cartomancer's page

IIRC it was said that the number of days in an in-game year would be increased enough to keep time basically equivalent to a real-world year. Was it mentioned anywhere whether this just means each month has more days? And does anyone know the current plan for the number of days in PFO?

We now have an official recruitment thread here! Yay! Everyone feel free to stop by and say hi!

Also, we're ready to start taking requests.

This is completely off topic, but the cook thing made me wonder if we could make or contaminate foods? Imagine sneaking into a city under disguise and selling poisoned foods to its citizens. This could be good for everything from behind the scenes war efforts to trying to discredit your competition.

Sorry for the derail. Go back to alignment insanity. ^.^

That's worth posting on the Traps thread.

Really? Just an Ahole? I thought at the very least he was a homicidal maniac.................

Oh great god of evil cookery, give me strength!!!!!!

No, no, you're right. I apologize for incorrectly characterizing your cook.

An Evil Cook! How would that work................

Greed-o-vision:

Come right in hated customer. Take a seat. Whats that? Someone put tacks in your seat. Oh dont worry about that I just paralyzed your body. Now stay right there and Ill bring out a true cullinary abortion....... Ah youre still here (snickers). Now hold still while I put in this funnel down your throat, I wouldnt want the taste to accidentally trigger your upchuck response. Here let me forcefeed you this disgusting and depraved dish. Isnt it horrible. Good......... Excellent. Now my nomal price for that dish is 4 gold, but for you ill just take all your money. Lets see, 2700 gold, that sounds fair. Ok all thats left is to knock you over the head, throw your body in a dark alley, and wish you good luck. What? Oh yea, didnt I tell you? Your food has a lethal poison with delayed action.

A few months later:
(Sigh) whats wrong with me? Well my business went under. I just dont understand what went wrong. I strived to offer the best in absolute evil customer service,........... Yet for some reason, I never get repeat business. Truly mind boggling?????

No, I think that's an A-hole cook. An evil cook offers the best buffs for the bad guys that it can, sells poisons to the Assassins (or priests, whatever), and serves baked unicorn at the village feasts.

If a Settlement's alignment reflects those of the members, I think that having your cooks, merchants, etc. be Evil would be important to an Evil Settlement. You wouldn't want them suddenly shifting the Settlement's alignment to Neutral just becausse you didn't pay any attention to them.

avari3 wrote:

I vote for collision at all times, even sneaking or invisible.

You're right that a guard blocking a doorway should also be able to block characters he can't see.

I'm actually going back to the first suggestion I posted, where your ability to block other players is a toggle, and you are flagged as an Attacker if you block anyone (unless you are also flagged as an Enforcer or something similar in your Settlement).

Or maybe something simpler where "blocking" doesn't cause any flags, but instead there's a Test of Strength that determines whether or not the blocker can get shoved out of the way.

Maybe a Test of Dexterity to get past a blocker, too? A stealthed rogue can possibly slip by without even being noticed, if the blocker is a bruiser and not overly perceptive.

The Pax Mercatorum welcomes the Order of the Sacred Bond to the River Kingdoms and the Pathfinder Online forums.

Impressive name for your organization ;)

Should you so desire, the Mercatorum is still willing to host your organization at our town.

We would love that. Sorry for not replying to you yet; RL got in the way a bit.

The Order of the Sacred Bond was formed to do one thing: Bring about marriage bonds that are strong enough to withstand death.

The Heads of the Order found themselves Marked by Pharasma and fell to the Siren Song of the River Kingdoms. Upon reaching them, they discovered that their unique specialty was desperately needed. Love often survived death, but marriage did not. Thus, the Wedding Guild has found its true purpose: Joining two lives as one for as long as love remains.

Rules:
1. The clients' wishes are paramount. Whenever possible, all desired rituals and customs will be upheld.
2. A Bond created by the Order can only be broken by the Order.
3. Weddings are a sacred event. This does not mean solemn; everyone loves a good Bard.
4. The Order is neutral to the machinations of Settlements and Kingdoms. We serve a higher purpose, and expect a civil reaction from all we interact with.
5. Death is not necessarily the end of life, but each death could be the last. Cherish every moment, and be prepared to fight to protect your life.

Ceremonies other than weddings:
The Order of the Sacred Bond is fundamentally about marriages, but that is not all we are capable of organizing. Needless to say, weddings come first, but if your shop is just opening, your Settlements have reached a treaty, or you simply wish to have a stylish birthday party, we can handle it.

Organization:
Jolt performs the ceremonies.
Kobold Cleaver runs security.
cartomancer keeps the records of the Bonds.

We need bards. We need guards. We need caterers. We need couriers. We may, at times, even need seat fillers. We need those familiar with the faiths of the River Kingdoms.

But most of all, we need you. We need you to get married, if your hearts so desire. We need you to tell your friends that we are here, so they can get married.

If you are ready to request a wedding already, please feel free to post your info here or PM cartomancer and we will happily put you on our calendar.

RP level: All levels are accepted, but at least moderate RP is preferred. Expect to be speaking in-character during ceremonies, at least.

Alignment: The Wedding Guild is neutral religiously, politically, racially, and sexually.

Focus: Weddings and divorces. The Sacred Bond may be broken, but not erased. The Order does not recognize the validity of annulments.

To join: PM cartomancer

Great blog! I love that I can train core alignment skills even if my active alignment is out of whack for a bit.

Correction: I am applying for sponsorship with the character I plan to lead 'Helping Hands' with and I am currently in talks detailing that arrangement. :)

My apologies for earlier the incorrect post.

Very cool. I hope Sunder will increase Sneak Attack damage.

What about having a minimap that toggles, with the amount of information visible (range and quality) dependent on the Perception skill? GW's latest Blog provides solid proof that they like the effects of (at least some) skills and feats to be based on percentages. High perception people see more on the map to represent peripheral vision and whatnot.

Personally, I'm for a minimap because I am not going to able to figure out where I am without one. As for a personal world map, give me Cartography and let me buy info on POIs.

PFO would definitely be more immersive to me without a minimap, but I don't want maximum immersion, I want maximum fun.

EDIT: Welcome froggalpha! Thank you for your post. :)

@Nihimon A separate thread, please. We are still working out the details, and not yet to the point of recruitment.

As an aside, for Jolt's first posts on the forums, they are having a great reception. :)

I put LN for the Order of the Sacred Bond character. The Assassin DT will probably be NE.

I think the crafter character will be LG. That should make for fun discrimination when selling siege engines, and a nice balance of alignments.

As I previously stated, the Pax Mercatorum would be happy to host The Order of the Sacred Bond.

We would be happy for Pax Mercatorum to sponsor The Order of the Sacred Bond. PM me to discuss the details, please.

Cartomancer wrote:

The Disguise mechanism would have to randomly choose from the list of acceptable items. That could be interesting.

Why should a disguise prevent you from getting nabbed by Jonny Law for something unrelated?

Disguise is supposed to make you look generic to all sorts of inspection mechanics, isn't it? I assumed that the variant SAD mechanic would count. This may have been incorrect, though.

A list of permissible equipped weapons

Given the above what selectable laws would people like to see?
In addition should laws be allowed to be different for members and visitors

eg Only short swords are permitted for visitors
members may be permitted long swords in addition

The second idea we kicked about was player guards or "enforcer" flagged characters being able to police contraband (settlement flagged items) by an adaption of the Stand and deliver mechanism whereby player guards could search other players for contraband

The Disguise mechanism would have to randomly choose from the list of acceptable items. That could be interesting.

I would be interested to see an amphibious race in play.

There is a precedent, recorded on YouTube, for a ceremony being interrupted by a hostile guild. If I recall correctly, I believe it was actually an in-game funeral for a character after the player had died out-of-game. Clearly griefing behavior, to me, but a security detail would have been handy in that case. I'll see whether I can digg up the video.

That sounds like griefing behavior to me, too. I hope they were shunned afterward.

@Kobold Cleaver That makes me think of the Morrowind book, The Wraith's Wedding Dowry. Tons of fun, maybe even something TSV would be interested in documenting?

And as for what we'll do in those situations, well, you're the head of Security, so I'm sure you'll come up with something. Maybe I can do something Diplomatic in the guild to make the CC happy? Maybe you could plan a special pre-wedding reception for any angry CCs? Lots of free wine... (I hope being drunk will have an effect on combat ability.)

Are you really applying a serious complaint to my sparkling vampires post? :P

Absolutely! If vamps are going to walk around in broad daylight, I would appreciate all suntan lotion to be sparkly. How else will I know who to hire when I want to reenact Bram Stoker's book on a Settlement stage? Plus, disco ball effect without needing extra props on stage.

Interesting roleplaying opportunity: Sparkly suntan lotion convinces roaming vampires your ostentatious character is undead. Do you drink blood (accepting a debuff and possible illness) or admit you're just a stylish member of the Wedding Guild and learn firsthand the definition of exsanguinated?

Please note that the Order of the Sacred Bond does not discriminate on the basis of life status. If undead are implemented as races, we will be happy to marry you off to whomever you've cowed into agreement.

You know, the 670th time comes with a free certificate for a haircut--oh wait, nevermind.

I suspect you are right about the lesser bandits. I hope that they will realize that they should act more like Bludd's group, a message they might possibly get over cupcakes? I'd hate the UNC to have to spend time talking face-to-face when Tony's delivers...unless the lesser bandits don't get the message the first time.

Who else wants the Order of the Sacred Bond to host the Burning Rabbit festival? ;)

I think the best compromise would be to let the number of threads depend on your gear rather than your level. If you use only level 4 gear you get the same number of threads that a normal level 4 character would have and so on.

What do you mean by normal level 4 character? A fighter archetype will need different gear than a dedicated refiner, and different gear than a cleric 1/rogue 3. I think that level 4 gear means different things there, and that a set number of threads evens it out.

Also, as an Assassin, I like the idea of threads. I want to force my victim to respawn farther and farther from home each they die, and I don't see how that makes sense without threads.

Settlements will have to consider some mechanical issues. Take player housing, for example, whenever it gets implemented. If a person who lives in Settlement A marries a person on the KoS list, do they whitelist that person or risk having a seneschal move out? (I'm pretty sure this will occur eventually, as the RP effects would be too fun to resist forever.)

Hey! So uhh, I've been thinking of possibly setting up a farm and I'd be happy to sell you pretty much anything you'd need. I might even have some, uhh, spices for sale every now and then, for spiced bread, if you're into that sort of thing.

Hey, I'm a home baker. Are those spices for sale to everyone?

@Bringslite I hope we can do more than just weddings, too. If we track official weddings, (allowing, hopefully, for people to RP common-law marriages if they so choose), we're the logical choice for Divorces. Also, I really love the idea of us organizing big events for various groups, but so far no Settlement officials have commented here if they'd like that. We'll probably put it in the charter and see if they like it.

I think weddings alone might be slow during EE, but when OE gets off the ground, that alone might keep us quite busy. We only need 2 people at a time out of thousands to want one "on the books."

I hope we get at least one EE alliance built through diplomatic marriage. Fun RP opportunity (who do you invite? Who do you snub?) and would set a nice precedent.

Here in Texas, you need a legal divorce for a common-law marriage; what do y'all think of that mechanic for Golarion?

Jolt and I prefer The Order of the Sacred Bond (colloquially known as the Wedding Guild), and I personally love the idea of our group organizing grand ceremonies. We are working on a charter now.

I'll toss out there that Bardic Knowledge, even if it doesn't give mechanical benefits, should still work. You'll be going around, meeting people, hearing this or that, which is what the skill represents.

Also, welcome! Thanks for posting. What instrument(s) do y'all love most?

We are going to be sponsored by Pax Aeternum!

Remember -- The only ones who truly win in war are the ones who sell the weapons.

I have no idea why people are so paranoid about being attacked when their doing non violent things. From everything we have heard so far, attacking a guilds city (The only really sensible place to hold one) is a no small thing.

While the Wedding Guild would be more than happy to organize an event within a Settlement for anyone, it is not the only sensible place for such a ceremony.

Perhaps two frontier farmers wish to celebrate their love at their farm. It is quite possible that a nearby Escalation would try to interrupt their special day. Escalations are inconsiderate like that.

When's the next chat?

We just need to pick out officers, define who can join (I vote anyone) and establish rules for how people can request a wedding.

We'll want to get a scribe to create contracts, to establish rules about dowry (if any), discuss rules on divorce and remarriage ("till death do us part" isn't really going to cut it in PFO), and hopefully find a group to create wedding outfits.

It's not really much work, probably an hour on TS?

I will be creating a third character for this guild, and helping work out the details. We would be happy to join with Mercatorum; thank you for the offer, theStormWeaver.

So, anyone have a better idea for a name than "The Wedding Guild"? Also, who would like to assist me in the creation of a charter? I think the guild will end up being some form of neutral.

Nihimon wrote:

Jolt wrote:

Wedding parties who prefer to remain unarmed should be able to do so without worry. :D

I totally agree. I was just pointing out that the only way that actually happens is if there are other armed people elsewhere, providing that level of safety.

And that is why fewer and fewer people these days are making plans to travel to Syria for a scenic Mediterranean wedding.

Well, now I want to get married at the Worldwound.

I disagree. We won't kill you anyway; we want high rep as much as y'all.

This could tie in well with the Buildings as Distinctive Features thread, if a Settlement wanted to be the most romantic place to wed.

Also, definitely protect the wedding party. If one of the heads of a Settlement weds outdoors, that person may well end up Assassinated. Sad honeymoon.

I can't wait to see this guild. I hope that we get wandering wedding planners, offering enchanted wedding rings. Those will definitely justify Threading.

I was under the impression that only high grade masks granted postmortem anonymity, but I could have easily misunderstood.

Dario wrote:

I also think that if you're killed while wearing a mask that doesn't auto-destroy your husk, then players should be able to unmask you as part of the looting process and learn your identity. I doubt that will happen, though.

I would like to see this happen, too.

+1

I think you should be able to Observe anyone you feel like. I'm just not certain of it being useful without a contract.

cartomancer wrote:

Banditry will probably be about both robbery and PvP. Bandit bands will likely specialize abilities per person, giving a range of skills. A lone Bandit, choosing between the two, seems like a situation that will only occur at the beginning of a Bandit's career.

That being said, few people will take a SAD seriously from someone who is incapable of backing their polite request up with violence.

That is where those few (such as myself) who go the more combat style (in my case assassin) comes in to support my less combat oriented companions. They sad, I'm the enforcement.

Ah, teamwork. That's what it's all about.

In the thread What makes Pathfinder Online Different, it is mentioned that there will be a need for specialized PC types, focused on vampire hunting or dragon slaying.

I would like to know who is planning on having a character that does that sort of thing, because it's always better to have that information BEFORE the dragon is destroying your Settlement.

Don't be silly, Gobo. You'll be living off of radishes, and the Smurfs would be helpful there. You don't want to go up against any Gorgs if you don't have to, right?

I might be looking at this the wrong way and I'm definitely not saying that I'm against "banditry skills". It's just, if I were to play a bandit I can't see how I would prioritize anything other than stuff that helps me kill other players (and make a getaway before their friends catch me). If there is a FUN way to introduce USEFUL specialized banditry skills and abilities in the game I am all for it.

You definitely don't want to overlook the benefits of us having hideouts, or even just SADs. If I had to choose between upgraded sword skills or upgraded hideout skills, I think I'd choose the latter. I only need to fight if a merchant refused, but I'll want to hide either way. Plus, I think that hideouts will give some variation of Appraise.

Banditry will probably be about both robbery and PvP. Bandit bands will likely specialize abilities per person, giving a range of skills. A lone Bandit, choosing between the two, seems like a situation that will only occur at the beginning of a Bandit's career.

That being said, few people will take a SAD seriously from someone who is incapable of backing their polite request up with violence.

cartomancer wrote:

Off topic, how did you do the avatars?

Whatever the Smurf do you mean?

Just that I couldn't post any pictures of MY real self.

Oh, I think it might come up more often than you think, depending on how contracts work. Can anyone pick up an assassination contract? I mean, could both of us get a contract to take out a person, or is it a first-come first-served deal? Personally, if I wanted someone dead, I'd want Assassins competing for the kill.

Also, I know disguises are pricey, but are masks?

How can the kill be verified? I assume that both Assassins were masked or they wouldn't show up as Assassins. Do masks degrade upon death? Upgraded masks destroy your corpse, but can someone identify you by removing a basic mask post-mortem? I hope not...