Kirthfinder - Sovalles

Game Master Kirth Gersen

In regards to the Rogue's Opportune Strike class feature, does it need to be called out in the ability/feat, like Dodge or is it automatically applied to anything that scales?

I ask because if it's the former, it would seem like Opportune Strike would apply to Weapon Finesse(a feat almost every single Rogue has taken in the history of the feat having existed), yet unless I'm missing something, Weapon Finesse doesn't benefit from Opportune Strike.

Kirth Gersen wrote:

I plan to upload the most up-to-date version soon.

THIS IS DONE. Disregard the old link. I've updated the link in my profile as well.

This link is missing the Cleric(/Archivist) class.

Should probably also note that there's a typo in the Rune Domain.

Domain Spells: 1st—erase, 2nd—secret page, 3rd—glyph of warding, 4th—explosive runes, 5th—lesser planar binding, 6th—greater glyph of warding, 7th—instant summons, 8th—transcribe symbolMF, 9th—teleportation circle. In addition, add all spells with the word “symbol” in the name to your list of class skills.

Pretty sure that's supposed to say spells. :p

Edit: Under the secondary skills section, it says characters gain 1 free rank in a specific skill. Is that our choice?

Out of the secondary skills, yes.

Also, would Alchemy cover poisons?

Nope. See the separate Craft (Toxicology) skill listed in the table and described in the text.

In regards to the Rogue's Opportune Strike class feature, does it need to be called out in the ability/feat, like Dodge or is it automatically applied to anything that scales?

I ask because if it's the former, it would seem like Opportune Strike would apply to Weapon Finesse(a feat almost every single Rogue has taken in the history of the feat having existed), yet unless I'm missing something, Weapon Finesse doesn't benefit from Opportune Strike.

See updated rules. Weapon Finesse is a [combat] feat, so combat opportunist applies. Also, rogues don't need to select it; they get it automatically (one of the design goals was to get rid of "feat taxes").

This link is missing the Cleric(/Archivist) class.

Added. Thanks!

Okay cool, I have Weapon Finesse listed as a bonus feat already, but I took Feat Mastery as my 1st level feat, which I believe will allow me to apply my Dex to damage, if I'm reading everything correctly.

Okay cool, I have Weapon Finesse listed as a bonus feat already, but I took Feat Mastery as my 1st level feat, which I believe will allow me to apply my Dex to damage, if I'm reading everything correctly.

Yes.

Eshkeval believes in nothing beyond his own power. The power to create. The power to destroy. So enamored he is with his own abilities, that the energy of his belief granted him power divine.

Eshkeval's spells come from his artistry. In order to prepare his daily spells, he will first paint a portrait of a specific creature, shape that portrait into a model via origami, then ritualistic destroy his creation with his holy symbol - an interesting contraption that is one part paintbrush (representing creation) and one part lighter (representing destruction). When he casts spells with somatic components, he is effectively, drawing out their effects, then bringing them to life purely on the strength of his belief alone.

At the moment, Eshkeval is self absorbed, and concerned mostly with having the ability to create and destroy. But time will tell what he wishes to do with his abilities in the long run. Maybe he could become convinced to dedicate his powers towards a specific goal. Perhaps...world domination? Who knows...

I should note that my major plan for Eshkeval is for him to become a benevolent king that rules over the world. Essentially, he'd go from trying to idealize himself, to trying to idealize the rest of world.

I plan on accomplishing this by having him eventually gain access to the Nobility Domain, which will give him the Leadership ability. This sets up the opportunity for us to create our own city, led by the PCs. The Fighter will thereafter gain access to their Warlord class feature and be named the General of the army, while the Rogue gains access to their Network of Contacts and becomes the Minister of Internal Affairs.

As the PCs grow in power, so too will their small city, until it becomes powerful enough for us to take on other cities, then expand our rule to other countries, and eventually even overtake the world.

Once we've conquered the Material Plane, we can then set out to conquer the other planes as well, stopping the endless war between the upper and lower planes, before routing out the eldritch horrors that lie beyond the Dark Tapestry itself.

I like this plan.

Whatever problems you may have, Kaouse, lack of ambition is not one of them!

Before you get too carried away with long-range plans for specific PCs, I should point out that PCs' only "plot immunity" is in the form of hero points. In my Savage Tide PBP, heliopolix' characters had a disturbing habit of running out and then getting themselves killed.

While I don't expect or even want you to take it easy on us, I hope you aren't running this on nightmare hardcore mode. Not sure if I am the only one new to Kirthfinder or not, but part of my desire to to join this game is try out the system.

I don't want to be continuously dying and remaking characters or worse die and then be out of the game...

No; I don't intentionally set out to kill anyone, but if someone does something really stupid and lacks the means to get themselves out of it, they get what they get. Adversaries will act as their intelligence, goals and personalities dictate, so if you find someone whom you know is smart and ruthless, they probably won't pull their punches. However, I typically like to set things up so that you know who those people are before you're forced to deal with them, giving you a chance to rig the odds in your favor first.

I've gotten a decent amount of my character finished, but I'm holding off on choosing my last few skills, and a couple of racial abilities, until we decide on setting.

If we do go with Aviona, I have a rather specific background in mind that fits that setting a lot more than any others. As such, it will affect my skill selection somewhat, to better represent said background.

Oh, I wasn't even planning on thinking about starting a city until level 10 at the earliest. Country-level domination probably wouldn't occur till level 15-16, with world-level domination occuring around the final few levels, say 18-20. Planar domination is basically in the realm of epic content, IMHO.

Hey Kaouse, thoughts on setting? Do you mind going with Aviona?

I have zero experience with Aviona or any other setting, thus I have no qualms with it, nor suggestions otherwise.

Oh, I wasn't even planning on thinking about starting a city until level 10 at the earliest. Country-level domination probably wouldn't occur till level 15-16, with world-level domination occuring around the final few levels, say 18-20. Planar domination is basically in the realm of epic content, IMHO.

A PF wizard or cleric is looking at a personal demiplane at 15th level. Therefore, in KF, city-level domination is closer to 8th, national before 12th, planar at 16th (which is epic level). Hell, the Premier of Aramni, a major nation, is an 11th level Aristocrat (CR 6).

I believe Kaouse said 10th, cuz that's when the rogue gets Network of Contacts.

Kirth, since I voted A, Kaouse doesn't really care as they have no real experience with settings, and Baggageboy voted A or B, can we just go with Aviona?

Hmm, I've been reacquainting myself with the Kirthfinder rules for spellcasting, and it seems that having a good Sleight of Hands check is going to be pretty useful for getting out material components and reducing the amount of time spellcasting takes.

So, I'm currently considering the idea of trading out Defiant Luck for Skill Focus in Sleight of Hands, and trading out ranks in Heal for ranks in Sleight of Hand instead.

I might also restructure things so that my Charisma mod is only +2, while my DEX mod is +3, just so I can get up to a +7 Sleight of Hands mod at level 1, letting me take 10 on the check to get out material components for a first level spell as a free action.

Considering how I also need to quickly withdraw my divine focus for the purpose of channel energy, it seems like a good idea to be able to do it as a free action. I might get retrain the feat later on, but I think it's a good investment for now.

I'm also strongly considering a "Card Caster" aesthetic for my character, but that's just for fun.

On second thought, I'll keep the Heal ranks and take ranks out of Planar Sense instead. Heal is probably a lot more useful in early level, after all. Between First Aid & Taking a Breather, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep people healthy early on.

As Greyhawk/Oerth is officially part of Aviona, could we also include Faerun and Golarion??

Or is that too much/nonsensical?

Kirth, since I voted A, Kaouse doesn't really care as they have no real experience with settings, and Baggageboy voted A or B, can we just go with Aviona?

Two "ayes," with three abstaining. Motion carries.

As Greyhawk/Oerth is officially part of Aviona, could we also include Faerun and Golarion??

They can be alternative planes of existence somewhere off in Zelazny's Shadow.

If the act of retrieving a holy symbol is reduced to a free action via Sleight of Hand, then does that reduce the action of using Channel Energy by one partial action?

If the act of retrieving a holy symbol is reduced to a free action via Sleight of Hand, then does that reduce the action of using Channel Energy by one partial action?

Yes, so it would require 1 partial action + 1 move action.

Oh! Eye For Larceny says you that you can use Streetwise in place of Lore to determine the value of objects.

However, the text for the feat has Lore in the 4 uses for it.

Is that a mistake?

It never ceases to amaze me how well skills are integrated into the very foundation of this game, Kirth.

Oh! Eye For Larceny says you that you can use Streetwise in place of Lore to determine the value of objects. However, the text for the feat has Lore in the 4 uses for it. Is that a mistake?

No. It says you "can," not that you "must." Three of the four skill rank functions arguably relate to determining value, so most referees would let you qualify for those with Streetwise ranks as well.

It never ceases to amaze me how well skills are integrated into the very foundation of this game, Kirth.

Thank you! It always bothered me that the skill system seemed like a tacked-on afterthought rather than an integral part of the game.

This looks awesome, is there still room for one more? I've only begun to skim through the rules, but I've already seen enough to know I want to play.

This looks awesome, is there still room for one more? I've only begun to skim through the rules, but I've already seen enough to know I want to play.

If one of the existing people slated fails to produce a character within a reasonable period of time. So far it looks like Warriorking, Kaouse, and Monkeygod are pretty far along. Sebecloki is mulling over possibilities, and baggageboy rolled stats but don't seem to have posted anything substantive yet.

Is it possible to make a half orc/halfling/gnome wererat?

Yes.

The other idea I'm toying with is a different take on an assassin. I remember at one point you were discussing how to model a red mantis assassin with a special druid talent. How would you feel about resurrecting that concept?

I'm fine with it.

Yikes! I hadn't scrolled the threads in a couple weeks and missed this! Kirth, if you still have room for a player I would love to play. I haven't played with the KF ruleset, but I've gone through it many times and built several characters. You may recall some of my comments on the KF thread over the years, and I've got the basic workup of a melee character mostly done. I'll need to poke at it again a little bit, especially if there have been any updates to the ruleset.

I do not have a preference for the setting - if it's one I am unfamiliar with I will happily read up on it. I'm most familiar with the Forgotten Realms universe.

EDIT: My character would be melee/intimidation. I'd either go Cleric 1 and then levels of fighter, or Ranger 1. Probably a hill dwarf. Higher level would be looking towards at-will dimensional dervish, and some cool tricks with shadows.

Stat 1: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 4, 3) = 9 = 8
Stat 2: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 4, 6) = 19 = 15
Stat 3: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 6, 6) = 17 = 16
Stat 4: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 5, 4) = 16 = 13
Stat 5: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 4, 1) = 8 = 9
Stat 6: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 2, 4) = 10 = 9

I think I would go with the elite array.

Like I said above, if one of the people slated fails to produce a character within a reasonable period of time (say by Monday?), their spot is up for grabs by someone who does.

Exactly how many are you lookin to take?

Would you prefer us(some or all) to work on a shared backstory, or should that occur organically in game?

As the setting is pretty sparse(in the intro at least), and the general theme seems to be to build the world together with the PCs(which I whole-heartily approve of btw. I *love* kingdom/world building), do we have more or less free reign on our backstories? If so, is there anything we should avoid, that just wouldn't fit? Ie, if the general setting is high fantasy, no being a computer hacker, lol.

I have a general background somewhat in mind, would you like me to post what I got so far?

Initial Concept and some character building, in case a spot opens:

Ranger, primarily melee. Will multiclass a little bit of Barbarian. Demoralization/debuffing and damage, with a Lion animal companion via Mark of the Wild (and a raven or something similar to start).

I think I'm going to pull out guys. I like the rules from what I've read, I just don't have time to learn so much new material. Have fun :)

River,

Thoughts on Aemur and Dairkal being from the same house?

Amusingly, I too was going to take Skillyman, but idk if I wanna double up on that, and Alchemy/Toxicology aren't bad skills for him.

Dairkal, (assuming I get selected) that could have some fun elements. My only "face" skills will be demoralization (yay Intimidating Prowess!), so I could easily be the muscle to your smiles. We could also be more antagonistic, though that doesn't always play well being in the same party.

Due to the mojo/numen system, there isn't really a group benefit to having Imbue Item; the additional numen is for yourself, and manna from heaven means most specific needs can be met. I'm mostly looking towards a few feats that require it down the line, and I like the idea of weaving spells into my boots/cloak as I go along. Mechanically I wouldn't spend a full feat on it, but trading a synergy that I wouldn't use and Darkvision that doubles up with class features for it lets me reinforce the concept, so I chose to go that route.

That's kinda what I'm thinking, the whole 'muscle to my smile'.

As I would assume we grew up together, I could easily see my 'silver tongue' getting you out of trouble, while your muscle could do the same for me.

Okay, so I don't suppose that you happen to have a working character sheet around here, do you, Kirth?

** spoiler omitted **

Okay, so I don't suppose that you happen to have a working character sheet around here, do you, Kirth?

Okay, very slight change to the build. I'm thinking that I'm going to build away from having metamagic in my main build, and instead using numen to claim the metamagic that fits my build best at the time, then getting rid of them or replacing them as necessary.

So in place of Ritual Spell, I'm grabbing Domain Access to the Time Domain. I was honestly planning on getting this domain anyway, and since Time doesn't have an Archivist skill associated with it I thought it was the best domain to have via feat rather than class.

Justification for this feat is that Eshkeval is an artist. He, like many other artists, grapples with the idea of what makes art "good" or memorable. Is good art something that lasts, giving off a feeling of permanency? Or is art more transient, about capturing that one fleeting moment of inspiration? The struggling of this duality between permanence and transience plays a big role in Eshkeval's spellcasting.

As mentioned before, in order to recover his spells, Eshkeval will first paint a portrait, an image immortalized in print. Immediately after creating this piece of art, he will destroy it, and in doing so create a new artwork - the transient destruction of a created work. Creation, destruction, permanence, transience. Experiencing the duality between these two conflicting ideologies is the source of Eshkeval's magic.

One more thing about Eshkeval, though. While I mentioned that I would hope to lead him down a path of Nobility, I should note that it's not the only possible path he can go down. If he fails to learn of the plight of others, fails to look outside of himself and his own power, then instead of choosing the Nobility Domain at Level 9, Eshkeval may instead choose the Entropy domain, and head down a selfish path towards annihilation. Both his own, and possibly even...more.

Aside from backstory (which I don't know how much you want from us) and gear, I believe Dairkal is mostly done.

Let me know if you have any critiques or suggestions Kirth, or anybody else for that matter!

Initial Concept and some character building, in case a spot opens

You just opened it! In.

Okay, so I don't suppose that you happen to have a working character sheet around here, do you, Kirth?

I have plenty of paper sheets in Excel (they don't auto-calc everything, but are pretty functional) if you want me to email some stuff.

Exactly how many are you lookin to take?

Was shooting for five. We've got Kaouse, Warriorking, River of Sticks, and you confirmed with characters; that leaves the last spot open for Sebecloki, who responded first.

** RECRUITMENT CLOSED **

Let's move everything else over to Discussion

I'm making a hobgoblin lycanthrope, with the goal of advancing into the goblin prestige class alongside lycanthrope abilities for a space. The site is acting up again, so I can't construct my PC in a profile, and I'm having to work from a word document right now.

Are we using the optional attributes like social class and comeliness?

I was going to come from Aramni -- he's an emissary/migrant of the Pomarj from the far east. Are you okay with me making up an Arami assassin's guild he's a member of?

Are you okay with me making up an Arami assassin's guild he's a member of?

Yes! Instead of a guild, though, it would be a cadre of assassins under one of the provincial warlords -- Aramni isn't much into the whole "free market economy" thing.