However you want to do it is fine with me. It changes some things about the character, but I can work with that. Being Evil in Pathfinder has more to do with broader intent than action. I don't have to have Deader suddenly treating everyone like crap just because his alignment has suddenly changed from what I thought it was.
As for the mythos gods in golarion, I know James Jacobs is a big fan, but whoever stated out the various deities clearly didn't know the source material well. The Old Ones should all be Neutral Evil (with the possible exception of Azathoth because he's insane and effectively mindless).
The idea behind the Great Old Ones is that we are inconsequential to them. They don't care at all about us.
Deader is a part of their plans somehow, and linked to them, but he's pretty much left to his own devices.
The dark tapestry is evil, sort of, but it's evil in the same way that a virus is evil, or a black hole. It's the evil of stepping on bugs you don't really notice are underfoot, or swatting at mosquitoes who annoy you. It's evil without intention.
The Dark Tapestry's plans and motivations have nothing to do with morality, or the souls of the living, or corruption or redemption. They don't really have anything to do with people at all.
But they might have to do with the completely destruction of the entire world, because it was in the way of their nice view of the cosmos behind it.
It comes down to who Deader really is. In my head, it works like this (though I'd be fine with Voice having a different idea): The only Old One who cares about people at all is Nyarlathotep, who is a sort of changeling god.
In my head, Deader is a former servant of Pharasma who was infected with a fragment of Nyarlathotep, now endlessly living out various lives, pretty much out of sheer curiosity and a desire to figure out what is up with these strange little people.
The thing is that humanity, at it's most fundamental level, hinges on the balance between life and death, and what a person decides to do to influence that balance.
The further away from that concept you get, the less you're going to have in touch with humanity (which is why Necromancers are universally creepy. They might not be as evil as a priest of asmodeus, but they're practically always going to be more disturbing)
So Deader is a guy who likes people, loves life, and doesn't really understand living.
Which is why I say he's not evil. It has to do with the fact that he's genuinely not malicious. He just doesn't look at certain concepts with the same respect or revulsion that everyone else does.
Alright. Even if Deader is evil, that still doesn't mean he can't use Protection From Evil. Evil people can cast Good spells, especially if it's in their best intrests to do so.
Unless you think it's a spell that Deader's Gods can't/won't grant. Then it stops being an argument about mechanics and becomes about the overall nature of those gods. If that's the stance you want to take on it, I'm fine with it. I just don't like the notion that the alignment of a spell has anything to do with the alignment of a person.
(I have a bone to pick with the entirety of how the alignment system intersects with game mechanics. The mechanics shouldn't ever dictate what forces motivate my character. It should be the other way around.)
No problem on Eagle's Splendor. Hopefully I'll be able to get it off during a surprise round or something.
I'll leave myself out of the Hide From Undead list.
As for the alignment stuff, this gets into territory where I have a little beef witht he system. Deader is really more Chaotic Neutral than anything else. He's definitely not evil, regardless of what the spell descriptor says. Casting it doesn't make you evil, and being evil isn't a requirement for the spell. It is an evil act, but neutral people (and even good people) can sometimes do bad things without changing alignment. Alignment is a guideline, not a straightjacket. At worst I'd need an Atonement spell if I had a god that cared. Likewise with Protection From Evil. It's a Good spell, but that doesn't mean I have to be Good to cast it. Sometimes I do good things, sometimes I do bad things. Most of the time, I just do things. That's what makes me Neutral. It's not about some kind of Karmic balance. It's about self-interest and the willingness to use every single tool on the table.
The whole idea behind Deader is that he serves a force outside of any kind of standard morality. I really wouldn't want to nail him down as evil. He genuinely cares for his crew. He just doesn't see what the big deal is about the distinction between alive and dead.
As the sun began to set and the mist rose, Deader stood on deck and addressed the crew. His bearing changed as he spoke, becoming something akin to a military sergeant on some front line somewhere.
"Alright, listen up. We've spent the whole damn day getting ready for this. The nets are rigged and the hold is prepped. You're all armed and you know your assignments. This is just another storm to be weathered."
"If Pilk's crew are quick, lead them into a bottleneck so they can only come at you from one direction. If they're big and slow, just take to the rigging. Be like water. Flow. Let them come to you, and make them bleed for it."
"The officers and I are going after Pilk. Your job is to hold the ship and keep each other alive. Pilk doesn't want the ship or cargo. He wants you."
"And I say he gets my crew over my dead body."
Casting Bless, Prayer, etc. as I talk.
Blowing a sharp muster on his Bosun's whistle, Deader brought them to attention and walked up the stairs to the command deck.
Self:
Guidance (+ competence bonus to 1 roll)
Resistance (+1 Resistance bonus to saves)
Virtue (+1 temp hp)
Defending Bone (DR5/Bludgeoning (25 hp worth of damage)
Fly
Eagle's Splendor (from potion)
Magic Circle Against Evil
Group:
Bless (+1 Morale bonus on attacks and Fear saves)
Protection From Evil, Communal (main party + Sandra)(+2 Resistance bonus to AC and Fear saves)
Prayer (+1 Luck bonus to Attacks, Damage, Saves, and Skill Checks)
Hide From Undead (main party, plus Sandra)
Party Buff Summery
+2 Attack, +1 Damage, +1 Saves, +4 vs Fear, +1 Skill checks, +2 AC
Voice, it's seems like it's my lot in life to make your job more complicated. Here's my prep list. I would have gotten to it sooner, but I've been sick as hell and brain dead.
I'm concerned about Pilk being able to wrest control of my Undead from me, so I'm going with a very different strategy than usual.
I'm caging up Mr. Haight in hopes of being able to Command some of Pilk's crew.
I'm dropping some of my usual Summon spells in favor of Protection and Buff spells. The breakdown is below.
All of our crew will be armed with bludgeoning and slashing weapons (since we don't know exactly what kind of undead we'll be facing. The most dextrous crewmen will be given nets (NWP penalty be damned. It's a touch attack)
We know that Pilk is coming for the living crew. That lets us set some of the conditions of the fight. Most undead are seven kinds of stupid. I'm banking that at least a few of Pilk's crew will be that sort. The day before the attack, Nachi and I are going to rig the main deck with as many net-traps as we can, setting them so that crewmen can pull a belaying pin to release a line and yank up a net (hopefully with an attacker or two in it).
The main hold will be emptied as much as possible, and the hatch on the main deck will be opened (with the guard rails removed). The strongest crewmen will be assigned in groups who's job it will be just to Aid Another Bull Rush boarders into the open hatch and down into the main hold.
The party will go after Pilk. My undead will stay behind to protect the living crew. The crew will do their best to net and bull rush undead, working in teams to buy time, and running away and/or climbing the rigging to stay away from Pilk's forces as much as possible.
Deader had been busy. He knew they were being hunted by a Necromancer of no small repute. It had been a long time since he'd dueled one of his own. It took him quite a while to knock the rust off those memories and recall his thoughts on how he might counter himself if he had too. Or perhaps they were someone else's memories. He wasn't rightly sure, but the end results were the same.
Deader's relationship with his patrons was complicated. He knew what they wanted, which was really a large part of why Deader's mind was so fragmented. It was really better not to remember everything all at once. He also knew that no matter what he did he was serving their inevitable cause. It was liberating. No need for any particular behavioral fetters or code of conduct. No limits on how he went about his nebulous mission. No rights or rituals or observances.
His prayers weren't even really prayers. It was more like nipping a bite from a parent's plate. They might not even notice, and wouldn't really mind if they did. They were utterly unconcerned with how he went about doing anything. He didn't really know how he fit into their plans in the first place. He only knew that he'd done what they'd wanted him to do after the fact. He considered it a blessing.
So this time he pulled an entirely different repertoire of tricks down out of the infinite black.
The new cages he'd bought would be put to use tonight. He spent a few hours testing them with Mr. Haight, locking him in, and telling him to try his hardest to escape, making adjustments until he was positive his ghoulish friend couldn't get out. A series of Gentle Repose and Restore Corpse applications ensured that the bodied Deader kept in the bilge were always fresh. Two of them went into the cage with Mr. Haight. He'd earned them.
Then, after a short conversation, Deader released the controls he held over the ravenous undead sailor. "If I make it through this, I'll be back. Think about what we talked about."
He sighed at the twitching mess that was a partially constructed amalgam of four zombie Grindylows, sad that particular project hadn't been completed in time. Instead he waved to his two new creations. Tonight they'd be tested.
He led them out of the bilge and locked the web-like tangle of chains binding the door behind him, and walked out on deck to wait for the coming of Whalebone Pilk.
Deader's Spell Loadout:
Orisons: Detect Magic, Guidance, Resistance, Virtue
1st: Feather Fall, Hide From Undead, Bless, Summon Monster 1
2nd: Defending Bone, Ghostbane Dirge, Communal Protection From Evil, Summon Monster 2
3rd: Fly, Magic Circle Against Evil, Prayer
I was thinking on this a little more and something occurred to me.
Spells are usually a the more powerful option when it comes to ability choices. There's a good reason why it's generally considered a bad idea to multiclass away from any full caster class.
The thing is that most spells don't really scale well. There's a few buffing spells and utility spells that are always good, but when it comes to combat options like damage spells, save-or-sucks, or summon spells, you pretty much always want to be using your top teir spells or the enemies you face are probably going to make their saves, or just not care about the piddly effects.
These abilities are similar to combat spells in that they are going to be the primary go-to for kicking butt.
The main difference is that all of these abilities get better as you go up in level. The spells you normally would get wouldn't (not as much anyway).
The best comparison I can think of is imagine if this domain, instead of granting monk abilities, granted a bunch of pretty good combat spells that didn't have the usual level caps.
I don't know if it's overpowered, but it is definitely really good.
I had a longer reply that seems to have been eaten.
This gist of it is that I crunched some numbers. The later level abilities, specifically the one that lets you sub monk damage for natural attack damage, is prone to some really ridiculous combinations.
Imagine Wildshaping into a Huge Octopus. Normally, it has 8 attacks per round that do 1d4+2. With your BaB and unarmed strike damage, you'd end up with 16 attacks a round that deal about 2d6+10 damage each, all with a free Grab attempt, at a 20' natural reach (and there's a Bite attack too). The damage average seems way higher than a normal 12th level character is usually able to do.
In a regular campaign not many druids change into Octopai, except that in this campaign an Octopus is exactly the sort of thing you'd probably want to change into.
This campaign might not go that far, so it might be a moot point, but my general impression is that the combination of Monk abilities and Wildshape makes for some pretty powerful combinations.
Whether or not they're overpowered is Voice's call to make.
Mathematically, that is the cost of the enchantment.
I think the real problem is adding 2d6 to every attack during a charge. That is clearly not what the armor is intended to do, and the literal interpretation of the rules is dubious at best.
My solution would just be to say "It only counts for your primary attack of the Pounce (usually a bite)"
1000 gold is still a good value for the extra 2d6 damage, but it isn't in any way over-powered.
She's been operating pretty well in both roles so far. This is the time where things start to make switch-hitting harder though.
I'd recommend ignoring armor all together in favor of things that stick around when you Wildshape (rings of protection, Gloves of Dexterity) Eventually, get your hands on Wild Armor.
The lowest form of Wild armor costs 16,000, so it's a bit out of our price range right now, but in two levels you could reasonably have a set.
Rhino Hide is +2 armor with an additional enchantment. By subtracting the cost of a +2 enchantment (4000), and the cost of Masterwork Hide Armor (165), we can come up with how much the "charge bonus" part of the enchantment costs (it's 1000 gp).
So, tack on an extra 1000 gp to any kind of armor you want and it becomes "rhino" armor.
Your mid-game end-goal armor should probably be something like +1 Wild Rhino Dragonhide Agile Breastplate. (18,100 gp)
Also, Monk's Robes grant a small AC bonus and would stay while Wild Shaped.
The reason for all this is because two levels of Monk is going to get you a +4 or 5 AC boost at most. You're better off keeping your caster progression and picking up a 3x per day Ring of Mage Armor or something.
Basically, there's nothing Monk can get you that you can't get with a fairly small cash investment.
Well that's interesting. Sounds like a great thing to do with Greedy and his pals. I'm going to go down to my local game store on Monday and pick up the new bestiary. I dont want to hold up the fight though.
How about we say that Greedy and Co. are currently in the middle of being Necrocrafted and are out of the fight for now?
Deader gets his spells at Midnight. Does he guess the attack will come after one rest-cycle, or two?
"Captain Whalebone Pilk sails a ship crewed by the hungry dead. He doesn't raid for plunder. He raids to keep his crew fed. His ship too, I think. His routine is to follow a ship for 2 nights, and then attack on the third. He takes as many of the crew as he can, and sinks the ship behind him."
"If you ask me, it's a damn waste. He has some interesting ideas, but no sense of style, and no endgame in mind. He just does it to do it from what I can tell. He'd be a lot more effective if he could ever manage to find himself a cause."
"I've always wanted to ask him about that. At least I think so. I might have asked him already and just can't remember."
Its not natural captain. When a ship dies, it is supposed to remain dead.
"The difference between 'living' and 'dead' is really pretty semantic." Deader says with a smile. "Not really much different than squibbing a ship, really. The form follows the function."
Know. Local:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
"Captain Pilk and I have different ways of doing things, but I've always admired his work."
"I don't really remember much about him right now. Wonder if he'll remember me."
It's listed with the other templates, and I paid the additional cost. I'll definitely drop it if you want. That would open up the option of raising a 2nd bloody skeleton.
The thing is, it's actually better for Deader to control two normal skeletons than one with four arms. More total hit points, flanking potential, taking up more space, etc.
I went with the Mudra template because it's cool, and I like the idea that Deader built it out of more than one body and made a pet out of them because they pissed him off.
"you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level."
Spell Specialization makes Deader count as 2 levels higher for the spell's level based values.
(5+2)x4 = 28
Deader can control 28 Hit Dice of undead.
Their breakdown is listed at the bottom of Deader's sheet.
Mouthy:
Note the section on Beheaded on the Animate Dead link. That's where the idea for the Skull Swarm comes from. It counts as a standard form of undead that can be raised. No additional cost beyond having skulls, and quite a bit more onyx than usual (or scrimshaw in my case).
The Host Corpse template also costs nothing. It doesn't really add any special abilities beyond turning the zombie into a sack to put a swarm in. The swarm isn't free, it counts against Deader's total control pool.
The reason there are more swarms is because Mouthy is Large. The template is designed to be added to a normal medium sized zombie. Large creatures are 4 times as big as Medium creatures, so I figured 4 swarms would fit in him. If you don't like that I'll scrap it.
Hit Points were figured like this: Max for 1st Hit Dice (8), 4 for 2nd, +4 bonus from Desecrate. If you'd like me to roll, or only use averages, I will.
Deader's Pet:
The Mudra and Bloody templates each count as double HD. Note that they each cost double the original hit dice, and then the total is added together. Like most things in the game, you don't double and then double again.
So, my 2 HD skeleton counts as 6 HD out of my control pool.
Hope that explains things a little better.
As for the concern about the numbers/power level, I don't think it will be as bad as it seems.
I'm running around with a CR3, a CR 2 and four CR 1s. They're going to be great to gum up the enemy's plans and divert attention, but really they aren't much of a threat. Even Mouthy, who's a big bruiser, can only move 15 feet a round, period. Most enemies will be able to run circles around him. The first enemy who can throw a fireball is going to reduce all the grindylows and the swarms to dust.
I'm sure there will be lots of reasons to leave some or all of them behind.
This is what Deader is designed to do. Every time we run into an enemy, I'm going to take the body and raise it or store it for later. Hopefully, I'll end up with a small number of more powerful minions, but right now, a bunch of weak ones is what I have at my disposal because i'm using corpses gathered from encounters at 2nd and 3rd level.
If you want to kill them off, I certainly wouldn't blame you. I kind of expect it.
That half-orc might be a cleric. Can a couple of you handle him? I'd rather not get into a Channel Energy war over the Silent Crew. I'll focus on mage for now.
"Kill that robed fellow." Deader says quietly to Mr. Haight. "And help Greedy and Buddy across. They don't climb so well."
Taking cover behind something to avoid all the flying arrows and starting to cast Summon Monster 2.
I think that Obi needs to take up some shipboard gardening. A couple raised beds on the rear deck, would be pretty easy to take care of.
A couple small lemon or orange trees would be handy in holding off Scurvy, and throwing potted plants at enemies to cast Entangle with is funny as hell.
Deader had come back on deck a changed man. A new facet of the ship's unpredictable Bosun showing it's face.
Or, rather, faces.
The bleached jacket he wore had two of them, one on each shoulder They snarled silently and slowly gnashed fang-filled mouths as they looked around balefully. Behind him more than a dozen tendrils swayed and reached looking like a cape that had been slashed to ribbons and given life.
They were Grindylows. He was wearing them.
His pale hood was up but his washed-out eyes still managed to catch the light reflecting off the water.
Deader blew the combat muster on the bosuns whistle. "All hands on deck! Pikes and pins, ladies and gents! We've got our first catch!"
Deader slid down the banister and dashed down into the hold, yelling at the crew and shoving his way to the bilge.
"If any of you slack jawed bottom suckers are still down here by the time I get back topside, you're going to get assigned to my squad during the raid!"
"She said that if we kill Harrigan, she'll give us the fort. Since we were going to do that anyway it seems like it would be silly to go through the extra work of killing everyone here just to get what she's willing to give us anyway."
"For now, this place is just a mostly friendly port where we don't have to worry about running into the Wormwood before we're ready."
"Well," Deader says with a shrug, "If you have anything that needs doing, we're always looking for work. We might not have anything you want right now, but if you let us know what you need, you might be surprised at our resourcefulness."
"I don't know my name. Don't remember much of anything from before being dragged onto a ship. They called me Deader, on account of my skin I suppose. Haven't come up with anything that suits me better yet. Though come to think of it, it's probably about time I did."
"The crew of the Revenge, under command of Captain Dragonne. Don't let the name bother you. We were all press ganged by a notorious pirate a while ago. We managed to get free and get a ship, and now we're out to pay said pirate back for his kindness." Deader says with a smile.
Man, I'm kinda wishing we'd just attacked. Tedious social scenes with people we fully intend to betray and probably kill make me feel icky.
