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I'm a little confused, sorry. Tamit is Civilized which grants
I'd assumed that the 4 extra skill points was a 3.5 holdover and REALLY meant "1 additional skill point a level". Are you saying that, in ADDITION to that, I get an extra feat and an extra skill point per level? I'd assumed that we just got the benefits of the Cultures of Xoth, nothing more.
Absolutely. I'm not claiming otherwise. You are both jumping to a conclusion unwarranted by the paper cited.
You do realize that I'm ONLY talking about your conclusion on what this new evidence about water mixing means, right? Your peer reviewed papers upthread hardly address that.
It is SO obvious that you and Quark have diametrically opposed opinions of what will "OBVIOUSLY" happen. And neither of you have a shred of evidence to back up your opinion I stick by my assertion. Your intuition (both of you) has essentially zero value and I'll wait until the experts who actually know something decide what WILL happen.
For what its worth, my reaction as a GM to this would be
Edit: At first glance your suggested companion seems far too powerful.
In addition, it's yet one more thing to ratchet up the floor temperature for the year 2100. Actually, I don't think EITHER of you know what you're talking about. A new mechanism has been found and needs to be incorporated into the models. Until it IS incorporated AND the new models run I don't think we know what effect it will have on atmospheric temperatures. Intuition (especially the intuition of non experts) is worth pretty much nothing when it comes to something as complex as climate change
Here is my submission. I'll create an alias if I get selected. The author Keith Rogers has only very recently discovered his heritage and his great destiny and decided to become An Adventurer. In fact, it is only in the last couple of weeks that he has even had an adventuring class (Chronicler of Worlds Bard) Note - I assumed that I can take an artistry skill (artistry Author) instead of a Craft skill. It fits the character much better and is, mechanically, identical to Craft Books. Background:
Keith Rogers is, at 25, a rising star in his chosen field. He has written several successful novels under a series of psuedonyms, one for each genre that he writes in (Science Fantasy, Horror, Comedy, Historical fiction). He has also got a couple of screenwriting credits for Hollywood films although he has yet to be the primary author. Under all of his pseudonyms he has gained a reputation for being very accurate in the details, be they matters of science, history or esoteric magical details. He has done this while never attending university, while never having gone to a writers school. He has always found it incredibly easy to pick up new skills and he has always been an utterly voracious reader. Becoming an adventurer was the last thing in his mind until a few weeks ago. It was then that he got a strange, magical email. He ignored it at first but it came back. He deleted it but it came back. He put it into his spam filter but it came back. Eventually, on as secure a server as he could manage he read it. All his precautions were in vain and all of his many electronic devices were infected. As was his own mind. The email was incredibly fascinating. Apparently, he is the only living descendent of a great and famous celestial, a celestial who was a disciple of the Angel Tabis. His birthright and destiny is not to be a human author, but to become a great force for Understanding in the service of Good. If he makes it to Heaven, he will inherit a great library and some great (if unspecified) relics. He tried to deny this fate but he found that he couldn't. He kept dreaming of walking the planes, he dreamt of great battles where the knowledge that HE held was the difference between victory and disastrous defeat. And he found himself manifesting abilities that revealed that he wasn't, in fact, completely an Aasimar He also discovered that he somehow has the ability to cast spells and that his advice now actually seems to actually work! He even somehow learned Celestial, a language that he'd never bothered to learn before. And can use weapons in a way that he never could before. Somehow, a spark of his ancestor has made it into him. He knows very well that in order to get to Heaven he is going to need to become rich and powerful beyond his current dreams and the only possible way to do that is to become an Adventurer. So, that is what he has decided to do. Personality:
Keith is a genius and he knows it. He tries hard to hide his smarts and to NOT order people around when he knows they're approaching the problem poorly but he doesn't always succeed. His bardic performance is definitely him telling people what to do. Although he isn't awful, he isn't very good at people skills. He is proud of how much he knows (he is very much a polymath) He is also basically a good person who wants to help others. He has always given a significant portion of his earnings to charity (one reason he has so little ready cash to spend) and is basically eager to embrace his new role as An Adventurer As is hardly surprising for an author, he venerates Shelyn (blessed be her name).
Spell casting and fluff:
Whenever he casts a spell he speaks his desire into his cellphone. Some strange S/W (the S/W that infected his phone from the email) translates that desire into a spell, usually proclaiming the spell or something similar loudly in Celestial. Oh, and the cellphone glows. He DOES have a second cell phone, of course. Note - unknown to him, most of his spells don't actually need the cellphone (ie, its fluff for the Somatic Gesture and, mechanically, only replaces the material component). Appearance:
Keith is a small, thin, reasonably attractive young man with fiery red hair being the only obvious hint of his Aasimar blood. He is well dressed but in non flashy clothing that tends to blend in (designer jeans, polo shirt and the like).
Stats:
Keith Rogers Male peri-blooded aasimar (emberkin) bard (Chronicler of Worlds) 1 NG Medium outsider (native) Init +1; Senses Perception +0 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex) hp 11 (1d8+3) Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2; +2 circumstance vs. blinded or dazzled Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Special Attacks bardic performance 5 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate [DC 11], inspire courage +1) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +2) . . At will—halo . . 1/day—pyrotechnics (DC 13) Bard (Chronicler of Worlds) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +6) . . 1st (3/day)—cause fear (DC 16), grease . . 0 (at will)—daze (DC 15), detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 7, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 12 Base Atk +0; CMB -2; CMD 9 Feats Lingering Performance[APG], Prodigy[UM] Traits clever wordplay, inner beauty Skills Appraise +9, Artistry (author ) +11, Intimidate +1 (+3 circumstance vs. evil creatures), Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (planes) +11, Knowledge (religion) +9, Linguistics +9, Perform (oratory) +11, Spellcraft +11; Racial Modifiers +2 Knowledge (planes), +2 Spellcraft Languages Celestial, English, Celestial, Spanish, French, Greek, Latin, Mandarin SQ halo[ARG], scion of humanity[ARG] -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Bardic Performance (standard action, 5 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects. Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks. Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks. Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks. Halo +2 to intimidate vs. evil creatures and to saves against becoming blinded or dazzled. Lingering Performance Bardic Performances last 2 rds after you stop concentrating. Prodigy (Perform [oratory], Artistry [Author]) Gain a +2 bonus on two Craft, Perform, or Profession skills. Scion of Humanity Count as a human for any effect related to race. Pass as human without using disguise.
So, 143 gold for that shopping trip :-).
For what its worth, I think that would be the perfect introduction for this game :-). A bit of time where we're still NPCs makes total sense to me :-). On a slightly more serious note - I presume we can reflavour things a huge amount. For example, I was considering The Savage Technologist archetype. But he's obviously NOT Kellid. Would something like playing a "Scottish kilted barbarian" (actually, probably from Cape Breton :-)) work for that? I'll hasten to note that I'm NOT dissing Scots in real life (I'm part Scottish myself :-)) but one has to put barbarians SOMEWHERE in world :-) :-)
I see no reason not to extend one’s life by as long as possible Except acting to extend my life isn't cost free. I live in Toronto (actually in the city, not even in a suburb). If society collapses, absent extreme luck, I'm going to be toast. Having a years worth of rations in my basement really wouldn't change that appreciably. What would change that would be to move to somewhere a lot more remote than Toronto. But that has huge costs associated with it regardless of whether or not society collapses. Including adding to my health risks if things DON'T collapse (I'm NOT in perfect health and healthcare is a lot better here in Toronto than in somewhere remote). So, I'm sticking here and hoping things don't go seriously south in my lifetime (at 61, given my health and lifestyle, that is probably on the order of 20 years or so on average)
You're the one insulting me at the moment. Well, to be technical I'm only insulting you if you're NOT a Troll. But, at the least, I definitely admit that I was rude and made my point in a poor fashion. I apologize for that. However, I believe that I DID address your question and pointed out your Ad Hominem.
to head off the inevitable flurry of ad hominem obfuscationsApparently you failed :-( Which prediction of yours is coming true? And if you're just copying other people's articles... are you really making predictions? I strongly suspect that you're just a loathsome little troll, but on the off chance that you've let your antipathy to Quark get the better of you, that is a classic (albeit slightly subtle) Ad hominem. You're not attacking his argument, you're just trying to ridicule him. And now, I presume, you'll launch an Ad Hominem on me. I suspect that you'll argue that I don't know what an Ad Hominem is.
No, its more than just an inconvenience. People are very, very likely to view a $10 off Voucher as considerably less valuable and less cool than a $10 gift certificate. People are strange, we see "free stuff" as far, far, far more valuable than "reduced price stuff". From my personal perspective, it means I can't just toss the vouchers into my account and completely forget about them until it is time to buy something (which is what I've done with gift certificates). They're less convenient. I have to remember to use them, I have to optimize how I use them, I have to use them in time, etc. Its not a major problem but its more than an inconvenience.
Here is my submission. Thanks for being patient with all my questions :-). I hope my "how mature" question didn't offend you, I've seen some S&S campaigns that have NOT followed the guidelines you suggest above so I thought it best to ask :-). Tamit appears to be a young Yar-Ammonite man who, together with his pet lioness, makes a living as a guide for caravans. She is actually a young woman only just 18 who worships one of the old Beast Gods of her people (druid). Background:
Tamit is from a very minor noble family living in an oasis far from the cities of Yar-Ammon. Even when the worship of the Beast Gods was outlawed they continued their worship in secret and such turned out to be their downfall. Tamit herself was always drawn to the worship of the Beast Gods, especially to the Lion headed Goddess known to her family as Sekhmet. Like her mother and grandmother before her, she had chosen the path of the Priestess (Druid), the warrior defender of her people. She was 16 when disaster struck. Somehow, the fact that her people still worshiped the Beast Gods came to the attention of the court and it was decided that they'd make a good example. Low enough in status so that no important friends were insulted, high enough in status to send the message that none were above the law. Her entire family was condemned to death and all of the local community condemned to slavery. It was only by luck that Tamit was out with Benumau (her lioness companion) when the forces of the Royal House struck. She was the only one from her entire community to escape "justice" Tamit fled from Yar-Ammon and since has led a hard hand to mouth existence. She has managed to find employment with the caravans of Khazistan, acting as some combination of animal handler, guide and warrior as required. Her lioness friend is as much a hindrance to her finding employment as it is help. She is a valuable fighter but who would trust a lioness not to attack them in their sleep? She conceals as much as she can possibly can her magic abilities since she knows that people fear anybody who can use magic. She conceals her gender as she is in a world where a woman alone is in far more danger than a man alone.
Personality:
Tamit likes to think of herself as a hard bitten person who is quite happy with just the company of Benamau. A person who doesn't care for others very much, a more or less honest person who keeps her commitments. The truth is that, unknown to herself, she is DESPERATELY lonely and unhappy. She has lost her whole family and been forced to make her own way in the world. She has nobody to trust except her lioness friend. She is actually a fairly kind person. This is very obvious in the way that she treats animals. Although she tries to hide it, she can also sometimes be spotted being kind to children or even other people. She is firmly and completely devoted to Benamau and readily risks her life for her. Benamau is, in turn, firmly and completely devoted to Tamit. They are partners, blood sisters, comrades, family.
Appearance:
Tamit is very obviously a Yar-Ammonite. Tall, slender, bronze skinned, with black eyes. She constantly wears her crocodile hide armour and usually carries her wooden shield. She covers her armour and her remaining limbs with well made and clean linen clothing. Although she bears the scabbard for a Khopesh she currently does not actually possess one, having been forced to sell hers awhile back (70 gp doesn't go very far :-(). Masquerading as a male, she keeps her hair cut short and her armour fairly tightly bound. Fortunately, she is slender and so keeping her breasts concealed isn't a huge problem. Benamau is dressed in a leather harness that acts as armour. She normally presents a fairly grim facade to others, discouraging others from getting close
Stats:
Tamit Female human (Civilized) druid (lion shaman) 1 N Medium humanoid (human) Init +1; Senses Perception +6 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +1 Dex, +2 shield) hp 11 (1d8+3) Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +4 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee club +3 (1d6+3) or . . shortspear +3 (1d6+3) Ranged sling +1 (1d4+3) Druid (Lion Shaman) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3) . . 1st—cure light wounds, shillelagh (DC 13) . . 0 (at will)—guidance, purify food and drink (DC 12), stabilize -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10 Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 14 Feats Great Fortitude, Vermin Heart[APG] Skills Handle Animal +4, Heal +6, Knowledge (geography) +5, Knowledge (nature) +7, Perception +6, Survival +8 Languages Yar-Ammonite, Khazistani, Susrahnite SQ nature bond (lion named Benamau), nature sense, wild empathy +1 Combat Gear oil (2); Other Gear chain shirt, heavy wooden shield, club, shortspear (2), sling, sling bullets (20), backpack, bedroll, blanket[APG], fishhook, flint and steel, holly and mistletoe, pot, sewing needle, torch (5), waterskin, whetstone, lion headed carved mask, 4 sp, 3 cp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Animal Companion Link (Ex) Handle or push Animal Companion faster, +4 to checks vs. them. Frail -2 save vs poison and disease Nature Sense (Ex) A druid gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks. Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Can cast spells with a target of "you" on animal companion, as touch spells. Vermin Heart Wild Empathy & spells that target animals may be used on Vermin. Wild Empathy +1 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy. Benumau Stats (lioness):
Benamau CR – Lioness N Medium animal Init +3; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 natural) hp 15 (2d8+2) Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +2 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 40 ft. Melee bite +4 (1d6+1), 2 claws +4 (1d4+1) Special Attacks rake (2 claws +4, 1d4+1) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 13, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 10 Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip) Feats Weapon Finesse Tricks Attack, Attack, Attack, Attack Any Target, Come, Defend, Down, Down, Fighting, Heel, Stay, Stay Skills Acrobatics +7 (+11 to jump), Perception +6 SQ attack, attack any target, come, defend, down, fighting, heel, stay Other Gear leather armor -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Attack [Trick] The animal will attack on command. Attack Any Target [Trick] The animal will attack any creature on command. Come [Trick] The animal will come to you on command. Defend [Trick] The animal will defend you. Down [Trick] The animal will break off combat on command. Fighting [Trick] The animal has been trained to fight. Heel [Trick] The animal will follow you. Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail. Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ ft. by sense of smell. Stay [Trick] The animal will stay where it is. Note - I've tried to take spells that are all fairly subtle in their application and tried to follow the guidelines in the guide. But obviously the guidelines are inexact so I'd appreciate feedback if I chose poorly. I did take one Advanced Players feat - Vermin Heart. I think that everything else is either Core or from the Xoth world guide. Any feedback is appreciated :-).
Putting the character together now and some minor questions 1) are we using traits from the Advanced Players Guide?
I'm thinking of a follower of a Yar-Amonite lion headed goddess (very much a variant of the Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet). Would a Lion Shaman druid be an appropriate class for that? And would I be limited to the traditional druid weapons? Those are based on Celtic tropes and don't seem that applicable to me.
Here is my submission. Note - I've applied for this and Hells Rebels. I really don't have time to participate in 2 more games at this point. So, please pick me for at most one of the games :-). Menkarat is a Warpriest of the Old Osirion Goddess Neith (the goddess of War and hunting) Background:
Menkarat comes from a small oasis far, far from the capital city. Like most of the people in his community, although he gives lip service to Saranrae, his true devotion is to Neith, the ancient Osirion Goddess of the Hunt and of War. He is the youngest son of a family that acts as the protector of their small village. Protector in both a spiritual and practical sense. Like all his family he is trained in the Old ways AND trained to hunt, whether the target of the hunt be men or animals or monsters. However, his family is large and the village is well protected. And he is young and wants to see more of the world. So, he has come to Sothis to seek his fortune, to see more of the world, to possibly enhance the position of Neith in the world should the opportunity arise.
Personality:
Menkarat tends to be fairly quiet, letting others do the talking. He is eager to prove himself and, secretly, unsure that he actually has it in him to be the warrior that his family expect of him. He is afraid that, when confronted by evil or great danger he will flee. He is young, inexperienced and a little naive and it shows. Although trained to sense lies in others he tends to see the good in people still. He will learn.
Stats: Menkarat Human (Garundi) warpriest of Neith 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 60) NG Medium humanoid (human) Init +4; Senses Perception +2 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 shield) hp 9 (1d8+1) Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4; +1 trait bonus vs. divine magic. -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee cestus +2 (1d4+2/19-20) or . . dagger +2 (1d4+2/19-20) or . . morningstar +2 (1d8+2) Ranged composite longbow +5 (1d8/×3) Special Attacks blessings 3/day (Good: holy strike, War: war mind), sacred weapon (1d6, +0, 1 rounds/day) Warpriest Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3) . . 1st—cure light wounds, divine favor . . 0 (at will)—create water, light, stabilize -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 14, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 16 Feats Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow) Traits devotee of the old gods, reckless Skills Acrobatics +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Sense Motive +6, Survival +6 Languages Common, Osiriani Other Gear chain shirt, buckler, cestus[APG], composite longbow, dagger, morningstar, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), holy text (Neith)[UE], mess kit[UE], pot, soap, spell component pouch, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, wooden holy symbol of Neith, 139 gp, 1 sp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Blessings (3/day) (Su) Pool of power used to activate Blessing abilities. Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into melee. Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2. Sacred Weapon (Su) As a swift action, grant weapon enhancement bonus or certain powers.
Here is my application. Note - I've applied for this and Mummy's Mask. I really don't have time to participate in 2 more games at this point. So, please pick me for at most one of the games :-). Lodoro Balbus is a Warrior Poet who worships Shelyn (and who will likely become a Paladin of Shelyn in due course). Although he tries to hide it he has some Azata blood in him. He is Fed Up with Cheliax and the local regime. Background:
Lodoro is from a fairly impoverished minor noble family that has fallen on hard times since House Thrune came to power. Although it is a carefully guarded secret outside of the family, there is Azata blood in the bloodline and many of the family (including Londoro) are actually Aasimars, albeit all Aasimars who can pass as human. Not surprisingly, the family has always been dedicated to Shelyn (while they don't advertise this they also don't really hide it either). From an early age Lodoro has trained in the use of martial weapons (especially the Glaive). He is trained to treat combat as its own art form, fighting with beauty and grace. He has also been taught to honor Shelyn in all forms and follows the Shelynite paladin code. He was just starting his career as an Opera Singer in the opera house when it got shut down. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. Long an opponent of the Thrune regime, this has caused him to realize that it is time to take up arms and actively try and throw the regime down.
Personality:
While he can be a bit of a stickler for "doing things properly" at times his heart is always in the right place. He is cheerful but dedicated to his art and to doing what is right and proper. He fully embraces his family creed. "Never destroy art unless doing so is part of an artful act or performance of your own. I must respect the skill of my opponents and never desecrate or purposefully humiliate a foe. If I takes a sapient life, I must create a piece of art, performance, or poem in honor of the fallen creature or creatures in order to memorialize what I have taken from the world."
Stats: Lodoro Balbus Azata-blooded aasimar (musetouched) samurai 1 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Angels 22, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 7, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat 18) LG Medium outsider (native) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 Armor) hp 12 (1d10+2) Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0; +1 trait bonus vs. mind-affecting effects Defensive Abilities resolve 1/day; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee glaive +6 (1d10+3/×3) or . . katana +5 (1d8+3/18-20) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with glaive) Special Attacks challenge 1/day (+1 damage) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +4) . . 1/day—glitterdust (DC 15) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 14, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16 Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 17 Feats Weapon Focus (Glaive) Traits fed-up citizen, reckless Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +7, Diplomacy +5, Disguise +6, Intimidate +7, Perform (dance) +5, Perform (oratory) +5, Perform (sing) +9; Racial Modifiers +2 Diplomacy, +2 Perform (dance), +2 Perform (oratory), Perform (sing) Languages Common SQ Order of the Songbird[ISWG], scion of humanity[ARG] Other Gear chain shirt, glaive, katana[UC], disguise kit, wooden holy symbol of Shelyn, 124 gp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Challenge +1 (1/day) (Ex) +1 to damage target, -2 AC vs. others when used Dancers Grace (Ex) Can use Dex with Glaive and Katana Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only). Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks. Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks. Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks. Flourish - Kitsunes Mystique Improved Feint as part of move or full attack Graceful Warrior + Cha to AC when unarmored (max level) Weapon Focus (Glaive) +1 with glaive Resolve (1/day) (Ex) Your resolve can remove effects or reroll saves. Scion of Humanity Count as a human for any effect related to race. Pass as human without using disguise.
I think I may have missed some of the scenarios with Zarta then (or something in them got seriously underplayed by the GM). I thought that she was still quite thoroughly evil. My favourite redemption arc is actually Sheila Heidmarch. She has gone from a VC that I actively loathed to one I kind of sort of almost like :-)
From a pure power perspective there are now more powerful archetypes than the various shamans. The most powerful Shaman (by far) is the Saurian Shaman since dinosaurs (as defined in Paizo) can fly, swim, tank, etc while "normal" animals can't. The various shamans (EXCEPT Saurian) are about on par with a normal druid. You lose some, you gain some. Which is better depends on level. But, for the vast majority of campaigns, druids are already QUITE powerful enough so going a less than totally optimal route will STILL leave you VERY effective (quite possibly the most powerful character at the table) so I'd pick a Shaman far more by "how cool it is to you" rather than by pure power. Limiting your choices can actually be a very good thing in practice. You always (or nearly always) summon puddy tats you're going to become really good at using puddy tats in combat (hint, do it sparingly or you'll take 1/2 the table time). If you want a straight wild shaping druid then a Feral Shifter can be a lot of fun. Less powerful than a straight druid but lots of fun
I'd like to again sincerely apologize for originally stating my opinion in too harsh a manner. Hopefully what follows is MUCH more constructive. I still (really strongly :-)) feel that the "betrayal by somebody you trust" story has been done and that it really should not be done again for quite awhile (if ever). Oh, betrayal by minor characters is fine, people with their own agenda is fine. But not betrayal by a faction head that we've been told to trust (nobody sane would be that surprised if Zarta Draleen betrayed the society :-). But we've pretty much been told straight out that she is evil.) I do agree with some people above. Paizo has been doing a wonderful job of changing the way that the Society treats its agents and in portraying its Venture Captains. Heck, I've even decided that Sheila Heidmarch has basically redeemed herself :-). There are now quite a few Venture Captains that my characters actively like (for different reasons. They still seem like individuals and not just cookie cutter outlines). I'd like to see the Envoys Alliance end up in ethically complicated situations where the right course really isn't totally clear. Cases where reasonable, good people can disagree as to what should be done while still retaining their respect for others who came to a difficult conclusion. So, I'd like to see missions with the Envoys Alliance being ones where the group has to make decisions, and the decisions at the table guide the Alliance in game. And, of course, situations where EITHER choice can lead to success in the mission, ideally in different ways (players learn VERY quickly when choices are fake and only one leads to success). Now, that is going to be very hard to do well but you're professionals and hopefully up to the challenge (no smiley, by and large you DO write good stories). I also agree that body reclamation missions could be a lot of fun :-). I wouldn't want to see that as the only types of missions but a couple a season would be great.
Even the faintest emanation from the Shadow Lodge/Grandmaster Torch is already a red flag to me. I hope that Fola Barun doesn't go the " I absolutely do not care about the consequences " route. One of the things that bothered me most was when, by authorial fiat that made little or no in world sense to me, there were NO consequences. If they'd followed "Torch betrays you" with scenarios where you track down and kill the bastard it wouldn't have been AS bad. But following up the betrayal with "you have to cooperate with him, because we say so" just poured salt into the wound. Edit: I just read Sara's post above and I apologize for my hostile tone. @John - I've never seen a comment (I may well have missed it, of course) stating that Paizo thinks the Torch storyline went badly. For all I know at least some people in Paizo think it was a wonderful storyline that went very well, the fact that it pissed off so many of us just shows how succesful it all was. I've certainly seen non Paizo employees who think that.
I just want to be the first to say : If Paizo at some points decides it would be "interesting" to have Fola Barun have her own agenda and betray the society and her followers in pursuit of that agenda I will be very, very, very pissed off. ESPECIALLY if the PCs aren't allowed to actually do anything about it "just because". As in rage quit PFS upset. As in do everything I can legally and ethically do to kill PFS locally upset. You got to do it once (over many players objections). You do NOT get to do it again.
The fact that the damage die didn't matter much in PF1 unless you were doing die size bumps is the reason why a one-handed d8 weapon was more powerful after a certain point than any two-handed weapon in PF1. Uh, what? Two handed weapons absolutely dominated the game over 1 handed weapons in PF1. Not through damage dice themselves but due to the increased benefit of power attack and strength.
I'm not totally sure but the presence of the Orc Hornbow in PF2 may cause me to immediately reconsider ever playing or running PF2 :-(. Orc Hornbow AND Gravity bow in the initial Core would almost certainly push me over the edge. One thing that I'm hoping is that it will at least take a couple of years before Power Creep becomes an issue. No smiley.
At the moment, this is just to gauge interest. I'm contemplating running the Crimson Throne AP but with PF2 rules. I'd want a moderately fast paced game. So, I'd want people to be able to post twice a day on weekdays and at least once on weekends. Its an AP, it will take time to go through it anyway :-). And to provide me with bot macros (including general tactics) for those times when I have to bot your actions to keep things moving. Obviously, life happens and we'll deal with it but the intent is for this to be a fast paced game. I'm thinking of starting more or less immediately with the latest playtest rules and then transitioning to PF2 rules when they came out. If I did this, I'd allow full and total rebuilds but I'd encourage (NOT force, encourage) people to keep their character concept more or less unchanged. Or it may be better to just wait the couple of months until the rules come out. If you respond, please tell me which of the two alternatives you'd prefer. I'd probably run with 5 players. In general, I'm a "Rules as I think they're intended" as opposed to "Rules as written" GM. But since one of the purposes of this would be to become more familiar with the PF2 rules I'd try hard to stick to "Rules as I think they're written" :-). Note, I firmly reject the idea that the rules (any rules) can be unambiguously written so I think the RAI vs RAW is largely irrelevant. I totally reserve the right to say "I don't care what you think (or even what I think), I'm running it like <this>. I'd try and limit that to egregious cases where I think an alternate approach just breaks the game but I DO reserve that right. This will be run in PF1 Golarion. So, no goblin, kobold, etc PCs. Other PC like races are fine (I'll come up with house rules for them, as a result they'll be mostly for flavour and NOT for mechanics). The AP involves a lot of Really Bad Stuff happening to Korvosa. It is key that any characters have to
I'll quite probably modify the AP, likely in some significant ways. In particular, I might well completely alter Book 5. So, having played or run it before isn't a major issue as long as you do a reasonable job of separating character and player knowledge.
Ok, I've definitely got the core of the character concept. Basically a local variant on the Samurai idea. Swashbuckler/fey speaker druid of the Medvyed family. With a fey touched small cat companion. Worshipping Shelyn, of course. Definitely going the dex to damage route. Should I stick to something like the rapier or is a Glaive acceptable (via bladed brush/slashing grace)? Glaive seems likely too powerful to me but thought that I'd check.
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