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@Cole: Ha! So Teofila put Cole on the path to righteousness? I suppose she could manage catching a teenage arsonist (assuming someone was paying her to do so). Also, Teofina is Pharasman, that's the tradition and an unstated part of the job description for being a Royal Accuser. She's fairly jaded about it though and inclined toward live and let live in matters of faith, or no faith. But, if she believed that's what Cole needed to hear then sure, why not? She'd tell him all about finding grace through devotion to Pharasma if that would make the problem go away. :p
Maybe Teofina just took Cole back to university with her. They're essentially the same age. Teofina is chronologically 1 year older than Cole, but given the differing developmental rates, half-orc versus half-elf, she's perhaps slightly younger than him.
I always looked at it as a relationship of convenience(at least from Cole's perspective): Cole was doing her some favors doing what he did best, and in return he was staying out of jail, gaining knowledge, and learning more about Pharasma all at the same time...and it gave him a more healthy outlet for his 'Need to Burn Things' problem.
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I will stick with the Pathfinder rules for Sanity. However, I will eliminate the Sanity Threshold damage. I was never a fan of that rule for physical damage either.
These checks I will likely use sparingly to build up atmosphere, but not to interfere in gameplay.
I will post them up tomorrow so they can be added to builds.
Yeah, that's a good way of viewing it I think. It's always nice to know someone who can burn things for you.
Exactly.
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This is what I am up to with my background. Exactly how he came to be is unknown to him.
Bastian was found near the edge of the Forest of Veils on the shore of Lantern Lake. Taken in by a townswoman he was given a home and a lot of hard work. The lad grew slowly but continually - causing the superstitious locals to fear the lad even more. While a kindly lad, he was thought a little... slow... but his strong arms kept him in the good graces of the locals... at least until the death of his adopted mother.
By that stage his pale otherworldliness was the talk of the district, and even those who had known him all his life began to shun him. Things came to a head one night when several local men had been drinking and decided to convince him to leave by pitchfork and torch. The mind-mannered young man lost his temper and fled, leaving several broken bones in the process. He moved around, surviving from the bounty of the land as much as from working it.He took work as a caravan guard after a year of travelling, and rather enjoyed the life, growing his skills and taking a shine to a weapon that matched his still growing stature. One of the recurring risks facing caravans was that of the walking dead, and before long he had acquired quite some skill in dealing with them. It was around this time that his strange resistance to necromantic magics first became evident. Word of the odd caravan guard eventually made its way to Professor Petros, who sent word that he would like the meet the young man.
I was in bed early and then on a school trip with my daughter Friday so I missed this one.
Only adjustment here is that Petros has been replaced with Doctor Rudolph van Richten.
Other than that, all good.
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By the 24th if you can all post your final selected characters that would be great.
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Sanity Rules:
Sanity Score: This is sort of like mental hit points. It’s the sum of all your mental stats (Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma) less any damage to those scores.
Sanity Damage: this is like hit point damage done in physical combat (like a sword blow, etc), only, it affects your sanity score, not your hit points. So, if you encounter an attack on your sanity and suffer damage, you deduct that damage from your sanity score.
Losing Sanity and Gaining Madness:
When you’re faced with a monster that can do sanity damage, you have to make an immediate will save. If you save, most of the time, you will be able to ignore all Sanity damage (i.e. your mental faculties hold up) though some creatures may do damage regardless of your save (like Great Old Ones).
If you lose ALL of your Sanity (i.e. Sanity pool moves to zero), you gain a lesser madness (this is generally a temporary condition), I will not have PCs suffer more than 1 lesser madness at a time. This mechanic is for flavor not to annihilate PCs effectiveness.
If you lose ALL of your Sanity facing a Great Old One, that will trigger a greater madness. This is permanent though each PC will only ever gain a single one of these.
Losing Madness and Gaining Sanity:
Madness can be lost (and sanity restored in several ways).
1. Rest: Every 7 full days of uninterrupted rest heals sanity damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). You’re letting your own sense of self and force of personality reassert itself and mend together the tattered fragments of your tortured psyche.
2. Therapy: Tell someone else your problems (mentor, counselor, confidante, friend, family, priest, advisor, etc). At the end,, the ally attempts a Wisdom or Intelligence check (whichever is higher) DC equal to the amount of Sanity you have lost. Success means you add their ability modifier (wis or int, whichever is higher) to the amount of sanity damage you heal.
3. Magic:
a. lesser restoration: 1d2 points once per day
b. Restoration: 2d4 points per day
c. Heal: 3d4 points/day
d. Greater restoration, psychic surgery, limited wish: all of it, if your sanity was below your edge (in other words, you still had more than half your sanity points left). Or, to 1 point below your sanity edge if you had more than half of your sanity lost.
e. Miracle and wish fix everything
Effects of Restoring Sanity:
Lesser Madness - If all of your sanity damage is healed, your lesser madness is removed entirely.
Greater Madness - If all of your sanity damage is healed, your greater madness is dormant. It will become reactivated if you again suffer a full loss to your Sanity score. A greater madness can only be fully healed with a long term psychiatric stay (1 month, which could well be played out over a downtime depending on how the chronicle proceeds) r the use of a Wish or Miracle spell (hard to come by in Ravenloft!).
In my next post I will cover the more traditional fear/horror checks of Ravenloft and how I will use those alongside Sanity Rules.
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I like Teofila the Inquisitor better from a narrative perspective though Carmine the Bard may be more overall useful as Bards are just such a flexible class!
I believe that Governayle has settled on an Alchemist, so things will absolutely be going BOOM in this Campaign. Especially with a Holy Gun in the group submitted by Pat.
Lady Ladile I believe is going Witch.
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So the Party appears to be:
Bloodrager - Frontliner.
Holy Gun - Ranged/Frontliner Capable.
Black Dow - Healer.
Governayle - Alchemist - Ranged Combatant.
Lady Ladile - Witch - Arcane Caster (May be able to Assist if Healing Hex chosen).
Cole Burns - (Pyro) Kineticist/VMC Sorcerer - Arcane Caster/Firestarter.
Teofila (Slayer/ selecting Rogue Talent for a level) or Carmine (Bard/ with a Rogue Dip) would fit the Rogue Slot.
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An interesting group to say the least. It's one of the things I like about Pathfinder, how with the varied classes groups are a bit more interesting than 3.5 D&D used to be.
It's also a group of super experienced players on the boards, all of whom I have had the pleasure of either playing with, playing for or DMing over the past several years.
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Teofila (Slayer/ selecting Rogue Talent for a level) or Carmine (Bard/ with a Rogue Dip) would fit the Rogue Slot.
As much as I'd like to be able to pick up Trapfinding with a Slayer Talent on a 1 level dip, Slayers don't get a Talent until 2nd level. I'd rather not dip 2 levels.
So, Teofila needs to dip Rogue as well. It's actually the better deal I think. Aside from picking Trapfinding, I save a feat by getting Weapon Finesse as a class bonus feat. I also get a handful of skills in class and an extra d6 of sneak attack. I'm a little behind on Fort saves and BAB, and don't get martial weapons proficiency, but those are about the only downside. Oh, and Slayer studied target doesn't stack with Sanctified Slayer studied target.
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Fear, Horror, and Madness:
I will NOT be using Madness rules as the Sanity rules already cover that.
Fear, Horror, and Madness saves represent the power of terror — a roleplaying tool to help players visualize the hysteria that often clouds the minds of characters in classic tales of horror.
Making the Saving Throw
Fear and Horror saves are considered Will saves in all respects. Anything that modifies a Will save likewise modifies Fear and Horror saves; anything that modifies saves vs. fear effects modifies Fear saves.
Fear and Horror saves all use the same basic mechanic: a Will save against a specified DC. Specific DCs depend on the situation and type of check being made and will be provided by me. Luck effects and resistance effects (such as those generated by a luckstone or a cloak of resistance) do not affect Fear and Horror saves; they are outside the purview of luck and are not "active" effects that would be resisted. Divine effects do aid Fear and Horror saves, however.
If a character succeeds at the Will save, then there is no effect, and she is immune to that specific source of fear or horror for 24 hours. If a character fails the Will save, then the margin of failure determines the result. Subtract the final check result from the DC; this result determines whether the character suffers a minor, moderate, or major effect.
Failure Margin Effect
1-5 points Minor
6-10 points Moderate
11-15 points Major
16+ points Major, plus additional effect.
When determining the results of failed Horror save, the player should also concurrently roll 1d4 for the DM to select a specific effect.
FEAR SAVES
A character should make a Fear save when facing overwhelming odds and/or immediate, dire physical danger.
Failure Results
Minor Effect: Shaken. The character suffers a -2 morale penalty to attack rolls, checks, and saves.
Moderate Effect: Frightened. The character is shaken and flees as well as she can. She can fight to defend herself if unable to flee. A frightened character can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, she must use such means if they are the only way to escape.
Major Effect: Panicked. The character suffers a -2 morale penalty on saving throws and must flee. She has a 50% chance to drop what she's holding, chooses her path randomly (as long as she escapes from immediate danger), and flees any other dangers that confront her. If cornered, she cowers. A panicked character may use a special ability or spell to escape.
Additional Failures: Fear effects stack. A shaken character who fails another Fear save becomes frightened. A frightened character who fails another Fear save becomes panicked.
Recovering from Fear
Fear effects last 5d6 rounds. Certain spell effects (such as modify memory or remove fear) can remove all Fear effects.
Note that as the characters level, the amount of fear checks will diminish as you confidence and power/abilities increase.
HORROR SAVES
The heroes witness scenes of terrible cruelty or behold events that simply should not be. Horror is a broader emotion than fear, and more intimate. Horror often permanently colors a character's view of the world, be it through the shock of realizing that such merciless events are possible or the paralyzing dismay of discovering some monstrous trait within oneself. Horror is the murderer of innocence. Possible examples of scenes that might require a Horror save include seeing someone torn limb from limb, watching a friend transform into a hideous monster, or learning that you slew an innocent bystander while possessed by an evil spirit.
Horror saves are typically prompted by unusual, unique situations rather than by creatures, so unlike Fear saves there's no quick formula to determine the DC. Instead, I will use my best judgment to apply a DC to the scene. As a rule, the more gruesome, abnormal and/or insane the scene, the higher the DC should be.
Failure Results
If a character fails a Horror save, the player should roll 1d4 and compare it to the effect category to select a specific symptom of Horror. If a character fails a Horror save by 16+ points, he suffers Sanity Damage on a one for one basis for each point over 16 (i.e. failing a roll by 20 would result in 4 points of Sanity Damage).
Failure Results
Minor Effect: (1) Aversion, (2) Fearstruck, (3) Frozen, or (4) Nausea.
Moderate Effect: (1) Nightmares, (2) Obsession, (3) Rage, or (4) Revulsion
Major Effect: (1) Fascination, (2) Haunted, (3) Mental Shock, or (4) System Shock
Additional Failures: Some Horror effects have outburst durations that are measured in rounds. A character can carry only a single Horror effect at a time. If a subsequent failed Horror save indicates a result of equal or lesser severity, I will use another outburst of the existing effect. If a failed Horror save indicates a result of greater severity, the existing effect is removed and there is default to the greater one instead. Horror effects do not stack.
Recovering from Horror
Minor Horror effects last one week.
Moderate effects last two weeks.
Major effects last thirty days.
At the end of this duration, the character rolls a recovery check (a Horror save). Use the DC of the original Horror save with a -2 morale bonus, since time and distance heal all wounds. If the character succeeds at this check, the Horror effect is removed. If she fails, the Horror effect persists for another duration period. A character can retry failed Horror recovery checks each time she reaches the end of a duration period. The -2 DC modifier is cumulative with each attempt.
Numerous spells and magical effects (such as modify memory or remove fear) can also remove all Horror effects.
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A few other housekeeping items:
Powers Checks:
Evil comes in many forms, but it is never so dangerous as when it is convenient. Evil can seduce us in ways that Good would never try.
Good demands much — patience, compassion, self-sacrifice — and its rewards are often obscure. Evil seems to ask nothing but gladly offers
anything we could desire: power, riches, even love. But the gifts of Evil are poisoned fruits, tainted by the very acts undertaken to claim them. Each gift we accept, each moral shortcut we take, leads us further from the light and one step closer to Evil's final reward: our destruction.
Unseen by mortals, the Dark Powers sit in judgment of all that occurs within their realm and silently watch countless other worlds as well.
Whenever a mortal performs an evil act in Ravenloft, there is a chance that the Dark Powers will respond, both rewarding and punishing the
transgressor in a single stroke; this is resolved through a powers check.
If a character continues down the path of corruption, the Dark Powers may eventually grant the transgressor her own domain.
Mortals may never know what the Dark Powers hope to achieve with their dark gifts. Perhaps the Dark Powers act as caring but overly harsh
parents, cursing transgressors to frighten them back onto the path of righteousness, or perhaps the Dark Powers seek to inflame mortals' sins,
alternately taunting and teasing the morally weak into bottomless spirals of doom.
So beware evil acts within the Domain of Dread!
Altered Magic:
The Dark Powers change the laws and impose their will on some magic and supernatural abilities. You will likely learn these limitations through gameplay though you may be able to research other limitations once you begin to become aware of these subtle and sometimes NOT so subtle changes. These changes can also apply to magic items.
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I like Teofila the Inquisitor better from a narrative perspective though Carmine the Bard may be more overall useful as Bards are just such a flexible class!
For my 2 cents I prefer Teofila myself, for my own reasons.
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Final points.
1. I roll initiative for the PCs as part of the action sequences. I find this speeds up combat instead of waiting for everyone to post especially here where we are all in separate time zones.
2. I roll Perception checks for PCs in most circumstances (on a case by case basis I may have the PCs do so and just put in spoilers any results to be easily accessed by those who make successful rolls) again, I find this speeds up Gameplay.
3. Based on jobs, it appears that most of us can have some pretty hectic days. That said, I do not require daily posting as even I cannot meet that requirement due to RL circumstances. I try to give anywhere from one to two days for everyone to chime in before I push things forward. Unlike many games on the boards, I often post on the weekends as it is when I have the most flexibility. In combat, I may bot people to move things along after 2 days, PbPs generally die without DMs constantly moving things forward.
4. Horror. Ravenloft is a game of Horror. However, some topics are pretty horrible so more sensitive types of violence I will not be including as part of gameplay OR storyline. Great Old Ones, Undead Cults, killers, decadent Noble houses, the good old vanilla D&D violence of Monsters is what I shall bring you.
5. Gameplay Style. I have only played not DMed with about half of you. I'll post a few examples of my gaming style below if you wish to peruse for yourself. The first three are all connected threads of the longest running game have I have a DM/ST here on the boards. The fourth a Ravenloft game I ran for a while. The last, actual example of how I run Pathfinder.
Dark Ages Vampire - Bloodlines - Part I
Venice by Night - V20 Vampire the Dark Ages - Part II
Venice by Night - Bloodlines - V20 Dark Ages - Part III the Upcoming Finale
Well, I don't really expect any more feedback. So, with two comments in favor of Teofila, Teofila it will be! It's the choice I most probably would have made anyway.
It does mean giving up the rich comedic potential Carmine offered though. I had Beni Gabor and Jonathan Carnahan in mind when I came up with him. Of course he would have been more reliable and slightly less greedy than Beni so he could actually function in a party.
Looks like the week was rough and not everyone is done with character creation. I'll start next week
Are you going to put up a second post for us to respond to, or are we just writing our opening posts as we enter the city looking for the good Doctor? Either way is fine. Just wanted to be prepared in case.
I will be writing opening posts for characters.
Looks like the week was rough and not everyone is done with character creation. I'll start next week
My apologies on my silence. It has indeed been a rough week. I will make an effort to get the basics set up on Alain.
Backstory: "I can feel the faces of my fathers turning away from me"
Alain doesn't talk much. He drifts into town, and he tries to help the downtrodden. Sometimes he even manages to help. But he is more haunted by his failures. Since beginning the Path of the Gun, he has seen much horror and death. But he still walks it
No worries, there are a few players who still need to submit or complete their profiles before we begin.
Checking in on where everyone is on the character creation process.
I would like to start this weekend, if you're no longer interested that's OK just let me know.
Thank you!
I should be good to go.
I'm ready.
Evening All
I'm going to bow out of this one - not from a lack of interest, as I think its a great concept.
Alas I'm burned out somewhat energywise after a short illness and having enough trouble keeping focussed on the games I'm in as opposed to a new one, and know this one will require some astute posting - something I don't have in the tank right now.
Regardless appreciate the opportunity GMDS - happy gaming all :)
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Evening All
I'm going to bow out of this one - not from a lack of interest, as I think its a great concept.
Alas I'm burned out somewhat energywise after a short illness and having enough trouble keeping focussed on the games I'm in as opposed to a new one, and know this one will require some astute posting - something I don't have in the tank right now.
Regardless appreciate the opportunity GMDS - happy gaming all :)
Understood thanks for the heads up, hope you are in full recovery mode soon.
I'm away this weekend, but my timing is ahead of everyone else anyway.
I've got to do the profile for 'Ogre' (his nickname) still, and am tossing up a small stat swap from STR to CON for survivability reasons.
My apologies. The long weekend was busy, and left me with a nasty cold/flu thing. I have been behind on everything, but I will try and catch up tomorrow.
working on the sheet now
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So, currently we're confirmed for a Kineticist, a Bloodrager, a Shooter Paladin, and an Inqusitor. We've lost a Cleric, and might have a Witch.
Should I bring the Life Oracle back instead of the Inquisitor?
No, I'm working on recruitment.
Here is my profile for Bastian. Known to many as 'Ogre' - not from his attitude but from his height and massive strength.
Here is my profile for Bastian. Known to many as 'Ogre' - not from his attitude but from his height and massive strength.
Excellent.
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As of right now we have:
_Bastian 'Ogre' Zorovich - Aasimar(angelblooded) Bloodrager.
Alain O'Dim - Human Holy Gun.
Teofila Agarici - Half-Elf Inquisitor (Royal Accuser / Sanctified Slayer.
Cole Burrns - Half-Orc (Pyro) Kineticist 1 / VMC Sorcerer (Orc).
All other submissions at this point are concepts and nothing more.
I have one or two potential "private" recruits. If they do not pan out, I may run a wider recruitment to fill the ranks. If that happens, I will probably delay the start another week to give people time for submissions though I may simply make it first posts get the open spots.
I'm aiming for the spelleater archetype as well. Thematically it'll be tied to his heritage. I'll probably take celestial healing as one of my initial spells.
Mechanics wise I hope to have enough of a hp buffer that between celestial healing, fey foundling, fast healing and spelleater, (and supporting party members1) I hope I'll take a beating but keep going and going and going and going.
Welp, something just blew up in my face in RL. And I was revving engines to join what looks like a great set of players and concepts. Sorry for the late and sudden suck out/drop out/blow up. I will read this game with great interest, and pine for better times...
Sorry to hear that, hope all turns out well!
I believe I have recruited a Cleric.
Contemplating an open recruitment as some of the private messages I have sent went unanswered.
Waiting for some character creation posts.
I think I might open Recruitment in the next day or so as well.
How many players do you think you might take from a recruitment?
How many players do you think you might take from a recruitment?
Two, looking specifically for a Cleric and a Frontliner.
Elephant in the Room, World is Square rules in effect?
Elephant in the Room, World is Square rules in effect?
You've stumped me on this one! Please elaborate.
Elephant in the Room, World is Square rules in effect?You've stumped me on this one! Please elaborate.
Several years back a gentleman (gamer) noticed feat trees were expensive and one lost previous feat slots just to do mundane things. A tax.
And thought, maybe some things should just be allowed (to all or to PCs).
Check it out here: Link >>> Elephant in the Room
I don't think I could explain it better.
Yeah, Elephant in the Room is really nice, especially for feat starved classes like, um... Inquisitor. For example, with Teofila here I'd save a feat by not spending for Power Attack, which I could then use for something more interesting. Even nicer, I wouldn't be waiting until 3rd level to have the bare bones of a build working.
I believe World is Square is an add on that applies Elephant in the Room to Hero Lab.
I believe World is Square is an add on that applies Elephant in the Room to Hero Lab.
Yes! I use it but didn't know the exact relationship. Thanks!
Of course we already have quite a lot of power with some of the other adds that the GM has factored in for us...
Not that I don't like (effectively) bonus feats. But things like fighters... well.. their main schtick is being able to do all these things because they have so many feats.
Oh, I'm not going to argue that it's necessary or that it can't be abused. But, that's true of just about every aspect of Pathfinder if you try hard enough.
For me, it's mostly about being able to take a feat or two because it strengthens a particular theme or fits the character's fluff. For example, I'd love to be able to take the Pharasman feat Eerie Sense . It's not a great feat, and doubly so for a class that gets no bonus feats, but it feels like something a Pharasman Inquisitor ought to be able to do. A teamwork feat or two might be nice. But there isn't room after the meat and potatoes stuff is covered. A Teamwork feat or two might be nice.
I'm not terribly interested in a more powerful character. After all, Teofina has 4 traits and Fate's Favored isn't one of them.
I can't tell what characters are already in the campaign and continuing, but I typically take non-spell-casters (rogues, brawlers) and extra feats does make them more effective.
Imagine the horror of wanting to use a whip as your battlefield control weapon and being able to do anything else. This would help with the anything else... feinting in combat, tripping, etc.
@Alessandro: As far As I know the list below is still accurate.
As of right now we have:
_Bastian 'Ogre' Zorovich - Aasimar(angelblooded) Bloodrager.
Alain O'Dim - Human Holy Gun.
Teofila Agarici - Half-Elf Inquisitor (Royal Accuser / Sanctified Slayer.
Cole Burrns - Half-Orc (Pyro) Kineticist 1 / VMC Sorcerer (Orc).
As things currently stand I'm planning a 1 level dip into Unchained Rogue for Teofila so we have the standard disable device related things covered. However, if you decide on Rogue I can eliminate the dip of course. I'm equally fine going either direction.
@Alessandro Also, in case you missed the post on it a couple of pages back, you might want to go ahead and choose a legacy family. Maybe choose a first and second preference. Some of them have already been picked, and some that were picked by potential players aren't actually going to be used. Don't remember any of the others but Teofila's is Boritsi.
Here's the post laying out the character creation stuff: