Character Generation

[Marullus]

Lietz:
That's great stuff.

I like the initial first level missions going as you suggest. (Squishy hit points!)

I fully support your thoughts on Lead informing your concept. I steered away from that and am glad for the differentiation. The Connect skill will be useful for finding patients you helped out pro bono. (Also, consider Henchkeeper!)

Fixing up and reinhabiting places is GREAT for this kind of Sandbox, imho. Using the Faction rules for that is a Strength of this system.

...so far, we seem pretty brains over brawn.

[Rex]

I could switch Str and Int but it is only a 2 point bump. It does get rid of the -1 penalty. I will also think about switching Notice to Stab (would this cover quarter staff?).

[Marullus]

I could switch Str and Int but it is only a 2 point bump. It does get rid of the -1 penalty. I will also think about switching Notice to Stab (would this cover quarter staff?).

Stab covers any melee weapon, where Shoot is any ranged weapon. So, Stab covers quarterstaff.

Check out the weapon table - there are plenty of weapons that can use your +1 Dex instead of your -1 Str.

If the GM is going to allow a second 14 swap, your character that rolled three -1s is a good candidate. I would wait to see what he says.

Nicholas Demalain
Mage(Necromancer)

Question: Effort.
Is it Stat + Skill +1, or is it Stat + Skill? It looks like Leitz used the former and I used the latter.

Gravesight is a fantastic roleplay aid for a Chiurgion.

I found that the allure of a half-necromancer to aid the initial game-start is far outweighed by the progression gained by a full-necromancer at middle levels. I'm excited to see what your full necromancer will allow.

Many Arts don't use any effort; it is worth looking at the spell that destroys undead (Smite the Dead)because it allows a Necromancer to cast it with effort instead of spell slots. Including it in your four spells makes your Necromancer a potent anti-necromancer with more capability.

If you look at the rules for spell picks, a certain number can be High Mage instead of Necromancer. If you're not got going hard-core necromancy those are worth looking at. The Charm Person-equivalent (Ineluctable Shackles of Volition) is in-character (control over will as an outgrowth of necromancy) and like 1e lasts perpetually instead of briefly. Sleep is always great at 1st level. Detect Magic (Apprehending the Arcane Form) is probably important for exploration and you're the real caster who could take it, so far....

[Leitz]

Question: Effort.
Is it Stat + Skill +1, or is it Stat + Skill? It looks like Leitz used the former and I used the latter.

I'm using the free PDF so far, and page 63, right hand column, first sentence of the third full paragraph. "Effort is measured in a score equal to one plus the mage’s Magic skill plus the higher of their Intelligence or Charisma modifiers. "

[Marullus]

Interesting. That's the kind of discrepancy Kevin usually avoids.

A Bard has an Effort score equal to their Perform skill
level plus their Charisma modifier, to a minimum of one
point.

An Accursed has an Effort score equal to their Magic
skill level plus their Intelligence or Charisma modifier,
to a minimum of one point.

...GM, can we use the more favorable method for Effort and I add the +1?

[sulldawga]

Interesting. That's the kind of discrepancy Kevin usually avoids.

A Bard has an Effort score equal to their Perform skill
level plus their Charisma modifier, to a minimum of one
point.

An Accursed has an Effort score equal to their Magic
skill level plus their Intelligence or Charisma modifier,
to a minimum of one point.

...GM, can we use the more favorable method for Effort and I add the +1?

I'm at work now, let me read the rules tonight and see if there's a clarification. If there's not one, I will allow the more favorable method.

[sulldawga]

So, upon first read of AotLE, I don't see a way to make a Accursed/Bard. The book only shows options for Expert/Accursed, Mage/Accursed, and Warrior/Accursed. Essentially the same thing with Bards, they have to be matched with another of the three main classes. The reason why you're seeing different rules for Effort for Accursed and Bards is because they are not supposed to be paired.

If you want to jump on Reddit and ask the man himself for a ruling, I'm all for it, but otherwise I think you're going to have to choose between one or the other.

[Marullus]

...but the Bard is an Expert and the Accursed is a Mage. So, I was checking both Bard/Mage and Accursed/Expert, which seem to match. I don't see limitations on which half-classes can be combined.

...but I did post to Reddit. Let's see what others say.

For my question on Effort, though, I found the answer buried in the main book:

Effort is measured in a score equal to one plus the mage’s Magic skill plus the higher of their Intelligence or Charisma modifiers. Adventurers with the Partial Mage class have an Effort score one point lower than full Mages, though never less than one point.

[Marullus]

...that's cool. I never had the author reply to my post before.

Crawford - Accused-Bard.png (40.46 KiB) Viewed 392 times

[sulldawga]

Glad we got that sorted out. Still think it's a little wonky but it's legit!

This website is also pretty cool: http://latter.earth/classes.html

[Rex]

Cool website.

[sulldawga]

Let's settle on how we're handling this, Marullus.

When you do Accursed things, I use your Accursed Effort. When you do Bard things, I use your Bard Effort.
You get one Expert Focus pick at 1st level but do not get the +1 Any.
You get Magic-0 and Perform-0.
You don't get the bonus skill point when leveling, that other Partial Experts would get.

Does that sound right to you?

[Marullus]

Let's settle on how we're handling this, Marullus.

When you do Accursed things, I use your Accursed Effort. When you do Bard things, I use your Bard Effort.
You get one Expert Focus pick at 1st level but do not get the +1 Any.
You get Magic-0 and Perform-0.
You don't get the bonus skill point when leveling, that other Partial Experts would get.

Does that sound right to you?

Yes, that's my understanding, and how I walked through the character creation. The only discrepency is that I get NO Expert Focus, and only receive the +1 Any (b/c every character gets the +1 Any). But the focus I picked with it is in-fact one that requires an Expert-related class or partial class which is allowable by being Bard.

• Effort pools are distinct.
• One focus. (The "extra Expert focus" and normal Expert benefit of +1 skill point are replaced by the special abilities of Bard.)
• The Magic-0 and Perform-0 are already figured into the skills that are on my sheet.

[sulldawga]

Looks good to me, Marullus.

[Enoch]

I have a few ideas for characters floating around.

The first one (and the one I'm most excited about) is something of a necromancer knight, though one that focuses on healing through bloodshed (Steal Life Force, Red Harvest) rather than the traditional summoning of the dead.

Others include a disgraced duelist or an ambitious trader hoping to make his fortune by exploring this new land, or a tomb raider (Expert or Expert/Necromancer focused on destroying undead, with skills like Sneak and Know and the Trapmaster focus), though Sneak seems to be well-represented.

I love making characters, so if anyone sees a gap in the party, I'd be happy to try to fill it. It seems like we've got most bases covered, though--a scout/ranger and a shapeshifter for exploration, a bard for knowledge, good combat abilities, and a healer.

[Marullus]

I think both Necromancer concepts sound awesome. The Trapmaster who destroys undead in tombs seems particularly inspired. With Ffilz out, I think our biggest need is for a Full Caster who can actually learn spells.

(Adventurers who dual-class are very tempting as they get more capability up-front. I've seen through experience, though, that for a Caster, only a Full-Caster advances spells fast enough to get exciting. Your knight is great, but he's a warrior with necrotic enhancement. A real caster is best to be a caster.)

I think if we all have a little Sneak, that isn't a bad thing. As others get there ideas out, I may tweak mine to fit better (and that may reduce my own Sneak, if I switch Feats).

[Enoch]

Yeah, the Warrior/Necromancer is definitely a warrior first and foremost, with just enough necromancy to be very hard to kill. I suppose a full necromancer may very well be a tomb-raider; it has a very Dying Worlds sort of vibe, plundering tombs looking for new spells and implements and such. They'd certainly have a plausible reason to cross the river and explore. That said, I'd be tempted to take hemomancy as their starting focus, especially with a Healer in the party.

So, given current party composition, I see 3 likely characters, all utilizing necromancy in some way:

• A Mattaqban knight, driven from his village by the incessant wars and seeking his fortune in this far-off land (Warrior/Necromancer with a focus on the Steal Life Force art and self-healing through violence)
• An opportunist looking to plunder vaults and tombs, and who has learned enough charms and minor spells to avoid the most common defenses in such places: traps and mindless undead (Expert/Necromancer, probably with Trapmaster)
• A necromancer looking to learn the secret necromantic arts of the ancients by plundering their tombs in search of spellbooks and magical implements (full Necromancer, possibly using hemomancy)

So I'll put it to the group: what do you think would benefit the party the most? A fighter who doesn't tax our healer's resources? An expert on delving into lost tombs? A wizard with some kind of facility with warding or controlling undead?

[Enoch]

Sulldawga, how do you feel about divination in your games? I'm considering a partial Expert/partial Necromancer as a tomb-delving type, and I was looking at the Atlantean Divination focus:

You may spend an hour in a complex divinatory ritual. At the end of it, ask a one-sentence question about some future event or plan. The GM secretly rolls an Int/Know skill check against difficulty 9; on a success, gain an answer of a few words reflecting the GM’s best judgment of the future.

It works well for someone who has some magical ability and is interested at discovering long-lost secrets. But I know a lot of GMs don't really like divination.

[sulldawga]

Sulldawga, how do you feel about divination in your games? I'm considering a partial Expert/partial Necromancer as a tomb-delving type, and I was looking at the Atlantean Divination focus:

You may spend an hour in a complex divinatory ritual. At the end of it, ask a one-sentence question about some future event or plan. The GM secretly rolls an Int/Know skill check against difficulty 9; on a success, gain an answer of a few words reflecting the GM’s best judgment of the future.

It works well for someone who has some magical ability and is interested at discovering long-lost secrets. But I know a lot of GMs don't really like divination.

I am fine with it, as I'll just be using Mythic GME to come up with something.

Just understand that you're going to get "an answer of a few words" that "cannot plumb into the future beyond a week" and "cannot answer questions about current or past events". It's probably not going to help you discover long lost secrets. I'm not trying to discourage you; go for it! But make sure you know what you're getting.

[sulldawga]

cybersavant, I'm looking at your PC.

I see kinda crummy stats. 2 rolls of 6. I'll assume you're going to change one of them to 14 and I'll let you change the other to 8. Then it looks like you rolled a d6 on the Growth table and got +2 Physical, which you sank into Dex. That should make your final stats:
10 STR
16 DEX (+1)
10 CON
14 INT (+1)
10 WIS
08 CHR

Survive-0 is your free skill, and then you rolled 6 (Sneak-0) and 7 (Survive-1). You get one more free skill, a bonus skill related to your Wise concept, three skills from your Wise art, and one more "free" pick because you can't take Survive-2 from Skinshifter. You've got Exert, Magic, Notice-1, Stab, and Work listed. These are fine, but it would be useful to know which one is related to your Wise concept.

I am fine if you want to make a Partial Wise/Skinshifter. Just know that this is a full magic setting so you may find the Wise class underpowered.

You do get a move bonus from Walk Like Wind as well as from your quadruped Wild Shape. So you're 10' faster as a human and 20' faster as a puma.

Skinshifter Effort is 1.

I am giving all PCs max HP at level 1.

Looks good to me.