All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...
...except in this case, we have Icy instead of Jack here.
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I am sorta melancholic due to a discussion at another forum relating to deities and how they work in D&D / Pathfinder...
** spoiler omitted **
I've never been a fan of the whole "cleric of a concept" thing myself. I really don't see the source of all their complaints about gods granting power. It works just fine for me. Methinks we have an issue of their own beliefs (or lack thereof if the case may be) grating against the inherent assumptions in D&D/PF, combined with a desire to overcomplicate things.
Don't stress over it. The big issue (IMO) is "if gods grant power why is magic based on the caster's ability and not the patron's?" and that is simple to explain: "the god grants the cleric only as much power as s/he's earned".
I wouldn't say that they're complaining. They just pointed out a flaw of sorts in how things work.
And really, I love the guys over at the Den, even if they behave differently from the people around here.
RUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNnnnnnnnn......
Well, that's another two hours of biking taken care off. Found a nice piece of bike-path that went out of town and straight across a bunch of fields for about 2,2 kilometers.
Might go back tomorrow with a camera.
I wouldn't say that they're complaining. They just pointed out a flaw of sorts in how things work.
Eh, it's more I don't see it as a flaw.
I wouldn't say that they're complaining. They just pointed out a flaw of sorts in how things work.Eh, it's more I don't see it as a flaw.
Turns out it wasn't. I just misunderstood the situation. XD
I am sorta melancholic due to a discussion at another forum relating to deities and how they work in D&D / Pathfinder...
** spoiler omitted **
I've never been a fan of the whole "cleric of a concept" thing myself. I really don't see the source of all their complaints about gods granting power. It works just fine for me. Methinks we have an issue of their own beliefs (or lack thereof if the case may be) grating against the inherent assumptions in D&D/PF, combined with a desire to overcomplicate things.
Don't stress over it. The big issue (IMO) is "if gods grant power why is magic based on the caster's ability and not the patron's?" and that is simple to explain: "the god grants the cleric only as much power as s/he's earned".
I more in line that gods grants only as much power as s/he can channel.
Also, I always say there are no words omniscient and omnipotent in the word god, so the gods don't have unlimited power to give themselves.
In my own setting, the gods - or Avatars as they're referred to in-universe, though the terms are used interchangeably - are subservient to the actual omnipotent/present entity/ies (it's sort of a one-as-many thing - five distinct portions of a singular whole) and their power comes from those five Aspects. They on the other hand are all-powerful and unlimited in potential, but prefer to act through the Avatars as intermediaries rather than directly.
On the other hand, the Avatars in my world are a bit more active than the gods in some settings, less hands-off, though they still don't intervene for every little thing and tend to let mortal servants in turn handle most stuff.
Mor... Er, 'fternoon everyone...
And with that, time for me to vanish for a few hours. There's work to be done. Laterz FAWTLfolk.
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But the sooner you get up, he sooner this day starts. Sooner it starts, sooner it ends. Sooner it ends, sooner a new one begins. Before you know it, the Moore's will be here.Blerg...
Really? Back to work. I can think of a whole list of things I'd rather do today.
Top of said list: Go back to BED. :-/
True. So what I really need, is to fast forward through the day still I can go to sleep tonight.
Homosexuality in Golarion grew by 150 posts since I checked last time... Did a new flame exploded... Again?
Good morning!
I love how I keep getting new ideas for Kingmaker due to how open-ended some encounters end up being.
An example would be...
In my own setting, the gods - or Avatars as they're referred to in-universe, though the terms are used interchangeably - are subservient to the actual omnipotent/present entity/ies (it's sort of a one-as-many thing - five distinct portions of a singular whole) and their power comes from those five Aspects. They on the other hand are all-powerful and unlimited in potential, but prefer to act through the Avatars as intermediaries rather than directly.
On the other hand, the Avatars in my world are a bit more active than the gods in some settings, less hands-off, though they still don't intervene for every little thing and tend to let mortal servants in turn handle most stuff.
in my setting, the gods are dead, killed by their treacherous creations, the dragons, and their army of (understandably upset) demihumans. Clerics are seen as already a little crazed as they refute this belief, but avatars are particularly nuts because they believe they ARE the gods, reborn to take revenge.
That's interesting. In my setting, the titans and the dragons were the first creations of the original gods. The former almost killed the deities after creating the giants as their troops, but things didn't go as planned for them and the titans were banished (similar to how it went in 3.5e and Golarion canon) while dragons split to Good and Evil after choosing to either oppose the titans or side with them. As for the nature of the gods, they are sort of like how the gods are in most campaign settings but more distant, kept from intervening by various different issues, one of which is the fact that an Outer God (of my own design) seems to be sort of intrigued by the mortals of the world and how they were formed. I'm using the term "sort of" because one cannot really fathom what goes in the mind of such an alien god.
I think I had ideas for an Avatar in my setting as well, though the deities only refer to this force as Fate.
The only god that can keep track of the movements of Fate without being destroyed is the god of duality, time and magic.
Homosexuality in Golarion grew by 150 posts since I checked last time... Did a new flame exploded... Again?
Ugh... So much ridiculous trolling and sheer stupidity... *sigh*
That's interesting. In my setting, the titans and the dragons were the first creations of the original gods. The former almost killed the deities after creating the giants as their troops, but things didn't go as planned for them and the titans were banished (similar to how it went in 3.5e and Golarion canon) while dragons split to Good and Evil after choosing to either oppose the titans or side with them. As for the nature of the gods, they are sort of like how the gods are in most campaign settings but more distant, kept from intervening by various different issues, one of which is the fact that an Outer God (of my own design) seems to be sort of intrigued by the mortals of the world and how they were formed. I'm using the term "sort of" because one cannot really fathom what goes in the mind of such an alien god.
I think I had ideas for an Avatar in my setting as well, though the deities only refer to this force as Fate.
The only god that can keep track of the movements of Fate without being destroyed is the god of duality, time and magic.
I like it. Similar to my own ideas. Keep on developin' and homebrewin'!
Homosexuality in Golarion grew by 150 posts since I checked last time... Did a new flame exploded... Again?Ugh... So much ridiculous trolling and sheer stupidity... *sigh*
people are scared of what they don't understand. And then there are those who don't want answers to questions because they are more scared of the truth than their own ignorance. Its ugly but it happens.
Huzzah!!
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Saturday night was a friend's wedding. Open bars are always fun.
It was a pretty classy joint in Queens, right on the river with a wide view of Manhattan. Good food.
The best man had the most embarrassing speech I had ever heard. Every cliche in the book. I didn't think people actually did that sort of thing. It sounds like it would be funny, but in reality I think everyone just wanted to crawl under the table and hide. (Seriously, even stories about the groom's exes. It was that bad.)
Anyway, John and I were good friends with the maid of honor, who is pregnant and made a convenient designated driver as a result.
Also, for those who have seen on FB, we looked sharp :)
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Oh, and going backwards still, I had some time to kill on Friday, so I went downtown in NY. I hadn't been downtown in at least 10 years. I just walked around by the World Trade Center, Wall Street, and the South Street Seaport. I tried to see if I could spot FHDM looking across the river at Brooklyn, but I couldn't make him out. (Or, more likely, he was not standing on the riverbank...)
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Sunday, John and I went upstate to his boss's land in the Catskills. They have several acres of farmland, with all sorts of produce growing and chickens. There was a noisy rooster who woke us up every morning.
It was a lot of fun. There was good company, good food (the boss's wife is an old Italian woman, and she knows what she's doing). We played lots of bocce.
On Monday, John and I drove to Woodstock. It is a cute town, with more than its fair share of aged hippies. There were used book stores, though, and gift shops, and a really good restaurant where we ate lunch.
We drove back this morning and I have a day to rest and get some things taken care of at home before I return to work tomorrow.
Sadly, I think the only relation I have to the Catskills is that I conquered them in a computer game once. :(
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Sunday, John and I went upstate to his boss's land in the Catskills. They have several acres of farmland, with all sorts of produce growing and chickens. There was a noisy rooster who woke us up every morning.
At least it wasn't braying.
Jam was made
Apple-Blackberry
and
Apple-Elderberry
AWESOME CH!!!!
Saturday night was a friend's wedding. Open bars are always fun.
It was a pretty classy joint in Queens, right on the river with a wide view of Manhattan. Good food.
The best man had the most embarrassing speech I had ever heard. Every cliche in the book. I didn't think people actually did that sort of thing. It sounds like it would be funny, but in reality I think everyone just wanted to crawl under the table and hide. (Seriously, even stories about the groom's exes. It was that bad.)
Anyway, John and I were good friends with the maid of honor, who is pregnant and made a convenient designated driver as a result.
Also, for those who have seen on FB, we looked sharp :)
So that's why you were in suits!
Jam was made
Apple-Blackberry
and
Apple-Elderberry
Yum-yum...
The remaining leftovers of jam from my cellar was eaten last year. No more homemade jam. Or salads. Or pickled fruits.
Evidently, you're all doing your resumes wrong.
All right, and I'm saying this as someone who does enjoy the show... where to begin with what is wrong here.
Evidently, you're all doing your resumes wrong.
I would hire him on the spot.
Here it is, the long overdue tale of what happened at the previous session!
Ayles Megesen was changed from a human bandit to a holstaur druid of Erastil, the name being switched to Alysa Megesen.
Cragger Kench is a half-orc instead of a human.
Dirty Jeb Megesen got renamed into Jeff Megesen.
Jex the Snitch is a halfling.
Topper Red is an elven bard from Pitax, and a bit more eccentric than the initial description in the book would have a person believe.
I also forgot to mention that a Galtan Paladin of Iomedae named Wilda Roché had followed Jhod into the Stolen Lands for her own reasons.
Lastly, a group of four kobolds (the ones on the Radish Patch) are red kobolds that the party befriended, led by a charismatic but naive male named Gritnok.
So the session began with the heroes descending into the Old Sycamore on a hunt for a statue that the local mites had stolen from the kobolds of the Sootscale tribe. While the mites themselves were barely a challenge, the giant centipede lurking in the bottom of the tree managed to land a critical hit on Ciaran with a bite to the face, though he survived through the battle. After killing Grabbles, freeing Mikmek and finding the statue, the party realized that the kobolds had been fooled. The statue wasn't magical, and it wasn't even a depiction of a dragon, facts Sage made clear to the Chief when they came to the Sootscales to return the statue.
Hearing this, Chief Sootscale took the statue before inviting the tall folk on a hunt. Much to the kobold's fortune, they made quick work of Tartuk after confronting the shaman in his own room. Realizing that their map of the Greenbelt was more or less finished, the party headed back to Oleg's after signing a pact of peace with the Sootscales. Once they were back at the Trading Post, they began to plot against the Stag Lord, with Sage casting Youthful Appearance on himself while the others got their disguises ready. Traveling straight for the Fort, they managed to slip in without too much suspicion, and this is where the most epic part of this session begins.
Kiriv (the bandits knew him as Ratman) went alongside Ciaran (whom the bandits called Sharkface) to have a chat with Dovan and the bandits playing cards, while Sage (claiming to be a bandit named Rake) and Oruda (who nobody dared talk to) went to talk with Falgrim Sneeg up on the watchtower. The wizard got himself on good terms with the bandit before telling him of an idea he and his fellow guys had in mind. According to him, the Stag Lord was losing his grip as a leader, and they should take this chance to overthrow him and have him replaced by Sharkface Ciaran. Being familiar with backstabbing others, Falgrim Sneeg listened on with a glint in his eyes and a sliver of a smile, though as he noticed Jex listening on to them, he quickly snapped the halfling's neck before tossing him over to Beaky as a little snack.
"Ratman" decided to do his own part spreading the tales of dread related to Sharkface Ciaran, legends saying that he's a half-fiend who tore trolls to shred with his bare hands at Loric Fells. Gullible as they were, the bandits figured it could only be true after seeing the somewhat monstrous appearance of the tiefling who merely stood by the sideline, watching silently with a sharp-toothed grin on his face. After some time, he noticed Akiros pass by alongside Alysa, both of them wearing a symbol of Erastil on them. Leaving the bandits to their card game, he then followed them to the storage room where they decided to have a drink. While Akiros was less interested in the intrigues around him, the ranger managed to get the man to tell of what had ailed him for so long, and how he had lost his favor with Old Deadeye.
After hearing him and Alysa out, Kiriv told them not to bother sitting here, as Old Deadeye surely wouldn't give them redemption in a place like this. Meanwhile, "Rake" had managed to get all the bandits (even Auchs) on board with his plan, and was then told of an old man in the basement who was supposedly the father of the Stag Lord. Hoping to gain yet another ally against the bandit lord, he stepped down to the cellar to have a talk with the old and broken druid of Gozreh. With a few good Diplomacy rolls and excellent RP, the wizard convinced Nugrah to help, and the druid even decided to free a Katapeshi Leopard that had been brought to the fort a few months back. Said feline was actually Kiriv's animal companion, and the two reunited while the bandits began to prepare. There was only one obstacle left, and that was Dovan.
"Rake" recalled that there was also a bounty on Falgrim Sneeg, so he led both Dovan and the Varisian up to the tower, where he cast Sleep on the former before letting Nugrah trap both bandits up with a clever use of his Stone Shape spell. While the bandits then began to march outside the fort, the old druid attempted to use his wild empathy to calm Beaky down and turn him against the Stag Lord. He just barely succeeded at this, leading an angry owlbear out just as his son was about to wake up. Once he got up, he heard someone calling him out while noticing an odd silence in the fort. Climbing up to the unoccupied watchtower, the Stag Lord looked on in anger at the sight of his own men and his father siding with the enemies Alysa had warned about just a week earlier. The final battle led to the Stag Lord's defeat and to the capture of both Dovan and Falgrim Sneeg. All three were brought back alive to the authorities, though they were reportedly hanged from the gallows soon afterwards.
Topper Red, who's songs and tales had mostly just annoyed the bandits of the Fort, promised to write down the tale of how the Stag Lord was defeated, as well as chronicle the other achievements of the four. However, the party forgot to tell him that Ciaran is actually from Sevenarches and fought with wild animals instead of trolls. The other bandits were given a choice by Sage to either work for him and pay off the debts they owe to society, or hand themselves over to the Brevic authorities. Unsurprisingly, the bandits offered their services to the businessman, though Topper Red insisted that he had not committed any crimes aside from mocking the ruler of Pitax, which is exactly why he was forced to leave the place. Soon enough, Kesten Garess and Wilda Roché arrived at the scene to take the captives away and congratulate the heroes.
Soon after this, the four heroes received a new charter, granting them a barony in the Greenbelt and giving even more reason for their friends at the Trading Post to celebrate. Kiriv, being an Erastilian, was invited to hunt for food alongside Akiros, Jhod and Alysa. The four returned with a large boar to roast. Oruda kept a low profile and didn't take part in the festivities, though this didn't really surprise Oleg or anyone else present. Nugrah found a friend in Old Bokken, the two sitting on a tree stump and thinking about the past while drinking oddly flavored beer. Sage joined them, and the three soon looked at the night skies while continuing their conversation. Ciaran had disappeared soon after losing an arm wrestling match against Auchs, finding himself sitting comfortably in the woods until a familiar face showed up. Líadáin greeted him with a coy smile, asking his favourite student of how he had been before suddenly shifting to a more serious tone. She warned him of dark forces working in the woods, and told him to keep a sharp eye. The nymph's tone then shifted back to a happy one, and she asked him to try and be more sociable before disappearing into the night.
Only four people were unable to be happy during the celebrations that night, and those were the four red kobolds of Gritnok. They had found out that not only were they exiled from their old tribe, but also that Tartuk had killed their tribe while they were away. However, Chief Sootscale invited them to their tribe instead, throwing a party of their own as they named a faerie dragon named Varshez their patron dragon after painting her scales black and bribing her with food.
Once the building of the barony had begun, Akiros Ismort and Kesten Garess were both knighted by Sage Ravell, with authority for doing so being granted by his ties to the Dragonscale Throne. Their first settlement was built over the Stag Lord's Fort, and the capital was named Stagshelm in the honor of Old Deadeye.
Wilda Roché, who had already been knighted by the church of Iomedae, was named the Ruler of the barony, as she carried the blood of a Galtan duke in her veins, even though this gave her no claims to any actual lands in the south due to the current state of affairs in her homeland. She is known as "the golden knight" and "knight queen" due to the gold coating on her plate armor. Her loyal squire Renauld Cloutier is also part of her elite guard, most likely soon to be knighted.
Alysa Megesen was named the Councilor, a role she didn't refuse from but is still getting used to.
Kesten Garess was named the General, becoming "the knight of steel grey" in the eyes of the people.
Sage Ravell claimed the seat of High Diplomat for himself with haste.
The role of High Priest was given to Jhod Kavken, an honor he felt unworthy of.
Gritnok serves as the Magister of the Greenbelt barony, though Sage insisted that this would be a temporary position for him.
Ciaran of Sevenarches became the Royal Enforcer / Assassin as suggested by his allies.
Oddly enough, Nugrah the Old accepted the offer to become the Marshal that Sage had given him.
Unsurprisingly, Oruda Tarkhan became the barony's Spymaster due to his background.
Oleg Leveton himself offered to become the Treasurer, joking about people who insisted that counting coppers was boring.
Lastly, the redeemed paladin Akiros became the Warden and donned a new plate of dark green, becoming "the green knight" of Stagshelm.
Though he received no official position as of yet, the elven bard Topper Red insisted that he become a herald for the heroes of the Greenbelt, and that he'd be allowed to sing songs and read poems on the streets for the joy (or misery) of those around him. Chief Sootscale's kobolds are also not officially part of the system yet, though this most likely will change as time goes on. The fey have also given their approval for the barony and the people around it, though not all of them have been convinced yet.
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Yay =) Nicely done use of diplomancy.
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That's interesting. In my setting, the titans and the dragons were the first creations of the original gods. The former almost killed the deities after creating the giants as their troops, but things didn't go as planned for them and the titans were banished (similar to how it went in 3.5e and Golarion canon) while dragons split to Good and Evil after choosing to either oppose the titans or side with them. As for the nature of the gods, they are sort of like how the gods are in most campaign settings but more distant, kept from intervening by various different issues, one of which is the fact that an Outer God (of my own design) seems to be sort of intrigued by the mortals of the world and how they were formed. I'm using the term "sort of" because one cannot really fathom what goes in the mind of such an alien god.
I think I had ideas for an Avatar in my setting as well, though the deities only refer to this force as Fate.
The only god that can keep track of the movements of Fate without being destroyed is the god of duality, time and magic.
Happy early yontif btw.
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There was a noisy rooster who woke us up every morning.
See, this leaves me torn. The early morning, unholy caterwauling exhibited by roosters makes me want to wipe every one of them off the face of existence.
Yet! If we wipe out the roosters - no more chicken. No more chicken = no more Popeyes! ACK!!!
There was a noisy rooster who woke us up every morning.See, this leaves me torn. The early morning, unholy caterwauling exhibited by roosters makes me want to wipe every one of them off the face of existence.
Yet! If we wipe out the roosters - no more chicken. No more chicken = no more Popeyes! ACK!!!
Popeyes is a natural health and vitamin store in Canada with no chicken whatsoever. Just aisles and aisles of pill bottles. So beware zombie if you ever come here do not be fooled.
So, it's fun forgetting to lock an ipod on an album when it's prone to skipping around when jostled and the drive home involves crossing train tracks. Especially when you've got a very diverse playlist.
...Especially when the sudden comparatively quiet song ceases to mask exactly how loudly and badly you were singing along with the first one.
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So, it's fun forgetting to lock an ipod on an album when it's prone to skipping around when jostled and the drive home involves crossing train tracks. Especially when you've got a very diverse playlist.
...Especially when the sudden comparatively quiet song ceases to mask exactly how loudly and badly you were singing along with the first one.
Singing along to songs at the top of your lungs is what ipods in cars are for. You're doing it right.
Yay =) Nicely done use of diplomancy.
It happens a lot when you have an old wizard in the party who's both a scholar and a businessman.
While he hasn't made much use of it yet, the ninja also has a high Charisma and some ranks in Diplomacy.
Singing along to songs at the top of your lungs is what ipods in cars are for. You're doing it right.So, it's fun forgetting to lock an ipod on an album when it's prone to skipping around when jostled and the drive home involves crossing train tracks. Especially when you've got a very diverse playlist.
...Especially when the sudden comparatively quiet song ceases to mask exactly how loudly and badly you were singing along with the first one.
Yep, although it makes me sad - my ipod broke 4 years ago. And I only had it a year, thus I didn't replace it - so I've had no portable music for ages. :(
Anyway, happy hump-day all. May the hump be small, but vigorous.
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I just realized that having a holstaur as a Councilor in Kingmaker might prove useful for the players later on.