baroness Voinum's territory so why don't we all go there first and get it all taken care of first and save the fish for last.
I was wondering since it's been a while. Olivia hasn't posted since July 18th.
Sorry, Dro'gan, I completely missed that you asked if I wanted the mask. Yes, I would be interested in having it to help with my people-reading skills.
Do you think it might be a little awkward to ask Atratus about the fish considering she's the lake's guardian? I'm not saying that's the case, but something to think about.
Not really. If it's her lake then she should know a great deal about it...or the 'catfish' could have been the ooze we just killed too. Who knows? But the Swan Maiden might, and she might be willing to offer advice about it. Swan maidens cherish all life, right? That includes fishermen too unless they mean her or her lake harm.
Sorry, Dro'gan, I completely missed that you asked if I wanted the mask. Yes, I would be interested in having it to help with my people-reading skills.
Done!
=)Now I have a decent magical ranged weapon too.
A win-win!
Vayelan, what's the caster level for the comprehend languages effect?
A win-win!
Vayelan, what's the caster level for the comprehend languages effect?
The Envoy Ring and Subtle Mask both have a caster level of 11 for their effects.
Looks like Olivia may be taking a break from PbP for a while:
Oh damn. I really loved the character and will miss the player. Should we recruit?
Yeah, I especially loved the pairing of Olivia and Amandine. That's a real shame.
I can make a recruitment post. Any particular character builds or concepts that we should make a call for?
Also, if anyone wants to extend an invite to a friend or contact that you think would be a good fit for the game, please feel free to reach out to them.
I know someone who will almost certainly be interested. I'll reach out.
Yeah, Olivia will be missed a lot, she was really fun to have around.
As for classes and such maybe a Magus to fill in a some martial and arcane casting, or an arcane caster?
I wish we could contact Olivia directly, but there are no guarantees really I guess to be sure.
I think any Arcane or a Magus (or similar) would be fine. But fun is the real kicker! I would not mind having a badly fitting character join that was really interesting in PbP too.
I guess we need to find someone to use the sword too? Or hold off on that in case she comes back?
I've gotten a reply from the person I contacted. Dro'gan, it's Lia from our RotRL game.
They have a Human Mesmerist they'd like to submit.
How do we want to proceed with this? Post in recruitment for applications, or just consider people we contact?
I've gotten a reply from the person I contacted. Dro'gan, it's Lia from our RotRL game.
They have a Human Mesmerist they'd like to submit.
Yes, they sent me a message introducing themselves and their character. I was going to invite them here into the Discussion thread so we could get started incorporating them.
How do we want to proceed with this? Post in recruitment for applications, or just consider people we contact?
How many PCs were we thinking about recruiting? Do you suppose one will be enough, bringing the party to five strong, or should we look for one other?
I would like to stick to people we contact directly, at least as a first course of action. Making an open recruitment post takes more time, since the applicants need to dot, ask questions about the game, develop their character concepts, and so forth.
I think one person could be enough for now. Especially if Olivia comes back at all. An arcane caster makes sense and rounds out our abilities nicely I think.
Unless somebody has someone else in mind to invite? That's fine by me.
...
Unless you guys object? Now that I have Dignity's Barb, which fits my fighting style better, I felt it was a prudent thing to do. I know we are giving up a powerful weapon for some minor enchantments, but I think we are getting the better part of the deal for now, especially since we are getting a few Loyalty points for it too. I was also originally thinking the spear was one of the items that 'level up' too, but evidently it isn't so...
Unless there's someone else anybody would like to suggest, I'm fine with five. We've been doing fine that way for a good while now.
I'm fine with trading out the spear. Like I said, none of the special items are particularly good for Amandine so unless there's some sort of plot related reason to keep anything, it doesn't matter to me.
I'm comfy with just one more, absolutely, <3, and no worries about selling/trading Godspike. It's super cool but the only one of us I could really have seen behind it was Olivia
I agree on five, and have no strong feelings regarding Godspike. Like Greenly says, Olivia was the only one it really fit. Losing her is a bummer. :(
Bargained well, and DONE.
GM? I would like to Finalize the trade and upgrade my Bladed Belt to at least a +1 Keen item. If they are willing to go the extra distance on an additional enchantment, then Thundering would be cool, but that's not expected or required.
Bargained well, and DONE.
GM? I would like to Finalize the trade and upgrade my Bladed Belt to at least a +1 Keen item. If they are willing to go the extra distance on an additional enchantment, then Thundering would be cool, but that's not expected or required.
They will enchant it into a +1 Keen weapon, but that is as far as you can negotiate from them.
Hej everybody.
I was kindly invited to come join the lot of you on some political shenanigans.
So, here I am :D
I already share games with Dro'gan and Amandine - but I'm happy to join Meraki and Greenly too.
You already know the character is a Mesmerist, I'm still on the edge about the last few details...(specifically, ways to get longsword proficiency, since you seem to need someone capable of wieldings korianas blade) - but I expect those to be sorted out shortly.
As for Mira, she's a human nobles daughter that is keeping her true identity a secret - for reasons...(it is in the background in the profile, or you can find out in game, so not going to spoiler things here).
Nevermind the ears, they are fake.
Thing is, she's been staying at the Temple of Calistria, and more often than not, dresses as an Elf or Half-Elf to further throw off anybody searching for her.
As for how she can help - skillwise she had a pretty extensive training in decorum and refinement - her social abilities(including some performs) are quite good; but she also learned some basic knowledge skills so that she would not embarass a future husband.
She meddled with disguise and UMD herself.
Combat-wise I initially gave her a scorpion whip, hoping to stand back a bit and just stare at people until they fall over.
Luckily she also has tricks.
Which are totally not magic. So even superstitious allies can happily partake. Some mesmeric mirrors for the frontliners can't go wrong. (There's more options, but I think those are a save bet.)
Oh, and she also has magic, of course. She had a private tutor, after all. Even if she learned way more in Calistrias halls about the kind of magic she was gifted at. Both some social utility and combat spells are available if needed.
That said, I still have to read more on gameplay since I lack prior experience with the AP.
Either way, hi all, and thanks for having me!
Welcome to the party! I love your character concept.
For the longsword, worst case, you could take the Martial Weapon Proficiency (Longsword) feat instead of Deceitful. It's not ideal, but it might be better than losing a caster level and spell progression. We're also currently still in that kinda weird in between space where the +2 to those skills isn't as impactful as it would be at 1st level but still quite a ways from where it becomes +4.
We could also save a lot of money for you to get an opalescent white pyramid aeon stone.
Thanks for the welcome!
Hm. True, the Ioun Stone might be a great idea, as it saves me both the dip and the Feat - but that kind of wealth will be a bit off.
As for the Deceitful, it's a prereq for cunning caster - which I definitely want to take - as psychic caster I won't ever have somatic or verbal components, so I can mostly bypass the penalties it imposes.
Being able to more or less freely use magic without anybody knowing it's you opens so many options in a social setting...
I could move it back and drop the first Manifold Stare - but I am really not keen on spending an actual Feat on a single Martial Proficiency -_-
Oh, I missed that! Yes, very handy. We'll get it figured out.
There are usually Traits that can offer basic weapon proficiencies as well. I know half-elves have a few choices for them as racial trade-offs, there must be a human one somewhere you can use...
The human one gives 2 proficiencies in trade for the Bonus Feat - which I traded out for Focused Study, which gives 3 Skill Focus Feats.
So trading those out for 2 weapon proficiencies would be even worse than spending one Feat for one proficiency - unfortunately humans only have martial tradition as a trade-out. :D
Worst case, I can just "wield" the blade, despite the non-proficiency penalty, and use spells as primary means of combat(trading the full bonus out for AC), until such time as the Ioun Stone would be available. I am really liking Meraki's suggestion.
Slotting it in a Wayfinder means it's safe and I get Weapon Focus on top as resonant power.
Thats 10500 for effectively two feats in a slotless item.
As you just traded an reliquiary for a +1 keen weapon which is also worth 8000+, it would seem that with some benevolence from GM it could be a realistic option in a not-too-far future.
(I can also drop the 2k for the +1 Whip from my WBL in that case, so we're already 1//5th of the way there...maybe also the Ring of Protection(since I can regain the AC via the defensive property of the blade) - then it would be 2/5ths)
The possibly easiest solution would be if retraining is available.
Then I could Swap Deceitful out for the Martial Proficiency, then eventually buy the Ioun Stone+Wayfinder and retrain the Martial Proficiency back into Deceitful in time before cunning caster.
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Welcome Mira!
If getting proficiency for the sword is too difficult maybe just let it be. I mentioned it because it's probably a really good magical weapon and it's just sitting there to be taken right off the bat, but don't feel obliged.
That said, if you really do want it there's also the Arodenite Sword Training trait. It gives longsword proficiency. You could probably get by fine without the Carefully Hidden trait if not having it is dropping your Will save from 10 to 9. It's a good save for Mesmerists and we're only 5th level anyway.
Arodenite Sword Training
Source Arcane Anthology pg. 10
Category Basic (Combat)
Your family has passed down training in Aroden’s favored weapon, even though the god no longer answers their prayers. You are proficient with the longsword. If your class grants longsword proficiency as well, you gain a +1 trait bonus on attacks of opportunity with longswords.