GM_DBH's Shattered Star

Game Master DBH

Wow, gauntlets made from living metal, do you lay awake at night thinking of this stuff, or does it come to you in dreams?

I have anecdotal evidence that he does spend long periods of time thinking of Frankensteinian Pathfinder builds. I bet if you asked Grumbaki to make a level 1 human fighter, he could come up with something completely unrecognizable. :)

That aside, am I missing something or is there no penalty for equipping a masterwork buckler if you lack the proficiency? You supposedly get the ACP as a penalty to attacks and skill checks but the ACP of any magical/otherwise masterwork buckler should be zero.

That's how I understand it, also. The armor check penalty does affect you, but since it's now 0, there's no penalty.

I see, thanks.

On guns, I probably should have asked this first but how familiar do people feel our characters should be with them in this setting? In the past I've seen people take incredible offense that my character knew what a gun was in a setting described as 'emerging guns'. Ever since then I'm highly leaning on the side of caution whenever they are encountered. Are they supposed to be well known in this region or for us as pathfinders?

Ha ha, if we know what liquid glass is, guns aren't really much of a stretch!

Elathras Narcinal wrote:

Wow, gauntlets made from living metal, do you lay awake at night thinking of this stuff, or does it come to you in dreams?

I have anecdotal evidence that he does spend long periods of time thinking of Frankensteinian Pathfinder builds. I bet if you asked Grumbaki to make a level 1 human fighter, he could come up with something completely unrecognizable. :)

Elena Neidhardt wrote:

That aside, am I missing something or is there no penalty for equipping a masterwork buckler if you lack the proficiency? You supposedly get the ACP as a penalty to attacks and skill checks but the ACP of any magical/otherwise masterwork buckler should be zero.

That's how I understand it, also. The armor check penalty does affect you, but since it's now 0, there's no penalty.

Top of my head…

Race: Human
* Stats: +2 Cha
* Skilled traded for Darkvision
* Bonus Feat: Racial Heritage Derro

Str (10) Dex (13) Con (10) Int (10) Wis (10) Cha (20) = 20pt buy

Class: Fighter

Feats
* Desna’s Shooting Star (Cha to hit and damage with Starknife)
* Derro Magister
- Benefit: A derro magister’s spell resistance equals the derro’s Hit Dice +10. Heal is always a class skill for a derro magister, and it gains a +4 racial bonus on all Heal checks.
- A derro with this feat treats its caster level for all spell-like abilities as equal to his Hit Dice. In addition, as soon as a derro with this feat achieves a total of 6 Hit Dice by gaining enough levels in any combination of classes, it gains the use of additional spell-like abilities as detailed below.
- At will—levitate
- 1/day—deeper slumber, modify memory

The human fighter is now a light weapon wielding Cha based combatant who builds into a throwing build that stacks Startoss style up to the point where each knife gets…I think by Lvl 6…about +17 damage before enchantment bonuses. With levitate he hides above combats so he can’t get stuck in melee.

If you make them a lunar oracle you can add: Prophetic Armor (Ex): You are so in tune with your primal nature that your instincts often act to save you from danger that your civilized mind isn’t even aware of. You may use your Charisma modifier (instead of your Dexterity modifier) as part of your Armor Class and all Reflex saving throws. Your armor’s maximum Dexterity bonus applies to your Charisma, instead. and have a tiger animal companion...

Since the oracle doesn't get to use a starknife add the trait tattooed mystic...

Indeed! Though…I wonder. Would this work?
Lvl 1 fighter (for the bonus combat feat)
Lvl 2 scaled fist monk (When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Charisma bonus (if any) to his AC and CMD. )
Lvls 3+ Enlightened Paladin (At 1st level, when wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, an Enlightened paladin adds 1 point of his Charisma bonus (if any) per class level to his Dexterity bonus to his Armor Class.) and Cha to saves

So you get Cha to hit and Damage. Cha straight to AC, and Cha added to your Dex as well. Hence, assuming a +2 Cha headband for 22 Cha and 24 with levels:

Lvl 9: AC 10 (base) +7 (Cha from monk) +8 (Dex) = AC25 before other items due to Cha stacking.

I love being right.

I love being right.

Lol!

Okay, I am now utterly exhausted by simply glancing at that build. :P

I wished I had the energy to know all those tricks. I did many moons ago but those days are LONG gone. :P

And yeah, a lot of the good games seem to die early deaths. Some last a good while which is obviously a great thing, but unfortunately, the majority of them do not.

I've only been in, like, two gestalt games but both of those died quick. I've always wanted to be in a long-running gestalt game but it's just never happened.

And you're right, Trever86, these DM's recruit for these high-power type games and find themselves way in over their heads and have to call it quits. They realize it is just too much work to keep up with.

I've only played in one gestalt game, which as Javell said quickly died from GM exhaustion.

Super powered players means the GM has to bump up the opposition to match and it can get really tiring.

It sounds like I've had better luck than most with gestalt games, I've finished one solo AP with a gestalt character and in another game with a certain dwarf where both our characters are gestalt. Both games are the same GM and he runs a hybrid system. But I think it helps that he's using an AP and modifying it slightly instead of starting from scratch.

I’m actually in one that has been running since 9/2020. What helped was that it began with only 3 players and now runs as 2. So yeah, the characters are really powerful, but it’s easier to keep track of. And encounters don’t have to be scaled as much. A dragon, for example, is still dangerous. If there were 6 of us? The balance would be unmanageable.

hee hee hee I ninja'd Bharak....

hee hee hee I ninja'd Bharak....

Sneaky! Foiled again…

Remember that everyone has a +2 init from good hope, as well as moat attacks, skills saves and weapon damage.

Sorry, I've been running around all day dealing with appointments and am both tired and out of any time to update.

Sorry no update today.

? I typed and posted my post earlier today but it seems to have vanished entirely?

Sigh. Really, paizo?

Sigh. Really, paizo?

Really Really

In another campaign, my paladin ran to get into a fight, only to have the enemy wizard go invisible. So she turns around, tries to get through some fog, and rolls a 1 on her fort save. She is now out of the fight for 3 rounds and will be nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds.

But this fight? My horizon walker is just being a wrecking ball (thanks to the dice and party buffs). It's funny how the dice can giveth and the dice can taketh away.

It's also nice to have someone along that can cast invisibility purge...

In another campaign I'm in, a naga is tearing through our party, with our cleric down -- maybe dead dead -- and most of the rest of us just one solid hit from going under. We're going to pull through, and I think my arcanist has a significant role in that, but it's a struggle. My arcanist has been forced to be reactionary rather than proactive, just trying to stay alive and counter some of the thing's the naga's doing.

In this fight, however, Axton is barely making a dent in the fight's outcome, but we are dominating.

So, yeah, good dice-ing guys.

Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know maintenance was on so I couldn't get on when I had the time to update.

Thanks for the kind words on the support value, everyone.

Partly @Axton: At times, when everything works out well like here thusfar, then especially as a support there isn't really much you can do to add to the 'win more' factor as we're left with nothing really to do and have a perogative to save resources/spells. But when things go badly or specific counters are needed, that's when supports and casters can really shine I feel. Arcane casters can be a lot more proactive with damage and crowd control spells while mine are more reactive, and some things I have but can rarely use like Elena's healing abilities. If she really has to, she can probably heal like up to 1000-ish hp of damage in a single fight if she can keep standing and allies are within reach. We've never needed them, but they're in store waiting for that one Bad Day to turn into a moment of glory.

That said, I do really like Elena's kit. We've reached a point where her Martial abilities are unlikely to really matter anymore but between her domain power giving others advantage (and extra uses available through FCB), the potential healing, the buffs (good hope is a Shelyn cleric spell and inspire courage can be gained through a shelyn-specific feat and 1 level bard multiclass, though I didn't know that when rolling her) and potentially the summons (along with herald caller also fixing the poor skill points), she might be my most versatile character ever. Even if it's more low-key, the overall power of an almost full cleric with the best features of a bard on the side is fairly hard to top. Part of me is tempted to see how far the support can be pushed further as there's also things like Shared training spreading teamwork feats through the party at the lowly cost of 1 level 2 spell lasting 10 minutes per caster level on everyone...

Hi all! I'll be camping Saturday through Tuesday, so I'll be unlikely to check this PbP during this time.

Axton is ready to lead the way along the catwalk so long as everyone else goes in front of him.

No update today sorry. Very busy.

Health not too good, so no update sorry.

Sorry to hear DH, get feeling better.

Get well soon!

Sadly it is an ongoing condition. I have Meniere's disease. I've had it for over 40 years now.

Watching my diet has kept it manageable, but every 4 or 5 years it flares up and hits me.

I'm currently nauseous and dizzy. It normally lasts around a week, so hopefully it should clear over the next few day.

Sorry, mentally and emotionally whipped today. Normally I figure if I have the time to post in discussion, I can make a short post in game instead. Sadly, today is going be the exception to that. I've occasionally mentioned that I take care of my mom full time. I use the games here to keep myself distracted from RL. I normally try and post once a day in the games that are moving whatever is happening in RL. I told a few folks that she passed last Thursday, it was not unexpected, she'd fought dementia for the last ten years and her health had slipped. But today was the funeral, twenty-two family members from out of town, at the funeral home and here at the house. The headed home and we just finished dinner, but I'm whipped. I thought I had the energy for this tonight, but I just don't. I'll get a post up in the morning, and things should be back to normal quickly. I know it isn't a big deal to miss a day of posting, but I did want to explain. The community here is super, and I know you all understand.

Sorry to hear that, Elathras. My condolances for your loss! Best of wishes yo your familiy in the grieving process. Take good care of yourself and we'll be here.

Sorry for your loss Elathras. No matter how much you're expecting it and think you're prepared it always hits you hard.

All my best wishes for you and your family.

Wow, condolences Elathras. Definitely don't worry about missing a day or two of posting. Take some time for yourself after all this is over.

Thanks folks, honestly Axton, playing on the boards here is taking some time for myself. But last night my brain was just mush... I normally post in the morning before I go about my day.

Feeling a bit better, should be back tomorrow or Wednesday.

Condolences to you and your family, Robert. Sorry to hear about that, bud.

The catwalk is solid and stable at first but as you advance along it you feel the supports retract and it becomes a wobbly platform that shifts and twists with each step placed upon it.

DC12 Acrobatics check to not fall prone when taking a step. :)

So does the cat walk become rough terrain or something like it? Just wondering if Bharak can charge up it?

Also a relevant question: have less than 7 minutes passed since we entered the mansion? Since we haven't really done a thorough search except the last room i thibk, and if so, most of us can still fly i believe? The cl on the fly wand was 7.

Is our CL7 Fly from the wand from just before entering the mansion still active? I think we only thoroughly searched the last rooms on this floor in favor of speed so I assume we still have it, but let me know if not.

It feels like this may be relevant to the method Elathras uses to advance. So I will wait to double check the answer.

You do not have Fly still active. Searching for traps & picking locks. Plus some combat have taken time.

Fair enough. Does that mean Good Hope has also expired? Fly was casted outside of the mansion before flying up. good hope, which lasts 8 minutes, was casted outside of the door into the mansion. If fly expired there's at most 2 minutes of it left, if it took a minute to fly from outside the mansion down the elevator to the entrance door.

For the record invisibility purge also lasts minutes/level but that one was used halfway through the mansion in the third combat I believe. Is that still going?

That aside, note to self to get the Bit of Luck FCB on every level up from now. It seems to make so much of a difference in so many situations!