GM_DBH's Shattered Star

Game Master DBH

Posted this in the other thread as well, but very sorry to hear that, DBH. Condolances to you and your family, and I hope his passing was an easy and peaceful one.

Condolences, DBH. Thanks for letting us know. Whenever you're ready to start again is fine with me.

I'll be taking my family on a roadtrip over the next couple days. I'll be back on Wednesday. Feel free to bot me.

I thought it best to ask now. How many of you will be around during the Christmas break? Should we start again after New year?

I'm fine either way. I will be home and can run the games, but if some of you are busy with families and travel it might be best to take a longer break.

Posting this here too, I'll be around for most of the coming two weeks except the two actual christmas days and the newyear celebration. I'm also fine either way.

Traveling from 28th-2nd

I'll be around the whole holiday, may check the boards a little less often, but will still have plenty of time to post.

Honestly? I wouldn't mind taking a break until after the New Year. I could use a break. Mainly because of work. It's been a beat down and I'm exhausted in about every which way.

I'll be around. Family is coming here instead of us going to visit family.

I'm find with a break, though.

Thanks for everyone's kind thoughts.

We will pick up on Monday, but I think it will be a leisurely week as regards posting. If you're taking a day or two off then don't worry about posting.

I will probably be called away a few times myself.

Happy holidays, everyone.

Sorry, I have to go out tonight and be social. No update.

Almost forgot until family reminded what day it is. No update as we're staying up to make sure this year is gone.

Happy New year to everyone. Hopefully things improve a touch in the coming year for everyone.

It’s the holiday season. Just take some time, enjoy, and let’s all get back together in a few days :)

Hey DBH, Axton's sorcerer bloodline is Arcane, and the 3rd-level bonus spell for that bloodline is identify, but I don't see that getting much use due to the fact that we're told what the magic items that we find are. Would you be okay with me switching it out for another thematic spell?

@Axton. Certainly, what spell where you considering?

I can't remember the last time I ever used Identify myself?

Due to my advanced age and lack of energy there is no update tonight.

I can give you a rough idea on the last time you used Identify. Some time around the year 1999/2000(or possibly later seeing how it's on GoG and Steam). It's a little know game called Baldur's Gate. ;)

I can give you a rough idea on the last time you used Identify. Some time around the year 1999/2000(or possibly later seeing how it's on GoG and Steam). It's a little know game called Baldur's Gate. ;)

I have BG1, SoD and BG2 on my phone. And no…even there I don’t use identify. That’s what a bard is for! ;)

Or the goggles in BG2 that does it for free. Just like our GM here, the game realized that making people identify items isn’t fun

@Axton. Certainly, what spell where you considering?

I feel like another Core "classic" spell is what I mean by thematic. And since identify is a utility spell instead of a combat spell, a few options could be alarm, unseen servant, silent image, animate rope, or feather fall.

I think unseen servant is my preference.

I can give you a rough idea on the last time you used Identify. Some time around the year 1999/2000(or possibly later seeing how it's on GoG and Steam). It's a little know game called Baldur's Gate. ;)

I remember using it in D&D 2E, but it always required an 8 hour rest prior to handling an item and a similar rest afterwards, and it only gave you a CHANCE to tell you something like one vague quality of a magic item per level. And it required a 100gp pearl that had to be ground down and drunk as part of an infusion each casting.

It was so expensive and annoying to use that it was rarely used. And detect magic usually gave you enough to make a good guess at the same information.

3E simplified it, but it still required the pearl to use.

I am wondering if we're not gruesomely overkilling this poor abyssal larva... though perhaps it being a sinful creature next to the statue of a runelord gives it more power?

My last time using identify was also in baldur's gate I believe. :) Still a great game, and it feels like more great mods come out all the time to make it more and more replayable...

@Axton. Unseen Servant works for me.

Too ill to update sorry. Nothing serious but its knocked me on my back. Not Covid. :)

Not covid still sucks. Feel better soon!

Get feeling better GM_DBH, we're not going anywhere :)

And again sorry.

And again, no problem! we'll be here. Take the time you need

Same here! Take the time you need :)

I'm sick of your excuses. I mean, no worries!

Lol!!! Man that's just wrong. :)

The passage has no traps. Apart from the 100' deep pit trap that Axton falls into and dies.

Lol! Well I betcha ol' Axton will start watching those cracky remarks he makes in the discussion thread. Those 100' drops are quite the doozy. That'll hurt in the morning. ;)

Sorry for my slow pace. Work is busy, we have Covid case in the househould, and the kids are out of school until Wednesday. I'm mentally exhausted. I will try and catch up by mid-week.

Take all the time you need. Real life & family come first.

See, that's how you do sympathy!

Best wishes, Axton. We'll see you soon, hopefully.

Shall we bot him one round to finish the current combat and continue exploration in the meantime?

Busy tonight so no update sorry.

Why do I feel like this Stink is not supposed to be fought and that we're about to get destroyed... ah well, added challenge? :)

You're paranoid?

She glances at Umazura and Axton to see if they had an opinion on what to do with Stink now.

I'm waiting a little to see if Axton has an opinion about it. If he doesn't post in a few hours I'll go ahead and attempt to kill it.

Wanted to ask a bit of feedback; is Elena too reserved in wanting to kill things to where it feels disruptive to the game and/or unneccesarily slowing it down?

I think that as a Shelynite, she wouldn't want to immediately kill sentient evil beings, or perhaps even agressive normal sentient ones she doesn't immediately consider a threat. The 2nd edition commendments seem to imply her followers are generally peaceful and want to see the beauty in every being, but on the topic of violence the anathema is actually refusing surrender from an opponent rather than taking part in or starting a fight (against presumably evil forces for good reason).

That said though, whether it's true to lore or not matters less to me than if her being reluctant to activitely engage generally considered evil beings, who haven't shown hostile intent yet, would annoy someone. The last post was made partly with this worry in mind.

No. Not in my opinion anyway.

Look, in Baldur's Gate 2 there's this Beholder guarding a chest. That's his whole purpose there is to guard a chest. What I love about the encounter is that you can actually TALK to it and convince it to leave. Now don't get me wrong, you can simply fight it and kill it and be done with it but where's the fun in that?

Killing everything we come up against that's considered "the bad guy" is easy to do. It's what we ALWAYS do as the good guy adventurers. We see bad guy, we kill bad guy. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, it's what the game is all about. But I've always found it pretty cool on those rare occasions when you can actually "win" an encounter vs. said bad guy by simply convincing it to move along. And the more impossible it appears the better! That's when it's really fun. I guess because it's more of a challenge in that regard. And I do love a challenge. :)

In general I agree that the idea of not always killing 'the bad guy' Sadly Elathras is a 'Hellknight' of the 'order of the pike' from the Whisperwood, where evil outsiders are prevalent. So even if I as a player could let it go, I don't think Elathras can.

* Come across kobolds? Yes, we can talk. Being a kobold doesn’t make you evil.
* Find an elderly Orc who just wants to grow mushrooms in peace? Yeah. Let’s talk.
* Mob boss surrenders, but we really hate him. Sure, he can be arrested.
* Find a creature literally made out of evil whose reason for existence is to spread said evil? Let’s kill it.

It’s a case by case basis. But I agree on no murder-hobo

I'm not finding it disruptive. I think it's good roleplaying for a Shelynite & a Hellknight to have a very different view on things.

Elena may become more pragmatic as she gains experience, or she might lighten up the more cut throat members of the group. :)

Level up people. The module says you should be 4th level exploring the ancient laboratories where you are.

You'll be 5th level by the end. :)

Elena Neidhardt wrote:

She glances at Umazura and Axton to see if they had an opinion on what to do with Stink now.

I'm waiting a little to see if Axton has an opinion about it.

Apologies, work is kicking my ass, this week.

Axton is pretty focused only on growing his personal power exploring his Thassilonian heritage, so until he develops as this adventure goes on, he's more than happy to go with the flow so long as they keep delving.

That said, I don't find Elena's concerns or the way she's role-played disruptive at all. Quite the opposite.

Are we rolling for HP?: 1d12 ⇒ 8
Barbarian 2
+1 Fort
+1 BaB
+5 Skill points
Lessor Beast Totem
Uncanny Dodge

[dice=Are we rolling for HP?]1d12

Barbarian 2
+1 Fort
+1 BaB
+5 Skill points
Lessor Beast Totem
Uncanny Dodge

Roll for HP, if it sucks you can take the average.

All right, thanks everyone! I'll continue on this course then and evaluate case by case. Some clashing ideals isn't a bad thing and I'm happy to see how it develops, so long as everyone is okay with it.

@Javell I remember that particular encounter fondly, too :) IIRC it went something among the lines of: "Why don't you look the other way for a moment? No one told you not to, and if you were to find your chest suddenly empty, you could just leave, since there's no reason to stay?" That was some great out of the box thinking by the writers there.

Also, sweet, level 4! And level 5 by the end of module 1? That feels fast, but I'm not complaining! Is this an adventure that goes to level 20 by book six?

Level up to 4

Hp roll: 1d8 ⇒ 5

Average is fine. Taking +1 skill point as a FCB this level.

+6 max hp/+8 SP.

+1 BAB

+1 wisdom

+1 fort/+2 will

+1 level 1 and level 2 spell slot.

+Augment summons bonus feat from herald caller archetype.

+1 appraise, +1 profession: painter, +1 linguistics (ancient Thassilonean), +1 perform: dance, +1 knowledge: history, +1 perception, +1 diplomacy, +1 acrobatics.

HP: 1d10 ⇒ 4 looks like we're taking the average

Cavalier level 4
+ 10 HP
+ 1 BAB, Fort save, Str.
Challenge 2/day
Monster Hunter
+ 1 to skills: intimidate, Geography, knowledge: (local), linguistics, perception, sense motive, survival,

Trying to decide something. Figure that I could crowdsource some advice!

Buildpath 1
* Ranger 1 (trapfinding) * Barbarian 19
- Rage, smash, grr!

Buildpath 2
* Ranger 1 (trapfinding) * Barbarian 6 (3x rage powers) * Horizon Walker
- Immune to fatigue and exhaustion
- Probably go for fire and cold resistance 20 and tremorsense as well

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I'm leaning towards horizon walker, simply because I'm already multiclassed. Given that he can't get a capstone, if we do go to 20, then it makes sense to build into a prestige class. But wanted to get some feedback before I decide that.

--------------

Secondly, on rage powers. He gets rage powers at 2, 4, 6. Assuming that he goes Horizon Walker at lvl 7:

Should he go beast totem (claws when raging...meh, and +2 Natural Armor)
Or should he go death totem (DR/5 bludgeoning, for fortitude saves roll twice and pick the best)

Beast Totem is always nice. +2 AC is nothing to laugh at, especially with medium armor proficiency only. I'd certainly go with this option if Bharak stays barbarian (as it keeps scaling up and up)

However...DR5/bludgeoning will almost always be in effect. And rolling twice on fort saves is really nice.

Bit stuck. He hasn't made use of any of this yet, but the decision kinda has to be made and stuck with. So any advice would be welcome.

Well, I'd vote buildpath 2, only because I've never seen a horizon walker actually played :)

For me the 'totem' would depend on how you see him fighting, the natural attacks are nice but when you get to higher levels where opponents have dr/magic, you'd have to invest in the natural attacks.

I would think the + 2 AC would balance out with the dr 5/ bludgeoning so I don't know which would be better.

I tend to lean towards the superstition, witch hunter, spell sunder build, but I don't know that it's actually better just different. When playing a rager I usually focus on all offense with very little defense. Though I have combined it with the rage totem and balanced reckless abandon with the + 2 AC. But as you pointed out, you have three to use.

Fun discussion, do you see Bharak dropping his weapon to attack with claws, or would you use it in combination with a reach weapon, I have a really nice +1 cold iron ranseur you can use.

I'd be interested to see a horizon walker played too, myself!

That said, Death Totem is 3rd party material. Was that allowed in this campaign?

If it is allowed... hm, tough choice. I think the armor scales better overall, and is always useful vs all weapons. The fortsave is nice but you're already a dwarf with double consave multiclass and hardy. You're rather unlikely to fail fortsaves.

If you want an alternative options to Death Totem and aren't aware of these, celestial totem (lesser) increases all healing taken by 1 per caster level or character level. Though, admittedly, it requires outside aid to be good, and unsure if it fits your character concept. Spirit totem lesser and normal spirit totem give a little bit more damage and concealment against attacks from more than 1 square away.

That aside, for long term planning, does anyone have any advice for a caster prestige class for Elena after level 8, assuming she lives that long? The cleric class features unfortunately end at level 8. I know of Stargazer and Evangelist, though stargazer requires worshipping a second god and Evangelist both loses a caster level and costs a feat.