downrightamazed's page

Chemically induced genetic reconstruction and combination...

It is now my goal for the day to see if I can drop that phrase into conversation casually enough no one calls me on it.

Jiggy wrote:

Obvious troll is obvious. (Next time don't announce yourself and you might be more successful.)

What? Not liking MLP does not make me a troll. I was giving an honest piece of advice and I get dismissed as a troll? That's pretty sad.

See? You're already trolling. ;-) Don't worry. Imma love and tolerate the s%~* outta you. ^_^

Wow! The boards just got 20% cooler in 10 seconds flat.

Brony here, too, got mad love for DJ p0n-E. Only just on ep. 16 right now but I keep making my way through. Love the show so much, pity my gf just doesn't understand. :-(

Wow, tough crowd. I didn't realize some guy's list of suggestions for ways to avoid possible mistakes in world-building and storytelling would provoke so much vitriol for guns in PF. Especially since it isn't even about guns. My bad?

One of the things I find great about these forums is that lots of posters don't just read and accept, but challenge and question. As often as I'm frustrated by it, I'm more often encouraged and educated by it, and it's always valuable to me.

I rarely post on here, but I found his thoughts on (4) and (5) to be particularly stimulating so I thought I'd share. I never considered the way terms like "vandalize" or "champagne" could break verisimilitude for a reader (player) before. And the comments on the economy aren't about figuring out the economics of your fake-world, but instead gives us a way to identify how much accuracy is needed. I thought it was interesting.

I think the problem here is that though the article is indeed interesting, it's only useful or stimulating if you accept its presuppositions, no? Me, for example; "verisimilitude" is the last thing my players want in most of my games. They could give a crap what the root of a word is or if its existence assumes industrialization or whatever. So for them, "how much accuracy" generally equals zero. This, obviously, rather torpedoes the article before it even leaves the dock since the basic question the author seeks to answer is not a question I'm interested even in asking, much less having answered.

Or, for the tl;dr crowd: YMMV

If it helps those making concepts, I'm one of the two existing players. My character is a Female Half-Elf multi-classer; Enchanter/Chameleon/TWF (1/3/3). Profile coming soon.

LOL.

Thanks so much for all the input everyone. TBH I can't believe this has never come up in one of my games before, it seems like it would. I think we always just assumed intimidate meant intimidate and didn't do a close enough reading of the Aura of Courage class feature.

Looking like the pally in my game is gonna be immune to the intimidate that a certain aboleth is trying to pull on him.

As the title asks: Does aura of courage make a Paladin immune to the intimidate skill? I know in the description it says "fear effects, magic or otherwise", but Intimidate is a skill, not an effect, yes? It seems weird to me that a class would be completely immune to a skill as of just 3rd level. That'd be like if rogues got a talent that meant their disguises could never be seen through as of just third level, or something like that.

Good heavens, man! No worries, for sure; keep your city safe, we can wait. ^_^

But also; yikes! What a crazy couple of days.

Yeah, think I'm gonna develop the sylph concept. Shall I go ahead and make a profile, etc., or are you guys still taking concept proposals for a while?

It is totally open in terms of class and race. Should be vaguely compatible with 3.5/Pathfinder rules, but not overly worried about that. Like I said in the intro, we can cobble together something ruleswise for whatever concept. :)

Word up! In that case I've got two concepts, first the aforementioned Human Sorc, but also a Sylph Barbarian, basically imagine a sylph who "hulks up" into something not at all unlike a Greater Lightning Elemental when danger is present or when she's emotionally distraught. Either one sound like a better fit than the other?

I've also got a level 7 Wizard/Rogue I built for another game that died, who I could resurrect and pump up to play a teacher for y'all if you like. Setrek Dalltur, specializes in "Lost and Found," after his fashion.

Also, I'm playing in DM Barcas' Kingmaker thread as Taisper, his Carrion Crown thread as Marilwenn, and I DM three other homebrew PBPs as DM Downrightamazed if y'all need to see some posting history.

I can also vouch for Havoc XIII as being a terrific gamer to work with, and a fine addition to any PBP.

This is too good to pass up! I'd love to play in something like this. Is it open in terms of class/race or do you use PFR for that? Brewing a concept of a megawatt sorcerer who's a pretty-boy class-president type. His sorcery comes from parental collusion with Dark Powers, though, and that dogs him big time. Trying to live down his lineage while living up to his potential while dealing with, you know, being a teen. :-)

Hi GM! I highly recommend you check out this very recent and very similar thread, it's got good advice and links about how to go about PbPing.

Enjoy, and good luck!

downrightamazed wrote:

and to make sure you're 100% comfortable with the stylistic conventions of PBP play like "Using boldface for conversation" and italics for things your character is thinking and doing links, etc.

Actually, I hate that and would like the one player who does it to stop.

Ahhahaaa, well, nonetheless it doesn't hurt to be comfortable with it since there are DMs who will want you to use it, and it's not a big time-sink to learn. Takes two seconds.

Personally I can use it or not; when there are large blocks of conversation it can be irritating to see all that boldface, feels like I'm being yelled at, but in long expository paragraphs with just snippets of conversation I find it helps those snippets stand out, which is nice if you need to react to them IC.

*shrug* YMMV

I'll second everything John Woodford said above, and add the following:

I highly recommend you read this old gamer connection thread in its entirety. There is a great deal of people just looking to play in the first page or two, but then there is lots of great advice after that about how to maximize your chances for getting into a game, for even if you find a recruitment thread that doesn't already have 2937439872 people signed up for consideration, many GMs look for players with a solid posting history, which is tough to get. There are a couple of "pub" threads where you can use a character you've built to interact with others and build up some posts so people can see that you're serious about posting frequently and have good writing chops, or at least good enough for their game.

Also, read lots of other PBPs to get an idea for what style you like, and to make sure you're 100% comfortable with the stylistic conventions of PBP play like "Using boldface for conversation" and italics for things your character is thinking and doing links, etc. Also also, be sure you're comfortable with using the alternate profile system. Basically, have all the mechanics down so you can respond quickly and "correctly" when you do find a thread that interests you. Not every DM cares about those things, but most seem to.

Anyway, good luck to you! I find PBP games to be quite enjoyable so I hope you're able to have a similar experience.

@downrightamazed DM Barcas here. What do you think about a judo-style monk? Uses readied actions to utilize Improved Ki Throw, flinging enemies all over the place. Not sure on personality or history yet, as I was only following Mists of War casually.

I dig it! There are a number of ways we could work in such a character given where the plot currently is.

sigz is probably going to be the dodgiest, unless DRA makes someone as dilema riddled as Taispar!

Oh man, no; I need a break. Playing that dude is exhausting, though I bring it on myself, so, there you go.

Probably eyeing up CG for this one.

@downrightamazed:

In case it got lost in the ooc thread - Breadth of Experience is a great feat for non-standard academics. Comes with a age/racial prerequisite though.

Nope! I saw it. I just didn't get a chance to reply until an hour or so ago. I really appreciate that suggestion 'cos I probably wouldn't have remembered it while doing the build. It's a great idea!

I think alchemist are far better as ranged attacks there bombs are just nasty, 1d6 per two levels damage + Int mod as a ranged touch attack, that also deals minimum damage to those within 5ft. of the target (reflex half for those getting splashed only) eligible for Rapid Shot no less! With haste at 5th level you are looking at 9d6+15 as a ranged touch to one target (no save) and 24 damage (with 3 saves for half) to anything within 5 feet, that can potentially at the same time create a stinking cloud around an area 5 feet beyond the splash zone (if you take smoke bomb and stink bomb as you discoveries.).

Yeah, see, this already makes more sense to me than what I've seen my players do, and since I'm looking at a high-INT character anyway to back up my fluff, that works nicely.

Hm. I may even get to some mechanics on this today.

As for story I, too, am a big fan of a balanced distribution of action and whodunit/exposition. Part of why the Kingmaker campaign is so much fun.

downrightamazed: Have you considered an alchemist? It fits the academic archetype you are going for pretty well. I've just been running one as a NPC and damn those bombs are nasty!

I haven't, TBH, but now you mention it that's not a bad idea. I have an anti-alchemist prejudice for no particularly good reason, though steampunk fatigue is probably part of it, combined with the couple alchemists I've seen players run weren't, I think, run very well. They always kept trying to mutagen into a tank and then getting their 455es kicked, which didn't strike me as the class' optimal function in a party.

I'm definitely still liking the academic idea, though, and maybe this could be a chance to finally come to grips with how to make an alchemist work.

Archetype brainstorming, just to write these down and see what I (and anyone else interested in commenting) like best;
He's a wannabe-ghostbuster type, eager to help solve hauntings.
OR
He's a nega-psychic, a Dana Scully-esque empiricist.
OR
He's a slacker perpetual-grad-student type, talented but unmotivated
OR
He's an older academic whose life of comfort was recently turned upside-down by tragedy

Hmmm...

Well, my application is in! Hopefully I will hear in the next few weeks about transferring divisions.

Fingers crossed for ya, man. :-D

I'm noticing a lack of Arcane horsepower in the group, yes? Buncha fighters, couple divine casters, I'd like to put forth a rogue scholar type: Wizard 5/Rogue 2 OR if you'd prefer, Wizard 5/Ranger 2 if you want greater differentiation in the BAB progressions.

Setrak Dalltur - fierce autodidact, travels from town to town offering to help solve mysteries, settle disputes, find that which is lost, lose that which people wish to forget, solve problems. Older human male, lost his family in a raid on his city, and after a month of mourning realized he could no longer justify his comfortable academic's lifestyle knowing how brutal and short life is.

He sold all his belongings, packed his remaining things, and began wandering.

Definitely interested. I'm in a couple PbPs and am DMing three others (all very active) as DM Downrightamazed, so I'm in it for the long haul on anything I join. :-)

Looking at OOC and IC right now, will concept later today.

Yeah! Good luck, sir! Sending good vibes your way.

DM Downrightamazed wrote:

@Dolo: Apparently, there is to be no sleep for you. A strange, metallic clacking and crinkling noise is approaching, seeming to come from all around.

Does the mettalic clacking sound familiar - like a ruinstorm or the living metal from the ritual? Is there a knowledge skill or perception check I can make on this? Do I see anything?

It sounds exactly like the Metallum Aeternum from the ritual. Give me a Perception check and a K(Arcana) check please.

You hear a voice that sounds like metal scraping against rock, it is painful to hear. It always sounds like it is coming from behind your ears, somehow. "llllluuuckbennnnderrrrrr...givvvve usssss baaaaaack ourrrrrrsseelllllvessssssss..."

Gonna go with Azami. Uriel and Shuriken you're on deck as alternates. Thanks again everybody!

Looking at these builds right now guys, thanks for posting!

I assume that the D3+15/D10+6 stats are set? Meaning that< keep the 7, and can't sub out one of the 4D6 rolls (I'm ok with this, no big deal, if that is the case).

You can drop the 7, you just need to re-roll it the same way. You're correct in that you cannot sub in a 4d6 roll for a 1d10+6 roll. But since it's your lowest attribute, it's totally legal to drop it.

@Uriel: Hey man, welcome! Couple things: characters in this game start at 6th level, so you got room to maneuver in the build.

Review everything that's in the first post on this thread to make sure you're cool with it, and then you'll maybe want to read what's in the IC thread thus far to see if you like what you see. If after doing this stuff you still want in, post some fluff for me and mechanics to back it up and we'll see where we're at. Right now I'm...well, basically not quite full. I can leave the party at its current number, but can be swayed by a really cool build. :-)

@Niel: Psionic Fox is right, mate; I don't have a problem with any of that, and I love your build of San Pen. Please head over to the OOC thread and say hi, and we'll finalize the details of how you'll fit in. In particular I love Tokine's idea that you and she would be friends. Let's shore it up and get you inserted into things.

Mikhaila wrote:

niel wrote:

A year and a half ago I joined an ongoing high level Spelljammer game. At present we are spread between levels 15 and 19 with 7 players. We run about 2 or 3 sessions of planning and checking on NPC's for each session of combat.

How do you handle tactical combat in spelljammer? If you do. That's a big deal for the current game I'm running and I'd like some input on it.

I joined at 15th lvl. By that time the PC's ship had an invisibility enchantment so I never saw a tactical encounter. As far as I can tell, previously, the tactical aspect was just handwaved. Sorry.

I apologize for jumping in on this thread but I'm trying to contact Niel; sir, if you are still interested in joining my Pathfinder PBP with your Xorn PC, I would love to have you. I had a drop and you are my first alternate. Stop by the IC thread if you've any interest, please. Thanks!

@Niel/San Pen: You still out there? I had someone drop out and you are my #1 alternate. If you're still interested, I'd love to have you on board, sir.

I'll be rioght at that thread for discussion - just reviewing stats. Choices and prose are all done. Just making sure he's tidy and awaiting your scrutiny, GMsama.

I'll be rioght at that thread for discussion - just reviewing stats. Choices and prose are all done. Just making sure he's tidy and awaiting your scrutiny, GMsama.

The shadow asp dojo in the plane of shadows. Also DRA do you want Rose to use ancestral weapon? Have it work as is from paladin's divine bond? I was thinking a flat +1 to attack/damage or just damage or attack or something that goes up every 5 lvls so it would be a +5 at 20 not sure how ths works balance wise but I don't see a couple extra points being game breaking but I could be wrong.

Hmmm...put this in the OOC thread, let's talk about it there.

I am almost done. I'd like to ask permission for boots of striding and springing. The PFRPG ninja gets no speed bonus, so this helps me keep my expectations. Its price is 5,500, a bit over the amount you limited me to.

As an added bonus, it pretty much gets me finished.

5,500 is too high. Sorry man. :-/

Yeah, like I said, it works for me.

Heya - would it be acceptible for the Martial Stalker feat from 3.5 to apply to samurai and ninja classes, given our setting? I don't need the AC bonus, since the PFRPG ninja doesn't have that feature. I am just looking for samurai and ninja to cooperate better, and I'd like to spend a feat to make it worthwhile. I ask because I think I saw a few backwards compatible mechanics on other builds. I'm happy to choose something else if you require.

Edit: I'm willing to forever give up the mount feature (there's talk in the playtest about making the mount optional) for either the Ancestral Relic feat (a benefit of previous samurai classes and not unlike the divine bond alternative), or for the following text for Martial Stalker for your campaign only:

Martial Stalker Your samurai and ninja levels stack for the purpose of determining the size of your ki pool. Your samurai and ninja levels also stack for the purpose of qualifying for feats that require a minimum fighter level feat.

I'll throw out both mount and mounted archery for both abilities, if it pleases you. : }

I think that's cool, go ahead with that. I'm down with swapping things out for cool builds.

Heya - would it be acceptible for the Martial Stalker feat from 3.5 to apply to samurai and ninja classes, given our setting? I don't need the AC bonus, since the PFRPG ninja doesn't have that feature. I am just looking for samurai and ninja to cooperate better, and I'd like to spend a feat to make it worthwhile. I ask because I think I saw a few backwards compatible mechanics on other builds. I'm happy to choose something else if you require.

This is cool, go for it!

I apologize. I had an epically bad personal and business day yesterday. I am back on the plan, no one is dead (that doesn't need to be). Full build coming as you read this.

Ouch, man, I hope everything is okay...?

Other than that, coolness! I'm running an IRL game tonight but will keep checking in.

First things first; I want to thank everyone who submitted builds and went through all this. I really really appreciate all your time. If I didn't pick you, please don't take it personally. I have a pretty wide set of metrics players have to succeed in, and I had some really terrific options here.

Okay! So as usual I'm choosing more than I thought I would 'cos of all the coolness going on here, but I still have ONE SPOT LEFT I'm considering folks for. Waiting for that last build (Steven, where you at, man?) before I finalize.

In the meantime, I've made some decisions. The following people can report to the OOC thread whenever they have a moment. Chat with your fellow players, get to know each other, etc. Game will start Monday. Please post any new questions you have for me in that thread going forward.

(Looks like the boards freaked out or something and added my OOC thread three times. Heh. Two of 'em are blank, so obviously use the one I linked above, the one with content in it.)

These players have been selected:
Meowzebub as Tokine Nagano, Cleric of Shelyn
Psionic Fox as Kyras Erodel, Power Word Sorcerer
Zain Ashvale as Daveth Ashvale, Half-Erinyes Rogue
ChibiAmy as Shan Chongde, Magus

** spoiler omitted **...

Terrific! Thanks so much!

Just waiting on one last thing now, then I can make my final call. Thank you all so much for your patience with me on this, I hate keeping folks waiting.

Good afternoon(or evening/morning depending on where you are) everyone ^_^, Hey Downrightamazed, is there anything else I should work on for Daveth? A friend of mine is actually going to do a drawing of him for me so hopefully I'll have that soon :D!

Heh. It's afternoon here. 3:19 CST. :-) Character drawings are cool! Love to see it.

I'm planning on announcing the final roster tonight. I'm 100% sure on a couple spots, kinda sure on a couple more, and waiting on stuff from Steven and ChibiAmy yet to help me decide, though I'm pretty solid on everyone else's build. Thanks for checking in!

Okay, the build is here in the profile. I just need to add his Power Words and gear, which I'll do when I get home from work in about three hours.

I'm not looking for plot-spoilers, but would being the son of a black or white dragon come up more often in the plot? Because I'd like some (however slight) plot relevance there.

** spoiler omitted **

You know that's an interesting question. I guess, when I think about it, in the bajillion twisted plots in the stories based in The Land, being a son of a Metallic, Red, or Blue dragon would actually come up with greater frequency. The whites rarely leave their arctic stronghold, and are mostly engaged in defending it from Black Dragonflight incursions. No honor among thieves, that sort of thing. Being descended from a black dragon could add some juicy bits, but they'd be (pardon the pun) all black and white; all free people fear and despise the black dragons, while the dark races and the beloved of Lamashtu worship them, there's not much emotional interest or moral tug-of-war there.

The metallic dragons, however, have a million things going on, are all banded together against the enemy, and it's possible you will meet not only your parent, but friends of said parent. They're working together from all possible angles to defeat the enemy, you see, so they're very busy and traveling a lot.

I understand at this point he is not locked into the game,. Hopefully redoing his remaining design will compel you to make him a part of your world.

Also, w/r/t your attribute and HP rolls, you can reroll here on the boards if you want. It's your call. Makes no difference to me.

downrightamazed wrote:

PsionicFox wrote:

Quick question: The Black Dragonflight. Are they just black dragons? Because I think I'm going to give him the White dragon bloodline. Honestly, it has little to do with the character, I just wanted to know for my own curiosity.

The Black Dragonflight army consists of orcs, trolls, hobgoblins, gnolls, and many dark folk. All of them are terrifyingly well equipped and magically enhanced. The regular foot soldier orcs are clad in full plate mail, for example. Hobgoblins and Dire Gnolls serve as NCOs, young black dragons and Erinyes are officers. Many other devils also assist and there are oracles that do the bidding of the Dragonflight's leader, the spectral Veriala.

They have cavalry that ride dire boars and beserkers on dire badgers and worgs. They also have dragonriders.

Your character would know none of this, BTW. :-D

I'm assuming Sieg knows all this though?

Not...necessarily. As a summoned warrior from the shadow plane you would have been treated largely with disdain, and then eventually grudging respect but only if you did your job well. You would know about the general makeup of the army, this is true, but you would never have heard Veriala's name.

You would NOT know about the dragonriders, either. Everything else is fair game.

I believe I have all of my offensive abilities down. I was wondering since you told us to ask. I was thinking of using my remaining gold to pick up a Vest of Escape(Cost: 5,200GP juuuust shy of the 5k limit xD), I was however wondering. If I am allowed to have it would its Disable Device bonus(+4) stack with the bonus provided from the goggles of minute seeing(+5)?

5200 is fine.

Pretty sure those bonuses won't stack. They usually don't. Check to see if both bonuses are of the same type, i.e. insight or luck. If they are, then they don't stack. If not, then I suppose it must be legit.

Dr. A

** spoiler omitted **...

Excellent. Thank you.

Also, did you read either of my other PbPs I'm running to make sure you're down with my DMing style?

I'll get right on that. Does it matter terribly if he doesn't have his gear yet?

I would very much like to see gear. You have an awful lot of money to spend, so gear can really add to your build. That 5k max gp per single item goes a decent ways toward sweet toys.

Quick question: The Black Dragonflight. Are they just black dragons? Because I think I'm going to give him the White dragon bloodline. Honestly, it has little to do with the character, I just wanted to know for my own curiosity.

The Black Dragonflight army consists of orcs, trolls, hobgoblins, gnolls, and many dark folk. All of them are terrifyingly well equipped and magically enhanced. The regular foot soldier orcs are clad in full plate mail, for example. Hobgoblins and Dire Gnolls serve as NCOs, young black dragons and Erinyes are officers. Many other devils also assist and there are oracles that do the bidding of the Dragonflight's leader, the spectral Veriala.

They have cavalry that ride dire boars and beserkers on dire badgers and worgs. They also have dragonriders.

Your character would know none of this, BTW. :-D