Party Dynamic and Character Creation

This is the place to talk characters. You guys will have partied together before, and will have a general idea of each other's strengths and weaknesses.

There are 4 major guilds in the Empire of Olera, where anyone with a title can petition for a team to perform tasks ranging from bodyguarding to cave extermination. The guilds are mostly there for story flavor purposes, but there are bonuses to each one listed at the end of their description.

Craftsmen Guild, where traders, smiths, and alchemists work to further the economy of their cities and line their own pockets with gold. (+5 to Diplomacy when haggling)

Protector's Guild, where fighters, paladins, and others can join the military or police force and work to keep Olera safe from dangers near and far. (+5 Intimidation)

The Magus Guild, where clerics, sorcerers, and wizards meet to discuss the merits of the various schools and styles of magic, and how they can be applied to better the lives of everyday citizens. (+5 Knowledge (Arcana) or Spellcraft)

The Explorer's Guild, where bards and rangers work to explore the caverns and tombs left behind from the Reign of Damos. (+5 Survival or +5 Knowledge(Dungeoneering))

There is also a Thieves' Guild, but nobody knows much about it, other than its members, who usually blend in with other guilds to maintain their covers (especially the Explorer's Guild) (+5 Sleight of Hand or Disguise).

The guild leaders all meet with the King monthly to discuss the state of things in their realm of control.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

I'm posting the character creation guidelines here as well, to make things a little easier for everyone.

Stats: Roll 4d6, drop the lowest, reroll 1s. Use 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, and 10 if you aren't satisfied with your rolls.

Level: Level up to 3. You've been working with your various guilds for quite some time, and have even partnered up with each other a time or three.

Class: Any class from Paizo published materials are allowed. 3rd party classes require GM approval.

Race: Any race from Paizo that is normally neutral or good aligned and lives on the surface is allowed. No "monstrous humanoid" races (goblin, orc, kobold, etc.), and any race that is normally viewed as Evil (such as Drow) must be approved by the GM.

Gear: Every character has approximately 1500 GP to spend on equipment at creation. You'll have an additional 400-1000 GP to spend in game.

Rolling it!

Reroll the 1s in those bottom three, and then we'll go from there. So far it looks like a 13, 12, and 13.

Wow, this character is REALLY mediocre.

13, 12, 13, 11, 11, 12

Yikes...it really is. I can add a generic stat block for you to choose from instead, if you like.

Hoping for good rolls. *crosses fingers*

Edit: 16, 11, 14, 14, 14, 13

Now that I've math'd properly, that seems perfectly satisfactory.

I'll leave that up to you :)

OK, I've added a Generic list of rolls that one can use if they aren't satisfied with their rolls. I'm good with you using them instead, if you like.

Do you think my stats are workable for Pathfinder?

Much appreciated!

Here goes:

15
15
15
16
12
12

Not bad!

Adding HP rolls now...

16, 12, 14, 14, 14, and 13: I've seen a LOT worse than that.

I think mine are 14, 11, 14, 14, 14, 13. Am I missing something there?

EDIT: I TOTALLY AM. WHOOPS NEVER MIND ME.

What class is everyone leaning towards? I am undecided.

I was thinking about playing a witch but will have to see how I roll. Can't do the roll stuff through my phone so I'll have to wait until tonight.

Speaking of classes, I almost forgot...click here for the official Pathfinder Game Reference Document. Or, you can go to this one here if you want to look at some third party information.

I would honestly prefer the Paizo official classes and such, but I won't rule out any 3rd party sources...I just have to review them heavily before I approve them.

I'm definitely picking one of the official classes since it's new to me so no worries!

I'm having a really hard time deciding class. There are so many!

What kind of class do you normally play in other systems/what role are you wanting to fill?

My favorite class (that I've played so far) has got to be the Alchemist. Brew Potion at level one, plus you can basically be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Heck yeah!

When all else fails, I will go bard or rogue.

You can't go wrong with the classics.

I've done Magus before (my favorite), and I've done Alchemist. Other than that, I was always the DM. I usually stick to melee, or a mix of melee and magic.

Thinking possibly Unchained Barbarian, Unchained Rogue, or Slayer.

Slayers are a lot of fun. The unchained classes are something I've never dealt with, but reading over the Barbarian, I don't see any problems with it.

They're primarily just adjustments to make them more flavorful, easy to use, and better balanced. Like they adjust Rage to make it FAR easier.

Gonna go with the Unchained Barbarian. Take care of the front line

EDIT: HP Rolls

They seem really nifty. I like what they did with the Unchained Rogue...Finesse for the win...

Yeah, I wish they'd do a workover of all the classes, like they did for Monk, Barb, Rogue, and Summoner. They're much better designed

Yeeeaaaaah...I'm gonna need to get this book.

I have NO idea what class I'm going to get (since I haven't really looked) but I've played Samurai briefly at a con and Summoner sounds DOPE. I'm gonna be Yuna everybody (unless I'm not).

There are a lot of variant rules in there too

Automatic Bonus Progression

Revised Action Economy

These are the two that I like the most. There's a good review here

I've never played PF but am pretty experienced (as a player) with D&D 3e. I played a rogue for 10 years in an IRL D&D 3e campaign. This Unchained stuff looks boss!

I think it's time for Pathfinder 2.0 lol
Learn from the past and restart fresh :)

I've always wanted to play a Summoner, but never did. The few times I got to play, I didn't have the time to build an Eidolon at character creation. They look fun, though.

My HP rolls were 5 and 2... The RNG gods hate me today

Agreed. Holy cow, I didn't realize I was this far behind on things. Thanks, local Books-a-Million, for not stocking a lot of the latest Paizo books.

It's all good, though. I'm flexible. I can learn these new rules quickly. I've got plenty of time while you guys are building characters...

Was thinking of going Beast Totem path, but Amulets of Mighty Fists are unbelievably expensive...

Let's do some rolling here....

EDIT: 16, 11, 13, 14, 16, 16 - Sweet...

Yep, looking through the books I think I'm going with a human witch...

I have none of the books. What is the bare minimum I need to buy in order to play?

Core Rulebook would be enough. Maybe Paizo has like a free PDF that covers core stuff though, not sure...

D20pfsrd.com has literally everything besides the adventure paths. All free

You can actually go to the links I posted earlier in this topic and use the SRDs from Paizo. They have everything you need in order to play.

Also, if Humble still has the bundle going (doubtful), you can pick the books up cheap.

I'm looking at trying to get the ball rolling on the Prologue within 2 weeks. That'll give everyone plenty of time to build their characters, ask questions, and work out the party dynamic.

If'n you have a question that you need an answer to pretty quick, and don't want to post it on the board, you guys can e-mail me or send me a private message. That email address can also be used to send me a message via Google Hangouts, so I'll generally get them pretty quick.

Mechanically, I don't have much left to do on my character, so I have submitted him. I will fill out everything else as we go.

Here he is

Still figuring out how to build the character sheet. I think I'm stuck on skills but will figure it out over the weekend.

I like him. Just need a name, when you get around to it.

I've been looking through things a bit more and looking over Feats. Level 3 human will have two of them and one that I'm considering 'Arcane Strike' for use with a crossbow (or bolts - if that's how it works). Says it takes a swift action, which from what I can tell, is something I can do each turn, so basically I can use the Arcane Strike feat whenever I attack (assuming I'm not using a swift action for something else).

Correct?

Level 3 human should have 3 feats. But yes, that's the way it works :)

Ah yes, had it in my head the 2nd normal feat comes at level 4. So for skill points, I take it I can spend point on non-class skills? If I have a single rank on a class-skill it's then a +4 DRM, yes?

Yes, you can spend them on non-class skills. Class skills just get that extra +3 once you have a rank into them :)

Awesome. Thanks a bunch!

Result before racial modifiers: 10, 15, 11, 15, 7, 15

I'm looking at creating some sort of martial character. Fighter, maybe. Trying to make sense of all the archetypes, if I can maybe put together a combo (primarily story-wise, optimization is only secondary).

Hit point rolls

1st Level 6+3 = 9
2nd Level 4+3 = 16
3rd Level 3+3 = 22

You'll need to add your character to the library if you'd like anyone other than the GM to see it. (I was going to use yours to check mine. :-))

I'll check it out tomorrow, and let ya know if I see any issues. Sister in law came into town, so it's been a crazy day.

Character has been added, although I'm still figuring out equipment.

Sorry I'm taking so long. I'm hoping to do more character creation learning soon.

But I'm definitely going to try out the Unleashed Summoner.

Would you allow a Catfolk Ninja (Unchained Ninja)? I'm looking at either the Hoka-han or the Star Master.

I'll have to give it more than a quick glance when I get to the office. I'll shoot you a private message if I see any problems or have any questions about it.

You have plenty of time. If you have questions, ask. :)

Wow we're gonna do some serious melee damage with this group huh?

Question: is there a weight limit on how much stuff we can carry?

Yeah, that just means I don't have to pull any punches ;)

As for weight limits, there is encumberance that's based on your strength score, but I don't usually worry about it unless you go crazy with the gear. I'll grab the table when I'm at my computer, but it's not something I'd worry very much about.

Ok thanks. I'm going a little crazy with buying gear and I'm not sure how much is a normal amount. It's like when I pack for a vacation IRL. I like to be prepared!

Here is the carrying capacity table for you.

Sorry, trying to get caught up from this weekend. Hurrah for family visits! Wooooooo!*ded*

Are we allowed to purchase magical items with our 1500 starting gold?

Yes, yes you are.

Typically, a level 3 character has 3000 GP worth of wealth, with about half of that being their equipment. That's why I gave everyone 1500 GP to buy equipment with, and I'll be giving everyone some extra scratch that they would be carrying in their coin purse for actual in-game purchases.

A little something for everyone: Your Intelligence modifiers determine the number of languages you can speak starting out, not counting your racial languages and excluding secret or uncommon languages, like Undercommon or Druidic.

Naatkinson, Garn can speak Common and one other language.

Szemely, Hegy can speak Common and up to 4 other languages.

and Moofsalot, Xulara speaks Common, Elvish, and 3 other languages.

I'm really looking forward to this, guys. You have NO idea.

I made a post in the IC forum regarding Jabes.plays.RPG's choice, as it's information all of you would have with your characters. You've all partied together before, but this information may still color the party dynamic a little bit. It is yours to do with as you will :)

Ah, didn't think about the magic item purchase. Hmmm, have to rethink some things. :-)

Hey, Naatkinson, can Hegy 'borrow' 700GP? :-)

If it's allowed, sure! The only things I can think of to buy are +1 armor or a Cloak of Resistance +1, neither of which I'm super excited about lol

You'll just have to think of a good reason that I loaned you that much money!

Looking for some way to increase her AC a bit and was thinking about a Ring of Protection (+1). Although it might be more interesting to see if she can find and buy one during play in some city someplace. That being said, if we can pool some resources here and there, it might be worth chipping in some GP so that someone can have a cool item that would be useful to the whole party.

I'd thought about buying a Wand of Cure Light Wounds. 750 gp, 1d8+1 healing, 50 charges

Hegy would definitely throw some coin in for that. I'll have to take a closer look at the items (I was basically just looking for AC bumps initially) and see what else might be good.

LOL I'm currently carrying 57 lbs worth of gear. Even with my MW backpack I am over the weight limit if I'm trying to travel lightly. Time to remove some stuff from my list...

I'm perfectly okay with characters lending money to other characters for gear purposes, or everyone pooling some funds together to get an item that will benefit the whole party.

Keep in mind, though, that if you don't have the funds for something right now, you will get a little extra to carry with you in game, and a chance to spend it before the action starts. Once all of the characters are submitted, I'll get a couple of dice rolls from everyone to determine starting wealth and "secret GM plot cookies", and then get the party started.

[Not to GM]

[Note to GM]

[Note to GM]

[Note to Szemely]
(I was feeling left out)

Equipment purchased, including a kick ass wand of cure light wounds. Going to wait on the prepared spells until we get closer to start.

Quick questions as I'm getting rolling: Aasimar okay? Also, do racial skill proficiency bonuses GIVE you that skill? Are we paying attention to racial "Favored Classes"?

Now that I'm not half-drugged on muscle relaxers (yesterday was a bad day...much ouch, very pain), lemme give your questions the answers they deserve.

I'll be brutally honest, I didn't double-check to see if anyone had picked their favorite classes, and which bonuses they were using for said favored class. So no, I wasn't paying attention to that. If people WANT to use those bonuses, then I'm fine with that, but it's an all or nothing thing. Either everyone is using them, or nobody is. (Naatkinson, szemely, and moofslaot, did you guys factor in Favored Class on your characters?)

On racial skill bonuses, I've never played that any racial skill bonus gives you a class trained bonus in that skill...it just means that your race is more prone to that particular skill. For instance, a Halfling fighter still has the +2 racial bonus to Acrobatics, but he won't have the class-trained bonus that a Halfling rogue would have.

And yes, you can play an Aasimar...and it does my heart good to see someone consider playing one...they hold a special place in my heart as the first race I ever played D&D with.

Yep, I took my Favored Class bonuses :)

Did you use the racial, or the normal +1 HP or +1 Skill Point?

I... am not sure what that means?

Favored Class: Each character begins play with a single favored class of his choosing—typically, this is the same class as the one he chooses at 1st level. Whenever a character gains a level in his favored class, he receives either + 1 hit point or + 1 skill rank. The choice of favored class cannot be changed once the character is created, and the choice of gaining a hit point or a skill rank each time a character gains a level (including his first level) cannot be changed once made for a particular level. Prestige classes (see Prestige Classes) can never be a favored class.

In Pathfinder, you get to pick a "Favored Class" at first level. Whenever you take a level in your Favored Class, you get a bonus in it...the core book lists a +1 HP or +1 Skill Rank, but other books list different bonuses for different races.

Ahh, then no I haven't included those bonuses yet.

I'd go ahead and add them, then.

I'll take the HP +2 bump.

+3, actually. You get it for 1st level, too. :)

Okay cool. I'll probably end up taking the HP bonus for the Summoner Favored Class since that can be really useful for Life Link, but as an Aasimar Summoner I could also give my Eidolon DR 1/evil for every level in my Favored Class (apparently).

So yeah, then if I didn't take Diplomacy or Persuasion, they'd just be at +2 not at 2+WIS Mod or 2+CHA Mod (is that right?)

I might submit my characters in a wholly unfinished state so you can look at them (I'm making 1 PC for the Summoner and 1 for the Eidolon).

You still get your ability mod, even if you don't have the skill Trained, unless that skill can only be used when Trained (like Knowledge skills). So if you didn't put any ranks in Diplomacy, You'd have 0 ranks + Wis mod + 2 for Racial.

Class skills also give you a +3 Trained bonus when you put ranks in them, which is how they differentiate between Class and Cross Class skills in Pathfinder. So as a Summoner, if you put max ranks for level 3 into your Spellcraft, you'd have 3 + 3 Trained Bonus + Int mod + Racial bonus (if any).

Irvan, would you be able to allow players to "submit two characters" to your game specifically so I can submit both my Eidolon and my Summoner? They really need separate character sheets but I can't show both without being able to submit two characters.

Also, someone remind me not to pick the SUPER COMPLICATED classes when starting on a new system

Yes, I will.

Also, don't pick the SUPER COMPLICATED classes when starting on a new system ;)

...even if it is a great way to learn the system. :)

BTW, I'm super excited to see a summoner. I've never had one in my games, the closest I got was a Wizard who really liked to use Summon Monster.

That's why I went with a simple class (even if it's the Unchained version) and then only picked class skills. Keeping it easy! ;)

I'm thinking that the character concept is a brother and sister pair where the brother is the Angel Eidolon and the sister (my PC) is the Aasimar Summoner. More story as it develops.

Half-siblings? THAT is an awesome idea!

I was kind of hoping to go full Angel/Devil a.la. Dizzy from Guilty Gear but you can only be a half-step Alignment separated from your Eidolon. Thus, half-siblings. Glad you're intrigued. :)

...I...I just...there are no words. None. Bravo, I'm speechless. This is gonna be something beautiful.

It's going to be a real let down when my poor play gets my dope character concept killed in the first fight.

It's always so sad when that happens :-(

Ah, don't worry. You won't "die" in the first fight. After all, this is just the prologue!

Now, the second fight, all gloves come off...but you'll only be maimed horribly in the first fight ;)

Something to look forward to!

Sorry I'm taking so long with my character! It's just an incredibly busy week for me. I can just about manage to pop in now and then to fire off a quick post but nothing as involved as character creation. I'll have it done on Monday, I promise. I am definitely going to play a cat-folk ninja.

I agree, yours is an incredible character concept, DJForeclosure! Can't wait to see it in play!

No worries, Jabes. I completely understand what it's like to have life get in the way of the fun stuff. The latest I wanna start is the first of April, but if we have things set up to where we can start before then, that'll be fantastic.

We can always start first and flesh out the characters in game play. ;) I'm still wondering how we all know one another.

If that is something you want to work out in character, I'm game for that. Most likely, I was going to have it as you've all done work together before on other joint guild assignments, such as investigating a found tomb or exploring an uncharted patch of jungle. The rogue and the ninja could probably both be members of the same Guild (Thieves Guild, anyone?), the witch and summoner would probably be members of the Magus Guild. The Barbarian could be a member of the Explorer's Guild or the Protector's Guild, either one.

These are all merely suggestions, of course. I'm not gonna railroad you into anything...yet.

Are we choosing any Traits?

Not right now, no. There are SO MANY traits to go through, and I don't wanna confuse our newbies too much...plus, some of them just aren't applicable to this campaign.

I may allow you guys to acquire traits later as you level up, but for now, I'm gonna say we hold off on them.

Sounds good to me, just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything on my character

Xulara is also a member of the Explorer's guild. Her expertise is in dungeoneering.

Are we going to be using the Fast, Medium, or Slow exp track?

Good question. I'm using the Medium XP track, which means everyone is currently sitting at 5000 XP, and gains their next level at 9000 XP. Everyone will also have 3 Hero Points, and you gain one additional Hero Point every level. Hero points are also gained by impressing the GM with some heroic or daring feat.

You can use hero points in a number of ways, but can only spend one per turn. Spending a Hero Point is a Free action:

-Add a +5 bonus to your Attack roll, increasing the odds you'll hit.
-Add a +5 Dodge bonus to your AC for one turn, decreasing the odds that you are hit.
-Add +5 to any one skill check.
-Add +5 to any save.
-Auto-confirm a critical.
-Take a full turn's worth of actions when at 0 HP without falling unconscious and dying.
-Auto-stabilize when at negative HP.

Other uses for Hero Points can be argued, but these are the main uses for them in my world.

Do you have to spend a hero point before you roll the attack?

To be honest, I just come up with this system for hero points about five minutes ago, so I haven't worked out EVERY detail yet...but yes. If you are going to use a Hero Point during your turn, then declare that at the start of your turn, when you post your actions. In the case of Critical Confirmation, you don't have to spend the hero point until after you roll the crit; this way, you don't waste a Hero Point by saying "I'm spending a Hero Point to auto-confirm this potential critical!"

How do you normally confirm a critical?

When you roll a crit, you have to make another attack roll. If that second attack roll would have hit, then the critical is confirmed and you do double damage, otherwise you just make a normal hit.

Look at this article for critical hits

Man you're quick on the draw...I was just about to hit post when my notification email hit.

But yes, Naatkinson hit the nail on the head.

Rolling for HP...

Edit: ah pewp... that's a total of 23 HP (including the 8+2 from Level 1 and +3 HP from Favored Class Summoner).

Hegy has taken her favored class bonuses (2 skills, 1 HP). Magus guild it is (ooooh, +5 Arcana!!)

With characters MOSTLY created, I need two more things from everyone before we get too deep into how you know each other and all that.

I need everyone to roll 1d100 (GM Secret Purposes...mwahahahaha) and 1d6 (determine the GP you have on hand at the start of the game, in addition to any leftover from equipment purchases.

Uh-oh, GM secrets.

I hope they're good secrets!

"Good" is always relative...I think they're great. You guys might not think so much ;)

INFORMATION!

[Note to GM]

ANOTHER INFODUMP YAY!!!!!

Notessssss.

Got a question for you guys: one of my IRL friends and co-workers is looking for a game, and wanted to know if you guys would be willing to allow a sixth to join. I have no problem with it, as I can modify things to accommodate an extra body, but I wanted to ask you first before I told him to join up.

Gonna make him join GP either way, but still...

Real people from the real world?! What is this insanity??

Works for me as long as he plays a healer. Jk.

I know! It's nuts!

And healer? Where you'll be going, you won't need healers. :P

I don't mind at all

Yeah, fine with me. You're the one who has to GM for 6 players (I prefer

When I first wrote this campaign, our gaming group had about 7 or 8 players around the table at any time. 6 is generally my upper limit. :)

Rolling....

Alrighty, then. I sent him an invite, as he literally just signed up for GP. Woo! New people!

Hey kaosanddoom, welcome to our little corner of the insane asylum. These people are all very helpful, so don't hesitate to ask any questions if you have them.

Hello everyone. Its nice to "meet" you. Looking at playing a Dwarven Paladin. Play tank and provide some heals. Help the group, team player, blah blah blah. Sound good?

Also, stat rolls.

Do a new roll, but don't hit Reroll Aces, bro. Cuz that didn't look right at all...lol

reroll without the auto ace reroll thing

rerolling the 5 1s

Eta: Adding those it appears i have a 13,17,14,6,13,13

all looks good to me

Dat 6 tho

yea, gonna use the standard roll provided

Welcome, Kaosanddoom!

hp die roll

Weird thing about Reroll Aces functionality on Gamers Plane: it does the opposite of what you'd expect, it seems. It rerolls the 6s. :/

Anyways, welcome!

It's for certain systems with 'exploding' dice mechanics. In those, when you roll max you get to roll again. Never played those systems, but I've heard of the mechanic. Though it could have a better label lol

The name is a little confusing...but the mechanic is sound. We used it a lot in oWoD games.

DJForeclosure, your sheet looks good. I'm just waiting on equipment before I approve everything.

And you guys can't see it, but I'm rubbing my hands in anticipation. If I had a evil lap kitty, I'd be stroking it while chuckling with glee...

Mu. Ha. Ha.

I also have a lot of backstory writing to do, so there should be a lot more to read for my character(s) in due time.

As far as equipment goes, does anyone have any recommendations? There's so much out there I was just planning on using the core book's basic stuff...

Don't go too nuts on the backstory unless you just want to. Just some basic stuff that your teammates would know about you is good enough for right now.

There are all kinds of kits and such that have the necessities for being an adventurer in Ultimate Equipment and the Advanced Player's Guide. I always like recommending that players take a look at those when deciding on gear.

For instance, there's a Summoner's kit that has a backpack, a bedroll, a belt pouch, a flint and steel, an iron pot, a mess kit, soap, torches (10), trail rations (5 days), and a waterskin, all for about 8 GP

Welcome aboard, Kaosanddoom!

irvanovich, the money that was rolled is in addition to the money left over from equipment purchasing, correct? Can we assume we have a safe place to store some of the money while only carrying around a bit of spending cash? (Does it even matter?) :-)

Xulara would be happy to hide the gold for you. No one will ever find it, promise!

Yes, any gold leftover from purchasing gear before the start of game is added to the amount you rolled.

And it is plausible that you have a footlocker or chest in your guild hall accomodations, but that's something you'd have to purchase for yourself. :)

I'm going to need to see two forms of ID first!

Only two? Easy!

On second thought I think I'll just exchange most of it for PP so I can keep it with me. :-)

Yea i am to broke to have to worry about stashing money. Oh the joys of a mounted paladin...

Alright kaosanddoom, I need two rolls from you.

1d100 for GM purposes
1d6 for GOOOOOOOOLD

here ya go

If you need cash, Garn could loan you some money!

I appreciate the offer, but all that a true paladin requires is the blessing of his patron deity. Everything else is just for comfort.

Oh...oh goody. A 1 out of 100. That's...that's...muhahahaha

Going to roll for my Eidolon's health, and then I think I'm finished with the mechanics of my character creation. I'm assuming that my Eidolon will get max HP for Level 1, so it'll just be Levels 2 and 3 I roll for.

Edit: So 24 total. Not bad? I guess? We'll see. Also, I don't know the details on the Eidolon's Claw or Slam attacks, so I filled in things like Crit and Type just based on guesses. If there's anything wrong there, let me know.

Don't forget, your Eidolon also has a Con score, so he gets the Con bonus. That puts his HP at 27, not 24 ;).

Other than that, it looks good. If you, moofsalot, and kaosanddoom could kindly post a description for everyone's sake, we'll be one step closer to ready to begin.

Also, szemely, did you want to put together a small sheet for your familiar, or just let it be? I'm fine either way. :)

I think I put the +3 HP in the roll for the HP since I believe his CON is 13. Does he benefit from any other bonuses?

You most certainly did, never mind me. Yay Monday.

Nope, it looks to me like you have everything accounted for. Both sheets have been approved.

A little back story of Dahlia. This character is about as goody two shoes as they come. She will do nothing to tarnish her honor. That being said, what she doesn't see she has no control over. (OOC the system requires me to play lawful good, which i will do, but i have no intention of this character trying to cram her religion or beliefs down other players throats.)

Dahlia grew up different from most other girls. Instead of playing with dolls and lusting after pretty dresses, Dahlia played swords with the boys and watched all the local knights parade by on their war horses. From the time she can remember all she ever wanted was to become one of the armored heroes. She began to squire for a paladin knight just as soon as she could find one willing to work with her. At age ten that finally became a reality. Here knights name was Sir Cestus, a paladin of the god Sarenrae. Sir Cestus instructed Dahlia on the ways of a paladin, the ways of a warrior, and the ways of the world. Dahlia was a faithful squire for the rest of Sir Cestus's life, all be it that was only 20 years.

Dahlia gained her combat experience in a war with an orc tribe terrorizing a set of towns. The chief of the orc tribe had decided that the the towns were going to pay protection. 50% of all the crops and gold the town produced were to be paid to the orc tribe in exchange for not destroying the towns. For a couple years the agreement worked out. The orcs did protect the town and though it cost them a great deal, they could live in peace. But when the chief passed and his son assumed command everything changed. The orcs no longer kept the bandits away. They came to town and pillaged and raped at least once a month. Something had to be done. The town in a desperate cry for help prayed to Sarenrae to heal their town and protect them from the monstrous orcs marauding their lands. Sarenrae sent this call on to Sir Cestus. As required by all followers of Sarenrae, a meeting was set to allow the orcs to atone for their wickedness. The chiefs son, now known as chief Ericson, blatantly refused to stop and in fact promised to get worse. So lord Cestus challenged him to open combat. Should Chief Ericson win, he could have the city but if Lord Cestus won the entire orc tribe had to relocate to somewhere away from civilization. Lord Cestus, with great difficulty, bested the orc warlord. However, during his recovery from the fight, the orcs broke the treaty and invaded the town again. They murdered Lord Cestus and attempted to setup a ruling council of orcs in the towns. These events lead to a decade long skirmish in the area simply called the orc wars. It was these years that formed dahlia into the warrior women she is today.

Standing 6'5" tall and near 200 pounds, Dahlia is a battle hardened warrior women to her core. She fears no enemy and would gladly give her life to protect the innocent around her.

For reference, the avatar i am using is this character.

I like it, but there's one small thing: How old is Dahlia? In the continent this campaign is taking place, there hasn't been any major action like this for nearly 90 years...there's an occasional raid on smaller villages, but the orcs and goblins stay away from the bigger cities because of the Knights and armies. Is she an immigrant from another continent (entirely possible...even if I don't have them built yet)?

Yep, immigrant. The current location is not her native land. She comes from a much smaller, less organized area. (wherever that is in your world). After finally defeating these marauding orcs in her homeland, she decides to travel and see if her services are of use anywhere else.

Also she is 35 to 40 region of age.

Awesome. She's from Tavis then...and you've given me a good idea for that country's backstory.

Hi guys! I'm sorry if I've been the cause of delay! Yeah it's been crazy but I've got some downtime now and I've really been looking forward to sitting down and getting my character sorted out! :-)

So like I mentioned before, I'm making a Catfolk Ninja. I was considering some of the ninja archetypes but I've decided to just go with the straight up (Unchained) version. I'm really looking forward to the challenges roleplaying this character is going to bring. In addition to the racial prejudice against catfolk, as a ninja assassin I foresee some tension between some of the other PC's, with perhaps Dahlia in particular.

So please look him over and see if there's anything wrong or missing.
Some notes & questions:
1. I went with Irvanovich's standard stat array instead of the stats I rolled
2. I couldn't find stats for a Ninjatō. I guess we're going with a Wakizashi.
3. Actually for the primary weapon I'm still deciding between the Kusarigama and the Kyoketsu shoge. Both are weapons I've always loved from watching ninja films back in the 80's :-D.
4. Poisons. I can buy 'em?
5. Vicious caltrops. Allowable?
6. Darkleaf Cloth for my armor. Allowable?
7. Skills. I haven't assigned all my skill points yet. I believe ((8+Int mod)xlevel)=30. The rules say "You gain a +3 bonus on all class skills that you put ranks into." So on the character sheet, do you just put the +3 in the miscellaneous column in the skills section?

1. Awesome
2. A ninjato would basically be a short sword with the Versatile quality (the longer handle of the ninjato means it can be wielded with one or two hands).
3. Either one would be beautiful...
4. If you can afford them and find a merchant, then yes.
5. Yes, though after creation they'll be hard to find if you aren't in your home village.
6. The dice say yes, it is.
7. Yes, use the mscellaneous column for your +3 Trained bonus on your class skills.

I need two rolls from you. 1d100 for story purposes, and a 1d6 so I can determine the gold you're playing with.

So the d6 is to determine the "additional 400-1000 GP"?

Also:
-I forgot to include the bonus hit points from favored class. 1 per level, right?
-Ok, I'm going to get busy assigning skill points.

With favored class, you get one or the other. You don't get both the hit points and the racial favored class bonus.

Really and truly, you're only SUPPOSED to get one of the options, period. Either skill points, HP, or whatever the racial may be...but I hate that rule. I like the pick and choose each level method a lot better. :)

Ah. Since I chose the favored class bonus thing I'll just set the hit points back then. :-)

"The choice of favored class cannot be changed once the character is created, and the choice of gaining a hit point or a skill rank each time a character gains a level (including his first level) cannot be changed once made for a particular level."

You actually can pick each level, even by RAW :)

You are correct. That's what I get for making a rules claim after being awake since 2 this morning. Hurrah overtime!

Yay for being overworked!

Can't complain too much. That sweet sweet paycheck is gonna look beautiful.

Sorry, I'm confused. So the choice is between extra hit points and extra skill ranks. But you can pick one of those and still gain the racial favored class bonus (in the case of catfolk with ninja as favored class the bonus is: Add a +1 bonus to attack rolls when attacking on or charging from higher ground.)?

Once we have all of Toshi's skill points set up, we'll be good to go. I'll start putting the finishing touches on the prologue's opening post, and I'll put it up in the IC forum when I approve Toshi's sheet.

LET'S GET THIS SHINDIG STARTED!

Assigning skill points as we speak. Will pick a feat as well. Probably one of the racial feats. Oh, and will get the gear straightened out.

I confused myself. Correct me if I'm wrong, Naatkinson, but you can select either the racial class bonus, the +1 hit point, or the +1 skill rank each level.

So, potentially, you could have a bonus 3 HP, 3 bonus skill ranks, or a bonus +3 attack from higher ground, or any combination of the three therein.

I don't think the higher ground bonus scales as you level. Unless I'm wrong it's just a static +1 all the way.

Nope, the default options are HP or a skill point. The Racial Favored Class bonus is another option, not an addition. So you get to pick one of the three.

The racial favored class bonuses stack as well. So if it's a +1, then if you take it a second time it adds ANOTHER +1. So you could have up to a +20.

EDIT: Some of them actually have a cap, which it will state in the text :)

You are correct, sir :)

That means Toshi can be Finesse-trained in both the wakizashi and the kusarigama, right?

Another question: Wouldn't a finesse-trained fighter be able to use his Dex bonus in place of his Str bonus to calculate his CMB?

Weapons with the "Finesse" quality can be used with weapon finesse. I don't think the wakazashi or kusarigama are Finesse. I'll have to look when I get home.

You can use your Dex mod instead of your Str mod when determining your attack bonus, yes. You will have to select only one of those that you want to be able to add your Dex mod to for damage purposes.

You must take the Agile Maneuvers feat to be able to use your Dex for CMB.

Also of note. Some maneuvers can be straight up made with your weapon:

Wakizashi is a light weapon, so it's eligible. Kusarigama is not eligible since it's two-handed.

Link to Xulara

I may make some tweaks to skills since there's a lot of overlap with Toshi. We'll see. I'll post a character background later today.

How do the numbers on the sheet look?

I my have to rethink a lot of things. Was operating under the incorrect assumption that I could finesse a kusarigama.

The numbers look good. LOOOVE the backstory.

Alright gang, I've opened up the first "chapter" of the game. You are all welcome to begin. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do.

Argh! I'm still behind.

I swear I'll catch up soon. I'm kind of obsessed with detailed backstories to define a character, but I promise Maia will be ready soooooooon.

"... And that's why Maia's favorite food to this day is rabbit stew. When she was 10 3/4..."

I had a friend at a table that almost literally wrote a novel for the backstories of each and every one of his characters. I kid you not, he came to a Vamprie LARP one night with a 1 1/2" 3-ring binder FULL of notes and history for his little freshly created neonate Ventrue. Single spaced, 10 point font. A thesis on the life and times of his character.

When you beat that, then I'll say you're obsessed with detailed backstories. Until then, you're just paying attention to detail :D

I try to keep my backgrounds short and to the point, but GM if you have questions or need more details I can provide!

The opening post in the Gameplay forum has been edited to include some highly important information, which I completely left out. Look for the bolded text.

EDUCATION!

Sorry, guys, I thought Toshi was all set but then I hit a bit of a snag there. It's not such a big deal, but definitely a bit of a change in concept. So it seems I can't finesse a kusarigama nor a Kyoketsu shoge (both two-handed weapons). I could easily just go wakizashi but that feels kinda meh to me. So being catfolk I'll just go with the natural weapons. So I chose Cat's Claws to replace Natural Hunter (and removed the associated skill bonuses) and also changed my chosen manifestation for Catfolk Exemplar from to Sharp Claws instead of Enhanced Senses.

Furthermore, I'm changing my Ninja Trick: instead of Bleeding Strike I'm taking Vicious Claws (roll d8's for sneak attack damage but only when performing SA with your claws).

So with his claws now his main melee weapons (I assume these can be finessed!) he's ditching all weapons except his kunai and maybe a longer ranged weapon (I'm still picking ).

Tekko-Kagi as a secondary weapon would've been awesome and thematically appropriate, but it's an exotic weapon so I would have to burn a feat slot for that, right? :-(

How many feats does a 3rd level ninja get? I only put one: Catfolk Exemplar (which then grants him the Aspect of the Beast feat as a bonus).

Yeah, Tekko-Kati require EWP.

You have 2 feats at level 3, not counting what your class provides.

It seems I was mistaken: Catfolk Exemplar does NOT grant Aspect of the Beast as a bonus feat - it merely qualifies you to take the feat even if you don't meet the normal requirements. So ok, assigning Aspect of the Beast to my 2nd feat slot.

Putting in NPCs while I wait for everyone to post.

The tarrasque can totally have class levels, right guys?


...Guys?

Totally! Give it 20 levels in Wizard and 20 in Bard. Those seem to fit the best!

I've always wanted a pet tarrasque! You shouldn't have!

I was thinking Barbarian...because a tarrasque isn't crazy enough without Rage...

Bard 20 / Oracle 20, obviously.

Wiz20 Clr20 Mystic Theurge 10

Summoner, with a Tarrasque lady-friend as his Eidolon

Aww yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh

Today was the day I wanted to officially get things started, but I will be away from the computer all day today. I'll move us all along this evening when I get home (be about 5:00, central time).

I'll have a small description up for sure, with more to follow because I can. :)

Making tweaks to my char sheet. Will finalize by this weekend.

What does non-proficiency mean in PF, specifically with regards to exotic weapons? In some game systems you cannot use a weapon without proficiency, while other systems allow you to use them but either at penalty, or you're denied the benefit of a proficiency bonus. How does it work in PF?

If you attack with a weapon you are not proficient in, you take a -4 to attack rolls

You can use it, but you have a -4 penalty until you take the EWP feat for it. :D

Got it. Thanks! :-)

Rolling HP for level 4+

EDIT: You've gotta be kidding me...

Rolling for Hp

For our inexperienced players: At level 4, you get your first ability score increase. That means you can add +1 to your Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, or Cha. You also gain all of the benefits of being level 4 in your particular class...you'll roll your Hit Die and add your Con modifier to it to determine your new HP gained, allocate skill points, and gain whatever new abilities your class affords you.

Oh man this actually IS going to take me a few days. :P

Edit: FUCK YEAH THOSE ROLLS.

If I can help you make it easier, DJ, lemme know :)

All done with my level :)

Here we go...

Rerolling HP!

EDIT: Rerolling the 2 with another hero point (if allowed)

EDIT: ...

I am also gonna use a hero point to reroll that shite hp roll.

Ok, character has been leveled.

NOW I'm going to do a re-roll that doesn't count, to prove that the dice roller hates me! Bet it rolls really well too

EDIT: HAH! It still sucks. At least it hates me all the time :)

At least that second reroll for funsies had some decent numbers to it...not great, but decent...

EDIT: Wow. They really do hate you.

Again!

I'm having fun now

EDIT: I'm done now :)

Rollin'...

I don't know what y'all's problems are. My HP rolls are great.

I think I have Maia done? Now just for Eidolon stats...

Mine have been fine. Naat's had bad luck with rolling since stats. :-x

Yeah, this game is rigged!

No hurry. I'm still working on finalizing the dungeon

What are Hero Points? I mean I think I know from the discussion but where are they defined in the core book?