This fight is getting good, I have the glimmerings of a post in mind but I can't do anything with it since I can't access the maps from work.
;_;Guess I'll have to type it up and save it before the idea gets lost.
I can get a snapshot of the map and post it in discord if that helps.
Nope, can't access discord either.
I've got a pretty good idea of what I am doing anyway, I may go ahead and post it since I think everyone else has gone this round. You can see it in my profile under the "Post in the making" spoiler if you want an idea of what I have in mind.
Coral's going to dip Ranger and take Favored Enemy (Inner Demons).
Thanks, Vlad!
I spent too long writing Damian's post and it came out superfluous. This is what I get for trying to focus on an online conference and post at the same time. :)
Yes!
Lola giving off major Gideon the Ninth vibes with that last post.
Hah. I just noticed that Lola is pretty bulky compared to most in the group (Vlad excepted). She matches Marya in strength. One of the few bards with a respectable Str score.
Weirdly I just bought Gideon the Ninth. It's 5th or 6th in my queue, so I'll get to it eventually!
It's funny you say that, as I actually have a couple of strong bards, but I know I'm an outlier there. My mechanical comfort zone is "strength-based charismatic support character with dumped wisdom" so it only makes sense.
And Gideon the Ninth is quite good. The sequel, Harrow the Ninth, is great though. The most successful and longest maintained use of second person narration I've encountered, among other neat narrative risks it takes.
If it wasn't so hard to make a necromancer I'm happy with in Starfinder, my wife and I would make the two main characters of those books as paired characters.
I don't think Coral can use Bodyguard against invisible foes. They have full concealment, so she cannot make Attacks of Opportunity against them.
She does have Combat Reflexes, Blind-Fight, and now Blinded Blade Style, but I don't think even that combination would allow her to use Bodyguard here.
We already went over this on discord, sadly. She’s dead :(
-13. She dead!
Coral would be down for trying to summon Barzahk the Passage if anyone has an idea how. That is a very long shot but probably the only option we have. Maybe Lola has proven herself enough to redeem whatever it was she had done wrong.
I think Lola is awesome too.
I don't know how we could protect Feena against similar targeting. She is even more fragile at 22 HP.
And lower HP. Only real defense I have is bursting into flames and hoping that drives them back.
I agree, I love Lola!
Marya took Deny the Reaper as her story feat for a reason! She will do everything she can to fight for Lola, especially since she’s gonna feel super guilty for not speaking up for Lola earlier!
Lola has not proven herself. This failure will not help her cause.
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Lola has a lot of depth and fun personality quirks that I hope we don't lose in this group. There's a certain point in the game where it's possible to bring PCs back from the dead, but I'm worried we're not quite there yet, especially without a city to go to.
This will require some thinking! (not necessarily Vlad's strong suit)
There might be something in Lola's story that means even with such magic we could not bring her back.
We'll see. Coral will do everything she can for Lola.
Same for Damian! Not only is he an eternal optimist, he also feels guilty for not helping Roslar's Coffer enough during the orc attack.
And I would really really hate for us to lose Lola, she's a lovely character.
I've been working with LiteJedi back and forth these last few days and there isn't really a good opportunity to bring Lola back right now. This saddens me as well, as I truly love Lola's personality and her full story. I appreciate the great lengths you as a party are willing to go through to get her back, and I'm not ruling out the possibility that this can't happen in the future at some point, but for now it simply cannot be.
Perhaps this moment will create some tremendous character growth or bonding among you with one of your own being slain in this horror adventure you find yourself in. Please understand I do not set out to kill my characters and it is difficult for me to do as well as I grow attached to them.
LJ does wish to continue on with you all regardless of this, so we've worked through a new character concept and they will be joining your party shortly.
Cheers.
Loss and tragedy are fitting parts of this AP. Our characters will deal with it in their own ways.
Certainly I as a player have complete trust in you and totally understand that character death is a real possibility in an RPG (and prefer it that way). And I respect that Litejedi chose to create a character who was "on thin ice" with Pharasma.
At the very least Coral will seek to contact Barzahk to ask for Lola to be judged mercifully.
In the meantime, just waiting to Aid Another on a Linguistics or Knowledge (Religion) check.
@SL I trust y'all to make the right call. Thank you for sharing and I wish LJ luck with the new concept and await them with anticipation!
@Coral I wanted to give everyone a chance to chime in/contribute before rolling a bunch of different things, but I can roll both of those at any time
Aye, and I mean, I was playing a bit against type with a duskwalker too. I don’t think her death was inevitable - but I think I had to be true to her. It doesn’t always work out, but don’t let the ooc issues stop your characters from trying what they can. It’s certainly interesting, and I think it makes sense.
I’ll try to make something new which fills a similar role (knowledge, melee) though it would be odd if I put out something obviously “musical” again, so probably not bard. I’ve been working with SL and I hope it’s useful, at least. I’ve learned a few lessons about survivability at least. :D
Oughta try a mesmerist. They have similar buffing skills.
Several classes from Occult Adventures would fit theme wise I think.
One thing that I had pointed out with some concern when claiming the +2 Con belt is that we cannot count on enemies always attacking our front line of Vlad and Coral.
And that is what happened here. Focus fire on a back-rank PC. Feena's fragility really concerns me. It would be quite easy to have a similar situation happen to her.
Bards are awesome. But I am sure Litejedi's new PC will be great, and look foward to meeting them.
(Not a fan of the mesmerist, but even if you go that route I will welcome them.)
I like the mesmerist but there’s too many undead here - most of the abilities (at best) will only work 50% of the time. Gonna do something a little tougher, though I am trying to work in a way to do buffs as well.
IMO you have some freedom with what you make b/c Marya should be also helping with those niches.
She is designed to be a bardy cleric, so she'll be getting better at fulfilling both those niches. She gets Good Hope on her spell list as a 4th level spell from worshipping Iomedae, and once her BAB gets a bit higher, her Iomedae's Inspiring Sword buff will start lasting longer than a round. She's gonna start taking Evangelist PrC levels next level, which will fix the cleric skill point problem, so her knowledges will start catching up, too.
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I'll definitely be sad to see Lola permanently dead. I really loved the character. That said, I'd much rather play in a campaign where the GM doesn't pull punches and death is possible. It makes it that much more intense. I'll be glad to see the new character.
I will say, I have similar concerns about Feena's Con score. That could very easily have happened to her.
Yeah, that is the downside of magery, I am soft and squishy and gorgeous but I break easily. It doesn't matter what I make that conscore if I don't have the ability to avoid the attacks to begin with. I really need to look at some damage prevention for my next spell, mirror image would be a good choice, and false life (though I shie away from that given the character concept).
I disagree. Having a hard time avoiding attacks is all the more reason to have a big con. I always go with more con than dex on my mages. My highest level one is 15 and has a 20 con. She has horrible AC for her level but I don't remember the last time that she got below half HP. She doesn't use false life, either.
That said, I definitely recommend mirror image. That's always a good one.
The book keeping is a bit more intense and is one of the reasons I tend to prefer sorceres/spontaneous caster for PBP, you never change the spells known, just keep track of your castings.
In tabletop groups I still go for casters most times but don't have as big a problem with using prepared casters.
I'll grant that con gies more durability but I know how much dice hate me. If I hd a high con I'd just get critted with a bigger weapon and die anyway. Also fighting invisible flyers isn't common at this level either in my experience.
Feena, you are a primary caster. Smart enemies will target you. No matter how Vlad and Coral try to hold the line, ranged attacks are quite likely at all levels. I would say some improvement in defense (in both HP and AC) is better than none. HP are not a binary choice between 10/level and 4/level. AC is not a binary choice between "20+level" and "7+level."
Coral will get more abilities to defend adjacent allies, like Cut from the Air, but these abilities are not foolproof.
Do what you like, and I'll do my best to protect Feena, but I do think defense is undervalued on these forums by those who assume that anything less than "invulnerable" is "worthless."
Edit: I'm not trying to pile on, but if I am going to keep investing feats into keeping adjacent allies alive, such allies could make it easier to do that. For example, that +4 AC that Coral gives out from Bodyguard makes a bigger difference the higher your AC is. Taking Mage Armor as a spell known is not a big sacrifice.
Oh I hate prepared casting in PbP or otherwise, so I feel you.
I'm not one given to fatalism, so I will still disagree, but that's fine. Just making my case.
Marya with her 12 con is an odd one for me, as I usually go at least 14 (before racial penalties, if any). I was also expecting to have gotten a chance to get some full plate before level 5, though lol
Oh, I fully intend to invest in defenses more, it just hasn't come to the point where I can yet, I did just realize that I forgot to add my 1st level spell known to my sheet from Level 5 which, looking back at the fupdate post, includes mage armor! I can't believe I forgot to put that in there.
X_X
Vlad, don't forget that you heal 5 HP every round from Life Link.
Marya has to use longswords for her inspiration, and she wouldn't be into the scythe aesthetic either. It makes the most sense for Vlad imo
None of the gear is really a good fit for Coral.
Nothing of use for me either.
Nor Gerdish, he uses lamps and shovels.
Seems I managed to get a post in this morning after all.
I hope that all those who celebrate it had a Merry Christmas, and that we all have a great New Year!
I have to say that having a distanced-yet-social hobby like this was one of the things that made 2020 a bit more tolerable, so thank you all for this game.
@GM - do we have a map for this part?
It’s great playing with you all, I agree! And merry holiday to all, Christmas included! Or New Years if you follow the Gregorian calendar.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Oops. I had updated the map but forgotten to move you to it. All set!