GM Ewok |
Welcome to the Discussion!
1. This discussion thread is open for all OOC matters, so no ooc tag needed. For OOC matters in the gameplay thread, please use the [ ooc ] tag.
2. Please post (at least) once a weekday, and (at least) once on weekends. If you would be away, please let me know in advance where possible, and we can work something out. Otherwise, if you go missing, where necessary, I will bot your characters for the sake of the rest of everyone else. Thus, it is a good idea is to leave botting instructions for normal combat (with dice rolls), space combat and non-combat in your profile page beforehand.
3. If you have any disagreements over some of my GM calls or interpretation of the scenario, please take it to the discussion thread or, even better, PM me.
4. If you have played and/or GMed this scenario before, please do not metagame or spoil the plot. And please let me know.
5. It is the responsibility of the player to keep track of the game, including referencing the map on google slides and moving your token.
Normal Combat
6. Once initiative is determined I resolve actions in posting order, NOT initiative order. I used to do the latter but it doesn’t work that well in PbP, so am going with the former instead. If you'd like your action to go after someone else's, please mention it in your post.
Space Combat
7. Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Space Combat.
In PbP, it can be slow and boring. So, this is how I propose we run it. If you have any suggestions or comments, please speak up. I'm very open to suggestions.
I'll ask for the scan roll as the group enters the ship. Then, I’ll roll the initiative at the start for all ships based on the respective piloting checks.
Once it reaches your ship’s turn, everyone will post* but I will resolve the actions in the Engineering – Helm – Gunnery phase order. As such, while you can declare your actions in the open, please have your dice rolls in spoilers.
*There is one exception to this. The Gunnery phase might need to wait for all the ship movement to finalize to determine which weapons are available for firing. So Gunners might want to hold your posting until then or set up a series of contingency actions depending on the final facing and positioning.
Rolls and Skill Checks
8. I will do your initiative rolls, as well as perception rolls for surprise rounds, traps, or appropriate checks.
9. On knowledge checks for general information I usually use spoilers, but sometimes when the information is super sensitive I'll fill you in based on your roll. I'll let you know each time it comes up. I often forget to remind folks to Identify creatures in combat; if your character is good at that be sure to roll it and I'll give you the info.
10. On skill checks where there could be team effort involved, please be explicit when making the rolls whether you are attempting the check on your own, or whether you are aiding. There might be situations where only one character is allowed to attempt the check (and the rest to aid) – I’ll state so explicitly if that’s the case.
11. On skill checks in general, if I feel you have roleplayed well, e.g. gave a good description of what your character does to search for a trail, came up with creative ways to befriend a hostile NPC, gave a very rousing speech, I often give bonuses.
Roleplaying Matters
12. The maps and handouts link (at the top of the page, and my statblock) will display all the maps, handouts, pictures, etc as the scenario progresses. (Incidentally, Android and IOS has the Google Slides app in case you work off mobile devices.)
13. Please have your full character information up on your character's profile page. Also, please have your stat block updated with the key information.
Feel free to chat here about character concepts and what not. We have four players at the moment, and I am working on two more. We'll start the game in mid-August; I'm targeting August 16th. We can flex this based on people's availability.
We will be playing this in Campaign Mode for SFS credit. This means several awesome things. First, you can keep playing your official SFS character in other scenarios while we play this, as the credit for playing doesn't get assigned until the end. Second, we'll level up during the book instead of at the end. Third, it gives me a lot more leeway in case you guys get "creative". My plan is to run through all 6 books of the AP, at about 6 months per book!
PaleDim |
I have several character concepts I'm toying with. I'll attempt to converge on one of them this weekend.
bigboom |
Heya!! Nice to see familiar faces with Ewok and Cellion! And pleased to meet you PaleDim! I don't believe our paths had previously crossed.
I've got a question regarding allowed race. Would a chaotic neutral space goblin be allowed? I've got a soft spot for goblins dating back to when I used to play PFS and had previously thought of a variety of high level concepts for space goblin characters for a Dead Suns campaign in this post: https://paizo.com/campaigns/RedeliasDeadSuns/recruiting#29
I eventually did use the goblin envoy concept (Handsome Gob) in an actual campaign, which led to the amusing oddity of our ship being captained by a goblin.
For this Fly Free or Die campaign, if allowed, I'd likely borrow a class concept from my post above but adjust the character theme and change the backstory to something appropriate for this campaign's setting.
Needless to say, my character will likely be a bit on the cheeky side... ;-)
GM Ewok: Any objection to a goblin for the campaign? If you prefer not, that's totally fine and I'll come up with something else.
My fellow players: If GM Ewok is okay with it, I'd like to know if anyone may have an objection to a goblin character on board? If there is, then no worries, I'm happy to roll with something else - just looking to get people's input!
Jessica Catalan Organized Play Line Developer |
Hi everyone! Thrilled to be here.
I've played with all of you before, so happy to game with you again.
I haven't decided what kind of character I want to make yet, but I'm excited to give it some thought.
@bigboom - I definitely don't have a problem playing with a goblin. In fact, I don't have a problem playing with any race. Go wild.
GM Ewok |
Welcome, everyone! Don't feel rushed or stressed to post in here a lot, I just wanted to open it up for folks who were excited to make characters.
I'm definitely going to fill the two remaining slots, I have five players in mind that I'm slowly working through till we find them. (I don't think we'll have a public recruitment but you never know.)
Bigboom, I definitely don't have a problem with a Space Goblin. We had a goblin in our last AP run for four books, it was a great time. From my experience, players who will be obnoxious or a problem with a goblin can pull the same thing with a myriad of other races as well. And I definitely don't expect any issues from this elite group! And I love Handsome Gob's back story, any character like him would be a great fit.
PaleDim |
No problem with a goblin for me. Space goblins always make great characters!
Cellion |
Honestly, I haven't seen a single space goblin yet that hasn't been great in Starfinder. People make some fun characters with them.
Questions for you Ewok:
GM Ewok |
Cellion, you've got some tough questions! Disclaimer, this is based off a skim through of the 1st book and reading a lot of reviews of the later books.
1. I really really really want to greenlight the vehicle character idea because I think vehicles are super cool and not used enough. But... about half of these maps are in close enough corridors that riding a vehicle would be tough. A motorcycle could fit most places, but it would be tight/awkward. It's definitely possible if you're ok stepping off sometimes and navigating in super tight quarters in other fights. But in general, this AP isn't outdoors a ton and the maps aren't any larger than the average AP. [ooc](But I played a Cavalier in PFS who did his best not to get off his Large horse so who am I to judge.)
2. Yepp, SFS hasn't gotten to that yet. It seems fine... It lets you use Dex instead of Strength at the cost of a feat. Which is good, but not overpowered I think... And it's from this AP, which feels right! I think it's fine, just let me know what weapons you want to use. (Interesting, since AP's might not give out whip or glove like weapons.)
3. It's DEFINITELY not intrigue heavy. That being said, it is a lot more diplomatic/social than Dead Suns as your enemies are intelligent (not cultists or fanatic undead).
4. There's a lot more downtime than other AP's, as you'll be travelling between locations in your ship quite often.
bigboom |
Alrighty! Space goblin it is!
I've come up with an idea for my character. I'm thinking space goblin operative but a spy operative which is a bit different from what I typically encounter. Less adept at combat and stealth while leaning more strongly into disguise and social skills. I particularly like the idea of disguise although I'm not sure how useful that will be, especially being limited to disguising as small sized humanoids. I'm also thinking to go with stunt and strike rather than trick attack.
And per the suggestions in the player guide, I'm thinking free trader archetype with the corporate agent theme and the old hand background. The theme and background feed into a backstory idea I have bouncing around in my head.
Starship skills-wise, this character would probably be best suited for captain. Secondary to that, he could be an okay chief mate, gunner, pilot or engineer - depending on what gaps the party may need filling.
GM Ewok, what do you think? I've mocked up a work-in-progress character sheet with the above ideas in mind.
Cellion |
Hmm, if we won't be outdoors much, then the vehicles build will have to sit on a shelf for another day. (It relies on huge+ sized vehicles to Run Over rather than Ram, because collision DCs don't scale well and Ram is reflex negates) Maybe the Starfinder Kingmaker AP will be the final home for the build?
That sounds neat Bigboom! I've never seen a stunt-and-strike operative in action, but I've tried to build them a couple of times. Sounds like you're going to get a lot of chances to use those social skills.
I'm currently dancing all over the place with my character ideas, digging up various things I wanted to try at some point and also putting together a few new ones, including:
GM Ewok |
Bigboom, that sounds great! I've never seen a Stunt and Strike Operative in action, looks cool. And I do love a chatty goblin.
Cellion, that vehicle build sounds so cool! Unfortunately the Huge vehicles won't fit in most places, I think. I love those character ideas! All four of those sound super sweet.
PaleDim |
That's actually where I am Cellion, except I have eight character sentences for interesting concepts. They're a little more background centered and flexible on class, but my hope is to narrow it down this weekend.
Possibly interested in a combo. What did you have in mind?
Nefreet |
Greetings, all!
This looks like an exciting opportunity and I'm humbled to be here. I think I've GMed for or played with most of you and I'm looking forward to a great group!
I don't have a character concept immediately in mind. I just finished playing an Operative through Attack of the Swarm so I think I'm done with Trick Attack for a good while. Lol.
I played with BigBoom's Handsome Gob so I'm totally fine with a Space Goblin. What other races can we choose from?
Cellion |
Possibly interested in a combo. What did you have in mind?
Nothing really specific yet. Mechanically, I'm just thinking about general things like Biohacker + spellcaster, Anyone inflicting shaken + someone with the cruel fusion, or Forcing enemy movement + melee allies that can take advantage of the AoOs. Narratively I'm thinking about characters that have some familial relationship, as they'd likely be serving on a ship together. More or less I just mentioned it to dangle the idea out there in case anyone has interest.
Also, hi Nefreet! I'm with you on trick attack. It gets kinda monotonous after a while.
Nefreet |
My Bull Rushing Vanguard is probably my favorite current SFS character. I had never really utilized battlefield control before him, and it makes combat really dynamic!
After sleeping on this a bit, the first character concept that came to mind was a Brakim Mechanic. A country yokel type. Named "Stretch", of course!
My second idea was an enthusiastic Skittermander with the Corporate Agent Theme who's actually excited to work for The Company. Maybe an Envoy.
But if you're allowing Scoundrel’s Finesse, then a shield-bashing Solarion might be fun, too.
bigboom |
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Cellion: I can possibly do a combo also.
Nefreet: Heya!! Happy to see you here!! "Stretch"...HA!! You know that made me laugh!
Nefreet |
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I had a couple hours to kill today while waiting for my car to get serviced, and since BigBoom is going with a social, corporate agent type already, I think I'll go with Mechanic:
NAME: Strek Armstrom (nicknamed "Stretch")
RACE: Brakim (Admittance Boon from #1-27)
CLASS: Mechanic (probably Exocortex; although Experimental Weapon Prototype could really fit the whole Brakim adaptability schtick)
THEME: Vaster (this is SO perfect!)
BACKGROUND: Terraformer (Brakim originate from an irradiated wasteland, and have +4 to Swim, so check check!)
ALIGNMENT: Probably Neutral Good ("follow your conscience and put the welfare of others your crew before your own")
STARSHIP ROLE: Engineer (that –5 DC from Vaster is NICE!)
PERSONALITY: Has your car ever broken down in a desert town a hundred miles from the nearest city and there's one dusty mechanic who you can barely understand who laughs and whistles uncomfortably at the slightest possible joke? Yeah...
CATCHPHRASE: "I'm flexible."
Jessica Catalan Organized Play Line Developer |
bigboom |
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PERSONALITY: Has your car ever broken down in a desert town a hundred miles from the nearest city and there's one dusty mechanic who you can barely understand who laughs and whistles uncomfortably at the slightest possible joke? Yeah...
Nefreet, I like how you wrote this while waiting for your actual car to get serviced IRL! Haha!
Everyone, I'll mention though that I think another social character wouldn't be a bad idea. Sounds like that'd be useful with this AP.
On a separate note, if another corporate agent theme is selected, there might be an opportunity to combine our narratives.
Cellion |
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As PaleDim and Ewok know, I'm currently playing a middle-manager skittermander in another game, so this time around will definitely be something less fluffy and with less experience in corporate lingo. As they can attest, I played it up pretty hard in that game :)
@Bigboom: Penalties are all untyped, so as long as they're from different sources they all stack! So, for example: Character A could intimidate to inflict shaken, Character B could Stunt and Strike to Set-up, and attack with a cruel weapon for sickened, Character C could use a biohacker neurochemistry inhibitor, and Character D could overbearing stare. In total -7 to all saves, -9 to Will saves. Its really hard to stack up bonuses to attack rolls or DCs in Starfinder, but surprisingly not too hard to stack penalties.
I'm looking forward to seeing those feinting stunts and set-ups.
Also... "Strek Armstrong"! Wow!
PaleDim |
Nice, we have our first confirmed selection, mechanic is taken!
Yes, the corporate skittermander is highly enjoyable :)
Strek Armstrom |
Also... "Strek Armstrong"! Wow!
"C'mmon mispr'nouncin. Et's Armstrom. Ahm from duh Nordurn cont'nent."
PaleDim |
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Warning: this is all fluff and very little mechanics. I do intend to rough out a feat/level plan much more so than I did for Lenny :) Anyway, feedback welcome:
A naive, impulsive mercenary from The Diaspora who’s forever outrunning a very large debt back home. After intense episodes he calms himself by rubbing a keychain in his pocket. He’s also an avid Xenomon player (Gotta catalog ‘em all!) which he doesn’t like to advertise, as this seems like an embarrassingly childish hobby. These are poorly kept secrets.
While impulsive, he is very considerate and empathetic. He sometimes misses sarcasm and takes people very literally. Often explains or reasons about situations with “common sense” anecdotes from his past or popular culture. He is somewhat self-conscious about being perceived as dependable (largely due to his past).
He is an individual with multiple names. His primary alias from back home that holds the debt is Benjamin “Longhorn” Jørgensen, or “Benny.” Managing his mercenary brand this way is more or less what allowed him to escape death and (for now) his debts.
He believes he has a distinct connection to “Lost Absalom” and the lost world of Golarion. He’s a little obsessed with exploring and following that connection, however impossible it may seem. This is via stories handed down by his parents about having traveled to The Diaspora on an “Immigrant Fleet.” His family harbored a deep affection to this root and wishes to preserve it and “find the motherland” one day via the old archives in Absalom.
It turns out the keychain belonged to a friend back home. He once cheated his best friend to get out of a tight spot, and now that friend is stuck as collateral with a very violent mob boss. In fact his gang connections damaged many or most parts of his personal life before he left home.
Is a recovering gambling addict (yeah, that didn’t help with the debts either :) )
----------------------
Or open if you feel comfortable not letting it bleed into character knowledge
Name: TBD
Nuar Mercenary Soldier? Vanguard? (Solarian would fit too, but I just did that with Lenny, so meh)
Catch-phrases
* “That’s a lot of bull!”
* “Like my old poppy used to say…”
* “I give it 2:1 odds, who wants in on that action!” Usually about the party's own situation, making the suggested bet audaciously for or against them.
Dependable lashunta from a broken home who is wanted for a reward.
Impulsive envoy from a quiet, suburban neighborhood who hasn’t been quite right since “the incident.” Moonlights as an investigator.
A rash biohacker who is secretly dying of a rare disease and desperately seeking a cure.
bigboom |
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Cellion: I did some googling but just to confirm, cruel is a level 6 weapon fusion, right?
PaleDim: A couple more catchphrase ideas...
All: I'm struggling with naming my master of disguises, spy operative goblin. The best I've come up with so far is "Spook" as a nickname or maybe actual name but it doesn't sound cheeky enough for a goblin. Work in progress!
bigboom |
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Alrighty, I'm going to take a page out of Nefreet's book and lay out what I've got so far...
NAME: TBD (maybe "Spook" as a name or nickname)
RACE: Space Goblin (because they're adorable little critters!)
CLASS: Operative w/ "Free Trader" archetype (spy specialization, stunt and strike)
THEME: Corporate Agent
BACKGROUND: Old Hand (been working his way through corporate politics)
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral (sometimes following the rules works, but most times it won't, so a bit of rule bending/breaking will always be needed to get you and your crew ahead)
STARSHIP ROLE: Captain or possibly chief mate, gunner, pilot, science officer (have one or two skill points to spare and can put them somewhere specific to fill any gaps we may have)
PERSONALITY: Profit-driven and likes to sow mischief, confusion and chaos amongst rivals & opponents in order to get ahead. But will prioritize crewmates over profit - if not out of loyalty, then out of practicality where one cannot survive alone out in space. (Although I fully expect this character to develop loyalty with other characters fairly quickly... hard not to after relying on each other after multiple combat encounters!) Also tends to change his physical features on a daily basis with his morphic skin. Some days his ears are smaller, other days he's a little taller, sometimes a bit more gaunt or other times a bit more chubby, etc. He picks up languages of small-sized races because it's easier to disguise himself as those races and speaking their language can make the disguise more effective.
BACKSTORY: Not yet fully formed, but something along the lines of: A goblin who found a way into working at The Company's corporate offices - I'm not sure yet how. Maybe recruited as a goblin with particularly promising profit-making potential or maybe he worked within the company under a disguise the entire time, hiding the fact that he's a goblin. He played office politics to climb the corporate ladder and when it suited him, he'd lie, cheat and steal to get ahead - especially by disguising himself and impersonating others. At some point, if it was known that he's a goblin, he either hit a goblin glass ceiling or broke through it - not sure yet on this either. Ultimately, he got caught doing something bad that he couldn't weasel his way out of - if it was not known that he's a goblin, then he was found out during this incident. Instead of getting fired, he was 'banished' from any further positions at the corporate offices to instead go crew long haul freighters. The Company figures they can still squeeze profit out of him working on ships and he's a goblin, so it's not like he's got a lot of viable employment opportunities elsewhere.
CATCHPHRASE: Not sure yet... but since people may not ever be sure who he really is, perhaps... "Say my name!!"
CURRENT CHARACTER SHEET: LINK (not yet finalized)
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On a separate note, I've been tossing around the idea of picking up the "smuggler" profession and working that into my character's backstory. And while searching through holographic gear to help with disguises, I came across this holographic sashimono. I was trying to think about how this works for a smuggler... A big holographic banner that announces to the world, 'I smuggle things! Don't be shy, ask me anything!'??? hehehe...
PaleDim |
GM, you mentioned we were building these characters using Starfinder society rules *except* that all races are allowed?
PaleDim |
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In case someone felt strongly about vanguard i'm leaning pretty heavily towards soldier right now.
Cellion |
Cellion: I did some googling but just to confirm, cruel is a level 6 weapon fusion, right?
Yep, that's the one.
After some consideration, I'm now waffling between mystic and mechanic. Having two mechanics might be bit redundant, but INT skills + DEX focused is something you can always have more of. And dang if the idea of massively over-focusing on big AoE weapons isn't seductive. OTOH, I've got some neat ideas about making the mystic work well.
PaleDim, are you thinking a melee soldier or a ranged one?
bigboom |
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Cellion, I just recently came across this while taking a closer look at my potential operative build...
In case you haven't already seen this, the Selective Explosions stunt may be of interest for AoE build concepts. It'll require at least a one level dip in operative though (with either a gadgeteer or hacker specialization).
PaleDim |
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PaleDim, are you thinking a melee soldier or a ranged one?
For a space-minotaur, I feel like it ought to be melee.
GM Ewok |
I love what I'm seeing! Yepp, basically any race is allowed, almost all of them are available in Society at some point.
Paledim, I love that concept! It fits a Nuar perfectly. Either Soldier or Vanguard sounds great, though a melee Soldier might feel pretty similar to a melee Solarian in combat.
BigBoom, looks fantastic. I love the morphic skin and the small-race language details.
Cellion, a mechanic would work as long as its a different specialty than Nefreet. Though having a mystic on the team would be a nice change in pace!
And it's time to welcome our sixth member, Remnar! (Half of you know him better as Zulu in the Dead Suns campaign.) Thanks for everybody's patience as I've slowly invited folks, it felt simpler that way.
What we have so far:
Backgrounds: Terraformer, , Old Hand
Classes: Mechanic (Exocortex? Experimental Weapon?), Soldier, Operative
Starship Roles: Engineer, Gunner, Captain
PaleDim |
though a melee Soldier might feel pretty similar to a melee Solarian in combat.
Yes, I thought about that. Vanguard needs more stat stretch than can be provided on an ancestry that doesn't boost its key ability.
I might still play with a ranged or combo soldier though.
Remnar |
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Also, I'm thinking I was gonna go with a technomancer, seems like it'll fit fine.
My first background/personality doesn't seem like it'll fit a ragtag spaceship crew, so I'll still need to read the players guide and see what percolates in the ol brain. Maybe play some Cyberpunk 2077 to get out of my fantasy games lull I've been in lately :)
Remnar |
Ok, old hand is taken, so I'm thinking for theme and background I'm leaning towards grifter/union busted, technomancer.
With ships and cargo and whatnot, it might be fun for one of the soldier/mechanics to think about going the power armor route, loaders could be cool.
I'd have thought about that but it seems those roles are filled now and I'm wanting something more fiddly than Gun Turret Experimental Weapon Zulu was, despite how big his blasts can get.
Ship roles can do science officer or gunner.
Strek Armstrom |
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Great to have you!
Strek is +12 Engineering, but only +7 Computers, so if you want to focus on boosting your Computers skill over Engineering, then we can each be each other's Aid Another partner.
For offense, Strek is taking Heavy Weapon Proficiency at 1st, Versatile Specialization at 3rd, and Weapon Focus at 5th, so his feats are locked in for a while. Probably focusing on single-target Boost weapons combined with Overcharge. His starting weapon is an Ember Agitator.
But he'll definitely need all the help he can get with debuffs.
Strek Armstrom |
Actually, you know what, Strek could take Powered Armor Proficiency at 5th and delay Weapon Focus until 7th in order to qualify for the Powered Armor Jockey Archetype, which only replaces features at 6th, 9th & 12th, and so wouldn't interfere with him taking Improved Overcharge at 8th.
Remnar |
Great to have you!
Strek is +12 Engineering, but only +7 Computers, so if you want to focus on boosting your Computers skill over Engineering, then we can each be each other's Aid Another partner.
For offense, Strek is taking Heavy Weapon Proficiency at 1st, Versatile Specialization at 3rd, and Weapon Focus at 5th, so his feats are locked in for a while. Probably focusing on single-target Boost weapons combined with Overcharge. His starting weapon is an Ember Agitator.
But he'll definitely need all the help he can get with debuffs.
Sounds great, I wish Zulu had gotten into the boost weapons when he had the chance, it never quite worked out with the way the AP went. Adding a few more damage dice would have been fun.
Experimental Weapon will get you the heavy weapon proficiency for free (but not heavy armor IIRC) and Calibrate is crazy powerful, letting you add your level in damage twice.
I haven't had too much issue hitting my target after GM graciously let me switch from Exocortex and really didn't find many of the other Exocortex options coming into play.
And sure, I'll be happy to focus on computers if you want to do the engineering, probably keep enough for aids and I see a few TM things that could be fun for hacking.
I still have a lot of reading to do, haven't even LOOKED at the spell lists yet :)
bigboom |
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Actually, you know what, Strek could take Powered Armor Proficiency at 5th and delay Weapon Focus until 7th in order to qualify for the Powered Armor Jockey Archetype, which only replaces features at 6th, 9th & 12th, and so wouldn't interfere with him taking Improved Overcharge at 8th.
So what you're saying is that "Stretch" is gonna grow up to become "POWER Stretch"?!?!
Perhaps that'll qualify him for another line of work - spokesmodel inserted into this advert!
Remnar |
Actually, you know what, Strek could take Powered Armor Proficiency at 5th and delay Weapon Focus until 7th in order to qualify for the Powered Armor Jockey Archetype, which only replaces features at 6th, 9th & 12th, and so wouldn't interfere with him taking Improved Overcharge at 8th.
That was absolutely the archetype I was looking at too, seems pretty cool.
Nefreet |
Perhaps that'll qualify him for another line of work - spokesmodel inserted into this advert!
If YouTubing was a skill, sir, you'd have Skill Focus in it =D