Xeram's page

Ex: Point-Blank Master letting you shoot in melee,

Yup, except i'd have to take 4 levels of fighter, or 6 in ranger, for that. Due to the requirement of Weapon specialization or the ranger archery style.

Everyone, thanks for the brainstorming, and have a good weekend.

I agree with you on that.

Though i can't always rely on my arrows from above to hit. (for example wind wall, heavy cover, enclosed spaces, some terrain will be forest/jungle)

There would come a moment where i'd need to adjust my approach in combat.

Xeram wrote:

spirited charge perhaps. A swooping charge with a reach weapon is pretty neat.

Not with 11 strength, and probably at best a +1 lance because the rest of the weapon budget went into your bow.

What would you say a workable strength for that? 14? Our 15 point buy went up to 20 point buy.

Yes, i've noticed about GWF.

Leaves a slot open for perhaps toughness, or some other improvement, spirited charge perhaps. A swooping charge with a reach weapon is pretty neat.

Rapid Shot vs. Deadly Aim is debatable. Math depends on just how much you hit, but at BAB +4, Deadly Aim adds 4 damage and Rapid Shot adds 1d8+STR+Enhancement. Rapid Shot is usually more damage.

Could be if str bonus and a the ownership of a composite bow.

Switching weapon focus with another is doable, true. Class bonus feats do include both mounted combat & mounted archery.

Take rapid shot before deadly aim.

My concern is also that, since the class isn't damage ace like say Zen archer/fighter or similar, i'd need to get some damage in a good shot, hence deadly aim and vital strike.

1) Pc: Weapon focus (longbow)
1) Human: PBS
3) Precise shot
5) Pc: Greater weapon focus (longbow)
5) Class: Mounted Combat
----------------
7) Rapid shot
8) Class: Mounted Archery
9) Deadly aim

Good day all.

I'm to build a Dragonrider PC.

Our build rules:
Races, uncommon excluded.

15 point buy.
Dragonriders, by description, are often ranged oriented, which matches what character i am basing this on,

I'm inclined to use human, since feats for the minimum of viability.

Str 11 Dex 17 (14 +2 racial +1 lvl 4) Con 12 Int 12 Wis 10 Cha 14
Lvl 8 ability increase is Dex

Feats, as we're lvl 6 to start:
1) Mounted Combat
1) Racial: PBS
3) Precise shot
5) Deadly aim
5) Class: mounted archery

Future feats:
7) Vital Strike
8) Class: Weapon focus (longbow)
9) Greater Weapon focus (longbow)

I might be willing to dip something, it would delay class feats slightly, but i don't want to lose too much of my dragon mount's progression.

Is this viable/workable for support?

Chyrone's submission.

Slightly uncommon type of backstory, i've based him off a character outside of Golarion.

Will he be a DMPC in a homebrew you'll make?

Thanks.

A little inspiration regarding the Kerrigan/abarrant woman, was those often seen (serve and live, or die) situations, and the kind of movies where the evil thought crushed, rises again through either brainwashed people or some weird evil mojo.

So Carlaya and Charis can take ranks in [Profession: cult leader] now.

:)

Indeed it was, hardly a better way to save the world and prevent TPK than a nat 20 in the face. ;)

You have that buff and the flak cannons were of more pressing a threat to Asgar than Grog was.

Edit: I believe one of you guys' best lines was:

"I...hate...this...place.."

No, the party who play the campaign that this is the final dungeon for.

With a kineticist in their party, i expect him to die more quickly, she hits touch after all, and deflect arrows doesn't work vs that.
Spies will have taught him to prepare for a few tricks of theirs, so hence unarmed & deflect arrows.

They -also- have a divine caster with access to daylight. :)

So 1st, i'd like to thank you all for doing the playtest. :)

2nd, what are your thoughts on the final fight?

From that point on, pressure gradually falls off your shoulders.

The mystery girl brings you a slice of delicious pumpkin sponge cake.
"Compliments of the abode of travelers."
Tankards and mugs raised to survival, triumph, and in memory of Renee & Tae.
=============================

[Sequence of events afterwards, drawn on parchment]

The city of Kharum recovered from the unnatural chaos, and trade thrived once again.

(Picture of Ed at a table, pointing out key locations on a map)

Ed Earl, cavalier and front line man. After his ordeal with all the freakish things in the catacombs, he decided to start a counter taskforce, bent on rooting out any cults to wicked causes. A few have been taken care of so far.
He offered co-leadership to Grog, who declined respectfully.
======================================

(Picture of Grog sitting in a tavern, with his 5th tankard of ale in front of him, Ed standing nearby)

Grog, the dwarf with a liver of adamantine, and your best friend in trouble, was offered co-leadership in Ed Earl's group, but he declined.
Bashing in the skulls of such people was fun, but 's nae for me. I's nae going to look for problems, they'll be finding me, if any. I've got plenty o' places ta see, plenty of beverages ta taste."
=================================

(Picture of Carlaya, holding a snake's egg that was hatching)

Most of her wisdom restored, Carlaya thought Rags had wandered off. She found a reptile farmer, who upon hearing of her plight, had sold her a constrictor egg. It turned out to be a most colorful and loyal beast in the years to come.
==================================

(Picture of Charis, at the church of Abadar)

Charis prayed even more fervently to Abadar, thanking him for keeping her alive when she needed it most. The head priest commended her devotion. Over time, Abadar's voice lessened in her dreams, coming to a stop eventually.....

============================
(Picture of the book, bound and about to be put into a strongbox)

The book of the cult was locked away in the archives of the church to Desna, in the temple district. On only a few rare occasions, was it consulted to combat strange things over the years to come.
=============================

(Picture sequence of two blank pages in the back of the book, a drop of blood falling onto them from a clumsy scribe)

(Blood spreads out into writing)

The emissary, the one who took worship to the unspeakable to the next step.
The one who absorbed into the body, the essence of a spawn, becoming the future. The one guiding the lost souls onto a new path, from the dark beyond. She who replaces those lost.
=================================

5 years later.

A group of hooded individuals looks out over a great trade port city.
An hour later, they have gathered in the catacombs below an empty chapel, candles lit.

Two of them stood side by side before the preaching bench, a good two dozen attentively listening to them, as they spoke of a being powerful beyond comprehension, and its herald in the black emptiness that saved their lives.

On their foreheads were black spirals, the symbol of the cosmic being of their worship.

Somewhere, an observing entity was pleased.

Anything on Grog's end, he'd like to close with, before epilogue and definite end to this?

Since you're practically at the end, and it's mainly some RP from here, i'll push this forward for you guys to put to a close.
Epilogue follows thereafter.

The oracle notices Ed holding a book, - the book -, and asks: "What has transpired?"

While he or/and Grog is about to answer, the girls come downstairs, the reunion a surprise to all four of you.

Reading the words in the book, an ominous looking portal, a voidly black color, opens.

As he and Grog step through, they end up in a dark alley, with the sounds of people walking by just a corner away. As the two of you move into the street, you recognize it as the main square in the commons district, with nearby a familiar looking inn, where you all first met.

[Mary's]

You get a hunch that since it began with gathering here, it will end here as well. You warily stride forward, and much to your relief, the place is still homely.

The young oracle woman sits in the far corner, her eyes closed in solemn contemplation, before opening them as the two of you are halfway towards her.

"Peculiar. You ventured forth as six, yet return fractured."

Backtrack would work, for one. On the other hand....

The book also describes instructions to create a portal to a number of locations, one of which seems to be near - or within - the city of harum.

Anything the guys want to do?

Negative lvl penalty applied?

Grog's progress is like pulling rope early on.
He gets 15ft away, then gets pulled 15 ft back.
Again he gets 15ft away, before on his next step he loses his footing, and falls prone, being sucked 15ft back.

He grits his teeth, then makes 25ft progress.
His anger kicks in, and his leg muscles flex, getting him near the corridor, grabbing hold of Ed's rope.

At that point, +2 bonus on the checks to get to safety.
Str, rage, rope, negative lvl: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 = 10
Str, rage, rope, negative lvl: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 = 9
Str, rage, rope, negative lvl: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 = 26
Str, rage, rope, negative lvl: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 2 + 2 - 1 = 17

From that point, he grabs Ed's hand, who pulls him in to safety.
At that moment they both look ahead, and see the girls sucked into the hole.

About a minute and a half after the hole opened, it closes again, leaving the room eerily quiet.

Grog notices that near the pedestal is a chest, it's locked, but a search on Asgar's corpse reveals a serrated key.

A potion of vanish (Cl 3, but that would be an unknown without magic)
2 pots of CMW
A thick book bound in dark leather. Its text is written in a weird language.

I believe Ed took that language specifically for this playtest. :P

He skims through some pages, detailing things that make him very uneasy with what could happen, if rituals in this book would be completed successfully. It also contains a map, encircling an area, which between himself and Grog, is determined to be an area the city of Kharum currently is built upon.....

Reading further on marked pages, he determines it would have been the ideal site to perform a ritual for a beacon, which could have sent a signal into the far deep reaches of outer space.

- Could have -, were it not for brother Asgar and his cult of followers' defeat at the hands of a group of adventurers.

Let's see.
[V] Ed gets 15ft away.
[X] Ed gets dragged 5ft back.
[V] Ed gets 15ft away.
[X] Ed falls prone, gets dragged 5ft back.
[X] Ed gets dragged 5ft back.
[V] Ed gets back up and gets 10ft away.
[V] Ed moves 15ft away.

Ed would be in his 2nd red bordered position.

Not that it did the girls any good, but like with traps and the such, prone will be when you don't pass by 5 or more, 4 or less you are drawn 5ft but remain standing.

Fallen prone and sucked 5ft towards the hole, yes.
Ed's got 6 str dmg, btw, so -4 mod including his negative lvl.

Result of destruction: 1d4 ⇒ 3

It takes a little, but not too long, for Ed to cause the sphere to crack.

As it does, a ripple of energy slides into the room, and the air seems to start vibrating. A dark hole shows as it breaks open, and air is violently being sucked into it.

Everyone, str check 15 to hold your footing vs sudden vacuum breach.
Should you not pass, you drop prone, and are sucked 5ft towards the hole. Every round, as a full action, a DC 15 gets you away 15ft away from the hole. If you are prone, a successful check gets you up and 10ft away from it.
Once you are in the corridor, you are safe.

Everyone, lets make some rolls to make a safe escape.

You're making me so curious right now. :P

Wow, that fire vampire looks really nasty.

I've found star vampires on a search, yet not fire vampires.
Sure, i'd like to see those.

I've done the re-animate in the cult fight, via summoned shadows.
Small sorcerers die quickly, no?

The remaining 4 are:
A multishot ranger with gravity bow.
An archeologist bard. (Loves to pull dirty tricks) Semi-healer.
A cavalier with a greatsword and vital strike.
A drunken barbarian with a greataxe, who can stave off mind effects if drinking alcohol. A strength of his, is that he is capable of improved and savage dirty tricks, making anything failing a fort roll become not sickened, but nauseated.

Strenghts:
The cavalier and barbarian hit hard, and the ranger does a fair job at it too with the increased dmg dice active. All team members carry +1 weapons. Bard has the highest will save of the party.

Weaknesses:
-2 members.
Horrible willsaves on the martials, ranger suffered wis dmg already.
They've burned through their healing wands.

Overarching theme:
Another group, who are doing the actual campaign, are discovering and thwarting activity of a cult of Yog-Sothoth at several places.
As the central plot, said cult procured an artifact that works like the palantir of LOTR, except it has a link to the dark tapestry.
On the pathfinder wiki: If Yog-Sothoth was ever called to Golarion, it's all over, which was what this cult was all about.

Hello everyone.

After the end of a playtest dungeon's boss encounter, (a cult to Yog-Sothoth) Evil McGuffin artifact is about to get sundered.
Team dropped from 6 to 4.
This will release something horrible, as an alternative to thoroughly burying it for nobody to find.

I've browsed around, but haven't found something in the range of CR 9 that has peaked my interest.

Are there any juicy [outright disturbing/outer space/lovecraftian] monsters that would make a memorable final fight for 4 (lvl 7) PCs, in the d20 systems?

I'm also open to homebrewed suggestions, i'm very much all ears.

Thanks.

Hello everyone.

After the end of a playtest dungeon's boss encounter, (a cult to Yog-Sothoth) Evil McGuffin artifact is about to get sundered.
Team dropped from 6 to 4.

This will release something horrible, as an alternative to thoroughly burying it for nobody to find.

I've browsed around, but haven't found something in the range of CR 9 that has peaked my interest.

Are there any juicy [outright disturbing/outer space/lovecraftian] monsters that would make a memorable final fight for 4 (lvl 7) PCs, in the d20 systems?

If anyone has homebrewed suggestions, i'm very much all ears.

Thanks.

Alright, let's see some rolls then.

Despite the fight with the cult being over, it dawns to you there is still the evil artifact on the pedestal.

YES IT DOES!!! :D

I knew that already. ^^

With the world's impending doom in mind, Grog makes a jump.
As it falls short, and he's about to land, he turns his body with a mighty feat of barbaric strength.

In slow motion, the hammer is tossed upwards, making several quick circles, before smacking into brother Agar's face!

Grog passes out, Awith a satisfied grin on his face, and so brother Asgar does too, and falls down to the floor.
Taking some extra juicy falling dmg: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6

Carlaya dispatches evil-Tae therafter, freeing his tormented soul with two well placed arrows.

After that, she quickly heals Grog to conscious state again.

Awesome.

Be creative. :)

Aw, why? :P

Carlaya is suddenly frozen.

And gets a new willsave every turn (full round) to break the effect.

Grog

That spell went off in round 10, so you're in round 6 of 9 of being nauseated.

Grog, you've got stuff to keep yourself standing, right?
That spell dmg would knock you ko when you drop out of rage.

Again Asgar is forced to slap a shot aside, delfecting the 2nd with the 1st, before the 2nd shot flies past him.

"Die? When his glorious coming plunges this wretched world into the abyss of chaos, -then- i will happily die."
-------------
Asgar (-70) hovers 5ft closer, and points his finger towards Carlaya.
"May the chill of the void grab you."

Willsave DC 16 please, or you're affected by hold person.

Evil-Tae makes a touch attempts.
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 1d6 ⇒ 1

==================================

Cult of Yog-Sothoth, round 15

Carlaya, Charis & Grog
-----------------------
Brother Asgar (-70)
Evil-Tae

The bottle comes flying swiftly, yet Asgar has just enough time to lean to the side, and it crashes against the ceiling.

Carlaya & Charis
-----------------------
Asgar (-70)
Evil-Tae

I assume Grog is still pumped in some way.

For the unconscious Renee, the miasma is too much, even on a successfull save, and he dies.
Sry.

Evil-Tae flies towards Carlaya.
Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18 Str sap: 1d6 ⇒ 4
-----------------

Cult of Yog-Sothoth, round 14

Carlaya, Charis & Grog
------------------
Brother Asgar (-70)
Tae

Grog does a Michael Jordan towards brother Asgar, and he [HITS] the leader.
Bent from injury, brother Asgar's eyes turn hellbent on destruction.
Injured to very near collapse, it's an all or nothing for him now.
-------------------
Asgar (-71) hovers 5ft north.
Raising his palms in a fanataic's grip..
"Zhukvilash uthrgrast hlpFTAGHN!"

A foul miasma rolls forth like a cloud.
Dmg vs non evil: 4d8 ⇒ (7, 5, 8, 7) = 27

Guys, willsave DC 18 for 1/2, and avoid getting sickened for 1d4 ⇒ 4 rounds.

You need just 1 hit to end this.

Evil tae will act depending on Ed's save.

Grog, you can attack, see discussion.
I doubt you'd want that nat 1 i'd otherwise roll for you. :P

Yes, say 14 acro if you move 10ft (as per running jump) before jumping.

Grog, you could try jumping.

Asgar is 20ft up, against the ceiling. If you'd get 5ft up somehow, you'd hit him.

Carlaya's arrows fly at Asgar. The man slaps the 1st away, and only narrowly dodges the 2nd.
AC is 24.

Asgar is just out of reach range.
Grog flips Asgar the finger, and proceeds to treat cyan to a double pounding. As the magic hammer passes through its incorporeal body, the magic radiates and it shreeks in pain, after which is disappears.

3rd shadow gone.
---------------------------
Asgar points his finger at Grog.

"ZHulit glubath!!"

Grog, willsave DC 18 please, or you are blinded.

Evil-Tae moves in to Ed
Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12 Str sap: 1d6 ⇒ 1
1 str dmg.

Renee (needs a stabilize roll) & Ed (confused 1, nauseated 8)
===============================

Cult of Yog-Sothoth, round 13 (!)

Carlaya, Charis & Grog No longer confused.
-----------------------
Asgar (-47)
Evil-Tae
-----------------------
Renee & Ed No longer confused.

The sudden weakening of his body kicking in, Renee falls unconscious.

21 HP loss. You're at -1 and unstable. Sad to say, but you've the intellect comparable to that of an otyugh atm.
Ed's confused mind plays more tricks on him, not quite aware of the ill fate Renee had suffered.

Zhulaboth's presence dissipates.
===========================

Cult of Yog-Sothoth, round 12

Carlaya, Charis & Grog (confused 1 round)
------------------
Brother Asgar (-47)
Soultwisters
Cyan
Tae
--------------
Renee (unstable at -1) & Ed Earl (confused 1 round)

Ow. :(

Brother Asgar had invoked his most potent power, channeling a withering curse from the beyond.

The eye suddenly starts glowing an eerie purple, and Renee feels his body weaken, as does his ability to think.

Renee takes 6 dmg to constitution and to intelligence.
I've got to go to an appointment, and i'll get to the rest later tonight.

Not that it matters after that attack roll, but not speaking and flying would have prevented Asgar rom getting pinpointed from the smoke, afaik.

Grog storms out of the fog, hearing his comrades suddenly make threats at the leader, who has likely exited the fog.

Asgar simply smirks a villain's way, before two arrows fly towards him from Carlaya. The first one he slaps aside, and he other is a close miss.

Charis takes to the safety of the smoke.
--------------------
Asgar looks over towards Carlaya, and Zhulaboth moves 5ft into melee range.

Stabbity with tentacle dagger: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12 Force dmg: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Stabbity with tentacle dagger: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15 Force dmg: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Carlaya ducks to the left and the right, and Zhulaboth misses his attacks.

Brother Asgar hovers 5ft away from Grog, and looks at Renee.
"Zakfulhiktis braghvardis Ftaghn!"

A black sphere opens above Renee, and a monstrous eye looks at him sternly.
Renee, a willsave DC 26 please. Fair chance you'll pass it too.
The soultwister and evil-Tae make their touch attacks against Ed Earl and Renee.
Touch: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12 1d6 ⇒ 1
Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20 1d6 ⇒ 2
Both adventurers are sapped from strength, but not too great as before.
-----------------------
Renee & Ed Earl (confused 2 rounds, nauseated 9 rounds)