Chargen synopsis
- 20 pt. buy
- Core races, plus catfolk and ratfolk
- Feat tax rules
- 1 campaign trait, 2 regular traits, disadvantages do not provide more
- Max starting HP, half +1 on level
- Average starting wealth
- Background Skills
- Emerging firearms
- No third-party stuff
- Good and neutral alignments preferred. I won't flat refuse evil, but you'll have to convince me.
Classes not allowed: Summoner (including UC), Occult classes. All others okay. Not much room for riding in this campaign, so while I'll allow cavaliers, etc. you might feel a bit less useful.
So! As I've said before, my plan is to go Rogue 1/Wizard 3/Arcane Trickster 10. Since we've also got a Witch in the party, I'll probably focus on a mix of single-target blasting (sneak attack ray spells) and the classic wizard staples of haste/fly/et cetera, alongside my melee. Yes, I'm going into melee, despite being squishy as all hell. My character sheet is already filled out- can be found either on my profile or here. As a note, I've already selected my spells for once I reach my first wizard level, just to get it out of the way- so even though it's on my sheet, I cannot cast spells until second level.
Hi everyone! The initial plan was to go more debuff/battlefield control, transitioning into adding touch spells once I can do them safely, then hitting the PrC Evangelist class after I have the requirements fulfilled.
Evangelist is unique in the prestige classes in that after 1 level, you start getting all of the stuff from your main class, so I won't miss out on hexes, spell progression, or anything. I'll just be like a witch that's 1 level lower with a lot of extra skill points, higher BAB and HP, and some fun additional bonuses. It also gives me some melee capabilities, so I'll be right in there next to Cellaich after level 5, but adding some "she touched me in the bad place" stuff on top of it.
Since we don't have an arcane blaster damage type, I wanted to make sure everyone was on board with this. Witches don't get a LOT of straight damage spells but I could try and focus on them more if the group thinks I should. I think it's probably better for me to focus on the debuffing and maybe add some heals in there.
I think we're a strong group anyways even without a dedicated caster and dedicated healer. Should be a blast to play together.
My alias is fully built, if you see anywhere you think I might make a change to better fit the party pls let me know.
I think we're a strong group anyways even without a dedicated caster and dedicated healer. Should be a blast to play together.
Bah, there's no such thing as a dedicated healer in a tabletop RPG! Who needs 'em? We'll be perfectly fine, and we will in no way whatsoever require a cleric to cast spells on us to restore our battered sanity before we all turn on each other and destroy each other without Hastur lifting a finger! No way! Absolutely no chance!
Oh yeah, speaking of battered sanity...
@GM - in terms of background, I have a fully detailed background up until a full blackout an indeterminate amount of time ago. Please let me know if you would like me to change it to make it more vague, make any changes, or if you want to talk about adding anything in it so that it fits into any plans you have for us.
I also will need to know before my very first post whether or not I have my veil on or if they stripped me of it when they put me in this damned place.
My alias is fully built, if you see anywhere you think I might make a change to better fit the party pls let me know.
One bit of advice I have would be to look at the Magical Knack trait. This will let you keep your full Witch CL while taking Evangelist as you planned. You'll still be one level behind in progression regarding when you gain access to new spell levels, but hey, that's how sorcerers are perpetually!
I thought about that, but since I'm planning an intimidate build with low CHA, Bruising Intellect was necessary...and the major downfall of the Infernal Contract pact that's built into my background and patron is that I literally can't be raised from the dead (raise and resurrect don't work, only "extraordinary means" will) the other trait I chose which gives me +1 on stabilization checks and +1 on saves vs death (Greater Purpose) seems almost necessary. I'm kinda walking on the edge in order to best fit my character thematically, but I like creating characters that have flaws I really need to work around.
I can get by being -1 CL vs character level in order to have those two.
That's also why I took the heal hex immediately. Not only can I heal everyone once per day, but I can immediately heal the 1d6 damage I am required by pact to do to myself every morning. She keeps all of that a secret though, so feel free to freak out, ask about, then get lied to about the self-harm in game :P
Oh, one last thing regarding mechanics- early on in the recruitment thread, you said I could take the DEX-to-Damage element of Finesse Training at first level due to Finesse being given for free. Is that still kosher? If not, I can trade it out for Deft Maneuvers or similar.
Also, much like Amestri, I wrote out a fairly detailed background leading up to my being placed in the asylum- if you, as the GM, want to adjust that at all, feel free to let me know.
Reading all the character concepts...so we have:
- A formal and antisocial Qadiran combat witch who is used to people being afraid of her and is obsessed with redemption
- A footpad who wants to be a wizard last seen naked and babbling in Aklo
- A grumpy dwarf purifier who will be reading into everyone's dreams
- A ratfolk fighter who doesn't think that he is naturally a ratfolk
- A pink haired bouncy gnome who "Knows a thing"
This is gonna be FUN. Even without the influence of the Yellow Sign, Cthulhu, and the Elder Gods we're a pretty dysfunctional group. The RP will be glorious.
By the way, the formal and antisocial Qadiran is very formal. Due to being trained and serving in an elite group that everyone was very nervous around, she will at first consider herself above everyone else (at least internally if not obviously), will call you sir and ma'am, and will probably be very offended if you are familiar enough to call her Amestri before she feels it is appropriate. Please don't be offended by her, it's the way she was raised. She'll warm up to you eventually. I have a feeling there will be much fun with her interactions with Springy Bedpost at first.
I'm looking forward to a lot of the roleplay, too. I imagine a fantasy communist Nirmathi like Cellaich will end up intrigued and amused by Amestri's formality. He'll probably get on great with Bedpost, which I'm sure will annoy the others to no end. The last thing Gnomish comedians need is someone egging them on.
As a side note- while I know that Molthune is very heavily inspired by Bismarck Prussia, I’ve personally always gotten England/Ireland vibes from its dynamic with Nirmathas- as such, while I won’t be typing it out, because that’s horribly annoying and difficult, please do me a favor and imagine Cellaich speaking with an Irish accent. Along the lines of this.
I'd never seen this archetype before I was making this submission, and I fell in love with the idea.
I was actually the opposite process- when I read over the Polyheira Adherent archetype I instantly fell in love with it, and knew it would be my next character no matter what campaign it was for. When I was building for Strange Aeons, I then realized I could tie the extra-special spellbook in to the eldritch horror theming perfectly, and after that there was no changing my mind. I almost submitted a second character, but decided against it, because I was dead-set on this concept.
I do have a question before I keep going on this build:
Are we counting Dirty Trick as being a part of Deft Manuvers? The pdf only covers core so this would be in the realm of GM rulings.
Also, according to that feat tax pdf, rogues get agile manuvers at 1st in exchange for weapon finesse. It's under appendix 1 iirc.
And springy can and will nickname people in this party, ya'll bigginses are too serious all the time and a good name helps with that!
Also, according to that feat tax pdf, rogues get agile manuvers at 1st in exchange for weapon finesse. It's under appendix 1 iirc.
Ah, I never looked at the PDF, only at the initial blog post. Thanks! I’ll make that change tomorrow, unless the GM decides to stick with the dex-to-damage (which I wouldn’t complain about, but is definitely quite strong).
Now that she's selected, I'm doing a lot more research into Saranrae for RP purposes. Checking out the Paladin's oath for ideas about how to act and found a part I love.
"I will redeem the ignorant with my words and my actions. If they will not turn toward the light, I will redeem them by the sword."
Yay for varied definitions of redemption!
Per the blog post:
"Deft Maneuvers
New. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a trip, disarm, dirty trick, feint, reposition, or steal combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks with these combat maneuvers. Now a prerequisite for the relevant greater combat maneuver feats."
So yes, Dirty Trick is a part of Deft Maneuvers.
And, mea culpa, but yes, let's go with Agile Maneuvers for Cellaich instead of my original off-the-cuff answer.
I am excited to have been selected and very keen to see how the group comes together.
Endol is either a spoiled rich kid with a knack for swordplay or a self sufficient family rat trying to make a place in this dark land. I am interested to see where he goes.
Build wise I am fairly new to PF and any advice on mechanics would be appreciated. I was looking at using two archetypes (Ustalavic Duelist/Mutation Warrior) But I am not opposed to looking at other options.
Like Amestri I am keen to do some more reading on the in's and outs of Ustalavic
@Endol
Yeah I'm odd that way. As soon as I create a background for a character, or decide that there's a deity or group that will guide their character growth I start doing all kinds of research online. I like to make my characters be as true-to-form as possible in the game world. Even if I plan on having them rebel against something, I need to know all the details of what they are rebelling against.
Ustalav I know well, but this is my first Qadiran, and the first time I've had a character that is actively involved in the worship of Saranrae, so much Googling and wiki-reading is being done.
Build wise I am fairly new to PF and any advice on mechanics would be appreciated. I was looking at using two archetypes (Ustalavic Duelist/Mutation Warrior) But I am not opposed to looking at other options.
Those two archetypes seem very good together! Since I'm assuming you want to be DEX based, look into taking Fencing Grace. I noticed on your profile that you appear to be using a medium-sized rapier- this wouldn't work with the Ustalavic Duelist's "Duelist Stance" feature, due to that necessitating you have a free hand. You'll need to use an appropriately small-sized rapier. Since we get Weapon Finesse for free due to the Feat Tax Rules, you can instead take Weapon Focus (Light Blades) at first level, then take Fencing Grace as your second level bonus feat.
Like Amestri, I am keen to do some more reading on the ins and outs of Ustalav.
There's an entire book in the Campaign Setting line dedicated to Ustalav- Rule of Fear. It's a bit pricey, so I'd offer to share my PDF copy with you, but I doubt Paizo would like that very much on their forums. However, I doubt I'd get in trouble just for offhandedly and casually mentioning that there are people who host these PDFs online for free, those horrible, evil bastards. ;)
Excited to get this started!
Briefly looked over the other characters builds. Seems like Endol and myself, possibly with Springy out front while Amestri and Cellaich stay at ranged? Just want to make sure I should stay with the two-handed build I had going. If that is the case, will probably end up alternating between Inquisitor and Fighter a bit.
Excited to get this started!
Briefly looked over the other characters builds. Seems like Endol and myself, possibly with Springy out front while Amestri and Cellaich stay at ranged? Just want to make sure I should stay with the two-handed build I had going. If that is the case, will probably end up alternating between Inquisitor and Fighter a bit.
I was planning on going for a mix of melee and ranged- a magical switch hitter, if you will, and Amestri was planning on something similar. Single-classed Inquisitors (especially dwarves in heavy armor) make perfectly good melee characters, I wouldn't recommend dipping out of a class with that many great class features.
EDIT: I realize now that you're a cleric, not an inquisitor. My point still stands, though- but if you want similar flavor with more melee, what about Warpriest?
Those two archetypes seem very good together! Since I'm assuming you want to be DEX based, look into taking Fencing Grace. I noticed on your profile that you appear to be using a medium-sized rapier- this wouldn't work with the Ustalavic Duelist's "Duelist Stance" feature,
The medium Rapier is mostly flavor to go along with his belief that he is/was human, thank you for the note on Fencing Grace I had missed that , in fact was looking at dervish dance and this is much better.
I am lucky to have friends that are big PF fans,hopefully one of them has Rule of Fear.
The main reason for the dip is the feat investment to be an adequate main front-liner, rather than a secondary front liner. Will probably only dip 1-3 levels. That way I can pick up Heavy Armor Prof, Martial Weapon Prof and a few bonus combat feats. I.E. at least a one level dip picks up at least 3 feats I feel are necessary to be the main front line.
Also, he is in fact an inquisitor. Just hadn't finished updating my old profile :D
I was planning on going for a mix of melee and ranged- a magical switch hitter, if you will, and Amestri was planning on something similar.
Even though I might be in melee range I'm definitely not a front-liner. Before lvl 5-6 I'll be sticking behind the line, it's not until then that I'll be regularly in melee, and even then it'll be mostly touch spells with a scimitar as backup if needed.
The main reason for the dip is the feat investment to be an adequate main front-liner, rather than a secondary front liner. Will probably only dip 1-3 levels. That way I can pick up Heavy Armor Prof, Martial Weapon Prof and a few bonus combat feats. I.E. at least a one level dip picks up at least 3 feats I feel are necessary to be the main front line.
Also, he is in fact an inquisitor. Just hadn't finished updating my old profile :D
Bah, who needs martial weapon proficiency? Longspears are simple weapons, and that's the only weapon you need!
I'm kidding, though- a fighter dip will serve you just as well. Are you going for a stock inquisitor, or are there any archetype you're looking at?
Planning stock right now. Flavor wise, I thought the Living Grimoire would be interesting, but didn't support the build I wanted to go. Considered Ravener Hunter but I think I like just vanilla Inquisitor.
Damn you Cellaich. Your mention of Rule of Fear prompted me to go read carefully through the Qadira, Jewel of the East Campaign Setting.
Now I realize that although the concepts in my background are right, all of the details in the interaction with my family and their past are incorrectly described. Debating whether to rewrite it with the correct concepts of patronage and clout and other sociopolitical ideals of Qadira. My OCD about background stories is going full tilt.
Probably won't bother. At least now I have a better idea of how to act and interact though.
Planning stock right now. Flavor wise, I thought the Living Grimoire would be interesting, but didn't support the build I wanted to go. Considered Ravener Hunter but I think I like just vanilla Inquisitor.
Vanilla Inquisitor is good. If you want a pet, the Sacred Huntsman is pretty powerful as well, and can still support the 2-hand build. Another option thematically would be Royal Accuser, which fits really well into an Ustalav based campaign.
Planning stock right now. Flavor wise, I thought the Living Grimoire would be interesting, but didn't support the build I wanted to go. Considered Ravener Hunter but I think I like just vanilla Inquisitor.Vanilla Inquisitor is good. If you want a pet, the Sacred Huntsman is pretty powerful as well, and can still support the 2-hand build. Another option thematically would be Royal Accuser, which fits really well into an Ustalav based campaign.
I also love Monster Tactitian, but trading out Judgements doesn't suit a frontliner too well (plus, summons are horrible in online games. Slows everything to a crawl in my experience). I'm glad you didn't go for Living Grimoire- having a special book would be infringing on my gimmick a bit haha. Stock Inquisitor seems like it's probably the best bet for a melee lad.
Also, I just realized how great the Travel domain is on Dwarves. Heavy Armor with no speed reduction, and the +10 from Travel domain is AWESOME for frontliners. Desna was a great choice.
Another option thematically would be Royal Accuser, which fits really well into an Ustalav based campaign.
Hm I hadn't considered Royal Accuser, may have to give it a look. Just to note though, he is actually from Janderhoff in Varisia. Only reason he is in Ustalav is his pursuit of hunting down and ending cults of the elder mythos who he thinks are jacking with Desna's control over Dreams and likely responsible for the horrible nightmares and chronic sleep deprivation he faced before Desna saved him.
Also, I just realized how great the Travel domain is on Dwarves. Heavy Armor with no speed reduction, and the +10 from Travel domain is AWESOME for frontliners. Desna was a great choice.
Yup, very seldom that I would think to make a dwarf that worships Desna but it fit really well with the AP and Inquisitor class. The Travel domain definitely buffs out one of the dwarves weaknesses.
Well, the two main deities in Ustalav are Desna and Pharasma, and the nation was founded by wandering Varisians. There is still a pretty strong tie there. It all works if you like the Royal Accuser archetype, but if you wanted to make it tie together "properly" you'd have to put something additional in your background since to be one you're supposedly a member of a set group that serves the Prince, as opposed to just someone who wanders alone.
I am loving all of this discussion and where you're all going with it. It's almost going to make me feel bad when I crush you mercilessly under the weight of eldritch hordes.
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BRING IT! WE GOT THIS! (...hopefully)
No. Not hopefully. We DO have it. You may have eldritch hordes but we have someone who "knows a thing"
Oh, and since you're here:
Still wondering if you wanted to work with us at all on our background / the fugue state / flaws, etc. before we start.
By the way, feel free to completely ignore comments I make about being true to lore. I may be OCD about my characters' backgrounds and upbringing, but I don't expect anyone else to be as concerned with fluff as I am.
I'm the same way, don't worry- I read the Nirmathas section of Lands of Conflict about 10 times while designing this character. In a Starfinder campaign that I'm in, my character is an archaeologist obsessed with Pathfinder-era Golarion, so in playing that character, I've built up a huge amount of knowledge and appreciation regarding the setting. I always find it fun to build characters that are a part of the game world, not just "fit in."
Ah, sorry. Due to time constraints, not sure I will have time to do it before we get started. But as long as you've left gaps, I can find ways to work with that.
No worries. There's one big gap just for you.
You can also change anything in my background since leaving Qadira without asking me, as only the Qadira part really affects the initial core of the personality/playstyle of the character.
The only real thing I ask of you is that when (or before) you do your opening post I'll need to know if I have my veil or if it was taken by the asylum orderlies/doctors/whoever. That's not just for RP purposes but also affects mechanics.
I'm dying to see the crunch behind Springy Bedpost. Come on, Trinam, hook us up! I wanna see the last party member!
I'M WORKING ON IT, THERE'S A LOT TO CRUNCH.
I can dirty trick with a whip or a dagger, so finesse already applies, right? Right. ok. Lingering performance @ 1st.
but...but....she's so smaaaaaaall! Should be 60% less crunch due to size.
Look. Looook.
I have the same crunch. I'm just less filling. It's why 9 out of 10 bulettes prefer gnome. Related: if we see a bulette? I'm hiding under the inqisiguy's fancy hat.
All inquisiguys have fancy hats.
Was reading about Qadira. You should visit. Bards are highly regarded as artists, and we like gnomes more than most other non-human races because they tend to be "entertaining and amusing."
Knowing that, I might be calling you "Little Sister" before too long (being accepted as family is the highest honor in Quadira by the way)
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If she can get over Springy spending a large portion of her first night on watch coloring everyone's weapons day-glo yellow via prestidigitation, then I'm sure they'll get along fine.
Ms. al-Naadhira prefers magenta, but I guess she could deal with yellow.
So, since we're (hopefully) getting started tomorrow... this is actually my first PbP campaign- even though I've played text-only online games through roll20 for years, I figured I should still ask if there's anything I need to know going in. Like, don't post too many times a day, wait your turn to post... anything important I should know going in?
Not really. If you're frequently checking like I am you'll often find yourself having to wait before it's appropriate to post, sometimes it'll take a day or two to get everyone's opinion on something or for a round of combat to happen.
As long as you're not disappearing for days without warning or spamming 10 posts a day to everyone else's 1, you'll be fine.
A good thing to aim for is 1-2 posts a day. The standard "minimum" that people tend to aim for is 1 post per weekday and at least 1 post per weekend, and games often start faster then slow down to that after a bit. If nothing is going on at all for a day or so do a push post (where you find a way to propose an action or something similar to try and get people moving again)
More posts can be fine as long as everyone is active, or we're in a RP part of the game, but often you'll be setting your pace based on everyone else's. It becomes very intuitive after a while...and if you're like me where I can check the forums all day both from work and home then get into a couple more games once you are comfortable in this one. That way you can be more active.
Forgot to add...we can still continue to blow up Discussion as much as we want. Everything I said really just applies to the Gameplay thread.
@GM, speaking of Gameplay tab, even if we don't start up today could you open it up for dot and delete? It's so much easier to check for activity once a game is showing in our profile's campaign tab.
@GM, speaking of Gameplay tab, even if we don't start up today could you open it up for dot and delete? It's so much easier to check for activity once a game is showing in our profile's campaign tab.
Ditto. Would love to be able to get it registered so I don't have to just refresh the page every 10 minutes.
The ink is wearing off my F5 key
Done. First post will be up soonish.