Al Qadim - Arabian Adventures (D&D 3E, PF or maybe AD&D 2)

Started by Cassandra LeMay, December 06, 2015, 12:56:23 PM

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Chulanowa

Quote from: CarnivalOfTheGoat on January 01, 2016, 04:03:12 AM
It's a -2 penalty, with the additional specified caveat that the BEST result you can get is "Indifferent," thus: "Fails to indifferent (at best)."

If you don't consider "Indifferent" a failure mode, I suppose that might be a thing, of course. But any way you slice it, she doesn't make people feel at ease. :)

Also, more things I'd forgotten about this edition of D&D, BURRIT0.

Er, THAC0.

Hungry now.

Hm.

Muuuuuse? Could my character get a proficiency in coffeemaking? Sort of a "limited cooking" proficiency? Not the proper Zakharan coffee CEREMONY, because that's etiquette, which is expressly forbidden to barbarian mercenaries. Nope. I explicitly don't want her to have the etiquette. I just want her to be able, in a city of coffee-growers and coffee-drinkers, who have a cultural coffee ceremony, to be this outlandish outsider who, despite her detestable alien ways, is able to prepare an absolutely phenomenal cup of coffee. Hilarity ensues. She isn't doing it PROPERLY but oh god, smell that...It's mouth-wateringly perfect. Surrounded by coffee culture, doesn't understand the coffee culture, but got addicted to the stuff and spent the time to figure out how to prepare it as strong and tasty as possible.

I'm thinking that with Herbalist and Healer as her two big proficiencies, she's used to brewing all sorts of things. Drinking coffee counts as self-medicating, right? ;)

Gnara Al-Qahili (Gnara of the Wastelands)
Character Crunchy Bits
Race: Flind (per 2e Complete Book of Humanoids p.32)
(No special abilities for 2e Flinds! Not even Darksight! Just stat changes of +1 Str, -1 Cha...Also, I traded 2 MORE points of Cha for 1 point of Wisdom. She isn't cute, she's tall and fangy and muscular, and in personality terms she's an oafish barb who simply doesn't manifest what most Zakhari would think of as leadership qualities...Gnoll opinions may vary.)
Class: Ranger/Cleric
Kits: Mercenary Barbarian/Mystic (Dervish)
Level: 1/1
Armor Class: Padded (8, -3 Dex = 5)
Hit Points: 9
Alignment: Neutral Good
Deity/Faith: Ten Thousand Gods
Station: 6

Ability Scores:
Strength 16 (Dmg +1, Wt. Allow 70, Max Press 195, Open Doors 9, BB/LG 10%)
Dexterity 17 (React. +2, Missile Atk +2, AC -3)
Constitution 14 (SS 88%, Res 92%)
Intelligence 13 (Languages 3 (Gnoll, Akotan, Ogre), Bonus NW Proficiences 3, No Illusion Immunity)
Wisdom 16 (Magic Def +2, 2 1st level spells, 2 2nd level spells)
Charisma 8 (Max Henchmen 3, Loyalty Base -1, Reaction Adj. 0)

Ranger Class Abilities:
Two-weapon fighting with no attack penalties
Bonus Proficiency: Tracking
Hide in Shadows 10%, Move Silently 15%
Advice on Species Enemy? (+4 to attack rolls, -4 to encounter reactions)
Animal Empathy
Cannot have more treasure than you can carry

Mercenary Barbarian Kit:
Bonus Proficiencies: Survival (Desert), Modern Language (Midani)
Forbidden Proficiencies: Etiquette, Heraldry, Singing
Limited Starting Armor: Only Hide, Padded or Scale (which means Padded, because RANGER)
Weapon Proficiencies: Spear, Short Sword, Jambiya, Khopesh
-2 Encounter Reaction Check Penalty to people not from own homeland, cannot be better than "Indifferent"
+2 Encounter Reaction Bonus to "Hostile" or "Threatening" approach towards Zakharans
5d4x10gp but cannot have more than 6gp not spent on equipment

Cleric Class Abilities:
1+2 First Level Spells/day
Turn Undead

Mystic Kit:
Bonus Proficiencies: Religion, Dancing
Major Access: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, and Sun.
Minor Access: Elemental (Locked to level 1-3 spells)
Forbidden: All other spheres
-2 Encounter Reaction Penalty when dealing with Pragmatist and Ethoist clergy, and -4 penalty when dealing with Moralist clergy.

Weapon Proficiencies:
Two-Weapon Fighting without penalty (Ranger)
Spear
Short Sword
Jambiya
Khopesh

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:
Tracking (Ranger) (16d20) She has a good nose on her.
Survival (Desert) (Mercenary) (13d20) She can find water, too.
Modern Language (Midani) (Mercenary) (13d20) She talks! More or less...
Religion (Mystic) (16d20) ...Mostly about the gods.
Dancing (Mystic) (17d20) She can swing it. Her khopesh, that is. Oops.
Healing (2) (14d20) Better than bandaids.
Herbalism (2) (12d20) Trust me, this is good for you.
Coffeemaking (1) (or Animal Lore) (Int) (13d20) For 24-hour perkiness.
Direction Sense (1) (Int) (13d20) Are you lost?
Gaming (1) (Int) (8d20) Do not take her to Vegas.

Equipment:
Backpack (2g, 2#)
Belt Pouch, Large (1g, 1#)
Coffeepot (3g, 4#) (via Pathfinder)
Coffeepot, Silver (23g, 4#) (via Pathfinder)
Coffee, Exotic, 10# (3s, 10# (via Pathfinder)
Dry Rations, 1 week (10g, 7#)
Flint & Steel (5s)
Holy Symbol (25g)
Iron Pot (5s)
Jambiya (4g, 1#)
Khopesh (10g, 7#)
Knife Sheath, Ornate (13g)
Mirror, Small, Metal (10g)
Padded Armor (4g, 10#)
Sandals (5c)
Short sword (10g, 3#)
Spear (12s, 5#)
Tent, Small (5g, 10#)
Toga (8c)
Full Waterskins, 2 (1.6g, 8#)

Total Weight Carried (don't recall if armor counts if worn?) 67#

Wealth: 5g, 7s, 7c

Quick Background Tidbits to be expanded later:
Gnara comes from somewhere far to the west, over the land-bridge to Akota (and I'm treating Akota, for lack of other information, as something similar to the areas of N. Africa which border the Persian Gulf). Her clan are exiles who came across a quarter of a continent (mostly the High Desert!) before settling in Ajayib as traders. She was a young priestess when they made the crossing, and the gnolls, being animist/shamanists, identified best with the Temple of Ten Thousand...Ajayib more so than most, and in her pilgrimages to learn more about their new home (unlike most of her clan, she liked growing up on the road and dislikes the idea of settling permanently in the city), she ended up hiring herself out with a few of her brothers as irregular skirmishers. She is of average height for a flind (about six and a half feet, as compared to most gnolls who are taller), somewhat lean and a bit visibly scarred and ragged-eared (attractive to gnolls, not so much to most Zakhari). Gnara usually wears (now that she and her family have gotten one too many earfulls about casual partial nudity) a loose, toga-like drape over a belted robe of padded armor. It's sewn in what the east end of the Silk Road would call "coat of eyes" pattern (vertical oval shapes with pointed ends) with studs in the center of each "eye" mimicking proper "armor of a thousand nails" (brigandine) (these faux-brigandine vests and coats were really common in some areas of China and Korea in time periods when brigandine meant "better class of soldier who earned higher pay."). This has the advantage of making her look a bit tougher than she really is (good when trying to negotiate pay, bad when enemies are trying to figure out who needs to go down first). She often paints her face colorfully and wears an outlandish quantity of copper, cowry and horn jewelry, including four large tusk earrings which are supported by a headdress and ear plugs, marking her very, very clearly as Not From Around Here (and rather savagely so). Too make matters worse, the disparity between her garb (shoddy) and some of her gear (jeweled) makes it pretty clear that she's taken at least some of her past pay as loot...Which any Zakhari would consider only typical of such foul mercenary barbarians. Gnara's family are rather poorly-viewed merchants, barely scraping by as exporters of coffee along the caravan routes to the west with connections that go much further inland in Akota than most. They haul cowries and unusual (but not necessarily valuable) ivory on the return trip to Ajayib, and manage to make enough to keep the extended family ensconced relatively safely in a small compound in the poorer side of the city. Rather enamored of her independence and seeing herself now as a luff, tuff, worldy warrior-shaman, Gnara rarely stays at the compound if she can manage to find a place somewhere else. On the other hand, she occasionally finds herself dragging back to the compound in hopes that maybe some of her extended family's more mercantile members might be of assistance in shaking loose some of the pay which she consistently isn't receiving.

Pretty sure that coffee would fit under the "brewing" proficiency. And that way she can make us some delicious date wine! and fermented sheep milk! Nectar of the gods! Hateful, spiteful, dark gods, but gods nonetheless.

Muse

A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: Muse on January 01, 2016, 06:28:06 AM
Artistic Ability: Coffee Making?
Or you could just grant her the ability, without requiring any special skill for it?
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

CarnivalOfTheGoat

Quote from: Cassandra LeMay on January 01, 2016, 05:28:46 AMWe are talking about the special hindrances of the mercenary barbarian here, page 38 of Arabian Adventures? Because I just don't see that caveat there. If you approach someone in a "friendly" or "indifferent" (i.e. "non-threatening") manner you suffer a -2 penalty on reaction rolls, and that's pretty much all I can read there.

You're right, that is exactly what it says under "Special Hindrances."  ???

But when you zoom out a bit, under "Role," it says: "When barbarians interact with those who are not of the same homeland, all reaction checks are made with a 2-point penalty to the dice, and the highest reaction is “indifferent,” never “friendly.”"  :o

I don't know why they put it there, but there it is. If I were writing it I'd lump all of the social elements together so things like this weren't so easy to overlook (it's the editor's bad, not you! The editor and writer are responsible for clearly communicating their ideas...This is why I hate reading so many RPG manuals which have terrible indexing and scatter topics throughout.). The two don't really conflict, one is just stricter than the other. And I'm okay with the stricter interpretation because it codifies an interesting character issue. Particularly when you add in the part under "Special Benefits" where it says "If a barbarian attempts a “hostile” or “threatening” approach toward human or humanoid natives of Zakhara, he or she gains a 2-point bonus to dice rolls on the Encounter Reaction chart. (See Table 59 in Chapter 11 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.) This bonus stems from the reputation of mercenary barbarians as savage, ill-tempered brutes."

If she tries to be nice, the best she can manage from someone is an "Indifferent" reaction. If she tries anything other than nice, she is likely to end up with someone screaming for the guard that the nyekulturny nasty barbarian needs to be put in a cage.

She's Conan. Without the strength. And is as much a healer/shaman as a blade. And she can make awesome coffee.

I am not going to play her looming grimly and fingering her sword-hilt all the time. It's even more glaringly a social problem if she's basically not a bad person at all, and not even someone who isn't trying to bother to be nice...She's just out-culture/out-caste (not quite the same as outcast)/untouchable. I think it actually is a rather neat mechanic to attach to a semi-civilized gnoll, which is why I went that way racially. Of the monster races which are found in AQ society and cities, gnolls are the only one whose write-up actually makes them likely to be slavers...But instead she comes from a family of displaced coffee/ivory merchants. She goes out of her way to look pretty and the crowd response is "You've waxed your mane up into a big scary red crest, painted your face into some kind of hideous mask with colored clay, and you're wearing the bones, tusks and fangs of scary dead things...Are you planning to kill someone today or summon horrible demons?"

Quote from: Chulanowa on January 01, 2016, 05:47:35 AMPretty sure that coffee would fit under the "brewing" proficiency. And that way she can make us some delicious date wine! and fermented sheep milk! Nectar of the gods! Hateful, spiteful, dark gods, but gods nonetheless.

Having known a lot of homebrewers, I'm pretty sure that "brewing" coffee is nothing at all like "brewing" beer. I don't think coffee liquors are made by fermenting the coffee itself, I think that coffee (or coffee beans) are just infused in already-made alcohol of some sort or other...But I think Muse's suggestion of "Artistic Ability" works in this case, because it's not just about "successfully making," it's about "Okay, this is art, this is a thing of sublime quality." She just goes about it all wrong and with no respect for tradition or ceremony.

Good grief, she probably filters it somehow.

Quote from: Muse on January 01, 2016, 06:28:06 AMArtistic Ability: Coffee Making?

Done, and done! Did you (or anyone) have any suggestions for the Ranger's "Species Enemy" (I see why they renamed that to "favored enemy" in later editions, "species enemy" sounds rather...odd.)? With so many monstrous races being findable in the big cities and AQ having more of a "behavioral" than "racial/alignment" culture, I really wasn't sure what would be appropriate. "Orcs" used to be the old default, but it's easily possible that most of the orcs she encounters will be more urbane and civilized (by AQ terms) than she is, while (going by the 1001 Arabian Nights) most of the really "monstrous" enemies will be entirely human...I really do find this whole setting full of fun cultural conundrums, which is why I wanted to try it on again.

Quote from: Cassandra LeMay on January 01, 2016, 08:00:02 AM
Or you could just grant her the ability, without requiring any special skill for it?

Ah, but then it's just her say-so/player's conceit, as opposed to something she can literally use to engage in a coffee-making duel with an NPC.  >:)

Tell me it can't happen. Look at this party! We're probably going to have a barber! This campaign has a better chance than any other game on Elliquiy to end in a Sweeney Todd-style shave-off.

Probably with a Janni.

My O/Os. My A/As.
Games I seek:
Savage Worlds of My Little Pony <- Just what it says. Free supplement for SW. (Or any other MLP RP!!! :D)
Eclipse Phase <- Posthuman grit SF, open source, downloadable from their web site. VERY deep worldbuilding.
Cold City <- Espionage meets the Lovecraftian supernatural. Allies in post-war Berlin chasing down the results of secret Nazi experiments
a|state <- Post-apocalyptic sort-of-steampunk, sort-of-high tech roleplay in a massive, decaying, broken-down city-state.

Muse

Psst, Carney.  What you have there for weapon proficiencies is: 
(1) Spear
(3) Broad Group: All Blades

Will get back to you in the history when I have more time. 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

CarnivalOfTheGoat

Quote from: Muse on January 01, 2016, 09:53:19 PM
Psst, Carney.  What you have there for weapon proficiencies is: 
(1) Spear
(3) Broad Group: All Blades

Will get back to you in the history when I have more time.

OH. Okay. Sorry, didn't realize that worked that way. As I said, I've never played with proficiencies before. Is the rest all ok? My 2e is soooooooo rusty!

My O/Os. My A/As.
Games I seek:
Savage Worlds of My Little Pony <- Just what it says. Free supplement for SW. (Or any other MLP RP!!! :D)
Eclipse Phase <- Posthuman grit SF, open source, downloadable from their web site. VERY deep worldbuilding.
Cold City <- Espionage meets the Lovecraftian supernatural. Allies in post-war Berlin chasing down the results of secret Nazi experiments
a|state <- Post-apocalyptic sort-of-steampunk, sort-of-high tech roleplay in a massive, decaying, broken-down city-state.

Muse

Nothing at all to apologise for.  :)  There's a lot of books, a lot of optional rules.  It's my job as DM to juggle them, pick and choose what I think runs smoothest, and then try not to mess it all up completely by failing to let you know what you can do.  ^_^;; 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Muse

Carney, can you post her in the cast thread now? 

I've asked Avorae to birng us some sort of sorcerer, and will get us started soon.  :) 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: Muse on January 02, 2016, 05:00:28 AM
Carney, can you post her in the cast thread now? 

I've asked Avorae to birng us some sort of sorcerer, and will get us started soon.  :)
Looks like we'll end up with a pretty large group.

Still debating making my character a "real" priest. The spells she could gain that way are fairly impressive. For 2nd and 3rd spell level that's

Aid, Chant, Dust Devil, Fire Trap, Flame Blade, Heat Metal, Produce Flame, Spiritual Hammer;
Animate Dead, Cure Blindness, Cure Disease, Feign Death, Flame Walk, Meld Into Stone, Prayer, Pyrotechnics, Stone Shape, Water Breathing, Water Walk.

The 2nd spell level elemental spells I can probably do without, but a cleric who doesn't have Cure Disease or Prayer?  The rest of the group is bound to hate me if the single-class cleric in the group doesn't have those old standbyes. (1st spell level isn't so bad, the only one that really hurts a bit being Create Water that the hakima doesn't have.)

Still tempted to go with the Hakima, but the rest of the group should be prepared to save some money to pay for spells a full-blown cleric might provide. At least we have a mystic in the group, so I guess using clerical scrolls won't be a problem, even if the mystic might advance more slowly, on account of being multi-class. That could perhaps close the worst gaps in Ayesha's spell selection.
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

Muse

  hm... 

  All the things I'll be ablet o get away wtih if there's not a Hakima in the party. 

  *steeples his fingers and wonders if his Evil DM Laugh is TOO evil for this... 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: Muse on January 02, 2016, 05:50:16 AM
  hm... 

  All the things I'll be ablet o get away wtih if there's not a Hakima in the party. 

  *steeples his fingers and wonders if his Evil DM Laugh is TOO evil for this...
Lets be honest here, oh mighty GM - if there is a Hakima in the party, will that stop you from throwing some nasty curveballs our way, or will you rip out your hair in despair and wail "ohhh noooo! There is a hakima in the party! My dastardly plots are foiled!" ? :D
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

Muse

  Well, I usualy do too good a job of disguising my hidden plot eleements, and the players never realize there's people in their midst who are not what they seem, so things don't get investigated--or at least don't get apreciated. 

  *Shrugs* 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

RubySlippers

Well the issue is the Hakima is not a cleric but more of a wise woman, which makes your role different. My character isn't a wizard either but looks like I'll be filling some of that role unless we get a Sorcerer.

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: RubySlippers on January 02, 2016, 08:51:29 AM
Well the issue is the Hakima is not a cleric but more of a wise woman, which makes your role different. My character isn't a wizard either but looks like I'll be filling some of that role unless we get a Sorcerer.
For me the issue is, do I want to maximize my character for full clerical potential or not. I am aware of what a hakima is supposed to be or not, but there are roles someone can fill in a roleplaying sense and a ruleplaying sense. In a group that has a hakima as a "primary cleric" some spells and abilities that could be considered important will be missing.

I do love the hakima, but I would not want the group to be lacking in spellcasting abilities unless we are all agreed that the hakima is a viable choice. If we were sitting around a table, rolling dice and filling out character sheets, this would be the point where a "real world" group game would turn to a chat about making good or bad choices, so I am willing to entertain such input from the group.
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

RubySlippers

Well we have no proper wizard, as far as I can tell, so that is a bigger hole.

Muse

  Avorae is providing a proper wizard as we speak.  :) 

  Can our multiclass mystic do most of the things you consider holes in your ablities, Cass? 

  If there's a few remaining holes, that seem very important but will only come up VERYE rarely, well, that cna provide our Sha'ir a LOT of drama! 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: Muse on January 02, 2016, 09:38:33 AM
  Avorae is providing a proper wizard as we speak.  :) 

  Can our multiclass mystic do most of the things you consider holes in your ablities, Cass? 

  If there's a few remaining holes, that seem very important but will only come up VERYE rarely, well, that cna provide our Sha'ir a LOT of drama!
Eventually the mystic can fill most, if not all, gaps in our clerical spell selection.  The question might be when he/she can do it, compared to a single-class character.

I guess what this boils down to is one simple question that should perhaps be asked of every system game, and which I should have asked a lot esarlier (but sometimes just talking about stuff helps me make up my mind):

How important will our class abilities be, compared to what we do in the roleplaying? Lets be blunt about this: As far as I know you I figure you more for a roleplayer than a ruleplayer, but how would you describe yourself? Will the challenges be scaled to our group, or should we strive to form a group that is suited to all and sundry challenges? (Not that there is ever a single fitting answer to that, but I hope you know what I mean.)
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

CarnivalOfTheGoat

#92
Quote from: Muse on January 02, 2016, 09:38:33 AMCan our multiclass mystic do most of the things you consider holes in your ablities, Cass?

Okay, I kind of should've looked at Hakima more thoroughly I suppose. I didn't realize the limitations there.

To answer the question: yes, at first level. And then yes, a few to several levels later...Until level 14 which is beyond the pale of this game (Honestly, the way most PbP games go, I feel a little silly discussing advancement to 5th level (3rd level spells).

Consider the list of spells which Cass has already posted...They're 2nd and 3rd level spells.

At the time a single-class cleric is getting their first 2nd level spell (3000xp), my multiclass will just be getting her second 1st level spell. At the time a single-class cleric is getting their first 3rd level spell (6000xp), Gnara will be getting her second 2nd level spell. By the time Gnara gets her first 3rd level spell, the single-class cleric will have already received a second 3rd level spell 6000xp previously and will a third of their way to getting their first 4th level spell.

It quite simply takes an MC cleric twice as much XP to achieve the same parity in spells. Gnara will always be one level behind, because each level of cleric costs twice as much as the previous UNTIL (for some stupid reason) you get up to level 10+ where the numbers start to become funny and the single-class cleric begins to pull ahead outrageously. When the theoretical single-class cleric hits 10th level (450,000), Gnara will be at 9th, but when the single-class hits 12th (900,000xp), Gnara will only have barely reached 10th. When Gnara reaches 13th level (2.25 million xp), the single-class will be at EIGHTEENTH level. The single-class cleric will be level 20 when Gnara is hitting level 14.

TL;DR, once we pass first level Gnara is not a fair trade for a single-class cleric in terms of what she brings to the party. At first level she's got parity, but it ends right there.

Therefore it seems pretty reasonable to me for Cass to be asking how significant those 2nd and 3rd level spells might be, and what options might be available to fill the gap.

Some of those spells are pretty important. Off the top of my head, I'd say the party would probably suffer a bit especially as the single-classers are reaching 5th level, and no one around can cast cure blindness or cure disease.

If I had to go through Cass's list of "Hakima can't cast," and pick the stuff that a party would most commonly see use of or miss terribly if they were needed, I believe I'd list the following:

Aid (Necromancy/Conjuration) (2nd level)
Chant (Conjuration/Summoning) (3rd level)
Cure Blindness (Abjuration) (3rd level)
Cure Disease (Abjuration) (3rd level)
Prayer (Conjuration/Summoning) (3rd level)

I'm used to seeing DMNPCs used to fill gaps in a party, but that isn't how they are usually used on Elliquiy, for whatever reason.

So, since that more traditional solution seems to be off the table, Cass, would you feel more comfortable if your Hakima had access to those five specific spells at the appropriate levels? Or are the others pretty significant to you, too? Obviously I can't offer that on Muse's behalf but I'm throwing it out there as an idea for a possible fix.

My O/Os. My A/As.
Games I seek:
Savage Worlds of My Little Pony <- Just what it says. Free supplement for SW. (Or any other MLP RP!!! :D)
Eclipse Phase <- Posthuman grit SF, open source, downloadable from their web site. VERY deep worldbuilding.
Cold City <- Espionage meets the Lovecraftian supernatural. Allies in post-war Berlin chasing down the results of secret Nazi experiments
a|state <- Post-apocalyptic sort-of-steampunk, sort-of-high tech roleplay in a massive, decaying, broken-down city-state.

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: CarnivalOfTheGoat on January 02, 2016, 02:05:17 PM
So, since that more traditional solution seems to be off the table, Cass, would you feel more comfortable if your Hakima had access to those five specific spells at the appropriate levels? Or are the others pretty significant to you, too? Obviously I can't offer that on Muse's behalf but I'm throwing it out there as an idea for a possible fix.
I've slept on this a little (literally) and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it might not make a whiff of a difference to me.

I do have some reservations about this game, but the more I think about it, the more I have to admit to myself that none of them have anything to do with rules, spells, and such.

A big part of it is that I am used to small groups. When we played Al Qadim in RL, we were three players, sometimes four, but never more. In such a small group everyone knew there would be some gaps, that not every "rule role" would be filled to capacity. But that was fine, as we all knew each other, knew each other's playing style, and knew the GM and what his style was. We all knew that we would not get the short end of the stick for simply lacking some class or spells.

Jumping into a new game with not just one or two people I don't really now, but half a dozen of them, requires a certain leap of faith, an advance of trust that people will accept a character who has not quite the "combat efficiency" a full blown cleric would bring to the table, which could be seen as a sub-optimal build. But, in the end, that might well be nothing more than procastrinating on my part.

Time to make that leap of faith, and if it does lead to problems, that's a dune we'll cross when we reach it, I suppose.

Hakima it will be. No more dallying, no more waffling. I might well regret this choice at one point or another, but so be it. Wouldn't be the first choice in my life I've come to regret.
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

Muse

Yikes!  *hugs* 

Scared me for a second there, Cas. 

I'm not running a module here.  :)  The story will match the party--to the best of my abilites--not the other way around.   THat's why I asked people to start building characters when I had barely an idea for a story instead of putting everything together then asking for a group.  :)
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Chulanowa

Cass, as far as well-populated D&D groups go, this is not that big, for E. There was a 5e game that had like nineteen people and twice as many characters, I think. I got totally lost.  ;D

We're running what.. .seven, eight people for this one? Ain't nuffin'

Thorne

Yah, this is nothing.
Attrition will probably shrink it down a little, too. :/

I think I fixed Inaya's sheet. Not what you would call thrilled, but I can work with the results. A certain amount of 'I grew up here!' will have to suffice for the rest. :p
Writer of horrors, artist of mayhem.

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Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: Chulanowa on January 02, 2016, 04:58:22 PM
Cass, as far as well-populated D&D groups go, this is not that big, for E. There was a 5e game that had like nineteen people and twice as many characters, I think. I got totally lost.  ;D

We're running what.. .seven, eight people for this one? Ain't nuffin'
Yeah, and once I played through something like this I will probably laugh at someone calling a group of six or eight players larger, but give it time.  :D

Quote from: Thorne on January 02, 2016, 05:02:07 PM
I think I fixed Inaya's sheet. Not what you would call thrilled, but I can work with the results. A certain amount of 'I grew up here!' will have to suffice for the rest. :p
I observed that she has a proficiency called "observe", but I can't find that in the Player's Guide or Arabian Adventures. Do you mean "Awareness"? Because if there is some general perception-type skill I wouldn't mind having it, even if it costs me one or two other proficiencies.

ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)

Chulanowa

#98
Quote from: Cassandra LeMay on January 02, 2016, 05:40:46 PM
I observed that she has a proficiency called "observe", but I can't find that in the Player's Guide or Arabian Adventures. Do you mean "Awareness"? Because if there is some general perception-type skill I wouldn't mind having it, even if it costs me one or two other proficiencies.

Observation is a proficiency from The Complete Thief; it lets you noticewhen things are "askew," and gives a bonus on finding secret doors. At DM's option it can be treated as a 1-slot general proficiency rather than theif

Cassandra LeMay

Quote from: Chulanowa on January 02, 2016, 05:47:59 PM
Observation is a proficiency from The Complete Thief; it lets you noticewhen things are "askew," and gives a bonus on finding secret doors. At DM's option it can be treated as a 1-slot general proficiency rather than theif
That does sound like it could be pretty useful to a Hakima. Given that the hakima pays only the base cost for non-class proficiencies, that would probably make it a 1-slot proficiency for her, if Muse uses those "Complete Thief" proficiencies. Not that I would be completely certain what other proficiency to trade for it, but I guess it would be worth a thought.
ONs, OFFs, and writing samples | Oath of the Drake

You can not value dreams according to the odds of their becoming true.
(Sonia Sotomayor)