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As a way to save Carrius if the Six Legends get kicked out... they might discover where her soul is in some ways.Sacrificing Eutropia's soul?Not quite sure what you're referring to here. Do you mean as a plan for the Circle? They never have possession of her soul. The Circle actually does not know that Eutropia's soul can be used in this way; Duke Lotheed's research has not advanced that far. The PCs can find out about the ability to use a sliver of Eutropia's soul to "patch the holes" in Carrius' soul largely through accident and coincidence. As far as Pannivar is concerned, the best course of action is to keep Carrius on the throne and keep the Six cowed.
1. without heavy rewrites, that would make the entire book 2 unplayable.I've actually got a paladin in my group, and he's operating on the assertion that Eutropia is effectively the legal ruler of Taldor. Eutropia has asked for the Stavian estate to be returned to her, and the Lotheeds have refused this request, making them in the wrong. By this logic, the paladin's actions in undermining the Lotheeds and improving life for locals fit well into the parameters of Lawful and Good. Again, the point is that by refusing to give up the Stavian Estate, the Lotheeds are not a legal authority, but rather one who is abusing their power. And not smiting the Evil folk immediately is a Good thing, since the concern is that that would lead to the civil war that Eutropia is desperately trying to avoid. Hell's Rebels has a similar take where a group of paladins are opposing the Lawful Authority because that authority is Evil, but they're required to do it in a way that requires some degree of stealth and guile. Book 2 of WftC follows a similar vein.
1. without heavy rewrites, that would make the entire book 2 unplayable. I've actually got a paladin in my group, and he's operating on the assertion that Eutropia is effectively the legal ruler of Taldor. Eutropia has asked for the Stavian estate to be returned to her, and the Lotheeds have refused this request, making them in the wrong. By this logic, the paladin's actions in undermining the Lotheeds and improving life for locals fit well into the parameters of Lawful and Good.
Kinda surprised the Circle didn't try to get the PCs to help with the Six Legends problem. It would've been pretty tricky to accomplish. The Circle's big plan was to have Carrius on the Lion Throne, and eliminating the Six also eliminates Carrius. They want Carrius to survive and rule as a puppet ruler, and they want the Six controlled, but not "killed". The Circle would've needed some plan that convinced the PCs to browbeat the Six into submission, but to leave Carrius on the throne without resurrecting Eutropia. That'd be pretty unlikely to result in a success.
One thing I didn't like about this beginning of adventure path is that it feels unreasonable that the agents of the princess of Taldor are such an inexperienced characters. the same way that the brotherhood of silence would send such weak agents to attack the assembled Senate. If you're talking about the PCs, remember that they are only some of the agents working for Eutropia, and she only "hires" them after they prove themselves by saving Martella. They start as very low-ranking agents, and are given tasks appropriate to their station. Arguably, the Brotherhood of Silence only sends those weak agents and initiates after Martella. They have been ordered to take out some of Eutropia's allies, and likely do not know that Martella is working as a spymaster for the princess, merely that they are good friends. Moreover, the BoS has been hired by some of Stavian's agents, so it's also conceivable that they hired lowly assassins to take care of what they assumed was a lowly noble. Another thing that is bothering me is that on one side the PCs are supposed to not know Martella's true agenda - 'ensuring that the vote against primogeniture happens without any complications'. I think this is meant to refer to the fact that Martella is trying to ensure that primogeniture is struck down for Eutropia's sake. Martella wants the PCs to think that her goal is to have the vote pass for her own sake, not for the sake of her benefactor. Also, are the PCs supposed to be teleported all at the same time when one of them is struck by one of the stavian agents or they should be teleported separately as each one of them is struck? As written, it looks like they all teleport at once. As Blue Eyed Devil said, though, you can certainly have them teleport individually, and it may well be more cinematic for it to happen that way. Ultimately, either way works, as the fight is meant to be more of a cinematic fight than a full combat.
So, why would Carrius just step into the role as legitimate heir to the throne when the entire Stavian bloodline claim has been discredited? It seems like Book 6 just ignores this with a hand waving - Carrius seizes the Throne (really? how?). The Ulfen Guard have welcomed him as the heir (really, why? Thought the Stavian line was discredited). And all the other squabbling claims to the throne just evaporated into thin air? Seriously? In my mind, Eutropia and Martella spent most of Book 5 attempting to garner allies and retake Taldor - starting with Oppara - through non-violent means, in case the PCs fail to find the Mantle of Kings. Its existence is, after all, a rumor, and the PCs are dispatched in the hopes that those rumors are true. It is certainly no guarantee, though, and for Eutropia to place her claim entirely on finding the relic would be naive. By winning over Oppara, she has unintentionally laid the groundwork for a different Stavian when she is assassinated. I don't think Carrius has the sudden backing of all of Taldor, merely the backing of the populace of Oppara. Personally, I plan to have Carrius retake Oppara somewhat by military force (similar to how Julius Caesar took Rome by forcing much of the Senate and standing Consul to abandon the city, gaining the support of the common folk) and with some help of previously dispatched Immaculate Circle agents. The Circle wanted to place Carrius on the throne, and would likely have taken steps to ensure that outcome after Eutropia's death. This will help give the feeling that the city is under Martial Law, and will hopefully help show that even though Carrius has amassed support, he and the Six Legends won't change Taldor for the better. I think as long as the Mantle of Kings is used to show Eutropia's legitimacy after Carrius and the Six Legends are defeated, the PC's efforts in Book 5 still have significant impact.
I'm about one session from finishing, and I had a similar experience. Spoiler: My group managed to make it through the entire basement (ie, Part 2) without resting. I've got a Paladin, UnRogue, Swashbuckler, and Witch, so only one caster until the Pally hits level 4. The Witch was able to get by with hexes once he tapped all of his spells, and the generous amount of scrolls and magic items certainly helped with resource exhaustion.
My party finally took a rest after the Fantionette in Part 3 due to low HP and resource exhaustion. I had Glorianna provide the group with healing to top them all off between Part 2 and 3, but if I had a chance to do it again, I would actually recommend having Martella tell them to meet her at the Dignified Repository early the next day. If she tells them this and then gets kidnapped in the interim, it gives the party a chance to rest, and can give Wyssilka the false impression that no one knows Martella's location (and therefore have the halfling think she has an excess of time to torture Martella and extract information, keeping Martella alive longer). The AP itself mentions that Wyssilka puts some more guards up top if the party defeats some of the Brotherhood but then leaves to heal, so it does seem that Wyssilka is going to take her time with the torture either way.
How are you calculating exp? By my math, a group of 4 PCs should be able to hit around 7175(ish) by the time they finish Part 2, assuming they have completed all possible encounters and influenced everyone in Part 1. I had them at 2675 maximum exp at the end of Part 1. My Math for Part 2:
Assuming party starts with 2675 exp from Part 1: Escape Room: 1600 / 4 = 400 exp each. Future numbers will simply be individual exp. Hall of the Protected (CR 4) = 300 each per this table (scroll down to Table: Experience Point Awards) Museum of Conquests (CR 3) = 200 exp Wax Figure Storage (CR 1/2) = 50 Artifact Storage (CR 3) = 200 Taxidermy Storage (CR 3) = 200 Arterial Hallway (CR 3) = 200 Seed Vault (CR 2) = 150 Chapel of Aroden (CR 2) = 150 Historical Archives (CR 3) = 200 Book Archives (CR 2) = 150 Rare Artifacts (CR 2) = 150 Ruined Hall South (CR 2) = 150 Greeting Room (CR 1) = 100 (Mimips) Ruined Hall North (CR 1) = 100 Senate of Circles (CR 5) = 400 Lounge (CR 3) = 200 Security Room (CR 5) = 400 (CR is 4 if Gulbend already dealt with) A SOMBER ESCAPE = 300 (escape) + 100 (per NPC saved, up to 5 NPCs counting 3 non-combat nobles, Malphene, and Zubari, max 500 exp) TOTAL: 4500 exp possible; added to previous 2675, this makes 7175 exp obtainable by this point. Remember that traps and non-combat obstacles (such as potentially Factor 12 in the Rare Artifacts area) still award exp for overcoming them. Disabling or triggering a trap should still award exp as if it was a combat of the same CR.
That is Night Hag definitelySure looks like it. Book 2 Spoiler: Huh, wonder if it's the same coven from Book 2 that cursed that Ettercap fellow.
Loving this book on first skim; I've pretty much read through the book but haven't delved too deep into the subsystem presented in the Agents of Change section. There's a lot to like here. I've always been a fan of games like the Telltale games and Mass Effect, so seeing choices like the one between the major CN or LN NPCs is quite appealing. The "Judging Crimes" events have several different ways they can go, with some options essentially being beneficial in-game, but having unsatisfactory ethical conclusions; it'll be interesting to see how players react to some of the events where the townfolk are essentially trying to pressure them into killing or banishing people who are actually innocent. I like that a lot of combat encounters can be avoided outright with proper social grace. It fits the theme of the AP, being more cloak and less dagger, but it looks like there's certainly enough combat to satiate players who appreciate the general strategy that comes with that aspect of the game. Good balance from what I'm seeing. I've always loved scaling items (Bladebound Magus 4 lyfe!) and think the Relic system is great. The Triumphs feel a bit like Mythic Tiers, and I think it'll be fun for players to see their items suddenly become more powerful as they help Taldor shed some of its stagnation. On the subject of Mythic, the second section of the book reminds me a bit of Book 4 of Wrath of the Righteous, insofar as it requires PCs to gain reputation through a relatively non-linear sandbox-y manner. It's sort of a collection of short subquests that I think will break up well into sessions of play. Honestly, just from reading the first two books in this AP it's rapidly becoming one of the APs I'm most excited to run. This may well be the strongest start for an AP for my own personal tastes.
1. Red Mantis Assassin - Rogue: This one is technically a Prestige Class, but it never really felt like it came into its own until UnRogue came out and made it more viable. The flavor is amazing, but the mechanics always felt a bit off. Making this a rogue archetype feels like it'd fix some of the issues with the PrC. On the other hand, this is an alignment-restricted LE class, so perhaps this doesn't need a place in the first few books. But I'd love to see it carry over to 2E! 2. Lore Warden - Fighter: This arechetype creates a nice alternative to the "big stupid fighter" character. 3. Feyspeaker/Skinshaper - Druid: I've always felt that druids and fey both have a sort of supernatural connection to nature and the world around them, yet druids have fairly little of that "fae feel" to them. I feel like combining these two classes into one would keep the feel of an intrigue-based druid that can transform into other humanoid shapes, while adding in a proper fey flavor to the class. 4. Freebooter - Ranger: I love archetypes that open up new ways to use the classes' main class abilities, and Freebooter fundamentally changes the Favored Enemy bonus to act as a sort of inverse inspire courage. 5. Master of Many Styles - Monk: Styles are a nice way to make a monk feel unique. MoMS opens up a viable alternative to only following a single style.
I'm not confusing the two. If the PCs are successful in their initial Senate missions, they will get several magical and mundane items for gaining influence. While you could argue these are things the PCs earned on their own, rather than rewards, they never would have gotten into the Senate without being in Martella's employ. Independent of all that is everything of value they found in the dungeon, which I agree should not be considered a payment from Martella or Eutropia. My point was simply this: their work for Martella has been very profitable. This was meant as a rebuttal to your claim that Eutropia (ie, the boss of your boss) was "surprised the pc's would even ask for a reward". They were amply rewarded for services rendered, and they are being promised further rewards for further services.
"why should we support you and not just go to the your enemys, tell them where you are and be rewarded when THAT new kingdom is formed?" There's also really nothing to sell. Eutropia has been trying to reach a council with Pythareus, and even if you leave Eutropia's meeting and travel to a place to send a message to him - or somehow locate a Pythareus loyalist - that message is going to be news of her previous location. "We met at this house in Oppara one time" is not a very profitable piece of information. If she wanted her location secret and the PCs refuse her offer, all she needs to do is walk out of the townhouse and find a new location. Moreover...she's in Oppara, and she's trying to rally support for her claim. She hasn't fled the city, so she's not really in hiding. Pythareus is the one who left for Zimar to gather support. Even if your PCs are simply in it for the potential to gain political influence and money, Eutropia is their best bet at this point. And honestly, I've read and re-read pages 52-53 many times and don't see any real evidence to support the claim that she's a spoiled brat. At worst, she is underprepared. This is all from an in-game view, of course. There is the well-put meta reason Hourai lists above. Players should be encouraged to make a PC that will want to follow the adventure's path, whether out of loyalty, hope for personal gain, or something else.
I wanted to touch on "the Eutropia problem" presented by Damian. While I disagree with many of his points, I do feel there is validity to them as well. Hoof, this turned out longer than I thought. Spoilered to prevent page-stretchin'. Spoiler: im not sure what you gage as realistic or where you read that "she has her own strength of character and acts with thought and forethought" when the only concrete thing that is presented by her is that she'll figure out what she will do after she gets the crown (no plan, thoughtles) supprised the pc's would even ask for a reward (condescending and selfish considering that at this point she is in need of allies and not really in any position to bargin, 2 decades of political work would clue her into that as well as the fact that it's writen that she very much for the common folk, and would know that they would ask to be compensated) and the only part of her that can be gained by the pc's is that she likes her dog (personality shallower than a kiddy pool). besides, that conflicts with the idea that she molds her future based off the pc's actions, is she a leader with her own strength of character or not?. Eutropia is, in a sense of political power, somewhat similar to a royal bastard or fourth son. Prior to the vote to end primogeniture, she stands to gain nothing when Stavian III dies. She is not a male heir, and as such will not inherit anything. It is a bit unclear exactly how this works, though; with no male heir, will Eutropia become a figurehead to be married off, or does the royal line die out instead going passing rulership to a prominent senator or distant relative? In any case, this is why I feel her lack of planning can be somewhat forgiven. She was never going to be in a position of significant power in the first place, and the vote to end primogeniture was really her first hope at becoming anything more than a figurehead with limited influence. I do agree that having what should be one of the most charismatic and influential NPCs response to "So what'cha gonna do once you're Grand Princess?" be a shrug is a bit disappointing, and I think the AP would have benefited from a short side bar on making Eutropia your own. Then again, perhaps there will be more hints towards this in future parts of the AP. While I do agree with Damian on the above point, I must say I disagree that she seems surprised that the PCs ask for a reward, nor did I read her response as condescending. I will, however, state as a brief aside that I view "NPC response blocks" such as the one on pages 52-53 in much the same way that I do room description text: something to be read and inspire the GM, but not quoted verbatim, as this leads to an awkward dialogue. All that said, the PCs have been well-paid for their earlier services. They acquired several magic items, and they get paid 2000g to split for saving Martella in addition to the 500g each (plus an extra 150g if they all succeeded at their missions in chapter 1). Assuming a 4-player group, that's 1000g-1150g each, and at 4th level, that's a tidy sum. And on top of that, she promises them future payment for future services, so I'm not sure where Damian is getting the idea that she is surprised they ask for a reward. They got one and she promises more in the future. Moreover, Eutropia is correct. The benefit of having a Grand Princess in your debt should be self-evident, and there isn't much benefit (aside from payment) she can provide if she doesn't take the throne. Her family holdings are locked away, and she cannot access it in the current state of affairs. And honestly, while she is desperate for allies...she is desperate for powerful allies. The PCs have at this point shown that they can hold their own in a relatively forgotten dungeon, and spearheaded the effort to save Martella. This shows they are resourceful, but they are still only level 4 PCs without major connections; they honestly could use Eutropia more than she needs them at this point. It simply isn't worth it for her to promise vast wealth or noble titles to what are at this point rank-and-file spies. Finally, I have an opinion that may be unpopular, but it is my general belief about NPCs in pre-written material. It is on the AP to provide the background and vague personality of NPCs, but it is the onus of the GM to flesh out these NPCs and make them interesting. An NPC doesn't really need anything more than a few personality descriptors to latch on to - haughty, stoic, flamboyant, etc. - as well as a a short backstory to showcase why they hold the motivations they have. Again, I agree that it would have been beneficial to include a short piece stating that Eutropia is something of a blank canvas for the GM to fill in, but all NPCs are at least partially blank canvases. I would argue that no matter how well-written or interesting an NPC backstory or statblock, they will require additional work by the GM to "bring them to life." Breathing life into the world and its inhabitants is one of the greatest pleasures and burdens of being a GM. In any case, I really liked the AP as it was presented, and my group has been wanting to play a more political game for a while, so I'm pretty sure I'll be running this one once the other books (and the Player's Guide) come out and I've a better sense of the full adventure. Looking forward to the next book!
You could use the Dimensional Dervish feat to teleport in, make a full attack, and pop out again, but it's more limited, and requires three feats. Contingency is hard to account for, since it's so flexible. That said, one of the more common contingencies is to teleport away to safety, so that the wizard can cast some prep spells before re-entering combat. The Phase Locking weapon would prevent that, at least to some degree (I suppose one could dispel the lock with a quickened dispel and then pop out, but that could be tricky depending on circumstances).
Actually, in the PF book Liar's Blade... Book Stuff!:
Zaqen is under a geas to completely follow Obed's every order. She makes it clear that she literally can not defy him, and the geas apparently has no "end date." So while I wouldn't take Pathfinder Tales at 100% face value for rules interpretation, there's definitely an instance of an official Paizo product with a character using a geas that is essentially "follow my orders." Perhaps even so far as "obey my orders to both the spirit and the letter." That said... Going back to the interpretation thing, everyone is free to interpret the rules as they wish, but there is really only one definition that would be Rules as Intended. I think that rather than picking apart the English language to decide how the spell works, it would be easier to simply look at similar spells, and look at the intent behind geas/quest. It's essentially a more powerful version of dominate monster in just about every way: no saving throw, infinite duration, no Sense Motive to determine the spell is in place, difficult to break free, etc. It has really only one limitation. Casting time. This is the main reason why I wouldn't allow the limited wish into geas to work at my table. It really piddles with game balance if used in certain situations. Anything that can bypass so many foes in such an absurd way would be too silly to allow under most circumstances. I would need to have a lot of confidence in the players that they were doing it for the sake of a game that is more fun for everyone at the table, GM included.
Oop, looks like you're right on the -3 thing. As for the first part, it could always just be that you don't have the means to finish them off immediately. You're tapped out for the day, or don't have the right spells. The "perform acts that result in certain death" part is incredibly murky, though, and is going to rely on GM interpretation. For example, if the geas caster says, "Sit there and allow the next spell I cast to affect you," is that certain death? The caster could simply cast a baleful polymorph spell, flesh to stone, dominate person or some other "non-lethal" spell that would make the geassed character a complete non-threat. What if the geas-er intends to kill the rabbit or shatter the stone?
The text for wish/miracle is a bit murky, but I think it's fairly safe to say that Anzyr's interpretation is more likely. And on the note of "a single task," it would be equally easy to just say, "sit there for X amount of time" and then finish off the geas'd individual while they are sitting there doing nothing. Of course, defying a geas is only a -3 to ability scores. Which hurts, but not as much as doing nothing while a caster pokes at you with insert spell here.
This is actually the biggest problem that I've seen with shutting down casting. With shutting down any tactic, to be honest. If a GM takes actions to specifically counter a player's ability to "do their thing," it can lead to that player feeling like they are being targeted. It can be interesting to force a player to come up with new tactics by utilizing environmental factors, inconvenient enemy placement, or NPCs that can simply counteract PC abilities. But when suddenly every NPC is a monk with Catch Arrows with a high touch AC and ability to invalidate a ranged attack, it can lead to that gunslinger feeling marginalized. Ditto casters. If suddenly everyone has insane saves, SR, Disruptive and the Step Up feat chain, it isn't so much a solution to a strong caster as it is a destruction of a player's playstyle. I feel like it's an in-game problem that should be addressed out of game by asking the player to tone it down to let other players shine.
Using spells as written in their description is breaking the game to you? Maybe the problem isn't the player. Maybe it's the spells. Maybe there is some kind of I don't know imbalance that makes spellcasters much stronger then other options. Maybe that should be fixed so it isn't a problem huh? I don't follow you here. Are you claiming that the GM should allow everything that works by RAW? Are you implying that a player who uses cheese to overpower the game is not at fault, and that it's the developers' fault for including said cheese? Because, again, the GM can easily destroy such a player, and do it by using the rules "as written in their description". I would think an ideal combat would be one that is challenging and engaging, not one that is solved by a stack of paper with 3rd level spells on 'em.
Uh you know that aura is laughable for Wizards right? Like only fail on a 1, assuming you even need to make a save at all. And honestly, I'm much more afraid of a properly played Level 20 caster then a CR 30 monster (that isn't effectively a full caster).Let's be honest, though. As a GM, if your solution to anything is using explosive rune cheese, I will drop an unnanounced Great Old One, Cthulu on your head and not even feel bad.Also, not immune to Explosive Runes. Cheers! Blech. I thought about not mentioning the last sentence, because I knew that that would be the aspect that was focused on. The GM defines the game. If you want to break the game, there are plenty of ways to do it by RAW. But either you get to have a discussion with the GM about keeping your power level in line, or the GM unleashes the full fury of literally anything he feels like throwing at you. As a player as well, I would be annoyed with a fellow player who used an uninspired trick to beat an encounter.
Let's be honest, though. As a GM, if your solution to anything is using explosive rune cheese, I will drop an unnanounced Great Old One, Cthulu on your head and not even feel bad.Also, not immune to Explosive Runes. Cheers! You are completely missing the point. If a player uses something this cheesy, I see no problem with the GM using something else equally cheesy. A CR 30 monster vs. a level 20 PC is pretty durn cheesy. If all else fails, the GM can just use the same trick back at the player: anything the player can use, the GM can use. Or are we just doing a hypothetical to show how clever the explosive rune trick is? Because C'thulu tends to win when the wizard is killed by an aura from 300ft. away.
Let's be honest, though. As a GM, if your solution to anything is using explosive rune cheese, I will drop an unnanounced Great Old One, Cthulu on your head and not even feel bad.
This setting. It's basically just a city that is built around a sealed tarrasque, and "mines" it for resources. I haven't run it - not out of lack of interest, but out of lack of time. Once my current game ends, one of the players wanted to step up and GM Wrath of the Righteous. Sadly, I'm starting a rather intensive school program, so I won't have time to run a game alongside his WotR...heck, I might not even have time to play in WotR.
The thing is, I've only seen entitled DM behaviour in person, yet only hear about entitled player behaviour from others. I don't really see any entitled players. I've seen whiners, complainers, rules lawyers, bad players, rude players, and immature players, but not entitled. Statistically speaking, I suppose it makes sense that there would be more people complaining about players since they outnumber the GM 4:1 or so. There's a bigger chance that any given group has a problem player rather than a problem GM. To be honest, though, I haven't really seen too many player-bashing or GM-bashing posts lately. Am I just missing them?
Snapdragon Fireworks: Magic missile, but with fire damage and a weak status effect, no extra missiles at high level. It can be useful if cast as a dazing spell. You get to shoot one missle each round as a move action and potentially daze the opponent if they fail their Reflex save. This is, of course, in addition to any other spells you might cast as standard or swift actions, and the dazing snapdragon fireworks spell only takes up a 4th level slot. The range on this spell is also enormous.
This one's not mine, but one of my favorites was a post by TheSheDM on Reddit: "One of my players played a pixie paladin. Yes, in full plate armor. No, he could not fly while wearing it. His mount was a blink dog. His name was Sir Princely Hero and his dog was Trusty Steed.
To make things even better, he decided he needed a damsel, because all heros had a princess or a lady or a lovely peasant girl that they protected. He also understood women had a "virtue" (aka virginity) that needed protecting from scoundrels and theives, but as pixies are genuine innocents, he didn't really understand what "virtue" was but he knew it was important. After much thinking (about 5 seconds or so) he decided that virtue must mean a woman's panties. So our chivalrous pixie introduced himself to the party by finding the party's leader (a female wizard) and solemnly vowing to defend her panties from any unscrupulous rogues that might seek to steal her virtue. Later when the player wanted to retire the character, it was declared that Sir Princely Hero had tired of his game of knight-in-shining armor and decided to become a pirate instead. He declared himself Captain Sir Dashing Hero, renamed his dog Trusty Ship, and was last seen 'sailing' off into the forest with the wizard's panties as a flag."
Just recently I've had the chance to play a goblin bladebound magus. We started at level five, so he's had his black blade since the start of the adventure. The character is skinned as having no casting ability whatsoever, and all spells are actually made by his black blade. This leads to a lot of moments when the black blade makes smarter choices than the goblin, especially when fighting foes that are resistant or immune to fire. The goblin's battlecry: "Burn the foe, to a smouldering mass, crickle, crackle, BURN HIS A-" Blackblade: "Frigid touch." Goblin: "..."
@Irnk: Fair enough, but the fact that Daggermark is so prominent in the River Kingdoms could also be a motivation. Sending an unknown initiate would be a good way to get a potential foothold. Who knows, maybe they could even work together (unlikely). I really want to see a full-blown turf war between the two assassin's guilds, now. This needs to be a module or PFS scenario or something.
I would probably be interested in: Realm of the Fellknight Queen
Perish Song's question related to Hellknights and Red Mantis Assassins, well, that's a sad one. I don't have the book yet, but I do plan on getting it around September (when I can also pick up the start of Iron Gods). You could always have them as an aspirant to such, but not full-fledged members, especially if those are prestige classes (I'm not sure I'll be honest). Both are indeed prestige classes, so I wouldn't be able to take them until at least level 6. My character would likely start as more of an initiate than an "insider" in the organization, but both organizations would definitely have ample reason to send a member - even one so unproven - to the River Kingdoms to assist in the founding of a new kingdom. I've posted links to the classes below, but the choice is up to you if they're useable for this PbP. Hell Knight
If not, I've got other ideas I can dig through.
Darkness how would you feel about traveling with a cleric of Asmodeus with similar goals? If you don't want company it might be fun to play a NE cleric of Pharasma. I might also be interested in an Asmodeus ensemble. I'm thinking of making a Hell Knight, Order of the Scourge (enforcing order, no crime unpunished) or Order of the Nail (bringing civilization to wild, unordered places). The main problem with Hell Knights is that they share a bit of the paladin problem; because of that stress on lawful, they don't work well with parties of widely differing views. Working with a CE character would be nigh impossible. EDIT: I also don't know how this would work as far as applications, as I don't really want to make a character that would only be potentially picked if other Asmodeus loyalists were picked. If this concept would be too difficult to realize, then I'm leaning towards making a Red Mantis Assassin, probably starting as a rogue or ninja. The general concept would be that the RMA was sent by the order to help a prospective ruler stake out an area of land. It never hurts to have a future king that is favorable towards the Order. If Paths of Prestige is out (both Hell Knights and RMAs are from that book), then I'll probably be making a goblin bladebound magus.
Wolves know how to use a hunting pack and flank. Wolves have an Intelligence of two. Goblins straight from the Bestiary have an Intelligence of ten (and a Wisdom of nine, which is arguably the "common sense" statistic). Obviously, this isn't to say that goblins need to be smart or use any sort of tactics in battle, but they are definitely capable of making informed decisions, and especially of five-foot stepping.
Player says: "What's the enemy's AC?"
Player says: "Does a twenty-one hit?"
Player says: "I got a 10 on my Fort save."
Can someone TL;DR that? Basically, the OP is complaining that his game is too similar to a video game in that people over-maximize their characters. He doesn't like the way that towns feel more like a shopping mall than an actual setting, and that the only time players interact with townsfolk is when they're buying items. He then goes on to critique some of the suspension-of-disbelief aspects of the game. Skills upon level up can be odd; if you kill enough things, you get better at picking locks! Magic shops would likely be robbed. That sort of thing. The first part sounds more like a group problem, honestly. The players are what determine maximization and the like, not the game system. The second part is valid to some degree, but I think it's one of those things that's easiest to address as a part of the system, and either devise your own way to deal with skills as a group, or to simply ignore it.
Alrighty. I'm off to work, but I'll have my character made up by the end of the day. Two more quick questions: Is there any sort of role aboard the ship that I should be going for? What with my planned build, I can either make a good helmsman or siege engineer. Will the character be assumed to have been with the crew from the get-go, or will they be "picked up" from a harbor, enemy ship, shipwreck, etc.? Thanks for your time and consideration!
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