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Oh, things are fine here. Still busy this with the start of school being so recent, but routines are falling into place and there's light at the end of the tunnel. At least it's cooled off now. I'm up for whatever whenever, and still pretty excited about my shiny new Psychic. I'm about out of hope we're ever going to hear from Rackal. :( Hi KC!
I'm flexible. Whenever everyone else is ready is fine with me.
I don't really know how to measure the Nornkith as an archetype for a Monk character, never played the class and can't recall anyone else playing one in any of my games. But a one level dip looks sweet, always acting in the surprise round, +1 initiative, and unarmed strikes that count as silver is a nice package.
@Brental: Just in case you haven't seen it, there is a Norn focused Monk archetype.
Well, the pieces do fit together. Part of it is that Eris, who's parents are decidedly static in their opinions about Uringen, did business with the unstuck crowd, which led to her accidentally being born in the unstuck part of town overnight. Eris doesn't ping as aasimar, so nothing seemed particularly amiss despite that unfortunate event (except the darksight thing was a little weird). However, when a pissed off tween can punctuate her unhappiness by popping off pyrotechnics something is probably amiss, and beyond what a couple of steadfastly normie parents can handle. Given a choice of seeking help from somewhere in Unstuck Uringen, or a gnome living in a mill down south, of course one chooses the gnome. Several formative years later and the gnome has rubbed off on Eris. Magical baubles? Yes! The Pathfinder Society? Yes! An observatory built into the place? Of course Eris is a starseeker! Sayrin Firewyne has several competing theories on why Eris is the way she is, but no one of them can be proven conclusively correct.
Okay, after much looking and thinking I've altered my character plans some. Looking at the party's other characters, there is a Paladin, Bloodrager, and Gunslinger. Not terrible for skills and knowledge but not great either. A Sorcerer wouldn't really help that much. In fact a Sorcerer would probably be the worst of the lot. So, now I think I've settled on a Blood Arcanist instead. I still get a Bloodline, but skill points and class skills will be much better. It also solved some blockages on background I was having. The character will be a Half-Elf and from Gralton. However her training in Magic had too come from elsewhere since she's not allowed to enter Hymbria, and Gralton is such a dump. She actually trained under Venture-Captain Sayrin Firewyne while living at the Gray Falls Lodge. So she's all in as a Pathfinder agent (does this get me a wayfinder?) and is actively looking to recruit for the lodge. As for Bloodline, sadly Psychic will not work since it doesn't actually provide for gaining any spells from the Psychic list aside from the bloodline spells, which a Blood Arcanist doesn't get. (Of course, you could decide something crazy like allowing that, making what would probably be the first ever Psychic Arcanist, which would be much better than the Psychic class. I did think about Psychic, which would be coool to try out, but the spell list is so skewed toward Will save or suck spells that they have all the problems an enchantments centered caster does. The first half of the levels is just a race to patch all the weaknesses before they kill you. Anyway, aside from something crazy like that, I'll probably go with the arcane bloodline. EDIT: There is actually a bloodline that allows taking spells from the Psychic list, Esoteric Dragon. I could go that route, but if so, what would you think of allowing the bloodline mutation options to replace the 1st level claws and 9th level breath weapon bloodline powers? Those won't really do much for an arcanist.
So a week on and I've done nothing at all. Work has crept up on me like a sneaker wave with the beginning of the new school year almost here. I switched to working on a team that is based in local schools instead of at a branch office, which means I'm straddling a lot more things than before. Things will calm down as the new routine gets established, but it might be something like the end of September before that's happened. Until it does my posting is going to be slower and more sporadic, but I'll still be around as best I can.
I could see my character (who's family origins lie in Galt as well BTW) going all in for the Pathfinder Society. Sort of a "the club that will have her" kind of thing.
Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and stop thinking about all the options that are really out there. I got frustrated trying to figure out Alchemist archetypes and went back to take a look at all the available classes. In all this time I've never played a Sorcerer. So, Sorcerer it is. Half Elf, Psychic bloodline.
That particular campaign was gestalt instead of mythic. But yeah, if I recall correctly it was 25 point buy.
I once built a gestalt Aasimar Chosen One Paladin / Steelblood Primalist (Celestial Totem) Bloodrager as a character to submit to a WotR campaign. I realized the character would be nearly god tier and quietly put it away and built something else instead.
Bloodragers are A LOT of fun right out of the gate at 1st level.
Sure! I'm in for whatever. The only idea I have that's significantly different from what you're already outlining Lina is to flip the coin and have the characters be a group from some potential rival who wants to keep an eye on developments in Helikia, either because of predatory intentions, or just because they don't want to be caught by surprise should weird things happen down the road. Sevenarches or Hymbria could work, but would place some limits on the types of characters we have. Mivon and Pitax are both obvious options. This wouldn't have to mean the party would be dastardly. They're just hanging around watching things and getting a feel for the new kingdom. They also stumble across a few adventures in the process. It's a way to have a fresh start away from our main characters if we'd want that instead of a connection to them. If we go with some version of a theme that connects us to our regular PCs, I might build a Fermenter Alchemist (what up and coming town doesn't need a microbrewery?). There's also a couple of really interesting outdoors themed archetypes for Investigator, Cartographer and Natural Philosopher, that are compatible and look like fun.
Well boo. I thought I could make Cthulhu sound tempting. Maybe I should have ran with the insanity angle instead of death. Insanity gets characters at least as often as death...
I could be up for something like this if it's not right away. I'm not sure what kind of theme I'd prefer, probably the one that takes the rules finagling. An idea that's similar to some of the ones already suggested is a setup that was used for a RotRL campaign I was in. All the characters were members of the town watch. It was fun while it lasted. Combined with PFS scenarios it could almost be like a 'case of the week' series. The low level deputies take up the (supposedly?) more mundane and simple problems while our characters are off doing the big important stuff. I started off playing PSF before I found PbP here, and the PSF group at the games store down the street shut down over something so trivial and dumb I can't even remember what it might have been. Of those River Kingdoms scenarios the only one I've played is The Silverhex Chronicles, but that was so long ago I don't remember a thing about it. Really there a lot of scenarios set elsewhere that are essentially setting neutral. Only the slightest tweaking like changing names of places would be needed to relocate them. EDIT: A more radical idea. What about a completely different game? Has anyone ever played any Call of Cthulhu? There are quite a few short, standalone scenarios for it. I think the Pulp Cthulhu version of the rules might be my favorite game of them all. The pulp rules cut back on all the characters dying all the time, though there's still plenty of dying. It's not a game for people who don't like dead characters all over the place.
I would rather wait a while longer as well. Sometimes momentum matters and a period of inactivity will kill off a game, but I think with us that's not the case. We can wait for a good thing. All sorts of weird things happen. We don't know if the game is intentionally paused or not. I also hope Rackal could get an update to us so we know whether things are okay or not. I totally get Brental's wish to keep the game going, my very first game is also the hill I've chosen to die on if need be. I will take any chance that I find to keep it going until the end. In fact, Brental is now our third GM in that game. :) But, with more games and several years under my belt, I've also seen situations where the OG DM has really done something special, and a replacement GM can't bring the magic. It can be sadder than just ending things sometimes. I'm not saying 'no' to continuing this campaign if Racket wouldn't be running it. But I think it would really take the right person. Anyway, I hope you're well Rackal and can drop us a line sometime soon. We'd all like to be assured you're okay, and it's fine if you're done with the game regardless of the reason. Thank you for taking us this far, it's been really special.
And checking in on the check in. For some reason the latest set of posts here didn't show up as new for me. How's everyone?
With Tiressia and Falchos offering up, um, what she's thinks they're offering up, Signy starts feeling a little awkward. Tiressia is lovely, no doubt, but that's really not who Signy is. Falchos? Yikes! She isn't sure which is worse, completely ignoring their flirtations, or making an excuse. But given to talking as she is, if Signy is going to err it will be by saying something. "Uh, I have a boyfriend..." she mutters quietly. It might even be true; she'll have to remember to check for mail when she gets back to town. Signy tries changing the subject. "So... there is this thing that happened to me. It was really strange and I don't know what it was about. Maybe you'll understand some of it, or know why it happened?" "You see, I was just minding my own business when a gigantic bird snatched me up in its talon and carried me off... Signy tells the whole story, from her abduction, to the lost time and her lost memory, to the strange seed. She tells the tale intensely and conspiratorially, as if she's divulging a great secret. In a way she is, the whole episode is something she's largely put out of her mind and never talks about. But, if she can get some answers or theories, she'll tell them about it with all her skill as a storyteller.
Signy, in keeping with her growing wariness of anything fey-tinged, would have been happy to leave the card on the ground for the crows or whatever wanted to collect it. She frowns when Lina picks it up, and looks away so to not see it when Lina shows the card off. "You shouldn't have done that Lina. We helped Tiressia and her problem is solved. We don't need to get in any deeper with this stuff. Messing around with a card that should have burned is only inviting trouble."
Well that's all very nightmarish Signy decides as she watches things play out. There's a goodly amount of fire, and of course smoke to go with it, but Signy is pretty sure she had no role in it. That being so, and with the tree rolling on up toward her, Signy can't think of any good reason to stay put. She evacuates back in the direction she came. Sheer stubbornness demands she pause briefly to get off another shot though.
Again, this is very interesting. I have noticed a tendency to do better at skill checks compared to combat. It's not as great a difference as I would have thought, but it is there so it wasn't an illusion. The other thing I wonder about is use of different statistical methods to look at the same thing, like in this case. My knowledge of statistics is fairly rudimentary and I don't know how your method, which is looking at variance from a cumulative average, i.e. how close is the average of my rolls to matching the 10.5 median, compares to the earlier poisson distribution, which looks at the even distribution of of particular outcomes. For example, how many 13's, how many 2's etc. It seems to me the two should never argue with each other. A set of rolls in which there are 2 occurrences of every possible number should produce that median of 10.5. But, can they disagree under certain conditions? Obviously the earlier poisson distribution that was done showed more of a skew, but that is also clear from the raw data. Do you have an opinion about which of the two methods is better for looking at this particular kind of data?
Well that's all good news! I'd much rather it be selective bias on my part than an actual problem. I guess I'll shut up now. XD
Signy fires a couple of arrows that do nothing at all.
When Brental's spell erupts, Signy casts her own spell.
Once she's in range, behind a NORMAL tree for cover, Signy looks back and gives a the rest of her friends a questioning shrug. She's ready to go, but doesn't want to idiotically ruin things by starting before everyone is ready.
Yeah, never heard of it but it sounds great! Enjoy!
Signy starts to creep up on the tree to get within reliable shooting range, with a little help from self-casting Guidance.
Signy slides off her horse and readies her bow with one of the flame arrows. She looks to Brental on how to proceed.
Signy stays on task with her scan for eevul, although her immediate inclination is to look over at Meneas. Damn he creeps me out sometimes. "No Meneas, I haven't checked you. That goes for all of you in case you're wondering. If you'd like my best guess Meneas, I'd say dishwater, not too much of anything in particular. I'm a light vermillion or saffron. I tried in on myself right away obviously."
<Shrug> I'm just making stuff up as I go.
Signy actually only paused for a moment so she wouldn't lose her focus. "...it's not the sort of thing where I can just know; I have to decide to check and then really concentrate to see anything. That's why I haven't tried it much. It seems kinda rude. Like, I wouldn't creep into someone's room and go through their stuff just to see what's there right? But, if I thought maybe the person was burgling stuff from houses, I then might creep in to see if they have stolen stuff stashed in their room." "Oh yeah, I could make Meneas invisible. The thing is though, the effect would end as soon as he did anything to the scythe tree. So, it probably wouldn't last long at all."
Signy thinks about the question, it hard to describe. "Well... you've seen the way whisps of mist rise off a lake or river in the early morning, right? It's kinda like that, but less whispy. Not so much as water mist. It's also tinted, and I can intuit what different colorations mean somehow." "I can't say much more about it. I haven't been able to do it at all until fairly recently, and I've only tried it a few times. Mostly people look sort of dishwater, and I've only tried on humans."
Signy considers for a moment, and decides her questions isn't so dumb it would be embarrassing to ask. "Do you know if it's smart? If it is, do you think it's evil? If it is, I should be able to pick it out from among all the other trees." Figuring it can't hurt to start trying while she waits for a more expert opinion, Signy begins to concentrate on finding any evil auras close by. She turns to check to the right first.
Signy looks around from where the party is located at the edge of the clearing, trying to figure out if the scythe tree would be hanging around in the clearing itself, or hiding amongst the other trees encircling the clearing. "It seems like nobody's home. Anyone ever seen a tree like his before? Will we know it when we see it, or is it the kind of thing that will really blend in?"
Signy dismounts and does what she can to help Falchos as well.
When talk turns to handling the scythe tree, Signy brings up what she can contribute. "I have some fire arrows." She checks her quiver for a quick count. "Seven of them total."
Signy understands very well what Tiressia is trying to do. She can't say she's never done the same sort of thing; after all, she was 14 or 15 years old at one time. Rather than addressing the dryad's tactics directly though, Signy opts to try convincing her there's no need for them. "There's no need to plead for our help. We've come out here intending to help you. It's the only reason we're here."
Signy doesn't see herself having much effect trying to relate to fey who aren't like Perlivash and Tyg-Titter-Tut. She stays quiet and waits.
The notion of a CG Caydenite Inquisitor as Chief Justice of a legal system is so deliciously ironic. But Signy lacks the impartiality for that sort of thing, unless Lina wants to lose a lot of cases in court that is. The one thing that would be working in Signy's favor in such a position is that she isn't corruptible. She's actually something of an ascetic as weird as that sounds. Usually asceticism references renouncing worldly pleasure, which obviously is not true of her at all. It wouldn't make any sense for her to do so within her religion. Her asceticism is directed at the wealth/power nexus. As he sees it, those things are axiomatically corrupting. I've (weirdly) spent a lot of time trying to develop some sort of Caydenite theology, and there is a sort of flaw that I've been unable to fix. If Cayden Cailean is about a sort of maximal-ish personal freedom, and opposition to tyranny, it is also stuck with tyranny in a sense. Sticking it to the man necessitates the existence of the man. Caydenites have no plan for ultimate victory, and certainly have no idea what to do afterward if they stumbled into it. This would be a problem if monotheism were a thing, but Golarion is polytheistic so some few Caydenites who actually spent time thinking about such things, and they tend not to, could just shrug and say it's some other (right thinking) deity's job to figure that stuff out. What I'm getting at is that it's an underdog religion, reactive (not reactionary) and subtly pessimistic. There is no Caydenite form of utopianism really. It's a common person's counterculturalism, standing in opposition to the inevitable abuses of (essentially inevitable) hierarchies. Signy is ill-prepared to create a better society, she'd say that's a task for Helikia's citizens, and should be a democratic endeavor. In becoming a ruler, Signy sees Lina as having taken the first step onto the path of becoming a tyrant. Signy is there to watch for the signs and push back when Lina's mask slips. Signy is far more animated by justice and fairness than legalism. More practically speaking about the moment. Signy is hoping for an agreement that doesn't cost anything aside for some time devoted to finding saplings. If Lina goes with some sort of assault-type charge against Corax, Signy would be pretty confident she could mount an excellent self-defense counterargument. Now it might turn out that Corax forged his permit or had a hand in it. That would change things. But given current information Corax seems to be a victim of a third, unknown party. He's been wronged as well, punishing him for it is unjust.
Signy can't understand how Melianse's demands could conceivably be met. It's a real head scratcher. But, she can't see a path to argue so with her that goes anywhere. But, maybe she could convince Melianse to reconsider her priorities. "Melianse, I understand you will miss your trees terribly. Replacements won't be the same, no matter the size, for the ones you knew so well. But there is a way for you to save another tree for each one you've lost." "Saplings that have sprouted too close to large trees rarely survive. The large trees around them choke them off from light, and eventually it kills them. You could save some of them by having them brought here. Any large trees brought here are already thriving where they are. Maybe the kindness of bringing otherwise doomed saplings here instead could give your loss some meaning."
Meneas the faerie-dust grim reaper. :p Signy isn't sure how much she likes fey, her experiences with them so far have been either very good or very bad. But she's pretty sure the nixie doesn't smell nearly as bad as the loggers. That's worth something.
Signy groans to herself. She's already had her fill of fey troubles for the day and would really like to avoid any more. She frowns in a concerned way and warns the logger off. "You're not in just any old stretch of forest here. Trust me when I tell you that what you do here now will haunt you for a long, long time to come. You might even think you've gotten the best of her and get your trees but the other fey, who will know, won't let things rest. You start this fight now, and they will end it whenever they eventually get the better of you some day. Best you go find a different stand of trees, these trees aren't worth all the grief you'll bring yourself." "By the way, who exactly signed that document for you?"
I maintain that Signy has been nothing but a good influence on Brental. Anyone who says different will get punched. I'll bet Kesten has a hairier chest than Brental though. Aasimar don't strike me as hairy types.
When it's time to get going, Signy rolls up her bear coverlet and hefts it down the stairs. It's some effort to get it up onto her horse, but she manages that plus tying it in place securely. She takes a few smaller, lighter items to carry back as well, but the weight of the coverlet is substantial.
Signy doesn't get up, but she does eventually sit up with the bearskin draped over her shoulders. As the goodies are sorted through, she offers some opinions on their value, for better or worse.
Harp:
Signy isn't quick to relax her guard. Things seem to keep popping out from here and there, so she keeps her bow ready with an arrow nocked in case there's more of the same to come. As they scout through the tower and it's surroundings, she leaves the collection of valuables to the others, instead keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.
It's only when they're back up in Carmine's lair that she relaxes her guard, putting her bow aside and dropping onto the bed. Arms spread wide, she plows face-first into the white bearskin coverlet. "Mine!" After taking soaking up the luxury of it all for a few moments, Signy rolls over onto her back and grabs an edge to pull it over herself, giving it a real test. She demurs when Lina thanks her. "I suppose, but I couldn't hurt her. Left on my own, it would have been just a matter of time before she gutted me. Gonna have to do something about that."
Signy goes looking for a more open space where she can shoot with more freedom. She end up behind Brental, where she take a shot at the quickling Rigg. Her thinking is her arrows are the only weapon faster than him. If she can only dial in on his movements, she can take him on while everyone else deals with the grimstalker.
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