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I played a level 1 Spiritualist named Yellow Pete in Hall of the Flesh Eaters. Our party consisted of all Occult classes. 1 mesmerist, 1 medium, and 2 spiritualists, of which I was one. My build:
Hatred Phantom: Captain Whistleteeth
The overall shtick is that Yellow Pete was the only surviving member of a pirate crew that was lost at sea. He is now haunted by the captain of his ship, Captain Whistleteeth, who wants Pete to get their booty back. Unfortunately, the captain thinks Pete is a scaredy cat, hence the nickname. The RP between the two characters was a lot of fun for me, much more so than any other pet class I have played. The fact that the phantom can talk and interact with his spiritualist host, as well as the other PCs, brought a lot of RP value. Unfortunately, that's where the fun ended. Yellow Pete was not very exciting as a caster. He didn't have much magical or psychic flavor. He had 2 spells at level 1: Mage Armor and Cure Light Wounds, and 3 spells per day. I cast mage armor on Pete and the phantom and that left Pete with one spell for the day. Because we were all fresh out of the box level ones, healing was a big issue for us, so I saved that spell for cure light. And boy did we need it. I sent the phantom off to scout and triggered the first combat encounter. (I should say here that I got the idea to use the phantom as a scout from reading the forums. The idea would not have come to me naturally as there is no mention of scouting in the spiritualist's description or that this was the initial design decision for the phantom, but it seems to have become its default role). Fortunately, I had manifested the phantom in incorporeal form, so even though he triggered combat, he couldn't be hurt. But once combat was triggered I didn't know how to switch him to ectoplasmic so he could fight. Turns out phantoms can't switch forms. Well, they can but it involves dismissing the phantom and then remanifesting it in a ritual that takes 1 minute. So, basically switching can't be done in combat. Luckily, Pete had a light crossbow and feats in ranged combat! The other spiritualist didn't even have his phantom manifested, and couldn't manifest it in time, so was basically out of combat that first encounter. His character hid. The party would have TPKed in every encounter if it weren't for our kind GM. None of our classes were effective in combat and the mobs hit very hard. In the middle of the first combat, the other spiritualist announced that he wanted to change classes. We talked him out of it, but maybe we shouldn't have because we barely survived the scenario. But the difficulty level may have had more to do with that particular scenario than the Occult classes being under-powered. Any brand new level ones would have had a hard time I think. At one point we decided to sleep overnight in the dungeon so we could recover spells and heal a little. The next day I saved my spells for cure light wounds (cast out of combat between fights) and didn't cast mage armor, but again we almost TPKed in the final fight. Without mage armor the Captain only has an AC of 14. Pete was the last man standing, and, once again, thank goodness for point-blank shot and precise shot (and his light crossbow!). Pete took down the BBEG and lived to tell the tale with 3 hit points remaining. This class needs some kinks worked out before it is ready for prime time. Phantoms need to be able to take advantage of the versatility of their forms and spiritualists need more ways to survive, especially at low levels. Perhaps touch spells can come at level 1 instead of 3. I don't see any reasons for phantoms to have incorporeal form at level 1 when they can't cast touch spells yet. Scouting can be done just as easily with ectoplasmic form and phase lurch (if that is going to be the phantom's real role). I had fun playing Pete and the Captain, but that had more to do with my character concepts than anything else. For more info on this playtest from the mesmerist's POV, click here
Is it mechanically important that the Kitsune Star Gem glows like faerie fire? Is it casting faerie fire?
About Alaric GraffAs it turns out, there are degrees of heresy. It's one thing to minister to the sick, to rail against authority divine and mundane, and to advance the idea that maybe everyone should treat one another just the slightest bit better. It's quite another when the same man starts performing miracles. Alaric Graff had been a harmless heretic. A young healer, he had some rather queer ideas about silly things like free will and the essential equality of all races. No one paid him much attention, putting up with his rants as long as it meant their wounds didn't fester. When he became healing with a touch, and the people of Galt started flocking to him as some kind of prophet, that's when heresy the heresy of the Godless Priest turned from pleasantly amusing to potentially dangerous. Though he was forced from his home, Alaric saw it as an opportunity. The farther he ranged, the more people could potentially free from the shackles of religion and monarchy. It was really only a matter of time before someone nailed him to a tree. Before this, he had never bothered to bear arms beyond reason (he bitterly complains that he is the only user of this particular weapon). The people of Korvosa were not as pleased with him, and were either much faster runners or more intent on actually punishing his blasphemy. He's not certain how long he spent hanging, keeping himself alive through force of will and his rapidly diminishing powers. He had about given up when a passing caravan found him. Had Koya Mvashti not been part of that caravan, Alaric would have died. Since then, they have enjoyed a close, if combative relationship. She likes to remind Alaric that were it not for the grace of Desna, he would be crowbait. He blithely responds that he never saw Desna, just a crazy old woman nice enough to help a stranger. The Godless Priest has no holy text, just a book of poetry he reads at sunset. He carries a broken chain, and anyone who calls it a holy symbol had better be ready for a lengthy lecture about how it's merely a focus that reminds him of the essential immorality of authority. He's picked up a lot of epithets along the way: the Fool, the Faithless, the Unbowed, the Madman. To hear him tell it, all intelligent creatures hold the same potential, once they free themselves of the shackles of god and man. This might be the one area in which Alaric's prized reason does not appear. Though he has made a handful of converts, none have thus far displayed any miraculous abilities. More than frustrating, it's a sword to the throat of his beliefs. If Alaric Graff is indeed special, that makes his entire worldview a lie. His sincere desire to help is tempered with his annoyance that no one else can seem to do it right. Alaric usually prefers to keep himself groomed, but the rigors of travel and the high cost of shaving have caused him to grow out his brown hair and beard. He looks more like a crazy person with each passing day, but his bright green eyes remain clear. The doubters would say that the maddest always seem the most sure of themselves. Alaric is utterly confident in social interactions, but this confidence evaporates in combat. He's no coward, but he is awkward in his armor and dislikes violence. He'll happily take up arms to defend the weak from the strong, but that's a last resort. ALARIC GRAFF
CG Male Human (Taldan) Cleric (Atheist) 10 (Favored Class)
Initiative +0; Perception +6 -------------------
HP: 58 (10d8+10)
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +13
Special Defenses: DR 3/-, 25% chance to negate a critical or sneak attack from armor -------------------
Melee: Morningstar +7/+2 (1d8, x2), Light Mace +7/+2 (1d6, x2)
Ranged: Light Crossbow +7/+2 (1d8, 19-20 x2, 80')
Special Attacks: None -------------------
BAB: +7; CMB: +7; CMD: 17, Modifiers: None Feats: Selective Channeling, Combat Casting, Extra Channel, Heavy Armor Proficiency, Improved Channel, Uncanny Concentration Traits: Sacred Conduit, Rescued (Koya Mvashti) Skills: Diplomacy +10, Heal +17, Knowledge (Arcana) +8, Knowledge (Geography) +10, Knowledge (History) +10, Knowledge (Religion) +8, Linguistics +6, Ride +3, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +6; Modifiers: Armor Check Penalty -6, +1 to CHA based skill checks, +4 bonus to all Sense Motive checks to see through deception, +2 to Perception and +4 to Sense Motive from Dark Blue Rhomboid Ioun Stone, +2 to Heal from healer's kit Languages: Taldane, Tien, Goblin, Halfling -------------------
Cleric Abilities
Abilities from Feats
Abilities from Traits
Abilities from Relationships
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Weapons:
Mundane Gear: Traveler's outfit, holy symbol (a single broken link of a chain on a leather thong), morningstar, light crossbow, 20 bolts, light mace, backpack, book of poetry, flint and steel, hooded lantern, lamp oil (5 pints), waterskin, healer's kit (8 uses left), 2 spare healer's kits, belt pouch, scroll case, wooden medallion depicting a green cat, silver dust (25 GP each, 20 uses), bottle of wine In the Wagon: Bedroll, trail rations (6 days), winter blanket, cold weather clothing, shaving kit (36 uses left), spare shaving kit, “1,000 Reasons Why Alaric Graff is Wrong,” deck of playing cards, book of Vudrani poetry, cleats, frostbite ointment, furs, shovel, skates, skis and poles, snow goggles, snowshoes, academic texts (one on arcana, the other on religions), courtier's outfit (no jewelry, natch), massage oil (72 uses), alchemical grease (3 uses), case of wine (25 GP each, 19 bottles), Reta's Things: Backpack, dogslicer, spoon, bedroll, winter blanket, cold weather outfit, trail rations (7 days), waterskin, cleats, frostbite ointment, furs, shovel, skates, skis and poles, snow goggles, snowshoes, Kalsgard commemorative spoon, Boots of the Winterlands, Claws of the Ice Bear, Breastplate +1, masterwork dagger, campfire bead, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Wand of Flame Arrow (4 charges), small Composite Longbow +1 (STR 12) Money: 1740.5 Claimed Loot Value: 31,733 GP -------------------
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1st Level 6/Day
2nd Level 6/Day
3rd Level 5/Day
4th Level 5/Day
5th Level 3/Day
Gifts:
Ceramic rhino Bowstring Bottle of good booze 100 GP |
