Ha! That’s great. :)
I think that this problem will die down once we have a few levels. Early levels are abit like rocket tag. Where it’s easy to one shot and get one shotted.
Question: On the houserule site there are background feats. Are we going to be using those?
Yes: you'll get one every even character level. Most of them aren't particularly powerful, and almost none are combat-focused. It's more of a way to flesh out your characters.
Yes: you'll get one every even character level. Most of them aren't particularly powerful, and almost none are combat-focused. It's more of a way to flesh out your characters.
Indeed, I'd been meaning to ask you if the one Combat feat I did see as a BG feat (Weapon Trick) was there in error, it was anomalous enough to at least raise the question for me.
Mind you, I'm not complaining! I'm sure I can put that to some good use. :D
Equipment Trick is also in as a BG feat. XD If I recall correctly, most of the Weapon Trick abilities can be duplicated by SoM talents and/or have fairly hefty prerequisites. It's definitely one of the stronger options, so I'm keeping an eye on it. If it turns out to be a "must-pick" BG feat, I'll remove it from future games. But if people are taking it for the "use two daggers to climb up walls" abilities as opposed to the "always take 10 when feinting" options, it'll probably be fine.
Pardon me for butting in, but I have to say I love the choices you've made for Background feats in your system, YBD! They are all the really flavorful fun stuff that is hard to fit in when you have a limited number of feats available and have to take others to be most effective.
Very true. A lot of effort seems to have gone into lowering the opportunity costs associated with choices that might not be optimal, but can kind of make a character in their own way. I agree with eriktd 100%.
That's exactly what I was going for. Been working on this system revamp for over two years now, and it's good to know that I'm doing well. Thanks for the words. XD
It's a glare-off!
(Glares at Lamm harder than Torsten does)
Bring it!
Hah!
So I'm trying to figure out what I might want to do about fire immunity. (I don't know squadooch about this AP, but everyone is always all "blah blah blah fire is the most resisted damage type in the game, so I ought to do at least a little planning for the chance I'll run into something that says, "LOL, that tickles, now get behind my shoulder please.") I think my first impulse is to buy off the whatever it's called that only lets me do fire blasts, and maybe pick up another damage type along the way.
I know there's that Advanced Talent that allows one to punch through resistance and immunity (which assumes Advanced Talents are okay to pick), but looking at the math I just don't think that'll realistically help against full-on immunity. I think I'm better off just diversifying my "damage portfolio" a bit.
Anyone got two cents to throw at this?
[dice=Influence to glare]1d20+7
Bring it!
Hold on. My Charisma score is literally twice yours. How on earth are we even in skill on that?
Easy. Conversion inquisition swaps Cha for Wis when it comes to diplomacy/bluff/intimidate :D
Ah, I missed that. Just baffled me for a second. :)
Btw, dwarves makes the best diplomats! Dwarf Cleric of Adabar with conversion inquisition and trade domain
Lvl 1 Diplomacy: +4
Conversion Inquisition with Wis18: +8
Iron Citizen for untyped +2: +10
Stoic Citizen for +2 Racial: +12
Skill Focus: +15
Trait: +16
And with that at lvl1 the dwarf has +16 diplomacy which goes to +17 when needed.
I sent Jereru a PM, so hopefully they'll post soon. :-)
@Yhrrilka: Buying off the Energy Focus drawback is the easiest way, as that'll give you a bludgeoning blast. Add the Crafted Blast talent, and now you have all the mundane damage types. Alternately, several other spheres have damaging options - Telekinesis, Mind, Life, Death, Illusion, and Warp are the ones that immediately come to mind. Or you could just use a regular weapon. You're half Ranger, after all. XD
@YBD: this might sound weird but I was actually considering Smiting Blast, give her a "Sarenrae's Smiting Wrath" sort of vibe. I might also get similar results from getting into the Fate sphere and taking Align Object. IDK, there's a lot to take in here. Way I see it, fighting "just" as a ranger is basically leaving half my money on the table. :)
Well think of her sword as a very effective cantrip :)
If you just want your basic attacks to be holy then you might want to go down the weapon of the Chosen feat line.
WotC: Reroll misses from concealment
Improved WotC: attacks are good aligned
Greater WotC: When making 1 attack roll twice and pick highest
Greater WotC is great for Energy Strike. You’re only making one attack anyways, so now you roll twice to hit (3 times if they is concealment). Plus you have good aligned damage.
Throw in vital Strike as well, so you have scaling weapon die damage and scaling blast damage. Makes for each blow to be full of divine energy and hits like a truck
Interesting options. TBH I don't know if I've looked at the WotChosen feats since I first bought the ACG, and said, "Huh, that looks neat." I'll chew over my feat choices, see if there's a way to make that happen.
EDIT: nuts, the whole feat line specifically requires your god's favored weapon, and that you "must worship and receive spells from a deity".
Well, it’s your casting tradition, as it is spheres. Especially if you go with divine blasts then it should meet that prerequisite. And for weapon, it isn’t as ideal as a Greataxe but it works. Anyways, it’s just an option among many.
Homebrew question!
Under Sorcerer archetypes, you list a "Dragonblooded," but there's no link. How does that differ from a Draconic bloodline?
Like animal companions, that's one of my in-progress projects. Essentially, I'm merging the Draconic bloodlines with the Dragon Disciple PrC. I intend to convert a bunch of PrCs into archetypes eventually, but that's the first one on the list due to the importance of dragons in my homebrew campaigns. They're rather different from traditional fantasy fare. If you keep looking around the website, you'll also notice Draconic is no longer an available racial bonus language and pretty much all the dragon-focused class options have been removed - with the notable exception of the Dragon Oracle mystery.
Interesting. God forbid something happens to Ril, I'd definitely consider kicking the tires on that. :)
I have a doubt that sprouted when using the Channel Destruction feat.
It allows you to imbue your Channeling with a Blast Type talent from the Destruction Sphere. Now, many of these talents have, apart from different die sizes or energy types, a side effect (like Tenebrous blast has this -2 to attack rolls). The side effect is usually applied on
Any creature struck by the attack or that failed their Reflex saving throw if one was required...
The first part applies if you're rolling to hit, like a normal blast, and the second one in case you use talents that turn the blast into an area effect. But when you use it with channeling, the save required is a Will save. So, technically, there's no Ref save required, so you could say that either the target is unaffected (because he didn't fail any Ref save), or is auto affected (since it was "struck by the attack", even if partially).
However, I do think that the sensible way to interpret the rule should be making the Will save required by the channeling to be the filter, instead of a non-existing Ref save. That is pretty much my own invention and supposition, a totally homebrew, but I think it's a moderate ruling between the two extremes.
What do you say, GM? What shall we do? Macaria is going to use this a lot in the future.
Hmm, going back to the idea of Ril's "blast repertoire," I looked over the wiki page for the Destruction sphere, and I'm thinking my add-ins would be either Crafted Blast (to add in S/P), or (one of Incandescent or Radiant). A chance I'd take both if I had room. Really make sure someone get some sunshine into their heart. By, you know, putting it on her blade and ramming that blade into their chest. :)
Also, my two cents:
However, I do think that the sensible way to interpret the rule should be making the Will save required by the channeling to be the filter, instead of a non-existing Ref save.
My "quick read at 6am" is that this would be a sensible interpretation. (Take that with a grain of salt the size of a car battery. :D )
Homebrew question!
A different one! :)
Given your ABPs, it seems like the Protection sphere's base Aegis ability stops being useful by, I think level 6 is the end of the line. Past that point, is Aegis only useful for the other talents/riders you can slap onto it? (Granted, those look fairly useful, I'm just wondering if the base talent carries any water after that point.)
@Macaria: As per the Variant Channeling rules from "Ultimate Magic," a Will Save halves the damage and negates any additional effect. XD
@Yhrrilka: Deflection bonuses from different sources stack. XD
@Yhrrilka: Deflection bonuses from different sources stack. XD
O_o
Okay then! :D
(Judge Smails noises intensify)
Lamm is dead! We did it! Now nothing bad will happens to our PCs ever again and the city will know peace.
Yep! Congratulations, everyone. You've won CotCT! Now we can RP about how everyone lives happily ever after.
Yaaaaaaaaaay!
(Gets ready to ride off into the sunset.)
Dopey questions Redblade gets from looking at other players' characters, Vol 8.
Macaria, if you're gestalted with Cleric, wouldn't you have 9HP, instead of 7?
IIRC, the archetype has diminished hit dice.
Ah, my bad! :)
Yes,the Divine Channeller archetype trades essentially all of the Cleric's combat capability for a bunch of channel buffs and (eventually) a second Domain. Pairs well with the Soul Weaver and is great if you want to play a priest-type character.
In case it's not clear from the pictures, the Knowledge checks are for two separate items.
Vermin Repellent x7
Shiver x20
Fist-sized scrimshaw carving of a kraken with garnets for eyes (worth 300gp)
Ivory figurine of two entwined succubi (worth 500gp)
Adamantine Arrowhead
MW Dagger with key-shaped blade (worth 750gp)
Abalone-shell Shelyn holy symbol (worth 300gp)
BEJEWELED BROOCH (worth 2,000gp)
400gp in assorted coinage
Ok. Vermin repellent can be split up between us. Maybe it will come in handy? For the shiver, Torsten isn't into drugs. Either for use or selling.
So before we try to get a reward, that's 1400ish gold each. Not bad!
That is a nice haul, plus the wand and I forget, was there anything else along the way?
Hey YBD, can I make a small suggestion for the website? Skills. A link from the main page (in the listing with Background, Classes et al.) listing your changes to the various skills, and (where it's been changed) what each one covers. I know you mentioned the list of valid skills somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can recall where.
That's a good idea. XD I'll get something up later today.
So I’m trying to get more of a feel for how SoM makes a given turn look. By level 6, I expect to have the following:
Feat: Deft Maneuvers (taken for the +2 to feint, because its other benefits are duplicated by...)
Talents: Fast Feint (Feint as move, plus after feint, spend focus to move speed)
Feint Strike (After successful feint, weapon attack as swift action)
Focusing Feint (After feint, regain focus as swift)
I think that makes a “normal” turn something like, Move: Feint (with some free movement too, if I need it), Standard: Attack (Usually using Energy Strike to glom a Searing Blast onto it, and adding Sneak Attack & Fatal Thrust dice in if the feint worked), Swift: regain focus (assuming I spent it).
Looking at what I’d planned out, I don’t know that Feint Strike helps. Most times, my attacks will want to come via my standard action, so that I can use the Energy Strike talent and the Spell Attack Feat to give them a big old blade full of fire. So I think Feint Strike is out, right? Or at least pushed out until later, for use in edge cases/situations where the “normal” turn doesn’t apply?
Then at level 4, my god, I try to add the Warleader sphere into this as well, and my head starts spinning… :)
That looks right. Feint Strike is handy on turns when you aren't spending your Focus. In that case, it would be Move: feint, Swift: Feint Strike attack, Standard: Energy Strike attack. Grab the Expert Feint talent, and you'll be getting sneak attack/fatal thrust dice to both attacks. XD I've GM'd for a character using a similar attack routine, and it's pretty nuts.
EDIT: SoM as a whole is designed to make turns more interesting than the standard "5ft-step and full-attack" routine. That's still an option, of course, but the emphasis on Standard Actions and talent synergies makes combat much more cinematic and dynamic. ... And complicated due to the multitude of options. XD
A new page has been added to the homebrew website listing all the revised skills and a brief overview of what they cover. As a reminder, Climb/Swim are now "Athletics," Bluff/Diplomacy/Intimidate are now "Influence," and several Knowledges have been added/altered/eliminated. Thanks to Redblade8 for the suggestion. XD
<voice=Zoidberg>
Hooray, I'm helping!
</voice>
:D
Alright, my recommendations:
Instead of gaining focus as a swift, there's other ways to gain focus. Have a look at Mobile Focus, on the Barrage Sphere; it allows you to gain focus if you move at least 10ft but no more than half your move. So you might spend focus to move 10 or 15 feet and regain it immediately for free.
But yeah, barring that, regaining focus will require one of your swift at least. That's why the feat that grants you a secondary focus is widely recommended (though I can't remember the name).
Great Focus. I think you can get it around 9th-10th level, IIRC.
So, what's the plan? There's a few potential hooks, after all. XD
Collect the goods and head to the watch to report Lamm's murder of our ghostly friend and to turn the jewels in for the reward, right?
Sounds right.
EDIT: after which, head back to Zellara's house to look for more clues.