|
Question: how would you guys feel about another player running Yalla? I know I had said that I would prefer to keep her an NPC for now, since she's got a few levels on you guys, but the more I think about it, having another player run her would give her personality more dimension, and a player in the re-recruitment thread has expressed interest since he's never had a chance to run a psionic character higher than 3rd level before. Since she is a plot character, that player wouldn't have as much free will as the rest of you have with your characters. And she has a +2 Level Adjustment (lycanthropy, in case you haven't already guessed that from the cat's description). In terms of class levels, she's not that much higher than you guys, only 8 class levels, but she's effectively a 10th level creature because of the LA. You guys will eventually catch up to her in levels, but for a little while, that player would be running a higher level character than the rest of you (albeit with a short leash).
So I wanted to put it to you guys. If anyone thinks that would be unfair, I'll keep her as an NPC. If nobody has a problem with it, I'll let him run her.
EDIT: Nevermind, he decided he doesn't want to play a plot NPC right now.
I'm still around.
Just letting you all know.
|
|
Glad you decided to stay. I don't fault Diego for playing the way he did - it was his character's personality. But it was a style that didn't mesh well with a group that relies a lot on stealth and surprise. The game is temporarily on hold, but once one or two of these new players get their characters ready, we'll start 'er up again! We could continue right now, but we lost a lot of our fighter power (not just from the departing characters, but an existing character just found its fighting skills diminished, for reasons that will become apparent soon enough - kind of cool reasons, actually). With the opposition you will likely face inside the haunted house, I don't want to throw you guys in there yet without at least a little more help.
Hi everyone! Reporting for duty!
|
|
Neevan's Guardian Spirit
Spider Monkey (Capuchin)
drawn up according to the rules in Mongoose's Encyclopaedia Divine: Shamans
Ability Scores
STR 7
DEX 19
CON 14
INT 11
WIS 21
CHA 14
Combat (Note: a Guardian Spirit will only defend, and may riposte, but will not otherwise engage in combat)
HD: 10d8+20 (BAB and CMB are not adjusted for hit die)
Hit Points: 100
AC: 17 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +1 Natural)
Attacks: Bite +6 Melee (+0 BAB, +2 Size, +2 Weapon Finesse) - unless manifested, can only attack creatures in the Spirit World
Damage: 1
BAB: +0
CMB: -2 (+0 BAB, -2 STR, -2 Size)
Saves
Fort: +4
Refl: +6
Will: +9
Skills
Acrobatics +15
Bluff +7
Climb +15 (can Take 10 even when rushed or threatened)
Stealth +15
Perception +11 (+12 on sight-based perception)
Knowledge (Arcana): +12
Knowledge (Religion): +12
Knowledge (Spirits): +12
Knowledge (The Planes): +12
Sense Motive +10
Survival +10
Feats
Weapon Finesse
+4
Special Abilities
Level-dependent Features
[spoiler]The spirit gains certain abilities based upon its bonded creature's level, as follows:
Character Level 1-2: SR 11, DR 5/silver, Projection
Character Level 3-4: SR 12, DR 10/+1
Character Level 5-6: SR 13, Bestow 1/day: Skill (maximum +2 skill bonus)
Character Level 7-8: SR 14, DR 10/+2, Bestow 2/day: Feat or Skill (maximum +4 skill bonus)
Character Level 9-10: SR 15
Character Level 11-12: SR 16, DR 10/+3, Bestow 3/day: Abilities, Feat or Skill (maximum +6 skill bonus)
Character Level 13-14: SR 17, Domain Access, Manifest 1/week
Character Level 15-16: SR 18, DR -/+3, Bestow 4/day: Abilities, Feat or Skill (maximum +8 skill bonus)
Character Level 17-18: SR 19, Shapechange
Character Level 19-20: SR 20, DR -/+4
Projection
[spoiler]
The spirit can make itself visible only to your eyes. It is incorporeal, and cannot affect or be affected by anything in the material plane. It uses this ability only to call your attention and give occasional advice.
Bestow
The spirit can bestow some of its knowledge or abilities upon you. At 5th Level, you can add +2 (or effectively gain 2 ranks) to any skill that the spirit possesses, for a single use of the skill. This ability applies to extended-use skills that have duration increments of rounds, minutes or hours, but if the skill takes more than a single day (such as some Craft skills), then it has to be augmented anew each day. At 7th Level, you can gain one use of a Feat that the spirit knows, or gain a +4 bonus on a skill, as described above, twice per day. At 11th Level, you can add all of the spirit's ability score modifiers to your own, or gain a single use of a feat or +6 on a skill, three times per day. At 15th level, the skill bonus increases to +8, and can be used four times per day.
Domain Access (see below for new spells; all others are in SRD)
Spirit Domain
Granted Power: See active spirits within 60' with successful DC20 Perception check, and guess their nature and intentions. Dormant spirits can be seen with DC25.
Spell-like abilities:
1 - Detect Spirits at will*
2 - Detect Dimensional Disturbance at will*
3 - Dismissal at will
4 - Ethereal Jaunt 1/1d4+1 rounds
5 - Power Walk* 1/10 minutes
6 - Awaken 1/hour
7 - Awaken the Land 3/day
8 - Ethereal/Spiritual Junction* 2/day
9 - Astral Projection 1/day
Manifest
At 13th Level, the spirit can manifest in a fully physical form as a full round action. He has full access to Domain powers and spell-like abilities in this form. It can manifest once per week and remain manifested for a number of rounds equal to your character level.
Shapechange
*New spells for Domain Access
Detect Spirits
Divination
Level: Clr 1, Drd 1, Rgr 2, Sor/Wiz 2, Spirit 1
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Area: Quarter circle emanating from you to the
extreme of the range.
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You can detect the presence of active and latent
spirits within range. The amount of information
revealed dependson how long you concentrate on a
particular area:
1st Round: Presence or absence of spirits.
2nd Round: Number of different spirits and the
spell level (highest level spell or spell-like ability it can use) of the strongest spirit.
3rd Round: The strength and location of each spirit.
If the spirits are in line of sight, you can make
Knowledge (spirits) checks to determine the Domain
to which each spirit belongs. Make one check per
spirit at DC 15 + spirit's spell level.
This spell does not detect the presence of spirits that
currently possess a creature inside the area.
Material components: A small piece of fur.
Detect Dimensional Disturbance
Divination
Level: Clr 2, Sor/Wiz 3, Spirit 2
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Area: Quarter circle emanating from you to the
extreme of the range.
Duration: Concentration,up to 1 minute/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
As detect magic, except you can detect whether
something has disturbed the barriers between the
Material Plane and the rest. The effects that this
spell detects include the spells ethereal jaunt,
etherealness, gate, dimension door, blink, teleport
(and all its variants), all summon spells, commune,
contact other plane, astral projection, planar ally,
etc. Supernatural andspell-like abilities that
emulate these spells, like the ability to materialize
from the Spirit World, the ethereal or astral planes
of incorporeal undead and spirits, also become
evident to the caster.
The spell identifies what kind of effect pierced the
barriers and also what kind of creature was
responsible. In order to determine strength of the
effect, as well as the time that can transpire between
the dimensional disturbance and the casting of this
spell, use the guidelines for detect magic.
Power Walk
Transmutation
Level: Clr 7, Drd 6, Ranger 7, Spirit 5
As the spell shadow walk, except that the
creatures affected travel through the
Spirit World instead of through the Plane
of Shadows.
Awaken the Land
Transmutation
Level: Clr 7, Drd 6, Spirit 7
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: I action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./level)
Area: 20 ft. + 5 ft./level radius
Duration: Instantaneous.
Saving Throw: Will negates.
Spell Resistance: Yes
You can force all spirits within the area of effect to
manifest in the Material Plane. The spirits must be
awakened and active to be affected by the spell,
and they can make a Will save to remain in the
Spirit World. Manifested spirits are visible to
everyone in the Material Plane, but they are
incorporeal. Your guardian spirit can ignore the
spell's effect automatically, but he may forego
his saving throw to manifest without exerting
his own power. Other guardian spirits caught in
the area must roll normally, but they can use
their protegee's save bonus if it is higher.
Ethereal/Spiritual Junction
Ethereal/Spiritual Junction
Transmutation
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 8, Spirit 8
Components: V, S, F/DF
Casting Time: I action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./level)
Area: 120-ft. emanationcentredon a point in space.
Duration: 1 minute / level (D)
Saving Throw: Special.
Spell Resistance: No
You pull an areaof the Spirit World or the ethereal
plane into the Material Plane. Every creature caught
in the area of effect exists in both planes at the same
time for the duration of the spell. Spontaneous spell
casters such as bards, shamans and sorcerers
decide which plane to affect at the time of
casting, but clerics and wizards must choose when
preparing the spell. Creatures from the affected
plane can interact freely with material creatures,
losing any advantages of etherealness, or
incorporeality, and ranged attacks coming from
outside the junction work normally, but if their
effect crosses the area totally or partially, the effect
exists only in the plane from which it was launched.
For example, a sorcerer standing in the Material
Plane outside the junction casts a fireball at a ghost
inside the area, who suffers damage from the spell
as if the sorcerer were in the ethereal plane. A
second, ethereal ghost outside the junction is close
to the first ghost and would be damaged by the
fireball's area effect, but the effect does not cross
into the ethereal plane and it is thus unaffected.
Creatures enter the junction automatically, but must
roll a Will save to exit to the desired plane, which
makes this spell an alternative, if unreliable, means
of travelling to and from the ethereal plane or the
Spirit World. When the effect ends, creatures still
inside the area are snapped back to their native
plane, while those that managed to exit into another
plane must find another way back.
Wow. That must have taken some time. Thanks Nightwish!
I'll try to get it all filed in my profile as soon as I can.
I just wanted to be sure: With everything going by rounds at the moment, should I hold off on posting again until everyone else has posted? I don't want to mess up the flow of the game. :)
|
|
I just wanted to be sure: With everything going by rounds at the moment, should I hold off on posting again until everyone else has posted? I don't want to mess up the flow of the game. :)
Conversation is free. I was mostly just recounting rounds earlier because Coraline's foray into the house was taking place at the same time as the others' attacks on the outside, so that was mostly for the benefit of Coraline, so that she'd know how many rounds of free action she had before the others rejoined her. Once everyone gathered on the porch, it moved out of combat rounds, so now you're all free to move, talk and act as you wish, until the next combat situation starts (which it will as soon as Coraline posts again).
Gotcha!
I think I have enough of my character done to get started; I hope to get his appearance and personality written up by the conclusion of the weekend.
I do have a question regarding the regional feat. Though born in Janderhoff, the feats available from Varisia don't make much sense for a dwarven mage smith. Sometimes a part of a region stands separate from its neighbors in customs and all that. Anyway, I did some digging and was thinking Spell Thematics might be a good substitute (Player's Guide to Faerun 44). That said, if you have something different in mind that would be great as well.
|
|
I think I have enough of my character done to get started; I hope to get his appearance and personality written up by the conclusion of the weekend.
I do have a question regarding the regional feat. Though born in Janderhoff, the feats available from Varisia don't make much sense for a dwarven mage smith. Sometimes a part of a region stands separate from its neighbors in customs and all that. Anyway, I did some digging and was thinking Spell Thematics might be a good substitute (Player's Guide to Faerun 44). That said, if you have something different in mind that would be great as well.
In the interest of being fair to the other players, since they didn't get feats from outside their regions (at least not to replace their regional feat), I will put this to a vote among them. If they don't mind, I don't mind, as long as there aren't any prereq's that require you to actually be from Faerun (which was always my favorite gaming world, by the way, until Pathfinder came along). I mean, it's not like we're talking more feats than the others have.
So, does anyone object to what Yurgan (aka Heaven's Agent) has requested?
In the interest of being fair to the other players, since they didn't get feats from outside their regions (at least not to replace their regional feat), I will put this to a vote among them. If they don't mind, I don't mind, as long as there aren't any prereq's that require you to actually be from Faerun (which was always my favorite gaming world, by the way, until Pathfinder came along). I mean, it's not like we're talking more feats than the others have.
So, does anyone object to what Yurgan (aka Heaven's Agent) has requested?
And if not, it's alright as well. It's just that of the two feats available for the region, Varisian Tattoo has no option for a diviner, and Totem Spirit cannot be used because the effect itself is dependent on a character belonging to a Shoanti tribe.
I don't care one way or the other.
Sure why not...
As long as you buy baron's strawberry milkshake from me.
Story trumps balance. Yes.
I have absolutely no room to protest. :)
Nightwish:
|
|
Anyway, I did some digging and was thinking Spell Thematics might be a good substitute (Player's Guide to Faerun 44). That said, if you have something different in mind that would be great as well.
Well, none of the others have a problem with it (although it looks like you're going to owe somebody a strawberry milkshake ... or maybe I owe him the milkshake, not sure!) So I'll let you do that. I'll get your character brought in tomorrow.
|
|
Nightwish:** spoiler omitted **
|
|
Yurgan is ready to go. I've got a brief intro post up in IC for him. The other two new characters will be with him, either ready to fight if they're done, or hanging back and watching your camp if they're not. The intro post brings you out at the manor just as this latest fight is breaking out, so you can start acting on the next round (if you want, you can double-move this round to get up to the fight).
If you think Benedetto is ready to start play, is he tromping along with Yurgan?
If so, then his demeanor has never really challenged Yurgan's sense of superiority. Benedetto comes off as a yokel, using a modified farm implement in battle. You know he's good in battle against individual foes (dropping them from a distance, hiding from their perceptions, getting answers from them, and as of last week grappling them with a preposterous 4-foot-long tentacle in his mouth) but ill-equipped to deal with rampaging hordes or with undead.
Let me know when Miho is ready.
If so, then his demeanor has never really challenged Yurgan's sense of superiority.
Neevan is going to be absolutely no help in that area too.
With all the lawfulness coming into the party, this is the most lawful group I've ever been in. :)
|
|
Well, I'm mostly laid up in bed today. Can't walk! I got what is probably the worst sunburn I've ever had yesterday! We were canoeing on the Current River (south central Missouri) yesterday. I put on sublock, but when I bought the stuff, I didn't think to check to make sure it was the unscented kind. It turned out to have a very fruity flavor, and that made me look like a smorgasbord to every biting insect with a taste for human flesh (or fruit, apparently) within a hundred miles. I was being eaten alive, so about an hour into the float, I got out of the boat, washed the stuff off as best I could in the river (which was gloriously cold on an insanely hot day), and went the rest of the day unprotected. So my arms and legs look like beets today! And they feel like fire! But the trip was still a blast! We capsized three times, I think, because we kept hitting submerged logs that we couldn't see because the river was running high and fast and murky. Knock on wood, though, all I lost this time was four sodas (last time I lost a cell phone, prescription eyeglasses, and one flip-flop - almost $600 worth of stuff). Learned my lesson from last time - leave valuables in the car, or seal them in baggies and put them in a floatable container that is tied to the boat. Lesson learned from this time, for next time - use unscented sunblock and bring some "Off!"
On a side note, it was a bit of a downer to come back and find out Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett had died. Not that I'll miss Wacko Jacko too much (especially if he was guilty of child molestation), and he really hadn't put out any stellar music since his "Bad" album (but I'm a metalhead, so most of his stuff never appealed to me anyway), but he owns the bragging rights to Greatest Video Ever Made! I'll miss Farrah, though.
Also wondering what the regional feat would be for Tian Min?
|
|
Also wondering what the regional feat would be for Tian Min?
Hmm, good question. My first thought is that when you create her background, you could have her originally from Minkai, but raised in one of the favored regions listed for the Tian on page 32 of the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, then just choose the regional feat from there.
Another possibility - the Tian-Min have a more distinctly Japanese flavor than some of the other Tian cultures. So we could transplant some other Japanese-oriented cultures described in better detail in some of the other books. For instance, the Forgotten Realms: Unapproachable East and Player's Guide to Faerun books reference a culture called the Shou Expatriates (and while the name hints more at Chinese, the specifics draw more on Japanese culture) and lists Discipline, Mercantile Background and Mind Over Body (described in the Player's Guide to Faerun and the FR Campaign Setting) as regional feats. If you wanted to do that, just replace "Shou Expatriate" with "Tian-Min," and "Faerun" with "Minkai."
That works. Went with Discipline.
You know, this has to seem very odd to Amie, Tate, Hans, and Coraline. :)
Extremely, a bunch of people just show up and start killing things. LOL
|
|
Extremely, a bunch of people just show up and start killing things. LOL
Hehe, welcome to D&D! LOL!
It would be a lot easier to do a more developed backstory for the scene intro if we were table-topping, but that would take days in PbP, and I'm sure most of you don't want to drive or fly all the way to St. Louis, Missouri just to table-top the intro, hehe.
Truthfully I wouldn't mind getting away for a weekend. I really miss table top.
Hey guys, spent the last 2 days driving from New York to Kanasas. My wife's mom is dying. I'll post when I can just to get my mind on something else.
Hey Mark, just saying again that you don't have to worry about the games. Please, just take as much time out as you need, okay?
It's a diversion. My wife's at the funeral home with her dad making arrangements and it helps to put my mind on other things for a bit.
Ok horribly off topic, but Nightwish, do you have any idea when Wiccan Forums is going to be back online. I missed any sort of post regarding the update they are going through right now.
|
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
|
Mark,
First off, I wanted to check in with you to see how you and your family are doing. You folks are in my prayers.
Secondly, I just noticed that you're playing a Kensai. I have never been able to figure out how that prestige class works. If you could drop me a note some time at c (dot) mortika (at) gmail (dot) com, I'd like to ask you about it.
|
|
Ok horribly off topic, but Nightwish, do you have any idea when Wiccan Forums is going to be back online. I missed any sort of post regarding the update they are going through right now.
I got an answer from Tirya today about that. Looks like it is down, maybe for good, since the founder/owner of the site, Opal, hasn't been heard from in over a year. Many of the regulars are now posting over at the Circle Lodge. I emailed you a link. It's an invitation-only site, but I'll see if I can wrangle you an invite (has to come from an admin, if I'm not mistaken) if you're not already on there.
Now that the final PFRPG rules are available (http://paizo.com/prd), Lucky Hans gets a couple of changes:
- +2 to DCs of any compulsion spell he casts
- Laughing Touch can be used 3 + Cha mod times per day
- proficiency with halfling sling staff
- +2 to all Perception skill checks
I think that's about it.
EDIT: Missed a few...
-Animal domain abilities work differently (speak w/ animals 8/day, gets an actual animal companion instead of summoning animals)
-breastplate gives more AC
We're converting to the final rules? The changes to specialization kind of break the concept I was running with for Yurgan.
We're converting to the final rules? The changes to specialization kind of break the concept I was running with for Yurgan.
Really? There's very little difference between the Beta and final versions for a divination specialist, as far as I know.
At any rate, Nightwind will probably give you the option not to convert if you ask him.
|
|
We're converting to the final rules? The changes to specialization kind of break the concept I was running with for Yurgan.
If a change is going to be detrimental to your character concept, I'm sure we can find a way to work around it. I haven't really had time to look over the new rules yet - hell, it took me until about 3:00 in the morning just to finally get through to be able to download the darned thing (I imagine the site was pretty swamped yesterday, hence the discussion boards being down all day).
Really? There's very little difference between the Beta and final versions for a divination specialist, as far as I know.
Yeah, there's not too many differences, but the key in this instance is the modification of the first level bonus spell. I wanted to emphasize the use of true strike, and being able to use it for free once per day for every two caster levels was a key to the build and the reason behind my going the route of wizard/monk/geometer. The change severely limits the viability of the theme, especially when combined with my existing character choices.
|
|
I should be finished reviewing all the class changes tomorrow. So far, it looks like the most drastic changes were made to the Paladin class (it no longer sucks - in fact, their Lay on Hands now surpasses clerics' Channel Energy, at least for single targets ... and they get regular Channel Energy to boot, albeit not quite as frequently as clerics)!
It looks like there are also significant improvements to the advancement of Druids' animal companions and Paladins' holy mounts (which now follow the same guidelines). Bards' spell progression improved. I haven't really looked at the other spellcasting classes yet, though.
Something to keep in mind that's key to spellcasting classes, but isn't mentioned in the classes section, are the changes to concentration checks. They're on page 206 of the book.
It's now solely a function of caster level and ability bonus, rather than a skill, thereby making spell failure due to concentration loss more likely. And though most of the DCs are unchanged, the DC for casting defensively has; combined with the change to the roll, such an action becomes significantly more difficult and less reliable.