Doot.
Here's the characters if anyone needs reminding.
Jerax
Lucien
Alessandra
Draco
Pharice
Falanaiel
Just keep in mind I wont be doing much with this for a couple of weeks.
Boop.
”So, these are to be our quarters for the first our mission to restore order to Longacre? Looks nicely suited to our needs. Now, let’s have a look at the personel roster and see what caliber of agents we have to work with. Hopefully someone with sufficient grit and conviction to put these Iomedean upstart in their place swiftly…”
Afternoon everyone! Thank you for the selection Tark, I appreciate the chance to play.
So I had a quick lookover everyone's sheets and we are one hell of a punchy group. We do have divine goodness thanks to the antipaladins, the cleric, and the inquisitor. The sniper slayer gives us some good ranged capability.
The only overlap that I immediately see if between myself and Falanaiel; I see you are also a lady of culture and intimidation builds. My order grants me Dazzling Display and I took that as encouragement to go for a mixture of Vital Strike, Gory Finish, Disheartening Display, and Shatter Defenses. We could have two greatsword/intimidation specialists on the team though for sure. I could also turn away to a different strategy, though I haven't thought what that would be.
On another note; I am excited that there is an Inquisitor because that means there is a chance that I can use my teamwork feats with someone other than my dog. Is there any that you plan on going for immediately, feat-wise?
Greetings all.
Thanks for being a selected villain.
On another note; I am excited that there is an Inquisitor because that means there is a chance that I can use my teamwork feats with someone other than my dog. Is there any that you plan on going for immediately, feat-wise?
Main feats will involve archery. Teamwork feats, i was planning for
3 Lookout (can act in surprise round if an ally can) Seems very useful, as both melee and ranged can use it.
6 Enfilading fire (+2 on attack rolls if an ally flanks the target)
9 Friendly fire maneuvers, preferred, it seems for a 3/4 BaB, this is very useful against high AC targets such as goody 2-shoes Iomedaen paladins/clerics. / Target of opportunity. Works well with having a 2nd ranged attacker.
For the dazzling display specialists, something i came across recently, equipment trick. Have a look at the cloak trick. Add 1d4 to the number of rounds the targets are demoralized.
Hello to you all! I'm glad to be here.
@Draco: I'm not married to the build, or to the class: my plan was to go Soulless Gaze and Cornugon Smash to stack effects on the target, but since we already have an antipaladin with Aura of Cowardice that can be sinergistic with your own intimidation techniques, I can definitely go in a different direction.
That can also include a different class, especially as we are quite lacking in arcane support. While I have some good ideas for a Lawful Evil wizard, they would not go well with Falanaiel's personality, and I'd like to keep the Charisma. So maybe if the GM agrees I could turn to Skald? I wouldn't mind the extra skillpoints to be more facey, and it would fit very well with the backstory I have in mind.
Fun fact, a previous character of mine pulled the opposite switch, going Skald to Paladin, but in that case our party was very squishy.
Looks like we'll be hurting for Arcane spellcasting. Not the end of the world, but some situations will be challenging without it.
In-combat healing will have to be by potions, wands or similar. Infernal healing for out of combat, we'll probably invest in a shared wand ASAP.
Lucien is built for support and can easily go down the summoning route. With his augmented Bluff and Diplomacy from Asmodeus Advocate, he's a natural fast-talker. He'll leave the intimidation to the menacing muscle-crowd, but as a spellcaster with plenty of debuff spells, he's thrilled to see demoralized enemies.
Fairly quickly, he'll be looking to pick up some authoritative vestments which will let him use Diplomacy on all viewers within 60 ft as a swift action. Coupled with his Silver Tongued racial he should have a decent chance of making an angry mob shrug their shoulders and go about their business. Anything mindless or feral, that's fair game for you punchy types, as Draco so eloquently put it.
Roleplay-wise, he's not your typical sadistic satanic cleric. He's certainly a stickler for the rules, but he's not mean or cruel. Anyone who abides by the rules of Cheliax are entitled to protection and security, and it is his duty to provide it. Actually, he's a fairly nice guy who just happens to have drunk the Kool-Aid of the twisted society he happens to have been born in.
I intend to play him a bit like a wet-behind-the-ears second lieutenant, who insists on doing everything by the book and believes he's in charge, even though it's the NCO's and experienced grunts who are getting things done by doing their own thing behind his back.
@Falanaiel Please stay as a antipaladin. The only time I've been in a party with an antipaladin was myself in another HV campaign. Now we have TWO antipaladins currently!! Lots of awesome RP opportunities!
Have some company over right now but looking forward to getting into the discussions later.
I’m totally down for some teamwork feats, especially the ranges ones. EitR means we can afford to take those things.
Pharice Will be a slayer: his class is tied into who he is, in that the sniper slayer is the best way mechanically I’ve found to make a sniper character.
Pharice is barely evil: no cruelty, no sadism here, but also no mercy and no grace. He also couldn’t give two gigs about Asmodean or any devils: it’s law and order that he worships. He was a kid when Cheliax first fell apart: his Iomedaean family was eagerly awaiting Aroden’s arrival and the civil war killed them all so he blames Iomedae and Asmodean equally for the loss of his happy childhood.
Occasionally, memories of that happy time will surface and war with his LE alignment, but sadly they’ll never win out.
Okay, it turns out that Pharice will be totally feat starved and even with EitR, he won’t be able to spare any for teamwork feats. Sorry.
He has Precise Shot at level 1. He’s going to need Rapid Reload to make reloading a free action at 3rd level, Rapid Shot at 5th, then use his first slayer talent to take Crossbow Mastery at 6th.
@Alessandra - Lookout seems to be a perfect one to begin with. After that, I plan on picking ones that will focus on melee combat with Rufus.
@Draco: I'm not married to the build, or to the class: my plan was to go Soulless Gaze and Cornugon Smash to stack effects on the target, but since we already have an antipaladin with Aura of Cowardice that can be sinergistic with your own intimidation techniques, I can definitely go in a different direction.
I still feel that can work well though; it'll let you focus fire down an enemy with the demoralization effects while I tend to hit the area with shaken. I don't want you to change your class unless you really want to; two antipaladins can lead to very interesting conversations and it means that our frontline is going to be very beefy. If you want to be a skald though, I know it would definitely help us quite a bit too.
Personality-wise; Draco is a professional for hire. His evil comes from the fact that he'll basically do any job. His line would be "I don't hurt harmless kids" and that is about it. He works to give himself a good life, get his sister off the streets, and take care of his nephews and nieces. It is the dichotomy of being a family man coupled with a merciless soldier that I look forward to exploring.
He'll likely start off very professional with the rest of the party and may stay that way to those who put him off. Others he will grow to like and trust more, maybe even a few becoming like blood siblings to him depending on how the adventure goes. He isn't unnecessarily evil but he is neither pushed off by taking the path of least resistance. Draco doesn't care if others get hurt as long as it isn't those that he cares about.
I am quite excited to get this started and will likely do up a proper background sometime this week.
Alessandra's a practical character, but not resorting to cruelty as a first resort. Wouldn't mean she'd avoid using it, she enjoys scaring people s%!!less into cooperation, but if people are forward, she sees no reason to.
Following Eiseth, she'd probably also be one to hold a grudge until a score is settled. She picked the heal skill for practical uses, both good and ill.
As for the point of frequent item heals, can work. I've played a game where we did just that, and we were in some pretty tricky fights.
A better phrasing of Alessandra's method, is intimidation before actual force.
Worship of the Night Queens seems less wide spread than the arch devils, and her having the conversion domain, breaking/cunningly convincing, and converting do-gooders like Iomedaens, would be a thing for her, i think.
For using the Heal skill for healing, Lucien's Mentored trait grants him a +1 trait bonus for aid another rolls with any skill. So at some point it will be worth to invest a single rank in Heal so he can provide backup to Alessandra.
Then perhaps you would join her in sessions of persuasion, with prisoners.
Heal can be used for getting prisoners into talking. (Evil wink)
Still messing around with Lucien's ability scores in HeroLab. If I drop Dex and Cha a bit, I can get my WIS to 18 for a more pure caster build (and higher bluff/diplomacy through Devil in the Detail).
Oh, and in case I'm the only one who missed it, there's a free HeroLab plugin available that incorporates all the Elefant in the Room rules.
Keep in mind with such a punchy group you guys will want to seriously consider how you want to stop from getting punched back without blowing huge wads of cash on healing items. Even just being defensive and playing keep away with a row of spears backed by ranged is better than power attack and pray.
Cheaper debuff items, perhaps.
Marbles, caltrops, tanglefoot bag.
Low DC, but you never know.
Ambushes.
Dazzling display +1 level in thug rogue. High enough intimidate to send them running scared.
How much are we working together pre-adventure? Are we just a group of strangers that get assigned a task, or are we a unit of mercenaries who already know each other and have worked together? If it’s the latter, we can go to town optimizing the group, but if it’s the former, we should start off less perfectly put together and adapt and adjust during the early times of the campaign.
After nearly a decade or so away in Egorian, Jerax Hellifre has been ordered to return to his home town, Longacre, to uncover any possible members of a new rebel outfit calling itself, The Glorious Reclaimation. By the time the adventure begins, the towering tiefling had been 'home' for a week.
How much are we working together pre-adventure? Are we just a group of strangers that get assigned a task, or are we a unit of mercenaries who already know each other and have worked together? If it’s the latter, we can go to town optimizing the group, but if it’s the former, we should start off less perfectly put together and adapt and adjust during the early times of the campaign.
The adventure kind of drops you into the middle of it into a bit of a smash and grab with a local miscreant and her shadowy benefactor.
The players’ guide recommends deciding how our characters know some NPC, then gives us no info about him/her at all.
Thats hilarious.
Basically, youre being hired to knock over a tannery and steal the goods. You know the moneys good and its an in into the underworld of this barony.
For those to whom it matters you could simply have been ordered to seek her out and aid while being told literally nothing else.
Is this a legal “knock over a tannery” or at least an “I will make it legal” tannery knock-over?
It’s hard to make a “follow the law no matter what” character and first thing up become a criminal!
Or if this is a “do this crime to get an in to the criminal underworld so you can bring it down from the inside” deal, that’s fine too. Even if it’s only what Pharice thinks it is.
Is this a legal “knock over a tannery” or at least an “I will make it legal” tannery knock-over?
It’s hard to make a “follow the law no matter what” character and first thing up become a criminal!
Or if this is a “do this crime to get an in to the criminal underworld so you can bring it down from the inside” deal, that’s fine too. Even if it’s only what Pharice thinks it is.
Honestly by the time the module is over it wont really matter. You can make whatever reasons you want.
Honestly by the time the module is over it wont really matter. You can make whatever reasons you want.Is this a legal “knock over a tannery” or at least an “I will make it legal” tannery knock-over?
It’s hard to make a “follow the law no matter what” character and first thing up become a criminal!
Or if this is a “do this crime to get an in to the criminal underworld so you can bring it down from the inside” deal, that’s fine too. Even if it’s only what Pharice thinks it is.
Sorry, most of that was rhetorical, out-loud thinking.
Pharice is loyal to Cheliax the nation first and foremost. He cares nothing about Asmodeus and about as much about Abrigail. He’s an agent of House Thrune because that’s the reality if you want to really serve Cheliax, but he has no specific loyalties to the queen.
He knows that House Thrune uses him to have dissidents amd other unstable elements of society killed. He’s infiltrated groups before to that end. If Thrune’s ordered him to rob this tannery, it must be in prelude to another such assignment, and if circumstances spiral out of control so that the final goal of that implantation doesn’t become obvious, he’ll just have to accept it on faith and deal with what is presumably a much greater threat to Chelish society.
From what I remember from my short-term playing of the adventure, we are hired by a party that is favorable to the government to recover owed money and then other tasks to help support the current status quo and put down rebellious functions in the group.
Cimri is much like us; amoral and willing to do wicked deeds to make coin. We're not officially part of anything in the beginning so for those of you tied to House Thrune, you may be off-assignment for awhile for whatever reason you want to be.
For who Draco may know out of the group, I feel that Pharice would be the easiest and likeliest one for Draco to know already. Their both very professional and their fighting styles compliment one another very well. Neither of them are particularly religious either.
@Falariel. Do you wish to set up any background with Jerax before the adventure, or shall both antipaladins only know each other by reputation?
Honestly by the time the module is over it wont really matter. You can make whatever reasons you want.Is this a legal “knock over a tannery” or at least an “I will make it legal” tannery knock-over?
It’s hard to make a “follow the law no matter what” character and first thing up become a criminal!
Or if this is a “do this crime to get an in to the criminal underworld so you can bring it down from the inside” deal, that’s fine too. Even if it’s only what Pharice thinks it is.
Sorry, most of that was rhetorical, out-loud thinking.
Pharice is loyal to Cheliax the nation first and foremost. He cares nothing about Asmodeus and about as much about Abrigail. He’s an agent of House Thrune because that’s the reality if you want to really serve Cheliax, but he has no specific loyalties to the queen.
He knows that House Thrune uses him to have dissidents amd other unstable elements of society killed. He’s infiltrated groups before to that end. If Thrune’s ordered him to rob this tannery, it must be in prelude to another such assignment, and if circumstances spiral out of control so that the final goal of that implantation doesn’t become obvious, he’ll just have to accept it on faith and deal with what is presumably a much greater threat to Chelish society.
The “undercover to serve the interests of House Thrune” works for Lucien as well. He’s used to working on a need to know basis and knows that deception is often required to weed out enemies of the throne and faith.
I think it's easy for Alessandra and Lucien to have met in the Asmodean church. Acolyte trait, before she took to Eiseth's worship.
Using the church of Asmodeus as a shared hook for Jerax, Alessandra and Lucien would work well, IMO. Prehaps we have little prior contact, but have all been assigned to this team by our church superiors.
Lucien has the Mentored trait, which could be used as a RP hook to introduce a higher ranking clergy member.
We're also lacking in the removing locks department.
With the other classes on low skillpoints per level, i could drop reactionary for a disable device trait, and 1/2 orc fcb intimidate for ranks in it.
I don't suppose anyone has UMD?
I can easily pick up disable device if that’s a worry. It would fit with his character just fine.
You have an intimidation build going so you should stick with it.
Tonight I'm planning to do a deeper analysis of our group composition so far, using TarkXT's Hammer/Anvil/Arm format, and looking at our ability to handle the most common situations. We can use that as a basis to adjust builds to close up the worst holes.
Hammer time, all the way.
Few notes:
1) I've changed my name to sound more Celestial and less Elven.
2) I've decided that, if it's allowed, I will be switching to Skald. I like the idea of galvanizing this punchy group with inflammatory rhetoric more than I like the idea of frightening people by smashing their face.
@Jerax: I have not properly written my bg but the idea is that Falariel served in the Goblinblood Wars, where she got fed up with Iomedae and Andoran. If you have a connection to Andoran or Isger then it would definitely fit well.
As it comes to motivations, Falariel definitely does see herself as a "greater good" sort of person: so, collecting taxes from insolvent people works well for her. She doesn't care so much about Asmodeus, but she respects above all the idea of getting the job done and ruling over the lower classes for their own sake.
If you are going to go with skald, can I encourage you to check out the Spell Warrior archetype? It replaces Inspired Rage with magical bonuses on our weapons, which later can be used for really cool things like bane abilities that can be changed to meet whatever we’re facing, plus it doesn’t prevent us all from either refusing the benefit or become mindless melee monsters.
Edit: Hmmm, looking closer it seems that it’s through Inspired Rage that the party gets to share in rage powers.
I considered it, but:
- Bane can't be added as a special ability.
- Enhance Weapons would not work with Skald's Vigor.
- Enhance Weapons effectively stops improving after level 5.
- The counterspell focus is very lackluster.
- The loss of Spell Kenning is far too painful to accept.
Also it definitely doesn't make anyone a mindless melee monster. Any round that you don't need to make a Dex, Int or Cha skill check or cast a spell, you can just enjoy a bit more punch if you have an adaptive composite longbow, as well as a boost to Will and Fortitude saves. And if you instead want to use spells, you just refuse it for one round. I have seen it used to great effect.
Oh I missed that we can choose each round to refuse it or not. Never mind then. Never played with a skald before so I clearly don't know what I'm talking about. I guess I was reading the implication rather than the written text: Pharice wouldn't be able to hold his hands still enough to disable a lock, but he can still make a pinpoint ranged shot from 100 feet?
And yes, it seems that bane isn't on that list. Boo on them.
All that being said, skald sounds great for the melee folks, anything the cleric wants to summon if he goes that route, and the pooch. Very arm-like.
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If you think the core of the character can stay intact youre more than welcome to go skald.
Hell forbid i die prematurely, but i see this oh so juicy prestige class that screams Hell's Vengeance.
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Havent forgotten you guys just getting the other guys moving.
Did we want for Pharice to switch some stuff and pick up disable device? It’s quite doable, though I won’t if our new skald has room to take it instead.
Did we want for Pharice to switch some stuff and pick up disable device? It’s quite doable, though I won’t if our new skald has room to take it instead.
I don't quite have room and it's not a class skill for me, so I'd be glad if you could go for it.
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Done. It meant killing the +1 bonus to saves vs divine spells, but now he has a +10 bonus in Disable Device after bonuses and penalties. Can't disarm magical traps, but that's what the tiefling's for...
Alrighty the rebels are in the lrocess of burning the city to the ground so I should get this game started sometime between now and monday.
Gamelays a go. If you post in it I will assume your character is done and check it from there.
All we're waiting on is Lucien I believe.
GM, could i change a trait, as we're not properly started?
I'd like to change Reactionary (combat), for Adopted (social) > Fiery gaze (ifrit), to boost my intimidate rolls.