I can serve as an entertainer, fortune-teller, guard, hero and spellcaster.
But since the only divination spell that i can cast is detect magic... :) Maybe not fortune-teller.
Myriana, as the utilitarian cog in this caravan wheel may serve in the following positions:
Driver, Entertainer, Guard, Guide, Healer, Hero(does not count as a job), Scout, Trader
And for Everyone -- Do not increase your relationship score with any NPC at this level transition. However, please do at this point note down on your character sheet your relationship scores with all four significant NPC’s. Your relationship scores with your non-trait NPC’s are currently equal to your Charisma bonus.At second level, once you encounter them again, and at each subsequent level, you will be able to make an attempt to increase your relationship scores with these NPC’s with appropriate gifts or insults. I strongly encourage you to attempt to make use of this mechanic at least with your trait NPC. I’ll give a heads-up when a level change might be approaching so you don’t “lose out” on your chance to do this.
Don't we also get a fixed +1 to all relationships whenever we level up, independently from the gift/insult mechanic?
I am some what certain I have leveled up. I probably forgot something.
and in alphabetical order, here's what jobs Lio could do in the Caravan: Driver, Guard, Guide, Hero, Scout, Spell Caster
Hrunndalf -- Yes, the swords can be considered added to the loot list. And yes, once you start traveling with the NPC's, your relationship score will automatically start going up by 1 with each level increase as you all grow closer on the road.
Liothonae, looks mostly good, but did notice a few things:
You can remove "CR 1/2" if you like.
Your hit points are correct, but they should be noted as being 2d8 instead of 1d8.
Your attacks with dagger, longsword, and shortbow should all be at +3 instead of +2.
You can add an orison and a 1st level spell to your prepared spell lists.
And the following are not incorrect, but I'd like you to add them for my own ease of reading --
Please add “modifiers” sections after various relevant categories, and add the following to them –
In the saves section, specify that elven immunities gives +2 vs. enchantment and immunity to sleep. Add a note that Forlorn grants +1 to your Fort save.
After ranged offense, note the modifier Point Blank Shot.
Also in offense, note your attack modifier from Student Survivalist.
After skills, note your skill modifiers from Student Survivalist, Elven magic, keen senses, lorekeeper, and nature sense.
Once you do those things, your character will be APPROVED.
Hrunndalf --
Note that guisarme is a reach weapon;
Your 1st level spells under “Oracle Spells Known” should be 5/day;
As a note, “assorted traveling gear” will not contain anything mechanically useful unless you specify it and purchase it separately.
After doing the above, your character will be APPROVED.
Hrunndalf -- Yes, the swords can be considered added to the loot list. And yes, once you start traveling with the NPC's, your relationship score will automatically start going up by 1 with each level increase as you all grow closer on the road.
** spoiler omitted **
I am adding one of the wakizashi to my sheet under "Party Treasure".
I guess we play as 2nd level characters now? Do we get the new hitpoints? Do we get any new spell slots?
Damn this fog of war mechanic, it seems I can just about forget using spells in combat. >:( Might as well take Fighter levels from now on.
1) Yes and yes.
2) Eh? Why? What's the problem? Don't worry about the need to cast defensively, it really shouldn't be an issue, if that's the problem.
Don't worry about the need to cast defensively, it really shouldn't be an issue, if that's the problem.
Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. I don't know whether I'll be crowded by the time I cast, and if I am, I lose my action. You've already established that I can't switch to an offensive strategy in such a contingency.
OK. In that case, I'll tell you that the chances of the Fog of War rules forcing you to cast defensively when it is not obvious at the start of your turn that casting a spell would likely result in that (e.g., you start the turn directly next to a creature with reach) are so remote as to be negligible. They are designed to avoid this. I'm sorry if this was not made clear.
Casting defensively will always be a choice you deliberately make if the situation clearly calls for it and you say you want to. If you're just worried about the possibility that it might perhaps come up, don't. It won't.
In fact, I consider the chances so remote that if you are *ever* forced to cast defensively when it is not obvious before you declare action that you would have to do so, I will eat the hat of your choice on live video feed.
Feel free to revise this round's action if this information would change it.
OK. In that case, I'll tell you that the chances of the Fog of War rules forcing you to cast defensively when it is not obvious at the start of your turn that casting a spell would likely result in that (e.g., you start the turn directly next to a creature with reach) are so remote as to be negligible. They are designed to avoid this. I'm sorry if this was not made clear.
Well, in this very round, I'm standing in front of a solid wall of allies. If a skeleton charges me before I can act, it will be impossible for me to shift and cast in safety. I don't see what's so unlikely about that scenario... in fact, I deliberately brought about this very situation against Gutwad, since I wanted to lock down his spellcasting ability, should he have had it. I don't flatter myself to have invented the tactics.
In fact, I consider the chances so remote that if you are *ever* forced to cast defensively when it is not obvious before you declare action that you would have to do so, I will eat the hat of your choice on live video feed.
Hmmm, I'm thinking... leather. Lots of it. :)
Though I'd prefer if you'd just allow a "screw it, I'll just bash them in the face with my hammer" interpretation of your fog of war rules in those apparently very rare cases.
Feel free to revise this round's action if this information would change it.
Well, I feel it's mostly my fault that I didn't cast Shield of Faith before entering the cave. It's got a 2-min duration now, and I apparently got an extra spell slot while I wasn't watching, so I wouldn't have forfeited my last healing spell for the day. Hrunndalf will have to see it as a lesson in preparedness. :P
Though I'd prefer if you'd just allow a "screw it, I'll just bash them in the face with my hammer" interpretation of your fog of war rules in those apparently very rare cases.
Nope. Look, the GM is telling you IT WON'T HAPPEN. So there's no need for this.
If you didn't cast Shield of Faith because you didn't know you had a second spell slot or things got ahead of you, feel free to consider yourself to have cast it. Just let me know.
Seriously, the point of these rules is NOT to screw the players over.
Nope. Look, the GM is telling you IT WON'T HAPPEN. So there's no need for this.
Oh, I see. I thought you were saying it would be inherently unlikely, whereas you're saying you're making it unlikely.
If you didn't cast Shield of Faith because you didn't know you had a second spell slot or things got ahead of you, feel free to consider yourself to have cast it. Just let me know.
I'd prefer having cast it, but I feel cheap retconning it. I think I'll risk going "naked" for now. ;o)
Seriously, the point of these rules is NOT to screw the players over.
Yeah, I don't think they do, usually. And it's not like you should be coddling us, either. :P
If you ever feel I am being to lenient, let me know and I will be sure to increase the amount of face-eating, shoulder-shooting, and gut-stabbing. ;)
...and eyebrow-singeing!
OK, a 25 HP crit is definitely not lenient. :)
Can you post an updated map?
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Darth, my suggestions for possible avatars might be:
The avatar page numbers seem consistent, but the layout of those pages isn't, I believe, consistent across browsers. Your directions for avatars in "top line" made sense, but on lower lines seem to be shifted. I think I was able to figure out who you meant.
I'm probably going to go for Mr. Eagle Splendor for Avatar, as he's the only avatar rocking white clothing atop dark skin among the avatars on offer. White clothing and frosted glass and white ceramics and leathers (maybe with some gold accent) are a big part of the alchemist's appearance - it's all about purification.
With permission, I'm changing the background slightly to shift the primary years of slavery further north. After being sold as a child in Katapesh, I figure his lot of halflings and literate children was shipped north to Cheliax. That still gives plenty of opportunity for unpleasant taskmasters and being morally impacted by the kindness of fellow "inferiors" among the enslaved, but it puts the emancipating churches and monasteries much closer to all the NPCs in Varisia than an enslaved childhood in Jalmeray or Osirion would. Sarenrae probably downshifts to his secondary deity, with Torag moving to primacy.
More work travel today, but hope to pop a final-ish mechanics submission tonight or tomorrow morning. Given the desire to streamline fog-of-war issues, first Alchemist discovery at 2nd level is uncanny Precision in the thrown splash weapon - fellow PCs can be screened out if they enter the splash radius in the fog, because he's just that disciplined.
Hrunndalf, your wish has been anticipated and fulfilled.
Darth, I like the background change. Permission granted.
And I'll post this now before I forget AGAIN.
Rhost, I'm assuming from the description that your relationship with Koya is friendly. If I am mistaken and it is competitive, please DO NOT click on the below, and I will post an appropriate insult instead, rather than an appropriate gift.
If I am correct, then:
Also --
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** spoiler omitted **
Hrithik has Craft (Book) and Craft (Glass), so he'll have scrolls and baubles of modest gp value from his initial 105gp to give to each of the NPCs (and possibly some of the PCs if pre-existing connections are kosher) upon seeing them again in Sandpoint.
Have been spending skill points like a maniac, and given Mindchemist class features and traits taken and 18 Int and spending favored class choices on getting even more skill points, I figure I should apprise you: Hrithik spends 20 skill points by 2nd level, he will have one rank in all 10 Knowledge skills, he will have half of those as class skills, and as a 2nd level Mindchemist he will have a modifier of +9 to +13 in all of them. It's kind of sick, but mostly awesome.
With 18 Int and Cosmopolitan, Hrithik starts out with 7 languages. I figure he'll have Common, the Halfling he was raised alongside in slavery, the Varisian he's lived around as an adult, and 4-so-far out of 9 of what he'll think of as "elemental" languages. He's got a syncretist and transmuting bent (alchemist!), and working with the elements in both Occidental and Oriental traditions, he ends up with these seven "main" elements, with associated directions, energies, and languages:
- Air - Up, Electrical, Auran
- Earth - Down, Acid, Terran
- Fire - Forward / South, Heat, Ignan
- Metal - Right / West, Negative / Death, Thassalonian ("dead" arcane empire in the Far West)
- Void - Centerpoint / Outermost Infinity, none / all, Abyssal / Celestial
- Water - Backward / North, Cold, Aquan
- Wood - Left / East, Positive / Life, Tien ("living" divine empire in the Far East)
(There is a final elemental language, the sum of all elements above, the language of the central head of the nine-headed dragon: Draconic)
Since it seems silly to just randomly spend a smattering of skill points into Linguistics at random times with no in-char correlation, I want to use the Mindchemist ability for an alchemical "discovery" of three new languages at 4th or 6th level, and burn a bunch of points into Linguistics at that same level, to represent a "great unlocking" of mental linguistic potential. Hrithik will probably have sampled essences from his companions, and in the "great unlocking" will launch into a momentary-but-epic bout of speaking in tongues, unlocking all the "elemental" languages above, some by-blows that other PCs know (like Goblin, Elven, or Skald), and possibly some languages he overheard as a kid (like Vudrani, Osirian, or Chelish).
All with the GM's input and permission, of course!
Sorry for the magnitude of this data dump ...
I will take the outstanding Cure Light Potion, if that's ok with everyone.
From your obsessive study of her, you have discovered that she still prefers leather armor of the typical Varisian style, and tends to use a rapier. She may be a devotee of Shelyn. She is known to use the spell Unseen Servant. She speaks Common, Tien, and Varisian.
Her adventuring exploits, despite great efforts on your part to learn about them, have proven remarkably difficult to discover anything about.
What you’ve been telling me about your character all sounds fine.
So, a thought I've been having. This discussion thread has gotten a bit long and messy. I'm thinking of taking it through the discussion of how the Caravan will work, and then moving everything over to a new thread where I'll post all the important info that's been/will be sorted out here (Fog of War, Loot Division, Caravan Rules, etc.) right at the front for easy reference.
This discussion thread has gotten a bit long and messy. I'm thinking of taking it through the discussion of how the Caravan will work, and then moving everything over to a new thread where I'll post all the important info that's been/will be sorted out here (Fog of War, Loot Division, Caravan Rules, etc.) right at the front for easy reference.
I certainly would be in favor it. Could you include a link to the game itself as well? I keep losing it. But that's not you, it's me.
Bookmark das link: Click me please
Bookmark das link: Click me please
Thank you. Now if I can not lose this between now & when I get home, I'll be really set.
Bookmark das link: Click me please
i'm pretty sure it would be 'der link' not 'das link' but then, i haven't lived in Germany in quite a while...
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Ameiko's gift will be crafted primarily with Craft (Book), with some Craft (Glass) action going on with the cover inlay. Everyone else is getting stuff crafted entirely with Craft (Glass). Crafter's fortune will have been cast for every relevant Craft check. Both Craft skills will operate at +13 (1 rank at first level when stuff was made +3 class skill bonus +4 Int modifier +5 luck bonus from crafter's fortune). There will have been Take 10 with the three glass gifts, and a Take 10 for the book-craft itself, resulting in a check of 23 to easily reach DC 20 efforts. For the glass symbol inlay on the book, some obsession went into it, with a Take 20 burning through a lot of raw material before reaching a check of 33, resulting in a radiant DC 30 masterwork magnificence.
Money set aside for this
The larger glassworks were probably around 10 days effort apiece. Crafting check of 23 * DC 20 item = 460 sp value in a week, or about 6gp in ten days. Material outlay would have been 2gp per gift, or 6gp total cost.
A book of tales for Ameiko is best approximated by a "traveling spellbook", I believe, which also builds in weatherproofing and basic security. Traveling spellbooks are worth 15gp, which would require a material outlay of 5gp and 25 days of work at the take-10 pace.
The glass inlay on the book probably isn't all that valuable on a raw-Appraisal scale, but it's absolutely flawless and subtlely executed (DC 30 check to make). Each day of such Craft requires 20 days of trying, and would make (DC 30 x check 33)= 990sp of value in a week, or about 142sp of value per day. A masterfully subtle inlay worth 3gp would take 40 days of effort, and consume 20gp in resources.
Finally, since Hrithik's calligraphy isn't quite there yet, he will have had individual title pages within the book illuminated and calligraphed by trained artisans, costing him 5gp.
Ameiko's book will have cost two months to turn 25gp of materials and 5gp of assistance into 18gp of gift, while the other three gifts would take one month to turn 6gp of material into another 18gp worth of gifts. Final cost: three months of background time and 36gp to create the same value in personalized thoughtfulness.
As an appropriate gift, you are aware that Ameiko is fond of exciting adventure stories (...) tends to use a rapier. She may be a devotee of Shelyn. (...) She speaks Tien and Varisian (...)
For Ameiko, we're going for broke. Hrithik is going to combine as much Shelyn, rapier, adventure story, Tien, and Varisian as the law will allow.
Assuming that Hrithik has access to the "basic knowledge" about Shelyn on page 226 of the Inner City World Guide through his +9 modifier in Knowledge (religion), he'll know:
- Shelyn's moniker is "the Eternal Rose"
- Shelyn's symbol is a songbird with a long tail in the prismatic plumage of the rainbow
- Shelyn is Goddess of Art, Beauty, Love, and Music
- Red is Shelyn's primary color, accented with silver (it fits Ameiko!)
- Shelyn adventured to steal her half-brother Zon-Kuthon's cursed blade in an effort to cure him
- Shelyn's main holy book is entitled Melodies of Inner Beauty
- Shelyn favors tasteful accentuation of beauty and relationships not based solely upon carnality
With all that, Hrithik will have crafted a book of tales of youths going on adventure. The inner beauty of the gift will be in the subtleties of the arrangements of the tales, and in the artistry of the manufacture of the book itself.
Ameiko's Gift: Songs of Outer Wonder
Red leather-covered wood traveling book
Red leather wrapping the cover in the style of Varisian leathers
Binding clasps around book worked in silver
Cover inset with a songbird of Shelyn atop the hilt of a downward-pointing rapier with a blooming-rose basket hilt. The rapier is thrust a few inches into some grassy ground.
Title embossed in silver on the red bookcover, in Tien, along the binding-edge, paralleling the songbird-atop-rapier thrust.
Songbird of Shelyn rendered in glass flawlessly, with full plumage of tail transitioning through the rainbow.
Rapier blade rendered as silvery mirrored glass, with red-gold "blooming" rosy-glass basket hilt
Inner Beauty of the Tales
For his own elementalist reasons, Hrithik will choose nine tales from his childhood and his studies and give them nine pages of writing apiece, with a short preface retelling the holy story of Shelyn's adventure to steal the cursed blade.
Songs of Outer Wonder will be arranged into three "books" of three tales each, with each tale receiving 9 pages of text and a cover page. The preface tale will be written in Common, the three tales of the first book will be written in Varisian, the three tales of the second book will be written in Thassalonian, then Ignan, and finally Abyssal, and the three tales of the third book will be written in Tien. Each book will have two tales themed to two elements, with the third tale being a tale of "Void". The scale of the stories will escalate from book to book and from tale to tale, with the final story rising to the mythic stature of the original preface tale of Shelyn.
The 100 pages of contents are as follows:
- 1 illuminated title page: Songs of Outer Wonder (title now in Varisian), bottom two-thirds of page has a large hexagonal illustration of a sevenfold symbol with six runes and a blank center worked into the page
- 2 backside of title page, mirrored illustration of sevenfold symbol
- 3-4 Preface tale of the holy tale of Shelyn: Song of Spirit (Common)
- 5 Title page for Book of the Winding Way (Varisian)
- 6 illustration of Halfling girl wandering down earthen road away from village and into the forest
- 7 Title page for Song of the Road
- 8-16 Song of the Road (Varisian)
- 17 Title page for Song of the Woods
- 18-26 Song of the Woods (Varisian)
- 27 Title page for Song of the Wyld
- 28-36 Song of the Wyld (Varisian)
- 37 Title page for Book of Iron and Brass (Abyssal)
- 38 illustration of the City of Brass growing dark above the Fall of Thassalion
- 39 Title page for Song of Steel
- 40-48 Song of Steel (Thassalonian)
- 49 Title page for Song of Fire
- 50-58 Song of Fire (Ignan)
- 59 Title page for Song of the Weaver
- 60-68 Song of the Weaver (Abyssal)
- 69 Title page for Book of Wind and Water (Tien)
- 70 illustration of Tian ships scattering from a city being razed by a storm
- 71-Title page for Song of Wind
- 72-80 Song of Wind (Tien)
- 81-Title page for Song of Water
- 82-90 Song of the Water (Tien)
- 91-Title page for Song of the Wyrm
- 92-100 Song of the Wyrm (Tien)
The tales are all of youths going on adventure, but different kinds of youths. Shelyn was a young goddess. The protagonists of the Song of the Road and Song of the Wood are a young halfling and a young elf seeking adventure, with the Song of the Wyld being a nature spirit possessing a wolf to travel along with them.
The Book of Iron and Brass is much darker, with a young rune Mage and a young ifrit making their way in a collapsing world, with the Song of the Weaver being the tale of the young spider-demon hunting them down as their civilizations fall apart.
The Book of Wind and Water is much happier and more epic in scope. One young noble flies into the spirit world, while another sails into a life of exciting piracy, before they are joined by a young dragon in Song of the Wyrm who proves to be their sibling, proving them all to be children of the gods and great heroes-to-be.
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For everyone else, I'm operating at "acquaintance" level, and really don't have anything other than the gypsy nomad and elf pictures to go by. Koya silently screams gypsy fortune teller, but I don't have much for the others beyond "caravan leader" and "ranger". They're getting glasswork pendants, because I don't know enough to design something more special for them.
- Koya gets a glass orb in the standard dimensions of a crystal ball (not magical, obviously, but the right size and make and color), and a matching glass orb-stand to support it. The stand will depict wagons winding up around the base, with an elaborate fortune-teller's cart at the head/top of the stand, overlapping the side where the "crystal ball" rests in the stand. The stand will be variously colored to have the wagons be appropriately colored for a Varisian wagon train, rising around a translucent hill (hill-stand tinted faintly to complement the "crystal ball"). Hopefully, even if she has no use for the generic crystal ball, she'll get some use out of the stand.
- Shandru gets a pendant in the style of the neck-jewelry in the picture, with golden glass bearing a bas-relief depicting an armored wagon, like a badge (ideally, this is something that can blend in and actually be worn amid all the rest of his stuff).
- Shalelu also gets a pendant, like an Arwen leaf, but with the central vein running from stem to tip subtly depicting an arrow.
Sorry those last two are kind of generic. Hopefully the thought will count!
So, there are a number of ways that dealing with the Caravan from the players' side could be run. Here are some options:
FUNDS
My suggestion would be that an equal monetary share of loot be set aside for the Caravan once it is in use. Upgrades and repairs are likely to be important. This amount can of course be adjusted if it turns out to be far too much or far too little.
JOBS
All players should pick whatever Caravan jobs they prefer. However, the GM may make recommendations.
UPGRADES AND LEVELING
Buying upgrades for the Caravan, and giving it feats as it levels, could be handled in a number of different ways. Here are the possibilities I have come up with:
A) Caravan by Committee
All interested players will discuss Caravan upgrades and vote on them.
Pros: Involves all interested players, uninterested players don't have to worry about it
Cons: Tedious discussion, argument, disagreement, the usual problems with committees
B) Caravan by Rotation
One interested player at each level, in randomly determined order, will have the sole responsibility of upgrading and leveling the Caravan.
Pros: Involves all interested players, uninterested players don't have to worry about it, but no tedious arguments
Cons: Everyone will kind of have to figure it out anew the first time they do it
C) Cohort Caravan
A single player will treat the Caravan as if it were a Cohort, Animal Companion, or Familiar, and will be responsible for all leveling and upgrades
Pros: Simple and easy
Cons: A pain for one person. (And frankly, I suspect this is only likely to be picked if people vote for A or B and then it turns out only one person is interested)
D) NPC Caravan
The GM treats the Caravan as an NPC, and is responsible for all leveling and upgrades
Pros: Simple and easy
Cons: No player input, and in encounters that are resolved through the Caravan mechanics, the GM starts to feel like he's playing with himself
What are your thoughts on the matter? Have a preference as to which one? Interested in participating in Caravan levels in upgrades, or no interest whatsoever? Other related issues?
I would prefer A or B... But if I'm the only one who care then I guess C.
One further note --
No loot item claims have been made here yet other than from people carrying party items. Claims must be posted on the discussion thread. Idly talking about how you might want something on the game thread does not count. There are about 9 hours left for claims on the first loot list.
Don't be shy. You're adventurers. Stripping the boots off of the still-warm corpses of people you have just slain is your job! (Except according to my Lawful Good characters, but no one ever listens to them anyway.)
As a note, it turns out the Wakizashi are Exotic Weapons, not martial weapons.
A.
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Final-ish mechanics page posted for approval. I'm dead tired, curling up into bed, then to work at a remote site. Probably unable to contribute meaningfully until late Monday night Pacific coast time.
No loot item claims have been made here yet other than from people carrying party items. Claims must be posted on the discussion thread. Idly talking about how you might want something on the game thread does not count. There are about 9 hours left for claims on the first loot.
If no one else makes any claim to them, even though I'm not there yet, I would bid for the Pretty Panties of Power Peril. The incendiary weapon possibilities alone are staggering.
Caravan vote: A or C. I can join Proudfoot in Caravan upkeep duties, if such would be helpful.
(Except according to my Lawful Good characters, but no one ever listens to them anyway.)
My chaotic good characters agree with you... And was completely confused by the actions of the other characters.
She also ended up dead when the boy she liked got possessed by an evil sword and stuck it in her stomach.
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On topic: A would be fine with me :)
Caravan vote: A
Loot claim: If no one else is interested then I will claim the hairpin and fan. The wakizashi I am carrying will be left as party treasure and sold when appropriate.
Noted, Hrithik, and I will work you in when you give me an alert that you are ready to go ... hopefully I can introduce you and the gunslinger at the same time.
I will allow you to place a claim on the Panties, but if anyone who fought in that combat wishes to stake a claim to them, priority will be given to them. People fought and nearly died for those panties, after all.
Hrithik, your character is APPROVED.
On the caravan issue, I prefer A.
As for loot, I figure I'll just pick a fair share of valuables with which to pay for a nice masterwork breastplate sooner or later.
BTW, I'm looking around for ways to stay mobile despite my armor. Boots of striding & springing would be nice, but they're rather costly at 4500 gp. Now, the way the item is worded, there is a "striding" effect that gives +10 ft speed, and a "springing" effect for a +5 competence bonus on jumping. The latter has a well-established cost of 2500 gp. Is it therefore conceivable that one might find boots of striding alone for 2000 gp...? :oP
It is unlikely. I am allowing no custom items except those that come from the AP itself.
It is unlikely. I am allowing no custom items except those that come from the AP itself.
Fair enough. I'll start looking around for a partial wand of Longstrider, then.
Since a majority of the party has already voted for plan A (Committee), I will assume that's what's going to happen. I will post some commentary about possibilities and requirements at some point soon to get the discussion started, because the time for Caravanning is fast approaching in the AP.
I am trying to decide whether it would be more of a headache to start a new thread for that purpose only, giving people yet another thread they have to check, or just have everything happen in the discussion thread, adding yet another layer of conversation. I am leaning towards the latter, since Caravan discussions should (theoretically) only take place around when people level, so having a whole new occasionally used thread for it seems silly.
Fair enough. I'll start looking around for a partial wand of Longstrider, then.
That you'd be quite likely to find. Even if one isn't available in in Sandpoint, you'll probably be able to find one in some small town along your way, since I can roll at each town for that.
Hm, these Yiddish translation are rather unwieldy, they interact in strange ways with punctuation and the like. Must be the inverted letter order. I'll just put them on dedicated lines without quotation marks to avoid the hassle.
That last spell would have sounded cool in my previous implementation of Terran: "Gaokh gê gho gaog, rûth gê gho rudhum." ;o)
On caravaning: I haven't given the rules more than a passing browsing so far, but my instinct would be to make Defense our main priority, with Mobility next.
As far as I can see, it's easy to raise a caravan's Offense, Security, and Resolve with crew. There appears to be no such thing for Defense. Therefore, I'd suggest we stick our starting allowance of 3 stat points into Defense, for a total of Offense 1, Defense 4, Mobility 1, Resolve 1 before crew modifiers. We might also want the "Circle the Wagons" feat.
Another valid strategy might be to maximize offense. With a lot of Guards, a high starting Offense, and the First Strike and Increased Damage feats, we could whittle down an attacking force much faster, and thus avoid taking damage from a prolonged battle.
In either case, maxing out the number of wagons to 5 by adding two new Supply Wagons sounds like a good idea. That would give us 40 extra hitpoints for a mere 2 Consumption, the latter of which would be mitigated by the huge extra storage space.
This is an abbreviated précis. Read the section in the Players’ Guide for more details.
A Caravan starts with one point each in its four primary statistics (Offense, Defense, Mobility, and Morale). You also get three additional points to spend on these, split up any way you choose. These statistics general do not increase with levels, but through feats and additional equipment. Bonuses can also be added by personnel.
Your caravan starts with 1 covered wagon, 1 fortune-teller’s wagon, and 1 supply wagon. That is enough room for 10 people to ride. With JUST the PCs and NPCs who will already be going along, you should have somewhere between 15-17 people. I would advise you to buy two more wagons and increase your traveler capacity to at least 18 (incidentally, two supply wagons will not provide enough passenger space for this.) However, with that many people, hopefully you will not have to hire any additional NPC’s yet, unless perhaps another driver is needed (but I think five drivers can be supplied from current PC's and significant NPCs.)
Due to in-game events, you will have 2,000 gp to spend on improving and outfitting your caravan at the start. You will likely also want to buy, at least, some stores and trade goods in addition to the other wagons, and possibly other some of the improvements listed under “caravan equipment”.
Essential jobs include: 1 driver for each wagon, and a fortune teller. You either can’t or don’t want to be without these, ever.
Super-important jobs include all those that can reduce consumption until you get it down to 0 or below: Scout and Spellcaster (which can effectively reduce it by 3), and Cook (which can reduce it by 2 down to a certain point). You REALLY want your consumption to be at 0 or below if possible. Consumption is 1 for each person plus a certain amount for each wagon.
Consumption can also be reduced by taking the Efficient Consumption feat, which can be taken up to three times.
Note that all PC's will count as "Heroes" in addition to their other jobs, adding a collective +4 bonus to all checks.
NPCs who are or might come along for free can take the following jobs (not counting passenger, which anyone can be):
Bevelek and Vankor, two Varisian brothers who work for Sandru, can be drivers
Koya can perform the following caravan jobs: fortune-teller, guard, healer, or spellcaster.
Sandru can perform the following caravan jobs: driver, guard, trader, or wainwright.
Shalelu can perform the following caravan jobs: guard and scout.
Ameiko can perform the following caravan jobs: cook, entertainer, fortune-teller, guard, spellcaster, or trader.
Reta, if she comes, can perform the following caravan job: guard.
As a note, your gunslinger, when he joins, will be capable of being a wainwright.
At each level, your caravan will get a feat. It levels along with you, so you will effectively start at second level and get two feats. You will reach third level sooner than you might think (although not immediately), so you might want to put some consideration into that one, as well.
Your caravan starts with 1 covered wagon, 1 fortune-teller’s wagon, and 1 supply wagon. That is enough room for 10 people to ride. With JUST the PCs and NPCs who will already be going along, you should have somewhere between 15-17 people. I would advise you to buy two more wagons and increase your traveler capacity to at least 18
OK, so +1 covered wagon and +1 supply wagon would work.
That would give us a Consumption of ~16 (crew) + 7 (wagons) = 23. We can have a maximum of 3 Scouts (-9) and 5 cooks (-10), leaving us with a Consumption of 4. In order to get this to 0, we'd need to pick the Efficient Consumption feat twice.
Note that the Cook and the Efficient Consumption feat descriptions only reduce Consumption to a minimum equal to the total number of wagons, i.e. 5 in our case. Scouts, however, seem to be exempt from that rule.
Now, I don't quite see why a Consumption of 4 should be problematic. It means using up 0.4 cargo units of Stores per day. We have space for 32 units of Stores, i.e. 80 days. We could go around the world in 80 days. ;) Now, we'll need to make space for repair materials, but then again, there will certainly be places to stock up along the way, right...?
If we have a 10-day trip to the next settlement, we can plan for a 20-day trip to be safe; that still allows us to have a Consumption of 16 according to the scheme above, or a Consumption of 8 if we're using only half our storage space for Stores. That means we could relieve some people of cooking duty and put them to other uses.
If we take the Efficient Consumption feat once or twice, we can halve or outright eliminate the space requirements for Stores. But what would we even do with the remaining space? Trading appears to be rather lame: You earn something like 15-20 gp per Trader on your caravan each time you come to a new settlement. Now, granted, those people can probably fulfill other jobs while the caravan is underway, but still... it's hardly a get-rich-quick scheme.
(but I think five drivers can be supplied from current PC's and significant NPCs.)
OK, we need two PCs with points in Handle Animals. Any takers? We might have to retcon some of our 2nd level builds to accommodate that.