THE SITUATION
I am opening recruitment for my ongoing Council of Thieves campaign, which has lost a player because of real life commitments. We are looking to add two more players to the campaign. We have just begun book 2 and thus the players are currently third level. This game is a fast paced game, and thus requires people to usually post 2+ times a day. The campaign currently consists of an Urban Ranger, a Bard and an Oracle/Fighter. However, the group does have wands of cure light wounds as well as potions, so healing isn’t really the issue at this stage. I'd like to make a decision by July 3, and get started around July 6.
Please take a look at the campaign information page for details of the setting. This setting is extremely evil. In fact, it is so evil that I do not want to get private messages from the players telling me to “tone it down, I’m having nightmares.” If you can’t handle human sacrifice, bodies piling up in pits filled with flies and what not, then do not apply to my game. If human sacrifice, slave trading/ownership and devil worship freak you out and you’ll complain all the time about how over the top the setting is or graphic, move along, this game isn’t for you. I will not tone down the setting. If you can’t handle that, don’t apply.
PASS THESE 5 HURDLES BEFORE APPLYING
Before you apply and read about the character creation rules, I want to make five things ABUNDANTLY clear to anyone who is accepted into this campaign. Please consider these carefully, and if you cannot accept these five conditions, do not apply to this game.
First, this is an extremely fast paced game. Since I live in the US West Coast, I will only accept people who can post several times a day while I’m awake. I will generally post between 6:30a.m. PST to 7:30pm PST. So, if you are asleep during that time period like most Europeans, you won’t be able to keep pace and I will kick you from the game. You are wasting my time, your time and everyone else’s time if you apply and can’t post multiple times during the time specified. We have one European in our group who posts often enough to get away with it. So, it’s not that I’m anti-Europe, I’m anti-slow posts.
Furthermore, if your idea of a fast paced game is 1 post/day (or because of your time zone you only post while I’m asleep, which equates to a 1/day), don't apply. In general I expect 2-3 posts a day, maybe slower on weekends. Brief absences tolerated when given advance notice (one of our players is going on vacation in July but we will NPC his character during that time). We simply can’t NPC multiple characters at the same time. If you are about to go on a long vacation, or have some kind of life event coming that might prevent you from posting frequently in the near future (school restarts, baby on the way, new job), don’t apply. I don’t want to read “Oh, this and that happened and I can’t post as often now.” So, you should have stability in your life for the near-future. If not, don’t apply.
Second, I want to emphasize that you need to be familiar with rules for your character, and if you play a spell caster, you need to be familiar with your spells and how they work. You don’t have to be a rules expert with some kind of certification badge (I don’t have one either), but I do expect you to know the basics. If you cast a spell that won’t have an effect on a specific creature/situation, then you’ll waste the spell/action. For example, if you cast mage armor on a fighter wearing heavy armor (don’t laugh, I’ve seen it), you just wasted your spell. Furthermore, if you are selected I will “re-create” your character myself. This allows me to be very familiar with your character, but it also might catch an error or more. If you have a problem with me pointing out a character creation error (or confusion over a selection) via a PM, then don’t apply. Some folks are extremely sensitive if I tell them they made a mistake on their character. So, if you’re room is full of participation trophies and can’t handle being told you might have made a mistake, don’t apply. Finally, while I generally follow the rules, I reserve the right to amend the rules as GM.
Third, I’ll be using Ditzie for maps. As such, if you cannot adjust a map on your computer, don’t apply. I can occasionally accommodate a player who is on a phone or touch-pad device, but I’m not going to move you every single time. Please go to THIS MAP and see if you can move stuff around from the device you will post the most from. If you can’t, then you can’t play in this campaign. If you say you are attacking, but you are in the other room on the map, then you don’t attack and waste your turn. Use the map!
Fourth, my descriptions assume a point of view from your perspective. If you, for example, crawl into a building from a sewer entrance, I will not tell you what the outside of the building is, what street it’s on, etc. You are given the information that you have at the time. As such, it can be difficult for people who want to put lots of actions into just one post (a typical thing for people who can only post once a day in a fast paced game). You will have to do what people would do in that situation, like look for an exit, or talk to the people in the room. Running out, doing this and that, then coming back and doing some more stuff, all in one post, will usually be a gigantic problem. I will allow if/then posts, as long as you can accept that some of your potential actions might not occur because they would have been interrupted by an NPC action/event along the way. It would simply be easier if you can post multiple times in a day.
Fifth, I just want to be abundantly clear, that what you write in your gameplay post is what you do. If you say you went into the main sewer line and then cast channel, and that places you out of range of some of your allies that needed healing, then you blew your channel for nothing. I don’t want to hear “oh, well I would have channeled next to them first.” Sorry, you wrote you went into the sewer line, then did it. This is to force people to think about what they write and what they do, so as to there not being a debate going forward about any response by an NPC. If you don’t pull the sword off the dead guy, then you can’t sell the sword later. Sorry. If you don’t like that, please don’t apply to my game. I also demand that you not read spoilers not directed at you. If you like to read all the spoilers regardless of whom they are directed at (as I believe most of you do), then don’t apply. If I make a DC 18 Sense Motive check spoiler because an NPC is lying, and you roll a 12 but still check the spoiler and then act like the NPC is lying, you will have some explaining to do. If you respond to information in a spoiler not directed at you, you have some explaining to do. I don’t want to be sending PMs left and right because the players can’t control their urges to read spoilers. Most of you can’t control this urge (I know because most of you read spoilers directed at other characters in different games), so please don’t apply.
Okay, if you can pass those five prerequisites, please see some information in the campaign info section. You will need to read the Council of Thieves player’s guide. Please pay close attention to the character creation rules I have listed. Lastly, unlike some online GMs, I do not give preference to who posts first or in what order. When I say July 3, I mean July 3. Take your time and post when ready. You don’t need to create an alias, just give me your background and your character sheet. Please make the character sheet easy to read. I expect the game will restart around July 6 to let people enjoy the upcoming holiday and time to understand the characters and recreate them myself.
CHARACTER CREATION DETAILS
Character Backgrounds:
You have grown up in Westcrown. You have had to deal with the night terrors for the last 30 years, the watch of citizen spies, and the terror of the dottari and hellknight’s version of justice (suspects burned at the stake kind of thing, or tortured until they confess, then burned at the stake, depending on how much time they have). You know several people who have been killed in gladiatorial battles staged on behalf of the public’s entertainment. In short, you despise your city, your rulers and the government’s inability to deal with the nightly terrors, but are unsure what to do or who to trust. Spies are everywhere and will report any suspicions to the dotarri or worse, the hellknights. You joined a group formed by a half-elf named Ariel to try to improve the city. Upon joining the group, it has decided to name themselves (k)Night's Bane to show how they will fight the night terrors and improve the city. The group has some notoriety already for stopping a group of tieflings from robbing and killing at night known as the Bastards of Erebus, but they never learned how they avoided the night creatures. There were some clues, but alas they don't know.
Please pick one trait from the Council of Thieves Players Guide (download it from Paizo, it's free) and make sure it fits your background (and pick one additional trait, for a total of two traits). No drawbacks permitted.
Also note that you are unlikely to be a successful thief that steals money for a living: they don’t live long when they have to operate in daylight. If you are caught, you are usually killed immediately or put in a gladiator setting and killed there (eventually). So, if you want to play a rogue, play a rogue that isn’t into stealing.
Character Creation Rules:
20 Point Buy. No stat below 8 (including racial modifiers). No Firearms. No third party. Otherwise probably okay. 2 Traits, one of which must be a campaign trait that fits your background. Please write a character background.
Alignments:
Lawful Neutral (with conditions), Lawful Good (with conditions), Neutral Good, Chaotic Good, and Chaotic Neutral alignments are permitted. Lawful characters will have to come to grips that this campaign involves a mild rebellion. As such, you’ll need to come to address it in your background. Lawful Good characters will have to be able to lie occasionally (monks need to avoid the vow of truth). Evil characters need not apply. Remember, non-evil deities have on occasion worked with Asmodeus, so non-evil people can worship him, I just don’t recommend it. Over time, the preaching and actions take their toll on your soul and eventually you turn evil. You can only participate in a human sacrifice only so many times before you start thinking it is okay to do it.
Classes and Archetypes allowed:
These are the classes allowed in my campaign (1) because they fit the campaign and (2) I’m also familiar enough with them so that rules issues can be kept to a minimum: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Magus, Monk, Oracle, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Wizard.
These classes are prohibited: any class not listed above (obviously). But in case you have to ask: Paladin, Alchemist, Gunslinger, Summoner, Cavalier, Inquisitor, Antipaladin, Ninja, Samurai, Witch, and any test class. Paladin’s are restricted for a specific reason in the campaign and are simply too disruptive given the incredibly evil setting.
Most archetypes are allowed (no play test archetypes or firearms), but remember this is an urban campaign so make sure your archetype reflects this fact. Do not pick an archetype that is woodlands or primitive based (especially true for Barbarians and Druids).
Also, given the setting, petty thieves are usually killed quickly in Westcrown since they can’t work at night (those that do are killed by the Shadow Creatures), so take this into account if you play a rogue and think you’re some kind of master thief. If you play a Cleric, please do not select an evil deity, as that will just cause too many problems. However, clerics should be aware that they are limited to openly worshiping Abadar; worshiping another deity must be done so in private. Worshiping in private just means you can’t have a following, which really isn’t a problem. You will meet NPC clerics along the way that worship non-evil deities in private.
Starting Wealth & Level:
Please make a third level character. You start with 3,000gp, of which no one item can exceed 1,000gp. You were either given it, inherited it, stole it, worked for it, or whatever.
Skills
The Council Chairman suggests these skills if they make sense for your character: Stealth, Bluff, Sense Motive, Knowledge (Local), Knowledge (History), Perform (Act). The Council Chairman believes these skills will prove less useful: Survival, Swim, and Ride. The Chairman wants to emphasize that skills will be used in this campaign (and your skill results can be a matter of life or death), so being only a combat junkie with minimal skill points will likely result in your death faster than fighting.
Do you have questions? Feel free ask here; do not send me a PM as my current players will be reading this recruitment thread as well.
Currently there are two ways to get a campaign off your campaign list:
1) Have the GM remove you using the Edit Campaign information. This is great when GMs know to do this, or the GM is active. Gives the GM plenty of control. But there is no control by the player.
2) Find the gameplay thread on the main forum list and select "hide post" option. This is EXTREMELY hard to do if your campaign is old. The only way to find it is to do a search, but when you get the search result, it takes you directly to the thread itself, not the block forum listing that has the option to hide it. Thus, you are forced to scroll endlessly through the forums trying to find your exact campaign to then hide. It shouldn't be this hard.
The hide option needs to be in the thread itself, or there needs to be a way so that when you search for your campaign thread, it will give you the option to hide a campaign. Something. Anything, so the player can also manage their campaigns. Ideally, it should be on the campaign tab or in our account.
This is the discussion thread. If you were considering posting in the gameplay thread a comment that was entirely or mostly contained OOC text, this is the place for it. Keep the Gameplay thread for gameplay and limited OOC text.
This is also the thread to be used if you have character questions or whatever. Please do not post in the gameplay thread until we are closer to starting.
This is for my Council of Thieves play-by-post game. I will add more information soon. Recruitment will be done by invitation initially, so the recruitment thread will be closed.
This is my first time making a melee focused monk, so I'm not sure if I'm doing this right.
My goal is to make a melee focused dwarf monk for PFS play. I don't want to give up Flurry of Blows so one of the archetypes that seems to work is Martial Artist.
My stats (with racial bonus):
STR 16(+3) DEX 14(+2) CON 14(+2) INT 8(-1) WIS 16(+3) CHA 8(-1)
I took Dodge and Deflect Arrows as my monk bonus and starting feats. I got my AC and Touch AC to 16, not bad for first level I suppose.
Question 1)
What to do with the 150gp starting gold for a PFS play? Masterwork Nunchaku are 302gp, and nothing stands out that does more than the 1d6 damage from the unarmed strikes. Should I just hold onto as much gold as I can so I can get masterwork items sooner?
Question 2)
My plan was to get Crane Wing style to deflect a melee blow, which should go well with deflect arrow feat. But, can you do two styles at the same time?
In my profile page, the section with the input fields is overlapping with the large text block for additional information. This is making it EXTREMELY hard to read.
Many of us use "Class/Levels" line to put key information about our alias to show on each post, and as such that information can be rather long. Furthermore, the Homepage URL can also be long, since I link to my character's Google Drive character sheet.
So, what happens is that those lines run into the "About XXX" section when I look at my various alias profiles.
There are 2 solutions:
First, put the "About XXX" section below the key data section, not next to it. This would be the preference.
Second, if that isn't possible, can we add lots of "blank lines" to our "About XXX" section so that we can manually push it down? Right now I tried that it and it doesn't show up.
So a Heavy Flail has the Trip and Disarm attribute. Assume the character has Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm and Improved Trip feats.
Question 1 about tripping with a Heavy Flail: When you announce that you're going to trip with the weapon, do you have to "hit" with that weapon (producing potential 1d10 + modifier damage), and then roll CMB versus CMD? Or is it a straight up CMB versus CMD roll (no damage potential)? Can it be both?
Question 2 about disarm with a Heavy Flail: The Disarm attribute says it is a +2 to disarm an opponent. Does this stack with the +2 from Improved Disarm feat, making it a +4 to CMB? Do you have to "hit" with the weapon (producing potential 1d10 + modifier damage) and then roll CMB versus CMD? Or is it a straight up CMB versus CMD roll (no damage potential)? Can it be both?
In other words, do you "hit" like any other weapon, but it also allows you to either a trip or a disarm on a separate CMB versus CMD roll. Or do you have to choose to trip or disarm with the weapon first, and thus you don't do any damage, just the combat maneuver?
I'm confused because with my animal companions, they can trip when they successfully attack, but I'm unsure if the same thing applies to weapons.
So, I've read several threads and guides, but they don't seem to help with my particular situation, so hence the new thread.
Problem #1: 15-point buy with limited "Dump Stat" ability
This is turning out to be a big problem. Our GM will allow us to min/max to a point, but maybe only allowing for 1 low score. Given this issue, I've decided for dwarf because of the +Con and +Wis modifier since I don't need the Charisma.
My stats (including racial modifiers) for 15 point buy:
STR: 12 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 8 WIS 18 CHA 6
With CHA at 6, I highly doubt I'll be allowed to drop INT below 8 (even that's a stretch). While I was considering lowering DEX, I realized that several archery feats have a DEX requirement of 13, and some of them are needed early on. Well, if you're going to have a 13, might as well move it to 14 and get the +2. So, I had to decide what to cut. I'm debating lowering CON to 12 and STR up to 14, but Strength-based composite bows are very expensive and our campaign has limited funds for the first four levels (extremely limited, level 3 still at 0gp in our Carrion Crown campaign). So, by the time we get coin, it will probably be level 4 or 5. The other factor is I'm hoping that +strength items are easier to find by the time I can afford a strength based composite bow.
Problem #2: Most guides and builds assume a high level campaign.
I doubt this campaign ever gets past level 12-15. Also, since gold so far has been EXTREMELY hard to come by, I can't assume using a bunch of fancy magical items, which again most guides and advice threads assume like boots of speed, etc.
Can someone help me with some decent feat selections for a game that tops out at 12-15 that doesn't rely on "just use your magical X item"?
I was considering something like this (edited to remove feats at 4 and 8)
1-Precise Shot (monk bonus), Toughness
2-Point Blank Shot (monk bonus)
3-Deadly Aim
5-Defensive Combat Training
6-Improved Precise Shot (monk bonus)
7-Improved Initiative (couldn't think of anything else)
9-Hammer the Gap
Problem #3: I'm an idiot when it comes to monk styles.
Are there some monk styles I should learn instead? If so, which blends well with a Zen Archer, again assuming the campaign ends around level 12-15?
Problem #4: Qinggong Monk Combination and PRD source question.
I see some folks really harp on also using the Qinggong Monk WITH the Zen Archer archetype. I wasn't sure why, so can someone tell me what exactly the benefit is? Second, is there a rule that can be sourced from the PRD that shows I can take both archetypes? My GM is all about the PRD, and if it doesn't say it in the PRD, it doesn't exist.
So, to summarize this long post:
Question 1: Should I move my stats around on my 15 point buy?
Question 2: Should I change my feat selection for a game ending around 12-15?
Question 3: Should I use monk styles, and if so, which ones? I assume they go as feats, so it relates to Question 2.
Question 4: What is the key benefit of Qingong for a Zen Archer and can anyone source the PRD saying you can take both archetypes?
Thanks a lot. I know those are a lot of questions, so if you know an answer to any of them, please just post that and I'll be most grateful.
Okay, I scanned the list of two-weapon fighting questions and this one didn't pop up, probably because everyone knows the answer but me.
When using two weapons and you take a move action then attack, you only get 1 attack. That part I got.
What I don't know is: Do you still take the penalty for using 2 weapons when you only attack with 1 weapon in that initial round? My guess is you probably do, but I wasn't sure since you only swing one weapon that round.
I can't believe I didn't notice this issue earlier, and I have no idea how to resolve it. In the description of GRAB, it says "Creatures with the grab special attack receive a +4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to start and maintain a grapple."
Now, I get the +4 to start a grapple, but the +4 to maintain a grapple is what is confusing. If you didn't have grab and successfully grapple a target, you get a +5 bonus to CMB to maintain a grapple. So, why just a +4 bonus when you normally get a +5 bonus?
So......does the +4 grab bonus to maintain a grapple actually stack with the +5 bonus to maintain a grapple, making it +9? That seems really high, but why give a +4 bonus to maintain it when the standard bonus is +5 unless it is meant to stack?
Thus, I suppose you could say Grab only provides a +4 bonus (not the +5 because you got a bonus to start the grapple), or you get the standard +5 bonus that everyone gets with grapple since it is higher and overrides the +4, or the special ability adds to the normal bonus and thus it is +9.
Thanks for reading my post. I currently have a level 7 Druid that has the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat. My GM allows us to retrain feats per the ultimate campaign rules.
Question 1)
If I took 1 level in Fighter, would that grant me access to the Heavy Armor Proficiency ability naturally? In other words, could I then go back and retrain the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat to something else and still wear my heavy dragonscale plate armor because I took 1 level in Fighter?
Question 2)
If "yes" is the answer to question 1, then when I go back to retrain the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat (taken at level 1 feat), assume I would like to retrain it to something that has a Base Attack Bonus minimum requirement (say Vital Strike). While I couldn't take that feat normally at level 1 because of the minimum requirement, since I'll be level 8 when I do the retraining, my BAB would meet the minimum requirement for the feat. So, can you retrain a feat and replace it with a feat that you currently meet the requirements, but put it in an earlier feat slot (like a level 1 feat slot)?
Hate to put 2 questions in one thread, but my GM and I had a discussion on my Druid and some clarifications were needed. Please respond, even if you agree with other posters, as we are trying to get a consensus on these issues. Thanks so much.
Issue 1: Improved Natural Attack - Is it a combat feat?
Let's assume that I'm a Druid/Fighter multi-class with at least +4 BAB. Should the Improved Natural Attack feat (listed under "Monster Feats") also be considered a combat feat (thus available as a fighter bonus feat) or just a general feat?
One view is that since it involves increasing damage, it's a combat feat. For comparison, Eldrich Claws ("your natural weapons are considered both magic and silver for purpose of overcoming damage reduction") is specifically listed as a Combat Feat.
The other view is that since it doesn't change an attack and also not specifically listed as a combat feat, it is only a general feat.
Issue 2: Wildshape and # of attacks
Say a medium animal the druid is familiar with can do multiple attacks. However, the Druid at level 4 (when wildshape becomes available) can only do 1 attack. In wildshape, does the Druid gain the extra attacks of the creature it assumes, or does the Druid only get his normal number of attacks, regardless of form?
One view is that he should get the # of attacks of the creature, because that's the form of the creature. The other is that you only take the shape of the creature, but you retain your base number of attacks. Issues like Pounce, Rake, Vision, etc. are already addressed in the Beast Shape spell, but it doesn't address the number of attacks.
I'm trying to figure out the proper damage for the following situation:
1) 10th level Druid using wildshape as a Behemoth hippopotamus, which has Huge size does base bite damage of 4d8 + Strength Mod.
2) The Druid was allowed to take the Improved Natural Attacks (bite) feat since he fights in Wildshape all the time. This says increases 1d8 to 2d6, so that suggests 4d8 becomes 8d6. So now the hipo does 8d6 + Strength Mod.
3) The Druid with Natural Spell feat (so he casts while in natural form) casts Strong Jaw spell (Advance Players Guide p.247) which then increases the damage for size by two, so his Huge size goes to Colossal-size. Page 302 in Bestiary 1 says Huge bite is typically 2d6 and Colossal is 4d6. So, that doubles the dice essentially. So going back to the hipo doing 8d6 now becomes 16d6. The spell lasts 10 minutes at this level.
4) Finally, the Druid also has Vital Strike, which of course doubles the damage dice rolled.
So, is that 32d6 + Strength Modifier? Can you really end up rolling 32D6 as a level 10 Druid?
