So just running the Math on a lvl 1 Tower Shield Dwarven Monk.
The basic concept is that if you are engaged with a foe, and in Mountain Stance, you can:
1. Flurry For 2 Attacks
2. Raise the Tower Shield
3. Take Cover behind the Tower Shield
(Presumably the previous round, you can Move up, activate Mountain Stance and then Flurry)
For 4 AC, which RAW (I'm guessing specific Tower Shield rules trumps general cover rules here, but I'm not here to argue)
Quote:
This lasts until the shield is no longer
raised.
So that is a rather nice Lvl 1 achieveable AC of:
15 (Expert Unarmoured) + 4 (Mountain Stance: Status) + 4 (Tower Shield: Circumstance) = 23 which you can do every round and attack twice (1d8 +4 and Forceful).
I call it the Great Wall Monk.
prototype00
I really like this idea. So much so that I am building a human monk based on it. I'll be reskinning the tower shield as a 6 foot wooden ladder with several steel shields lashed to one side. Then it's ladder fighting time, Jackie Chan style. "Taking Cover" behind the shield by swinging it around and dodging acrobatically through it.
HP 28/28, AC 20, Perception +13 (+2 fav terrain, +2 fav enemy)
Ixotl collects newly drawn map, fanning it until he is sure the ink is dried. With the pouch in the middle, he rolls the hide up and ties it in several places with rawhide thongs, then caps the end of the rolled tube with wooden stoppers. Satisfied that the map is protected from accidental erasure from everything short of extended inundation, he turns back to their new navigator.
HP 28/28, AC 20, Perception +13 (+2 fav terrain, +2 fav enemy)
Ixotl fishes a rolled, tanned hide out of his sack. He scrapes the surface with his skinning knife and rubs it vigorously with sand, erasing the previous contents. He rinses it with a small jet from his waterskin and dries it with a fur pouch - once white, but streaked with grey and black from such use.
He draws out a river reed and a small vial of ink from the pouch and tucks the hide under his arm. After sharpening the nib of the reed with the same skinning knife, he sets all three items down on a small work table and drags it in front of the stranger.
"Show us Sasserine to Farshore," he says without preamble and returns to sit on the padded stool he had risen from, watching Skald intently.
HP 28/28, AC 20, Perception +13 (+2 fav terrain, +2 fav enemy)
Time for Ixotl to single handedly track down and destroy the bullywugs, cause I have a great history of solo adventures in this game! What could go wrong?
Fights in kirthfinder are quite brutal, and there are a plethora of combat options that can deliver an alpha strike. Here's my perspecive on killing stroke in low-level play (the only scenario I've played it in so far).
Killing stroke is a great combat opener, but it comes with caveats. For KS to execute outright, it takes several rounds of observation, and you have to attack your target while they are flatfooted. Having your target spot you will spoil it, as will failing to close within range. Provided you can achieve surprise at close range, you still have to attack, and the dice can be fickle.
In combat, it can be a big burst of damage, but again, it takes several rounds to execute properly. Those rounds spent studying are ones the assassin will contribute little to the fight, and could be spent dealing moderate damage each round instead of a lethal blow after several. KS is spectacular against a single target, but those kinds of fights are ones that an adventuring party already excells at, and there are several defensive options that can mitigate the effectiveness or divert the blow from the big bad evil guy to a sacificial mook.
Returning to the line of thought from my opening, Kirthfinder rewards strategic play and the side that can set up combat on their terms has a decided advantage. Theres an entire section in the introduction about the sort of rock-paper-scissors dynamic that can emerge from these more powerful options, and I think KS epotomizes that design philosophy. At higher levels, I can see the potential for it to be exceptionally deadly, but I would argue that it becomes first-among-equals in some encounters and markedly worse in others.
The GM could certainly use the feat against the party quite effectively, but that would have to be done carefully to avoid being no fun for anyone. Perhaps a legendary assassin has been hired to slay the party's paladin or some similar story. If the feat is disruptive in your game, the ultimate use for these rules is to adapt them to fit your own group's playstyle. If it doesn't fit, remove or reduce it.
I've certainly had fun using it, though the last time I used it, it killed the bullywug boss and his cronies beat me to death's door afterward, so your miles may vary.
HP 28/28, AC 20, Perception +13 (+2 fav terrain, +2 fav enemy)
Ixotl spends what seems like an eternity wandering through Mictlantecuhtli's realm, looking for the path the sun follows as it travels beneath the world. Ahead of him, the winged one flies, nameless in the darkness. He can hear the soft sound of the wind in its feathers, but can catch no glimpse of it through the gloom. After many hours, a great thirst overtakes him, and though he knows better, he stops and drinks from a darkened stream. The cool water bites into his veins like ice, paralyzing him momentarily and inspiring instant regret. When the paralysis has passed, he dips his sling in the stream and ties it about his forehead before continuing on his trek. This time, he seems to catch sight of a familiar hulking silhouette and hurries onward, trying to catch the lumbering figure. The shifting branches and dreary surroundings drain his spirit, and he never draws closer. Eventually he loses his quarry altogether and slumps, defeated, among the gnarled roots of some twisted mangrove. Resigned to his fate, he closes his eyes.
He opens them again at the base of a different tree, sputtering out the last drops of a slightly bitter elixir and looking upward into the ugly mug of the scarred orc. Giving Uro an hearty handshake, he rights himself and stands revitalized.
"I thought I saw your shade, wandering with me in the lands of the Lord of Death. Glad to see you made it out." He retrieves his sling from the ground nearby and receives an icy jolt as his fingers pluck it from among the torn branches. "It seems I have brought something else back with me. A dangerous omen, to be sure."
HP 28/28, AC 20, Perception +13 (+2 fav terrain, +2 fav enemy)
I've got no complaints! Ixotl is accustomed to using the exact same ambush method - blending in with a disguise and striking with deadly force to overwhelm your opponents before they can recover. It just goes to show the caliber of their enemies. If anything, this will provide Ixotl a strong incentive to team up instead of pursuing his investigation alone. Also, he will definitely read too much into their choice of costume, however coincidental it may have been. So, it works on multiple levels. Good DM hook!
AC 17/15/16 CMD 22/21 Perception: +10 (or +4 in bright light)
Yup! Gwl is quite observant and is aware of them but is also a little unsteady from all the blood loss, which is why he's seeking help from El.
Captain Harliss' observation provokes an unusual response from the fishy frogman: a delirious diatribe almost as arcane as his Abyssal outbursts.
"Jym's Juice is legally distinct from the Fixit Flask brand and does not constitute copyright infringement. Also, my client retains his right to consume Jym's Juice at the time and place if his choosing, including several specific scenarios where he is willingly or unwittingly unconscious at the time of consumption. Elebrin, being one of the designated dispensers, is authorized to perform a sufficient search to locate a Jym's Juice Jug upon his person and apply it appropriately."
Gwl shakes his head as though go clear it, apparently unaware that he was speaking as he helps El roll Jym on his side so she can access his backpack.
AC 17/15/16 CMD 22/21 Perception: +10 (or +4 in bright light)
Gwl puffs out his chest as if taking a deep breath, but begins choking. Trying again, he breathes with his lungs and begins to speak. His words tumble out, all a jumble.
"Qkxz? Hlyphk! Vol horl loks aechorom. Kelm mek mar dugkrzix. Vanthus mordo je, qokxovim nohandron!"
DM:
Abyssal:
"What? Unnecessary! The tracks are fresh. We're here for blood. Vanthus is close, I know it!"
AC 17/15/16 CMD 22/21 Perception: +10 (or +4 in bright light)
"Shouldn't swim - not nonfish, nohow. Better boat by beach. Mind murderous monkeys. Find fled; verify Vanthus. Question."
Gwl seems to get more and more agitated as he speaks. His phrases get shorter and become almost curses spat. Frustrated beyond words, he simply points a slimy claw at the cove
Kelgan will administer the appropriate medical response to his fellow sufferers: A dollop of nasty-smelling ointment smeared over the affected area, a drop of bitter oil, and most importantly, a shot of whiskey.
AC 17/15/16 CMD 22/21 Perception: +10 (or +4 in bright light)
Spoiler:
Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. With the journal, and at some point, visions, Gwl is easily hooked - and not at all cause he looks like a fish.
AC 17/15/16 CMD 22/21 Perception: +10 (or +4 in bright light)
I think we're all pretty much novice adventurers at this point. Only way to learn some things is by making mistakes. We've learned some valuable lessons in this dungeon for sure.
AC 17/15/16 CMD 22/21 Perception: +10 (or +4 in bright light)
DM:
After his transformation, Gwlybwr has been quite out of his element. While he can stay underwater for extended time periods now, he still thinks of himself as an air-breathing, land-walking human, not an amphibious fish-man. He still hasn't come to terms with what's happened, and given the relative sparcity of Bakluni in Sasserine, he's not had much luck finding someone he trusts to turn for help. Perhaps the priestesses of Geshtai are the only devout people in the city that worship the same pantheon. Also, her aquatic portfolio might explain why Gwlybwr would seek her out.
I envision him there doing manual labor and odd jobs, staying out of sight, while waiting for the priestess to diagnose (and hopefully cure!) him.
Kelgan laughs heartily at Wyverns antics, shaking his ample stomach with his guffaws. He stops laughing when his wooden teeth fall out and straight down into the sewer.
"Feck! Now I really gotta get that wyrmbone carved or I'll be eating naught but mush and muck. How's it look down there, Wyvern?"
Satisfied that his steelband hasn't gotten rusty with disuse, Kelgan returns to the inn and pens a missive. His hands sting from the repeated recoil and he makes a bit of a mess with his quill. Grumbling, he sets out another sheet of paper and dutifully copies the letter, setting and sealing it with a signet ring he carries in his coin-purse. He stands and crosses to the bar for a refill, tossing the crumpled draft at the fireplace, where it bounces and lands unnoticed to the side of the sooty mouth. He drains his mug in a single swallow and hands the sealed parchment to Tusk, passing along some coins to ensure it reaches it's intended destination.
Missive:
F,
The bullywug threat is real, and the lizardfolk are unable to ally with us against them. Their village and all inhabitants fell before we had even arrived, and their ambassador went mad with grief and wandered into the swamp. My shaman tells me great evil was used in the destruction of the village, and that the spirits of the dwellers might have been captured or sacrificed. I mention that possibility only because of the remote proximity to Skarn Keep; normally I'd discount the goblin's ramblings. In truth, their destruction is almost certainly entirely unrelated to the events that follow.
We reconnoitered the Keep and found it to be an imposing and dangerous place - one best left undisturbed without better forces or magical aid. Investigating a wyrm's lair for traces of the missing girl, we happened upon the elf Miralda, whom we rescued from some marauding ogres.
Following on some leads she had, we journeyed to Wolvishton, where we encountered and swiftly dispatched a fiendishly large boar that had been preying on the locals. The beast's body dissolved into acrid smoke upon death, evidence of its otherworldly origins. The local vicar's behavior aroused my suspicions, and we confronted him at his home, were he stabled a congregation of zombies. Destroying them, and a vampiric spawn that laired within as well, we were unfortunately unable to question the vicar when he was slain outright by the Dverge.
His journal recorded a dark descent after the death of his brother and his contact with Dispar Anasovin and friar Donaldson - names you are, no doubt, familiar with. The vicar's brother was killed by the boar I mentioned earlier, and was risen as a vampire through the corrupting influence of the friar. We have yet to locate the vampire, but its destruction is assured if it remains here.
As an aside, the boar, the vampire, and an army of vengeance - whose existence I've yet to see any evidence of - were three curses set upon the village by Anasovin, according to local rumor. Anasovin also supposedly lost something within the Erb, which we'll recover should we chance across it.
As a small, unrelated matter, I recall you hunting once with a great steelbow from Kaiserburg that threw quarrels fit to punch through a stone wall. I find myself in need of such a weapon, and would be ever grateful if you'd lend my name to your supplier. I was unable to locate one I trusted during my visit there last spring.
I'll not cease my efforts to find the missing girl, nor let any subjects of the realm suffer when I can aid them. Evil shall not escape my justice.
Ever in your service,
K
Venturing outside, he seeks out his companions with his plan:
"In Victor's journal, he mentioned Otis killing a sewer worker. I had thought Wolvishton too small for such urban luxuries, but apparently they have one. It's there we might find Otis and end his false life."
Kelgan awakes with a powerful appetite. He lugs his gear downstairs and orders his meal from Tusk, requesting it be delivered out back. Soon, the sharp, cracking sounds of crossbow fire can be heard from behind the inn.
Kelgan eats with relish, chewing noisily while he sights in his crossbow. Once satisfied with the sighting, he begins to practice one-handed, bracing the crossbow on his shield. The bow tends to jump around on the surface, so he takes a break and carves a notch into the top of the shield. He refines the notch with further shots and several more cuts until he is satisfied with the mounting point.
Spending an hour to swap Exotic proficiency from glaive to crossbow, choosing Fell Shot. Would like to spend time to retrain Combat Reflexes to Deadly Aim.
In my home campaign, I ruled that 0 ACP armor could be used with evasion. The fighters had gotten their ACP down to zero so they could run in heaviest armor, but not all of then chose to get evasion.
Kelgan feels the dark energy explode, but it is siphoned into his shield and does not harm him. He watched the elf crumble and lays down his shield, laying her upon it and using it to leech the dark energy out of her while he plies some smelling salts and fishes out the special bottle of brandy from Kaiserburg.
"We really need to find a trapfinder. Finding them this way is hardly optimal. Cricket, you can have a lie down as soon as she's done."
Heal:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34
Confirm:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21
Working on making my shield a magical stretcher, since it's saved my hide so often.
Spending a point of Grit to gain Blinding Strike for 1 round. Boar must make a DC 14 fortitude save or be dazzled (20% miss chance and -4 perception) for 4 rounds [Not sure if the DC is increased from the critical hit].
Fully aware that tracking is not his forte, Kelgan none the less tries to keep his eyes open and point out markings he's noticed to the more skilled trackers in the party - namely Cricket and Wyvern.
"Aye. He got in my way so I blew up his forge and him along with it. Scattered his bloody bits across the city, so everyone got wise that messing with me was a bad idea. Ye can let me make that point again here, or ye can rather run along and pass the word: Kelgan Cragbelly's back in the Highlands, and ye'd better stay the hell out of his way or ye'll die screaming."
"We should head through the highlands. It's fine mountain territory, and you can see what's about you. Though it's been years, I still know these hills from my misspent youth."
Kelgan gets along in the cold just fine: decades of living in the mountains have inured him to all but the worst winter conditions. He has endure elements (cold) from his favored terrain.
Paladin is one of my favorite classes - the favorite, if fact. I have used the class to build a villain in my campaign (a Hellknight turned graveknight), and one of my players is using the class as well.
I particularly like the different synergies given depending on classes taken before Paladin. I would be sad to see it go.
Been playing for two weeks now. Have played solo, with small groups, and with large ones.
The game feels dynamic and tense with groups of all sizes. Have had lots of successful missions, and a few failed ones too, so the difficulty level is tuned just fine.
Thanks for making such a carefully crafted, intricately detailed game!
Had to put my game on hiatus for a summer internship. Missing playing Kirthfinder quite a lot. The erratta helps keep the pang at bay, but I can't wait to put these changes into play!
Although now I'm thinking about the other suggestion, making ACP also apply to concentration checks, and wearing armor forcing a concentration check. I quite like that as well.
I've really been enjoying using KF in my Council of Thieves game. Although I've been using standard bestiary monsters in most encounters, I've been rebuilding the major villains with KF, and thought I'd share a few of them.
