Vanshoon's page

I think school aversion is the heaviest mythic flaw for a character.
Being immune to all benefits from an entire school while also getting a penalty on saves against harmful effects is too bad.

Abjuration: No more dispel magic to remove bad stuff, no more resist energy, no more protection from evil
Conjuration: No more heals, nothing more to add here
Enchantment: No more (greater) heroism, bless, rage, good hope...
Evocation: Admittedly this can be a viable choice. Funny enough, you get immunity to beneficial MIRACLES.
Illusion: No more invisibility, no more blur, no more displacement. Viable but ouch!
Necromancy: This is viable, unless you're undead.
Transmutation: No more haste, no more polymorph, most awesome buffs are here.

In short, of all schools, only Evocation, Illusion and Necromancy are viable choices because immunity to beneficial stuff is too bad.

I ditched the immunity and instead gave a -4 penalty on caster level for effects from those schools, if the penalty results in level 0 or lower, the spell has no effect. You still couldn't be healed by a lowly potion of cure light wounds, but the party cleric can still patch you up with a HEAL spell, albeit with -40 hp.

I fail to see how this is linked to action economy issues and my idea to give martial characters easier access to multiple attacks at higher levels... I mean, even wizards get to quicken spells and cast twice in a round if they move.

Regarding full attacks, what if fighters (anyone, really) get increased attacks per round even if they moves?

If you move 5 ft or less => full attack.
If you move more than 5 ft, up to half speed => you lose attack(s) based off BAB -5.
If you move more than half speed, but less than full speed => you lose attack(s) based off BAB -5 and BAB -10.
If you move full speed => you lose attack(s) based off BAB -5, BAB -10 and BAB -15.
If you move more than your full speed (possible when charging) => you get a single attack.
The pattern is meant to make it easier for high BAB classes to get extra attacks sooner and more easily: at 11th level, a fighter could land 2 of his 3 attacks if he moves half speed.

So a 16th level fighter with a speed of 30 ft would receive...
4 attacks at +16/+11/+6/+1 if he moves 0-5 ft
3 attacks at +16/+6/+1 if he moves/charges 10-15 ft
2 attacks at +16/+1 if he moves/charges 20-25 ft
1 attack at +16 if he moves/charges 30 ft
1 attack at +18 if he charges 35-60 ft

A 16th level fighter under a haste spell who has (normal/improved/greater) two weapon fighting would receive...
8 attacks at +15/+15/+15/+10/+10/+5/+5/+0 if he moves 0-5 ft
6 attacks at +15/+15/+15/+5/+5/+0 if he moves/charges 10-30 ft
4 attacks at +15/+15/+15/+0 if he moves/charges 35-55 ft
3 attacks at +15/+15/+15 if he moves/charges 60 ft
1 attack at +17 if he charges 65-120 ft

What do you think?

Since historically they could pierce armor, I'd give hand/light/heavy xbows the ability to bypass up to 2/4/6 points of armor bonus (not counting enhancements) and/or bypass up to 1/2/3 points of damage reduction.

So a warrior with an adamantine full plate would have an AC 6 points lower and/or would not benefit from its damage reduction against a heavy crossbow user.

I keep Ophelia in my Handy Haversack in fact, undead don't need to breathe :)
Though for RP it's just really my very shadow beneath my body, and to "raise" it I need to spend a move action ^^.
It's difficult to enhance a shadow via items, since it's incorporeal :/

Vanshoon is puzzled by the strange dreams. If it wasn't for the letter of yesterday, he'd probably discard the thought and work for the mission at hand.
Now, there was no immediate mission, although there could easily be another one if he asked Euphemi.
Vanshoon already informed the priestess about the Isgerian slavers he was kindly asked to deal with, in answer to a Sending spell: "Cage picklocked. Slaves escaped under illusion. Slavers didn't notice illusion. Subdued slavers one by one. Put them into their cage. No bloodshed, thanks to Shelyn."
Walking through the Plane of Shadows is always a quick and easy way to find a safe place to rest and come back home in Augustana at the local temple of Shelyn. His mother and sisters were all good and well, but it was imperative to let everyone believe that he was always on the move and never actually in the temple. In truth, Vanshoon wanted to keep an eye on his family while working on the "begs for help" that Shelyn's clergy was receiving in ever increasing numbers. Being a hero of freedom has its costs, and Vanshoon quickly learned that despite his power over the shadows themselves, he couldn't help them all. But it doesn't matter, as long as he does his best to help everyone he could, he would do his part.
But now, those dreams demand an answer. Vanshoon wasn't even sure if the letter was reality or some other sort of illusion, perhaps Vanadia was tampering again with his mind to trick him again.
But the letter AND the dreams, that was too much for a concurrence. He would've asked Euphemi about the meaning of that strange letter as soon as he could.

As usual, Vanshoon met Euphemi in the shadows. Euphemi was supposed to be alone in her chamber while praying to Shelyn for wisdom, but what's a more delicious offer to the Goddes of Love than a kiss by her lover after a successful mission in Her name?
Vanshoon and Euphemi learned through a Commune spell that the deity hearty approved of such beautiful emotions between the two, but were it to become public, both Euphemi and Vanshoon would have been in peril. The fact that meeting people unseen was Vanshoon's forte, was just convenient.

"Hi again, my beautiest gem. I thought I'd come by and see you, sorry for not knocking at the door." Vanshoon smiled, then he kissed her again.
"I think I have to talk to you about some strange things that happened to me yesterday and this night... it makes me shiver and I can't find a sense to all of this."

Give him a CL 20 dispel magic wand, a good spellcraft score and set him to counterspell duty.
Or give him some good senses so he can pinpoint hidden stuff and a wand of glitterdust/faerie fire.
As you said, some low level buffs and/or healing would be awesome.
If he can also work as a natural flying mount, that'd be awesome for out-of-combat mobility.
Trans-planar coffee fetcher also. :)

@DM: Hmmm does that mean that I have to post what I sent you via PM on the official discussion thread? :)

Heh, my stats are on my profile, stealth will not be a problem... I focused specifically on it, both via HiPS, greater invisibility (as a Su, no less), immunity to detect good/chaos/evil/law/magic and the highest stealth score I could afford without gimping my character and my concept... Maybe I'll take stealthy as my lvl 21st feat as well!
I can scout very well, I'm not focused on perception to the same degree but I can also pass through walls (either me or Ophelia) and get the job done... hopefully. :)
If you want me to report reliably, I'll probably need a telepathic bond of sort (best if its aura is removed afterwards), or you can wait for me to come back and forth.
About the restoration thing, death ward suppresses any and all negative level penalties while in effect, it's much better than (greater) restoration to cast in battle, just take a look at how much time it takes to actually cast the spell!

EDIT:
Same question here, are we supposed to reply to the PM?

Vanshoon is almost always on the move, so his stuff is with him pratically all the time.
Stuff marked with # is in the handy haversack, stuff with § in the efficient quiver, the rest is worn.

I'll be out of town till tomorrow night, so I won't be able to post anything in gameplay till about 11.30 pm ECT.
Can't wait to see it started! :D

There's not much more you can do to increase your saves and AC.
As a witch, you're bound to have lower scores in those areas than, say, a dex-based rogue, to the extent where I really doubt you'll get much use of your evasion ability, to the point where I'd even ditch it (you get it from the ring of evasion, right?).
Moment of Prescience and Mind Blank are very nice spells to keep up the whole day. Clone is a safe bet in case of danger. Greater Heroism and Death Ward help with saves and other bad stuff. Then it depends on your patron spells... I love the patron with invisibility for this purpose, but I'm somewhat biased :D

I thought our sorcerer focused heavily on the fireball spell, and our cleric mentioned he'd be using offensive spells (not sure now that he's going to worship Nethys though).

Assuming we got crowd-control, debuffs, buffs and utility covered, blasting sounds fine. I always envisioned witches being excellent debuffers due to their hexes though... debuff + save or suck/lose/die seems somewhat more efficient than pure blast. You can also choose to leave the damage dealing to summoned minions and lowly nonmagical ninjas, and instead use high level magic to turn the multiverse upside down :D
Don't forget that you can leave some slots empty to cherry-pick spells later as need rises.

Sigh, everybody and their mother got a demiplane now, Vanshoon will have to beg for hospitality :P

Yeah Vanshoon will probably like Fritz, although it will be rare for Vanshoon to actually make full attacks, unless he's using Dimensional Dervish or another way to make sure he doesn't get eaten in retaliation afterwards.

"Shadow style demands that I stay hidden to study the enemy for a couple seconds and pinpoint his heart and vitals, before unleashing a single poisonous, deadly, magic eater strike which may also be deployed safely at range to hide afterwards.
Stealth and mobility are key for me, for the shadows are my main shield with wich I dance and I shall not deny them by fighting an enemy face-to-face in a honorable manner. Evil doesn't deserve to be fought with honour."

Let's just say that if Vanshoon could take back that chalice even if just to piss off Asmodeus, he would :) You're right in assuming that Vanshoon (and the rest of the party) was just, basically, had by the neck. Nothing personal against Osirion or Nethys. The other party members were much more... "actively enjoying" it though (especially Bolar and Bartmos), since they were all in the deep end of the alignment pool, so to speak. Vanshoon was, at the time, chaotic neutral and the only non-evil member of the party.
Now, surviving the crumble *after* denying the archdevil, THAT was a highlight moment he takes pride of (silently), because that was his very first moment of freedom and he made it outside of the crumbling tower in one piece (and a dim dozen hit points left if memory serves)!

It's just what happened in that past adventure of Vanshoon, a homebrew campaign. It's all recorded in Vanshoon's backstory in my profile.

We were searching for this chalice artifact for Asmodeus in Mulhorand, which is the same as Osirion in Pathfinder. The chalice was hidden within the tomb of the first Pharaoh, which was Azghaad the All-Seeing in Osirion and it was protected by a vast assortment of magic, illusions, walls and traps. It seems that Osirion was established by a prophet of Nethys called Azghaad, so you get a possible reason for a cleric of Nethys to be interested in Vanshoon.
Azghaad's spire crumbled to the ground after the artifact was removed from his rest position in the hands of the mummified Pharaoh.
Vanshoon is the only one of that party who was seen (although just for a split second) barely outside the tower as it crumbled. Perhaps a high level cleric or diviner of Nethys could learn that with appropriate divinatory magic targeting that area and that precise instant in the past... Vanshoon didn't benefit from Asmodeus's protection from other deities' intervention since the tower collapse, for he refused the archdevil's last offer to safely teleport away in exchange for new favors on the devil's behalf.

Up to you if you happen to have investigated the fact thoroughfully (then you know that Vanshoon appeared just outside the tower as it was crumbling, before disappearing into the plane of shadows to not be seen again in Osirion), otherwise it's a CD 20 knowledge (local) check for 'rumors' that Vanshoon might have been involved.

LoL^3 @ Fritz, Trig and Xara

Yeah, roleplaying Vanshoon's struggle to deal with a cleric of Asmodeus in a non-"Illkillyouinyoursleep" fashion would have been interesting to say the least, I'm going to miss that part :)
However I think that a certain crumbled osirian spire might have something to do with Nethys if you want to follow that path and give Vanshoon a headache for his past deeds ^^ I guess that Vanshoon will chuckle for a moment (unseen) thinking about the awkwardness of the situation :D
Yeah, a Cleric of Nethys would certainly be very interesting to deal with!

Hello Hase and Xara!
It looks like we'll be 5 characters plus 2 cohorts, not counting eidolons, shadows and other class granted companions... that makes for a rather big party!

Derric = Sorcerer
Gelein = Cleric
Vanshoon = Ninja/Shadowdancer
Hase = Witch
Xara = Summoner

I don't expect a lot of overlapping between Derric, Gelein and Hase: Both Hase and Gelein can choose their spells, so their repertory can be very different. Just look at Derric's spell list and prepare different spells :)

Wow, I'm the only non-spellcaster in group (although I have some SLAs), it will be interesting!

I'll turn my sheet into stat blocks like yours sometime during this weekend then. I already copied pretty much everything, so it would be just a matter of reorganizing the stat blocks.
Can't wait to see who else will join us :)

Actually, Vanshoon was made some years ago for an adventure in which all the characters had to have ties with Asmodeus one way or the other, a mark or something for him to summon us and make us do his bidding. Also we were all above average adventurers, gifts from the Lord of Hell himself (just extra stat points much like the "epic 25 build points" in force here). He's been the last high level character I played and I missed him.
The god thing might be too much (although to be fair Asmodeus met the evil illusionist who was performing the ritual and was far more powerful, Vanshoon was just there to be a sacrificial soul, blame the illusionist for misreading the pact rules, not Vanshoon!) but then I told to myself: it's a freakin' epic game, where else would you expect to meet god-touched people anyway? :D
So, since I love the character and the concept I submitted the backstory (adapted for Golarion and Pathfinder) in hope of not having to change it and Fnord actually liked it.

<.<

>.>

Oh, and there's really NO link between V for Vendetta and V for Vanshoon!
...
Really, don't look at me that way! O.O

Seriously, Vanshoon was there before that film came out, but oh well, Batman and V are a good (if rough) approximation of Vanshoon anyway :)

I think that my profile's sheet is finally complete!
Feel free to read Vanshoon's backstory and seek any mistake on the sheet :)
I think especially you, Gelein, should get quite a laugh while reading my background :D

EDIT: Gah! Missing Ophelia, my shadow! :/ Putting her in right now!

Currently there are three players who already posted in the discussion forum: a cleric, a sorcerer and a ninja/shadowdancer, don't know how many free spots there are

Hello everyone!
I'll get everything ready for the GM in this profile by tomorrow :)
Also spoilers :)