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Sold. I love the Scarred Witch. It's one of my all time favorites.
I like the idea of a Slumber Witch who is recruited to help apprehend fugitives non-violently.
The mask-thing is a little odd for a steampunk setting though. I'm thinking, maybe a Victorian doctor's mask with the long crow-bill. Making him an actual medical doctor would be pretty cool.
I'll have a build up in a day or two.
I like the idea of a Slumber Witch who is recruited to help apprehend fugitives non-violently.
My character is also built around the "bring em back alive" concept, using non-lethal damage whenever possible. A dead suspect is a worthless suspect! So the shared mindset there should mesh well.
Narissa's built around the idea of 'let's have a sniper who uses a siege weapon as her sniper rifle'. :)
GM, can I get some input about spirituality in this setting. The players guide touches on the Clergy (which I want nothing to do with), and the quasi-worship of the fae titans.
Are there other options?
There are four main religions in the settting (from page 43 of the players guide):
The Clergy.
Organized religion based in Crisillyir. Every mortal can empower himself, even reach godhood, if he confronts the challenges of the world. Beyond this world exist many planes, each a more perfect manifestation of some aspect of our reality, and they are presided over by powerful gods, angels, and spirits that can be entreated for power.
Guerro.
Folk religion of Ber. Every tribe has its own gods, conquered from the tribes who were not strong enough to stand alone. As the tribes battle,so do the gods. For now, it seems, the gods are at peace, and so we make peace, but all good things die in battle. A syncretic combination of Clergy and Guerro is enjoying a popular surge in Drakr.
The Old Faith.
Folk religion of Risur. Honor the spirits of the land, and draw power from nature. The stars above trace patterns that predict events on our world, but the only other worlds are the ones we can visit: the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate.
Seedism.
Folk religion of Elfaivar. Our actions are seeds, and will shape the face of the world, though it may take ages. Elves and eladrin have long memories. Before the rise of Man, the gods spoke to us, and we still remember their names and teachings. Srasama, the three-faced mother-warrior- queen, was slain by human treachery, but it is our duty to endure and outgrow this injury. The archfey of the Dreaming were once vassals of the gods, and so we revere and respect them
It is all intentionally vague to allow for as much flexibility as needed. If you want to make your own god or patron (or just take one from Golarion and stuff it into another religion) feel free. The nature of the planes in the setting means that direct interaction with the divine is non-existent. Religion is more faith based, whereas in pathfinder it is fact based.
Would it be appropriate to be a non-orc scarred witch in this setting?
My character's themes are essentially dreams and death. I get kind of a Celtic or Voodoo feel when I think of those things together.
In the game setting, the closest religion to those is probably the Old Faith, which doesn't strike me as super orc-y.
There's not a lot of information about this setting's orcs, so I could be wrong.
Okay - was pretty much flatlining on concepts and inspiration. Left things alone and drafted my withdrawal letter (so to speak).
Came back to it this morning and have got my teeth into a concept...
... however...
Am building a Gnome Investigator (Empiricist archetype) - with an eye on Steam-pilot down the line.
However I'm very conscious that we already have Davin - a vanilla investigator in the mix, so I don't want to step on toes or clog an element of the party that is already ably covered.
Be interested in GM-Fang's and Davin's input before I continue with Fulcrum Doble-Sellis...
@DH: Half-orcs qualify for the archetype. Also, you can be an orc and not be native to Ber. There are some Risur natives of those races, half-orc skyseers and what have you. So you can have orcs/half orcs who are culturally Risuri.
@BD: I recruited players that I wanted to game with, as such, I was well aware that there could be overlap in character concepts and roles. I would rather have 5 gunslingers characters that people enjoyed playing than a more balanced party that everyone was meh about. Also, from a setting standpoint, it is pretty likely that individuals with similar skill sets would be recruited into the RHC. Also, due to the way loot gets handled in the adventure, it's not like you'll be competing for stuff and it looks like Davin is is DEX TWF build, which somehow, I don't think that is your plan for a gnome. TL;DR: Yes that's fine with me.
I must say that I am somewhat surprised that no one went with a Dr Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde style alchemist, considering the setting.
@GM-Fang: Cool but felt I should ask :)
What have we got so far?
Wicked Raygun - Davin Greyhill: Male Human Investigator
Chad Newman - Victor De'Mortis: Male Human Inquisitor (Sanctified Slayer, Urban Infiltrator) of The Clergy
Doomed Hero - Half Orc Scarred Witch Doctor
MDT - Female(?) Half Giant Gunslinger?
Black Dow - Male Gnome Investigator (Empiricist)
Davin has been a member of the RHC for about 5 years now. But he’s been a constable for less than one. He was originally recruited as an engineering assistant. He has been steadily working his way up the ladder, despite his brusque manner. He has been teased by his coworkers about occasionally being promoted despite himself.
***
Shortly after the war, Davin worked as an assistant in a small mechanist’s shop. Primarily he worked on time pieces and tiny clockwork toys, which he adored. He found their complex inner workings to be endlessly fascinating.
One Monday, a harried man came in and asked for some peculiarly specific custom parts that he needed completed by no later than 3 days. Davin assured him that he would have it done by tea time Wednesday.
He then hired a coach to take him to the local RHC branch office, walked inside, approached the secretary at the front desk, and said, “Good afternoon. My name is Davin Greyhill. I work in a mechanist’s shop on Levinway. And I do believe my latest customer intends to build an explosive device to assassinate the governor who will be speaking at the Victory Day celebration this Friday, presumably during the speech that’s been advertised in the papers for the last couple weeks as that would likely produce the most casualties.”
What followed was a lengthy and thorough interrogation along with an investigation into his claim. This produced the arrest of large group of conspirators who indeed intended to assassinate the governor. During the debrief, one of the constables asked him, “Why did you tell the man to come back in 2 days? You could have just asked him to come back tomorrow.”
“Because I might have been wrong. And in that case, I needed time to report this, go back to work, and finish my orders.”
“It would have taken you only a day to finish his parts?”
“It would have taken me an hour to finish his parts. But my manager is on holiday, and we’re backed up. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish a grandfather clock before I go to bed tonight. Have a good evening, Constable.”
A job offer from the RHC arrived two days later.
****
Davin had been a bit too young to go to war before it ended. But his patriotic older brother had not been. He remembers the pride in his brother’s eyes when he went off to sea. And he remembers the way his mother crumpled on the floor after reading the letter notifying them of his death. He thought of both when he read the job offer from the Royal Homeland Constabulary.
His mother had made him promise that he would never do anything as dangerous as join the navy. He considered the letter for a long while. But eventually he wrote a letter of polite refusal, mailed it, and then went back to his job at the machinist’s shop.
A week later he was visited by the same constable who asked him how fast he could make the parts. They sat down to tea, and chatted about the recruitment. Davin reinforced his refusal of the position. And the constable quietly nodded. But then she passed him a piece of paper with a complex mechanical blueprint on it.
“What is this?” he asked.
“You tell me,” the smug constable said back with a tilt to her head. “Looks rather ominous, doesn’t it? We found that in one of the homes of the terrorists we arrested with your tip.”
“I would think you could ask one of them.”
“Yes, thank you. We did think to try that, funnily enough. The fellow had a capsule in his tooth that made his head explode. Rather messy affair. We couldn’t even question the corpse. And his cohorts know absolutely nothing about this.”
“I’m sure you have people for this.”
“Lots of them – including me. They have no idea what this is. And neither do I.” She then took back the blueprint and folded it in her coat. “If you happen to have a thought, come by tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp. And do remember to wear a proper suit. I would go with something grey. Complements your eyes.”
She then walked out, leaving Davin to grumble as he put away the tea. He went back to work and did his best to put the blueprint out of his mind.
He failed. The next morning he was at the RHC.
***
Davin has been thin and wiry for most of his life. But as he became interested in field work, he decided to train himself mostly through acrobatics. He is exceptionally agile and quick on his feet, with deft fingers used to operating complex and fine machinery. He is quick-witted, but a bit dull and brusque. He doesn’t associate with people very well, as he’ll often circumvent politeness for expediency. Something which has occasionally been a detriment to his career.
Is the gentleman's outfit described on page 16 available as a free clothing option? Or will we need to pay for it?
Also a note on armor. Could I reflavor my leather armor as part of the outfit? Or is there a specific thing for that?
Are the days of the week named the same as ours in this world?
@DG: Background stuff looks good. You can have a gentleman's outfit for free. No you may not re-flavour your armour as part of your outfit. I think it should be obvious to NPCs whether you have armour on or not, though you can get the glamered enchantment put on at some point.
@DH:The settng doesn't explicitly say anything about weeks or days thereof. I probably wont uses them in game, but we can just go with the RL days of the week. I'll just be using Season/date/year for the in-game timestamps.
@DG: Background stuff looks good. You can have a gentleman's outfit for free. No you may not re-flavour your armour as part of your outfit. I think it should be obvious to NPCs whether you have armour on or not, though you can get the glamered enchantment put on at some point.
Noted and fair. Added the gentleman's outfit. You'll see a traveler's outfit there as well that I can't get rid of because of how hero lab works. I could get rid of it manually, but I'll inevitably forget later. So it's probably easier to just pretend it's not there.
Doomed Hero here.
The good doctor is about 80% ready.
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Still putting the finishing touches to Fulcrum. In the meantime I'll answer GM-Fang's RNC questions...
How long have you been on the force?
Fulcrum is a relatively new recruit having only been with the RNC for just over a year.
What prompted the RNC to recruit you, or, if you applied, why did they accept your application?
Fulcrum applied to the RNC. Initially his family, in particular his mother Venna were concerned at the potential danger this career could involve. The young gnome’s application highlighted his aptitudes for detective work, tinkering and inventive thought. He also impressed with the attention to detail and appreciation of language and communication in his missives and supporting papers.
Why did you accept/apply?
Fulcrum is the younger son of the famous Doble-Sellis steam industrialist family (known for the "Doble-Sellis Portable Pressing & Steaming Iron"; which has proved remarkably popular in Noble households throughout Risur). He possesses a highly inventive and curious mind, much like his father Thermalamus, however his older brother Cogniss, is the keen business head, and as such is the heir apparent to the family company. When the RNC considered his application, Fulcrum jumped at the opportunity to both serve Risur and use his skills for a purpose that is not profit driven.
Brief character sketch
@DS: What's there looks good, though I'm not sure what weapon you've reskinned as the skullcane.
@NS: Nifty concept images. Looking forward to seeing you updated character sheet.
@FD: Looks good so far.
1. Once done, can everyone make and post a stat block like this (copied from another game):
I'll copy them and put them in the campaign info tab. During combat, everyone should preface their post with their combat header. While not super critical early on, as we advance, in combat buffs and debuffs start to add up and I want everyone to get into the habit from the get go. No one ever updates their profile because haste is running. This helps you to remember that bless is up or you have -2AC from a charge.
2. Speaking of Profiles:
Everyone seems to have a hodge-podge of stuff in the header under their profile names. Feel free to put whatever you will find useful there, but there a couple of things I would appreciate if you could include and have visible at all time, i.e. not behind a spoiler. Those would be your 'take 10' values for Perception, Sense Motive, Diplomacy and Intimidate. I'll use these values as the default for my room descriptions and NPC interactions where applicable.
For perception, I'll never ask you for a roll. You'll either notice it through your general nosing around, or you can toss a room (take 20). Tossing a room will leave obvious traces.
For the other 3 skills, occasionally, rolls will be required for situations that merit a little more randomness, e.g. gather information, prestige base organizational requests, etc. In those cases, I will roll the appropriate skill checks.
@DS: What's there looks good, though I'm not sure what weapon you've reskinned as the skullcane.
A little poetic license is necessary to translate a small battering ram into a cane, but I figure the cane can be made of something really heavy, and/or be collapsable. Saturday's a great big orc, so what he uses as a cane would probably be a battering ram to all these puny humans.
I considered going with a cane with an axe head for a handle, but I really wanted the skull top. Bludgeoning seems like a better fit for Take Them Alive.
@GM - All that info is usually in my profile so they show up on posts. Is the way I already do it satisfactory? I usually try to post while at luncha t work, so having to copy things in makes it harder to grab 5 minutes to post.
Orcish Skull Ram.
I considered going with a cane with an axe head for a handle, but I really wanted the skull top. Bludgeoning seems like a better fit for Take Them Alive.
Ok. From I what I recall, half-orcs only get exotic weapons with orc in their name turned into martial weapons. As witches only get proficiency with simple weapons, you should be proficient with the ram. (I might be wrong, so feel free to correct me if I'm missing something)
Also, I've noticed a few other issues with your build.
- You point buy seems off. Orc Atavism gives you +2 to STR and -2 to WIS (in your case) You can't point buy above 18, so you 19 CON isn't possible, even if we weren't doing a 15 point buy.
- Orc atavism also replaces intimidating, at least according to the information I have
When I first read Orc Atavism, I read it as a +2 str and a -2 to a mental stat in addition to the usual floating +2 half orcs get.
I see that I was wrong, so I will be dropping Orc Atavism.
From I what I recall, half-orcs only get exotic weapons with orc in their name turned into martial weapons. As witches only get proficiency with simple weapons, you should be proficient with the ram. (I might be wrong, so feel free to correct me if I'm missing something)
Again, you're right. It's a martial weapon proficiency.
Greataxes are actually better than Skull Rams anyway. I was interested in it more for aesthetics.
Guess the cane has an axe head coming out the back side of the skull, or maybe the stone skull comes to a big wedge at the back, like a wood-splitting axe.
What I'm really looking for is a one-handed Simple weapon with a x3 crit multiplier.
Turns out there aren't any.
You can just reskin a greataxe as the cane. The game is balanced around numbers, not aesthetics. As long as the numbers don't change, who cares what it looks like. I mean, within reason. There is nothing subtle about such a cane, it's obviously a dangerous weapon.
Punching daggers are one-handed simple weapons with a x3 crit multiplier. Though from a DPS standpoint, I believe that a x3 weapon is equivalent to a 19-20/x2. T
@GM - All that info is usually in my profile so they show up on posts. Is the way I already do it satisfactory? I usually try to post while at luncha t work, so having to copy things in makes it harder to grab 5 minutes to post.
While I somehow doubt that copying and pasting that info is more time consuming than updating your profile every time there is a change to it, if all the requested information is presented in the profile header and is updated post to post as needed, you may do it that way.
I would prefer that you do it the way I have asked, and am totally fine if that results in lower post rate, since changing you profile retroactively changes that info on every previous post. I like having a more permanent battle log.
I usually put in things that changed, but not things that didn't change, like HP.
However, I can do it the way you want, will just take more time is all.
Sorry for the delay, was sick all week and had to take wife car shopping this weekend.
Sorry for the delay, was sick all week and had to take wife car shopping this weekend.
No worries.
Couple of things. You start with a standard musket, not a rifle, so your weapon stats are off (3d6 not 2d8, range is 40 not 80, etc.)
Cost of your bullets is off as well. Standard in setting ammunition are alchemical rounds. At 1/4, due to common guns, that's 4gp, 10% for being a gunslinger - 0.4gp, x2 for large weapon so 0.8 per shot, or 80gp for 100 rounds.
Other than that, things look fine.
You can just reskin a greataxe as the cane. The game is balanced around numbers, not aesthetics. As long as the numbers don't change, who cares what it looks like. I mean, within reason. There is nothing subtle about such a cane, it's obviously a dangerous weapon.
That works for me. Since I'm pretty much always going to be using it to deal Non-Lethal damage, so the fact that it is technically a slashing weapon probably won't ever matter.
If I ever do need to use it as a slashing weapon, maybe it can be reflavored as some kind of concealed blade or something.
Right, forgot to change those from the old sheet when I altered it, sorry about that. I'll fix it up, but seems she's complete for now.
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A little nudge for Victor's and Narissa's backgrounds.
@Fulcrum: Just wanted to say I find is hilariously awesome that you renamed you extracts.
@DS: Background look good. Though how long have you been part of the RHC? I'm digging the voodoo theme. In that vein, have you seen the avatar image of the oracle with the skull mask and top hat? I don't think it is an orc, but it is definitely inspired by Baron Samedi.
@All:Gameplay thread activated! Couple of things. Everyone should familiarize yourselfs with the other PCs' profiles. You are all colleagues working out of the same RHC office, so you should know each other a fairly well. Also, I've posted some NPC info links in the campaign tab, so if someone could test to see if they are being shared properly, I would appreciate it.
Another thing I wanted to ask you all is how much structure do you want me to provide you with for skill based encounters? On one end I can provide you with appropriated actions that you can take along with the corresponding skill checks and then let you roll and RP, on the other, I can provide you with just the problem and let you come up with your own ideas of how you want to tackle it.
The first way is a little more 'railroady' but will result in a quicker resolution to encounters, while the second gives you more freedom, but inevitably will run more slowly as you figure out what to do.
Since this is a PbP, I'm inclined to go with the more structured approach, since a 10 minute RL discussion can take a week on the forums, but I wanted to see what you would prefer.
@DS: Background look good. Though how long have you been part of the RHC? I'm digging the voodoo theme. In that vein, have you seen the avatar image of the oracle with the skull mask and top hat? I don't think it is an orc, but it is definitely inspired by Baron Samedi.
It very nearly fits, but it's a halfling.
Saturday doesn't have a skull mask. He has faint scars on his face that outline the front of his skull. It's actually pretty subtle.
His "voodoo mask" is a plague doctor's mask.
As for how long I've been a part of the RHC, I'm not sure. I'm still first level, so I shouldn't be much more than a rookie. I'm thinking that I just finished training and induction. This is probably my first assignment.
Since this is a PbP, I'm inclined to go with the more structured approach, since a 10 minute RL discussion can take a week on the forums, but I wanted to see what you would prefer.
This, please.
@GM-Fang: Aye - had a blast renaming them also. Fits very well into the character and game flavour I thought :)
On a separate note - work and visitors from Atlanta have limited my pbp time.
Taken annual leave the morrow, so will hopefully be up to speed by then.
Cheers
How long have you been on the force?
Narissa has been on the force for about two years. She started in an early entry program, and spent most of the first two years in training until she reached 18. This will be her first field assignment.
What prompted the RNC to recruit you, or, if you applied, why did they accept your application?
Narissa's father was a diplomat, and married a local while on assignment (A giant). There was an uprising in the country he was assigned to, and he and his wife were caught in the crossfire and killed. Their daughter survived, and was sent back to the capital as ward of the state. Her increased size and strength, and her status as a survivor, led to her being recruited early into an early training program with the RNC.
Why did you accept/apply?
Narissa's father's family never really accepted her, due to her half-blood status. They tolerated her, but nobody really treated her like family. And her giant blood family had not fared well in the revolution, so she had been stuck living with polite but disinterested people. The RNC was not much better, but having strangers not care about you was a lot less painful than having family not care.
Brief character sketch
See previous pictures.
Maybe a mix? Put the potential solutions and rolls in a spoiler for when someone needs a hint. But that also lets us come up with our own ideas, which is often more fun because the GM doesn't expect them. :)
How tall is Narissa?
7 feet, 2 inches tall.
She can fit into most armor with slight modification, unless it's full suit armor. Uniforms have to be made special.
Cool. She's about 4 inches taller than Saturday.
Is she a Yarasol veteran?
GM-Fang: Can Fulcrum take Martial Weapon proficiency (Gnome Pincher) as his starting character feat?
I know its an inferior weapon to a rapier or such - but it fits his modus operandi and flavour.
GM-Fang: Can Fulcrum take Martial Weapon proficiency (Gnome Pincher) as his starting character feat?
I know its an inferior weapon to a rapier or such - but it fits his modus operandi and flavour.
You can just have the proficiency for free. I think that the weapon is OP enough to justify needing a feat.
Is it for pinching gnomes? I want it to be for pinching gnomes.
You can just have the proficiency for free. I don't think that the weapon is OP enough to justify needing a feat.
Edit
Is it for pinching gnomes? I want it to be for pinching gnomes.
It is for indiscriminate pinching, but I assure you that gnome pinching opportunities will present themselves.
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Indiscriminate pinching is the best kind of pinching.
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Can we put a self-locking mechanism in the claw and an Immovable Rod in the haft?
Sorry for my delay in getting my background fleshed out. I've had no time this week for fun and have had a tough enough time keeping up with the games I am running. Hopefully this weekend will present a little free time to get everything finished up.
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Can we put a self-locking mechanism in the claw and an Immovable Rod in the haft?
Considering the setting and the characters, I imagine we will have a ridiculous assortment of custom magical batman gadgets sooner than later.
Sorry for my delay in getting my background fleshed out. I've had no time this week for fun and have had a tough enough time keeping up with the games I am running. Hopefully this weekend will present a little free time to get everything finished up.
No worries. Crunch is done, so Victor is playable. Your background doesn't need to be extensive from the get go, just brief character sketch is fine.
GM, what are your thoughts on the Background Skills system?
I'm getting the impression that this setting and adventure path is pretty skill-intensive.
I looked at some of the alternative skill systems before deciding to run the campaign. In the end, I chose just to stick with just the standard setup.
This campaign definitely uses skills a lot more than you standard kick down the door, band of murder hobos AP, but there is still plenty of combat opportunities. Not everyone will get to shine in every situation, but skilled characters do get the spotlight more often in this game than they would in a standard Paizo AP. Of course, you can just be jackbooted thugs and club your way to success.
The adventure provides multiple avenues for success so even if you fail a challenge, there are other opportunities to obtain the desired results.
Also your character themes provide lots of extra options without using skills.
TL;DR No you background skills. You'll be fine with the normal allotment of skill points.