The discussion thread is here for all your general out-of-character banter and discourse. More complex rules questions and discussions would be better handled here so as not to clutter the gameplay thread, but simpler ones should be fielded in the actual gameplay thread.
Delighted to be selected and signing in!
Just as a notification for players, I will have the first in-character post of the game up later today (as it's just after midnight EST as of this post) due to running a bit behind yesterday.
*happy gasp!* ZOMG, and thank you so much! I'm so excited for this!
Hello everyone. Excited to go on this adventure with all of you.
Would you prefer I create a separate alias for my familiar or is it fine how I have it now?
Would you prefer I create a separate alias for my familiar or is it fine how I have it now?
That is entirely up to you and will very likely depend on whether you intend for her to be roleplayed a significant amount. It would probably be advisable if you intend for her to speak a lot, but I am not requiring it.
Wow. I’ll be honest, I really did not expect to be chosen for this game given how many excellent submissions there were. I’m pleased to have been wrong!
I’ll create a separate alias for Edér since I do plan to roleplay him a fair amount. I’m also considering swapping a couple of Bronwyn’s spells but otherwise don’t think there are any changes I need to make.
Bronwyn’s primary party roles will involve scouting (Perception +19, Stealth and Disable Device +22, the ability to disarm magical traps, plus a phantom who can poke his head through walls) and ranged damage, (she’s definitely not as optimized for damage as some other submissions but should be able to hold her own). Most of her spell list is devoted to buffing. I did originally choose a couple bad touch spells to take advantage of the phantom’s ability to deliver them, but her spell save DCs are low enough that I’m considering swapping them out for more buffs. (Which can also be delivered via phantom if necessary.) Edér will probably spend most of his time incorporeal, intimidating enemies and protecting allies with his Defending Aura.
Question for our GM: would you allow Edér to Aid Another in combat while incorporeal? RAW I don’t think he can, since it requires an attack roll and he can’t attack unless in ectoplasmic form. However I think a ghost in your face would be plenty distracting and it would make logical sense for him to be able to help that way.
Looking forward to gaming with you all!
Hello! Just wanted to pop in and give a bit of info on Vol, as I finalize a few more bits and pieces:
*Bit of background details(he is from the Forgotten Realms)*
He gathered and lead an army of Durzagon, Maeluth, Draegloths, Tanarukk, Fey'Ri, and Daemonfey to help the Zhents and House Dlardrageth/Sarya in their efforts to successfully conquer the Dalelands, Myth Drannor, and Myth Glaurach.
Which means he helped alter canonical FR history, which I have the GM's approval for. Not that it really matters in Kisarta post death, but I thought it was a cool tidbit to share with those who might be familiar with the realms.
*Some of his personality*
I envision him as a hero of the above fiendish races, and evil orgs/groups. Basically, all the classic good guy/Paladin traits(wise, charismatic, noble, intelligent/cunning) just evil lol.
Or like Seer said in reply, 'A dark knight in other words!' but my description was more fun.
*Build highlights*
He's clearly our tank/melee damage dealer. AC of 30, DR 5/good or silver, 162 HP, and currently at +19 to hit, dealing 4d6+7 damage.
However, he's also a decent face(maybe not primary, but can at least assist), thanks to a 24 Charisma. He should specifically end up with a pretty high Intimidate(I need to fully calculate all of that).
Greetings everyone! It seems like we'll have quite the interesting group for certain.
Build-wise, the Sphinx class gives Rahlmaat amazingly good stats, the leonine claws + rake + pounce combo, and surprisingly good AC. From Hedgewitch she has a wide variety of skills and a lot of bits of magical lore that she remembers, and she can dredge through her memory to temporarily remember a bit more. Numerically she has a +16 to attack and deals 2d6+9 damage with each of her claws, and an AC of 37... but I've built her such that she will almost always have a couple of Divination senses active, and she gets +1 to her attack bonus and AC for each sense active (up to 2 or 3 at present). So she's quite capable of being a melee front-liner.
Her *real* passion is knowledge, though. She has eight knowledge skills trained with a +19 in them, and every time she rolls knowledge she can add a d8 and roll twice and take the better result. She will be extremely eager to learn everything about this new place she finds herself in, because there is little she loves more than learning. Most of all, though, she wants to learn what the forgotten epiphany that got her killed was.
Rahlmaat and Volgroruth, are the two of you using/planning to use Automatic Bonus Progression? It looks like Straehan, Amn, and Kiya are doing so. Currently Bronwyn is not but I could swap her over easily enough.
I think with ABP it makes the most sense either for everyone to use it or no one. Otherwise it becomes a bit weird when certain magic items exist for only half the party.
I'm using the alternate Oath point system from Spheres, and taking Vow of Poverty(and maybe Absolute Poverty), to basically gain the same bonuses as ABP.
Amn I just noticed you have both dodge and mobility feats on your sheet but we're using the elephant in the room feat tax rules. This means those two feats are combined and you should be able to take another feat.
Rahlmaat is also using Oaths to do something similar to ABP.
Ooh, good catch! That was my level 6 Monk feat, and a few other monk feats are affected... So, swapped it for Deft Maneuvers. Amn can maybe trip or disarm enemies if need be.
Hiya, guys! Happy to be playing with you!
Some thoughts and whatnot...
Party Role: Strae is a generalist and dedicated arcane caster. Offensively, he is a fire-blaster but he has a lot of useful spells (Haste, Dispel Magic, etc.). My philosophy on Sorcerers is the more spells they can get, the more of a benefit they are to the team… so that’s how I built him. As a generalist, he’ll be playing second fiddle… as a Scout/Rogue (less skilled than Bronwyn) and an Answer Man (WAY less skilled than Rahlmaat). But given the unknowns in this game, having backups seems like a good idea. I’ve never enjoyed playing ‘stand off’ casters, so Strae is a different beast. He’s mobile and not afraid of going toe-to-toe, often moving around the battlefield to use close range spells to best effect. So, while conventional wisdom says keep your casters in the middle of the party, Strae is happier being a scouting buddy for Bronwyn and trying to bring nasty spells to bear before the battlefield gets crowded with friendlies. But I’m flexible in my approach.
I am a little short on skill points so I’m shifting them around a bit, mostly moving spare point from K skills (since Rahlmaat has that locked up handily) to other spots where they may prove less redundant.
On the subject of ‘ABP vs Oaths vs conventional builds’, I am totally fine with the different approaches we have going. I haven’t played with SoS before but I have faith he can navigate those waters so no one feels slighted. Just my 2 cents, feel free to take it or leave it.
SoS - would you approve of me changing one of my traits to a reskinned version of Intrigued by Thassilon? In Strae’s world it would be ‘Intrigued by Shaudra’ and is essentially his campaign history. The trait abilities would remain identical minus the 3rd Chapter of the RotRL Campaign extra bennies. I mean, if you feel crazy and want to give me the OP bonuses from the 3rd Chapter, I wouldn’t stop you… but they are well beyond ‘trait worthy’, IMO.
I went ahead and switched Bronwyn to ABP. Not having to spend on the "Big Six" let me pick up some other fun magical items, (most notably Eyes of the Eagle and a Circlet of Persuasion).
Kiya and Volgroruth, just checking in to see if you noticed the prompt in the gameplay thread. While not strictly necessary, posting your character's death scene before the awakening happens is something I'd like everyone to do, as it helps set the tone for what is to follow with my own post. Let me know if you would rather me just proceed with the awakening post without your character's death scene to preface it.
This is something I've done at my home table before, as it was split down the middle for quite some time when it came to who wanted ABP and who wanted traditional Christmas Tree magic items. It just requires playing around with what loot I dole out and a gentleman's agreement that people would not play the system. Of course the latter is a problem in traditional games as well, since less gear-dependent classes could throw money/items at their comrades in an attempt to overgear them.
Question for our GM: would you allow Edér to Aid Another in combat while incorporeal? RAW I don’t think he can, since it requires an attack roll and he can’t attack unless in ectoplasmic form. However I think a ghost in your face would be plenty distracting and it would make logical sense for him to be able to help that way.
I would allow that, yes.
SoS - would you approve of me changing one of my traits to a reskinned version of Intrigued by Thassilon? In Strae’s world it would be ‘Intrigued by Shaudra’ and is essentially his campaign history. The trait abilities would remain identical minus the 3rd Chapter of the RotRL Campaign extra bennies. I mean, if you feel crazy and want to give me the OP bonuses from the 3rd Chapter, I wouldn’t stop you… but they are well beyond ‘trait worthy’, IMO.
I would allow that, but without the AP-specific extras.
Perfect, thanks!
Strae is updated and, I think, done.
Working on my death scene as we speak! It's not my best writing, but I kinda just want it done so I don't hold up game play too long.
Also, I have a surname! lol
And so begins the journey of six souls under the light of the Pale Sun! Dare they climb from their graves into the Orphic world of Kisarta?
They dare!
That's the spirit! Quite an appropriate phrase for this game as well, wouldn't you say?
Amn, your character still hears the susurrating whispers and the sobbing mentioned in the gameplay thread despite being deaf. As for why, well, that is something you'll just have to fit the puzzle pieces together and find out.
Each of these 'awakenings' that will go up soon are going to be handled individually in spoiler tags until the group meets for the first time in the near future. Whether you choose to read those of other characters or not is up to you, but just assume that anything in them is out-of-character knowledge that your actual PC should not know.
Seems my post from yesterday morning didn't take. This time I will refresh the page and ensure that it has, indeed, posted before logging out.
I hate it when that happens. I always ctrl-a ctrl-c before I post a big post just in case that happens.
I currently lack access to a fully functional, working keyboard, aside from my phone. Will hopefully have a new wireless board tomorrow.
Rahlmaat finding the most convoluted way possible to ask "What advice do you want to give me?" XD
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Rahlmaat finding the most convoluted way possible to ask "What advice do you want to give me?" XD
Such a convoluted request for advice has been met with an equally convoluted answer! The advice of "don't die too much" has been couched in Kisartan metaphysics regarding rebirth and the process of Hollowing. Certainly useful information to have.
On a related subject, I find it interesting how every character is asking for different pieces of information and, therefore, are giving me open avenues to explain components of the setting from the get-go. This will surely be quite useful once the party meets and begins sharing what they know. After all, exchanging information is a great way to build rapport and I imagine that counts double in alien situations like that which the characters currently find themselves in.
Incidentally in both games I maxed out Edér's Survival skill. I was very, very tempted to max out his Survival in this game as well but ended up putting the points in Perception instead.
Oh, it'll be fun when this group gets together. XD
I am letting everyone know that I may not be able to post on Memorial Day.
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It looks like Rahlmaat and Straehan are the two PCs that will meet up first!
As these short 'prologues' wrap up, my anticipation on this end of the table grows ever greater. Soon, very soon indeed, the game can start getting into the meaty bits. I am eager to see how everyone comes together since this process an emergent one on both sides of the metaphorical table.
Rahlmaat and Straehan, I will let you two handle interacting with each other now, as I don't want to intrude and post too much on the other player's behalf.
Sounds good!
One question, since the subject of food came up--the ecology of sphinxes mention that older sphinxes need eat only rarely, but the rules don't include anything to support that. Is food going to be enough of an issue that Rahlmaat will need to eat every day like everyone else, or could I have her still need food only occasionally?
One question, since the subject of food came up--the ecology of sphinxes mention that older sphinxes need eat only rarely, but the rules don't include anything to support that. Is food going to be enough of an issue that Rahlmaat will need to eat every day like everyone else, or could I have her still need food only occasionally?
Given the wording, I'd say just order a meal when the party stops by a settlement and don't worry about tracking rations.
Apologies for most of my gameplay post just inquiring about what you all planned to do next, I was just unsure whether you all would prefer to look around first like Straehan and Rahlmaat did or if you would rather simply walk until you meet someone or encounter something. I don't want to rob you all of your agency by making assumptions about your actions, seeing as how this is a sandbox game and all.
Bronwyn will keep walking until she sees something (and preferably someone) alive. The graveyard creeps her out and she wants to find people as quickly as possible.
Kiya's going to keep walking till she sees someone/something.
Are we also bumping into rahlmaat and straehan or is it just us 3 for now and you'll join the 2 groups at some point?
Just realized I might have confused things. I posted as Edér because he's who people would see first. So Kiya and Volgroruth, please feel free to open the "Trio?" spoiler.
Are we also bumping into rahlmaat and straehan or is it just us 3 for now and you'll join the 2 groups at some point?
The groups are separate for now. The plan is for everyone to converge in the near future.
FYI, I'm out of town through Wednesday. My posting may be sporadic until then.
These interactions between characters are quite intriguing. I'm eager to see where all this goes.
FYI, I'm out of town through Wednesday. My posting may be sporadic until then.
Understood!
I'm not sure if I'd shown off this art of Rahlmaat at her full Elder Sphinx size. If it's not clear, she views her current 7'-at-the-shoulder size as a major reduction. :D
I am still lurking around, reading everyone's posts, and making daily checks to see if there is anything that I as the GM need to reply to. So far it seems I am not needed in this phase of the prologue as you all meet up and introduce yourselves to each other, but just know that I am still watching intently.
I'm not sure if I'd shown off this art of Rahlmaat at her full Elder Sphinx size. If it's not clear, she views her current 7'-at-the-shoulder size as a major reduction. :D
I know that you shared some art of her, although I can't remember whether it was in the interest check, recruitment, or a private message. Whatever the case may be, I'm certain she's at least a little salty about shrunken down!
I'll definitely be touching on that idea when she finally has a good time to sit and take stock of herself for a few hours. Though she more bitterly feels the loss of much of her knowledge and magic, it was convenient to be able to just... whack certain problems with a massive paw and have them go away.