Torchbearer's page

I just started up in Xenh's game. I'm taking over one of the NPC's there then I'm going to add my own character when we get to a spot to add him in.

Won't be the first character I've lost in a gruesome fashion:) I've read through part of the game thread and it looks pretty intense. Looks like a fun game, and my schedule right now should allow me time to post without too much trouble.

I'm just popping in to say hello. I'm hoping to join you soon, and was wondering what would fit into the group. Your GM mentioned there wasn't a real tank, so I'm leaning towards a paladin or warrior at the moment, likely a dwarf paladin. Hope to be gaming with you soon.

Please do, I'll have to see if I still have the book tucked away somewhere, been a couple of moves since then and you know how that goes. If not I can probably track down a pdf version.

Still have room here? I tried to get this going when the book first came out, but the rest of my group hated the idea. I always thought Norrath had potential for a good tabletop game.

She's doing fine, got home yesterday afternoon. Things should settle down next week. I'm off and she should be back to normal in a few days. Just got a little hectic this week.

I'm still interested, but tomorrow will be tough. I apologize for not being on this week, my sister's been in the hospital and I've been on babysitting detail on top of work, so haven't had much free time.

Need to start working on the crunch for mine, will have an updated backstory and crunch hopefully later tonight

Ok, pally/sorc it is, I'll try to get the basics done sometime tomorrow.

Ooooooh I finnaly figured out what I want to build. Dudley do right style paladin magus.

GAH! Ninja'd!

OK, I'm on board if there's room. I'm thinking a super strait-laced paladin/sorcerer with a really wild magic feat or 2. The magic is a huge part of who he is, but the randomness of it drives him batty. Think Superman but his heat vision sometimes shoots out rainbows and butterflies. He probably won't be the sharpest tool in the shed either, but people like him and want to be around him. He always manages to get the job done, just sometimes things are a little more wacky than he'd like.

OK....starting to come together now. He's a tiefling that grew up on the docks of a large port town. He was press ganged into service aboard ship and learned some basic seamanship. While aboard ship he befriended one of the officers, who was a wizard. He learned a few basic spells before the captain found out. His mentor was keelhauled but he escaped at the next port and fled inland. His current adventures led him back to sea, but he's always wary of being found by his former captain.

Personality wise, he's cold and calculating, but willing to gamble if he believes the odds are in his favor. He's taken up divination to tilt the odds further in his favor, believing it best to see the opponent's hand. He can come off as aloof and a little spooky with how easily he reads people. Well, that and the tail, the tail always freaks people out.

I'll fill in more details and get the crunch together over the rest of this week. Do you want us to post characters here or at Roll20?

Ok, that will work pretty well with what I have in mind. One other question, has the group been together in the past, or are they just now meeting each other?

I have some 3.5 stuff that could be modified for this. Probably not set on Golarion, more like Greyhawk or FR. Are you looking for silly, over the top or more serious, high powered planar politics kind of game? If I don't end up running it, I think it'd be fun to play in too.

Just letting you know I'm still here and interested, today got really busy and I didn't really get a chance to work on the character. What is the attitude towards tieflings in your world? I'm leaning towards playing a tiefling diviner and was curious before I get too far into the back story.

Dotting for interest. I'll play either a wizard or sorcerer since you're light on casters. I'll start putting together a character and post the beginning of a background when I get home from work. I'm guessing times are U.S. Central?

What level are the PCs and how much money are you looking to spend on it?

For caster level, you would be casting as either an arcane or divine caster, and would use the appropriate caster level for the spell. For example, a 4 sorc/3 cleric/10 MT would cast as a 14th level sorcerer and a 13th level cleric. If you cast create undead as a sorcerer it would be at caster level 14 and if you cast it as a cleric it would be at caster level 13.

If you need an example of the cinematic approach in play, check out Red Hand of Doom. It's a 3.x module, but there's a pretty good siege battle in it that could help give you some ideas.

You can't apply both ripostes to the same parried attack. You CAN use crane riposte and duelist riposte on different attacks in the same round, so there is some benefit to having both.

There are clues within the dungeon to steer them in the right direction. It's not a linear dungeon, I don't recall the exact layout, but to get say level 7 you would have to enter through level 4 and take the tunnel out of the undead knight's tomb, things like that. What our GM did was when we were away from the dungeon he would ask us where we intended to go in the session and work from there. There are multiple possible starting points and the dungeon itself will help give them direction. Figuring out where to go or what to do next usually wasn't a concern for our group, though there were times we got chased off and had to go elsewhere for a level or 2 and try again.

One other suggestion, if you can get a copy of The Tomb of Abysthor do it. There are some related plots with Rappan Athuk and a portal between the 2 dungeons.

Rappan Athuk is really well written, so most of the normal pitfalls of running a megadungeon aren't an issue even if you just run it as written.

I was a player in a Rappan Athuk/Abyss Thor(sp?) game in 3.5 and it was one of the most entertaining games I've played in. The key thing for us was all the characters had interests outside of the dungeon. We had political/religious concerns in towns a few days ride/march from the dungeon. I played a paladin and the cleric and I were restoring the temples of Thyr and Muir for instance. Rappan Athuk can be a blast, just make sure to give the players chances to develop outside the dungeon and you should be fine.

One other thing, make sure your players make PC's that can hold their own in combat. If they don't they will be former PC's in short order.

We usually allow cantrips to work for fun stuff like that. General rule at our table is if you're not trying to twist it into some kind of mechanical advantage, it's fine. Take it too far and you can expect to be pelted with large books, so be careful:) As always, talk to your GM for his take on it.

Just pointing out that the raging rule is hideously unclear.

"While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration ."

Concentration could be referring to its use in maintaining certain spells, but patience certainly isn't defined anywhere as a game term. Therefore, what interacts with barbarian rage is almost completely at the whim of GM.
PFS default might be to ignore the patience restriction, but any home game could justify almost anything as incompatible with rage by arguing patience required.

Rage vs patience is murkier waters than the paladin code vs contrived situations.

The rage rule doesn't matter because the sneak attack rule is very well defined. It works when the opponent is denied his dex or flanked. No conditions on it, no mention of it requiring anything more than being able to see and attack the target.

Teleport still requires a concentration roll while in a grapple. It just doesn't provoke AoO's. The teleportation subschool ability from the APG would work because it's a supernatural ability.

If a spell doesn’t have a somatic component, an arcane
spellcaster can cast it with no arcane spell failure chance
while wearing armor. Such spells can also be cast even if
the caster’s hands are bound or he is grappling (although
concentration checks still apply normally).

Using a supernatural ability is usually a standard action
(unless defined otherwise by the ability’s description). Its use cannot be disrupted, does not require concentration, and does not
provoke attacks of opportunity.

He means archery. Because they ignore prereqs, they can cherry pick the archery feats they want without worrying about the whole tree. The ranger doesn't need point blank and precise shot if he just wants improved precise shot from that tree, for instance.

Might want to check out the 3.5 cloistered cleric from Unearthed Arcana. I thought as a full class it worked great, you get more skill points, knowledge domain, an ability similar to bardic lore and some divination spells added to your spell list and in exchange you can only wear light armor and have low BAB. It fit the concept much better than the Pathfinder version IMO and would be easy to update.

Divine or infernal intervention? Having an evil character being a jerk and a paladin is a recipe for disaster for party cohesion unless they have a common cause (and even then it's no guarantee). According to the paladin's code, it can't be a long term association and only to overcome what he believes is a greater evil. He must leave if he feels the evil character is causing more harm than good.

Generally as GM, I don't allow evil characters in a mostly good group unless there is a VERY good reason for them to be there. Same thing with good characters in a mostly evil group, there must be a good story related reason or I won't allow it.

TED

I use a very generous rolling method for stats. My experience with high stat characters is that it matters for a level or two, and then it doesn't. Upping monster power is also a quick fix that doesn't take much time. Just bump the monster hp a bit, if you use enemy casters bump their casting stat, bump the str or BAB of a melee monster. These are quick fixes that can often be done in your head or with a quick note and puts things back in balance.
As someone mentioned before, make sure daily uses and builds are legal. With complicated characters it's easy to miss something, I know I've done it before. If everything's kosher, see how things are at 5th level. If they're still steamrolling everything you'll have to adjust tactics, maybe throw in a diviner to access their weaknesses, something like that. A smart player with a good build is going to have a strong character with any stat generation method.

When our group is getting bored and stuck in a rut, it usually means it's time for a session or 2 of Paranoia or a superhero game. If you want to do something more serious, make sure it's nonfantasy. Sci-fi,Cthulhu, modern special ops, old west, just anything but fantasy.

Take 3, maybe the board just doesn't like my character:)

Dotting for interest. I have a sorcerer/bard idea I've been kicking around awhile that might work well with this game. I'll get you a rough outline of the character later today. I'll need to read up on the area we're starting in to flesh it out, I'm not that familiar with Golarion yet.

Confusion. If a band of giants wanders across our camp, we call it the floor show.

There was a weapon focus(ray) for ranged touch attacks in 3.5. I see no problem with a similar feat for normal touch attacks.

How does Dimensional Agility work with the teleportation subschool shift ability in the APG?

Last session, after defeating the BBEG and rounding up his minions, my sorcerer noticed one of the lieutenants reaching for a hidden weapon to attack with and I immediately charmed him and asked him to put the weapon down. I thought better to charm him to avoid the fight instead of killing a dozen people.

More than any other adventure type, I think the mega dungeon is more reliant on the GM to get the players invested in the game. If you just run it as a big killing spree, of course it'll be boring. The players need a connection to the outside world and they need a really good reason to go to the dungeon. Sometimes it can come down to the GM saying it would be really great if someone played a paladin or a cleric of the god of magic or a conjurer wizard or a whatever will give the players a real investment in the dungeon.
The most fun I've had in a mega dungeon was Rappan Athuk. The GM told us before the campaign started it would be best if the there was a paladin in the group and a good aligned cleric. We also had strong ties to the towns near the dungeon and eventually were granted titles and the towns and villages near the dungeon itself. That gave everyone plenty of RP opportunities and if you've played in Rappan Athuk, you know there was plenty of combat to go around. They key was the GM worked with the group to give the PCs a life outside of the dungeon and solid RP reasons to delve inside it.

Hi, my name is Torchbearer and I'm...oh wait, wrong thread...

(Seriously, I'm about to run the campaign from the Necromancer City of Brass boxed set. They did something similar and I like having things like that available in the game rules. We have role played things like that in our group, but it's hard to determine off the cuff in combat and such.)

John Kretzer wrote:

Hey James any chance of a AP starting at a higher level than 1st?

There's a chance, sure... but not a big one. Starting at 1st level for a campaign is very important—that's were a lot of the initial themes for a campaign are set. We would likely have to assume that the PCs are being created at higher level especially for that AP rather than being established characters who've gained levels in play, for one, and that feels kind of unsatisfactory to me. When you create characters for an AP, you need to create characters who'll actually WORK for that AP—we try to be pretty open about them, but the fact that an AP has specific plots and is set in specific locations does mean that certain PC choices are just better. It'd be weird to build a winter witch type PC for Legacy of Fire, for example, or a Chelaxian government agent for Council of Thieves, or a city-hating druid for Curse of the Crimson Throne... and by starting a group at above 1st level we drastically increase the chances of those problems happening.

By starting at 1st level, we're allowed to make a LOT more assumptions about where the new characters are from, in other words.

And beyond that, there's a lot of evidence that folks really really really love starting APs at 1st level. It's certainly my preference.

I understand preferring to start at 1st level, that's typically my preference too. Making characters that will work for the campaign isn't any harder than at 1st level though. You would make basically the same character themes, just at 3rd level or 5th level or whatever level you decided to start. Generally the players guides have enough information to workout a couple levels worth of a background story. You have to work with the GM to make those kinds of characters work anyway. When I run a game I always tell my players about the setting and if they have any character ideas that just won't work in that setting, I discuss it with them and we figure out something that will. That's true at 1st level or 20th. The other GMs in my group do the same thing and we almost never have an issue of a character just not working thematically.

That works. Thanks math. Hopefully I can get here regularly again middle of next week.

Guys, I apologize for the last few days. The weather's been really bad here and I've been w/o power since Tuesday. I have no idea when I'll get it back. A huge oak tree missed my house by about 8 inches, but it took out several power and cable lines. I'm ok, the house is ok, but as far as power I have no idea when I'll get it back and you can either replace me or I can come back in when we get power back. It may be next week before that happens though.

Seems in line with a 2h fighter or a TWF rogue if he rolls well. They can both get pretty big damage if things go right for them.

Andern wrote:

Got Andern's equipment up, I might make som adjustments to get that MW backpack for him. He's cutting it close on weight.

I also need to know how you want to handle spell components. How detailed to you want me to get with them? I've had DM's that were real sticklers about it and others that glossed over it completely, so just need to know how to plan for it.

I don't really make a big deal about it. I pretty much assume you won't cast spells you don't have components for.

OK, I figure I'll just drop a little bit of gold when I'm in town for mundane components. Expensive stuff I'll keep detailed records on, but that shouldn't be an issue until much later.

Fisnis wrote:

So you going with the classic debuffing mage cool.

Yes, though Protection from Evil is too nifty to pass up and if we need it, we'll NEED it. Plus I think someone who has been tormented by beings from the Great Beyond his whole life ought to know how to cast out evil spirits by now. I think Doom will be next, but we'll see.

And Ultimate Magic is pretty nifty.

OK, I'll go more party buffs and control in that case. Still looking through UM stuff for wizards too.

Basic idea for the character is the village mage was captured by a tribe of orcs and I'm the result. Because of my mother's status in the village I accepted as a full member of the community. I have always thought of myself as human and because of the villagers very rarely consider my mixed heritage. My mother began teaching me magic at a young age, and I was a quick study.
Because of my upbringing I never experienced the racism common in most half-orc lives. I have no clue what the world is like outside of my small village and have decided I have learned all I can from my mother. Falcon's Hollow is the nearest town so that's where I'm heading in hopes of finding a wizard to continue my studies.

Looking at the map, the forest just north of Falcon's Hollow seems to be the best place to put my home. I'm having name block at the moment, but I'll have one soon.
For schedule, I'm pretty flexible for the summer. I'll probably be most active here during the afternoon and later at night.

Fine by me. That's how we do it in my tabletop group most of the time too. I'll just try not to get hurt:)

I'm working on it now. I saw there wasn't a real arcane caster so I'm working on a half-orc wizard, though if we need more healing I'll be happy to go cleric or druid.

Just letting everyone know I'm still here. Was late last night when I found the thread so just now getting to work on the character.

Here's stats (I hope):

2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 2) + 6 = 12
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 2) + 6 = 10
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 4) + 6 = 15
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 6) + 6 = 14
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 5) + 6 = 17
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 5) + 6 = 14

I'll get to work on the character and try to have it up this evening.

I am, I'm reading upthread to see what everyone's doing. I have a couple of character concepts rattling around in my head. I'll go roll up stats in the other thread and I'll make an alternate id for the game once I get it finalized.

I'd be interested if you don't mind having another newbie to PbP along for the ride.