Nalz's page

Hello all,

So we were waiting for a late player to show up at our last gaming session and my gaming group started talking about the standard characters we all play - not like "Paul always plays fighters," but more "Paul always plays scumbag, anti-hero types." Anyways, it came 'round the table to me and there was a decided pause, then one of my buddies said (more or less) "Nalz always plays divine characters with some sort of destiny greater than themselves." This was something I didn't even realize I was doing, but looking back on my recent characters I am forced to admit that he is right.

I have, therefore, decided that the next character I play will not have a heroic destiny of any kind. Originally, I thought about making him/her an 'every man/woman' and I am still alright with that idea. The concept that has me really excited, however, is a person who literally has no destiny - as in, they are not written into the fabric of fate. They would make fortune tellers uncomfortable, divination might not work as well...honestly, I am not sure, this idea is still in the rattling around my head while I should be working phase.

My question: Are then any feats/archetypes/traits/etc. that would support this type of build? I know there is a human trait (Carefully Hidden?) that gives a bonus against divination, but beyond that I am at a loss. I am perfectly happy to just roleplay it (assuming I can get the GM on board - I haven't run this particular idea by him yet), but I was wondering if anyone had any mechanical suggestions.

Aside (as this is commonly asked in advice threads and may be relevant): My group plays 20 point buy, in a home-brew world, and with a mid to low level of optimization so this character doesn't need to be a super star, just functional.

Edit: Oh! One more thought. If anyone can think of an interesting reason that such a character came to exist I would appreciate it. I have a couple of ideas rattling around, but anything extra is awesome!

Thank you for any help,
Nalz

Hello all,

We were playing the Skull and Shackles AP last night and my Oracle of Waves wanted to use 'Wall of Ice' to temporarily keep some monsters away from the party. (I am being as vague as possible to avoid potential spoilers.) Anyways, I am normally pretty good on rules and always try to know exactly what my spells do so I don't bog down the game on my turn - therefore, I was extremely embarrassed when I had to stammer momentarily and look up the spell to figure out how to actually place it on the map.

Thankfully, I have a lovely GM and he just rolled with it - saying that we would try to figure it out after the game was over. So, here I am, seeking your help in clarifying how this spell actually works.

I can see two possibilities for how a Wall of Ice is placed:

1) Despite being inches thick, it occupies actual squares on the map - blocking creatures from entering those squares and ensuring that creatures on each side of the wall are ten feet apart.

A diagram may make my meaning clearer (x = creatures, w = wall of ice; each is assumed to be in a separate 5 foot square): xwx

This approach means that creatures with reach (such as our opponents) have an advantage when attacking through the wall as they do not have to enter it and take the cold damage. This was also how we played it during last night's game.

2) The Wall of Ice exists along the grid - this means that two creatures can basically be standing next to each other (in adjacent 5 foot squares), but separated by the wall.

Diagram (x = creatures, i = wall of ice; wall of ice is on the grid and, therefore, not in its own square): xix

This approach means that smaller creatures (or those without reach weapons) can hide behind a Wall of Ice and attack a creature that breaks through (assuming it was foolish enough to stand right next to the wall).

Two more questions:

1) What happens (using either model) when the Wall of Ice is created along a diagonal?

2) I assume that creature that begins its turn in the 'sheet of frigid air' takes damage as if they were passing through it. While this isn't explicitly called out in the spell, it seems like a reasonable assumption. Is it?

I did find one other thread that addressed this question (except it dealt with Wall of Fire), but I still figured I would ask. I apologize if this question is repetitive.

Thank you very much for any help you can offer,
Nalz

Hey all,

So here is the background:

My group is currently playing through the Skull and Shackles AP (we are somewhere in book 2 - see spoiler below) and everyone is having a blast.

Recently, we had a PC die and this sparked a debate as to whether it was appropriate to raise dead/resurrect/reincarnate a PC (who had not left any sort of documentation suggesting that was their desire) when we wouldn't do so for anyone else in the crew. Ultimately, we agreed that for this campaign no one would get raised, unless they had actively expressed a desire for this to happen at some point in the past. (For the record, we ruled that the PC closest to the dead PC had heard him express such a desire as we didn't want to punish him based on a spur of the moment decision.)

I fully support our decision, but it did get me to thinking - my character is not really one for forethought and he tend to drop quite a bit so he might have to be replaced at some point in the near future.

Now, I really have no idea what I would play if my current character bites it and I was hoping you kind folks could make some suggestions.

Here is the current party:

1) Lucius Rackham - Captain (CN; Human, Oracle of Waves 5) [Me]: He was made captain purely because he was the most likable/extroverted member of the party. He is a nice guy (just too lazy to be of Good alignment) and kind of a fop, spending too much money on cloths, jewels, and expensive wine. As the only character to max profession sailor he is currently the helmsman as well as captain. He also has solid social skills and acts as party face most of the time. When it comes to combat he is alright - I decided to play a more "balanced" character and thus fell into the classic jack-of-all-trades trap. He is also the only source of party healing (except for Sandara, which I believe Corvin is going to pick up as a cohort at level 7).

2) Corvin Shecuranz - Quartermaster [I guarantee you I misspelled that name...] (CG; Half-Elf, Ninja 5): He is the conscience of our motley crew, quick to tell us when we have gone too far. He is also an economic wiz and manages the ship's funds. He has an intense hatred for "One-Eye" (the non-disruptive, fun roleplaying kind). Outside of combat he acts as secondary face, and does the other things generally considered the purview of rogue-like classes (perception, disable device, etc.). In combat, the build is a fairly standard reasonably optimized ninja.

3) "One-Eye" - Bosun (CE; Aquadic Half-Orc, Sea Reaver Barbarian 5): He acts as a foil to Corvin, constantly pushing us towards more violent acts. After dying, he returned a bit more muted having seen the terrible afterlife that awaits him. He returns Corvin's hatred with aggressive apathy. He is the guy we turn to when something needs a good intimidating. He is probably the most combat capable character in our group and consistently dishes out really solid damage.

4) Rathion - Ships Wizard (CN; Drow, Shianti bloodline [?] Sorcerer 5): He is our stereotypical creepy wizard, who spends most of his time performing strange experiments in his alchemists lab. When he does emerge he generally acts as tertiary face and spell support. It is the player's first time playing any kind of caster, but he is picking it up fairly quickly and has been devastating in the last couple combats.

For this AP, our group is using 20pb and most pathfinder material is allowed - I say most because the GM has the right to veto anything, but it hasn't happened yet.

Questions (finally, that post went longer than intended):

1) So given our current party composition, what do you all think would be a reasonable replacement character for Lucius?

Some things to consider - I am leery of running without any healing. That being said, I don't really want to play another Oracle or Hedge Witch (which was my last character) so I am willing to be convinced to give it a go. Also, I am not a huge fan of dumping stats. I am willing to do it, but I generally like to have a solid roleplay related reason. Finally, I would really like to be able to make a meaningful contribution in combat (which is where I currently feel like I am lagging).

2) How would you go about introducing a new character into the insular culture of a pirate ship and getting them promoted reasonably quickly to an officer position? (Both general and group specific advice appreciated.)

Whew, I think that is everything. Thank you to everyone who managed to slog through my sloppy prose.