gyrfalcon's page

I hope it goes well!

Oh gosh! I appreciate your curiosity...and also, should warn:

On the one hand I think Spheres of Might / Power is a truly great 3p addition to Pathfinder, and it's not overly complicated once you learn it...but it's a LOT to learn. Honestly, I'd say only dig into learning it if you're really interested; otherwise I'd just say no (and I'm sure I can come up with a concept that uses Paizo 1p stuff).

The Akasha system was made by Dreamscarred Press (who made the Soulknife). I'm still learning it myself, but my impression is there's a lot to learn there too.

All that said, the Spheres Wiki is a great place to start, and in particular I'd start with reading Using Spheres of Might (to learn about the martial half) or Using Spheres of Power to learn about the magic half. In a nutshell, it's a more modular system: imagine a bunch of families of feats (called talents) that you can choose from, to build anything from a teleportation-focused wizard to a scoundrel who specializes in using dirty tricks and sleight of hand to all manner of creative effects. A character has a class. The class grants some class abilities as you might expect, but it also grants talents. Those talents get taken from magic spheres (like Warp, e.g. teleportation, Destruction, e.g. blasting, Divination, e.g. divination + senses, Alteration, e.g. polymorphing) and/or, depending on the class, from martial spheres like Scout (perception/knowledge/stealth-related), Athletics (movement/acrobatics-related), Warleader (diplomacy-related), Gladiator (intimidation-related), or Guardian (tanking/patrolling/challenging-related).

(One of the things I like about Spheres of Might in particular is that martials tend to have more that they can do outside of combat, especially if they invest in certain spheres.)

But really, my advice is to say a quick, "Oh God, nevermind" unless you're in the mood to dive into a deep 3p system. I think it's lovely and relatively balanced...but it's also a good bit to grok at first. I know my first time I started trying to piece it together I had to walk away.

(Oh, and while I know Spheres well and can answer questions about it, I'm a noobie when it comes to Akasha so I'll probably just withdraw that suggestion, but for completeness you can read some about it here. I think the place to start is "Veilweaving Rules" and/or a class like the Vizier.)

7d6 - 3 - 2 ⇒ (1, 1, 3, 2, 6, 1, 6) - 3 - 2 = 15
6d6 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 6) - 2 - 4 = 14
5d6 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (6, 3, 2, 4, 1) - 1 - 2 = 13
4d6 - 2 ⇒ (6, 6, 2, 6) - 2 = 18
6d6 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (1, 5, 2, 1, 2, 3) - 2 - 2 = 10
4d6 - 2 ⇒ (2, 2, 3, 3) - 2 = 8

Whelp, I'm sure glad you allow rerolling 1s!

In terms of classes, I see you have a Godling and a Soulblade, and you mention to ask about others.

Are you familiar with, and would you approve, any of: Spheres of Might? Spheres of Power? Akashic classes?

Thanks!

I think there are two questions getting meshed together here in a confusing way.

1) Should the default be DMs get paid for DMing? I suspect it's not at all contraversial to say NO. Both being a player and being a DM are lovely ways to spend time with friends (and make new ones) and I wouldn't think to charge my friends for DMing. Everything would change. Fair nuff!

Entirely separately:

2) Might paid RPGs be valuable for some people at some times? To this, I think the answer is empirically YES. For myself, for less than the price of a movie, I got to play a new game system that none of my friends knew how to play, and I got great joy from it. (As it happened, I first did it during lockdown, when it was particularly compelling...but it doesn't take much imagination to realize there are plenty of situations where offering paid games might improve others' lives.)

I think cooking is a reasonable analogy. Do I charge my family and friends money to eat the food I cook? No, and doing so would change the nature of something I like to give freely. Cooking's not my livelihood, and I don't plan for it to become so.

But am I also grateful that there are people who DO cook for money? You betcha! Otherwise I might never get to eat pizza! And if you're someone who never pays for food, that's fair...but what harm is there if you have neighbors who do?

DM, I hope you're making progress on your RL challenges. As said before, that's what's most important.

For now, I'm going to pause checking back on this recruitment. Would you mind PM'ing me when you're back? I'd still love to play if and when it works out for you to return, and if Autumn would be a good addition to the party (or if you have questions/comments about her out of your review).

In the meantime, best of luck with all that you're managing, and don't stress about when you'll be able to return.

I'm personally glad that Paizo wants there to be a way for PF DMs to offer services to players who'd like to hire a DM.

I won't drop a link here since it isn't PF related, but in addition to Pathfinder I really enjoy some of Magpie's Powered by the Apocalypse games (e.g. Avatar, Masks), and I've been VERY happy to get to play in a few of their curated play games.

As Maya notes, there are some splendid professional DMs out there!

Alright, I'll get to work then!

6d6 - 3 ⇒ (1, 6, 1, 3, 4, 1) - 3 = 13
rerolls: 13 + 3d6 ⇒ 13 + (6, 5, 5) = 29

Hey GM, I'm thinking of a Kobold Trapsmith. Scholar on one side. Likely Conscript on the other.

Do you have any concerns with the Spheres Kobold? I believe it's 11 RP (trading out -3 stats for +0 stats, dropping -1 light sensitivity, and adding prehensile tail as a bonus (when normally it's astandard alternative that can be traded for +2 RP armor). All together I think that's 5 RP (Paizo base) +3 +1 +2 = 11 RP.

Oh, my bad, was looking from my phone.

Shadowed Fist replaces _drill_ knuckle, and Skirmishing Scout replaces _bare_ knuckles. So then yep, should be fine to stack.

No. Archetypes have the normal rules that they don't stack if they both replace the same thing.

Sure, though that can mean many things.

First, there are Spheres archetypes for rogues (listed on the front page of the spheres wiki, under Archetypes. (As an example, my submission, Autumn Longbriar, uses two of them.)

There are also spheres that lean into roguelike competencies. E.g., Fencing is great for feinting, precision damage. Scout is great for sneaking and discovering, scoundrel is good for dirty tricks and stealing, athletics is great for mobility. But also a Spheres rogue might invest in just about any sphere, e.g. Dual Wielding (makes 2WF viable) or Duelist (bleed damage, disarming) or Trap (setting and disabling) or Gladiator (intimidation and boasts) or some of the unarmed combat spheres (Open Hand, Boxing, Wrestling) or the ranged ones (Barrage, Sniper) or Warleader (to better aid your allies) or...there are just a ton of directions to go.

All that together both means any two spheres Rogues may be utterly unalike. (My rogue invests in Scoundrel but also in Guardian (for combat patrol tricks) and Performance (from Spheres of Guile, to be able to start (nonmagical) dances that both aid my allies when they join in and can make life awkward for our foes). Together that means Autumn can still sneak and steal like a standard rogue, but she can also "tank" in some unusual ways: not by soaking damage, but by controlling the battlefield and make it hard for foes to hit either her or her team. Admittedly, all this customizability also makes Spheres a LOT to learn.

If you haven't at least read through the top of Using Spheres of Might, I highly recommend it.

Then I'd suggest either:
a) think of a fun concept - maybe one you wouldn't have been able to create in vanilla Paizo - and then ask us if we can suggest some spheres to read/learn/play with (to narrow down where you might want to dive in), or
b) pick a class that interests you and start reading it (I've described a few below), or
c) pick a few spheres to read through and start reading those. (You might think it's best to start with the classes, and that's not a terrible idea...but sometimes the classes feel hard to grasp without grasping at least a couple spheres first.)

If you want an overview of the main spheres martial classes, I'd say:
- Armiger - the ultimate switch-hitter, swapping weapons throughout a fight (often even throughout one round)
- Blacksmith - make and fix stuff, good in battle, esp against foes with sunderable equipment and/or vs constructs...but solid anywhere
- Commander - fun class (CHA or INT-based) that lets you amp the power of your teammates in a non-magic way
- Conscript - this is the ultimate build-your-own chassis. If you have an idea that the other classes don't capture, this one will. (You'll note you could build a fine rogue here, though with fewer skill points.)
- Scholar - the oddity of a d6 HD, 1/2 BAB martial - sounds horrid, but they can be really fun and powerful INT-based characters that can go in a ton of directions.
- Sentinel - a wonderfully designed tanking class, that effectively punishes foes both for attacking you AND for not attacking you
- Striker - a complex-to-play but very fun martial artist who can have some truly scary high damage rounds, plus lots of adaptability.

(And I skipped Savant and Technician because I generally don't think they're great places to start, but you certainly can.)

Then, if you scroll down to archetypes, you'll see there are Spheres archetypes for every Paizo class too (including some that take casters and make them purely martial, e.g. at some point I really want to play the spheres non-caster Minstrel Bard archetype).

Go for it, you've got a few fans here!

General starting point (generic advice):
- It's probably easiest to decide to focus on learning either Power (magic) or Might (martial) first. // and as others have said above, in spheres a gestalt where both sides are martial and/or both sides are magic is often a great, interesting build.

- Whichever you choose to start with, start by going to http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/ and reading the "Using Spheres of ___" page for the one you picked (e.g. http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/using-spheres-of-power ). Spheres of Guile (skill-focused) is a lot of fun too, but I think it's the most complex to learn.

- In Paizo, what you do is mostly your Class. In Spheres, what you do is sometimes way more about your Spheres.

- Building a Spherecaster (or Spheres Martial) can be a bit more like building a superhero, e.g. a concept like "I want someone who's great at Ice Magic / Time Magic / Teleportation tricks" can be a useful starting point.

...and then yeah, ask away!

Saashaa, I can't speak for the DM, but I applied late and am being considered...and as Monkeygod quoted, he's got tricky IRL things taking his attention that he warned us could take longer than he hopes.

There's already a lot of great competition here, but if you're got the time to build a gestalt spheres character...well heck, I'm a bit weird, but I often find that the character design process is its own reward. ;-)

I saw you mention you're new to Spheres, and while Gestalt maybe isn't the ideal way to learn it...I recommend any excuse to learn it, as I think it's a lovely system (or set of systems, at this point).

DM, thanks for the kind words! Any feedback welcome, either on crunch or ideas how Autumn's backstory might be better woven into your world. When you do review her crunch, hopefully the Advancement Choices spoiler at the top of her profile helps to explain what abilities/talents come from where. (And I'm very glad I made it in under the wire! I think Autumn would be a ton of fun to play, and I'm really interested to see how some of the Dance and Subterfuge talents in particular play out. Fingers crossed as I know you have a ton of great applicants!)

Hey eriktd, I've got a relatively late addition that should be added to the list next time you post it:

gyrfalcon: Autumn Longbriar, halfling Rogue (Canny Scoundrel, Grifter) 5 // Bravo 5 // Notorious Celebrity 1

Thanks!

I'm sorry to hear that your family member got osteomyelitis, but I'm glad they had you there with them. Family (and real life
commitments like fixing a broken fridge) always have to come first.

And I've certainly had times where in the crunch of real life I took longer than I wanted to to check back in with a game, so I totally understand.

As namo says, take all the time you need!

(And since you mentioned it, I'm a big fan of PbP games having a discord. Like most folks here, I've been in plenty games that died quickly. I've also had the good fortune to play RotR from beginning to end on these boards, and am now in the midst of the Kiora's WotR campaign, which is currently the 3rd most active campaign in the history of these boards. Having a discord for OOC planning and for keeping in touch when people need to step away has really helped. It's the kind of thing that's 100% DM's call...but if you're considering it, I'm a vote in favor.)

OK, I've started work on a charismatic halfling Rogue (Grifter, Cunning Brigand) | Bravo (whim: elegance). Tentatively named Autumn Longbriar. Reference Image

She'll lean heavily into the Performance (Dance, and maybe Acting) guile sphere, guardian (patrol), and scoundrel spheres, for plenty of buffing allies and debuffing foes. She'll have plenty of skills, but with a focus on CHA and DEX ones. A good mix of Guile and Might, but no Power.

Background-wise, she grew up on the streets and I suspect as she gell in with Kell's Boys when she was young, before something happened to make her repelled by them. Now, while she's got a somewhat complex relationship with authority (CG) she's fully committed to the RHC, in part to keep other kids from falling into gang involvement like she did when she was young.

Personality: wise cracking, plenty of bravado...and more TBD

Details to come ASAP! (Hopefully before cutoff, but I know I'm accepting a risk)

Hey DM, I know this has already been open for a while and you posted that you've started reviewing.

Is there still time to submit a character for review?

Oh! And you said all Spheres but I want to ask: Spheres of Guile add some interesting complexity. How familiar with it are you, and do you want or not want that in this game?

Thanks!

Great! I'm actually camping til Monday evening but I'll squeeze one in if I can.

Re Slides, the main open source option I'm aware of is Impress. And I find roll20 great for PBP maps.

For myself, I still use Google docs (including Slides) a good bit for both work and play...but I do them mostly now from Firefox. The main reason I'll go back to Chrome is for offline docs, typically if I want to work on something while flying. Otherwise I'm very happy with Firefox.

Ahhh, that makes sense. I bet you're right that this is collateral damage from Chrome's move to disable Ad-Blockers (something Firefox has no plans to do).

Hmmm, you made me curious. The Chrome extension was last updated in '22, but the Firefox extension was last updated in April of last year.

If that's a nudge to check out Firefox, and you haven't tried it in the last few years, I encourage it (for the stronger privacy protections as well as for getting to keep using this awesome extension).

Doh! I thought I replied but clearly didn't submit.

I'm out now but will check my laptop when I'm home tomorrow and post then.

Makes sense!

Ahhh, interesting.

Jaya, clearly you'd get more at this level if you gave in to peer pressure and started whacking foes angrily with sticks. ;-)

Sweet, L12!

INSPIRED RAGE NOW GRANTS:
+6 morale to STR, CON
+6 morale vs Will
+7 (add'l) untyped vs fear (Croq is Immune to fear)
DR 1/–
Fast Healing 6
Clear Mind: 1/song, you can use an immed action to reroll a failed Will save
Spirit Totem:
- Gain 20% concealment vs non-adjacent foes
- Adjacent foes automatically take 1d8 negative dam at start of your turn
- Wisps have 15’ reach, +11 to hit, 1d6 dam when they hit

Hey gang, sorry to be so quiet. I was on the road for 10 days...and it turned out to be WAY busier than I'd expected.

I'm back now. Work's still nutty, but I'll be able to be back in the game.

I like the idea of inviting Erikdt too (not a reflection on Ironperenti, who I suspect would be good too).

And happy to stick with 4 players.

As one of the current players, I'll add that having someone with the ability to make knowledge checks (and other INT skills) sure would be nice.

...though maybe not understanding what anything is fits the horror theme well... ;-)

I'm camping today and tomorrow. I'll be back and able to post on Thursday (hopefully) or else on Friday.

Presumably an epic mouse. ;-)

Fun!! I love that you're doing this.

EDIT: One more thing!: While it's okay to go full on crazy pants with your builds, please try not to make anything too broken or OP. Not only do I want this to hopefully be an interesting combat that lasts a few rounds, but I also don't want one PC to solo Catzilla while the other players sit around, lamenting all the time they wasted on their builds

I think figuring out what's "too broken" is non obvious with L30 gestalt mythic 3pp friendly builds. Do you want to establish benchmarks for things like (after all advancement, items, etc): max ability score, DCs, high saves / low saves, AC, Etc? (Personally, I find that valuable)

- - - EDIT - - -

Level: 30th gestalt. For level 21+ you may either use PrCs or the epic pathfinder rules.

The epic rules you linked make certain changes, like BAB (and saves) start increasing slowly after L20. PrCs on the other hand keep normal progressions. (e.g. a Fighter 20 + Sentinel (prestige class) 10 would have a 30 BAB. A Fighter 30 (using the epic rules) would have a 24 BAB. Is that right?

And if PrCs are available, how about multiclassing into a new non-PrC class to fill those last levels, e.g. could one side of a gestalt be Figher 20 / Ranger 10?

Thanks!

Doh, thanks for the reminder. I should be able to post one today or tomorrow.

- - - - EDIT - - - -

OK, here is our Strange Aeons Loot Tracker

Currently it's just a skeleton, but I made it globally editable so anyone should be able to edit it.

Note, anything that gets full resale value (e.g. art & jewels) goes below line 44.

Questions or suggestions welcome, and others starting to fill out the actual loot very much encouraged!

Aw, thanks!

It's so satisfying to have a vision and figure out how to craft it. I love how well Spheres can enable weird concepts.

In terms of Magical Signs, no concerns here. We can always stealth before or after you cast something; it's the casting itself that Signs makes conspicuous. It's a real drawback but not a dealbreaker in any way.

I've never gone even halfway as far/wacky into building a casting tradition as I did for Tassa (in order to get the "hungry creature inside me" vibe). It's amazing to me how flexible the space is.

. Retain Ability is a nice talent, by the way. Now you can speak when shifted! :-)

Thanks! Though it requires either paying an extra SP when I shift, or using a trait on talking.

It's some nice flexibility though. Also works with my mental image of Serpentine still allowing me to use hands (if I spend that extra SP, again) .

And with Move action shifts, I guess I can always do some short stints back and forth, when I don't want to spend 2 SP.

Question:

One of the background feats is Run...which is an associated feat of the Athletics sphere. Typically in SoM, when someone is granted one of those feats they can trade it for that sphere/talent instead. Is that true here too? If so, I may have my background feat be the Athletics Sphere (with the Run package).

Hey, just checking back to let you know that life's gotten quite a bit busier (for happy reasons).

I'm not going to finish my application since I don't want to overcommit, but wish yall the best!

HP: 5d8 ⇒ (7, 1, 5, 4, 4) = 21
HP reroll: 1d8 ⇒ 5

Great, thanks for offering to try out Spheres. Lemme roll!

5d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 1, 2, 5) = 1513
5d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 3, 6, 6) = 2418
5d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 2, 4, 4) = 1815
5d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 1, 5, 5) = 2113
5d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 5, 6, 1) = 1615
5d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 2, 4, 5) = 1714
5d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 5, 4, 1) = 1915

Not bad!

I'm trying out making a Minstrel (spheres of power bard archetype). It trades away both all spells and bardic performance (what??) for some cool non-magical ways of inspiring and supporting allies, and interfering with foes.

Note, if you're new to Spheres of Might, this is the place to start.

Ask if you have questions! My experience was that it was a lot to digest at first, but it's a really elegant system (more balanced, and with better utility than PoW).

Hi Wolf, I think you've opened your sources to include some 3p content before. What're your thoughts on doing it here? I'm thinking in particular of Spheres of Might, and/or Path of War.

Sounds good, thanks. In that case I'll keep Constrictor drawback.

Do you want us to do purchases yet? If not, I'm ready to go!

Thanks.

Now a follow up: taking the Wrestling sphere grants IUS normally. What, if anything, does it grant in your house rules? Unarmed Combatant?

Sorry to be slow to dive in. Yesterday was my daughter's birthday, and we're dealing with someone rear-ending our car.

Hoping to make some progress on my sheet today, and looking forward to playing with yall!

Great, thanks. One more Q: As I mentioned, I had my old character Tassa Bokrugscu in mind. Before I post with that profile though, "Bokrugscu" is a *very* specific surname (means "child of Bokrug" in Varisian, presumably at least being given to her by a parent or parents who worship Bokrug).

I have no attachment either way (and will assume nothing about my background either way, until it gets revealed in game) but figured I'd give you the choice about if you like the profile having that last name or rather I don't.

Oh, and another thing:
I'm still working on crunch but might take the Witchwarped drawback feat as a Boon. If I do, it grants a permanent trait that
#1) counts against my total traits when transformed with Blank Transformation, but NOT–as far as I read it, though let me know if I've got that wrong–when I'm using another transformation (e.g. serpentine or vermin). Pls let me know if that seems right or not.
#2) if I take it, my thoughts were either take a Bite (and then retrain it when I get my Bite from my archetype at L3), OR take Web (which I could keep forever). Preferences?

Oh...and another nuther Q:
Your Shifter gets a martial tradition. I switched back to the Spheres one (mid-caster, mid-BAB, d8 HD). That one doesn't typically get a martial tradition, but I'd happily keep the one you added to your version. ;-) Just let me know either way.

Thanks!

Thanks so much! And it looks like a good group of players and an interesting party.

At first level, do we take both a regular and a background feat?

Party roles for Tassa, my Shifter (Famine Spirit)
- Melee (and somewhat ranged) damage dealer
- - Melee attacks will often also debuff (grappled, fatigued/exhausted/sickened/nauseated, CON drain)
- Battlefield control with 'web' (flavored as black, oily ichor)
- Maneuverability (as needed: climb, eventually: burrow, glide)
- Survival, Sense Motive, Stealth
- Freaking herself–and her companions–out, as mouths and eyes and tentacles keep popping out of her at awkward moments.

BTW, I've never tried to design someone like this in Spheres, but I'm finding so many wonderful tools. I'm planning to give her a casting tradition including Vampiric Casting, and Innate Curse (Ghoul) to represent the constant hunger that she has to keep in check (or satisfy) within her. And then looking at Bloody Savage and maybe Sanguinivorous as drawback feats to take as tradition boons, to give her a way to

- - -

One more Q: do you have a houserule around Perception? I noticed none of the classes seem to get it as a class skill.

Hey YBD, Shifter seems like a great way to build my character. Thanks for the suggestion.

Famine Spirit is EXACTLY the right flavor/image, but I worry about how the archetype works with your house rules:
- DDS Shifter is a mid-caster (and full caster in Alteration)
- DDS Famine Spirit gains some goodies in exchange for dropping Alteration CL from full to mid
- Your shifter is a low-caster (and full caster in Alteration); in exchange for going to low caster and losing 5 talents it gets full BAB and d10 HD. That seems like a reasonable trade, but…
- Your Famine Spirit drops from full in alteration to low, unlike the DDS Famine Spirit that at least shapeshifts at mid-CL. I’m worried that’s a trade that would cripple her effectiveness.

Would you consider allowing Famine Shifter on DDS’s original (3/4 BAB , mid-caster) Shifter instead of your modified version? Or some other way to keep from playing a Shifter who is a low-caster in Alteration?

Thanks for considering!

Just checking back. I think Shifter will work great for me.

OK, I know Sphere Shifter a bit but don't know the archetype at all. I'll check them out!