Search Posts
Yeah, I'm doing great. Got married and graduated law school last month, so it's been a busy busy year. I know it's probably water under a bridge, but sorry for dropping out at the start of the campaign Leinathan. You're still the best GM I've had on PbP, and possibly compared to a lot of real life GMs, it's sucks that my time management wasn't up to par.
Yeah, that's a good point about just doing it all as an intro. The AP is actually well written, and the inclusion of the lvl17 guy is to foreshadow him being the main villain through out the whole adventure. The characters basically wake up shanghai'd on a ship, under the lingering effects of knockout drugs, and without their weapons. They've been kidnapped by this badass pirate, and for the first act of the game basically have to do a variety of diplomatic and skill-based challenges getting used to life on the pirate ship. They get their gear back at this point, and more of the combat stuff starts. The character in question wasn't a 'ex-slave, i'll never be enslaved again" although we did have someone with that back story in our party. Instead he was a fisherman who found the locket of some CE fish/water god, and traded that locket to him in exchange for magical clerical abilities. The guy treated his lvl 1 cleric as if he was already a walking avatar of divinity. And although our campaign rules said no evil character, this guy was basically playing his CN character as a full CE character. Without harping on about it, I basically should have addressed the guy earlier than I did, because I had other players saying that they couldn't enjoy the game because most of their actions were spent trying to deal with this guy's fallout.
If you have a problem player, address their behaviour early and do it Out Of Character. In an early campaign I ran (Skull+Shackles), I had a player reacted to being kidnapped and stripped of all his weapons by initiating combat straight away. When he had his ass handed to him, he then tried to cast doom on a pirate in front of a lvl 17 captain. He didn't respond to the real threat of having his ears cut off. He then planned to burn the rum on the ship, without considering the like response from a bunch of alcoholic pirates. This all occurred literally in the space of the opening set up for the campaign (pages 1-3 of the outline). My mistake was thinking that his character would react to negative incentives in the game (the rest of the party got it very quickly). Instead I should have had some quite words with the player and nipped it in the bud.
Has it struck anyone else that the plot of Ayeron's "Into the Electric Castle" would make an awesome campaign. Not until you said it then, but I'm already drooling about it. I might have a crack over the Australian winter holidays. Trivia: did you know they Arjen Lucassen named his home recording studio "The Electric Castle"?
Android paladins and alien-bloodline sorcerers and robot-punching barbarians travelling the wreckage-littered wasteland....Thanks for the Iron Gods soundtrack link Mikaze. Of Particular importance are "The Human Equation" and "01011001". They will be my backing music for Iron Gods.
but 1% likely they'll be from somewhere else so as to enable an intentionally unusual and unique tomato element to the world. I know this is probably more of a 0.0001% chance, but sentient tomatoes from space, hitchhiking to earth on a crashed spaceship. Iron Gods supplementary dietary fibre? Please?
I think this neatly summarizes my thoughts on some of the playtest material so far. I'm enamoured with a few of the classes (Skald, Swashbuckler, Shaman - although it could do with tweaking). A few other classes just don't interest me because their individual components don't interest me (Slayer: I've never played a ranger, and I've never enjoyed a rogue). As for the rest though, I don't see how to make them feel like their own unique class. Alchemists and Magus feel like unique ideas in their own right. Inquisitor (my favourite class) takes elements of multiple classes but goes beyond mere concatenation into something amazing. I'd much rather have less classes being released, but make each of those classes really shine.
For a brief while in online play, I was playing as Nostrum, a Lawful Good bard of Rovagug who acts much more like a Paladin or Cleric. Due to rolled stats though, he managed a Greataxe critical hit of 39 damage at lvl 1. He was known not only to hand out pamphlets in loving devotion to Rovagug ("Remember, the Devourer is coming to wipe away all: clean up after yourself, cleanliness is next to Rovagugliness") but his bardic songs usually involved evisceration. His Holy Symbol He was confusing and hilarious :D I also play in society an Inquisitor of Abadar named Charlaxis Mephistopheles Wright (or Charles for short). I introduce him as a lawyer though, and present to each player at the table the following business card. He wears a suit, and his Conversion Inquisition gives him amazing Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive and perception rolls. He also weilds a two-handed sword for 2d6 damage. He's been a decent example to some of the younger players at our store in regards to roleplaying fully fleshed out characters, as opposed to just stats. Up until combat, charles really feel like a lawyer.
Do you have any particular feelings against a Half-Orc Barbarian 1/Witch 3, using the Urban Barbarian and Scarred Witch Doctor Archetypes? Basically, a Witch that uses Con as casting stat, and can still cast spells/hexes whilst raging? Haven't quite fleshed out a back story yet as I wanted to see how you felt about it all. I have a few ideas that I'll pitch if you're ok with it, but if not I'll go roll up a different character instead :D
Actions: Nostrum moves to Raijinn to try and heal. If Raijinn is still on positive hitpoints when he gets there, he casts Cure Light Wounds for points of damage. If Raijinn takes some damage and goes into negatives, Nostrum uses his Rebuke Dead domain ability to heal points of damage.
Item has 10 ranks in one skill*,+10,000 gp,+2 Ego Modifier * Intelligent items can only possess Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skills, unless they also possess some form of ability to move. Pretty sure the intelligent item can have bluff, it just massively increases the price/value of the item. I'm assuming Raijinn won't be selling his blade at any point though, so I don't mind, whatever the GM + Raijinn decided I'm happy to work with :D And because I don't say it often enough: I love this game, you guys are tonnes of fun.
Nostrum steps forward and places a firm hand on the big guard's shoulder. "We're all friends here ent we? Friends show a little hospitality. Let us in for the cat, and then we'll be on our way." Nostrum flexes his hand to pinch above the man's collar bone, an attempt to show that the guard isn't the only one with a substantial chest.
Nostrum quickly picks up on Goffred's ruse and decides to back him up. Although he was standing a little way behind, he rushes up to the other two. "Jezet, d'you let that cat get away 'gain? You know your sister'll be cryin' fer days if'n you don't bring it home fer her." Turning to the two men, Nostrum continues on from where Fredo had left off. Having worked in markets for the Brethren, Nostrum uses a complaint he once heard as the basis for his lie. "We tried a few o'er butchers today, but they're all refusing to buy just cause we'ze from Abken. Treat us like we're not Korvosan or some'ent, just 'cause we're a new settlement...". All the while, Nostrum tries to read the two men's faces to see if they're buying it. Dice:
Since the party had reached the citadel, Nostrum had been trying to emulate Thaven's stance and mannerisms. He was starting to get the hang of the salute, but still did not fully grasp soldier etiquette. He listened patiently to their orders, but for lack of a better option, raised his hand at the end. "I don't object, but I do have a few questions, ma'am.... erm, sir. Firstly, what has he defected to? Have he and his companions aligned themselves with some other group or are they merely failing to do their duty?" From his understanding of Cheliax, Nostrum is sure that the Hellknights wouldn't take a group of deserters in with open arms. "Secondly, I believe everyone capable of repentance and redemption. Although I don't believe it likely, how will you treat this man if he does return to his post?" Nostrum stares pointedly at his new commanding officer.
Nostrum Leveling Notes:
Skills: +1 Diplomacy, +1 Intimidate, +1 Perception, 1+Sense Motive, +4 Knowledge Religion (now =+7). Clerical Channeling (7/day)
Spells:
"I've never heard of this Academy, so I'm unsurprised that he wasn't very skilled. Lacked discipline, I'm sure, although with the amount of money he handed us I'm surprised he lacked a sword." Nostrum had spent long hours training with the weapon of his deity, mostly on logs that needed chopping. As the group proceeded on, Nostrum pays attention lest any more make-shift gangs are wandering around.
Dice:
I mean that I don't want you to die and I'll level you up if it'll kill you as you are now! Jeez.Or rather I'm trying to decide whether the next encounter area, as written, will kill a 1st-level party.Cheeky bastard :P Haha, I got it too. But saving the level up until nescessary? Still a little cheeky. Sorry, just in a bit of a crazy mood. I think it's Cabin Fever. |
