Don Jon Dux's page

Psst... me again. Semi-O/T heads-up for the RWBY enthusiasts among us. You may have seen leaked smartphone video of the Volume 4 teaser that was shown at RTX earlier this year.

Today, it was officially released.

Come on, October 22nd!

(I'll slink back into the shadows now.)

Those of you who manage to get in, please have a little extra fun for me. Despite my strong desire to play in the RWBY universe, I can't pull it off right now. Any hope of squeezing this game in was dashed when the October schedule was revealed at work this week.

Here's wishing you a joyous game; keep Remnant safe for the rest of us. I'm off to have a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes.

Ironwood: But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?

Ozpin: I hope they never have to.

Executive Summary

I'm fine with either but lean slightly towards freshman versus graduate. As for setting, how about a mix? After all, things can go wrong in the city too (bar (sorry, "food") fights, happening to see someone being mugged on the street and intervening, maybe even the occasional Grimm rat swarm, etc.).

Random Musings

Except for the last paragraph, this is all just to spur thought. Ignore as appropriate. :o)

This would be so much easier (for you, GM) if the show had wrapped and we had a stable universe as a base. Are you thinking to respect canon? That could get tricky given things are changing so quickly in the series and there are so many unknowns -- just look at what's happened in the last season. We could set off on a path that some later plot twist in the show might totally invalidate. Doubly tricky if this is tied to Beacon, since it's so central to the series plot.

On the other hand, a different academy (apparently you have three others from which to choose) somewhere other than Vale would avoid some of that, but might that feel a bit "disconnected" from the series? Time-shifting might also help, though you could likely only go earlier in time, and probably before the last generation (e.g. Team STRQ) to be safe.

Of course if you're going with a "parallel dimension Remnant," then all those issues go away.

Also, are you thinking four-person teams, or just random students drawn from multiple teams?

ZF, I get what you're saying about ranks, and on one level (heh) I agree with you. On the other hand it's all relative, and if we started a game as graduates we'd be at roughly the same level of expertise as any other graduate... which could be considered "novice" Huntsmen. Especially considering we'd have our Auras, Semblances, and signature weapons, I really don't see that as crippling us. (I mean come on, look at Jaune Arc...)

Besides, wherever we start, the GM will have to scale the encounters to match -- again, it's all relative -- so I don't think it much matters.

OTOH, if you want to be Veteran at graduation to Huntsman/Huntress, we could always start not as freshmen at a Hunter's academy, but at one of the pre-academy combat schools (e.g. as Signal is to Beacon). I suspect that might be further back than some would want to start, though.

Finally, most likely anyone into RWBY already knows, but just for the sake of completeness: The RWBY Wiki is a pretty good resource (not necessarily all canon thanks to some guesses and "best estimates," but it stays pretty close).

I hate you so much. My gaming schedule is fully loaded, SW didn't do anything for me when I tried it, and yet you're gonna force me to add another PbP. :op

Count me as interested with extreme caveats.

I wish I knew what makes some games last and others fizzle! If you spot something please share.

We've lost a few players over the years (I came in as a sub for one of them because the cleric role was critical for that scenario), and occasionally a PC will just drift off never to be seen again. But for the most part it's very "Energizer Bunny."

As someone who's been incredibly frustrated with the tendency of PbP games to fizzle out...

If you ever have an opportunity to play under Story Master, take it! A Shadowlands game that was started in July of 2013 to playtest a new module is still going strong (now well over 4,500 posts) and is as enjoyable as ever.

Sadly, there's no way to know if a game's going to persist and thrive in the beginning. But a few of them do, and it's a wonderful thing when it happens. Here's hoping this game becomes one of them, and my best wishes for that to everyone who gets involved!

DJD, I have nothing against Doc's return, but I'd like it if you could skin him more thematically for this AP. Maybe it's just me having trouble not picturing him in the Scorched Lands. ;)

Apologies if my intent wasn't clear. This won't be Doc; I used the term "respin" in an effort to indicate that. From his very roots in The Wild Wild West Doc has always been about that setting, and I don't think he could be transplanted to anything else even if reskinned.

No, this will be a "not-Doc" -- essentially the same build, but a completely different PC. (Really, you should have gotten that when I suggested a kinder, gentler Doc... since that's clearly an impossibility. :op ) So: We were already on the same page, and no worries!

Now that I'm apparently in and don't have to worry about the appearance of brownnosing for a spot :o) let me assure those who don't yet know: Kamaloo is a stellar GM (and player). Very hard-working in service to the story and the players. You won't be disappointed.

Also, for those of you who haven't indulged in PbEm yet: It has a different "feel" mechanically (especially the way Kamaloo handles it), but presents the same opportunity to really roleplay your character as PbP.

Somewhat unrelated, for those who haven't been able to get into a PbP game yet: Keep the faith and keep trying; if you're truly into roleplay it is so worth it. And once you establish yourself, "out of the blue" invites are a definite possibility. (I suspect some players haven't haunted the Recruitment forum for years.)

Having pondered a while, if it wouldn't be too strange for "Ben" and "Jake" (if he's in), I think I'd like to respin Doc. I enjoyed running him a lot, and it was disappointing that the game died before he got past 3rd Level.

I'm thinking of taking the same path as Doc, just making this guy less of a megalomaniac and a bit easier to get along with.

So that'd be a Pyromaniac Lava Gnome Alchemist. Mostly a knowledge/crafting monkey with decent-ish Disable Device and a smidge of UMD. Some ranged combat utility, a few buffing options, and a bit of additional healing if needed.

Thoughts?

Dux turned at the ghostly tap on his shoulder. "What's that? Oh... sure, I'm in if you'll have me. You already know my play style. :o) Pout for allowing 3pp yet no Vitalists."

He paused to rub his chin in thought. "Permit some me some time to go through the player's guide and consider some concepts. Don't let me hold you lot up, though!"

Hey guys, since you were all so nice about letting me join this game (even though I couldn't), I thought I'd try to return the favor.

It looks we lost the character of Poog in a We Be Goblins series that's being run. The GM can bot the character, but I thought I'd ask if anyone would be interested in taking up the reins.

In case you don't know, these are relatively short scenarios in which the tables are turned and you get to be an evil goblin. Poog of Zarongel is a Cleric.

There will be three scenarios in the arc, and we're part way into the first one. These are mostly about having fun. If you ever wanted to play one of the "bad guys" or just cut loose and do foolish things (we were going to sneak past a rabid horse but our Rogue decided to shoot it instead... doing ONE point of damage and getting its attention; our Alchemist threw a club at a giant spider instead of lobbing a firebomb as he should have)... well, this might be worth considering.

Take a look at the Pathfinder module and shoot me a PM (or, with the grace of our GM, post back here) if you're interested.

Thanks!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled mayhem...

Wow, thanks for the willingness guys, I'm grateful. And I dearly wish I could participate. *Shaking fist at Murphy.* But I said "when recruitment opened" because I could have joined in back then.

Since that time I've been accepted into a game of The Strange, and I don't think trying to learn two new-to-me systems at once is wise. Plus I'm pretty much at my limit for simultaneous games -- my quality of play suffers if I'm overloaded.

Again, I really, really appreciate your being open to welcoming me aboard. I'd definitely go for it if I thought I could pull it off.

Cheers!

Just dropping by to give you lot a "thumbs up!" I wish I'd known about this when recruitment opened, as I've been wanting to run Octavius for ages (he's not exactly an easy PC concept to fit into a game).

Have fun, all! Remember the children!

"I ride on the back of nature's most fearsome creature! I ride... the SQUIRREL!"

Hi, JAF0!

I just found out there are alternate pregens for these modules. If you really yearn for Mogmurch and GMG doesn't mind, I'd be willing to look through those and see if there's something else that strikes my fancy. I haven't even started building the alias yet, so I have nothing invested in Mogmurch.

P.S. I've also done Rise of the Goblin Guild. Not related and, from what I understand, a totally different "feel."

Wow. Just wow.

Important things first: Thank you GMG for this delightful surprise!

For those of you who don't know (or don't know me, or don't know GMG), I've had the pleasure of playing at his "virtual table" more than once. We Be Goblins came up in Discussion for a game I'm currently in, and I casually remarked I'd not yet played it.

And, like the shoemaker, while I slept those pesky elves got busy. I awoke to find a shiny new game waiting... with my name engraved on it, to boot. How can one not love that kind of accommodation!

GMG, I think between Wyeth setting a trend for wearing skeletal remains as a helm and my goblin-sized pyromaniacal bomb-lobbing Doc, Mogmurch is the obvious choice for me. My PFS ID is 114511.

Two questions (which might be answered by reading the intro material, so forgive me for rushing to get this post up first):

1) Is Rempty intended to be a Constant Companion (and if so, would she be allowed into the secret meeting)?

2) Does the Moot House meeting happen before or after the feast? Because if before, poor Moggy is hungry...

*Grumble* Dang, dogslicers are light martial. You'd think goblinoids would have automatic proficiency with goblin weapons. :o/

I'm not really into running evil characters. The only one I ever labeled that way, his father was scapegoated in a kangaroo court trial and executed to cover up the dirty dealings of a minor official. That severely warped the PC, and from that moment on he was all about revenge. Angry, bitter, antisocial, and with his own overriding agenda... but the GM I was playing under said the guy wasn't really evil (though he let me keep the alignment designation).

That said, crafting an evil Vitalist is really easy. There's a Sadist archetype for one thing (gains power from hurting people), and a Soulthief method (draining health from others to the benefit of the party). A wickedly dangerous (well, at higher levels) Vitalist could easily be built, with the mechanics nicely fitting the evil paradigm. And healing would happen not because he cares about his teammates, but because they're tools to be used to achieve his goals.

The angry guy I mentioned before is a Sadist, though marginally so; he "links" to an enemy the group is going to kill anyway, and then uses the temporary boost he gets from that to buff or heal his compatriots. I'm considering making the Blue a Soulthief for the same kind of action (but haven't decided yet).

Everyone should be aware that a Vitalist initially lags behind a Cleric in terms of healing power. I may have difficulty keeping up with serious incoming damage at first. Conversely, they're very flexible and bring lots of other benefits to the party over time -- like mental comms and even battle HUDs -- so it balances out. I tend to think of Vitalists less as primary healers (certainly not healbots) but more like a party member who can heal.

Blues are very structured (typically Lawful Evil) and aren't going to be very tolerant of nonconformists. I figure someone who didn't want to kill/maim/raid/steal/etc. and had nobler thoughts would either be killed as an aberration, or exiled from the tribe.

Which is a perfect justification for, "So this Blue walks into a bar..." Though I'm hopeful he won't turn out to be a bad joke. ;o)

Goblin, Kobold and fey... and a human. This will be chaos all round won't it?

The Blue is just a concept so I have no crunch and very little fluff. I'll get him (her?) started this evening. Sunday shouldn't be a problem.

Greetings, all. Someone poked me and suggested I stick my nose in here. The concept looks interesting, doubly so if it affords an opportunity to experiment. GM Dinuci, are you open to fairly off-the-wall concepts... a Blue Vitalist, for example? That would mostly cover the medic role and, with a Kobold on the team, adding a goblinoid might be a nice bit of additional chaos. :o)

One concern would be how rigid you are on the once-a-day minimum. I don't disappear for weeks on end, but there are times when I miss a day. I'm currently starting my second game with Ama and I've played several games under Fish, so perhaps one of them can speak to my level of involvement and participation. I'm readily admit I'm far from perfect, but I believe I do a pretty good job of matching the pace of each game.

As for roleplaying, that's why I PbP :o) and I'll let my games speak for themselves. I'm not ashamed of any of them, but The Scorched Lands has some of my deepest roleplay.

Thanks for your time!

Also dropping back to lurk mode. Doesn't sound like a fit for me at this time, but it also sounds filled with juicy awesomeness! You lot have fun!

Well, my other local-game Psion (Gadgeteer Generalist) is in a just-barely-steam-age world which started out all psionics (no traditional magic at all), and that PC was what caused me to try another Psion. So you can probably guess how I feel about any sort of post-medieval scenario. :o)

I'd take a pass on Gestalt/Mythic/etc. though, and probably at starting up a few levels as well. I really want to bring this guy up from first level to see how things develop. (But don't let that stop the rest of you!)

It's also sounding like we're talking 3.x versus Pathfinder? In which case my guy wouldn't really work anyway.

But if you folks do this I'll definitely be lurking; it already sounds like this is gonna rock!

I'm still learning my way around them but I like how (the elder version of) this guy has played so far. Seems Vitalists lag behind Clerics in the earlier levels, but I built this guy as a Sadist Mender so he can deal some damage in the process of healing. Climb a few levels though, and they start getting really interesting and useful.

I'm dotting this thread to keep an eye on it and also to express interest. I have a 1st Level Vitalist (serves as something of a healer) whose game died before the first game day was finished (it was a homebrew and the GM had to bail). He's been looking for a home ever since. As a clone-brother of a local version who's been run up to 7th, I know his build plays well for a good long while, and I'd like to give him a go in PbP.

Anyway, good luck to all!

Thanks for the re-take on Danger Sense. I can't see a way to fit it in with the other stuff though, so I'm going to dump Pete Lattimer and compensate with more Burt Gummer. ;o)

Players will also have one vehicle of their choice within reason. You’re working stiffs, after all, so you don’t have a fleet of Panzers. You better believe your vehicle will be subject to GM approval. :-)

If he knows a guy who knows a guy (and Burt would), he was probably able to pick one up "surplus" *cough* for about what a new SUV would cost. And since this isn't a vehicle for high-speed maneuvers and the PC isn't trained for it anyway, it's going to be a decided disadvantage in a car chase. Which I suspect is way more likely than trying to survive an RPG assault.

All done with setup, just fine-tuning gear now. Will set up an alias profile and dot soonest.

Thanks, LB (and ZF). All helpful to SW newbies, and the back-and-forth actually brings out additional detail and information. Keep it coming, I say!

And, of course, to really get that Burt Gummer goodness, you'll need a higher Shooting skill.

Pfft, Shawn fakes it, no reason I can't follow suit. Note I listed him not as a "psychic" but as a "manipulator." :o) He's just a manipulator with a really high Notice. :op

But ya know, after I posted that list I realized it just wouldn't be right without some "social dyslexic" Burt Gummer overkill dialed in. So I'll swap Max Payne out for Burt plus a splash of Gregory House for the pain killer addiction. :o)

Hmm, that's an interesting twist you gave him, Ray. Managed to get untangled from alcohol but now he's addicted to Vicodin. :o)

Thanks for running the numbers. I'll dump that back into Hero Lab and play with them a little to get a feel for how the mechanics of the system work.

Well, since you insist we have fun with this one...

How about a personality mash-up of, say (in decreasing proportions):

* Pete Lattimer (used to dealing with "a world of wonder," doesn't take life too seriously, gets "vibes" that are usually accurate, recovering alcoholic)

* Shawn Spencer (con man and manipulator, but for the "right" reasons)

* Adrian Monk/Hercule Poirot (smart but struggles with phobias and neuroses, OCD)

* Max Payne (fights the good fight but by his own rules -- the system just gets in the way)

Given the "company smart phone" I take it the PCs will already all know each other?

Thank you for the opportunity! Let me see what I can pull together.

Okay, maybe you've changed the Campaign Info or whatever recently but, based on what I just read, I'm really surprised you're still waiting for players.

This game turned up in a search I did for something else. I read about half of the first page of Recruitment and -- thinking "This is a really cool idea" -- I flipped over to Gameplay to skim some of the story.

Only Gameplay wasn't connected yet.

So I came back to read the rest of Recruitment. And I truly don't get why this hasn't drawn more interest.

Though admittedly, games that are off the beaten path tend to call to me, and I'm far more into "story" than "game," so maybe it makes sense this would catch my eye. Conversely, maybe the "no XP/preset plot/you're just an ordinary person" vibe is unattractive to more traditional gamers?

Anyway, are you guys seriously still looking for players? This seems like fertile ground and I wouldn't mind having a shot at seeing what I could contribute.

If so... let's see... I probably would've gravitated towards CompSci, but since MU doesn't offer that program... hmm. How about a guy who was studying nuclear engineering because he thought that industry was going to rebound and he wanted to surf the wave and make the big bucks. In the process he started becoming fascinated with fusion research... including cold fusion. And as he read more about the latter, he got drawn farther and farther into pseudoscience and discredited concepts like Maxwell's Demon.

(I'm thinking along the lines of "El Cazador de la Bruja" in which some "supernatural" powers are in fact simply practical application of Maxwell's thought experiment.)

As time went on, prepping for a high-paying career became less of a motivation than simply wanting -- no, needing -- to learn. But no respectable academic institutions would go anywhere near what they consider pseudoscience.

None, except for Miskatonic University.

So this fellow has worked and journeyed long and hard to reach Arkham to pursue his questionable quest for knowledge... or perhaps "quest for questionable knowledge."

Would that work for you guys? I'm thinking of somebody pretty average. Maybe an Expert, but more likely a Commoner.

I say go with Rango the Righteous! :o) (Impressive Eastwood rendition, I thought.)

Speaking of little critters like lizards: Someday, in some game somewhere, I want to run Octavius from the "Night at the Museum" franchise. As a Tiny creature he wouldn't be worth much in combat, but it would be so totally worth it to have a squirrel as a mount and be able to pull off scenes like this! :oD

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."

:o)

I love playing the Gunslinger class... and I hate how no one really allows for them here.

Maybe it's because I actively seek out non-standard stuff. I wonder if searching Recruitment for e.g. "firearms" or "emerging guns" every so often might improve your luck?

RavenVoron, one of the players in the most gun-heavy campaign's gone quiet lately. I think it's probably just the holidays, but if he doesn't pick up again and the GM decides a replacement is in order, would you like a PM to let you know so you can try to get a bid in?

First of all, if you go through with this please Please PLEASE select Dr. Wagner as one of the PCs. :o) A half-giant dentist? Talk about a deliciously frightening (and frighteningly delicious) concept! Even if I don't get to play, I intend to lurk based on that character alone.

Second, regarding interest: Yes, please. I enjoy the traditional stuff but, as you've noted, "there's a lot of it about." I've started actively seeking out "different." A persistent, (intended to be) multi-GM sandbox set in a pocket dimension. A wild west/steampunk/fantasy mashup. A homebrew playtest that includes a new class and such bizarrities as elf-orc PCs. And so on.

I'd be totally up for this. Are you open to the new classes currently in playtest, and/or 3PP? I have several "orphaned" characters I'd love to play again/more; here are two of them:

Ralf Tergsvor, a human vitalist (3PP). When we lost our cleric in a local game, I created Ralf as a substitute and ran him as a second character... but he's so much fun to play he quickly became my primary. Because I had to start him at L6 to match the existing game, I jumped at the chance to clone his first level iteration for an E6 game here... which, sadly, the GM bailed on before the first game day had ended. ("Omani" is essentially Varisian reflavored for the homebrew E6, so he'd need little if any porting for another non-Golarion world.)

Amria, a tiefling bladebound magus I wanted to try running as a tripper. I built her for a local interim game but never had a chance to do much with her.

Some of the playtest stuff looks interesting too, plus there are concepts within the official framework I'd love to explore (I'd like more time on an alchemist like this guy, if nothing else).

In short: dot!

Alrighty, let's give this a go. Yee-haw, etc.

Name: Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless
Race: Lava Gnome
Class: Alchemist (Grenadier)

The old man lounging in front of the general store slowly pushed the brim of his hat up to get a look at who would ask such a question. "Loveless? Miguelito Loveless? What'n tarnation you askin' 'bout him for, son?"

His chaw temporarily forgotten, he looked the questioner up and down. "Naw, I'll tell you rightly, you best ain't gettin' mixed up with that polecat. He's a mean ol' rip and an odd stick ta boot."

"Thing is," he said conspiratorially as he leaned forward to let his chair land back on all four legs, "he don't show it, just jawin' with him. Seems right upstandin'. But get him riled, and I'd say you best skedaddle. 'Septin' by then it'd be too late."

He laughed at the next comment, leaned back in the chair again, and resumed the attack on his wad of tobacco. "Yep, I guess that'd be a good thing in a fight if'n he's on your side." The old man's eyes narrowed. "But see, there's tha thing. With Loveless, yer never gonna know fer sure if he's on yer side."

"What? Oh, shore nuff he's smart; brightest 'round these parts. Maybe anywhere, I reckon. Watched him whip up all manner of geegaw and medsin on the spot, and I seen some mighty fine things he's made in his workshop, too. But he ain't..." The man paused, searching his memory. "Stable, that's tha word. Thinks the guvmint stole a big parcel of land from him, and he aims to get it back. Keeps ramblin' on about turning it into a big happy place for chilern."

He leaned forward in his chair again. "Now I ain't got no beef with that, but this parcel he claims is his, it butts up agin what usta be the foothills of Tanguska, if'n ya get my drift. And anywhere near Tha Scar ain't no place for man nor beast, let alone little chilern. How he can be so smart and nigh onta crazy tha same time's beyond my ken, but that's Loveless fer ya!"

"Naw, if you got a lick a' sense about ya, you'll pull in your horns and head back the way you come. But if'n you're sure ya want ta ride the fast rail to Perdition, he's got a room in Miz Lizzie's boardin' house up the way."

"But do me a favor, son," he said as he pulled his hat brim back down and laced his fingers across his belly. "Don't be tellin' him I sent ya."

There ya go GM; threw in a gratuitous ken just for you! :o)

Zup, Vyk. :o)

Rather than have you guys invent fantasy gibberish names, please feel free to use something a little bit more inspired by movies, TV and historical figures from the Old West.

Artemus Gordon might be a bit too much on the nose (plus there's already a candidate named Artemis in the queue, which might get confusing). But then there's Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless (not the wheelchair-bound Loveless from the Will Smith movie; I'm thinking of the "little person" doctor from the TV series, played by Michael Dunn).

It seems a perfect fit: He's a "scientist" (more an inventor/chemist type) who, in his first episode alone, shows proficiency with both a crossbow and a walking cane (staff-like Bludgeon, Trip with the hook, etc.) And he has a peashooter (blowgun). With a telescopic sight. And explosive glass pellet ammunition!

You're disallowing evil characters, but based on his first exposition, I believe he can be cast as CN early in his career:

Politicians and generals? What kind of peace can you expect from the likes of them? They're vermin! They ought to be exterminated, every one of them.

Taking a half-step farther outside the box, dialing in a bit of Count Carlos Mario Vincenzo Robespierre Manzeppi -- the other recurring nemesis -- could add a splash of magic to the mix.

How best to reflavor existing gear to line up with the TV character will take some thought (and I should probably drop you a PM with what I'm thinking to make sure you consider it equitable). But I think it can be done without disrupting anything.

Heh... even if I don't get in, designing the character will be fun!

Hey, tropes are tropes for a reason: people love 'em. So embrace them, I say!

Hehe... a December 5th deadline and I'm betting you'll be totally swamped with interest within the first day. Personally, I've been wanting to dabble in something steampunkish for a good while, but haven't been able to convince the local GM with a "one century too early for that" world to flex.

"E" (that's a dot in Morse code... this is an Old West telegraph-era scenario, after all!)

I'll wait to read up and also see some of the questions answered before getting too attached to any character concepts. But I can see a really bad/cheesy traveling/sideshow truthteller/psychic as a cover for someone who really is a psion (if 3PP were allowed, for example). Or an alchemist type crafted into a doctor/mad scientist sort. Or, or, or... lots of tasty possibilities, even without tapping the obvious River Tam kind of vibe.

Off to read the background material,
Dux

P.S. Heh, I thought that name looked familiar... never know what you're gonna find when you go alias-chasing! :o)

I just assumed that since Ronin said he was only taking the first five for now.. that Capt Wombat was in that batch as well.

Don Jon Dux - Kitsune Tinker
Kpatrol88 - Warforged curious (one post)
drayen - Lycanthrope (jackalwere)
Jellyroll1970 (one post)
"Dirty" Harry Calahan - Elf-Orc Rogue or Cleric

Second Five:

Klokk - Warforged Tinker
Tarlas the Wizard - Lycanthrope (one post)
StephNyan - Kitsune Oracle
Walter Lindie
AlanM (one post)

Third Five:

GM Captain Wombat - Dwarf Cleric (withdrawn)
Escharid Blackrose - Human (possibly Fighter) (one post)
MPCampbell (query about scenario only)
Ford Benett - Human Sorcerer
The Dragon (one post)

Please speak up if I got any of that wrong (I didn't chase aliases for the second and third groups). Just trying to consolidate things a bit.

Klokk, if you want to go Tinker there are other tempting classes I don't get to play in our local games, so that's fine by me. Still probably go with foxfolk though (also not available in the local games).

And that's kind of a cool idea, a machine itself being a Tinker. Recursion for the win! :o)

Ronin Aoi-Hasu, are Kitsune barred from being Divines?

Oh, wait... wasn't Captain Wombat in the second group of five? (Checking... actually, the third unless I miscounted.)

No worries, I'm just trying to get the general idea. Buy points can always be redistributed before he's finalized; knowing whether Tinker is a single-Ability or MAD class just helps me get started in the right direction.

The closest approximation to another class I could give you would be the bard. They share HD and # of skills, and fill a similar role (though in a vastly different way).

I encourage you to try whatever weird combination you see fit.

Sounds like playing Tinker as a class with be very different from a "gadgeteer" add-on to an existing class (which is how the local game is structured).

To see things as they should be, not as they are, requires great insight. Few can take the simple and make it complex. To the Tinkers this skill is a necessity.

Rather than just making a simple invention, the gnome will add several thousand ropes, pulleys, levers, gadgets and a steam engine to it before it will be complete. Besides, what if the 'start' button were to fail? The gnome has installed about five fail safe systems in order to nullify that possibility.

And since this is a new/prototype class intended for testing, I'll do a point buy so as to have a bit more control over the ability distribution.

StephNyan, I'm running a Haunted Oracle variation in two different games; they can be a lot of fun!

I was also considering a Kitsune (though not an Oracle), but since you called it first I'll back away from that if Ronin Aoi Hasu wants to limit replication (which might be the case for play/stress-testing).

Though in rereading the initial post, I see that race selection will be limited for Divines, so it may be a moot point!

I'd be curious to learn more about your plans for a "Tinker" class. In a local game I have a Human Psion who we've styled a "Gadgeteer." The GM has put together a set of "gadget making" criteria that we're testing. While it played well at lower levels, her weapon-based damage dealing is falling behind as the game develops thanks to the limitations opposed by the gadgeteering process. Depending on how you see your Tinker class, it might be more balanced.

(Note, not Gnomish inventions by any stretch; while his rules allow for that, I've been sticking to stuff that's justifiable and somewhat realistic. Things like a spear that masquerades as a staff for stealth ops, or a crossbow replacement that can also fire random ammunition thanks to dumping the bow for compression springs inside a "barrel.")

Anyway, consider this a dot for interest, if nothing else.

Dux

First, thanks for doing this!

I'm about a year and a half into Pathfinder and early on in two PbP games (a third ground to a halt before the first game day passed). No PFS exposure yet, but one of our local group's GMs has gotten involved, so I'm thinking I'd best follow suit.

I have a Varisian L1 Oracle I could draft into The Society easily enough, if you think she'd be beneficial to the group. She's haunted, but is on reasonably good terms with her ghost (who generally doesn't bother anyone but her).

Dux

Yes, PbP = Play by Post. Here in forum (versus email).

Dux

RpGuy, just to clarify you're looking for something live/realtime versus PbP, right?

Dux

Thanks, Adventurer#33. I wish I'd seen your comment sooner! I just got involved with a second PbP and I'm slated for a newbie game starting in another week or so. Three is probably all I can manage until I get more familiar with things.

Dux

PMs sent, most honorable GM Jacob.

("Geez, suck up much?" "Can it, Tooley...")

Dux

As a general rule, if it's on d20pfsrd.com, then it's allowed.

Your call as to whether you want to leave it that open of course, but Dreamscarred Psionics in general and Vitalists in particular are covered in depth there (it's our local group's "go-to" reference and what I used to build my Mender PC).

I have to dash to work (this is a crunch week for me) but I'll drop you a PM later with an alternate concept for your consideration. I don't want to burn thread space on worthless things, but if you think it's workable then I'll put the build info here.

Thanks,
Dux

Hehe... well that lets me out as far as PbP is concerned since I only have about a week of it under my belt. But I wish the chosen gobs of fun and a successful campaign!

And Adventurer#33, again: Kudos to you for grabbing the reins and going for it!

Dux

Thank you! Even if I don't get in (and I'm definitely interested), thank you. This concept and viewpoint needs more exposure.

A number of people believe where E6 tops out (level-wise) is also where the most enjoyment's to be had. And while playing in a campaign where you rocket to double-digit levels might be a rush in the short term, that leaves the problem of... well, "where do you go from 'up'?"

Personally, I've always enjoyed the growth process, the journey versus than the destination. Right now I'm in a sandbox game that was opened to starting characters of up to 15th level (we had three tens and a nine right out of the gate) and 25 point buys. I went with a 20 point buy and started my character at first level... and after very modest equipping there was a whole gold and five silvers left in the money pouch.

Why? Because I want my PC to be an "average Joe" and grow into the role. (And I'm happy to say I'm not alone in that; we have a barely 2nd level Oracle as well.) When one has to struggle and fight for every bit of success and recognition -- or even for the next meal -- there's more appreciation of the accomplishments.

What's your stance on third-party material, specifically Dreamscarred Psionics? I've found that a Vitalist Mender is a workable alternative to Clerics for healing, offering less "oomph" but more variety in capabilities. I believe it would be a good fit for an E6 campaign since their capabilities are more "reeled in".

Regardless, color me interested!

Thanks,
Dux