Giovanni Valdriano's page

Giovanni is at 34, IIRC, but I haven't applied that last cert, because I didn't think I would get a chance for it to matter.

He's been around for a long, long time. I would bring him out for tables that seemed ready to deal with his unorthodox combat style, which seem to have been pretty rare. He is a fighter built to prevent damage, not deal it. He can trip, disarm, and/or reposition nearly anything those actions make sense against. He LOVES grabbing flyers and forcing them to the ground with reposition. Enlarge him for reach, and the games just get better, but he plans to work at human size.

He was originally an enforcer for the Scarzani faction, and got converted based on his faction number at some point, and played a couple of games before I noticed, so . . ..

His task is to keep the mission specialists alive so that they can do their job. Even if it kills him. Again.

Probably my favorite moment with Giovanni was the end of The Lion's Justice. He won initiative. Being a straight Fighter, he had plenty of movement (despite being in Full Plate) to walk over to the big baddie on his mount preparing to charge the party, and simply Repositioned him off the mount and back between Giovanni and the party. No mounted charging ride-by attacks on the party, so no noticeable damage. Sure, the lion did some damage to Giovanni, but it wasn't that bad . . ..

The significant rule applying to Giovanni's build that I always have trouble remembering is that the Quicken Reposition changes the action type only during my turn, so Reposition isn't available as an AoO.

As a straight human fighter with a negative Wisdom, his Will save is a weak point, of course. Nobody's perfect. His trained skills are Climb, Handle Animal, Intimidate, and Swim. Thug enforcer, not lookout.

Edit: Found the cert from May of 21. Not much there which should affect this, I don't think. "Unleashing the Untouchable." Might throw some cash at an enlarge wand and some happy stick(s), but used most of my cash on cert 33. <shrug>

Double Edit: Ooh! Need to check the rules on available bonuses . . .. He "earned" just over 16K on that cert (Yes, Wealth option for those that know), and the difference between a +3 and a +4 weapon is (32K+-18K+=14K) +1 to his attack and damage, but net +3 to his CMB/CMD while using the primary chain just makes him potentially that much more impactful.

Triple Edit: Only requires Fame of 45? EASLY DONE. Cool. Guess I have cause to apply that cert, now, don't I?

Water affinity.
Wealth.

Thank you for catering to a complete stranger.

"What can you tell me of Varisian history? Or is all of it too recent?

The human just stares at the Aasimar for a moment. "You're not that naïve. Are you really that stupid? 'I regret that I have but one life to give for my country!' Well, along comes Marta and you can have MORE. And either we'll have to take those or you'll take ours. NO! Don't put that thing back in the fight!"

No roll of any sort. Boring human fighter, see?

Sorry, guess I needed to say it again? The movement caused by Giovanni's reposition provokes for those who threaten the axiomite.

After looking at it, I'll stop where I didn't want to, and go to move the opponent 5' North, than 5' towards the ground, and then further down if there's more to push him and more success to use.

I thought that was what the circle represented, the breath radius. I stayed inside the circle, I thought? I'll give it another look after dinner. Got scratch meatsauce simmering I need to pay attention to.

A quick glance shows basically two enemies still fighting. One Giovanni can easily get to and one that he can almost get to. So he goes for the closer. As he gets closer, he hears that he's stepped into a field of silence. He shrugs and moves forward without thinking about it twice.

Once there, he follows protocol, attempting to adjust the enemy's position on the battlefield.

Primary Chain reposition vs Green w/ no party bonuses: 1d20 + 35 ⇒ (11) + 35 = 46

CMD 47 is a failure, of course.
CMD down to 42 moves to directly S of Quenly.
CMD down to 37 moves to directly N of Giovanni.
CMD down to 32 moves 5' closer to ground.

I'm unlikely to get that much, let alone more.

Okay, at home, at my computer, ready to go, and I'm staggered. You're a mean GM. <evil grin> C'mon, smile with me. Gotta keep it light.

Realizing something is wrong, Giovanni tries to provide opportunities to hurt one of the supporting creatures.

Primary Chain Reposition vs. Red w/ Haste & Bard: 1d20 + 35 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 35 + 1 + 3 = 54

If successful, and CMD is 50 or more, Red is brought down 5'. If that does NOT Put Red on the ground, and CMD is between 45 and 50, then Red goes 10' down, or to the floor, whichever is closer. If the first bit DID put Red on the floor, then Red will be pushed 5' away from Giovanni, between the dinosaur and the djinn. This movement provokes from everyone who threatens Red, except me, since my weapon is involved in the maneuver.

Yes.

Doing this on my phone, 'cause I'm out of town right now . . ..

Having already pulled his chain, Giovanni used a point of elemental might for a free standard to move forward. He moves through the opening next to the djinn, stepping past Marta, ending adjacent to the boss. Then he begins a full attack series every success will provoke from anyone who threatens the inevitable.

Can't work through all the duplicative bonuses while on the phone, so I'm working with base and haste only. I already have luck bonuses on my maneuvers, for instance.

First Giovanni will attempt a simple reposition, then he will perform a trip as Vector hasn't been described as flying, thatvI noticed. No weapons, so I have to skip that choice. If he misses, either cleanly or due to blur, use the next roll to try again.

Reposition w/ Haste: 1d20 + 35 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 35 + 1 = 50
Since yellow moved up and prevented the move I had in mind, success will move it 5' to the right. +5 will move it diagonally 5' up and right. +10 or more will force it to the ground.

Trip w/ Haste iterative: 1d20 + 37 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (1) + 37 + 1 - 5 = 34 Automiss

Trip w/ Haste iterative: 1d20 + 37 + 1 - 10 ⇒ (1) + 37 + 1 - 10 = 29 Automiss. Twice in a row?
Seriously?

Haste Trip w/ Haste: 1d20 + 37 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 37 + 1 = 42 Reposition will be 2 less.

Successful Trip provokes from everyone, including Giovanni.

AoO1 for damage w/ Haste: 1d20 + 27 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 27 + 1 = 32
P, magic: 2d4 + 9 ⇒ (2, 2) + 9 = 13

And I just thought about rolling the Blur miss myself, but, since I already know about the 2 1's, it would be cheating to insert those rolls in the stream.

"C'mon Fossilblight! Let's just break this thing!"

Yes, that is explicitly meant to be activating the once per day special ability.

Giovanni releases a full series of two-handed attacks on the opal.

Attack 1 w/ melee & weapon +3: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 3 = 24
Piercing, +3 weapon, adamantine, ignore hardness/DR, 2-handed: 1d6 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 3 = 8
Attack 2 w/ melee & weapon +3: 1d20 + 14 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 3 - 5 = 19
Piercing, +3 weapon, adamantine, ignore hardness/DR, 2-handed: 1d6 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 3 = 8
Attack 3 w/ melee & weapon +3: 1d20 + 14 + 3 - 10 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 3 - 10 = 8
Piercing, +3 weapon, adamantine, ignore hardness/DR, 2-handed: 1d6 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 3 = 11

Assuming that it is really hard to miss a basically motionless rock . . ..

The second shot shifted the stone enough that the third glanced off the side and sent it skittering around the bowl.

"I sure hope not, Barm. We may need you to hold the line against whatever decides to try to stop us, though. Hopefully this won't take long."

Sweat pours from the human standing over the basin, magical protection from heat or not. As they receive the warning, he shrugs. "Above my pay grade. I know what I'm supposed to do . . .."

He begins trying to remember how to activate the pick's ability to break things easier than it should, planning to do it right before he swings the first time. After all, he's uncertain how many strikes this will take. He doesn't have the might of Barm, after all.

"Drop it in the basin. Bathe it in flame, turn it off. Quench it. Then I'll strike it. Don't try to do both of the first two at the same time.

"Well, THAT'S easier!"

Giovanni hangs his chain from the hooks on his armor, and pulls out the pick, before taking up a position next to the basin.

"Are we supposed to say 'Friend' and enter, or something?"

"I said I wanted in if we needed the casting. I meant it. Now, how long do you think we need to leave it in the Trueflame before we pull it out, douse it, and then smash it? Feeling kinda good about carrying the pick right now, cause getting it in and out of the Trueflame shouldn't be my problem . . .."

"Okay, so, if that's supposed to have done it, where's the Trueflame?"

Giovanni looks to Barm, assuming the man's trained to better break things.

Works.

We could wish that all opposition would be rendered ineffective before our arrival.

We could wish that the destruction of the opal happened minutes before he was released from the cage.

We could wish for more traditional things, like attribute bumps or innate magical abilities.

Either he's here specifically to put Wish on the cert, or he's a trap.

The Trueflame immunity is a cool idea for the event at hand, though. And seems to be the kind of thing that should be within scope.

I really am suspicious it is a trap. Creature of fire? No guards? His equipment at hand?

How many of us are willing to bet mission success on your thought, when error could result in complete mission failure, with no chance for recovery?

This is a point where being conservative seems the best chance for success.

He doesn't even hesitate to speak out loud. "An enemy of my enemy gambit? Seems too convenient, and far too simple. But I'm a cynic."

Agreed. Seems the best choice. I know I'm playing a fighter, but not getting into fights (while still getting the job done) is fine with me!

WOW! Lots of posts today!

"Uh, yeah. You guys work that out. I'll go over here by the door and wait in case anybody comes along to interfere . . .."

"There's a front door. Somebody coming up behind us can happen anyway. Won't hurt to check it out, though."

Guys, I was serious. If you want somebody up front who will spot stuff, put them before me. It is more important to lean on your partners where you are weak than it is to push to optimize where you are strong.

"Generally, I work better at the front, but if you want somebody keen-eyed, I am NOT your man. I can fail to find my pouch while it is on my belt!"

"Left is always right!"

"[b]So, he was pretty aggressive. How far short of this Trueflame do you think he fell? How much hotter is it going to be?]/b]"

Reflex vs Burn when attacked w/ Bard Song DC22: 1d20 + 15 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 15 + 3 = 29
Fort vs Grey Cloud w/ Bard Song DC22: 1d20 + 16 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 16 + 3 = 20

I think these two aren't really required, but, just for completeness if nothing else.

Reflex vs Burn Aura w/ Bard Song DC22: 1d20 + 15 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 15 + 3 = 33
Will vs Fear Aura w/ Bravery & Bard Song DC22: 1d20 + 7 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 4 + 3 = 18

So he avoids the real damage, but the other 2 effects could have been a problem . . ..

"Wings of Flying? Nice. Don't think I can afford to give up my cloak, though./"

Drop my Will save to a +3? Do you LIKE having Barm able to attack?

6 more charges from my happy stick cover the listed -33.

I had missed the Bard Song benefits until Reiko's remimder in his post. I figured I didn't need to bring it up unless it mattered. Well, the +3 AC is enough to make that first slam attack miss. Second still hits, though. Exactly. My apologies

Will post actions after work.

Okay, his AoO missed. Do I still need to make the Reflex?

Thank you all for your understanding.

Will w/ Bravery & I forgot where the +2 shown in the stat line came from, so I'm dropping it: DC 18: 1d20 + 7 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 4 = 19

Giovanni, looks about, takes stock, and realizes what he's going to need to do.

Engage logic tree. First leg - If and only if Giovanni thinks he can reach Red from below, he will move up and attempt to reposition the opponent to be easier for his companions to hit. Begin leg/

Blessing of Fervor - taking +2 Attack/Defense this round

He walks up to the big opponent and smiles. "This could be a challenge!" as he goes to pull the fire elemental to the ground.

I'm assuming I can reach him, if I can't, well, I have no reason to go over there, do I?

Primary chain Reposition attempt vs Red w/ Hunter's Blessing & Blessing of Fervor: 1d20 + 35 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 35 + 2 + 2 = 54

Success will move him down 5' 5 over will move him to ground level. 10 over will move him towards Otto and Allison. 15 over will pull him toward Giovanni, making the puny human share space with the mythic fire elemental. 20 over will force him to the ground (effectively using 5' of movement for a couple of inches or so. That movement provokes from everyone who Threatens Red, except me.

AC36/T21/F28/CMD35+

End First leg.
Second logical leg - If Blue is still moving

Blessing of Fervor - Giovanni takes the additional movement, and scuttles over to Blue, where he trips Blue to provoke from both himself and Barm.

Primary Chain to Trip w/ Hunter's Blessing: 1d20 + 35 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 35 + 2 = 42

Assuming success - provokes from all who threaten, but AoOs take place BEFORE prone bonus applies

Primary Chain AoO (1 of 8) w/ Hunter's Blessing: 1d20 + 27 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 27 + 2 = 30
Piercing, Magic, w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3) + 9 + 2 = 17

Probably not very effective. But the point really was to get Barm another attack, anyway. Okay. Natura 1 on the attack roll. Completely ineffective. <sigh>

End 2nd logical leg. If neither leg applies, well . . .. I'll have to consider after knowing that neither applies.

Slide 10. Got it. Moving to where Marta and Barm are? Trying to figure out how to catch up . . ..

Home for a "quick stop" tonight. Going back to get the daughter's car tomorrow, so, another 7 hours on the road for the round trip. <shrug>

Life should be almost normal for work on Monday, and after.

I am 3ish hours East of home, with my 27 year old daughter in a neurological ICU.

She is supposed to be in observation for 24~48 hours. Beennworking this issue since 0500 local this morning. I make no promises about posting on my phone through this.

"Okay, so we stay close together and keep moving until we find this jet of Trueflame, right?"

"This is even the kind of work picks were actually invented for. Combat picks are an adaptation. Like so many other weapons. Time to sweat, it seems."

"I think the opposition will be lighter off-road. I think the road could be faster, despite the additional conflict. Trade-offs suck. Are we more worried about time, or healing magics?"

Giovanni keeps his chain out and ready. "Yeah, I think we're good to move. As for the bracelets, I could wear them, sure, but I yield to Barm if he wants them."

Giovanni raises his hand. "I could use a little boost from a stick, myself." He pulls another happy stick out and offers it for use.

Looks like 8 charges for 44 out of 45 HP damage mitigated.

"Yeah, let's get moving."

Nah. Love the reason. It kind of sums up his approach to many things. I was just trying to understand why it was there. I do now.

Round 3
Blessing of Fervour: 1 Extra Attack at Highest Bonus

"Where did YOU come from? Just go back, m'kay?" Looking to his teammates, he whines (a little): "Just a beat down is so simple and basic!"

Full Attack +, just damage against a troop
First iterative w/ Hunters's Blessing & Heroism: 1d20 + 27 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 27 + 2 + 2 = 40
Piercing, Magic w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 9 + 2 = 16

Second iterative w/ Hunters's Blessing & Heroism: 1d20 + 27 - 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 27 - 5 + 2 + 2 = 30
Piercing, Magic w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2) + 9 + 2 = 14

Third iterative w/ Hunters's Blessing & Heroism: 1d20 + 27 - 10 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 27 - 10 + 2 + 2 = 28
Piercing, Magic w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (3, 4) + 9 + 2 = 18

Blessing of Fervour w/ Hunters's Blessing & Heroism: 1d20 + 27 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 27 + 2 + 2 = 51
Piercing, Magic w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 9 + 2 = 16

Confirm Blessing of Fervour w/ Hunters's Blessing & Heroism: 1d20 + 27 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 27 + 2 + 2 = 34
Piercing, Magic w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (2, 1) + 9 + 2 = 14

And again he steps outside of the formation for a quick breath of fresh air.

Hunh. 28 seems problematic. 30 just feels better. 60 or 78, depending, if I'm right. Both below average. With the same DR 10/-, though, they are effectively only 30 or 38. Just not his type of fight. <shrug> Happens.

I have made the Reflex saves and was within the radius of the resistance, right? Why do you show a burn status for Giovanni?

Home from work and grandkids eating . . .. Barm: Don't forget your Vital Strike damage is a mite more aggressive. Now, where am I?

Reflex w/ Heroism & Lecture: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 15 + 2 + 3 = 23

So, the 19 gets cut in half, and even if we call it 10, the resistance eliminates it. Cool.

Blessing of Fervour +30' to speed this round

Giovanni strolls around to the side of the formation, coming at them from a flank, but their sheer numbers let a group give him their attention regardless.

Plenty of movement to go out and come back in, staying more than 10' out until he closes.

Having moved up to the second unit, Giovanni offers some of them a release from their servitude, if they'll stand still enough for it.

Single Attack w/ Hunters's Blessing+Heroism+Lecture: 1d20 + 27 + 2 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 27 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 44
Piercing, Magic w/ Hunter's Blessing: 2d4 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (1, 1) + 9 + 2 = 13

I was referring more to the both sides than the number of spaces moved through. One critter (swarm/troop) moving through multiple spaces only provokes once, for provoking movement, regardless on if they run laps around you or what. No sweat either way.

The Buff Page is working, now. Cool. Thank you!