Calistria doesn't have an organization so much as a network. It has the likes, dislikes, petty feuds, seething hatreds and grand romances you find in any organization.

Note that there is a background trait called Temple Prostitute in the APG, but it doesn't require a temple in the traditional sense. You can find many "temples" in many styles, from the classic "den of iniquity" to bookstore/coffee shops to bardic ensembles accompanied by pulsating Dancing Lights that changes venue every night. (Can I get a what what?)

Player: My new Cayden Cailean priest wields a whip.

Me: Umm, whips are symbols of slavery you know - maybe thats not so Caydenish...

Player: I looked it up in the rules, ist not prohibited, so you must be wrong.

argh!

Just have everyone mistake him for a Calistrian. She has a whip for a favored weapon.

Mmmmm! Saucy!

Squick

And people thought the clap was bad, try finding a 13th level cleric to Regenerate your junk...

Leadership seems to be core feat most often disallowed by game masters, as it complicates things a bit. Some campaigns just aren't appropriate for hordes of minor NPCs running around the party.

I remember when I first took leadership. I thought, "A bunch of rangers will be great on an outdoor adventure! They can do all the cooking, packing & unpacking, and Survival checks."

See the dragon? The dragon goes "Huff!" Huff dragon, huff.

See the briquettes? They were rangers. Smolder rangers, smolder.

Oh, I have no problem with a horde of minor NPCs so long as I'm the one controlling them as GM. When the PCs manage their actions, that's when it starts looking like a cult.

Well... the rule about GM NPCs talking to each other being boring holds true with PC NPCs, with the added disadvantage that they're also a distraction from the GM's plot.

Tales from the Saucy Ogress

Bonus points for making it a temple to Calistria.

Shadowrun (dystopian future with magic)...

Human Supremacist Riot. Mob of 40 or so spot... Me, and Elf, half a block away.

"Get the dandelion eater!"

Stun Blasts are a low stress alternative to direct damage spells, and they leave the cops someone to haul away (other than you). Seriously, with that incident I single-handedly changed the mage-cops' spell selection.

OTOH, no one ever protected their roof against flying mages. Air born assault vehicles, yes, but not something as small and low-energy as an invisible, flying humanoid.

Or the manipulation spell (that I invented in game) that opened a hole in a wall (or floor) until I let the spell lapse.

Oh, and I can't forget the gun. Laser-sights, optical-link to my helmet, gas-vent stabilizers... everything but the kitchen sink. I even super-glued stuff on it to make it look more intimidating. I never fired it outside the shooting range. I used to turn it over when people wanted to disarm me, and being a mage I didn't really mind.

Hmmm... We also saved 2-3 dozen grey maiden trainees from city hall's basement/ torture chamber.

Aw. You guys found all the cool stuff. Except that secret door into the Star Tower back at Scarwall. ;)

I played a cleric of Calistria (What! How did you guess?!?) in CotCT. She's chaotic, though. Personally, I went for more of a Chaotic Saucy. Had a Holy Tramp Stamp of Calistria and everything.

There's an interesting thing in the write-up of Cali (My DM gave me a print out which I can't find ATM), her clerics often act as councilors and therapists.

Mind you, you're looking at an almost full diametric alignment shift if you want to avoind Chaotic Evil, but alignment is the fifth most annoying thing about the d20 System [...rant deleted...]. But if you are planning on cohortizing her you might want to pick something close to the rest of the party.

With an investment into CHA, Bluff, Liguistics and Sense Motive.. lacking disguise is a true shame... but that's closer to a real bard there.

-James

I played a Cleric as Ace. Trickery & Knowledge so I can appreciate where LT is coming from. It left many at my table scratching their heads & telling me how to run my character. (And it took saying, "OK, show me how it's done, you play the heal-monkey," to shut them up.)

Once the benefits of Copy Cat, Remote Viewing & Mass Invisibility were noticed they stopped whinging so much. But then again, our Sorcerer doing the tired old Boom-Mage thing, so there was much slack for me and Trinia to pick up.

As to the hat of disguise...

-James

I think the Hat is to be used more along the lines of "I ran around a corner to get away from the ambush and now I don't look like me anymore."

Personally, I have never my used Disguise Self to imitate anyone, only to hide from pursuers or sneak past gate / bridge guards.

If you think about it, a sorcerer's limited spell selection may work to the player's advantage. Fewer spells means that the sorcerer should have a deep understanding of all their spells & be able to think of less obvious applications for their spells.

And that's not taking account of the Wizard's ability to use Pearls of Power, which, as written, are not useable by spontaneous casters, with no alternatives for "extra slots" for them either.

Have you ever seen a Sorcerer with a Ring of Wizardry? 12 spells per day?

By Calistria's Bra! the one I was with started "experimenting" with them.

Magic item shops are among the top ten dumbest cliches in the game.

Well, silliest anyway.

The only thing most NPC class folks would be able to use are Wondrous Items. A low level cleric could take care of most of that with far less bother and expense.

But I think we are wandering OT.

By RAW, you spend half market value to make the pearl and get half the market value when you sell the pearl.

Take the Hedge Magician trait! 5% discount on all Crafting!

I've played spontaneous caster & prep-caster (Bard & Mystic Theurge - Talk about extremes!), and I think the biggest difference between Sorcerer and Wizard is a meta game thing. Much like someone with Einstein's Wardrobe, Sorcerers know what they are going to "wear" every morning, they just erase their "used spell marks." Wizards have to take two or three minutes to fill out their spell sheets.

Wizards need to find downtime to craft. Sorcerers can easily get a cohort to craft for them. Advantage Sorcerer.

Reread the Leadership feat.

If you lock the poor guy in a sweatshop he will not advance in levels. Or were you planning on swapping out your Cohort every level?

No matter how bad your Leadership score is, no matter how weak the follower you initially attract, they use experience points to advance in levels, not the Leadership score. They can, and if given sufficient time they will, advance all the way up to the cap of Player's Level-2. The poor guy living in the sweatshop gets nothing because he is not adventuring.

About the “no down time”, let me throw a pair of Rule logs on the fire.

PF Core book, page 547, there is a sentence that breaks from the first column to the second column: “If the caster is out adventuring, he can devote 4 hours each day to item creation, although he nets only 2 hours worth of work.”

Also, the last sentence of the paragraph before that. “This process can be accelerated to 4 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price (or fraction thereof) by increasing the DC to create the item by +5.” (Normally the Crafting process takes 8 hours per 1,000 gp.)

So the Wizard can pack up some “item creation material” (which don't seem to have any encumberance) and knock out a few 1st level scrolls. Use ‘em or cash ‘em in for more mats. If you have a high Int you shouldn’t need to take the Skill Focus (Spellcraft) & Magical Aptitude feats.

Also, while the second rule I mentioned doesn’t say that you can take an extra +5 to the DC to Craft even faster, it doesn't say you can’t. Up to your DM, I suppose.

So, no simulacrums in the final fight?

Not sure. We blipped right to the queen, bypassing everything. Surprised the heck out of the queen. The teleporters and flyers had to play catch-up. It did get very crowded there for a few rounds.

Unless you mean, "Was that the real queen?" Yah. That was her. I'm sure she had guards because I was the first one to directly attack the queen, but they went down so fast I don't remember what they were.

I remember this one!

You have no Calistrian Cleric! We get a +15 on all tentacle effects, both saves and attacks.

Phear teh Tentacles of Doom!

< jk about the hmanga >;D

There was a save to avoid permanent blindness when the bloodpool exploded... It would have been funnier if I failed. There was this scene in a movie called Top Secret, where the hero is introduced to a blind interrogator who has to do everything by feel.

And when out on the street I'd have a seeing-eye bard.

The very next card allowed me to "Reforge" any one magic item. That Detect Magic gotta go.

So:

Whip +1
INT 16; WIS 20; CHA 10
Speech & Hearing, Telepathy
Blindsense
Sense at 120'
Perception +10
Haste/3 day
At will:
Mage Hand
Message
Dancing Lights
Ray of Frost
Guidance

Suggested Names:
The Good Tentacle
Calistria's Feather Duster
The Good Touch
Calistria's Holy Touch

Ace pulled the card that basically said, you and whoever and whatever you want get to go where ever you want one time…

I drew 4 cards, 'cause that's the kind of guy I am. <-RP

I also got the "One former enemy returns to life." Brute said, "Lamm."

Another gave my whip (looks at the paper he scribbled it on)

INT 16; WIS 16; CHA 10
Speech, Darkvision 60' & Hearing
Use Detect Magic at will
Search +10
Locate Object 3/day

The very next card allowed me to "Reforge" any one magic item. That Detect Magic gotta go.

For Trinia things got grim. 2 cards. She is now permanently Flanked. And everyone who looks at her knows her greatest weakness.

I need to work more on my durability, specifically AC.

How about a Cloak of Displacement, Minor? Then you can keep reminding Brute until starts to roll a 20% miss on everyone. <snicker>

Finally Altair lost patience and whacked Sial starting a fight that would end a round or two later with Sial begging to be the Curate.

I believe it was me whispering to Krim, "Grab him and throw him in."

It made Krim happy.

They quickly headed to the Pharasma cathedral where they spooked the lower level clergy by entering invisibly and making a bit of a ruckus.

15 minutes of Chaotic Good Roleplaying!

I bought mine, too. But I enchanted them myself. And Trinia's. And our weapons, too.

Which might be why we buy our own. The stuff I'm making is better than the "level appropriate" loots. And it's more customizable.

Inside the doors was a ballroom of sorts with a Cherry colored floor and the ceiling rose tinted glass.

I didn't want to interrupt play, but I have to nit-pick here. Cherry wood looks like any other wood - brown, not red.

We did check it for magic as well and I believe it was Necromancy...

IIR it's Necromancy aura was slightly higher than the rest of the castle. The bag on it's head was funny, tho. I'm still wondering if I should give it the Lore Keeper touch. Or maybe Dispel Evil just to be thorough.

Suppose it's the last Chain Spirit anchor. Now that'd be an "What do you know about the werewolf" moment.

With moderate BAB, Moderate at best strength and no feat to add some other bonus' you are just plain running against the characters build.

There are times when disarming is useless, BAB or not. The most common time is facing an opponent simply can't be disarmed, animals and undead for instance.

The second most common is when there is no one around them and they simply spend a move action and pick up their weapon, free from any AoO. The half-orc had a ranger and a rogue (iir) up on him, and Vreeg was on the ceiling looking down at 7 annoyed adventurers. Disarming someone surrounded by their own friends is a bit of a waste of time.

... although there is Greater Disarm now. That sounds like a comedy skit waiting to happen.

he usually just sits in the stick room all alone

Stop that or you'll go blind. Trust me, I'm a Calistrian. If you're not careful you'll poke your eye out.

CMB/CMD: I am enjoying this mechanic quite a bit.

IIR, this is about the time Ace's Improved Disarm stopped being useful. It really helped in the beginning, (The half-orc in Gadrin Lamm's fish factory & that Vreeg guy in the crypts both had looks of startled disappointment) but I really haven't had any real fun with it since then. I only get d20+18 so I think it's the Cleric's moderate BAB hampering it.

Give one to the Sorcerer for the Magic Circle take one from the spell casters as this is certainly not the first time they have found DR/Good to be an issue. You can’t expect Laori (L/E Cleric of Zon-Kuthon to provide a Good effect to weapons).

Align Weapon and Restoration, Lesser are both Second Level spells.

I must say that a certain Cleric of Calistria in my other game would be proud of the behavior of the Gnome. The girl used the words “I feel dirty” as she fled the scene.

Hey! I heard that! I am very diplomatic when the occasion requires it, after all I am Chaotic Saucy, not Gnomish Sticky.

(Tormod & Girl)

See? Damn Sticky Gnomes. Not to be confused with the Sticky Dwarf from Halloween III.

he answers the door pantless

Ah. Hmm.

Although in my defense I didn't have the Endurance Feat so I couldn't sleep in armor, the smile was just that I was happy to see her, and the whip is the favored weapon of Calistria.

they are convinced that at this rate they will receive a medium creature as a pet any day now and not to far in the future they will be adding large and huge creatures to their menagerie.

So, if the GM had just said they were hedges then the Rogue should be allowed his Stealth check.

Perhaps the OP did not mean hedgerows, but rather topiary.

Firstly how are you getting that a corn field it “difficult terrain” I looked briefly at terrain and the closest thing I could see to a corn field would be thick undergrowth which I don’t think would apply here.

Medieval sowing techniques were non-mechanical. The kernels would most likely not be planted in neat rows, more likely they would be strewn about by hand. The field would be more like tall grass. Or bamboo.

(Why yes, I am an endless font of trivia.)

The dog's scent ability is precisely why people keep guard dogs--they can literally smell trouble.

A trained guard dog. It's in the Handle Animal skill. ...but that's another can of worms.

Just to clarify.

...they found a magic sword and a staff. They started laughing loudly as they realized they had wormed their way all around Castle Scarwall looking for a magic bastard sword, avoided all of the legendary bad and ickiness and managed to find a magic bastard sword.

The Cleric’s Favorite Weapon this campaign has been a Silver Dagger he got waaaaay back in the first mod...

So I'm thinking ... python?

...they found a magic sword and a staff. They started laughing loudly as they realized they had wormed their way all around Castle Scarwall looking for a magic bastard sword, avoided all of the legendary bad and ickiness and managed to find a magic bastard sword.

-.-

Ah. Yes. A mysterious weapon who's magical properties we are unable to determine.

.
.
.

Not it!

=-=-=-=-=

More seriously, next level I'll have a choice between Legend Lore and Invisibility, Mass for my Domain Spells. I think I can crack it.

[...] you guys can retro purchase some components. Within reason of course...

Thank you, although, unlike AAA, I'd feel more embarrassed if I got killed in the castle an became a "tool" of the forces of undeath.

A fully charged Wand of Lesser Restoration = 4,500gp (50 charges at 90gp each). I'm not too worried about going overboard.

Diamond dust in 100gp increments would also be a good investment. It's used for Restoration.

I recall Krim offering to finance some enchants for people?

Otherwise... 1st Rule: CARDIO.

I think this dungeon is going to be a bit of a problem for us without full restoration as an option.....here is hoping for a few diamonds and a potion or two amongst the loot!

We could find the nearest city and restock. I could Brew up more Lesser Restorations & we could get more diamond dust. Maybe buy a wand?

On the bright side, I did load my head with Death Ward. Minutes per level, but only vs. Energy Drain & negative energy. I don't think Stat Drains & Damage count.

Laori was exuberant and jumped right up onto Ace’s horse with him...

I'd like to point out that Laori has left me for someone more to her liking. Apparently being slapped around & threatened with an Adamantine Earthbreaker is the marriage ceremony for Zon-Chthonites.

Suggestions...

I hadn't realized that Fascinate was so fragile.

Trinia gets two spells at this level. And her charisma bonus allow her two castings.

Freedom of Movement - Already has decided on this one.

Greater Invisibility - If she wants to use the Bard Noise she'll constantly be giving away her position, and anything that depends on visuals is right out. Anyone who doesn't have a Bard may not have noticed a small change in the "Skull Cracker" edition: Bardic music effects end when the bard stops performing, no more 5 rounds grace period.

Cure Critical Wounds - You are correct about the wand, and I've given her my Serious wand anyway.

Dimension Door - I can just hear the Calistria inspired remarks about personal mounts. Hi-ho Trinia! Away!

There is Hold Monster, too. But it seems to suffer from the same Saving Throw problem the other spells. Cure Critical Wounds is looking better all the time. And she gets more picks over the next two levels, anyway.

Aha! Divination! Now all I need is an appropriate 25gp offering to Calistria. Maybe Trinia can paint something nice for me. The crafting rules'll give Brute some time to think of a response.

Speaking of everyone's favorite sidekick, Dominate Person didn't seem like her style so I picked Rainbow Pattern (It's kind of indiscriminate & DC 20) for her new 4th level spell. I thought about Legend Lore but we've only got Mantis Helmets (Yep, that's the mask of a Red Mantis Assassin allrighty) & area spells will be more help when we "storm the castle".

Oh yes, that reminds me. I applied the stat bump to my Charisma so my Leadership goes up two ranks this level.

And now that I think of it, Legend Lore says anyone 11th level or higher counts a being legendary. +2 Leadership for fame! Woohoo! Holy Tramp Stamps for everyone! <jk>

24 Red Mantis Masks.

Besides, what's not fun about ninjas popping up everytime you turn a corner?

Even more fun? Wandering into town with See Invisible running. "Psst! There's Reds up ahead. Lets stand around over here, just out of striking distance. Watch 'em sweat."

mmmm.... 24 + Cinnabuns = 25. 4 more sleeping with the Tentacle Monster, 29. 3 in that one town, 32. 3 in Orsini's townhouse, 35. That'd be a bit of a dent in most organization's personnel roster.

More seriously, I don't want them showing up when we finally go after Midnight's Teeth. That would be very annoying.

After a breather Ace and Trinia went looking for the rest of the Mantis that had been spotted with See invisibility...

Actually, Ace went to heal up any Sklar-Quah survivors.

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ya won't catch me dying. They'll have to kill me before I die." - Yellowbeard.

It was mostly my fault. I kept forgetting my Copy Cat, I never took my Domain spells, I kept running out to heal. Stuff like that.

On the bright side, the only one who reeeeeealy needed a cleric was the cleric.

It was like that scene from Yellowbeard when he's on the beach, reenacting the map to his burried treasure: "Get shot, fall down, stagger, stagger, get stabbed, get stabbed, fall down, stagger..." You get the idea.

=-=-=-=-=-=

And I know the Animaniacs cartoon took a lot of heat, but it's so appropriate.

"I think we have a new 'Special Friend'." - Yakko Warner.

It pleases me that I chose my Goddess so well. And here I only wanted Trickery & Knowledge Domains.

Speak with Dead will likely be useless. They had their "mist" up. Pity, there would have been much corroboration. ( Do I hear Mr. Eats-what-he-kills breath a sigh of relief? )

Commune... Like playing 20 Questions, only I am limited to 12. I shall have to compose a list.

Scrying, we have plenty of Red Mantis equipment. But that's only good for a familiarity of "None", and then only to the RMA that makes them.

Sending. 25 words out, 25 in reply. Enough to alert my minions to start taking note of anything to do with RMAs, very, very carefully.

I'll have to try to keep one from the next batch alive. I can do Read Thoughts from Knowledge. I doubt their HQ is "prominent" enough for Find the Path.

Trickery: Nondetection won't cover the party. Don't have 250gp in jade for each recasting of False Vision.

Further suggestions will be welcome.

Sorry, AC 18. +3 Heavy mithral shield, Ring of Protection +2 and Dex 12.

Might be time for Sanctuary. Gotta remember to pack Magic Vestment from now on.

Yes, the cleric went down. It was a great day for the Red Mantis Assassins. Don't think they've ever made any one in the party fall down before. However, thanks to the tender ministrations of my able Cohort I was back on my feet a round later.

Full plate would have saved my bacon, but nothing else would have stopped them.

I did send Trinia to fetch my shield, though.

Will AC 17 be enough? Stay tuned to find out.

OK, I just read 4 pages of "Game Balance" garbage and decided it was time to cut to the chase.

The bad guys want the party dead, and they're not Warcrack, computer controlled, idiot trash/boss robots. What happens?

KILL HEALER FIRST

I don't want to hear any crying when your medic gets smushed after moving into the dragon's x3 reach area to save your sorry pile of HP.

As to our new " party members " I am all but sure they will betray us eventually.

I think they're learning our tactics and capabilities so that they can take the McGuffin away from us... if we try to keep it, anyway.

And they have stated that they want to learn more about the McGuffin. If it should turn out that they are lying about it being an artifact of Zon-Kuthon there is likely to be trouble sooner rather than later.

I was thinking about going in the sphere, but already having a holy symbol tattooed on the small of my back, and being in the service of a goddess known for her fickle temperament, I decided to give it a miss.

And yes, I was nonplussed that my 18 Charisma cohort was the focus of a tentacle monster attack.