ithardin's page

We're playing with a 4/5th Dwarf party (there's a tiefling)
1. Duettist Bard (yep, I'm playing a Dwarven Bard)
2. Rogue/Slayer (the tiefling)
3. Fighter/Brawler
4. Forgepriest
5. Magus

Due an unfortunate encounter with some shadows...the magus was killed and his player (and the player of the Forgepriest) decided they didn't want to continue.

We finished Burnt Offerings with a little bit of help from some NPCs, but now that we're into Book 2, we'd like to find a new player or two to join us (we're currently playing every other Tuesday night on Roll20).

If we can't find anyone else to join, and we continue as a party of 3, I'm wondering what my Bard could do to pick up the slack. Storywise it could make sense to multiclass into cleric or Oracle (the magus was my PCs brother and his death and subsequent raising as a shadow has greatly troubled him-the party has since returned and destroyed the shadows). However, I reallllly wanted to stay full Bard. But I also don't want us to get murdered every session.

My PC's build
5th level Dwarven Bard
Str 12
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 16 (currently 18 due to stat bump item)

Feats:
Improved Initiative
Extra Performance
Flagbearer

My versatile performance is Oratory. Right now my UMD is +12
Spell-wise I have taken the healing ones available and of course glitterdust, gallant inspiration, etc.

So basically I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. Thoughts/opinions/etc?

For me its not so much what kind of gamer they as much as what kind of person they are. I try to have the goal of the whole table enjoying themselves and having a good time.

Different types of gamers create friction when they refuse to be inflexible in their play style and it effects the entire tables' enjoyment of the game.

Obviously this is a fine line, you don't want to avoid doing something that will be detrimental to the party (like not trying to one-shot the BBEG who goes right after you in initiative and could potentially kill someone in the party on their turn). But there should be a way that you can be cognizant of the rest of the party wanting to feel included and effective.

We've all gone to a convention or a game day and sat at a table full of strangers and regretted it. I just make it my goal to not be the person at the table that makes it regrettable.

Welcome to Nacklevember!

An example of "proper" Nackle behavior, circa 10/28/2014:

The party has just come down a staircase and there is a large steel box in the middle of the room. The barbarian boldly approaches the box and as he does asks if there is any buzzing or sounds of electricity. I catch the DM's eye and roll a perform check on the down-low. The DM responds "yes, you hear the cackling buzz of electricity in the room!" The whole table tenses up (apparently none of them other than the DM saw me). The barbarian asks "where is the buzzing coming from?" Roll perception. "Its coming from Sh-Sh, who is standing behind you going "BZZZZ BZZZZ!" A nice laugh and then we fight the swarm hiding in the box.

And if you're in southern Illinois/St. Louis make sure and look up cousin Shackle "Sh-Sh" Nackle; locksman & obtainer of the rare & unique! Also a fair hand around a casino :)

Barwan Nackle was awesome. How many times can you make a ridiculously high save vs. phantasmal killer? With Barwan he always seemed to have ONE more to cast at you!

Perhaps a "Gathering of the Nackles" is in order sometime in the near future? Perhaps Winter War?

p.s. LG ended before the next Cape G. phenomenon was fully hatched...THE FISTS OF WOE!

MEM-O-RIES!

"Lil' Nicky, Pikka-Dilly's little sister (who had a raging ongoing romance with a burly human male city guardsman named Denzel)"

Denzel Valentine!

Denzel Valentine, one part doorman at a Verbobonc "gentleman's club," one part advisor to the Lordly, and all parts smmmmooooooth operator!

Denzel was born of my getting to GM three slot zeroes of LG modules for a convention. And of course, those those slot zeroes were comprised entirely of clan Nackle.

I just got caught up in the Nackledom, and suddenly each module had an NPC that turned out to be Denzel Valentine, with his trademark "Nackle, please!" Just imagine a mix of Billy Dee Williams and Billy Ray Valentine from "Trading Places."

Now that I've finally gotten around to playing PFS it may be time for Denzel to make his PFS appearance!

And so of course I've changed concepts and gone with:

Name: Rizzkahl T'Linnorza
Race: Elf
Class: Wizard (Conjuration)

Str 10 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 20 Wis 10 Cha 7

Improved Initiative

Warrior of Old Trait
Reactionary Trait

Greensting Scorpion Familiar

For the most part I followed the guidance in Prof Q and Treantmonk's guides to Pathfinder Wizards. The high initiative (+10) will help with utility/buffing/battlefield control.

He will most likely take Improved Familiar (Fairy Dragon) and Opposition Research (Necromancy).

With most of the other bases covered in our party, an aloof, tactical and pragmatic Elven Wizard should be fun to play.

So we're starting Mummy's Mask on 7/26 and I am still vacillating between which PC to play. It doesn't sound like my group is missing anything (and we're playing with a group of seven with the encounters scaled up a bit).

Its looking like there will be a sorcerer, an alchemist, a cleric, a ranger (twf), another ranger (bow), and an inquisitor (preacher archetype). Both the rangers will have some trapfinding/disable.

Initially I thought about playing a Dwarven rogue so that we had a dedicated trapfinder, etc. But the more I've thought of it I've had two more PC concepts sneak into the fray, and so I am wondering what my messageboard homies think:

1. Dwarven rogue (kind of a professional tomb raider guy)

2. Human two-handed fighter (recently released from prison and looking to reclaim lost honor)

3. Dwarven utility wizard. I just get a feeling that the a "tough" pragmatic dwarf with an ample spellbook might come in handy during this AP.

Thoughts?

My first thought was playing T.E. Lawrence :)

As I read this thread I realize that I am waaaaaaay behind in my reading source material. Maybe that 3 year hiatus from gaming (other than some nostalgic Living Greyhawk sessions) wasn't such a good idea...

Since I'm not very good at combat optimization, and since the last time I played a "churchie" I blew a turn attempt and mummies killed half of us (Savage Tides), I will probably stick to a smart skill-monkey.

I am now thinking an almost complete "fish out of water" concept. He's fairly ignorant of the land, the people, etc. But he KNOWS dungeoneering.

This discussion brings back memories...some good and some not so good :)

There are so many angles to "How To Play a Paladin" that it is IMHO the most difficult character to play well.

I wish I had $5 for every time my paladin was asked why I hadn't smited the person/creature/etc we'd just encountered (and hadn't engaged in combat with) yet had registered as "evil"...

"I haven't seen them do anything evil nor do I have any knowledge/evidence of them having done something evil" was my usual response. In my justification-evil was a verb, not a noun.

But that was a human paladin of a super-churchy god (and IMHO only super-churchy gods should have paladins-this "you can be a paladin/etc without receiving your power from a deity" annoys me to no end...almost as much as non-humans ignoring their racial deities...but that is another rant). When I've played different races I have tried to adapt the concept of "good" with their own racial quirks.

For instance, If we're dealing with racial enemies I think that shifts the argument. This is why in the past in other systems (which we will not name) you weren't supposed to see:

1. Dwarven Barbarians
2. Elven Paladins of non-elven deitites

I pick these two examples because they always seemed to bug me, when viewed through the lens of their individual racial history/background/makeup.

But I digress...

Playing a human paladin, I would be vehemently against killing non-combatants regardless of age or racial makeup. This would make things more difficult logistically, but that is the duty of playing a paladin.

Playing a LG character in general would most likely result in a similar decision on my part...unless there was a racial/class justification that could come into play (such as a favored enemy type thing).

Is there a Goethe categorical "killing children is evil, regardless of race, etc." in a fantasy setting? Nope, there isn't (in my opinion).

Well you've certainly got things buzzing in our gaming group...AGAIN. Its brought a few us back into the hobby. I've personally just spent the last twelve hours developing PC concept after PC concept :)

Thanks again for all your hard work and communication with your player base-you're showing everyone else how its done!