So I'm about to try running this AP as an intro to PF2 for my kids (side note: wish me luck, I haven't GMed anything in like, 25 years!).
I know that this is supposed to be a more primitive part of the world, and that makes some items tough to justify, moreso for a small group like the Broken Tusks. Like, a steel sword isn't something you can get just any darn place (side note #2: it seems a bit mean to give the Tusks Sarenrae as a patron deity, neener-neener-no-scimitars-for-you-Cleric!). But I wanted some sort of mechanism in place to let the boys have a chance to hunt up the things they might need to make stuff like a composite bow, or a suit of hide armor, or what have you. I started getting an idea in my head, and I was hoping to run it by you fine folks, see if it's worth refining.
What I came to was the idea of, I guess a Downtime activity, whose name I haven't yet decided on. It would basically be like an Earn Income check, probably using Survival (or Hunting Lore if you've got it), and because money isn't really a thing that has a ton of use to the Kellids, you'd take your Income in an abstraction I'm currently calling "Scrounge." The players can then use their stash of "Scrounge GPs" to pay the costs associated with Crafting region-appropriate items.
Is something like this feasible? Is it worth doing? Is there even time in the AP to allow for this? (Like, if there's not time to allow for this AND Crafting, maybe allow these checks to be made incidentally alongside other stuff?) Has someone already come up with a better way and I'm needlessly trying to reinvent the wheel? Am I even making a lick of sense?
Look, if you made it this far, I appreciate your time and patience. Thanks, and if you've got any constructive criticism, I'm all ears.
Yeah guys, sorry! Last week was just a combo plate of suck (work stress, pre-holiday nonsense, and a contact-tracing scare for my kid, the one unvaccinated member of my family). I'm digging out now, and very very sorry for being incommunicado like that!
Sully was a That Guy that played The F***ing Weasel in several other films. Without having gone to IMDB over it, I think he was also the weasel in The Warriors, some AWFUL mid-80s thing about guys using their psychic abilities to enter peoples' dreams, and maybe The Crow, too?
I'll get an alias up tonight, and incorporate the elements discussed above. (Didn't have a chance to work on it today, was over my BIL's house helping him deal with his basement, which got 6" of water in Ida.)
On a related note, I had forgotten that divine bond is a "pick once and it's done" affair. I'll probably take armor as my choice, chiefly because it's the option that's unique to the archetype.
So if I'm sticking to reach weapons in the CRB, that's glaive, guisarme, or ranseur. I'll probably go guisarme or glaive, probably come down to coin toss in the end.
Now on to the important stuff: namely, where was this guy the day Terendelev fell? He had to have been out of Kenabres, right? No way he'd have not been there for the action otherwise. Any suggestions?
OK, mis-read on my part, I got it in my head that just the pick of Race had to be from Core Races. As far as the weapon goes, I can swap out to whatever reach weapons are in the CRB easily enough.
I kind of see the EH draconic bloodline as a mixed bag, that yes, skews offensive, but also has defense and move/utility options. I can walk away from EH if I have to, but if anything is up for consideration, I'd ask it to be the racial trait (again, all it does on its own is 10-ft Darkvision & LLV).
As I said before, that understanding of reach meshes with how I understood it, so no real conflict there.
1) If GM thinks I should leave that one on the table, that's perfectly fine with me.
2) About Draconic Heritage and the claws...
You wrote:
I think the intent was that you would have to choose one or the other each round.
It's already my understanding that's how it works. If you take a hand off a 2H to free up a claw like that, that by itself is a free action, but you can't then "rehand" until your next turn. Exactly like you said, you can't use that to simultaneously threaten adjacent with the claw, and at reach with the weapon.
3) Sure, having that flexibility will be huge (Grumbaki and I are both hungrily eyeing fortification armor in another game we're in). I just had my fingers crossed that I didn't lose the option to shift to offense when the additional defense isn't needed.
Oh, and he's got the archetype Divine Defender, figured that fit the idea.
EDIT to ask: Looking at the wording of the archetype, I'm a little unclear about it's Divine Bond. Does the modification of Divine Bond add a third option, to modify armor, or is that the only option they can use? If Hero Lab is accurate, it's the former, but I just want to make sure.
Anton Delevanus
Male human paladin (divine defender) 6/Guardian 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 116)
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 10 ft., low-light vision; Perception +5
Aura courage (10 ft.), shared defense (10 ft.)
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Defense
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AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 20 (+10 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 63 (6d10+23)
Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +7
Defensive Abilities hard to kill; Immune disease, fear
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Offense
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Speed 0 ft.
Melee +1 bardiche +9/+4 (1d10+16/19-20)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with +1 bardiche)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 2/day (DC 15, 3d6), claws (2, 1d4, 5 rounds/day), guardian's call (sudden block), mythic power (5/day, surge +1d6), smite evil 2/day (+2 attack and AC, +6 damage)
Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +8)
. . At will—detect evil
Paladin (Divine Defender) Spells Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +5)
. . 1st—divine favor, linebreaker[ARG]
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 21
Feats Combat Reflexes[M], Eldritch Heritage[UM], Power Attack[M], Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Diplomacy +7, Heal +4, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (history) +2, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (planes) +2, Knowledge (religion) +5, Linguistics +3, Perception +5, Sense Motive +4, Spellcraft +4
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Hallit
SQ divine bond (weapon +1, 1/day), draconic heritage, extra mythic feat[MA], lay on hands 5/day (3d6)
Other Gear +1 full plate, +1 bardiche[APG], 12,337 gp
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Special Abilities
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Aura of Courage +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. fear.
Claws (5 rounds/day) (Su) 2 Claw atacks deal 1d4 damage
Combat Reflexes [Mythic] As a swift action, use 1 power for movement AoO vs. foes who already provoked one for moving.
Darkvision (10 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell).
Divine Bond (Weapon +1, 6 mins, 1/day) (Sp) Weapon shines with light and gains enhancement bonuses or chosen properties.
Draconic Heritage (Ex) Ignore Cha pre-reqs of Eldritch heritage chain of feats.
Hard to Kill (Ex) Automatically stabilize when dying, and only die at neg Con x 2.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Fear (Ex) You are immune to all fear effects.
Lay on Hands (3d6 hit points, 5/day) (Su) As a standard action (swift on self), touch channels positive energy and applies mercies.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Paladin Channel Positive Energy 3d6 (2/day, DC 15) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Power Attack [Mythic] Use 1 power to eliminate attack penalties of Power attack for 1 min.
Shared Defense (2 rounds, 10 ft., +1 AC, stabilize) (Su) Lay on hands use: Aura provides AC and other bonuses to allies.
Smite Evil (2/day) (Su) +2 to hit, +6 to damage, +2 deflection bonus to AC when used.
Sudden Block (Su) As an imm action, use 1 power to add +1 to own/adj ally AC vs. a melee att & foe must rolls 2x (take low). Make return att (bypass all DR).
Surge (1d6) (Su) Use 1 power to increase any d20 roll by the listed amount.
So he's a human with the Draconic Heritage racial option (which for most purposes means I trade out Skilled for 10' Darkvision and LLV). His feats are Power Attack, Combat Reflexes (both of these I have the Mythic versions of as well), Skill Focus (Per) and Eldritch Heritage. Planned future pickups include Lunge, Vital Strike, and maaaaybe Shield Focus/Shield Brace.
(I still have to throw a few BG skill points around, and gear him up, natch.)
LMK if that all passes the smell test. Have a great evening!
I hope it's not too forward of me to post and say hi, but I figured I'd at least introduce myself while power's still on (I'm in NJ and getting hit by the storm).
So Grumbaki asked me if I'm interested, and yes, I am. I have some starting ideas for both crunch and fluff of the character laid down. Mechanically, I understand I'll be a Guardian, and I figured I'd do that by wailing on guys with a reach weapon (I'm thinking a bardiche). Fluff-wise, the idea I had working in my noggin is that Anton's family are very minor nobility, with a secret that they are in fact scions of Terendelev, so now he's like "the last of the line". I was gonna go human with the Draconic Heritage alternate racial (and eventually pick up Eldritch Heritage to boot).
I've never played this AP or Mythic stuff, so I'm still getting my feet under me. If anything there sounds good bad or otherwise, please feel free to let me know.
How do you feel about Tengu? For some reason, I just keep picturing my bard as a hardened version of the singing rooster from the animated Robin Hood movie. I am certainly not tied to it, though.
Thirty-ish years ago, I was running a supers RPG in which I had a "black ops chicken" who was basically Foghorn Leghorn pulling the Punisher's schtick, so this is me not throwing stones! :D
I'm intrigued. I was playing a dragon barb in a Fall of Plaguestone game that I'd like to give another spin. I'll gin up some backstory explaining how he got to Otari and make it happen.
I haven't had a chance to work on this yet, and it's iffy that I'd get something together under the wire. Not saying I'm out, just don't be surprised if I don't have something by tonight.
So I've got a half-baked idea for a half-orc swashbuckler, who tried making a name for himself in Absalom as "The Urgir Kid," passing off as some badass from Belkzen. He then proceeded to attract the attention of some actual tough guys from the motherland. Rather than stick around and risk embarrassment or disembowelment, he fled to Otari and tried to lay low there. Of course I'm figuring it won't be that simple...
So I know (or think I know) that I read some piece of game lore in a 2nd edition book about the orcs of Belkzen basically telling the Whispering Way that they could shove all the way off. But I'll be damned if I can find it now. I thought it was in one of the books I own (2e CRB, the APG, and the Ancestry Guide), but I can't find the passage now. Can anyone direct me toward the text in question? Or if I'm just hallucinating, let me know that? ;)
Not at all. XD There's a bit of an initial learning curve, but once you understand the basic concept, you should find it a much more interesting and intuitive system.
I'm a player in one of YBD's other games, and I can attest to this. The first few days I was trying to design a character were a bit confusing, but once I got the hang of it, I've really come to enjoy it.
Well I'm not ditching the whole character. I'm just changing his secondary focus, which was far from set in stone. Trust me, if I wasn't already down with it as an option, I wouldn't have done it. DSP stuff always twists me into knots while I'm building anyway, so there was always going to be a point when I looked like a dog chasing his tail. :)
So Hero Lab is fighting me, I did an Adjust to make Sleeping Goddess an available discipline for a PW, but I can't choose SG maneuvers for a Pathwalker. Anyone know if there's some spot I have to whack HL on its side like the Fonz to make it work? :)
I decided the easiest fix was to just steer away from it. Matreo's second Pathwalker discipline after Scarlet Throne will simply be Solar Wind; given the "guns everywhere" setting, some focus on ranged seemed smart, so he'll be more sword-and-pistol. I'll probably use one of the variants that does a different damage type (I'm thinking the electric damage one).
I briefly toyed with making a tactician version of Matreo, because when you've got ability scores that are COMPLETELY BONKERS, why not try making the MAD-dest type of character there is? :) But it doesn't match up with how I've got him set in my head, so I stuck with Psychic Warrior.
I'm intrigued. Let me see if any concepts come together for me.
EDIT: I'm thinking a phantom blade spiritualist. The first undead he killed was his grandfather, using his own sword to do it (despite the fact the gramps still had it clutched in his cold hand).
I've got the crunch of my Pathwalker pretty nailed down. Need to decide if I'll do anything with VMC, but that can easily be a decision for later.
I don't know enough of the world yet to finish out the fluff, but he's a Maquoran who had been serving aboard a privateer that was betrayed by an "official" navy vessel. A few survivors of the battle made it back to civilization, and Matreo would love to get some revenge.
More to come as I flesh it out.
Still to do: finish gear, and put in the right maneuvers (I couldn't make a Pathwalker that had Sleeping Goddess maneuvers).
Matreo:
Matreo Tuvenix
Male maenad psychic warrior (pathwalker) 1
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +8
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Defense
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AC 22, touch 19, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +6 dodge, +1 natural, +2 shield)
Vig 14 (1d8) Wnd 32 (Threshold 16)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee cutlass +4 (1d6+5/18-20+1d6)
Special Attacks 1 primal wrath, 1 prince's attitude, 1 red zephyr's strike, 1 scarlet einhander
Psi-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +3)
. . 1/day—energy ray[M]
Psychic Warrior (Pathwalker) Powers Known (power points 6, ML 1st; concentration +3)
. . 1st—offensive precognition (path), vigor
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 15
Base Atk +0; CMB +4; CMD 23
Feats Psionic Body, Psionic Talent, Psionic Weapon
Skills Acrobatics +7 (+9 when on a sailing ship.), Autohypnosis +8, Climb +4 (+6 when on a sailing ship.), Knowledge (geography) +3, Knowledge (martial) +3, Knowledge (psionics) +6, Perception +8, Profession (sailor) +10, Sense Motive +8, Swim +6
Languages Common, Custom Language, Custom Language, Maenad
SQ active energy type, crystallized skin, finesse weapon attack attribute, inner rage, natural sailors, ordered rage, path power, sonic affinity, warrior's path, warrior's path (scarlet throne path), weapon familiarity
Other Gear buckler, cutlass, 155 gp
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Special Abilities
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Active Energy Type (Sonic) Lets you set your psionic active energy type.
1 Primal Wrath (Readied, 1/Encounter) (Ex) Strike: A forceful strike that suffers a -2 penalty to hit but adds +4 to damage, or +6 to damage if used with a two-handed weapon.
1 Prince's Attitude (Readied, 1/Encounter) (Ex) Boost: +4 AC against attacks of opportunity while moving, +2 bonus to Reflex saves and Initiative.
1 Red Zephyr's Strike (Readied, 1/Encounter) (Ex) Strike: Make a melee attack, then make an immediate 10ft movement.
1 Scarlet Einhander (Ex) Stance - +2 shield bonus to AC and +1d6 damage on attacks when fighting with one weapon.
Crystallized Skin +1 natural armor bonus to Armor Class.
Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute Finesse weapons use Strength on attack rolls.
Inner Rage Maenads are able to rage one additional round per day should they have the rage ability and they gain an additional round per day for every two character levels. In addition to using these rounds for rage, maenads may use them to fuel their outburst,
Natural Sailors Maenads have a +2 bonus to Swim and Profession (sailor) checks. In addition, they gain a +2 bonus to Acrobatics and Climb checks made on sailing ships.
Ordered Rage Maenads may take levels in the barbarian class even if they are of the lawful alignment.
Path Power (Precognition, Offensive [Path]) (Ex) Gain a bonus power related to your path.
Psionic Body Bonus HP +6
Psionic Talent Gain 2 or 1 extra power points.
Psionic Weapon +1/+2d6 While focused melee attacks do +1 dmg and expend focus to deal +2d6 dmg.
Sonic Affinity Maenads add a +1 to the DC of any spell or power with the sonic descriptor.
Warrior's Path (Ex) Gain benefits based on a specific warrior path.
Weapon Familiarity Maenads are proficient with flails. Maenads treat any weapon with the word “maenad” in the name as a martial weapon rather than an exotic one.
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at https://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Inc.®, and are used under license.
Are there any "official" VMCs lying around for the psionic classes? I looked but haven't seen any. GM okayed VMC, and with all those extra feats it seems pretty tasty, but I'm having a tough time really finding one that adds to my character concept, as opposed to just, "might as well take it."
That defense bonus, the optional rule you mentioned, in Hero Lab, it seems like the best representation of that is to do an Adjust to give oneself the relevant amount as a dodge bonus to AC.
My Pathwalker PW is coming along, I'll post him when there's enough to post.
Set 1 rerolls:3d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 6) = 13 Set 2 rerolls:3d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 2) = 6 Set 3 rerolls:6d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1) = 11 Set 1 rerolls:2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11
I can probably make something work with set 1. :)
EDIT: set 1 produces the eye-popping numbers of 17/16/16/16/15/15. I'm going to try and rejigger those to reduce the number of odd numbers, then get to work. :)
EDIT2: a few minutes playing with the numbers got me to 18/16/16/16/15/14, I can live with one odd number. :)
LOL, okay! I'll have Lukas' profile up later tonight. But for now I've got to roll, I'm the only functioning adult in my house (Mrs. Redblade got her second vaccine shot last night and she's a hot mess).
Sorry, I had to actually do some work today. :) So if we're not worried about tons of depth, how's something like this:
Lukas' mentor (name still pending) passed away two months ago now. In going through his personal effects, Lukas found a strange bronze amulet, and in a smaller journal Lukas had never actually seen before, he saw notes about this amulet, in [mentor's] handwriting, ending with a note to the effect of, "Take it to Goldenfire Order? Illiara's people are good with these things." Of course, one trip to Thornkeep later, and Lukas now finds himself on the road to Fort Inevitable, trying to track down one of the missing Goldenfire wizards that might have the insights in question.
I added a bit about them in the campaign tab. It's not necessary to have connections to any of them. They're just food for thought. Honestly, this is a dungeon crawl and the role-playing is incidental. :-)
Oh sure. It's just I reached in the pantry for that box of food for thought, and the box was empty. :)
I'll work something up ASAP. It's tricky to build out a working relationship with the Hellknights, and the other two I'm drawing blanks on. Did I miss them in the PG?
Here's what I have so far for that Warpriest. LMK if there's any part of it you think I ought to further elaborate, that I haven't mentioned below.
Backstory:
Lukas is the third child of Konrad and Alicja Vanivek, a minor noble family from western Ustalav. In addition to being third in line behind his sister and brother, Lukas has the additional handicap of bearing a rather noticeable amount of orcish blood. It's the sort of thing that happens in that part of Ustalav, but it's just enough to assure that with Irlena and Anton ahead of him, he wouldn't have had much of the family's wealth or lands to inherit.
With little to look forward to at home, Lukas up and left one day with a traveling priest of Iomedae. Inspired by the old man's talk of honor and great deeds, Lukas has taken up the mantle of a Warpriest of the Inheritor.
Still to-do, if I'm picked up for this, is figure precisely what brought him to Fort Inevitable and the Spire, even if it's something as simple as, "Looking for a chance to test his mettle." I also need to finish equipping him; this is only my second 2e char, and the first one above level 1, so any feedback on expectations there would be greatly appreciated. I also-also need to finalize my spell picks. :)
Statblock:
Lukas Vanivek
Half-orc cleric 4
LG, Medium, Human, Humanoid, Orc Perception +9; darkvision, low-light vision
Languages Common, Hallit
Skills Athletics +9, Diplomacy +7, Intimidation +7, Medicine +9, Religion +11, Scribing Lore +6
Str 16 (+3), Dex 12 (+1), Con 12 (+1), Int 10 (+0), Wis 16 (+3), Cha 12 (+1)
Other Items breastplate, steel shield, longsword, purse (129 gp)
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AC 21 (23 with shield raised); Fort +9; Ref +7; Will +11
HP 48 Focus Points 1 Hero Points 1
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Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] longsword +9 (versatile P), Damage 1d8+3 S
Melee [1] shield bash +9 (attached to shield), Damage 1d4+3 B
Divine Cleric Spells DC 19; 2nd enlarge, remove fear, shield other 1st bless, heal, mending Cantrips (2nd) detect magic, disrupt undead, guidance, know direction, light
Focus Spells 1 Focus Point, DC 19; 2ndAthletic Rush Feats Battle Medicine, Domain Initiate, Emblazon Armament, Orc Sight, Quick Identification, Shield Block, Student Of The Canon, Toughness
Other Abilities anathema, deity, divine font, divine spellcasting, doctrine, first doctrine, might, second doctrine, warpriest
Okay, well I figured I'd try and move a little out of my martials comfort zone, so I'm starting to draft an Iomedan cleric. He'll be a warpriest, I'm keeping one foot still in that aforementioned comfort zone. :D
