Goblin Squad Member. Organized Play Member. 1,446 posts (3,421 including aliases). No reviews. 2 lists. No wishlists. 9 Organized Play characters. 19 aliases.
Now, I wouldn't dream of speaking for the entire lodge, here – indeed, my opinions on the matter most likely run contrary to those of many – but I personally find no fault in the efficient and productive use of the dearly departed’s inert matter… of course, I also recognise that this practice offends the delicate sensibilities of some, and it is to protect these sensibilities that our guild has taken the stance of “no open evil acts”.
With this in mind, I don’t think it too stringent a requirement that undead are not openly transported within our borders.
I'm fairly certain that haste doesn't, since the Alchemy class ability specifically mentions "the effects of an extract exactly duplicate the spell upon which its formula is based, save that the spell always affects only the drinking alchemist."
On the other hand, the communal spells clarification in the PRD says "A Note on Alchemists: Dispensing communal formulae to creatures requires that the alchemist have the infusion discovery. Without it, the alchemist cannot use communal spells as formulae." Which suggests an exception to the rule of only affecting a single imbiber.
Just wait for the moment when your pledge gets over 200 and you realize you could double vampire pledge and trade both sophies in for 250 worth of minis....
I... I didn't consider that... this means that for just $31 extra, I can get all of the minis I'm currently down for, and double up on all of the Vampire minis!
Imagine if you're facing a ranger with favored enemy (human), and the GM rules he decides not to shoot at you because you don't look as "human" as the next guy. You've just gained a mechanical advantage by your reskinning. That's why it's not allowed. You get what the trait says you get, and nothing more.
Well, you look about as human as an half-orc, and so he would know that you are still susceptible to the favoured enemy bonus, similarly, the ears/tail would be clues that you are susceptible to favoured enemy(kitsune).
Before anything else, I was wondering how often you were looking for posts during this game; I only get chance to post a couple of times a day during the week. At weekends I can either post more or less often, depending on whether I’m away from home (roughly a 50/50 split).
What is the highest level Pathfinder game you have played in?:
I recently played as a Magus in Nimon’s 20th level PbP set during the war between Nex and Geb, but this was a fairly short prelude to the main story that has just started at 1st level. Beside that, the highest I’ve gotten to is 12th level as a Sorcerer in Pathfinder Society, and also 12th as a Fighter/Duellist in another convention based game called Lihr (though that was using 3.5 rules at the time).
What did you like about that game?:
As far as the 20th level game goes, I enjoyed playing a character who is justifiably confident in themselves, and also the scope for the story to be very much world-changing.
When it comes to the 12th level games, the confidence is still there, but there is the presence of plenty of people more powerful than the character… which is certainly not a bad thing. Also, at this level I think the number of options becoming available really starts to get to the point where there’s always something you can do, which is nice.
What did you not like about it?:
The short duration of the 20th level game meant that there wasn’t as much chance to explore the character as there might have been otherwise, but I knew that going in. One thing that I wouldn’t have liked if the story had been a longer one was the absence of much to threaten the character at such a high level… I think that the sense that nothing could really challenge the character was partially the point of that adventure, so hopefully it won’t be the same in this game.
The 12th level games I disliked other things. With the Lihr character, I disliked the amount of ‘power-gaming’ that a lot of the other players indulged in, which really got to be annoying at that level. The only dislike I can think of for the PFS game is the typical frustrations associated with the necessary limitations of organised play.
Does your character have immediate family?:
My character’s immediate family are all long dead, but he does have a large family of descendants over whom he keeps a watchful eye, and occasionally interacts with without revealing his true identity.
Is your character a noble?:
He was a noble long ago, but any claims to his title are long gone, as the world believes him to be dead. Now he fills the role of anonymous advisor to the Grand Prince of Taldor, under the title of ‘The Marble Courtier’.
What are you able to bring to the game?:
I’m fairly experienced in play by post games, having played in many that have fizzled out and a few which have stood the test of time. I’ve also ran a PbP game or two in the past, so I’m able to offer advice on what works and what doesn’t tend to, if that’s what you need. One of my strengths, I’d say, is the connection I make between my characters and the setting, and in the case of Golarion based games, I’m quick to accept any changes that the GM wants to make. On the other hand, I’d say that one of my main weaknesses can be my reluctance to take ownership of the game beyond my own character, in so far as I don’t like to make declarations about what happens with things outside of my own character’s direct control*, because I’m hesitant to step of the GM’s toes.
*such as NPC responses, even minor things like a tavern’s serving staff’s favourite colour I tend to leave to the GM’s discretion; just because mine is purple, doesn’t mean that I can say the barkeep shares that preference.
How old is your character? If very young or old, why did you select that age?:
The idea I have for my character is that he is roughly a thousand years old, mostly because I’m keen to explore a patriotic character who saw his nation at the height of its power, and now has to live on in its decline. I’m planning to make this work as a human by playing either an alchemist or wizard with the 20th level immortality ability, or if you’re willing to open up class archetypes from the Advanced Race Guide, a sorcerer with the Imperious bloodline.
What do you think is the most unbalancing aspect of your character concept for group play?:
That really depends on which class I eventually settle on, in the case of alchemist, a lot of people aren’t fond of the bombs targeting touch AC and ignoring SR. Additionally, the fact that he would mostly be walking around in possessed clones of himself really limits the risk of death. As a wizard or sorcerer, the imbalance would be the typical ones associated with full casters at high levels; but spell selection can avoid most of the problems I think.
Where do you see your character going in 10 levels (I'm looking for more than just a statement of what classes you are going to pick):
My character has spent the vast majority of his life as an anonymous servant to the empire, not really being in a situation where advancing levels further has been on the cards, so any growth will be mostly situational, though it will likely be focused around his pre-existing talents (whatever they end up being).
Since you want to be of noble blood, how about a spoiled child of nobility who genuinely believes that anybody of poorer breeding is less worthy of your respect? You might suck up to those of higher social standing, act companionably with those you view as equals and disrespect anybody of poorer breeding. Couple that with a hefty entitlement complex and you've got an unlikable character that could still be shrewd enough that you have to listen to his opinions. Play it up by offering good advice in a sarcastic tone or by sneering at the "stupidity" of the commoners around you.
The one I don't is Vivisectionist. It isn't an inheritly evil class, no more so than rogue. It's basicly a rogue who substituted traps and skills for alchemical talent.
Sure, they might have had to cut people up. My sister is a P.T. major and disected cadavers in college. She's not evil. It's learning for the purpose of helping others. I think that the vivisectionist can easily trend right along these lines.
Dissecting cadavers is one thing, but vivisection is performed on living subjects.
A level of internal alchemist gives breath mastery, letting you hold your breath for 1 minute per point of Con without preparation (or an hour per point after a full round action to prepare).
The level in alchemist also helps with various concoctions, to assist in spitting contests, for example.
Ultimate Campaign, I am not sold on this one plus I wish they would stop using "Ultimate" for these books because so far they are always the disapointing ones.
Good point, can we have Advanced Campaigns instead? The Advanced books have been much more satisfying than the Ultimate books.
I don't see this replacing PbP, but if a group can get online at the same time even occasionally, it could be pretty handy for running through a big combat that might otherwise take weeks.
Didn't another well-known RPG company try something like this, and completely and utterly fail at it? I'll admit, that concerns me.
The part that reassures me about this is the following:
Gary Teter wrote:
When can I use it.
It's not quite ready yet. Don't worry, we're not going to wait until it's perfect. It turns out, software is never perfect.
So you'll be able to play with Paizo Game Space sometime this summer. And we'll keep making it better as we go.
One of the main reasons Wizards' attempt failed so spectacularly was a complete lack of openness... if whatever is ready is going to be released to the public later this year, even if it's not entirely finished, then the chances of absolutely nothing getting done along with claims that it's "almost ready" are much smaller.
When I've run PFS online in the past, I've just pasted the chronicle page into Paint and added the relevant details before emailing it to the various recipients, using my Paizo.com account name in place of a signature.
Actually, now that you mention it, I've read that one too. I thought it was a pretty interesting read, and it's got a lot of world lore in there too. I want to say it has a similar feel to the Elfshadow/Elfsong books; but it's been a long time since I've read those books so it might just be my subconscious making connections that aren't really there. On the other hand, Dave Gross' contributions do stand out quite a lot too, I think it's thanks to him that the mechanics of the pathfinder system read so well in the novel.
Bear in mind, though, that an intensified shocking grasp at CL5 is still only 5d6; intensified spell only increases the upper limit, so you'd need CL10 for the 10d6.
Just to be sure, will this be shipped as a book, or a game accessory? If the latter, I might skip this one for the same reason I skipped the Beginner's Box; I don't want to pay more in import duty and handling fees than I pay for the product itself.
It's defined as a book for customs purposes (and counts as Bound Printed Matter for shipping purposes). If you're in a country where it takes a minimum weight to trigger the attention of Customs, this one only weighs about 4 ounces.
Excellent, all books are customs free here in the UK. I guessed it would be similar to the Map Folios, but I thought I'd make sure.
Just to be sure, will this be shipped as a book, or a game accessory? If the latter, I might skip this one for the same reason I skipped the Beginner's Box; I don't want to pay more in import duty and handling fees than I pay for the product itself.
I love the trait for all the things it is - an overpowered boon to multi-classed spell chuckers.
But I'm glad it's prohibited in PFS because it is overpowered (in my humble opinion) as a trait. If a particular power (trait/feat/spell) becomes a 'must have' for a particular type of build then it's time to take a look at why. In this case it's because it's extremely powerful, for a trait.
If there were a similar feat, some might say it's a little underpowered, but many would still take it I think.
Would you also consider Two Weapon Fighting to be overpowered, by the same logic? It's a 'must have' for any build that wants to effectively use two weapons (except a monk, of course).
Similarly, I've yet to see an archer build not take Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot... these are hardly overpowered options, they just serve to mitigate the penalties that would be suffered without them.
—including those retired characters of 12th level or higher—
Would this also include 12th level characters partway through Eyes of the Ten? I'm hoping to have the chance to play the series at PaizoconUK, and it would be nice to have that character attend the Convocation...
This sounds really interesting. Are you interested in the descendants too? I'm drawn to the idea of both characters being Bladebound Magi, both bound by blood to the same weapon.
This is my idea for a cavalier of the Lion, with the musketeer and luring archetypes. A captain in the Cygnan air fleet.
Captain Reynard Stranton:
Reynard loved to hunt as a boy, his steady aim and solid bow bringing down game at great distances. When he was enlisted at the age of fifteen into the Arial Navy of Cygnus, his choice to keep such a primitive weapon drew odd looks from his fellow recruits his officers, but the efficiency with which he was able to disable the crews aboard enemy Blackships − at greater range than the more advanced firearms of the navy could maintain such accuracy − soon swept aside any objections.
The five years of Reynard’s minimum term passed quickly, during which time he gained a deep sense of companionship which his crewmates, and his exposure to the outside world served to instil in him a great love for his homeland that he had otherwise taken for granted. As such, his choice was simple; at the age of twenty he enrolled in the naval academy to become a commissioned officer.
After graduating, Reynard advanced quickly through the ranks, until eventually earning the rank of commander serving aboard the Tempest, under the then Commodore Darius Rembrach. Over the following years, the Tempest was responsible for several significant victories against Cryxian forces, the airship’s speed and well trained crew allowing them to arrive where most needed. These victories were soon noted, and the Commodore was recently raised into the admiralty in recognition of his accomplishments.
Reynard had expected this promotion to be accompanied by a captain reassigned to the Tempest, but instead he was surprised to be granted the post himself… Rear-Admiral Rembrach was to retain command of the Tempest as his flagship, but when his duties called him away from the ship, it would be captained by Reynard.
STR 12, DEX 17+2, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 16, CHA 17+2.
edit: unless by using the epic rolls the stats need to be placed in order, in which case it would be:
STR 12, DEX 17+2, CON 17, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 16+2.
Aren't Dodos extinct because they just sat still while cats hunted them? Doesn't really seem like the sort of behaviour that suggests a bonus to initiative to me.
Sorry - I cross read the table and interpreted it as 40% on 70. Should know it isn't as complex as that. So yes - 110 is possible but there is also the line that the GM secretly rolls dice.
Fair enough, I thought you might have seen something I didn't.
Kerney wrote:
What is more, it is obviously someone trying to 'game' the system.
Ah yes, those damn munchkins! Starting human characters at 102 years old just so they can spend 2 feats to get +2 to all knowledge and profession skills!
Personally, I like the idea of the dwarven blood giving him an unusual longevity.
aside regarding the 'evil' character:
Murdering innocent bystanders should of course be considered evil, especially with targeted spells such as mass inflict wounds; at least with fireball they could claim not to have seen them... but my guess in this case is the GM misinterpreting the rules; the player was probably intent on targeting just the enemies which presented themselves, and the GM thought that the spell was an area effect and declared a slew of innocents dead.
Table 7.2 - aging effects - also has a column of maximum age.
For a human this is 70 + 2d20. Even taking 2 times 20 you get to a max. of 40 which is 70 + 28 = 98 years.
So the whole chain goes the following for a 102 year old human
a) He is venerable (>70 years) but in PFS any age related stat changes are ignored
b) He has taken the feat Racial heritage to overcome the maximum age limit of 98 to reach 102
All I can say is - a 102 year old human is 'streching' the rules - even with a feat and he takes advantage of an abnomality in PFS that disregards aging effects.
At what point does 40 become 28? 102 is still 8 years below the maximum age of 110, and so isn't stretching the rules at all.
In fact, while I'm aware that the PFS rule is that the minimum age is still enforced, I don't think it's been addressed if the maximum age is taken into account, since all ageing effects are ignored, potentially including death at the maximum age.
I'm not sure I agree with the 'it's not fair to two-weapon fighting builds' argument... just because two-weapon builds need to spend a bunch of extra feats and twice as much gold just to compare with a basic two-handed weapon build, it doesn't mean that monks should have to suffer too.
Sorry I’ve taken so long to post, if there’s still a spot for me, here’s the concept I’ve got so far:
Simon E.* Whittaker
High Concept: Mender of Broken Dreams
Trouble: Stalked by Nightmares
rough background:
Simon was a quiet child, with few friends; this may have been the cause of his retreat into his own dreams, or perhaps merely the effect of it. Regardless, from a young age, he had found a natural ability to remember his dreams, and recognise them for what they were even whilst within them. Before long he regularly enjoyed lucid dreams, living out fantasies in his night-time mind that would be otherwise unavailable to him.
What he could not understand, however, was that such activity was creating dreamscapes on the Nevernever, bright beacons that attracted spirit entities to his sleeping consciousness. It was one of the more malevolent of such entities that eventually managed to breach to edges of his dream, one night in his late teens. Terrified that he could not simply will away this beast that had suddenly appeared in his fantasy, Simon found himself in a twisted nightmare he barely managed to wake from… albeit scarred by the experience.
Completely unused to feeling so powerless in his own dreams, he delved into books on Lucid dreaming, not truly understanding what had happened, but determined to learn of some precautions to prevent it from occurring again. It was amongst these new age texts and psychological textbooks that he found the first hints of the supernatural world just beyond his sight, in an old and rare book describing the Nevernever, something he considered at the time to be more metaphor than fact, he found reference to a creature he couldn’t help but recognise, and put a name to his nightmare: a phobophage.
In the few decades since, Simon has continued to delve into research to broaden his understanding of dreams, and along the way established for himself a reputation as someone who can help people come to terms with the ‘demons’ that haunt their sleep. For the most part, this involves nothing more than providing an understanding ear, so his clients can unburden themselves of their metaphorical demons. On other occasions, though, not as rarely as he might like, Simon encounters those whose dreams are plagued by actual horrors, which he drives off using the arcane techniques he has taught himself.
I’m envisioning him as an Oneiromancer, who offers his services to the public under the guise of an alternative therapist/dream counsellor.
*Eddie :P
Zoë Campbell wrote:
How about as a counter to this a pure-mortal social worker, who tries to clean up the streets?
Runs a soup-kitchen, talks to the kids on the streets, educates in schools to mocking kids that think they know more. The vampires didn't realise that they needed to 'take the person out' until after their name was already in the media.
Perhaps the individual has a 'guardian' or unwitting sponsor? Of course, the social worker is gradually getting worn down, feeling they are not up to the job - will they too fall to despair?
Or perhaps what makes this social worker so dangerous to the White Court is that they are full of True Hope, and their work is starting to spread that poison to others in the community.
I'm interested, I've played a couple of times and it's been a lot of fun. I actually really enjoyed the city creation, myself, but I imagine doing it over the boards would be a lot more time consuming.
Goblin Squad Member
