I see what you mean about gestalt. It can be used to make great generalists, but some of the most fun combos are when the two classes have some skills and abilities that boost each other.
I see what you mean about gestalt. It can be used to make great generalists, but some of the most fun combos are when the two classes have some skills and abilities that boost each other.
I had toyed with a dusk knight paladin and unchained rogue combination. When the dusk knight smites, he gains concealment, which a rogue can then use to make stealth checks every round for sneak attack every round. Seemed like a fun combo, and there are hundreds more.
I'm building Perdita Vernisant now. (Heavy Bluff, Knowledge, Diplomacy ; Investigator-(will multi-class here) // Wizard)
The background & personality, all the crunch, is in my head and scribbled on paper -- but my brain is fried after a looong day at work so it'll be a while before I get her profile completed.
I don't know if my class combination is the best, but it works well thematically. That was a big factor mulling over combinations. The biggest problem I have building dragonheir characters is how to set their stats, and crossing with monk didn't help that at all!
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Thinking about an unchained rogue (knife master)/brawler (hinyasi). My idea is to make a professional chef that secretly is also veeery good with his knives. I'm a chef in RL and for a change was thinking about playing a version of myself (even if I'm not good with knives in a combat way, of course).
@That Taldan GM: Would you allow the bonus from knife master to apply to, well... knives? The ability says daggers and similar weapons and then lists a couple of them. It doesn't specify common cooking knives, but I hope you are ok with the inclusion.
Also, I'm thinking about taking the Rising Star trait, however I'd like to ask you about swapping "Craft" or "Perform" for "Profession (cook)". It seems appropriate and not harming the purpose of the trait.
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@Sir Longears: Cooking knives being knives is fine with me. Flavor win! (Both sorts of flavor?) Rising Star granting bonuses to Profesison (Cook) is fine as well.
@Master Han Del of the Web: reflavoring that archetype seems fine, as long as you manage to make it work within Taldor.
@Joker 27: animal companions and the like start first level at maximum health, yeah.
@Jeruru: 1. yes, we’re using background skills. 2. What Ellioti said. 3. You can multiclass on either side of your gestalt, but you can’t have one class on both sides at any point of the build, on either side.
@Souls of War: 1. Young characters are fine, as long as no problems arise from being a child. There will be mature material I am sure, like gore and death and such, so I would hesitate to play anything younger than a teenager. 2. Young characters will not receive any ability score bonuses or penalties, it will be purely roleplaying. Same goes for elderly characters. 3. That looks like third party? Not really interested in third party stuff.
If I have missed your question, or you have one you haven’t asked yet, feel free to ask!
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the generic classes are 3.5 so they aren't really balanced for PF, on the whole, they are weaker than standard classes but more flexible. They were introduced in the same book as Gestalt which is why he thought of them I'm assuming however that book was entirely just optional rules or classes in this case
Oof, I always forget about background skills- going to have to reswing at the details tomorrow and try to update my background as well.
HERE'S a link to the pertinent rules.
I love background skills. Really enables players to take fun stuff like perform/craft/profession that they might not normally unless stacked on points.
I'm building Perdita Vernisant now. (Heavy Bluff, Knowledge, Diplomacy ; Investigator-(will multi-class here) // Wizard)
The background & personality, all the crunch, is in my head and scribbled on paper -- but my brain is fried after a looong day at work so it'll be a while before I get her profile completed.
Can it be my long lost blue-skinned sister?!
@That Taldan GM- I have finished my character outside equipment. Would the purchase of potions be allowed? I would like to buy a few potions of mage armor for my low AC Monk to use in emergency. For those times when getting hit is more painful than hit dice can accommodate.
Sir Longears here. I've finished Zahur, my cook rogue, including his items, background and descriptions.
Unlike many others, I've made Zahur a simple man. He has no weird or ultra special mystical power, appearance or magics. He is a cook. He likes his friends and likes to show and teach about his culture (garundi) through his food.
He got some classic rogue skills because he grew up in a rough neighborhood, but isn't proud of his thieving skills, using them only when necessary to help his kin.
He'll be a quite capable thief (good disable device, sleight of hand and stealth), but not really a face (only has bluff). With gestalt rules in a RP heavy campaign, I believe the others will certainly be more versed in talking skills, so instead I focused on detection ones (perception and sense motive).
If you are concerned about Zahur's "poor" combat prowess so far, rest assured that he'll be able to pull his weight! If you have any doubts or wish for me to improve or change anything, please let me know. I hope you enjoy Zahur as much as I do!
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Dotting :) Really excited for this AP! I played a lot of PFS scenario's leading up to it but never had the chance to play it. And with Gestalt, too!
I'll probably make up a support character/healer for the group. Concept that comes to mind is a Desnean (bad) Luck-focused Lore Oracle/Bard with either starknives or the thundercaller Bard archetype as a main weapon (to attack people with the strength of my personality or my voice, for style!). Should excel at buffing, knowledge and social skills and be good as a healer. From level 2, has some small melee capacity.
@That Taldan GM, I wanted to ask about the divine combat fighting style for Desna (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/divine-fighting-technique-comb at) It says that as an optional alternative prequisite, a level 2 bard could trade a versatile performance for the initial benefit. Would that be allowed?
Secondly, am I allowed to submit a second character or is it limited to one submission per poster?
Okay, I'm going to throw this guy in there: Wendell
Man this recruit has blown up big time. Pretty wild.
LG Peri-Born AASIMAR INVESTIGATOR // WIZARD
Perdita (Purr DEE' sha) Vernisant is a HEAVY Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge Skills PC.I will Multi-Class on the Investigator side -- Alchemist: Mindchemist; maybe eventually Inquisitor if the right roleplay evolution takes place; who knows, maybe roleplay will dictate one multi-class level in Vigilante.
Consider my PC to be one who likes teamwork and group cohesion -- and Loves to BLUFF the enemy into thinking I'm an ally, and creating dynamic gambits to get information or counterintelligence whenever I can. And be a mega-Knowledge Skills (and Gather Info) PC.
I have in my head a strong ‘Pro-Sarenrae’ vibe going with my PC proposal. I want to be a Peri-Born Aasimar with a strong connection to Sarenrae, as well as Taldor.
And I know you said any Race not from Core is by request only, and you’d have to consider it.
But looking at the DISGRACED NOBLE Trait was like a gift from the Paizo Gods! So I've proposed that Maxillar Pythareus, considering me a potential threat down the road, uncovered my pro-Sarenrae background and made it public
I would advise against focusing on Sarenrae too much, as it is extremely frowned upon to worship her openly in Taldor, and many nobles wouldn't like you just for that.
If it's more of a secret thing AND WON'T INFLUENCE PARTY DYNAMICS as much, I wouldn't mind it too terribly much.
I think that’s the key – when you’re looking at the 101 PC proposals for this campaign, if you maybe like Perdita Vernisant, that’s one thing, but if it doesn’t look like she can fit with some of the other PCs you like then, well, she doesn’t fit.
But here she is.
I tried to articulate her build in the Profile as clear as possible – it’s still not perfect; I’ll tinker.
And I’ll certainly spend a bit more gold – I’ve got 80pg yet.
Traits: Child of Oppara, Disgraced Noble, Senatorial Hopeful; Meticulous (Drawback)
Feat: Noble Scion
Peri-Born Aasimar
Wizard: Abjuration (opposed Illusion & Necromancy)
Investigator: Empiricist (will later Multi-Class: Alchemist Mindchemist; maybe Vigilante; maybe Inquisitor – will see how the campaign & roleplay evolves)
Heavy Bluff, Diplomacy, & Knowledge
STR: 7 DEX: 14 CON: 11 INT: 18 WIS: 13 CHA: 16
Can (Perdita Vernisant) be my long lost (Aasimar) sister?!
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Of course! We ought to do Something!
I think the next big step -- now that our character builds and backgrounds are complete -- is to look at some other PC candidates and communicate with each other, make connections.
There's gonna be 101 PC proposals for this -- not an easy (or swift) job for a DM to wrestle into a group.
I think if we take time making connections with each other then that'll give the DM time to really look at the PC builds. Of course, chances are that one or more PC connections that we make will come to naught -- most will not make the DM's cut. But for the four or five PCs that do make it, maybe they'll (we'll) have some already-made tie-ins to each other.
I'll take some time to look at ALETIUS' background if you take the time to look at Perdita's.
EDIT:
Reading your backstory it looks like first cousins works. Perdita's mother could be sister to Aletius' father or mother. You could have met Perdita for the first time after your injury down south -- on your way up north you could have stopped in Merciful Bay where Perdita lived at the time. In fact, we could have traveled north to Oppara together -- Aletius to grumble and complain with other bored young nobles, Perdita to study at Oppara's greatest magic university.
I have started to browse characters as well. My first concern is if we have anymore high strength characters.
edit: Not even close, and with a half orc among them as well!
3. That looks like third party? Not really interested in third party stuff.
Unearthed Arcana, same source as the Gestalt rules.
Here is my own submission for a Vigilante / Monk, with tentative plans to dip into Paladin.
@ Yorick’s Requiem,
I really like your Monk / Vigilante’s backstory — and think that, if you want, Rasheeda’s feminist friend, Martella, could have introduced you to my PC, a noble girl who is not content with the ‘good-ol’-boy’s’ club — and has issues of religious freedom as you have issues of religious worship. Let me know if you’re interested in co-creating a few sentences of backstory for our PC proposals. Chances are, with so many PCs here, one or both of will be left out of the campaign — but since we’re gonna have a while to wait for the GM to select a group anyway, we may as well keep playing with our PCs.
Can (Perdita Vernisant) be my long lost (Aasimar) sister?!Reading your backstory it looks like first cousins works. Perdita's mother could be sister to Aletius' father or mother. You could have met Perdita for the first time after your injury down south -- on your way up north you could have stopped in Merciful Bay where Perdita lived at the time. In fact, we could have traveled north to Oppara together -- Aletius to grumble and complain with other bored young nobles, Perdita to study at Oppara's greatest magic university.
I haven’t read through Perdita’s profile yet but that sounds pretty good to me.
I made Aletius for the infamous other War for the Crown recruitment and never got around to finishing his backstory. The basic gist of the guy will be that ‘Aletius’ is more-or-less a fictional character. His story - while based in truth as all good lies are - is his own fictionalized version of his history that he wants others to believe. His vigilante identity, the spooky plague doctor known as the Raven, is the ‘real’ Aletius. Despite the spookocity factor of the plague doctor disguise, the Raven is a healer of the poor and a pro-government-reformation type guy.
I’ve never done a gestalt character before. I think I’ve got everything done correctly on the mechanical end. Vigilante/Alchemist, rogue-like, heavy skill focus. In combat he’ll mostly be a buffer/debuffer and an off-healer. Should have his character story done in the next couple days.
If chosen for the campaign, initially I’d like to try and keep the party from knowing Aletius is the Raven. If that doesn’t prove to be fun or just requires too much suspension of disbelief (HAS anyone ever seen Queen Elizabeth and Batman in the same room?) then I won’t insist on continuing that way.
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I have, but that was the fault of a gnome illusionist.
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I should probably feel intimidated following Perdita up there. XD ^^
But I've been working on Ismene since I posted here last and I'm pretty confident in this build. *nods*
It does seem like a fun and interesting AP, doesn't it? I'd like to adjust Ismene here to apply but I really have only the vaguest idea of how to build a Gestalt character. She was already planned to dip two levels of Empiricist but took the Mindchemist level first for the bombs and Brew Potion feat. But these are two very similar classes, which would have been good for general multi-class, but maybe not for Gestalt?
This is also on the profile, but I'll post it here too.
The Great Communicator
Knowledgeable and skilled, Ismene applies her impressive intellect to most any challenge before her. She believes that a failure of communication lies at the heart of most racial strife and has dedicated herself to the art of language as a means of expression.
She is a Mindchemist Alchemist which means she trades Mutagens for Cognatogens. These allow her to increase one of her mental stats for a while. The Orator feat lets her substitute a Linguistics check (+11) in place of Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate in social interactions so she will be ready for Social Combat. As an Investigator, she gains the ability to use her Inspiration pool to boost her use of Linguistics for free. She has the Empiricist archetype to allocate INT to other important skills such as Perception and Sense Motive at level 2. Planning to stay Mindchemist /Empiricist through level 4 and then pick something beefier to help with some combat feats.
Bonus: She will be able to save the party money, especially early game as she will be able to craft alchemical goodies and brew potions at much reduced cost. Also planning to expand her crafting abilities as she levels.
In combat, Ismene can alternate between using extracts plus bombs and ranged attacks or using her spear plus reach increasing options like Enlarge Person and Longarm. She may take Combat Reflexes to help her potential as a reach combatant if that works well in this game.
LG Peri-Born AASIMAR INVESTIGATOR // WIZARD
Perdita (Purr DEE' sha) Vernisant is a HEAVY Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge Skills PC.
Yay, more Shakespeare references! :)
My first concern is if we have anymore high strength characters.
I have, but that was the fault of a gnome illusionist.
Gnome? No gnomes here, just innocent human page boys. Can I fetch something for you, sir?
She will be able to save the party money, especially early game as she will be able to craft alchemical goodies and brew potions at much reduced cost. Also planning to expand her crafting abilities as she levels.
In combat, Ismene can alternate between using extracts plus bombs and ranged attacks or using her spear plus reach increasing options like Enlarge Person and Longarm. She may take Combat Reflexes to help her potential as a reach combatant if that works well in this game.
Well, I have a favorite! Also, I apologize for overlooking you Hawthwile! Seems there is actually competition in the strength department.
...Gilfroy have we met before?
@ Ismene Albus,
In a campaign such as this -- and especially with the 101 PC proposals, there's gonna be a huge amount of overlap. You and I certainly cannot be the only jacked Knowledge & Diplomacy PCs. I expect there to be a whole slew of Vigilantes, too. Perdita Vernisant and Ismeni Albus do have significant differences, though. I went with an Aasimar build that the DM isn't necessarily approving of, and I added Sarenrae to my backstory. It's all good; we cant all make it. I think we oughta just make the PC we love and see which ones he wants to make a group of -- could be all Knowledge PCS, or barely even one.
Jaiolong starts with a 16 and will grow into a v high strength melee combatant, DD granting him an inherent +4 STR bonus over time. He also serves the divine role, being able to heal between combats (thru the feat Scaled Disciple this will make him a v unique DD, heavily armored and with divine magic)
He won't so much save the group some money as he will HAVE a lot of money; he starts with 1800 gp thru two traits (+a free 250 gp item from his campaign trait), thru both the Noble Stipend feat and the Noble Scion prestige class, he'll have a replenishing pot of first 100 and eventually 350 gp to spend on services (including spellcasting) every week, and then the Noble Scion pc itself gives him over 40k gp over time
As far as backstory connections go, while I prefer to wait for recruitment to close to start on them, we do have time.
Anyone from Amanadar would like 75% have heard of him and his bad reputation at home, his lack of discipline and focus, could even know backstory details such as how he was kidnapped as a youth and given to the Oracular Council at Po Li, but doesn't mean he would know them
He's like Paris Hilton; the public image of her as an ignorant and vainglorious socialite is partly manufactured so as to be saleable and is also there to help disguise her. Privately some of her hobbies include the maintenance and repair of antique military, household, and ham radios, but that doesn't sell ad time.
Unlike Paris, however, Jaiolong is 100% the foppish image-obsessed idle rich noble he seems, with no part of it exaggerated for comedic effect, but it still serves to disguise his intent and what he is capable of doing
She will be able to save the party money, especially early game as she will be able to craft alchemical goodies and brew potions at much reduced cost. Also planning to expand her crafting abilities as she levels.
In combat, Ismene can alternate between using extracts plus bombs and ranged attacks or using her spear plus reach increasing options like Enlarge Person and Longarm. She may take Combat Reflexes to help her potential as a reach combatant if that works well in this game.Well, I have a favorite! Also, I apologize for overlooking you Hawthwile! Seems there is actually competition in the strength department.
...Gilfroy have we met before?
Do you remember me?
Hvakthur also has some strength to him. With 100-something subs, overlap is bound to happen.
My first concern is if we have anymore high strength characters.
I know the secret that all smart wizards know: lift with your knees (I might also get to add my int to str checks to break and lift things.....just sayin').
Thonis isn't strong, but she's very good at getting people to do things for her.
I've got a strongish dog and a strongish phantom.
I updated Juan Karthis to be in line with the rules. I tried to adjust the backstory to fit in mesmerist better, but I'm not sure I was completely succesful. I might adjust the backstory some more and expand it.
He's primarily focused on battlefield control and social skills and he's going to be awesome at both. He can also do decent healing and condition removal as both classes help a bit with that. Mesmerist tricks and illusions should hopefully help with keeping both him and the rest of the party protected.
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Alright, here's my entry for Shiyara the seamstress, up and coming fashion mogul with the ear of Countess Basri, and for The Ragamuffin, a smiling pile of rags that's been attacking thieves and muggers in the streets of the Narrows. She's an Elf Tatterdemalion Witch//Stalker Vigilante. Further development will certainly depend on the party makeup but I envision her being primarily a debuffer and controller and a secondary damage dealer, as tatterdemalion lets her use her int for str when animating her clothing.
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Shiyara has been designing clothing primarily for the Basri family for the past few months and is starting to be recognized in Oppara as a talented fashionista. Privately, she agreed to travel to Taldor at the Basri's expense mostly as a diversion. Politics moves slowly in Iadara, and Shiyara was looking for a more dynamic environment to amuse herself for the next few decades. She came to Taldor, content for the time being to play the part of Exotic Curiosity, with vague ambitions to shake up their quaint fashion scene, talk some senators into passing a few nonsensical laws, maybe destroy some stuffy careers if she feels sassy.
The shine of the gilded city looked like Kyonin from a mile out, and she was excited to be leaving the center of Elven culture to experience the height of Human achievement. She stepped off the boat, and the collected refuse of humanity assaulted her like a wave. She nearly turned back right there. In Kyonin, at least, they took care of their people. As she settled in, the Countess Basri tried to shield her from the squalor all around the city. A little apartment above a little shop in Canal row, what more could she want? She had an in with the nobility, plenty of work to keep her busy, and a comfortable life here well within reach. All she had to do was ignore the beggars as she walked to the market. Stand aside for the highborn as they travelled by in their carriages. Wipe the mud and worse from her skirts and carry on with her day. The first and second times she was robbed she tried going to the Oppara Constabulary, soon determining that avenue to be less than helpful. At least they took down her information, which is more than she could say for the others she saw seeking help at the overwhelmed precinct. She witnessed a broad daylight mugging, one peasant robbing another, when travelling with the Basri Countess and the Countess’s niece. Shiyara remarked at the unfairness of it all as the Countess’s guards marched on. The Countess presented platitudes with a patient sigh. Her niece questioned why squabbles between peasants mattered at all. Shiyara realized that, with the right whispers in the right ears, it would take time to change the minds of nobles - time that she, as an elf, certainly had. Perhaps she could even become a champion for the downtrodden in time. But that wasn’t going to help those people in the here and now. If she spent what little political capital she had crusading for small gains for the voiceless now, she would flare out quickly. Shiyara the seamstress wasn’t in a position to provide the help that the people needed.
Shiyara came to Oppara with some small arcane power. Lindúin, the little thrush, started speaking to Shiyara on behalf of an entity calling itself Rosovon only about 15 years ago. She was already a skilled tailor at that point, but with Rosovon's interest came certain powers and influence. Textiles began to move at her whims. A combination of Linduin’s insight and her arcane studies brought spells into her grasp. Shortly thereafter, little Lindy asked her to help weave certain events together through time to create something greater, much as she crafted garments. So far, it has mostly been a word in the right ear here and there. Once, she had to curse misfortune upon an archer in the annual games. So far, Lindy had never asked her to do anything against her morals. Aside from his occasional odd requests, Shiyara was free to use her powers as she pleased. Thus far she has closely guarded her powers, believing discretion and influence to be much more useful than overt displays of might.
But discretion and influence can’t stop a knife in the dark. The muggers on the streets hardly fear the Constabulary, why would they fear threats of ire from a noble they’ve never heard of who doesn’t care about them? But humans are superstitious, and thanks to Rosovon and Linduin, Shiyara commanded very unusual powers - powers that she could use to stop those who would seek to take advantage of the less fortunate. As a frail elf, she would need to stay unnoticed, be as invisible as the piles of garbage around the city. Try to end fights before they started. As a pile of rags, The Ragamuffin was born.
Character Sheet
I'm not mocking anyone for having less strength than max. I was simply missing the few others with a decent strength score. I'm glad to see the DM has no lack of options. Sometimes you need a door opened when you don't have a knock spell or time to lockpick.
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27 Submissions So Far!
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As ever, let me know if I missed anyone!
Here is my own submission for a Vigilante / Monk, with tentative plans to dip into Paladin.@ Yorick’s Requiem,
I really like your Monk / Vigilante’s backstory — and think that, if you want, Rasheeda’s feminist friend, Martella, could have introduced you to my PC, a noble girl who is not content with the ‘good-ol’-boy’s’ club — and has issues of religious freedom as you have issues of religious worship. Let me know if you’re interested in co-creating a few sentences of backstory for our PC proposals. Chances are, with so many PCs here, one or both of will be left out of the campaign — but since we’re gonna have a while to wait for the GM to select a group anyway, we may as well keep playing with our PCs.
Oh, thank you! And I like that idea a lot - it seems fitting that those in our positions would be very interested in networking possibilities. And especially with Taldor's history of banning worship, and myself worshipping a god that is all but unknown here, I'd be interested in & supportive of your work.
@Yorick’s Requiem,
The DM ought to put you on salary for compiling the PC proposals! Kudos on that work.
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@ TALDAN DM,
I didn’t really think of it as a problem with my build, figured it’d be a boon for going ‘all in’ with the campaign guide — but someone was kind enough to point it out to me so I wanted to make note of it to you. According to RAW one can not have Traits from the same category (such as multiple combat Traits), but I went ahead and just chose the Traits in the Players’s Guide (I mean, they’re just Traits.). And they’re Campaign Traits. If it is an issue let me know and I’ll grab the two I usually get for a bigger bump on Knowledge Planes & Religion, and Bluff. I want to keep the one, though, where Pyretheus uncovers that Perdita reveres Sarenrae — I think that could be fun to roleplay a bit if I’m selected (depending on the makeup of the PCs and how the game develops).
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Oh my what a wonderful set of applicants this has!
So many, in fact, that I think I will be making two tables and running it for both of the chosen groups of four.
If you were holding back in fear of the number of applicants, the spots have just doubled! Feel free to apply regardless.
Oh my goodness! We're not worthy!
Hooray! Who IS That Taldan GM anyway? My hero...
I'm not mocking anyone for having less strength than max.
Oh, I was just snarking, not offended or anything at all. I actually did try to go with a strength over dex build but couldn't triangulate the ability scores, a martial dip, feats spent, and getting exotic weapon proficiency (it's all about using a falcata) in a way that would work well enough.
I'm all about that fight smarter, not harder. <3.
I adore the falcata! No need to choose between critical range and critical damage. It also looks dope and is one of the most used swords in history.
Yup! And in this case it's a family heirloom (not in the trait sense). It belonged to her grandmother, who was from Iblydos.
Read the profile and her unique style of support is interesting. Not the normal form of mezzing I am used to seeing. I might add a party contribution/progression tab myself after reading that.