How does a Human with Unconventional Weaponry get access to the Critical Specialization effect of their chosen weapon? I suppose Adopted Ancestry would work, but at that point, you wouldn't need Unconventional Weaponry.
You can use Dexterity modifier to attack with Unarmed Attacks and you can also apply Sneak Attack damage to such attacks, but a Thief Rogue cannot add Dexterity modifier to damage with such attacks, correct? Seems odd, but I assume there is a design reason for this. Taking Monk dedication would then be super overpowered or something? The player in question mentioned Wolf Stance, so that is probably why?
Does the Weapon Proficiency feat give access to Uncommon weapons? The only Advanced weapons are uncommon, so the feat seems to do little if you can't actually purchase the weapon. A Versatile Human that takes General Training can do this at level 1. Yes, I have already pointed out that this is a dead end as the weapon(s) gained won't increase Proficiency with their class and there are no Expert, Master, Legendary, or Ancestry-like Feats to keep up. And the Critical Specialization problem shows up here again as well. Are Ancestry, Monastic Weaponry, Cleric Deity, and Deific Weapon the only ways to gain access to Uncommon weapons and the only way to get the follow-up improvements (crit spec and proficiency)? Can a character with access buy such a weapon for a character with proficiency but not access? (ie, can a Gnome buy Kukris for a Human Rogue? Can a cleric of Zon-Kuthon buy a Spiked Chain for the Fighter?)
Why do some of these require two abilities? Monk for example seems to require Strength and Dexterity of 14, even though you can create a Dexterity focused monk on its own. This seems to run counter to at least one of the descriptions...
'Rogue monks are incredibly effective because stances grant some of the best agile finesse attacks...'
Except you need a 14 Strength to use them suddenly? Am I misreading these requirements? The Fighter suffers from the same confusion. And an argument could be made that the Rogue dedication should have a choice of abilities. Barbarian and Champion are less clear as they require a 14 in a secondary ability, not two different primaries you could build the class around. This seems overly punitive toward the martial classes, as all the casters only require their casting ability.
Is it stated somewhere that you can critically fail with thieves' tools 5 times before destroying the entire thing? Do they become poor-quality after a single critical failure? I realize that 5 replacement picks is the same price as a full set, but I'm not sure that means you get 5 critical failures.
Also after the first attempt the first locked door in Doomsday Dawn, the lock picking system is decidedly unfun for us.
When building characters of higher level, are uncommon permanent items allowed to the players? What about spells or scrolls of uncommon spells used for learning a spell?
The party contacts Chiskisk and goes over the information they learned and are given further incentive to proceed to the Diaspora. Indigo immediately pulls out the sheet for the Sunrise Maiden and says ‘I bet this starts with a ship fight, right? We aren’t going anywhere until we upgrade the ship.’
Event 1: A Rude Welcome
Spoiler:
[
Indigo makes the DC 16 Computers check (9 + 14 + 2) and spots the incoming ship
Sunrise Maiden is (6 + 2 + 4 + 5) 17 hexes away from the Rusty Rivet in a straight line with both ships facing each other dead on
ROLES: Rev – Captain, Keskkin – Pilot, Indigo – Science, Blackhand – Gunner
ROUND 1
Engineering
Rev takes the Taunt Captain action and contacts the enemy ship belittling their woeful attempt at stealth and indicating they probably
can’t shoot for crap either (selects Gunnery phase) and rolls (14 + 11 + 1) against DC 23 succeeding and will last 3 rounds
Alera takes the Taunt action as well and says they won’t have to shoot well since you’re flying that thing like… rolls a (1 + 15)… a big ‘ole
rock.
DM NOTE: Yep, I’m off and running in the great roll department. ☹
Helm
Zekanoya’s initial piloting check (10 + 11 + 1) is 22
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (12 + 14 + 1) is 27
The Rusty Rivet moves 10 spaces straight ahead
Indigo Scans the enemy ship rolling (14 + 14 + 2) against DC 18 earning him Basic Information, Defenses, and Weapons information
which he broadcasts to the rest of the group, emphasizing ‘guys, they have a turret too, but no weapon aft and the turret range
is short’ and then says he’ll be switching to Engineer next phase.
Keskkin attempts the Back Off stunt, rolling (19 + 14 + 1) against DC 20 allowing the Sunrise Maiden to move back 5 spaces
The ships have 12 hexes between them and are still facing each other dead on
Gunnery
Korrina fires the Rusty Rivet’s light particle beam (8 + 10 + 1 - 2 - 2) and misses
Blackhand fires the Sunrise Maiden’s turret (12 + 5 + 3 + 2) and hits for (4 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 5) 27 on the forward shield, dropping it and doing
12 HP damage
Indigo says to Keskkin ‘try to stay in their aft arc while varying the exposed shield and we’re going to need a second gunner Rev’. This
starts a brief, humorous argument when Rev complains that she is the captain. Indigo points out a second weapon is probably
going to be more valuable than a bonus to a roll and that she can consider all this ‘suggestions’ from the Science officer.
ROUND 2
Engineering
Q4 uses the Divert action to repair 7 points of the forward shield
Indigo uses Divert (13 + 14) against DC 20 and sends the power to the engines
Helm
Zekanoya’s initial piloting check (16 + 11 + 1) is 28
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (14 + 14 + 1) is 29
DM NOTE: Going first is bad, and I feel I won’t be able to keep them from getting another shot on the forward shield, but I try
Zekanoya attempts to Evade (13 + 11 + 1) against DC 18 and the Rusty Rivet turns left, moves 4, turns left, and moves 6
The Sunrise Maiden moves 9, turns right, and moves 3
The ships have 6 hexes between them with the Sunrise Maiden directly aft of the Rusty Rivet giving chase
Gunnery
Alera uses Demand on Korrina (8 + 15 + 1) granting a +4 bonus on the attack
Korrina fires the Rusty Rivet’s turret (2 + 10 + 1 + 4 - 2 - 2) and still misses
Blackhand fires his turret (7 + 5 + 3 + 2) hitting for (8 + 2 + 3 + 6 + 6) 25 points on the aft shield, dropping it and dealing 10 HP damage
which crosses the CT for the first time (2) and causing the life support system to glitch
Rev fires the forward coilgun (14 + 5 + 5 + 2) hitting for (2 + 4 + 2 + 4) 12 points of HP damage crossing the second CT threshold (64)
which glitches the engines. Alera signals her surrender and the party agrees to meet.
]
DM NOTE: Does the module not assume the party will upgrade their ship? This fight seemed *very* lopsided.
The Rusty Rivet
There is a lot of discussion after Alera surrenders about how to ensure they do not later betray the group. Indigo suggests taking their ship, but they are unsure about the details of handling two ships. Blackhand suggests sabotage of a vital system so that they will lack the ability to come after them later. Indigo agrees and they discuss for a while but reach no immediate decision and decide to wait until boarding the other ship. I make some handwavey decisions about allowing Alera to turn over control of her ships computer to Indigo who can tie it in to the Sunrise Maiden so the pirates can’t blast them as soon as they exit their ship. They go over to the ship, Blackhand searches and disarms the pirates, and Rev immediately takes a secret liking to Alera, but externally she’s all business and trading jab for jab and some pretty well done role-playing over several minutes which I wish I had been documenting it. Blackhand chimes in threateningly when Rev calls for it, and the entire pirate crew is impressed with Keskkin both as a Mystic and with his obvious ability as a pilot. They quickly decide to blame their loss on divine interference, which makes Keskkin chuckle. Alera takes enough of a liking to Rev’s banter that I allow Blackhand’s only true threat to slide without rolling. Rev quickly presses Alera for more money when they offer up a bounty and rolls (12 + 11) on the DC 16 Diplomacy check. The group goes through all of the information the pirates have to offer and wait until the very end to implement their “insurance”. Rev nods at Blackhand and Indigo and together they go to one of the control consoles and damage it, with Blackhand using his Solarian weapon to do so for the added intimidation factor, if any, he says. They choose to cripple the shield system, which makes me wonder until Rev chimes in as Alera angrily protests.
“Hey, what’s the big idea? You going back on our bargain?”
“Not at all,” says Rev, “we agreed to let you and your ship go, you made no requests about the condition of your ship, so we’re adding a little touch to make sure you don’t come back later. This leaves you with an obvious quandary. You could tuck tail and head back to Broken Rock and send us a little payback in short order probably. But then, you’d have to explain the damage to your ship, and only the truth will get anyone out here, but it will come at the price of what little reputation you have and probably questions about your ability to do your job out here. Or you can stay out here and conduct your own repairs which will take…”
“48 hours at least,” Indigo says quietly (after rolling 1d4 and getting a 2)
“… of course, you probably have a little bolt hole in one these rocks somewhere to keep supplies and whatever you manage to steal from the less fortunate that wander in here. But even then, you’re looking at…”
“36 hours maybe,” Indigo adds (after asking me about modifiers for such things) then studies Q4, “probably 32 assuming that Q4 here is more than competent at his job.”
DM NOTE: All of those numbers were on-the-fly made up by me… there may be actual repair rules that cover all this more accurately.
“… but you’ll suffer no reputation loss and be able to head back to Broken Rock with reports of ships tangling with cultists… after cleaning up whatever we can’t carry away with us.”
Alera looks to Q4 for confirmation and gets it. “You’re a shrewd Captain, Revara,” Alera says in response to this. “I’ll be more than happy to see your thrusters fading into the darkness as soon as possible.” This gives the party no indication of which course she will choose, which is intentional on my part. Indigo asks if he can set the Sunrise Maiden’s AI to track their ship while they investigate the asteroid, but I don’t find anything indicating that. We settle on a proximity alert if any ship gets within a mile of the asteroid.
A. Asteroid K9204
Spoiler:
As the party approaches the landing site, I immediately get the two questions I expect and start to look through the rules. The questions are these: First, can the ship take an image of the landing site and nearby traversable area for study? Second, can the ships sensors detect any life forms? I decide to give them an un-notated copy of the area map and allow anyone who wants to try, to use the sensors to make a Perception check. After reading the areas, I determine that only A1 has anything that could be discerned from above. Rev tries first rolling (18 + 12 + 2) against Yex’s Stealth roll of (13 + 17), so they know he is there and they decide to head there first.
A1. Sniper’s Cove
Spoiler:
The party spots the stairs and decide to split up to cover both with Blackhand and Rev heading north east and Indigo, Keskkin, and the Drone heading north west. I roll a 1d4 for target (1=Blackhand, 2=Rev, 3=Indigo, 4=Keskkin) and get a 2, but no surprise round thanks to the earlier scan.
Round 1
Rev takes two move actions, moving to the eastern stairs and 1 space up them
Keskkin takes two move actions moving part way into the area
The Sniper attacks Rev (who is only 70 feet away from current position) rolling (3 + 12) which misses
He tries to hide again rolling (7 + 17 - 20) for a whopping 4 (DM NOTE: That Sniping Stealth penalty is brutal!)
Blackhand enters Photon mode and takes two move actions and moves to the base of the eastern stairs
Indigo moves and moves the Drone, both moving only three squares into area A1
Round 2
Rev rolls Perception (15 + 12) easily beating the 4 from above, but she is still on the stairs and not close enough to try an attack, so she moves up
the stairs and west toward the Sniper’s location
Keskkin takes two move actions and ends up still 10 feet away from the north western stairs
The Sniper shoots at Rev again (10 + 12) just barely hitting for (3 + 1 + 5) 9 damage
He moves and tries to hide again (13 + 17 - 20) getting a 10
Blackhand moves most of the way up the eastern stairs with two move actions
Indigo and the Drone again move 30 feet
Round 3
Rev rolls Perception (6 + 12) again beating the previous Stealth roll. She decides to try a Trick attack and moves the full 50 feet, rolls Stealth (14 +
18) succeeding and attacks (13 + 9) which misses thanks to partial cover (partial because she has moved partly past what should be considered the direction the cover would be facing)
Keskkin asks about jumping because he was apparently the only one that heard the low gravity description and here we pause for some lengthy
rules research.
DM NOTE: How do others handle vertical jumps? It’s not purely vertical… you have to move forward at least 5 feet to land, so is that
assumed? That’s how we handle it in Pathfinder. From the look of the map, there is more than 5 feet of horizontal space
between a take off point and landing point, so is this jump invalid, even in low gravity (cool factor just went out the window if
so). I try applying the low gravity modifiers… 40 feet up would be 13 feet for low gravity and 20 feet horizontal would be 7 feet
for low gravity so maybe doable? But even at 13 feet, that’s a DC of 52. I guess I now know why no one has ever attempted a
vertical jump in Pathfinder.
Keskkin uses two move actions to move part way up the western stairs.
DM NOTE: What to do? Take another shot and then try to surprise someone with Trick Attack? Activate Cloaking Field and head down Keskkin’s
stairs to try and sneak by?
The Sniper drops the rifle, draws the sword, and moves adjacent to Rev. (Well crap Rev says when she realizes the thing is Large)
Blackhand realizes he is too far to move and then charge, mostly due to the stairs being difficult terrain, so he takes two move actions and ends
up 20 feet away from the enemy
Indigo and the Drone again move 30 feet and are still 20 feet away from the base of the stairs.
Round 4
Rev takes a guarded step back and draws her tactical baton
Keskkin moves to the top of the stairs and casts a 2nd level Mind Thrust at the Sniper for (6 + 8 + 2 + 10) 26 and he rolls (2 + 8) failing the save.
The Sniper attempts trick attack against Rev (oh the irony!) moving forward 5 feet, rolling (10 + 17) on the Stealth check which succeeds
attacking (10 + 10) which hits thanks to flat-footed for (3 + 7 + 6 + 1 + 5) 22 (Ouch! says Rev)
Blackhand activates Plasma Sheath and uses Stellar Rush rolling (9 + 11) which barely hits for (6 + 10 + 2 + 1) 19 damage
Indigo and the Drone begin the long climb up the western stairs
Round 5
Rev makes a brave move and takes a diagonal guarded step to put her on the opposite side of the Sniper from Blackhand. She chooses to fight
defensively and rolls (11 + 8 - 4) which misses
Keskkin shoots at the Sniper (9 + 8) but misses
The Sniper attempts trick attack against Rev, does not move, rolls (6 + 17) on the Stealth check which fails, attacks (5 + 10) and misses
Blackhand attacks (17 + 11) which hits for (1 + 10 + 2 + 1) 14 damage
Indigo and the Drone continue climbing
Round 6
Rev continues to fight defensively and attacks (11 + 8 - 4 + 2) which misses
Keskkin shoots (16 + 8) and hits for (6) damage ending the fight much to Rev’s relief
]
Rev takes a 10 minute breather before the group does anything else. Then the party searches the area thoroughly and makes all rolls in the treasure section. I note that the fight took more than 3 rounds, to which Blackhand shrugs and says “it only took a few rounds once we got to him.” As a side note, the range on the sniper rifle didn’t matter past the opening attack. Is there some unspoken assumption here that the party won’t use the sensors as the ship comes in? That seems obvious in a space/technology type setting, no?
Surprise Round
Rev fires at Skreeling 3 (11 + 9) and hits for (6 + 2) 8 damage
Skreeling 2 attacks Blackhand (19 + 9) and hits for (2 + 4) 6 points
Skreeling 1 moves adjacent to Blackhand
Skreeling 3 moves adjacent to Blackhand
Round 1
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (7 + 18), attacks Skreeling 3 (10 + 9) and hits for (3 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 4) 14 damage and flat-
footed
Skreeling 2 attacks Blackhand (5 + 9 + 2 + 1) but misses
Skreeling 1 attacks Blackhand (11 + 9 + 1) and hits for (3 + 4) 7 damage and 1 bleed
Indigo fires at Skreeling 3 (4 + 8) and hits thanks to flat-footed for (2 + 5) 7 points
Drone fires at Skreeling 3 (7 + 6) and also hits for (1 + 5) 6 damage
Keskkin moves and fires at Skreeling 1 (3 + 8) and misses
Blackhand takes 1 bleed damage, enters Photon mode and attacks Skreeling 3 (4 + 11) and misses
DM NOTE: Hmmm, maybe my bad roll luck is rubbing off on them?
Round 2
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves into a position to fire on Skreeling 1, rolls Stealth (13 + 18), attacks (8 + 9) hitting for (2 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 5) 18
damage
Skreeling 2 attacks Blackhand (1 + 9 + 2 + 1) and mises
Skreeling 1 takes a guarded step, attacks Blackhand (14 + 9 + 2 + 1) and hits for (3 + 4) 7 damage and 1 bleed
Indigo moves and fires at Skreeling 1 (18 + 8) and hits for (5 + 5) 10 points
Drone fires at Skreeling 1 (12 + 6) and hits for (6 + 5)
Keskkin moves and fires at Skreeling 2 (12 + 8) and hits for (5) 5 damage
Blackhand takes 1 bleed damage, attacks Skreeling 1 (7 + 11) and misses
Round 3
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 20 feet to get a shot on Skreeling 2, rolls Stealth (18 + 18), fires (13 + 9) and hits for (10 + 2 + 5 + 6 + 8) 31
points!
]
Blackhand uses a short rest before the party moves on.
First Enthrall Attempt
Skreesire targets (1) Rev who rolls (12 + 6) against DC 17 and then announces she was just attacked mentally
The party spreads out to find the attacker with Blackhand and Rev going north around the area with the secret door and Indigo and Keskkin
going south
Second Enthrall Attempt
Skreesire targets (4) Blackhand who rolls (1 + 6) and fails so he heads to toward the pool ahead of Rev who quickly determines he’s acting weird
DM NOTE: The pool is only 5 feet deep, so I allowed Perception checks to spot the thing before the surprise round even though Camouflage is in effect
NPC Stealth: (18 + 24 + 10) 52 DM NOTE: Never mind, no one can beat that so I let the roll and no one spots it
Surprise Round
Skreesire attempts to grab Blackhand (3 + 15) and fails and now everyone spots it
Round 1
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves to the right next to the wall (Blackhand was blocking), rolls Stealth (12 + 18), attacks (15 + 9) and hits for (3 + 2
+ 2 + 1 + 8) 0 damage which causes Rev to curse
DM NOTE: Rev asks about drawing a weapon as part of a Trick Attack which I say no to, but admittedly there is argument to be had there
Indigo fires (5 + 8) but misses
Drone fires (4 + 6) but misses
Skreesire attempts to grab Blackhand again (7 + 15) and misses
DM NOTE: Both the Skreesire and Blackhand are adjacent to the low wall, so they both ignore it?
Blackhand enters photon mode, activates Plasma Sheath, attacks (10 + 11), and hits for (7 + 10 + 1 + 2) 20 damage
DM NOTE: There are a few places in the rules where “considered magic for purposes of overcoming damage reduction” shows up, but unlike in
Pathfinder, I see no list indicating a fusion tier equates to a DR type, so I think it just means it overcomes DR X/magic. But since Plasma
Sheath is active, it’s a moot point anyway
Keskkin wants to try IDing the creature, I find no action listed for it so I let him and he rolls (1 + 9) which fails anyway
Keskkin fires (18 + 8) and hits for (5)
Round 2
Rev sheaths her Disintegrator and draws her Arc Pistol
Indigo fires (20 + 8) and crits for (4 + 5 + 8 + 5) 22 damage and burning
Drone fires (20 + 6) and also crits for (10 + 5 + 2 + 5) 22 damage and more burning
Skreesire takes (1 + 4) 5 burn damage, attacks Blackhand (5 + 15) and misses yet again ☹, it rolls (4 + 6) and (17 + 6) against the burn
conditions, ending one of them
Blackhand attacks (17 + 11) and hits for (1 + 10 + 1 + 2) 14 damage
Keskkin shoots (18 + 8) and hits for (5)
Round 3
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (7 + 18) which fails!, attacks (17 + 9), hitting for (5 + 2) which ends the fight anyway
]
The party identifies the holy symbol and the age of the corpse, and soon find the secret door as well, but they move to check the remaining surface areas first
A4. Cultist’s Demise
Spoiler:
The medicine check is made on the corpses and the Perception rolls are made while searching them.
A5. Shard Filled Slope
Spoiler:
Again, all rolls made and Blackhand asks about using the ore to make a weapon, which we decide to look up when the time comes. The group heads back to the ship to store some of the new items, refresh batteries, and rest up before tackling the area beyond the secret door.
PART 2: THE VANISHED CULT
B. The Star-Eater’s Spine
B1. Foyer of the Void
Spoiler:
Rev approaches the door alone and fails the Perception (7 + 12) check on the trap but succeeds (20 + 6) at the Will save when the trap is triggered. Indigo then disables the vents (18 + 14) before the party opens the doors.
B2. Operations Terminal
Spoiler:
Indigo hacks the computer terminal (16 + 14), then accesses the “Entrance Deterrent” module (13 + 14) but disabling it does little good at this point. The “Chamber of Devouring” module is accessed next (19 + 14) and also disabled.
B3. Chamber of Devouring
Spoiler:
Rev makes the Culture check (12 + 10) to identify the tattered outfit. There is some brief discussion amongst the party about the continued “plague of undead”. I remind them this is the Corpse Fleet and not Eox in general, but they seem little interested in the difference. Rev makes a follow up Culture check (19 + 10) and learns all of the available information outlined in the module.
B4. Access Corridors
Spoiler:
The party moves to the northeast end of this hallway after determining it wraps around the entire central room and open the door there.
B6. Living Quarters
B6c.
Spoiler:
Rev spots the key card (9 + 12). While Rev and Indigo discuss what it might access, Blackhand makes the mistake of stepping into the Armory…
Round 1
Blackhand enters Photon Mode, activates Plasma Sheath, and steps back into the room (square east of “c”) while alerting the party to the
presence of the robots
Rev moves to the southeast corner of the room and draws her arc pistol
Robot 2 moves through the door…
Blackhand takes an attack of opportunity reaction (19 + 11) and hits for (7 + 10 + 2 + 1) 20 damage
…attacks Blackhand (4 + 10) but misses
Keskkin (who is in front of the door to the room) casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (2 + 3 + 3 + 3) 11 points
Robot 1 moves into the room and along the wall ending up adjacent to Rev, attacks her (9 + 10) but misses
Indigo draws his rifle and shoots at Robot 1 (1 + 8) and misses
The Drone is in the hallway and is left there
Round 2
Blackhand attacks Robot 2 (17 + 11) and hits for (8 + 10 + 2 + 1) 21 damage
DM NOTE: Rev decides to eat an AoO
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 10 feet west…
Robot 1 takes an attack of opportunity (10 + 10) and misses
…rolls Stealth (19 + 18), attacks (18 + 9) and hits for ((6 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 5) +50%) 30 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (3 + 4 + 3 + 3) 13 points
Robot 1 uses Jolting Arc for (5) 5 damage
Rev rolls (3 + 9) failing the save and taking 5 damage
Blackhand rolls (4 + 3) failing the save and taking 5 damage
Indigo rolls (16 + 8) taking 2 damage
Keskkin rolls (8 + 5) and takes 2 damage
Indigo fires (5 + 8) but misses
Round 3
Blackhand attacks (13 + 11) and hits for (4 + 10 + 2 + 1) 17 damage
]
The party does not rest before continuing their exploration, but they do search the Armory
B6b.
Spoiler:
Indigo unlocks the dresser (4 + 14). It is in this room that Rev looks at the writing and makes the Culture check (11 + 10) and then Keskkin makes the Mysticism check (13 + 13) to recall the reference
B6a.
Spoiler:
After finding nothing in this room, the party moves into room 5.
B5. North Mess
Spoiler:
The party passes on spending any time yet making use of the food here. While searching this room, Blackhand spots movement from B11 and steps into that room, once again starting combat with the rest of the group lost in discussion. The Veolisk failed a similar Perception check to notice the party. Yeah, I rolled a 1.
B11. Datacore
Spoiler:
[
PC Init : Rev 28, Blackhand 16, Keskkin 15, Indigo 10
NPC Init 13
The Velisk is along the eastern wall in line with “B11” on the map
Round 1
Rev draws her disintegrator and moves up behind Blackhand
Blackhand enters Photon mode, activates Plasma Sheath, uses Stellar Rush (16 + 11) hitting for (5 + 10 + 2 + 1) 18 damage
Keskkin passes
DM NOTE: So the wording of Void Gaze seems kind of weird. Does the confusion last until the beginning of the target’s next turn or the
Veolisk’s? I go with the latter because otherwise, the thing could never confuse those acting on a faster init
The Veolisk takes a guarded step to the west and uses Void Gaze on Rev who rolls (16 + 6) on the save
Indigo moves to the south wall of B5
The Drone moves to the south wall of B5 to the west of Indigo
Round 2
Rev attempts Trick Attack moving into the room and west along the northern wall to the corner, rolls Stealth (3 + 18) which fails!, attacks (3 + 9)
which misses
Blackhand attacks (14 + 11) and hits for (8 + 10 + 2 + 1) 21! max damage
Keskkin moves into the room and along the northern wall next to Rev and casts a 2nd level Mind Thrust for (2 + 7 + 7 + 6) 22 damage which the
Veolisk (1 + 5) fails to save against
Veolisk attacks Blackhand (11 + 17) hitting for (2 + 11) 13 points
Indigo moves into the room and one space west of the doorway and fires (1 + 8) and misses
The Drone moves just into the room
Round 3
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (9 + 18), attacks (2 + 9) which misses
Blackhand attacks (11 + 11) and hits for (3 + 10 + 2 + 1) 16 damage
Keskkin shoots (18 + 8) and hits for (7) 7 damage
Veolisk attacks Blackhand (17 + 17) and hits for (8 + 11) 19 damage
Indigo shoots (4 + 8) and misses
Drone shoots (18 + 6) and hits for (2 + 5) 7 damage
]
Blackhand takes a short rest while the rest of the party discusses the computer equipment. They quickly decide to clear the rest of the level before messing with anything or thoroughly searching the room though.
B8. South Mess
Spoiler:
Fortitude saves: Rev (5 + 5), Blackhand (20 + 7), Keskkin (13 + 3), Indigo (14 + 6). The party waits until Rev recovers before moving on.
B6d.
Spoiler:
Rev makes the Perception check (14 + 12) to find the datapad and credits. Indigo hacks it easily (19 + 14) and makes the (can’t fail) Perception check (6 + 10) to notice the video file which they then all watch. Keskkin makes the Mysticism check (16 + 13) to recall the information about Nyara
B6e.
Spoiler:
After finding nothing in this room, the party moves into room 9.
B9. Trapped Quarters
Spoiler:
Rev makes the Perception check (18 + 12) to notice the trap and Indigo makes the Engineering check (9 + 14) to disable it.
Treasure: Brown Force Field, Mk I Electrostatic Field, bleeding fusion seal (6th), vicious fusion seal (5th)
B10. Arsenal
Spoiler:
Rev makes the Perception check (15 + 12) to find the device, Keskkin fails the Mysticism check (10 + 13) but Indigo makes the Engineering check (20 + 14) to identify it, and finally Rev makes the Culture check (20 + 10) to learn where necrotech comes from. They all look at me like I’m stating the obvious though. They discuss the undead again and then return to B11.
B11. Datacore
Spoiler:
When they start to mess with the datacore, Indigo immediately realizes why the video file is important and starts using it to help hack the computer. Indigo makes the initial Computers check (10 + 14 + 5) and then relates the contents of the ‘Activities’ module. Indigo then hacks the ‘Intelligence’ module (10 + 14 + 5) and relays that information. Lastly he hacks the ‘Sacred Lore’ module (10 + 14 + 5) and the party spends a fair amount of time discussing that information and the rest before gathering up their loot and heading to the ship. Indigo spends some time fixing a few broken items before they rest and head off to Eox. The groups also stops here for the day
Event 2: Corpse Fleet Ambush
Spoiler:
[
Indigo makes the DC 11 Engineering check (18 + 14) to identify the ships and Rev makes the Culture check (10 + 10) to identify the insignia.
“Why am I not surprised,” says Indigo
“To &%*# with surrender from these guys,” adds Blackhand
Sunrise Maiden is (4 + 6 + 4 + 5) 19 hexes away from the undead ships facing F and the undead ships are facing D and the two necrogliders are 1 hex
apart
DM NOTE: Sorry, F and D facing are SFB terms… player ship is heading NW and the undead are heading south
ROLES: Rev – Gunner, Keskkin – Pilot, Indigo – Science, Blackhand – Gunner
ROUND 1
Engineering
Helm
BT 1 initial piloting check (5 + 11) is 16
BT 2 initial piloting check (2 + 11) is 13
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (17 + 14 + 1) is 32
BT 1 and BT 2 both move 12 spaces forward
Indigo Scans the enemy ship rolling (9 + 14 + 2) against DC 18 earning him Basic Information, Defenses, and Weapons information and
says he’ll switch to Engineering
Keskkin turns the Sunrise Maiden right and moves 1 leaving 7 hexes between the closing ships
Gunnery
BT 1 uses the Snap Shot action (16 + 5 - 2 - 2) and misses
BT 2 uses the Snap Shot action (11 + 5 - 2 - 2) and misses
Blackhand fires the Sunrise Maiden’s turret (14 + 5 + 3 + 2) at BT 1 and hits for (2 + 6 + 7 + 4 + 5) 24 on the forward shield, dropping it
and doing 21 HP damage which glitches the (77) engines and (47) weapons
Rev fires the forward coilgun (15 + 5 + 5 + 2) at BT 1 dealing (4 + 3 + 2 + 1) 10 damage destroying the ship
DM NOTE: Yeah, I don’t think we were supposed to upgrade the ship.
ROUND 2
Engineering
Indigo uses Divert (19 + 14) against DC 20 and sends the power to the weapons
Helm
BT 2 initial piloting check (16 + 11) is 27
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (3 + 14 + 1) is 18
Keskkin moves the Sunrise Maiden forward 1 hex
BT 2 attempts to Evade (4 + 11) and moves forward 1 space leaving 4 hexes between the ships and they are offset by 1 hex
Gunnery
BT 2 attempts Snap Shot (12 + 3) and misses
Blackhand fires his turret (19 + 5 + 3 + 2) hitting for (5 + 3 + 8 + 3 + 5) 24 points on the forward shield, dropping it and dealing 21 HP
damage glitching the (54) weapons and (71) engines
Rev fires the forward coilgun (8 + 5 + 5 + 2) hitting for (4 + 4 + 2 + 2) 12 points of HP damage destroying the second ship
]
The party doesn’t even attempt to retrieve the pilots and instead leaves them drifting in space. Blackhand briefly considers trying to target them with the ships weapons though.
PART 3: PLANET OF THE DEAD
Transmission From Chiskisk
Spoiler:
The party communicates with Chiskisk and also level during the trip. They ask all the questions covered in the module save one; ‘Is Eox safe for us’. After levelling during the trip, the party immediately wants to go shopping when they get to Eox. Undead hatred aside, they are more than willing to patronize the shops to get what they want, but they do decide to visit the Ministry first.
C. Ministry Of Eternal Vigilance
The Waiting Room
Spoiler:
The party seems amused by the “take a number” bit and decide to play along accordingly, despite grumblings from Blackhand. Rev immediately and enthusiastically starts up a conversation with Shan. She makes the Sense Motive check (7 + 14) and gets friendlier with the man, rolling (19 + 12) on the Diplomacy check to improve his attitude. She continues the conversation and gets as much information as she can from him before he’s called to Waneda’s desk.
Meeting The Director
Spoiler:
When the party is greeted coldly by Waneda, Rev again adopts a cheerful attitude and dives into conversation with the ghoul. She makes the Diplomacy check (18 + 12) by enough to make Waneda indifferent and puts in the time to carry her to friendly. But of course, the party is not on good terms with Nor, so some information is not available to them, nor do they get the monetary aid. Following their lengthy conversation with Waneda, the party heads immediately for the shops.
D. Gentlesage’s Necrografts & Sundries
Spoiler:
Once again Rev cheerfully interacts with the undead here, however she fails the Diplomacy check (11 + 12) which robs me of any foreshadowing opportunity. The entire party dives into personal upgrade shopping here and spends most of the money they have on those items.
E. Bonesmith’s Boutique
Spoiler:
With no prompting whatsoever, Rev immediately compliments Jaklyn on her hat. She does not, however go far enough to trigger a Diplomacy roll for the store discount, mostly because Blackhand is starting to grumble over the inactivity. Indigo picks up a new weapon for the Drone here and Blackhand is further frustrated by being a level short of picking up the weapon upgrade he’s been looking for. Once outside the store, they decide to check on Gretal’s report first, only because, as Keskkin puts it, ‘the thought of visiting a place called Fleshworn Fabrications gives me the heebie jeebies’.
F. Pensioner’s Flat
Spoiler:
Indigo realizes immediately that the door has been forced and the party adopts a combat posture when they hear the tone of the voices inside. Blackhand quickly enters and rounds the corner into the other room, sees the insignia on the ghouls uniforms, and says “oh look, undead we won’t get in trouble for putting down.”
Round 1
Blackhand enters Photon mode and moves to the “F” square which puts him adjacent to all the ghouls who were lined up in front of the couch
(1, 2, 3 from west to east) interrogating Gretal. He attacks Ghoul 1 (19 + 13) and hits for (4 + 12 + 1) 17 damage.
Rev attempts trick attack, moves into the room and west along the northern wall, rolls Stealth (5 + 20), shoots at Ghoul 1 (10 + 11), and hits for
(2 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 7) 21 points
Ghoul 1 tries to bite Blackhand (3 + 12) but misses
Keskkin moves into the room and moves to the east wall north of the other door, shoots at Ghoul 3 (14 + 10), and hits for (2) 2 damage
Indigo moves just inside the room and fires at Ghoul 1 (8 + 10) hitting for (3 + 4 + 6) 13 damage
The Drone stays in the northern room
DM NOTE: So at this point they are supposed to surrender, but when I have them offer to do that, Blackhand scowls at everyone and says “don’t
even think about it”, so I have them flee
Ghoul 3 withdraws toward the door…
Blackhand takes an AoO (16 + 13) and hits for (5 + 12 + 1) 13 damage
… and stops adjacent to the closed door
Ghoul 2 moves adjacent to Ghoul 3 and opens the door
Round 2
Blackhand takes a Guarded Step east which puts him adjacent to Ghoul 2 and 3 again, then attacks Ghoul 1 (16 + 13) and hits for (8 + 12 + 1) 21
Damage
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 1 square east, rolls Stealth (8 + 20), attacks Ghoul 3 (18 + 11), and hits for (9 + 3 + 3 + 7 + 6) 28 points
Keskkin shoots at Ghoul 3 (15 + 10) and hits for (5) 5 damage
Indigo shoots Ghoul 3 (8 + 10) and hits for (4 + 6 + 6) 16 damage
The Drone exits the northern room back onto the street and heads south ending up next to the small indent between the rooms
Ghoul 2 Withdraws through the door…
Blackhand takes an AoO (20 + 13) and crits! for (5 + 1 + 12 + 12 + 1 + 1) 32 damage and…
DM NOTE: This creates a rules moment… we double check that undead are not immune to crits… and then we discuss whether the
paralysis immunity cancels the Anchoring fusion on Blackhand’s weapon… immobilization is only mentioned in two places; the
fusion and a spell and neither make any mention of the term “paralysis”. There is no “Immobilized” in the conditions list, so we
have an item (and a spell) that creates a unique condition. This is the sort of hazy rules thing from Pathfinder that we expected
Starfinder to deal with. We decide to allow the fusion to work, since the ghoul can still act, just not move from it’s current space.
But we also find no mention of a save or DC for the Anchoring fusion… I’m starting to understand why he bought it.
Round 3
For the first time ever, Blackhand opts to make a Full Attack, attack one (12 + 13 - 4), and hits for (7 + 12 + 1) 20 damage and attacks again (9
+ 13 - 4) which barely hits for (8 + 12 + 1) 21 damage
]
“So that was pretty brutal guys, considering they tried to surrender,” I say.
“These guys have been hounding us from the beginning. Forgive me if I have zero sympathy not just for undead, but undead that have been rejected by the entire Pact system,” replies Blackhand.
Rev talks with Gretal while Blackhand drags the bodies into the street. Keskkin makes the Mysticism check (9 + 15) to recall information about a marrowblight. Rev and Keskkin agree to return to Waneda with this information today and investigate the second report tomorrow as it is late afternoon at this point. The others agree with a shrug and the party leaves. I decide to use Event 3 now, putting the ambushers in the alley between C and D.
Event 3: Tying Up Loose Ends
Spoiler:
[
PC Init : Rev 26, Blackhand 23, Keskkin 20, Indigo 17
PC Perception Rolls: Rev 27, Blackhand 21, Keskkin 25, Indigo 32
NPC Init 6, 7
The Nihilis start in they alley which puts them 25 feet from the party
Surprise Round
Rev draws her disruptor pistol
Blackhand enters Photon mode and uses Steller Rush to move to Nihili 1 and attack (7 + 13), hitting for (2 + 12 + 1) 15 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars at Nihili 1 for (3 + 4 + 2) 9 damage
Indigo draws his rifle
The Drone shoots at Nihili 2 (19 + 7) and hits for (5 + 4 + 6) 15 points
Nihili 2 takes a guarded step north (now 20 feet from the rest of the party) and attacks Blackhand (3 + 14) and misses
Nihili 1 attacks Blackhand (9 + 14) and hits for (1 + 10) 11 damage
Round 1
Rev attempts trick attack, moves forward 5 feet, rolls Stealth (20 + 20), attacks Nihili 2 (16 + 11), and hits for (6 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 8) 26 damage
Blackhand rolls (8 + 7) Fortitude save, activates Plasma Sheath, attacks Nihili 2 (14 + 13), and hits for (3 + 12 + 3 + 1) 19 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at Nihili 2 for (3 + 4 + 1 + 3) 11 points
Indigo shoots at Nihili 2 (15 + 10) and hits for (3 + 5 + 6) 14 damage
The Drone does not shoot
Nihili 1 takes a guarded step to the space where Nihili 2 was and attacks Blackhand (7 + 14) which misses
Round 2
Rev rolls (18 + 7) Fortitude save, attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (9 + 20), attacks (9 + 11), and hits for (5 + 3 + 8 + 3 + 2) 21
damage
Blackhand rolls (5 + 7) Fortitude save and takes (4 + 3) 7 damage, attacks (1 + 13) but misses
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (1 + 2 + 1 + 3) 7 damage
Indigo shoots (17 + 10) and hits for (5 + 4 + 6) 15 damage
Drone shoots (3 + 7) and misses
Nihili takes a guarded step north and attacks Blackhand (3 + 14) and misses
Round 3
Rev rolls (5 + 7) Fortitude save and takes (4 + 3) 7 damage, attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (16 + 20), attacks (20 + 11) which
crits! for (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 6 + 3 + 7 + 3 + 8 + 4) 43 damage DM NOTE: “Well, that was a total waste of a crit,” Rev says as soon as she rolls it
]
The party heads back to Waneda to follow up on their first investigation and discuss the Marrowblight. When Waneda gives a name and location for such a creature known to sympathize with the Corpse Fleet, Keskkin begins to get suspicious, but he doesn’t say anything until the group retires to their room for the night. He voices his concern to me via a note, but does not tell the party of his thoughts opting instead to wait until they follow up on the other report.
G. Fleshworn Fabrications
Spoiler:
The next morning the party investigates the other report. Rev makes the roll (13 + 11) to identify the Corpse Fleet badge, though I lowered the DC to 10 at this point given how many of these things they’ve seen. Rev also brings up Shan when she talks with Voxel and rolls (14 + 12 + 4) on the Diplomacy check to improve his attitude. Indigo repairs the mechanism (12 + 15) to get access to the vat and Rev finds (19 + 14) the osteoderms which are identified by Keskkin (16 + 15). They do not promise Voxel any signed paperwork, feeling that such a thing is outside their authority, so they miss the chance at free grenades. They talk briefly with Waneda again who reiterates the name and location of Xerantha and Keskkin asks the group to adjourn to their room for a conference. He voices his suspicion that this is all a little too convenient. He wonders if there is someone farther behind the scenes manipulating Xerantha herself or ordering her to do these things in order to throw the group off their purpose. The evidence feels ‘forced’ or overly convenient, he says. They came to find out where the Corpse Fleet went from the Diaspora, not police them or clean up their messes. But since he has nothing beyond a ‘gut feeling’, he’s not sure what else to do before pursuing Xerantha. He does tell them he’s going to be stingy with his spells until after dealing with Xerantha.
DM NOTE: Keskkin has probably played too many Paizo adventures, and maybe this is a tad meta-gamey, but he portrays it well within character so I don’t worry over it too much. I’m honestly a little surprised at how close to the truth he is, but he’s always been pretty sharp on picking out details.
H. Marrowblight’s Hermitage
Spoiler:
I add four different location descriptions to the trip, including the Skullcap Gorge. Each time the party expects an encounter, but I do not use any along the way.
H1. Desiccated Garden
Spoiler:
DM NOTE: I am amused by the notes here… a gargantuan creature with +0 Dex and no ranks in Stealth is going to try and surprise the party? Seriously?
Round 1
The party spots the the creature come around the hut from the southeast and it is 60 feet away
Blackhand enters Photon mode, moves 35 feet, and then uses Stellar Rush to attack (11 + 13) hitting for (7 + 12 + 1) 20 damage and also rolls (13
+ 7) against the Radiation while taking 7 damage
Keskkin casts a 2nd level Mind Thrust for (10 + 9 + 6 + 9) 34 damage and Trampleram rolls (4 + 8) on the save
DM NOTE: Everyone laughs at Keskkin after his speech about conserving resources and he points out the thing is really, really big
Indigo shoots (14 + 10) and hits for (6 + 6 + 6) 18 damage
Drone shoots (12 + 7) and misses
Rev came in with her Disruptor pistol and wants to switch, so she sheaths it and draws the arc pistol
Trampleram uses Soul Drain on Blackhand for (5 + 6 + 1 + 9) 21 damage who rolls (20 + 7) on the Fortitude save
Round 2
Blackhand uses Plasma Sheath, rolls (19 + 7) against the Radiation, attacks (13 + 13) and hits for (5 + 12 + 3 + 1) 21
Keskkin shoots (9 + 10) and misses
Indigo shoots (16 + 10) and hits for (6 + 5 + 6) 17 points
Drone shoots (8 + 7) and misses
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 5 feet, rolls Stealth (15 + 20), attacks (20 + 11) and crits! for (6 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 6) 39 damage
DM NOTE: So apparently Blackhand takes 2 damage from the Critical effect
Trampleram uses Soul Drain on Blackhand for (2 + 1 + 6 + 9) 18 damage and Blackhand rolls (9 + 7) on the Fortitude save
Round 3
Blackhand rolls (4 + 7) against the Radiation, failing and becoming Weakened and taking 7 more damage, attacks (3 + 13) but misses
Keskkin shoots (20 + 10) and crits! for (7 + 1) 8 damage and burning
Indigo shoots (19 + 10) and hits for (4 + 5 + 6) 15 damage
]
The party takes a breather in front of the shack with both Rev and Blackhand restoring stamina before they enter.
H2. Skin Shack
Spoiler:
[
PC Init : Indigo 24, Keskkin 23, Rev 15, Blackhand 10
NPC Init 20
Blackhand moves to the center of the shack before the other three quickly move in behind him, and then they all make their Perception rolls
Perception: Indigo 21, Keskkin 22, Rev 26
Surprise Round
DM NOTE: The shack is 90 feet across and the descriptions says Xerantha is hiding “hiding in the back”. Blackhand in the middle is the only viable
target for the described pounce tactics, but even then, it can’t be done during a Surprise round as it would require a Move and Standard.
Xerantha shoots at Blackhand (10 + 12) and misses
Rev moves 50 feet along the wall to the right of the door
Round 1
Indigo moves 60 feet along the wall to the left of the door
The Drone moves 30 feet following Indigo’s path
Keskkin moves 50 feet to wind up next to Rev
Xerantha moves out of cover and Pounces at Blackhand who rolls (3 + 5) on the save
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (5 + 20) which fails, attacks (18 + 11) and hits for (6 + 3) 9 damage
Blackhand enters Photon mode, uses Plasma Sheath, attacks (8 + 13 - 2) which misses thanks to off-target
Round 2
Indigo moves 30 more feet and shoots (12 + 10) and hits for (5 + 4 + 6) 15 damage
The Drone moves 30 feet
DM NOTE: I have scattered furniture in the room which is causing Rev, Indigo and Keskkin to maneuver for a clear shot
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (2 + 1 + 4 + 3) 10 damage
Xerantha multiattacks Blackhand with a claw (2 + 12) which misses and a spur (12 + 12) which also misses
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (17 + 20), attacks (10 + 11), hitting for (6 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 6) 22 damage
Blackhand attacks (4 + 13) which misses
Round 3
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots (18 + 10) and hits for (6 + 5 + 6 + 5) 22 damage
Drone shoots (19 + 7) and hits for (8 + 5 + 6) 19 damage
Keskkin shoots (14 + 10) hitting for (5) 5 points
Xerantha attacks with a spur (15 + 17) and hits for (4 + 12) 16 damage and Blackhand rolls (4 + 7) on the Fortitude save
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (13 + 20), attacks (2 + 11) but misses
Blackhand attacks (12 + 13) and hits for (4 + 12 + 3 + 1) 20 damage
]
Keskkin attempts to use the spell gem of remove affliction on Blackhand and rolls (4 + 6) vs a DC of 9 and the rolls (16 + 6) against the red ache DC of 15 + 4 to cure it. Blackhand also restores stamina at this time as well while Rev and Indigo search the hut. Rev finds the bag of cred sticks and Indigo hacks into the computer. Keskkin utters a “told you so” when they learn about Vesh. And here we come to an important point… the party has enough XP to level… do I let them level before the final fight or no? They have been fairly dominant so far, so I opt to not let them this time.
I. Skullcap Gorge
Spoiler:
[
Blackhand gets super excited when he sees the initial setup and number of opponents. The party soon gets lost in discussing how they want to tackle the
combat. Well, Blackhand and Indigot discuss it while Rev and Keskkin mostly wait for it to start.
PC Init : Indigo 26, Rev 24, Blackhand 21, Keskkin 19
NPC Init 23, 20, 19, 10, 22, 13
Round 1
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots BT 3 (9 + 10) and hits for (6 + 2 + 6 + 6) 20 damage
Drone shoots BT 3 (16 + 7) and hits for (8 + 1 + 6) 15 points
Rev uses Trick Attack, moves 30 feet straight north (to get out of Zeera’s line of sight), rolls Stealth (15 + 20), shoots BT 1 (6 + 12) and hits for (6 +
3 + 4 + 6 + 5) 24 damage
BT 1 casts supercharge weapon
BT 5 casts supercharge weapon
Blackhand enters Photon mode, uses Plasma Sheath, uses Stellar Charge, attacks Zeera (19 + 13) and hits for (3 + 12 + 3 + 1) 19 damage
DM NOTE: Do not use my interpretation of the setup. Put Zeera halfway up the stairs so she’ll live longer and not be within an initial
Charge
BT 2 casts supercharge weapon
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at BT 1 for (3 + 2 + 3 + 3) 11 damage
BT 5 casts supercharge weapon
Zeera takes a guarded step up one stair and shoots at Blackhand (20 + 14) and crits! for (5 + 2 + 6 + 8 + 2 + 6) 29 damage
DM NOTE: Finally, the DM dice make things interesting
Round 2
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots BT 4 (5 + 10) and hits for (3 + 5 + 6 + 4) 18 damage
Drone shoots BT 4 (9 + 7) and hits for (5 + 7 + 6) 18 damage as well
Rev uses Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (20 + 20), attacks BT 2 (11 + 11) and hits for (4 + 3 + 3 + 6 + 7) 23 points
BT 5 shoots at Indigo (16 + 9) and hits for (5 + 3 + 2 + 5 + 3) 18 damage
Blackhand moves 20 feet to end up adjacent to Zeera on the stairs, attacks (6 + 13) and hits for (4 + 12 + 3 + 1) 20 damage
BT 2 shoots at Rev (15 + 9) and hits for (2 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 3) 12 points
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at BT 2 for (3 + 3 + 3 + 3) 12 damage
Zeera heals 5 points, drops the rifle and takes a Claw swipe at Blackhand (3 + 14) and misses DM NOTE: Dang, I was rolling so well
Round 3
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots BT 5 (9 + 10) and hits for (3 + 3 + 6 + 6) 18 damage
Drone shoots BT 5 (1 + 7) and misses
Rev uses Trick Attack, moves to the space where BT 1 started, rolls Stealth (12 + 20), attacks BT 5 (9 + 11) and hits for (1 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 1) 8 damage
BT 5 casts Magic Missile as a full round action at Indigo for (2 + 2 + 1 + 3) 8 damage
Blackhand attacks Zeera (11 + 13) and hits for (3 + 12 + 3 + 1) 19 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at BT 5 for (4 + 2 + 4 + 3) 13 damage
Zeera heals 5 points, uses Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Bluff (11 + 19), attacks Blackhand with a Claw (14 + 14) and hits for (1 + 8 + 6 + 3 + 6)
24 damage, and the roll just barely meets the KAC + 4 threshold as well triggering Drain Chi but Blackhand rolls (19 + 7) on the save
Round 4
Indigo moves 30 feet to the southeast to get a shot at Zeera and uses Overcharge (9 + 10) and hits for (4 + 3 + 6 + 6) 19 points
Drone moves adjacent to Indigo
Rev uses Trick Attack, moves 50 feet east, rolls Stealth (9 + 20), attacks (20 + 11) which crits! (even with cover) for (6 + 3 + 5 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 3
+ 8) 43 damage and… the laughable part… the arc crit effect jumps to Blackhand dealing 2 damage… so the first point of real damage to
the party comes from friendly fire! :P
]
“Good fight,” says Blackhand happily slamming his hand on the table, “but it was still barely more than 3 rounds, and if not for that crit, you would still not have done any HP damage to us.”
It takes the party a couple of days to obtain a tier 3 computer and hack the data module Zeera was carrying. While doing that, they also level and improve their ship yet again.
We review the module again…
Spoiler:
This one was better than the last one, says Keskkin, and everyone agrees. Indigo again enjoyed the ship battles and improving the ship, but we both wonder if the fights are tuned correctly with those improvements. Rev tells me I did a good job with Alera and hopes more of the villains become more memorable. She’s not enthused by the undead as the opposition as they tend to be fairly one dimensional. Everyone else agrees, saying that the undead aren’t a good opponent for a space setting. They talk about this for some time, with everyone agreeing the initial drift dead was kind of cool, but then things got amped up by the ambassador and the corpse fleet involvement. Rev did enjoy being the Diplomat on the planet and admits she took “being nice to the undead” as a challenge. As the DM, I think the group is suffering from over-saturation of undead. Too many TV shows, movies, and novels that involve undead in one form or another and it’s starting to become boring and predicatable. The group found the asteroid surface to be typical of that sort of thing in an adventure, but they liked the eerie, mostly empty cultist base.
The group liked the NPC personalities on Eox for the most part, so I think I did a little better with this module. I did have a little bit more preparation for this one though. Most of the group enjoyed the detective work in the story, with the exception of Blackhand. But he was ok with it because he got to beat up on known Corpse Fleet officers. Everyone was creeped about by the Necrografts and they did not choose to purchase any while on the planet. Blackhand is encouraged by the final fight of this module and he looks forward to more fights with larger numbers of opponents. He has hopes that the fights will become a little more tactical and require some tougher choices than what they’ve done so far. But he remains unconvinced that the ‘fights are longer’ claim is carrying any weight in general in Starfinder.
A question for any other DMs out there. During the course of the first shopping trip we realized we misunderstood Fusions... or we didn't realize that Seals were different from Fusions in the beginning. Now, the party seems to ignore seals entirely. Blackhand ran some math and determined that buying a Fusion for a level 1 item and then transferring it via Engineering or Mysticism to a higher level item is cheaper than buying a Fusion for the higher level item outright. I assume this is intended by the game designers? The party is now hanging on to low level items they can use to apply fusions to and then transfer them. The oddest part I find with this is the time however. A seal requires a full 24 hours to work when applied to a new weapon, but transferring a normal Fusion takes only 10 minutes.
Special: Languages (common, vesk), Low-Light Vision, Armor Savant (+1 AC, +1 armor check penalty with heavy armor), Fearless (+2 vs fear), Theme Knowledge (+1 physical science, -5DC of physical science checks to recall knowledge about strange new worlds or features of space), Primary Fighting Style (blitz), Primary Style Technique (rapid response), Skill Adept (computers, culture), Solar Manifestation (weapon 1d6, black), Stellar Mode (+1 Ref in Graviton, +1 dmg in Photon), Stellar Revelations (black hole, super nova, plasma sheath)
Equipment: Hidden Soldier Armor with Brown Force Field (20), Tactical Pike with Disruptive Fusion Seal, Azimuth Laser Pistol (17), 2 Battery (20, 8), Consumer Backpack, Frag Grenade I, 3 Shock Grenade I, 3 Incendiary Grenade I, Stickybomb Grenade I, 2 Detonator, 2 mk I serum of healing, Fire Extinguisher, Personal Comm Unit, Engineering Kit, Travel Clothing, Hygiene Kit, 842c
Revara
Spoiler:
Revara Themeless Operative 3 N Human Absalom Station
STR 10 (+0) DEX 17 (+3) CON 12 (+1) INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 12 (+1)
EAC 14 KAC 15 CMD 23 Fort/Ref/Will +4/+6/+4
Speed 50’ BAB +2 HP 22 SP 21 RP 4 Init +10
Special: Languages (common, vesk, ysoki, shirren), Bonus Feat (weapon focus [small arms]), Skilled (+1 skill point per level), General Knowledge (diplomacy class skill), Operative’s Edge (+2 insight bonus on init and skill checks), Specialization (ghost [acrobatics, stealth]), Trick Attack (+1d8), Evasion, Operative Exploits (combat trick [fleet]), Quick Movement (10’), Weapon Specialization (basic melee, small arms, sniper)
Equipment: Second Skin with Quick Release Sheath, Tactical Baton, Survival Knife, Azimuth Laser Pistol (22), Tactical Semi-Auto Pistol (18), Static Arc Pistol (12), Battery, Consumer Backpack, Hardened Tier I Computer, Personal Comm Unit, Flashlight, Engineering Kit, Hacking Kit, Trapsmith’s Tools, Travel Radiation Clothing, Holoskin, Hygiene Kit, 886c
Indigo Jack
Spoiler:
Indigo Jack Themeless Mechanic 3 N Android Absalom Station
STR 10 (+0) DEX 14 (+2) CON 12 (+1) INT 16 (+3) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 9 (-1)
EAC 14 KAC 15 CMD 22 Fort/Ref/Will +4/+5/+2
Speed 30’ BAB +2 HP 22 SP 21 RP 4 Init +2
Drone: STR 14 (+2) DEX 12 (+1) CON – INT 6 (-2) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 6 (-2)
Chassis: Combat Drone EAC 11 KAC 16 Fort/Ref/Will +3/+2/+1
Size M Speed 30' BAB +3 HP 30
Special: Limited AI (can take a move or standard action), Master Control (can spend a move action to take both a move and standard action with the drone), Skill Unit (stealth +5)
My group was inordinately annoyed by the presence of 5 roles on a starship when there were 4 characters in the group. They are asking that I allow a fifth player. They know I don't modify APs much when I run them because I simply don't have the time. I usually say no to more than 4 because that's what the game and the APs are built for.
But as part of that, they built a character with the 5th player and want opinions on it. Warning... it's weird... it doesn't seem at all optimal at much. I haven't read the Envoy class at all, so I've told them two things so far:
1) Everything you get, you are getting later than a full class build
2) Anything tied to class level is going to be weaker
Criticisms? Improvements? Here is the character...
Spoiler:
Human Mercenary Operative
STR 11 (+0) DEX 16 (+3) CON 10 (+0) INT 10 (+0) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 16 (+3)
EAC 14 KAC 15 Fort/Ref/Will +0/+5/+2
Speed 30' BAB +0 HP 10 SP 6 RP 4 Init +4
Skills: Acrobatics +10G, Athletics +2, Bluff +8*, Diplomacy +5*, Disguise +8*, Intimidate +8*, Perception +5*, Piloting +1, Sense Motive +5*, Stealth +10G, Survival +1, Computers +5*, Culture +5*, Engineering +5*
Feats: Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (small arms), Skill Focus (acrobatics, stealth)
Special: Languages (common), Skilled, Bonus Feat, Theme Knowledge (+1 athletics), Operative's Edge (+1), Specialization (ghost), trick attack (1d4)
Equipment: Second Skin, Azimuth Laser Pistol, Tactical Baton
Expected Ship Role: Captain
Expected Combat Role: Enemy Debuffer, Party Buffer, Secondary damage
Mercenary makes the odd point (in Str) less painful and squad leader is expected to be useful
Why not just an Envoy (what I asked them)? 1) Operative's Debilitating Shot which even without improvements can leave a target flat-footed or off target (more debuffing) 2) Trick Attack allows decent damage output for rounds not occupied by throwing nets, buffing, or intimidating 3) Two mostly free skills (on Envoy levels they do not increase Disguise and Culture in favor of Acrobatics and Stealth 4) Operative Speed bonus 5) Nyfiber Net lacks the "thrown" tag, meaning it's normal ranged and hence Dex based (really? this seems wrong to me) and eventually they can get durable and seeking enhancements
No one in my group was able to go to GenCon this year, but when they found out I bought the pdf of the Starfinder core book and the first module on Thursday, they demanded we have our own weekend blitz instead. I hadn't even glanced at the core book yet, but they said they didn't care... we would learn as we went and that it would be like being brand new (silly and stupid) players again. This is not my normal way of running things... I favor planning and preparation to run anything... so mistakes were probably made throughout. I provide this recap in case Paizo wants any sort of feedback on the new system or other DMs and players are interested in my groups thoughts. These notes were hastily taken but cleaned up a bit later. Most of the role-playing and downtime activity was not recorded, and the party didn't do a lot of it as they wanted to get through the module. I was only concerned with the rules and action for posterity. I have not yet gone over the core book more thoroughly to answer any of the questions that came up. I realize there are probably answers, but that will be for this weekend. Anyway, Friday night we gathered to create the party and planned to run Saturday and Sunday.
The characters...
Blackhand, a Vesk Soldier created by the player who was most interested in the Solarian prior to the release of the game.
Spoiler:
Blackhand Spacefarer Soldier 1 N Vesk Vesk Prime
STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 13 (+1) INT 10 (+0) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 10 (+0)
EAC 16 KAC 18 CMD 26 Fort/Ref/Will +3/+2/+2
Speed 35’ BAB +1 HP 13 SP 8 RP 4 Init +6
Tactical Pike +5 (1d8+3 P/–, reach)
Skills: Acrobatics +1, Athletics +6*, Bluff +0, Diplomacy +0, Disguise +0, Intimidate +0, Perception +1*, Piloting +2, Sense Motive +0, Stealth +2*, Survival +0, Engineering +4*
Feats: Weapon Focus (advanced melee weapons)
Special: Low-Light Vision, Armor Savant (+1 AC, +1 armor check penalty with heavy armor), Fearless (+2 vs fear), Theme Knowledge (physical science class skill), Primary Fighting Style (blitz), Primary Style Technique (rapid response)
Equipment: Hidden Soldier Armor, Tactical Pike, Consumer Backpack, Personal Comm Link, Engineering Kit, Travel Clothing, Hygiene Kit, 17c
Keskkin, Shirren Mystic of self-loathing... I mean healing
Spoiler:
Keskkin Priest Mystic 1 N Shirren Verces
STR 14 (+2) DEX 10 (+0) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 (+0) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 9 (-1)
EAC 11 KAC 12 CMD 20 Fort/Ref/Will +2/+0/+5
Speed 30’ BAB +0 HP 12 SP 8 RP 4 Init +0
Battle Staff +2 (1d4+2 B/knockdown) Telekinetic Projectile +0 (1d6 B/–, 25’)
Skills: Acrobatics +0, Athletics +2, Bluff -1, Diplomacy +1, Disguise -1, Intimidate -1, Perception +7*, Piloting +0, Sense Motive +7*, Stealth +0, Survival +7*, Life Science +4*, Medicine +4*, Mysticism +8*
Feats: Mystic Strike
Special: Languages (common, shirren, vercite), Blindsense 30’, Communalism (roll attack or skill check twice and take highest result if ally within 10’, 1/day), Cultural Fascination (+2 culture, diplomacy), Limited Telepathy 30’ (must share a language), Theme Knowledge (+1 mysticism), Connection (healer), Connection Powers (healing channel [1rp, self – move, ally – move, all in 30’ – full, 2d8hp]), Connection Spells (mystic cure), Healing Touch (1/day, 5hp), Spells Known (0th – 4, 1st – 2), Spells Per Day (0th – DC 13, 1st – DC 14 3)
Equipment: Second Skin, Battle Staff, Consumer Backpack, Personal Comm Unit, Basic Medkit, Medicinal (antitoxin), Flashlight, Trapsmith’s Tool, starstone compass, Travel Radiation Clothing, Hygiene Kit, 5 R2E, 338gp
Spells:
0th - Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Psychokinetic Hand, Telekinetic Projectile
1st - Mystic Cure, Mind Thrust, Reflecting Armor
Indigo Jack, Android Mechanic and Drone wrangler
Spoiler:
Indigo Jack Themeless Mechanic 1 N Android Absalom Station
STR 10 (+0) DEX 14 (+2) CON 12 (+1) INT 16 (+3) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 9 (-1)
EAC 13 KAC 14 CMD 22 Fort/Ref/Will +3/+4/+1
Speed 30’ BAB +0 HP 10 SP 7 RP 4 Init +2
Azimuth Laser Rifle +2 (1d8 F/burn 1d6, 120’) Tactical Baton +2 (1d4 B/-)
Skills: Acrobatics +2, Athletics +4*, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Disguise -1, Intimidate -1, Perception +5*, Piloting +6*, Sense Motive -1, Stealth +6*, Survival +1, Computers +8*, Engineering +8*, Physical Science +7*
Feats: Weapon Proficiency (longarm)
Special: Languages (common, common sign, akitonian, castrovelian), Low-Light Vision, Darkvision 60’, +2 DC of sense motive checks against, +2 saves vs disease, mind-affecting, poison, and sleep, 1 Armor Upgrade Slot, General Knowledge (stealth class skill), Artificial Intelligence (drone), Bypass (+1 computers, engineering), Custom Rig ()
Equipment: Second Skin, Azimuth Laser Rifle, Tactical Baton, Consumer Backpack, Tier I Computer (hardened, security I), 2 Batteries, Radiation Clothing, 14c
Drone: STR 14 (+2) DEX 12 (+1) CON – INT 6 (-2) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 6 (-2)
Chassis: Combat Drone EAC 11 KAC 16 Size M Speed 30’ Fort/Ref/Will +2/+1/+0
BAB +1 HP 10
Azimuth Artillery Laser +3 (1d10 F/burn 1d6, 120’, penetrating) [not yet owned]
Special: Limited AI (can take a move or standard action), Master Control (can spend a move action to take both a move and standard action with the drone), Skill Unit (stealth +5)
Mods: Reductive Plating (DR 1/–), 2 Weapon Mounts, Weapon Proficiency (heavy weapon), Enhanced Armor
Feats: Weapon Focus (heavy weapon)
Revara, who goes by Rev, Human Operative and pilot
Spoiler:
Revara Ace Pilot Operative 1 N Human Absalom Station
STR 10 (+0) DEX 17 (+3) CON 12 (+1) INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 12 (+1)
EAC 14 KAC 15 CMD 23 Fort/Ref/Will +1/+5/+3
Speed 30’ BAB +0 HP 10 SP 7 RP 4 Init +4
Tactical Baton +3 (1d4+0 B/–) Azimuth Laser Pistol +4 (1d4 F/burn 1d4, 80’)
Skills: Acrobatics +11G, Athletics +1, Bluff +6*, Diplomacy +6*, Disguise +1, Intimidate +6*, Perception +6*, Piloting +9*, Sense Motive +6*, Stealth +11G, Survival +1, Computers +5*, Culture +6*, Engineering +5*
Feats: Skill Focus (acrobatics), Skill Focus (stealth), Skill Synergy (diplomacy, culture), Weapon Focus (small arms)
Special: Bonus Feat (weapon focus [small arms]), Skilled (+1 skill point per level), Theme Knowledge (+1 piloting, -5DC culture checks regarding ships, vehicles, parts, and pilots), Operative’s Edge (+1 insight bonus on init and skill checks), Specialization (ghost [acrobatics, stealth]), Trick Attack (+1d4)
Equipment: Second Skin, Tactical Baton, Azimuth Laser Pistol, Consumer Backpack, Battery, Hardened Tier I Computer, Personal Comm Unit, Flashlight, Engineering Kit, Hacking Kit, Trapsmith’s Tools, Travel Radiation Clothing, Hygiene Kit, 61c
I only have the first module of this AP right now, and I am not yet able to address some of these concerns, so I am posting this on behalf of one of my players...
Assumption 1: This player is expecting that most of this AP will be dungeon focused. After reading the summaries in the back of the first module, I am not sure I agree with that. He plans to create a Dwarven Deep Walker Ranger and is asking to also be allowed to take the Dungeon Rover archetype as well. I am inclined to permit this as the Woodland Stride replacements from each archetype are nearly the same. Any fellow DM thoughts on allowing or not allowing this? (The group has no one else covering the trap thing) Will the character encounter too few dungeon/underground areas to feel like his focus is wasted?
Assumption 2: The player is building a giant killing character obviously, but is building along the lines of a switch hitter. He's picked up a Dorn Dergar as his melee weapon of choice and that's where his build issues start. This is the first time this player has created a character that he feels is feat starved, but I feel this is due to wanting too many nice things. He is basically asking for advice on the best route... mostly at the level 7 mark:
Level 1: Traits - Orphaned by Giants and 1 of Glory of Old, Magical Knack, or Tunnel Fighter
Feat - Power Attack
Level 2: Rapid Shot
Level 3: Quick Draw
Level 4: Hunter's Bond with Companions (solely to avoid needing to take Boon Companion)
Level 5: Deadly Aim
Level 6: Manyshot
Level 7: Two-Weapon Fighting (though he never plans to actually two weapon fight)
Level 8:
Level 9: Dorn Dergar Master (can now wield two and intends to keep one at 5' and one at 10' to negate the need to switch it)
Level 10:Improved Precise Shot
Level 11:Steel Soul
Level 12:
Level 13:Feat?
Level 14:Feat?
Level 15:Feat?
He feels the first 6 levels are kind of required as well as level 10. He'd rather be using a crossbow, but knows that the longbow is simply better for archery. I suggested switching to Two Weapon Fighting style and embracing that since one of the other characters is a Bolt Ace Gunner, but he seems reluctant. He has a long history of attachment to the whole switch hitting thing. The other two characters are Witch and Inquisitor in case that matters, and they are all Dwarves.
Things he wants to fit in, but feel they might be too late by level 13: Extra Traits (to get the two things not chosen at first level), Improved Initiative (for when he is not underground/in a dungeon), Toughness (despite starting with a 16 CON)
I have pointed out the Darting Viper feat as a means to avoid TWF/Dorn Dergar Master (I mean it's two feats vs one... seems like an easy choice to me), but he worries that even as a Swift, he can only do it once per turn*. I've also mentioned Whirlwind as a potential tactic, but he seems set on a starting Int of 10 and does not like all the other feats he would need to get to end up there. He's also aware of the Twin Thunders stuff, but also doesn't like the cost.
So, any advice out there? Or any arguments for going full TWF or single Dorn Dergar?
* - I really don't know what I did to make him want a character that could attack at 5' and 10' simultaneously. I don't think this has come up as a possibility all *that* often, but he seems incredibly concerned about it, even with Giants as a focus.
This is at the 14 day mark. Has shown "waiting on backordered products" for over a week. Sent an email on the 17th about shipping the non-backordered products separately, but got no response.
Except this time I am playing, not GMing. I felt like having some fun with the new DM, so I rolled up a full party in case he couldn't find more players... and here they are...
In 4702, a crack Sable Company unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the Varisian underground. Today, still wanted by the Korvosan government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem... if no one else can help... and if you can find them... maybe you can hire... The A-Team.
<cut to a scene of an embarassed, attractive Chelaxian man caught between a disheveled Shayliss Vinder and an angry, red-faced Ven Vinder>
Templeton "The Faceman" Peck C/G Human Bard
<jump to a scene of a skinny Chelaxian with a devious grin saying "Oh Erylium..." as he thumbs a trigger crystal detonating an alchemical bomb that has been buried under a pile of tanglefoot bags... which the resulting explosion launch into the air messily dragging the now-visible quasit to the ground>
H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock C/N Human Alchemist
<move to a scene of a bald, muscular Shoanti dragging a Goblin out of a closet by the neck and saying "I pity the fool that scares little kids!">
Bosco "B.A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus C/G Human Fighter(Brawler)
<finally, jump to a scene of a Chelaxian lighting a cigar over the unconscious form of Gogmurt as in the background, Thistletop explodes into a blast of masonry, goblin corpses, and Runelord artifacts. He turns toward you and says, "I love it when a plan comes together.">
John "Hannibal" Smith N/G Wizard (Conjurer)
Tune in next week when the team seeks to solve a series of grisly murders!
He asked why I made Hannibal a Wizard and I said, what other class is so reliant on good planning? :)
I am usually the DM for our group, but one of the other players has taken over that duty for Shattered Star.
The Group so far:
Human (Shoanti) Fighter - Two Handed Earth Breaker wielder
Gnome Alchemist (Chirurgeon) - Bomber, healer and trap handler
Gnome Heavens Oracle - Healer, buffer and controller
So I started creating what I thought was a fairly memorable character, and the DM initially approved it, but now he is hesitating.
I proposed a C/N Aasimar Cleric of Azathoth with the Chaos(Protean) and Madness domains. I could not find an actual sub-domain list for Azathoth, but the DM approved those choices. I haven't finalized all the details. I was planning to create a character that runs around channeling negative energy, throwing out touch/inflict spells, and occasionally buffing up for some actual melee. I was even going to use a Cestus instead of one of the usual Cleric weapon choices or the diety's Warhammer. He's going to be highly chaotic in his approach to things, and probably do something different in every combat. I was considering this would be more a flavor character and less of an optimized one. Channeling as damage is underpowered... inflict spells as damage are very underpowered... cleric damage spells (flamestrike, etc) are underpowered... even the debuffing will probably only be so-so, but he'll be doing all of those things. He won't be doing any healing or party buffing (self buffing is in though!)
Aasimar are slightly overpowered to begin with, but the DM decided to allow me to roll on the table in Blood of Angels. Note, I did not ask to do this, he suggested it. I got insanely lucky, rolling a 100 on the first roll and ended up with an additional +2 to Strength AND a +2 bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks. The knowledge (planes) bonus really goes with the character I think. But the bonus stat increase is worrying the DM that I will be overpowered (he's playing self-buffing battle clerics numerous times), as I haven't done my stat build yet. He is allowing everyone to use the 20 point buy.
Additionally, after reading some of the first module in the AP, he's struggling with how or why the Pathfinders would take my character on as a member. My character is a touch insane obviously, and he worships Azathoth out of fear mostly. He sees Azathoth (and the other Outer Gods) as being above and beyond the normal gods of Golarion, and attributes this knowledge to his divine blood. His "goals" are to acquire power and be fairly chaotic. I guess my only choice is to treat my deity as a "secret" and gain Pathfinder membership as a means to an end. But there will inevitably be questions once I start negative channeling and inflicting, and the DM is not sure how to handle it. I think it will be fun, but he's worried it will be a major headache for the rest of the group.
Thoughts on how the DM should handle this? (Preferably without AP spoilers please, for my sake, even though the DM will be the one reading this)
I am usually a DM, but I've been wrangled into playing Shattered Star instead of running it. The party so far is a Greatsword or Polearm Fighter, a Rogue (which I don't know the details of), and a Heavens Oracle.
I don't really like playing Wizards (have done more than one summoner), but I think that's what the party expects/needs. I assume the Oracle will be handling the battlefield control, but won't have the versatility of a Wizard. What other options out there would work, and why? Would it make sense to try a different wizard "build" to avoid summoning but keep the versatility?
I have a player that is creating a Cleric of Desna. He wants to wield a Starknife made for a Large sized character (dealing 1d6) as a one handed melee weapon (as opposed to a light melee weapon). Per the rules he can do so, but still takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, which is where he is arguing. We have different interpretations of the second paragraph on page 144. Would it be reasonable to allow him to take a feat to wield such a weapon (exotic, martial, it doesn't matter) without the -2 penalty?
I'm not sure he'll burn a feat to effectively wield what is essentially a Hand Axe (weighing twice as much), but it is the only option I can think of. Even with a penalty, I would assume it would still be considered a Starknife and he is proficient with it (no further -4 penalty)... he just wants a main hand Starknife <shrug>.
I have a Pathfinder player that wants to play a Druid, but isn't interested in the shapechanging. Is allowing a single domain choice (similar to giving up an animal companion) a fair swap?
I've had a request from a player for a Pathfinder RPG game. He'd like to create a Rogue with the Bardic Knowledge Feature. I offered the following swap options for him to choose one from and would like opinions on them. If anyone has alternative suggestions, I'd like to see them as well.
1) Remove half the Sneak Attack progression (skipping, +2d6, +4d6, etc) with a max of +5d6 at 19th.
2) Remove Uncanny Dodge and Improved Uncanny Dodge.
3) Remove some of the Rogue Talent gains (gain them every 3 levels starting at 3rd level).
4) Reduce Skill Ranks Per Level to 6 + Int Modifier.
I'm not sure I understand the timeline for the raid. Are these events listed in combat rounds... meaning the entire raid lasts only 2 minutes and 30 seconds? The party that I am currently DMing for is light on ranged attackers, and their only arcane spellcaster is a Bard. They're going to be hard pressed just to react to and travel to the occurances listed in the time allowed, and they'll probably feel completely overwhelmed by round 16. How the dragon moves that far across Sandpoint that quickly is beyond me. He goes from eating people by the Hagfish to setting another fire 300' away in 1 round? Assuming the characters take a short cut through the cemetary, it's 450'+ from the Northgate to Tanner's Bridge, which is 4 rounds assuming you run, or nearly double that for anyone in heavy armor. From there, they'll more than likely start splitting up as events continue to occur. Given past group dynamics, I'm skeptical that the group will respond well here, and I'm not sure how to handle it.
Also, Teraktinus is listed with a speed of 40', but is wearing Hide armor, which should reduce his speed to 30'. Even at a run, it's 7 rounds or so for him to exit Sandpoint after sounding the retreat, since it's about 750' back to Mill Pond. This is probably the best opportunity to tackle him, since he will be alone and he calls out his position by sounding the horn. Does it do him any good to call for aid after sounding the retreat? I'm not sure I would label it a successful raid if Teraktinus is isolated and killed/captured while his army retreats.
Did anyone else that's already run this do anything to decompress the timeline a little? Or am I just being too rigid in my reading of it?
I hadn't heard about Pathfinder until I saw it in the store today. Picked up both products out of curiosity. But now I've run into an apparent dependency that wasn't listed anywhere on the cover. The Artifice Domain... comes from the Ebberon setting I believe. Didn't realize I needed that for this product. :(
