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Fredrik's page

Goblin Squad Member. Organized Play Member. 1,234 posts (3,777 including aliases). No reviews. 8 lists. No wishlists. 2 Organized Play characters. 12 aliases.


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Actually, you're right. Just recovered from my last trip, only to find that I'm being sent out again today instead of tomorrow.


Yes, sorry, traveling for my job. Will be home tonight.


Thank you for all of your support. I still need to be careful going forward, but my fears failed to materialize -- in fact, I was promoted last week to a position with more respect, better pay, and much harder (but way more interesting) work. I'm a techie again! It isn't my dream job, but it's a huge blessing, and a crucial step toward getting back to my preferred career.

Also, I'm planning on catching up with tracking the loot this weekend, but I can't find a periapt of wisdom anywhere.


No, it's only a hobby. These days, I mostly just use it to write short-form heroic fantasy, aka DnD-esque PbP. ;)


@Arithas: Yes, and thank you! Now some of this might seem off-topic, but I also have a halfling in a PbP of the Serpent's Skull AP, so I thought a lot about what was similar and different between gnomes and halflings when I made Bendy.

I think that Gnomes of Golarion and Halflings of Golarion are both essential references for playing something more than a cookie-cutter ankle-biter, and I've re-read them both many times. The two races have an odd thing in common, which is a lack of a historical homeland. For gnomes, it's because they're refugees from a timeless dimension; for halflings, it's because they're a symbiotic race that developed and spread with humans, without records of their own accomplishments.

As I've said, I think that a shortcut to gnome psychology is ADD -- the real thing, not the cheap stereotypes -- because they share a biological need for stimulation. I can't explain it, but I think that a similar shortcut to halfling psychology is through the INFP Myers-Briggs personality type. I feel like if you can understand "them" (by which I mean "us"), then you can understand the apparent contradictions of halflings: industrious without ambition; comfort-seeking without reputation-seeking; enduring atrocities without complaint, and risking everything for a moral stand.

Here's a funny thing: gnomes might appear to adventure randomly, but it can actually be true of halflings. A gnome might not have a specific goal, but he always has an intrinsic motivation to keep the Bleaching at bay. A halfling might literally go and save a village for the heck of it, on the spur of the moment, just because he had a feeling like he should set off in that direction and then one thing led to another.

Thank you for letting me share these thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for awhile now. :)


Does the character by any chance worship Abadar? Eyes and Ears of the City is in the APG, under Religion traits.


Jask's life is in too much immediate danger from these goons for Anton to hesitate now. He fires at the guard to clear the way for Corbius.

Darkwood composite longbow (Deadly Aim): 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 11 - 2 = 17
Fortune: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 11 - 2 = 17
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 4 = 8

I'm assuming that a single move action in the next round would be enough to give him a view further into the open-sided building? Preferably from the roof of the building on the left.


Sorry, I'll try to keep up a post a day, but my attention will be elsewhere for the foreseeable future. My drinking has spiraled out of control again, culminating in a holiday-weekend-long binge, and I have basically one last chance to get my act together. It may already be too late for my personal reputation, but aside from that rather major caveat, I think everything else is still fixable -- but if I blow it, there aren't a whole hell of a lot of safety nets left before the bottom. I just wanted to explain because we've known each other (in a way) for so long.


Thank you! Also, it is good to be home. I just spent a workweek out of town, the first time doing that for my (relatively) new job. It was actually a nice change of pace, but I'm still glad to be back.


I've been in a funk for about a week, but I'm feeling a little better. I also dropped my most time- and energy-consuming game. I should be back in the saddle tonight after work.


I haven't wanted to admit it to myself, because it's a brilliant story and a fantastic character, but I think I need to take a break from the game. My head's just not in the right place, I'm getting burned out on creative writing, and this is the most demanding (albeit also the most rewarding) game in that respect. I'm very, very sorry, and I hope that you can just leave Gwendalyn behind at Justis for now.


Sorry for the ill-timed flake out. I've just been really down the last week, and for some reason couldn't stand to do things that I normally enjoy, like play games. I'll try to get caught up ASAP.


Eh, we're used to the iksar nipples. Clearly, Cazic-Thule made them from mammals and just didn't bother to get rid of the extraneous protrusions. :p

I was afraid of Noggy's exit stage left, as you can see from my list of spells chosen. (Lots of expensive redundancy.) I guess that the main thing I need to know is whether my numbers are correct, and specifically if we can assume obtaining trade skill items at half price, if their DC is at or below a PC's skill mod. (I'm taking an earring and a bracelet, in that case.)

@Revery: I don't recall anything for spell-like AoOs, but since you asked, I'll make a list of stuff that I think people might like.


All this time, I thought it was strange to do more than one spell as a free action, but didn't see a rule against it. Now that you point it out, there it is, plain as day. Makes perfect sense.


What, my posts aren't enough? You polydactyls are all alike! /pouts


I'm done with a 13-hour workday, I have the weekend off, and my Al'Kabor's Arcana has arrived. Life is good.


Your max ranks in a class skill are level + 3, so it's possible for a trained knowledge check to have a higher bonus. Also, you can take 10 (but not 20) on a knowledge skill check if you're not under stress, but never on a bardic knowledge check. Also also, having 5 or more ranks in a knowledge skill might grant a +2 synergy bonus to some other skill in relevant situations.

With a high enough Int, it might be worth putting enough ranks in a knowledge skill to hit DC 15 or 20 by taking 10 on the skill, then rolling bardic knowledge to see if you get lucky and learn more that way. Especially if it could get you a synergy bonus that you want.


I probably shouldn't have made that assumption about the DC on using tailoring to identify the goo boots. At least I resisted the urge to make a James Bond joke about Gwen waking up: "She was shaken when she stirred." ;)

Nogglegrop:

  • BAB for a level 10 cleric is +7.
  • I know you made some changes to the effects of armor, but I thought weight still slowed us down? He's at a medium load.
  • We probably say this every time, but it would be nice if you would make a line under Other Possessions for the weight of his weapons and armor. If you did that and divided the weight of the stuff in the DRP by four, then it would all be added up automatically. :p


Revery looks fine. What's the +2 in his age? Is that how many years it's been?


Welcome Torchbearer! There are a few things that I think new players joining us should know.

  • "Torture chamber" is not hyperbole. Horrible, horrible things have happened to our characters.
  • Not all fights are fair. To survive this far, we've had to sneak, bribe, obey, trick, compromise, and run away.
  • The daily posting requirement is pretty serious. If we don't post, the character doesn't act.
  • No ooc statements in the Gameplay thread. Game mechanics go there, but commentary goes in Discussion.


I have a lot of work all of a sudden, and I might not be able to post again until sometime tomorrow (Thursday) night.


Since you're asking, critical failures test my suspension of disbelief. I can tolerate the occasional weapon fling or pratfall, but to actually hit yourself? It's a serious game, and you take it seriously; just look at your negative reaction to my little comedy routine at the entrance to Kaladim. (I've worked entrance security at county courthouses, and thought I was being pretty funny.) So you shouldn't make it into a Three Stooges sketch yourself.

Building on that, the crit squared idea is horrible. You're trying to take something that you dislike and make it rarer, but really you're just turning it into an iceberg where only a little bit shows above the surface -- a cauldron shark where you just see the fin approaching -- and then all of a sudden, it renders an encounter trivial or kills a PC outright. No. Please don't. I would much rather that you eliminate critical failures, or else restrict them to imposing negative conditions.


Fredrik wrote:
@Revery: Just in case you didn't know when you chose Mist, Gwendalyn already knows the very similar Turtle Skin that gives DR 5/–. Whereas you could have Languid Pace instead (with lower cost and higher DC than if she got Waking Sleep), or an improvement on your animation (that you haven't gotten in awhile), or a combination of a 3rd-level spell (such as Root) plus a 2nd-level spell (such as Mesmerize) minus a 25. Etc. :)

What the heck are you talking about, Fredrik? The 2 round recast on Turtle Skin is a major drawback in unexpected battles, and Mist has an instant recast. At 2-1-2-1, the whole party could be protected in as few as four rounds with Revery's help -- versus eleven rounds without -- and it would also save a lot of Gwendalyn's mana. You should be ashamed of yourself for ever questioning the value of Mist. :p


Looking at magic weapons, there should probably also be a save DC on the damage. My guess would be Reflex for half, DC calculated like any other beastlord spell (10 + Wis bonus + spell level).


I vote for kidnapping whoever wrote Spirit of Lightning, and withholding anything more than water until they tell us what it should've said. I really hoped that you had another source, since barring that, I have no idea. :(

@Revery: Just in case you didn't know when you chose Mist, Gwendalyn already knows the very similar Turtle Skin that gives DR 5/–. Whereas you could have Languid Pace instead (with lower cost and higher DC than if she got Waking Sleep), or an improvement on your animation (that you haven't gotten in awhile), or a combination of a 3rd-level spell (such as Root) plus a 2nd-level spell (such as Mesmerize) minus a 25. Etc. :)


I'm sorry for my lack of creative energy the last couple of weeks. It's been affecting all of my games (except PFS, which is a bit more hack 'n' slash). I hope to recapture my muse soon.


Yes, because Niwa actually means "crazy chicken". This has nothing to do with the genetic propensity to insanity and cowardice (vicious rumors to the contrary). The family name comes from the carnivorous poultry.


I start a new job tomorrow. (Underemployed again is better than unemployed, and it's a better situation than my last one.) I won't be able to post during the workday, but I should still be able to keep up daily.


What bonus spell? "(Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a sorcerer knows is not affected by her Charisma score; the numbers on Table 3-15 are fixed.)" -- CRB, pg. 71


C'mon guys, if you're gonna give him a nickname, at least make it something masculine like Ben. :p


I have a wee lava gnome/brass draconic sorcerer that I'd like to bring into being. He's a little crazy, but good-hearted.


I use an iterative process. I start with a very basic role, and narrow it down to a class. Then I start to generate a background that goes along with a particular race and ethnicity, which I try to tie in with a trait or archetype or something. Then point buy stats. From there it ping-pongs with mechanics suggesting new aspects of history and personality, which suggest mechanical elements, back and forth until I have a coherent whole. The background may get tweaked here and there to accommodate a really good mechanic, and suboptimal choices may get made to conform to a really compelling bit of personal history, but the end result should be interesting and fun to play from both perspectives.

Typically, the process will result in a bit of expertise in a particular area of mechanics and/or lore, which makes those elements more likely to get recycled in a future character, just because I know them better. That's how I ended up with two PbP rangers that have some history in Desperation Bay. They're very different to play, since one is a Molthuni halfling trapper/archer in a Serpent's Skull AP, and one is a Mwangi human switch-hitter in PFS -- but (for example) they both hate monstrous humanoids, because of the sahuagin that live in the wreck of the Chelish fleet at the bottom of the bay.


Lord oKOyA wrote:
DM Stephen wrote:
Please keep in mind when shopping the only books I am allowing are Core and APG. Thanks, Stephen.
I still don't understand all the fuss over the ultimate books. At least with regards to total blanket bans. :P

No no, blankets are allowed. It's hammocks that are banned. ;)

Anyway, it's fixed. Sorry I forgot... It's been awhile since we had a chance to shop.


Revised and updated summaries. Add the darkwood coffer that Aeshamara's locket was in to the Priceless list. (Anton kept it to maybe whittle something out of, but never got around to it; I'll see if I can figure out some kind of RP to do with that before we go. Hmmm. I'm getting an idea...) Also, keep in mind that if we make a party fund, it will actually be 600 gp from each of us and +500 gp to Mihai's split debt, until we get some more money (which should be soon).

Tragershen
1 gp - dagger
250 gp - Azlanti scroll case
500 gp - cloak of resistance +1
2500 gp - dusty rose prism ioun stone
= 3251 gp

Unclaimed Magic
250 gp - wayfinder
1151 gp - +1 dagger
1250 gp - ring of swimming
1152.5 gp - +1 longspear
625 gp - +1 chain shirt
2550 gp - +1 slick breastplate (Small)
1152.5 gp - +1 greatclub
4000 gp - ring of mind shielding
125 gp - Yarzoth's waterproof scroll tube (holds 20)

Unclaimed Expendables
potion of lesser restoration
potion of water breathing
antitoxin vial
restorative ointment (4 applications)


Lord oKOyA wrote:

Thanks for all that Fredrik! That is a whole lot of pita work you did there! :)

EDIT: One quick error spotted... Mihai's chain shirt isn't halved. I haven't checked it all, or the totals/math but that one stands out. :)

You're welcome! That is actually halved, believe it or not. (Compare the initial version with the cleaned-up version.)

ETA: I could've sworn that I wrote a post toward the end of the last chapter pointing out that we still had to go back and get the copper, silver and gold coins from the treasure pit. (We even had a block and tackle at the castaway camp, if necessary.) But now I can't find that post; it must've been an intention that did not actually get converted into post form, probably while I was traveling.


I apologize for my spotty posting, sometimes a lot, sometimes nothing. I'm flying back home across the country on Saturday, and should hopefully be more consistent after that.

But hey, I'm an uncle! My sister's baby is healthy, calm, and strong. Can't hope for much better than that. :)


The trip was smooth. I'm visiting family in a prearranged trip; I was hoping to change the tickets to not be gone so long, but it was too expensive. Might as well look for work while I'm here, since I'm not having too much luck back home anyway. Posting should be fairly consistent for a couple of weeks, now that I'm more-or-less settled in.


Bast:
I'm taking a short break and noticed that you still have the type 1 numbers up. The type 2 numbers are 6d8+30 hp, +5 natural AC, BAB +4. Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +3. Str 21 (before TotB), Dex 16, Con 21, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 9. Listen +6, Spot +6, Taunt +4. And attacks count as a +1 magic weapon for the purposes of overcoming DR.


I'm flying coast-to-coast tomorrow (Saturday) for a two-week trip, and I need to spend the rest of today getting ready. I'm taking my laptop, and hopefully I'll be settled in by Sunday. I'll try to squeeze in a post before I go.


Me too, actually. I'm flying coast-to-coast tomorrow (Saturday) for a two-week trip, and I need to spend the rest of today getting ready. But I'm taking my laptop, and hopefully I'll be settled in by Sunday.


I'm flying coast-to-coast tomorrow (Saturday) for a two-week trip, and I need to spend the rest of today getting ready. I'm taking my laptop, and hopefully I'll be settled in by Sunday.


I do not plan on making another character for the evils' game. I knew that I was pushing it by taking on a fourth PbP, and I was right. Experience has repeatedly shown that I only have enough creative juices to contribute consistently to three, and my Serpent's Skull and Pathfinder Society games are pre-existing long-term commitments.

For the same reason, I will not be GMing anything anytime soon. Someday, yeah. I GM'd a one-shot Shadowrun game in college that everyone raved about. (But it was such a horrible experience for me that I never GM'd again. Long story.) And I'd need creative energies to spare, which means not until I'm down to playing in two PbPs, which could be years from now at the rate things are going.

Also, I'm not interested in running Zaruksis for this combat. Just to suspend my disbelief that he's actually there, I'm having to treat the NPC as being like a fanfic version with a different personality.


Xenh wrote:

Looking at your posted background you are discordant and are out to to blaze his own path and return with power. The DM is offering you a means of acquiring power, and I don't remember you suggesting a course that you'd rather be on.

What drives Zaruksis?
What would you rather be doing?

One of things that drives Zaruksis is a desire for self-determination. He saw the power of the tomes as a means to that end, but the search is starting to feel too constricting -- the power is nebulous and distant (and seeming to flit away whenever they start to get close), while the limitations on his choices are clear and ongoing.

I think he'd rather be a privateer, trading when it's worth his while, and taking what he wants otherwise. That would align his method with his goal, since he would have a great deal of freedom right away.

Honestly, I'm just not enjoying that game so much. Zaruksis staying with Captain Bones can either be a game-changer or (more likely) a goodbye post. I'm fine either way.

Xenh wrote:
AoO = melee attack, unless there's some rule I don't know about.

I got mixed up with Pathfinder rules, where you can explicitly do a trip "in place of" a melee attack, and therefore as an AoO. I was waiting for a resolution on it before declaring Gwen's regular action for the round. With a nat 1 on the Str check, I certainly won't mind if you rule the trip attempt illegal. ;)


Sorry for my poor contributions lately. I'm no longer suffering the stress of an emotionally-abusive workplace, but instead the stress of job-hunting while unemployed. A "worse before it gets better" thing. So I just haven't really felt like writing. But the weather today is fantastic, and I'm feeling great. :)


I will be able to contribute to the Google document tomorrow. Also, don't think I don't notice that you have the audacity to describe Loki as a "young" necromancer when he's 99 years older than Zaru. :p


I just finished spending a whole day on two of my least favorite things: tax returns and job applications. So now I get to play!

ETA: That's odd. Spirit of Wolf is listed under 4th-Level Shaman Spells, but then the spell description says Shm 3. Split the difference and call its spell level 3.5 (available at shaman level 6)?

ETA x2: I have to be honest, Gwendalyn never actually spent the action to light her lantern. But it's all full of oil and ready to go!


I didn't get the job. :( Of course, that means that I need to be putting in more applications at other places, but I should still have some time for updating the doc.

@Sajeek & Kwen: I think that you should still have Inner Fire active. It would last 50 minutes. (+1 insight bonus to AC, +3 buff bonus to hit points)


I apologize if my attempt at constructive criticism came across as an attack. I have strong opinions.


Since you asked, I'm gonna be honest:
Enchanter spells are tricky to choose from, and I think that you chose poorly in some respects. It's obvious what to do with a magician (pets!!) or wizard (nukes!!). You seem to be treating an enchanter as therefore specializing in everything except pets and nukes, and that's not quite right.

Your direct-damage spells aren't as powerful as a wizard's, but they're still the spells that would see the broadest use. On a list full of situational spells, the one-two punch of Tashan and Chaotic Feedback is something that you would use all the time. Gate is of little use until you have Bind Affinity (unless you want to spend months sailing back to us from Erudin), and Bind Sight is incredibly situational.

There's also the question of which ones to memorize. Since you can only memorize eight (until you take Mystic Capacity), compare Fear and Eye of Confusion. Both can effectively take someone out of the fight for 1d4 rounds, Will negates, Spell Resistance yes. EoC keeps them where you can see them (and end them), for less mana, and at a higher DC. In the meantime, while you have both of those memorized, your scrawny butt is completely unprotected: no Shielding for AC, and no animation for a cover bonus against ranged attacks.

Enchanters have a lot of versatility that the other arcane casters don't have, especially out-of-combat. However, I think that you will find Brontide frustrating to play in such a dangerous world unless you prioritize his combat abilities as need-to-haves, and then fill him out around the edges with the nice-to-haves that make the class so interesting.


Oh please, Khae's a total DMPC. :p

What do you think of the Leadership feat? If we survive long enough, I'm thinking of bringing Tudan in as Gwendalyn's cohort. It would currently take until 7th level to get enough training points, so there's no rush. Just throwing the idea out there.

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