Carrion Crown! Friday Central Time Zone

[Swipht]

FG License: Standard
Game System: Pathfinder
Time Zone: Central
Day of week and time: Fridays starting at 9pm Central
Planned start date: 6/5/15
Planned Frequency: Weekly
Term: Long term-ish adventure path 6 books long. Might throw in some random one shots just to confuse the party.
Text or Voice: Text ONLY
Roleplay & Combat mix: 50/50
Details of your scenario: The PCs come to Ravengro to attend the funeral of an old friend, Professor Petros Lorrimor, only to become embroiled in the village’s problems—the ghosts of the haunted prison on the hill are spreading down into the town.
Aka Creepy undead adventure. . . No K.O.S races, No B.S. O.P. shenanigans. Meta gamers will be slain by mad hags. . . You've been warned. Try not to die. . . The party would have a terrible time slaying your ghost.

[Trenloe]

Woah! Give away the plot... ;)

Good AP this one, been running it on-and-off over FG for 3 years.

[Swipht]

^ Can't go wrong with creepy undead.

[RustyAngel]

Agreed Kind of a spoilerey intro :P. But alas, I'm already in a CC game and in a campaign on Saturdays. However I do enjoy a text game so I hope you plan more of these in the future :3

[Dr_Babylon]

Hmm. Verrrry interesting...

[Swipht]

I cut a lot out of the intro the first time. How about now?

[JohnD]

Still more than I would share, but to each their own. If you run it the players will come regardless.

[Dr_Babylon]

Depending on the final schedule, I'd be very interested in contributing to this project. Unfortunately, I tend to be unavailable until about 2200 hours Eastern during the week. That'd be 2100 hours your time, yeah? If that's still doable, I'd be all over a new text-based game.

I am unfamiliar with this Adventure Path but I do detect a most welcome hint of Ravenloft themes. Would that be an accurate comparison? Much as I enjoy solid tactical combat, exploration and problem solving, the real meat of an RPG for me lies in character development and interaction. I like really digging in to figure out the intricacies of the personality I'm playing and then getting a feel for the other heroes as well as we adapt and progress along the way. If that sounds like a colossal waste of time or altogether too hokey, then I'll just hop out of your way.

In any event, whether or not I pass muster, I wish you well in finding the players you need.

[Swipht]

The town is known for it's prison. Very low diplomacy dc to find out about it. Unless someone decides to play super channel energy cleric based on undead, I don't know what else to cut to make it more vague. The description is only for the first book, and the end game is totally unmentioned.
Sadly Babylon I'm a day time person. Fortunately I don't have work Saturdays, so if there's desire for a late game I wouldn't refuse. There is plenty of 'down' time to figure out characters, with some mild to moderate intrege(sp) to push the story forward.

[Dr_Babylon]

Well, in the event that the needs of your other players don't make my candidacy irrelevant, I shall endeavor to have an Inquisitor character earmarked for this storyline. Now to decide how she knew the dearly departed Professor Lorrimor...

[Swipht]

https://paizo.com/products/btpy8j0q?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Carrion-Crown-Players-Guide

Can download the players guide if you'd like

[eazybreezy]

What time on Fridays? Myself and a buddy are very interested.

[Swipht]

Babylon wants to do a latish game. . . 9pm central.

[Dr_Babylon]

That would be super terrific. But with that being said, I will return to my corner without ire should a majority favor another timeslot.

[Parasitic_ego]

Hi. Are you Still looking for folks?

[Dr_Babylon]

It would seem we are still looking for special people but I likely shouldn't speak for the organizer. Come play with us!

[Parasitic_ego]

Hey, I'm Interested if your still looking for players.

[kleamovich]

I too would be interested if you are still looking for players.

[Swipht]

Had a lot of irl stuff going on the past couple days: All good stuff so don't worry. Haven't heard back from Eazy one way or another. Doug has e-mailed saying he's good for 10pm central. Parasitic, and kleam you're very welcome to join us. If I got positive affirmation back from Eazy that would be a total of 6, which would be about my limit.

Is 10pm central to late? Is 9pm central a hard limit?

If Eazy doesn't get back to me then we'd be at 4 possible players, and I'd still have room for 1-2 more.

[Dr_Babylon]

In my experience with FG, four is fine but five is optimal for a long-running campaign. Lets the team proceed easily enough in the event of a single absence (it happens). The tricky bit is working toward clarity in a pure-text game; interactions can be daunting at first for the uninitiated. It takes time for a group to feel out its constituent members but we'll get there. As with any online gaming (I presume), mutual respect and straightforward communication regarding specific expectations and needs are essential.

Hrm. Didn't mean to go into lecture mode. Just want to start us off on the right foot. There simply aren't enough games out there that meet my specific requirements (text, schedule, etc).

I don't like to focus too much on the tactical side of things (personally, I abhor the word "build") but I've learned not to wait too long on my favored concepts lest they become...superfluous. Details to follow, of course, but for now, suffice it to say that I'm aiming for a human Inquisitor using the Sacred Huntsmaster archetype. If that's not feasible, I might see fit to play a Halfling Bard of the Archaeologist persuasion. So either a stern, world-weary liberating vigilante type or an adorably rough-and-tumble little treasure hunting scholar.

What method would you prefer for ascertaining the random elements, Swipht? Point-buy or the good old in-person roll?

Incidentally, I can do 10 pm Central as a start time should that be necessary. Would prefer not to go later than 1 am Central to end, if possible, but I should be able to stretch from time to time.

[Swipht]

I'm fine with either class/archetype.
Personally I feel point buy prevents the possibility of an over or under powered character and puts all the players on the same level. That being said, if the party wishes to over rule by a majority consensus and go for stat rolls then I will concede my notion of balance: allowing the players to do a in-person roll.
Should the group decide to run with my preference, it would be 20 point buy, max starting hp and max starting gold. Haven't decided if I want 3/4 hp gain after first or roll hp after first.
I'd have to agree on the cut off time. More than likely I'll face desk after 1am.

P.S.
My brain miss fired trying to calculate time zones. Doug is available starting at 8pm central. Babylon is available starting at 9pm central. I'm checking with Doug on the correct time to see if he's down for the 9pm central start.

[eazybreezy]

Had a lot of irl stuff going on the past couple days: All good stuff so don't worry. Haven't heard back from Eazy one way or another. Doug has e-mailed saying he's good for 10pm central. Parasitic, and kleam you're very welcome to join us. If I got positive affirmation back from Eazy that would be a total of 6, which would be about my limit.

Is 10pm central to late? Is 9pm central a hard limit?

If Eazy doesn't get back to me then we'd be at 4 possible players, and I'd still have room for 1-2 more.

Hi... Sorry, didn't get the email notification you responded. Myself and a buddy are very interested still.

We're both EST... Late on Friday is perfect

[Swipht]

So Doug also confirmed for 9pm central (10pm est) Fridays. I'm not a big night owl, 12am central cut off would be ideal for me. . . However 3 hours for a text based game isn't very long, so I could push to 1am cut off. Babylon stated 1am central was his cut off limit already, how does everyone else feel?

Doug has also expressed interest in playing a sorcerer.

Glad to hear back from you Eazy. Looks like we've got 6 total interested now, and that'll be my limit on players. . . Unless someone drops out before the game starts. I have my Mom visiting from out of state till 5/28 (thursday) so I don't want to take away from my time with her, I also need a head start on importing the adventure path. I had original stated 6/5 on the OP, but I can push it up to 5/29 if that's better.

P.S.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/index.xcp?id=1421

[kleamovich]

That time will work for me as well. I live in the EST, so it shouldn't be that hard for me to make it.

To the other players:

Besides Dr_Babylon has anyone else figured out which race class combo that they would like to play?

I have a few concepts in mind just not too sure what the others want to play.

I like the point buy method, this keeps the party pretty much even as far as stats. Is the first game going to be character creation and the like, or should we come prepared?

[eazybreezy]

So was that a confirmation for me and my buddy? I just want to clarify

[Dr_Babylon]

I do slightly prefer the random rolls for Ability scores but I almost always regret saying that. So I can make do with Point Buy. And if we go that route, we should all be able to get most of the nitty-gritty done for our characters before first session. Lets us get off to a decent running start (there will always be minor complications on opening night). It might be a good idea to open up the server once or twice before Day One, if that's not asking too much Swipht. Would allow us to input data, address connectivity issues, and perhaps attend to any other concerns that arise. Sorry. I don't mean to dictate terms. Just reporting on what has worked in the past, I suppose.

In terms of party makeup, I'm none too picky as long as we don't have anyone going out of their way to step on toes ("I will ALSO be a monk..."). The only thing I really object to in terms of online etiquette is folks who really, really get into gratuitous descriptions of brutality and such. Seriously, I ain't a prude (which is a totally prudish thing to say) and I can deal with ultra-violence and plenty of saucy language in my gaming. Still, there is a line where it becomes...uncomfortable. I take it Carrion Crown is designed as a more-or-less heroic campaign so we shouldn't be taking any children hostage or that kind of thing. And that works fine for me.

Where story is concerned, I guess it's fine if we're all strangers? The set-up would seem to get us into town--even into the same room, presumably--so we would need to be doing a lot of justifying for our team-up, yeah?

EDIT: Wow. I forgot how tricky an MAD class can be on a Point Buy. Some difficult decisions ahead...

[kleamovich]

I do slightly prefer the random rolls for Ability scores but I almost always regret saying that. So I can make do with Point Buy. And if we go that route, we should all be able to get most of the nitty-gritty done for our characters before first session. Lets us get off to a decent running start (there will always be minor complications on opening night). It might be a good idea to open up the server once or twice before Day One, if that's not asking too much Swipht. Would allow us to input data, address connectivity issues, and perhaps attend to any other concerns that arise. Sorry. I don't mean to dictate terms. Just reporting on what has worked in the past, I suppose.

In terms of party makeup, I'm none too picky as long as we don't have anyone going out of their way to step on toes ("I will ALSO be a monk..."). The only thing I really object to in terms of online etiquette is folks who really, really get into gratuitous descriptions of brutality and such. Seriously, I ain't a prude (which is a totally prudish thing to say) and I can deal with ultra-violence and plenty of saucy language in my gaming. Still, there is a line where it becomes...uncomfortable. I take it Carrion Crown is designed as a more-or-less heroic campaign so we shouldn't be taking any children hostage or that kind of thing. And that works fine for me.

Where story is concerned, I guess it's fine if we're all strangers? The set-up would seem to get us into town--even into the same room, presumably--so we would need to be doing a lot of justifying for our team-up, yeah?

EDIT: Wow. I forgot how tricky an MAD class can be on a Point Buy. Some difficult decisions ahead...

That would be what I was thinking as well. We all would need to band together somehow!

So here are some of my concepts.

Half-Elf or Elven Witch
Human Bard
Elven Oracle - Deaf Life Oracle
Human Barbarian
Gnome Summoner
Dwarf Paladin (Stonelord Archetype)

These are just some ideas that I have been throwing around, it's really all over the place.

[Swipht]

Yes Eazy, you've responded and agreed to time. The two of you are locked in unless you state otherwise. (No hard feelings if you state otherwise)

Mad classes aren't op with the point buy I've set. If you were unlucky with your rolls you could be playing a character you hate, or if you got super lucky you'd be playing an OP Character. Point buy makes you think about balance. There are old school gamers that don't see my point of view. Sad classes like wizards. . . I take 18 in int, and 16 in dex. . . Dump cha, and str. . . You wear your clothes on your back plus minimal gear, then you're into medium or heavy load. . . Drat... Now I have to limit my gear, and spend money to increase what I can carry. It's all balanced, despite combat effectiveness. Drop a str dump wizard to 6 str and put them to sleep and they die. Unless they take traits to subsidize their low cha then they can't interact with npcs well. So min maxing is risky in point buy. Rolling "oh it's not my fault. . . This is what I got, and I'm not guilty" Okay you rolled like crap on one or two stats and you run the same risk as min maxing, even if you don't get the benefit out of the risk. Roll overly well and you're the god character that the rest of the party resents, because you brunt everything and never really give them anything to do but support. You roll average and you're not special, but you're not weak at anything. You can build an average character via point buy. Sorry off my soap box about point buy.

Lunar oracles = awesome. . . Haven't looked at deaf life oracle yet. Skaald is more fun than straight bard. Summoner = dm face plant. Other options look rather rather standard. Do whatever you want as long as you're not trying to break my game intentionally.

Yes Carrion Crown is a heroic adventure path, that will reward the party well enough for not being chaotic neutral. Evil characters will probably end up being run out of town, or get the group run out of town.

If you want an easy input character data, intro to campaign, intro to group dynamics I can easily do that with this adventure path. Would make it very easy 5/29. . . Then hit the ground running 6/5. . . Or I can leave fantasy grounds on for all of you to input your characters. Know what the individual is about, and get thrown into the mess of a newly formed group by the adventure path only to grow into a well oiled unit through experience together. This adventure path is flexible enough I can go either way with group development.

[Dr_Babylon]

I've had the great Point Buy debate before so I won't get too whiny about it (I confess to being old school). Like I said, the last couple times I ended up rolling, I regretted insisting on that approach. Still, I don't like how my two concepts fit together with very middle-of-the-road stats. Guess my fragile ego needs to feel a little more heroic entering a long-term story arc.

I might just stick with a fairly basic Fighter premise and aim for an exciting reason for coming to Ravengro (and her connection to Lorrimor). See what percolates.

Seriously, how does one stat out a Paladin with the lower Point Buy limits? I mean without having to make him a gentle dullard who's all thumbs?

[kwarner1986]

I might have some opening on Friday, and time is no concern of mine. If you need another feel free to let me know.

[hydroburger]

Hey all, Breezy's friend here to confirm.

[kleamovich]

@Dr_Babylon

Looks like you're in the same boat as myself, have a lot of decisions to make before we start I think I have refined my list of concepts for my character. I will eventually make up my mind. Paladins are not that hard to really put stats into really only need STR and CHA, everything else is basically whatever you would like.

@Swipht

I just looked at the advanced classes, there are some interesting class combos in there. Does not seem that you are against those options. However, I just recently obtained my hard cover copy of Pathfinder Unchained, which adds a few new rules and changes some of the classes. Have you seen this book yet? If so, would you be against anyone playing a version of the class changes?

[eazybreezy]

5/29 would be perfect for me.

[eazybreezy]

Sounds like things are coming together well...this will be my first go using FG for a campaign, so I'm pretty pumped.

I'm torn on what character to create. It sounds like we all are though.

[Swipht]

Haven't seen the new book kleam. Is it on the psrd? I don't have any issues with official Paizo stuff.

Nice to hear from you Hydro, welcome aboard.

12 dex, is plenty for a paladin when they get into full plate. Front line fighters need a touch of con too. Paladins have such great saves that wisdom isn't really needed, and int is only used for skill points.

[kleamovich]

Pathfinder Unchained stuff has yet to be updated on the PRD or SRD.

[Daddyrock]

I would be interested in getting into this game if you still have room for one more.

[Swipht]

Sorry Daddy, I've got two pending, and kwarner in reserve. If both my pending players fail to lock in I'll let you know.

Parasitic you in or out? Does my time work for you? If not I've got 2 other players looking for a spot.

P.S.
My noobs need to read rules. I can be a bit of a rules lawyer dm. . . Sometimes it works in favor sometimes it doesn't. I don't mind jumping on mic to coach noobs, but all ic actions will be handled via text. If you're fluent enough with the system that questions will be minimal and can be handled through whisper that's also acceptable. If I'm wrong about something I can accept it and move on if you site your reference. Don't mind teaching and being patient, so don't get scared.

Kleam if you can scan the page, or take a photo. . . Some how get me the info, I don't have an issue unless it's just broken.

[hydroburger]

Ive been reading the core rule book for a solid month now in preparation for a game, so my questions will probably have more to do with FG than the rule set. My only real concern is playing a class I'm not familiar or comfortable with, but judging by the posts here I'm sure we can all find a comfortable role to fill.

[kleamovich]

Swipht the changes have been uploaded onto the SRD found here (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/unchained-classes).

[Swipht]

Oh wow, finally they made it easy to add dex mod to damage for the rogue. That'll make my Arcane trickster mean, and reduces the validity of rogues are situation-ally useful. Looks acceptable from first impression, lets see how they play.

Good to hear Hydro. Feel free to jump on a class using the game calendar, unless you're looking to fill a hole in the party roster. Fantasy grounds does have a few tricks built into it.

I'll give Parasitic one more day to get back to me, before I give his spot to a reserve player.

[kwarner1986]

Looks like I'll be joining you in this little adventure. Has any one taken the role of wizard or cleric?

[kleamovich]

Welcome to the fellowship here.

As far as I know there really has not been a certain player wanting to play class. I personally have a few ideas but was waiting it out a bit.

Here is what I have it narrowed down to as of recent.

Human Hunter
Human Bard - Dervish Dancer
Elf Life Oracle - That would be deaf
Human Barbarian or Fighter type.
Dwarf Paladin - Stonelord Archetype

[hydroburger]

I'm looking to play either an archer fighter or ranger, or a melee fighter. Whatever best fits the group. I know breezy was eyeing ranger and rogue, so if he rolls Ranger I'll gladly roll fighter. We like to whack things :)

[Parasitic_ego]

Hey Give it to Kwarner.

Unfortunately I won't be able to make this time slot after all. Sorry for the delay in response.

[eazybreezy]

Welcome to the fellowship here.

As far as I know there really has not been a certain player wanting to play class. I personally have a few ideas but was waiting it out a bit.

Here is what I have it narrowed down to as of recent.

Human Hunter
Human Bard - Dervish Dancer
Elf Life Oracle - That would be deaf
Human Barbarian or Fighter type.
Dwarf Paladin - Stonelord Archetype

I always always end up playing a pretty vanilla fighter or ranger.

Thinking I may take the plunge and go with an Inquisitor or Paladin, due to the potential for interesting roleplaying scenarios in this campaign. Currently looking at some info on an Inquisitor and I like the idea of it a lot.

[hydroburger]

If that's the case I'd like to reserve Ranger as my class. Most likely as the Guide archetype. I like the idea of being the hired guide to an Inquisitor. If we're not supposed to know each other I could always have been a guide for the professor when he made expeditions into the wilderness near Ravengro.

[kwarner1986]

Might want to be careful about Inquisitor I think DrB was trying to get that. Since it wasn't taken, I'll call dibs on the wizard. I have a shelf character design that will be perfect for this.

[Dr_Babylon]

That's kind of you but I think I can make do with one of the Fighter variants. Just a plain old combatant for me. Details pending...

[eazybreezy]

That's kind of you but I think I can make do with one of the Fighter variants. Just a plain old combatant for me. Details pending...

Perfect...I will actually take a leap and build an Inquisitor. I was looking at a ranged variant, which seems to fit nicely.

By my count, we have a ranger, an inquisitor, a fighter, and a wizard confirmed, right?

[Dr_Babylon]

What's the plan for Traits? The standard two from different categories? I noticed the Campaign traits in the Player's Guide leave...much to be desired.

[Swipht]

Seems Babylon is going fighter. My main fighter is a half orc with a crit chicken build. 17-20 + 4 to confirm, + 8 str, 2d6. Fighters can do any build. . . And be nasty if done correctly. Skills. . . "Yeah. . . That's a wall. . . I'll stay here, you guys go ahead." Don't get me wrong: on flat ground fighters take the field.
Eazy inquisitor Not something I've spent a great deal of time developing, but there are many unexpected range builds. Wizard + rogue = arcane archer which is sneak attack, + int to damage mod, + spells. There's barbarian builds that charge+thrown weapon+melee hit = doom on wheels. There are barbarian archers that do adjusting composite bows + every str buff known to man = 1d10 + dedede.
Kwarner a wizard after my own heart. Divination initiative superiority + stealth is my build. Cleric would be a very strong class in Carrion Crown. Both very welcome additions, and the back bone of a party.
Hydro look at the prestige class arcane archer. There's a feat that gives int to range damage within 30 ft. Also the monk zen archer build is good. There are cleric builds I've heard of that are artillery when it comes to range combat. I know of druid spells and abilities that make for good archers. Switch to gunslinger and you can spend grit to range touch attack with 1d12. . . It can be ugly if done right. Do your homework, because basic ranger is basic. ^ Notes for Eazy as well.
Kleam is still all over the place in his character build. Though with Babylon being the main melee build I'd go with something melee.

Thanks parasitic for coming forward with your abstenation. No hard feelings, and best of luck finding something that works for you.

I'm fine with standard traits babylon. typical 2 traits at character creations. . . The campaign traits are simply options

If Daddy doesn't choose to join I might cap it out here.

Don't forget the group needs a disable device/face/knowledge skill base. I'm only here to suggest, and whatever you choose is your choice.

[kleamovich]

I will play a Human Bard. I will also take a few levels of Rogue to take care of the traps.

[Dr_Babylon]

You might take a closer look at the Archaeologist variant, Kleam. I'm not particularly adept with the tactical side of things (indeed, all this build talk makes me shudder) but they look like a cute mix of Bard and Rogue to me.

[Swipht]

^ what babylon said. . . I also love me some arcane trickster. 3 lvls rogue, 3 levels magus, 10 levels arcane trickster. Sneak attack + dex mod to damage + spell strike + flank. honestly the unchained rogue abilities might make me take 4 levels of rogue. There's a feat that increases caster level if you multi class.

I also like Skaald over straight bard every day of the week.

Do what you want, It's only an opinion I give.

Slight of hand can be used as perform, in social settings.

[kleamovich]

Hmm I will take a look into that class. What is your idea about Prestige Classes?

[Swipht]

Rogue unchained 1st level, magus 3 levels after. Rogue 3 more levels after magus is done. Arcane trickster from there on to get + caster level and + sneak attack + arcane trickster abilities.
Basically it's a rogue with magic. You don't loose sneak attack, and you stay on top of caster level despite multi-classing. https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/kobold-press/general-feats---3rd-party---kobold-press/improved-caster-level (used to be a 3.5 feat. I'll allow it) The arcane trickster can slight of hand from a distance among other things. They can walk straight up to someone wave, grin and stab them with +sneak attack damage: Impromptu sneak attack. You can get into light armor (Chain shirt) get 18 dex and live a happy life with out arcane armor. Cast chill touch, move into melee, flank, get your dex + sneak attack + chill touch, -1 str dc fort save xCaster level number of times: Or hit it high go shocking grasp +1d6 per caster level, and that's only first level spells.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/arcane-trickster

This is my rogue when ever I get to be a player. Other wise I end up playing a straight up wizard. Battle field controller wither ungodly initiative is a thing. Take traits to add stealth. . . I use a willing party member as a lure, I sneak up on the group of villains and cast color spray at level 1. . . Oh they're all out? We tie them up and leave them to the rabble. So a divination wizard, with improved initiative. a trait that gives + initiative, and a trait that makes stealth a class skill.

[hydroburger]

I'll look into all that. Zen Archer Monk is intriguing. Gunslinger too but I'm barely familiar with the non-core classes. By the time we have our pre-campaign session I'll have a few archer builds ready. Thanks for the info!

[Swipht]

No worries hydro. I like unusual builds, it makes it more fun. I'm here if you need any clarifications. I know you're new-ish but I want you to have fun, even if that means you need to grow into your class. However if fun is something comfortable then I accept a standard build.

[kwarner1986]

Knowledge will not be an issue. "Trust me."
https://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e28/kwarner1986/Liar-Liar_zpsjcvbrjyj.jpg

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/breadth-of-experience

That is all you get for now! Muahaha!

As far as broken builds, I've done several things that will end combats in the first round, and I could easily build things that will terrify some of the most harden GM's. However I'm more into character like DrB. If you want a broken builds just ask me about my Paladin/Bloodrager! Paladin/Bloodrager *Copyright 2015 by kwarner!*

[hydroburger]

Don't worry, if I feel overwhelmed I'll just revert to something more simple heh. The Zen Archer's play style is really starting to have an appeal to me. From an RP standpoint, though, it might be a little... off.

[eazybreezy]

Hydro...you can always check out some of the flavor material that Paizo puts out for some inspiration on your character's background.

The Inner Sea Primer gives you an idea of the setting...Faiths of Purity/Balance might give you an idea of what your religious motivation is...and check out some of the race guides for whatever race you end up picking. They give you background on each of the different ethnicities.

[hydroburger]

I'll check all of that out, thanks. I want my character to fit in culturally with the area, so this will help me make the connections. Thanks for being so helpful everyone, it's really helping my newb mind consider all angles.

[Daddyrock]

I will fill in the last role that has opened up if that is okay with everyone. What I will fill that roll with is up for grabs and I'll build it for party dynamic based on what you fellers should lock in. Build what you want and I'll fill any gaps I guess is what I am trying to say.

P.S. You can just call me Rock.

[eazybreezy]

Sounds good, Rock. Glad I don't have to call you Daddy...

I'm finishing up the build for my Inquisitor...looking at doing ranged attack with a bit of 'flair' in terms of skills (Sense Motive, Bluff, etc.) so I can utilize some of my 'people skills' to sniff out the unnatural.

From what I can tell, we're lacking a 2nd melee character or perhaps a healer of some sort.

[hydroburger]

Did we decide on 20 pt buy? That's what I've been going with when messing around with builds. Just want to confirm.

[Swipht]

Yup 20 point buy

welcome aboard rock

[Dr_Babylon]

Alrighty...after much ado (so much ado), I have officially settled on playing a Half-Orc Brawler.

The loose story outline I'm working with to get her to Ravengro is that she is attached to a criminal organization who may have once had ties to Lorrimor from many years back. I haven't decided where she's from specifically just yet but I want someplace exotic without being too far removed (Tian Xia seems sadly implausible). And ideally, it would be cool if she grew up in a slum area peopled by marginalized expatriates, like a refugee shanty town set up outside a major city. The gangsters maintain that Lorrimor had outstanding debts--which could have been for something as simple as having smuggled him important reagents for his studies--and it fell to my character's father to collect. Essentially, given the distance between Professor Lorrimor and the organization's stomping grounds, that job proved impossible to complete and her father died a failure (effectively, he took on the blame to save face for his syndicate). I'm sort of imagining a very brutal, honor-among-thieves group, like a pseudo-Yakuza style underworld guild. My character comes of age tough and mean (though not evil) with an understanding of and commitment to this amoral, often bewildering code of conduct, training to fight however she can and always bearing the burden of her father's shameful reputation (again, by no fault of his own). After the man has passed on, she finds the organization wants nothing to do with her ("A penniless half-orc refugee? And a FEMALE? Bah!") so she does the only logical thing she can think of: she begs, borrows and bludgeons her way into passage to the last known whereabouts of the man who owed the debt. Her aim is to finally make good on her family's obligations and earn a little approval back home but she shows up in Ravengro to find that Professor Lorrimor has only just recently expired. What to do now?

I have only read the Player's Guide (most of it...) so I'm not sure if this is feasible or not. If it's imperative that my concept bear some mention in Lorrimor's last will and testament, we can always say that he remembered her organization and has made arrangements to see that bill finally paid. The professor wouldn't have known her personally but she'd have an ax to grind there as she has always blamed him for her beloved father's downfall (think of little Arya Stark repeating the names of her enemies every night). Mostly, she'd be a lot of fun to play because she's just a hired goon (a mob enforcer, for all intents and purposes) who finds herself thrust into circumstances where she can do great or even heroic things for people very much in need. She's resourceful, decisive, ruthless, and determined but, at heart, she's mostly the kind of character who hits things.

Thoughts?

[Daddyrock]

Ok so from what I've gathered so far is we have a Human Inquisitor (ranged), Half-Orc Brawler (Melee), Wizard, Archer (Type not set), & a human bard. I was asked to play a healer/melee so I will go with that. I've been meaning to get around to playing a Dwarven Cleric of Magrim (Firix Understone will be his name) so I will be going in that direction; from what I've read it seems to work well thematically and if there is a female half-orc in the group that means I have to play a Male Dwarf for comedy if nothing else right? I went through the Background Traits for the module and I think I'm going to go with Chance Savior Trait and say that once I had saved Lorrimor from Death (ish) while en route to assist in a funeral ceremony. Maybe he was stabilized but vulnerable in a road and I popped him a cure light or two. Anyhow, word of his death has reached Firix and it was asked that he be there for Lorrimor's funeral, so he's traveled from the Five Kings Mountains to be there for his friend. He will not be charismatic so he will value that Lorrimor had been his friend and have an invested interest outside of any money to be had for his friend passing. He will be battle orientated in a more support/battle hybrid capacity. Law and Repose are the likely domains. Thoughts from the group?

[Dr_Babylon]

Well, for what it's worth, I like the idea of deconstructing the classic Dwarven Cleric. I'm sure we'll get along great after some initial...awkwardness.

Did I hear kwarner was maybe gonna put in an Elven wizard as well? Place settings for all nostalgia-based concepts here, yeah? I love it.

[kwarner1986]

:D (I'm as happy as Bruce Willis finding a Machine Gun!)

A female half-orc, a female elf, and a male dwarf walk into a bar! My character details are being purposed to the GM shortly and hopefully tomorrow I will unveil her.

[Dr_Babylon]

Dinner AND a show then?

[hydroburger]

Welcome to our group Rock!

I've messaged Swipht regarding my character. If all seems kosher to him and we work out the kinks, I'll write up a proper introduction for him.

[Daddyrock]

Thanks all for the welcome. I'm looking forward to gaming with all of you. Human Inquisitor, Antisocial Dwarven Cleric of the Underworld, Half-Orc Female Brawler with a chip on her shoulder, Elven Wizardess (and all that comes with that I am sure) .... the stuff of songs and poems. At least we have the Bard for charisma or we'd be in real trouble. looking forward to seeing what you come up with Hydroburger.

[kleamovich]

Wait.. I'm suppose to have Charisma?? :D

So once I hear back from Swipht about the idea that I have I will let everyone know for sure what I am playing.

[Dr_Babylon]

All we need is a wee clever halfling for classic d&d bingo!

[hydroburger]

Sorry, no halfling. Just another human. I've decided to play a Zen Archer Monk who also dips into the Quinggon archetype to make an archer who's not afraid to get up and punch you in the mouth. It's very much based on the popular One build if any of you are familiar with it. It takes a lot of archer and defensive feats to create a sorta beefy archer who can take some punishment and unleash flurries of hell. The thing is: it's probably gonna suck until level 3-4ish. And although kind. he's pretty single-minded and not much of a talker. He's happy allowing others to find ways for him to test his physical and mental limits.

Being a devotee of Irori from the island of Jalmeray, the young Vudrani monk has spent his life honing his body and mind to test the limits of perfection. Many hours were spent firing his bow repeatedly, past exhaustion, as a form of meditation. He believes fiercely in self-improvement. Being physically gifted, a young monk didn't always devote his life to also perfecting his mental state. He credits much of his ambition for enlightenment to the time in his early childhood when a professor from a sea away visited his small monastery. The professor didn't speak to him much, of course, but a young monk will eavesdrop on talks between elders. A young monk might do this a lot. Now older and having developed both his body and mind, he plans to take the test to become a monk of the Monastery of Unfolding Wind. This will have to wait though, as now he's a sea away from his homeland where he is paying his final respects to an unknowing teacher.

Does this work for you guys? PLEASE any criticism is welcome. I know I'm a newb and I'm happy to to hear about things I'm doing wrong :)

[eazybreezy]

No idea what my issue is but I am struggling to import my character from PCGen in to FG. THis is my first go using FG and I know the character is correct in PCGen...but it's all screwy in FG. Any advice?

[kleamovich]

I don't use PCGen, I use Hero Labs. But I am sure it's the same way. Are you saving your file as a .xml?

[eazybreezy]

Yes, it is. Everything looks OK there, but it imports a lot of extra data and it doesn't look like some of the feats were factored in, etc.

[kleamovich]

From what I remember the last time that I used FG. You had to manually adjust some of the values after import. You may want to ask in the house of healing. Someone with more experience with PCGen might be able to help.

[Dr_Babylon]

Might be fun to see whose Kung Fu is stronger...

[Daddyrock]

It's always like that. PCGen is great for getting it built with all the little variations and the like, but there are still some bugs. I generally have my players build their character in PCGen and then transport it over to Fantasy Grounds where we'll go through it together and replace that which needs replacing. The .xml scripting between the two isn't 100% dialed in but it is still a very useful tool. That and most of the user created modules actually have better material as far as actions go with spell effects and the like already put in. Even if you don't have the modules you can pull individual data from Paizo or the PFSRD pretty easily or there are parse programs that'll help. One of the biggest pains is the clickable on the skills tab in FG because PCGen puts class skills in with a +3 misc mod. You have to click the class skill on and then delete out the misc mod. There are a few other quirks but I've done quite a few so if you need some help bro, lemme know. I can even put up a FG server just to build it and then we'll re-export it out from FGII for Swipht. You can get at me through Skype "Daddyrock1"

Babylon - my parsehorse (Mak of the Nasty Clan) is strong with the parse Kung Fu. I generally try to make him do my work when I can. Except when he finishes out the whole DMG for 5th with high resolution preset pogs and dials everything in perfectly ... for 250 megs.

[eazybreezy]

I appreciate the offer.

I realized I got a bit jacked up because I needed to change a few defaults. Any modules you recommend installing?

[Daddyrock]

I don't really know all their names but yea, I can just .rar up the PF ones I have and send it over to you. Just add and/or replace the modules folder with that one and you'll be good to go if you like.

[eazybreezy]

I don't really know all their names but yea, I can just .rar up the PF ones I have and send it over to you. Just add and/or replace the modules folder with that one and you'll be good to go if you like.

That would be awesome. I think I have a few installed now but the complete/more complete would be great

[Daddyrock]

What is your email address breezy?

[Dr_Babylon]

Parsehorse? What the heck are we talking about?

I just meant I was looking forward to having my mob enforcer compare notes (and fists?) with hydro's pointy Zen guy. I don't tend to do the whole .xml route for pre-building. I'll just have the stuff done on my end and enter it into FG when Swipht can have the server available. Seems simplest to me.

[Daddyrock]

My mistake Babylon, I thought you were talking about PCGen vs. FGII Kung Fu for the information.

[Swipht]

Per Babylon's request I have created a freeforum for us to use. The link is in the game calendar. Kwarner I know you're not locked into the game calender, might want to hit that up.

[eazybreezy]

Sent you a PM with my email

[Daddyrock]

Sent the modules. Just unzip it and add those to your modules folder.

[kleamovich]

I have also posted this on the other site we have available.

Hello everyone, I would like to introduce my character to the party.

Name: Zaid Dihed
Class: Dawnflower Dervish [Bard]
Introduction:
Growing up living on the road can be a rough time for a young man, especially being from Osirion. Living with his family on the road, a family of traveling merchants, he met Lorrimor while Zaid's families caravan was in a city called Magnimar. We were heading to a town called Ravengro. During this time, Lorrimor and myself, became close. One night, we were setting up camp along the road, the guards began setting up watch and everyone else began to settle down for the night. When suddenly we were ambushed, those bandits that attacked the caravan began to fight the guards while others were trying to loot our merchandise. One of the bandits started to attack Lorrimor, I quickly reacted by grabbing the closest weapon that I could find, which happened to be a scimitar. I was able to move unnoticed by the bandit, and quickly end his life. Shortly after saving Lorrimor, the bandits started to flee. Ever since this occurred Lorrimor and myself became even closer. Upon hearing of a friends death I decided to attend his memorial, to pay my respects.

[Daddyrock]

Maybe I missed something but I can't seem to find any link on the Calendar Page to the other discussion board. I can input a message but I don't see a way to get to the other discussion board area.

[kwarner1986]

Check your pm daddyrock.

[Daddyrock]

Thanks kwarner, I don't know why it wasn't showing up but I'm good now.

[kwarner1986]

“Professor Lorrimor, we searched the cavern for signs of the kobolds, but it appears to be abandoned,” the hired bodyguard says.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Something was clearly here today. Keep searching something is here, my instincts are rarely wrong,” Professor Lorrimor orders his bodyguards.

“Yes, sir.”

After several more minutes of searching the complex the professor comes to what he thinks is a secret door. He motions for his bodyguards to come to him and open the door. After the bodyguards are sure the door isn’t trapped they open it. A small Elven girl roughly 11 in human years bolts past the men, but is quickly grabbed by the Professor. “It’s okay, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you.”

“Get off me, the girl flails around trying her best to get free.

The professor soon covers her in a hug, “Relax, you’re safe now.. Can you tell me where the other kobolds are?”

“I killed them already.” The elven girls says in protest of her current position.

The professor is lost by her statement, but tries to confirm, “You killed the entire kobold tribe?”

“Yes, I used their traps against them. Stupid kobolds blamed each other and started killing each other.” Victoria confirms.

“Why are you still here, where’s your parents?” The professor asks.

“I’ve got nowhere else to go, and I can’t remember who my parents are. I’ve been here ever since I remembered.”

The professor didn’t hear any deception in her voice, but found her story hard to believe. He looked around the cavern including the secret areas, and concludes that she was telling the truth. While there are a few kobolds killed by traps, they seemed to kill each other off. Once things have calmed down and the professor’s crew set up their camp. He asks the little girl the most obvious question, “What’s your name?”

“Hey you, is what those lizards called me, but my parents…” She seems to slow down her speech and starts to have a sad expression on her face, “called me Victoria.” She then breaks down into full tears as this is the first time she’s actually thought back on the whole situation. She did her best to block her past that she became almost emotionally numb, but meeting other people to talk to bought her back to a state of emotional thinking rather than surviving.

The professor hugs Victoria and quickly finishes his expedition in this cavern. He takes her home and helps get her back on her feet. He had intentions of finding her a nice elven family, but he one day found her playing around with his dragonchess board (3D Chess). The professor asks her, “Do you know how to play?”

“I read your book seems easy enough. Want to play?” Victoria asks.

The professor decides to entertain her and begins to play the game with her. He was intentionally make dumb moves so the game would drag on longer than it should. He soon realizes that she is way smarter than he initially thought. She was winning and the professor had to actually play the game. He fought his way back and won. “You haven’t played this game before?” The professor asks.

“Nope, and stop going easy on me.” Victoria tells him.

“Right.” The professor plays several more game trying his best. He manages to win every game, but they were not easy games. At this point he takes a great interest in Victoria deciding to keep her and grow her natural intelligence.

Over the next three years he teaches her how to cast spells, which she seems naturally talented at, but takes little interest in it. She can easily cast an array of cantrips, but takes a great interest in the professor’s books. After three years, she burned through all of the books he owned, soaking the knowledge like a sponge. The professor at that point decides he wants to get married and have his own children. Roughly a year later the professor got married and his wife gave birth to a beautiful daughter named, Kendra. While the professor was teaching his students Victoria attended his lectures, and soon passed all his own student’s test scores. Victoria soon hit a wall with her learning, there were no more new books for her to read and the professor’s lectures bored her, because she already listened to them all.

Just after Kendra’s third birthday, the professor went on an expedition and decided to take Victoria along, so she can learn something new. While Victoria was exploring the ruins, a tunnel collapsed and nearly killed her. She was recovered and the professor didn’t want to put her in that danger again, but wanted her to keep on learning. He made the hardest decision a father could make. He decided to let Victoria go and sent her to a friend in Absalom named, Professor Zordlon. The elven man could give Victoria access to a wealth of knowledge that she couldn’t obtain here, and she can be with a father figure that age as she aged.

Victoria didn’t want to go and refused at first wanting to stay with the professor, but the professor did the best he could to explain to her, “Vicky, I can no longer help develop your mind. You have, so much potential that I never had. The journeys I take are not safe for a little girl like you. Professor Zordlon can give you the book and training you need to become something even greater that what I am. This doesn’t mean this is goodbye. I want to see you again, too. Come back to me and show me how much you’ve grown. I will miss you, but this is for the best.”

The professor gives Victoria a hug as the two of them said their final goodbyes, “I don’t want to go, but for you I’ll become the smartest person in Absalom, no all of Golarion. I’ll make you proud.”

Victoria smiles and says goodbye to her little sister Kendra, and boards the boat to Absolam. Victoria looks back on the shore and waves to the professor. He waves back and says to himself, “I’m already proud of you Vicky.”
__________________________________________________ ____________________________

Nearly 22 years later, Victoria has grown to a young adult. She still looks only the appearance of a 16 year old human, but she has become one of the smartest people in Absolam. She just started this year teaching at the Pathfinder’s Society’s Sovereign Court. While most of the professors or students didn’t give her the proper respect due to her young age, she still held her own as she was smarter than most of the professors in the Sovereign Court. She never rubbed it into others faces or made a huge deal of her deeds. Mostly she was too shy to engage others in conversation. It would take days for her to get comfortable talking to someone new.

She did however rise to become a noble, when she made a fortune buying and selling trade goods during low and high peaks of demand. However issues arose when asked about her family name. She did not truly know her own last name as she was really young when her parents died. She decided to take the name of the man who changed her life. She carried the name of Lorrimor and from that point the Sovereign Court referred to her by that name.

“Professor Lorimor?” An honorary student addresses Victoria.

“Yes?” she answered him.

“A letter came for you,” the student drops the letter in Victoria’s hands before returning to his studies.

Victoria opens the letter and begins reading it. She begins to cry as tears fell onto the parchment and smeared the ink. Victoria was going home to see the man she called father, one last time.

[Dr_Babylon]

Nice. That's some mighty fine motivation there, son.

[Daddyrock]

The Understone Clan goes way back to the beginning of the Dwarven Quest for Sky. Long has our family had a tradition of service to the Gods. We like to say that when Magrim first taught Dwarves to communicate with the Gods, it happened under stone. Dwarves understood then that time was finite on this plane of existence, but it was eternal elsewhere. Torag might have been given dominion of the Dwarven mortal coil, but Magrim rules the Dwarven Underworld. When the first dwarves conquered the Sky and built the Sky Citadel of Highhelm, Understone Dwarves were among them. I was selected almost from birth to serve in the Priesthood, and like most Dwarves I accepted my lot.
I have lived and trained in the temples of Magrim, and performed or assisted in many funeral rites for many years. It was the summer of my forty seventh year when I met Lorrimor. He was both teacher and student and his studies had brought him to Highhelm headed for adventure in the Five Kings Mountains. I was returning from a funeral in Kolvar with a group of priests there to honor a Great Dwarven Hero that had just passed. At dusk, when I normally pray to Magrim for his blessings; I headed out a quarter mile north to an old waterfall fed from a very deep underground spring.
I came upon the man Lorrimor and his companions, apparently dead and surrounded by orcs & goblins. Orcs in our mountains was an outrage, and although I knew I was going to die I jumped into the middle of the orcs swinging my hammer wide. One goblin fell then two but the orcs were smart as orcs can be and they simply surrounded me. They lowered their spears at me and I prepared to meet Magrim in the afterlife with my head high. A horn sounded in the distance, a distinctively low non-dwarven horn. In a flash the orcs turned and fled toward the sound of the horn in the south. I knew that my fellow dwarven priests were still to the south so I started away after them.
It was then that I saw Lorrimor give an unconcious cough of blood. I was amazed to find that Lorrimor had actually survived. I did my best to cure him but he was hurt bad and my healing wasn't the strongest. I exhausted myself but he lived. Even though my divine energy was exhausted, my duty was not. I wanted to pray and regain my divine energy but I didn't have that kind of time. The man Lorrimor begged me not to go but as a dwarf, there wasn't much choice. I got back to the priests of my order but the battle was already over. The orcs had been defeated. Many of our priests were also dead, but they had carried the day. We went back to look for Lorrimor but he was gone already.
A year later I received a letter marked from Ustalav. It was addressed to me from Lorrimor and it was a fairly basic thank you letter. I wrote him back explaining that the Underworld awaited all of us but I was glad he was going to live a little longer. Years passed and still we wrote one another. His letters would tell me of his great travels across the great continent of Golarion. Mine were boring and simple, I had nothing to compare to his great tales. Every so many years, he would visit Highhelm, and we would get together. My duties were boring but they were also important, at least to those whose funerals I administered and their families. I never got around to visiting him.
The last letter I got, the most recent, was of another kind of news. The bad kind. Lorrimor my friend, had died. I took ship to Caliphas immediately, and with luck I will arrive in time for the funeral.

[Swipht]

You nuts. . . We have a forum for this now.

[Dr_Babylon]

"Look on our works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"

[Swipht]

Finally got fantasy grounds port forwarding fixed. Server is up, alias is on game calendar. I'll leave it on as much as possible, until next Friday.

[KingofKlubs]

Are there any spaces left for this game?

[Swipht]

Sorry King, game is full.

[eazybreezy]

Sorry if I missed anything...I was on a vacation/wedding planning visit to Puerto Rico.

I'm back home and ready with a little bit of extra sun...I'll upload my character tonight and will be ready for Friday.

[Swipht]

Haven't heard from a player in 2 weeks. Having some doubts about their continued participation in the game. . . Our next game is tomorrow (Friday 6/12) at 9pm central. I'd like to find someone to fill the slot. . . We have a wizard, brawler, cleric (not a heal bot), And some other type of rogue.

As part of the character's background I'd need a connection to Professor Lorrimor, and a believable reason why they're late to the professor's funeral. We barely just started, only two sessions in, so not a lot was missed.

[Swipht]

So we just switched to fast advancement. . . Less than 300 exp from lvl 2, and the excitement of exploring Harrowstone. Still no submissions for the open slot, and we'd like to have a 5th. We're still in the first book with only 3 sessions in. Next game is Friday 6/19 at 9P.M. central

[Dr_Babylon]

We're an easygoing bunch and it's an interesting story without being monstrously complicated. We don't get too hung up on rules stuff in the moment. Might be a great opportunity for a new player among our community.

All we really ask is that you let us know if it's not your cup of tea. Having players abandon a project without a word one way or the other is just too inconsiderate. Give us a chance to build something interesting together and I bet we'll have a blast.

(Too pathetic? I feel like a jilted prom date...)

[kleamovich]

Sorry about last Friday gents, I had some family issues come up hope to see you all in game.

[Swipht]

No worries Kleam, life happens.

[Dr_Babylon]

It would appear that we are still in need if anyone out there is available for a few hours on Friday nights after 9 pm Central. Perhaps someone on the Pacific Coast who doesn't have plans? Text games are easy to master if you have the patience so why not give us a whirl?

We sure could use a little backup. Plenty of squamous horrors creeping with unfathomable intent beyond the timidly flickering lanterns of the charmingly xenophobic village called Ravengro...

[Nickademus]

Just waiting on the GM to respond.