Welcome to the game! Please post character building questions, OOC discussion, or other commentary here. Please try to reserve the Gameplay thread for IC interactions.
Different than many games, the AP will bring your characters together as part of the initiate class at the Magaambya. You can create interwoven stories if you want, but its truly not necessary.
I will be reviewing character crunch before we begin, so please post in chat, in your profile or provide the link to your build.
Glad you are here.
Hi everyone! Happy to be here!
I believe Ntuni is finished in terms of crunch.
I have to do Iovia's crunch. I'm still going back and forth between Cloistered and Warpriest, but I should get that done today.
One small change, Dr. Evil, is that Iovia will go Wizard and not Druid for the archtype. Initially, I thought Druid to double up on Wisdom, but as I fleshed her out more, I thought Wizard made more sense for her backstory.
I also want to say I'm really excited about the game and the group. The character concepts everyone submitted were great, and I think this is going to be an awesome game.
Reporting in!
Like Ntuni, I believe Za Minyahil's crunch is largely done (especially since I used Ntuni's profile as a template :P). About the only thing I might need is a physical description?
Excited to join you all for this!
Yay! Been wanting to try this one and now I've got a chance. Thank you!
I think Ikto is complete, DM DoctorEvil, crunch as well as fluff wise. Check his profile and decide for yourself. :)
As for Interwoven stories, I'm fine with that, though Ikto came from a different direction than most , he still had a chance of meeting folks on a riverboat on the last leg as it were. I'm also fine if we all just meet at the class for the first time so no worries either way.
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Hello Dr. Evil, I'll work on M'baba's crunch as fast as I can, but it might take me a few days given my inexperience with 2e and the fact that I am abroad. Basically my wife is doing a course and I am babysitting during until Friday. This means that my available time to post (and build the character) is strictly the time when baby is napping (like right now).
But the character concept is still the same. It's a jury rig focused rogue going for wizard archetype.
Yay! Been wanting to try this one and now I've got a chance. Thank you!
I think Ikto is complete, DM DoctorEvil, crunch as well as fluff wise. Check his profile and decide for yourself. :)
As for Interwoven stories, I'm fine with that, though Ikto came from a different direction than most , he still had a chance of meeting folks on a riverboat on the last leg as it were.
Think you are missing 3 languages.
So I am. Thanks. Will pick some.
EDIT: I went and added Sylvan, Amurran(catfolk), & Gnoll on top of the Anadi, Mwangi, and Druidic he already had.
My crunch is done.
Hello all, will be getting mechanics together this morning, though may need some time this evening to finish all the details. I have many more details of backstory to put in, as well, though that'll happen later.
So I am. Thanks. Will pick some.
EDIT: I went and added Sylvan, Amurran(catfolk), & Gnoll on top of the Anadi, Mwangi, and Druidic he already had.
Also, Sylvan is now called "Fey" in the Remaster , Gnoll is now "Kholo" and Druidic is now "the Wildsong!"
Ah, as I have Mwangi Expanse the book I should have remembered Kholo
Think I've got all the mechanics entered. So many "you backtracked too far" errors! I'd've given up if I didn't have a browser extension that saves my form entries for me.
Computer technical issues aside, I would love game technical feedback on my spell choices. I selected Daze, Detect Magic, Guidance, Light, Prestidigitation, Bless, Dizzying Colors. There's a lot of overlap here with the arcane tradition, do folks think it would be more strategic to select occult-only spells? These first few levels are probably going to be pretty tough, so I'd like to have the standbys, but if folks think I'd be better off with some more unusual picks I'm happy to revise. Ultimately I see Nyandra embracing the battlefield control elements of both traditions, adding in some support from the occult side as well.
Ah, as I have Mwangi Expanse the book I should have remembered Kholo
'Tis cool, the Magaambya's all about students helping each other! ;)
Is there anything more anyone needs from me for Za Minyahil?
I have to do Iovia's crunch. I'm still going back and forth between Cloistered and Warpriest, but I should get that done today.
One small change, Dr. Evil, is that Iovia will go Wizard and not Druid for the archtype. Initially, I thought Druid to double up on Wisdom, but as I fleshed her out more, I thought Wizard made more sense for her backstory.
This change is fine with me
Hello Dr. Evil, I'll work on M'baba's crunch as fast as I can, but it might take me a few days given my inexperience with 2e and the fact that I am abroad. Basically my wife is doing a course and I am babysitting during until Friday. This means that my available time to post (and build the character) is strictly the time when baby is napping (like right now).
But the character concept is still the same. It's a jury rig focused rogue going for wizard archetype.
We have some time. I plan to do a review/audit of all the builds and get those things settled before we start in earnest. Also will need to get a Loot Tracker up for this group.
Additionally, I am away Fri AM through Mon afternoon, so we may not get fully started until after the weekend. Feel free to hit us up with questions meantime, as you have them
Think I've got all the mechanics entered. So many "you backtracked too far" errors! I'd've given up if I didn't have a browser extension that saves my form entries for me.
Computer technical issues aside, I would love game technical feedback on my spell choices. I selected Daze, Detect Magic, Guidance, Light, Prestidigitation, Bless, Dizzying Colors. There's a lot of overlap here with the arcane tradition, do folks think it would be more strategic to select occult-only spells? These first few levels are probably going to be pretty tough, so I'd like to have the standbys, but if folks think I'd be better off with some more unusual picks I'm happy to revise. Ultimately I see Nyandra embracing the battlefield control elements of both traditions, adding in some support from the occult side as well.
I also have Daze and Light as normally prepared cantrips. If you're going to take them, I can put other things in those slots to give more Cantrip range for the group.
I would not take Bless on a Bard. You have Courageous Anthem automatically and it is just better at that effect.
Bless: +1 to hit in a 15 foot emanation. It lasts one minute, and you can sustain it each round to make the emenatation larger.
CA: 60 foot emanation. +1 to hit, damage, and saves vs fear. The downside is recast each round, but you have infinite recasts, and that gives you the flexibility of using it or not as you see fit.
Dizzying Colors is solid.
My rank one spells, for people's knowledge, are Mystic Armor and Runic Weapon, the latter to buff a front liner if we get into a fight.
My spell list may change if we ever have situations that allow us foreknowledge of needs. Prepared casters can be very adaptable after all.
How about Forbidding Ward and Shield, then, in place of Daze and Light?
Understood re bless. Mystic Armor makes a lot of sense for a cloistered cleric. How about Liberating Command or Sanctuary for my other first rank spell instead of bless? I'm happy to go with leaning more aggressive, given we have a cleric, but playing support is just who I am :)
Started doing build audits tonight with Ntuni. Everything looks in line for the most part. I have not seen your primary and secondary branches at Magaambya, you should pick them now, but you will not have to keep them until after a bit of introduction to each branch.
Also, it appears you have weapons and armor, but no other gear (like food or backpack). Not sure if that's intentional. By my count, you have 5.8gp left to acquire any of that before we get started.
It also appears Iovia is all current and correct. No notes.
Will get to the rest tomorrow.
Daze might be good to keep in the day-to-day rotation as it has the Nonlethal trait. I can imagine that having a spell with that trait available could be handy in a school.
Given that, you, I, and Ikto all have Light listed as a normal spell, at least one of us could drop it. Forbidding Ward and Shield are both solid options.
I'm not sure that Liberating Step is a good choice at level 1. It has no heightening and could be an excellent Rank 1 spell to have access to at higher levels, much like Laughing Fit at Rank 2.
However, not many low-level monsters have grab attacks. It's more of a mid to high-level monster ability. Out of the 83 level 1 and below monsters in Monster Core, 8 can grab. Two of those are aquatic, and two more are zombies who only get 2 actions a turn, so if you just move once, they can never grab you.
I could be wrong, but I don't think it would see a lot of use at low level. But, as I said, as we level, it could be very good to have access to. Spells that are effective in low-level slots are gold.
Sanctuary is somewhat situational. Soothe is a decent pocket heal. Fear is really good. Support is a really broad term in PF2. Occult gets a lot of great options for it.
In the end, go with what you feel makes sense for her, and if you don't like it, retrain out of it in downtime.
I've swapped out Forbidding Ward for Light, and Soothe for Bless. These are solid mechanical improvements that I think will see far more play than my original replacements. I've not played a PF2 caster before so there's lots to learn :) Thank you for your suggestions!
While I am finishing character reviews tonight, the initial Gameplay thread is now open and awaiting your responses. Feel free to dot and delete to bookmark the thread if you are not ready to respond to Teacher Ot right away.
There will be more interview questions to follow, so keep your powder dry. Best of luck Initiates. It is time for your first term at the Magaambya to begin!
In reviewing Ikto, there are a couple issues.
1) Inside Ropes is from the Blood Lords AP and therefore not allowed in this game. Content from other APs or modules is not allowed. From rule books and any Lost Omens book is ok.
2) Protection is not on the primal spell list. Is there some other way you have it?
3) Is Ikto's CON 12 or 10? It's listed differently in different parts of his profile. I figure it must be 10 since you used all 8 boosts before making it 12
4) I show you with 7.22gp remaining after listed purchases
Let me know how you want to mitigate these issues for now
1) I should have double checked the source. Replaced with Guidance.
2 AND 3)Ah, that's what happens when I try to save time by taking a template from an older 2nd Ed character and forget to clear ALL the specifics. Protection removed, and His Con is 10.
4) Got it. That's where I left it TOO clear.
Thank you.
Reviewing M'Bala, I think everything checks out, except I don't know what primary and secondary branches of school you prefer. you don't have to know now, as you will be exposed to all 5 over time, and then you can choose (but you must stick with choices after that).
1) I should have double checked the source. Replaced with Guidance.
2 AND 3)Ah, that's what happens when I try to save time by taking a template from an older 2nd Ed character and forget to clear ALL the specifics. Protection removed, and His Con is 10.
4) Got it. That's where I left it TOO clear.Thank you.
He's all good now!
I will get to Za Minyahil and Nyandra tomorrow time permitting.
I will be traveling tomorrow AM through Monday afternoon, but plan to gear with me to continue the story, and may have a little more time to post than usual during the days. But sometimes best laid plans go astray.
If nothing else, I will return by Monday PM.
Started doing build audits tonight with Ntuni. Everything looks in line for the most part. I have not seen your primary and secondary branches at Magaambya, you should pick them now, but you will not have to keep them until after a bit of introduction to each branch.
Also, it appears you have weapons and armor, but no other gear (like food or backpack). Not sure if that's intentional. By my count, you have 5.8gp left to acquire any of that before we get started.
Plan is Cascade Bearers for primary and Rain Scribes for secondary.
About gear, I usually buy just the bear essentials before selections since this is the part I hate the most. I'll finish my gear ASAP.
I've went to the beach with my wife, toddler and baby, so until Monday I'll be very limited in time for posting.
Will have an RP post up this evening.
I did the review for Za Minyahil and i think everything ticks and ties, expect one item. I cannot find where ZM's (not sure of pronouns?) spellbook contents are. I see the prepared spells but I don't see the rest. Should have 8 known cantrips and 4 known 1st lvl spells. Didn't see them on Pathbuilder either, but may have overlooked.
Otherwise Za Minyahil is good to go.
I also looked at Nyandra, and there are few things:
1) it appears you have one too many ability boosts. You get 8 free plus 1 class boost, but Nyandra shows 10. It matters to other stats and things which you reduce from +2 to +1 (HP, saves, languages etc) Just let me know.
2) Even if you reduce the Int by 1, I think you are still underspent on Skill points. You should have 7 from Bard (8 if you keep the +2) and then 2 each from elven lore and background, plus one (Bardic Lore) from the feat. Total of 12 (or 13 if Int is +2) but you only have 11 trained right now. You don't have to spend them I guess, but I'd think you want to.
3) Which background (Sponsored by Ot) did you take? Performance or Survival? I assumed Survival since you are getting performance as a class skill anyway.
Everything else seems to check out.
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Going to address the mechanical issues first, then do the RP post. I think you're right, I did miscount the ability boosts. I'll drop the Wisdom down instead of the Int, because I'll be going into the Wizard archetype and want to keep on top of my spell DCs as much as I'm able. Additionally, languages are always helpful. That does drop my perception, but bards are one of the classes that start with it at expert so it shouldn't hurt that much.
As I'm keeping the Int at 2, I'll add a couple of skills. Can't go wrong with Medicine even with that lower Wisdom, and Crafting makes sense for a theater nerd--the show must go on and being able to make things or fix them on the spot is always helpful.
Yes, I took Survival because I get Performance as my class skill.
Having just made the first gameplay post, I love how I'm already seeing plots present themselves--Nyandra was a bit too distracted by her reverie and by Ot to notice Iovia's ancestry, but that'll definitely come up very soon. And I already stumbled upon an interesting arc for her: does she have too many loyalties? Creating art for Shelyn, exploring the mysteries of magic for her muse, Nethys, and now the Magaambya. How will she balance all of these?
I did the review for Za Minyahil and i think everything ticks and ties, expect one item. I cannot find where ZM's (not sure of pronouns?) spellbook contents are. I see the prepared spells but I don't see the rest. Should have 8 known cantrips and 4 known 1st lvl spells. Didn't see them on Pathbuilder either, but may have overlooked.
Otherwise Za Minyahil is good to go.
I'm not sure how they're showed in Pathbuilder, it's like you have to click on the selected spell to see what's in the book. I can transcribe them out onto the sheet I guess. Going with he/him pronouns.
I'm not sure how they're showed in Pathbuilder, it's like you have to click on the selected spell to see what's in the book. I can transcribe them out onto the sheet I guess. Going with he/him pronouns.
Just let me know what they are if you can't determine how to show them in the profile or the PB site
Will do. Also, IT'S TIME!!!
Loving everyone's introductions so far! Lots of hooks to dig into. Please let me know if you think I could do a better job of that myself.
I am deliberately RPing Nyandra as autistic, so she'll perseverate a bit at times. She's well-meaning, passionate, but not the best when knowing when to be quiet. I think this'll be an interesting RP challenge, to depict a socially-adept yet autistic bard.
I hope your baby is feeling well again soon.
This is a sensitive topic, Nyandra. I'm ok with it, but I'd ask if the others are as well.
That's a fair point, though to be clear, it's also my daily experience. I play queer characters too, I play characters with anxiety and other mental health issues.
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I think it will be fine as long as it doesn't take over the game. I would not have diagnosed the behavior if you hadn't pointed it out, and that's how I'd like to keep it. Atypical behavior isn't surprising in fantasy characters, as long as it doesn't become the focus of the story.
If anyone has a serious concern, i want to be respectful, and we can discuss. Send me an IM if you wish.
Agreed on all points. It shouldn't become the focus of the story or the character; besides the problems of telling a shared story like this, it's just bad writing!
I'm fine with all of these topics. This is life. The more we talk about them, the better we understand them and incorporate them in our lives.
Pardon my late response, but I don't think I have a problem with Autism being explored by Nyandra's player in game, as it seems to be done respectfully etc.
I'm assuming the bird is male as it was compared to a peacock with extravagant plumage, if it's a girl, then please assume Ikto, who is far wiser than his player, got it right ;)
I mean, I assumed it was male too. Even beyond peacocks it's usually the males who are flashier. ;)