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Hey folks - please include the Specific Color with each Targeting action even if you think it's "obvious" never hurts to be specific and exactly clear!
Though technically not flanking (corner > side), I realize now I mis-sized the monsters, as such, will rule in favor of the party, in that, against this shape of creature ("tall large"), the "corner > side" flanking will be legal flanking.
BumpUpdated with new players!In the event a PC is "up" for more than 24 hours, this is a buddy system where players vouch to "bot" the missing player alphabetically before and after (and wrapping around) their own PC's name. To assist when you are out, please house "botting instructions" in your character's profile:
◆) Cirri
◆) Guillias
◆) Max
◆) Ryushi
◆) Seishine
◆) Zurrus
I love the smell of teamwork in the morning!
It's actually pretty awesome that Ryushi can still contribute even through Physical resistance and being tapped out of useful spells. Even with the terrible rolls!
Fair enough Max.
Team, I will be traveling this weekend. I should have access at our hotel but will be limited to my phone for access, so not use how much posting I can do. If you are waiting on me, someone may feel free to bot Seishine. Or if preferred, he can go on delay.
I added some guidelines to the bottom of his profile, but honestly I have never had to do that so not sure I provided the details you would want. I can see about adjusting it tomorrow morning before I leave. I will be returning Monday night. Enjoy the weekend, and for anyone in the US, enjoy the holiday.
@Max - fixed!
@DM rainzax - Was Zurrus skipped in Round Four?
The statues did not use AoOs against me when I ran around them, so I think you can provoke without penalty.
@Max - are you shorting yourself a die on Power Attack?
In the event a PC is "up" for more than 24 hours, this is a buddy system where players vouch to "bot" the missing player alphabetically before and after (and wrapping around) their own PC's name. To assist when you are out, please house "botting instructions" in your character's profile:
◆) Cirri
◆) Guillias
◆) Max
◆) Ryushi
◆) Seishine
◆) Zurrus
I added some guidelines to the bottom of his profile...
=)
Big post!
I will be travelling for 2.5 weeks, and wanted to take this opportunty to pause after the First Half of Book One to do some housekeeping before contining into the Second Half of “Despair on Danger Island”!
Here is the Summary of Topics:
...
I am asking that Guillias and Ryushi step down from this campaign - as we will be playing together for potentially a multi-year game, I find their playstyles too difficult to me to adjudicate over the long run.
Farol, a player whom I have played alongside (and had the pleasure of having as a GM), will be rounding out our team as it’s 5th member. Please feel free to introduce yourself(es) and your character(s) to eachother.
Finally, I will introduce my Player Expectations to you, which you can find in my DM Alias. Please read these over, and indicate that you "sign off" on them somehow, before continuing. As a player, I hold myself to the same standard, and as your GM, ask that you help facilitate running the game in this way so I am enabled to focus on the storytelling with greater freedom.
Please advance your character to 12th level, and when you have completed this, announce your decisions in Discussion!
Downtime and Hexploration
Downtime and Hexploration are susbsystems that are measured in days, and we are going to combine them for the Second Half of Book Two: Roving “Danger Island” Fighting Rival Teams for Silver Feathers!
Time will be measured in Hexploration Rounds, or simply, “Hex Turns”, which represent a half hour of time passing in the game world. You may have noticed that “Hex Turns” is the "unit" in the Campaign Tabs; for example “☀️Date: (☑|□□□) @ Early (☑☑,☑☑,☑☑,☑☑), Noon (☑☑,☑☑,☑☑,☑☑), Evening (□□,□□,□□,□□), Late (□□,□□,□□,□□)” means that on Day Zero of the Tournament, the party has spent 16 Hex Turns (or 8 hours) clearing out their Temple, leaving 16 Hex Turns left as Downtime (and 16 for Long Rest), essentially “finishing early” and having some time to kill, before starting Day One of the Elimination Round of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament!
For the purposes of Downtime, . This unit will be consistent through the Second Half of Book One. Any value your character generates as a result of Downtime will be seperately added to their Wealth by Level as it scales (see Wealth by Level Houserule). Also, check out the Retraining and Research subsystems which are another option you can spend your Downtime doing.
Retraining and Research
If you would like to retrain a character option, you can spend one Hex Turn to: Identify the Level of the Option you’d like to retrain, Choose a Pertinent Skill, and roll a Skill Check with that Skill against the Level DC of that Option, with the following outcome:
Critical Success: You gain 2 Retraining Points
Success: You gain 1 Retraining Point
Failure: You gain 0 Retraining Points
Critical Failure: You lose 1 Retraining Point
When you have accumulated enough Retraining Points equal to the number of Days a particular Option requires to retrain (Retraining Link), you successfully retrain into the new Option, effective immediately. As retraining is specific to individual Options, any excess Retraining Points are then lost.
If you would like to Scout one of the other 31 Rival Teams, you can spend four Hex Turns to: Roll a 2d8, Choose one of the Rival Teams you rolled (see below), Choose a Pertinent Skill (“How are you obtaining this information?”), and roll a DC 30 Skill Check with that Skill with the following outcome:
Critical Success: You learn the Ancestry, Background, and Class of each member of that Team, as well as an answer to one question about them, and the next time you face them during the tournament, may name one ally when rolling Initiative to share the better of your two d20 results with (each adding your own modifier to the higher of the two d20 results).
Success: You learn the Ancestry, Background, and Class of each member of that Team, as well as an answer to one question about them!
Failure: You learn nothing, but can retry by spending another 2 Hex Turns to roll again against that same Team.
Critical Failure: You learn nothing, and cannot retry against that Team. If a future 2d8 (rolled by you) indicates this Team, treat the result as an “8” (GM’s choice).
31 Rival Teams (2d8)
1) Arms of Balance
2) Biting Roses
3) Lightkeepers
4) Speakers to the Winds
5) Steps of the Sun
6) The Name Takers
7) Winter's Roar
8) GM's choice
Tracking discovered loot, purchases, and sell-backs is always a challange in tabletop RPGs, so, I am houseruling to “abstract” it in a similar way to how PFS handles character wealth.
Instead of tracking individual coins and treasure, each time there is Character Advancement (Level 12, 13, 14…), characters will be instructed to “soft rebuild” their Wealth according to Table 10-10 with the following Guidelines:
Best Fit
This is not a free rebuild, instead, try to rollover an 80%-90% threshold of continuity between levels. This means to keep the majority of your most expensive items narratively consistent, upgrading or obtaining new items, perhaps “discovered” items along the way, with that last 20%-10% representing things you sell back, consumables you use or trade out, etc. This will be an Honor System enforcement, as I have zero intention of auditing individual characters’ treasure lists with a fine-toothed comb each and every level.
Downtime Wealth
As mentioned earlier, if you created wealth for yourself using the Downtime subsystem (for example by using Earn Income or Craft), this “track” of wealth is seperate from but additive to that which is bestowed by Table 10-10. You are expected to keep a record of this independently, as your character’s base wealth (from the table) will change each time they gain a level, while any created wealth will, in effect, “rollover”.
Discovered Loot
Also seperate from Table 10-10, again similar to how PFS functions, any discovered loot (including consumables) may be used normally by the party through the course of adventuring. Then, when it comes time for Character Advancement, that loot will “disappear”, assumed to either be sold back through the “abstraction” that is this houserule, or, alternatively, Incorporated into your characters new Wealth.
Loot that is Incorporated in this way will recieve a 10% discount from it’s market value, to openly incentivize PCs to use what they find during the Adventure for the Adventure.
Using the Rarity system, I do want to restrict some of the Options characters can use to the following:
-Common character options only.
-Each character gains two (2) Rarity Boons they can use to Access options that are Uncommon or Rare.
-Uncommon options use 1 Rarity Boon - Rare options use 2 Rarity Boons.
-Options (Items) discovered in the AP itself do not require Rarity Boons to use.
-As we progress through the AP, I will likely assign additional Rarity Boons, useable during Character Advancement, while upgrading Wealth, or utilizing the Retraining subsystem.
Any Uncommon or Rare options which your character already have must be freely Retrained (no die rolls / time expenditure, just swapped out for Common options), effective immediately!
When you have conformed your character to this Houserule, please announce what you are spending your Rarity Boons on in Discussion!
Having played this action by the book to the best of my ability, I am unsatisfied with what I percieve to be it’s risk-reward ratio, feeling that it is slightly too punitive to be an action that PCs are willing to take going in “blind” to a new situation. My houserule here is an attempt to loosen that up a little.
This (LINK) is my change.
In a word, I have removed the “disinformation” result from Initial attempts to identify an unknown creature / combatant, only re-introducing that type of result on Retries, as well as explicitly allowing Retries after “failure” results.
This means that Initial checks to Recall Knowledge can be rolled by you, the player, openly, and that I will only activate the Secret trait on Retry attempts to Recall Knowledge against the same subject!
One Caveat: Retries will be allowed whereupon a creature / combatant exhibits a new ability or behavior (action, reaction, spell, strategy, etc), and a character wanting to attempt a Retry must explicitly name the new ability or behavior as a signal to the GM to conduct the Secret check.
Once you have finished reading and completing everything above, please announce your complete Daily Preparations before we officially begin the Second Half of Despair o Danger Island!
...
Please deactivate this alias from the campaign.
Enjoy the trip, GM.
>Level 11< to
>Level 12<
Class Feat: >Evasiveness< proficiency rank for Reflex Saves is now Master.
This is my 3rd Rogue Dedication feat, so I can take other qualification feats.
Skill Feat: >Multilingual< teaches me 2 extra languages.
- Tien, the language of Tian-Xia
- Aquan, the language of creatures of the sea
Proficiency bonus +1.
I can cast 3 6th level spells per day. Spell DC is now 30 (+20 to attacks)
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Hey folks,
It is a pleasure to join your team!
@Chadius, @DoubleGold - it is a pleasure to play with you again!
@Jeremy Packer, @BooleanBear - it is a pleasure to meet you.
I scanned through your PC's. It seems that with Ryushi departure we are missing heals, and a bit of frontline.
I wanted to play Magus, but it ain't gonna fly, so I am leaning towards Warpriest of Ragathiel, to get Heal spells from healing font, skill-wise I would invest into Medicine and Intimidation. I saw that Cirri has nature and natural medicine, but that means that between the fights will take longer. So far I am leaning towards an Orc.
Medicine I will take continual recovery and ward medic to shorten the time.
Any thoughts?
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A little something about the treasure, do we have to upgrade to the exact...or can we take something less? Since we are keeping it 90% the same, sometimes the better version of something don't come until 2 levels later. And there isn't always 2 items we want at said level
original
1. +2 light hammer with a regular striking rune (10th level)
2. Healer's Gloves Greater (invested) (9th Level)
3. Armbands of Athleticism (invested) (9th level)
4. +1 Resilient Half Plate (8th level)
5. Lesser Sturdy Shield (7th level)
6. Cloak of the Elvenkind (invested) (7th level)
New
1. +2 Resilient Half Plate (11th level)
2. +2 light hammer with a regular striking rune (10th level)
3. Ring of Greater fire resistance (invested) (10th level)
3. Healer's Gloves Greater (invested) (9th Level)
5. Lesser Sturdy Shield (7th level)
6. Flaming rune attached to weapons (invested) (8th level)
In this instance, I did a level 8 and a level 7 instead of two level 8s. Then with leftover gold, I buy the cloak of elvenkind so I still have it.
A little something about the treasure, do we have to upgrade to the exact...or can we take something less? Since we are keeping it 90% the same, sometimes the better version of something don't come until 2 levels later. And there isn't always 2 items we want at said level
It's a case of: "Do the best that you can"!
Basically, each level, you can choose between "Permanent Item slots plus Currency" or "one big Lump Sum" per Table 10-10, adding any additional Downtime wealth on top of that.
My objectives are: I don't want to track loot at the spreadsheet level, but, I also don't want PCs to fall behind on gear as they level, and, I want there to be an incentive to use the AP's loot, finally, I want retraining to have an opportunity cost. If that makes sense.
At a glance, your list looks fine, as long as you aren't "cashing out" the difference between an under-slotted item and it's slot.
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Character choices for level 12
I know you ain't doing an exact audit, but here is the equipment choice, still 90% the same, with updated list
1. +2 Resilient Half Plate (11th level)
2. +2 light hammer with a regular striking rune (10th level)
3. Ring of Greater fire resistance (invested) (10th level)
3. Healer's Gloves Greater (invested) (9th Level)
5. Lesser Sturdy Shield (7th level)
6. Flaming rune attached to hammer (invested) (8th level)
7. Bracelet of Dashing (invested): 58 GP
8. +1 Composite Longbow of Striking: 100 GP
9. Bag of Holding 1: 75 GP
10. Adventurer's Pack: 0.7 GP
11. Basic Crafter's Book: 0.1 GP
12. Winter Clothing: 0.4 GP
13. Cookware: 1 GP
14. Levered Crowbar: 20 GP
15. Superb Repair Kit: 25 GP
16. 3 Sheaths: 0.03 GP
17. Writing Set: 1 GP
18. 70 Arrows: 0.7 GP
19. Cloak of Elvenkind: 360 GP
20. 58.07 Gold left over
I get a fighter feat and a skill feat at level 12
Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
Fighter Feat: Advanced Hunter's Trick from my ranger archtype: Gravity Weapon.
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@Farol - Thanks. Good to meet you as well. I look forward to playing with you. As for a character, a warpriest can be a great addition. With at least two of us having skill in medicine, plus my elixirs, I think you could focus a little more on melee then a pure healer.
@GM - Enjoy the trip. I also will be away a bit but will definitely have access this time (travel for work, so internet is a must). I will work on leveling tonight and tomorrow and post things later.
I will assume earning income with craft would work as normal. Roll once and multiply by the 16 "days"? I will post a roll as well. Thanks.
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Class Feat: Dirge of Doom
Skill Feat: Discreet Inquiry
Will need to use both Rarity Boons on Suli and Catfolk.
11: +2 resilient leather armor
10: Explorer's Yurt
10: Maestro's Instrument (Moderate)
9: Sleeve's of Storage (Greater)
8: Hat of Disguise (7th level item)
8: Invisibilty Armor Rune
Purchased:
Adventurer's Pack
Stalwart's Ring
Greater Slick Rune
Moderate Healing Potion
Left over: 38 GP, 5 SP
Essentially,
upgraded:
+1 armor -> +2 armor
restful tent -> explorer's yurt
Gained armor runes, lost Cloak of Repute
Edit: Also a new 6th-level spell that I have yet to choose.
Edit edit: Choosing Scintillating Safeguard as my new 6th-level spell, and swapping out Vibrant Pattern (signature) for 6th-level Haste (signature) as my free swap for the level up. Will need to retrain 3rd-level Haste into a new 3rd-level spell.
@Farol - Thanks. Good to meet you as well. I look forward to playing with you. As for a character, a warpriest can be a great addition. With at least two of us having skill in medicine, plus my elixirs, I think you could focus a little more on melee then a pure healer.
Oh yeah, that is the plan ;) Ragathiel gives me true strike (which I might put into all my low lvl slots (lvl 1 and 2 ;)), haste and fire shield. He has channel smite and a couple of his spells would be harm for that purpose.
I bumped his CHA to have more healing spells from healing front, at the same time I invested heavily into Intimidate (Master in Intimidation, Battle Cry, Intimidating Glare, and on top of that Mask of Pain to add some damage to every demoralize that I do.
From feats, I went into Sentinel Archetype for Full-plate and armor specialization for damage reduction.
I took also Channeled Succor to be able to swap heal from healing font to Restoration, Remove Curse/Paralisys/disease. Just if we need it. The spells are heightened to the level of heal spells so lvl 6.
I took Replenishment of War and Shared Replenisment, so as long as I hit with my Bastard Sword I get 6 temp HP, or I can pass them to ally that is 10 ft away, I hope that it will provide some damage mitigation.
Since my spellcasting proficiency is lower I will focus on the spells granting bonuses: Heroism, Zealus Conviction (gives each +12 temp HP and +2 will saves), Blink Charge (rather for teleporation than actual attacking), Vital Beacon (to allow for 1-action heals), etc. I should finalize my PC this week.
Item it will be short (I took lump sum:
- Full plate + 2 Resilient
- +2 Greater Striking Barstard Sword with Ghost Touch and Shifting runes
- Diviner nose chain as it looks cool :D and gives scent
- Couple of scrolls of faerie fire
I will experiment with the items instead of lump sum, and I will see where I land. I need for my Bastard sword to be shifting to deal other types of damage, as using Ragathiel favorite weapon is to important for Warpriest.
============================
So far definitely his weak spot is range damage, as clerics lack decent damage cantrips, I looked at some blast spells, so I can revisit them again.
I'm making the following upgrades to my equipment:
- Wovenwood Shield, Minor (4th) -> Wovenwood Shield, Moderate (10th)
- Leather Armor, +1 Resilient (8th) -> +2 Resilient (11th)
- Apply Ghost Touch runes to my Handwraps of Striking +2 (costs 67.5 gp)
Glad to see you here Ragathiel. Cirri's main schtick was transmutation, but I need to ration my spells better. Not enough spell slots. When we get to town there's more wands I want to buy.
Ok, my PC is mostly ready.
I still need to fill in the list of feats to make it clearer. Still some work to be done.
=========================
I need to run a simulation for lump sum vs item. I noticed that permanent items for LVL 12 PC don't give you lvl 12 items. So means no greater rune of striking. Not having that extra dice bothers me, but maybe it is ok, as from what I see all of you roll like that. Not spending half of my budget on a prime weapon, would mean that I can buy more things.
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Hey folks!
I will be getting back on the horse this weekend - I left you with a lot, now I have a lot to ketchup on, but am looking forward to beginning the second half of book one!
Hey folks!
I will be getting back on the horse this weekend - I left you with a lot, now I have a lot to ketchup on, but am looking forward to beginning the second half of book one!
No worries mate, take your time. I hope that your vacation was cool. I can't wait to get this one going.
@ Everyone - I am getting back on the horse today, so lots of Trackers incoming to organize that Downtime, as well as addressing everything else incumbent upon this Big Post.
@ Doublegold, Farol, and Jeremy Packer - I really liked your submissions in the Edgewatch game I am now running, but felt strongly about either taking all three of you or none of you, at this time, to keep this game together most coherently. That said, if I may take liberties here, I will keep you each in mind in the event that game needs reinforcements, and will PM you to gauge your interest at such a time.
=)
Edit: Yes, use Level 11 for Downtime, both the 11th level version of your character when making die rolls, as well as Level 11 Tasks if Earning Income, etc. I will presume most of you did unless I hear otherwise, as i am not really interested in double-checking your math (please double check your own, or if you have a question, post it here).
Edit II: I think chunking Earn Income days into 4-days per roll is a neat way of packaging that, thanks for the idea. And if we ever half to "round off" the final "chunk" multiplying by a different number, it still ends up quite neat. So yes, let's stick to that. And yes, if you critically fail a roll for 4 days ("fired"), you are free to try again with a new "chunk" of 4 days but using a different skill for that Downtime phase.
Edit III: I have distributed Hero Points to our new player (3) as well as to each returning player (1ea), tracked in my DM alias.
As we transition into Phase Two of Book One, I am open to any and all feedback, expressed here openly, locked behind a spoiler, or privately PMed to me, which I will lookover while everyone organizes themselves in Gameplay (and while I work on fulfilling the outcomes of the party's very successful Research).
Feel free to take this in any direction you like, or to skip it entirely (for now?), but if you'd like some structure, here are some jump start questions:
Q) Are you having fun? How can the game be more fun for you?
Q) Do you feel you have sufficient game information to make informed decisions? How could it be made clearer to you?
Q) Did you check out the "PbP Player Expectations" in my DM Alias? Do you think they are reasonable and fair?
Q) Praise is nice, but Constructive Criticism is useful - permission to not "pull punches" granted.
Q) Is there anything else you need from me as a DM to actively participate?
Cheers.
Is this the >Wealth Tracker<?
>Stated here<
- Wovenwood Shield, Minor (4th) -> Wovenwood Shield, Moderate (10th)
- Leather Armor, +1 Resilient (8th) -> +2 Resilient (11th)
- Apply Ghost Touch runes to my Handwraps of Striking +2 (costs 67.5 gp)
I'm bad with money and fear, so please call me out if I missed something.
Character bar updated.
I don't have a pick for Uncommon. Not sure what my possibilities are, so I'll forefeit it for now.
I'm still working on the Daily Preparations and feedback.
Yes, that is the Wealth Tracker link.
And unless there is something else, that Wovenwood Shield is of Uncommon rarity, so you can use your 2nd Boon to retain it.
Ok, i finished my "HW" bearing fruit to your research. Pending a few outstanding questions and other bits.
The next phase of this game, after players finish their HW (including feedback, etc), is to prepare for another three Hexploration days, which will involve some random elements in terms of actually encountering these 31 Rival Teams, and interacting with the "Bonmu" map, travelling the island and wagering feathers as you challenge or are challenged by other teams in turn.
Though I am beat for today, I will be working on a coherent way to present that to you, as well as a deciding on a quorum system (I'm thinking "2"...), to ease the play of undertaking Hexploration via PbP!
Maybe aiming towards the latter half of this week to get the plot rolling again?
=)
And unless there is something else, that Wovenwood Shield is of Uncommon rarity, so you can use your 2nd Boon to retain it.
Oh, right, that is Uncommon. Thanks for noting it.
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Q) Are you having fun? How can the game be more fun for you? Yes, haven't played long enough to know the answer to the second one.
Q) Do you feel you have sufficient game information to make informed decisions? How could it be made clearer to you? Yes, but sometimes I let others make the decisions, I don't like to dictate.
Q) Did you check out the "PbP Player Expectations" in my DM Alias? Do you think they are reasonable and fair? Yes and Yes. I forgot to bot cause I was busy during gamedays, now I have more time to do it.
Q) Praise is nice, but Constructive Criticism is useful - permission to not "pull punches" granted. A warning that you are about to kick a player from the game before you do it would be nice and a chance to work it out with them. I'd like to have a steady ongoing party. Players/Characters leave before I get to know them.
Q) Is there anything else you need from me as a DM to actively participate? Nope.
@ Doublegold, Farol, and Jeremy Packer - I really liked your submissions in the Edgewatch game I am now running, but felt strongly about either taking all three of you or none of you, at this time, to keep this game together most coherently. That said, if I may take liberties here, I will keep you each in mind in the event that game needs reinforcements, and will PM you to gauge your interest at such a time.
Completely understandable. Fresh faces are always a good thing, and one of the great things about the forums is all the various people there are on here.
With that said, welcome back. Hope it was a relaxing time. I've had a heck of a weekend with work, so it will likely be tomorrow before I fully catch up but I will try and post much more tomorrow morning.
@ Doublegold, Farol, and Jeremy Packer - I really liked your submissions in the Edgewatch game I am now running, but felt strongly about either taking all three of you or none of you, at this time, to keep this game together most coherently. That said, if I may take liberties here, I will keep you each in mind in the event that game needs reinforcements, and will PM you to gauge your interest at such a time.
How could you!?!?!?! You rejected Fishhead! Kobold will not let this one slide!
Kidding, and I understand that. It is always a GM choice, you put way more hours into the game than any player, so pick the ones that suit you. There is no need to explain.
=============================== GM feedback
I just joined, so I will not comment at this point. (but yet I wrote something :)) The expectations are clear, I don't see a problem with them. I also played in Snakes of the Grass with you, so I did see your way of communicating (when you rarely point out the failure but ask players to reread the rules).
I will strengthen what DoubleGold wrote, I would hope to get a note if I were removed from the game. I totally see the reasons why you may not want someone at a table. AP's last long time, and it is a balance of joy/chores.
At a similar note, I as a new player would enjoy some guidance on how to introduce myself to the team. Do I pretend to be their all along? Would there be some reshuffling happening? I wanted at first to RP the fact that my team resigned/got themselves killed but I wanted to stick along. But I did not know how to do it.
==================================== Player
Rarity Boons:
1. Orc ancestry is uncommon
2. Diviner's nose chain is an uncommon item.
Since I missed that Second Chance Champion is Uncommon I changed it to Abadar's Revenger (different Lore: Goka Lore, instead of Gladiator, Assurance (Religion) instead of Cat Fall) attributes are the same. Story-wise I am thinking that someone from Abadar church came and hinted that the vault of artifacts could contain stolen elements, and Drockhar as a cleric of the General of Vengeance could take a look if that is the case.
Daily Preparations: I think we are still waiting for the briefing right? Since the spells could change if I know that we will challenge a certain team I will refrain from saying anything now.
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Hey folks,
Thank you for the incoming feedback, and let me address a single concern at this time: From here on out, I expect the party to stabilize into it's mold, and I personally will not kick out ask anyone further to step down. If there becomes a problem, I intend to simply work it out. This is The Team.
If the time comes for someone to step down by their own accord, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
=)
This is my first time with a high level character in Pathfinder 2nd ed. It's been a lot of fun so far. The DCs are higher than I expected (often we needed a roll of 14-17 to succeed) but we do have Juggernaut/Evasion/Resolve so Success becomes a Critical Success. I guess I'm saying it's nice to feel powerful and the risks feel even more risky. Healing seems difficult to keep up with. But this is more of a discussion of PF2's difficulty rather than your style.
I do like how you're going to house rule knowledge checks. When we know what to exploit the fight gets a lot easier and more exciting. Like when we started tripping the statues and they had to waste actions standing up. Looks like they were quickened, so I'm guessing the elemental bombs caused them to go berserk.
I'm always thankful for your patience and keeping us on track when we make mistakes or miss rulings (like the Uncommon shield I've been using all this time without noticing its rarity.) If there's any confusion over a ruling, feel free to declare something. I'm a fan of telling a story over getting the rules exactly correct, and often the ruling is quite minor.
The Player Expectations are nice because everyone knows the ground rules before starting.
I do like how you give the enemies some personality, even if they are simple statues or stinky stag beasts. Helps add some personality to this dungeon crawl. I can only kick down the door so many times before I get bored. Imagining the stone statue master give a "come and get some" gesture made me giggle.
I'm having a lot of fun and I can't wait for our next adventure.
And my
Prepared Spells
Cantrips, at Will
- Healing Plaster
- Know Direction
- Light
- Spout
- Stabilize
Spell List 1, 3 per day
- Air Bubble
- Feather Fall
- Hydraulic Push
Spell List 2, 3 per day
- Enlarge
- Barkskin
- Darkvision
Spell List 3, 3 per day
- Crashing Wave
- Haste
- Crashing Wave
Spell List 4, 3 per day
- Fey Form (Dryad)
- Freedom of Movement
- Soothing Spring (Cast time: 1 minute)
Spell List 5, 3 per day
- Animal Form (Ape) (H+3)
- Vital Beacon (H+1)
- Geyser
Spell List 6, 3 per day
- Stoneskin (H+2)
- Dragon Form (Bronze)
- Dragon Form (Silver)
Wand of Longstrider (2nd)
- Longstrider
Staff of Healing
- Prepare 6 slots for the day
And my
Cantrips, at Will
- Shield ◆ Hardness 15, +1AC
- Divine Lance Lawful or Good
- Chill Touch
- Detect Magic
- Prestidigitation
Spell List 1, 3 per day
- Bless
- True Strike ◆
- True Strike ◆
Spell List 2, 3 per day
- True Strike ◆
- True Strike ◆
- Fearie Fire
Spell List 3, 3 per day
- Fear
- Haste
- Warding Aggression
Spell List 4, 3 per day
- Fire Shield
- Divine Wrath
- Harm (+3)
Spell List 5, 3 per day
- Harm (+4)
- Harm (+4)
- Blink Charge
Spell List 6, 3 per day
- Heroism +2
- Vampiric Exsanguination
- Blinding Fury
Healing Font 6th lvl, 5 per day
Heal
I am having fun with the adventure! You give us plenty of information to make decisions and I appreciate how you keep the game moving forward. The player expectations were very helpful coming in, especially since this is my first PbP experience on these forums. I will say that pointing out what a player does wrong if you happen to already know might help keep things from stalling, but I understand that's more work for you and it's completely reasonable to expect us to actually read the rules :P Plus you keep things moving quickly enough that it makes up for any stalls.
But yeah, so far you've made my PbP experience here very fun!
Since I had a lucky Nat 1 on the casting of Lucky Number, Zurrus will spend a 2nd-level spell slot to extend the spell's duration, per the rules on Long Durations. Since the spell is extended and not re-cast I should be able to keep that number, if I'm reading it correctly.
If a spell’s duration says it lasts until your next daily preparations, on the next day you can refrain from preparing a new spell in that spell’s slot. (If you are a spontaneous caster, you can instead expend a spell slot during your preparations.) Doing so extends the spell’s duration until your next daily preparations. This effectively Sustains the Spell over a long period of time.
At a similar note, I as a new player would enjoy some guidance on how to introduce myself to the team. Do I pretend to be their all along? Would there be some reshuffling happening? I wanted at first to RP the fact that my team resigned/got themselves killed but I wanted to stick along. But I did not know how to do it.
Let's work this out in Discussion right now?
What is the "story" behind Drockhar's joining?
Somewhere between "just arrived" and "been here all along"?
The original story (at least from Cirri's POV):
Cirri, an avid archeologist, anthropologist and bird watcher, travels around Golarion recording and observing the various flora and fauna. She also explores old ruins to record their history, using their spare treasures to fund her journeys.
The Ruby Phoenix Tournament represents an opportunity to speak to the interplanar sorceress Hao Jin directly. The winner even gets to explore her vault of treasures she's collected throughout the ages. This is too good an opportunity to pass up. So much interplanar knowledge, and all she has to do is win this tournament obsessed with fighting or whatever.
Cirri hightailed it here, paid the entry fee for herself and a team she found along the way. Cirri's not too picky as long as they aren't evil at heart. So she's the sponsor of the team, and the teammates named the team after her.
Cirri's Corsairs are here to win, but step one was to clean up a creepy ghost filled temple. That's mostly completed, so she finally has a chance to relax.
----
Possible hooks:
- You're one of the initial teammates Cirri recruited before the journey
- We were one person short of a legal sized team and you were a free agent, so we hired you and Cirri paid for your entry
- We found you at the temple and decided another teammate would help us clear it out.
Drockhar reason for being there was too learn more about vault, Did Hao Jin really had a vault full of powerful artifacts? Were she really avatar believer, or someone trying to build her own cult? Was she manipulating others all along, letting them with treasures?
He could have met Ciri before and turn her offer down believing that he does not need to join the tournament to get his answers. But after finding his way to the temple he realized that alone he can't do anything so this time he approached Ciri and offered to join them.
_-------
I prefer to have a story that allowed me to not know what happened in the temple. That way i will be able to ask. Sounds good?
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Hey folks,
Not trying to draw out anticipation, setting up the next yearlong chapter of our game is taking a little longer than I anticipated. I think I’ll be mostly completed by the weekend, and you can expect to be back into the full swing of things by the beginning of next week.
Cheers.
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Summary
◇) Direction
◇) Activities
◇) Visibility
◇) Random Encounters
◇) Challenges
◇) Terms
Check the Campaign Headers and click "Bonmu: LINK"
With it's hexogonal structure, there are essentially six (6) cardinal directions (mind the compass - "North" points right):
➤West (W)
➤Northwest (NW)
➤Northeast (NE)
➤East (E)
➤Southeast (SE)
➤Southwest (SW)
Budgeting 32 Hex Actions per day - which includes Rest and Downtime - you will primarily be taking two:
◆, ◆◆, or ◆◆◆) Travel
◆, ◆◆, or ◆◆◆) Reconnoiter
The number of Hex Actions a hex requires to Travel to or Reconnoiter within is always one (◆) for regular terrain, two (◆◆) for difficult terrain, or three (◆◆◆) for greater difficult terrain.
These activities are active Group activities, meaning that each person in the group "pays" for those actions, with Individual activities (like Rest and Downtime) being tracked separately.
Depending on weather conditions, visibility may advance as the party explores the island - I will remove the little clouds for each new hex at such a time.
Anytime the party uses the Travel or Reconnoiter action, there will be a chance they happen upon another Team, which I will roll openly in my resolution posts. Additionally, each hex may or may not have pre-existing Sites of their own, some visible through mere Travel, others more hidden but discoverable via Reconnoiter.
In the event a Rival Team is encountered, I will give the party the opportunity to discuss among themselves what approach they want to take, including issuing or accepting any Challenges.
If both Teams agree to a Challenge, a couple things will happen before we move into Encounter Mode:
1) Negotiation of Terms
2) Set up Tokens / Map
3) Play any Setup Rounds (see Terms)
4) Teams may roll Initiative and Draw Weapons
There will be a group skill check to represent the Negotiation of Terms (one Lead Check plus any Aid, decided before rolling), followed by each Team having Choice over the two of the four Terms (see Terms) - the winner of the check choosing the first two, and the loser choosing the leftover two. Then I will set the Map accordingly, place Tokens, run any Setup Rounds, and finally roll Initiative. The rules of engagement require combatants to begin empty-handed, meaning both sides will have to draw shields and weapons only after they have rolled Initiative.
An important meta-game note: I will run enemy spellcasters as if they too are conserving some their slots for the whole day - a decent expectation might be about 1 per spell level to which they have access, or thereabouts.
The winner of the Negotiation of Terms skill check chooses two Terms below to have Choice within - the loser has Choice of the remaining two.
□) Feathers (1, 2, or 3)
□) Terrain (two or more options)
□) Starting Distance (usually 0 feet, 30 feet, or 60 feet)
□) Number of Prep Rounds (none, 1 round, or 1 minute)
An important meta-game note: I will Scale the difficulty of the Challenge proportional to the number of Feathers at stake using GM tools! Beware!!
...
And we're off!
After questions, Ingdani will prompt the party about which part of the island to explore first!
And we're off!
After questions, Ingdani will prompt the party about which part of the island to explore first!
I made a stab at Party Token, so far put it next to the slide, awaiting approval. It is grouped set of items (5 avatars and a circle) so if we want to change anyone's avatar (I hope I took the right ones ;)) one just needs to Right-mouse button and Ungroup, do the changes, select the all items and group again.
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In Campaign Tabs currently:
♠️Silver Feathers: (☑☑☑☑□,□□□□□)
Reminder: Quorum of Two to move the party along.
If you would all prefer to up that amount to Three, let's decide that now here in Discussion?