| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks Shifty, you will be missed.
Appreciate the words Shifty and as mentioned in PM - you (and Elgy) be missed greatly and look forward to another opportunity to roll the virtual bones sometime down the line hombre.
So, I was thinking about how we just got some loot and then stepped through that portal...
And it got me hoping that I spend my loot better this go round, what with all of my loot from last time never to be seen again, back in that other town....
So - advanced class guide playtest... anyone interested in a run through a level of Thornkeep to see how they play?
Would be straight hack-sacky without any real RP or backgrounds, I'm keen to see the various classes in action... and would prefer to avoid the open menagerie that a Recruitment thread would require.
Sure thing boss, that barbarian/sorceror looked fun.
Level 1 test drive? With a combat-heavy dungeon crunch, I can probably make room for one more PbP. :)
How quickly do you want to kick it off and how often do you want people posting?
I'm certainly intrigued, but I don't want to agree to something I can't keep up with.
I'd love to try out a Slayer or Brawler of some flavor.
And are you thinking level 1? Or can we kick it up a few levels to test out a few of the classes shinier bits?
Whether or not I am up for it depends on when you start. 20 days to finals, 28 more on the island. I could play light and then pick up the pace in three weeks.
Warpriest is one I haven't gotten my arms around yet.
Granted, I'm looking at it through the lens of 1st level or 5th level, and comparing it to a Cleric with the Crusader archetype.
At 5th level, it basically comes down to giving up some channel power and spellcasting for 3 feats (1 of your choosing and the other 2 being weapon focus and heavy armor proficiency).
Meander your way over to this thread if you're interested.
Usual sort of roughly once a day posting - some details on level and what not over in the other discussion. Hilde - you'd be welcome, I can always DMPC if you're busy.
I really like the slayer and warpriest. Not sure about the shaman. Investigator looks good, but may not be as good as vivisectionist.
How do archetypes work with the new classes? If you have all the class abilities to be replaced, can you take them?
At this point archetypes would be a no-go. My understanding is that they'll get their own archetypes in the final book - but for the playtest lets keep it bare bones and vanilla.
Am curious - these new classes seem to blur the lines/bastardise even more between the established order (whilst adding some unique colour/flavour/elements) - which is, I thought, the whole point of archetypes?
Surely some could have worked just as well as exactly that?? Warpriest and Investigator spring to mind.
As a crunch exercise I'm interested in how the classes are built, but as a player I'm sceptical that they further dilute the field and are a needless addition...
Interested what folks think...
Heads up one and all - I'm heading off this Saturday to Houston for Thanksgiving with my bro and sis-in-law. We're on a busy schedule so unlikely I'll get much time/interweb access so will likely be off the grid until beginning of Dec.
DMVoV - please DMPC Skäne as necessary after tomorrow evening...
Interested what folks think...
The more I started looking at them, the less I am liking them.
Arcanist - didn't look at it closely as I'm not interested
Bloodrager - More melee than the magus with heavier armor but without the crit spells effect. I thought the bloodlines made it interesting, but it seems front loaded in that respect.
Brawler - I've made one of these but I don't like being pigeonholed into an eastern flavor. I'm trying to make a Warhammer Trollslayer but can't use any non-monk weapons with their abilities. Why can't they open up the weapon choices to non-eastern weapons as well.
Hunter - I like that you can share your teamwork feats with your companion so you can get some use out of them. You don't get any of the weapon feats that a ranger does however, and I've never been impressed with druid spells. The one ability I like would be better on a ranger archetype.
Investigator - I was really interested in this one but after looking it over, I can't say I like it much. You get some rogue abilities but not many sneak attack dice, no bombs and no mutagens. Vivisectionist seems a much better alch/rogue to me.
Shaman - I griped about this one above. I'm not sure what it's trying to be. I did notice that most of the worthwhile abilities don't hit until 16+ level. This class was worse for the minionmancer than the others.
Skald - I actually like this and think it's pretty cool. I'm not interested in playing one, but it looked like it got the bard buffs and some rage tossed in.
Slayer - I like this at first, but looking at it again, at 5th level you get 1d6 sneak attack damage. Is that really worth the effort of focusing on? I didn't think so.
Swashbuckler - I don't like that they've pigeonholed you into playing a rapier type. There are a lot of cool gun/sword combos that could be fun but your character options are all pretty much set and only work with piercing weapons.
Warpriest - This one also looks interesting, but you are totally limited to your deity's favorite weapon and I just ranted on that last night. Most of the favored weapons are simple weapons that clerics are proficient with anyway so I think this aspect of the class is very poorly thought out.
So, those're my thoughts. I found myself losing interest rapidly and I agree, they should all be archetypes, not new classes.
I don't like when they build a class and restrain it to only one character concept either. These classes fall into this rut almost as badly as the asian classes do.
One thing I learned with APG however is Jason Bulman isn't interested in comments that invalidate the concept of what he wants to do, only tweaks. In that respect, these classes will probably be tweaked for balance, but I don't see them changing much.
I'll stick with the classes with archetypes as they let me personalize my character more than these ten new archetypes do. 8)
Bloodrager: I love it... I'd almost wish it didn't have spells to be honest and instead had one or two more rage powers. You too can warp spasm :)
Spell list is off though, as the Magus list has far too many utility spells (floating disc, etc).
Brawler: Concept I appreciate... and Martial Maneuvers is potentially a slick ability. Needs the weapon proficiencies changed though - as they're currently still eastern focused (shuriken... really?)
Hunter: Haven't delved enough - but the concept is relatively sound. It's clearly a class that's meant to focus on your animal companion being the star - which is great as long as you like a big cat. Needs more wolfbeardog love.
Investigator: Decent mix and in my mind what the Alchemist should have initially been. You toss mutagen and some bombs for a fairly decent kick in skills.
Shaman: I like the thought, and it's clearly an attempt to make the Oracle a bit more flexible with the wandering spirits, etc. Great RP potential... but I miss the Oracular curses.
Skald: An interesting choice - and the rage song has great synergy with Moment of Greatness. But needs more skald-y weapon proficiencies.
Slayer: Not sure yet as I've not delved
Swashbuckler: I thought they pretty much nailed this.
Gun support will apparently be via an archetype in the final book.
Warpriest: Bit of a sleeping gem potentially. It's basically an Inquisitor that wrecks face more directly. The major blessings that summon battle buddies look very good... though I wish more of the minor blessings were swift actions.
To get the best out of it you'd really need to spend a few rounds each combat buffing, which doesn't work in PF rocket tag.
Warpriests do get all martial weapon profs - so you've more than enough flexibility there.
Could some have been archetypes? - probably yeah; but for the most part it's hit the spot.
I love that they haven't tried to do anything to bizarre or exotic with most of the reworked classes - but more finessed them. Akin to how the Ninja vs Rogue and Samurai vs Cavalier discussion works. They're (to use SE Asian speak) same same... but different.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oi vey - teething toddler, so no update tonight.
While you can use all martial weapons with the warpriest, once you get into specific abilities, a lot are restricted to your deity's favored weapon.
An aberrant Bloodrager starts with Reach. I know I can build a concept around this for my Cthulhu character at least.
I think Skald is the last of the three good ones.
I fail to see the use of Hunter at all. I can make a normal ranger with Boon Companion and have the same thing.
On first pass, I was a bit disappointed in more than a few of them, myself. The archaist and hunter being the biggest "what?" moments.
I think with some work some of the other classes could fill a cool spot. Once the slayer has a few bugs worked out (slow sneak attack progression, weak/few slayer talents, and too few skill points for a ranger/rogue mix), it is a nice addition.
I want to like the Brawler, but it really just leaves me wondering "why wouldn't i just play a monk/fighter multi-class". The Martial Maneuvers is a great idea, but it's not enough for what they lose between their parent classes.
Bloodrager... there's some nice stuff in there. And it definitely scratches the itch of always wanting to mix arcane casting and raging. I'm not a fan of the fact that they're not subject to the chaotic alignment restriction while the barbarian remains so. I mean, for everyone who's ever wanted to multliclass Barb and Pally, here's your new class... oh, but you also get a slow arcane spell progression.
Haven't really dug into the others as well.
I think over-all it's a fine addition to the system if they can get all the classes working in a constructive way. Can you do many of these concepts with existing classes? Sure, but let's be honest, with a little creative reskinning and concepting, you can do that with many of the core classes.
My biggest reason for wanting to play the bloodrager is to see if the slow arcane progression replaces Rage Powers, some of which are so incredible I have trouble believing a limited spell list can replace them. We'll see. I assume the final version will have it's own spell list, rather than Magus, but we'll see.
Which do you think are the bet rage powers? I've been throwing together a dwarven troll slayer and was going after the Overrun ones of adding str damage to people you've knocked over.
If the Slayer started sneak attack at level 1 and got it every three levels instead of two, I would be much happier. Now that they've made levels in a sneak attack class stack instead of the die, you don't have to avoid classes having sneak attack at level 1.
It wasn't until I made a character that I realized Brawler doesn't get Wis for AC. I'd be fine with the class however if they'd let them flurry with weapons other than monk weapons. Let my Troll Slayer flurry with axes and I'll love it and since you don't get improved damage with them, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
Bloodrager seems cool, but I'm not normally a barbarian type. When I am interested in them, it's characters like the Troll Slayer and they don't have spells.
Hmmm, thinking about the Bloodrager has given me an Oracle concept for a character like a Shadowknight out of EQ1. I've going to have to play around with it.
Good luck to team Black Hus. 8)
Come and Get Me, Reckless Abandon, Superstition, Witch Hunter, Spell Sunder are my top ones, the others can have their place.
Car trouble today (dodgy radiator fan) so update will be tomorrow.
A thousand apologies for my disappearance. Things've been up and down for the past few weeks, and I took the first chance I'd gotten to run away down the coast for several days. I thought I'd be able to check in by phone, but OPTUS' coverage is pretty appalling, so no dice. I hadn't intended to stay as long as I had, and I'm about to attempt the gargantuan task of catching up.
Maybe you can find out who The Halfhand pays off for his crossbow rolls. Or does he sacrifice children?
I guess it's just the universe making up for the comparative uselessness of a level 2 wizard in combat.
Vermin, elementals, constructs, undead - all immune to mind-affecting stuff. Fey have high will saves and grease is all but useless in snow or against flying creatures... and single-enemies tend to have high enough saves that they can consistenty save against spells... So I guess it's all about the ranged attacks.
Maybe it's fate telling me to become an arcane archer. Or that I should prepare different spells. That too.
Maybe she'll be impressed by my iambic pentameter?
Back from Houston and a mighty Thanksgiving... fitted in some Black Friday combat shopping to boot :)
btw kept the game's spirit going by eating in Baba Yega's Slavic food restaurant in Houston. No fae on the menu tho... ;)
After two days this week when I've gone to bed less than three hours before my first alarm goes off to head back to work... I'm pretty sure I'm over the hump - or at least will be once my son's birthday party is out of the way tomorrow.
A moment longer of your indulgence and then I shall be functional once more.
Dungeon building is hard work :)
What's the Hardness level of such a fortification lol
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
PRD says 8 for hewn stone :P
Lol. That's awesome, VoV. Good on ya.
I just finished the first of my finals and I'm wiped out with a splitting headache. I was up all night studying and so I'm going to sleep now. I will catch up and post later tonight or in the morning.
Sorry to fall behind. I'll catch up asap.
PS: Pretty sure I passed that one. One more on Thursday and then it's back to the States for Clinical Rotations!
Fingers crossed in congratulations Hilde.
Sidhe - FYI, exchanged an email with Cearb and he's dealing with some RL stuff himself - so will be DMPC'd for a bit until he's back on level footing and able to re-enter.
Setting Cearb aside, I've noticed in the past that Hilde is sometimes allowed to take point in conversations w/NPCs by the default of others not posting unless they have something specific to say.
It also seems to me that this encounter may have been the source of the recent Black Hus drama, an event that seemed to go in a direction nobody really wanted, and none were truly happy with.
I post once a day, rarely more. There is therefore plenty of time for anyone to step up and make certain their voice is heard.
Considering the dynamics of the group, it should come as no surprise that Hilde holds very little concern about the opinions of half of the group. I mention this only to point out that Hilde will agree to what she sees as in her, and the gnomes', best interests.
If you would like your interests represented, please make certain that you take the opportunity to pursue them during the conversation, as in-character, Hilde will not. Please also be aware that she may refuse to go along with the group if a decision is reached that she does not approve of, and that I assume the same about each of you.
I don't think any of this post should ruffle any feathers, and is probably so obvious that it doesn't really need to be said. I simply want to make certain that we are all playing by the same understandings on an out-of-game level. 8)
So at my kid's party I had a wee bit of fun with the birthday cake... Dwarven Forge plus PF Pre-Paint Minis and a Bundt cake equals:
This and this.
My friend Richie recently bought his son a full suit of steel armor from Conquest Mythodea in Germany for Halloween. Now I see that you make dungeon cakes for your son's birthday.
Fanciest cake I ever got was a Mickey Mouse cake. Coolest present I ever got was a giant illustrated book on norse mythology. And for Halloween, my mother wouldn't even let me use an old collapsible antenna for a sword for my Zorro costume.
Kids today suck. They get all the cool stuff I could never have even dreamed of. 8)
On a different note, I just found out that I've just been removed from another PBP game because I didn't update yesterday.
I've only been playing that game for a week or so, but we have frequently been DM-PCd for not posting quickly enough - when we'd literally posted 4 hours before.
I had no idea this is what he meant when he said it was a "fast-paced game". I also had no idea that missing one day when I'd warned him I was in finals would get me a lecture for being rude for "just disappearing."
I'm frequently amazed at just how different people's expectations can be. Maybe it's a good thing I made my post in this thread earlier after all. I was worried I was making mountains out of molehills but damn.....posting once every 4 hours isn't enough?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Fear not Hilde - you're not in any fear of being in trouble for posting rates here. I'm fully aware that my own speed has settled into a comfortable sunday drive rather than a rush hour crush anyway.
I completely agree with your earlier post on speaking up - unless words are put to screen, then I can only assume that others are completely okay with the direction being taken. Even if there's nothing tangible to say - a quick 'XYZ nods along, before waiting to hear a response' is useful to me as a DM.
Lastly - yes, my kids tend to get cool toys... because I buy them for myself and then just let them play with them :P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Blergh - work followed up by ear infection and chestiness of youngest. Still here and will update as soon as able (including a mudmap for the Black Hus) but will be over the weekend.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I got all of my results today. I passed all of my courses as well as the program. No more four hour lectures, pointless lab sessions and mindnumbingly frustrating questions written by people who speak poor english.
YAY!!!!!!!
We leave the island Thursday for the States where I will be sequestered until March to prepare for Step One of my Boards. I will have a short vacation then until May when I will begin Clincial Rotations in NYC.
So, I should have far fewer problems making my one post a day for the next six months. 8)
Congrats, Hilde! I finished up all my stuff for my BA in Sociology and am waiting for my final grades. Now for the job hunt!
Congratulations to both of you.
Aye congratulations to Hilde and Twilight both.
I'm kind of in the other camp though... I miss University... quite a lot at times. For my final year I had either a four or five day weekend...