Enjoy the time with the family pad300 - I am mostly staying at home for the holidays, but I have the immediate family with me, so it's all good.
@albion it looks like your investigator can handle being the primary dd trap guy...and will be solid with skills in general if you are OK with that?
If so
I'm mulling over a
Ravener Sanctified slayer inquisitor
Hinterlander
Chenesardo Warden
Eventually with greater trip. Driving weapon. Snap shot, Combat patrol.. That will take advantage of the elephant feast taxes to do some cool stuff
Hey Wabbit. Personally I would prefer not to be the trap/skills guy - I think it just requires too much focus, taking away from other areas of the character and making it less balanced (and less enjoyable for me :P).
I would rather not have to worry myself about piling up spells and/or modifiers to raise Stealth and DD to decent levels to make them crazy effective and reliable (I have done it before, but would rather not this time).
So I have some points in Stealth, but not overdoing it, and that one point in DD (just enough to Aid our main trap guys). By nature, Investigators can be good at skills, so I expect to be the main guy on some Knowledges, perhaps Spellcraft, but the rest I am aiming only at using Aid to others.
As far as Knowledges go, I do not think there has to be one guy who is the master of them all - I think it to be more interesting to have them spread out over the group.
But I don't think any of that should refrain you from playing the character you want to. Perhaps taking the Trapfinder trait would allow you to also easily be the traps guy on that build?
Though I will be honest and admit I was already drooling about Inspire Courage :'( What about a Bard based archer hehe?
The Chenesardo Warden is designed to be part of a particular AP, so I'm going to say no to it as an option for a prestige class in general. There's one that occurs in Slumbering Tsar like that as well that I wouldn't use outside of it (that none of the proposed characters have come even remotely close to qualifying for, so it probably won't be an issue in this run anyhow.)
Ok no Chenesardo means my Maneuver Archer (never seen one)isn't viable. It was gonna be COOL. lol
I'll stick with the Bard. and he's ready to go.
Couple of notes:
Tristan has no stealth and a perception (with the trapfinding bonus not progressing past +1) that's unacceptable for a trap-bot.
He'll be in middle rank or rear and when another character most likely the Empiricist whose trapfinding will continue progressing and a main stat (int) towards perception notifies him of a found trap will come forward to disable the trap once it's pointed out to him.
@Albion your character, like most will max out perception anyways so putting him in charge of finding traps won't take any additional resources.
Tristan can be good at disabling due to devoting a trait and a feat towards DD but he'll never be as good as the Empiricist at finding them. His mechanics (cha based, and non-progressing trapfinding) won't allow for it.
So we'll have to work it like this. Someone else can be designated trap-finder and Tristan will be designated trap disabler.
I don't mind being in charge of finding traps but if someone can do it better, then that's what we should do for the parties' best chance of survival.
OK, the first gameplay post is up. In a move that I hope doesn't cause any confusion I needed to create a new campaign as I couldn't post in the gameplay thread for the other one, but ideally it won't be something you notice on your end at all (as I was able to move this entire discussion thread to a new campaign.) If you see this you can go ahead and dot into the gameplay thread with your character, or go ahead and post there! We're not in a hurry to get started, so you don't need to rush to finish up character details, but do be working towards that. I also know that pad300 might or might not be about to post for the next while, but we'll go ahead and get things rolling as we can and see how it goes!
For some obscure reason, I am unable to Submit a post in Gameplay...
@Albion, and you can see the post from me and the dot from Tristan in the thread? I was unable to get a post in the gameplay thread on the previous campaign, so I started a new campaign and moved it here. It's frustrating that this isn't working as expected, but we'll get something sorted. I've sent you a PM with an idea; let me know if it helps!
@WabbitHuntr, was the posting experience unusual for you in any way?
Yeah, I can see your posts and Grimm's without any issues. Just mine aren't working, even with the link you sent me from PM (thank you for that). Also tried posting from my mobile phone, just in case my home provider was acting up for some reason. No luck.
When I hit submit, I only get the preview and nothing more. Trying to post here now with the right alias. See what happens.
EDIT: Same issue - posting fine on Discussion, but not on Gameplay. Zorblag, can you 'add' the characters to the Campaign somehow?
The campaign disappeared from my dashboard so I went to my alias and searched for a recent post... Clicked on that and found the campaign again.. From there had no problem dotting into gameplay
Just gave it another try - still no go. Really weird bug.
I'm reaching out for help in the website feedback forum now, we'll see if that helps. Are you trying to make a full post or just putting in a "." like Tristan did? It's possible that it's not letting you make an identical post to someone else for spam purposes apparently?
I had something similar last year... I could not post to one of my campaigns for a week... Other campaigns worked... But one locked me out for a while... It was weird but eventually resolved itself
OK, it looks like Helgash has been added to the characters/players for the game. If you get a chance then let's give posting another try and hopefully it'll work now!
Yep, I finally seem to have managed to dot in ;)
I don't envision Helgash as a particularly Diplomatic guy, but I would like him to be good at gathering information. Do you guys know of a way to be a good intel gatherer without using specifically the Diplomacy skill?
Not that we need it, as people are probably lining up to inform Tristan of stuff, even without him asking for it ;)
Short of stealing the information, I don't know another way supported by the rule mechanics.
Merry Christmas everyone!
At this point we're getting close to ready to start from the story perspective. I'll wait till everyone says that their characters are finished (and I know that Khoran in particular has said they might take a while due to the break and travel, so there's no hurry,) and if there's more you want to do at Bard's Gate before heading out that's fine to.
There are a couple things to establish as a group before setting out.
What sort of marching order will you typically be using when traveling? How about when exploring an indoor area?
Will you be traveling by foot or on horses/ponies/other animals?
If you find treasure while you're out and about how will you carry it (mundane storage, magical storage, pack animals, other?)
When camping at night are there any particular protections from the elements you'll be using?
How do you plan to manage food and water while traveling (carrying rations, using spells, other?)
I will get to work on putting the finishing touches on Helgash.
And also I do have some ideas before we leave Bard's Gate, which I will post in Gameplay.
Working on giving my opinion regarding those questions now ;)
Working on response to the questions.
Sorry for slow posting rate. Things will get better after holidays
Busy week from my end - probably even more so with New Year's Eve, and into the 1st of January with some immediate family celebrations.
Happy New Year everyone! Lets try to start this one with the right foot.
Happy new year everyone
What sort of marching order will you typically be using when traveling? How about when exploring an indoor area?
I think this will be good for outdoor and indoor
front: fighter/ investigator
middle: casters
rear: bard
Will you be traveling by foot or on horses/ponies/other animals?
Animals will be vulnerable to undead fear affects once we're there. But they'll cut down on our travel time to get there. Thoughts?
If you find treasure while you're out and about how will you carry it (mundane storage, magical storage, pack animals, other?)
we need to pool resources for a BoH
When camping at night are there any particular protections from the elements you'll be using?
tents for rain.. Is the area prone to heat or cold?
How do you plan to manage food and water while traveling (carrying rations, using spells, other?)
Tristan has Create Water cantrip.. And Spark Cantrip for fires if there's firewood.
Waters not a problem... We can load up rations in the BoH
We made it through 2020. Good work everyone on that!
The region you'll be in is a temperate zone with reasonably hot summers and reasonably cold winters, so not biting cold or searing heat by default. You'll be getting there in mid to late spring when things get started.
Happy New Year all.
Animals have the issue of taking care of them once we are investigating bad areas. Not really sure we have the resources to keep watch on animals if we're exploring what is likely to be hazardous zones. We don't have flunkies to keep watch on such. Not to mention flunkies could get wiped by wandering monsters.
I do think I do have enough money left for a haversack, so I'll just grab one of those for loot conveyance.
Ok, quick notes
1) Carrying stuff: a) I have a handy haversack b) if we want a bag of holding, I can make one (1/2 price...).
2) Camping : Sylvan Hideaway
3) Travelling : Nature's Path
4) Food & Water : Survival skill to gather food + carry rations. Create water, purify food & drink, goodberry are all potentially available...
5) Animals need some thought. Mounts add a lot to overland speed, and a well trained dog or two can be a real plus...
6) We also really need to have a think about what mundane gear we are taking with us.
I think I am ok with the marching order for now - not sure if Helgash is resilient enough to take the front line, but I guess we will find out.
Travel:
I was planning we could find a caravan or any other merchant in Bard's Gate which may eventually be heading the same way as us. Then we could stick with them as bodyguards/hired muscle. That being the case (or even if not), there is no reasons we cannot buy horses at least for the initial part of the travels? Maybe sell them when we arrive at our destination?
Loot and gear:
Agreed on using the Handy Haversack + pool resources for BoH if necessary.
Camping:
I think this one may deserve some serious attention - I like Khoran's idea, but seems like a lot of resources... 3rd level spell.
Food and Water:
I am going what has already been said - Goodberry is actually so good, it may be worth to buy a wand of it?
Just as fair warning, given the nature of the Desolation there are going to be stretches where you aren't going to be able to find freshly picked berries no matter what sorts of survival rolls you make; they just aren't there to be found. That likely makes goodberry a less reliable source of food than it would be in many settings.
I guess we will need a BoH well stocked with rations :D
Applying Preserve to a boatload of berries might also be interesting. Assuming it can be recast week after week?
BoH and food There's no time rush. We should wait until the BoH is crafted by Khoran. And then load up on trail rations. That plus create water should be enough.
traveling nature's path and sylvan hideaway should be cast daily and be considered a spell tax for outdoor exploration. One random encounter at night will expend much more resources than just a 3rd lvl spell. Also while he is a very competent adventurer Tristan truly enjoys at bare minimum a good night's sleep preferably on silk sheets with a cute barmaid.
Caravan?? Tristans Ears of the City spell would have revealed any caravans going that way. So looks like we'll be traveling on our own.
We could buy horses and sell them in the camp... But no idea if that'll be an option. Or whether we'll even make it there without horses running away from undead..but it's worth trying to reduce travel time.. Although bringing horses means we won't be able to use Sylvan hideaway... So faster travel but worse nights.
mundane stuff depending on how much we have left over any after the BoH purchase some of the basic kits... Undeath aid. Breakers. Dungeoneering deluxe etc
In the interest of dealing with the annoying details of actually living I changed my purchases a bit.
Returned my boots of striding and springing. Then I picked up:
ring of sustenance (don't need food or water and can sleep only 2 hours per day without an issue)
handy haversack
cloak of the night sky (gives me endure elements)
Ok, all traveling details accounted for. However I'll be waddling along a bit more slowly.
Was also considering the ring of sustenance. Seems like a perfect pick.
Tristan I was referring to this:
Results of Ears of the City: Apparently a minor diplomat who fell out of favor with the Bard's Gate government has been tasked with the impossible task of re-establishing trade with the northern kingdoms as a sort of punishment. The trade route, if established, would pass by the ruins of Tsar.
Seems like there could be a chance he might be interested in sponsoring us? ;)
It seems worth a shot.
Ok, I'm back...
Mounts actually fit in a Sylvan hideaway - "comfortably hold two creatures of any size per caster level (maximum 12)." Also, I can use Nature's Path with mounts - it affects up to 7 creatures at this level, and I can target your mounts, rather than you...
And by the by - It's bring your own barmaid Tristan.
BYOB...understood. Now if I could just get a saddle altered to fit her properly. Definitely prefer a barmaid as a mount rather than a boring horse.
I'm fine with all of us buying horses but we're not cash-rich at this point and putting that money towards a BoH is more important.
and for any other knowledge checks=
+14Knowledge (Arcana)(Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (Dungeoneering)(Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (Engineering)(Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (Geography)(Cha)____{{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (History)(Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (Nature)(Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (Nobility)(Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+14Knowledge (Planes) (Cha)____{+1rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
+18Knowledge (Religion) (Cha)____{+4rank,+6Cha, +3Circ, +1Bard,+3Class}
Hey Tristan, I do not want to be nosy but I was thinking - you don't really need to be the super master of all Knowledge skills. Perhaps you could make good use of the points in other skills, and we could spread the knowledge skills a tad more around the group? Dunno, Groff could do Engineering, and Khoran could do... Religion?, and Grimm could do Arcane. Along those lines?
It would allow others to be masters in some subjects, while you can of course master everything else :D
Just a thought, if the others would be interested of course.
Pathfinder is a game of specialization. There's no way I can be anything near credible for any skills as a fighter (except intimidation, and I'm not trying) without cutting into what the build is actually made for. He's got a good knowledge specialist build. I'd say he should keep at it.
Fine by me - it was only a suggestion ;)
There's nothing preventing any other character from picking a knowledge area to focus on. It's good having someone else capable of making a backup skill check.
Tristan has the Bardic Knowledge class feature and because of that, no character will be better at knowledge skills than him.
Just as Helgash has Trapfinding and because of that Tristan will never be as good as him with traps (it's baked into your class) even though he's devoted not insignificant resources to it (feat and trait)
I choose to go with the Bard because a Sorcerer is TERRIBLE at covering knowledge skills (even Arcana)and it's an area that at least one character in a group needs to be capable of.
What does everyone think about finishing up equipment and characters by Monday to get this show on the road (or rather off the road and into the Camp?)
Agreed! :D
Yes!
works for me
Sounds good.
Tristan has 250gp. He can contribute 200? to the construction of the BoH
Does anyone else have spare cash to contribute for that?
After picking up a haversack and means by which I don't use any resources, I'm broke. I'm not really sure we need the bag with a few people having haversacks.
As it stands, Helgash has about 130 gold, but I guess I can drop my Four Leaf Clover for a healthy cash boost. Only need to know if we are all going to pitch for a bag of holding, or if each of us takes care of our own gear?
As Khoran explained, the cheapest Bag of Holding (type I) costs 1250 to craft, which means each of us would have to chip in 250 gold. For me it looks like the best option.
Groff, you would not be broke anymore, and could add some more odds and ends to your gear?
I vote for this solution, as I think it saves us a LOT of hassle with provisions and even loot.
I vote for the BoH.
A handy haversack is a great item for every character to eventually get. But most parties need a bag of holding as well. Right now we can't really afford both.
If this Desolation is going to have a resource management component to gameplay I think we'd be much better of having a BoH in the party to carry food supplies and to be able to carry loot back if we survive to find any.
we should at least have 2 months rations each....that's not gonna fit in a masterwork backpack and 10 months of rations is going to take up a lot of space in a haversack.
Potential kits to purchase as a party
2x Kit, Spelunking
Price 174 gp; Weight 32 lbs.
This kit holds equipment for exploring underground, consisting of a lantern with 4 flasks of oil, a hammer and 8 pitons, 100 feet of silk rope, a grappling hook, and a climber’s kit.
I just noticed Khoran has a haversack as well.
Are 2 haversacks enough to carry 10 months of trail rations and some necessary gear like tent, spelunking gear?
If so fine....I don't want to beat this topic like an undead horse