[OOC] Underdogs [a core dnd game][4/4]

Ooooh, you're still needing players? Nice. I looked at this when recruitment was starting but I saw that you already had a lot of people expressing interest so I just assumed that I was too late to jump aboard. But since that's apparently not so, I guess I'll re-read the pitch and take a look at the IC thread and probably get back to you with a character submission tomorrow.

Doghead,
I must apologize. I truely wanted to play in this game, but I am finding that I have no time even for exisiting PbP commitments. I must drop out. This is a great settting, especially the all grell game. And I desperately wanted to finally try GnG, but maybe later. I wish your game well.

Okay, let's see here. I went over the GnG rules and they seem interesting, I look forward to trying them out.

I'm working on a Druid named Ersh. He'll be a protégé of the krel's shaman, and I'm thinking that perhaps he is a younger son of a particularly war-like Fall. He was a strong and healthy child, and great things were expected from him. But he never did take much to his martial training. He had no enthusiasm for it, preferring to just wander off and spend some time with the goats or wandering around the fields. He was a great disappointment to his father.

He attracted the shaman's attention in his adolescence and found his niche under his tutelage. He has thrived in the years since and has managed to win back some reluctant respect from his family, but he's still occupying a slightly odd position on the outskirts of respectability in the krel.

Physically he's quite imposing, being tall and sturdily built. In contrast though his manner is very gentle and soft-spoken. His brown eyes are bright and inquisitive, and he smiles often. He has long dark hair in coarse braids, strung with beads and talismans. At his side pads a tawny brown mountain lion*, his constant (and somewhat unsettling) companion.

* - will be using stats for a leopard, which is on the standard druid list (at -3 effective druid level for determining special abilities). Hope that's okay, a mountain lion seemed more suitable for these environs.

* * *

How does that sound? Hope it's all alright. I'll be working on the crunch later on today, and I'll have some thoughts on your request for setting suggestions too.

DEFCON1. It seems your words have power. I will also update the first post to better reflect the situation.

Autumn, everything described so far sounds good. Feel free to go ahead with the crunchy bits. And welcome.

No problem Fenris. I understand how it is, Raven is starting a new game and I have been wanting in on something he runs for ages. But things are a bit tight here, and I am already at my sensible level limit. Thanks for letting us know.

doghead
aka thotd

Doghead said:

1) What sort of adventures (for want of a better term) would you like to have?
2) What does your character dream of doing with his life?
3) Describe the 'perfect death' for your character.

Click to expand...

Random brainstorming on these questions.

1. I think there's a couple of ways it could go. If the characters stay local to the village, it seems like most adventures will take the form of defending against threats to the village (goblin invasion, earthquake opens up cave entrance to underground complex, crazy wizard builds a tower nearby, etc.). That can last a while, but it seems likely that sooner or later, the party will come up with a reason to leave the village and interact with some non-grell, which should be interesting. Assaq feels a pretty strong sense of duty to the krell, so he isn't likely to strike out adventuring without a good reason. He'd probably be most comfortable in dungeon crawls (or the above-ground equivalent), so it might be amusing to put him in a city or a roleplaying-heavy adventure and watch him squirm. But, I confess I do like a good bit of hack'n'slash, and you could get most of the squirming effect by giving him a nice talkative, mischievous PC or NPC to play off of.

2. Right now, Assaq feels a pretty strong sense of duty to the krell and to the elders, so his goal is to work towards the improvement of life for the krell. As a player, I think if he saw the right things it wouldn't be too hard to convince him that the kingdom deserves the same loyalty, and to push him in the direction of using whatever talents he has in the kingdom's interests. As to what that specifically means... Assaq is currently pretty contented with his life. He'd like the krell to be more prosperous, but he trusts the elders have the situation pretty well in hand. In the absence of external events, he'll go on honing his skills at hunting and crafting, with the occasional skirmish with neighbors, probably settle down with some quiet but useful woman, and hope to take his place as an elder himself someday.

3. Assaq wouldn't bother to answer if asked, since he'd consider it a silly question, as no one gets to choose their death. That said, he'd be pretty happy to die in bed surrounded by respectful but quiet grandchildren whose names he's mostly forgotten. Me, well, I'd like to see him die old as well, but after having achieved something useful for the kingdom, and maybe done something for the status of the grell as well. If he's got to go out in a blaze of glory, well, that's ok too.

A quick question on Soak, as it applies to spells. It seems to me like, as far as I can tell, opponents get to apply their full soak to magical damage, correct? This seems kind of odd to me. Why should someone wearing plate armor take less damage from a fireball than someone wearing chainmail? Or what about a Chill Metal spell... you use it to freeze somebody's armor, so that it deals them damage. But then the soak value from that very same armor prevents them from taking the damage.

Am I missing a rule somewhere? Or is this really as counterintuitive as it seems? It seems to make most damage spells entirely useless (touch attacks excepted), since nothing that doesn't get a hit roll stands much chance of doing any damage to a big beastie with lots of soak. And even as far as the touch spells go, it's unlikely that a primary caster is going to have an attack modifier high enough to do big damage.

ooc - underdogs

covaithe. More good material. Once again, thanks.

Autumn. Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. You have some good questions, and I wanted to give them some thought.

The simple answer is yes, soak applies to magical damage as well. Touch attacks get a +4 bonus, since the revised Grim-n-Gritty rules already ignore armor and natural armor for purposes of determining a hit. Big beasties are tough to kill for smaller beasties.

I understand that the changed combat rules will change the effectiveness of some of the spells. Some of the outcomes may be less intuitive than originally - Chill Metal is a good example. I haven't enough experience with the rules to know how significant is the change, nor whether adjustments are desirable. While I want to avoid messing with the rules, I do try to practice 'consider yes'.

Any game system is just a model of reality, and is built upon a number of assumptions. If find the assumptions behind the gng combat rules more intuitive than those behind the d20 combat rules. Which is why I prefer the former.

Hopefully the use of the gng rules won't be a formidable obstacle for you. I think a druid would make a fine addition to the group, and I really like your concept.

doghead
aka thotd

Okay, thanks for the response.

Don't worry, it won't be a deal-breaker or anything, I just wanted to check up on it so I could select my spells intelligently. All it means is that I'll focus more on summoning, buffs, healing and general utility whilst missing out some of the blasty options I might otherwise have been tempted to take.

I'm off to cook dinner soon, and then I might get caught up with other things, but hopefully there should be no problem getting Ershe polished up and posted sometime this evening.

Still need to write up stats for his mountain lion, and name it. Otherwise I think I'm done!

[sblock=Ershe]Ershe
Male Grell
Neutral Good
Druid 4

12 Strength (+1) (2 pts. +2 Racial)
10 Dexterity (+0) (2 pts.)
14 Constitution (+2) (6 pts.)
12 Intelligence (+1) (6 pts., -2 Racial)
17 Wisdom (+3) (10 pts., +1 Level)
12 Charisma (+1) (6 pts., -2 Racial)

BAB: +3
Grapple: +4
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft.
ACP: -0
Soak: 7 (+2 Con, +1 Toughness, +4 Armor)
Defence: +6 (+3 BAB, +3 Shield)

Attack:
Masterwork Scimitar +5, Damage 1d6+1, Crit 18-20/x2

Notes:

Fort Saves: +6 (+4 Base, +2 Con)
Reflex Saves: +1 (+1 Base, +0 Dex)
Will Saves: +7 (+4 Base, +3 Wis)

Notes:
+4 on saves vs. spell-like abilities of Fey

Feats:
Toughness
Extend Spell

Abilities:
Darkvision 60'
Orc Blood
Animal Companion (Mountain Lion)
Wild Empathy (+5)
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Resist Nature's Lure

Skills: (49; max ranks 7/3)
+9 Concentration (7 ranks, +2 Con)
+5 Diplomacy (4 ranks, +1 Cha)
+5 Handle Animal (4 ranks, +1 Cha)
+12 Heal (7 ranks, +3 Wis, +2 Healer's Kit)
+12 Knowledge (Nature) (7 ranks, +1 Int, +2 Nature Sense, +2 Synergy from Survival)
+8 Perception (5 ranks, +3 Wis)
+2 Speak Grell (1 free rank, +1 Int)
+2 Write Grell (1 rank, +1 Int)
+8 Spellcraft (7 ranks, +1 Int)
+12 Survival (7 ranks, +3 Wis, +2 Nature Sense)

Notes:
+2 Synergy bonus from Knowledge (Nature) on Survival checks made in natural aboveground environments

Spells: (Caster Level 4)

Level 0: (5/day, DC 13)
<empty slot>
Guidance
Know Direction
Light
Mending

Level 1: (4/day, DC 14)
Calm Animals
Entangle
Magic Fang
Speak with Animals

Level 2: (3/day, DC 15)
Barkskin
Bear's Endurance
Fog Cloud

Equipment:
+1 Hide Armor (25 lbs, 1,165 gp)
+1 Heavy Wooden Shield (10 lbs, 1,157 gp)
Masterwork Scimitar (4 lbs, 315 gp)
Wand of Cure Light Wounds (750 gp)
Qual's Feather Token (Tree) (400 gp)
2x Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (600gp)
Potion of Lesser Restoration (300 gp)
Potion of Sanctuary (50 gp)
Potion of Endure Elements (50 gp)

Total Weight: 39 lbs (Light Load)

Vashi
Female Mountain Lion
Medium Animal
Initiative +4
Speed: 40 ft, climb 20 ft
Soak: 3 (1 Natural, 2 Con)
BAB/Grapple: +2/+5
Defence: +6
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6+3) and 2 claws +1 melee (1d3+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Pounce, Rake 1d3+1
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent, link, share spells, 1 bonus trick
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +2
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Balance +12, Climb +11, Hide +8, Jump +11, Listen +6, Move Silently +8, Spot +6
Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse

Tricks known: Attack, Come, Defend, Down, Fetch, Seek, Track[/sblock]

I got quite in to those requests for setting information. Let me know if I'm overstepping the amount of input you wanted and I'll back off.

doghead said:

Tell me something about the Kingdom - the royal family, the capitol city, the treatment of the minorities, the architecture. Something like that. Whatever takes your fancy.

Click to expand...

Previous rulers had taken an active interest in the 'problem' of the grell - whether from a benevolent (if somewhat condescending) viewpoint, trying to involve them more deeply in the country's affairs, improve their standards of education and so forth... or from a less benevolent viewpoint. Some previous rulers have tried to drive them elsewhere or even wipe them out.

The current King, however, particularly as he has grown older, has shown little interest in such affairs. His reign has been long and peaceful, and increasingly he has shown a tendency to restrict his attention to the capitol city. He has embarked on huge projects of restoration and beautification, single-handedly bringing about a classical revival in architecture and making the capitol a truly impressive and glorious city.

The provinces however - including the grellish krels - have been largely neglected, to many people's dissatisfaction. Government seems to care little for its people outside the capitol. The King was tremendously popular at the start of his reign as a war hero, and so many are reluctant to blame him for what they see as the shortcomings of his rule. Rumors have spread that certain of his advisers are abusing their positions.

doghead said:

Tell me something about Horak-krel or grell society in general.

Click to expand...

With the King largely blind to what occurs outside the capitol, his many children and grandchildren along with the rest of the hereditary nobility are left to vie for influence over the provinces.

Horak-krel is on the border between two provinces, Essia and Thrant.* The Duke of Essia, a Grandson of the King, is particularly domineering and has claimed that Horak-krel lies within Essia. On that basis, he has attempted to levy taxes. The krels have always been very independent and have never dealt much with cash; for those reasons, they have traditionally been exempted from taxation on the understanding that they provide a well-trained militia in wartime and that they keep up friendly relations with neighboring human settlements.

Obviously then this has called quite an outcry. The krel's elders have refused to pay, and for now the situation is unresolved.

*don't know if you had anything in mind for local human naming conventions. I just picked some random names, let me know if you don't like 'em.

doghead said:

Tell me something about your character's Fall.

Click to expand...

Ershe's father's Fall is one of the largest and most influential in Horak-krel. His father Darmed is the patriarch of the Fall and a greatly respected person, probably the krel's most seasoned and skilled warrior. He is part of a proud military tradition in the Fall, which claims to be the oldest in the krel and boasts that it has always produced the strongest and hardiest warriors around.

However, since Ershe was never much of a fighter - despite intensive training and urging from his father - it's been a long time since he has dealt much with his father's fall. His mother's home is much less remarkable, a respectable and moderately sized fall with none of the airs and graces of his father's.

Autumn. I'm pleased that you got into the questions, and there is no need to back off. On first reading, pretty much everything looks like it can go straight into the setting material. While some of the details differ, some of the basic concepts are ery close to things I have been thinking. Nice work. Thanks.

Had a quick look at Ershe. All seems pretty straight so far. You can get him up in the RG, and into the IC threads whenever you are ready.

doghead
aka thotd