Gestalt is a great option for a smaller than normal group, more competent individuals who can cover more role territory with fewer big weaknesses, but no increased action economy and their power is broader, not spikier like it would be with higher stats, free LA races, or wealth.
For your paladin be aware of the differences from pathfinder, particularly in the one attempt smiting and standard action lay on hands.
Paladin cleric can mean a great cleric who can use swords with a few extra hp/bab/and divine powers who is expected to be the big tank, or a paladin with a ton of strong spell options.
I ran my game online on Fantasy Grounds so it was not an issue for us.
You can abstract it a bit and just use desert maps for the part the party's miniatures are on and use descriptions for where enemies off the map are. perhaps using a smaller scale map side by side without minis but just tiny markers for mobile things. This could allow you to make the dome area bigger if you wanted.
Alternately just run with the biggest map you have.
The Gory Details: In my 5e Iron Gods game, Maruk was a White Wolf Werewolf the Apocalypse concept werebear using the shifter race and barbarian class as the mechanical chassis.
The party had successfully taken care of the thylacines and maneuvered to the robotics lab where they successfully shut down all the robots and proceeded to pound the maintenance bots until they were so much scrap.
Unfortunately Meyanda noticed her attendant robot go into sleep mode for its 24 hour Windows 10 update so she gathered the living followers in the Navigation Control Room, and a ratfolk heard the smashing of the robots in the robot lab. Meyanda sent off a group to swing around and patrol and take the party from behind, and did preps to take on the invaders.
When the party entered the Navigation Control Room it was a fight with Meyanda, Gruenthor, and a bunch of fanatics and scrappers.
Soon Maruk in shifted raging bear form was meleeing with Gruethor solo and just rolling terribly while the gargoyle pounded on him relentlessly. It eventually dropped him unconscious, just as Meyanda dropped the party druid and it looked grim for the party.
The kobold bard looked over his inventory from up on the balcony and pulled out the box of tech eggs, pushed all the buttons, and threw the whole box down among Meyanda, Gruethor, and the dropped Maruk and party druid.
All the grenades went off dropping Meyanda, Gruethor, and very much finishing off both the Maruk and the party druid.
Name: Sebac
Race: Human (Werewolf)
Classes/levels: Druid 3
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Engineering Deck
Catalyst: Meyanda
The Gory Details: In my 5e Iron Gods game, Sebak was a White Wolf Werewolf the Apocalypse concept werewolf using a druid class as the mechanical chassis.
The party had successfully taken care of the thylacines and maneuvered to the robotics lab where they successfully shut down all the robots and proceeded to pound the maintenance bots until they were so much scrap.
Unfortunately Meyanda noticed her attendant robot go into sleep mode for its 24 hour Windows 10 update so she gathered the living followers in the Navigation Control Room, and a ratfolk heard the smashing of the robots in the robot lab. Meyanda sent off a group to swing around and patrol and take the party from behind, and did preps to take on the invaders.
When the party entered the Navigation Control Room it was a fight with Meyanda, Gruenthor, and a bunch of fanatics and scrappers.
Soon Sebak in wolf form was meleeing with Meyanda solo and missing with all his big shots and not making much progress with his normal attacks while she pounded on him with her divinely enhanced power glove. She eventually dropped him unconscious, just as Gruethor dropped the party barbarian and it looked grim for the party.
The kobold bard looked over his inventory from up on the balcony and pulled out the box of tech eggs, pushed all the buttons, and threw the whole box down among Meyanda, Gruethor, and the dropped Sebak and party barbarian.
All the grenades went off dropping Meyanda, Gruethor, and very much finishing off both the party barbarian and Sebak.
My PCs just beat the repair drone and I had it self destruct because it had been an easy first fight. The kobold bard now wants to gather the scrap and take it to the techno fence Sanvill Trett to sell.
How much would the very destroyed remains of a droid be worth?
How would you take advantage of the party interacting with Trett for the first time?
I too thought of 40K when the reference was to a city-sized space ship, particularly for the warpish way it got to Golarion.
The links for collections through the Choking Tower are not functioning, the individual blog entries seem to be there though, just tough to navigate to.
2) Skill check modifiers. I need to figure out a way to adjust skill check modifiers for monsters. At a glance, I would just take 4 skills that the monster has and give them proficiency, but should the bonus depend on the HD of the creature?
That's what I have for now. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Monster Manual page 8, it is based on CR, not HD. It seems to correspond to the PC level proficiency chart going from +2 to +6 for CRs 0 to 20 and extending up to +9 for CR 30.
The bear of an Ulfen man can often be found at the Hagfish telling stories about freeing orc slaves when he was a pirate preying on the fleets of the southern devil worshipers, being knighted by the Queen of Mendev for his demon hunting, and other improbable tales. Few take his claims to being a wizard seriously, especially considering the axe he carries and the scars he bears, but he is quick witted and friendly and made friends easily in the small fishing town. Mostly he asks about local ruins and local lore, but he turns grimmer when talk turns to the murders.
Voadam hails from the island of Battlewall in the Ironbound Archipelago. Winters of his youth were spent brawling and in retelling tales of heroic vikings, conflicts with giants, and magical wonders. He joined a raiding crew of Half-Orcs from Averaka as a young man and engaged in piracy against Chelaxian ships in the southern seas liberating treasure and slaves. Wishing to see more of the world he journeyed inland across Varisia through the Hold of Belkzen into the Worldwound and back again. He eclectically learned magic as he struck bargains, made allies, and overcame foes in his journeys. Along the way he encountered intriguing bits and pieces of ruins across Varisia with hints of ancient magics and connections to the giants of his homeland.
Concept: Ulfen Brawler/Unchained Summoner. A Wrath of the Righteous backstory of being a NG magical demon-punching hero who Mythically sacrificed some of his goodness and took on some Chaos to enter a familiar pact with, and partially redeem away from Evil, an aspect of a Qlippoth Lord (who had been bound into an unchanging quasit form by conquering Demon Lords and cursed to eternally serve masters until their deaths). Eventually things blew up magically and he and his "familiar" ended up where this game begins. Time travel and fighting his own mirror universe evil twin might have been involved.
Voadam, are you still running with this backstory? If so, I think it's a bit too complicated. Especially since in Golarion, time travel is incredibly restricted. It's also a part of Return of the Runelords, and isn't something PCs can just handwave away as a background element.
With the switch to non-familiar build I was considering his whole background as an experienced but untrustworthy narrator type of situation for a character with a bunch of bluff/perform oratory, and typical viking over the top boasting when drinking. But a lot of it fits his mechanics even if it is implausible or not quite accurate.
I was not familiar with official time travel in Golarion or this AP. I am a fan of Doctor Who and some other time travel stuff (Umbrella Academy, Seven Monkeys, etc.) and it came in as a plot element when I had played a version of the character in an also gestalt Wrath of the Righteous campaign and also as an element I added in when I ran a Reign of Winter game. I have no idea if any of the time travel stuff was consistent with official Golarion ways of handling time stuff and it is easy to naratively excise and focus on being a cunning magical viking who has ranged widely and punches supernatural evil in the face because at heart he is a good guy who can't resist getting involved.
Brom is from a prominent family in the Tiger Lords tribe of Numeria and has ranged from the realm of the Mammoth Lords to the River Kingdoms. He was present at the mercenary negotiations at Pitax and drunk and danced himself senseless at their successful conclusion. He enjoys a good scrap but what really captures his imagination are the stories of the Rain of Stars, the wonders of skymetal men and artifacts, and the creepiness of creatures from the beyond. As a good Numerian Kellid he publicly shuns strange technology, but privately he considers the problem the corrupt Technic League and not the underlying Skymount technology. He finds himself devouring every scrap of lore he can dig up on the ancient technology and related star beings.
Brom is quick, lean, and fit from his years as a mercenary scout and skirmisher in the River Kingdoms. His black hair is kept cut short and there is a twinkle in his eyes as he endeavors to explore the wonders of the world, particularly those in his ancestral lands.
Build considerations
Spoiler:
Build is a rogue leveraging the most Kellid and Numeria appropriate things I could find to create a character who wants to explore tech and fit in with the Golarion rules and culture elements.
The bear of an Ulfen man can often be found at the Hagfish telling stories about freeing orc slaves when he was a pirate preying on the fleets of the southern devil worshipers, being knighted by the Queen of Mendev for his demon hunting, and other improbable tales. Few take his claims to being a wizard seriously, especially considering the axe he carries and the scars he bears, but he is quick witted and friendly and made friends easily in the small fishing town. Mostly he asks about local ruins and local lore, but he turns grimmer when talk turns to the murders.
Two builds for whichever would go better with the party composition.
Brawler Arcanist build
Spoiler:
Voadam
Brawler (snakebite striker archetype)/Arcanist
AC 13 (+1 Armor, +2 Dex)
HP 11
F +3
R +4
W +1
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 16
Wis 8
Cha 10
BAB +1
CMB +3
CMD 15
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 (d6 sneak) 19-20 P or S
Ray of Frost +3 30' d3 (d6 sneak) cold
Long Spear +3 d8+3 (d6 sneak) X3 P brace, reach
Hand Wraps +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B cold iron or silver
Unarmed Strike +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B
Traits
Campaign Scholar of the Ancients
Social Clever Wordplay (Diplomacy)
Combat Broken Not Beaten
Exploit – School Understanding – Divination – Forewarned (can act when surprised, +1 bonus to initiative)
Snakebite Striker Sneak Attack +1d6
Spells in Spellbook
1st Level – Charm Person, Chill Touch, Feather Fall, Kreighton's Perusal, Mage Armor, Snowball
Cantrips – All
Equipment:
Haramaki/Armored Sash (AC +1, 0 ASF) 30 gp
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 19-20 P or S 2 gp
Hand Wrap Alchemical Silvered +3 d6+2 B silver 20gp 2 sp
Hand Wrap Cold Iron +3 d6+2 B cold iron 4 sp
Long Spear +3 d8+3 X3 P brace, reach 5 GP
Potion of Cure Light Wounds 50 gp
Spellbook
Explorer’s Outfit
72 gp 4 sp.
Brawler Skald build
Spoiler:
Voadam
Brawler (snakebite striker archetype)/Skald
AC 16
HP 11
F +3
R +4
W +1
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 8
Cha 16
BAB +1
CMB +3
CMD 15
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 P or S 2 gp
Horsechopper +3 d10+3 x3 P or S reach, trip
Hand Wraps +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B cold iron
Unarmed Strike +3 d6 (d6 sneak) B
Traits
Campaign Scholar of the Ancients
Social Tireless Logic (Int 1/day with advantage)
Combat Broken Not Beaten
Equipment
Chain Shirt 100 gp
Horsechopper +3 d10+3 x3 P or S reach, trip 10 gp
Dagger +3 R 10' d4+2 P or S 2 gp
Hand Wrap Cold Iron +3 d6+2 B cold iron 4 sp
Explorer’s Outfit
Scroll of Cure Light Wounds x4
17 gp 6 sp
When you get the same feature from two classes in gestalt they overlap and do not stack, so you can't get sneak attack twice at the same level. A bonus metamagic and a bonus combat feat would stack, but bonus combat feats from two classes at the same level are the same feature so they do not stack.
Hmm. I know that’s the case for something like sneak attack progression, I’m not sure that the fighter and Warpriest bonus feats are the same feature though. Could be wrong. But honestly, I can’t imagine what you’d need *that many* bonus feats for.
I had not looked at the warpriest before, they do have a different feature of using their warpriest level as BAB for the bonus feats while a fighter does not.
It is similar/different enough to be arguable.
I could see using the bonus feats, there are about three or four combat feats that are really attractive at first level that I will have to wait until later levels to get in my build. Each extra action option or defense means more at lower levels.
When you get the same feature from two classes in gestalt they overlap and do not stack, so you can't get sneak attack twice at the same level. A bonus metamagic and a bonus combat feat would stack, but bonus combat feats from two classes at the same level are the same feature so they do not stack.
I am rethinking the unchained summoner part of the Ulfen Brawler/Summoner concept. Eidolons and summoned monsters add a lot for a DM to track, particularly when there are more than the default four characters. Their power is also pretty independent of the 15 pb power limitation so they shine more in a low point buy game, even where characters are competent from gestalt, feats, and skills. I can do the same viking magical puncher concept with a lower powered familiar or no familiar, so I am considering arcanist, sorcerer, wizard, or even skald as the arcane magic part.
Concept: Ulfen Brawler/Unchained Summoner. A Wrath of the Righteous backstory of being a NG magical demon-punching hero who Mythically sacrificed some of his goodness and took on some Chaos to enter a familiar pact with, and partially redeem away from Evil, an aspect of a Qlippoth Lord (who had been bound into an unchanging quasit form by conquering Demon Lords and cursed to eternally serve masters until their deaths). Eventually things blew up magically and he and his "familiar" ended up where this game begins. Time travel and fighting his own mirror universe evil twin might have been involved.
I ran a Pathfinder Reign of Winter Game and at one point in the first module expanded a fey portal into a full trip into the primal timey wimey First World where reality is similar but works differently. I had everybody convert their Pathfinder characters into 1e versions of themselves and used AD&D1e rules throughout their time there, even pulling out the early Dragon/The Strategic Review version of a bard class to use at low level.
People felt it was fun as an experience, but a number said they would not have liked it if it was the standard and not knowing it was a limited thing.
The classic modules work well in their original editions and as conversions. I ran ToEE in AD&D and played through it in 3e and both worked great.
For conversions the general issues are monster substitutions, treasure awarded, leveling point expectations, and encounter designs.
I had the key locked up in the office safe so they got it early on. The big deal is probably the hidden storage aspect, the lock should probably be able to be broken with a crowbar. Something Lorrimor's (or many PCs') tools could into but not a rampaging escaped prisoner.
Storywise I said they kept the high emotional attachment murderer's tools so that if the prisoners escaped they could scry them down.
For my Reign of Winter campaign I set up a little extra encounter in the first module where the party ran into a young Baba Yaga in the First World while travelling though a fey gate instead of just arriving on the other side. The Ulfen paladin got on her bad side by protecting and not giving up a gnome she was chasing while the elf in the party ended up hooking up with her. This set off her invasion of the Land of the Linnorm Kings in the party's past and her first daughter Jadwiga was half-Elf. The first generation of Jadwiga descendants can all be half-elves. Going through the history of the adventure path and the Irrisen book I expanded out why the winter wolves work with her from her shapeshifting into a Dire wolf and seducing Fenris and bearing some strong pups so that there is a tie into the magic of Irrisen for the human changing winter wolves and in my game 2nd gen Jadwiga were natural werewolves and their descendants can be the shifters/lycans/whatever the pathfinder version was. Tashana being Iggwilv I made her a half-Demon so that gen of Jadwiga could be tieflings. I tied this into BY making a pact with Lamashtu which included shrines throughout the land and BY siring demonic blooded offspring.
This illustrated each generation being supernaturally powerful in different ways and allowed a variety of Jadwiga to be common throughout Irrisen. The paladin later played a half-elven Jadwiga from Irrisen in the AP.
This set up also left it open as well for changelings and other part human Jadwiga generations if desired, though it never came up.
Dorian, Also be sure to emphasize the recent transition of overthrowing the Count to become a Palatinate. If the PC picks up on this and is proud of it this plays into the Lodge guy being outwardly pro palatinate but secretly a former regime supporter.
Any advice on converting Carrion Crown and Carrion Hill to 5e? I might be running a 5e campaign next year and this would be my preferred plotline. Haunts in particular from Harrowstone do not really have direct 5e conversions that I know of.
Any conversions of Carrion Crown out there? I might be running a CC campaign in 5e next year or so and would probably include Carrion Hill as well.
Carrion Crown starts off with a bunch of haunts with no direct 5e conversions that I am aware of.
Any advice on converting in general? I've played 5e and run some 5e modules but not converted from Pathfinder to 5e before (though I've played and run plenty of d20 and Pathfinder).
A friend of mine was playing an elven mystic theurge and used animate dead in a necromancer run land to have a zombie carry him around in its arms because "Real spellcasters do not touch the ground." and "It will be a nice change from fly spells. I am so tired of fly spells."
Have you checked out Testament from Green Ronin? It is 3.0 but covers the area well.
One of the Avalanche Press 3.0 sourcebooks, the Atlantis one IIRC, had what I thought was a great suggestion for bronze age equipment, do not adjust attack or damage or AC for the earlier metals, just reduce the equipment hp and/or hardness to less than their iron/steel equivalents. So a sunder fight will show the advantage but you can still do normal stat combat in general.
I just ran this with a party of six 7th level pathfinder PCs as a one shot. It ended when the two amazon PCs got tentacle snatched to death and the rest of the party bugged out for good. Before the end one PC got swallowed whole, one was energy drained, two had their internal organs rearranged, and at one point four out of five remaining PCs were confused. A good time was had by all.
Just out of curiosity (not as a 3pp publisher, as a player)- I see a lot of folks talking about subsystems and classes, do people use 3pp races? (I know I've used them from other publishers :-D )
A couple years ago before the ARG came out when I ran a pathfinder Freeport game one of the players expressed interest in playing a grippli. I pulled out the Remarkable Races Compendium and he played a Mogogol bard with a banjo. Many Kermit jokes and riffs were made.
I've copied and pasted with no problems from ones I bought.
Here is an example from an early paizo dragon issue:
Quote:
Each race has its own way of
fighting. Most elves believe in subtle
tactics and maneuvers. Many
halflings prefer stealthy attacks.
Virtually all half-orcs charge into battle
swinging heavy weapons until nothing
is left moving. Humans, if they believe
Having just gotten The Genius Guide to Simple Class Templates for Monsters I really want to second the earlier suggestions to continue this line with the SGG classes for a sequel. Other third party ones like Dreamscarred's Psionics and Path of War sets of classes would be great too. And eventually Occult classes.
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans." ~Stephen Hawking
The Necessary Evil campaign for Savage Worlds has long been a favorite of mine, so much a favorite that I am taking the likely insane step of translating it into play-by-post.
About me, or haven't I seen this before?:
Confession time. This is my second attempt to run this. The first attempt ended in a debacle of stale pizza and mislaid underclothing. Well not really but it crashed hard and as the GM it was ultimately my fault. I would like to think I learned from this and became a better person and all but that is not my call to make. This game may well fail. Posting may be sporadic. Life will intervene. That said I'll give it my best and we will see what happens.
Necessary Evil, for those poor souls unfamiliar with it:
Necessary Evil posits a world where superheroes have been active since at least the First World War. This world by and large looks like ours. Ok computer controlled flying cars have just hit the luxury market and failing organs can be regrown thanks to knowledge gleaned from the 1918 zombie uprising. But it mainly looks like home.
This world is then set on fire. It turns out Professor Hawking was correct.
Four years ago Earth was attacked by aliens called the K’tharen. Luna base was lost and earth’s defenders both military and metahuman were hard pressed maintaining the war at a stalemate. Then rescue arrived. A new alien force, the V’sori, apparently a former slave race of the K’tharen, were hunting their former masters and found them here.
We didn’t ask questions, we just accepted the help and watched the K’tharen ships burn. Earth had triumphed; our Heroes had saved the day again. The victory celebrations spanned the globe. Thousands packed the streets to witness the welcoming ceremonies as the V’sori ships hovered over our cities. Millions watched the live feed from Washington as Champion and the Alpha Squadron waited beside the President to greet Ambassador F’arak.
Millions watched as a city block sized energy beam vaporized Champion (aka Superman), Alpha Squadron (AKA Avengers/JLA) and the gathered leaders. Across the globe with targeted strikes and occasional orbital bombardment the V’sori attacked. Through the dust of the first strikes those few still with a functioning feed saw K’tharen troopships dropping from the V’sori cruisers. Leaderless, hero-less, the occupation of earth had begun.
And this brings us to you. Over the past two years War-Master F’arak has hunted down every meta-human he could get his little blue fingers on. All the heroes are gone. Most of the big name villains are gone. You are what is left. You are what is left to save the world. You are the necessary evil.
Most Characters in NE are villains. Not in the class of Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom, yet, but a step up from killers like Zsasz. As the players guide puts it:
Evil, Not Psychotic
Necessary Evil is all about playing the villains of four-color comics, with their grand schemes of world domination and destruction. While these villains may be murderous and megalomaniacal, they don’t tend to be mindless killers without purpose. The super-villain you make up should at least have the potential for working with other super-villains. While playing a completely anti-social psychotic does have its charms, it does not usually make for good team game-play. Take some time to consider why your villain would cooperate with other villains, especially under the circumstances. Your villain could certainly murder his fellow compatriots at a later date to serve his own goals, but for the time being, he ought to realize he’s more powerful with others by his side.
So take Mark Hamill's Joker as the boundary line ok?
But I want to be a hero!:
Good for you! The game can easily support heroes as well. Just remember that you were not a very famous/effective hero. They are dead. Your backstory is yours but you must never have been seriously considered for membership in Alpha Squadron (the Avengers/JLA of this setting). The language in this thread is villain-centric but know that heroes are welcome too.
"It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice — there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia." Frank Zappa.
What I need from you.
First off I am not requesting full characters. If you have the books go for it. Even supers are pretty quick to build in Savage Worlds. I am requesting answers to the following questions They are partly housekeeping, partly to give me an idea of you as a player, and partly to assist me in world building.
Questions are a burden to others; answers are a prison for oneself:
a) What is your concept? Give me a one or two sentence description of your character.
b) Do you have, or will you pledge to get if selected, access to: The Savage Worlds Adventure Edition rule book (AKA SWADE), The Super Powers Companion Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (AKA SPC3), and the Necessary Evil Players guide? I can help if you are not sure where to get these.
c) What do you look like? Hair/eye color? Height and Weight? Costume? Think of your mug shot/wanted poster.
d) What can you do? What separates you from the masses? Brains? Training? Acidic blood? Magic tea cozy?
e) What have you done? What separates you from a random survivor? Describe a typical crime. There is a reason you could not be at the welcoming ceremony with Champion. If you are a hero give me an example of your heroism and tell me why you were not incinerated for standing up for Earth?
f) How familiar are you with Savage Worlds as a system? Note familiarity is NOT required. It is not a highly complex system but it does have its rough points. I and the other players are more than happy to lend a hand.
g) What have you been doing lately? How have you spent the last two years under V'sori occupation? The campaign starts the players as prisoners of the V'sori invaders. Were you a prisoner? If so what was the V'sori attitude to you? Indifference? Interest & Interrogation? Experimentation? How long were you in captivity? If you remained free how did you manage that? Friends? Luck? Blending in to the general population? What sacrifices did you have to make to stay free?
h) The game is largely set in Star City and you will start there. Is this your home? If so how long have you been active as a meta-human in the City? Do you have family or friends here? If home is somewhere else where is it and is getting there important to you?
i) What have you seen in the world? Detail a hero or a villain or an ordinary person you have ran into, worked with, fought, or just heard about. Maybe a member of Alpha Squadron you tangled with. Maybe a criminal mastermind you worked for. Maybe a taxi driver or whoever ran the newsstand near your old lair. Make them interesting. Think of yourself as pitching a 1 or 2 issue special series for the Necessary Evil comic book we are all creating.
j) What is the greatest thing in life? What is your desired end state/goal. Tell me what is important to you.
k) You are a member of the Omega resistance movement led by Dr. Destroyer (Think Marvel's Dr. Doom). What do you think about this? Are you a willing member? Blackmailed? Given the choice of joining or being sold out to the V'sori to provide a distraction? Maybe you were part of a cell that was destroyed? Have you met Dr. Destruction?
l) The earth is occupied and the V'sori tighten their grip a little bit each day. Most people would be happy just to survive. You are not most people, you choose to fight. Why? Revenge for a loss? Anger that the V'sori have taken the planet that you should control? The simple joy of punching things?
Again a full character is NOT required to apply. Just the answers to the questions. That said I know folks will want the detailed info.
Most of what you are looking for in on the Campaign page of this game under the "Character generation guidelines, setting rules and advice, Gear" spoiler. But here is the quick version.
Standard SWADE creation rules. With More Skill Points, Born a Hero, and Larger Than Life setting rules in effect. Free SPC style AB Superpowers Rank 3 edge for everyone. See books & Campaign page for many more details.
Restrictions on origins:
No aliens. Atlanteans/Humans or Hybrids are fine. If you really want to play something from off world then make your case but it will not be easy.
No Robots. Cyborgs are fine. You may even think you are a robot but there is meat in there somewhere.
Important note on plot and tone. This is not your usual supers game. This is much darker. The players are a brand new cell in a rag-tag resistance movement facing overwhelming odds. Think the American revolution but without the French coming to pull the American bacon out of the fire. This campaign has been likened more to Shadowrun than Marvel Super Heroes. You can win but you will have to quick, quiet, and above all smart to have a chance.
Exterior. Morning. Late summer. One or two clouds in a perfect blue sky.
A grey-blue bird is flying above a forest, seemingly following the well tended road below towards a town sheltered between a glittering river and the sun soaked sea.
The bird dives wings tuck then flare as it lands on a simple wooden sign reading "Sandpoint". A rider canters past their horse relaxed. The bird takes wing flying towards the city.....
Welcome to the green room. A place to wait, to dream, to fret, or just to relax until your next turn on stage. Catering has good food today and the assistant Gaffer and Best Boy have set up a bar that even the director is pretending is somewhere near legal.
So take a seat, put you feet up, chat or just listen to the house band warming up through the supposedly soundproof wall.
I have always had a sweet spot for what I consider Paizo's first AP. I have played in a campaign or two making a run at it but they went the way of all flesh as PBP's tend to do. So when I saw that Savage Worlds had created a licensed version of Pathfinder and were adapting this campaign I thought I would try my hand. As I am still rather new at running play-by-post game I am focusing on Burnt Offerings as a way to find my feet. If this works then we can consider the rest of the AP, and if the game crashes in flames, well at least it will have been different.
Normally at this point I would ask you to answer a bunch of questions about your character or from their perspective but this is a savage worlds game so I'm going to run an interlude.
For those of you who have the book open to pg 157 and go for it.
For those of you who do not have the book yet grab a standard deck of playing cards or a deck simulator online and draw a card. Tell me what it is in a post below and I'll reply with a prompt related to your character. Write as much or as little as you like based on the prompt. In my head I see this as a snippet from you characters pre-game life. Maybe a story they told around a campfire or something that happened on their way to Sandpoint, but it can be anything really. And rest assured that nothing in the interlude actually commits you to anything. So if you write an interlude about a ship's wizard who was kicked off their ship in for sins as unforgivable as they are undisclosed but then decide to play a Nature Oracle with a souped up murder hound. No problem. Do not be too surprised though if you later meet an ex-ships wizard playing cards in the Rusty Dragon.
Don't worry about creating a full character right now unless you want to. Though if you do then the character generation is book standard as detailed on page 19. We will be using the updated rules from the Advanced guide so if you do not have that then a couple of your powers might not work exactly like you expect them to.
Also if you are new to Savage Worlds don't worry too much about diving in. I am pretty good with the rules and the game really does not have any 'trap' choices. Besides if you make a choice you hate then ret-conning is easy enough to manage.
This is also the space where you can ask me questions or try to talk me into house ruling something that annoys you.
That is likely too much from me. Come on in grab a seat, let Ameiko get you a drink and tell us all a little story.....
I am considering opening a Rise of the Runelords game using the new Pathfinder for Savage Worlds rule set. The rules look to be a really interesting interpretation of our beloved Pathfinder but who knows what will happen once the dice hit the metaphorical table so I am only considering running the first book at the moment. If it works then I am quite open to running the full campaign but baby steps for right now.
Players will need to own/have ready access to at least the PDF of the base Savage Worlds Pathfinder rules. If you want to use anything from the Companion or the Advanced Players Guide you will need those as well. I am afraid there is nothing like the SRD. At least not yet anyway.
If you think this is a good idea or have a question give me a shout below.
The V'sori say it is for logistical purposes when they bother to say anything...
The other prisoners say it is to keep prisoners off balance and disorganized. At least that is what they whisper to each other in the dark....
You are all locked into seats bolted to the walls of the Mbuna facing each other across the central isle.
There is an iris door separating you from the cockpit and a second iris on the forward port side allowing egress. The rear wall also folds down to form a ramp. You came in this way. The two V’sori pilots used the port iris.
Above the cockpit iris there is a camera and video screen. The screen is off, the camera is watching. You have a clear line of sight on the screen and camera, and vice versa.
The color scheme is black and industrial. This was a landing craft in the invasion and has been rather crudely re-purposed as a transport vehicle.
....
Your specific conditions follow.
Dave Finsterman.:
Your arms hurt. You would think that turning yourself is would have got you special treatment or lower security. It didn’t, figures. Your arms hurt. Prison life has been boring. Medical tests, frequent transfers, the occasional electrocution or beating when they notice you not doing something right, or maybe when they just notice you. Your arms hurt. You hate flying Please note that the nullifier cuffs are currently negating all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: Overweight pale young-ish man in a stained red track suit. Dirty hair, dark circles under both eyes. Restrained by a fold down chest restraint cum crash bar and active nullifier cuffs. The cuffs are clamped to the wall above his head forcing his arms to full extension. His expression is slack. He might be asleep, there is a bit of drool on his chin.
Doctor Toxic:
Your time in prison has been interesting. Many V’sori scientists have poked, prodded, and sampled you. You made them excited. One in particular took special interest. Even across species you recognized a dedicated researcher when you saw one.
They began by modifying the nullifier beam they used to contain you. It hurt. Eventually pain lost all meaning because there was nothing else. Like asking a fish to describe water.
An unknown time later you discovered that they had managed to partially reverse the accident. You occasionally had a torso, or limbs. More time, more pain. You are stabilizing. They are getting close. You have been sleeping on a cot for a month, Last week you walked on weak legs. Each morning it takes about half an hour for you lids to separate from your eyes, but they do. You can blink. They never speak to you.
You have tried to figure out what they are doing, how this works. You have no solid ideas, but you know the breastplate holds the modified nullifier. With a lab and tools and time, maybe. Please note that the nullifer in the breastplate is currently negating all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: The figure in the seat is roughly humanoid. Head, two legs. Only one arm but from the shoulders and empty sleeve there should be two. Their skin is green, moist, and semitransparent. You are pretty sure you can see the shadow of their skull. No hair. Facial features look fake like a cheap plastic mask. The eyes are light green. There are wearing a full grey bodysuit. There are hose attachments and spaces to plug things in. It is surprisingly clean. They are wearing a breastplate that looks like it came from a movie. Telltale lights, switches, even a tiny blank screen. The crash bar locks into a dedicated slot on the breastplate. The figure’s arm is clamped to the breastplate at stomach level. No visible nullifier.
Psiclops:
You are pretty sure you managed to get two of them. Once when the nullifier shorted during a transfer and once with your bare hands during a medical test. They have been much more careful after the second incident. They no longer come into your cell to prep you for transfer. They simply electrify the floor and walls until you are unconscious. Sometimes you don’t even wake up until you are in a new cell. You think you remember a V’sori arguing with a guard the last time they shocked you. They may have been a medic; they had a syringe anyway. Please note that the nullifier cuffs are currently negating all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: A young male thin. Wearing the torn remains of fashionable street clothes Fresh bruises and burns on their face and arms. Blond hair dirty and matted where a metallic blindfold wraps around their head covering their eyes. They are fully restrained, crash bar, extra waist restraint, ankle cuffs, head restraint locked to the blindfold. Their arms are restrained by nullifier cuffs above their head. But unlike the first figure these cuffs are clamped quite high on the wall. Their arms are at more than full extension nearly dislocating their shoulders.
Imagine:
Your arms feel uncomfortable, but the main problem is the nullifier caused migraine. The larger cuffs they use on bases are tolerable but these older(?) lighter(?) models they use for transport are always a problem. Light hurts your eyes, so you are trying to rest. Please note that the nullifier cuffs are currently negating all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: An attractive if rather filthy and bruised woman. Her skin is a pale shade of blue, white hair worn long now matted by neglect. Restrained by crash bar and active cuffs identically to the first figure. Her grey eyes are closed but she was awake a few minutes ago.
Karma:
The wound in your head itches. You are not sure what they did but the spirits do not like it. The nullifier broke your connection to them but since the surgery two days ago you can almost hear them again. It’s frustrating. And it itches. You have 1 wound. It is well on the way to healing and there are no signs of infection but whatever they did was invasive. Please note that the nullifier cuffs are currently negating all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: A young woman with light tan skin. Her dark hair is nearly as filthy as her clothes. Half her head is badly shaved and butterfly bandages adorn a long semi healed surgical cut above her ear. She is restrained by crash bar and cuffs, but she has a second set of active nullifier cuffs locking her ankles together. She is barefoot like the rest of you. She seems awake. Her brown eyes actively watching the room.
Mr. Sardonicous:
It is cold here, but that doesn’t matter. The hull is vibrating, and you feel the pull in your arms, but that doesn’t matter. Very little does matter. You are not even hungry. Something in the water or the dry tasteless “food” they give you blunts the hunger. Escape matters. You have been locked up for more that two years, but time does not matter to you. As captors these people are skilled. They are better that the U.S. Army, better than whoever ran the black site you were in before this. When the shark people attacked you tried to escape. You still remember the cool flavor of the shark’s blood. You remember running along a beach and being suddenly weak, falling face first into the sand. You have had Nullifier cuffs on ever since. Escape matters. Please note that the nullifier cuffs are currently negating all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: A tall very thin very pale figure. Lank black hair. Deep sunken dark eyes. They are wearing a torn and filthy dark suit. They are restrained in the manner of the first figure with a locked crash bar and active nullifier cuffs holding their arms extended above their head.
Ah-Rekhmire:
You are unconscious! You will wake up when your character review is completed. DO NOT POST ON THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE CLEARED. Not even a dot please.
You are dreaming. In your mind’s eye you see Farouk and Martin, victim and betrayer. You dream of your last battle the battle where you were captured. Explosions, smoke, disorientation. Your attackers are hidden, seemingly everywhere. A moment of clarity and you see Farouk and Martin fighting. Farouk has a knife stuck in his shoulder. But even wounded he fights on. He rakes his fingers across Martin’s face. You see blood. Farouk breaks free and runs as smoke and sudden weakness turn to blackness and oblivion. Please note that the nullifiers have completely negated all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: A corpse. A dry and desiccated body that looks like a movie prop from an Hammer Horror film or something from a National Geographic spread on King Tut. It was brought in last, so you all watched the drones lock in the crash bar and clamp the active cuffs to the wall. From the sounds when they lifted the arms it is a wonder the arms just didn’t come off at the shoulders. It appears to be wearing a thin brown robe, and something glinted red deep in its empty eye socket.
....
You have been in the air for at least four hours. You have no idea where you are going.
Welcome to the Evil Lounge. The music is hot the drinks are imaginary and the wait staff will cut you so remember to tip.
Now is the time for numbers and ingratiating folks into the setting. When you are ready let me know and I'll take a gander at your build and ask you a bunch of meaningless and annoying questions.
Start your engines
P.S. please feel free to suggest more music for the lounge. I would love to see an "Evil Lounge" playlist.
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans." ~Stephen Hawking
The Necessary Evil campaign for Savage Worlds has long been a favorite of mine, so much a favorite that I am taking the likely insane step of translating it into play-by-post.
About me, or haven't I seen this before?:
Confession time. This is my second attempt to run this. The first attempt ended in a debacle of stale pizza and mislaid underclothing. Well not really but it crashed hard and as the GM it was ultimately my fault. I would like to think I learned from this and became a better person and all but that is not my call to make. This game may well fail. Posting may be sporadic. Life will intervene. That said I'll give it my best and we will see what happens.
Necessary Evil, for those poor souls unfamiliar with it:
Necessary Evil posits a world where superheroes have been active since at least the First World War. This world by and large looks like ours. Ok computer controlled flying cars have just hit the luxury market and failing organs can be regrown thanks to knowledge gleaned from the 1918 zombie uprising. But it mainly looks like home.
This world is then set on fire. It turns out Professor Hawking was correct.
Four years ago Earth was attacked by aliens called the K’tharen. Luna base was lost and earth’s defenders both military and metahuman were hard pressed maintaining the war at a stalemate. Then rescue arrived. A new alien force, the V’sori, apparently a former slave race of the K’tharen, were hunting their former masters and found them here. We didn’t ask questions, we just accepted the help and watched the K’tharen ships burn. Earth had triumphed; our Heroes had saved the day again. The victory celebrations spanned the globe. Thousands packed the streets to witness the welcoming ceremonies as the V’sori ships hovered over our cities. Millions watched the live feed from Washington as Champion and the Alpha Squadron waited beside the President to greet Ambassador F’arak.
Millions watched as a city block sized energy weapon vaporized Champion (aka Superman), Alpha Squadron (AKA Avengers/JLA) and the gathered leaders. Across the globe with targeted strikes and occasional orbital bombardment the V’sori attacked. Through the dust of the first strike those few still with a functioning feed saw K’tharen troopships dropping from the V’sori cruisers. Leaderless, heroless, the occupation of earth had begun.
And this brings us to you. Over the past two years War-Master F’arak has hunted down every meta-human he could get his little blue fingers on. All the heroes are gone. Most of the big name villains are gone. You are what is left. You are what is left to save the world. You are the necessary evil.
Most Characters in NE are villains. Not in the class of Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom, yet, but a step up from killers like Zsasz. As the players guide puts it:
Quote:
Evil, Not Psychotic
Necessary Evil is all about playing the villains of four-color comics, with their grand schemes of world domination and destruction. While these villains may be murderous and megalomaniacal, they don’t tend to be mindless killers without purpose. The super-villain you make up should at least have the potential for working with other super-villains. While playing a completely anti-social psychotic does have its charms, it does not usually make for good team game-play. Take some time to consider why your villain would cooperate with other villains, especially under the circumstances. Your villain could certainly murder his fellow compatriots at a later date to serve his own goals, but for the time being, he ought to realize he’s more powerful with others by his side.
So take Mark Hamill's Joker as the boundary line ok?
[Spoiler=But I want to be a hero!]
Good for you! The game can easily support heroes as well. Just remember that you were not a very famous/effective hero. They are dead. Your backstory is yours but you must never have been seriously considered for membership in Alpha Squadron (the Avengers/JLA of this setting). The language in this thread is villain-centric but know that you heroes are welcome too.
"It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice — there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia.' Frank Zappa.
This game will be run using SWADE and SCP3. Using the More Skill points Setting rule. I know buying new books can be a pain so just do the best you can. You will NEED however the Necessary Evil Players Guide at the absolute minimum. This has the background you will need for understanding what is going on. as well as the clues you will need to change things.
What I need from you.
First off I am not requesting full characters. If you have the books go for it. Even supers are pretty quick to build in Savage Worlds.
What I do want are answers.
a) What is your concept? Give me a one or two sentence description of your character.
b) What do you look like? Hair/eye color? Height and Weight? Costume? Think of what your mug shot would look like.
c) What can you do? What separates you from the masses? Brains? Training? Acidic blood? Magic tea cozy?
d) What have you done? What separates you from a random survivor? Describe a typical crime. There is a reason you could not be at the welcoming ceremony with Champion. If you are a hero give me an example of your heroism and tell me why you were not incinerated for standing with Champion?
e) What have you been doing lately? How have you spent the last two years under V'sori occupation? Most importantly tell me about your capture by the V’sori. Yes you have been captured, no this cannot be negotiated.
f) What have you seen in the world? Detail a hero or a villain or an ordinary person you have ran into, worked with, fought, or just heard about. Maybe a member of Alpha Squadron you tangled with. Maybe a criminal mastermind you worked for. Maybe a taxi driver or whoever ran the newsstand near your old lair. Make them interesting. Think of yourself as pitching a 1 or 2 issue special series for the Necessary Evil comic book we are all creating.
"Everything I was afraid of when I was growing up, I've become. I've taken on my nightmares, like the devil and the end of the world, and I've become those things." Marilyn Manson
Concepts are up to you but I am afraid that the plot requires some restrictions. Feel free to ask me why but there is very little that I can tell you …
No Robots, cyborgs are fine but there needs to be meat in there somewhere.
.
No Aliens. Well there are Atlanteans and Atlantean-human hybrids but they are from Earth.
.
You must have a body. This does not mean you cannot turn into a ghost/a gas/a shadow/etc. You can even normally be in that state but if your powers are suppressed you have to have a body to go home to. Basically you have to be able to be restrained. If you can’t then the V’sori would have killed you rather that capturing you. See question e above.
.
Gadgeteer or other gear dependent villains may start under a slight disadvantage (question e again, sorry) but this will be temporary.
A note on the game system. No game system is perfect. Any system devised by humans can be broken. If your character is so effective that I am having to work around you or if it is making the game less fun you might have to rebuild.
This is all I need so please, show me a rogue’s gallery.
So I am wondering if it is possible to build an effective gnome martial who uses the hook hammer as a double weapon.
I am not looking for an awesome fighter I know all the other races are better at this than poor gnomes but I am wondering if an effective gnome hook hammer artist can be built.
Requirements:
~Effective as the primary martial in a classic gang of four.
~Effective at every level
~Two weapon fighting with the hook hammer as a primary attack option
Would like to see:
~As many Gnome specific feats/traits/etc as possible
~Avoiding dump stats if you can
My ideas
~Exploiting the Hatred trait with the Vast Hatred and Greater Hatred feats to supplement a twf ranger's favored enemy.
~Freebooter ranger and using Bond to the land and Fey magic gnome racial traits to supplement Rangers Favored terrain.
~Going TWF fighter and focusing on as many of the gnome or small size feats as can fit.
So can it be done? Can a Gnome wielding their racial weapon be an effective party member?
The V'sori say it is for logistical purposes, when they bother to say anything.
The other prisoners say it is to keep prisoners off balance and disorganized. At least that is what they whisper to each other in the dark.
You are all locked into seats bolted to the walls of the Mbuna facing each other across the central isle.
There is an iris door separating you from the cockpit and a second iris on the port side allowing egress. There is also an emergency exit to the rear.
Above the port iris there is a camera and video screen. The screen is off, the camera is watching.
The color scheme is black and industrial. This was a landing craft in the invasion and was rather crudely re-purposed as a transport vehicle.
....
Your specific conditions follow.
Sapele:
You are in some pain. Mainly from the forced arm position. You have your Med-stim tucked between your belt and your body. Please note that the nullifers have completely negated all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: A well muscled tattooed man. Restrained by anckle cuffs, a chest bar and a pair of nullifier cuffs which force his arms to full extension over his head.
Carl:
You are unconscious, drug withdrawal. Please note that the nullifers have completely negated all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: A wiry but rather wasted male human. He is locked in the same position as Sapele but does not have the ankle cuffs. He must have cut his wrist on the nullifer as a trail of dried blood stains his torn prison shirt
Imagine:
Your arms feel uncomfortable but the main problem is the nullifier caused migraine. Light hurts you eyes so are trying to rest. Please note that the nullifers have completely negated all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: An attractive if rather filthy and bruised woman. Restrained as Carl. Her eyes are closed but she was awake a few minutes ago.
Fiddler (pending name confirmation):
Your arm hurts. The arm you don't have hurts. It has been constantly hurting since they slapped the nullifer on you and you watched your claw arm fall off. Please note that the nullifers have completely negated all your powers including any stats or edges purchased with Power Points.
What others see: An extensively scarred human male. He only has one arm and is wearing a modified nullifer. The alien device is locked around his one wrist and round his neck a one foot long bar connects the two cuffs. He is restrained by a chest bar and leg cuffs. Additionally the custom nullifer is locked to the Mbuns'a hull preventing either his head or arm from moving.
....
You have been in the air for at least an hour. You have no idea where you are going.
If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans. ~Stephen Hawking
The Necessary Evil campaign for Savage Worlds has long been a favorite of mine, so much a favorite that I am taking the likely insane step of translating it into play-by-post.
Necessary Evil, for those poor souls unfamiliar with it:
Necessary Evil posits a world where superheroes have been active since at least the First World War. This world by and large looks like ours. Ok computer controlled flying cars have just hit the luxury market and failing organs can be regrown thanks to knowledge gleaned from the 1918 zombie uprising. But it mainly looks like home. This world is then set on fire.
It turns out Professor Hawking was correct.
Four years ago Earth was attacked by the K’tharen. Luna base was lost and earth’s defenders both military and metahuman were hard pressed maintaining the war at a stalemate. Then rescue arrived. A new alien force the V’sori, apparently a former slave race of the K’tharen, were hunting their former masters and found then here. We didn’t ask questions, we just accepted the help and watched the K’tharen ships burn. Earth had triumphed; our Heroes had saved the day again. The victory celebrations spanned the globe. Thousands packed the streets to witness the welcoming ceremonies as the V’sori ships hovered over our cities. Millions watched the live feed from Star City as Champion and the Alpha Squadron waited beside the President to greet Ambassador F’arak .
Millions watched as a city block sized energy weapon vaporized Champion, Alpha Squadron and the gathered leaders. Across the globe with targeted strikes and mass orbital bombardment the V’sori attacked. Through the dust of the first strike those few still with a functioning feed saw K’tharen troopships dropping from the V’sori cruisers. Leaderless, heroless, the occupation of earth had begun.
And this brings us to you. You are not a hero. Over the past two years War-Master F’arak has hunted down every meta-human he could get his little blue fingers on. All the heroes are gone. Most of the big name villains are gone. You are what is left, a necessary evil.
Characters in NE are villains. Not in the class of Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom, yet, but a step up from killers like Zsasz. As the players guide puts it:
Quote:
Evil, Not Psychotic
Necessary Evil is all about playing the villains of four-color comics, with their grand schemes of world domination and destruction. While these villains may be murderous and megalomaniacal, they don’t tend to be mindless killers without purpose. The super-villain you make up should at least have the potential for working with other super-villains. While playing a completely anti-social psychotic does have its charms, it does not usually make for good team game-play. Take some time to consider why your villain would cooperate with other villains, especially under the circumstances. Your villain could certainly murder his fellow compatriots at a later date to serve his own goals, but for the time being, he ought to realize he’s more powerful with others by his side.
So take Mark Hamill's Joker as the boundary line ok?
It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice — there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia. Frank Zappa.
What I need from you. First off I am not requesting full characters yet. If you have accesses to the Necessary Evil rules or Players Guide then by all means feel free but for right now I just need enough to start with. Note if selected you will want to have access to the Players Guide. It has things like weapons, armor, equipment, setting information and character generation. More importantly it has all the background, clues, hints and secrets that I will forget to tell you. I suppose you could manage without it but you would be missing out on some important information.
Please answer the following questions in your application.
a) What is your concept? Give me a one or two sentence description of your villain.
b) What do you look like? Hair/eye color? Height and Weight? Think of what your villains mug shot would look like.
c) What can you do? What separates you from the masses? Brains? Training? Acidic blood? Magic tea cozy?
d) What have you done? What separates you from a random thug? Describe a typical crime. There is a reason you could not be at the welcoming ceremony with Champion.
e) What have you been doing lately? How have you spent the last two years under V'sori occupation? Most importantly tell me about your capture by the V’sori. Yes you have been captured, no this cannot be negotiated.
Everything I was afraid of when I was growing up, I've become. I've taken on my nightmares, like the devil and the end of the world, and I've become those things. Marilyn Manson
Concepts are up to you but I am afraid that the plot requires some restrictions. Feel free to ask me why but there is very little that I can tell you …
No Robots, cyborgs are fine but there needs to be meat in there somewhere.
No Aliens. Well there are Atlanteans and Atlantean-human crossbreeds but no other aliens are available.
You must have a body. This does not mean you cannot turn into a ghost/a gas/a shadow/etc. You can even normally be in that state but if your powers are suppressed you have to have a body to go home to. Basically you have to be able to be restrained. If you can’t then the V’sori would have killed you rather that capturing you. See question e above.
Gadgeteer or other gear dependent villains may start under a slight disadvantage (question e again, sorry) but this will be temporary.
This is all I need so please, show me a rogue’s gallery.
So has there ever been an official answer as to what exactly this sentence means?
" An alchemist can only maintain one dose of mutagen at a time—if he brews a second dose, any existing mutagen becomes inert. As with an extract or bomb, a mutagen that is not in an alchemist’s possession becomes inert until an alchemist picks it up again."
The key issue seems to be the phrase "...until an alchemist picks it up again."
I see some very interesting exploits with a beastform alchemist and either good friends or a tumor <monkey> familiar wearing a tiny master-work pack.
The step by step
Step one: Al the second level Beastform alchemist makes a mutagen granting darkvision in addition to the normal effects.
Step two: Melvin the tumor-monkey puts the potion in the tiny pack Al has crafted for Melvin.
Step three: Repeat one selecting different abilities until you run out of time or get bored.
Step four: When a specific mutagen is needed Al swaps the one he/she is carrying with Melvin and has a refreshing drink.
Note: The role of Melvin can be played by a friendly PC or a hired retainer Or a shelf in Al's lab.
A bandolier for the tumor monkey Will further speed the process. (Note No mention is made of capacity is made for non-medium bandoliers but Med=8 Small=4 tiny=2 seems reasonable if nor RAW)
So where does this fall apart? The sentence in question seems to clearly state that mutagens can move from inert to maintained status by being in possession of an alchemist who does not currently posses a mutagen. Even if undue, in my view, stress is placed on sentence in the Mutagen description before the one in question:
"An alchemist can only maintain one dose of mutagen at a time—if he brews a second dose, any existing mutagen becomes inert."
the plan still works. Al will simply buy or trade inert mutagens with other alchemists. In fact with a sufficient trade network and cash Al may never have to make a mutagen.
So where am I wrong or is this a nice minor versatility buff for Alchemists willing to do the extra work?
Forgive me is this has been answered before My search-fu is weak today.
If this has been answered any guidance in the way of links or search terms would be appreciated.
I was wondering if it was permitted to use unarmed strike as a 2-handed weapon. To be precise getting the 1.5STR bonus for not being able to use either hand for anything else just then.
In an effort to forestall thread-wandering please assume the question applies to a 1st level commoner with STR12 and all other stats 10 with any feats/traits/skills being used to augment profession: Ham.
So I was looking at the Tattooed Sorcerer and was really liking the archetype when I noticed something odd.
Their 7th level ability. Now the ability to make a spell tattoo as a standard action is nothing to sneeze at. It is a balanced ability as there are some hefty restrictions on spell choice but then I noticed that the ability did not mention the creation cost. Looking at spell tattoos I see that they cost four times the cost of a normal scroll. This means that to use a class ability to create a limited and temporary spell tattoo of the highest level spell the sorcerer has access to at the time they gain this ability they have to burn 3200gp?
Looking for one or two players to join our Carrion Crown campaign in progress, it is still very early in the first adventure so you will basically getting in on the ground floor.
Posting rate
~Daily during the week with at least one weekend post if possible. If you do not post within 24 hours you can be botted. The game has been slow paced but we are looking to change that. We are interested in following this AP to the end so please consider the time commitment when applying.
Stats and creation
~20pt statistic buy
~No stat below 8 after racial mods.
~Non-standard starting ages are subject to approval by GM which will be unlikely.
~2 traits one of which must be from the players guide.
Source Content
~Paizo Pathfinder content only. Content from outside the Core rules or the APG is by approval which again will be unlikely.
~Core races only.
~Rare firearms at best. Gunslingers subject to GM approval and rather unlikely.
Level
~First Level with standard starting wealth.
General guidelines.
No PVP.
Current party:
~Warrior of Holy Light (Paladin). Blatantly evil characters may be problematic. That said this characters best friend is an (NPC) neutral evil half-orc barbarian.
~Archivist (Bard). Knowledge focused whip using archeologist and academic.
~Summoner. Her eloidian poses as her manservant. People are starting to talk but there has been no spike in torch and pitchfork sales as yet.
Character type:
This is a horror game so the players represent the normality against which the strangeness will contrast. This means that characters that can walk down a village lane and not cause folks to run for their weapons will have a pronounced selection advantage.
MANDATORY back-story:
To be considered you MUST have a connection to the Lorrimer family and a strong desire to uncover what is happening in the village. Again this is a horror game and heroes in horror games poke into things they should not. You must also have a reason why you missed the Professors funeral but something as simple as bad roads will suffice. Please feel free to post rough drafts as the players and GM will be lurking this thread and are quite interested in helping out.
As recompense for your trouble this back-story will earn you a 5ooxp bonus.
Please answer the following questions:
As a player,
1: What will you add to the party?
2: How do you see your character developing both in terms of mechanics and in role play?
3: Do you feel able to commit to attempting the entire AP?
4: Is there anything you want to ask us?
As your character,
A: What is your connection to the Lorrimer family?
B: Why did you miss the funeral?
C: Why are you currently in or very near the local church to Pharasma?
D: Why do you care what happens to a tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere?
E: What are you afraid of?
The damage inflicted by erosion touch is untyped. It is not even called out as energy or physical. So how does it interact with hardness, DR, etcetera?
So has there been a solid answer on this issue? It seems a common enough question going by the number of threads discussing it but I do not see a consensus?
Issue. Does the lance when used in one hand while in a mounted charge use the one handed or two handed rules for Power Attack?
I tend to fall in the "it's a two handed weapon with an odd ability" camp but I must admit that is mainly to keep from having to keep seperate attack listings. But I can see value in both arguments.
The GMG and the Bestiaries seem to go either way depending on the writers fancy. So has any word come from on high?
This revelation adds +1 to the saves of all animals within 30 feet.
There is nothing in the wording that limits the effect to animals on the Oracle's side. So this relevation actually helps hostile animals kill the oracle.
The problem seems to be that lesser beast grants what is clearly a claw attack but it is not a permenant feature of the character. Does the rounds per day nature of the claw attack prevent the character from taking Eldrich claws or other claw based feats?
from the SRD:
Surge (Su): As a standard action, you can cause a mighty wave to appear that pushes or pulls a single creature. Make a combat maneuver check against the target, using your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier as your CMB. If successful, you may pull or push the creature as if using the bull rush or drag combat maneuver. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier
So what this does is allow me to bull rush as normal drawing the AOO and drag as normal, again with the AOO simply at a better than normal CMB?
Me: Literate, verbose, easily able to manage several posts per day. GMT +8 (Seattle) if it matters. Good grasp of core and APG Pathfinder and a wizard at Savage Worlds. I look to DM Alexander Kilcoyne's Serpents Skull as my gold standard for pbp. I usually play Good aligned types. I am a very active plot mover with a strong interest in setting and atmosphere.
You: Good balance between role play and hacking. Running an AP or something like it. Sometheing that has the option if running for a while if it takes off.
If you think you could make use of me please let me know.
If a player takes this background with the back-story that they grew up in the expanse should they still be susceptible to the heat? It makes sense that they would be acclimated but that might encourage party splitting where they go off alone while the rest of the party waits out the midday sun.
Has anyone else run into this issue? How did you deal with it?
Has anyone done anything with this trait?
I am getting ready to run this and If someone takes this trait I want to have a couple ideas ready. I am frankly stumped so I am turning to you.
What have you done with this trait?
What cargo do you think the trait holder is protecting?
How might this trait fit remaign important throughout the campaign?
In games where a player has taken this trait how have the other players reacted to one of their number dragging a large box marked "do not open" around behind them?
These kind of cargo supervisors usually travelled with large, valuable, cargos. Wine merchants used them as their cargos required special handeling for example. Is this the sort of thing this trait represents?
If so how does this cargo survive the island?
Any help would be welcome.
Thanks in advance
~will
Before I read the FAQ I thought this class was awesome.
You give up spellcasting and the ability to use spell based magic items in return for the ability to glow like a glam rocker. Effectively an at will bless that gets better as you level. You also get a couple more lay-on-hands per day.
Seemed cool. Loose access to some very nice spells, get constant low powered combat aid. Maybe better than the base class maybe worse but not far in either direction.
Then I read the faq.
Ugg.
So given that turning the lights on now burns a lay-on-hands is the class still the rough equilivent of a base paladin?
Will a spider swarm take damage from a Create Pit spell? Or a Spiked Pit? I think Acid or Hungry pit should do damage but given their immunity to weapon damage I am not so sure...
The first rule of pits: don't open a portable hole.
~will
From Dominate person:
Once control is established, the range at which it can be exercised is unlimited, as long as you and the subject are on the same plane.
Create Pit and Rope Trick create extra-dimensional spaces. If you throw a dominated party in a creadted pit or stuff them in a Rope Trick are they free from control?
Would dimensional anchor or lock allow one to walk across a pit created via one of the APG pit spells?
Or
Say one person in a group is under Dimensional Lock and a Pit is created under the group, does the locked person fall? Assume all saves are missed.
Would it matter if the lockee in question is helpless?
Or
Say our friendly local Monk in under a lock spell could she walk out over a pit and use that space to jump from?
Or
Our helpless dimensional locked Monk and the rest of the party are falling down a long vertical shaft. As the party approaches the floor a traitor casts acid pit to extend the fall and add more damage. They then cast gide or something and escape. What happens when the party hits the interface between the Pit and the old floor?
Pits open a can of worms.
~will
I would judge these using the rule of cool which would have the lockee to treat the pit as not being there but I wonder what the forum thinks.
What happens if you cast create so hlaf the area extends under a castle/building wall?
Does it do damage? Does the wall collapse? Would kn:engineering tell you the best spot to undermine the support?
Or assuming the wall is less than 20 feet thick and you can cast feather fall did you just find a new way in? (cast pit. jump in. walk under wall. wait.)
For that matter what happens when you pound a staff say a foot or so into soil and than cast create pit where the staff is placed? Is the staff floating at the 'old' floor level? is it standing proud at the bottom of the pit? Does it matter if we replace verticle support beam for staff?
Create pit opens up a can of worms. I love this spell.
~will
Or rather cheap red.
Our group just got a 9th lvl Drunken Monk as a member. As I am playing the Wizard I thought it would be a nice welcoming gift to make the monk a custom magic item. Considering the ammount of booze the monk will get through I was thinking of an everfull gourd.
However how to build it on the cheap as I am poor.
Basing the gourd on minor creation would work but that is rather pricy.
So my wizard just learned the mnemonic enhancer that cannot speak its name. I am planning to build it into build a item in order to prep some extra spells each day.
Needless to say the Sorcerer, the Bard and the Thief want in on the action. Also needless to say they all have mad UMD skills.
So what effect? Would the item grant the Bard and the Sorcerer extra spells per day? Would it give the B & S 3 spell levels that they would have to prep in advance like a Wizard? If so would the B & S choose spells that they know to prep or would they need to borrow my spellbook?
Does this answer change when the Cleric, assume mad UMD skills, borrows the toy? The Thief or a wandering Alchemist?
I am inclined to let it work for everyone who manages the skill ckeck but I am wondering what the board has to say?
Ok, I'm stumped.
If one takes a PRC like the Pathfinder Savant which adds a level in your previous class for spellcasting purposes what happens if you return to that previous class? How does this effect your spells per day?
ex: 6th level diviner wizard takes 7 levels in Pathfinder Savant and then returns to the diviner wizard class at lvl 14. Would the spells per day be read off the level 12 line or off the level 7 line with some kind of bonus?
please forgive me if this is obvious. I am frequently an idiot.
~will
I am currently playing a 5th level wizard and I just took the create wand feat. I have had excerable luck with touch/ranged touch since the game began and I want to build some help.
Is it possable to make a +1 wand? The bonus would be to hit only and would only apply when using a charge from the wand to cast the spell in the wand.
Would I need craft arms and armor to do this? I have craft wonderous item so I suppose I could just build something to give me "Cat's grace" for a better dex to hit bonus for the ranged touch attacks but it seems a tad extreme.
I cannot believe this has not been asked but I searched and found nothing.
I have a wizard who seems to have ended up with 2 awareness feats. You see I was not to savvy with the rules when I created my specialist diviner and I thought the "Awareness" feat suited a caster who specialized in finding things out. So I took the feat at level one chose a familiar pretty much at random and dove in. A session or two later I was updating my wizard and I noticed the bit about familiars cranting equal to the awarness feat if they were nearby.
My question is do I have +4 perception (+2 from feat, +2 from familiar) or do I only have +2?
