Heroes of Myth [Pathfinder - Path of War] - Interest check

Started by eternaldarkness, March 18, 2015, 11:50:32 AM

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Chulanowa

Question - While we're discussing race point values... what would the point value of something like the Goliath's (3.5) feature racial ability be?
QuotePowerful Build: The physical stature of a goliath lets him
function in many ways as if he were one size category
larger. Whenever a goliath is subject to a size modifier
or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as
during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip
attempts), the goliath is treated as one size larger if doing
so is advantageous to him. A goliath is also considered to
be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s
special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or
swallow whole) can affect him. A goliath can use weapons
designed for a creature one size larger without penalty.
However, his space and reach remain those of a creature
of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack
with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change
the subject’s size category.

It's feeling kind of like 3?

TheGlyphstone

I'd price it at +3, Paizo would price it at +4 probably. True Large size is 7 points for (+Str, -Dex, -Attack, -AC, +CMB, -Stealth), with big weapons. Powerful Build would give +1 CMB and big weapons, with no drawbacks.

MrBubbles

#127
Quote from: Chulanowa on March 25, 2015, 06:16:39 PM
I've finally found time to sit down and start working on mine.

And I've had time to sit down but every time I try to write out a good backstory, my brain does a full-stop BSOD.

Like, I know what I want to write, but trying to write anything other than conversational (like what I'm doing right now) just makes me draw blanks (pretty shitty time to have writer's block, eh?)

Quote from: Chulanowa on March 25, 2015, 07:38:46 PM
Question - While we're discussing race point values... what would the point value of something like the Goliath's (3.5) feature racial ability be?
It's feeling kind of like 3?

Powerful Build is a beautiful racial ability and, if the DM gives the green light, I will probably replace one of my existing racials with it (Lucky, Major most likely.)

Gotta get that Large Bastard Sword (Flamberge, maybe) for some beautiful 2d8 hand-and-a-half fighting. Hell, Powerful Build lets you use Large Longbows, which fluff-wise feel like those Greatbows you see in Dark Souls (or you could just say your character can shoot those arrows really fast.)

MrBubbles

#128
Sigmund Eischerich
The Kingseeker

Far to the north there existed a kingdom proud, her people fair. Naming themselves after their capital, which was itself named after the strait it sat upon, the Kingdom of Ismia was once a poor collection of petty duchies ruled over by barbarian kings, a lawless realm gradually tamed by great war and greater ministers. For three hundred years Ismia reigned as the Northern Jewel, an icy reflection of Invictus's glorious light that grew wealthy on the vast mineral wealth that lay within Ismian soil.

It was not to last. Twenty years ago a great Doom befell the kingdom that plunged it into an eternal winter. Some claim it was the work of the kingdom's infamous Winter Council, a cabal of ice mages that could weave ice like a clothier could weave thread. Others whisper that a terrible beast of frost and fury awoke in the kingdom's mines, disturbed from the permafrost it once slumbered within. Regardless of the theories, what is known is that Ismia as people knew it was gone, her people scattering to warmer lands in search of a new life, or perhaps answers to the kingdom's plight.

It was during this mass exodus that records of Sigmund Eischerich first appeared. The lad was one of many in a great caravan of refugees, overseen by a bearded man claiming to be a relative. Even then, people could see Sigmund was different than the other boys - stronger, tougher, quick of mind and tongue, Sigmund had noble qualities that caused him to stand out, and as the boy grew into a man under the expert tutelage of his caretaker many began to remark that the royal family did have a son of roughly the same age when the Doom fell on Ismia.

Whether Sigmund was royal blood mattered not, for none had seen the king or his family escape Ismia, and wandering princes of toppled dynasties make for poor allies. And so Sigmund thus grew to become not a statesman but a sellsword, and one of unscrupulous quality as his early career might attest. Eischerich came to make a name for himself amongst the mercenary companies of Invictia, a duelist of rare ability and rarer intellect, as calm as Ismian ice yet reeking with the stench of ambition. There was a method to his dealings, machinations that drove him to an end many questioned but could not determine. He was seeking something, power perhaps, or wealth, but those amongst the Ismian diaspora guessed (correctly) that he sought a future for his people, if not a return to Ismia than an opportunity to conquer a foreign land and claim it for himself. Whether frozen upon his throne, mist-veiled and unforged, or calling for heroes in the greatest Empire this world has seen, Sigmund sought a king.

Wish List

Okay, picture this: Sigmund is on the frontlines, surrounded by foes, when he draws his sword. Immediately the temperature drops a good five or so degrees, frost forming on his sword's pale blade as he holds it aloft to chop down on anyone foolish enough to approach. These enemies however are smart, they all begin to approach, which seems to be the thing Sigmund wanted them to do - as they advance to mob Sigmund he stabs his sword into the floor, causing deadly icicles to burst out of the ground and skewer everyone foolish enough to get close.

Mechanically? It'd be an Icy Burst Greatsword that casts (standard action) a cold-aligned Fireball (frostball?) with Sigmund as the center, skewering everything within 20-feet for scaling frost damage but leaving Sigmund unharmed. Hell, once we go Mythic I intend to get Legendary Item, turning this sword into an artifact with all the goodies that entails.

Other than that, I really want to go full-on Ice Lord Terminator with Sigmund; Ring of Regeneration/Sustenance (never stop running!), Cloak of Endure Elements* (and maybe Resistance, could always double up on abilities) to let him laugh at sun, snow or storm, hell some Adamantine Full Plate with Cold Resistance would just complete the ensemble. I've absolutely got fluff ideas for where he got all this stuff, but for now I feel it prudent to put 'em down so you can give the raw concept a good look-over.

*Who says it has to be a cloak? If I was planning to go with this as Sigmund's armor design, the "cloak" could be that wicked neat winter wolf draped across his shoulders.

Wish List

Cloak of Winter: The wolves of Ismia are renowned for their ferocity... And their fur, and as an eternal winter engulfs the country these feral beasts have adapted in ways some would consider unnatural. Purchased from one of the few hunters mad enough to enter the Ismian frontier, this fine wolf pelt bestows the wearer immunity to the worst mother nature can offer, as if affected by Endure Elements.

Soltimbrand: Forged from Ismian Ice-steel, a curious alloy some claim to be alchemical in nature (and exceedingly rare), this +1 Icy Burst Greatsword was gifted to Sigmund by Duke Garlan of Gilden Hall, after fending off a thousand enemy soldiers trying to storm a bridge Sigmund alone defended. The sword itself is of impeccable craftsmanship; a hilt and pommel of burnished brass yet a blade pale as bone, and cold to the touch. Indeed, the sword seems to absorb heat rather than emit cold, and because of this (and the weapon's unnerving quality to "drink" blood) it had been given the name Soltimbrand, meaning "The Hungry Blade" in the old tongue.

Ägide: The Knights of Ismia were renowned not for their skill with horse or lance, but donning heavy armor and wading into the thick of combat with swords singing. This suit of +1 Energy Resist (Cold) Full Plate is a particularly well forged example of their armor, inscribed with old magic protecting the wearer against winter's chill and padded with clothes designed to emulate native styles, all custom-ordered by Sigmund after a brutal campaign in the Korvassin Interior.

Spiritstone Ring: This marvelous ring is crafted out of the legendary substance known as Spiritstone - a pale blue stone speckled with yellow orbs that constantly flit just beneath the surface. Said to be the crystallized spirits of those who drowned (and were frozen into) lakes of religious significance, Spiritstone emits a low yet constant source of positive energy that rejuvenates the mind and sustains the body as though it were both a Ring of Regeneration and Ring of Sustenance.

(If a Ring of Regeneration is too extreme it could just be a fancy Ring of Sustenance, until I grab legendary item for this or Soltimbrand.)

eternaldarkness

#129
Friday is finally here and I shall answer all question and get us going as soon as I get off of work later tonight.

Edit: I will say this, though - Jackal's Cackle is way too cheap for what it does, and Powerful Build is an expensive trait on par with Flight. I'll price them both when I get home later.

Rhynarion

#130
Sheet mostly done.

Cerebrathrope

Cerebrathrope (12 RP)

Medium (0 RP)

Cerebrathrope are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed (0 RP)

Cerebrathrope have a base speed of 30 feet.

+2 to one ability score (0 RP)

Cerebrathrope gain a +2 bonus to one ability score chosen at creation, to represent their varied nature.

Monstrous Humanoid (3 RP)

Monstrous humanoids are similar to humanoids, but have monstrous or animalistic features. They often have magical abilities as well.

A monstrous humanoid race has the following features:

Monstrous humanoids have the darkvision 60 feet racial trait.
Monstrous humanoids breathe, eat, and sleep.

Manic Curiousity (4 RP)

Prerequisites: None.
Benefit: Cerebrathrope are creatures of passion, and their interests are varied. Each member of this race picks two Knowledge skills. The member of this race gains a +2 racial bonus on both of these skills, and those skills are treated as class skills regardless of what class the member of this race actually takes.

Naturally Psionic (2 RP)

Cerebrathrope gain the Wild Talent feat as a bonus feat at 1st level. If a Cerebrathrope takes levels in a psionic class, he instead gains the Psionic Talent feat.

Change Shape, Lesser (3 RP)

Prerequisites: Aberration, dragon, fey, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid type.
Benefit: Members of this race gain the following supernatural ability: A member of this race can assume the appearance of a single form of a single humanoid race of its size. The form is static and cannot be changed each time it takes this form. The creature gains a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to appear as the member of the race whose appearance it assumes. Changing its shape is a standard action. This trait otherwise functions as alter self, save that the creature does not adjust its ability scores.

My present race stats, until I can get Cackle measured as points.

Sir GM, is it possible that you might also be willing to show what it might be as the original idea of a Psionic Hideous Laughter? (With augments to turn it AOE and / or allow it to kill Ala Crisis of Breath) Thank you!

Now, I am also hoping someone might be able to suggest what to spend my 5,000g of masterwork non-magical items on, because it was my intention that Arkhamir use Inertial Armor in lieu of actual armor (because HAT). Being a casting class and new to pathfinder, I am boggled on what gear I might buy instead? If that is allowed.

I have taken a drawback because it fits my character (and is technically required to play him). Do I get a third trait from this as per normal? I intend to take the drawback either way.

Lastly, I have used my feats to get a familiar through Eldrich Heritage and the Arcane Bloodline - representing his witch/otherworldly blood. In my personal writing with Arkhamir (before I ever looked at Pathfinder) the familiar existed, but it also had the ability to change it's size. I had originally resolved to have to go without this feature, but I saw this and it suited exactly what I am looking for. The only problem is that it takes away my ability to speak with Tock at 7th level!

Is there a chance you might be willing to houserule the Archetype in half? I really want the 3rd level abilities. Or even 3/4ths because I was told by my friend (who DOES play pathfinder) that the 4th ability was a poor trade - giving up the spell resistance that is. I will bite the bullet and take the full archetype if it is otherwise unfair to the rest of the people.

Assuming that you are willing to allow the archetype at all, can it be assumed that because Tiny familiars become Medium creatures Tock (being small) will become a Large creature? If that is unfair/unreasonable can Tock be a Tiny creature instead? The rules made it out that small familiars are much harder to keep alive, so if there isn't a perk to it then I would like to drop him down to a better size.

Thank you!

P.S. - Can he give a +3 to swim instead of stealth? Marine Iguana uses the same stats as Dwarf Caiman and gives +3 to swim. Ark really isn't a stealthy kind of guy. 

Edit - Really bad typo!

TheGlyphstone

Taking a Drawback gets you a bonus Trait, not a bonus Feat, FYI. Very big difference to keep in mind.

What gave you the impression familiars get bigger? That's not anywhere in the Familiar rules I can find, so I think you misread something there - familiars are the same size as their base animal, which is either Tiny or Small. Only Animal Companions increase in size as they level up.

Rhynarion

#132
Quote from: TheGlyphstone on March 27, 2015, 07:47:54 PM
Taking a Drawback gets you a bonus Trait, not a bonus Feat, FYI. Very big difference to keep in mind.

What gave you the impression familiars get bigger? That's not anywhere in the Familiar rules I can find, so I think you misread something there - familiars are the same size as their base animal, which is either Tiny or Small. Only Animal Companions increase in size as they level up.

Typing a feat there was a typo, my mistake.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/familiar/familiar-archetypes
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/familiar/familiar-archetypes/mauler-familiar-archetype

Read the third level abilities. It is from the Familiar Folio book, which is by Paizo and not third party.

Proof - http://paizo.com/products/btpy9au2?Pathfinder-Player-Companion-Familiar-Folio

I originally had it all linked in my post via hyperlinking <a href=""> </a> (put text in the middle and a link in the quotations and it will hotlink the link from clicking on the blue word.

eBadger

Quote from: Rhynarion on March 27, 2015, 07:22:34 PM
Lastly, I have used my feats to get a familiar through Eldrich Heritage and the Arcane Bloodline - representing his witch/otherworldly blood. In my personal writing with Arkhamir (before I ever looked at Pathfinder) the familiar existed, but it also had the ability to change it's size.

This effect would be easily achievable via a magical item - collar, anklet, even a piercing or magical tattoo.  Enlarge and Reduce Person are both 1st level spells, at will for both would be a 4000g item; I don't think it's a serious change to have it apply to a familiar only v. a person (as, technically, the spell would work for both of you if cast on your character instead). 

Just tryin' to simplify :)

Rhynarion

Quote from: eBadger on March 27, 2015, 07:57:38 PM
This effect would be easily achievable via a magical item - collar, anklet, even a piercing or magical tattoo.  Enlarge and Reduce Person are both 1st level spells, at will for both would be a 4000g item; I don't think it's a serious change to have it apply to a familiar only v. a person (as, technically, the spell would work for both of you if cast on your character instead). 

Just tryin' to simplify :)

That is an excellent idea, but the GM had said that Magic was exceptionally rare / banned starting with magic items.

Though it does prevent getting strength scaling, it would be a great laymans fix.

Thank you! I'm still new to how pathfinder works and all.

By chance, what would be the GP cost of turning a hat into a bag of holding on its inside?

TheGlyphstone

Quote from: Rhynarion on March 27, 2015, 07:54:02 PM
Typing a feat there was a typo, my mistake.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/familiar/familiar-archetypes
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/familiar/familiar-archetypes/mauler-familiar-archetype

Read the third level abilities. It is from the Familiar Folio book, which is by Paizo and not third party.

Proof - http://paizo.com/products/btpy9au2?Pathfinder-Player-Companion-Familiar-Folio

I originally had it all linked in my post via hyperlinking <a href=""> </a> (put text in the middle and a link in the quotations and it will hotlink the link from clicking on the blue word.

Ah, okay. I didn't see you had taken an archetype for the Familiar.
Quote


That is an excellent idea, but the GM had said that Magic was exceptionally rare / banned starting with magic items.

Though it does prevent getting strength scaling, it would be a great laymans fix.

Thank you! I'm still new to how pathfinder works and all.

By chance, what would be the GP cost of turning a hat into a bag of holding on its inside?

He also told us to make a 'wish list' of magical items/effects we wanted, this sort of thing looks like it'd qualify to go on your wish list.

eBadger

He said make a wishlist ;)  And familiar stats should automatically scale, yes?  Though honestly if you're planning on a fighting ally, that's really more of an animal companion.   If you want to focus on that but also cast spells look at the hunter class. 

MrBubbles

Aaaand there, updated my Wish List with descriptions of each item I want.

Rhynarion

Quote from: eBadger on March 27, 2015, 08:24:08 PM
He said make a wishlist ;)  And familiar stats should automatically scale, yes?  Though honestly if you're planning on a fighting ally, that's really more of an animal companion.   If you want to focus on that but also cast spells look at the hunter class. 

The idea behind Tock isn't that he is always there to fight, actually anything but. The whole appeal as part of Ark's image is that he looks like a human (except for his shadow) and his crocodile doesn't seem more than a hatchling.

Having a tiny crocodile thrown at you is quite laughable, really.

Until it triples in size and crashes into you.

Really though, a hunter simply wouldn't do for Arkhamir given his backstory. You will understand once I post it properly, but here is the first half - for the curious. I am still finishing the additions that jump him forward a few years to sixth level. Animal companions are also not quite intelligent over a base animal, look a bit further back to see my story snippet from a mature Arkhamir. It is in the thread.

Please do keep in mind that this is a character I have had for a long time that I am converting to Pathfinder. He is the way he is for a reason.

Unfinished
Arkhamir VanRooke is the spawn of an unknown entity and a Lycanthropic witch, with the stolen energy of a powerful psion prospect used to fuel his conception. The result is a creature known only as a Cerebrathrope, rare even in the most extreme of circumstances. He bears the form and frame of a half-breed lycanthrope, but even to his distant were kindred he is marked as _different_. While he retains the ability to revert into a human form as many half-breed weres do, the potent mark left on his soul by his father means that his shadow is slow to follow. Perceptive souls have claimed that he has the shadow of a beast, but one far more sinister than any natural were.

_________________________________

The young boy was raised solely by his mother, secluded from the rest of the world through her life as a hermit. His upbringing was not unkind, though the circumstances forced a harsh hand. He lacked any talent for the art of witchcraft, emotions and mind much too volatile to court their mysterious power. He took more quickly to his schooling on the lore of the wilds, though his efforts toward alchemy produced results only through unorthodox means. Her collection of aged magical devices was not spared his curiousity, though the punishments for getting caught messing with dangerous wands ran harsh - mitigated by his charismatic nature and the suprise that he could intuitively make them work.

A wanderlust overtook Arkhamir as he neared his fourteenth birthday, his feverish emotions reaching new heights as he approached manhood. His first change overtook him suddenly in the brightness of day, forever inverting his human appearance with the beast in his blood. He tasted pain truly for the first time as his bones shifted and popped, but it all became worthwhile when he felt how truly alive the change made him. He became intimately aware of the passions of all the world around him, consumed by a feverish rush that could not be contained.

He returned home only once the sun went down, finding the disappointed eye of his mother waiting to greet him. His newly awakened senses rang out in alarm, warned him of danger he dared not heed. Boldly he proclaimed his desire to see the world to his mother, seeing plainly how her patron hollowed her for the first time. A clever tongue did not cool her ire this time, and he watched in horror as his mother began a dire incantation.

Fear erupted from his pores as he reached for his vest, a blast of force leaping from his body with no proper sense of direction or focus. It hurled him against the dirt, the sound marked by a fateful crunch. His hidden treasure was broken. The young man reached into his pocket and pulled free the stolen wand, a pair of deep cracks splintered along the polished wand. The surge of power still lingered beneath his skin. He cast his lot into the swirling eddies of fate, willed the wand to unleash its fractured magic. The spell would work, take him far from this place. It had to.

The broken wand misfired spectacularly that evening, an explosion of dimensional force shattering earth as it hurled him through the plains. He glimpsed things fleetingly in a daze, time spun out until it lost meaning between an instant and eternity. He lost conciousness before he ever reached a destination, his efforts spent from the trying day.

He came to on unfamiliar ground, sore beyond measure. The wand did not arrive with him, for the disfigured spell consumed it. He tasted salt in the air for the first time, and forever equated the taste with freedom. Hours passed before he could muster the strength to rise, an intuitive notion urging him northward. Unfamiliar trees surrounded him, and the sun waxed harsher than he ever felt before.

He managed to assume his human form again by the time he reached the city impressed into his mind, but to his dismay he found that he cast a shadow far more beastial than his original form. He became lost in hustle of the port in his first few hours, roughed once by the guards in suspect that he might be a street urchin. No one paid him much mind. Ever now, he felt the call of the ocean ringing in his ears. Of all the exotic sights, none compared to the blue expanse that promised intangible things.

A flyer blowing in the wind blinded him as he wandered through the market, interrupting the consideration of stealing a bit of food. His curiousity became piqued by the time he pulled it from his face, the boisterous image of a sailing ship painted onto the front. It seemed that a ship was hosting open recruitment for new blood, offering board and food for those deemed fit to work.

He rushed through the city to make it before the opportunity closed, encountering all manner of obstacles intent on halting his advance. In the end he arrived minutes shy of the suns final setting, too late to partake of the opportunity so cruelly offered to him. He turned his eyes to the ocean with a heavy heart, unintentionally walking straight into another soul.

The accidental shuffle knocked him off his feet, a sudden wind tearing the treasured paper from his hands. He stared up in shock at the imposing man he unintentionally slighted, scampering back from this grizzled soul. He could not escape the pirate's reach however, and the older man hoisted him to his feet by his ill-cut mane. Then he heard the laughter bellow forth, looking up to see the man glancing between the flyer and the scraggly youth barely old enough to leave home.

So began the first true steps into freedom.

Captain Razio VanRooke saw the yearning for the sea in the young Arkhamir's eyes, and his heart found pity that day. He took the young lad on as his cabin boy, and gave him his surname for Arkhamir had none of his own. He taught the young boy everything he knew about running a ship, and though the work ran quite hard the lad thrived in it. For three years he toiled beneath the sails and drank deep the wonder of the stars. Of all the many talents, he took to cartography and navigation with the most zeal - fascinated by the idea of charting something so vast as the ocean.

Razio never question Arkhamir's strange presence or shadow, and neither did was he bothered by the manic emotions that ruled the young man. The crew did not bear such acceptance in their heart, but the superstition around the cabin boy was only the match that kindled the darkness. His fledgling talents never pierced their well-hidden ideals, and that proved to be a failure Arkhamir might eternally regret.

Captain Razio woke him in the dead of night one eve, a grim expression tainting his normally jolival countennance. The man refused to explain, simply rushing Arkhamir to get dressed while sternly watching the door. He rushed them to the lifeboat and shoved Arkhamir into it as the sounds of fighting became horribly clear. The Captain threw his signature hat to his protege, slicing the ropes before Arkhamir could protest.

No goodbyes were spoken, at least not aloud.

Differing currents pulled Arkhamir further and further from the larger ship as the minutes turned to hours, his captain's fate unknown and his own bleak. The salted air he so adored became bitter on that morn, mingled with the tears he fought valiantly to ignore. With nothing more to do, he laid back against the wooden frame and resigned himself to the ocean's whims.

eternaldarkness

Alright, I have to put an indefinite hold on this game. I thought i'd have time to run something as mechanically complex as PF right now, but it turns out I don't. My work hours just became erratic as hell, and I never know when i'll have time to do much consistent posting, let alone the extra work that goes into a game like PF. I'm so sorry guys, but i didn't wanna leave you hanging any longer. keep the OOC thread bookmarked, and as SOON as I have the time i'll start it right back up.

eBadger

Thanks for the heads up, and definitely keep me posted when you're ready to run this - it sounds like a very cool idea and I'm always up for some epic pathfinder!