GM Han Shot First's page

The monk-who-is-not-a-monk nods at Gotal slowly. "We offer many services to help the lost find their way." after a pregnant pause, where the monk seems to weigh you with his eyes, he continues "We also offer services that can help those that need to stay that way." He turns and walks you through a set of doors into another room with beautiful architecture that would inspire sublime serenity if it were not for the desks and benches occupied by various beings busily working on various types of equipment. You watch with a discerning eye and notice that they are modifying the items they are working on.

The monk catches your attention again. "Your friend sent a message that you would be coming and mentioned that you need to be able to move from place to place without leaving a trail. Your friend is a good friend. You should treasure that friendship."

He leads you to a desk where a diminutive Ugnaught is busily modifying a comlink.

"Udon is one of our best. In fact, he can make copies that are so good that no one can untie the deception." He finishes with a smile and nod to Udon.

You work with Udon to flesh out new IDs for the crew of the Gambit and you get three new sets of transponder codes for the Owl's Gambit.

You pay the rather reasonable price of 2500 credits and make your way back to the ship.

=================

Meanwhile at the swoop bike bar, several rough looking beings take the Tibana gas cylinders and move it around the back of the bar.

"Thank STIGS for me next time you see her." the initial greeter nods to your group. "Who ever controls the water controls this planet. But to get control, you've got to have some muscle. See ya 'round."

Without waiting for any response from the group, the biker turns and heads back into the bar.

Corven notices that a cloaked figure seems to be a little too focused on the group and the transaction... he mentions this to his compatriots. "We have company." he states with a slight jut of his jaw towards the interloper.

The three clamber back aboard the sled and pull away from the bar.

Behind them, a sudden commotion erupts as white armored soldiers move in and capture the nascent rebels. Jak bows his head and turns a corner. The modified CIS emblems marked these people as former brothers.

An earth shattering boom and shock wave wipe away his reverie. A billowing, roiling cloud of heat and smoke wash over the crew of the hoversled. The explosion was clearly from the bar... and it would seem that the former CIS were not going to go quietly. Emergency klaxons soon fill the air and people screaming and running fill the streets.

By the time Jak pulls the sled into the docking bay, imperial ships are swarming the air lanes. Reports are coming in that anarchists killed numerous Stormtroopers and destroyed several blocks of Mos Eisley.

Jak eases the sled back into its berth on the Gambit. Moroka signals that she has successfully removed the tracking device from the Owls aft nacelle and left it attached to the hangar wall.

Another story comes across the news that a sweep of the Pits has netted a known criminal, STIGS.

Gotal feels the prickle of a darkside force user searching through the Force for the group.

It's time to go.

Jak fires up the Owl's Gambit, Moroka completes the installation of a transponder masker and in under twenty minutes, the ship is streaking skyward.

Below, just outside the docking bay a dark cloaked figure watches the engines shrink into the distance; cursing as they do. He motions for the Stormtroopers that are with him to tear the bay apart and look for clues that might indicate where this ship is headed. He feels confident that he will meet this group again... there were too many of them shining brightly in the Force. Oh yes, they would meet again. He clenched his fist. He had not earned the moniker Emperor's Hand without reason...

Gentlemen, I have really really enjoyed playing this game with you all for the last five months. It started out as a one month experiment and turned into much more.

However, Renlo is spot on. I have a couple of RL issues that are consuming my thoughts and time and I find that I can't do the campaign justice any longer.

I am going to write an epilogue post to close this last story arc. If you want to keep your characters up to date, at the conclusion of this arc they would be at the mid point between levels 3 and 4.

With that I bid each of you a good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night.

Gotal, Renlo & Donavaan

As you enter the monastery's massive front doors, you see several people gathered about a table off to your left. A person dressed vaguely "monkish" has noted your entrance and moves to greet you.

"May I be of service? What brings you to Dim-u?" the monk says with a beguiling smile.

Corven, Jak, Moroka

Half a minute after you arrive at the drop point, a female wearing a swoop bike helmet walks up to your sled. Without preamble, she states. "We's been waiting. Starting to thinks we was gonna have to come get it."

She pauses and looks at the three of you. "So, drive 'round back so we can unload you."

Without another word, she crisply turns and heads back the way she came. Just before entering the cantina, she turns looks at you and makes a motion to the direction you should follow.

Jak has a predatory smile on his face as he stares down the jawas and casually but pointedly moves aside his duster to reveal the heavy blaster on his hip.

Spending force point to intimidate.

[Dice=Persuasion (intimidate)] 1d20 + 2 +1d6

Force 5/6. ::grumble, grumble::

The Jawas are impressed with your big gun. Thinking you may be wanting to compare notes, they pull aside there little cloaks and show you their big guns... their ion guns that is.

Sometimes the dice suck... and other times they really suck :D

[dice=perception]1d20+6

Moroka chuckles to herself, nudging Corven as she takes in the rough-and-tumble scene. "Wouldn't it be ironic if our client was another anti-imperialist?" She inquires in a low voice.

Would be nice to be free of the moral ambiguity...

She smiles at the throng of swoop bikes new and old, musing to herself. "Never got to work on a swoop bike before. Wonder if anyone needs a tune-up?"

Perception 1d20+6

Perception 1d20+9

"Charming."

[Dice=Perception] 1d20 + 7

[dice=Perception]1d20 + 8

[dice=Perception]1d20+12

Renlo is content to walk in silence, keeping an eye on his surroundings and a hand hovering near his blaster. He'd been to Mos Eisley once, and it looked just as bad as he remembered.

Great interaction! Thanks for the posts and keep it up! I am assuming your characters can continue the conversations while walking to the monastery or driving the sled

Jak, Corven & Moroka

Jak mounts drivers side of the sled and pauses while his compatriots get seated. The hum of the engines increases in pitch as Jak accelerates and merges into the flow of traffic; light as it is.

The trek to the delivery point takes about 20 minutes. The menagerie of beings is awe inspiring to behold. That said, this is obviously a rather rough and tumble town. Your small group gets a considerable amount of attention from several people that notice the large stencils on the sides of the cylinders that state “WATER.”

Finally, Jak guides the sled to a stop outside of a shanty with a large number of swoop bikes in front of it think biker bar. ”Alright boys, this is the place.” Jak says without taking his eyes off the front door.

Donavaan, Renlo & Gotal

The trip to the monastery takes nearly half an hour by foot. The heat of the twin suns has eased slightly is still very uncomfortable to people who are not accustomed to it. As you walk along, you see an enormous variety of beings. While humans are still numerous, there is no shortage of non-humans as well.

You walk through an open air market and the buzz of activity edges overwhelming. The wares offered are as varied as the beings. Everything can be bought on Tatooine... for a price.

You start to turn one corner and pull up short. Several gray clad governmental type humans are looking at data pads and pointing at a building. Another human male dressed in a similar uniform but black in color smugly looks on. Suddenly he chops his hand in the air and loudly states “This building will suit the Emperor's needs.” He turns his haughty face to one of the half dozen white armored soldiers standing nearby and addresses him.”Captain, start setting up and clear out the riffraff.”

Before any of these obvious Imperials notice you, you backtrack and continue down the street.

After crossing a few more streets, you turn a corner and you can see the squat governmental building housing the BoSS (Bureau of Ships & Services). A little further down sits your destination... the monastery. You make your way through the throngs of people walking up and down this area and you finally arrive at the steps leading up to the front doors. The building looks like it could have been grandiose at some point in the past. A little further down and across the street sits a ram shackle someday famous cantina.

You watch the entrance to the monastery for a few minutes before approaching. While you DO see a few beings that could pass for monks, the clientele seems to run on the seedier side; this could be a front for some other operation.

Unless you are all engrossed in your various treks, roll a perception to see anything "a-cut-above" awe inspiring or out of the ordinary.

Is that dark presence here on this Planet?

Yes. Not as powerful as tentacle you ran into awhile back

Moroka's eyes widen for a moment before she reaches for her comm. "Jak, DO NOT fire up the engines. We've got a coolant leak; one of those desert folk must have some miraculous aim. We'll have to pull some parts and do proper repairs. If we're lucky, we'll have the part we need and be airborne in two hours; if not, we're looking at four or more."

She approaches as she speaks, examining the scene more closely, intrigued by the blinking light. not usually a lot of lights underneath engine nacelles...

[dice=perception]1d20+6

Her hand unconsciously reaches for her saber. That better not be what I think it is...

Moroka looks more closely at the blinking LED. It seems to be a small circular device attached to the underside of the ship. It definitely does not look like part of the vessel. The LED is pulsing in a very rhythmic fashion... perhaps a tracking device?

Gotal nods to Donavaan, "We are visiting a group known as the Dim-U monks. Fore using tradition that I believe are not affiliated with the Jedi. Perhaps you shall find some enlightenment in this visit my young friend".

Gotal moves to pull a cowl over his head but then remembers he is wearing the garb of a spacer and not a Jedi. He shakes his head and starts off of the ship motioning for the others to follow.

Use the Force - Sense Force to locate the Monks 1d20+13

You reach out with the Force. You feel all the living beings good and bad in the city. You sense the structured goings-on of BoSS (Bureau of Ships and Services) and right next door you sense the mentally structured minds that you are looking for. You have an idea where to go.

You also feel the sudden attention of someone... someone sensed your presence through the force; someone dark.

"Sounds like fun," Jak says to Corven with a smirk.

They get the sled into position and then retrieve the 'water'.

"Okay, count of three. One, two -- three! Oh, wow, this sucker is heavier than it looks."

They carry the 'water' to the sled.

I'm assuming we don't need a check for this since as far as I know were not in a pressured situation.

You're correct. No check needed.

Jak and Corven get the hover sled loaded with the "water" easily enough and load in the destination into the sled's data console. From Bay 94 you have about a 20 minute drive to get to the delivery point.

[dice=perception]1d20+6

[dice=mechanics]1d20+6

Spotting the puddle under the ship, Moroka sighs, shaking her head. "And we were doing so well..."

She starts to pull out her tools, stepping under the leaking nacelle and scanning for the source. "Brand new ship and we're already leaking..."

Don't remember taking any solid hits last time we were shot at; did the manufacturer just not weld something securely?

As you look around the lower nacelle you note a small projectile hole that has nicked one of the coolant lines that was just under the nacelle housing. From the looks of it, one of those bandaged and robed beings that were firing at the Gambit on the way from Anchorhead must have gotten lucky. The damage is not bad... trivial really... but enough that you'll need to pull the line, repair the line, check the coolant for foreign objects and foreign particles, purge the coolant system and then bleed out any air... before taking off. It wouldn't do to go boom on take off. Total work time, maybe two hours if you can find the part. If you have to manufacture a replacement line, it may be more like four hours.

Interestingly, you notice a small blinking red LED just aft of the bullet hole.

So that's Moroka working on the Owl. And Gotal, Renlo and Donavaan on their "jedi" mission. That leaves Jak and Corven on water duty, unless Moroka's repairs are real quick.

GM, am I correct in assuming that the "water" has a lift so we can push it around?

You all will have to do the heavy lifting at first. The Gambit has a hover sled in the vehicle hold - so you have a "lift" but the "water" is in the cargo hold.

Moroka

You grab your tool kit and look at your operations panels and the visible components inside the vessel. Everything looks good.

You walk down the ramp and give the ship a once over paying particular attention to the engine area and you see a small puddle of liquid that has started to pool on the ground just under the aft, lower nacelle.

Please make a perception and if your going to fix it, a mechanics check. Neither are hard - DC10

GM Han Shot First wrote:

Yes, there are now Stormtroopers on Tatooine. There is a news story about "Lord Vader" but that being is not currently on Tatooine - no.That would be a cruel TPK scenario.

TPK? As if we would stay! We'd be taking our explosive gas off world and quick!

Hehe, he said explosive gas! hehehehe

GM, when you talk of this arrival, you mean on Tatooine? Like, on the planet we currently are as well? Because if the answer is yes, then my response would be gulp! :-)

Yes, there are now Stormtroopers on Tatooine. There is a news story about "Lord Vader" but that being is not currently on Tatooine - no.That would be a cruel TPK scenario.

During the half hour flight, local news shows the arrival of a Republic cruiser and a dagger shaped vessel. The shiny capital vessel makes the older republic cruiser look rather insignificant.

A local Zabrak anchor is speaking about the arrival of an Imperial presence tasked with helping keep the peace.

There is another quick snippet that shows the tall being clad in black armor and a cloak.

Gotal & Corven hear the anchor mention "Lord Vader" and the "Emperors special envoy."

There is a small snippet about "pirate activity" on the increase among the outer rim planets.

With a surge of power Jak expertly guides the Gambit off the landing pad and angles the nose skyward.

Although Mos Eisley is several hours travel by land, it is a short half hour flight through the atmosphere.

Herds of Bantha and Dewback are spotted here and there and a couple of times, beings with fully covered and bandaged heads stop and shoot at your ship; their long rifles sorely inadequate to pose any threat to the ship.

Jak calls for landing permission and is quickly given coordinates to land at the space port; docking bay 94.

Jak, make a piloting roll - DC 10 to maneuver through traffic and to safely land at Bay 94. Renlo could assist.

Moroka, you notice a slight fluctuation in the sub-light drives.

Moroka, please make a mechanics roll to identify the issue.

Donavaan, the crew is waiting on your return. Unless you are leaving the crew, I assume you are going to return at some point. I am moving this story line along - forgive the DMPC.

Donavaan crawls out of the cistern and looks around, gets his bearings and sets out on his hoverboard. A few times, he hears the calls of beasts in the distance and adjusts his course to circumnavigate the encounters... it won't do to try to face the owners of that voice alone; this planet is home to the infamous Krayt Dragon.

After about 30 minutes, he arrives back at the Owl's Gambit and pauses to look at the beautiful lines of the vessel. He is lost in his thoughts as the clambers back up the ramp... is he going to stay, can he learn from the Force spirit of the little girl? Can he stay sober long enough to make the lessons worthwhile? Can he learn to trust these people? He silently enters his room and locks the door. He needs time to think.

meanwhile on the bridge, Jak notices that Donavaan has entered the ship.

Is he able to respond? IIFC the telepathy aspect of the Force is only one way correct unless we have the improve telepathy ability or talent correct?

That is correct. You can get the "feeling" that Gotal is urging you to come back to the ship.

Do I hear the message?

Yes you sense the presence and you know who it is.

Gotal smiles at Jak, "Now you want me to use the force!

A good idea, I shall reach out to him".

Use the Force Contact Donovaan - Return to Us 1d20+13

You reach out through the Force to locate Donavaan and urge him to return to the ship.

You easily locate him off in the distance. He is located in the desert about 30 km from the ship.

So funny thing happened on the way to the bar...

I went on a golf trip with some friends, thinking the place would have free internet service. NOT.

Sorry for the unexplained absence.

I shall catch up this evening.

Calm my mind? Calm my mind?! How in the name of the Republic am I supposed to do that? I am no Jedi nor trained as one.

He kneels down. I used to see them meditate like this. and sitting crossed legged will attempt to calm his mind.

You try to relax and try to let go of everything.

Use the Force: 1d20 ⇒ 4

but you find that your mind is whirring. Perhaps you need some time to mull over what you've learned.

Jak cheerfully waves off the delivery men, closes the loading bay doors and mutters sarcastically, "Water. Right."

"Moroka, give me a hand with this package. I want to make sure we're not transporting a bomb."

"And where the hell is Donavaan? If that kid's getting wasted again, I swear..."

Jak and Moroka look over the cargo and ensure that it's locked in place. The manifest says water and some of the exterior markings indicate water. Signs on the cylinders themselves state :"Warning: Tibanna Gas, Use Caution while handling."

Tibanna Gas is used in the manufacture of blaster "ammunition." This is not for your holdout blaster or even DL-11 blaster... this is used in the manufacture of starship blasters.

Not a bomb, but something to be careful with.

The noble, recognizing the youngling as one who died at the Temple, falls to his knees and begins to weep. I tried to stop them. I tried to stop them and save you and the rest of the little ones. There were too many of them and too many of you and they didn't listen to me, They shot at me, and now the voices won't go away. They are worse. Can you help me little jedi? I don't trust those people I am with, they lied to me. They lied.

"I will help you as much as I can." The ghost glides over the ledge and seems to sit next to Donavaan. "First, you must calm your mind. YOU must calm your mind. Dimming your mind with drinks are not the same as calming. You must relax and realize that what you saw was not because of you... and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You would have only been killed too. You are alive. So use your time to help where you can."

With that the ghost winks out and you are alone looking out the star filled portal.

Before the Delivery

Jak sighed as he watched the holo. He never thought he'd ever see the day that he'd feel bad for the Jedi.

"I'm - I'm sorry for your loss," Jak said awkwardly.

"We uh, we got a small stop to make before we can hit the black. Shouldn't take us more than a couple hours on the outside. Honestly, it won't cover our gas. But I don't want to cancel and burn a possible employer. We had another job lined up after that that paid 5,000 credits. But we can apologize for that, and say we had a - I guess, family emergency or something. She won't be happy. But it shouldn't hurt us overmuch."

The Delivery

Jak buzzes them in.

He walks to the cargo door and greets the arrivals. "Afternoon. Alright, load it up."

The men push the sled up to the cargo lift and in a few minutes, the cylinders are stowed.

Dusk comes and there is a ping in the cockpit that indicates that someone has arrived with a delivery.

Jak checks them out. Four rough looking humans wearing pieces of CIS military issue gear are pushing a hover sled with 16 cylinders of "water."

One of the four stands slightly apart from his comrades and seems to be impatiently waiting for a response to his ping. He holds a data pad and as Jak looks him over from the cockpit, he punches the data pad again... obviously sending a ping again, as the signal in the Owl's cockpit chimes almost immediately after.

Upon their return to the ship, Renlo immediately makes for the galley, where he pours himself a glass of water and drinks it in one go, then pours himself another. "I hate being out there for too long. Dries me up."

Gotal, Renlo, Jak, Corven and Moroka

You are all back on the Owl's Gambit recovering from your exposure to the brutal twin suns of this dust ball. As the five of you sit around the lounge drinking water, talking about your various excursions and waiting for the "water" delivery to show up this evening a familiar face comes across the holonet news.

"This is Angeel Bertrand with your Imperial update." The beautiful news person smiles as her image shifts to the lower left corner of the display and a small inset video clip becomes visible in the upper right corner. The video of spooling in the inset shows a pitched space battle between the forces of Toonbuck Toora and the latest Imperial Navy Admiral to attempt to end the lingering CIS holdout. It is clear from the video that the Imperials are throwing a massive amount of firepower at the droid battle wagons. Angeel is describing the Imperial victory and the destruction of Toora and her allies. At the end of the clip she pauses and changes the inflection in her voice.

"As the Imperial navy concluded its victory over the former Sy Myrthian senator Toonbuck Toora and her allies, clear evidence of collusion with the outlawed Jedi order was discovered."

Another video clip shows a pitched light saber duel between a tall black armored being wielding a red light saber and a significantly smaller human female wearing Correllian clothing and bearing a green bladed light saber.

Gotal gasps... "Jedi Daco!"

The name no more than leaves Gotal's mouth than the black clad being plunges his crimson blade through the torso of the young Jedi.

Angeel continues with a more serious tone. "The Emperor was quick to note the clear evidence that the Jedi continue to try to destabilize the Empire in today's speech to the Senate."

The inset shifts to a glorious image of the Emperor speaking to the Senate and mentioning that the Jedi could not be allowed to stop the peace and prosperity that the Empire was striving for.

I dont think I have one listed. Can I attempt to reach out with his new found abilities to see if there are other minds here?

As you relax and try to reach out with your mind, a dim light pushes through the wall and stops in front of you.

You open your eyes and see the small girl floating in front of you.

As if your eyes have been opened, you recognize the ghost... she was at the temple! best if you play that one out

She drift closer and seems to reach into your head.

"You were there." The young Twi'lek states. "But you did not participate."[b]

[b]"You are guilty of inaction... however, I you have a gift to make things right and I am to be your guide for the next while."

The apparition pauses again and seems to be thinking or perhaps judging you.

"Now, you must get back to your companions and work with them to bring balance to the Force. This may not happen in your time, but you must play your part."

With that, the door to the cistern "whooshes" open and the dark of night can be seen. As you exit, there is no sign of the bandaged head beings you saw when you entered.

He will sigh with relief and look around.

You can not see anything. It is pitch black. You can feel the ledge you are on and you can feel the sloped passage you just came down.

WHOOOT WHOOOT!!!

1000 IC POSTS!

We've been on this journey for 4.5 months and we've posted 1000 times.

BRAVO!!!

"Can you have the shipment brought to our hangar, or do we escort it from here?" Jak asks politely.

"I'll have the "water" delivered to your hangar. Where is your ship parked?" Stigs replies.

Well, that's a relief. We made a great choice in coming here.

After copying the coordinates down, Renlo said, "Okay, we've got what we came for. Let's head back to the ship."

Paying the fee for the use of the facilities, and thanking the Duros for his time, Renlo and Gotal will return to the ship to await the others.

How much will we owe for the time it took? Since Gotal said he'd be out of town and to RP him as necessary, I'm just NPCing him back to the ship with me.

The fee will be 10 credits

He will try.

Donavaan slides himself down the passageway and onto a one meter ledge that goes around the perimeter of what looks like a circular room. Given that the only light is coming through the portal you just entered, you can not see the opposite side nor the bottom of the room. You turn and attempt to will the door closed behind you.

UseTheForce: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Again, you feel the unfamiliar feeling of your mind expanding outward and you wish that the portal would close... and it does.

The angry bellows of from above quieten and the door slides into place and you are alone.

GM Han Shot First wrote:

Renlo, Corven & Jak

Stigs leans forward in her chair. "My client needs a shipment of tibanna gas... no questions asked. Should be straight forward. Stay away from scrutiny, make it back here tomorrow and the money is yours." She leans back again. "Word has it that the Empire is thinking of putting a garrison dirtside; so mind your manners if you know what's good for you."

"Ma'am, we will be the very model of upstanding imperial citizenry."

He gives Stigs a confident smile.

GM, is Mos Eisley speeder distance, or do we need to hop onto the ship?

The ship would obviously be faster, but you can make it by speeder in roughly 10 hours.

"It does not sound like it will be much trouble, yes," Corven agrees, though stressing that particular word does hint at having a little bit of doubt. Perhaps seeing what it is they are tasked with delivering will put those doubts to rest. Then again, perhaps not.

Renlo, Corven & Jak

Stigs leans forward in her chair. "My client needs a shipment of tibanna gas... no questions asked. Should be straight forward. Stay away from scrutiny, make it back here tomorrow and the money is yours." She leans back again. "Word has it that the Empire is thinking of putting a garrison dirtside; so mind your manners if you know what's good for you."

Renlo copied the data into his data pad so they could take it back to the ship.

[dice=Use Computer]1d20+8+1d6

Wow...screw you too, dice.

[ooc]Luckily Renlo, you are using some of the best equipment on the planet... so your DC was 10. You accomplish your goal

Can I enter it with my board and supplies and then think it closed?

You can easily fit with your board and supplies. As your eyes adjust, it looks something like a cistern. The "thinking it closed" again - you won't know until you try.

Jak nods.

"Sounds intersting, indeed, Ma'am. Of course, in the name of good faith, I should tell you now that the crew of the Owl operates as a consortium, so I will need to present this offer to the other members, before we can give you a definitive answer. Say, a couple hours? Also, it would help if we knew what we were transporting so that we could make any necessary precautions to assure its safety."

"Of course." Stigs remarks.

Pereception 1d20+6

Thinking to himself, what in the galaxy was that all about? I have never experienced anything like that even in my wildest bacchanals. The pain in my head subsided for a bit when the animal and the girl reached out to me. I wonder if the water was laced with anything.

You become aware of your surroundings again. The two bandage headed beings are near you. One to the front right and one behind you. The rack walled passage under the door is dark, except the light cast roughly arms length from the twin suns above. The passage goes farther than you can see. It angles down under the tail bone of the skeleton above... which would seem to indicate the the skeleton was purposefully placed here OR the space below was dug after the skeleton came to rest here.

Taking out his datapad, Renlo copies down the coordinates so that they can enter them into the navcomputer back on the ship.

Do I need to make a check?

You should make a Use Comp check

Thinking to himself, Does she want me to open this thing up with my mind? I can't read thoughts. I don't think it hurts to try though.

He will begin to concentrate his fingers on his temples and his eyes closing wishing the door to open with his thoughts.

You close your eyes and start to concentrate. The apparition reaches out and touches the back of your neck. You feel an icy tingle and a prickle along your spine. There are small firework like sparks that go off behind your eyes and your equilibrium shifts rapidly; nearly causing you to keel over.

Before long, you can sense the door and its guardian.

The guardian lurches through your minds eye and snarls at you.

UseTheForce: 1d20 ⇒ 17

You recoil from the beasts fangs as it's bite stops just shy of your face and you fall backwards onto your butt.

The beast seems to sense your presence through the Force. It's visage softens and changes from ferocious beast to gentle guide beast. It turns it's head and places a clawed appendage on an unseen icon on the door.

With a whoosh, the door unseals and pivots away from a concealed hallway.

Your vision clears and you are alone.

From behind you, you hear a growling roar. It is answered by another one from in front and to the right of you.

GM Han Shot First wrote:

Stigs looks at the crew.

"Name of your ship?" She motions to the seats arranged in a rough semi-circle around her table. "and is it clean?"

Please make a perception check. If you have Knowledge (Tactics), you can make that instead - for an easier success.

[dice=K. Tactics]1d20+7

"Ship's called The Owl's Gambit - and she's a wise bet to make. As for its cleanliness, I'll have you know that my Mama raised me right, and that ship is spotless inside. You could eat off the floor where you so inclined."

Jak smiles pleasantly.

"Of course, you probably mean the other thing. As far as I know the Republic -- pardon, the Empire isn't particularly interested in our boat. And I'd be very happy to keep it that way. Discretion is a good trait to have in a business partner."

[dice=Deception]1d20+7

Stigs nods at Jaks attempt at humor. "I hope you can keep that sense of humor about you. The galaxy's changing... and not for the better."

She adjusts her seat slightly. "If you're clean and do a good job, there's more work. If you're not... the Imperials will make you pay." She pauses for emphasis; her one eye boring into each of you.

"I need a quick courier run to Beggar's Moon. Done without notice and I'm willing to pay five thousand credits. Sound interesting?"

Gotal closes his eyes and reaches out through the Force in conjunction with Renlo's Astronavigation to locate the intended rendezvous point.

Use the Force + Force Point 1d20+13+1d6

Renlo & Gotal

Renlo's hands manipulate the controls with ease after a few minutes of familiarization. Gotal calms himself and stretches his mind out to machine and the artificial intelligence behind the controls. Sensing, rather than seeing Gotal directs Renlo to adjust the resolution this way and that; slowing magnifying the sectors and reducing the size of the galaxy. A few minutes more and the two comrades are staring at a seeming dead point in space. There is a star present, but according to all scouting information there are no inhabitable planets in the system.

Gotal retreats from the Force and focuses his eyes. Renlo looks at his colleague; slightly skeptical. "Are you sure?"

Gotal slowly nods. "Trust in the Force. This is our destination."

You now have the coordinates... but, you need to get them to your ship and into the navcomputer.

He is going to act as if he did not see them and try to open the door, he will have his pistol in easily grabbed range just in case.

You rake sand away from the portal looking for a mechanism. As you clear the sand it becomes clear that the portal is round and does not seem to have a hinge.

Your sweat drips onto the edge of the cover and you quickly tire under the baking sun. As your thoughts start to drift, swirling with questions about how to open this door, what could be concealed underneath, why would you ignore the dangerous predators that are circling behind you, etc. a small transparent hand comes into your vision and startles you. The little girl from before is kneeling near you. She tries to talk with you but again there is no sound.

She reaches up to her head, cups the sides of her head, and then rapidly pulls them away and towards the portal. She repeats this two more times and then stares at you for a few more moments as she becomes more and more incorporeal... fading into nothing.

I am curious which polymorph spell I would use to turn in to a Wyvern.

A Wyvern is not a chromatic or metallic dragon, so that spell is out. Is there another spell out there that covers just a dragon of no other type like a wyvern is?

I am playing a Barbarian/Wizard (transmog-polymorph) And I am Level 5 (2/3) with no more barbarian levels coming. Before I start setting my feat path, I really want to make the Silver shoanti warpaint (+3 deflection bonus to AC) which requires I have the spell Shield of Faith.

of course, being a wizard I will not get that spell. What I am hoping for is a way to be able to get that spell on my wizard spell list without taking a level in cleric/oracle or any other divine spell casting class. (perhaps a feat?)

And before the recommendations come in, I would like to try to do this without using UMD on a shield of faith wand, cooperative crafting, or any other means by which I will have to rely on a device or npc/pc. Also, no divine casting class dip.

I just want to make sure I did a thorough search because I found no other way to get that without dipping into another class or one of the other options I mentioned above.

Thank you for your replies in advance, and I do not want anyone doing a long search to answer me. I have done that already and I am hoping someone might know of a way I missed.

CC

In the description of the power it states that it can be used once per round without invoking attacks of opportunity.

In most of the other rage powers, there is a sentence that states "While raging..."

That "while raging" is not stated in the Knockback power description. Am I to assume that it can only be done while raging? Or is this power able to be used 1/round outside of raging?

Thank you in advance.

CC

What is the curse that is bestowed as part of this new marking? Is it like a Bestow Curse Spell? I can not find out what this additional curse is. Please direct me to the page#. I read the entire archetype and could find nothing on it.

description: A fiendbound marauder’s armiger’s mark is tainted by his eldritch power, causing marked creatures to also become cursed for the duration of the mark. The mark is now a supernatural ability, but otherwise functions as the armiger’s mark class feature. The fiendbound marauder can use feats and abilities that require or alter the armiger’s mark class feature as normal.

Thanks in advance.

CC

I looked at the old 2010 thread on this and really didn't see anything there that came close to my idea of a half-dryad. I admit to looking at the wiki page for the 3.5 version and that is way to powerful. So I decided to make this. Please give me any suggestions/recommendations!

Name: Half-Dryad (11 total Racial Points)

Half-Dryads have weaker ties to the forest, and as such are more closely related to their human parent than their dryad one. They more closely resemble their paternal race than their mother's. By most standards they appear to be a child of normal birth. But the half-dryad's fey heritage always shows in one obvious detail, their hair. A half-dryad's hair changes with the seasons, in the spring and summer their hair comes in mixed shades of green, in the fall and winter their hair changes a varied blend of blonde, brown, and red. Leaves and flowers from their mother's root tree occasionally grow within a half-dryad's hair, for some it is mixed in among the strands of hair, for others it spreads to become foliage, their hair closely resembling a mass of verdant vines.

Type (2rp): Fey

Senses (0rp): Lowlight Vision – a part of the fey type

Size (0rp): Medium

Movement (0rp): 30ft – normal for medium creatures

Ability Score Mods (0rp): Standard - +2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Str

Linguist (1rp): Start with Common and Sylvan languages and can learn any language with a high int score (except druidic).

Wilderness Skilled (2rp): Half-Dryads gain a +2 racial bonus to Survival and Knowledge (Nature)

Hydrated Vitality (2 RP): Prerequisite: Outsider (native) with ties to the Plane of Water, fey type, or plant type; Benefit: Members of this race gain fast healing 2 for 1 round anytime they submerge completely within a body of natural fresh water or brackish water. Stagnant, poisoned, or trapped water (such as water within an artificial pit or a bag of holding) does not activate this ability. Members of this race can heal up to 2 hit points per level per day with this ability, after which it ceases to function.

Camouflage (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while within the forest terrain type.

Stability (1 RP): Benefit: Members of this race receive a +4 racial bonus to their CMD when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while standing on the ground.

Wood Weapon Skill (4rp): half-dryad begins play with proficiency in any 2 weapons made out of wood (such as quarterstaffs, clubs and bows). In addition, Half Dryads get a +1 to hit and +1 damage from any wooden weapons they use.

Tree-speech (1 RP): Members of this race have the ability to converse with only trees as if subject to a continual speak with plants spell

Civaphobia(-1rp): Half-Dryads feel most comfortable in places that have some respect for the land and are not civilized. When within the immediate area of a settlement of a size of Small Town or larger (Over 200 people) the Half-Dryad has a -2 racial penalty on all Cha based checks.

Voice of the Earth (Ex) (-2rp): Half-Dryads retain some ties to the forest, if not much. If a half-dryad enters a zone where the ground is "poisoned" somehow (by chemical leaks, drought, lingering magical effects like blight, etc.), they must make a DC 25 Fortitude save or be sickened until they leave the zone.

For the first level bloodline power (Wall of Darkness) there is no statement on what type of action is required to activate the power.

I need to know if it is a swift/move/standard action.

It seems all the attack type 1st level powers are a standard action or part of a melee or ranged attack (which is a standard action), but most of the other powers that do not involve an attack are anything but standard actions.

Please let me know.

Thanks, CC

I am playing a Sea Singer Bard and want to increase the range of some of my 30ft. ranged Sea Songs. I could not find any feats that increased the range.

Does anyone know where I might find those feats or if they even exist?

My question is, do I use my full BAB? Are there two weapon fighting penalties? and what is the range increment?

I have nothing to go on from this description...

THROWING SHIELD:
Benefit: You can throw the shield as a free action. Neither a shield’s enhancement bonus to AC nor its shield spikes apply to your attack or damage rolls.

Restriction: Tower shields cannot be throwing shields.

I know the spell was written well before the gunslinger was created, but it does state 50 projectiles (which are bullets).

It is vague enough not to be clear and I would love some verification.

Thank you.

As a 6th lvl caster, I could affect (6) small, or (3) medium, or (1) large piece of wood. Being Mythic, I could use my ability to cast the spell @ +2 caster level, so I could technically warp a Huge piece of wood. What would the size of a Keel be on a Colossal sized ship? Specifically one that is 60ft (12)squares in length.

Since I have no technical knowledge of ships, I am unsure if the Keel is made of several large (or smaller sized) pieces of wood, or if it is all one piece.

I think everyone can figure out what I am trying to do (sink a ship), and I need to know if this is even possible with this spell, or would I have to cast it numerous times to get the keel warped enough to make a ship go down.

Thanks for your input in advance.

Can you please remove the Pathfinder roleplaying game subscription from my subscription list please? I am not wanting to get the Monster Codex.

Thank you very much.

CC

Hello Sara Marie,

First off, thanks for everything you did for me concerning that graduation present with the Core RB. You have one happy graduate that is now starting a pathfinder game @ Trinity university in San Antonio Tx. So more people getting their feet wet in PF.

But I just added Order 3272854 to my subscriptions and I didn't want it to ship until my next set of subscriptions was ready to go out.(in Sept)

Could you make that happen for me?

Also, is there a way to combine shipments manually rather than asking in the forums? If there is I would appreciate you telling me where that interface is on the website. It used to be so easy and now I cant find it.

Thanks in advance,

CC

Hey Sara Marie,

I noticed that my shipment was suspended and not pending. What happened here? This was the one that had the special request we had been emailing each other about.

please fill me in on what is up when you have time. Feel free to email.

Thanks, Curt

Lets say you are a wizard that is grappled and you cast a shocking grasp while grappled. you obviously succeed at your concentration check to get it cast.

page 185-186 of the CRB states that the spell goes off even on an accidental touch by anyone once the spell is held.

It is at this point that my question is pertinent. In the CRB the wording of holding a spell states that once a melee touch spell is cast, if it is not discharged on that same round, the caster can hold it.

So does the shocking grasp go off on the initiative right after my wizard's turn is over? Does it wait to go off on the grappler's initiative? Does it not go off on my next turn or is it an immediate discharge with no melee touch required?

Thanks in advance

Just mentioning that the link to my purchase of bestiary 4 is not available.

My order number is: 3151960

Thanks in advance

I would like to cancel that part of my subscriptions please. Thanks in advance.

I cant seem to find out how to add two pending shipments together so there is only 1 shipment.

My orders 3121832 & 3151960 are both in pending mode. Can I get you guys to combine them so there is only one shipment? And more importantly, where is that option now? It didn't seem to be in the same place. (of course, I haven't done that in almost 18 months.)

Thanks in advance.

I am considering playing an Elan Fighter Ninja and going down the feat path in Lords of Madness (the aberration blood feats).

One of the feats is called WATERSPAWN which does this..

Benefit: You gain a Swim speed equal to your land speed.
This also grants you a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks, the
ability to take 10 on any Swim check, and the ability to use
the run action while swimming.
You gain resistance to cold 5. You can breathe air and water
with equal ease.

What I need to know is if swimming comes into play during the adventure at all or would this be a wasted feat? I do not care about water breathing if there will be no adventuring in the water.

(and yes, I am taking the aberration feats to give the character some flavor and to get a few extra power points from...)

WARPED MIND:
Benefit: You gain a racial bonus on Will saves against mind affecting
spells and abilities equal to one-half the number of aberrant feats you possess.
You gain 1 psionic power point for each aberrant feat you
possess.

I would appreciate this. Leave all other subscriptions the same.

For those not familiar with the feat
Spell Perfection:
Benefit: Pick one spell which you have the ability to
cast. Whenever you cast that spell you may apply any one
metamagic feat you have to that spell without affecting its
level or casting time, as long as the total modified level
of the spell does not use a spell slot above 9th level. In
addition, if you have other feats which allow you to apply
a set numerical bonus to any aspect of this spell (such as
Spell Focus, Spell Penetration, Weapon Focus [ray], and so
on), double the bonus granted by that feat when applied to
this spell.

First off, This is for my wizard15 evocation specialist:

Can I memorize a Piercing Lightning bolt in a 4th level slot (piercing =Affected spell treats creatures with SR as having
an SR of 5 lower).

Then cast it on my turn, applying the spell perfection feat to it.

Does this application of Spell perfection make the sr 10 lower since the metamagic feat piercing was already applied in the 4ht level slot?

I had just re-signed up for the adventure path and campaign subscriptions.

I chose the Ultimate campaign as the starting point of my campaign subscription, yet, in my side cart, all I see is the mythic adventures and nothing to do with the ultimate campaign.

Please let me know what happened here. I was very careful to make sure I chose the ultimate campaign as the starting point of my new subscription.

Am I just missing something?

I did not see the ultimate campaign in my downloads, so I know something is up.

Please advise.

Spoiler Alert to any who have not played the Wake of the Watcher.

Greetings everyone,

My group just got done kicking the crap out of the Vicar and his 10 lower level minions in the Temple of Gozreh in Illmarsh and I had to let everyone know about it.

our group:
Cornellius: Dhampir Crusader (me)
Crolimar: Gnome Alchemist
Illona: Human Witch (Female)
Y'lderick: Human Inquisitor
Kate: Human Ranger (female)
Cassomyr: Elf Rogue (hehe)

First off, we snuck in (or thought we were) and got into the second open area where there is a door to the far left and another to the far right. through the open 10ft wide pathway in the middle, we see 5 clerics bowed down in worship. We already know these guys are worshipping Dagon, and are responsible for the disappearance of a dozen citizens. So, we begin our stealthy approach and I, the pretty decently quiet Crusader alerts them with a 20 stealth roll. Gotta love that, but in the ensuing melee, our Naginata wielding Ranger is guarding the right door (which she defended vs. 3 of the 3/3 cleric rogues), and our alchemist is bombing the hell out of the left side with poisonous vapor bombs that drain wisdom (which had another 2 of the 3/3 cleric rogues and the main cleric boss). That leaves me, our rogue, and our inquisitor to defend and crush the middle.

And oh how we crushed them...

Being a Crusader 7 / Oracle 1 / Ustalavan Knight 1 (the red ruby knight PrC from BoNS), I had just received the Island of Blades stance, and me and our rogue walked through those 3/3 cleric rogues like the were butter and we were the hot knives. I wont go into huge detail, but for those that know the BoNS, my crusader has the Manuevers - White Raven Tactics and Divine Surge. So through out the melee, our rogue would get his sneak attack on any enemy I was adjacent to (thanks to the island of blades stance), and on the Scion of the Sea-(divine guardian Chuul) and the Main cleric, I was able to let the rogue get his full attack, use white raven on him, use my divine surge, then the rogue would get another full attack on the initiative right after me. Since this battle was 16 rounds, I was able to go through my 5 maneuvers 3 times, which was devastating to the rogue/clerics we were fighting.

I mean, once I got my white raven tactics back, I would delay till after our rogue did his full attack, then use it so he would go after me again, and thus, set up 3 opportunities for the rogue to get 4 attacks @ 5d6 sneak damage each.

Of course, he didn't hit every time, but he got two hits twice and 3 hits once, so it was truly deadly, especially against the Scion, which almost killed two other team members. (It had a dislike for the alchemist who poisoned almost every cleric in the place, with 4 of the ten receiving -5 wis, and another 2 getting -3 wis.)

Lets just say we were not being pelted by spells during most of the battle.

I will say that near the end of the fight, when only the main cleric stood, that it did get a nasty command spell off on our witch, and she had to cast her Cloud Kill spell on me and the inquisitor. He succeeded on his save (whew! it was close) and I rolled a natural 20 on mine, so I was good. But other than that, the only real threat was to our alchemist who stood at -4hp on the scions tenticles, and to the inquisitor, who was under 20hp.

It was one of the best fights I had been in in recent memory, and if I had not pulled a white raven out of my ass on the Scion, our poor alchemist would have awakened in the realm of Dagon, screaming from being violated in the worst possible ways...

About 3 months ago I was digging around on the internet and came across a 3rd party feat that gives +1d6 to the channel energy heal/damage. You can only take it once (at least, that is what I remember).

Now I can not find it again. After looking for the last week, I have decided to ask the community.

Does anyone know where this feat was published? Or am I having delusions of such a feat existing?

Thanks in advance.

CC

Thanks in advance guys (Sara or Cosmo)

Can I have the 1x Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Shattered Star Poster Map Folio, $16.99 taken off my January order?

Or do I have to drop the entire Campaign Setting subsciption for January and order the Irrisen—Land of Eternal Winter (PFRPG), $16.99 seperately in Feb?

Please let me know. I hate stopping and starting subscriptions for this reason. Has anything come up in your ordering process that would help me not to have to do this anymore?

Thanks in advance,

CC

I am curious if this trait concept is right on power level. It is based off the Practiced Spellcaster feat from 3.5.

My question is, would any DM accept this trait in their game? And if not, please explain why. If you would accept it, I would love the reasoning for this as well.

Please refrain from comments stating that you would not allow a BoNS character in your pathfinder campaign. This is not the question I need answered. :D TY.

Trait Name: Martial Minded
Benefit: Your Initiator level for the selected non-martial class (any class not Crusader/Swordsage/Warblade) increases by 2. The character's initiator level can never exceed his hit dice. Example, if a (fighter 2 / Crusader 2) took this trait, the initiator level for this character would be 4, not 3. A character with more than one non-martial class must select which one will recieve the benefit of this trait. It is also possible to not fully benefit from this trait when it is initially taken. In the example above, when the character reached 4th level fighter, he would gain the last of the benefits from this trait.
Normal: Your Initiator Level is equal to 1/2 your character level with all non-martial classes (classes that do not provide access to martial manuevers).

Greetings,

I recently added a hard cover copy of Ultimate Magic to replace my previous one. However, I noticed I was also charged for a Ultimate Magic PDF when I already had one.

Order 2060814 shows this.

I am not sure what happened here, because I know I only added the hard bound copy to my order. Why would I order a second pdf when I recieved it for free with my subscription last year?

I would like this charge added as credit towards my next subscription order please.

Thanks in advance.

CC

This is for discussion outside the "in-game" posts. I will constantly monitor this site.

This is the continuation of a campaign started over a year ago but due to job issues and personal events, our group had to split up on the verge of entering the House of the beast.

This is our attempt at finishing that campaign since we all fell in love with our characters and didnt want to see this end in such a way.

I am posting in several installments the emails that were sent over the last year so that our stories are always present and readilly available for review.

My name is Curtis Sheldon, and I am the DM of this campaign. Invites have been set out to all the players. I look forward to this and will review the rules for running this campaign this way.

Thanks again to all my players, and I hope this works out for us all.

CC

Please cancel all my subscriptions and the order that is about to ship to me.

I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, CC

Customer Service,

Could you please cancel all my subscriptions but the Adventure Path and Roleplaying Game subscriptions?

Thanks in advance

CC

Ok, looks like things are getting started quicker than I thought. We just started LoF yesterday, about 6 months earlier than I thought we would, so things changed real fast.

As I cant edit the first post (for some reason). I will post the changes in the characters now, but thank goodness we are not doing an all small pc group. :D

Players and their characters: (here we have the PC’s)

Keil Hubert is playing Darvah Raff ibn Kazuma. We all call him Little Fox since that is his nickname. He is a CG male Dustwalker Elf Swordsage.

Morgan Hubert is playing Theradon, a LE male Div Tiefling Cavalier.

Austin Hubert is playing Theron, a LE male whisper Gnome Scout.

Monica Sheldon (since we started earlier than expected) is playing Rajah , a N Female Human Wizard.

Jon Cunningham is playing Talib Saalim, a N male Human Druid.

Backgrounds will be revealed throughout the journal as we reveal what happens to the heroes in Solku and beyond.

Next post will start the Journal.

I am failing to find such an entry. Is it something I have to make myself using the monster creation rules?

I would take a 3.0 or 3.5 old Wotc source book entry if its out thee.

Thanks in advance.

CC

Thanks to everyone at Paizo, especially the customer service department for handling my Core Rule Book shipping issue from Oct 2009.

After patiently waiting for that book, I was rewarded with the Entire Paizo Staff Signing the front page.

Erik Mona telling me to kill lots of Goblins, Jason Bulmahn giving me a CL18 Limited wish, F. Wesley, Sean K, Rob McCreary, James Sutter, Vic Wertz, Joshua J, James Jacobs and others I could not recognize...

Even Cozmo imprinted his sig at the bottom of the page.

Its to bad it took me 3 days to find this treasure.

However, I might have to Use Jason Bulmahn's Limited wish sooner than I thought. My gaming group is threatening to string me up by the... well, basically they want to lynch me and steal the book.

So thanks Paizo for that wonderful Surprise. I dont have to hunt anyone down at the convention now. hehe.

Curt

Although I still want to meet the lot of you.

Greetings everyone,

I got an email confirming my subscriptions (all but the new chronicles items I subscribed to on March 10) in my monthly shipment.

I did, however, get the chimera cove order in the shipment and I placed that one on the 12th of March.

I was hoping to get (1) shipment for everything but it looks like it will be seperated in two.

Can you let me know what happened?

The products that didnt get shipped were:

Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms (PFRPG) Print Edition

Pathfinder Chronicles: Council of Thieves Map Folio Print Edition

Pathfinder Chronicles: NPC Guide (PFRPG) Print Edition

Thanks in advance.

CC

It says it was shipped on the 15th. I still have not received it. I usually get this in 5 business days. It is going on 8 now.

Just want to make sure nothing happened here. Shipping address is correct in the order history.

Thanks, Curtis

I am hoping I can get an answer on using Golarion (campaign seeting) in my writing. I know that anything I write using FR material is basically the property of WoTC. Is it the same for Paizo?

First off, allow me to say I am writing for my own personal growth, not to make money or publish at this time. I am still in college and will have several projects over the next year that I could use the background information from the campaign setting to place my creative writing in.

What are the policies regarding the use of your material.

And I did not know which forum to place this request in, so please excuse that.

Thanks,

CC

I have been a subscriber for some time, and noticed I did not get my Players guide for LEgacy of Fire for free.

Is there a reason for this? My good buddy, who has been a subscriber since Dragon and Dungeon's licences were revoked, also didnt get it for free.

So I know there is a problem here.

Could I be updated with why this is?

Thanks, CC

Being a hopeless Kung-Fu theater lover, I have to ask if anyone has tried to use their characters long braided hair, with poisoned hairpins in it, as an attack (like a bladed scarf)?

I know there was a recent movie with Jackie Chan and Jet Li that had a lady in it with 5ft long braided hair using it like a whip.

I am curious if there are any rules for something like that in print somewhere, or if I have to work it in by my own imagination...

I would love feedback for possible rules to support this kind of attack option.

Thanks,

CC

I find it quite interesting how posters respond to certain individuals on this message board.

(this is not a rant, just an observation that makes me chuckle inside)

Example: I have seen some awsome character concepts, expanded history details in golarion, magic items, genie alternatives, some great fantasy writing, Artwork, research, and provocative monsters.

However, if your name is not Yoda8myhead, KaeYoss, or one of these individuals that has been around for some time, or a part of the famous Paizo staff, very little feedback is offered.

If this pool of individuals has nothing to say about your post, very few others do.

I have seen some stuff in these past threads that I like more than anything I have read from Elaine Cunningham, but, because she is a well known writer, people flock to her as if she is a godsend to fantasy literature.

Perhaps it is a brush with fame... a need for people to say to their friends, "Holy crap! Elaine Cunningham and Wolfgang Baur responded to my post! They know me!"

I find this all quite amusing and was curious if this thought is shared by others, and if your posting in this forum is dictated by the participation of those who are "well known".

Could a newcomer tweak your creativity? Or will it take a post from F. Wesley Schneider or Eric Bona to do that?

just curious...

I am hoping there are a few individuals that love character creation and would like to help me tweak this concept for a beta-version bard for the Rise of the Runelords AP.

I will be as concise as possible.

General Idea: I want to play a character that has finished a career in the Coins District Token Guards in Absolom. Everything that has kept him in Absolom all these years; children, wife, and career are all gone. Children moved away to Varisia, the mother’s homeland, wife passed away, and 26 years in the coins guard was enough for anyone. So, my character sails to Magnimar from Absolom on his final life quest: To die a hero through force of arms, something he never was able to accomplish in Absolom during his tour of duty. He had wanted to be a part of the Azlanti Keep’s city guard, but his ties to the thieves guild kept such a promotion from happening. This character ended up being in charge of training new recruits for the coins guard, thus, this character has the “military drill sergeant” theme

Base character Game mechanics: Attribute modification for being Middle Aged (46 year old human), and the Rich parents trait modified to represent his savings for a career already completed (+900gp starting). I have not decided on my second character trait.

Class Progression: Bard to Level 7, (1) level of War Weaver, then Lyric Theurge for (7) levels.

Bard: Perform skills are based off Full Metal Jacket’s drill sergeant, so Oratory and Storytelling will be my only perform skills (of course, I will have Weapon Drill as a perform skill for obvious reasons). This character will not be able to sing or play an instrument. Inspire Courage is the main power focus of this bard, with alternate class features from the Complete Champion such as Hymn of Fortification and Healing Hymn rounding out the first three levels perfectly. Picture this guy in the face of the cleric, “pumping up” his adrenaline with a few chosen words before he heals, and then the cleric pushing out some fantastic healing. +1pt per rank in perform? Oh yea! And the second part of the Healing hymn goes along perfectly with the “before we go to bed” speech, prepping the group for a hard day of battle in the morning, allowing a double nights rest of healing and recovery in an 8 hour period. Very nice.

Lyric Theurge: From the complete Mage. This prestige class allows for my bardic music uses to keep increasing every level, and at the same time, gives a few extra spells and spell slots so I can round out my military spell selection with spells from the Sorcerer/wizard spell list. Spells that enhance my allies abilities and others that shape the battlefield will be reserved for these select spell slots. Also, my sonic spells increase in potency with this PrC.

War Weaver: With my military background, I can see this very basic power manifesting in my bard. Creating a web of magic that allows for pre-battle buff spells to be cast once and they affect every ally in the group. This simulates my drill sergeant’s awesome motivation skills by a simple speech. If you picture Full Metal Jacket when the drill sergeant finds the jelly donut of Pyle, the screw up recruit, you will see a follow up speech by him to the group of marines that were Pyles classmates. Well, they (the other marines) had to do pushups while pyle ate the donut. If that had been my bard in there, those marine recruits would have received cats grace so they could sneak up on pyle that night and kick the crap out of him. That’s what I am thinking here…

Spell Selection and Feats: Here is where the character is so different than other bards that I have seen and read about. For my feats, I will be taking:

1st Character: Extra bardic song

1st Human: Extra bardic song

3rd Character: Melodic Casting (required for Lyric Theurge – Comp Mage)

5th Character: Extra bardic song

7th Character: Lyric Spell (Comp Adventurer)

9th Character: Extra bardic song

I want to stop there as these feats define this character. As you can see, with this array of feats, I am building my song count so by 9th level, I will have a total of 25 uses per day of my bardic song. The Lyric spell feat allows me to use my bardic song for casting spells. If I wanted to cast a 2nd level spell, that would cost me (1) bardic song use per level of the spell +1. In this case, that 2nd level spell would cost me 3 bardic music uses.

Spell Choices: I am only going to 3rd level here for discussion.

0: level – Lullaby, Stick

1st: level – Inspirational Boost, Sleep, Improvisation, Phantom Threat, Cure Lt.

2nd: level – Iron Silence, Sonic Weapon, Tactical Precision, Spymasters Coin, Cure Mod

3rd: level – Allegro, Hymn of Praise, Harmonic Chorus, Nightmare Terrain, Listening Coin, Cure Serious.

Spell Themes:

Infiltration / Gather Information: Based off Coins experience in Absolom

Lullaby: makes sneaking around others much easier, and, if a sleep spell is cast on someone affected by lullaby, they get a -5 on their will save.

Stick: glue small objects to surfaces. With the spymaster’s coin and listening coin, I will be able to eavesdrop on unsuspecting people and gather information I might not otherwise be able to get.

Iron Silence: Allows for me to make my armored friends have no armor check penalty on most medium armors and all light armors. It also lessens the penalties on heavy armors.

Improvisation: A spell that grants a pool of points to use on any d20 roll at any time (similar to action points).

Battefield Spells: Based off experience in Absolom and books read on tactics and rules of war.

Inspirational Boost: Makes my Inspire Courage ability have an extra +1 to all bonuses. (swift action spell as well)

Tactical Precision: +2 to hit and +1d6 damage against flanked foes. Which, I will also use the 1st level spell Phantom Threat to produce flanking as needed.

Allegro: +30ft. movement for 1min/level. There is so much this can help with, but the theme behind it comes from the long 5mi. runs most drill sergeants take their trainees through. My characters inspiration will bring my men to new feats of speed and endurance.

Nightmare Terrain: To shape the battlefield in my enemies mind. Nothing is more intimidating than a cussing nasty tempered drill sergeant scaring the crap out of people, especially when he knows they are scared, and makes things on the field of battle (in their own minds) rise up against them.

Hymn of Praise / Harmonic Chorus: These spells up the caster level of good Divine casters and arcane spell casters by +2. Very nice.

Sonic Weapon: This is the one "out of place" spell for this character. I would love if someone could help me figure out a way to weave this on in to my spells known list from the information I gave above. I have not decided if I am going to want to be a secondary melee combatant, or be ranged. If melee, then this is easilly decided upon. But mainly, this will be one of my last bard 2nd level spells known that comes at 9th or 10th level. This spell, once I get 5th level Lyric theurge, does 3d6 extra sonic damage. A very nice addition to any weapon I or my allies use.

I would love feedback on this along with any suggestions that fit this character’s theme.

Thanks in advance everyone.

CC

I had played (briefly) a hell bred crusader in FR before our group disbanded and I started playing PF.

I really liked the concept of playing a female priest of Tiamat (or, insert evil god / devil here) that was responsible for the turning of souls to Lawful Evil so that she could have a higher place serving Tiamat in the afterlife from all the soul power she provided.

I had her come back as a male crusader since she recanted at the last moment before her death when she was betrayed by Tiamat.

She hated men as the female priest, and they were her #1 targets for corruption. So coming back as a male was a no brainer.

Does a character like this have a basis in Golarion. (I know the gods are different and all, so I am not asking about that). I am rather seeking confirmation that this could happen in Cheliax and if the designers had envisioned the helbred when conceptualizing and fleshing out Cheliax.

It seems that the pact powers from the Book of Tyrants is what is concentrated on more than the cultivating of souls.

Please, I would love some direction here. I definately want this crusader to be Golarion and not FR in flavor. Thanks, CC