[Table Shieldwall] Daughters of Fury (Inactive)

Game Master Nathan Hartshorn

Here we are, all ready for the next adventure

Ready to go!

aye aye, captain!

Suggestion: let's make a skills matrix for the GM to make his life easier.

Format: not sure, but I can help with whichever format GM Fez prefers. Perhaps a standardized all skills spoiler button that he could cut and paste. Keep the bb codes on the maps slide or as part of his campaign header at the top.

Why: because we're always playing with the same group, and to make the GM's life easier and so that he doesn't write all these skills spoilers if we don't have the skills for them.

Include guidance if you're a caster: yes- and in cases where it matters the GM can take the +1 off the results.

Include scion if you have the feat: yes- reasonable to believe you'll generally be in group formation when doing stuff.

Skills: all those you have ranks in plus those you can do untrained i.e.
--> Acrobatics , Appraise, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Heal, Intimidate, Perception, Ride, Sense Motive, Stealth, Survival, Swim

But WHYYYYYY? you're annoying, Berato: because it's a one-time effort, and it will pay countless times going forward.

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion! Let me know how I can help!

Present!

I hope we get Marcus back.
The long downtime on the boards may have driven some players away but I really liked his character and his contributions.
Nobody happens to have his email address, do they?

I am here, I've just been very busy recently. I moved out of my apartment at the end of July, and due to some job hunting difficulties was not able to move to a new location, so I've been kicking around various hotels. Paizo's site being down repeatedly when I was able to check in did not help; I tried to check in yesterday, but got a site down error.

I'm finally moving to a new home tomorrow, so I'll be gone until Tuesday at least when my internet gets turned on. After that though, I'm really looking forward to getting back into a routine and continuing our adventures!

I think all of Marcus' skills are in his profile, but let me know if I can help. I think the only unique thing for him is that he gets Inspiration on all trained knowledge, linguistics or spellcraft checks automatically, and can choose to use it on other skills.

I ended up buying a couple of utility potions, a silver shortsword and a cold iron dagger. I saved the rest of Marcus' gold towards a Ring of Tactical Precision.

Berato buys a MW alchemical silver warhammer and 20 alchemical silver sling bullets, antitoxin x3, antiplague x3.

No big purchases at the moment, though I am open to ideas.

I suppose a silver weapon is necessary. Bludgeoning doesn't take the -1 damage. It would be 96 gp net to replace the warhammer with a silver one. Maybe a cold iron dagger too (4 gp).

Forgotten I hadn't done this. At Berato's suggestion, Anthys will have picked up these things, but not Masterwork since he is very low on gold.

Vindler would pick up similar stuff, though I'm going with alchemical silver repeating crossbow bolts (10). Does anybody know if I can buy those as blunted bolts so they do bludgeoning damage?

I'm not aware of blunt crossbow bolts published anywhere in the game. Blunt arrows yes, but not bolts.

Berato buys a MW alchemical silver warhammer and 20 alchemical silver sling bullets, antitoxin x3, antiplague x3.

I'd like to add that the 'consecrated weapon' +150gp modifier to the MW alchemical silver warhammer (source: Adventurer's Armory; PFS legal: check!). I'd also like to buy a mithral sanctified heavy shield - sanctified shield is a +100gp modifier (source: Adventurer's Armory; PFS legal: check!). The mithral heavy shield now serves as my divine focus and it's got the embossed Torag warhammer symbol on it. It is near mirror-shine in appearance.

Forgotten I hadn't done this. At Berato's suggestion, Anthys will have picked up these things, but not Masterwork since he is very low on gold.

Anthys: scrap that purchase off your list. Berato will buy an extra consecrated mw alchemical silver warhammer. You can borrow it as long as we're in the same scenario together. Perk: I can infuse it with channeled energy and you deal dmg equal to half the channel on your next successful hit in the next 24 hours.

Edit: catching up with posts after and chronicles after a few chaotic weeks... I'll make sure Berato is still 4th and not 5th level.

Sorry about the horrible formation.
Since it seemed from context that we didn't have time for Anthys to strap on his full plate, and IC we didn't know how many enemies were downstairs, I was being extra cautious and getting into a position where only one could attack me at a time.
I had intended to take the front line since I do the most damage in melee.

Now, if Vindlér and Vegazi can drop Blue, Anthys will move past and unclog the corridor.

I will be gone until next Tuesday, starting this evening. Please bot me in that time if needed. Marcus will generally Aid Another Anthy's attack roll if possible, otherwise will try to stay in formation and assist however he can.

Someone remind me how light vs darkness works again?

My light spell would need to be cast at an equal or higher spell level to dispel the darkness right? Caster level doesn’t affect it?

So I would need something like Heighten Spell or some similar effect (which I don’t have).

Assuming that’s all correct, then Elaril will use a burning hands spell switched to cold damage vs the hellhound.

Yes that is correct.

FYI: You guys are fairly close to finishing this portion of the module and getting the chronicle for it.

Sorry for the drop in communication. If I wasn't driving for the past two weeks I was under family obligation. If I wasn't under obligation I was prepping for church or a party. If I wasn't prepping I was sleeping. I'm not quite sure what all happened for these past two weeks, but I'm back again.

Anthys

Berato

Elaril

Marcus

Vindler

If anything looks wrong let me know and I'll fix it ASAP.

Sweet! Level 5!

@GM: how do multi-part modules work for PFS rules? Do we have use of the items found at the end of Part 1, or do we need to buy them from the Chronicle Sheets? Do I get my Folio reroll back for Part 2 (is it like a separate session)? And do we get Day Job checks?

@All - I am leaning towards Advanced Weapon Training (Fighter's Tactics) as my level 5 feat, but could wait and take that at 6th if there is something else that would be better now. I had planned to take Improvisation to help with skill checks at some point but we seem to be doing okay in that regard.

Thank you GM Fez!

Thanks, Fez! Chronicle looks good.

Just finishing up leveling Vindler. I finally managed to pick up Lastwall Phalanx, so I can start benefitting from that with Anthys.

Anthys, Fighter's Tactics looks good. It's basically Solo Tactics for fighters, which seems like a good thing. You and I seem to share most of our teamwork feats, so it's not always going to make a huge difference for us, but it could still help a good deal.

Just finishing up leveling Vindler. I finally managed to pick up Lastwall Phalanx, so I can start benefitting from that with Anthys.

He gives us all the feat already through his tactician ability. That should free up another feat for you.

Chronicle looks good. I will probably not be able to level up Elaril until the weekend.

At first I didn’t realise that this was a multi part module. And then once I did, I didn’t realise there were chronicles for each part. And then once I did, I didn’t realise we were getting full module xp/ gold for each.

So how many parts are there? Do they all grant full module xp?

Each part is a new session, so you'll get back your re-rolls and do dayjobs for each. You guys still have the items granted from finding them in the module, though you could potentially buy them again from the chronicle. This module has three parts and four chronicle sheets. The first three chronicles are for finishing the module's various sections, the last chronicle is granted if the first three were placed on the same character. It'll be full experience and gold for each section.

Vindlér Far-seer wrote:

Just finishing up leveling Vindler. I finally managed to pick up Lastwall Phalanx, so I can start benefitting from that with Anthys.

He gives us all the feat already through his tactician ability. That should free up another feat for you.

I give the feat twice a day for 5 rounds each time, at the cost of a standard action. There is still some value in actually having the feat - especially since Vindlér also has Solo Tactics. But I don't know what else was on his radar.

I had a ton of options for feats here. Vision Mastery looked good, but for now I will rely on the casters to defeat darkness and invisibility. Weapon Focus is always good; Ability Mastery is maybe better. Combat Reflexes and Combat Expertise open up more options for Barroom Brawler. And Difficult Swings could be useful.

Edit: Part 1 Day Job: Profession (Soldier): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

I've started leaving the day job gold gained box blank so you guys can fill it in yourselves. It really was the most painful part of filling in the chronicles, just waiting. I trust you to not be rolling max day jobs every time, so have at it.

Berato Aquilinus wrote:

Vindlér Far-seer wrote:

Just finishing up leveling Vindler. I finally managed to pick up Lastwall Phalanx, so I can start benefitting from that with Anthys.

He gives us all the feat already through his tactician ability. That should free up another feat for you.

I give the feat twice a day for 5 rounds each time, at the cost of a standard action. There is still some value in actually having the feat - especially since Vindlér also has Solo Tactics. But I don't know what else was on his radar.

That's basically what I was thinking too. Having the feat myself just gives us a bit more flexibility in positioning and action economy since Anthys wouldn't have to share it with me. I could delay taking it until level 6, when I get a free bonus teamwork feat. That would just leave the question of what to take right now.

If I don't go with LP, I might have to go with something fairly mundane like Power Attack so I can boost my damage a bit without having to rely on class features like judgments or my newly gained Bane ability. Other than that, I'm pretty open to suggestions. I've kinda lost the thread of how best to build Vindler in a way that meshes with the rest of the team.

Marcus Volso wrote:

Lastwall Phalanx: +1 to AC/Saves vs. Evil creatures

Shake it off: +1 to Saves
Shield Wall: +1 to AC
Scion of the Lost Empire: +1 to Saves/Skill Checks/Attack Rolls as an immediate action

For a total of:
+2 AC
+3 to Saving Throws
+1 Attack Rolls
+1 Skill Checks

Math check with Ring-

Lastwall Phalanx: wearer will receive +1 AC and +1 save (let's assume 3 adjacent allies --> normal +3 AC / +3 saves; with ring +4 AC / +4 saves)
Shield Wall: wearer of ring will receive +1 AC (normal +2 AC / with ring +3 AC)
Shake it off: wearer of ring will receive +1 to saves (assume 3 allies --> normal +3 to saves / with ring +4 to saves)
Scion: wearer receives +1 to atk or saves or skill (normal +2 / with ring +3)

Yep: Marcus' math is 100%

Now let's see the total results for each and everyone of us, as the rings will also impart to us all of the teamwork feats for those who don't have it.

AC: +4 sacred, +3 shield = +7 to AC (pretty rad that my cleric's buckler goes from +1 to +4 on with this ring and shield wall...)
Saves: +4 sacred, +4 untyped +2 competence = +10 to saves

Yep, the teamwork experiment is getting interesting! :)

This means, and I'll go on a limb here, that we could perhaps divert some of the usual AC/saves grind items and buy interesting/fun items instead?

In a regular campaign we could pool our gold to buy the big 10x10 carpet of flying so that we're always in formation with max bonuses: only one of us needs to drive it which means at least two of the martials upfront can always be positioned for full attacks. Marcus could sneak attack from the back row with gang up feat and a reach weapon. Downside is no more flanking, but Scion makes for it.

Are we still thinking about those rings of teamwork craziness? (the numbers speak for themselves, but I'm not sure it would increase the fun factor)

If we REALLY want to go down the TEAMWORK rabbit hole we could invest in a 10'x10' flying carpet (with the mage invisible and levitating and attached to Berato with a rope!) to always be in formation, with Anthys at the front of the carpet always doing full attacks, and one caster at the back driving the carpet, with the rest of the martials using reach weapons behind Anthys... :)

PS: if the GM is ok with a slight twist on the PFS rules we could all 'pitch in' for the carpet, and if/when the Teamwork experiment ceases, we could resell our 'share' of the carpet at half price like a normal magic item resale. This makes this 60,000gp item accessible earlier for the party but the downside is no character truly owns it. I'm telling you: if an NPC would setup a flying carpet lease agreement shop they would make a killing! :)

i.e. let me know if I should save for the ring or not. :)

The flying carpet idea is definitely interesting, but doesn't the idea of having backline folks using reach weapons negate the viability of Shield Wall? Those characters wouldn't be able to actually wield their shields, even if they just wore bucklers. Unless you're thinking we get flying shields or something else I'm not thinking of.

I wouldn't use reach weapons as I usually cast spells or use touch of good, but I see your point. Marcus can do his aid another with a ranged weapon yes?

...I think it's a morning, pre-coffee, silly gnomish idea anyhow... it would require us to work a bit outside the PFS rules for it to work, and it prevents us from moving around the battlefield.

Nevermind...

the ring idea though... let me know about that one. My gut feeling says "don't buy that!" but the numbers are appealing... Thanks!

Right now, with 3 allies adjacent and no magic items or spells, Anthys has saves of +12/+9/+9 (vs evil) with a potential +2 once per round. He might need the ring to keep pace at higher levels, but it isn't as essential in the medium-term.

The flying carpet is a little too far down the rabbit hole for me just now. There are times when it is useful to break formation, so I don't want to be totally locked into being in a square all the time.

Another way to get us lots of adjacent allies (especially Anthys and Vindlér, who don't care if those allies have the feats) is summoning. Or, related to that idea, a spell useful for Berato and Vindlér to consider: Ally Across Time. Your duplicate does nothing, but it threatens squares and has your teamwork feats.

@Vindlér's feats - maybe Heavy Armor Proficiency? That's effectively +3 AC, since Vindlér doesn't lose any Dex for wearing full plate.
Or Ability Mastery, to get +2 Str? Bane is really good and you don't want to miss any of your attacks with it.
Steel Soul is always a tempting option for a dwarf.
There are some Inquisitor feats like Judgment Surge and Favored Judgment.
Combat Reflexes could be good to build towards Stand Still. Especially if Anthys picks up Difficult Swings to hamper 5' steps.
If you took Lastwall Phalanx now, what would be your teamwork feat at 6th?

I mean, +10 to saves?! Yes, please!

I feel like the ring idea is a good one overall, and 11000 isn't really that exorbitant, particularly once we keep moving toward higher level scenarios. I mean, after our most recent scenario, I'll have 4899gp, and if the remaining two parts of this module give similar amounts of gold, that would pretty much put me at the 11k needed for the ring. Granted, that doesn't allow me to upgrade my armor or shield like I probably should, but even then, it would probably only be another one or two scenarios to get the cash needed.

Ok I'll save for it. I would obviously prefer if our tactics keep including Anthys' tactician ability as I could spend my 5th level feat on a cleric-related feat. Anthys let me know if using tactician is not in the cards anymore.

PS: do you get Greater Tactician later? my (higher level) cavalier uses tactician as a swift action due to that ability.

Oh, certainly I'll keep using Tactician. But if there are more than 2 fights in a day, or if a fight goes longer than 5 rounds (like the last one did) then it won't always be active. And my initiative isn't great, so it doesn't help if the enemy goes first.

I will get Greater Tactician at level 9. And unlike my (Seeker) cavalier, I won't have a ton of competing swift or immediate actions.

Cool... I'll probably take alignment channel then, since I can then apply channel damage on devils and demons...

I think we should really focus on making sure we all get Lastwall Phalanx and Shake it Off. They're just way, way to strong to give up having them on all the time. We grind a lot of fights out over a longer duration than tactician lasts, since we're so defense focused, and it frees Anthys from needing to use his first action in tough fights, plus lets us have absurd defenses on all of the weak encounters designed to sap our resources where Anthys wouldn't want to use tactician.

I'll look at getting Marcus leveled tonight. He'll be taking Lastwall Phalanx, and will continue saving for a ring. Being able to gift Scion to Elaril or Vindler is going to be pretty big, not to mention all of the other bonuses.

Also, Marcus will be able to aid as a move action now!

But wait! :)

Anthys' character sheet, under feats, says:

"Lastwall Phalanx (Tactician)"

Thus:
1) Does he only get access to the feat when he turns it ON via Tactician? (in which case: no point for any of us to take the feat)
2) Can he only SHARE Lastwall Phalanx with his Tactician ability, or can he share OTHER teamwork feats the team doesn't have YET. (i.e. if we're ALL gonna take Lastwall Phalanx, perhaps his Tactician bonus feat should be something more obscure we don't have yet, like Precise Strike or Swap Places or something...)

Your answers will greatly shed light on my feat selection process! :)

Regards,
Berato

He gains Lastwall Phalanx all the time.
He can share it 2/day for 5 rounds at a time.
He cannot share his other teamwork feats.
It's just like the cavalier ability.

He has already retrained his Tactician bonus feat once. At level 2, it was Shake It Off. Then at level 3, he retrained it to Lastwall Phalanx and took Shake it Off as a regular (non-shareable) feat with his general feat slot.

I don't want to retrain again right now as it will be level 7 when I get another general feat slot to re-take Lastwall Phalanx (it is not a Combat feat).

If everybody is getting Lastwall Phalanx and Shake it Off, I might take Abundant Tactics instead of Fighter's Tactics as my Advanced Weapon Training feat. Would let me use Barroom Brawler 2/day (and 4/day once I get Gloves of Dueling). On the other hand, Fighter's Tactics would not be totally obsolete, it would still give bonuses if Elaril or summoned creatures were adjacent. Tough call.

I mean...you guys are getting to the point where the mobs are needing natural 20s to hit, and the 2 or 3 level higher BBEG gets at best a 50/50.

Okay, I'm reconsidering my feat selection, given the most recent conversation. I'm thinking of holding off until my bonus teamwork feat at level 6 for Lastwall Phalanx, and taking Power Attack at 5 so I can contribute a bit more damage. We'll get another level's worth of XP out of part 2 of the module, so I'd have LP up in time for the finale.

Thoughts?

Vindlér's excellent attack rolls vs Ogash notwithstanding, his attack bonus is a bit low to use PA. A typical enemy has AC of, what, 13+CR, so around 18? And his attack bonus is +6?

I guess he could do it if he had a Judgment helping his attack rolls, but taking a penalty to hit when you need to roll 12+ is not ideal. Weapon Focus might help him hit more often, or (if he could get an item to use it with) Ability Mastery. I have the Weapon Master's Handbook and I think we qualify as a group of friends who always play at the same table (thereby allowing us to share the books as per the FAQ).

He'll do tons of damage when he hits with Bane, but that is really only 5 attacks per day (well, 10 if he gets Hasted). Really don't want to miss any of those attacks, so keeping that attack bonus high is important.

Yeah, those were some of my concerns with Power Attack as well. Really boils down to me not doing an excellent job of building Vindler. I tried to make him a bit too balanced and ended up making him somewhat subpar at most of the stuff that's important for him (attack bonus is meh, and spell DCs aren't anything to write home about either). He does have a pretty good Perception bonus though! SMH...

I'll have to see what I would need to buy to get Ability Mastery to work. I actually own WMH too! One of the few splat books I've been able to pick up, and I love it! My mutagenic mauler brawler is built using the Outslug style from that one, and he is a blast to play.

Vindler's STR is too low. Change WIS to 16 (it'll cost you only 5 pt. to buy 14 then you get +2 for race) then use the extra point buy on STR. Personally: who cares about spell DCs? 6-level casters are just into casting for the buffs anyhow.

I have a cavalier with STR 14 and he's played catch up with the other martials in his party his whole play career. I ended up having to invest heavily into STR belt...

Inquisitors either focus on ranged combat or melee; I'm not sure where you're going with Vindler. I'd say bump your STR if it's not too late or feasible...

As for Berato: I'll go for Alignment Channel, based on the wise words of the GM. That way, it will make the occasional Anthys-granted Lastwall Phalanx even more special! :P

PS: if PFS doesn't allow retraining of STR vs. WIS, then retrain one of your 2 traits to: 'Fate's Favored' and cast Divine Favor at the beginning of every fight.

This will give you +3 to hit and +3 to dmg. Forget Power Attack. You're welcome! :)

Probably a good call. I'll look into the rebuild rules this evening and see if it's viable.

Pretty sure PFS doesn't allow retraining traits or your starting ability scores (though you can retrain the +1 per 4 level increase). You could pick up Additional Traits, but Fate's Favored conflicts with Indomitable Faith.

Vindlér's got excellent saves and skills, and some useful special abilities. I don't worry about his contributions at all. Well-rounded characters are great to have.

There is a thread here about which items can power the Item Mastery feats. If you bought a +2 Wis headband, you could use Ability Mastery to gain +2 Str from it. Note that the bonus from Ability Mastery never lasts long enough to count as a permanent bonus, so you can't use it to qualify for feats, or gain bonus skill ranks or bonus spells.