I was looking over Nosteo's build and noticed something. So here's some minutiae that isn't that important but may give some insight into my thoughts on the character.
On that pathbuilder link I have Nosteo using a bastard sword and taking Mauler dedication at some point. I did that so that he would get weapon specialization with his sword. Not getting it isn't the end of the world but I hated the idea of a character who's whole thing is his family sword, which is surrounded by secrets, being able to do a little more damage if he put it down and picked up a stick. Turns out I either forgot that the weapon proficiency feat gives you expert training in martial weapons at lv 11 or that's something the remaster added and I didn't notice.
So, I would use that archetype feat for something else and go back to using a longsword which is the actual favored weapon of both Iomedae and the Hellknight Order of the Rack.
I made Nosteo here for an Age of Ashes game on here that died out very early years ago and would love to give it another go. He's currently lv2 because I applied for another version in progress but wasn't chosen. I can scale that back easily.
Background:
Nosteo is clearly of Chelish decent, he has the pale skin, dark hair, and sharp features associated with them. Nosteo is from Varisia however. In his youth it became clear that he carried the family curse, which only shows up every few generations. Somewhere in his family's past a devil's bloodline was added into the family tree. No one remembers for sure how that happened but the family also passes down an ancestral longsword that seems to be a Hellknight weapon and it is commonly accepted that it has something to do with the knights. It's also probably the reason why his family now lives in Varisia.
To try to combat the evil blood in his veins Nosteo joined the church of Iomedae. He tries his best to be as honorable and good as possible but he has found he is a very good liar and slips up from time to time.
Nosteo found out about the origin of his curse-the little known about it anyway-after his father bequeathed the family sword to him. He decided to find out everything he could about the Hellknights, and maybe his family's history, that day. When he heard about Citadel Altaerein and the Call to Heroes he decided to go check it out.
Nosteo here is a character I used in this AP on this site that died out before the point this group is at. I'd love to try again. Here he is bumped up to level 2.
Full stats and background are in profile but here's a quick rundown(and I'll put the backstory in a spoiler too). Nosteo is a diabolic sorcerer who also has the champion dedication. I'm going for a guy with evil blood in his veins who tries to fight against his nature. Has the paladin cause and worships Iomedae. He would be more like a battle cleric than a spell slinger. He carries a sword and wears armor but will probably be kind of a switch hitter between magic and martial.
Background:
Nosteo is clearly of Chelish decent, he has the pale skin, dark hair, and sharp features associated with them. Nosteo is from Varisia however. In his youth it became clear that he carried the family curse, which only shows up every few generations. Somewhere in his family's past a devil's bloodline was added into the family tree. No one remembers for sure how that happened but the family also passes down an ancestral longsword that seems to be a Hellknight weapon and it is commonly accepted that it has something to do with the knights. It's also probably the reason why his family now lives in Varisia.
To try to combat the evil blood in his veins Nosteo joined the church of Iomedae. He tries his best to be as honorable and good as possible but he has found he is a very good liar and slips up from time to time.
Nosteo found out about the origin of his curse-the little known about it anyway-after his father bequeathed the family sword to him. He decided to find out everything he could about the Hellknights, and maybe his family's history, that day. When he heard about Citadel Altaerein he decided to go check it out.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
Crits are either or. If a dude has AC 15 and you add 10 you would crit on a roll of 15. If a dude has AC 27 and you add 10 you only crit with a nat.
The nat one thing is just like skills now basically, if you're good enough then you're good enough. Think of it like this. I've never even watched an entire boxing match, let alone train. If I tried to box Mike Tyson in his prime there ain't no way he's missing me and there ain't no way I'm punching him and doing any damage. Because if you can hit on a 1 we're talking that much disparity in attack bonus and ac. Maybe even more.
I don't think attack rolls have a crit miss. Only some things have critical success/fail. For things that do have a crit fail, which is usually saves on spells and stuff like that, it's exactly like a crit succes. Either 10 less or a fail with a nat 1.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
Welcome gang. We are not very far in at all and we are fighting a halfling, yes.
I enjoy helping people learn games so that is no problem from me, though I can be wrong too (especially in 2e I'm still getting the hang of it). I think I sound bossy sometimes too though I am not trying to be, if I forget something please do tell me.
That is correct from my reading that a nat 20 isn't an auto success. I think they did that because they got rid of the confirm roll. I'm pretty sure nat 1s are the same, if you still succeed then cool. A note: even in 1e this was true for skills. Nat 20s and 1s only auto passed/failed on attacks and saves. If you are really good at picking a banjo you won't fail playing a simple song no matter how badly you roll for example. I like it that way myself. Why should a fighter who's swung his sword 40,000 times miss some dude with a crappy armor class? Makes more sense if you think of it that way because more often than not if you roll a 1 and hit anyway there is probably a ridiculous level difference.
Again, welcome! Let's have fun killing monsters and stuff.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
Well the last hit was for 8 so you must've been at 6 before so the shield block would've left you at three. Unless the 18 damage is including the shield block, then yeah that's no good.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
So instead of all that I'll use my hero point on the last round. Of course now that I think about it, I don't know whether I would have any actions on the round I use it or not. So I'm going to put up two rounds of actions. If I can't do anything after waking up until the current round, ignore the 2nd. If I've gotten mixed up on init, ignore both.
1 round of actions:
Through sheer determination, Nosteo refuses to stay down. He tries to mentally force his blood back into his body and gets up to heal himself.
1 action: Stand. 2 actions: Casting heal on myself.
Heal:1d8 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
2nd round:
Nosteo has given up on taking Calmont alive. He isn't even sure if they have the ability. He conjures flames into each hand. In his left he forms a shield, in his right he creates a ball of flame that he throws at the halfling.
1 action: Cast Shield. 2 actions: Cast Produce Flame.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
I forget that hero points are a thing.
So if you're letting me go back and use the hero point to get to 1 hp, I should have two turns I need to put up. I'm going to do that and if it's incorrect ignore it. I think now is a good time to use the point, otherwise Red might be in trouble.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
I'm personally also fine with bringing in new folks and pretending they've been here the whole time. I wouldn't want to start over but I'm not crazy opposed to it. I think two of us can probably take on this one dude though if necessary.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
Nosteo's eyes bulge in rage. He grips his sword, ready to chop the halfling's head off. He knows that they were asked to bring him back alive but if the choice is either failing that mission or letting him kill an innocent, well, they'll just have to fail.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
"That's not entirely true. If you hurt her, I guarantee that I'm going to run you through. If you let her go then maybe we can settle this peacefully."
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
I have an idea but I don't know if it will work outside encounter mode. If I wanted to use Deception to create a distraction and then attack the dude would we need to roll initiative first?
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
Nosteo utters an oath when his companions fall. In an attempt to keep the beast's attention away from them he decides to move into melee action. He moves around to surround it with Hothfarr and slashes at it. Then he conjures up a fiery shield to protect himself.
1 action to move around to flanking position. 1 action to Strike. 1 action to cast shield. There's nothing special about the shield being fiery, that is purely aesthetic.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
"Well, I guess there's nothing to do but head inside."
Nosteo feels his anticipation growing. This citadel probably won't teach him anything about his own past but maybe he can learn something about the Hellknights. Plus, he had planned on getting some experience with the whole adventuring thing before coming here and here they are at the doorsteps. He grimaces and grips his pommel a little tighter, they are doing a good deed and there's no room for cowardice.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
"I don't suppose any of you are expert trackers? How are we going to find Calmont?" Nosteo says as he pulls out his sword. He has no intention on going inside without a blade in hand.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
"Three gold does seem a little steep. The reward for bringing Calmont in is only 10. Maybe you can give us a discount. Seeing as we kept the town from burning down."
I would like to make a Diplomacy. I'm not sure if it should be a secret roll but my bonus is +7.
LG male Versatile Human Sorcerer 2| HP 20/20 | AC 14| F +4 R +5 W +6 | Perc +4| Stealth +1 | speed 25 | focus 1/1 | spells 1 4/4 | Active Conditions:
Nosteo draws his sword and growls at the mepthit. Instead of doing anything offensive however he summons some flames of his own into his other hand and points to Hothfarr.
