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The Official GAF Pen and Paper RPG Thread of Rolling Nothing But 20s!
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I just recently started playing 4th edition with some co-workers. First time ever playing d&d so I have no idea how it differs from version 1-3 but have found 4th edition to be *awesome* and would love to join an online gaf game.
Only problem is that if you guys are playing keep on the shadowfell, that is what I am about to start with my co-workers so it probably wouldn't be that fun if I play it with one group and then know exactly what to do with the other.
edit:
If I am able to join, what kind of characters are already in the party? I play a warlock in my other game, so would like to try out a non-striker in this one. Fighters and Clerics also don't hold a whole lot of interest to me, but a paladin, warlord, or wizard all look pretty sweet.
Only problem is that if you guys are playing keep on the shadowfell, that is what I am about to start with my co-workers so it probably wouldn't be that fun if I play it with one group and then know exactly what to do with the other.
edit:
If I am able to join, what kind of characters are already in the party? I play a warlock in my other game, so would like to try out a non-striker in this one. Fighters and Clerics also don't hold a whole lot of interest to me, but a paladin, warlord, or wizard all look pretty sweet.
chapel said:
As I said.. I am good to go .. though we will have to play early like you suggested before. My son has a baseball meet at 2.45 sunday so if we prep well and start early enough we can surely get a few hours in.
looking forward to it
edit or we can play Saturday late?? just a suggestion.
Yes, Sunday is fine. I will be having my RL tabletop on Saturday nights for the foreseeable future; though, we do not meet every week.
@ Slayn: if we resume what we were playing before - which I'm certainly inclined to do, given that I drew the whole darn Keep in Gametable, and that took a while - then that might be a problem for you. You're more than welcome in any event.
@ Slayn: if we resume what we were playing before - which I'm certainly inclined to do, given that I drew the whole darn Keep in Gametable, and that took a while - then that might be a problem for you. You're more than welcome in any event.
Nah, that's alright. My RL group, except for the DM, is brand new to d&d So I think it would be a lot more fun if our newb group was all experiencing the keep for the first time together.
If and when you guys finish keep and decide to move on to something else I'd be happy to join.
If and when you guys finish keep and decide to move on to something else I'd be happy to join.
Okay, it seems like we're going to play tomorrow, so let's set a time. Also, we should see if any of the new potential recruits would like to join us tomorrow.
Also: PHB2. Love what I've read of it. If you want to make a character from it, that's fine; I just ordered it off Amazon. If you desperately want to make a character from it immediately, please do so now, before we go into the Keep.
Your bro had the half-orc monk in Spook's game, right? The grappler? That was pretty slick.
RECAP TIME
Just to review, we had:
rSpooky: Gromm, Dwarf Fighter
rSpooky's son: Kethanel, Elf Ranger
chapel: Emoran, Half-Elf Paladin
Achapel: Ricdak, Eladrin Wizard
kamikazechick: Triese, Human Warlord
IIRC, we had mostly just decided to get started and make the storyline setup quick and dirty, but...
Everyone in this party except for Triese was a resident or temporary guest in the town of Fallcrest.
Emoran had been contacted by Sister Marla, a priestess of Pelor with Fallcrest's Great Church, and asked to investigate strange disappearances and potential death cult activity in the town of Winterhaven. There was also the matter of a former colleague of hers at the Great Church, Kalarel, who was among one of the missing.
Knowing that many that set out on Old King's Road weren't heard from again, and knowing he might need some scholarly expertise, he met with several potential companions at inns and the local wizards guild; Gromm and Ricdak were willing to travel with Emoran for a share of the spoils. Kethanel, too, but he had his own quest as well - an old friend had gone missing, and he had last been seen near Winterhaven.
On the road, you were beset by a well-organized band of kobolds. You made it to town and talked with the locals at Wrafton's Inn; you discussed the kobold problem with Lord Mayor Padraig and were hired to investigate and shut down their banditry.
You did so, with the assistance of Padraig's headstrong niece. The kobold bandits were run by a brutish goblin taskmaster named Irontooth. He had on his person at the time of his death a signed letter from his master - Kalarel, now a servant of Orcus.
Lots and lots of treasure and xp, yadda, yadda, yadda.
* * *
I hope someone still has all the treasure thus far written down. I hope someone has all the xp thus far written down. This is a prewritten module, so I can get that data again if needed.
Two last points: 1) Let's see about trying to pretest and make sure whatever VOIP we're using tomorrow is working just fine as of tonight. 2) Get your Player's Handbooks out and be ready to level up so we don't waste a lot of time on that tomorrow.
Also: PHB2. Love what I've read of it. If you want to make a character from it, that's fine; I just ordered it off Amazon. If you desperately want to make a character from it immediately, please do so now, before we go into the Keep.
Your bro had the half-orc monk in Spook's game, right? The grappler? That was pretty slick.
RECAP TIME
Just to review, we had:
rSpooky: Gromm, Dwarf Fighter
rSpooky's son: Kethanel, Elf Ranger
chapel: Emoran, Half-Elf Paladin
Achapel: Ricdak, Eladrin Wizard
kamikazechick: Triese, Human Warlord
IIRC, we had mostly just decided to get started and make the storyline setup quick and dirty, but...
Everyone in this party except for Triese was a resident or temporary guest in the town of Fallcrest.
Emoran had been contacted by Sister Marla, a priestess of Pelor with Fallcrest's Great Church, and asked to investigate strange disappearances and potential death cult activity in the town of Winterhaven. There was also the matter of a former colleague of hers at the Great Church, Kalarel, who was among one of the missing.
Knowing that many that set out on Old King's Road weren't heard from again, and knowing he might need some scholarly expertise, he met with several potential companions at inns and the local wizards guild; Gromm and Ricdak were willing to travel with Emoran for a share of the spoils. Kethanel, too, but he had his own quest as well - an old friend had gone missing, and he had last been seen near Winterhaven.
On the road, you were beset by a well-organized band of kobolds. You made it to town and talked with the locals at Wrafton's Inn; you discussed the kobold problem with Lord Mayor Padraig and were hired to investigate and shut down their banditry.
You did so, with the assistance of Padraig's headstrong niece. The kobold bandits were run by a brutish goblin taskmaster named Irontooth. He had on his person at the time of his death a signed letter from his master - Kalarel, now a servant of Orcus.
Lots and lots of treasure and xp, yadda, yadda, yadda.
* * *
I hope someone still has all the treasure thus far written down. I hope someone has all the xp thus far written down. This is a prewritten module, so I can get that data again if needed.
Two last points: 1) Let's see about trying to pretest and make sure whatever VOIP we're using tomorrow is working just fine as of tonight. 2) Get your Player's Handbooks out and be ready to level up so we don't waste a lot of time on that tomorrow.
We were thinking 5am PST, which gives you guys plenty of time and is still early for you easternly folk.
There is an option that might work well versus ventrilo. It is called Tokbox, is meant for video chat but can easily just be used for voice chat + text chat. It loads up in a browser and requires no special port forwarding or hosting a server, just click a link and it works. I have used it a lot with friends and so it may work well for this.
You can test it with this link without registering. http://www.tokbox.com/conf/100hguo5fzoz2809
If you want to use cams, that can be arranged, I have one and I think my brother could get one or something, but I really don't expect that heh.
Other than that, I have work tonight but get off around 11ish. I will pop into that tokbox conference room when I get home if any of you are going to be around to test things.
There is an option that might work well versus ventrilo. It is called Tokbox, is meant for video chat but can easily just be used for voice chat + text chat. It loads up in a browser and requires no special port forwarding or hosting a server, just click a link and it works. I have used it a lot with friends and so it may work well for this.
You can test it with this link without registering. http://www.tokbox.com/conf/100hguo5fzoz2809
If you want to use cams, that can be arranged, I have one and I think my brother could get one or something, but I really don't expect that heh.
Other than that, I have work tonight but get off around 11ish. I will pop into that tokbox conference room when I get home if any of you are going to be around to test things.
I am(we are) cool with the time as wel as tokbox ( if it works-wont use cam most likely)
EDIT: we can also use xfire I think.. YES just tested ..xfire is easy and awesome ( not sure if apple compatible though..hmmm.. maybe this? http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Internet-Utilities/Xblaze.shtml)
EDIT: we can also use xfire I think.. YES just tested ..xfire is easy and awesome ( not sure if apple compatible though..hmmm.. maybe this? http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Internet-Utilities/Xblaze.shtml)
chapel said:
EDIT: If you have Office 2007 download the top item on this page : http://www.nzcomputers.net/heroforge/default4e.asp
Great char sheet /char generator
ok here are my notes i had from the last time we played
Great char sheet /char generator
ok here are my notes i had from the last time we played
.
rSpooky said:see you tomorrow morning then
Davidion sent me a PM saying he may be for it, but I don't think he knows the time. I think that time might scare some people away. :lol
Also, if kaze's gonna play, she's gonna need to go get a new headset. She said "Oh, I'll just go in the morning before we play."
That's... that's not possible with this I don't think. :lol
chapel said:
Was going to do a thief, striker good/unaligned. It's a character that I played during my last D&D game a long time ago. Not an incredibly complicated character stats-wise.
What level are you guys on right now? I skimmed through the thread and read through jaydubya's synopsis thus far but I have a couple of drinks in me so I might have missed a thing or two. I started the character template with Spooky's character sheet recommendation.
If you can't get ahold of a PHB (or PHB2 ), and you still need help, I could theoretically build you such a thing myself.
I believe I've posted the point buy rules for fourth, and more specifically the point buy number all these characters have used, in this thread.
Rogues need a good Dex as primary (duh), and then depending on your choice of Rogue Tactics, you'll probably want a really good Strength ("Brutal Scoundrel" - adds + Strength mod damage to all sneak attacks ) or Charisma ("Artful Dodger" - adds + Cha mod to AC vs. all opportunity attacks). These also impact a few Encounter / Daily Powers, so if you have a really high Str or Cha your choice of powers is almost made for you at some levels.
There's actually a 3rd Rogue Tactics option in the Martial Power book ("Ruthless Ruffian" - lets you use maces and clubs as sneak attack weapons), as well as a whole host of new powers and feats.
I can help as much or as little as you need.
), and you still need help, I could theoretically build you such a thing myself.I believe I've posted the point buy rules for fourth, and more specifically the point buy number all these characters have used, in this thread.
Rogues need a good Dex as primary (duh), and then depending on your choice of Rogue Tactics, you'll probably want a really good Strength ("Brutal Scoundrel" - adds + Strength mod damage to all sneak attacks ) or Charisma ("Artful Dodger" - adds + Cha mod to AC vs. all opportunity attacks). These also impact a few Encounter / Daily Powers, so if you have a really high Str or Cha your choice of powers is almost made for you at some levels.
There's actually a 3rd Rogue Tactics option in the Martial Power book ("Ruthless Ruffian" - lets you use maces and clubs as sneak attack weapons), as well as a whole host of new powers and feats.
I can help as much or as little as you need.
If you just want to build a level 1 4th edition character, you should check out the DDI character creater demo:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/insider/characterbuilder
The free demo has everything up to level 3 and is awesome.
edit:
it does not yet have PHB2, I think they are adding that in this week.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/insider/characterbuilder
The free demo has everything up to level 3 and is awesome.
edit:
it does not yet have PHB2, I think they are adding that in this week.
slayn said:
It is nice indeed , if only it could be bought for a one pay standalone ... not monthly.
also in case it was missed : If you have Office 2007 download the top item on this page : http://www.nzcomputers.net/heroforge/default4e.asp
Great char sheet /char generator
Good game folks; I'll be posting some notes about xp and gold if needed, but I think I gave that out pretty well during the session.
@ Davidion, it's a 25 point buy, using the new 4th Ed point-buy system. Standard is 22, but I already let the others have a bit more than that and they've just barely been squeaking by some of these fights, so I'm okay with that.
So, are going to play next week, or are we going for a bimonthly schedule?
@ Davidion, it's a 25 point buy, using the new 4th Ed point-buy system. Standard is 22, but I already let the others have a bit more than that and they've just barely been squeaking by some of these fights, so I'm okay with that.
So, are going to play next week, or are we going for a bimonthly schedule?
Remember folks, at L2 you can switch out one trained skill, feat, or power if something you've done so far isn't working for you.
You also get one new feat and a new utility power.
You've got lots of dpr(damage-per-round) and frontline stuff, so I'd recommend those who can should branch out into something different where you can - you won't always have open terrain and pure dpr doesn't always win the day.
Also?
This party is drowning in Elves. So I'm glad we didn't lose our only Dwarf today. :lol
You also get one new feat and a new utility power.
You've got lots of dpr(damage-per-round) and frontline stuff, so I'd recommend those who can should branch out into something different where you can - you won't always have open terrain and pure dpr doesn't always win the day.
Also?
This party is drowning in Elves. So I'm glad we didn't lose our only Dwarf today. :lol
How far are you guys in keep? Since we're both going through it it might be interesting to compare notes?
Our party is: dragonborn charisma paladin, elf bow ranger, eladrin wizard, dragonborn inspiring warlord, and tiefling fey warlock.
We've been through two encounters now. We are going at an extremely slow pace because the encounters take so long. Both because we're still learning all the rules and because 3 of us are tactics fanatics and can debate/plan for 10 minutes about a single move easily.
encounter 1:
In town it sounds like we did the same things you guys did. Quests about killing kobolds and the missing dude. We also bluffed the blacksmith into buying the crap we stripped off the kobolds for a high price. He hates us now and will probably never speak to us again.
encounter 2:
Next session it is on to the kobold lair.
My first impression of our team is that we have very high dpr and good survivability individually, but that we are so heavily range focused that we can't really flank much nor prevent the enemies from flanking. I think perhaps my warlock and the ranger were keeping their distance too much, and should instead attack 'from range' while still standing near the main fight area with the paladin and warlord to prevent flanks and to have the ranged guys take a few hits instead of the enemies focus firing on the paladin.
Our party is: dragonborn charisma paladin, elf bow ranger, eladrin wizard, dragonborn inspiring warlord, and tiefling fey warlock.
We've been through two encounters now. We are going at an extremely slow pace because the encounters take so long. Both because we're still learning all the rules and because 3 of us are tactics fanatics and can debate/plan for 10 minutes about a single move easily.
encounter 1:
Walking to the town, encountering a group of kobolds. Since we were walking to a town, our wizard decided to break out her daily right from the start and we ripped through this first enouncter like it was nothing. I think we took 10 damage total at best. I don't remember much else besides that.
In town it sounds like we did the same things you guys did. Quests about killing kobolds and the missing dude. We also bluffed the blacksmith into buying the crap we stripped off the kobolds for a high price. He hates us now and will probably never speak to us again.
encounter 2:
we set out towards the kobold lair but were ambushed. These guys were a lot tougher and we knew this was going to be a multi-encounter day and so didn't use dailies or action points. We also wrongfully assumed that the weaker looking kobold was a minion instead of a skirmisher so the kobold ended up doing a number on our wizard after flanking her from behind the trees.
We also wanted to really get a feel for the kind of punishment our paladin could take, so we sent him right into the middle such that the dragonshields surrounded him. Boy was that a mistake. We had no idea the dragonshields had such huge bonuses when working together. Our paladin used half his healing surges in that battle.
We did manage to take out the leader right in the beginning though. Warlock, ranger, and wizard focus fired on him and blew him up before he could really do anything. I think he only got to attack once. Still, I'm unsure if maybe we should have concentrated more on the dragonshields since they were our real source of pain.
We also wanted to really get a feel for the kind of punishment our paladin could take, so we sent him right into the middle such that the dragonshields surrounded him. Boy was that a mistake. We had no idea the dragonshields had such huge bonuses when working together. Our paladin used half his healing surges in that battle.
We did manage to take out the leader right in the beginning though. Warlock, ranger, and wizard focus fired on him and blew him up before he could really do anything. I think he only got to attack once. Still, I'm unsure if maybe we should have concentrated more on the dragonshields since they were our real source of pain.
Next session it is on to the kobold lair.
My first impression of our team is that we have very high dpr and good survivability individually, but that we are so heavily range focused that we can't really flank much nor prevent the enemies from flanking. I think perhaps my warlock and the ranger were keeping their distance too much, and should instead attack 'from range' while still standing near the main fight area with the paladin and warlord to prevent flanks and to have the ranged guys take a few hits instead of the enemies focus firing on the paladin.
slayn said:
Sure, though it also may spoil a few things for you. The GAF party has cleared all of the side-quest content in the module and is now about to go after the keep itself. I may choose to add in some more from the content in Dungeon magazine.
Heh.
The GAF group is a Dwarf Fighter, Half-elf Paladin, Human Warlord (Inspiring), Elf Ranger, Eladrin Wizard, and I suppose soon an Eladrin Rogue, as well.
Yeah, D&D games need Chess timers, I think. It can get ridiculous. I used to be guilty of this. Maybe as a DM I sometimes am, but I try to be quick and make my decisions well before it's my turn.
The party didn't run into much trouble with encounter 1, as I recall. Just learning the ropes on how to play. They burned all their AP and Daily powers on a fairly simple encounter, though.
The dragonshields can be rough, and hopefully your Paladin pushed his Con pretty high.
I agree - your team would be much better served by sticking with your dragonborn heroes while letting them tank to protect you. Stick to healing range. With a 2-3 melee-ranged set up, unless you're in close quarters where two heroes can block off the pathway, your artillery is going to probably be safest at point blank range while shifting away from bad guys and sticking very close to the tanks. I also hope both dragonborn use shields.
Your party may have an easy time with Irontooth. We'll see.
I agree - your team would be much better served by sticking with your dragonborn heroes while letting them tank to protect you. Stick to healing range. With a 2-3 melee-ranged set up, unless you're in close quarters where two heroes can block off the pathway, your artillery is going to probably be safest at point blank range while shifting away from bad guys and sticking very close to the tanks. I also hope both dragonborn use shields.
Your party may have an easy time with Irontooth. We'll see.
The dilemma I face as a warlock is that if I move at least 3 squares on my turn I get +2 to all my defences, which is pretty huge. By keeping that on all the time my defences and health are comparable to the warlord. But if I am up close with enemies next to me and have to shift on my turn, I've basically taken a 'penalty' of -2 to all my defences.
And because my warlock is fey, my con is only ok and I don't have all the temp hp that an infernal warlock would have.
But then I think about the fact that because I was too defensive in our last encounter, I never even got attacked. Which is bad since you aren't spreading the hurt around. We've already decided that it is screamingly obvious that letting the enemies focus on a single ally, regardless of their class and stats, is a horrible, horrible idea.
And because my warlock is fey, my con is only ok and I don't have all the temp hp that an infernal warlock would have.
But then I think about the fact that because I was too defensive in our last encounter, I never even got attacked. Which is bad since you aren't spreading the hurt around. We've already decided that it is screamingly obvious that letting the enemies focus on a single ally, regardless of their class and stats, is a horrible, horrible idea.
A warlock that moves at least 3 spaces on his turn gains concealment (-2 to all attack rolls against you), even if standing in an open field. A warlock with stealth can do some pretty fun things like hiding in plain sight. Too bad its not a class skill.
edit:
since the dm doesn't want to keep track of whether I have concealment on a given turn or not, I just think of it as a +2 bonus to defences so that its me keeping track of it and not the dm.
edit:
since the dm doesn't want to keep track of whether I have concealment on a given turn or not, I just think of it as a +2 bonus to defences so that its me keeping track of it and not the dm.
Ah. Hey guess what? Totally didn't even notice that before.
I think the player of my Half-elf Fey Pact Warlock would probably like to know that class feature exists, too, huh? What with her teleporting around all the time and all. My main advice to her has been to remember to curse and remember to teleport. Getting a chance to hide afterwards / higher defenses would just be gravy.
I think the player of my Half-elf Fey Pact Warlock would probably like to know that class feature exists, too, huh? What with her teleporting around all the time and all. My main advice to her has been to remember to curse and remember to teleport. Getting a chance to hide afterwards / higher defenses would just be gravy.
Note that in the eratta, concealment is not enough to hide. But it is enough to *maintain* hidden.
The easiest trick I've learned is:
use the feylock at-will eyebite to turn invisible until the start of your next turn. Invisibility is total concealment. Then move and hide. Since you had invisibility, you could hide. Normally, it ends at the start of your next turn, at which point you wouldn't be hidden except the shadowstep concealment ability lasts until the end of your turn.
Thus, you are still hidden, and thus have combat advantage against that enemy for a +2 to your attack against them aside from the whole 'they don't know where you are' thing.
I think the stealth errata was specifically to nerf the warlocks, because otherwise they could potentially have +2 on all of their attacks.
The ability is called shadow step, I believe, and is a class feature of all warlocks alongside prime shot (+1 to hit with ranged attacks if no ally is closer to an enemy than you) and the pact boon stuff. I forget about prime shot all the time myself =(
The easiest trick I've learned is:
use the feylock at-will eyebite to turn invisible until the start of your next turn. Invisibility is total concealment. Then move and hide. Since you had invisibility, you could hide. Normally, it ends at the start of your next turn, at which point you wouldn't be hidden except the shadowstep concealment ability lasts until the end of your turn.
Thus, you are still hidden, and thus have combat advantage against that enemy for a +2 to your attack against them aside from the whole 'they don't know where you are' thing.
I think the stealth errata was specifically to nerf the warlocks, because otherwise they could potentially have +2 on all of their attacks.
The ability is called shadow step, I believe, and is a class feature of all warlocks alongside prime shot (+1 to hit with ranged attacks if no ally is closer to an enemy than you) and the pact boon stuff. I forget about prime shot all the time myself =(
Yes, I noticed they included that Stealth errata at the end of PHB2, so I figured it was some sort of major exploit that my players hadn't discovered yet.
Well, I suppose I could tell her how that works - trouble is, that group rolled their stats, and I watched her chuck her dice to achieve simply absurd stats via beginners luck. I'm not sure I want her to know the cheap tricks and tactics when she's already got that much HP, that high of defenses, and all that power behind her attacks.
The classes and races all have some intricacies that are hard to remember if you're not the one running that Dragonborn Bard or whatever; that's one of the blessings and curses of being the DM, running a bunch of monsters that each have a fairly straightforward table of abilities. It's really more of on the blessing side if you don't feel it's your job to remember all the player's bonuses if they don't.
Well, I suppose I could tell her how that works - trouble is, that group rolled their stats, and I watched her chuck her dice to achieve simply absurd stats via beginners luck. I'm not sure I want her to know the cheap tricks and tactics when she's already got that much HP, that high of defenses, and all that power behind her attacks.
The classes and races all have some intricacies that are hard to remember if you're not the one running that Dragonborn Bard or whatever; that's one of the blessings and curses of being the DM, running a bunch of monsters that each have a fairly straightforward table of abilities. It's really more of on the blessing side if you don't feel it's your job to remember all the player's bonuses if they don't.
What level is your fey warlock player? How is she enjoying it?
The abilities look fun, but I keep being paranoid that later on the sub-par damage of fey abilities will start to hurt and make the character one of the least useful in battle for the party.
Granted, I'm sure having godly ability scores helps quite a bit.
Mine are str10 con14 dex13 int16 wis8 chr18 at level 1 with 22 point buy
The abilities look fun, but I keep being paranoid that later on the sub-par damage of fey abilities will start to hurt and make the character one of the least useful in battle for the party.
Granted, I'm sure having godly ability scores helps quite a bit.
Mine are str10 con14 dex13 int16 wis8 chr18 at level 1 with 22 point buy
slayn said:
They just hit 5. But well, we started at 3 (she joined at L4). I wanted to try the mid-heroic tier monsters a bit faster. Lots and lots of orcs and dire wolves and hobgoblins and such.
She was mixed between Tiefling Infernal and Half-Elf Fey, but I guess the Summer Queen won out in the end.
I think she's enjoying it just fine but she's little clue what she's doing. I'm thinking she's mainly there to be social - her best friend and boyfriend are both playing. She seemed to enjoy a few of the skill challenges, though.
Her character's stats are something like str14 con18 dex14 int16 wis12 cha20; she took magic missile as her half-elf cross-class power; I guess there might be some useful Cha or Con based alternatives now, with PHB2 out.
I prefer point-buy myself... Honestly, I tend to give many monsters a generic bonus to most of their defenses and modifiers to partially counter some of this ridiculousness. I also tend to throw a harder than average mix of encounters and they frequently come close to death so I guess it's working okay.
Alright, I've submitted my character to jaydubya a couple of nights ago and after some tweaking here and there, should be ready to go. Very eager to play this character...going to have some fun with him.
Are there any short descriptions of your characters so I can see what I'm getting into?
Are there any short descriptions of your characters so I can see what I'm getting into?
Davidion said:
The new character introduction is always a good point for people to describe their character and such; honestly, we kept things pretty simple because that's what most people wanted. We did a little bit of RP introduction rather than just start in medias res as the module does. I'm trying to spice up the module a bit, as it's pretty dry.
The group and style is not a purely gamist / kick-in-the-door, but that's certainly the dominant style.
I've been known normally to ask for an optional written character background and reward players for doing so (and work the background into story hooks), but that doesn't work as well with a module like this anyway.
I actually like having a mix of different player preferences because it allows me to have a more complete and fulfilling experience, if more difficult (you can only please all of the people some of the time, etc.).
Everyone could possibly stand to have maybe a bit more personality / unique characterization, and everyone needs more introduction to 4th Ed, which is what this module is for anyway.
Storywise, Gromm (rSpooky, Dwarven Fighter) and Kethanel (Spooky Jr., Elven Ranger) are essentially sellsword / adventurers / bodyguards from Fallcrest. Emoran (chapel, Half-Elf Paladin of Pelor) more or less contracted their services as an agent of the church () - due to the dangers of traveling the Old King's Road of late, it's best not to go alone. Ricdak (achapel, Eladrin Wizard) was also a traveler headed the same way, trying to find an old friend. Triese (kamikazechick, Human Warlord) is the niece of Lord Mayor Padraig and has trained intently to one day take his place).
Standout personality traits? Well, that's really more up to them to tell you, especially where I'm not sure these are the character's traits or the player's traits!
I'd appreciate if everyone posted the most important bits of text from their L2 sheets;
Attributes; trained Skills, chosen Feats, chosen Powers; remember - every time you level up, you can change a chosen skill, feat, or power for one of the same if you meet the prereqs! So if you don't like any one thing, change it!
Example: Gromm has an at-will power that is useless unless you're holding your weapon in two hands; Gromm almost always has a shield in his hands.
Defenses and HP would be nice. If you'd prefer, you could just PM it to me, or do what Davidion did - scan or otherwise image convert a filled in PDF form, or save the Character Creator's output somehow, I dunno. I rather like the power cards the CC makes, so do that if you can.
Attributes; trained Skills, chosen Feats, chosen Powers; remember - every time you level up, you can change a chosen skill, feat, or power for one of the same if you meet the prereqs! So if you don't like any one thing, change it!
Example: Gromm has an at-will power that is useless unless you're holding your weapon in two hands; Gromm almost always has a shield in his hands.
Defenses and HP would be nice. If you'd prefer, you could just PM it to me, or do what Davidion did - scan or otherwise image convert a filled in PDF form, or save the Character Creator's output somehow, I dunno. I rather like the power cards the CC makes, so do that if you can.
JayDubya said:The new character introduction is always a good point for people to describe their character and such; honestly, we kept things pretty simple because that's what most people wanted. We did a little bit of RP introduction rather than just start in medias res as the module does. I'm trying to spice up the module a bit, as it's pretty dry.
The group and style is not a purely gamist / kick-in-the-door, but that's certainly the dominant style.
I've been known normally to ask for an optional written character background and reward players for doing so (and work the background into story hooks), but that doesn't work as well with a module like this anyway.
I actually like having a mix of different player preferences because it allows me to have a more complete and fulfilling experience, if more difficult (you can only please all of the people some of the time, etc.).
Everyone could possibly stand to have maybe a bit more personality / unique characterization, and everyone needs more introduction to 4th Ed, which is what this module is for anyway.
Storywise, Gromm (rSpooky, Dwarven Fighter) and Kethanel (Spooky Jr., Elven Ranger) are essentially sellsword / adventurers / bodyguards from Fallcrest. Emoran (chapel, Half-Elf Paladin of Pelor) more or less contracted their services as an agent of the church () - due to the dangers of traveling the Old King's Road of late, it's best not to go alone. Ricdak (achapel, Eladrin Wizard) was also a traveler headed the same way, trying to find an old friend. Triese (kamikazechick, Human Warlord) is the niece of Lord Mayor Padraig and has trained intently to one day take his place).
Standout personality traits? Well, that's really more up to them to tell you, especially where I'm not sure these are the character's traits or the player's traits!
Then let's do this. Present whatever scenario you want to the party, combat or otherwise, and give me an idea where/when you want my character to come in and I'll role-play along with whatever the situation is, introduction, combat assist and all. (god that was a long sentence) If you don't want to tell me ahead of time, I'll just wing it. Just let me know if I'm violating some rules and I'll accommodate accordingly. This way no one has to break for an intro and you can use the opportunity to spice up the session as you see fit.
I never liked stale scenarios; had my share of campaigns filled with endless combat roll after combat roll padded with walk-here-and-fight-enemy type progression. I've already told you what the character is bringing to the table so if nothing else, you can use this as your wild card.
I also made some minor mods to the character like small ability point adjustments and such. Let me know if you want to see anything or if you just want me to send it to you Saturday night.
Davidion said:
I've got an idea or two, actually. Your guy doesn't seem the sort they'd just meet in town and suddenly want to hang out in dungeons with.
I got started in proper tabletop D&D pretty late, so as a player I haven't had nearly enough combat gameplay - particularly at the higher levels - to feel, shall we say, just bored with combat. I'm relatively gamist myself, I suppose is what I'm saying; a shameless character optimizer. However, I will say that I tend to invest my combat monster characters with as interesting a background as I can craft and some dominant personality traits that tend to differ from my own. I'm really loving the way 4th has reintegrated everything, and I'm actually quite a fan of the skill challenge gameplay - it's actually helped facilitate RP and drive a diplomatic encounter with an orc chieftain that might otherwise have come down to one Paladin chucking one d20 into an interesting ebb and flow.
I do feel a few pangs to try and improve the story, though; particularly the villain. You've got to have a good villain in these types of stories, and you need to be able to interact with or see him / her somehow before you battle them to the death.
You seem like you've got a handle on things at this point; if that's your final draft, send it on. I had some ideas, but I'll pm them to you.
rSpooky said:
That's fine, and yes, as far as I know, Sunday morn. See about what changes Nic wants to make to Keth as well.
For Gromm:
The Dwarven Fighter premade for KotS uses a Maul, the Two-Weapon Style, and Power Attack, and picks up at L2 a feat you already have; so he's not much help. Instead, I'd recommend switching Reaping Strike to Tide of Iron (if you like it) or Sure Strike (if you don't), the Unstoppable Utility 2 Power (you have a high Con, so a bonus 2d6+Con temp HP is rather a lot), and for a feat... well, you've got a bit of wiggle room. There's a Dwarf feat that gives you +1 AC / Ref vs. large foes; there's a bazillion fighter feats that add a little more oomph to your Combat Challenge feature; there's always Toughness, or extra Skill Trainings.
Martial power has these (and remember, you have a 25 point buy, so you can put your Wis back to where it was):
Defensive Resilience
Prerequisites: Con 13, Wis 13, fighter
Benefit: When you use second wind while you are bloodied, you gain a +1 bonus to all defenses, in addition to the normal bonus for second wind, until the end of your next turn.
Devoted Challenge
Prerequisites: Dwarf, fighter, Combat Challenge class feature
Benefit: When you make a melee basic attack granted by Combat Challenge, you gain a bonus to the attack and damage rolls equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Or imagine mixing this with the Tide of Iron at-will:
Shield Defense
Prerequisites: Wis 13, fighter
Benefit: When you hit with a power that requires a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and Reflex until the end of your next turn or until you stop using the shield.
For Keth:
For any striker, anything that boosts DPR output is good, so for a new feat, I'd recommend Lethal Hunter or Superior Weapon Proficiency: Greatbow. For Utility 2, Crucial Advice could frequently be helpful for the whole party, but Yield Ground is a nice way of saving his life. For switching? I dunno, I've never seen him use Hit and Run; Nimble Strike is arguably more useful unless he wants to stick to his swords most of the time.
* * *
Oh hey, there you go, that might be something you two could do with your money; as a Dwarf with Dwarven Weapon Training, you gain proficiency with all the Superior hammer and axes as well, even the ones in the Adventurer's Vault supplement.
So, you could also upgrade Gromm's weapon to a Craghammer or Waraxe in town, Spook.
Gromm's currently using:
Battleaxe +2 d10 15 gp 6 lb. Axe Versatile
To compare:
Superior, One-Handed Melee
Craghammer +2 d10 20 gp 6 lb. Hammer Brutal 2, versatile
Waraxe +2 d12 30 gp 10 lb. Axe Versatile
Versatile means +1 damage if you wield in two hands; Brutal means you reroll any weapon damage dice lower than the brutal value (so the weapon does 3-10 damage per die instead of 1-10).
And in case Keth is interested, he is using:
Longbow +2 d10 20/40 30 gp 3 lb. Bow Load free
vs.
Superior, Two-Handed Ranged
Greatbow +2 d12 25/50 30 gp 5 lb. Bow Load free