"A disadvantage that doesn't disadvantage the character isn't worth any points!"
I *love* that. It should be put into oracle curse rules.
As a thought process, not being serious. But if I had to take an oath (such as if we didn't have ABP), here is what I would do:
(1) Oath of Poverty (10 Oath Points)
Oath: You have sworn off material excesses, employing only what equipment is necessary to complete your tasks. You may not possess or use any piece of equipment which is worth more than 80 gp x your character level squared (to a maximum of 32,000 gp at 20th level). You may use and carry an amount of equipment which does not exceed this price equal to twice your character level (the character can carry other forms of equipment worth less than 2 gp without breaking the Oath). You can benefit from equipment used on your behalf (you can drink a potion a friend gives you, receive a spell cast from a wand, ride on your companion’s vehicle, or eat expensive food that a host offers you). You may not, however, “borrow” a worn or wielded item from a companion for even a single round. The Oath may accept the Oathkeeper carrying (but not using) an expensive piece of equipment with intent to deliver it to someone or to keep it away from someone else who would use it against them. Using equipment gained from class features (such as an armorist’s summoned equipment) never violates this oath.
Defiance Penalty: Excess weighs down on your body and soul, causing you to take 1d4 points of ability drain to a random ability score every day (minimum 1). This ability drain cannot be prevented or healed in any way until you atone or until you lose the benefits of this Oath and ignores immunity to ability drain.
Atonement: To atone for breaking your Oath of Poverty, you must destroy or donate a number of material goods you own so that the total value of goods destroyed or donated is worth at least 200 gp x your character level squared.
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Thoughts: It says "equipment", not "property." Therefore, he'd be allowed to own his shop, for example. Also "equipment", I would argue, is specific in that it doesn't include things like "a bed" or "silverware." So that the equipment would mean the things you would use for adventuring, not for background type stuff.
The oath would thus be him relying on his tattoos, and outside magic interfering with them.
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(2) Boons without ABP
* Enhanced Abilities (Su) (2 Oath points)
* Enhanced Armaments (Su) (2 Oath points, see text)
* Enhanced Defenses (Su) (1 Oath point, see text)
* Inhuman Resilience (Su) (1 Oath point)
* Shielded Form (Su) (1 Oath point)
* Maneuver Expert Trip (1 Oath Point)
* Immortality (Ex) (2 Oath points)
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Thoughts: With that he'd have his enchantment bonuses to stats, fists and armor. He'd get deflection and resistance as well, meaning no usual magic items. Throw in immortality for his current character-defining tattoos and ring of sustenance being taken care of, and finally bonuses to trip just for good measure. Yes, it would replace all magic items. But if we didn't have ABP, then this would be a worthwhile trade-off for a tattoo based character.
All of that said, I'm glad that he doesn't need to do this.
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(2) Boons with ABP
* Immortality (Ex) (2 Oath points)
* Accelerated Recovery (3 Oath points)
* Energy Resistance acid, cold, electricity, fire, sonic, negative energy (Ex) (5 Oath points)
Stupidly overpowered and game breaking in the extreme. Any GM who allows this did not think things through. But that was fun. :D
Oracle curses always struck me as in a weird middle ground. From one to the next, sometimes I can't really tell if the "curse" part intended to just be flavor, or if it's really supposed to be a drawback.
(By the way, GM, that one you once mentioned to me, Foretold, I think? Was that one your doing? I don't recall it from the source material, and it seemed kinda cool.)
Foretold: That's from THIS 3pp product. XD
The spheres wiki is down, but I'm fine.
(eye twitches)
I SAID I'M FINE!!!
Damn hackers. How dare they take down our gaming content?
Damn hackers. How dare they take down our gaming content?
IKR
Kidding aside, I'd just been spending some time trying to scope out GM's take on the Barbarian. I'd gone to familiarize myself with the Berserker Sphere, and <poof!>
One thing that I’ve come to learn from being around some other players is that my optimization game on spheres is way off. Using striker, guardian sphere and berserker, it seems possible to somehow get free healing and to mitigate just about any damage that comes one’s way. And for pure casting, I’ve lost track at how they manage to just do complete area control by mixing spheres.
Quite happy with a “simple” beatstick as of now. Pathfinder, compared to 5e, really rewards system mastery and optimization. Spheres is to Pathfinder as Pathfinder is to 5e.
That's actually a pretty simple combo. Guardian delayed damage rolls into the temp HP from Berserker. Makes for a character that's almost impossible to injure except via multiple enemies or massive damage. My IrL CotCT game had a barbarian with that combo. Enlarging Rage + earthbreaker + Improved Vital Strike + brutal strike is terrifying.
https://web.archive.org/web/20220427071559/http://spheresofpower.wikidot.co m/
Try this link to access spheres
I know Guardian and Berserker have some really nice synergy, but IDK how adding Striker into the mix improves it too. /shrug
Here's how I imagine Ril is processing this situation. :)
*access denied*
Doh, I must've pooched setting permissions before. Try it now?
Lol XD
Sorry about the delay. Today was the last day to pack before the moving pod arrives tomorrow. I'm not leaving yet, but the next 24hrs are going to be crazy busy, and I can't guarantee a new Gameplay post. RPing with Vencarlo will be easier for me to do via mobile, but don't feel obligated to do so.
Just a quick check-in. We're 500 miles away from where we were yesterday. 1300 miles to go.
Damn, man! Safe travels.
Oof. Stay safe and alert. That’s a long trek
Just a quick check-in. Move-in day is tomorrow, but it'll take an extra day or two to get internet set up. If all goes well, we'll be back to normal posting schedule by the end of the week.
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We're back to normal! There's still plenty of unpacking to do, but since I work in education, I have the entire summer to do so. XD
Congrats! Glad it worked out
Cool, welcome back. Good luck to both of you there! (I forget, was where "there" is made available at our clearance level?)
Aurora, Colorado. Near Denver. XD
You've discovered it has damage reduction, regeneration and acid resistance. Since it's a PbP, I'll also tell you that it has SR 20 and is immune to being flanked.
Not sure if it matters, but Torsten’s fists are cold iron and silver as per website due to mono levels
It's DR/good, unfortunately. You should get that in a few levels, though. XD
If I know Three-Face has regeneration, do I know what stops it?
regeneration (good)
Thanks. And by "Thanks," I mean "Aaah, phooey," our job just got a lot trickier, as neither of us has a good weapon. :D
EDIT TO ADD: Torsten, got any thoughts on this? My one bright idea is the old "Wait until we've got her down,, then splash a bunch of holy water on her and..." (finger to the throat means death, it's a metaphor)
Actually, now that I checked...Torsten's fists have the holy enchantment.
"A holy weapon is imbued with holy power. This power makes the weapon good-aligned and thus bypasses the corresponding damage reduction. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against all creatures of evil alignment. It bestows one permanent negative level on any evil creature attempting to wield it. The negative level remains as long as the weapon is in hand and disappears when the weapon is no longer wielded. This negative level cannot be overcome in any way (including by restoration spells) while the weapon is wielded."
Given that, I don't need mystic fists. So instead he has break defenses.
"Whenever you successfully use a bull rush, drag, overrun, or reposition, combat maneuver against a creature, that creature provokes an attack of opportunity from your allies (but not you). Associated Feat: Greater Bull Rush, Greater Drag, Greater Overrun, Greater Reposition."
And of course he counts as large for reposition.
(snip-a-doodle)
Given that, I don't need mystic fists. So instead he has break defenses.
"Whenever you successfully use a bull rush, drag, overrun, or reposition, combat maneuver against a creature, that creature provokes an attack of opportunity from your allies (but not you). Associated Feat: Greater Bull Rush, Greater Drag, Greater Overrun, Greater Reposition."
And of course he counts as large for reposition.
Good to know.
GM, please LMK if Torsten's reposition worked?
Just making a 72-hour check-in. Are we all good?
I'm good. It's you and Torsten's turn, so I figured we were waiting to see if Torsten was able to separate the two Vencarlos.
This is a good time to hit Level 10. XD
Lvl 10!
Rules question: Giant Physique makes Torsten count as large. Should I add the +2 to his CMB, or just say that he is large?
HP: 6 (class) + 4 (Con) + 1 (FCB) = +11 (114 total)
BaB: +1
ABP: +1 Deflection
Saves: +1/2 all (so no increase yet, only when full number I believe)
Level Feat: Improved Vital Strike
Background Feat: Healer's Hand Conduit! He can now heal people.
Combat Talent: Greater Brute
Martial Flexibility: Can now choose 1 feat as a free action, 2 feats as a swift action or 3 feats as a move action.
Sphere Talent: Alternation - Lingering Transformation (10 min per level duration, +2 dodge AC and +4 initiative)
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So, now that he is large for CMB, +24 reposition. Which is greater because it does unarmed damage and procs a trip attempt.
I'll update profile soon
Giant Physique is a scaling talent, so I'm pretty sure you're treated as larger than Large by now. XD Just remember that staying in a stance burns your Swift action each round.
Torsten, given that Giant Physique is a stance ability, and thus you might not have it active all the time, it might be better to keep your "baseline" CMB/CMD values, and note the bonuses when said stance is in effect. (Stances cost a swift action to activate until BOYNT, or expend martial focus for Practitioner Mod rounds.)
Good point...I think that it would be better to have greater trip instead. When the large size is needed, I can always use martial flexibility for it. Thanks for catching that it is a stance.
If you're gonna take Greater Trip, going forward, any time I see that Torsten makes a trip attempt, in the name of expediency, I'm just going to post an AOO. If the Trip didn't stick, then just LMK, this way it's a little more expedient. GM, if there's an easier way to handle that I'm all ears!
I don't have a lot of decision points on this level. Fighter level 4 bring me their version of Martial flexibility*, but Sorc 10 doesn't put anything new on the table. New Combat Talent will be entry into Shield Sphere, new Magic Talent will be Ablating Aegis. GM, what strikes you as the best place to note my current miss chance from Ablating Aegis? Profile header line?
Still TBD: background feat.
*Torsten, if I see an opportunity for us to combo our Flexibility features, I'll speak up, and I hope you will too.
Either in your header line or at the bottom of relevant posts.
Since both of you have flexibility features, I'll mention that some Teamwork feats are also Combat feats.... XD
Since both of you have flexibility features, I'll mention that some Teamwork feats are also Combat feats.... XD
Oh I am absolutely looking those over! :D
The Ablating miss chance, I will probably put in the bottom of posts, at the end of each of my turns. I'll see what works best.
Audit Time!
CMB for reposition and trip
CMB: +10 (BaB) + 7 (Str) + 2 (Enchantment) + 3 (Greater) + 2 (Deft Maneuvers) -2 (Flurry) = +22
* Much better. Having higher CMB means more fun for everyone (well, not the people on the receiving end, but do they really count?)
CMD: 10 (base) + 10 (BaB) + 7 (Str) + 3 (Dex) + 3 (Deflection) + 3 (vs reposition and trip) + 2 (dodge when buffed) = 35 (38 vs trip and reposition)
* If a 22 CMB is what I get after specializing in this, then a 38 CMD is good enough defense.
Attacks and important info for Ril
Note, no improved vital strike. That's at lvl 11. Hence why a second look is always worthwhile.
Also I see now that when using martial flexibility, I can add 2 as a swift action. This will be "break defenses" giving Ril an AOO when reposition works and...
...can he take Perfect Attunement? It gives tremorsense. I think with life sense already up it wouldn't be OP. But it is legendary so I ask.
This also will push him unarmed damage up from 1d8 to 2d6. So it will be a damage boost for both of us!
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AC
* Base: 10
* Armor: 6
* Dex: 3
* Natural Armor: 2
* Deflection: 3
* Enchantment: 2
- Total: 26
* Shield with spell point: 3 (10 hour duration)
* Dodge with spell point: 2 (100 minute duration. Becomes permanent with -2 spell points permanent as well at lvl 11!)
- Total: 31
This is a good place to be. A tank is 20+lvl, so this puts him just over that threshold. High enough to be missed, but not so high that he can't be hit.
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Background Feat is Incredible Healer (When you use the Heal skill to treat deadly wounds, the target heals a number of hit points equal to either the result of your Heal check or the normal amount, whichever is higher. A creature can still benefit from having deadly wounds treated no more than once per day.)
* Because I'm not taking knowledge planes, this is better for me than Healer's Hand Conduit. Yes, it's still once per day. But for healing someone else, that's good enough for a single background feat. Especially as this feat is for the off chance of "oh no, Ril is down and can't heal herself!" type of situation. I'm happier with having that backup option, while leaving real healing as her specialty.
Here's the first thing I see.
Your values for Reposition and Trip will be different from each other. The bonus from Greater Brute applies to the former but not the latter, and note this language:
This bonus does not stack with the bonus to these maneuvers provided by Improved or Greater Bull Rush, Improved or Greater Drag, Improved or Greater Overrun, or Improved or Greater Reposition feats.
That seems to imply you'd get Deft Maneuvers' +2 for trip CMB/CMD, but for reposition you'd use GB's +3 (and later higher). And just so we're clear, I think Deft Maneuvers is still a fantastically useful feat, as it has a long laundry list of maneuvers it enables without your having to worry about getting the target battered first.
I'll read more later.
EDIT TO ADD: I hope you've (both?) been remembering, when Torsten does a maneuver after I feint the target, Expert Feint means they lose their Dex bonus to all (i.e. yours too) attacks until my next turn, and that loss of Dex bonus applies to CMD as well.
Also, how'd your Str get to 24? We started at 18 and had two opportunities for +2 level bumps; what else am I missing?
EDIT: well, you started at 18, anyway.
Bloodline (2 specialization points) Orc Duergar Bloodline
* Fearless (Ex): At 3rd level, you gain a +4 bonus on saving throws made against fear and a +1 natural armor bonus. At 9th level, you gain immunity to fear, and your natural armor bonus increases to +2.
* Strength of the Tyrant (Ex): At 9th level, you gain a +2 inherent bonus to your Strength. This bonus increases to +4 at 13th level, and to +6 at 17th level.
* Duergar Magic (Sp): At 15th level, you may grow to Large size as a standard action. At this size you gain a +6 size bonus to Strength, a –2 penalty to Dexterity, a +4 size bonus to Constitution, and a +4 natural armor bonus. You may return to your normal size as a standard action. You may remain in this size for up to 1 minute per character level per day; this duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be used in 1 minute increments.
* Warlord Reborn (Su): At 20th level, you become a true dwarf warlord of legend. You gain immunity to fire and DR 5/—. Once per day, you can cast transformation as a spell-like ability using your sorcerer level as your caster level.
18 (base) +4 (lvls) +2 (Inherent) = 24 :)
Orc bloodline?
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!
Duergar bloodline ;) Hence the growing to large size. Had a plan for some fluff when that comes out. Plus, immune to fear, natural armor and strength bonuses? Several kinds of yes. :D
Second time in a week a clip from this episode has been relevant to me, Even if this particular clip cuts off maybe a second or two too early. It's going to get really weird if we run into someone named Joey Jojo.
I finally settled into Nimble Moves for the BG feat (letting me do 5' step into difficult terrain). So all decision points are set, I'll get Ril's profile text updated ASAP.
Okay, everything is updated. Looks like I could put the Aegis information into the header line. IDK if I ever spelled it out explicitly, but the +3 represents the Deflection Aegis, which applies across all types of AC (standard, Touch, FF) and CMD, and then I'll have my current miss chance.
As far as "baseline combat assumptions," GM, when I'm rocking the Ablating Aegis, feel free to roll its miss chance on any attacks that hit me, and if it works I'll decrement as necessary on my next turn. As far as Active Defense goes, I get a total of 6 AOOs/round. I mean, should I just say something like, "I'll freely apply AD vs the first 4 things that attack me this turn," and if I come under more fire than that determine the others case-by-case?