Exception: Precision damage (such as from a rogue's sneak attack class feature) and additional damage dice from special weapon qualities (such as flaming) are not multiplied when you score a critical hit.
Those are the only bonuses not multiplied on a critical hit. Assuming the way the spell is worded is meant to say 'you do double damage', this is all you need. Smite is doubled in this case. Since nothing about the spell implies smite doesn't get doubled, it does.
If you read it as 'the target takes double damage' (which implied figuring up damage, then doubling it), then everything gets doubled. I'm sure we can all agree that is not the way it was meant to be interpreted though.
An adaptive bow responds to the strength of its wielder, acting as a bow with a strength rating equal to its wielder's Strength bonus. The wielder can fire it with a lesser Strength bonus (and cause less damage) if desired.
I believe this clearly means that the bow no longer adheres to anything but your strength, whether that strength be 2 or 22. You get to avoid having to tote around a bunch of various strength-rating bows and never have to worry about eating a -2 to attack for using a bow too strong for you. Nice.
Only sixty years. That’s how long it takes for us to forget who we are. That’s how long it takes for any semblance of how we used to live, think, and die to be extinguished. Problems that were once grouped into politics and controversy have become grounded in survival. Laws no longer govern people and only fear is guaranteed safe travel across the wastes.
The Earth was once a thriving place. The populace was concerned with environmental issues, political relationships, the welfare of the less fortunate, and were fed lies from the media to frighten the masses. The reality was much more docile. While governments did lie to their people and corruption was present, the ideals and intentions were pure. Things had gotten so easy for the masses, that they almost needed the lies to give themselves something to worry about. The United States had spent over 250 of the final years as a world power and, with the help other world powers, had achieved much of what had been dreamed of at the creation of the nation. The creation of a nation that was inspired by thousands of years of human, elven, dwarven, and all of the other races’ combined philosophy, science, and civil rights. A nation that would lead the rest of the world down the same road of advancement that allowed the greatest minds from each race and nationality to truly bring the world to the pinnacle of achievement and it seemed as if there was no end in sight. Yet the people of the world were afraid of war that seemed ever on the horizon.
Only sixty years. That’s how long it took to forget it all. That’s how long after the mysterious magical wave took it all away for it to became clear that it would all just start over.
The Earth had reached the pinnacle of achievement. It was the year 2024 when what is referred to as 'the fall' occurred. Though the world was at war with itself, as it always was, things seemed to be getting more and more peaceful. Fewer people were dieing violent deaths, life expectancies were climbing (even among elves), and starvation across the globe was beginning to finally dwindle into nothingness. A utopia was in the making. Then it all abruptly slid to a halt. That was sixty-four years ago.
Now, the Earth is a wasteland. In many places, vegetation and wild-animals have been able to recover but most of the civilized world lies in rubble. Very little is known about the nature of the explosion that caused the end of the world. What is known is that it killed anything with magic in its blood and laid waste to most things that didn't. By that time magic had become an integral part in the world's technology and it all came crashing down. The few that survived were scarred and struggled for survival. So the world has been for the past sixty-four years.
The connection the world has to the 'Weave', the colloquial term for the alternate plain of existence from which all magic originates, has been severed. Magic has ceased to exist and much of the world has began denying it ever existed or fear what it could do since most of what was passed down from Generation Zero, those who were alive during the magical purge, has been turned into nothing but hatred for the medium used to create the hell they must endure.
Now the gods can only hope that a group of Wasteland Wanderers will rise to get the world started again. And so our story begins in a small town in central Tennessee.
Character Creation:
-25 point-buy
-Level 1 gestalt
-Any core race - others subject to approval.
-No alignment restrictions except classes with alignment based abilities (like paladins or monks), in which case they must have an extreme (IE monks must be lawful or chaotic and Paladins must be LG, LE, CG, or CE). All alignment abilities they possess simply switch to these alignments. Positive energy becomes negative. That sort of stuff.
-Guns Everywhere! (Check out homebrew stuff for more info)
-Combine average starting gold from both classes
-Two traits, third with a drawback (one MUST be a campaign trait that I’ve created, more on those below. If you choose ‘superstitious’ as your drawback, you can pick any 3 traits you want)
-Max HP at level 1. For reference: every level thereafter take 5 hp for d6, 6 for d8, 8 for d10, and 10 for d12. Thank you DM-Duboris for this wonderful way of doing this.
-One free Story Feat
-A basic idea of what you plan to do after level 1. Role, if you have one, any prestige classes you might plan on taking, etc.
-I want a backstory PM’d to me. I want your backstories to be a secret from one another for the roleplay opportunities that presents. I can also work with you one on one on anything I might want to add or adjust. Nothing big, just campaign stuff.
-I also want a small description of personality and
-I want a physical description/picture/both. (Neither have to be sent to me)
-After posting your character you may begin RPing in the Gameplay section (which I’ll have up within the next 24 hours).
-No spell-like abilities unless you are applying as a caster. If your race gets them and you aren't trying to be a caster, switch them for a different racial trait.
Note: There will only be one arcane caster accepted (Alchemists don't count as casters in this campaign). I am looking for a group of FOUR people, as I already have a friend playing. Since the party will only be allowed one divine caster (which he has taken) and one arcane caster.
Also: I will be accepting people based on character, not what role they fill in combat. This is a gestalt game, roles are easily met. I will not, however, accept any more than two people with the same class and neither may share an archetype.
My friend is playing an Invulnerable Rager Barbarian/Bear Shaman Druid.
Banned:
Nothing! That’s right, I’m not banning any classes or class combos. However, be warned, I can smell an outright powergamer a mile away. So I don’t mind if you’re a summoner or a barbarian alchemist or whatever, but every decision you make had better be reflected in your story and in your personality and if you build something deliberately to be better than everyone else I will not look favorably on you.
If you choose to be evil, I expect you to understand that this does not give you the okay to disrupt the flow of the game.
Campaign Traits:
Note: All bonuses are trait bonuses.
-Wasteland Wanderer: +2 to all survival checks and +2 to fortitude saves against hot or cold environments. This bonus to survival checks improves to +4 to find food and water. Survival is always a class skill for you. You’ve been wandering the wastelands for a long time and have learned well how to stay alive.
-Wasteland Bandit: +1 to initiative and +1 to attack and damage during a surprise round. Never flat-footed in a surprise round you take part in. The wasteland is an unforgiving place and some cannot meet its demands without learning the murder-trade. You’ve gotten pretty good with ambushes.
-Scarred: (Pre-requisite: 64+ years old) You gain a +2 on all intimidate checks and intimidate is always a class skill for you. Once per day a creature you cause to gain the shaken condition instead becomes frightened or frightened becomes panicked. You may also begin play being able to read and write all of your base languages (racial and intelligence gained languages). You were alive during the fall and the explosion did not kill you, but it left you with scarring in places difficult for you to hide. Most people resent you for it, but most fear you.
-Runaway Slave: (Pre-requisite: non-human) You have a +4 to disguise yourself as a human. Further, you gain DR 1/- that stacks with all other DR/- you might have. This DR increases to DR 2/- against nonlethal damage. The humans of the wastes are unforgiving with their superstitions. You happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and served some time with particularly narrow-minded humans. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Since then you’ve learned to be more cautious with your appearance.
-Ruined City Dweller: +2 to survival and perception in cities and a +1 knowledge (engineering) checks. You also get a +2 to knowledge (geography) with respect to cities. One of these skills is always a class skill for you. You have spent most of your days in the massive concrete jungles produced by the wasteland.
-Knower of the Lost Arts: +2 to all caster-level checks and may make a sleight of hand check against an opponent’s perception check + (the level of the spell * 2) to cast a spell unnoticed, but it only works on opponents who do not believe in magic. You are the only person capable of casting spells you have ever met and you do your best not to let people know you’re casting spells. The reaction could result in your death.
-Racist (Pre-requisite: Human) You get a +1 to attack against humanoids with no human heritage. Further, you get a +2 to intimidate these races. You’ve been raised among the racist and narrow-minded humans and can’t seem to shake the feeling that maybe they were right.
-Scholar of Old: (Pre-requisite: 80+ years old) Choose 3 knowledge skills. You get a +1 to each of them and one is a class skill for you. Once per day when you fail a knowledge check, you may choose to reroll before any information is given and you must take the second roll, even if it is worse. You also begin play able to read and write all of your base languages known (racial + intelligence modifier). You were scarred like all people that were present during the fall, but you were luckily not scarred as badly as some or the scarring is in more hidden locations. You were a learned person before the world stopped valuing that sort of thing.
-Mechanic: +2 to all drive checks, craft (mechanics) checks dealing with vehicles, and knowledge (engineering) checks dealing with engines or vehicles. You may also use a swift action to keep control of a vehicle every round instead of a move action action. You’ve been working in mechanics for some time and, while you don’t currently have a vehicle, you really know how to work one. Driving Rules
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Houserules:
Feats:
First: Any monk can pick up style feats (provided they meet all style feat prerequisites), improved maneuver feats, or the feats listed as monk bonus feats. At 6th level they can pick up greater maneuver feats.
Weapon Finesse: All rogues receive weapon finesse as a bonus feat at level 1.
-I don’t like feat taxes.
Weapon Focus: Weapon Focus and Improved Weapon Focus apply to entire fighter weapon groups, not single specific weapons. Note: Weapon Specialization still only applies to specific weapons.
-Makes the feat a little more versatile.
Agile Maneuvers: No longer a feat, everyone has this option.
-Feat tax.
Combat Expertise: Change the prerequisites to: +1 BAB.
-Because why shouldn’t a 20th level fighter with 10 int be considered an expert in combat? This is begging people to spread themselves thin for something that’s already a borderline feat tax.
Combat Maneuvers: I am grouping combat maneuvers. Now if you decide to take improved [combat maneuver], you get multiple. They are Improved Agile Maneuvers (Trip, Disarm, Dirty Trick, Reposition, and Steal) and Improved Power Maneuvers (Bull Rush, Overrun, Drag, Grapple, and Sunder). Improved Agile Maneuvers requires Combat Expertise or Piranha Strike and Improved Power Maneuvers requires Power Attack or Combat Expertise. Note: Greater versions of these feats still require that you choose specific combat maneuvers.
-Most of these never get used and even the ones that do have limited use, so why not get more bang for your buck?
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting: Replace this feat and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting with the following feat (you count as having both for the purposes of prerequisites to other feats, classes, etc);
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Prerequisites: Two-Weapon Fighting, BAB +6, Dex 17
Benefit: In addition to the standard single extra attack you get with an off-hand weapon, you get a second attack with it, albeit at a –5 penalty. At 11th level, you get a third attack with your off-hand weapon, albeit at a –10 penalty.
Normal: Without this feat, you can only get a single extra attack with an off-hand weapon.
-Feat tax. This second feat invests you into TWF without requiring you to sell your soul again in 5 levels.
Dodge: Replace Dodge and Mobility with the following feat (you count as having both for the purposes of prerequisites to other feats, classes, etc);
Mobility
Prerequisites: Dex 13
Benefit: You gain a +1 dodge bonus to your AC. This bonus increases to +5 against attacks of opportunity caused when you move out of or within a threatened area. A condition that makes you lose your Dex bonus to AC also makes you lose the benefits of this feat.
-Talk about feat taxes. Dodge is weak on its own and mobility is mediocre at best. Together they’re a solid feat and give easier access to spring attack and whirlwind attack. Might also make shadowdancer and duelist more attractive.
Point-Blank Shot: Replace Point-Blank Shot and Precise Shot with the following feat (you count as having both for the purposes of prerequisites to other feats, classes, etc);
Precise Shot
Benefit: You no longer take the -4 penalty for shooting into melee. You also get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
-I hate feat taxes.
Skills:
-Drive and Pilot are now skills. Both are dex based and they’re class skills for everyone.
-Diplomacy works differently in my games than the book outlines. No need to worry about it, that’s for me to do. This is just a buffer for ‘But I rolled a 57, the Orc should be giving me a footbath! It says so in the rules!’ because that’s just not how I roll.
-Perception is a bit different to help alleviate some of the DM intervention and skill-taxiness of perception. It will be used to spot ambushes and notice disguises and stuff like that, but I will have none of this ‘Crap, the whole party rolled a 1. How am I supposed to further the plot?’ stuff. I will also tell you everything you see in a room. A better perception roll will have nothing to do with that. If I tell you there are certain things in the room and you don’t see the trap coming, I’m sorry.
Equipment:
-This campaign in specific has a special material that can be added to the padding of armor: Kevlar. It increases touch AC against guns equal to half of the armor bonus provided by the armor. The increase in cost is 50% of the normal price of the armor (doesn't increase the cost to enchant assuming you have the ability). Any magical bonus to armor also increases this bonus. Example: Kevlar Fullplate provides +9 armor and +4 touch AC vs guns. +1 Kevlar Fullplate provides +10 armor and +5 touch AC vs guns.
-All guns in the Paizo rules exist and will mainly be what you run into, but different guns exist than those. More on that as the campaign progresses.
Gaming:
-1s and 20s are not auto failures or successes. 1s will be counted up from -5 and 20s from 25. If you can succeed by rolling a -5, you win. If you fail even though you got a 25, you probably shouldn’t have been trying the thing.
-Languages: Anytime you pick up new languages (whether it be from a rogue talent, the linguistics skill, or otherwise) you may choose to either learn to speak a new language or learn to read and write a language you can already speak. Also, all languages that exist in Pathfinder exist in my world, but replace all of the human languages with worldly languages (like French, Russian, English, etc.). English is ‘Common’.
-Currency: Normally in this game I like to disregard currency and force my players to barter, but I imagine that process will take exorbitant amounts of time on a PbP so I will keep currency the way it is. In the game when you are going to buy/sell something, though, ask me how much it is going to cost/make because it will depend heavily on where you are. I'm going to go ahead and say that it's the standard gold used in the book.
What I Expect
I'm working 40 hours/week (a lot, but not too much. You know how it is). That being said, a post every day or two is what I'd like to see. I'm not a huge stickler on time since I'll probably be able to post once or twice per day myself. Let me know if you'll need a week or so, but do so BEFORE-hand. The campaign doesn't have to be totally serious, there are a few amusing things that'll be happening throughout. Mostly it's gritty and I'll be treating it appropriately.
Recruitment will close on May 22st unless I change my mind!
I have thought this build out quite a bit and wanted to see if I could get some thoughts or tips on it.
The game is starting at level 5, but I have the build planned to level 19 or so. It's also worth noting that alignment restrictions were houseruled to allow monks to be neutral, but my build works anyway provided that you start lawful and become neutral before level 3.
Right now I'm Master of Many Styles 1/Unbreakable Fighter 1/Invulnerable Rager 3. I plan on staying Invulnerable Rager until level 20.
Human favored class barbarian (+1/2 level to superstition)
25 point buy:
Str: 20 (17 base, +2 race, +1 level)
Dex: 12
Con: 14
Int: 8
Wis: 14
Cha: 12
(The charisma is mainly for roleplay purposes. Normally I would make both cha and int 10 or make int 12... Or make cha 9 and int 10 and grab 14 dex. Or 7 cha and 9 int and 16 wis. Anyhow, I digress.)
Feats/Rage Powers:
1: Power Attack, Raging Vitality (has been retrained)
Monk: Stunning Fist, Crane Style
2: Fighter: Die Hard, Endurance
3: Stalwart
4: Superstition (Rage Power)
5: Extra Rage Power (Witch Hunter)
-----What I plan to take-----
6: Intimidating Glare (Rage Power)
7: Extra Rage Power (Animal Fury)
8: Ghost Rager (Rage Power)
9: Extra Rage Power (Spell Sunder)
10: Dragon Totem (Rage Power)
11: Improved Stalwart
12: Dragon Totem Resilience (Rage Power)
13: Extra Rage Power (Eater of Magic)
14: Dragon Totem Wings (Rage Power)
15: Extra Rage Power (Strength Surge)
16: Increased DR (Rage Power)
17: Extra Rage Power (Increased DR)
18: Increased DR (Rage Power)
19: Toughness?
20: ?
So this actually yields 26/- DR at level 20 (9 from Invulnerable Rager, 8 from fighting defensively with Crane Style and 3 ranks in acrobatics and using improved stalwart and taking a -2 to attack, 6 from dragon totem resilience, and 3 from increased DR) and the way HP is done, by level 20 (assuming no raging or items) I will have 256 HP.
I also get a +15 to all saves against spells and touch AC while raging (+6 for superstition and +9 from favored class; ghost rager applies this to touch AC while raging).
I plan on not wearing armor and only caring about my strength, wisdom, and constitution (in that order). I'm going to be using a scythe (+5 furious keen scythe of kill everything ever or something by level 20).
Right now at 5 I have 15 AC not raging, about 56 HP not raging, 5/- DR when fighting defensively, and I put out around 2d4+17 with a +8 to attack with full power attack and fighting defensively.
In Case You're Curious About Flavor:
I'm taking level 1 in monk. This is not negotiable. My character's parents were killed by witches, or at least that's what she (yes, she) has been told. She was found hiding under a bed by some monks who raised her. She had a more chaotic nature than most monks, but she managed. They told her they think her parents were killed by a magic-user of some sort and refused to let her seek revenge, so she naturally snuck out and is doing that anyway. She has since been a conduit of good, hunting undead and evil magic-users hoping to find a clue about her parents' murderer.
One of her most telling quotes is 'To any evil-doers I might encounter, remember this; the only difference between me and a paladin is that I don’t have a silly code holding me back from killing every last one of you.'
There is only one trait allowed by the DM and they are predetermined ones. They basically allow you to pick a skill to become a class skill for you, gives you a +2 with it, and allows a reroll once per day. I picked perception.
I have a pile of these, but here's one I still remember from about 7 years ago.
Prologue: So there's a half-orc (3.5) in the party being played by my friend Ed. He's about 7'0" tall has around 22 strength and somewhere around 5 intelligence. Yeah, he's that guy. His name is Goober and he decided to buy a guard dog also named Goober. So we borrow some horses from a local stable so we can go to the mountains to [quest objective] for the good of the town or some nonsense. When we make it to the foot of the mountain, it becomes clear that the mountains are going to be too much for the horses so we leave the dog to guard them while we [quest objective]. When we return to the horses, there are only 2 when there was originally 3, and one of the two is dead and being gnawed on by the dog.
When we returned, the stable-hand asked what had happened to the other two horses, we told him Goober had eaten them. The stable-hand looks up to our half-orc who had this to say:
Goober: You got a problem with Goober eating horses?
We all died of laughter right there.
Stable-hand: N-no... Goober can eat whatever Goober wants...
