As the title suggests, I need to invent an internet meme styled name for Ghelarns. Reason? I’m running a solo IG for the wife and while getting into the habitat module, Val nearly got violated by one.
Any suggestions?
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Ah! Options! I personally feel that the archery ranger cliché will be filled rather well by Kwava (one of the NPCs introduced mid-book 1). Definitely appreciated.
Thank you for that @VoodistMonk. Though, I do see a lot of archer/sacred fist builds for warpriests, not so much love for straight up 2hander face smashing tank kind of guy. I was hoping my warpriest would be that sort. Definitely keeping the archer build in my back pocket though, looks like something I might like to play myself at some point.
Let's say typical NPC rules I guess. I want to let the PC shine, but not let her fail simply because the NPCs suck.
So building characters and progressions isn't exactly my strong point, as such I'm reaching out for help. I'm currently running a solo campaign, Second Darkness AP, for a 20PB elven druidess, of the spellcasting variety, albeit with an animal companion. While this game is still at its very infancy, I realize that at some point I will need to give her some support characters to adventure with/fight alongside. So far introduced is a half-elf ranger (who is the main reason the PC is being dragged to the Gold Goblin's tourney to begin with). I plan to add a halfling rogue, a human sorcerer (harrower), and a human warpriest who has a penchant for drunken barfights. I'm hoping that these characters will remain for a good proportion of the campaign, but at this moment I'll settle for a build progression up to lv 4. And since they're support NPCs, they really don't need to be fantastic. Any help would be appreciated.
So, I was (and frankly still am) very excited about Starfinder and the release of the AotS AP. And though I like the way it runs out of the box, for my own personal flavor of the campaign, in my head I had imagined it having way more of a Starship Troopers/X-Com/Borg feel. In a tabletop campaign I'm currently running, and also a forum-based PbP version, that's exactly what I'm doing. However, I'm finding that some of the brief history of Starfinder had to be modified in order to give the Swarm a bit more mystery and oomph, to make it this implacable enemy I want them to be. In particular, the Swarm are supposed to be a nigh-unstoppable, world devouring species with a hive mind. So if they had the opportunity to invade both the Pact Worlds and Veskarium systems back in 291 AG, why have we 1) not seen more of them since, and 2) not seen significant devastation in either system as a result of this invasion? After all, the Swarm was this implacable force that drove a two and a half century long period of hostilities to put aside their difference and make peace. Furthermore, if this event was merely 25-30 years ago, why are the Pact Worlds and Veskarium not doing anything about bolstering their own defenses and researching Swarm stuff to prevent what they likely would see as an devastating eventuality, seeing how the Swarm simply will not stop coming? I thought that didn't make sense in how I was to envision the Starfinder timeline. So, in my version, I decided that the Swarm invasion of 291 AG had to change. The Swarm would not have invaded either of the Pact Worlds system or Veskarium directly, rather it would invade a contested world in the Vast that the two governments were skirmishing over. Eventually (details need to be fleshed out here) the two governments decide that they were both on the losing side, and that they needed to band together to stop the Swarm from encroaching any further, and they are forced to bombard the planet, rendering it (hopefully) lifeless and uninhabitable, even for Swarm components. They cover up the incident and place warning beacons against visiting that system. This would've been in my mind a better way to introduce the Swarm for the enormous threat that they are. However my trouble now is to fill in the necessary details, and make these details fit with the remainder of the timeline. 1) What exactly happened on this planet? What made the two governments decide they needed to band together? What forced them to destroy the planet? 2) How much information should be revealed? In order to keep they mystery about the Swarm, what should be known to the players regarding how the end of the Silent War came about in this case? And how can this secrecy be kept and justified?
Also, is it worth taking a 2 level dip into Softstrike UnMonk?
Changed this build as follows: Vigilante (Stalker) 1 / Bard (Archaeologist) 1 / Stalker 1 / Archaeologist 1 / Stalker 16
[1] F: Weapon Finesse, Improved Initiative; ST: Social Grace (essentially pretend to be the noble birthed girl that she is, hating it)
So far I'm thinking for social and vigilante talents I'm gonna do as follows. Need a lot of help reading over the vigilante talent side though, as I'm not sure how best to stack this up: Teisatsu 1: Ancestral enlightenment
So, Batman. Yeah. I went there. Lv 20, teisatsu, need the traits, feats and talents, and class feature stuff filled in... Thinking it's gonna be a very close mix between the knightmare batman, wild west batman, and samurai batman from Batman Ninja. Definitely not modern Earth 1 tech, more close to low-mid Golarion tech. Any help and suggestions are appreciated. :)
So, I've been running a Jade Regent campaign on 2 fronts (one live group and one PbP group), and I'm starting to look a little more into the story, and what I want out of the eventual outcome. No spoilers, just what I'd like to change. Currently, in all of the instances of Ameiko's statblock that I've seen, she's listed as an Aristocrat 1 / Bard 3 / Rogue (Rake) 1. There's no notes that I know of that suggest how she can/should be advanced as she travels with the PCs. So... I wanted to do something different. I'm basically building in elements of Batman Ninja into Jade Regent (along with a lot of other things), and I wanted to make Ameiko (not only what she's supposed to be in the storyline), my version of Catwoman as well. I've rewritten the following so far: Abils: 25pb equivalent, str 7, dex 18+2, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12.
I now need feats and talents and such to fill in all the nitty gritty. Please contribute. :)
So, I'm currently running a RotRL/Jade Regent mashup, and I was reading up for some information on Sandpoint, while I came across a snippit from the Pathfinder Comics from Dynamite, which are obviously licensed. The events in the comics (in specific, the ones dealing with the iconics being in Sandpoint) are probably not even considered canon, but if I were to consider them to be part of *MY* Golarion, when would they occur in the timeline? It seems likely to be some time between 4707 to 4712, just not sure when...
More development on the idea: perhaps Aldern Foxglove is actually Jack Napier, and perhaps he could actually be a temporarily insane version of my Simkin character perpetrating through the background on my other campaigns. Perhaps he becomes the joker through the events of SM, and bats and joker tear through the background of Tian ala Batman Ninja?
Warning: Spoilers ahead I'm currently debating an idea, and that is to run a Jade Regent + Rise of the Rune Lords mash up, slightly modifying the first 2 chapters of RotRL as a prequel to JR. However, I've only skimmed a bit of both the AP's and haven't given them a thorough read. I'm nailing down some fine points of how to manage this whole thing, and I've got a couple of things I'd like to have a few other brains to bounce off of. The idea is this: We make assumptions that RotRL begins approximately in 4707AR, and that JR does not begin until 4711. JR specifically warns against recycling the heroes of RotRL AFTER they have completed the AP, however does not preclude that some adventurers may have participated in part of the events and never followed through. So, enter Aldern Foxglove. The backstory sounds remarkably similar to a weird Batman origin story turned bad. What if I made Foxglove two separate people instead of just the one? Say, a Foxglove who turns into the skinsaw man, and a, shall we name him Bryce Euwan, who defied the Brothers of the Seven and became Batman? This way, in Burnt Offerings, the PC's actually encounter Bryce Euwan at the Swallowtail festival, and he somehow ends up revealing his identity to the PCs. (Major point: How?) During the rest of BO and Skinsaw Murders then, Batman will then have to have a major part to play, probably as the primary detective, somewhat overshadowing the PCs in order for them to not be able to finish RotRL. (How do these events play out?) Now, skip forward 4 years... (What do the PCs do in the intervening years?) We're now at 4711 AR and Ameiko is now a friend and fixture in the PCs' lives, and she has a destiny. This will take the whole party to Tian, and, well, Batman's gonna come along, but this time he'll have enough other things to keep him busy than to be the main hero. (How will he play into the events of JR?) Any advice will be helpful.
Warning: Spoilers ahead I'm currently debating an idea, and that is to run a Jade Regent + Rise of the Rune Lords mash up, slightly modifying the first 2 chapters of RotRL as a prequel to JR. However, I've only skimmed a bit of both the AP's and haven't given them a thorough read. I'm nailing down some fine points of how to manage this whole thing, and I've got a couple of things I'd like to have a few other brains to bounce off of. The idea is this: We make assumptions that RotRL begins approximately in 4707AR, and that JR does not begin until 4711. JR specifically warns against recycling the heroes of RotRL AFTER they have completed the AP, however does not preclude that some adventurers may have participated in part of the events and never followed through. So, enter Aldern Foxglove. The backstory sounds remarkably similar to a weird Batman origin story turned bad. What if I made Foxglove two separate people instead of just the one? Say, a Foxglove who turns into the skinsaw man, and a, shall we name him Bryce Euwan, who defied the Brothers of the Seven and became Batman? This way, in Burnt Offerings, the PC's actually encounter Bryce Euwan at the Swallowtail festival, and he somehow ends up revealing his identity to the PCs. (Major point: How?) During the rest of BO and Skinsaw Murders then, Batman will then have to have a major part to play, probably as the primary detective, somewhat overshadowing the PCs in order for them to not be able to finish RotRL. (How do these events play out?) Now, skip forward 4 years... (What do the PCs do in the intervening years?) We're now at 4711 AR and Ameiko is now a friend and fixture in the PCs' lives, and she has a destiny. This will take the whole party to Tian, and, well, Batman's gonna come along, but this time he'll have enough other things to keep him busy than to be the main hero. (How will he play into the events of JR?) Any advice will be helpful.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention... This is a Carrion Crown adventure that I'll be playing Simkin in btw. He's going to be a replacement for my other PC that was killed off near the end of book 1.
Having spoken with a friend, his suggestion was to strike crossblooded harrow/psychic for just a straight arcane sorcerer for those levels, while keeping the 1 lv dips for court fool and oracle. How would that compare to just straight court fool with a 1 lv oracle dip?
So as things will have it, I'm actually going to have a chance to PLAY Simkin in another game, after his introduction to mine. Thinking of going Human (probably Varisian?) Bard (Court Fool) 1, Oracle (Heavens, Consumed) 1, Sorcerer (Crossblooded Harrow, Psychic) 18
So in the game I'm DMing, my players are categorically overzealous, I know this. They're a great bunch of guys, just they go above and beyond to try to get their way (as no doubt every player group does.) I just finished wrapping up Book 1 (Shadow in the Sky) with them. The fight with Depora got above ground, where they were fighting Depora on top of the cyphergate. I had wanted to have Depora's body wash away with the tsunami, but these guys dragged the body up with them when they were escaping the tide. I told them that the drow (Depora) is dead, and they had the cleric cast gentle repose on her body, they fully intend on (possibly raising her as undead) and interrogating her. How would you as fellow DMs handle this? Would you let them interrogate Depora? If so, what would she even know? And besides escape and return as an undead villain, do you see any other way?
it is likely that anyone with that personality who didn't have infinite cosmic power would just end up being a corpse. That's okay. My guys have more than once debated amongst themselves whether they wanted to simply shank a guy or to capture them and hide them away in a cage in the sublevel octagon fighting arena in the Gold Goblin, that they've affectionately named (but never talked about) "Fight Club". I'd also advise thinking carefully about including an NPC that you absolutely love. You are running a game to tell the PCs story, not your story or your NPCs story, and NPCs like this can really warp that and lead to a negative experience. I'm not worried in the least about that. I've actually already injected several of my favorite character creations and ex-PCs into their game. Being the Multiverse, I'm not emotionally attached to them at all. For example, one of the Gold Goblin's game dealers is a Halfling that I originally statted as a 1st-level character as an example and PC tie-in for an earlier web-forum incarnation of Second Darkness. She is now married to one of the PC's (and mostly just does daily job stuff for the Gold Goblin). Another was a short lived character I played for a Carrion Crown campaign, which I should've liked fleshed out more, but I stuck her into the role of an employee (security/bouncer this time) as well, and was primarily following the PCs around as a deus ex machina healer for a little bit while they were sorting their s~&% out. Now at levels 3-4, as they're growing to become fully capable of holding their own (most times), Kiran is just a message girl and mobile exorcism ritual. There's plans for me to fully stat out a ninja, who was mistakenly hired by the PCs as a cook in the Gold Goblin, not knowing that he would backstab them during the Raid. (they even went so far as naming the betrayer after me... lol) He'll come back and ambush them again, even though the players (and PCs) have fully discussed their plans on gruesomely murdering this poor sap. I let the PCs shine at the end of the day. So the plan with Simkin, really is just to provide a little bit of extra randomness to their adventures, a very palpable chaos that they can love and hate and be annoyed at but can't help but love. Perhaps an encounter with a certain faerie queen? Or perhaps a betrayal straight into the hands of one (or even multiple) bosses?
Okay, so I understand that as GM I can use those mechanics to basically not have stats. But what if say I wanted an actual playable character in the general spirit of this description? What would that look like?
Someone that irritating Lmao. Yeah, he is both annoying and endearing at the same time, if you'll believe it. The only time I truly hated Simkin while reading the trilogy was when he betrayed Joram the very last time. Also it sounds more like a permanent Project Image than anything else. Hmm! Didn't even know that spell existed. Interesting...
Weis and Hickman's "Darksword Adventures" describes Simkin as follows: "Joram makes two observations about Simkin: first, that Simkin plays the game for the game's sake, and second, that he is magic personified. Simkin is completely and totally amoral. He cares for nothing and no one. He will act for or against someone as it takes his fancy. He will tell the truth, on occasion, but it is often so jumbled up with blatant lies that it is impossible to believe a word he says. Because he is amusing and (apparently) harmless, Simkin is much like the classic court Fool in that he is able to exhibit the follies of people to themselves. He pounces instantly on the weakness of any person present and will exploit that to the fullest. Amid the fawning and pretensions of the royal courts, this barbed truthfulness is oddly refreshing. The one startling fact about Simkin that no one knows (or will find out in these first Darksword books) is that he is immortal. Simkin hints at this when he tells Prince Garald that he was present when the Prophecy was given following the Iron Wars. Of course no one believes him, but in this instance Simkin is stating fact. He was present. He was present when Merlyn and the magi left the Ancient World. Just how long Simkin has been around is open to conjecture, but he may have been giving Adam and Eve tips on how to dress. Since Simkin is magic, his power has no limits except those that he puts upon himself. The remarkable things we see him do are only a very minute part of the miracles he could perform if he wanted. He takes nothing seriously, however, and Players who attempt to get Simkin to help them by performing some tremendous feat of magic will only find themselves in worse trouble. Human life means nothing to Simkin. After all, he's met millions of people. He is, in fact, fascinated by death, and thus most of his lugubrious stories deal with death in grotesque forms. His stories are rarely pointless, often having some relevance to the discussion at hand, be it only a play on words. Since life is a game and the game is everything to Simkin, he enjoys placing humans in difficult and even dangerous situations to see how they react. He will do so in such a way that he always appears completely innocent. Simkin is unpredictable, and thus can be a very dangerous companion. Yet, he can also be extremely valuable if he chooses. Simkin loves adventure and will gladly accompany any party of adventurers on any quest. He will tell them anything they want to hear in order to convince them to let him come with them. (He would, in fact, probably go with them whether invited or not! More than one adventurer has discovered a teapot in his knapsack!) There is a strong chance that Simkin has information or can help the party in attaining that goal. He will make things as lively and interesting for them as possible on the way, however Woe betide the group if Simkin gets bored! Simkin has been to all the royal courts and will be welcome in any of them. He is on familiar terms with all people of influence. He will be able to take Players any place they want to go—from the home of the Faerie Queen to the marvelous Zoo in Zith-el, to the palace of the King of Sharakan, to Bishop Vanya's private chambers, to the subterranean meeting place of the Duuk-tsarith. Getting out again may be an entirely different matter, however! Simkin remembers the ancient world very well, and he has no desire to cross the Border until he discovers the wonders of Technology that have been developed in his absence. After Joram's return, it occurs to Simkin that Thimhallan is extremely boring and he could find all sorts of new adventures in the "brave, new world". To cross over into the other world disguised as Joram will be a wonderful joke on everyone concerned. Simkin's death at the end is all too real—Technology destroying Magic. If Joram does not free the magic, both Simkin and the magic remain dead. By freeing the magic, however, Joram brings Simkin back to life, and there is undoubtedly the possibility that Joram's son, who goes out to seek his fortune in the worlds Beyond, will find himself accompanied by a companion in pink silk trousers carrying an orange silk scarf!"
Not sure this is the right place to put it, but here goes. I am currently running an instance of Second Darkness for a home tabletop group. Rather than sticking to the AP 100%, my players know me for my reputation of adding in little bits and pieces of my own creation. This is an attempt to do more of that. My current thought is this: My players are just about wrapping up Book 1: Shadow in the Sky, clearing through the water tunnels, just nearing the final fight. Inside these tunnels, I had left a dreamstone for them to discover, which has, in only half a session of play, made the PCs question their reality, and the players curse me in the worst sense. They have no choice but to try and either return this dreamstone to the Dimension of Dreams, or (little do they know they can), deactivate it and pray that it stays inactive for a long time. Eventually the plan is this: They will be hunted by an Elder Mythos cult (whom they've already seen a very small glimpse of, but have no idea what they were actually fighting), for being in possession of this dreamstone. By way of a meeting with Cayden Caylean, they will realize the connection of this all these elements to the main storyline, and will have to go disrupt the cult's activities (in order to find the focus component to deactivate the stone). After that is done, I plan for the stone to take on an intelligent persona... That of, wait for it... SIMKIN! Those who have read Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Darksword Trilogy will know who I'm talking about. The rest who haven't... EGAD man, what a bunch of louts! (jokes) So that leaves me a problem: I need to build Simkin as an NPC. And seeing how the Phantasia RPG system that was included in one of the splat books that the authors wrote after the trilogy didn't realistically give me much in the ways of statting out the guy (Seriously, he had height 61, movement 5, and the rest of his stats were all N/A), I have to rely on you all to lend me a helping hand. So here goes: Simkin is basically the embodiment of magic. He is absolutely nothing and everything. He is the fool who knows everyone and every trend, yet his combat capabilities are next to nil. He occasionally disappears just before bad things happen, or turns himself into a teapot. He's liable of everything from lying, getting his companions into trouble, betraying and switching loyalties, more lying, and leading his companions into a circle of mushrooms that is the portal to the faeries domain. I'm imagining this guy to be some mix of illusionist sorcerer or bard with harrower (and perhaps veiled illusionist) PrC levels. |