I will narrate things in a less whimsical fashion going forward.
And I genuinely appreciate that you wrote me direct messages about it, like, in a play by post, there is no other way to have feedback.
There will be some time before we exactly meet, the whimsicalness was party influenced by concerns voiced previously about avoiding grimdark.
How is the new writing style?
Enjoying it. I like the dangerous tone on the kalavakus. They should be scary! (That must be a kalavakus demon that just teleported to Wulfric's side, right? Verene would know. Oh, I also like the pictures of enemies being presented conveniently below the map.) I'll have to think about what to do. Probably try to single-target disable him.
@Lili: Merixia's AC with her standard buffs: 21 armored + 2 deflection magic circle vs evil + 5 natural ironskin = AC 28. Saves are correct without buffs. With buffs, she has +2 resistance from magic circle against evil and +2 morale from heroism. (She got the knight's pennon of battle and hung it on her backpack.)
Since Merixia has those three buffs up, her AC is properly 28 right now. The buffs are noted in her status line, but the AC in her status line is pre-buffing. So the crit won't confirm and the claw misses, but still 14 damage from the lucky arrow.
Oh, also, everyone the fireballs might affect has Merixia's protection from energy (fire) up, for 120 points of protection. So you still make the saves, but whatever fire damage you would take, subtract it from 120 instead. When the spell has protected you from 120 points of fire damage total, it is exhausted.
How is the new writing style?
Excellent, thank you! Nicely menacing.
Since Merixia has those three buffs up, her AC is properly 28 right now. The buffs are noted in her status line, but the AC in her status line is pre-buffing. So the crit won't confirm and the claw misses, but still 14 damage from the lucky arrow.
And here we have an example of my tendency to make mistakes in math, I forgot that ironskin scales. I'll go fix that now.
I switched some demon types around in the fortress, as written, there would be 2 named Succubi and one named shadow demon (as well as one Nabasu, who has a name, but no mechanicaly adjustments etc.).
I am also opening a betting pool on what the gestalted class of the Kalavakus is.
Note:
--Mechanically, slapping an Antipaladin gestalt is almost always the mechanically strongest option. It would also be boring. There will be a few such antipaladins, but not everywhere. The smite good also overemphasizes rocket tag, which I try to avoid.
I don't really know how gestalt works for PCs, much less monsters, but I'll guess... sin mage wizard. Just because gemstones inset in a creature reminds me of the Runelords.
Not a bad guess!
Waiting on Azira/Wulfric and Elliot.
An inquisitor of the slavery inquisition
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Reading back up now, a lot of things happened. But will get a post up at least to break inactivity and get into the habit of it again.
YAY!
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A fair bit of the Abyss and their politics/histories is homebrewed, but I got pretty good reviews from players.
Little tidbits:
KN Planes DC 20, automatical pass if you worship Besmara
One of the possibly largest "Air Sea battles" ever took place about 600 years ago in Nocticula's realm of the Midnight isles, a vast Besmaran raiding fleet, lead by Besmara herself, set sail from the Maelstrom to raid the richest place of the entire Abyss.
Nocticula had a mighty fleet herself, and the armed forces of midnight eternal were forewarned oweing to an excellent spy network.
The Battle was cataclysmic, one midnight isle, a continent sized floating island made from the corpse of a dead demonlord, either sunk, or was exploded by the attacking Besmarans, or was exploded by the defending Nocticulans. Nobody knows what, but 99% of the participants of the battle, on both sides, were really suprised when it happened.
The demons employed heretofore unseen tactics, useing their ships as carriers for fliers and teleporters, rather then exchanging direct fire, and these tactics initially allowed them to keep the distance from the Besmaran Battlefleet and run rings around them, cheweing up Besmaras supporting Flottila in the process.
Besmara however is not easily bested, and, useing a divine intervention, teleported the most elite part of her fleet as well as her own sea wraith into the middle of the demonic formation.
The Seawraith instantly rammed the Siren, the flagship of the midnight isles, and engaged in a savage melee resulting in the massive demonic battleship being cleaved in twain. The demonic fleet scattered as their flagship fell, which the Besmarans took as their signal to start the wholesale looting of an Abyssal realm.
Alas, as the Besmarans split to loot and plunder, the defending demons rallied, quickly established a fairly cohesive command structure and started to eliminate the split up Besmarans in detail, opting to avoid the Sea Wraith herself and seek to sink literally everything else.
The Sea Wraith did succeed in looting 2 midnight isles (the midnight isle of Nahyndri being one of them), but was forced to limp back into the Maelstrom with only a dozen supporting ships remaining, out of the hundreds of vesells that initially participated.
Both sides claim victory, The Nocticulans due to sinking some 95+% of the invading fleet, the Besmarans due to sinking the Nocticulan flagship and looting 2 midnight isles.
Nocticula certainly made more of this, as essentially fighting a full deity like Besmara to at minimum a draw, in an open massive battle which is not normally a part of her portfolio, greatly increased the prestige of her armies and especially navies/air forces, even more so when compared to the complete trouncing the Demon Lord Aolar received at the hands of Desna millenia before that.
Math, huh? Let's see here...
1d8 longsword
+2 enhancement
+7 Dex
+8 precise strike (not multiplied on crit)
= 1d8+17 base damage
plus
+8 smite
= 1d8+25 normal smite damage
or...
+16 smite for 1st attack
= 1d8+33 1st smite (vs evil outsiders)
the extra "+2+1" I thought was from heroism and flagbearer, although I just looked them up to double check and heroism is just an attack bonus, not a damage bonus. However, since Wulfric is not enslave, he's going to activate inspire courage which will give that +2 back.
So, the first attack would have done 1d8+33+2+1 base damage, and another 1d8+25+2+1 from the crit (because everything but the precision damage is doubled), for a total of 2d8+58+4+2. Rolling an 8 and a 1 on the d8s, that's 73 damage; minus 10 for his special resistance is a total of 63 damage from the first attack. Second attack is correct at 36.
Also, a resistance that completely negates bonus smite damage until we reach 11th level (unless I'm lucky enough to crit) is pretty formidable; I hope we don't run into that too often.
Ah, the precise strike is precision damage ok, I though you were either erraneously thinking that smite evil is precision damage, or forgetting the extra bonus on the first attack you hit.
Corruption resistance is only on the Paladin, Antipaladin and inquisitor spell lists, you could cast it yourself (and have it for an entire dungeon), although it would be gimped due to Paladin caster level.
I am not sure if Verene or Merixia can nab spells from there.
There is also an Aasimar alternate racial trait that lets you cast that once per day.
That is a potent, though poorly written, spell. Unfortunately, I’m not a spellcaster at all (my archetype gives it up), but I might have to look at picking that up on Radiance at some point.
You could also at some point retrain your racial spell like ability (Glitterdust) for it (aasimars can get it via the incorruptible alternate racial trait), which would let you get that as a once per day cast at your character level.
Or, if you tell me you really want it, I can conceive of a way to alter things at a plot appropriate moment.
There is a fair bit of time to do that after taking Drezen, and spoiler, the antipaladin in Drezen is already dead, and while there is one more demon with alignment based abilities in Drezen that demon is a bit odd.
Oh, as written, the average Baphometan mook in the next act is a Antipaladin of 6th to 8th level, I will have a bit more variety.
In terms of options for Elliot:
--He is next to Merixia
--He is unharmed, Merixia has some superficial damage
--While botting, I had him take the wand of dimension door in his left hand, so he could grab Meri and D-Door to the Horned demon. This would leave the 2 archers, 2 Brimoracks and Schirs to attack at range, but they probably arent going to do much.
--He could also go postal at them, note, the Schirs are bracing for impact with polearms, I dont recommend charging.
Thesius is up as well. Don't want his turn to get lost in the shuffle!
Indeed!
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Just popping in to say hello (and try to stay in the rhythm of posting). Hope all is well with everyone- especially Elliot and Thesius.
So do I!
There actually is possible plot in that fight, mostly for Merixia and Verene.
Verene did suggest to Azira to ask the demon about Nahyndrian crystals, if she can find a way to troll him into revealing such information, go ahead, talking is a free action!
Hello!
Azira also got some useful information about the gems that no one else has yet, I believe. She could transmit it to the others through the message, if she doesn't want the kalavakus to know we know about them, so to speak.
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Getting caught up. I'll have a post up later today where relevant.
Apologies for the delay. I'll be aiming to getting back to at least a post in Discussion once per day Monday through Friday as well. That helps me keep my stride.
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Does Thesius know if a magical cold iron weapon will overcome the kalavakus' potential DR and any other pertinent combat information with that roll? Time to start using those high bonuses and stacking modifiers.
I did some poking and hope to see Thesius and Elliots turn soon!
Takes popcorn
Lets see how many of these Azira parries, if she makes the willsave (probably yes), and if the party tries to brute force the Kalavakus or if they try to destroy the remaining 4 soul gems empowering him.
As a recap, the crimson soulgem seems to be the most potent, and someone driven, aggressive and appreciative of Aziras damage is inside of it.
One green soul gem is likely a Desnan good outsider.
One got destroyed, according to the Kalavakus a likely Desnan Liliend Azata, 2 others (yellow and blue) are unknown.
Ah, great to have an exact description of how many active soul gems there seem to be. Thanks GM.
Verene has really great ideas btw, and freeing the souls/entities imprisoned in these gems could be a massive boost to the crusade.
It can also create certain problems, but that demon is at minimum 10 millenia old (thats how long Verene thinks Nahyndri has been dead), is a slaver and mercenary, and has a long list of enemies, including those factions the outsiders trapped in those soul gems work(ed) for.
Ah yes, look at me, the GM.
You see, 2 unpredictable, violent and highly chaotic mass murderers such as Baphomet and Deskari plausibly joinking control of Golarion, and with it the location of Rovagugs prison and thus the possible death of the multiverse, should result in very spirited interference from a lot more then just the *forces of good*.
While Verene is probably aware in character that the Proteans of the Maelstrom have like, 2 of their biggest "choirs" dedicated to fighting demons, she doesnt exactly have the contact details of a Protean to contact about that, and if she would, chances are she would get pranked in weird ways because Proteans are going to Protean. Well, what if the party saves one?
Yes, one of them is a protean. Which gets me to write in a prankster, since I love that, but one where such behaviour is completely canon.
Any opinions, other PCs? If I don't hear back by tomorrow, I'll just make a decision. If only Amazing Initiative could be used to cast extra spells... But that would be too broken even for Mythic.
I mean, you can cast a spell as a standard, then use amazing initiative and still full attack, which is certinaly great for martials with spell casting, but ye, no twin (or triple casting if you have a quickened).
Ah, how I love Inspired Spell. Playing a primary spellcaster in other games feels so restrictive by comparison.
Mechanically, how would I go about trying to cut the gems out? I'm not sure I've seen a rule for that sort of thing.
Cutting out the gems can be done via:
--Appropriate spells (depends on spell, a completely different idea would be to magically free the "inmates" via things like freedom of movement, or overload them by hitting them with lay on hands.)
--Combat maneuver steal (difficult, does not risk damaging them)
--Combat maneuver Sunder (less difficult, because its straightforward and the Kalavkus has no sunder related feats risks damaging them)
--Combat maneuver disarm (very difficult, does not risk damaging them, Verene knows Kalavakus are pretty good at disarm stuff themselfs)
--Sleight of hand (very difficult because he is active and aware)
--Beat him unconcious (if you manage that without him eating more gems that certainly does it)
--Grapple and pin him (he does seem to need to touch the gems to eat them)
In terms of actually having the requisite CMB abilities:
--I think Elliot has arcane strike? He could grab a training enchantment for either deft maneuvers or powerfull maneuvers (we have elephant in the room on).
--Also, while doing a CMB thing without having the requisite feat does provoke from the target, the enemy actually doesnt look dextrous enough to have combat reflexes, so, if someone provokes his AoO, perhaps via moving, perhaps somehow diffirently, the rest of the crew can pile on.
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Oh, if one of my NPCs fumbles on a kn. skill or spellcraft against you, I seek to make it so that you can profit from it, meaning he doesnt just "knows nothing" but "knows something wrong" that is exploitable in some way.
I cant promise that I can always come up with something relevant, like, I dont always see a way for a demon who flubbs a kn. local check to ID a class ability you use to be exploitably wrong (maybe assuming you cant do that any more often, or maybe confusing it with an archetype ability you dont actually have),
but with spells it will usually be that they think its a different spell with similar outside effects.
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Getting my post up. Sorry, feeling a bit under the weather and misread before. Didn't realize we were all up. I'll be getting a post up tomorrow.
Hey all, sorry I've been quiet the last week or so... I have a mostly very minor heart condition, but it caused a trip to the hospital and I've been slammed with Dr appointments ever since. Should, hopefully, be able to post something today or tomorrow.
Oh no! I hope the doctors' appointments bring you good news and improvement, Azira.
Oh please, no need to apologize when there are real life reasons! We are super glad to have you back!
I'm sorry to hear that, Azira! I hope you get answers and effective treatment soon.
I hope things take a turn for the better soon, Azira.
@Thesius
This may be just me, but isnt your attack roll missing the boni from Wulfrics performance?
Which should be a +2 competence to attack and damage rolls.
You do not benefit from flag bearer, since heroism is also a morale bonus and overrides that, but Wulfrics inspire courage should stack with archeologists luck.
I read the Archaeologist’s luck is treated as bardic performance for the purposes of feats, abilities, effects, and the like that affect bardic performance. Like bardic performance, it cannot be maintained at the same time as other performance abilities. that you (without the shadowbard spell) cannot have this and another performance originating from your character at the same time, but you can totally be affected by another bardic performance.
Indeed. I forgot it was up. So I missed adding it. Thank you.
Thanks for all the well-wishes! They actually know exactly what's wrong with me, and the treatment is a relatively routine procedure, but the condition is not considered life threatening (despite two trips to the emergency room in the last 3 months) so I have to wait until the specialist is available (I see him next month and, hopefully, they'll schedule it then, but I'm guessing it won't actually happen until the new year).
And, sorry I haven't gotten a real post up yet. Between catching up on work stuff and innumerable phone calls with my insurance company and pharmacist things have been busier than I expected. I think I'm about to make a post (once I catch up on reading), but please feel free to bot me as needed.
Edit: aaaand, my SO has decided that today is the only day in the entire remainder of the universe's existence that the house can be cleaned, and it must be thoroughly cleaned in its entirety. Please bot me (and send a mental health professional for my SO). Wulfric is not a combatant, so he'll 5' step away from the brimorak and use his divine fighting technique. Azira's AC is 32 against demons (thanks to veil of heaven), so one of those would have missed, and I'll try to parry/riposte one of the others (if you don't mind the extra rolls). And she gets an extra +2 to her will save (for the same reason)- if she fails it, I'll trigger the child of the crusades trait to reroll; and if she makes it, I'll use the mythic upgrade of the trait to stagger the demon for 2 rounds. For her actual turn, she'll LoH (4d6+8) as a swift action to offset some of that damage and then full attack the gems.
Noted, botting Azira and Elliot.
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Did Aziras turn, she has options detailed in a PM, which I would like to have a reply to as they could significantly alter the situation.
@Azira, you have a PM!
Putting up a post to keep up the habit. Hope everyone is doing well.
Working on that daily posting. Hopefully everyone is having a good day.
Hey, checking in also. Hope you're well too, Thesius.
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I am, still waiting on Azira.
How do people find the fight now that I altered the tone?
I do hope that the tonal whiplash isnt too jarring, I started overly mischevious, in part due to that being my "natural inclination" as a writer, and in part due to concerns about excessive grimdarkness.
Eventually I will zero in on the right balance hopefully :).
Also, plot may happen soon!
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Hi folks! I’m hanging in there, hope you’re all doing well.
I like the new tone! This kalavakus is a worthy foe. Evil for righteous smiting, challenging to fight without one-shotting us, and the soul gems are a novel touch. Having to cut them out without breaking them or being mauled by their user adds an extra layer of complexity that makes the fight interesting. And of course, him being a slaver demon makes Merixia extra motivated to kill him.