Joe Mashuga's page

No chivalry inquisition (not an allowed source). As for the roles, I tend towards the leader roles but I'm good to sit back if a player wants to take an active role in kingdom-building.

To that end, my current front-runners are:
Ruler or councilor (skald or bard)
Royal enforcer or spymaster (alchemist or investigator)

I'm currently leaning towards a Fated Champion skald - I like the idea of spirits from the past helping (or using) me reclaim lost greatness. The Savage Skald bard is a close second, mostly because I think the inspire courage buff will be a little better in this group, and I may need the extra skills for a bigger face role. (In other words, I'm not sure of the cleric's social skills nor his desire to summon critters.) I'm also looking askance at the battle herald just for grins.

It's meant to be vague as to whether or not putting a gun to someone's head (or a dagger to someone's throat, etc) makes them helpless. A solid ruling basically resolves the conflict -- thus throwing any sense of drama out the window.

It should probably be a situational event. Simply put, it makes a lot more sense for a terrified hostage to be considered helpless, than it does for a hostage who is an experienced combatant.

This sounds like a job for Superm the Intimidate skill...

Thanks for the input thus far! For some strange reason, my problem has been finding fluff that interests me. These all help in certain ways.

Although the Aldori dueling sword and associated feats/archetypes are unavailable (no access to those books), I do like the idea of a skald trying to write his own (or his family's) story into the histories. I may have to talk to the cleric's player about his character ambitions, since he may be the only other reasonable candidate. :)

Use Headbutt!! - Nice connection, maybe Aragorn wasn't a pure ranger after all... sacrilege I know.

I like the potential story options for an alchemist or investigator (and a vivisectionist has more macabre yet still "valid" reasons for wanting to go). A gnome alchemist or investigator could work very well storywise even if it's not an optimal choice in terms of stats.

A cavalier or samurai is somewhat tempting, but we're a fairly melee-heavy group as it is, so right now I'm leaning towards one of the other directions.

This is also a good reminder to myself to read the Kingmaker player's guide again!

Hey all,

My group will be starting a Kingmaker campaign in the near future, and I'm suffering from Too Many Options-itis. I could use an outside perspective, or honestly just some general brainstorming to focus my creative juices in a particular direction. I'm hoping some of you can help!

THE RUNDOWN:
** No AP spoilers please.
** Other characters are: an elf ranger/shapeshifter; a half-elf fighter/cad; a half-orc barbarian; a halfling cleric of Erastil (possibly an archer type); and a human sorcerer with the Sage(?) bloodline.
** Allowable books are Core, APG, UC, UM, and ACG. I can use other books for fluff but no rule elements.
** We're not an optimization-heavy group. It's a 20-point buy but I don't need a build "statted out" -- what I really need here, is assistance with some unique ideas that could play well with Kingmaker.
** I'm currently playing a warpriest in a different game... in fact I tend to play spellcasters, but I'm completely comfortable being a partial- or non-caster this time around.
** I'm aware that we have no trapfinder and no "true" backup healer. I'm not specifically looking to fill either role, but it's obviously not a bad idea.

MY CURRENT (HALF-FORMED) THOUGHTS:
** Investigator is flavorful & intriguing but I keep going back to a generic Mr. Holmes here. I'm intrigued by the thought of an investigator as Royal Assassin or Spymaster... so maybe less Holmes and more Moriarty? The consulting criminal who happens to be working with good guys this go-round?

** Skald is kinda neat and the buffs help our melee-heavy group, but like the investigator, my brain hasn't pinned down a good & interesting concept.

** Since Kingmaker has a large nature/exploration focus, I suspect a mounted character would do well (and I've yet to play a cavalier or samurai). I'm against the paladin for this one, since I'd like to minimize the inter-party conflicts and I suspect the campaign can have fantastic intrigue on its own.

So... I think that's about everything. Thoughts/ideas/comments are appreciated!

I devoted 9 entire minutes to reading posts in this thread, so forgive me for throwing a compromise out there.

Since fly doesn't specify whether it is purely mental, purely physical, or a combination of the two, why not allow the character to fly as long as no Fly checks are required, but fail any Fly skill checks?

...

On a vaguely-related note, why doesn't common sense tell you that if you have Str 0 or Dex 0, or are otherwise incapable of movement, that you automatically fail movement-related skill checks? (As a general rule... then add exceptions as needed for fly or telekinesis or etc.)

I know, I know... how dare I offer a middle ground... but I'm sure someone will try to correct me soon enough...

Joe Mashuga wrote:

Chakram of Cyclic Existence

...you do not reverse the channeling of your chosen divinity...

Monica - Thanks for the input. The chakram lets you add your energy to the same type as that caused (or healed) by the weapon. You can't increase the negative energy output if you can't channel negative energy. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Joe Mashuga wrote:

<snipped>

Chakram of Cyclic Existence

<snipped>

*Formatting and wording issues.

*Another weapon that heals its target.

*It's basically a ranged CLW...

Mark - Another thanks for the feedback.

Out of curiosity, was the problem with "healing weapons" the number of submissions, or the general concept?

Here's mine... I have some thoughts on what could have been improved but it'll be good to see whatever feedback is out there.

Chakram of Cyclic Existence
Aura moderate conjuration and necromancy; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 30,501 gp; Weight 1/2 lb.

Description
This +1 ghost touch returning chakram is used by channelers of all alignments. The weapon has a blackened iron interior with a mithral edge. Twice per day as a standard action, the wielder can convert the chakram into positive or negative energy and either strike a creature with the chakram as a melee touch attack, or hurl it up to 150 feet at a creature as a ranged touch attack. The chakram regains its physical form after the attack is resolved (or at the start of the wielder’s next turn, whichever occurs first).

In energy form, the chakram resembles a spoked wheel and heals (or causes) 1d8+5 points of damage plus its enhancement bonus. Positive energy heals living creatures and damages undead, while negative energy damages living creatures and heals undead.

If the wielder can channel the same type of energy as the chakram’s energy form, she can spend one use of that ability to heal (or cause) additional damage equal to her channel energy ability. The target can make a Will save, as normal, to halve the additional damage (which is not multiplied on a critical hit).

A chakram of cyclic existence is an item of balance, and cannot be converted into the same energy type more than twice in a row. For example, if a wielder converted the chakram into positive energy on each of the last two days, she must convert it to negative energy before she can reuse the positive energy form.

Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Channel Smite, Reach Spell, cure light wounds, inflict light wounds, plane shift; Cost 15,501 gp.

Let's go through the various troubles people have with Kender in order.

Trouble #1: Kender lie.

Explanation A is true. Kender, like any other race, have a capacity for lying. We can assume that capacity is close to that of other races (but see Explanation B).

Explanation B is true - when it comes to the taking of things. They are not to be trusted to answer honestly when asked where they got that dagger/goblet/origami crane.
Assertion: Kender are capable of learning from experience - but their low wisdom means they may not get, process, and/or survive the experiences that would cause their behavior to change.

Explanation C is unknown. Some pathological liars are delusional in the face of their lies, some aren't. If we assume that most kender are delusional about their lies, it's still a false leap in logic to assume they'll turn psychopathic or start eating their own poo.

Trouble #2: Kender steal

Explanation A is mostly false for kender (due to the kender's stated cultural dislike of thievery) but again, kender can have this quality like any other race.

Explanation B is true.
Assertion: Same as 1-B above.

Explanation C is true.
Assertion: Kender learn that pain isn't fun and for some strange reason, other people threaten/chase/hit/beat them when they see the kender. However, they usually don't understand -why- other people feel that way.

Trouble #3: Kender have ADHD

Basically true (I won't quibble on short attention span vs. ADHD). Kender who reach a certain age are afflicted with "wanderlust". I agree with you here, and "wanderlust" should have a duration. But I suspect that from a D&D perspective, the timeframe became "as long as your game lasts".

Trouble #4: Kender are incredibly annoying and taunt people to the point of apoplexy

Kender can be incredibly annoying (as many people reading this thread already know). Regardless, the "correct" explanation is B, and you can either suspend your disbelief or you can't.

~~~~~~~~~
For what it's worth, a "typical" kender at a party should be more or less equally interested in the punch bowl, princess, malevolent-looking duke, crooked mirror, candleabra, etc. A good player (or an average player who trusts his DM) will do the stupid thing if it seems interesting and in-character, whether they're playing a kender or anyone else. I have witnessed a very few gamers play believable kender without irritating the other players -or- the DM.

The problem is that the kender stereotype gained a life of its own. The AD&D description was a lot more clear in giving kender an awareness of self-preservation and physical boundaries. (Note - physical boundaries does not equal personal possessions.)

The "Tas clones" of the early Dragonlance novels, and the description in the Dragonlance Campaign Setting, kept the stereotype going. More recent novels, plus the writeup in Races of Ansalon, get the kender a little closer to where they started.

Umbral - Since 3.0, halflings have become "kender with common sense". Above-average kender temper their curiosity with common sense and experience. Margaret Weis's "Dark Disciple" trilogy has such a kender.

Apologies in advance, if the following have already been mentioned in another thread.

Cavalier
Challenge: Should the challenge really not apply to attacks that deal non-lethal damage? This would seem to be an alignment- or situational thing. If so, perhaps the Oath of Justice would allow for the challenge to inflict non-lethal damage?

Oaths: I assume the actual verbiage of swearing an oath is "not an action", or essentially an immediate action? This could affect the cavalier who swears an Oath of Loyalty immediately before aiding another... or one who swears an Oath of Vengeance before bringing his sword down upon that ogre who's been reduced to 3 hit points.

Cavalier's Charge/Mighty Charge/Supreme Charge: Just wondering if the mount should also gain these benefits? (If the mount does gain the abilities, I suspect it would not gain the free combat maneuver for Mighty Charge, nor the stunning attack for Supreme Charge. Two such attempts at CMs or stuns seems too much.)