Author Topic: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread  (Read 196027 times)

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #60 on: May 15, 2014, 11:24:18 AM »
Ah, so you plan to take both SS and Crusader levels, it's just a matter of which is first? OK.

You do know that levels in prestige classes that progress your initiator level actually apply to all base class progressions fully, right? So if you went monk 2/crusader 2/swordsage 2/PrC 14, where the PrC 14 is levels in any prestige classes that progress your initiator levels, you'd have initiator levels of 18 for both crusader and swordsage at level 20.
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Offline Frogman55

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #61 on: May 15, 2014, 11:42:11 AM »
Ah, so you plan to take both SS and Crusader levels, it's just a matter of which is first? OK.

You do know that levels in prestige classes that progress your initiator level actually apply to all base class progressions fully, right? So if you went monk 2/crusader 2/swordsage 2/PrC 14, where the PrC 14 is levels in any prestige classes that progress your initiator levels, you'd have initiator levels of 18 for both crusader and swordsage at level 20.
Yup. Another benefit to taking crusader at this point is that I can hold off on adaptive style, freeing a feat for combat reflexes.

And yeah, I'm good on initiator level. What would be really fun is monk 2, crusader 1, swordsage 1, warblade 1, PRC(s) 15 - leaving me with an IL of 17 in all three base classes. That's not as useful as it sounds, as it is rather difficult to get level 9 manuevers in every discipline (though possible). Of course, with this build, the only PrCs that I can use to achieve that are shadowsun ninja and master of nine, neither of which seem particularly useful to the build.

What I'll probably do is Monk 2, Crusader 1, Swordsage 2, then crusader till the end.

I suppose I could look for some Homebrew PrCs that could work. Given the fluff, I could ask hard to get Tengu to be allowed to be an eternal blade, too. But that's a way off, and not really worth the energy at this point.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2014, 11:44:08 AM by Frogman55 »

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #62 on: May 15, 2014, 11:57:33 AM »
If we get to a point where it matters for prereqs, my character can manifest Psychic Reformation starting at 7th level. :D
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Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #63 on: May 15, 2014, 02:17:31 PM »
Quote
Limen (Rubicon): A village at the crossroads, its population is smaller than it seems.  It often serves as a last stop for the marked deciding to take the land bridge into the shrouded areas, or heading to Claverdown to get a boat trip there, or even simply to turn back around.  Without the flow of travelers the place would be a ghost town.  With that said, the number of travelers have been getting less and less with each month.  Soon this tired village will be abandoned as well.
Just noticed this and it is really interesting.

Why are the numbers coming through decreasing? Are there fewer people showing up as marked?

And you say some decide to turn back. How is that an option? I thought they were compelled to make the journey. Is there a will save to resist, which scales the longer you resist it or something?

And now something for my fellow partymates to help me decide (mostly, but if the DM wants to chime in, he's of course welcome :P )
Since at least part of this game seems to be about uncovering why the darkness overtook Mt. Throne, why the Marked are appearing, who/what the shades are, and what all of this bodes for the future, I'm picking at least some of my psi powers based on the ones that might be most useful for this. I picked up Clairsentience, because it is just the most amazing low level scrying ability in the game, hands down. I'm tempted to get Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions and Object Reading, also, but the latter is available as a relatively cheap item (3000 gp), so I could potentially pick it up later.

So that leaves Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions. While it is an amazing investigative tool, it has a manifesting time of 1 hour, and will be the only 2nd level power that I will know for the day for quite some time, if I choose it. So the decision to use it would basically entail the group staying put in an area for at least one day, if not two (one to select it as a power known for the day and use it, and maybe another if I want to trade it out for something that's actually useful if we get into a scrap).

I'd be trading it for Astral Construct, Expansion, or Concussion Blast. The latter one could be a life-saver if we run into incorporeals. The second one I bet will be quite popular among my party-mates (I can manifest it on multiple people at once through my network). So I guess that leaves Astral Construct as the one to be replaced. It is a pretty strong "summoning" power, but also pretty handy for utility (summon something to set off traps, fly us up to a ledge, etc). So it's a hard decision. Anyone else have thoughts on this? Or other recommendations?
« Last Edit: May 15, 2014, 02:28:56 PM by phaedrusxy »
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Offline Frogman55

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #64 on: May 15, 2014, 02:57:09 PM »
Sensitivity is hugely dependent on the DM (like any other sort of divination tool), so you might want to check with him about what kind of game he wants to run.

That being said.... force damage is fun, but concussive blast seems like a kind of crappy blasting spell. Just 1d6 damage? With hugely expensive augmentations? Magic missile damage scales better than this thing. Sure, having a way to deal with incorporeals is important, but a couple magic missile wands would probably be better than this.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #65 on: May 15, 2014, 03:01:52 PM »
I am not a fan of minion-based stuff like summons, honestly. Seems like cheating.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #66 on: May 15, 2014, 03:11:44 PM »
Sensitivity is hugely dependent on the DM (like any other sort of divination tool), so you might want to check with him about what kind of game he wants to run.

That being said.... force damage is fun, but concussive blast seems like a kind of crappy blasting spell. Just 1d6 damage? With hugely expensive augmentations? Magic missile damage scales better than this thing. Sure, having a way to deal with incorporeals is important, but a couple magic missile wands would probably be better than this.
I can't use said wand (though maybe someone else could).

I won't have these powers "known" all the time (Vitalist gets to swap them out daily, like a Spirit Shaman).

I did go ahead and trade out Astral Construct, and think I'll trade out Metamorphosis for something called Mindhunter as well (Metamorphosis is still quite powerful, even the nerfed form that PF uses).
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Offline SolEiji

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #67 on: May 15, 2014, 10:06:31 PM »
Quote
Limen (Rubicon): A village at the crossroads, its population is smaller than it seems.  It often serves as a last stop for the marked deciding to take the land bridge into the shrouded areas, or heading to Claverdown to get a boat trip there, or even simply to turn back around.  Without the flow of travelers the place would be a ghost town.  With that said, the number of travelers have been getting less and less with each month.  Soon this tired village will be abandoned as well.
Just noticed this and it is really interesting.

Why are the numbers coming through decreasing? Are there fewer people showing up as marked?

And you say some decide to turn back. How is that an option? I thought they were compelled to make the journey. Is there a will save to resist, which scales the longer you resist it or something?

 :smirk Gahahahaha, you got me.  A very good question.  I'm going to field that question to that emo git Dominic.

"You've noticed as well, fewer people are coming through here.  It's for the better, I think.  There's nothing good in there waiting for them.  Whatever force compels us to travel must be a being of malice, people aren't ready for the horrors they face there.  A lot of them die.  The ones that retreat to the border towns or return to here to try and live out their lives.  If only we could keep the visions out of our head... they start getting violent you know, after a while. 

Perhaps you're still in its early stages.  You had the dreams, the fuzzy images of something in the shroud, the desire to find something.  After a while, it's all you dream about.  Soon you can't sleep, it wakes you up and disturbs your rest.  You'll start having waking dreams, or worse start hallucinating.  I... I haven't had a good night's sleep in days.  I'm still sane though, I hear after a while you just break.  There was someone in Claverdown who went on a killing spree.  I think he thought the townsfolk were monsters.  I'd go back to a major city to see if they could help, but I hear they just exile their marked if they don't go on their own, or imprison them, or worse.  I think they're afraid of us losing our minds.  I can't blame them.

D...do me a favor... I have another order for a potion of sleep from the store and I'm too exhausted to get up and get it.  I need it for tonight again."


On the mechanical side of things, it's not a Will save or anything (yet), and in theory the party could just turn around and ignore it.  But then there are side effects, mostly relating to sleep deprivation and the mental health issues which come off it.  The madness is slow and won't have clear stages, so I didn't feel compelled to attach a saving throw to any of it.  It mostly serves as an sparkplug to get things going.

But numbers have been decreasing.  Many are choosing to try and avoid the shroud, to stay and home and tough it out.  Gone is the initial zeal that followed disaster, gone is the thirst for knowledge and a cure.  People are starting to accept this as an inescapable cancer and fearing what is in the shroud.  I've made mention of an "Event Horizon", which is the farthest people have gotten into Icelspar and returned to tell about it, and they keep talking about horrible things they've seen there.  So those that haven't returned must have had it even worse.

Many of the marked cover up their mark while in cities because they worry about the stigma attached to it.  These people could snap any moment, how can you trust any of them?

Quote
And now something for my fellow partymates to help me decide (mostly, but if the DM wants to chime in, he's of course welcome :P )
Since at least part of this game seems to be about uncovering why the darkness overtook Mt. Throne, why the Marked are appearing, who/what the shades are, and what all of this bodes for the future, I'm picking at least some of my psi powers based on the ones that might be most useful for this. I picked up Clairsentience, because it is just the most amazing low level scrying ability in the game, hands down. I'm tempted to get Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions and Object Reading, also, but the latter is available as a relatively cheap item (3000 gp), so I could potentially pick it up later.

*Chuckles darkly*  :evillaugh
Mudada.

Offline ketaro

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #68 on: May 15, 2014, 10:08:26 PM »
Wait, what's this marked stuff? I think I missed something...

Offline SolEiji

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #69 on: May 15, 2014, 10:16:43 PM »
Wait, what's this marked stuff? I think I missed something...

Lol wat?  Um, yes you did.  I'll redirect you to the initial setting fluff but the tl;dr of it is "After Mt Throne got dark and monsters were everywhere, people started getting 'marked', compelling them to enter the shroud for uncertain reasons.  This resulted in a lot of deaths, a lot of people going missing, and survivors usually coming back shell shocked.  And the ones who don't go keep getting visions until they start having health and mental issues."  The PCs, of course, are marked as well.

One fun fact is that the larger monsters seem to ignore the marked (not so much for smaller weaker monsters) so many have used them as scouts to try and explore Icelspar.
Mudada.

Offline ketaro

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #70 on: May 15, 2014, 10:22:20 PM »
Well now, doesn't that suddenly just make it seem like I joined a game without knowing what it was about :D

No but I remembered the darkness and Mt Throne and that Icelspar jazz. I guess the "why" was just lost :p

Offline FireInTheSky

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #71 on: May 15, 2014, 11:49:45 PM »
Are there rules somewhere for pricing of arrows made of special materials (i.e. silver/cold iron/adamantine)?

Offline SolEiji

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #72 on: May 15, 2014, 11:53:01 PM »
Are there rules somewhere for pricing of arrows made of special materials (i.e. silver/cold iron/adamantine)?

It should be listed with the price of the special material.  The formula seems to be 1/50th the cost of a weapon made out of material X (for example adamantine weapon is 3000g, one adamantine arrow is 60g).  And.... looks like the math holds up.
Mudada.

Offline FireInTheSky

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #73 on: May 16, 2014, 12:01:56 AM »
Actually, it seems like it should be 1 sheaf of adamantine arrows (20ct) = 61gp; 1 sheaf of silver arrows should be 3gp; 1 sheaf of cold iron should be 2 gp.

Offline SolEiji

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #74 on: May 16, 2014, 12:05:32 AM »
Actually, it seems like it should be 1 sheaf of adamantine arrows (20ct) = 61gp; 1 sheaf of silver arrows should be 3gp; 1 sheaf of cold iron should be 2 gp.

How do you figure that math?
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Offline ketaro

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #75 on: May 16, 2014, 12:14:42 AM »
Actually, it seems like it should be 1 sheaf of adamantine arrows (20ct) = 61gp; 1 sheaf of silver arrows should be 3gp; 1 sheaf of cold iron should be 2 gp.

Unfortunately no. Those are for singles.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Arrows

1201 for a full quiver of 20 adamantine arrows.

Offline Frogman55

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #76 on: May 16, 2014, 10:26:25 AM »
Actually, it seems like it should be 1 sheaf of adamantine arrows (20ct) = 61gp; 1 sheaf of silver arrows should be 3gp; 1 sheaf of cold iron should be 2 gp.

Unfortunately no. Those are for singles.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Arrows

1201 for a full quiver of 20 adamantine arrows.
It varies based on the special material. Adamantine is 60 per missile (1201 for a bunch, or 60.05 for one). Cold Iron is double the base price (2 gp for 20). Check the specific listings.

Offline ketaro

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #77 on: May 16, 2014, 08:22:23 PM »
Thats...exactly what I said and linked though.

Offline Frogman55

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #78 on: May 16, 2014, 09:30:54 PM »
Quote from: ketaro link=topic=13609.msg235406#msg235406 date=14002i86143
Thats...exactly what I said and linked though.
sorry for the repetition. I actually thought you were wrong at first till I reread the entry. Wrong in your arithmetic,not content. By the time I finished fixing my own math I had forgotten what I was doing.

But look! Special materials! ;)

Offline FireInTheSky

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Re: Strata- OOC Chatter Thread
« Reply #79 on: May 16, 2014, 10:57:50 PM »
So... pregame crafting of bow & arrows, including special materials???