Thanks all. I’m sore and stoned but home safe and recovering.
Hey y'all, just checking in to see where we're at...
I'm assuming we are still waiting for GH to recover from surgery. Last post I seen, he said he was doing well and almost on his feet, weening off the drugs.
All loot has been resolved with everyone agreeing to accept a base 6k inventory total. So, character sheets need to reflect a total of 6k in gear and coin.
Aside from that, Karga has new been introduced to the group and we are waiting for an update from GM to move along.
Note: We still haven't been updated, at this point, on what's happening with the captives, or what's going to happen with the creature behind that special door. I still hold the amulet that opens the door as I believe it might be a story line item.
I continue to recover. Sorry its taking so long but I can only sit at the computer for so long, and I'm currently easing back in to work, so that's eating up a lot of my computer time (plus GM posts take a lot longer than a simple player post, especially when you have to wrap up the previous book). You are not forgotten though- hopefully I'll be able to get us going again before too much longer. Has everyone had a chance to get their gear straightened out?
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Completely understandable. Do not rush your recovery.
No worries, take your time and don't rush things.
Actually I do need to check about gear and finish that up. I sort of set it aside for later since we had the hiatus, and of course forgot about it almost immediately.
I'll also throw out a question to anyone who might have an opinion. At 6th level Nico will have gotten most all of the bennies that matter from Bolt Ace. It's a good time for Nico to multiclass out. I've toyed around with some ideas but the best choices make a short list. Fighter (probably Weapon Master archetype), Slayer (probably Sniper archetype), or Warpriest.
Fighter: Pros, tones of feats, enough to pick up a 2nd role, like the non-magical healing feat line. Cons: Not many skill points, which makes something like the non-magical healing feat line hard to do well.
Slayer: Pros: Studied Target is very nice, a few ranger bonus feats through talents, a few more skill points. Cons: none, but doesn't offer big gains either, just a little more general versatility.
Warpriest: Pros: access to full cleric spell list to 6th level, bonus combat feats. Cons: Reduced BAB, reduced HP, Too late for sacred weapon/sacred armor to have much impact.
Any opinions or observations on this from anyone?
Thats a tough call Nico. I know I went with Ranger Trapper in order to pick up Disable Device. I chose Ranger for this in order to maintain my BaB vs. Rogue class. I figured Diego was on the front-line opening doors more often than not, so I wanted the ability to search and disarm when needed, so I dipped.
It really comes down to how you feel. Do you feel like something is missing or are you not able to do stuff in the game do to a lack of something. If so, then dip in order to round out your playstyle. The dynamic of the game also has some play in this. Is something missing in the group. what's the environment like. Are we having problems talking with people. Do we have to many squishy characters, How's the group's damage output. Etc.
You are focused on range, and I think one of the issues I have seen with range is a single sold hit with enough damage to bypass damage reduction. So, if you can add in something that has scaling damage as you level, that would be a plus. Power attack/bow equivalent. If more Feats gets that done for you, then fighter for sure.
The only archer I ever attempted to put together was a Magus/Arcane archer combo, which had fairly strong scaling damage potential.
Welcome back. Finished school on my end.
I'm not really concerned about the core ranged stuff. The next time we level up Nico will get dex to damage with a crossbow. She already has deadly aim, which is the ranged power attack. When DR becomes a thing, carrying magical bolts of various types can help, and Hammer the Gap is a feat that reduces the effect of iterative attacks with ranged weapons. Nico will stick with a light crossbow, so reloading is a free action just like standard bows so iterative attacks aren't a problem.
There's nothing wrong with staying in Bolt Ace, it's just that after dex to damage at level 5, it's mostly just BAB increases and piddly or niche class abilities to look forward to.
Weapon Master Fighter give Weapon Specialization for the chosen weapon early, and might top out at a little more damage. But all the extra feats allows for doing a second whole new thing aside from ranged.
Slayer offers less that's really new from Bolt Ace, but Talents allow versatility, studied target is attack and damage bonuses, and Sniper allows sneak attack to be applied at longer range.
As things stand now, we're a low magic and wand dependent party. This will make things progressively more difficult for as we move on through higher levels. Nico is have the INT for anything arcane, but a good WIS. Cleric spells overlap with Karga's Inquisitor spells some, but Inquisitors tend to need to self-buff alot, and can't change up their spell selection daily. Warpriest sacrifices some BAB and HP for the casting, but some more casting might be worth if since Nico's ranged.
It's understandable that we would be light on spells. We began with all martial classes. That said, I believe you are correct with thinking that more divine spell casting would be beneficial. At least from a group perspective. As long as you're not sacrificing too much to gain it. I'm not that familiar with Bolt Ace, so I'll take your word that the class caps out at a low level. If you don't gain much after level five, I would be looking at what else is available. Ranged War priest sounds interesting to me, but you simply can't discount the fighter's feats. I would really look a the feats and see if there is something that makes dipping fighter worth it. Spells vs. Feats, weigh them out and see which one is better for your build. If you can selectively gain most the feats without fighter, then I would go War Priest. If the fighter feats make more since, then I would dip fighter.
Warpriests count class levels as fighter levels for their bonus feats, so they can get weapon specialization on top of divine casting. It’s not a terrible way to go, if you’re willing to give up the BAB.
Slayer is a solid class and can be a good continuation for gunslingers (and bolt aces), and have plenty of skill points if you want to persue non-casting healing and/or UMD, although you might need to spend a feat on additional traits to make those class skills.
If you’re looking for more switch hitting, brawler might be worth considering? With unarmed strikes you don’t need to drop your crossbow to get into melee and they get some regular bonus feats plus martial flexibility to adjust to situations as they arise. You wouldn’t lose any skill points either.
Another option that occurs to me that hasn’t been mentioned is a kineticist. If you invest in a conductive crossbow you can apply you kinetic blast to your first shot each round which would obviously increase your damage and depending on your element you could potentially pick up some abilities that would normally be covered by spells (like flight, or some crowd control options).
edit: oh, and if you really want casting, I think we could pretty reasonably let you use arcane archer with a crossbow instead of bow. I know you were concerned about not having the stats for arcane casting but an Empyreal wildblooded sorcerer uses Wis as their casting stat.
Ranger Fortune Finder gets both studied target and favored enemy. As mentioned, Brawler gives a lot of flexibility. Fighter Skirmisher gets 4 skill points and has full weapon training benefits but nothing early.
Thanks for all the suggestions! They give me a bunch of new possibilities to consider, along with a minor case of choice paralysis! I won't have to make a choice about what to do until it's time to level to 6th though, so I have plenty of time to game through the various options.
@Alistair, what are your plans for Bard levels? Is it a dip, or are you going with Bard now? The reason I ask is if you're going with Bard that goes a long way toward reducing my concerns about a lack of arcane casting in the party. A lot of the fundamental arcane buffs like Haste, Heroism, etc. are on the Bard list.
There is one other option I could consider that I might add back in, Inquisitor. I had dropped it from consideration since Karga is now in the party. But, after looking over her character sheet, I don't think they would be all that alike. I'd choose the Sanctified Slayer archetype, and maybe Ravener Hunter as well. They'd still share the spell list, but spontaneous casters can just coordinate to choose different spells to reduce overlap and make more of the spells on the list available.
EDIT: I also need to read up on the Advanced Weapon Training options for Fighters. Apparently the new stuff from Weapon Masters Handbook was a game changer for Fighters, but I've not looked at it.
I can stick with it. Not my original plan but it suits Alistair and as mentioned some of the buffs could be extremely useful.
Oh, I wasn't suggesting you ought to, just wondering how deeply I should look into arcane archer as a possibility. I could do something like BA 5, Empyreal Sorcerer 2, and be in at 8th level. I could also do a single level of sorcerer and be in at 7th, but that's pretty weak.
It's not ideal. I can't afford more sorcerer levels without taking a big hit to BAB, and Nico is foremost a shooter. The problem is that by the time I'd be getting 3rd level spells, where the good spells really start, I'd be around 12th level. That's a long time to wait for basic buffs. On the other hand, spell DCs would be so behind the curve that anything requiring an opposing saving throw would be almost futile to cast.
I'd need to stick to casting buffs and utility spells.
I think bard meets two of our needs, some basic healing and buffs. I'm good with it.
Hey everyone, I’m really sorry for falling silent without any notice!
Transitioning back into normal/full-time/in-person work after my surgery has been more difficult than expected. If I had more sick time available it would have been good to wait a little longer. Regardless, I continue to recover pretty well for the most part and I will get this game going as soon as I'm able (if you haven't all given up already by then).
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
No problem GH. Be well, pbp is a game of patients. Post when you can.
Take your time GH and get better for sure. We'll be around.
All good, take care.