So apparently you had no one on your arms when I tried to help, My vision was coming out of the building and you still caring Sara. Apparently My post was either later then the following correction action of Sara leaving. I am sorry, the intention was for him to help you carry Sara not try to hug up on you as Rohan would not have done that at all, he would be plainly to embarrassed.
But its ok if there was error or the conversation, Rohan is feeling really down that he is hurting the group effective problems, so he trying to deal with getting his head back into the game so he stop making F up situations.
In the USA, it is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to any of you that have achieved that distinction and to the men in your life that have earned it, as well.
Peace.
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With the help of Rohan's player, I am looking at setting something up on Roll20 to help with combats, in particular large-scale fights. Hopefully, by the time y'all get to where you're able to help Patrol Sergeant Frum, I'll be ready to implement its use. For now, though, we'll just have to make do with a mostly narrative based combat set up.
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Fun Fact: The original incarnation of Vorom was a greataxe-wielding meathead fighter. The current incarnation is a swashbuckler using the Rostland bravo archetype. I shudder to think what that damage inflicted on Mesa could've been had I stuck to that original version.
Hey... let's find out!
5 point difference. Which would have put her right at the Critical wound threshold in one hit and at a –3 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks, as well as to AC and caster level.
See... I do try to look out for you guys. ;)
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If you look up top, you'll note the addition of the Inner Quarter Battlemap. Clicking on it will bring up a snapshot of the map I'm using on Roll20. Use that as your reference point for making action posts during this combat. The larger squares are still 10 feet, but the smaller ones within represent the usual 5-foot square.
I'm thinking of possibly having y'all actually access the map so that you can move your own tokens, but that may require some of you to have to register on Roll20 if you aren't already.
Discuss among yourselves how you feel about this and let me know what you decide.
I have a free account on Roll20. I haven't tried using it from my phone, which is how I make 95% of my posts because I don't want you guys to have to wait for me to get to my gaming system.
I say go for it. If I cannot make my own changes, I will rely on my friends.
I will assist you if the DM would like me to on moving your pieces Liesel but its probably best that he does the movement. I will gladly move some pieces on roll20.
meh either way.
Shiney
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I forgot to explain the raging song aspect of the cape/cloak. I've included the all the relevant aspects of the ability at 4th level, and converted inspired rage into the Unchained format (thanks goes out to Alexander Augunas of Everyman Games and his awesome supplement, Unchained Rage).
In many ways, raging song works like bardic performance: starting a raging song is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. A raging song cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the wearer is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action each round to maintain it. A raging song counts as the bard’s bardic performance special ability for any effect that affects bardic performances.
A raging song has audible components, but not visual components. Affected allies must be able to hear the wearer for the song to have any effect. A deaf wearer has a 20% chance to fail when attempting to use a raging song. If she fails this check, the attempt still counts against her daily limit. Deaf creatures are immune to raging songs.
If a raging song affects allies, when the wearer begins a raging song and at the start of each ally’s turn in which they can hear the raging song, the wearer’s allies must decide whether to accept or refuse its effects. This is not an action. Unconscious allies automatically accept the song. If accepted, the raging song’s effects last for that ally’s turn or until the song ends, whichever comes first.
Mesa gains the following abilities that can be incorporated into the raging song:
Inspired Rage (Su): Affected allies gain a +1 bonus on melee attack rolls, melee damage rolls, thrown weapon damage rolls, and a +2 bonus on Will saving throws, but also take a –1 penalty to AC. They also gain 1 temporary hit point per Hit Die. These temporary hit points are lost first when a character takes damage, disappear when the wearer’s inspired rage ends, and are not replenished if the ally enters a rage again (including a barbarian’s rage, a bloodrager’s bloodrage, or a skald’s inspired rage) again within 1 minute of its previous rage. While under the effects of inspired rage, allies other than the wearer cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except the Acrobatics skill and the intimidate function of Influence ) or any ability that requires patience or concentration. (Unlike the barbarian’s rage ability, those affected are not fatigued after the song ends.)
If an ally has her own rage class ability (such as barbarian’s rage, bloodrager’s bloodrage, or skald’s inspired rage), she may use the bonuses of her own rage class ability instead of those from the wearer (still suffering no fatigue afterward). However, inspired rage does not allow the ally to activate abilities dependent on other rage class abilities, such as rage powers, blood casting, or bloodrager bloodlines; the ally must activate her own rage class ability in order to use these features.
Song of Marching (Su): The wearer can use raging song to inspire her allies to move faster without suffering from fatigue. By expending 1 round of raging song, the wearer invigorates allies within 60 feet, who may hustle for the next hour; this movement counts as a walk (not a hustle) for the purpose of accruing nonlethal damage and fatigue. The wearer must continue to perform the song for the remainder of the hour, otherwise its effects end, but only 1 round of raging song is expended for that hour.
As stated in the gameplay thread, when starting an inspired rage, the cape's wearer can choose to add the crag linnorm death curse rage power to the song, and all affected allies gain the benefit of the rage power, using the wearer’s level as their effective barbarian level (in this case 4th level). If the rage power’s effects depend on the wearer’s ability modifier (such as the Will DC for the curse of fire), affected allies use the wearer’s ability modifier instead of their own for the purposes of this effect (making the DC currently fixed at 16).
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It's weird that since you guys hit the sandbox portion of the adventure, no one has any ideas as to what they should be doing next. :)
But seriously, I thought I had made it clear to you all that this phase was the sandbox portion and that you could see the trouble spots on the Inner Quarter map and visit them as you wanted to. It would seem that I didn't and for that I apologize.
I'm posting from a phone 95% of the time, so I'm not spending much time on maps. If that's what you are waiting for, I apologize, but I will defer to the rest of the party - point your favorite bloodrager (or Liesel-Marie if there are others in your life *sniff*) in the direction you want things to be hit and let's take care of some invaders. I don't second-guess your chosen targets.
I must apologize for my absence. Had a run of bad luck and been trying to dig myself back out of the hole I found myself in. Things are still pretty hectic at the moment so please bare with me.
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I'm working on setting up a better map for the Killin' Ground scenario for the purpose of combat.
Until then, please hold off on making any combat posts until I can get this done. Your patience is very much appreciated.
In the meantime, I'm granting you all the 315 XP necessary for you to hit tier 1 of your current level. So make the necessary adjustments to your characters. And if one of you would, please acquaint Mesa with how this works. It would be greatly appreciated.
Mesa its very simple really, all you have to do is choose one of these: half your hit points, Your BAB, or Saving throws each time you hit a tier. So for Tier 1 you could pick one of the three and make that you bonus you get for the rest of the level.
Next level is going to be a fighter level Unbreakable arch, so I am taking +1 BAB right now.
Well, I think you've done a fine job of making the resources available even if I forget you've done so most of the time. But - Mesa, if you have a moment to peruse this resource regarding staggered advancement, it should help get the conversation started. Once you've seen it once, it will be easier to discuss if you have questions. Any it's very possible you won't. Either way, let us know here and we will try to shed more light on the subject and sow less confusion on same.
For Liesel-Marie, she will be taking her bonus to BAB, which brings her to +4.
Oh, that bumps the Power Attack up to -2/+4. Nice!
Her character sheet has been modified to reflect what Hero Lab says her stats should be now. If anyone is so inclined to take a look and let me know if you see any errors, I would take them under advisement.
Well - I see I failed to include the url - and Rohan ninja'd me while I was typing, anyway. Here's the link I forgot, but you probably won't need it.
But if you have questions, just ask.
Thats my plus 4 on initiative and +10 attack bonus, LOL quick as lightning ROFL
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It's not my best work... but I've updated the Killin' Ground map to include your characters' positions and those of Rishka, her friends, and of course the chicken.
Nyym's image from the site would not show up properly on Roll20 for some reason, so I used an image of young Kakashi Hatake from his days as an ANBU operative instead.
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I know a lot of you have been having issues with the current skill system that has been implemented for this campaign. "Why not use the skill setup from the core rulebook?" is a frequently asked question by some of you.
Well, basically because it's something you all know for the most part. I wanted to shake things up by not using it. But it seems all that has done is cause widespread confusion among the players.
So, I've been looking at alternatives, one being just scrapping the consolidated skill groups and going back to the one from the core. But if I do that, it means that certain skills will almost never see use.
Thankfully, Everyman Games has an alternative that I think is worth looking into: the everyman skills system.
The everyman skills system is a hybrid of the standard skill system detailed in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and both the background skills and group skills systems detailed in Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Pathfinder Unchained. Choosing skills is identical to the method described in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, except your characters gain additional skill ranks to spend on skills that are similar to ones that they already have some training in or that represent non-adventuring hobbies, interests, and talents that the character possesses.
With this system, you get your normal ranks and skills as normal but additionally you choose skill groups as defined by the table at first level (you have to start with the Background skill group), second level and every 4 levels after that. You get bonus skill ranks that you have to spend on skills within a skill group you selected but only if you have more than half your level in ranks from a skill in that group.
I'm still looking this over, so if I do decide to use it, the change won't occur until after the Battle of Bloodmarch Hill. Those of you who want to look at this skill system can do so by either purchasing Everyman Unchained: Skills and Options or look at this link.
I personally think it's a nice compromise, with just a little more complexity than what you're used to while still getting a skill system that's similar to the one you're used to using. My only gripe has to do with some of the skill group names (I would have called the "Impish" group "Mischievous", for example). But, I do want to hear your comments on the matter. So discuss this among yourselves in the thread and let me know what you think.
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I hadn't heard or voiced any concerns for a while, but my character is not a heavy skills user. The implementation of a nonstandard system has pretty much meant I'm not even trying skill checks I might have otherwise, but I'm playing a meat shield, so it hasn't really affected things.
New nonstandard system = no change for me. I'm really not interested in the details of the system. I only have two questions: Can I figure out how many points I should have at a new level (in the current system, it's easy - I basically never get any new skills, see meat shield above); And can I figure out what my bonus is when I try to use a skill (also easy - I have basically no bonuses to worry about). I can see this being a concern for someone built around skills and cannot fault them for it. I haven't looked at Rohan's solution shared earlier, but I feel like I finally got a good handle on the current system and didn't want to confuse myself with someone else's interpretation of the system.
So I'm good. I will follow the majority's decision, but I'm not planning to spend any further bandwidth on debating what skill system we are using. I hope that's not taken in a negative light - I just have no interest in the question at this time. If we change systems, then I will invest some time in it. Until then, I have bigger fish to fry.
Personally I believe the current system is already hard enough to handle and took an arm and a leg to learn. Which means that investing time in a new system is just to much for trying to implement in a play by post.
I love the creativity and the ideas for wanting to incorporate new things into the system but personally I think that we have already so many rules that are different from the core approach and I'm starting to get confused. Its one thing to do this if you have a whole bunch of people around a table when you can talk out something you don't understand but when its play by post its a bit much.
I love the story line so far, I am conflicted with actions happening that had no relation to what going on right now like foreshadowing. That combined with keeping track of new rules has made it for a hard campaign to follow in some situations.
Personally I would like it all to go back to the core, it make it easier figuring out attacks and skill checks, but adding in wound threshold, grouped skills, and staggered advancement has been more than enough to follow.
I don't mean to sound rude or negative, I just like sticking with what I know in conjunction with trying to learn and play in 5th edition is a task in a half.
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I'm not a fan of the core Pathfinder skill system... I didn't like it very much in 3rd or 3.5 either, mainly because in my role as DM, I've seen too many people abuse it in the most ridiculous of ways.
It would be very easy for me to say "Yeah, you're having problems with this skill system. And... you're just going to have to deal with it." I am the DM, after all.
But, I apply this rule for you to myself: Have fun, just not at the expense of anyone else's fun. I love the consolidated skill group system, but knowing that some of you don't like it at all, I didn't want my love of the system to get in the way of the group's fun. Which is the only reason why this is even being discussed at all.
So, with that said, I'm waiting to see what Mesa and Nyym's players have to say before I render the final judgement on this topic (though I'm mainly interested more in what Nyym's thoughts are, as he's a Pathfinder newbie).
Once this is decided, that's it. There'll be no going back to change things. As of right now, there's one for keeping the system as is (but will go with majority decision) and one for going core.
I'm good as it is myself as it is easier for me to deal with on my phone and not as Much to keep up with. But I will do whatever is desided.
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In honor of the Killin' Ground's newest fighter... The Gregory Brothers - Chicken Attack (featuring Takeo Ischi)
I still can't figure out how to level or what i can do with the new system. It also seems to be a bit weak when people are playing skill monkey classes like bards and rogues as every thing seems balanced across all classes.
The core skill system isn't that far off what was used in 3.5 which is what a large chunk of people played so it's easier to deal with.
Mesa: The currently-active system isn't terrible, but the information you need to use it was scattered a bit. I think DM has gathered links to the pertinent bits in the campaign page. There is a link to a consolidated group skills PDF that I suspect he created to have all of the information in one place.
I could try to explain my understanding of how it would apply to you, but there's so little information in your character sheet (which is perfectly fine, I don't need to know) that I can't really help you much. Plus, trying to answer when I don't really know what the questions are is a pretty sure road to frustration for both of us.
If you are interested in my assistance, feel free to PM me here or contact me at ainvarg@yahoo.com. In the meantime, maybe you can have a look at the skills section from Liesel-Marie's sheet to see how I am trying to manage it. She has a very spare set of skills, far less than I expect you to have, so hopefully that will easier to analyze. Note that I have recorded all Pathfinder-style skills under their consolidated skill because that's still how I think when I try to figure out what I need to do. I have it listed in the way I do because I can see my circumstantial bonuses along with other notes about a given skill.
This is not an attempt to sell you on the system, merely to make it usable for you as it is the system we are using.
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The Killin' Ground map has been replaced with the Killin' Ground (Outside) map. Take the time to look it over when you get a chance so you can understand what exactly you're going to be dealing with. In addition to the orcs led by a certain half-orc named Vorom, you might notice the presence of a certain fat barkeep being escorted by Kytynna.
Rohan: potion of cure light wounds, potions of cure moderate wounds, vials of soothe syrup (for 1 hour after drinking soothe syrup, you gain a +5 alchemical bonus on saving throws made to resist effects that would make you nauseated or sickened), chain shirt
Nyym: (cure light wounds Potion already grabbed), 2 Daggers, potion of vanish, potion of feather fall, potion of hide from undead (lasts 10 minutes), vials of soothe syrup (for 1 hour after drinking soothe syrup, you gain a +5 alchemical bonus on saving throws made to resist effects that would make you nauseated or sickened), potion of feather fall
Liesel: 1 Bloody Greatsword, potion of cure light wounds (2), potions of cure moderate wounds, potion of divine favor (+1 luck bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls for 1 minute), potions of remove sickness (quells feelings of illness and nausea in the imbiber, giving it a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against disease, nausea, and sickened effects. If the subject is already under the influence of one of these effects when drinking the potion, that effect is suppressed for 10 minutes)
Mesa: (cure light wounds Potion already grabbed), thunderstone, alchemist's fire (2), potion of disguise self, potions of remove sickness (quells feelings of illness and nausea in the imbiber, giving it a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against disease, nausea, and sickened effects. If the subject is already under the influence of one of these effects when drinking the potion, that effect is suppressed for 10 minutes), healer’s kit with all 10 uses remaining
Sellable:
1 Greatsword
javelins (2)
longspears (2)
chainmail (2)
masterwork greataxe
shortspear,
mwk studded leather
light crossbow w/10 bolts
mwk warhammer
scale mail is broken
vial of singer's solution
2 scrolls of nap stack
key
50 feet of hemp rope
heavy steel shield,
10 crossbow bolts
suit of studded leather
falchion,
4 javelins. longsword
Let me know if there is any objections or something different you wanted.
Liesel-Marie will add any unclaimed javelins to her quiver. I assume the numbers are more important than the plural form of the items listed. That is, when you say "potions of cure moderate wounds" but you don't indicate how many, I assume it is just one potion.
In light of the battleground, may I suggest that if you have soothe syrup, drink it before the fight.
Yes actually its only one, I just copied and paste the text as needed to separate it. Its my 3rd grade english LOL
Just a heads up, last week I had to do alot of night driving and it looks like I may be doing it again over next few days. Will post as I can. Load scheduling is getting crazy lately. Will post as I can and try not to hold things up to much.
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With regard to the potion of bull's strength, the optional Automatic Bonus Progression rules removes the need for spells like that. However, I figured that there could be another way of dealing with this.
So... the potion of bull's strength provides a +2 insight bonus on melee attack rolls, melee damage rolls, thrown weapon damage rolls, on combat maneuvers and to CMD, as well as a +2 insight bonus on Strength checks to lift, push, bend, or break objects. This allows it to stack with the enhancement bonuses you'll be receiving to your ability scores (because enhancement bonuses don't stack with each other).
Sorry Liesel saw you posted right before I did. Didn't mean to jump in on ya. Its a toss up character had to make a decision but all of them are good choices. Not a big fan of leaving weapons or items for people to use against us or our city though.
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Since we've gone past the 1000 post mark, it's time to get a little feedback from the players.
I feel that my job as DM is to challenge my players while ensuring that they have a good time. So what I'm asking is whether you're enjoying yourselves as players and whether or not y'all feel like you've been sufficiently challenged thus far.
As always, feel free to say what you will. And thanks for allowing me the opportunity to be your DM.
Loving the game and group. Thanx for the opportunity to play.
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It's interesting and the variations on the rules keep me on my toes. I'd like it better if you would stop getting critical hits on my girl, if you could see your way clear to address that...
Good but the variation on the rules is def something to keep you on your toes. I like the staggered advancement, but leveling is slow going but I guess thats normal for pbp. Personally I could go without the wound thresholds I don't know about the rest.
Simplicity is my goal.
However I do like the story and plot seems interesting, would like to see more.
I am copying this to all my games.
Sorry for late notice, but I am headed down the road to vacation for a week. Connectivity and availability may be an issue, so please bot for me rather than waiting too long. I will peek in if I can and normal posting is expected to resume in nine days.
I don't say this enough to the people in RL, let alone to my virtual friends, but I appreciate you and this game we share. Peace.
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@Liesel-Marie: Thanks for the heads-up.
For those of you who may be familiar with the Fullmetal Alchemist series (whether it be the manga, original series, or Brotherhood), then you may have noticed more than a passing similarity with regard to the Memory of Nature and the Gate (of Truth).
This was wholly intentional.
The concept of the Gate in the series is based on the Akashic Record, which is a plane of existence in the Great Beyond. Once I realized that was the case, I knew I didn't want to present the plane as being just a library filled with books. So I presented to y'all an amalgamation of the plane as presented in Pathfinder, the Gate as seen in the original animated series, and the Gate as it was in the manga/Brotherhood series (with the Keeper of Memory acting as a stand-in for the being called Truth).
But.... as odd as that all may have been, expect more strangeness to come in the future. After all, it is called "The Strange Adventures of Team Ruby". Gotta make sure it lives up to that. ;)