Party Composition Be Like...


Pathfinder Second Edition General Discussion


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This is more just a funny anecdotal bit from a PT game I'm running, rather than any discussion about rules or reveals.

Until recently my party consisted of an Arcane Sorc with Rogue MC, an Occult Sorc with Barbarian MC, an Occult Sorc with Fighter MC, an Alchemist with Ranger MC, a Fighter with a Homebrew Archetype, and a Cleric GMPC.

Due to story stuff (mostly stuff at request of their players) the Alc and Sorc/Fighter died or left the party on... Questionable terms, and they brought in replacement characters. A Ranger and a Primal Sorc with Druid MC.

So Ranger, Fighter, Cleric, Occult Sorc, Arcane Sorc, Primal Sorc.

I joked to my party that I was considering changing the GMPC into a Divine Sorc so we'd have a full set. XD


Sorcerers are looking interesting, I really want to see how many Bloodlines the core book will have and the bloodline effects that each one gets.


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Sorcerer is also one of the logically easiest to explain Multiclass option- for every other you have to train, sorcerer just happens :P


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Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

After a month of release, we should make a poll to see how many characters are multiclassed.


Why is everyone multi-classing sorcerer? Is that a feature of the setting, where most characters are innate spellcasters?

Liberty's Edge

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My guess is that they envisioned different kinds of gish but wanted to keep the feeling of power that comes with full-casting base class. Hence Sorcerer.

Maybe Arcane Trickster, some kind of Skald Bloodrager, a kind of Magus and a Witcher for the original MCs.


Huh.
I don't have anything against spellcasters. But as a GM, a party full of full-casters would make me nervous, unless I plan out a campaign specifically for that sort of party composition. I remember playimg in PFS sessions where there were two sorcerers and a bard, and between the three of them they were able to magically MacGyver their way out of most of the encounters.

I think it mostly involved an intricate interplanar elevator powered by *mirrors* that essentially enabled fast travel in and out of the dungeon and across the wilderness and city we traveled from. Still not sure why the GMed allowed that but I didn't complain.


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The Raven Black wrote:

My guess is that they envisioned different kinds of gish but wanted to keep the feeling of power that comes with full-casting base class. Hence Sorcerer.

Maybe Arcane Trickster, some kind of Skald Bloodrager, a kind of Magus and a Witcher for the original MCs.

It was something like that, especially as this campaign was a great homebrew PF1 game but we converted to the Playtest. Arcane Trickster was one as you say, and she wanted full spells over full Rogue when presented with the choice. Also she previously had the wings from Draconic Bloodline early in PF1 and going Sorc base would let her keep them without my having to do extra shenanigans.

One of the Occ Sorcerers was a Sorcerer that was changed into a Harbinger (3pp curse-based warrior) and debuff focused Aberrant Sorcerer with Fighter MC or vice versa was closest.

And the third was a Rage Surge Wilder, I didn't have time to do a real conversion so Buff focused Occ Sorc with Barbarian MC and a homebrewed Psionic bloodline to transfer iconic abilities was the best shot there.

And the Primal Sorc introduced later was the daughter of that player's main character from Doomsday Dawn (a Half-Orc Druid MC Cleric of Gozreh for backstory reasons) and the Dryad from The Mirrored Moon (I try to let as much of the events of previous games I've run stay canon for future games, it makes for some nice treats for my players since it's mostly the same people with a little variance). Hence Fey Bloodline Sorc, MC Druid to manifest some ways the character is like her father despite not wanting to admit it. XD


Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I'm curious why you'd add a GMPC when there are five PCs.


IIRC was added as an NPC ally back at the start of the campaign when the party was like 3 PCs (or 4 but with one or two inconsistent attendees, I forget. It was over a year ago) (and also needed a healer), and the party didn't want him to leave despite having grown larger later.


Edge93 wrote:
IIRC was added as an NPC ally back at the start of the campaign when the party was like 3 PCs (or 4 but with one or two inconsistent attendees, I forget. It was over a year ago) (and also needed a healer), and the party didn't want him to leave despite having grown larger later.

Never forget, Cimri Staelish...


ChibiNyan wrote:
Edge93 wrote:
IIRC was added as an NPC ally back at the start of the campaign when the party was like 3 PCs (or 4 but with one or two inconsistent attendees, I forget. It was over a year ago) (and also needed a healer), and the party didn't want him to leave despite having grown larger later.
Never forget, Cimri Staelish...

I'm not familiar with the name.


Edge93 wrote:
ChibiNyan wrote:
Edge93 wrote:
IIRC was added as an NPC ally back at the start of the campaign when the party was like 3 PCs (or 4 but with one or two inconsistent attendees, I forget. It was over a year ago) (and also needed a healer), and the party didn't want him to leave despite having grown larger later.
Never forget, Cimri Staelish...
I'm not familiar with the name.

A mandatory GMPC from Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path. She is together with the party from the very beginning and is used to steer them towards the railroad throughout while participating in every adventure.

Spoiler:
She leaves the party after book 1 but re-appears later.


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Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

That's what the spoiler tags are for.


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Hell's Vengeance is impossible to keep the party on track in anyway, since the player's guide kind of points you away from "Chellish Patriot" and towards "Mercenary Psychopath" and the AP gives you way more reasons to hate your employers than your supposed antagonists.


ChibiNyan wrote:
Edge93 wrote:
ChibiNyan wrote:
Edge93 wrote:
IIRC was added as an NPC ally back at the start of the campaign when the party was like 3 PCs (or 4 but with one or two inconsistent attendees, I forget. It was over a year ago) (and also needed a healer), and the party didn't want him to leave despite having grown larger later.
Never forget, Cimri Staelish...
I'm not familiar with the name.

A mandatory GMPC from Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path. She is together with the party from the very beginning and is used to steer them towards the railroad throughout while participating in every adventure.

(SPOILER AHEAD)
-
-
-
-
She leaves the party after book 1 but re-appears later.

Ahh, gotcha. I do try to avoid that. Honestly my GMPCs tend to he largely passive out of combat because I'm so focused on running everything else. ^^; Amd the exceptions are usually when they're a temp NPC ally that's already been part of the story rather than a full GMPC that was there at the start.

I think the closest I've come there was introducing a GMPC as a quest giver initially for the initial quest of the campaign because it was drawing a new party into the unfinished plot of the first game I ran.


PossibleCabbage wrote:
Hell's Vengeance is impossible to keep the party on track in anyway, since the player's guide kind of points you away from "Chellish Patriot" and towards "Mercenary Psychopath" and the AP gives you way more reasons to hate your employers than your supposed antagonists.

Has been working well for me so far, the party is extremely loyal and duty-bound.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
ChibiNyan wrote:
Edge93 wrote:
IIRC was added as an NPC ally back at the start of the campaign when the party was like 3 PCs (or 4 but with one or two inconsistent attendees, I forget. It was over a year ago) (and also needed a healer), and the party didn't want him to leave despite having grown larger later.
Never forget, Cimri Staelish...

My HV campaign had one of our players as a Kuthite devotee who was a Hamatulatsu monk who was childhood friends with Cimri. She is not scripted to leave at the end, simply stated that her direct campaign involvement was over, and there is no specifically scripted return for her as far as I know (unless it's later in book 5), but she ended up staying around, joining Zon-Kuthons church as our monk had REALLY stoked her sadistic side, and ended up taking the Shadow Dancer to really hype up the Kuthon.

She was one of my tables FAVORITES and she was a GMPC. /shrug

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