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So it's looking like one of our groups is likely going to run through Carrion Crown now. Those of us on tap to play kind of went through a wild brainstorming session yesterday...
At first when the prospect of getting to play Carrion Crown popped up, I was seriously considering playing close to the Peter Cushing/Hammer Horror mold of hero, but then we got sidetracked by Castlevania. Or rather, carjacked by Castlevania and driven all the way over the border to Transylvania.
At first it started with the notion that "one player should totally play a Belmont". Discussion of how to make that work led to "someone ought to be my brother" and finally to the entire party so far being made of brothers.
The entire party accounted for so far is made up of the children of a vampire hunting family currently located in Lastwall. Whether they moved there from Ustalav or they were always based there is still up in the air. Ethnically either Chelish or Varisian. I think I'm going to propose both(Chelish on our father's side, Varisian on our mother's side) just to give us a range to work with.
Where we stand now:
"Belmont-ish" fighter focusing on whips(possibly of the scorpion variety) and thrown weapons(daggers, axes, holy water, boomerangs...).
"Grant Danasty-ish" rogueish dodgy stabby type. This one is still pretty up in the air.
"Sypha Belnades-ish" celestial-bloodline sorcerer. Maybe a cleric of Desna, but leaning heavily towards sorcerer now.
"Alucard-ish" half brother, a dhampir paladin. (which is going to provide one hell of a challenge for his player, but he's pretty fired up on the concept. Also, paladins @#$% yeah.)
And a highly likely unknown fifth quantity to round us out.
My question is, will going in like a total group of Big Damn Heroes with electric guitar-driven soundtracks wreck the heart of the AP, in the designers' opinions? I don't mean to say that we're shooting for completely "over the top"; we're actually grounding these characters with pretty serious backgrounds. But these definitely aren't "low key" character types so far. Certainly not something you'd expect built for Ravenloft or the like.
Just want to make sure it's as fun for the GM buying the AP as for the players.
I kind of suspect we'll wind up gravitating towards a Lords of Shadow level of seriousness rather than Symphony of the Night levels of haminess(WHAT IS A MAN?), so it may be a self-correcting issue. But ya never know. We might still wind up punching holes in old castle walls looking for pork chops.
This is one of the more awesome things I've seen all day.
It's always a delicate balancing act, keeping things from devolving into farce. But if you can walk that line without falling you end up with one hell of a game.
To try to divine what I can from your post and the fact that your brainstorming started at Peter Cushing/Hammer Horror, I think you're gonna be fine.
I agree this sounds like hella fun I could see my group doing this
Awesome concept. I'm not sure how the Dhampir Paladin will survive, though, given that he needs negative energy to be healed.
I guess we need to wait until at least the player's guide to know how well this concept would work. Or maybe one of the devs can give you an answer. :p
Technically speaking nothing prevents Dhampyr Paladin from healing oneself with Lay On Hands. This ability has two possible uses - one is healing and second is damaging Undeads but these are two different options ("Alternatively, a paladin can use this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures"). Actually, now when I check it isn't even said that the target of healing must be alive.
And the idea for the party is great!
I'm not sure I can offer you that much advice on the direction you're headed. If it helps, the party of PCs I always envisioned both as I was writing for Carrion Crown and if I ever ran a group through it, fell along these lines:
1) A Pathfinder version of a Call of Cthulu kind of group, somewhat loosely formed around the precepts of being investigation-oriented, adventurous, and with a few hints of their own otherwordly powers or connections.
2) A League of Extraordinary Gentleman kind of vibe, but maybe dialed back a notch or two (particularly in the early going) as to the amount of abilities, powers, etc. each PC would possess.
I could see groups formed around those ideas as being quite successful in the course of Carrion Crown, both in terms of roleplaying and rollplaying their way through various encounters. The vampire hunting angle could become a bit more problematic, though, depending on how my turnover for Ashes at Dawn emerges from development. And, even so, it would presumably be awhile before they'd get to scratch that itch since the vampire-themed adventure is the fifth book in the series.
Just my two cents,
--Neil
I really, really, really like this idea, but it could go off the rails easily. If you are doing this via PBP, I will be watching closely.
Oversized Starknife perhaps to represent the boomerang cross instead of an actual boomerang?
Honestly I think an Inquisitor or a Ranger would work better for a Belmont instead of a Fighter. I like the Dhampir Paladin idea too.
...your 5th player should be a summoner.
CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN!
The vampire hunting angle could become a bit more problematic, though, depending on how my turnover for Ashes at Dawn emerges from development. And, even so, it would presumably be awhile before they'd get to scratch that itch since the vampire-themed adventure is the fifth book in the series.
For a group like the one Mikaze is describing, I think the best way to give them that backscratcher would be to sprinkle in encounters with vampire spawn or just some low-powered vampires in random places. Use them as opportunities to exhibit the PCs' growth in power, too - maybe at level 1 or 2 they get pwned by a group of urban cockney vamp lowlifes, and then by level 5 or 6 they run into them again... only this time the tables are turned. =]
I'd be very surprised if at least a few side encounters in the other volumes of the AP didn't feature bloodsuckers, too, but I guess we won't really know until they hit the shelves (unless designers or creative leads want to chime in here).
Also, a question for Mikaze and other posters: are there any good collections of music from the first four Castlevania games you would recommend which are available through iTunes? I may not want to run CC with the same atmosphere and flavor as you've described, but my favorite part of those video games was always the score, and that's an element I definitely would like to introduce when I run it (and possibly for Skinsaw Murders, too, since the final battle with Xanesha takes place in a clocktower).
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It's always a delicate balancing act, keeping things from devolving into farce. But if you can walk that line without falling you end up with one hell of a game.To try to divine what I can from your post and the fact that your brainstorming started at Peter Cushing/Hammer Horror, I think you're gonna be fine.
I really, really, really like this idea, but it could go off the rails easily.
I'm not sure I can offer you that much advice on the direction you're headed. If it helps, the party of PCs I always envisioned both as I was writing for Carrion Crown and if I ever ran a group through it, fell along these lines:
...2) A League of Extraordinary Gentleman kind of vibe, but maybe dialed back a notch or two (particularly in the early going) as to the amount of abilities, powers, etc. each PC would possess.
Yeah, my worry was that even as dialed back as we probably are from typical Castlevania ridiculousness that we would kill the seriousness of the campaign, but the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comparison makes me feel a lot more secure about how we're probably going. :) Thanks!
Still really want to play Peter Cushing in something some day...
Awesome concept. I'm not sure how the Dhampir Paladin will survive, though, given that he needs negative energy to be healed.
I guess we need to wait until at least the player's guide to know how well this concept would work. Or maybe one of the devs can give you an answer. :p
Technically speaking nothing prevents Dhampyr Paladin from healing oneself with Lay On Hands. This ability has two possible uses - one is healing and second is damaging Undeads but these are two different options ("Alternatively, a paladin can use this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures"). Actually, now when I check it isn't even said that the target of healing must be alive.
We've got some angles to work with, if Lay on Hands is defined as positive energy. Celestial bloodline sorcerers' Heavenly Fire is defined as working simply in accordance with alignment, rather than going by the living/undead dichotomy. Unfortunately it's only usable on him once per day. If I go cleric, I can easily stock up on inflict spells for emergency use. Our fifth might change things up even more, but the dhampir is definitely looking like our most "at risk" member so far, which his player seems pretty gung ho about actually. :)
If you are doing this via PBP, I will be watching closely.
Awesome idea, please do a campaign journal
It'll be a table game, but I'll talk to the crew about keeping some sort of journal going. One thing I learned from the Kingmaker journal is that it can be a LOT of work to do in character, but then again the flow of time in that AP really leads to the upsizing in those journals.
Oversized Starknife perhaps to represent the boomerang cross instead of an actual boomerang?
I'm definitely picking up a starknife for the visual(and because they're just cool) as a flavor weapon for my sorcerer(or Desnan cleric). I think we're taking it for granted that our "Belmont" is going to be packing them along with at least one of every other classic weapon. I think we're going to pitch in and get him gloves of storing just to make the visual complete.
...your 5th player should be a summoner.
CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN!
CAN'T UNSEE OR UNHEAR.
I could see groups formed around those ideas as being quite successful in the course of Carrion Crown, both in terms of roleplaying and rollplaying their way through various encounters. The vampire hunting angle could become a bit more problematic, though, depending on how my turnover for Ashes at Dawn emerges from development. And, even so, it would presumably be awhile before they'd get to scratch that itch since the vampire-themed adventure is the fifth book in the series.Just my two cents,
--Neil
I'd be very surprised if at least a few side encounters in the other volumes of the AP didn't feature bloodsuckers, too, but I guess we won't really know until they hit the shelves (unless designers or creative leads want to chime in here).
It's something we may have taken for granted, but I don't think we're going to be monomaniacally focused on vampires at least. ;) As far as I know, that is.
Also, a question for Mikaze and other posters: are there any good collections of music from the first four Castlevania games you would recommend which are available through iTunes? I may not want to run CC with the same atmosphere and flavor as you've described, but my favorite part of those video games was always the score, and that's an element I definitely would like to introduce when I run it (and possibly for Skinsaw Murders, too, since the final battle with Xanesha takes place in a clocktower).
Oh man, I can definitely help here. :D (I cobbled together a soundtrack for Skeletons of Scarwall for my Crimson Throne group a while back even - Spoilers for that AP, natch)
There is a LOT more available on CD soundtracks than through iTunes, but there's still a good selection to pull from:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (the iTunes version does not include the six new remixes of the "Classic Three" songs that turned up in the Saturn version of the game: Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, and Beginning)
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (Belmont, The Legend definitely has to be our fight song at some point!)
Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (contains the redone soundtrack for Rondo of Blood)
The Lords of Shadow soundtrack is very nice, but it's very different from traditional Castlevania music. It's well worth looking at, but unfortunately it hasn't made it to iTunes yet.
This is not available on iTunes unfortunately, but the Dracula New Classic album is made up entirely of orchestral arrangements of classic 8/16-bit era Castlevania music.
There are also a lot of fan-made covers out there, many available on iTunes, but they all vary wildly in quality and style and your milage will vary on which ones are fitting for your games.
I highly recommend Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Diablo soundtracks for mining as well. The unused soundtrack for the cancelled Dreamcast Castlevania is also worth looking into for ambient pieces.
For your 5th player, you need a bard who can play some type of portable wind instrument (A "Pipe Organ" would be better, but its kind of hard to transport), just so you can have the classic theme song playing in the background for each battle :)
*many helpful things*
Thanks so much! (Oooh, and now I have cubicle music for the rest of the workday, too!)
We've got some angles to work with, if Lay on Hands is defined as positive energy. Celestial bloodline sorcerers' Heavenly Fire is defined as working simply in accordance with alignment, rather than going by the living/undead dichotomy. Unfortunately it's only usable on him once per day. If I go cleric, I can easily stock up on inflict spells for emergency use. Our fifth might change things up even more, but the dhampir is definitely looking like our most "at risk" member so far, which his player seems pretty gung ho about actually. :)
Lay On Hands is not defined as positive energy in the rules so unless your GM insist that it is the dhampir will have a chance of healing oneself.
Otherwise, if there will be Cleric in the party he will have to prepare some inflict spells just in case.
2) A League of Extraordinary Gentleman kind of vibe, but maybe dialed back a notch or two (particularly in the early going) as to the amount of abilities, powers, etc. each PC would possess.Just my two cents,
--Neil
You seriously posted this the moment I sat down in class, took out a pencil, drew a top hat and thought that the League would make a fantastic Carrion Crown group.
Human gunslinger - Alan Quartermain
Human ninja - Invisible Man
Dhampir sorceress - Dracula's Wife
Elven bard - Dorian Gray
Human master chymist - Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hide
Human dawnflower dervish - Captain Nemo
This is what I came up with based off of my pathetic knowledge of just the movie and only in passing.
We've got some angles to work with, if Lay on Hands is defined as positive energy. Celestial bloodline sorcerers' Heavenly Fire is defined as working simply in accordance with alignment, rather than going by the living/undead dichotomy. Unfortunately it's only usable on him once per day. If I go cleric, I can easily stock up on inflict spells for emergency use. Our fifth might change things up even more, but the dhampir is definitely looking like our most "at risk" member so far, which his player seems pretty gung ho about actually. :)
Then I wish the best of luck to him. I hope his character rocks. :)
It'll be a table game, but I'll talk to the crew about keeping some sort of journal going. One thing I learned from the Kingmaker journal is that it can be a LOT of work to do in character, but then again the flow of time in that AP really leads to the upsizing in those journals.
I second the call for a journal, your write-ups always rock, be they now for in-character Kingmaker or as a GM for CotCT ( btw., we just finished that AP today and
I love the idea of the Castlevania crew, but I feel the need to point out that Vampire Killer technically is closer to a spiked chain than a whip.
That is all.
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CotCT ( btw., we just finished that AP today and ** spoiler omitted **
Oh wow.
Funny thing, she might go Irori in our game too. (She's at the crossroads between Shelyn, Irori, and Zon-Kuthon, it's complicated)
I love the idea of the Castlevania crew, but I feel the need to point out that Vampire Killer technically is closer to a spiked chain than a whip.
That is all.
You usually have to power it up first. ;P
He's weighing his options at the moment though. It'll likely be a while before we start, since we're probably going to wait until we wrap up Crimson Throne.
I'm not sure I can offer you that much advice on the direction you're headed. If it helps, the party of PCs I always envisioned both as I was writing for Carrion Crown and if I ever ran a group through it, fell along these lines:
1) A Pathfinder version of a Call of Cthulu kind of group, somewhat loosely formed around the precepts of being investigation-oriented, adventurous, and with a few hints of their own otherwordly powers or connections.
2) A League of Extraordinary Gentleman kind of vibe, but maybe dialed back a notch or two (particularly in the early going) as to the amount of abilities, powers, etc. each PC would possess.
Just my two cents,
--Neil
This is awesome.
While I may have played Castlevania (just the original when it was released), I try to keep any video gamey aspects out of my games. Im more into the "Spicer Way" of something like Carrion Crown and would try to bring back some of the glory of Ravenloft to a certain degree.
Oh wow.** spoiler omitted **
And, yeah, Laori went the down the "Perfect yourself with harsh training" Irori route, because to me that seemed to be the best way to reconcile her search for structure and longing for pain with other gods than Zon-Kuthon. She didn't have much of choice, either, because Zon-Kuthon had stripped her of his favor when she refused to be the new custodian of the Star Tower. Since one of the party members already was a follower of Irori, her conversion was pretty easy, after she got over her depression about her being abandoned by her god. You just can't keep that girl down. :)
As for her Shaitan wife, Laori also drew "The Peacock" and got stony, pebbly skin... so it all fit quite well. :D Let's just say that the Wizard, whose cohort Laori was up until then, was not very happy with her abandoning him all of the sudden. ^^
Mikaze, this sounds AWESOME! And it'll work just great. I outlined this AP to work both for folks who wanted to go through like Auguste Dupin and company, and for folks who wanted to take up whips and stakes. So you're totally set - and I totally want to hear about your game on these boards, it might be time to start an online campaign journal if you haven't before!
Also, I think you're going to get A LOT of inside nods throughout this AP. For example, I ordered I picture to open the Bestiary for #43 that I think is going to make you laugh out loud - and it's like the most self-indulgent thing I've ever ordered. It's not funny, but... well, you'll see.
Overall, awesome idea and I can't wait to hear more!
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** spoiler omitted **
Oh wow.** spoiler omitted **
We're taking the scenic route. :P We also had the holidays, weather, surgery, and plague put us on hiatus for a while, but we're back up and going now.
We've just started on Crown of Fangs, and much like your group Laori skipped out on being the curate. The group hasn't found out that she's being punished by her god yet...
Mikaze, this sounds AWESOME! And it'll work just great. I outlined this AP to work both for folks who wanted to go through like Auguste Dupin and company, and for folks who wanted to take up whips and stakes. So you're totally set - and I totally want to hear about your game on these boards, it might be time to start an online campaign journal if you haven't before!
Also, I think you're going to get A LOT of inside nods throughout this AP. For example, I ordered I picture to open the Bestiary for #43 that I think is going to make you laugh out loud - and it's like the most self-indulgent thing I've ever ordered. It's not funny, but... well, you'll see.
Overall, awesome idea and I can't wait to hear more!
Aces! Now I definitely feel secure in how we're going in now. :D I'll fill in the rest of the gang ASAP! I've actually got a (stalled due to a fan project) Kingmaker campaign journal going already, but I'll really try to get a new one going for Carrion Crown if everything takes off.
Gah, and now being a player in the AP means I need to get clearance to see that art. I'm certainly going to try and get a look at it though! Now I'm wondering what it is...
One thing I forgot to mention was that the suggestion for someone to play a "Captain N"-style Simon Belmont got unanimously shut down. Probably for the best.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh wow.** spoiler omitted **
We're taking the scenic route. :P We also had the holidays, weather, surgery, and plague put us on hiatus for a while, but we're back up and going now.
** spoiler omitted **
I'd love to hear in detail what happened with your group when you are finished. Especially with Laori. :)
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One thing I forgot to mention was that the suggestion for someone to play a "Captain N"-style Simon Belmont got unanimously shut down. Probably for the best.
Probably for the best.
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I will be the one running this game for Mikaze and the others.
I am thinking of the party more as a family of hunters that is focused on undead in general instead of specifically on vampires.
As I haven't read through the AP yet, I don't know how exactly I am going to tie the party concept into everything, but I am looking forward to it. The concept is an interesting starting point, and everyone is excited about their characters concepts, so that is always a plus.
I am going to encourage them to keep a campaign journal, but I think it is going to have to be a collaborative effort so one person doesn't get overwhelmed.
So which one is Sammy and which one is Dean? Better keep a eye on Sammy is all I can say.
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So which one is Sammy and which one is Dean? Better keep a eye on Sammy is all I can say.
I want to be the clingy co-dependant one.
Wait a sec...
:P
In all seriousness, we probably could land somwhere between the Belmonts and Winchesters. It sounds like our fifth is leaning towards oracle, so we're pretty rounded out, seems like!
The Kansas one was the one I had in my head when I responded, but no....no I really don't.
You really think ACDC is the right theme music? I guess Kansas one might work, as those two are the most used songs.
So much for smiting undead with Big Balls playing in the background...
I'd love to hear in detail what happened with your group when you are finished. Especially with Laori. :)
Will do! I'll try to update that thread soon too.
Will do! I'll try to update that thread soon too.
Thanks, I'll be looking forward to it. :)
Hey guys,
This is actually the guy playing the 'Belmont'-esque character and I honestly stumbled across this post by googling Pathfinder Simon Belmont while I was working on the character. Seeing who started the post I was completely unsurprised.
I've already begun work on the background for the character with the players guide lead in for Carrion Crown in mind. I'll be trying my best while we play to not let everyone de-rail me into Captain-N *shudder*. I have moderately high hopes that we can atleast maintain an acceptable level of 'grim-dark' on the campaign that would befit its source material. I'm also totally behind the idea of a campaign journal for the game.
In the mean time I'm trying to look ahead a bit from a mechanics standpoint and ensure I'll be able to manage something at-least befitting of whip slinging, dagger throwing, axe chunking, holy water vial smashing, cross boomerang throwing hero. It's a bit hard to work it all in mechanically at the moment but I'll hopefully be able to do it some justice and not be overshadowed by the rest of the party.
I'm also trying to beat back the temptation to just rush ahead and grab whirlwind attack with a whip(for silly times will ensue from that point on!). The real struggle at the moment is to figure out how to handle all the throwing weapon/melee weapons combo as I'm coming across a lot of gray area in the rules about how to mix the whip with the possibility of an offhand thrown weapon.
Oh, and for the record on the whip thing, I'll be using the scorpion whip just to actually stand a chance at actually hurting the undead.
I will probably try to find a place to post my character background and such as the game gets closer to time to run(Aka. Once Mikaze lets Tarouk just storm castle Korvosa and gobble up an evil queen!)
Hey guys,
This is actually the guy playing the 'Belmont'-esque character and I honestly stumbled across this post by googling Pathfinder Simon Belmont while I was working on the character. Seeing who started the post I was completely unsurprised.
I've already begun work on the background for the character with the players guide lead in for Carrion Crown in mind. I'll be trying my best while we play to not let everyone de-rail me into Captain-N *shudder*. I have moderately high hopes that we can atleast maintain an acceptable level of 'grim-dark' on the campaign that would befit its source material. I'm also totally behind the idea of a campaign journal for the game.
In the mean time I'm trying to look ahead a bit from a mechanics standpoint and ensure I'll be able to manage something at-least befitting of whip slinging, dagger throwing, axe chunking, holy water vial smashing, cross boomerang throwing hero. It's a bit hard to work it all in mechanically at the moment but I'll hopefully be able to do it some justice and not be overshadowed by the rest of the party.
I'm also trying to beat back the temptation to just rush ahead and grab whirlwind attack with a whip(for silly times will ensue from that point on!). The real struggle at the moment is to figure out how to handle all the throwing weapon/melee weapons combo as I'm coming across a lot of gray area in the rules about how to mix the whip with the possibility of an offhand thrown weapon.
Oh, and for the record on the whip thing, I'll be using the scorpion whip just to actually stand a chance at actually hurting the undead.
I will probably try to find a place to post my character background and such as the game gets closer to time to run(Aka. Once Mikaze lets Tarouk just storm castle Korvosa and gobble up an evil queen!)
What a horrible AP to have a curse.
What a horrible AP to have a curse.
HA! I used that line as the title to the foreword back in Pathfinder #11. Now I totally wish I'd saved it. :P
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This is AWESOME. As soon as I got the player's guide I sat down and brainstormed how to come up with a fitting Belmont whip-wielding vampire killer - and finally settled on Inquisitor. They have enough martial prowess to make it work, and enough divine magic to fit the flavor. I mean...you can make your own holy water.
The biggest win though was the ability to add the "bane" ability to your weapon. Using it is about the only way I could imagine making the whip (even scorpion) not completely suck - and it can make it great against undead AND other monsters.
And as far as music goes, check out OCremix. Loads of great free Castlevania music:
NES Castlevania
NES Simon's Quest
NES Dracula's Curse
SNES Super Castlevania IV
PS Symphony of the Night
This is AWESOME. As soon as I got the player's guide I sat down and brainstormed how to come up with a fitting Belmont whip-wielding vampire killer - and finally settled on Inquisitor. They have enough martial prowess to make it work, and enough divine magic to fit the flavor. I mean...you can make your own holy water.
The biggest win though was the ability to add the "bane" ability to your weapon. Using it is about the only way I could imagine making the whip (even scorpion) not completely suck - and it can make it great against undead AND other monsters.
Dang, and here I was planning to collect the hearts of enemies(and candles) to make more holy water. That sounds like a much better plan :)
All things aside, I considered Fighter and Ranger before settling on Ranger. Some crochety part of myself refused to play those 'new-fangled' classes and feels like I can do everything just fine with what is presented in the original source material. But honestly, there have been so many iterations of the Belmont's that really all the types can fit that 'flavor', and none of them particularly bad. I just decided on fighter when the idea first popped into my head when we started and feel like I've come up with something I can be happy with(Though its perhaps not the most efficient thing out there, but i'm the type who would have more fun with a good concept than simply a super character).
I'm right there with you on the magic weapons. Undead Bane is pretty much a must on the whip, but I'm also going to take a starknife and give it returning(think boomerang cross). For the early levels that is most likely what I'll press towards with early money. Daggers, axes, and the rest will just have to deal with being masterwork. Then I'll most likely spend a good bit trying to bring the character up to snuff in other areas after that.
I'll make a character thread with backstory of our vampire hunter family and all of the characters info at some point once we get a bit closer. In the meantime though, we are taking suggestions for 'family name'. Something that sounds like a name(and nothing to d&d corny name sounding) that would be fitting.
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And remember, most important of all, if you charge or rush into combat, you aren't a proper Belmont. Belmont's power strut their way through the hordes of undead.
Yo Tarouk, don't forget to take the Hereditary Bad Posture trait!
Good Lord I hope that suggestion I made years back about moving platforms and Vargouille swarms doesn't come back to bite me in this AP....
In the meantime though, we are taking suggestions for 'family name'. Something that sounds like a name(and nothing to d&d corny name sounding) that would be fitting.
Bel Mondo?
Valenti? (For Isabella Valentine, noteworthy wielder of a whip-sword who could easily be a Belmont branch descendant.)
Bel Mondo?
Valenti? (For Isabella Valentine, noteworthy wielder of a whip-sword who could easily be a Belmont branch descendant.)
I like Valenti,
After talking with a few other 'relatives' we started tossing around the idea of "Vinatori", which is basically D&D-ifying the romanian word for hunter. I'll have to wait and talk with everyone though it seems pronounceable enough that we can throw the word around without having to roll any sylables or anything else that might get annoying when we have to use the name in RP.
Poor Mikaze never gets to hang around during the days though, his job is terribad for hours so I haven't gotten to talk with him about some of our plotting and scheming we have been doing. I'll catch him up on sunday and see what he thinks.
Good Lord I hope that suggestion I made years back about moving platforms and Vargouille swarms doesn't come back to bite me in this AP....
I just whip every time I jump out of habit. It's the only way to be sure.
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And in case anyone's wondering about the assassin being in the same party as the paladin, we've been dropping the "always evil" restriction on that prestige class since forever.
I'm still amused that he's been described as a Renfield hunter.
Oracle is bouncing between Battle and Life IIRC. He's definitely taking the Wasting curse.
Yeah, my worry was that even as dialed back as we probably are from typical Castlevania ridiculousness that we would kill the seriousness of the campaign,
... You know what? Personally, I think you should run with it. Having a Castlevania crew romping through Golarian's mirror of Transylvania is just metal. So what if the adventure becomes a bit more tongue in cheek and a bit more gothic-toned action-movie? I think there's room for approaching the path with that kind of of (literal) groove. Personally, I think it would make your game that much more different and interesting amongst all the groups who'll be playing the horror straight, so to speak. Not that the Castlevania series doesn't have its share of creepy moments, in my humble opinion.
I also think it actually plays a bit more to the strengths of the game system to play things a little bit action-y and playful in its creepiness. I adore the Pathfinder modules 'Hangman's Noose' & 'Carnival' of Fear' that actually managed to be rather solidly horror based, and I've run Hangman's Noose and had players tell me I did a good job of creeping them the heck out. But from my experience, you have to be careful with it and know where to press and limit and where to let them be big damn heroes. I really tore up a lot of the plotting of that adventure to allow the players to take their own route. In Pathfinder, the natural drive for players and their characters is to Act directly (and often violently) upon dangers, bogeymen, and scares in order to forcibly dismantle the threat. This is a very Castlevania state of being.
I think you've found a remarkably apt way to synch up the trappings of Gothic horror with the kind of dynamic Pathfinder adventuring parties bring to the table. I'd be more concerned about losing the horror in a WoD game, personally. Pathfinder heroes are designed to hit monsters repeatedly until they cease to be (and pick up the loot/money-bags/hearts they drop.)
That's just my opinion though... and I agree with previous posts. Whichever route you take with this, I hope you'll write up a campaign journal for us! ^-^
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Also, I think you're going to get A LOT of inside nods throughout this AP. For example, I ordered I picture to open the Bestiary for #43 that I think is going to make you laugh out loud - and it's like the most self-indulgent thing I've ever ordered. It's not funny, but... well, you'll see.
Okay, finally got to see it.
A few things:
1. HAHAHAHA! Wow, the way everything fell together including the iconic being featured is just perfect. :D
2. If this is an actual encounter in a clock tower I am going to be so mad at you. Our Belmont is already investing in Acrobatics now.
2a. But it will still be crazy awesome.
3. And now I have to go listen to one of the 13415614 variants of Bloody Tears out there, again.
4. OH GOD IF THERE'S A HIGH ALTITUDE FIGHT WITH MEDUSA HEADS FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
... You know what? Personally, I think you should run with it. Having a Castlevania crew romping through Golarian's mirror of Transylvania is just metal.
Heh, thanks!
Like Tarouk said, we're on board for a group effort on some sort of journal when this takes off.
Our fifth, IIRC, is now going to be an urban ranger. Essentially Altair(or Ezio) joining our Belmont/Grant/Sypha/Alucard family. I'm looking at taking Harrower later down the line after starting with the Harrowed feat. No word on whether the GM will let the card readings play into a Circle of the Moon-style thing. ;)
Awesome concept. I'm not sure how the Dhampir Paladin will survive, though, given that he needs negative energy to be healed.
I guess we need to wait until at least the player's guide to know how well this concept would work. Or maybe one of the devs can give you an answer. :p
Alternatively their possible cleric- good aligned I'd presume, might prepare inflict spells much like my negative energy cleric prepares cure spells, this at least doesn't have the same problem a negative energy bursting cleric would have being tempted to throw out a painful undead healing burst...since it'd be focused to a touch attack/spell.
And yeah, I have to admit this is an awesome concept and rather hope my players lean toward that style of play when I get the ball rolling for Carrion Crown.
So, after our regular game last night, I was informed that the next campaign we'll be playing is the Carrion Crown AP(as well as officially moving from 3.5 to PF rules), and all I can say is I am PUMPED! I'm a huge Ravenloft fanatic, having DM'ed at least 4 different campaigns in the setting, but never getting to be a PC. This is the closest I'll get, and looks pretty good to me.
Also, I've been a Castlevania fan since Simon's Quest(one of the things that drew me to Ravenloft in the first place). That said, I'm heavily leaning to making my character a Belmont-style monster hunter.
Ranger seems like the obvious choice, given the plethora of hunting skills and favored enemy bonuses, but I'm thinking of something a little different. I really liked Lord of Shadows' take on the Belmonts, with Gabriel being from a holy order, not just a mercenary or legacy hunter.
I truthfully don't have a lot of experience with the newer Pathfinder classes, so do you guys think Inquisitor would be more appropriate, or just a Ranger with Knowledge: Religion and FE: undead?
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So, after our regular game last night, I was informed that the next campaign we'll be playing is the Carrion Crown AP(as well as officially moving from 3.5 to PF rules), and all I can say is I am PUMPED! I'm a huge Ravenloft fanatic, having DM'ed at least 4 different campaigns in the setting, but never getting to be a PC. This is the closest I'll get, and looks pretty good to me.
Also, I've been a Castlevania fan since Simon's Quest(one of the things that drew me to Ravenloft in the first place). That said, I'm heavily leaning to making my character a Belmont-style monster hunter.
Ranger seems like the obvious choice, given the plethora of hunting skills and favored enemy bonuses, but I'm thinking of something a little different. I really liked Lord of Shadows' take on the Belmonts, with Gabriel being from a holy order, not just a mercenary or legacy hunter.
I truthfully don't have a lot of experience with the newer Pathfinder classes, so do you guys think Inquisitor would be more appropriate, or just a Ranger with Knowledge: Religion and FE: undead?
I'll try to point Tarouk back to this thread for ya, but I believe he's going ranger with those knowledge skills and a trait to boost them.
Inquisitor should be a solid choice as well though. It would be one of my top choices for certain flavors of Belmont. I don't have any hands-on experience with playing one yet, but from what I've seen they can be scary effective against they chosen prey. It certainly gives you an extra "holy warrior" vibe as well, if that's what you're going for.