So, I am beginning play as a level 1 ninja with 2,000+gp in items thanks to the Chosen Child and Signature Moves traits. Most of my characters gp is in three weapons; two Glassteel Wakizashi's, and a Cthonic Steel Katana. I have spent the last month preparing this character and her gear.
Then last week the GM informed us that we would be starting play for the coming campaign as captives on a pirate ship... and that they will have taken all of our gear before the adventure has even started!!! What the heck do I do to resolve this? Is there a way to resolve this in-game using skills or something?
First, ask him if he's running the adventure path Skull and Shackles. If he is, then he may be inclined to tweak the APs rules and let you get your stuff back as the story progresses as intended. If he doesn't tweak it, then I encourage you holding off on stealing it back, because such expensive items turning up missing would get the ship searched and someone keelhauled.
I wish I could help you more with that, but it's your GM's game.
The thing is, I know that the first or second day of the campaign will involve a shipwreck, so we'll be escaping. I'm just concerned that something will happen that will result in me not being able to get the swords back. (Like the ship exploding or something).
Generally, unless a DM is a complete jerk s/he will not take items away from you permanently at the start of the game. You can ask, or at least remind them that if the campaign requires you to permanently lose all your gear your traits become invalid.
For now, I'd say drop a subtle hint and play along.
You GM may be telling you in a subtle way to change your traits. Your best bet is to ask if you will be getting your stuff back. Not all traits are appropriate to all campaigns if that is the case then you either need to change characters or change your traits. Personally I think that these traits are a rip off. Sure they give you an early advantage but after that they give nothing. Assuming your GM gives you anything like WBL they are useless after about 4th level if not earlier.
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Going to be honest there is 0 need for those expensive weapons or traits. The DM is being Kind and giving you a chance and reasoning to change traits.
I highly suggest a + 1 Fortitude trait for Skulls and Shackles. You will be making plenty of Fort saves during the entire campaign. Ninja's have terrible Fort saves.
Your 2nd trait can be what ever.
I do suggest for Level 1:
1 point in climb
1 point in swim
1 point in Profession Sailor or Cook
These will be commonly rolled.
A word about those Rich parent style traits.
They are great for campaigns not going over level 2. You can start with great gear. But if you plan to go into any level beyond 2 they become useless and offer you little to nothing. Usually some of the Best traits involve increasing saves, initiative, Meta magic reducers, and Adding UMD or Perception to your class list.
Your in a good place to easily add +1 to both will and Fort. That will help you so much more in the long run.
You will not need special material weapons so avoid the trap in this one.
Also avoid too much stealing at first...as someone mentioned...its a good way to get keelhauled...which is being dragged under the boat while the Barnacles cut you up and you drown to death.
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I'll point out that we don't have confirmation that this is indeed a Skull&Shackles game - it may simply be a similar opening.
It may also be that having these specific weapons is an important part of the OP's backstory - not necessarily chosen for their mechanical virtues. I don't have enough info to make that call.
Either way, OP, your GM is being nice by giving you fair warning before the campaign. The way I see it, you have a few options:
One, you can keep everything as is, with the full knowledge that you might lose your fancy toys. Try to recover them, obviously, but be aware that they might just vanish.
Two, you can assume that they will be gone and just choose different traits. If having the weapons is important to your backstory, ask your GM if it's ok that you had them, and roleplay as if they've been lost. (As a GM I certainly wouldn't have a problem with a player whose family heirloom sword was lost at the bottom of the sea as a backstory).
Three, if it's important that you have these weapons mechanically, ask your GM if you can "find them in the wreckage," or otherwise acquire them early on after starting play.
Basically, identify what part of having these things is most important to you, and work with your GM to ensure that your get that.
I checked with my GM; it's not skull&shackles exactly, its a version of something called "Spelljammer". Something about "sailing ships in space". (So much for swimming away).
I think he's not giving me the whole story though, and I'm starting to suspect that he's basing it on this module. So that's a good sign to me at least.
I don't think he's trying to get me to change my traits intentionally at least, because he seemed all for it when I told him about it. Sometimes I forget that he tried to kill my previous character on a regular basis (He never succeeded).
As for why I need these weapons, they're backstory related. The Chthonic Katana in particular is important, especially since I later want it enchanted, and Chthonic steel gives a 10% discount on all enchantment costs. The Wakizashi's are a gift from her monastery; she's part of an organization called the "Blue Lotus" (created in a previous campaign with this characters father), and they specialize in making Glassteel weapons. They are automatically masterwork quality, which means I can enchant them as time progresses. They're also immune to rust and magnetism, which I'm thinking I'll need with this GM.
If it is skull&shackle's, then my backup plan may not work either; all I want is to sneak in with, at best, my wakizashi's, at worst a Kunai. Do pirates still have to use perception checks to find my gear? Because I'm thinking of switching some stuff out and hiding the Wakizashi's on my person (which if I understand correctly could work; they ARE light weapons) and using things like a pocketed scarf. I was also wanting to come in dressed in a tear-away monks robe with her ninja gear underneath. Any other ideas in that regard, or would I be better off doing something else?
If I do change her traits, I'd change them to Reactionary and Fate's Favored (The second one will be fun if I can get a "Stone of Good Luck/Luckstone").
The problem is that if is the Skulls and Shackles opening, you don't know you are about to get taken, and are unconscious when they search you. So unless you have those wakizashis hidden on your body in such a way that they are completely useless in combat at all times for reasons... they will probably find them.
The problem is that if is the Skulls and Shackles opening, you don't know you are about to get taken, and are unconscious when they search you. So unless you have those wakizashis hidden on your body in such a way that they are completely useless in combat at all times for reasons... they will probably find them.
What I was thinking was that I'd have them in wrist sheaths ("The sheath can hold one forearm-length item": Wakizashi's are between 1-2 ft. long, so it can work), while wearing a Dilettante's Clothing, and a Pocketed scarf. At level 1 she has a +9 total bonus to sleight of hand checks. With those items that goes up to +17 (circumstance bonuses stack). If I take the additional traits feat, and add Expert Smuggler to her traits, then the enemy is denied the +4 to perception while frisking. My question is does my ninja still get to roll her sleight of hand check while unconscious (if that does happen), or does she just get her basic bonuses?
Sleight of Hand won't save you when they are actively searching your unconscious body unless you somehow shove it up your ass. They may look there too though.
How about instead of asking us you ask your DM? If you're starting as a prisoner then obviously your captors now possess your equipment. Go get it back during the prison escape, or whatever it is that is occurring.
I really fail to see the point behind this thread. You seem to have asked your DM a number of questions, and none of which are what actually matters such as "Hey DM, in your upcoming campaign you mentioned we were prisoners, so what happened to our starting equipment? Will we be able to reacquire it?" He says "Yes" and that's it. You're done.
Sleight of Hand won't save you when they are actively searching your unconscious body unless you somehow shove it up your a**. They may look there too though.
How about instead of asking us you ask your DM? If you're starting as a prisoner then obviously your captors now possess your equipment. Go get it back during the prison escape, or whatever it is that is occurring.
I really fail to see the point behind this thread. You seem to have asked your DM a number of questions, and none of which are what actually matters such as "Hey DM, in your upcoming campaign you mentioned we were prisoners, so what happened to our starting equipment? Will we be able to reacquire it?" He says "Yes" and that's it. You're done.
I HAVE asked these questions. All of them. This GM is not the most forthcoming with information though. When I asked if I can reacquire my gear he responded "You can try; it depends on what happens when the ship crashes."
I'm just frustrated that I have spent the last month going into every detail of this character I can imagine (which is a MAJOR feat with my schedule), and then my GM comes in with this pirate ship crap. A month's worth of planning for gear, skills, and feats (much of which revolves around her gear), and now I have to possibly redo it all a week before we start! (Particularly irritating since I discussed ALL the details of my character with the GM as I came up with them!)
Sorry; that was my rant for the day.
That being said, I like a lot of the ideas that were mentioned earlier (Particularly Cavall's comments), so I think I'll rework her equipment and skills in a way that doesn't mess me up if I lose the gear. Worst case, I have her craft the Wakizashi's herself later, I suppose.
As for why I need these weapons, they're backstory related. The Chthonic Katana in particular is important, especially since I later want it enchanted, and Chthonic steel gives a 10% discount on all enchantment costs.
What you just said is about optimization (you want to reduce the cost for enchanting your weapon), not character backstory...
A month's worth of planning for gear, skills, and feats (much of which revolves around her gear)
You should really look into this. Your skills and feats should not rely on which gear you have available, that's a recipe for disaster.
As for why I need these weapons, they're backstory related. The Chthonic Katana in particular is important, especially since I later want it enchanted, and Chthonic steel gives a 10% discount on all enchantment costs.What you just said is about optimization (you want to reduce the cost for enchanting your weapon), not character backstory...
A month's worth of planning for gear, skills, and feats (much of which revolves around her gear)You should really look into this. Your skills and feats should not rely on which gear you have available, that's a recipe for disaster.
This. Just scrap the character and make something that isn't dependent on 3rd party special snowflake materials.
*Blech* I really hate it when my panic-induced typing's allow/cause people to draw up terrible assumptions...
First off, the Chthonic Steel thing is character backstory because this was not my choice; the Katana is a relic/treasure from a previous campaign when my current character was at the time an NPC ninja-in-training (It's a long story, and I'm not going to take the time to explain further). I was planning on taking advantage of it's main material.
Second, a minor correction; the skills/feats don't revolve around the gear itself, they revolve around the concept I created for this character which invovles the use of dual-wielding, sneak-attacks with a high critical threat range; basically a close-range, in-your-face-with-pain, ninja. Wakizashi's just happen to fit that bill very well. The Glassteel thing, well, that's mainly for backstory.
At any rate, I had a chat with my GM, and after that long discussion we have agreed that at the very least, I can get the Katana back during/after the crash. If I lose the Wakizashi's, he's going to give me permission to change the Chosen Child trait. Many thanks to Solidchaos085, ryric, Heretek, and Cavall for the ideas that inspired that conversation.