It seems that some of us know each other and some do not. What brings us all to this cafe in Passage at the same time?
This:
EltonJ wrote:
It's a blustery day. The wind moved like a saw through the trees, as a Low from the Eldeen Bay impacts the nation of Aundair. The low pressure means to bring some rain in the form of Thunderstorms, as it clashes with a High pressure over the village of Passage. Your group is in Passage, and you are enjoying a windy spring day.
Also, your group is one that knows each other. Whether friends or acquaintances, you have to decide. It's noon, and all of you are enjoying lunch in a cafe.
Describe your lunch. And yes, you can include coffee. Coffee is grown in tropical climes -- whether it's Valanar, Breland, or Zilargo.
You can just happen to recognize Jeren by chance as you pass by in the cafè.
Certain things can be difficult, but old tech has its down sides as well. This site has many crufty proprietary features I'd love to update. Especially the downloads. It's not the only one. Most RPG game sites are terrible when it comes to accessing PDFs you've bought.
Oh yes, totally agree there!
I think by now there are way better modern solutions which would also help the shop/forum issue.
But IT is expensive and entrepreneurs want to save their money as much as possible. Everyone wants to be able to rent Venice for their wedding^^
There was a web extension where you could do that, albeit only for yourself.
However you could link the picture for the players and they could then also do it.
Bit of work, but costumizing.
Ser Jeren d'Jorasco, the Sunstep Knight
Race: Halfling
Class: Paladin (Virtuous Bravo archetype)
Deity: Dol Arrah
Dragonmarked House: House Jorasco (Least Dragonmark of Healing)
Origin: Talenta Plains, later trained in Aundair
Mount: Clawfoot raptor named Brightfang
Backstory:
Born beneath the golden skies of the Talenta Plains, Jeren d’Jorasco was never like the other halflings of his clan. While his kin focused on healing, herbs, and tribal customs, young Jeren was enchanted by the stories of Dol Arrah—the Shining Champion, the goddess of sunlight and valor. While others saw war as something to be endured, he saw it as a stage for courage, justice, and sacrifice.
Jeren came from a respected healing family within House Jorasco, and the least dragonmark of healing bloomed on his hand at the age of ten. While this marked him as valuable to his house, he felt his calling led elsewhere—not to a clinic or mercenary healing contract, but to the battlefield, where light was needed most.
When he came of age, Jeren left the plains and traveled to Aundair, seeking structured training in both swordplay and divine philosophy. It was there, in the shining temples and martial halls of Fairhaven, that he pledged himself fully to Dol Arrah. He refused to don the clanging metal of typical knights, instead perfecting an agile fighting style built on speed, precision, and dazzling footwork—the path of a Virtuous Bravo. His ability to heal with both divine touch and dragonmark only deepened his legend.
Despite his urban training, Jeren never forgot his roots. He returned to the Talenta plains upon completing his oaths, and there he forged a bond with a spirited clawfoot raptor he named Brightfang—a creature as fierce and swift as his ideals. The two are inseparable, their combat a blend of holy fire and primal speed. Brightfang wears barding etched with sunbursts and Aundairian filigree, a fusion of tribe and temple.
Though smaller than most knights, Ser Jeren’s radiant aura makes him seem ten feet tall. He serves now as a wandering champion of Dol Arrah, a light among shadows, and a beacon of justice. He believes that to fight for the good is noble—but to do so with style, compassion, and honor is divine.
Personality Traits
Ideal: “Honor is not a code—it’s a choice you make every day.”
Bond: “Brightfang is more than a steed. We ride as one spirit.”
Flaw: Sometimes underestimates how dangerous others can be—he believes too strongly in redemption.
Appearance
Eyes: Amber-gold, bright and alert
Hair: Sandy brown, swept back and often tied with a red sash
Clothing: Polished chain shirt, accented with sun motifs and tribal beadwork
Mark: A faintly glowing dragonmark of healing on his left palm
Steed: Brightfang
Species: Clawfoot Raptor
Appearance: Sleek scales of deep green with golden stripes along the spine; intelligent amber eyes
Personality: Loyal, fiercely protective, with a tendency to purr when praised
Armor: Light leather barding adorned with Talenta featherwork and Dol Arrah’s sunburst
Movie plot spoiler:
Halfling Paladin
Male halfling (Talenta Plains) paladin (virtuous bravo) 1
LG Small humanoid (halfling)
Init +6; Senses Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 size)
hp 12 (1d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +3; +2 vs. fear, +2 vs. death
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee halfling sling staff +2 (1d6/×3) or
. . talenta tangat +6 (1d8/18-20)
Ranged talenta boomerang +6 (1d3) or
. . sling +6 (1d3)
Special Attacks smite evil 1/day (+4 attack, +0 AC, +1 damage)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . 1/day—cure light wounds Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . At will—detect evil
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 18
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 14 (12 vs. dirty trick)
Feats Fey Foundling[ISWG], Least Dragonmark
Traits envoy of healing, frontier healer, reactionary
Skills Diplomacy +8, Handle Animal +10, Heal +9, Knowledge (nobility) +4, Perception +6, Ride +10, Sense Motive +4; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception
Languages Common, Halfling
SQ bravo's finesse, naive, warslinger[APG]
Combat Gear healer's kit; Other Gear chain shirt, halfling sling staff, sling, sling bullets (60), talenta boomerang, talenta tangat, bit and bridle, canteen[UE], feed (per day) (2), masterwork backpack[APG], silk rope (50 ft.), tabard[UE], wooden holy symbol of Dol Arrah, clawfoot, blanket, military saddle, riding saddle, saddlebags, wandermeal, 50 gp, 3 sp
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Special Abilities
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Bravo's Finesse (Ex) Use Dex for att with light/1-hand pierce wep. Use Cha instead of Int for combat feat pre-reqs.
Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell).
Fearless +2 bonus to save vs. fear (stacks with halfling luck).
Fey Foundling Magical healing works better on you
Least Dragonmark (Mark of Healing) You have a least dragonmark.
Naive -2 to AC vs. improvised weapons.
Smite Evil (1/day) (Su) +4 to hit, +1 to damage, +0 deflection bonus to AC when used.
Warslinger Reloading a sling is a free action (which still requires 2 hands and provokes AoO).
This is kind of awesome, so many possible paths to follow.
But also so feat intensive somehow.
Dragonmark feats, combat feats for melee and/or ranged, mounted combat feats, Eberron feats, ... soo many^^
Rags is a cranky old wizard. And while I am tech-savvy,...
(I am a theater-tech/actor/etc. So I'm a 'Tech-Wizard') ;P
,... I am old enough to admit I can sometimes be stuck in my ways.
I'm good at running equipment I know. But learning the newest model/newest updates/different brand/etc is always a pain in my keister. :(
I'm sure once I get to play with Discord enough, I'll be somewhere between fine-to-happy with it.
Haha yes i know what you mean, getting old enough to feel that as well.
But since my job is deeper in tech, it's my daily stuff.
A world of it's own with a crazy pace and level of organization.
Sometimes difficult to remember, some people are far away from that.
Critzible with Warforged Artificier
CucumberTree with Half-Orc Battle Wilder
Hayato Ken with Halfling whatever kind of knight
I'm checking out different paths for my vision at the moment, kind of a wanna be halfling knight.
-Paladin - Virtous Bravo
-Cavalier
-Samurai - Warrior Poet Order of the Songbird
-Ranger
Just being a knight as a main stick isn't much flesh to the bone, so he should have some more tricks up his sleeve and bring some utility.
Guess i would rule the Cavalier out there, has the least options.
Paladin is pretty straight forward.
Samurai with that archetype and order is interesting, more skills and would need feats for the mount, but could be really well reflavored a bit to fit a halfling from Talenta i think.
Ranger is very classical as well.
It's a question of a bit of healing or more skills.
As I said before, I try to tailor the campaign around the player characters. So if you are doing a mounted character, then there will be opportunities for you to be mounted. :)
Wow, that's very generous of you, thanks!
I'm working on the character concept and will see how the mechanics go best.
And nice to see there are some other players!
Someone in for cooperative group building?
I'm waiting on another to propose a concept. But yeah, if this was the official campaign (which I'm running for another group), then certain concepts won't work. Since this campaign is open ended, I can tailor the campaign to the players.
Nice!
I love my characters versatile, so shouldn't be a big problem anyways.
But the important question, does a mounted character make sense in your campaign?
Probably the mount is gonna be or stay medium, so might be possible to do indoors.
As I said before, I try to tailor the campaign around the player characters. So if you are doing a mounted character, then there will be opportunities for you to be mounted. :)
Wow, that's very generous of you, thanks!
I'm working on the character concept and will see how the mechanics go best.
That said, it's more comparable to Teamspeak, but you do have:
-Individual Calls and chats
-Servers for groups where you can have different voice channels (with video) and different text channels.
Isn't the sharrash something like a scythe and the Tangat more like a mini Naginata?
It's just a conecpt idea, so i can come up with something different.
Is this adventure good for a mounted character and mounted combat anyways?
The Tangat is something like a scimitar (see page 119 of the Eberron Campaign Setting). Oh, I have them mixed up! The tangat works like an estoc, and the talenta Sharrash is more like a pick. Sorry about mixing them up.
No problem, i wasn't exactly sure either^^
But the important question, does a mounted character make sense in your campaign?
Probably the mount is gonna be or stay medium, so might be possible to do indoors.
So, a halfling virtous bravo Paladin with Talenta origion and feats, riding a dinosaur and wielding the classical Talenta weapons, boomerang, sharrash and tangat, could that be a thing?
Also could those weapons somehow be used with DEX?
I can check. Lets see: a sharrash and tangat are double weapons, meaning they are used with two hands. So, they wouldn't be a weapon to be used with dexterity. However, a talenta (war) boomerang can be used as a dexterity weapon.
Any chance of houseruling that like an estoc or elven spear?
Otherwise it would break the virtous bravo concept and halfings working off STR is a bit special in my eyes.
But i can also take a look how i could make that dinosaur riding halfling knight.
So, a halfling virtous bravo Paladin with Talenta origion and feats, riding a dinosaur and wielding the classical Talenta weapons, boomerang, sharrash and tangat, could that be a thing?
Also could those weapons somehow be used with DEX?
Thanks for this opportunity!
After initial thoughts, i'm thinking about a virtous bravo Paladin, possibly of Dol Arrah or a kind of knowledge focused bard.
That said if there are others players, a UC rogue or a ranger could also be on the table for me. I'm flexible^^
Still don't know whether to do an unarmed or melee build at all with the operative. The comments on that i could find aren't really satisfying or self-explanatory.
Seems to me it's like a rogue in PF1/2 a bit, but of course the game is different.
Operative is definitely the rogue of Starfinder, although as you said there are differences. For an unarmed build, I'd recommend taking 3 levels in Soldier with the Ascetic Warrior alternate class feature. This will give you the foundation you need to make unarmed strikes more than a backup option. The Qi Adept fighting style will get your unarmed to count as magic, which helps with DR and incorporeal creatures as well as being thematic.
From there taking levels in operative and picking up the Death Strike operative talent will let use use trick attack and triple/quad attack with your unarmed strikes.
That should give you everything you need for a viable unarmed operative. It might not be the most tuned build but you'll easily carry your weight. Plus it frees up weapon funds that you can spend on other things. And if we every run into a situation were we don't have weapons you'll be our ace in the hole.
Of course you could also just go straight soldier with the initial set up as well. That'd give you more damage and toughness but less utility.
Thanks for the tips!
Guess i'll skip on the unarmed stuff though, seems just too much trouble and not really effective.
I want to play an operative and not take several levels in different classes just so one thing works^^
Haha, i might root for elf supremacy :P
Still don't know whether to do an unarmed or melee build at all with the operative. The comments on that i could find aren't really satisfying or self-explanatory.
Seems to me it's like a rogue in PF1/2 a bit, but of course the game is different.
I made some inquiries and it seems that melee operatives are not the best and using improved unarmed strike is even worse, except you go for a STR route, what isn't my plan really.
Would there be some compromises or things like the ring of fangs and other crafts possible?
Also, when is this projected to start?
Seems there are 3-4 players, that should be good right?
I'll be away until the end of the year with less to no computer access.
So an operative with high DEX, the 2nd level battleflower specialization for IUS and death strike, giving IUS the operative weapon trait would not make enough damage with trick attack?
I mean i can see how pistols are kind of better, because they are ranged weapons, but the question is more would a DEX build with IUS utterly fail or be playable?
Or better use a melee weapon?
Or avoid melee at all best?
If you're going to be in melee str operative (especialy the new one from interstellar species) is a fun and different way to go.
The nice thing about battleflower as an archetype is that the swaps are optional, so if you like your operative exploits better you take those.
Level 2: Battleflower training for a strength/ melee operative advanced weapon training to pick up weapon proficiency and specilization in advanced melee is amazing: two feats for one exploit. The EAC weapons tend to be advanced, and you want EAC weapons because the bonus to hit with a bunch of d8s outweighs the difference between a d4 and a d6
Level 6 Acrobatic grace is niche but really good when it comes up if you have no social skills.
1 Feat Weapon focus (whatever you hit people with)
2 Battleflower thingy Advanced weapon prof
3 Feat Mobility (free weapon spec. kicks in)
4 Uncanny mobility
5 Toughness ?
6 Acrobatics to make friends
7 Spring attack
Gear: Putting the throwing fusion on your weapon gives you a lot of reach and versatility if you cant get into melee
Is a melee operative with improved unarmed strike, the battleflower archetype and the death strike exploit working?
Or is it better to focus on other weapons?
While 40k can be nice, a certain other company is a real pain, i agree there. I wonder how long they can pull off this behavior before the unavoidable backlash.
On the other hand, there are quite some companies and people in line for some backlash^^
I got the outlines for my character already finished, the rest would be adapted to the other party members and general party composition.
My character would be in for the roles of possibly best pilot in the system, skill monkey and some damage dealing/assassinating/spying/sjady stuff with mark of the shadow dragonmark shenanigans.
Some Castrovelian elves dwell on Asana, rather than Sovyrian.
Lashunta influence—with the aid of elven magic used during the
Gap, some scholars say—has caused these elves to develop limited
telepathy and lashunta magic, as the lashunta racial traits.
This replaces elven immunities and elven magic.
Actually, I think that can work. Are you planning on taking the mark of shadow?
I wasn't planning on taking mark of the shadow, because i did not consider the option.
Might be an interesting option though, how would that work?
I was thinking about taking unarmed attack and the operative exploit which enhances it at some point though. Not sure yet.
