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Awesome, congratulations Thesius!
Do all of the Children have swords? I thought we found swords for some but not all of them, and I can't remember which have what weapons.
Yeah, I'm not sure why we would hit the garrison several times, considering the whole "GO GO GO WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T STOP THE RITUAL NOW" thing.
All of the Children should definitely have longswords. Azira loaned Barok her masterwork cold iron longsword from before she started using Radiance, and we found more in the secret temple of Iomedae weapons cache: three mundane cold iron longswords, and one +1 longsword (not cold iron.) That's in addition to Irabeth's father's +1 evil outsider bane longsword, which we found nearby but not in the secret armory.
In the treasure sheet, I assigned the three cold iron longswords to Varel, Jan and Hedge respectively, which I guess leaves Lorn with the +1 longsword (not assigned til now.) Elliot was technically in charge of handing out those weapons, so if he objects to any of that he could certainly change it.
And yes, the provisions made for the party to retreat I guess are a necessary part of any dungeon in case things go badly or the PCs get super unlucky, but it definitely seems like all of the flavorful reasons for us being here are urgent enough that in-character we should not want to retreat unless it looks like everyone will be killed and the mission will fail.
The design of this scenario does seem a little odd. Like, they clearly intended for us to have a sense of urgency, but also there are rewards for doing things that 'waste' time (like the devotion points or whatever)? The fate of the whole world rests on you destroying the shard before they complete the ritual, but here are some escape routes... oh, and some bodies that should really be taken away for funeral rites if you want to grab one for the road...
I guess I do kind of understand the escape routes though... if you were playing this with a party of four and your wizard didn't have any real non-spell options and your healer was like a druid or something (with no channeling and no spontaneous heals) you could probably run out of resources fairly quickly.
@GM- I'm looking ahead at 5th level and had a question. There's a feat called disciple of the sword that, inexplicably, is available to clerics and inquisitors but not paladins... Is there any chance you'd let me take it? If not, that's totally understandable; I've seen some other GMs allow paladins to take it in the past, so I thought I might as well ask.
Since it doesn't really make sense for Hedge to do nothing here, could he move in and take a swing at that same zombie with Elliot? Elliot might not be able to check in before you have to resolve the zombies' turns, though, so it would be faster for you to resolve Hedge's action, GM.
The design of this scenario does seem a little odd. Like, they clearly intended for us to have a sense of urgency, but also there are rewards for doing things that 'waste' time (like the devotion points or whatever)? The fate of the whole world rests on you destroying the shard before they complete the ritual, but here are some escape routes... oh, and some bodies that should really be taken away for funeral rites if you want to grab one for the road...
I guess I do kind of understand the escape routes though... if you were playing this with a party of four and your wizard didn't have any real non-spell options and your healer was like a druid or something (with no channeling and no spontaneous heals) you could probably run out of resources fairly quickly.
@GM- I'm looking ahead at 5th level and had a question. There's a feat called disciple of the sword that, inexplicably, is available to clerics and inquisitors but not paladins... Is there any chance you'd let me take it? If not, that's totally understandable; I've seen some other GMs allow paladins to take it in the past, so I thought I might as well ask.
Yeah, with 4 PCs who don't have the 25 point buy and may not have Irabeth or the Mongrelfolk, I guess this would be significantly harder. But yes, the devotion points is... weird, as is the pacing more generally.
Like, the Level 5 is supposed to happen as or just before you destroy the wardstone, but level 6 is at the climax... which is almost exactly around the same time, as well as when you get your first mythic tier. Weird.
Anyway, with regards to the feat: I would say on one hand, I don't think it would break anything, per se, but on the other I think that both clerics and inquisitors don't have full BAB, which paladins do. I'm leaning towards saying not in this game... though really the only main problem would be stepping on a fighter's toes, which isn't a problem here. Up to you, but I think there are more interesting and possibly useful feats to head towards, personally. So... you can, but I recommend against it.
Wow, it would be nice if followers of any sword-using deity could take that feat! Alas.
Next level will be somewhat good for Thesius. His Archaeologist's Luck goes up, he gets more second level spells, and he'll finally grab his necessary feat for Evangelist.
It’s not an exciting feat, no, but it is thematic for Azira. And, in a party where group buffs (or buffing ‘the muscle’) seem kind of rare, I’m a little bit worried about keeping my damage up. If I were strength-based with power attack instead of slashing grace, even sticking with Radiance, I’d be doing 1d8+13 with every hit instead of 1d8+9. That said, I’ll have to think about where it ranks in priority because I’d like to take deific obedience soon and I’d love to take angel wings at 11th (which requires angelic blood), so I’m pretty strapped for feats.
It's always a question of opportunity cost as much as "oh, I want that," unfortunately.
A friend of mine ran a gestalt game a while back and I made a fighter/warpriest. He had all the feats, it was ridiculous, and awesome- feats to waste on flavorful but hardly helpful things. Sadly, paladins have no such luck, lol.
I don't think Azira has to worry about damage. You have 4 x your level added to damage if you activate precise strike + smite evil, and you're the only full BAB class in the group. Plus the only one with out of turn attacks, and you have the campaign's ultimate weapon. I don't think anyone in the group can come close to that level of damage. Perhaps it just seems low at the moment as your rolls haven't been that good in the earlier fights of this assault? Personally I'd sooner take something like combat reflexes in your stead so you can parry every incoming attack even when flat-footed. You know, to fight your nemesis, opening doors and such :) Combat reflexes also has offensive value if teamwork feats like outflank are taken.
If you want to, though, you can easily take something like power attack + mythic power attack to stack with it. With 11 str, that is just one mythic ability score boost or Str-belt away from qualifying, and the mythic feat negates the PA penalty for a full minute or something similarly broken :')
Smite’s only doubled on the first hit, and is a very limited resource. Panache is also a pretty limited resource, especially with how rarely I roll crits. Although, I think I got one back for dropping the zombie?
If I had to pick between power attack and disciple of the sword, I think I’d definitely take the latter… without even thinking about the math, it just makes way more thematic sense for Azira. Looking at the numbers, power attack would probably be the biggest single bump to damage possible, but the way I roll, I really can’t afford the penalty to hit, and a stat belt or mythic bonus would be much better for me to put into Dex than to spend on Str just for the feat.
I’ve thought about combat reflex for more parries and to parry while flat-footed but I’m pretty sure I’d end up burning through my panache way too quickly. I am keeping it in mind for down the road though (when my pool may be a bit bigger, or maybe after picking up improved crit).
Actually, I take back what I said about power attack. The biggest single boost to my damage would probably be to keep a feat open for leadership. I could take a bard for my cohort and he could cast buffs on me and give everyone inspire courage (and do his best to stay out of combat). Are we allowed to take leadership? That would actually probably be a good fit for Azira, especially after she starts down the marshal path.
If you handle the mechanics of your cohort, I don't see why you shouldn't take Leadership. I'd need to look into whether there's anything huge involved with Leadership and the AP, but I don't think there is.
EDIT: I've almost certainly been told this and forgotten, but remind me, Elliot, how is it that you have brand? It's an inquisitor-only orison, as far as I can tell.
Just a quick note that elliot has 20 ac under reduce person and 24 with shield. He should have both atm.
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Elliot has brand because hexcrafter magi add all spells with the curse descriptor (6th level or lower) to their spell list, and brand has the curse descriptor.
Just a quick note that elliot has 20 ac under reduce person and 24 with shield. He should have both atm.
Ah, well, reduce the damage. I missed you activating the wand before the door came down.
As a reminder, all of the PCs and our allies except Azira, I think (since Merixia didn't have line of effect to her when she cast the spell) are currently under the effects of bless. Since Merixia cast it in round 1 of the two-round demonic fly combat and we just looked around the fly room briefly before busting down this door, we should probably have at least 3 minutes left on that. I have been noting it in Verene and Varel's attacks, but I don't know if other people have remembered it and I don't see it in the status spoiler for everyone.
I think one reason for the AC confusion, Elliot, is that your status line hasn't been updated to reflect your alter self stats. Also, in your profile, the base AC of 18 before the alter self changes is right, but your armor bonus is still listed as +4 when it should be +5 for the +1 mithril chain shirt. So base AC for grippli-Elliot is indeed 20 (+5 armor +4 Dex +1 size), but I can't really blame Worldwound GM for going off the stats noted in your status line instead.
Sure, I can add a line after every post in the macro to reflect the current Ac with buffs. I'd rather not change the base stats of his profile twice with every combat. That would be really tedious with how well the paizo site likes people tinkering with those...
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I am all for having our very own bard cohort! Merixia needs all the +attack she can get.
Thanks for the heads up on bless, Verene! I completely spaced that out, which is pretty sad given that I was the one who cast it. :P
Sure thing, Merixia.
Re: temporary AC changes, I thought that was what everyone's status line that shows up above each post was for — keeping up to date with temporary changes, conditions, buff duration and etc. But however you want to do it is fine I'm sure.
I’ve been trying to keep my banner updated to my current numbers (because when I GM I find that super helpful), but I have to confess, with as much as I post from my phone I can’t always update it when I need to.
Verene changes (not yet reflected in profile or status line):
HP +5 (now 27: 4 from half 1d6+1, 1 Con)
BAB +0
Will Save +0
Fort Save +0
Ref Save +0
CMB +0
CMD +0
Initiative +0
Caster Level +1 (now 5)
Concentration +1 (now +12 - 5 caster level, 5 ability score, 2 trait; +16 when casting defensively or grappled, from Combat Casting)
Cantrips no change
1st-level spells no change
2nd-level spells no change
3rd-level spells known +2 (choosing haste, perfect placement)
3rd-level spells prepared per day +3 (now 3: base 1, ability score bonus spell, and school bonus spell)
Spells that will be prepared (subject to change based on what the group requires and what she learns from scrolls/spellbooks/level-up before she next prepares spells)
0 - detect fiendish presence, detect magic, ghost sound, message (DC 15)
1 - color spray, floating disk, heightened awareness, mudball, stone shield (DC 16)
2 - burst of radiance, burst of radiance, invisibility, mirror image, see invisibility (DC 17)
3 - haste, haste, perfect placement
+2 Feats (1 General, 1 Wizard Bonus. Choosing Precise Shot*, Toppling Spell**)
Skill Upgrades: 11 (2 class, 5 Int, 2 background, 1 human, 1 favored class)
+1 Diplomacy (now +14: 5 rank, 3 class skill, 2 ability score, 3 familiar, 1 trait)
+1 Knowledge (Arcana) (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Knowledge (Geography) (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Knowledge (History) (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Knowledge (Nature) (now +10: 2 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Knowledge (Planes) (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Knowledge (Religion) (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Linguistics (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS) (Languages: Elven)
+1 Perception (now +8: 5 rank, 1 AS, 2 Alertness [familiar])
+1 Spellcraft (now +13: 5 rank, 3 CS, 5 AS)
+1 Use Magic Device (now +5: 3 rank, 2 AS)
Thamyris changes
HP +2 (now 13; always have half the master's HP total rounded down)
BAB +0
Will Save +0
Fort Save +0
Ref Save +0
Natural armor bonus +1 (now +3)
Intelligence score +1 (now 8)
Thamyris Skill Upgrades
+1 Perception (now +13: 5 [Verene] rank, 3 CS, 2 AS, 3 Skill Focus [Perception])
Thamyris can now "speak with master," meaning he and Verene can communicate verbally as if using a common language that no one else understands. He already could speak Common/Taldane, so this is a mostly vestigial ability. I think I will flavor it as Verene perfectly understanding and being able to mimic his whistles, chirps and other bird-noises which he uses to express himself more precisely and with different concepts than he can yet do in Taldane. Unless you want to skip him ahead to "can communicate with other animals of his kind," GM (normally an ability gained at master level 7.)
* and **: subject to change over the next week or so. I think a Toppling Magic Missile or Toppling Chain of Perdition could be cool. But I could also take a different metamagic feat if others have better suggestions, or an item creation feat instead of Precise Shot and just retrain Combat Casting into Precise Shot, which I have wanted to do for a while but we haven't had the downtime for.
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More precise communication works for me, Verene. At 8 Intelligence, he will be about as intelligent as a below-average PC, so it'll let me communicate in more full sentences, if not with exceptional intellect.
Downtime will become a thing again once you've finished this leg of the AP.
Huzzah!
I should be able to level and update my profile later today. From the little I know about this AP, it seems like taking leadership at 7th might not be a great fit story-wise? So, if it’s alright with you (GM) for this level I’ll probably take one of the feats like page or weapon-bearer that’s sort of leadership jr and becomes actual leadership at 7th? Obviously, I’m not expecting a cohort to show up here right now, but I could pick someone up when we get back to the Heart.
Sweet, level 5! Pretty big level for Elliot as lots of his class features get boosted.
Changes:
-Righteous Eclipse Upgrade: +1 > +2 weapon.
-Righteous Eclipse Arcane pool increases from 1 to 2. Spend 1 as free action to add 2 to all damage rolls for 1 minute. Or spend 1 to change weapon damage type to force or sonic for 1 round.
-Arcane pool: access to up to +2 weapon enchantments. (Realistically, only Keen and extra +1 enhancement bonus matter vs demons)
-Level 5 Feat + Magus bonus feat: Rime spell metamagic + Arcane strike.
- +1 level 1 and level 2 spellslot (For a total of 5 1st level and 3 second level)
-Flight hex upgrade, allows Fly (self only) for (caster level) x 1 minute per day.
-+2 spells known. If Verene has any preferred wants we can coordinate as such? Otherwise he will take mirror image and frigid touch or bladed dash.
-+8 hp (Includes FCB) > 43/43
-6 Skill points: Fly 3, Perception 1, Arcana 1, planes 1, history 1 (background), perform 1 (background).
Hm... if leadership is allowed, and Elliot's other sister is alive, I might take that up later to take her along. I am curious about the Skald class, I must admit, and more buffs for the group are always welcome?
Verene already has mirror image in her spellbook, so you can copy it at any time for just the price of your spell-writing materials (40gp), Elliot! A very good deal compared to buying scrolls or even copying from a stranger. And at some point she is going to want to pick up cat's grace and glitterdust from your spellbook as well. No particular wishes for other spells for us to share that you will definitely want as a magus. Maybe blur, but that is more for later, when a single second-level spell slot is not so precious.
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Ah, that works out pretty well. I'll take Frigid Touch and Bladed Dash then.
Did a bit of a flavor post to explain why Elliot suddenly became a lot stronger and able to fly. No real agency over the world was intended but I thought it was a cool idea to involve Terendelev's scale in a way. And perhaps it is just in his head in the end.
Level 5, woop woop! 3rd level spells and channel 3d6, baby! I forget, do we get to put spells in our new slots automatically or do we have to wait until tomorrow IG? If it's the latter, can I still use those slots for spontaneous healing spells?
My brain is kind of tired right now so I'll make an IC post and level up later. Hope that's okay.
Huzzah!
I should be able to level and update my profile later today. From the little I know about this AP, it seems like taking leadership at 7th might not be a great fit story-wise? So, if it’s alright with you (GM) for this level I’ll probably take one of the feats like page or weapon-bearer that’s sort of leadership jr and becomes actual leadership at 7th? Obviously, I’m not expecting a cohort to show up here right now, but I could pick someone up when we get back to the Heart.
Sure! Or there might be someone in the Garrison already to save!
We do wait until tomorrow for the spell casting stuff to return, because otherwise it would favor the spontaneous spellcasters, I felt. It does mean that almost everyone gets less from the level than I'd have wanted, but...
Also, on the subject of cohorts, there's Klarah, who I've been planning on having become a paladin potentially.
I'm leveled and my profile is updated, except that I didn't finalize a 5th level feat. I wanted to make sure that GM Worldwound was alright with the page feat, and that I wasn't opening a can of worms with setting a precedent for more followers. If page (and leadership in general) is alright, I'll take that and wait until we get back to Heart to pick up the cohort. If its going to be too much, I'll pick something else real quick.
In either case, my changes were pretty simple:
+8 hp (+6 from 1d10 and +2 Con)
+1 BAB (and CMD)
+1 to all my skills (except perform-sing)
+1 damage (from precise strike increase)
and gained divine bond (+1 to my weapon 1/day for 5 minutes)
@Elliot- if we do end up with multiple cohorts, the skald's ragesong is really geared towards buffing Str based combatants and may not be very effective for our party (although I think the wyrm singer archetype should help with that to some extent).
Well, that was a nice ninja...
If I do take page/leadership, how would the cohort work, especially if we used a pre-existing NPC? Would you give me a stat block like with the Children, or would I get build rules and get to put them together however I like? With us leveling off milestones rather than actually using xp, would he/she just level with us, or would we have to devise some other kind of schedule for leveling?
Also, are you ok with potentially having multiple cohorts? I would hate for Elliot or someone else to be told they couldn't take leadership later on because I'd already 'claimed' if you don't want multiple cohorts with us.
Edit: A cohort is probably going to lag behind our power level pretty significantly (especially given that we'll be mythic and they, presumably, will not), so I probably wouldn't want a paladin or other melee follower. I was thinking more like a bard (or evangelist cleric?) who could offer some party buffs/support and try to hide in the back during combat.
Thanks for the earlier congratulations. I'm starting up the new position tomorrow, so I'm getting ready for bed. I'll update my character profile and get an in character post up tomorrow. In the meantime, I believe the following sums up the changes to be made. I figured we had a number of healing options, so I opted towards Honeyed Tongue for purposes of Displomacy.
Hit Points 33 - 6 (Half of d8 rounded up plus 1)
BAB +0
Fort +0
Ref +0
Will +0
CMB +0
CMD +0
Initiative +4 - +2 (Deific Obedience)
Feats
Deific Obedience (Desna) - +2 luck (with Fate's Favored) to initative and +4 sacred bonus on Perception checks made to determine whether you are aware of opponents just before a surprise round
Caster Level 5 - +1 Level
Concentration +8 - +1 Caster Level
Cantrips Same
1st-Level Spells +1 Slot
2nd-Level Spells +1 Slot; +1 Known: Honeyed Tongue
Class Features
Archaelogist's Luck +1 round/day; +1 Bonus
Lore Master 1/day
Skills
+1 Diplocmacy
+1 Knowledge (arcana)
+1 Knowledge (local)
+1 Knowledge (nature)
+1 Knowledge (planes)
+1 Knowledge (religion)
+1 Perception; +4 sacred to determine whether aware of opponents just before surprise round
+1 Profession (gambler)
+1 Sleight of Hand
+1 Spellcraft
I'm all for a bard cohort. Give me that sweet, sweet morale bonus to attack!
Why did Paizo have to limit Furious Focus to two-handed wielding? It would have been so perfect for Merixia, both mechanically and thematically. T_T And there's no point in wielding a bastard sword over a greatsword if you're using two hands.
Ragathiel's Celestial Obedience benefit would be very useful, but the obedience itself... yeesh. Killing people for divine power, even evil people, just doesn't say Lawful Good to me. I was seriously considering taking Mystery Cultist until I saw that. Well, and the lost level of spellcasting. Paizo really doesn't want primary spellcasters to take prestige classes.
Oh well. Guess I'll go with Improved Initiative so I can get my buffs off faster. Boring but useful.
EDIT: Ooh, I just saw the Divine Scion PrC. Anyone have experience with that one? The ability to take Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Specialization, etc. is very tempting.
HP +7 (now 38: 5 from half 1d8+1, 2 Con)
BAB +0
Will Save +0
Fort Save +0
Ref Save +0
CMB +0
CMD +0
Initiative +4
Caster Level +1 (now 5)
Concentration +1 (now +9 - 5 caster level, 4 ability score)
Orisons no change
1st-level spells no change
2nd-level spells no change
3rd-level spells prepared per day +3 (now 3: base 1, ability score bonus spell, and domain bonus spell)
Channel Energy 3d6
+1 Feat (1 General- Improved Initiative)
Skill Upgrades: 6 (2 class, 1 Int, 2 background, 1 favored class)
+1 Craft (Weapons)
+1 Heal
+1 Knowledge (History)
+1 Knowledge (Religion)
+1 Perception
+1 Sense Motive
+1 Spellcraft
@Elliot- if we do end up with multiple cohorts, the skald's ragesong is really geared towards buffing Str based combatants and may not be very effective for our party (although I think the wyrm singer archetype should help with that to some extent).
There's a few workarounds to this, most notably Urban Skald and Spell Warrior as other archetypes. Urban Skald could instead grant a morale bonus to dexterity and Spell Warrior instead grants enchancement bonuses or similar special weapon effects to weapons used instead of the normal strength buff. Though, the latter is somewhat open to GM interpretation as the maximum bonus granted is, for some reason, gated by the number of weapons affected, and interpretations vary on whether 'the number of weapons affected' is for each individual person or total across the group. The prior is probably RAI but isn't RAW, and the latter makes it very underwhelming (a +2 enchantment maximum on your weapon at level 20?).
That said, I don't mind not taking a cohort if it would cause problems. Elliot's feats are very, very tight.
I'm all for a bard cohort. Give me that sweet, sweet morale bonus to attack!
Why did Paizo have to limit Furious Focus to two-handed wielding? It would have been so perfect for Merixia, both mechanically and thematically. T_T And there's no point in wielding a bastard sword over a greatsword if you're using two hands.
In that case, may I recommend weapon focus: bastard sword instead? Seems very appropriate for your favored weapon, especially if Divine Scion is a consideration. Also boring perhaps, but it works on each attack instead of just the first every turn (which is why I tend to dislike furious focus on the side). If you're looking for the flavor of mastering your rage, there is mythic power attack soon, and its superior penalty-negating effect stacks with weapon focus whereas furious focus does not.
Channel smite is also fun though it eats our very rare healing.
I don't really have experience with Divine Scion but I was considering it previously for my own cleric. It seems fine if you don't need the channels, your favored class bonus or most of your feats outside of melee combat. The main downsides are needing 15 skill points and iron will along with weapon focus to enter, and that it doesn't grant channel energy progression. You also lose your favored class bonus from being in a prestige class. The class itself doesn't seem to add much to a melee-focused cleric other than allowing access to those fighter specific feats, which can be nifty, but you have to pay for those with normal feats.
Actually, I think an argument can be made that the Crusader cleric archetype is better for that than Divine Scion. That's extremely thematic for this campaign and you can select those feats as bonus feats on the way. The cost is losing one domain and 1 spellslot of each level. In return you get five bonus feats eventually, many of which are fighter-specific normally. The main drawback of having less spells is sorta negated by Mythic Power if you go for the cleric/Hierophant one.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/archetypes/paizo-cleri c-archetypes/crusader/
Merixia, if the loss of a spellcasting level is your primary objection to the Mystery Cultist prestige class, you can get it back with the two-feat chain of Favored Prestige Class into Prestigious Spellcaster.
And it would ultimately be up to the GM of course, but I think I've seen Ragathiel's Obedience slightly expanded on by the writer of Chronicles of the Righteous to be something like, "the first time in a day you kill a proven wrongdoer in his name, including in battle, the benefits kick in." (It seems she doesn't think it should even involve an extra hour of prayer and meditation beforehand on that day, another deviation from the exact text of the feat.) Another designer agreed here. Neither thinks the only way to get the boons is "you have to meditate/pray for an hour and execute a proven wrongdoer in a ritual sacrifice as part of it," even though a literal reading of the Celestial Obedience feat and Ragathiel's deity entry would indicate just that. Slaying some proven evildoer in battle makes a lot more sense to me as an act proving your devotion to Ragathiel, that's for sure.
However, it does seem like a lot of trouble to go to for maybe not enough benefit, especially since the boons and extra spells etc. wouldn't kick in every day! So it's up to you.
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That would be my interpretation of Ragathiel's Obedience - really, you don't need it on a daily basis, so you'll only be using it when fighting anyways. But yes, it comes down to whether you're interested in those sacrifices.
My status line (but not profile) should be up to date for level 5 and two new buffs, by the way, GM. Not much changes in terms of numbers for wizard level 5 — third-level spells are the big power jump, and I totally understand those not refreshing until after we rest.
Yeah, it's unfortunate in this instance, because you probably won't end up using them until level 6 anyways. xD
A shame, but so it goes sometimes. I'm certainly never one to complain about a level up!
Although I've put words in Varel's mouth once or twice, I'm not sure I should do so here... Will you reply for the First Children after the PCs answer, GM? Or should we attempt it? I'm assuming the question is for everyone.
@Worldwound GM: Apologies, when I posted the spoiler with his tentative buffs for the coming fight I mixed up reduce person and alter self. I meant Alter Self is still active, of course, from Terendelev's CL 19 Scale, unless we lose like ten or so minutes deliberating on what to do. Which I assume we won't. After previous discussions I've learnt better than to think Reduce Person works on an Aasimar :)
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I haven't decided on whether they'll stick around, honestly - they have been helpful, but the area above's pretty packed, and that might not keep them helpful. So each of you say your pieces, and I'll write for them.
That's fine, Elliot. Alter self is indeed still active for everyone, though it's getting close for Verene and Thesius.
... this means you have done this entire dungeon so far within 12 minutes. Yeesh, and they seemed to think it would take multiple attempts.
Merixia, if the loss of a spellcasting level is your primary objection to the Mystery Cultist prestige class, you can get it back with the two-feat chain of Favored Prestige Class into Prestigious Spellcaster.
And it would ultimately be up to the GM of course, but I think I've seen Ragathiel's Obedience slightly expanded on by the writer of Chronicles of the Righteous to be something like, "the first time in a day you kill a proven wrongdoer in his name, including in battle, the benefits kick in." (It seems she doesn't think it should even involve an extra hour of prayer and meditation beforehand on that day, another deviation from the exact text of the feat.) Another designer agreed here. Neither thinks the only way to get the boons is "you have to meditate/pray for an hour and execute a proven wrongdoer in a ritual sacrifice as part of it," even though a literal reading of the Celestial Obedience feat and Ragathiel's deity entry would indicate just that. Slaying some proven evildoer in battle makes a lot more sense to me as an act proving your devotion to Ragathiel, that's for sure.
However, it does seem like a lot of trouble to go to for maybe not enough benefit, especially since the boons and extra spells etc. wouldn't kick in every day! So it's up to you.
Okay, that makes more sense than "go hunt down an evildoer and sacrifice them". Still not sure if I want to sacrifice two feats or a level of spellcasting for Mystery Cultist though, and I'd have to retcon a bunch of stuff for Crusader. I'm reluctant to ask our GM to do that, given that he already let me retcon the Rage subdomain. It does look like a solid archetype for a battle cleric though.
I think I'll take Weapon Focus (bastard sword) instead of Improved Initiative for this level, and switch out the skill point in Heal for one in Knowledge (planes). Probably a good idea to have a few points in that anyway so Merixia has some idea of what she can summon, now that it's actually worth casting summon spells. I'll ponder the PrC question some more.
Retraining into Crusader would be permissible, if you really wanted to go for it.
Also, Merixia gets access to shield of wings now! Very flavorful and I think it's decent.
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Eh, I took a second look and they don't get the really good feats. I think I'll pass on Crusader.
Woohoo, shield of wings! The most awesome way to fly this side of riding a dragon. A little slower than the standard fly spell, but demons and demon cultists do like their fire magic, so the fire resistance will come in handy. I think it will suit my taste for Drama <tm> quite well.
I share your impression on Crusader. I wrote up an NPC with the archetype and was largely unimpressed.
Fair enough! I think the feat list is pretty decent, including heavy armor prof, weapon focus, improved critical 2 levels early and greater weapon focus. Access to certain Mythic feats increases their value more, like Mythic weapon focus which doubles the benefit of both Foci feats, and Mythic improved critical which increases the crit damage modifyer. But the counter argument for less spells and losing a domain is solid too, and you can do it with Divine Scion as well.
@Worldwound GM I went back to read about that Bless Weapon wand (was searching for the caster level, but unstated so probably one), and in the process I found a prompt back in the Tavern Elliot never responded to. A priestess from Sarenrae's followers approached him asking about Righteous Eclipse? I... think I just accidentally read past that spoiler entirely, sorry! If he/we survive this I'd like to try finding her at the tavern and play it like he was called away for a meeting just as he was about to answer or such. I am curious about the Sword's reputation, at least.
Oh, sure. We can do that soon-ish. I'll try to figure out a good place to to it, because the combat's going to take a bit of focus from me, so I'd not be able to do it justice at the moment. We can probably do it in the downtime post-wardstone stuff.
I updated my banner to account for shield of faith and heroism. It should be correct right now and both of those can be added to my status line in the GM posts.
Oof, is it too late for me to make a post with Merixia buffing herself prior to combat? I saved several spells for this. Got too distracted considering feat, skill, and PrC choices to do that earlier.
I just tried to add my status effects to my banner and apparently I have too much stuff up there already. XD