Ok, so I have been punting around two different ideas.
Both characters are going to be LG, one being a Monster Tactician Inquisitor, the other option being being either a First Worlder or Unwavering conduit summoner.
The Inquisitor is shaping up rather interestingly. The problem is feats needed to make the build really work well. What I am running into is a problem with feat trees and getting everything I want set up.
Augment Summoning takes 2 feats to get online, and then to do longbow, right off the top of my head I am looking at PBS, Precise, Rapid Shot, Deadly Aim. Given that my character is going to have high dex for ranged combat, his primary teamwork feat is going to be precise strikes.
My major concerns are a couple things: Fitting in everything that I really need. If I completely ignore buffing my summons, I can have PBS, Precise and either Rapid or Deadly. Since I am either taking Animal or Feather domain, level 5 feat is most likely going to be boon companion so that my animal companion is at level.
What do you guys think? This is certainly not a character type that I have ever played before, and I am modeling it somewhat after another player that I know, and a build that in my area is pretty popular in PFS.
Working on getting a character together. Hero Lab is being a pain and not updating the MSH yet, but they just showed on their website today that it is available, so I am hoping when I go home tonight to update character sheets that everything is good to go.
At this point, I'm leaning more heavily towards summoner/inquisitor, but just not sure quite yet.
I'll rummage through things tonight and play with some hero lab. Won't have the MSH mod till friday, so i'm gonna be playing around with a few other things. Just trying to get an idea.
Honestly I prefer arcane classes almost exclusively to divines, but I will do a bit of theorycrafting and such. If I do a divine, it will almost 100% be tied to Erastil in some way.
I picked up the Monster summoner's handbook recently, and there are a lot of options that i really love in it. Elemental basic templates, archetypes for all sorts of different things.
The inquisitor build basically takes inquisitor, removes all their judgement powers, slayer and discern lies, and replaces it with the summoner monster summoning ability. At 5th level, when you cast the ability, you can give the monsters you summon one of your teamwork feats. So lets say I pop out 4 earth elementals. I was looking at a build that is an Inquisitor of Erastil, but rather than focusing balls in on his Bow and Bow damage, having his bow be more of a tool to help do damage and buff his creatures.
Things like being able to use Target of Oppourtunity, where I can fire a shot into a melee with my summons surrounding them, and then they can all make a melee attack as an immediate action. Probably end up taking at least Augment summons, maybe superior as well. then get the basic bow feats in so that I can be effective there. Or even Precision strike, so that multiple summons get extra dice to damage when they hit.
Going with Erastil, can even take feather or animal domain and have an animal companion as well to help bolster the party.
Summoner could work because of having the eidolon being a tank or tank like setup. Then have other spell options in the background.
The cleric one i've been looking at from the MSH is odd, because it gives up medium armor and shields, but lets me summon monsters, auto include them in my channel heals regardless of their being in range of a channel, or selecting them out of channeled damage. A lot of very interesting interactions.
Right now i'm just trying to settle on something that seems fun and exciting given the setting and game type.
I'm a bit of an odd duck in many respects. I don't really play any melee classes. I have a single game that I am playing my first tank in, which is a WotR game.
I like playing spellcasters. I favor wizards, but also enjoy playing summoners and arcanists.
I really over the last few years have taken an affinity to summoning spells and tactics. Mixing blasting spells with summoning abilities, or summoning and utility/control options.
Characters I would consider building for a campaign like this: Summoner, Conjurer wizard (won't do that because I don't want to clash with Anton), in the monster summoners handbook, there is a new archetype for inquisitors that gives them the summoner spell like ability in exchange for all their judgement abilites and slayer. I actually like it, and have an idea for an inquisitor of Erastil that fits into it well.
There is also an archetype for a cleric in that book that seems rather fun, where you lose most of the "martial" aspects of a cleric for more skill points and boons to summoning.
What do you guys think? I won't pick a class that doubles what we have, but I wonder what you guys think about options? Do you mind what I go with?
Sorry, I should have warned you guys and I forgot I didn't. Hell week for me, the General Manager is on Vacation, and he and the owner are fighting. Fun times for me.
Honestly, Harsk, I'm down with you taking the game. Normally I have no problems coming up with a reasonable way of doing things, but right now i'm wracking my brain, and I just can't put the square peg in the round hole. If you are willing to take the game, I am certain that I could come up with one of several character types that would be rather adventageous to the group.
You know, that might actually just be better Harsk. I honestly don't know. I think I honestly went off the deep end on my first attempt, and I'm starting to see that now in a bit of a huge way.
Not going to make any decisions today. Going to think about it over the 4th holiday. That may be better in my case I think though. Hell, I don't know. I'm just tired of this game dragging on and nothing happening, and something needs to change in order for that to work.
I suppose that one of the things that frustrates me so is that the thing that gets you the most experience the quickest, and gets some decent power under the belt of the PCs is fully exploring hexes. It is i think 200 xp per hex. So for a group of 4, which is what they say is ideal, each hex explored fully adds 50xp to the total. But when your plowing through and trying to follow a trail, it doesn't really happen. The other problem with tracking the bandits straight away is that it triggers events that will happen faster than you can handle them if you charge straight after them.
Its just a real goofy way of constructing something IMHO. Looking at part 2, i'm noticing a lot of the same things, which means that I am going to need to go through and try to reign in some of the wide open nature of things to give it a bit more focus, and also help guide things in a general forward direction.
Is there any particular place that you guys want to go? any particular encounters you wish to do? I am right now trying to determine where to jump to in the course of the storyline.
There are a lot of things that can just suck the joy out of one's life. I feel like I have many of them attached to me all at once right now.
I love RPGs, currently playing in two PbP games, and one roll20 D&D 5e game that I am having a blast with.
After doing some thinking today, after getting into another fight with the manager today, I came to realize some things about my life. None of them really have anything to do with Pathfinder per se, but I suppose it helped me put things into perspective.
I have not been having fun with the start of Kingmaker. Call me crazy, but I have been trying to sort out patterns and pathways and plan for the completely random, and thusfar it has sort of thrown me for a loop. And any time I do something for fun, and I lose interest in it, I tend to hide from it.
Which is not fair to anyone else in this game. I have not yet done reading up on things going forward. But I get the sense that once part 1 is finished, and the Kingdom building starts, that things get a bit more..., focused and less scattered.
I would like to ask you all, do any of you have a problem with advancing the storyline a bit? I have some ideas in my head, but I would like to hear your thoughts on things before I make any decision.
As the group is fleeing, more shots and screams from behind can be heard. Without clear lines, the arrows fly high and wide, some landing in the grond, others embedding themselves in tree trunks.
Through all of the confusion, the group is able to make it downriver without too much difficulty. The sounds of conflict have all but died out, yells and calls of danger no longer able to be heard.
you guys are able to make it back down river to close by the gold cave and the kobold campsite.
Making the assumption that Katya backs out with the team...
As the group is taking cover and falling back into the trees, they hear a call being raised up. "...intruders! Intruders in the camp!"
A pair of whistling sounds, as two arrows come flying out of cover, one from near the logs, the other from an elevated spot near there, aimed at the sound of foot falls and armor that is Harsk. One shot flies wide, but the second slips just under his shield and catches his side, biting into flesh but then flying clean.
Sorry for the day wait, up at the top next to Oleg Murder hobo surplus supplies is the map for the current enounter, all PCs are on map, please arrange yourselves where you would like to be in the lower left corner of the map no further up than the cart.
I suppose on the note of Treehouses and fun, we will forgo the more stealthy parts of this, and I will try to have a map up tonight or tomorrow for everyone.
No worries, if we need to slow down a bit guys, I don't mind. I know choon is going to be preparing for a new little one, so I'll pace this where you guys need it to be.
With Katya pointing it out, and Anton's keen eyes, you notice that the pathway you are walking up is not entirely natural. On your right, you can see what looks like a log barricade, and up to your left, a cart sits on the far bank of the river. It takes a moment, but everyone is able to see the platform that Katya points out.
GM screen:
4d20 ⇒ (5, 4, 7, 14) = 30
1d20 ⇒ 20
4d20 ⇒ (20, 11, 18, 13) = 62
1d20 ⇒ 20
Katya and Anton:
You could have sworn that you saw up ahead of you to your right some movement, but have seemed to have lost it.
Anton:
You spy up atop the platform to your left what you think you can make out to be a person. He's hidden very well, under what you think to be a blanket of brush, but your fairly certain that you see him. You are also fairly certain that you locked eyes with him, and that he knows you are there.
Katya, you are about 100 feet away from your first spoiler, if you share your info.
This seems a bit cumbersome, but with the way the rolls landed, i suspect there is going to be a lot of movement and a great deal of things happening very quickly, so I am going to slow this down into combat rounds.
Any questions, please ask. Walls of text will be ajudicated by me as to how much gets out per round, but for the most part I think you guys do well with those. I'm the one that gets crazy verbose. :P
The group makes their way west to the river. As they travel, they will notice that it turns back to the north, into the forest.
After a few moments, Anton gets a nostalgic look for a moment.
Katya:
You recognize this as the Thorn River, as the locals call it. You will also notice in the softer ground in the river bed area tracks of horse hooves.
The river seems to flow very gently this time of year, and the ground near the riverbed gets softer and softer. Occasionally, you can pick out footprints, both of boots and of horses all over the area.
Katya:
As you move forward, you notice a cart, and what you think to be a log barricade, and maybe even an elevated platform in a tree, but your not quite sure.
Everyone except Katya:
You all hear a rather faint call of an owl, which seems a bit out of place in the late morning sun of the day.
Anton:
You swear you saw something move in the trees ahead of you, but you can't quite make it out.
GM Screen:
4d20 ⇒ (19, 8, 9, 6) = 42
------ Soft Initiative Order --------
Cuddles
Anton
Harsk
Katya
At this point, we are in a rotating initiative order. Map will be posted when it is prudent, and characters placed then. Please confirm in discussion your marching order, and then each post in init order with a single combat round of actions.
After the vacation days of last week, then we had office manager sick yesterday and today, so when I tried to post about 6 times today...
ick. I am home now, and should have something together later.
I was going to wait to see if Choon wanted to do anything. I know he is having fun at home, so I was going to wait for him, but if I don't see anything from him before bed tonight, I will keep the ball rolling.
As you come into the cave, you start to notice that even though the cave is fairly shallow, and only runs about 150 feet or so in length, that there are points of glittering on the walls. Harsk instantly spots it, but with a few moments, Katya also notices that the glinting in the walls appears to be naturally occurring gold.
The party enters the cave, it is about twenty feet wide at the opening and runs back about 150 feet or so, with a slight downward slope.
GM screen:
1d100 ⇒ 82
Upon further inspection, the cave seems to be completely empty.
Its ok guys, i'm mainly dumping a lot of things right now to get my head in the game, and trying to keep focus on it. I know that we have been dragging a bit so I want to try and help pick things up a little.
Get to me when you can. I am not hurting to add on anyone just yet. I don't mind adding someone at a later level.
I am mostly wanting to understand more deeply the dynamic of my players currently in game so that when we do look for someone that I can find an appropriate fit for the group.
Two things I need to know for when you guys are in the weeds, I mean woods. :P
1) Marching order or grouping, how are you guys going to be travelling and in what positions.
2) Noise level you are trying to maintain. aka, are you hacking and chopping at brush and twigs where needed, are you trying to slowly slip through, how are you proceeding through the forest?
3) What is each character's normal level of readyness? AKA, do you normally carry your sword out, do you shoulder/sheathe your weapons, are you walkreading your spellbook, that sort of thing.
As the group is starting to make their way on the trail, Katya notices as well the cave entrance that Anton pointed out. It is alongside the trail as you are heading over to the river trail.
Katya:
You could be wrong, but you swear that you saw the glint of something metal in the cave. After a couple moments thinking about it, you think that it might have been silvery, or maybe golden?
The character that I have in mind to DMPC would be a face type character, someone that is good with people and good at talking to others, and also would have some decent skills to go along with it.
They would not have any "rogue-like" skills, and in a combat situation would probably feel more like a supporter/caster than anything else while not being particularly reduntant to anyone in the party (at least I do not think so).
I actually have a rather irrational aversion to rogues and fighter types in general (notable exception is trying to play a paladin in a WotR game.)
If you guys would like to have a rogue or rogue skilled member added to the party, I would be more than happy to recruit someone to the game to help fill out the party. I think with the character that I have planned, if it takes the shape I currently have in my brain, adding a good rogue skill oriented character would fill out the group perfectly. Or at least, perfectly in my mind. Which means completely crazy. :P
Any thoughts? If no one is opposed, my intent is to have the group hopefully in the town by Sunday/Monday, and to have a recruitment thread finished up hopefully near there so that we can get rolling again.
First of all, I have an idea in mind for a GM PC. I am working on the backstory right now and trying to get a sense for the character's motives and interests. when I have it fully fleshed out I will let you guys know.
Secondly, I am sending each of you PMs in regards to catch up and rereading that I am doing in concern to each character's backgrounds and current storylines that I am aware of. In those PMs I am asking specific questions and wanting to have any information that you guys would like to share with me. This is a chance for you guys to directly affect the world.
I am going to try and take a page out of one of my live DM's pages. He runs a self built sandbox game, and I do rather like the way he does things, mainly because each player has a stake in what is happening as well as myself as the DM.
In this case, you guys are building various aspects of the game from the ground up essentially, so the questions that I am asking now are more in a formative nature, as I try to sew up what is happening for moving forward with the game, and hopefully we can push through book one in a more organized and less bogged down manner. In essence, when it is something that is directly tied to your character, I want you to be an integral part in creating the organization or relationships that you are a part of.
If I ask you what your character knows about something, share with me what they know. If I ask you what you as a player knows, I want you to share with me your ideas for it.
For example: One of our players is playing a bard that has ties to a bardic college. If I were to ask the player about the bardic college, what I am looking for is the following things: Name of the college, what political ties it has if any, Names of the Leader and any notable members and their roles, the character's current standing in the organization and what the character thinks their standing is (one does not have to match the other).
Second example: I am playing a character. A peri-blooded emberkin Aasimar named Zhal Peng, the travelling mystic of Goka. He is a practiced wizard, and also a priest and cleric in good standing of Nethys, the lord of magic. He has come to the Stolen Lands to map the region, search for lost magics and places of power. He intends to try and start a school of magic, and build a temple to Nethys in the region if he can convince the Swordlords of Brevoy to allow it. He is also a member in good standing with the Pathfinder Society, a mid level Chronicler that reports directly to Ambrus Valsin of Absalom, though he tires of the life of the Pathfinder and would rather help settle a land and make a place of his own to live and love. By human standards he is old, nearly eighty five years of age, his human mother having passed on, and he has no idea who his father is much to his chagrin as he has tried to divine the nature of his father on many occasions.
This is a quick off the top of my head write up if my 10th level theurge were to be played in this game. The things in here that are useful to the character and the DM: Ties to his homeland of Goka (though not strongly), Church of Nethys, Pathfinders (though he wishes to retire), longer lived than most humans, searching for a place to call home, and is searching for the nature of his father.
All of these are points of plot that we can work with, and helps me get a sense of both what is important to your character, but also what world forces are at work that will be a part of that character's life, as well as the party's life in general.
When you guys get your PMs, let me know of things in that vein, so that I can start to get a good fundamental understanding of all the market forces that are at work in our game, and also what each of your characters really cares about. most of this is in addition to backstories, and also clarifications so that I can go forward with the standard level of DM plotting and scheming to dest..., I mean prosper and enrich the PCs. :P
Dawn comes the following day, the night having been mostly quiet after the bothersome nature of the lizard rats the evening before. The air on this particular morning is cool and crisp, and a thin layer of dew covers the ground.
Anton:
As you wake, and begin your preparations for the day, you notice off in the distance a trail that looks like one the kobolds may have walked out to their campsite from, and in the side of a crag like rise in the area just before the treeline you can make out a cave entrance.
GM Screen:
4d20 ⇒ (1, 3, 9, 16) = 29
As the group is preparing for the day ahead, Katya, with a little help from Anton, is able to spy out what she believes to be more human like tracks, larger than the lizard rats at any rate. They seem to head into the forest to the west, oddly heading over to what in the distance appears to be a river that runs north and south.
I suppose that I have one last question involved here, and that is the subject of adding new blood.
First of all, what would you guys want to round out the group? Is there anything missing from the group that you would like to see added in?
I am thinking that one new character if it is the right one would round out the group fairly well, after all you guys are quite the A team as is. :P
I suppose the other question I have, and I know that I have put this question to a couple of you privately, but I would ask the group this. I have been working on method acting, character writing and really getting into deeper role playing of characters lately in my live table games. Would you guys have a problem with me writing and playing a secondary PC character that would fill out the group? I can think of a couple character types that I would be quite interested in trying out, and one character type in particular that I played in another KM that died out that I was rather enjoying.
Once we get the issue of group size done, I think tonight I have free, so I will plan on being home and doing some catch up. At this point, I think we can move forward, I don't see a reason to backtrack us unless any of you feels the need to reset anything in the game.
I am going to see about getting some decent maps tonight, and also making sure I have on hand what things we have accomplished and not, and by this time tomorrow, I hope to have us back on track.
If you guys have any suggestions or ideas, please feel free to voice them. This is our game after all, I'm just the guy behind the screen.
So would you guys be open to then letting me either railroad the pathway, or let you guys tell me what path you want to explore, and then we can just go forward from that point?
So I have done some thinking and reading over the weekend. I had not realized how little had actually been acomplished, nor did I realize that the game had started nearly eight months ago.
First of all I wanted to apologize to you guys, that's a crappy job on my part.
Some ideas as to how to go forward:
1) We can proceed forward from where we are, I will most likely take a couple of days to plot out and generate some things ahead of time to try and keep the game moving at a reasonable pace, so that all I need to do is look at notes and my rolls. If we decide to go this route, I think that I would like to add one or two players to the game to fill out the balance of the group.
2) If you guys want to, I can cut out some of the base exploring, and we can do just the hunting down the bandits and dealing with them. I will accelerate the game somewhat to get the ball rolling, and get us moved forward to a more acceptable point in the game compared to where we are now. Probably not the best idea, but I do realize that we have dragged a great deal more than I realized.
3) Reset from square one, after the bandit fight. We will assume the same outcome of the fight, minus the messy botched interrogation and execution afterwards, and we can start over with the exploring from square one, and I will again take the time to plot out and roll for things way ahead of time to keep the game going. Again here I think I would like to add a player or two.
3b) I suppose also we could advance the timeline forward if you guys want, but I figure with background things for each character, the first chapter would be a good one to start getting those going for each character.
What do you guys think? This is as much your game as it is mine. I suppose what I need to know is where you guys want to proceed from.
