So my friend and I were trying to figure out how to run a compelling campaign that focused on the struggle of having enough money for stuff (inspired by Grimgar)
We both thought it would be interesting and thematic to remove experience points from the game and have an associated monetary cost for level ups. We are a little divided on the best way to achieve something balanced and fair. Also... My mathematics skills are not the most robust so something simple would probably work to our favor.
My initial thought was to buy a level as a whole by converting the xp cost into gold at a 1:5 ratio. He suggested doing a piece wise level up where independent costs for skills, hd, saves, etc are present... I agree that definitely has a more "I can afford to be a better acrobat/healer/etc now!" Vibe but... Again my math skills are lacking.
Does anyone have an experience with something similar to this? Or know of 3rd party material that might help?
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Anybody else feel like if you saw the character sheet for your life you would wonder WHAT the player was thinking?
"Why am I a Shaman? I have an 8 for Wisdom. You took the Cackle hex but none of the hexes that it works with..."
"How needs FULL points in Knowledge Pokémon???"
"I am both surprised and confused by the fact that I am level three. How did I get to level 3? And if we are summing up life experience why am I not HIGHER than level 3???"
"I have spent an awful lot of money on non-essential consumables and my armor choice of 'clothes' is highly questionable."
Maybe my player has a different style than I am used to?
I was wondering how other players and DMs are interpreting a witch and her familiar using Intelligence as their operating casting ability.
With Wizard/Magus/Alchemist the idea of studying a book and following a recipe/formulae appears very much like an act of intelligence (vs an act of Wisdom or Charisma- though a charisma based alchemist DEFINITELY sounds like something hilarious and harkens to some WILD alchemy).
How do you describe or intuit the relationship of the witch and her familiar as compared to the wizard and his?
Also- there are archetypes that have witches replacing familiars with poppets and masks. Does this alter the relationship?
Why are they listed as Combat feats? They have Mesmerist level pre-reqs (which makes sense I guess) but Mesmerists don't gain bonus combat feats (unless... is there an archetype that grants them bonus combat feats???)
And I don't know of any fighter archetypes that grant painful stare (though I think that is an AWESOME idea!)
Anybody got any ideas on this?
So... I sorta was fiddling around with something today. I am not sure how appealing this might be overall... There are limited selections made and a couple of overlaps in the domain spells. Also I knew that Sun/Moon/Star would be the idea behind the focus but variant channeling does not list anything for the Void- so I interpreted that as Darkness (which, technically, should be for the Moon) and used Madness for the Moon since there were similar themes amongst the abilities themselves (I am not entirely sold on it and if anyone has alternatives I am ALL EARS!)
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1/2 bab, 2+INT skills, d6 HD, 9th level casting progression using cleric spell list, spell casting progression like a witch, spells operate on WIS like a cleric and are divine.
The Celestial Witch would worship/revere the Sun/Moon/Stars (and the darkness between the lights as well) rather than a deity. Still needing a holy symbol it might be an athame (tool for channeling energies) or a mirror (tool for directing light) costing the same price as a standard holy symbol.
Lvl 1: Aura-standard for their alignment, Channel Energy 1d6- positive/negative selected at level one and not related to alignment, Domains: Sun, Star, Sun, orisons, spontaneous casting (domains only)
Lvl 2: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step (this is in addition to normal channeling)
Lvl 3: Hex, the celestial witch gains her powerful hexes by opening herself to the possibilities of the heavens. Use Wisdom in place of Intelligence as the ability score for hexes and Major hexes.
Lvl 4: Channel Energy 2d6
Lvl 5: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step. Bonus Channeling Feat
Lvl 6: Hex
Lvl 7: Channel Energy 3d6
Lvl 8: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step.
Lvl 9: Hex
Lvl 10: Channel Energy 4d6, Bonus Channeling Feat
Lvl 11: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step.
Lvl 12: Hex
Lvl 13: Channel Energy 5d6
Lvl 14: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step.
Lvl 15: Major Hex, Bonus Channeling Feat
Lvl 16: Channel Energy 6d6
Lvl 17: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step.
Lvl 18: Major Hex
Lvl 19: Channel Energy 7d6
Lvl 20: Celestial Channeling: Choose one type of Variant channeling (Sun, Darkness, Madness), 1/day you can utilize this channel increasing the channel die by one step, Power of the High Priestess
Power of the High Priest/Priestess: The Celestial Witch further develops her connection to the heavens. When in the presence of Daylight (for Sun channeling), Moonlight (for Madness channeling) or in natural environments devoid of light (for Darkness channeling) she increases the die size by 3 steps (this includes the normal increase for Celestial Channeling).
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There is definitely a focus on channeling (as in THIS girl has normal channeling AND an additional Variant channeling up to 7 more times a day. I can't decide whether this makes the class overpowered or underpowered since there was an attempt at scaling back the die of channeling?
Ultimately... I think this could make an interesting healer (though possibly impractical)
How large is the binary mindscape? My impression is that it mirrors the world around you so it is as large as the area you are in?
psychic masks... these are automatic? Like- Mesmero pulls the Phoenix into a psychic duel but appears as Charles Xavier to confuse/persuade her and offer himself additional protection should she find out. And everyone has psychic masks- there isn't anything extra required to create that?
For beings with @ will abilities they exchange for MP- the book doesn't actually say how much MP is created with that... Is it 1? It says "insignificant" which is not exactly what I would call 1 since that is a 1st lvl spell or ki point or whatever. But the rules DO say it can be spent... so... not sure how to take that.
For Grit/Panache are those still recharged the same way during a psychic duel? That would imply that they could be infinitely used- which is unlikely but possible- and be more valuable than Arcane Pool or Rage etc.
When it comes to damage in a psychic duel this translates to REAL damage in the real world to the real bodies right? If the duel ends when someone reaches 0HP does this mean they are @ risk of dying in reality? (Thinking it through I would say yes, but I didn't read that so I am wanting to clarify)
Does movement take place in a psychic duel? Most of the manifestations are full round actions so my assumption is that this is more turn based RPG style fighting- I blast you with butterfly mind lazers! You shield with shadow tendrils! I summon Dark Magician in defense mode! etc... Right?
Mindscapes in general confuse the [expletive] out of me. Again with the questions about size and the nature of this world. What exactly would be a beneficial mindscape usage? Like- outside of trapping someone else's mind there is a method superior to the Maze spell, what would you use the mindscape for?
When generating MP to create manifestations during a Psychic Duel is MP there for the round? or for the duel? or for the manifestation?
Elaboration- Emma Frost has pulled Psylocke into a psychic duel (honestly, these rules just make me think of the X-Men) she uses a level 4 spell to generate MP and creates a white snake mind creature to bite the ninja girl and protect herself costing 2 MP (1 makes the thing, one makes the thing protect- right?) Then Psylocke uses Ki points and ability scores to create a butterfly blast that does damage to Emma. Does Emma still have 2 MP to use for defensive manifestations? Were those 2 mp lost when she didn't use them for her snake creature? Is she able to generate more MP for a defensive manifestation?
Does anyone know of any examples of Psychic Duel scripts that they can link or post so I can read through them? I think there are a LOT of cool applications that can be done with Psychic Dueling and I LOVE the flavor (even outside of psychic campaigns) but I am not very clear on the rules and how it would play out in game.
Does anyone else have questions about this system? Or ideas for how to utilize it?
I am working on a Mesmerist character that is loosely based on Emma Frost and primarily pulling people into psychic duels in order to wear down their resources and exploit the fact that some classes and most monsters have limited access to MP outside of ability scores even just keeping them captive until they would be fatigued and debilitated when the duel is over.
I think those are the big ones for now.
How can I make an enemy flat footed?
Strike from Invisible-
High initiative makes me go first in combat (only works the first round I believe- but fairly reliable)-
Immobilize target-
What else?
I also realize that unconscious and sleeping targets are also Flat Footed, but they are already Helpless and if I am able to get them that far then... well... I mean there isn't MUCH more gain to be had by their FF status.
Help is much appreciated :)
Looking through the archetypes it seems that there is a general consensus that certain class features are of equivalent benefit/detriment to each other.
(This is all stated with the caveat that more than 1:1 ratio of class features are evaluated when archetype selection is taken into effect)
I was wondering what thoughts other players and DMs had about having interchangeable class features- not trying to upset the balance of the game (like a full casting wizard, that gives up familiar for a druids animal companion and school abilities for Channel positive energy- there is clearly a discard prioritizing munchikism there), and what class abilities seem to be of equivalent value.
On a perusal it seems that 1d6 of sneak attack dmg seems to be the equivalent of a bonus feat. A Hex is apparently worth 1d6 of Channel Energy. Domains and Animal Companions seem to be relatively equivalent (which seems odd...), Bombs and Sneak Attack are roughly interchangeable. And Martial Flexibility is apparently only 1/2 as good as Sneak Attacks.
I am wondering if anyone else has explored this or created some different archetypes or house rules based on this? Because a Cleric with 2 domains and Hexes (replacing Channel Energy) seems like a really cool Pagan Priestess kinda thing but the established rules don't have anything that really fits that. (I mean... Witch, but not a DIVINELY inspired witch).
Summon Monster III allows for the summoning of a Lantern Archon which is able to cast "Greater Teleport" @ will with the caveat of transporting itself plus "50lbs of objects."
Would it be reasonable to say that a lantern archon is capable of teleporting part of something that weights more than 50 lbs.? There isn't a lot of information about Teleport as it relates to moving objects with your, but what is the Lantern Archon were touching a Door? Or a mountain? Or a Wall of Iron? When [it?] moves does it take 50 lbs of that thing with?
As per the spell it might not be a big deal, but if you think about the Summoner class having this little mover around becomes much more manageable and also... this can be a familiar no?
Could I:
Use Fabricate to create a hole under people that they fall into and then use the materials from the hole (rock/mountain/etc.) to form a covering over the hole?- I get letting them make saves and all. Is this viable?
Also the rules say you can't use the spell to transmute a magic object (like... idk... a magic staff) but could I use Blood Magic in conjunction to replicate a totally NOT magical but aesthetically identical magic staff?
General adventuring aside the skills seem to allow for 3 (legal) ways of obtaining an income- Craft, Perform, Profession (coincidentally those skills correspond to each of the three mental abilities- neat huh?)
So if crafting is making something you can expect to be paid upon selling said item to a customer- Craft alchemy-> antitoxin-> sell antitoxin-> MONEY, that one is pretty cut and dry.
How does one note the difference between a Performance and a Profession. In the general speakingness of the two skills obviously if I roll Perform Sing and get paid it was a performance but how would that differ from Profession Singer (in generality)?
And to ask the REAL question that I am concerned with: Fortunetelling, is this a performance or a profession? I can see under Perform there is not Perform Harrow Reading skill, but there isn't Profession Fortune Teller listed either so brick wall on the obvious.
If I relate the scenario: I own harrow cards and someone asks me to do a reading and I do then they pay me for that reading it seems like a Performance skill (I would own a flute and someone says play and I play and they pay) and my Charisma seems to be directly influencing of the immersion I create for the reading.
But I am not entirely certain how that would differ from a Gambler who is listed under profession.
How does Perform differ from Profession?
Side question: Herbalist is a profession, but it almost seems like you would just be getting paid to make Survival checks for other people? So why not just do that? What specifically is Herbalist doing Profession-wise?
The feat benefit says: You must have at least one hand free (holding nothing) to use this feat. Once per round when you would normally be hit with an attack from a ranged weapon, you may deflect it so that you take no damage from it. You must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed. Attempting to deflect a ranged attack doesn't count as an action. Unusually massive ranged weapons (such as boulders or ballista bolts) and ranged attacks generated by natural attacks or spell effects can't be deflected.
The last part: natural attacks, what would be categorized by this? Like a manticore's spike seems like it would be a natural attack that is ranged? What about a Soul Knife who throws their weapon at you? Alchemists fire? Alchemist bombs?
Trying to get a better feel of precisely what this feat allows the deflection of: Arrows and bullets I get but I don't see a huge difference between an Arrow and a Manticore spike? And why NOT a spell like Acid Arrow?
Would casting a wall spell end invisibility? Specifically "Wall of Fire" but I suppose extrapolating to all wall spells might not be too far off.
Invis caster places the wall going through a foe seems to remove invisibility... What is I place it in front of the foe? Or as a circle/dome?
I see where regular creatures take penalty to damaging a corporeal creature but does that go both ways? Or are Incorporeal creatures that say, use spells, using spells that are manifesting in the material world?
Is there any negative to being incorporeal?- Seems like being a Ghost is preferable to being a Lich in terms of immortality and power? Am I missing something?
If it is a standard action to place Evil Eye and a move action to Cackle in order to extend the duration of Evil Eye by one round could you:
Use Evil Eye and the Cackle immediately after to cause the Evil Eye to have a minimum duration of 2 rounds?
The idea being that you could use Evil Eye to lower a foe's saves, If the foe passes they would return to normal before your next turn BUT if you Cackle and extend the duration you could Evil Eye on your next turn and since they have the penalty to saves you have a better chance of getting the GOOD duration?
I feel like RAW this is a viable strategy.
Reading through the different abilities STR is the only one that mentions an actual ability check (it is also the only one I am familiar with- STR check to smash object, etc.)
I was wondering what the implications are to things that penalize an ability check.
Evil Eye (witch hex) specifically states it can be applied to Ability checks. What would be the benefit of putting a -2 penalty (or -4) to something like Charisma or Constitution?
I have homebrewed some WIS checks (just to let characters remember a piece of information).
Would this affect Spell Casting DCs? That is the only thing I can tangentially think of: -2 INT ability checks would reduce DC of Wizard spells by 1?
Or is it basically a useless feature and not REALLY meant to apply to anything outside of STR?
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I thought I had read somewhere that drugs are treated as poison but as I am looking at the description it isn't immediately jumping out at me again. I did see in the forum where people were saying that alchemists immunity to poison negates the effects of drugs but I am not sure how that comes into play unless drugs ARE a poison?
Also with immunity to disease would you be able to use drugs without the worry of addiction? Seems a little rule breaky, but I am DEFINITELY feeling rule breaky if that is the case.
I have only seen ONE example of this for 3.5 (and I can't even find THAT now... VERY frustrating) but I think it would be cool to have complementary classes- or classes that would be complete on their own BUT have an element (or two) that would interact specifically with another class.
In a way this would be able to show some of those relationships that we see in Anime, Video Games. etc. where you can see that X character is a Fighter, but he also has this ONE ability that ONLY works when he is around Y that you could NEVER get if you were a fighter (or it would be unreasonable/unrealistic to obtain).
I think I may be using confusing language so I thought of some examples:
(Ar Tonelico) Lyner + Aurica= Reyvateil and Rey-Knight, here you have an example of Lyner a fairly basic soldier/fighter character and Aurica being a... bard/sorceress(?). But with Diving (a joint process) and Grathmelding (I believe Lyner does this for her) it grants the Reyvateil different abilities (also keeps her alive) and with the Diving you bond better and the Rey-Knight becomes more protective of her and her songs have greater effect with him... I know like basic leveling does these things too, but the synergy between these two is MORE than just: And they got more powerful.
(Soul Eater) Maka and Soul=Meister and Weapon, I have talked about this a LOT recently. There is a cool racial option (Arma) to be someone's weapon, but I think have complementary classes would really be the best way to represent these characters: Meister's have fighter abilities and also different pathways (Maka can SEE souls?) and Weapons seem to have their own specific uses as well. You also have that "Soul Resonance" thing WHICH is the defining feature and something that seems SO awesome- and I envision it working with d20 roles and the closer the two players role to each other, the more powerful the effect- essentially your SOULS are in sync.
(Frankenstein) Frankenstein and his Monster= Scientist and Creation, I think the Summoner class is where people will be like: No you would just flavor text it, but it doesn't QUITE fit for me. Also you have this dynamic of a Scientist being afraid of his creation and the "Monster" trying to figure out the world... Having something like upgrades that the scientist can install as well as having emotional reactions that the monster has with this one specific person could make for some interesting mechanics.
(Final Fantasy X) Yuna et al= Summoner and Guardians, Yeah so for the most part Lulu is really just dragged down by her duty to Yuna and likely could have blasted the crap out of Sin (I am a Lulu fan). The thing I am more interested in would be the Final Summon aspect. This is WAY overpowered, but wouldn't something similar on a lesser scale be SO cool. Maybe something out there already exists?
(Final Fantasy IX) Vivi and Steiner= Black Mage and Soldier, this is probably the first example of this in an RPG (that I can think of), either one of these characters fights well on their own in the game but together they add even MORE power. I never really maximized this in FF9 but I think this would be very cool in a PF system- I know there are spells and the Magus is essentially the conjunction of this, but sometimes you just want someone to let you fill their sword with Lightning...
Any other examples? Any thoughts on how this plays out? Anybody got these down already??? Because I would LOVE some playtest :) I am SURE there are more examples out there... most of the things that came to mind were more animal companion (He-Man and Battle Cat) or Leader/Cohort (Xena and Gabrielle) but the above examples I think show 2 characters that are on (relatively) even footing and work TOGETHER better than they work alone.
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Does anyone else (player and/or gm) have any problems with finding or maintaining characters in a party?
I have seen a trend in games I have participated in as a PC and organized as a GM that, while the players get along well, the characters seem to be forced to continue banding together with the party members despite having no motivation.
I was wondering if anyone has any advice?
I have tried- from a PC standpoint- to create characters in conjunction with another player. The two of us were brothers (twins even) and this worked to give us motivation to be together, but our characters desires were SO disparate that we ended up compromising so much that we both felt like we were maintaining this sibling relationship more than we were playing the character (I am an only child so I don't have a lot of experience with sibling relationships??? maybe that is normal? lol)
Another time I played a witch//summoner who believe that her Eidolon was the reincarnation of her dead son. She often fought to protect him but other players would get him caught in AoE and splash dmg effects, requested healing and did little to sympathize with her feelings deciding that she was creepy and weird... When some Night Hags offered for her to join the coven if she killed her allies... Well... I did. Slumber hex is some serious mojo. The party was surprised when I turned on them, but one player had never even told me their name... and I had used healing magic on them...
As a DM I run a Kingmaker homebrew and find that in general the characters have the overall goal of "make the kingdom better" as well as "Rovagug is gonna getcha!" to keep them all fairly on the same page, but almost every session I hear the "If you do anything like that again, I am leaving!" This was uttered from a prostitute assassin (CN) to a cavalier (NG) after he would not intercede to stop one group of homeless despots from murdering another group of homeless despots. His defense: "These aren't my people." -I am watering down that drama a little, but this would be a bare bones paraphrase.
I am not saying I need EVERY moment to have the 100% assurance of group think, but I feel like the lack of interrelatedness between the characters is something that could be remedied somehow, and would make for a better playing experience for all. And again, our players get along fine- not a lot of drama in our group of REAL people besides work conflicts.
Any tips? Tricks? Advice? Or even just commiseration or tell me not to worry about it?
Anyone know of any conversions or homebrew stuff for this? This seems like a cool concept and something I would like to look into playing in the future (or if anyone wants something playtested)
If what is above is not clear this would be similar to the Anime Soul Eater or the video game(s) Disgaea (series) where there is a warrior who has a companion that shifts into a weapon form. This could even make a cool two part class (like 2 base classes one for a PC playing the warrior and one for the PC playing the weapon).
Thanks for the assist.
(I also posted this under Homebrew... not entirely sure where the question best fits)
Anyone know of any conversions or homebrew stuff for this? This seems like a cool concept and something I would like to look into playing in the future (or if anyone wants something playtested)
If what is above is not clear this would be similar to the Anime Soul Eater or the video game(s) Disgaea (series) where there is a warrior who has a companion that shifts into a weapon form. This could even make a cool two part class (like 2 base classes one for a PC playing the warrior and one for the PC playing the weapon).
Thanks for the assist.
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Anyone familiar with the Reyvateil's from the Ar Tonelico games? I was interested in seeing some home brew classes that function like that. I remember seeing one a LONG time ago on a 3.5 site but either I COMPLETELY dreamed it (doesn't seem likely since they still have the Reyvateil Guardian class there) or it has since been removed...
From what I remember it was a glassy (low hit die, 1/2 BAB, etc.) class that specialized in the Perform Sing skill and knew songs that caused effects based on the performance- the songs built in power as they were maintained (which also put strain on the voice- increasing the Skill DC for the song check) and did some really cool things like- Energy blasts, rejuvenating healing, cause earthquakes.
They also have the crystal insertions (which I don't quite remember how that worked) but they were meant to function as the glass cannon companioned with their melee warrior/defender the Guardian...
If anyone knows about this or has some of their own stuff I would be SO psyched to see it.
I want to make someone that can be alerted when anyone says his name, have the ability to dimensionally travel (or possibly fly at a REALLY fast speed, but teleport is more apt) to that person, possesses a constant lighted flame, and is a master of rope use- knots tying, the lariat, lasso, bindings, etc.
He should also be able to move through walls and levitate (at a minimum).
I have thought that a Rogue might have the skill ranks and stealthy-ness that might do well, but maybe... a sorcerer?
Essentially I am trying to make candle jack... Oh cra
How exactly do you qualify an increase to a saving throw? Is it something that a character or NPC would be aware of?
Maybe it would help to have an example:
Cast a fireball with a Save of 16 vs a save of 20. Does the 16 fireball have less fire? Is the fire less hot? Or does the spell look/feel exactly the same both ways but the PC/NPC making the save is just like: WOW! I used to be able to handle this and now I can't?!?!?!
And while my example was Fireball which has a physical/visual manifestation how would it work with something that does NOT have that?
Suggestion cast with a 15 DC vs a 25 DC. Is the voice inside your head louder? More insistent? Do you feel one creeping up on your and shrug it off (maybe?) and the other one just stabs like a splinter in your mind?
My reasoning for this is that there is a player in my group that is using a homemade artifact (sword) that when drawn wishes for you to "claim a soul" the save starts off at 16 (and the fighter is level 11 now... so that isn't that big of a deal, I think she has a CHANCE to fail, but she is fairly confident that she can handle it) but every soul that the sword drinks placates it for the moment (essentially until it is put away the sword is satisfied with claiming a soul) but it also increases the save (i.e. the soul fuels the sword which ONLY desires to claim more souls).
At this point the fighter's save is 22 (pretty different from 16) and I am wondering if this is something that the wielder is aware of? Does she feel the ego of the sword increasing in power (it isn't reflected in any increased ability for the sword to do damage) or perhaps the taint of the blade is causing her to slip into madness?
Maybe a better question would be: How would other GMs deal with this situation? Should she be aware (she has claimed an innocent life with the blade-compulsed- AND continued to use it... so I shifted her alignment a step, but since then she has only used the blade AGAINST evil/opposing creatures in defense of others.)
Thoughts?
Maybe I am remembering something from 3.5 (and likely remembering it wrong) but I THOUGHT that you could not wear magic armor AND a magic item in the chest/body slot (possibly just one of those).
I cannot seem to find a rule that states that though (possibly because I am not looking hard enough?) so if someone could just confirm or disaffirm that I would be MOST appreciative :)
Currently running a Kingmaker homebrew and the party is at an interesting juncture of storylines that I am not entirely sure how to navigate. Their kingdom (Terabithia... seriously... THAT is what they chose) is pretty stable with regards to food, finances, steady gain of territory. The party has recruited several NPCs to fill out the roles of their kingdom-
This last part is important they allowed a witch/cleric of death to be their High Priestess. I initially created her as NE and as far as NPCs go she was one of the more fully fleshed out characters the party encountered. She also served as the HQ healer so that any ailment, curse, disease, poison, ability damage, etc. was temporary (at best) and just required asking her for assistance.
Part of her character is that she has never had a home or any sort of place to set up a safe haven for herself and her band of witch/cleric followers (she has the Leadership feat- seriously FULLY fleshed out NPC). While she is evil and DOES have an end game in mind for herself (destroy Urgathoa and Pharasma and replace them as the ONLY Goddess of death, she also is going to achieve this status without using the Starstone) but also has, for the most part, been given a GREAT deal of freedom and respect from the PCs (with the exception of thank yous... the party had a REAL hard time with that).
At one point the PC who was given/selected the King role decided to romance the priestess (I used a picture of Heddy Lamar as what she looked like... no one can blame him for the initial attraction). His affections were returned, but she decided that typical flirtations left too much to chance and used a bound Night Hag to ensnare his desire. PC failed his Will save, then he thought she was ALL THAT!
I am REALLY giving too much exposition, so I am going to fast forward a bit- lemme know if you need clarity in response so I can give details.
Eventually the priestess reveals that she used magic to manipulate the king (she actually comes out and says it to him- unprovoked, lets say it is because of guilt). The King was not really able to forgive her and another PC (Grand Diplomat) fearing that the union of the King and the Priestess would spell DOOM (it isn't THAT big of a secret that the Priestess is evil and has ulterior motives- though no one knows the hard truths of the matter) for Terabithia arranged an alliance with the King of Brevoy to have his sister Natala marry the king of Terabithia.
After meeting the king decided that yes, he prefers Natala. She is pretty forthright about her lack of interest in his as a romantic partner and that the marriage/alliance is PURELY political.
My crossroads is that I am not entirely sure what to do with the interplay between these two women (The High Priestess and the King's Consort). They are both of the NOT GOOD alignment. I was wondering what thoughts other DMs had? I was originally setting things up so that everything that happens with the current arc (defeat of Rovagug's cult) sets up the drama for the next story arc (which would be the Priestesses ascension)?
Thoughts? Ideas? Chastisements? Insults?- I will admit that my DM skills are mediocre at best, but the players are always VERY excited by the amount of intricacy I put into the plots and the threading that comes from one session to the next. (which again... I think is kinda the requirement for a long term campaign, and I more often forget things than remember so any tips on that would be useful as well)
Thanks :)
Currently running a Kingmaker homebrew and the party is at an interesting juncture of storylines that I am not entirely sure how to navigate. Their kingdom (Terabithia... seriously... THAT is what they chose) is pretty stable with regards to food, finances, steady gain of territory. The party has recruited several NPCs to fill out the roles of their kingdom-
This last part is important they allowed a witch/cleric of death to be their High Priestess. I initially created her as NE and as far as NPCs go she was one of the more fully fleshed out characters the party encountered. She also served as the HQ healer so that any ailment, curse, disease, poison, ability damage, etc. was temporary (at best) and just required asking her for assistance.
Part of her character is that she has never had a home or any sort of place to set up a safe haven for herself and her band of witch/cleric followers (she has the Leadership feat- seriously FULLY fleshed out NPC). While she is evil and DOES have an end game in mind for herself (destroy Urgathoa and Pharasma and replace them as the ONLY Goddess of death, she also is going to achieve this status without using the Starstone) but also has, for the most part, been given a GREAT deal of freedom and respect from the PCs (with the exception of thank yous... the party had a REAL hard time with that).
At one point the PC who was given/selected the King role decided to romance the priestess (I used a picture of Heddy Lamar as what she looked like... no one can blame him for the initial attraction). His affections were returned, but she decided that typical flirtations left too much to chance and used a bound Night Hag to ensnare his desire. PC failed his Will save, then he thought she was ALL THAT!
I am REALLY giving too much exposition, so I am going to fast forward a bit- lemme know if you need clarity in response so I can give details.
Eventually the priestess reveals that she used magic to manipulate the king (she actually comes out and says it to him- unprovoked, lets say it is because of guilt). The King was not really able to forgive her and another PC (Grand Diplomat) fearing that the union of the King and the Priestess would spell DOOM (it isn't THAT big of a secret that the Priestess is evil and has ulterior motives- though no one knows the hard truths of the matter) for Terabithia arranged an alliance with the King of Brevoy to have his sister Natala marry the king of Terabithia.
After meeting the king decided that yes, he prefers Natala. She is pretty forthright about her lack of interest in his as a romantic partner and that the marriage/alliance is PURELY political.
My crossroads is that I am not entirely sure what to do with the interplay between these two women (The High Priestess and the King's Consort). They are both of the NOT GOOD alignment. I was wondering what thoughts other DMs had? I was originally setting things up so that everything that happens with the current arc (defeat of Rovagug's cult) sets up the drama for the next story arc (which would be the Priestesses ascension)?
Thoughts? Ideas? Chastisements? Insults?- I will admit that my DM skills are mediocre at best, but the players are always VERY excited by the amount of intricacy I put into the plots and the threading that comes from one session to the next. (which again... I think is kinda the requirement for a long term campaign, and I more often forget things than remember so any tips on that would be useful as well)
Thanks :)
Starting a new campaign (and we get to be EVIL!!! Muahahahahahaha) and I decided to play an occultist. I like the versatility (pact magic is common in this game) of the class, but have never played one and have only seen one other player play this class (I don't think he really knew what he was doing either... very frustrating to watch)
SO... We are starting at level 10 (VERY exciting) and I am worried that between 3 spirits and not leveling WITH the spirits I don't have a chance to really get a feel for their compatibility. On the face of it I can see how Loi'Moi(sp?) and Vandrae(sp?) would be cool for combat
BUT... I was wondering... Are there any cool combos that people use? Specific spirits that might be under/over rated. I have the materials for PMU vol 1 & 2.
Help appreciated :)
This isn't exactly something I would WANT to play, but I think could make for an interesting character that A) The party could be burdened with or B) That they need to escort/protect.
I have tried looking for something that I feel resembles Joxer the Mighty from Xena. I can't QUITE find anything that seems to resemble this in terms of execution and for simplicity sake I call this class the Fool (or Simpleton or DEAR GOD WHY ARE YOU STILL AROUND!?!?!?!)
I think this should be a character that is basically invulnerable to (permanent) harm and also COMPLETELY incapable of doing ANYTHING without serious Luck coming into play.
So I have a couple of ideas (keep in mind as a GM I would NEVER let someone Gestalt with this as it, when combined with REAL abilities would DEFINITELY throw off balance)
So lets start with the reverse concept of the Monk (i.e. ALL bad saves), THEN give 1/2 BAB and lets just say a d8 HD (I am willing to negotiate this, I know it isn't consistent with the typical PF pattern but bear with me).
As far as proficiency I think letting them be proficient with one simple weapon would suffice.
Skills: This is where I have mixed feelings. My instinct is to supplement here: 6+INT skill points/lvl and then (because it could be worth it) allow them a specific number of skills to be class skills and choose those at some personal way (maybe allow them to have their Intelligence modifier set the number of Class skills?)
Now for the meat of the class. It seems that the Fool shouldn't be able to do ANYTHING unless it is the AWESOME 1 in a million NEVER to be repeated sort of thing. Also, that should work BOTH ways so:
Expanding the critical range for weapons the fool is proficient with (there is only one unless they use a feat or something to increase that) and ALSO expand the critical failure (like rolling a 2 is a critical failure as well). Have BOTH of those ranges expand as the class progresses.
A feature that expands the confirmation of critical rolls should ALSO follow this progression. Possibly one the increases the multiplier? I would be interested in seeing what people this is appropriate. Keep in mind this is the hapless idiot NOT a competent warrior so... there is that.
The drawback of this (and this has been something we play with my group anyway) critical failure results in the potential for injury to the fool (typically only if you roll a 1 to confirm but I think there should be a set penalty, say -10 and if you don't roll above a DC -say 1/2 of your AC- then you end of stabbing yourself with the weapon etc.)
A feature that accesses a certain amount of Luck reserve (similar to Grit/Panache, but in the opposite vein) where you can reroll fails and increase the type of rolls allowed as the character progresses. (or maybe allow that to be the selected, Rogue Talent-esque, feature so you can craft your fool for whatever purpose you have).
And now here is the one feature that I would like some SERIOUS feedback on: Allowing the fool/dimwit/please go away! to convert lethal damage into nonlethal dmg I am not entirely certain how this should play out. Maybe some sorta d20 + Fool level + CHA mod???
As the progress in level allowing the Fool to do this to Magic dmg (like a Fumbling Evasion type of thing).
Those are the general concepts I have in mind. Something that seems difficult to kill, but only because it gets knocked out (OH! There should be a feature to help it stabilize when dying like +1/2 level to those checks!!!) and then fumbles around until it RUINS ALL OF YOUR CAREFUL PLANNING!!!
Any thoughts? Anybody see this and hear of something similar? I have never created a class before and this is the only "original" (which isn't terribly original) idea I haven't seen done (and no, I don't think the BARD counts as being a fumbling idiot)
Interested to see what ideas you all have :) Thanks
I have a question: While I LOVE the idea of the whole get someone to swallow the shrunk item and then de-shrunk it to kill them... I mean... seriously I LOVE it. Is there a restriction on that? Like do you have to have strength check or something? And the save for the spell is for the object which would then be inside the "victim"
Maybe it would be easier with a scenario:
My (beautiful) sorceress has defeated a kraken and uses shrink item to turn the Gargantuan corpse into something easier to carry in her bag of holding (because... whatever, trophies or whatnot).
She comes across this SUPER rude Halfling cleric of Irori (because that guy would be a TOTAL douche) and he insults her and her magic and the fact that her boots don't match her robes or whathave you. So later she finds out he is staying at the tavern and Charm Persons the waitress to recommend the Squid Salad where she uses a portion of the kraken to form a delicate and tasty dish that is both posh enough and exotic enough to appeal to the prude.
After he eats it she confronts him, insults his mother's lack of contraception AND parenting skills and then speaks the command word to deshrink the kraken. So question time:
A)Would the kraken bits retain their magical shrunkeness after being sliced and (possibly) heated and then chewed?
B) Would the kraken bits be able to effectively hear the command word from inside the Halfling?
C) Would the kraken corpse that was not used in the salad be unshrunk (assuming B is ok)? Would it matter if they were in the bag of holding or not?
D) Is this Halfling a-hole allowed a save for this? *note that he has willingly consumed everything and under the impression that his body can withstand anything... the jerk!*
E) I am somewhat aware of the impracticality of the kraken size and the Halfling as well. I am positing the scenario more in the realm of possibility than in something that I plan to ACTUALLY happen. So if Chuul corpses and Dwarves make more sense then allow for the appropriate changes.
F) This question does not reflect the person opinion of WitB with regards to the inferiority (perceived or legitimate) or halflings or other creatures of the "small" size designation. Such similarities are purely coincidental.
I appreciate your assistance in this manner. I read several threads using Boulders that were shrunk and then applying Telekinesis and usually there was a mention of this instance in them, but I would like some qualifiers before attempting to claim revenge for Irorian/Halfling slights!!!
Starting a new campaign with some friends and elected to be the healer.
I have in mind playing a nun of Sarenrae- The Dawnflower, The Everlight, The healing Light. I chose the Healing and Sun domain... bla bla bla... I mean, I made the character and I guess that information is important but my MAIN question is:
I put ranks into Perform Oratory, so that she can preach "the Word of the Everlight" to the masses... The problem is... I don't know much about Sarenrae. I read the little blurb but other than: "She set the sun's fire as eternal torment to Rovagug" I am a little lost for parables, myths, stories, fables preachings for her to give. Does anyone have any tales of glory for the Dawnflower? Or any ideas how to twist known to add a Healing Light twist to something existing?
I have an idea about the scorpion and the frog fable (saying that we should emulate the frog, trust in the goodness of others to our dying breath) but it makes me feel like she is saying: "Hey, be completely naive even if it kills you!"
Any ideas?
Thanks!
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