Awesome Warriors of the Round Table (Inactive)

Game Master Legendary Sidekick

No problem, Ed. Thanks for being patient with me! (It takes two to confuse.)

Captain Andoran is a fine name, and there can be a place called Andoran on our unknown world. I'm not against the game taking place on a planet called Golarion. I just don't want to be forced to have all the history and geography.

The Golarion world map with Rooftopolis plunked on the Golarion map, along with any other places other GMs want to make up (with or without a nonsensical comic-bookish city name)—that would work for me.

I already like the Golarion deities. (Addy follows Shelyn; VV follows Milani. I read that one reveres the other as an ideal goddess, so the split personalities follow "sister goddesses" based on each personality's alignment. Milani's symbol is perfect for Hanako ["Fairy Blossom"], who was murdered in an alley and reincarnated as a plant [petrifern].)

So if it's easier for everyone else, the world could simply be an "alternate Golarion." In this case, Rooftopolis would be...

...checks map...

...along the westernmost part of Arcadia. (Of the continents with a direct route to Tian Xia [by sea], Arcadia is the name of a setting I've actually used in a home-brew a couple years ago. So I actually like Arcadia being the continent name, if this works for everyone else.)

I was going to have a place called "Westedge," based on Greek mythology's Western Edge of the World. So Rooftopolis can be an urbanized sector of the island on the west side of this map.

I've already plotted out my scenario and all the kingdoms on the island it is set on (the land of Cargos, home to that most dreaded of conflicts, the Storage Wars): I figured maybe we were planehopping fools answering the calls of adventure wherever the winds may take us

I mean really the setting depends on the DM, so we're anywhere and everywhere, right?

Yes.

And even "anyhow" is fine. As in, how we get to anywhere doesn't matter. It could be a bordering city, a place we sail to any sea or by airship, or yes, plane-hop.

So I'll basically go with geography unexplained, and each character can be from wherever you want. In my case, Addy is from Rooftopolis so both GM-me and PC-me know my way around the place I made up.

*Salutes*

No worries.

Must admit as to wanting to run ppl through the 'Silver Ravens' adventure path at some point... If folks (And Real Life permitting) are interested?

@Sunny & Goditty, sounds like you both already have a plan for your GM turns! An adventure path is fine. GM chooses the setting. We can leave travel unexplained, or make travel elaborate. All GM's choice.

@Ed, I meant to tell you, I think you're RP'ing and motivations are fine as-is. From a hi-tech world, keeping a low profile. Intellectual curiosity and an awakened sense of purpose (truth, justice, and/or the Andorian way?) might be all Alastair needs to get involved in what's about to happen...

@Everyone,
Time to start Episode One proper. There's something that's happening in the bar that your characters haven't noticed. How they failed to see it will make perfect sense when it happens. (I promise I didn't cheat your characters who have automatic DC15s in Perception, or DC25s due to being in the room long enough for Take 20 to apply.) It will lead to combat.

Please find an NPC to talk to. I will have the NPC answer your question before the interruption, which will lead to that first initiative roll.

I would like to begin on Monday. (Sooner, if all players post who they'll talk to.) If every player finds someone to talk to (Sunny's Mysterious Fellow counts in term of the Nelsons' "test"), that's where you will be when chaos ensues.

(I do listen to players. If you [plural you] *want* to hold off on combat, I'm okay with that. I just don't want to overplay exposition since you've already found a path to getting rewarded, and Cat has good info that she's about to give Henrietta. About getting paid though—here's a free hint: there were multiple paths to getting a reward for what you're about to get involved in, but the Nelson Bros. is the best one! Try to keep them alive! I won't death-spell them so there's a chance.)

Correction... it was Lobster who mentioned the setting, not Goditty... though I'm confident Goditty will GM awesomely, having been in on this whole take-turns-GMing prospect from the start.

@Lobster, while I'm posting anyway, I meant to let you know that my NPC rolls were basically DC10 + your CHA/bluff bonus (zero, of course, but just letting you know I checked your sheet before rolling). Rolled two 11s! So close! Had George rolled a 9, I'd have sent them all out anyway. But if George rolled a 20... well... he didn't. And you might like how the plan worked out, when the proverbial feces hits the fan.

I'm delaying furthering the conversation until other people have made some progress; it looks like I've found a good hook and wanna let other people have a shot at it as well

@Sunny,
Is the "good lady" Milani by any chance? That's VV's goddess.

Just a figure of speach, Ma'am. :)

Ah... Lady Luck. Got it!

Here's my first ever sketch of Vermilion Vixen (LINK) ...and my first digital drawing since August.

Hey, all.

Hoping to begin the action early next week. I do want to leave time for players to finish conversations, but at the same time, I'd rather not delay action so we're still talking at a bar in November.

If I don't get any communication (players asking for more time) or in-game posts, I'll plan on posting action on Monday after midnight (Tuesday morning, technically).

The post will be written so I can copy-paste it before work. Of course, if someone posts Monday night, I'll need to rewrite or add to my post. I certainly don't mind action being delayed by a last-minute player post.

...

TL;DR Version: Post in-game by Monday 11:59 PM.*

*Hawaii time... not that I live there, but I'll likely post when I wake up on Tuesday. That'll be around sunset around Sunset's time zone.

Also, PM's sent to Ed and Goddity.

I'll post today but do we wanna open up recruitment again? I'm quite invested and don't want to see this stumble or die

Sorry here for not quite following up.

Yay over-time. :P

Best wishes to every one. :)

I'll post today but do we wanna open up recruitment again? I'm quite invested and don't want to see this stumble or die

I was contemplating it, so now that I know I'm not alone thinking it... yes.

Unless you and/or other players object, I think I should still get action going as scheduled. Sunny as my witness, last time I held up action because a key enthusiastic player was out (for real-life reasons), that campaign remained in its "paused" state. Forever!

Also, Alistair just nat.20'd a perception check, so it would seem rather anticlimactic for me to reveal something, then keep the bar quiet another week.

In addition to me posting, feel free to invite anyone you enjoy RP'ing with if that person has time for an additional game (or happens to be between games).

Wha? I din' do nuffin'! I din' see nuffin'.... Wha's peoples talkin' about agin?

XD

It's true though. I've seen more games fall because Real Life simply comes and takes too many players/DM's away. :(

I'm worried that Goddity is offline for real-life reasons. Her own campaign has been silent for a couple weeks, and her last post here was a week and a half ago. All her comments show enthusiasm for both my campaign and her own. Hopefully, her absence is temporary.

...

@Sunny, definitely not your fault FATHOM died. The Amazon had a job situation, the Harpy was kind of losing interest in the site—she was a reliable player in other games I ran and played on that site since 2012. The Fairy hasn't been back on the site much as far as I can tell, and the Tin Maiden was waiting for the next episode to jump back in, so I was told.

But lesson learned on my end: keep the game moving. Three hours to midnight where I live. And four minutes. Which means that fateful roll-for-initiative post is on its way...

That whole "roll for initiative" bit might have come off a little more ominous if George didn't roll a natural 1. Note that he's Just-Plain-Furious George, not Fast-and-Furious George.

Here's hoping Goddity's in good health, and will be back—and she'll certainly be welcome to continue in this game, if she wants, no matter how long her absence.

For now, I'll position Narissa upstairs with Little Lebowski, and during the action, she'll be with the Half Nelsons...

...especially this guy...

...and I'll keep reaching out to potential players in hopes of having four heroes. In the meantime, if we keep the game moving, that will make the game more attractive, so no pauses. If a new player joins, the new hero can swoop into the fray as comic book heroes do!

Sorry for the delay, spent all yesterday building a character for a playtest game

No problem. You posted well within 48 hours of the first player. It's me who needs to post within 24 of the last player.

Pacing's good, and I'll make more attempts to reach out. So far, the closest I got to success via PM was me being invited to another game. I'm too invested in making this work, though.

GM post is all set. Go ahead and take your turns when ready!

New Vigilante player entering the game! (Different enough from mine, especially since I'm decided to fight in stilettos instead of with sword.) I gave her the okay to post anytime.

Haha! Yes, I am here, and honored to be a part of this adventure with all of you. Thanks again to Vermilion for reaching out and I look forward to future interactions...

lol figures I try to have a big fancy intro and then I roll a 6. All the purple prose in the world cannot save us from the dice.

The good news: hidden strike only works if you are flanking the enemy, and you are, which means I add +2 to your attack. 15 isn't a great roll, but 15 > 13.

Welcome to the game! Thanks for the action-packed entrance!

If you don't know, Addy is the Vixen as her social persona. I'll play her next episode while someone else GMs.

Brainiac is finalizing her magus, who is officially the smartest character in the game. I've given her the green light to enter anytime.

Hi! Looking forward to having some fun with you all. :D

It's raining ones at the GM's end of the table!

Will give Sunny a little more time before making the next GM post, but I couldn't resist posting the will save. I think I found the only skinny bespectacled avatar, at least of the male humans. He looks pretty much like I pictured him.

Drew THIS while getting an oil change. VV uses stilettos to kick, and keeps hands free to grab people.

Foxhound is permitted to enter the game. I allowed a customized item: Cap of Human Guise as size of wearer, instead of making a medium person become small.

We have six PCs now, and I have two house-rulish ideas I have been contemplating, but can live without. I will only vote as a tie-breaker.

(1) "Background Feats" - Every four levels, you get a feat that is either tied to your background skill, or is a Story Feat tied to your backstory.
Addy/VV can obtain skills through crafting/perform, but I'm not sure all players can benefit. In which case, my tie-breaker would be a "no." Yeah, a no on my own idea. I try to be fair.

If yes, follow-up question:
2, 6, 10, 14, 18?
~OR~
4, 8, 12, 16, 20?

(2) "Double-Time Leveling" - We move to the next even-numbered level between episodes, capping at Lv.20.
So episode #2, we're Lv.4, but from #3 to #10, we promote two levels at a time.

I still want to do next episode at Lv.4 no matter what you guys vote, so I have one whole episode with VV taking the Lovesick Drawback. (Fairy Blossom's fairy form is visible to the naked eye at Lv.5.)

If the vote is close, I'll present a compromise whether my tie-breaker is needed or not.

Mull it over, if you want. Let's try to get votes in before the frog prince is defeated.

I like 2/6/10, and I would prefer it level as originally planned tbh

Agree with Lobster on both counts.

Honestly, if we do anything to allow more feats (such as Question #1 which you both said Yes to), I totally agree we're better off leveling one-at-a-time.

One more (which I'm less afraid to ask now that we're one vote away from #2 being a "no")...

(3) "Great Feat Tax Refund" - When you learn a "Great(er)" feat, its "Improved" or "adjective-free" counterpart is refunded.

EXAMPLE:
If you take "Improved Grapple" at Lv.7, then "Greater Grapple" at Lv.9, you gain an additional Lv.7 feat.

That refund feat could be "Improved Bull Rush" or "Cleave" or "Craft Wondrous Items." (As long as you meet the prerequisite as of, in this example, Lv.7—not Lv.9.) In the cases of Improved Bull Rush and Cleave, they have Great(er) versions which could potentially lead to multiple refunds at the same level.

What #3 looks like in practice:

OK i normally like lots of feats, but I don't really like the idea of the refund thing. maybe its just me.

also the background related feats is an idea. I say lest limit it to non-combat feats only.

also no change in the leveling

I have no opinion in the refund thing vis a vis whether we should let it in, but I think editing the rules we're using for feats is a tricky slope balance wise, because as it stands rn, I'm not building for any combat maneuvers and that's all it really helps out on.

Okay, that's 3 for background feats and 3 against speed-leveling, so I'll cast what would be my tie-breaker in the interest of not making people vote for nothing.

#1 - YES
#2 - NO

#3 - 2 no's so far.

@Lobster, I'll take your vote as no (unless you tell me otherwise) because you're stating the concern I had with WiS, which is why I didn't even put that up to a vote. It only works for certain builds. It seems the compromise still does that, just to a lesser extent.

I think editing the rules we're using for feats is a tricky slope balance wise

Me too. Question #3 withdrawn. I was concerned such house-ruling would lead to questions like "why reduce feats for CMB trees and Weapon/Shield Focus, but not Spirited Charge or Manyshot?" And there is no answer, so come to think of it this should not be up for a vote. (Not that anyone voted for it anyway.)

So the only (and final) change is to add a Background Feat at Lv.2, 6, 10, 14 & 18.

Background Feats must be tied to a Background Skill, and must not be listed under "Combat Feats."

Optionally, ONE Background Feat can be a Story Feat that fits with your background.

(I suppose you should take this at Lv.2 if it's related to your past. If a Story Feat is instead taken at a later level, then it should allowed if tied to something that happened in-game. Any thoughts? I'm personally not planning to take a Story Feat. Just offered that option, since it may be hard to find five Background Feats that fit if you lack an Item Creation skill.)

...

Thank you for voting and giving feedback!

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PS~ 72 hours is almost up. I believe I need actions from Alistair and Elegant Edge. Will post in-game tomorrow after work.

Eh personally I think it should just be thematic, I don't like the idea of tying it to background skills. I would like to use the slots to take hand feats (hand feets omg) thus freeing up some space for other feat chains. Also I think combat feats could work? Like obviously Power Attack as a background feat is a no go, but a point could be made for a halfling taking Risky Striker, saying they always overextend themselves or s/t, and they've been punished for it

I'm choosing to add Unforgotten as my bonus story feat. I think Anabel is looking for her lost sister, but I'm still hammering out her full backstory in my head.

Eh personally I think it should just be thematic, I don't like the idea of tying it to background skills. I would like to use the slots to take hand feats (hand feets omg) thus freeing up some space for other feat chains...

I want limits to be clear—fact-based, however arbitrary. I don't think the tie to Background Skills is bad, but I agree that we need to allow more so you can find five feats you actually want.

Here's what I propose so we do have some combat skills that can slip in, as well as skills for Hank, or any other "sidekick"...

...

"BACKGROUND FEATS" (or "THEMATIC BONUS FEATS" if you prefer) must meet one of the following conditions:

#1. The feat requires ranks in a Background Skill.
#2. The feat is a Story Feat.
#3. The feat is an Item Creation Feat.
#4. The feat is an ability used by your familiar, companion or cohort (whether purchased by the master or by the companion/cohort).
#5. If you have Leadership, the feat can be a Teamwork Feat which applies to your PC-Cohort duo (with a single purchase).

...

#1-3 are already allowed, but this proposal would also allow feats that are under combat. So if you have a character with Perform: Dance, you might find a Combat Feat that requires ranks in Perform: Dance. It won't be Power Attack, so I don't find this game-breaking.

#4 allows Hank to take Hand Feats, and this includes anything that can be interpreted as "a hero training her sidekick." Any feat under #4 is one in which the "sidekick" performs the action. #5 is the one exception, in case anyone is planning a Dynamic Duo via the Leadership Feat.

Objections? Thoughts? Suggestions? Approval? Let me know...

I think it's still a little narrow; my background skills don't super have feats I wanna focus on and I'm never gonna take leadership or item creation feats and I'm almost out of the hand feats; maybe I can take teamwork feats with Hank?

That's fine. Edited #5 to simply allow Teamwork, and make it more useful if you're controlling a second character.

-----
#1. The feat requires ranks in a Background Skill.
#2. The feat is a Story Feat.
#3. The feat is an Item Creation Feat.
#4. The feat is an ability used by your "sidekick" (familiar, companion or cohort).
#5. The feat is a Teamwork Feat (which can be used by you AND your "sidekick," if you have one).
-----

If no one objects, we can stick to this limitation for now. If still too narrow, it's easier to add than take away. I'll add this info to Addy's profile since, for some reason, I can't edit Campaign Info anymore.

Also, @Lobster, let's stick to full HD familiars like we originally planned. And speaking of Hank's HP, you can get a Familiar Feat for Hank at Lv.2/6/10/14/18. A Mauler gets +2 HP per Level with its feat. (I'd link it, but aonprd.com is slow at the moment.)

If you fail your Fort Save vs. Stinking Cloud, go ahead and RP being nauseated. The duration is 1d4 rounds, but no need to roll as I'll give you longer than that to get acquainted with new teammates.

Hey! While I was leaving work, I found my brain. It said to me, "Why make bonus feats complicated instead of just doing THIS:

"BONUS FEAT: At Lv.2, 6, 10, 14 & 18, choose any non-combat feat."

And then it whispered the fine print:

"Any feat you cannot find under Combat Feats is a non-combat feat."

Cool

So do applicable teamwork feats need to not also be combat feats? And do we still share them with a cohort or familiar?

Also, how do we feel about the Countenanced Carbuncle feats also applying to the standard possessed hand line? There's a shitload of overlap, but mostly I'm looking at Hand's Space and Hand's Hunger and would like not to need to take Countenanced Carbuncle primarily because I kinda already have it and I don't want to give Hank a nose

Worth noting that the World of Vampire Hunter D book is listed as first party material in the SRD if that affects your decision

Regardless, my level 2 feat will probably be Hand's Sight, so Hank and I share darkvision 60' as long as he's not holding stuff