hustonj - Kizzy Purrun (CG female human cleric (hidden priest) of Milani 1)
Camris - Idril Ssethan (CG female human bard (dervish dancer) 1)
Critzible - Asmodia Voralius (NG female inquisitor (living grimoire preacher) of Shelyn 1)
The Lobster - Valarie Tanessan (CN/NE* female human vigilante (masked maiden) 1)
* "A vigilante's two alignments cannot be more than one step from each other on a single alignment axis," so of the proposed Maiden identity alignments, only NE fits with the Social identity's CN.
I'll set up a campaign threadset and post the opening some time this week.
@GM Zimmer: Hi, there! How do you feel about the Magical Child Vigilante archetype? I think I have a pretty cool concept which may even lend itself to a cover story for Kintargo's erstwhile rebels, but if the idea of flashy/musical costumes changes would shatter the mood you have in mind, I can work something else out.
Thinking 14/16/13/10/10/12 for a tanky melee with a chr mod.
Assuming these are base stats before modifiers, this is actually a 20-point buy.
hustonj wrote:
I have trouble finding that answer on Nethys (the official Paizo online resource), but there is a listing on PFSRD20 that is very clear on which class falls into which category.
In the meantime, would you discuss your posting expectations, both for yourself and for those of us luck enough to be recruited?
I would attempt to post at least three times per week, and would like to see players post at least twice per week.
hustonj wrote:
So, effectively core races only, with no ARG-based modifications?
Alternate racial traits from the Advanced Race Guide are fair game, as are variant tiefling heritages from Blood of Fiends. Please refrain from building a custom race from scratch, however.
So, I believe that I see these implicit character generation rules:
Any alignment
Any race (given the other apparent limitations, I think this is probably not intended as ANY race)
No traits (other than the story bits of one campaign trait)
No Background Skills
Standard Feats (no Elephant in the Room or related Feat Tax reduction systems)
Trying to make sure I am on the page you intend before I go down a bad mechanical hole.
That is correct. You should also not plan around receiving bonus feats or skill points from the rebellion subsystem.
To make further explicit what is implicit, I do not intend for PCs to be built differently to the NPCs you'll be encountering, whether comrades or enemies. Your importance to events will come from your circumstances and your actions (including building characters more skillfully and pulling from a broader array of sources than the stock characters), not special mechanical advantages at character generation.
On the twelfth night of Aroden's month, at the height of summer in the four thousand seven hundred and fifteenth year since the god raised the Starstone from the bed of the Inner Sea, it snowed ash in Kintargo. The city burned as away east, the country rose in rebellion. But out of the fires emerged not liberty, but a new order, enforced with the mailed fist of Hell and the darkest of magicks, and headed by a diabolic inquisitor, of the imperial house, with writ to take the city in hand and mold it to his will.
The fires consumed Kintargo's patriots and its radicals, the levelers and lovers of freedom that the people called "Silver Ravens" in private nooks and dark alleys - no one knows where the name came from. But they have not consumed its spirit, and you have received word that on the second day of Rovagug's month, the people will gather in Aria Park before mayor Barzillai Thrune and make their will known.
If you wish to attend, you should:
select a stat array equivalent to 15-point buy;
pick a class from among the Core classes, the Base classes excepting Summoner, the Hybrid classes, and Unchained Summoner (starting HP is maximized, starting wealth is average);
pick a race;
pick a campaign trait from the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide, but it will not have any mechanical effect;
pick a reason to protest from the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide;
set forth how you learned about the Aria Park demonstration (i.e., through word of mouth, from a handbill, from a poster, etc.); and
summarize your political sympathies and how you came by them, and what organizations you are a part of or orbit - the factions represented at Aria Park will include at least, in no particular order, liberals, radicals, anarchists, and Ravounel nationalists (these terms to have roughly the meanings they had in about 1850 in Europe - if you would like further explanation, please feel free to ask).
Recruitment will close by March 3, 2023, and I will announce the selected player characters by March 6, 2023.
Having GM'd this adventure before, does Jack get any XP for having successfully influenced an NPC to Helpful?
Jack:
Yes, I noted it in my post on October 24. Per the Story Award on page 16 of The Wormwood Mutiny, which uses words like "the PCs" instead of "a PC" and "award them" instead of "award him or her," the XP was divided and awarded to the party.
Gunter Con damage:1d3 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2 Gunter DC 5 Fort vs. addiction:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 Jack Con damage:1d3 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2 Jack DC 5 Fort vs. addiction:1d20 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 1 + 3 = 13 Simon Con damage:1d3 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1 Simon DC 5 Fort vs. addiction:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15 Tiesa Con damage:1d3 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0 Tiesa DC 5 Fort vs. addiction:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Rosie Stealth:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Advance Rosie's attitude to Jack to Helpful.
Gunter, Jack, Simon, and Tiesa receive 100 XP each.
"Aye, that I be," says Sandara, finishing her ritual and heaving Jakes overboard. "Just say the word if you need anything." She leads Tiesa to the rum ration line and, when she gets hers, knocks it back. "That's the quartermaster, Cut-Throat Grok, I told ya 'bout," she says, pointing to the reedy half-orc with an ugly scar across her throat, doling out the dark, strong alcohol.
"Drink up, greenhorns," she says, giving Gunter, Jack, Simon and Tiesa each half a pint, and grinning toothily before waving them on so she can serve the next sailors in line.
Gunter and Jack take 2 Constitution damage each. Simon takes 1 Constitution damage.
Gunter, Tiesa, and Simon all retire early, but Jack decides to find his way to Rosie instead. He finds her just in time to see her toss her rum overboard. "Well, there's the quartermaster at rumtime, but I think ye've figgered that out." She gives Jack a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Ye're lookin' like ye been through the Hells and back after that dosin'. Quinn says she ain't such a bad sort, but I'm not buyin' it. She be keepin' me fiddle, see." She crosses her arms. "'part from that, stay outta the gunnery. And if'n ye see a blue-haired gnome name of Shortstone up in the rigging, tell him to keep off yer longshank lady friend. She'll thank ye."
Since it seems no one wants to take the Entertain or Gamble ship actions tonight, I'll just describe those now for future reference.
Jack and Rosie spend an hour or two watching the other sailors gamble, fight, sing, and yarn the night away, joining in a few of the chanteys but not going out of their way to get noticed. Around them, pirates arm wrestle over broken glass, toss greased lead pellets down a trestle table, see who can down the most leftover rum, and bet on all of the above.
The woman rolls her eyes at Gunter's attempted gallantry, but doesn't say anything. As he continues his jibber-jabber, however, she becomes visibly more aggravated. When he raises the subject of rum, she finally speaks. "You'll get your fix after the Bloody Hour," comes her clipped reply. She doesn't seem to think much of the idea. "Cap'n says it helps us sleep."
Jack:
The halfling woman gives Jack an indulgent look, and though she laughs at his joke he can’t be sure whether it's because she thinks it's good or bad. "Alright, ya barnacle-sucking son of a sea hag, call me Rosie," she says, waving him over. She stops him when he starts to coil by winding the line around his palm and elbow. "No, no, that rat-faced git Plugg'll lash you with your own bleeding rope if'n you coil like that. Says it ends up too small to work with." She snorts derisively. "Hold your arm out like this," she demonstrates by bending her elbow and extending her forearm parallel to the deck, "and twiddle the rope in your fingers as you go around, to stop it crossing." When Jack tries it, he ends up with a wider coil with fewer turns in it.
Untroubled by the comings and goings of the others in and below the hold, Simon easily finds, traps, and kills his quarry, earning an approving grunt from Master Scourge as the buckets pile up near the rail.
Tiesa:
Perception:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
"Depends how far back ye go, it does." The cook seems reluctant to talk about his past. Fortunately for him, there's a knock on the door. "Come on, then," he calls, going to the cutting board to chop up another fish. "Gotta look busy, we does," he whispers to Tiesa, screwing up his face at the lack of a knife. After a moment, though, he shrugs and pulls another one out of the wall.
The galley door opens to reveal the redheaded woman Tiesa noticed earlier on deck. "Special delivery for the cook's mate, compliments of Quartermaster Grok," she says jovially. Despite his earlier warning, Kroop looks disappointed it isn't for him. "Special spices, from the smell of 'em," continues the woman, dropping what Tiesa recognizes as her spell component pouch into her hand. "See you after work. Besmara bless you."
Later That Evening
Gunter, Jack, Simon, and Tiesa receive 100 XP each.
Six bells ring just before nightfall, and, prompted by whichever crewmembers happen to be nearby, Gunter, Jack, Simon, and Tiesa congregate on deck to find Mister Plugg, Master Scourge, and a bloody, harried-looking young man none of them recognize standing on the poop deck. Tiesa is the last to arrive, bearing a heavy cauldron of fish stew together with the cook. After they set it down she makes a beeline for the others, who have formed a little group with the red-haired woman. She crosses her arms uncomfortably as Mister Plugg addresses the crew.
"Now, some o'you don't know Jakes Magpie," he says. Master Scourge loops a length of line around Magpie's waist and ties a bowline so tight it crushes the air out of him. Plugg continues. "We caught him stealin' from the quartermaster, and since he was kind enough to confess, he gets the good punishment." He turns to the man, now shaking with fright, and picks up the end of a rope whose other end is somewhere overboard. "You're ta be keelhauled slowly, and may the Black Lady have mercy on you."
At a nod from Mister Plugg, Master Scourge shoves Magpie over the starboard side. The mate, soon joined by the boatswain, starts hauling his line slowly, hand over hand, tugging with relish every so often as the unfortunate thief is caught on something below the waterline. About two minutes later, he pulls the ripped-up, barely recognizable form of Jakes Magpie over the port railing and dumps him on deck. Master Scourge puts his hand to Magpie's mouth, then to his neck, and shakes his head. Scourge kicks him off the poop deck and onto the main deck. "Dead," he says pitilessly. "Give 'im to the sharks." The punishment over, the two officers disappear belowdecks.
Two of the crew reluctantly take his hands and feet, but the redheaded woman stops them. "Shove off. He gets last rites same as anyone else." They shrug and get in line for stew and rum rations, while the woman beckons Gunter, Jack, Simon, and Tiesa to stay with her. "Sorry you had to see that your first day aboard," she says, pouring some water from a skin at her hip over the dead man's brow and touching what looks like a holy symbol to his lips. "They dragged me aboard just a few days before you. I know how hard it is to get by on the Wormwood without a mate. My name's Sandara, what's yours?"
Gunter and Jack, and Simon, if you're active, please post the ship actions you'd like to take after dinner and rum rations. These can be found in my post on 30 September. Please be general. If you say you want to gamble or entertain, for example, I'll then post the options that are available. I'll also decide Tiesa's (and Simon's if need be) ship actions at that time.
I'd like to be a little more lenient, asking three posts per week instead of one per day. My own schedule makes it very difficult to post on Tuesdays and Thursdsys, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I also don't want to re-recruit so soon after the original recruitment closed.
That being said, this has been a long drought, and since I'm already GMPCing one PC, I might as well do two. Expect a post this evening moving things along.
Simon, I need a decision from you on what kind of action you're taking. If you want me to hurry things along in the future, I'd like some guidance of the kind Tiesa gave two posts above.
Sleight of Hand is a trained-only skill, actually, but may be used untrained if the DC is lower than 10 or if what you're trying to do is hide an object on your person. Of the cabins provided by the skill description, trying to take a knife from a countertop looks like "hiding an object on your person." So yeah, you can attempt a Sleight of Hand check here.
For future reference, Tiesa gets a +2 bonus to checks to influence Kroop from being the cook's mate.
Gunter assignment:1d6 ⇒ 3 Jack assignment:1d6 ⇒ 4 Simon assignment:1d6 ⇒ 2 Ambrose drunkenness:1d100 ⇒ 76 Tiesa assignment:1d6 ⇒ 1 S assignment:1d6 ⇒ 5; S Acrobatics (DC 10):1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6, S Constitution (DC 10):1d20 ⇒ 18 R assignment:1d6 ⇒ 6; R Profession (sailor) (DC 10):1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23 C assignment:1d6 ⇒ 1; C Strength (DC 12):1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14, C Constitution (DC 10):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 T assignment:1d6 ⇒ 6; T Strength (DC 10):1d20 ⇒ 20, T Constitution (DC 10):1d20 ⇒ 8
Everybody read this (ooc):
Now that you have your jobs, each day your superior will assign you tasks. You complete these by taking a daytime ship action, which includes performing or shirking your assigned duties. After setting the scene for the evening I'll require a nighttime ship action. Together, these consist of the following:
Daytime Ship Actions
Work Diligently: Gain a +4 bonus on any one check for a job's daily task
Influence: Make normal checks for a job's daily task and attempt to influence a single NPC
Sneak: Make normal checks for a job's daily task and briefly explore one area of the ship (the PC can make a single Perception check or other skill check with no chance of detection)
Shop: Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job's daily task and visit the quartermaster’s store
Shirk: Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 10 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered.
Nighttime Ship Actions
Sleep: Go to bed early and sleep through the night (automatically recover from fatigue)
Gamble: Play or gamble on a game of chance or pirate entertainment
Entertain: Make one Perform check to entertain the crew
Influence*: Attempt to influence a single NPC
Sneak*: Take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 20 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered.
Steal*: Attempt to open a locked door or locker. The PC must make a check to avoid being discovered.
You may take up to two additional nighttime ship actions per day, as long as those additional actions are marked with an asterisk. If you do so, you must make a Constitution check (DC 10 + 4 per additional action taken) or be fatigued the next day.
Gunter & Simon:
All thirteen swabs, including the redhaired human woman, the halfling with the red scarf, the human with the goatee, a gnome with one eye, a human youth, a tough-looking human woman, an elderly half-elf with stripes shaved into her hair, a towering Mwangi man, a big-eared, scowling human woman, a fat human man with a shaved head, a half-orc with no tongue, Gunter and Simon, gather together, close enough to Master Scourge to hear his orders, but far away enough to stay out of his reach.
First, Scourge hands out mops and buckets and directs a few swabs, including Gunter, to a pile of head-sized sandstone blocks he calls "holystones." "Ye'll be scrubbin' me decks til they shine in the sunlight and're smooth as that one's cheek," he says, pointing at the young man. He reddens, and dips his mop furiously into his bucket to hide it. Before he goes to pick up his holystone, however, Gunter finds a familiar object slipped into his hand; he can tell by the feel it's his holy symbol. He turns surreptitiously, and is greeted by a wink from the redhaired human.
Gunter, you'll need to make a DC 10 Strength or Constitution check to complete your assigned task. Failure means you'll be fatigued at the end of your shift.
Scourge, taking this as volunteering, puts her at the disposal of the various officers, and assigns the halfling woman to repair what he calls a "keelhaulin' line." Finally, he comes to Simon. "You lot ain't the only rats aboard the Wormwood," he says. "And unfortunately fer them, I don't have to wait til they screw up to order 'em killed and tossed overboard. I want ten buckets of the things outta me hold by sundown."
Simon, please make a DC 10 Stealth, Survival, or Dexterity check to complete your assigned task.
A few minutes after Simon descends to the hold - he received a lash from Scourge for trying to go through the officers' cabin again, and eventually lowered himself down through one of the hatches - he's followed by the goateed man wearing the blue bandana. He doesn't stop to greet Simon, instead descending even further into the bilge. Soon the rhythmic sound of pumping, interspersed with muffled and intermittent speech, comes drifting up to Simon from this lowest part of the ship.
Jack:
The rigging crew consists of the jaunty, blue-haired gnome, a human woman with calloused, bare feet, a ratfaced halfling man with three missing fingers, a musclebound Rahadoumi man, a human woman with greasy black hair, a dwarf with a long, pockmarked nose, and Jack. Mister Plugg sets most of them to work hauling sheets and furling sails, but sends the dwarf to the crow's nest to be lookout. Finally, Jack's the only one left.
"Normally I wouldn't let my riggers mix wit' the swabs," he says ponderously, "but then, you're barely better'n a swab yourself." He points to a muscular halfling woman splicing and oiling a very long and very frayed line. "I'll need that, and any other loose rope, coiled and cleated down before evenin' bells. And don't be thinkin' you two wee folk'll hit it off. She's a mean little bobbit wit' that axe of hers!" The mate guffaws heartily and pulls himself back up to the poop deck to watch his crew.
Please make a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexeterity check to complete your assigned task.
Tiesa:
Instead of letting you take the stairs, one of the crew refers Tiesa down one of the hatches that leads into the main hold. "Best not get too free with the officers' cabins, lass," comes the whispered advice, but when Tiesa turns to see who helped her, there's no one nearby. With a shrug, Tiesa lowers herself into the hold and makes her way to the galley.
The galley turns out to be a cramped and chaotic mess. Blood-drenched worktables, half-ajar cupboards holding spices, hard tack, and salt meat, and two pot-bellied stoves are shoved up against the port wall. Cauldrons roil atop the stoves, and the smell of spiced fish that wafts out of them is almost enough to drown out the smell of the goats and chickens that wander the room. One of the goats gets in among a cluster of barrels - variously containing pickled cabbage, water, and rum - and has to be swatted away by a short, fat man wearing a floppy white hat and a bloody apron.
"Ambrose Kroop, ship's cook" he says, by way of introduction. The smell of rum is heavy on his breath, and Tiesa can see he's missing more than a few teeth. He dips a rag into the rum barrel, waddles over to the worktables, and begins wiping them down. "An' you'll be me new mate, 'less I miss my guess. They told me I'd be gettin' one.
"Curse yer luck, missie," he says earnestly. "It's poison, this ship, but don't let anyone hear you say it aloud. The hull listens, see, and the cap'n hears it all. Poison the Wormwood is, though, rotten to the core. You'll not meet a more nasty, sour piece of work than Cap'n Harrigan in all your days at sea, and his crew's the same, 'specially the first mate, Mister Plugg. Vicious little sod, he is. He'd take his own mother's liver to the butcher to make pies with, he would." He shrugs resignedly. "But they leave me alone, mostly. They know I can't 'arm 'em.
"Just do the job, and they'll leave you alone too. I'll be havin' ye fish ev'ry few morns so I can put somethin' in me pots, but ye don't have to worry 'bout that today. You'll just be helpin' me cook. Pay attention, ye might even learn somethin'." Ambrose seems almost wistful when he says that, but quickly sighs and gives one of the cauldrons a lazy stir.
It turns out that no skill check is required of you to complete your job's daily task.
"Good, you're cook's mate now. Galley's astern and belowdecks." Mister Plugg points Tiesa down the stairs they'd come up earlier. He turns to Gunter and Simon. "You two'll be swabs under Master Scourge, the boatswain." He grins sadistically at Gunter. "I hear you're already acquainted."
"Pathetic," Mister Plugg sneers at Tiesa and Simon. "Yer lucky I'm feeling generous. Any other day, those sorry displays'd earn ye the cat. Get up." He calls up the mast. "And you two, get down! Halfling, you'll be working the rigging and I'm not gonna shout your orders. Dwarf, I might have another job for ye."No need to make checks to climb down, you make it safely.
The mate climbs down the stairs in time to receive Gunter and Jack, and to bull Gunter into a line with Simon and Tiesa. "Simple question," he says, beginning with Tiesa. "Can you cook?"
Nope! You were within Jack's reach at that point, so you...Jack aid another:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11...had Jack's aid another bonus on that last check, converting the result from a failure by 6 to a failure by 4, a mere momentary halt in progress.
Gunter's fingers slip off the shrouds, but before he falls he feels Jack's iron grip on his wrist. His bulk is too much for the halfling to lift at first, but Gunter manages to get a new grip on the rigging.
Jack aid another 2:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 Gunter Climb:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
With a stronger foundation established, the two together manage to get Gunter high enough to throw a leg over the yardarm.
To speed things along, I went ahead and rolled a bunch. Feel free to use or ignore these as needed.
I'd have preferred if everyone had done this, actually. Gunter and Tiesa, would you mind rolling some more until you either reach the crow's nest or give up?
Gunter, Simon, Tiesa, and Jack are shoved up two flights of stairs. The first flight takes them through a mostly-empty cargo hold. They pass a bulky man covered in tattered feathers, smelling of oil, wearing a vacant grin, and chained to a mast. Further back in the hold, they hear the grunting of hogs. The second flight leads them into a much smaller room furnished with hammocks, sleeping mats, and foot lockers. Finally, they pass through a door onto the main deck. When their eyes clear from the sudden assault of the sun, they quickly realize that the ship they're on is well out to sea. Neither Port Peril nor the outlying islands of the Shackles are anywhere to be seen.
What can be seen is the rest of the crew, gathered in knots on deck or in the rigging. The crew's a disparate lot: men and women, humans, halflings, half-orcs, half-elves, dwarves, and gnomes of all colors. A redhaired human woman in a tricorne hat, a halfling brunette wearing a red scarf and cradling a fine-looking handaxe, a human with a sloppy goatee and a blue bandana wrapped around his head, and a gnome with an eyepatch, a jaunty hat, and a waxed blue mustache stand together near the mainmast, looking both cleaner and less at ease than the rest. All the sailors are looking up at two figures standing on the poop deck, a broad, muscular Garundi man with a shaven head, a long beard bound with gold rings, and an eye patch, and a younger, balding man with a long black ponytail, wearing a long coat and carrying a well-used cat-o'-nine-tails.
"Glad you could join us at last!" booms the Garundi. "Welcome to the Wormwood! My thanks for 'volunteering' to join my crew. I'm Barnabas Harrigan. That's Captain Barnabas Harrigan to you, not that you'll ever need to address me. I have only one rule—don't speak to me. I like talk, but I don’t like your talk. Follow that rule and we'll all get along fine.
"Oh, and one more thing. Even with you new recruits, we're still short-handed, and I aim to keep what crew I have. There'll be a keelhaulin' for anyone caught killin' anyone." Captain Harrigan turns to the man at his side, presumably the first mate. "Mister Plugg! If you'd be so kind as to make pirates out of these landlubbers, it'll save me having to put them in the sweatbox for a year and a day before I make pies out of 'em."
Mister Plugg crosses his arms and gives the crew on the deck an appraising look as Captain Harrigan disappears belowdeck. "Right, deck rats, up in the rigging, on the double. First one to reach the crow's nest gets to work for me."
The crow's nest is 60 feet above the deck. A DC 10 Climb check will let you climb a quarter of your base speed. You may instead move half your base speed by taking a -5 penalty to your check.
As he tries to get up, Gunter feels the crack of the whip across his back and a heavy but ultimately futile blow against his wooden leg. Then the man whose feet he'd soiled stomps down on his head, shoving Gunter's face into the pool of sick and grinding it into the dwarf's hair and beard with the sole of his boot. The three others slap their saps menacingly into their palms.
"Let 'im up," says the lasher, waving his subordinate away with the lantern. "You'll find it's we who won't be takin' any guff from ye. Any more lip, sawyer, and ye'll have to carve yerself another peg. Now get, all of ye, up on deck."
You awaken to a painful throbbing in the back of your head, a woolly coating on your teeth that tastes of cheap wine, the pervasive smell of sweat and fish left to stew together, and a rhythmic creaking accompanied by a lurching rolling of your world. It feels like you're still drunk, and after the wild night you had, you wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. When you open your eyes, however, you find yourself in a dark room. You can barely see, but it feels spacious. Certainly the walls aren't within reach. Neither, when you check, are most of your possessions. You can, however, see and hear the shapes and sounds of others nearby, in a similar predicament.
As you sit up to get a better look around, the creaking all around you is punctuated by heavy footsteps down what sounds like a staircase. A harsh, yellow lantern is shoved in your faces, revealing seven dirty-looking men, none of them dressed quite the same but most of them armed with saps. The one holding the lantern, however, wears dreadlocks, a beard, and a long, heavy coat, and carries a mean-looking, well-used whip in his other hand. A pained expression that might have been meant for a smile bruises his face as he cracks his whip on the floor.
"Still abed with the sun over the yardarm?" he shouts. The pain in your head flares. "On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Cap'n Harrigan flays your flesh into sausage skins and has Fishguts fry ye up for breakfast!"
I was also thinking it would provide a +3 to survival for its special ability, rather than the boost to appraise. Although, I'm not strongly tied to that, so we can finalize if Tiesa is selected.
That's fine. But I'd like a seagull familiar not to be able to speak.
"Besmara bless me. Methinks ye just critically hit me with a 9th-level wall of text spell."
...would you happen to be a lawyer in real life, by chance? That was mind-boggling.
Merely a student, as it says in my primary account's profile.
Well, it looks like I have a problem with tone. I suspected as much after Arasti excised firearms from his character for no reason, but this clinches it. The thing I hoped to demonstrate with my little digression was not the length or style of argumentation I expected from you. The things I hoped to demonstrate were how much milage I could get out of what you'd already given me (basically, that you'd already proved points 1 and 2, and most of point 3, to my satisfaction with a sentence or two), how little more from you I actually needed (another sentence or two on point would have sufficed), to give you an opportunity to go above and beyond if you wanted to, and that I wasn't simply being arbitrary in my decisionmaking. It would be very easy to simply approve or disapprove a request without saying why, and to leave my hands unbound when the next request came along, but I thought I owed you more than that.
To continue on the same theme, I can extract answers to most of my remaining concerns from your follow-up. To wit:
[3] The inquiry here is simply whether a concept could be made playable at level 1 with only the restricted class and everything else from unrestricted sources. It does not impose any restrictions on the actual level 1 build. Your statement includes language about being able to choose any feats and traits you want, which indicates to me that you feel no feat or trait, including the ones you actually chose, is mandatory in order to make the Swashbuckler playable. If you felt you had to pay a feat tax in order to play the class, for example, then you would not feel free to choose any feat whatsoever. An aside: there is a difference from choosing a good, on-point feat and being forced into a mandatory feat.
[4] The actual duty imposed is very limited. I merely want some good-faith assurance that the number of things from restricted sources I'll have to learn and incorporate going forward from level 1 will be kept small. My purpose in running this game is not to learn the Advanced Class Guide, and having to do so would sap my enjoyment of the exercise immensely. As of now, I have that assurance, because you say that the halfling luck racial feats, which are both numerous and from an unrestricted source, are more or less locked into the build. Any deviation from that expectation should not come up for a good long time, by which point this concern may well have outlived its usefulness.
Then there's the statement that I understand the mechanics behind the Swashbuckler very well. In my prior post I was very skeptical of this notion and was prepared to rely on your expertise. Well, your expertise says I'm not as ignorant as I thought, which actually mitigates my concerns. My fear was that in trying to apply the Swashbuckler's mechanics I'd have to make sense of mangled sentences or have to resolve conflicting clauses. True, when I read the class it seemed straightforward enough, but that was hardly a close reading and it didn't take into account anything but the entry of the class itself, so I wasn't prepared to trust it. But I was prepared to trust you. And you say there's nothing to worry about.
Would you consider allowing a Swashbuckler from the Advanced Class Guide? Jack's been dying to get into a Skull & Shackles for months and months now - he got on board one of them, but it ended before the first combat. The Swashbuckler class is a great fit for a pirate campaign, and I love the idea of a halfling swordsman showing up grizzled pirates twice his size using his wits and daring. I find normal martials too straightforward and boring - the Swashbuckler gets a lot of cool tricks with his Panache class feature that make the prospect of being a swordsman a lot less dry and uninteresting to me.
I will rebuild him or make another character if he is not acceptable. He will need some adjusting if the class is acceptable, since he was built for a 20 point buy game with above-average gold.
Hmm. I didn't lay out a standard for a convincing argument in my original post, and it would not be fair for me to render a judgment on this argument without doing so. Going forward, here is the standard I will use to judge whether or not to grant a dispensation to the class restrictions.
In order to receive a dispensation for a class, a player must establish by production* a prima facie case with the following elements: [1] that they have a specific character concept in mind to which they will stick throughout the campaign's level progression, [2] that that concept was not playable from level 1 using classes and feats from the non-restricted sources, [3] that the desired class does, without the need of any material from restricted sources other than itself and any material referenced in it, enable the play of that concept from level 1, [4] that the player can continue to play that concept beyond level 1 while mitigating the use of material from restricted sources other than the class itself and any material referenced in it. Evidence I might accept in establishing this prima facie case includes, but is not limited to, mathematical proof, personal anecdote, hearsay anecdote, forum debate, and product reviews. I will also accept evidence that tends to support the notion that otherwise unsubstantiated assertions are made in good faith.
I will then balance that case against any practical considerations I have against using the class, including but not limited to my access to sources detailing the class and said sources' ease of use. For example, if I don't own a source, or a source is known to be difficult to use because of editing problems, conflicting rules, or other reasons, I will be averse to using it. Players are free to point to possible sources (SRDs and such), ways to increase ease of use (errata, rules explanations, FAQs), and any other considerations that might mitigate what they imagine to be the factors balanced against the prima facie case.
Although again, it wouldn't be fair to judge your argument as it stands against a standard I hadn't laid out, I'll go through the motions so you'll see what a judgment might look like. Please don't take anything I say here as final.
Example judgment:
[1] There is a specific concept in place for Jack. He is conceived as a "halfling swordsman showing up grizzled pirates twice his size using his wits and daring." Nothing about this concept suggests it is susceptible to change after the start of the campaign. Gaining skills other than "wits and daring" later in the campaign, such as magic spells or the aid of an animal companion, would tend to go against rather than strengthen this concept.
[2] "Wits and daring" are modeled in several non-restricted classes, including but not limited to Gunslinger and Bard (archaeologist), in various ways. The question of whether these classes adequately model the character concept turns on the meaning of "wits and daring." Are these words exclusive, to be read as "nothing but wits and daring," or are they inclusive, merely two tools in a vast kit? The construction of the whole concept suggests a narrow reading. Jack is conceived as a "swordsman" and a "martial" character, meaning that gunplay and magic, tools available to the Gunslinger and Bard respectively, are not available to him within the concept. While a player could conceivably play a character who simply does not use guns or cast magic spells (or has a casting stat too low to permit spellcasting), this seems an onerous burden to place on a player and weakens the class possibly past the point of reasonable balance.
[3] The features offered by the desired class, and the desired class alone, must now be compared against the concept. In this case, there are three questions to be asked. First, is the Swashbuckler a mundane swordsman and exclusive of concepts that do not include swordplay. Second, does the Swashbuckler include a mechanic to enable it to "show up" NPCs with "wit and daring?" Third, can the Swashbuckler do these things without requiring other material from restricted classes? That the Swashbuckler is a mundane class is obvious from its lack of spellcasting. It is similarly obvious that it is a swordfighter. Its class description relies on fencing imagery and regaining panache points is dependent upon wielding a "light or one-handed, piercing melee weapon." It might be argued that the Swashbuckler is overrestricted to using rapiers, but that only serves to strengthen the argument here that the Swashbuckler is supposed to be a swordfighter. With access to full BAB and native Weapon Finesse, a swashbuckler should be able to match or exceed, in other words, show up, the to-hit of an NPC swordfighter of comparable level. It was stated above that the grit mechanic adequately represented "wit and daring" within the rules, and if that statement is true, then the same must be true of panache, as it is the same mechanic under a different name. There remains, however, the question of whether damage and deeds contribute to "showing up." Taking the class on its own, damage will still come from Strength. The Strength of a Swashbuckler will naturally be lower than that of typical NPCs built to use Strength for both to-hit and damage. A plausible argument could be made that "showing up" does not mean "outdoing" but rather "embarrassing," in which case damage would be irrelevant. While the concept is ambiguous on this point, support for this notion comes from the deeds, which seem to support, at first level, a combat style based around dodging and riposting, maneuvers meant to rile and disrupt the opponent.
[4] It remains to be seen whether this concept can be played without further material from the Advanced Class Guide. Such material is needed, for example, to gain Dexterity to damage in a relatively (using the term very loosely) straightforward way. As outlined above, however, dealing a large amount of damage does not seem to be central to the concept, either of the player or of the class as designed. I'm not, however, convinced that this won't become an issue.
As for the balancing test, I'll admit to a lack of familiarity with the Advanced Class Guide in general and with the Swashbuckler in particular. I like to play arcane casters and so did not follow the playtest much beyond the Arcanist and Bloodrager. And I'm usually a player rather than a GM, so while I do own the book as a .pdf I haven't explored it much beyond my immediate interests. This is not a heavy factor in and of itself, but coupled with the fact that the Advanced Class Guide has a reputation for poor editing and conflicting rules, and with the fact that I'd be exercising rusty GMing skills in an unfamiliar environment, I'd like some assurances that the Swashbuckler, at least, won't be a pain to run.
Please feel free to restructure and strengthen your argument with an eye towards meeting this standard. If I were you in this situation, I'd pay special attention to points 3 and 4 of the prima facie case, and to things that will make running a Swashbuckler easy. If I don't receive an amended argument by Friday, I'll enter the example judgment as final, but since you need to edit Jack anyway to bring him in line with the point buy and gold requirements, I don't foresee your unavailability being a problem.
* * *
I'm not sure I need to lay out a standard for dispensations on race. The Advanced Race Guide is an unrestricted source, after all, and I can't think of a race one might want to use that is not detailed in, or buildable with, it. So far, no one has requested a dispensation on race, and time is running out. But does anyone think I should elaborate a standard anyway?
I will say that I will be restricting racial archetypes to their printed races, and will be complying with FAQ rulings on the matter making racial archetypes available to races with some heritage in the races with which the archetypes are associated.
* As there is no adversary party to present countervailing evidence, any standard higher than production (preponderance of the evidence, clear and convincing evidence, etc.) would be meaningless.
Arkren Bass wrote:
I've included a more easily read Crunch alternative that is more inline with formats given before. Let me know if there are any issues.
I'm pretty sure your Fort save modifier should be +2 (2 base + 0 Con). Am I missing some bonus?
Cydrius wrote:
Out of curiosity, and for our GM's convenience, I've compiled a list of the current applicants.
If I've missed anyone, please let me know.
Arcane
Chaenath Woodsea - Witch
Agggghh the Unclean - Sorcerer
Also looks good. Just to be clear, your HP is 1d8+3, including the favored class bonus?
Arasti Fadamlia wrote:
I've...removed siege weapons skills from his stats...I do not plan to introduce or pursue gunpowder firearms plot in this campaign if you don't like that.
May I ask why? I hope I haven't made any statements that deterred you from taking such skills or from pursuing firearms later.
The stats as they are look fine, but please feel free to include firearm-related or siege-related things if you want to.
Mokshai wrote:
GM Zimmer, these are the answers you were wondering about.
Thanks.
cctodd wrote:
GM Zimmer, here's my updated crunch.
Okey dokey lokey.
Arkren Bass wrote:
GM Zimmer, I've updated this character with everything and fleshed him out a bit. Let me know if there is anything wrong. If you would like the crunchy part of the character in a different format, please let me know. Not 100% sure what is the standard here :D
I like the format I used to speculate on Mokshai's character, which is based on Paizo's standard statblock. But I typed that out manually so I wouldn't expect anyone else to use it even though I find it easiest to read. As I understand it, the "standard" format is downloaded from Herolab.
Cyranal is using studded leather, Racial trait is ancestral arms only.
Trained skills, swim, spellcraft, religion, heal profession cook.
racial bonus, perception.
Please adjust all int, and wis skills down by 1. I forgot to adjust for changing to a 15 point buy.
Okay...it looks like I'll have to build this character myself to check the figures. I'll get back to you soon.
This is what I know from the information you've given me.
Cyranal:
CYRANAL DANNICEN
Male half-elf cleric of Besmara 1
N Medium humanoid (human, elf)
Init +1; Senses low-light vision; Perception +4
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +4; +2 vs. enchantments
Immunesleep
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee longspear +1 (1d8+1/x3) or
..heavy mace +1 (1d8+1) or
..dagger +1 (1d4+1/19-20)
Ranged sling +1 (1d4+1) or
..dagger +1 (1d4+1/19-20)
Special Attacks channel positive or negative? energy 1d6 (3/day, DC 10)
Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; Concentration +3)
..domain SLA 1, domain SLA 2 Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 1st; Concentration +3)
..1st—spell, bonus spell, domain spell (D)
..0 (at will)—orison, orison, orison
..Domainsdomain 1, domain 2
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 13, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 12
Feats Exotic/Martial Weapon Proficiency (weapon)(B), Fast Learner
TraitsCampaign Trait, Trait Skills Heal +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +4, Profession (cook) +6, Spellcraft +6, Swim -1
Languages Aquan, Common, Elven, Polyglot
SQ Elf blood, multitalented
Combat Gear acid (2); Other Gear Studded leather, dagger, heavy mace, longspear, sling with 20 bullets, bandolier, blanket (2), cleric's kit, cooking kit(AA), dungeoneering kit, gear maintenance kit, grappling hook, grooming kit, healer's kit
Information I still need is in ooc tags.
Doomguide wrote:
Dropping con so i still have some channels.
Looks good.
Chaenath Woodsea wrote:
Huh, it's in the fluff but not noted in other places. An otter named Swum. Providing the +3 to swim.
I could come up with something else but I had always wanted to try playing a archer kind of character and monks are one of my personal favs.
Give it a shot!
Doomguide wrote:
Here is Gunter Bilgebeard. A thoroughly disreputable dwarven cleric.
No wonder he's disreputable, he's using a 17 point buy! I surmise his Charisma's supposed to be 6 instead of an 8. Other than that, I don't see problems.
MannyGoblin wrote:
Here are the stats of Aghhhh the Unclean.
Seems correct.
Cydrius wrote:
How will you be handling health? Max at full level, half rounded up at consecutive ones?
Characters will receive maximum hit points per hit die at first level, average hit points per hit die at all levels thereafter. For example, a character with d10 hit dice would receive 10 base hit points at first level, 5 base hit points at second level, 6 base hit points at third level, 5 base hit points at fourth level, and so on.
Mokshai wrote:
Cyranal is using studded leather, Racial trait is ancestral arms only.
Trained skills, swim, spellcraft, religion, heal profession cook.
racial bonus, perception.
Please adjust all int, and wis skills down by 1. I forgot to adjust for changing to a 15 point buy.
Okay...it looks like I'll have to build this character myself to check the figures. I'll get back to you soon.
Odentin wrote:
I have absolutely NO desire to play in a 15 point buy game. Especially not in a Paizo AP, which are balanced around 20 point, and PARTICULARLY not in one that has a reputation for being overly lethal, at least within the first book.
It's your choice, of course, but APs are balanced around 15 point buy, not 20, and I don't know where you got that impression. Is it from Pathfinder Society, because that is balanced around a 20 point buy.
Best of luck out there in the world, and I'm sad to see you go.
Chaenath Woodsea wrote:
Updated to 15 point buy.
Looks good but for one thing; what, if anything, is your familiar?
Cydrius wrote:
Submitting Nathaniel "Shark" Requin for the game. Please let me know if there are any issues with his profile, thank you!
Nathaniel's entitled to at least another trained skill (4 base skill points + 1 race + 1 intelligence = 6) and to at least 13 total hit points (12 base + 1 constitution). He's also entitled to a favored class bonus.
cctodd wrote:
Ah. Gear. I knew I'd forget something.
Would you prefer that I procure my goods before recruitment is wrapped up, or is that something that can wait till after?
I'd prefer getting as much information as possible as soon as possible.
Which armor Cyranal is wearing. I'm pretty sure it's an armored coat, but I need to be sure;
Which alternate racial traits Cyranal has. I'm pretty sure it's only Water Child, but I need to be sure;
In which skills Cyranal actually has ranks or racial bonuses. I'm pretty sure he's supposed to have ranks in Appraise, Heal, Knowledge [religion], Profession [cook], Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Survival, but...you know the drill. Please remove references to skills that are only listed because Cyranal has an armor check penalty. If I know what armor he has, I can figure out the penalties to an untrained check;
Cyranal's correct skill bonuses. By my count, he has too many trained skills, some of those skills, like Spellcraft, have too-high bonuses, and some, like Appraise, have too-low bonuses.
Arasti Fadamlia wrote:
I'd like to jump in with this character.
Arasti was created specially for Skull & Shackles. He references some concepts of gunslinging in his backstory and I don't really know is this allowed or not. Anyway, I can keep it influencing his actions to minimum, as he is pretty secretive about this part of his life.
I will update his character list and equipment if he is selected.
I have little problem with gunslinging either conceptually or mechanically.
Please revise Arasti from a 20-point buy character to a 15-point buy character before Friday. While I can get the gist of what he might look like by reducing his array to 15 points while maintaining the proportions, I need to know what you want him to look like, not what I imagine him to be. I also can't judge what many of his true secondary stats, like skill modifiers, should be without knowledge of his true ability scores.
Chaenath Woodsea wrote:
Hi, here's my alias from the interest check thread. Didn't make it into another game so she's ready to go except need to change her point buy. She is from a traditional isolationist elf clan who, instead of shunning anything outside the forest as she should, is instead obsessed with the sea and basically exiles herself becoming a water patron witch in the process.
Please revise Chaenath from a 20-point buy character to a 15-point buy character before Friday. Ditto everything I said about Arasti.
Reinald Malcoms wrote:
This is Reinald Malcoms. He was made for another S&S campaign that fizzled out. I would love to see him back in action. Happy to amend as needed.
Reinald's bonus to Profession (sailor) checks should be +4: 1 rank + 3 class + 1 trait - 1 Wisdom. His bonus to Knowledge (geography) checks should be +5: 1 rank + 3 class + 1 trait. Other than that, he looks fine.
Ask and you shall receive! If you were interested in Odentin's proposed Skull & Shackles game, this is the place to submit characters for consideration. There are, of course, some guidelines to what I'll consider. If you can, please make characters:
Of any race detailed in a first-party book published before July 2012;
Of any class and archetype detailed in a first-party book published before July 2012;
Of first level, with all that entails in terms of hit points and favored class bonuses;
With ability scores bought using 15 points;
With average wealth for the character's class;
With two traits, including one campaign trait from the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide;
With a believable character history;
With a compelling motivation to engage in the campaign and to see it through.
If you require a dispensation on points 1 or 2 in order to fully realize a concept, I promise to be open to your arguments, delivered either in this thread or via personal message. I plan to accept four characters on Friday, September 19, 2014. If you require an extension, I promise to be open to your arguments, though I would prefer such requests to be delivered via personal message only.
"What, the Old Light?" says Jargie, when you ask him about it, "I guess you could check it out, but you'd be missing out on the fun." His face breaks open into an ugly, but still charming, grin. "Y'know, I bet ol' Quink'll be down at the festival. If ya can find him, he'll tell ya 'bout the Old Light." Jargie gets a conspiratorial look on his face, and leans in to whisper. "He's a bit of a crackpot, though, so watch what ya believe."
Jargie has to leave to get his meal ready for lunch, but some of the people you ask point out Brodert Quink soon enough. He's an old man with white hair that you can tell has been falling out, a well-trimmed beard, and wrinkles. At the moment he's arguing with the owner of a stall that seems to be selling books. Around the stall are scattered other vendors and entertainers. From where you are you can spy an old woman offering to divine the future and a man with wispy gray hair manipulating what looks like a giant soap bubble with the tips of his fingers.
Caerwyn:
You find upon your arrival to the square that a stage has been erected just in front of the church, and that it commands a view of the square. Sheriff Hemlock seems to guess your intentions, and, scowling, tells you to keep off it. "I would'a wanted you up there myself, and a couple others," he explains, "but Mayor Deverin said no. Said it would spoil the atmosphere." After that he stumps off and leaves you to your own devices.
You manage to find a spot to the left of the stage from where you can see all the entrances to the square. Even including only the roads, and not the gaps between buildings, there are far too many for your liking. You explain this to Sheriff Hemlock when he next comes around on his rounds, and he sympathizes. As he's talking, however, you notice a graceful-looking woman staring in your direction. She's carrying a scimitar and her clothes fall like she's wearing them over armor.
Jin:
"I could tell you stories," says Ameiko, an impish smile playing over her face. "Folk have been coming here for years, hunting the Sandpoint Devil. They say it's a horse that walks like a man, with the wings of a bat, the tail of a dragon, and the fangs of a monster from the vasty deep. Nobody's ever found it, but sometimes adventurers go out looking for it and are never heard from again." She chuckles.
"I don't know where it lives, if anywhere, and neither will Kendra or Belor," she says, a little more seriously. "That's the mayor and sheriff," she explains. "But Belor's a grouchy, nosy stick in the mud, so if there was any real danger afoot, he'd know. You'll probably find him in the church square, hollering at kids to keep off the grass. If he's not doing that you can find him by the reflection off his shiny bald head."
The entertainments you find scattered around the border of the square include an archery contest, a beanbag throw, a tug of war, and a lizard race. There's also an old woman offering to divine the future and a man with wispy gray hair manipulating what looks like a giant soap bubble with the tips of his fingers. Near the church itself a makeshift wooden stage has been erected. No one is on it at the moment, but off to the side you spot a well-muscled man in armor with dark skin and a shaved head talking earnestly to another man. The other is also armored, but is much thinner, with straight gray hair.
Teobold:
Belven seems to be friendly and with no ulterior motives. During breakfast you try to engage him in talk about business, but he laughs it off, saying that the shipping line's thriving. Ethram, Belven's elderly father, starts to warn his son to keep an eye on the Scarnettis to make sure they're paying the full cost to ship their lumber down to Magnimar, but Belven assures him it's fine.
The walk from the manor house of the Valdemar family is a pleasant one, shaded by trees on either side of the road and accompanied by the burbling of the Turandurok River. From the road you can see the white sails of ships coming and going from the dock. "Normally we go south when we want to walk," explains Belven, gesturing down the Lost Coast Road. "When you go this way most days all you can hear is the sawmill. But Titus – Lord Scarnetti to you – let his workers off for the day, and the mill's still." He gives an embarrassed smile at the somewhat lame rhyme.
The road begins to fill up with people as you cross the river into town, and it's not long before you find yourself in the church square. An empty wooden stage sits in front of the grand stone doors of the new cathedral, and vendors and entertainers jockey for your attention – and business – around the edges of the square. From where you are you can see an archery contest, a beanbag throw, a tug of war, and a lizard race. There's also an old woman offering to divine the future and a man with wispy gray hair manipulating what looks like a giant soap bubble with the tips of his fingers.
Timor:
Your head buzzing pleasantly from the drink, you wander down to the square. The edges of the square are crowded with vendors and entertainers, including an archery contest, a beanbag throw, a tug of war, and a lizard race. There's also an old woman offering to divine the future and a man with wispy gray hair manipulating what looks like a giant soap bubble with the tips of his fingers. The folk of Sandpoint crowd in the middle, but nobody seems to have picked out a place yet. You are able to root yourself a few feet from the lip of a wooden stage that's been set up in front of the cathedral. Some men in armor who look like guards are talking off to the side.
