Lithalis's page

I hope it's nothing serious and that things ease up for you soon.

Just wonder if we're waiting on anything right now.

Morgul continued to take in the sights and sounds of the Citadel, doing her best to map it out using the various landmarks. As the trio crossed the threshold into the Arboretum Morgul could not help but notice the sigh that escaped Gerinelle's lips. Whether it was due to an appreciation of the calm scene of water and trees or linked to something more pressing she could not tell but had held her tongue for the time being as the guards moved to meet them.
As the Jade Wardens enlightened the newly arrived pair to the rules that governed life in the Citadel of Zenon, Morgul could not help but appreciate the system. In many ways it echoed the rule of her life in the wastes, where resources were precious and one could live by their own rules.

"And what of the traditions and beliefs here? I have heard of the Jade Sisters, though know little beyond the name and that the spirit of the moon is revered by them. Is such the case with all of Zenon or are there other groups that hold sway in the Citadel?"

Perception1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

Morgul quietly made her way through the Citadel's outer ring, her eyes taking in the white walls, the foreign scents, and varied wares so unlike that which she was familiar with in the wastes, as she explored the city. An inn had yet to be found but there was time still, the sun riding high in the sky, and she wished to take in what she could before the quiet of night descended on the Citadel. As she walked she found her attention drawn to a stately figure making it's way through the crowd, an exotic creature whose luminous eyes and almost ethereal presence betrayed it as something other than human.

"Morgul," came the reply. "And thank you."

She studied the woman surreptitiously, bright eyes meeting, and she dipped her head ever so slightly in an effort to return the respect shown to her.

"I guess I stand out from the locales," she observed with a small smile. "Or is it common practice to greet all newcomers to the Citadel?"

Definitely understandable, Stardust:) Had to work early and then deal with RL and now up for almost 24 hours. I'll have a post up in the morning.

In the meanwhile, I hope your leg feels better:)

Eragar, I'm cool with Morgul knowing Sorad:)

Also, I added Description and Background to my Character Sheet.

Thanks for the clarification, Stardust:)

I'm fine with an open-ended ST mode but, for introductions, is there anything you'd like from us? Should we, at some point, meet at certain place or will you take care of that and basically just have us post in the Gameplay thread whenever we're ready and however we'd like?

what is 'Darkened'?

This doesn't necessarily mean Evil, does it? Are undead/evil outsiders considered 'Darkened'?

Does this mean the PC would have to run away from combat if attacked by the 'Darkened' or else suffer the penalty?

Thanks for the input and putting your suggestions in order:)

As you do like the idea of Morgul being a combative hindrance for the first few levels that helps to narrow down the choice (and it'll be fun to return to a game where the spellcasters are protected until they grow into their own). I also like your view on Sanctified Bloodline adding some extra flavor to the mystery of her past (and she might not even know where her boon came from until later in the game).

I'm going to make the final decision on Arcane Channel or Purified Bloodline (though I'm now leaning more to the latter) tonight after I've had a chance to rest and will have everything up tomorrow. Promise:)

Thanks, Stardust:)

Sorry for the delay everyone, both in Character Creation and recent postings. I'm down with the flu and my brain is functioning at less than optimal conditions.

To speed things up for now maybe I can get opinions/feedback on my last Feat choice from Eragar (and any other PC's that might be in the wings) and Stardust.

I'm torn on choosing a Bloodline Feat or starting with an Arcane Feat.

Background-wise Morgul's past is a mystery, having been taken away at birth for her safety and raised in isolation by a tight-lipped guardian. Discovering her heritage is something I'd like to play with in the game and lends itself well to a Bloodline Feat (though I'd prefer the surprise of discovering this in game as opposed to 'knowing' this early due to mechanics).

At the same time Morgul's spell/ability selections don't lend her towards being a strong combatant (though it's something I'd like to develop in game, balanced with support abilities). She has one spell that can be used in combat but it's effectively a 'cast and run' spell (if the party sticks around this could prove very dangerous for them) and physical combat is not her strong suit.

Although I'm not sure how the initial adventures will play out, considering the small size of the party, I don't want to have Morgul be, in a sense, 'dead weight' that Eragar's PC's and NPC will have to constantly protect until she gains a few levels and can then protect herself.

So I'm wondering if you guys might have an opinion/suggestion on final Feat selection for Morgul. I'm currently torn between the following-

Bloodline Feats-

(really open to most suggestions but the ones that might benefit her best are Bloodline of Voranthus, Faerie Bloodline, Purified Bloodline)

Arcane Feats- (I'm also open to any suggestions you might have that aren't listed)

Arcane Channel (some offensive abilities (very useful in a game where most damaging spells drain abilities/sanity), though best used when PC's aren't standing too close or when used with Selective Channeling Feat later on)

Arcane Empowerment (could raise her Attributes just enough to help her in a fight but not likely to be overly significant until higher levels and would require thinking over the mechanics of the Feat)

Arcane Reach (always good to have a Sanity 'Pool' for the 'cast and run' spell)

Sorry for the indecision. Once this is done I can post my character sheet and can post in game (barring my flu getting worse:)

Here are some questions/comments regarding some of the Arcane Feats. As it's early in the game I'm just listing the ones that are available to a 1st level character. These are just my thoughts but I'd love to hear what you guys think:)

Arcane Defiance

- What is the DC for the Mythos check? Perhaps it might be based on the opposing Caster Level (DC 10 + enemy CL). That would give a character about a 50/50 chance at avoiding a spell cast by an enemy of equal level (assuming the PC has maxed out Mythos)

- Also, any thoughts on making it an immediate action so that it can be used when magically attacked and not prepared for it?

- Does it just work against damaging spells as listed or can it be used against any spell?

- How long does the effect last if not used right away?

- With a Sanity and Wisdom drain of 2d6 I don't imagine that even the most powerful caster is likely to use it the CHA mod + 3 times a day that's allowed. Even defending against 3 spells in a day is going to cost 6d6 WIS damage (probably knocking the PC unconscious and leaving him defenseless). Any chance of reducing the costs on this or coming up with a formula? Maybe the drain might be equal to 1/2 the cost of the casting the enemy spell or 1d3 ability drain that can be distributed by the PC to any attribute?

Arcane Empowerment

- The formula to determine the DC for the Mythos check might need to be looked at. As it stands the DC goes up as the PC increases levels. As such a 1st level PC has the same chance as a 20th level PC at succeeding in the DC check (both needing to roll a 10 or higher, assuming Mythos is maxed out).

- The 1d6 Sanity drain per character level seems steep. With a 5th level character losing 5d6 (5 to 30) Sanity or a 13th level character losing 13d6 (13 to 78 Sanity), for example, the character isn't likely to be using it multiple times in a day (useable CHA Modifier x day) as presented. And with high level casters likely having lower Sanity due to higher Mythos ratings and powerful and possibly multiple castings, it seems they would be especially susceptible to dropping to 0 Sanity, perhaps after just one use.
Perhaps the drain could be a flat 1d6 or so and the Attribute Bonus can be based on Success on the Mythos roll?

- As PC's aren't likely to have more than 1 or 2 odd numbered Attributes in your game the benefit of a +1 to Attribute (at the cost of 3 Sanity) isn't likely to make a difference mechanically. This is especially true if the +1 bonuses have to be distributed evenly. For example, Eragar's character, Sorad, would benefit from the first +1 if added to Wisdom but would then need a total of +7 to attributes before a 2nd Attribute would gain an increase of 1 to it's Ability Modifier (at the cost of 21 Sanity, which at 6th level he'd have a 50/50 chance of rolling)
Perhaps it might be better to allow the PC to distribute the points as they wish but no more than +2 to an attribute until all Attributes are at +2 (after this the PC to add another +2 to an Attribute for a total of +4 and then following the same pattern)? Or have it based on the Mythos roll?

- The duration is 24 hours followed by 24 hours of Fatigue but with multiple uses (CHA Mod/ day) I'm not sure why someone would use it multiple times unless the effects of each use stack.

(This Feat is very appealing but I'm hard-pressed to pick it as it's written due to the high costs. I might have some suggestions but would love to hear from Stardust/Eragar before I try to come up with something)

Arcane Power

- The formula for the DC might need to be reworked. A 1st level character has the same chance as a 20th level character of succesfully using this Feat. Perhaps set the DC at 15 + desired bonus?

- Is there a cap on maximum bonuses allowed?

Arcane Reach

- When using a character's level as a modifier in determing DC's for his own chance at succeeding at a skill it keeps the chance of success static. The 1st level character has the same chance of success as a 20th level character. In this case, assuming Meditation is maxed, a 1st level character needs to roll a 16 (a 17 after adding Mythos) to beat the DC (16) and gain a pool of 1 Sanity. A 20th level character would need to roll a 16 as well (36 after adding Mythos 20) to beat the DC (35) and gain a pool of 1 Sanity. In both case the Sanity pool could never be larger than 5.

- How long does the Sanity Pool last? How many times a day can this Feat be used?

Arcane Strike

- Similar problem with the DC formula here (same chance of success for 1st and 20th). Perhaps removing the Class Level from the formula and raising the DC by 3 per Enhancement bonus? Or removing the base 10 and making the DC = 5 x the Enhancement bonus? Or even get rid of the Mythos roll but limit the bonus based on the Mythos score (maybe 1st-4th/+1, 5th-8th/+2, and so on)?

So basically no duplicate Aliases- Paizo should work on that. Thanks, I'll just add to the name:)

I haven't played in an online campaign on the Paizo site before. I've looked over the FAQ but I'm not sure exactly how to set up my character for this game?

I went to Change Alias but it won't let me use my character name (says it's in use). Am I going about this correctly (maybe adding addition to the name) or should I be doing something else. Does anyone have some insight to share with me:)

Cool. I'll take a look at the Arcane Feats later tonight. Thanks.

Cool. I'll work on finding appropriate pics and add them once I've figured out how to properly post them and create an Alias:)

Will you be sharing some information on the Citadel of Zenon and surrounding lands prior to the intro posts?

Also, I'm just curious, could you give a minor description of the Sorceress and White Lady religions?

I'm game for going through the intro:)

Other than an item or two I'm done and ready to begin. Sorry for the delay everyone.

1d4 ⇒ 2 spell roll

I might have overlooked it but what language would be considered the 'Common' tongue? Are there any languages that are commonly used in our starting area?

Eragar, don't forget to add Kimefe's Skill Specialization to her skills. Not sure if you plan on applying it to DEX or CHA based skills but thought I'd mention it in case it got overlooked:)

I'll have my character sheet up tomorrow night at latest:)

I agree with Eragar that it'll likely be a fun game for all. I actually prefer game worlds like what you seem to have in mind but they seem a rarity nowadays. With all the house rules it's going to take some getting used to but as you're open to feedback and suggestions I think it will prove an interesting game.

As to character creation, I had hoped to have something up for you already but between sleeping 9 hours over the last 3 days I was a bit fried. But I'm working on the sheet and an expanded background and will have sent as quickly as possible.

I was thinking about learning the healing spell if that helps but I'm sure the Lunar Priestess/Seeker can do a bit more than that:)

Both would be cool but the Lunar Priestess is intriguing.

Thanks for the information. I'm looking things over now but it should help a lot:)

Sorry for the late post as I meant to post this earlier but the last few days have been a bit hectic.

Stardust, just sat down and started looking over Campaign Info so I could start on creating the character. Unfortunately the variant magic system rules and unlisted abilities are making it a challenge as far as determining how to allot Attributes and Skills. If you could possibly detail descriptions of house rules and mechanics (both magical and non-magical) that would be great:)
I've listed some of the major questions that came up below.

(Magic)

1. In CoC spell DC's are based on INT, will this be the attribute used by all spellcasters ( you mentioned divine, arcane channelers, arcane knowledge, non-spellcasters who learn spells) or will it vary depending on Class?
If the latter, as classes are different in this game how are you determing which category classes fall into?
2. Are we using the CoC spells or Pathfinder spells (but altered to CoC rules)?
3. As Sanity will be used in spellcasting what rules do you have in place for replenishing Sanity? CoC allows Psychoanalysis and Psychiatric Drugs and wondering if you have something like this or a substitute in place for the game.
4. CoC mentions that learning spells will also require Speak Languages as a skill. Is this true as well in your game? Will other skills be necessary to learn magic?
5. As there seem to different sources of magic (Fae, elemental and such) will the source have a mechanical effect on magic and/or class development in game?

(Sorcerer)

1. Can you list the mechanics of the first few levels of Class Abilities?
2. As it's a class of your own creation, what are the mechanics regarding Skill Points, Class Skills, Hit Points, Weapon/Armor Proficiences, etc.?

(Skills)

1. I noticed you brought back Concentration as a skill. Pathfinder has this in their rules but not as a Skill that needs to be bought and which uses the primary Attribute as a modifier instead of Con. Just wondering if it wouldn't be simpler to use Pathfinder rules for this or at least allow Spellcasters to use a primary mental attribute as the magic system seems to push spellcasters to require at least 4 decent attributes to be effective.

2. Based on how you describe casters acquiring spells in the game I'm wondering if it's going to be necessary/mandatory for a spellcaster to allot points to the new Skills for them to have a chance at learning magic/developing in game?

Anyways, sorry for the headache and look forward to finishing up the character for you:)

The idea of playing in a gritty world that is in its Dark Age, where magic actually holds mystique, life is harsh and where everything remains to be discovered (or rediscovered) holds the potential for great storylines. Hopefully you'll decide to join, Eragar:)

Stardust, as it seems that you'll give info and/or tailor things to character concepts/backgrounds I'll work on detailing as much as I can for you and then hear your suggestions or decisions. I should have it up in a day or so.

I saw a few new things posted under 'Campaign Info' and guessing you'll be putting things like 'Feats' in there so will hold a few days before finishing up the character sheet. Hopefully we'll have a few more PC's jump in by then.

BTW, for things such as 'Religion', will you be detailing them in 'Campaign Info' or will you keep quiet unless PC's inquire?

The Eldarith seem like a very interesting race and I may go that route although playing a human with a blood-line might be more in keeping with her mysterious origin. A crossbreed of both races would be interesting or one with another race if such is possible.
Going to think over the two but in the meanwhile will you be posting Bloodline Feats in Character Creation?

Reading through the CoC magic system but thought I'd ask here if specific stats are going to be important to certain classes as in regular Pathfinder (CHA for Sorcerers, WIS for Clerics and such) or if that doesn't matter for spellcasters?

Thanks for the info, Stardust.

I like the Spirit Savage and I'm definitely curious as to how it develops further on but I think the Sorcerer is more in line with what I imagine for the character.

Let me know if there's anything you need me to flesh out or change. Looking forward to hear more about the world and I'm open to any suggestions you might have for me. I'll work on the character once you're ready and creation rules are posted.

Sorceress or Savage, hmmm....

I see magic being the primary strength of the character, perhaps with shape-shifting or combat magics to give her an edge when necessary.

I don't want to spoil things for you by having you reveal too much about the classes as I'm sure part of the fun will be discovering more about them IC but could you give a bit more information regarding the Savage (on the Path of the Spirit)?
As I'm interested in developing magic as a primary, does the Path of the Spirit allow for strong magical development (starting at 4th level I assume) as I didn't see them listed as being strong in magic?
Are their magics and powers mostly limited to animal magics?

Sorceress is interesting and I'm sure it's different than what's listed in the book so should be interesting as well but the Savage is intriguing.

A fair number of the classes sound interesting but I think I'll just describe what I have in mind and allow you to pick the class that you feel would best fit the concept.

The idea I have in mind is for a female mystic from a rugged land, perhaps part of a barbarian or nomadic culture or possibly living in the wilds not too far from the edge of their lands (basically something like a witch, druid, or primal priestess). Born with a connection to the spirit world she often feels more at home among the animals and spirits (fae, dead, and other) of the wild places than she does among humans and is gifted with visions and a sensitivity to the flow of energy in and between worlds.
She often serves to advise those who seek her aid, healing or enchanting them and walking unseen along the hidden pathways as she is pulled to discover secrets or perform some mysterious errand for one reason or another. She would also serve to assist in rituals performed at special times for the benefit of the community.
Covered in strange markings her past is a mystery, the bits and pieces she knows taken from hard-won research, strange dreams and the rare guarded stories of her childhood guardian(s). The information, often cryptic in nature, has led her to believe that the events surrounding her birth were fraught with peril and intrigue. Mysterious forces were said to have hounded her parents as they raced to a place of safety to give birth under the watchful eyes of equally enigmatic allies . Part of a set of triplets, all three seem to have been spirited away almost immediately after birth, each in the care of a guardian.
She seeks to discover the mystery of her past, uncover her own destiny and delve deeper into the nature of the spirit world while learning all she can on a search for enlightenment and doing what she can to aid her people along the way.

I see her possibly being linked to the fae, moon/star/seasonal events, and nature and combining mysticism with combat survivability, either through physical training or some sort of spiritual/magical training but I'm open to any suggestions or changes you would like to see as needed to fit best into the story you have in mind.

Been a fan of Dark Tower and enjoy dark and gritty Archaic settings so this should be fun:)

I have an idea for a mystic in mind, one in tune with the spirit world such as a witch or druid from a rugged land populated by barbarians that may serve as a sort of priestess or oracle for the people, perhaps viewed with respect or with superstitious fear depending on what you feel fits in best with the various lands that the character might be from.

I can flesh things out more but as you mentioned slightly different classes from Pathfinder along with some house rules I'm wondering if you can share a bit more regarding character creation and maybe an overview of the kingdoms. UPDATE: Just saw the class info after I posted this:)

If you feel like dragging yourselves out to the 'burbs, we can probably find room for you.

Thanks, I'd be down for that if the spot is still open:) Where are you in Fairfax county and what times? Also, what are you looking for character-wise so I can have everything ready before arriving?

I'm in the Woodbridge area and looking for a Pathfinder game to jump into as well. I've played rpg's for several years, including all versions of D&D up to 3.5, but had taken a break for a short while. I recently came across Pathfinder and realized it was D&D under a different title and was intrigued. It seems to be better thought out than 3.5 and I've decided to give it a try.
If anyone is running a game in the NoVa area I'd be interested in jumping in. I prefer home campaigns over mods and appreciate a game with a good storyline, strong rp, intrigue, puzzle-solving, combat, and atmosphere. I don't mind driving so it doesn't have to be in Woodbridge and time is flexible for the time being but Tuesdays or Sunday evenings would probably work best for me.