Patryn of Elvenshae
First Post
Third Session!
I forgot to mention this in my last post, but after the Half-Elven Archer-and-Goblins encounter, we advanced to 2nd-level, which gave me an additional 0th- and 1st-level spell as well as the Spellstrike ability.
For my 2 free level-up spells, I picked up Shocking Grasp (+2d6 electrical damage, +3 attack if opponent is wearing, wielding, or is metal) and Chill Touch (+1d6 damage / -1 Str / fear undead, 2 touches), both of which will synergize nicely with my Spellstrike ability. I plan on picking up the Close Range arcana at 3rd-level, which will let me turn ranged touch attack spells into melee touch attack spells, which can then be affected by Spellstrike. This should allow me to add 1d3 cold or acid damage to most single attacks, via Close Ranged Ray of Frost or Orb of Acid.
We continued from the last session in the middle of the adventuring day, so despite my new spell slots, I wasn't able to fill them with anything, so Spellstrike went unused for the entire session. I did benefit from the higher max HP and the improved BAB, however, which were very welcome!
Continuing down the smugglers' tunnels underneath the Sandpoint glassworks, we entered into an area populated by horrible, human-like creatures with divided mandibles in place of their lower jaw.
In the fight against the first pair, I attempted to Daze one, which failed since, apparently, they weren't humanoids. Since Daze was my only offensive spell, and my remaining 1st-level spell was Shield, I was reduced to one-handing my rapier against them and providing flanking bonuses to my allies. At least this time, I rolled better, so I was able to do some damage!
After further exploration, we came across a statue bearing a particularly fine ransuer and holding a book marked with a 7-pointed star. Magic detections revealed nothing, and our investigation specialist (Mycroft "Not-Holmes") declared the statue untrapped, so our Elven Barbarian picked it up as an option to mix in with her two-handed sword.
The next room - apparently an old jail - also held a large number of the not-humanoids, who came out of the darkness and attacked. My first round's action was to remagick-up my blade, using my second-to-last point from my Arcane Pool, Defensively Cast Shield (taking the -3 penalty to attack rolls to gain a +3 bonus on the check; it passed!), move up 5', and attack (which missed, as expected).
In that fight, I was able to effectively herd the creature I was facing around the room, as we took alternating 5' steps (they had reach weapons, I didn't), allowing the Investigator to get in some sneak attacks (his total attack bonus was +2, including the flank!
). I also got to pull from the critical hit deck once (hooray for 18-20 crit range!) (a second almost critical was a nat-20 with a nat-1 on the confirmation roll). Unfortunately, I got a result which didn't apply, so I defaulted to normal double damage. Boo!
After this combat, we explored a bit more, coming across a scroll of Flaming Sphere in a room containing three star-marked cells. The fire-based sorceror is holding on to it at the moment, but he's offered it to me if I want it - it's on the Magus list, so I can add it to my spell book, but as it's a 2nd-level spell I won't be able to do so until 4th-level, so he gets to keep it for now.
I rolled much better this week than the previous session, which made me much more effective in all aspects (strange how that happens!). My various Knowledge skills continue to be useful, granting decent insights into the clues we've assembled as we seek to understand what's happening in Sandpoint.
We ended the session with a visit to a local sage known for his "crackpot theories" on the original usage of the old lighthouse, where we found out a lot more of the history of the Thassalonian Empire. During character creation, I picked up Old Thassalonian as one of my languages (I figure a Kyonin Elf would be the type to learn, essentially, Latin instead of Spanish or French), so that should come in handy in the near future.
It's amazing how much more useful a character is when you can roll above a 10 for most of the session.
One of the things that I realized early, but did not appreciate the full import of initially, was the change to unlimited cantrips. It means that I am always running with Prestidigitation up, and can essentially Detect Magic at-will. It means that anytime I'm in a situation where magic traps, etc., might be present, I can verify it, rather than the more-careful rationing that 3E would require. I also really like the ability to identify magic items with a Spellcraft check, rather than an expensive spell. Interesting changes, PF!
Our next session is in two weeks, and we hope to further explore the Thassalonian tower - it may have a large role in the demon girl's plans, given the sage's mention of towers that could launch fire for miles and her plan to burn down the city.
I'm looking forward to a good night's rest restoring my Arcane Pool and letting me memorize my new spells! Then, I'll have both Daze and Acid Orb, I think, available at-will, which should make things a bit more interesting.
My updated spells-memorized list should look like:
0: Acid Orb, Daze, Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
1: Chill Touch, Shield x2
I forgot to mention this in my last post, but after the Half-Elven Archer-and-Goblins encounter, we advanced to 2nd-level, which gave me an additional 0th- and 1st-level spell as well as the Spellstrike ability.
For my 2 free level-up spells, I picked up Shocking Grasp (+2d6 electrical damage, +3 attack if opponent is wearing, wielding, or is metal) and Chill Touch (+1d6 damage / -1 Str / fear undead, 2 touches), both of which will synergize nicely with my Spellstrike ability. I plan on picking up the Close Range arcana at 3rd-level, which will let me turn ranged touch attack spells into melee touch attack spells, which can then be affected by Spellstrike. This should allow me to add 1d3 cold or acid damage to most single attacks, via Close Ranged Ray of Frost or Orb of Acid.
We continued from the last session in the middle of the adventuring day, so despite my new spell slots, I wasn't able to fill them with anything, so Spellstrike went unused for the entire session. I did benefit from the higher max HP and the improved BAB, however, which were very welcome!
Continuing down the smugglers' tunnels underneath the Sandpoint glassworks, we entered into an area populated by horrible, human-like creatures with divided mandibles in place of their lower jaw.
In the fight against the first pair, I attempted to Daze one, which failed since, apparently, they weren't humanoids. Since Daze was my only offensive spell, and my remaining 1st-level spell was Shield, I was reduced to one-handing my rapier against them and providing flanking bonuses to my allies. At least this time, I rolled better, so I was able to do some damage!
After further exploration, we came across a statue bearing a particularly fine ransuer and holding a book marked with a 7-pointed star. Magic detections revealed nothing, and our investigation specialist (Mycroft "Not-Holmes") declared the statue untrapped, so our Elven Barbarian picked it up as an option to mix in with her two-handed sword.
The next room - apparently an old jail - also held a large number of the not-humanoids, who came out of the darkness and attacked. My first round's action was to remagick-up my blade, using my second-to-last point from my Arcane Pool, Defensively Cast Shield (taking the -3 penalty to attack rolls to gain a +3 bonus on the check; it passed!), move up 5', and attack (which missed, as expected).
In that fight, I was able to effectively herd the creature I was facing around the room, as we took alternating 5' steps (they had reach weapons, I didn't), allowing the Investigator to get in some sneak attacks (his total attack bonus was +2, including the flank!
). I also got to pull from the critical hit deck once (hooray for 18-20 crit range!) (a second almost critical was a nat-20 with a nat-1 on the confirmation roll). Unfortunately, I got a result which didn't apply, so I defaulted to normal double damage. Boo!After this combat, we explored a bit more, coming across a scroll of Flaming Sphere in a room containing three star-marked cells. The fire-based sorceror is holding on to it at the moment, but he's offered it to me if I want it - it's on the Magus list, so I can add it to my spell book, but as it's a 2nd-level spell I won't be able to do so until 4th-level, so he gets to keep it for now.
I rolled much better this week than the previous session, which made me much more effective in all aspects (strange how that happens!). My various Knowledge skills continue to be useful, granting decent insights into the clues we've assembled as we seek to understand what's happening in Sandpoint.
We ended the session with a visit to a local sage known for his "crackpot theories" on the original usage of the old lighthouse, where we found out a lot more of the history of the Thassalonian Empire. During character creation, I picked up Old Thassalonian as one of my languages (I figure a Kyonin Elf would be the type to learn, essentially, Latin instead of Spanish or French), so that should come in handy in the near future.
It's amazing how much more useful a character is when you can roll above a 10 for most of the session.
One of the things that I realized early, but did not appreciate the full import of initially, was the change to unlimited cantrips. It means that I am always running with Prestidigitation up, and can essentially Detect Magic at-will. It means that anytime I'm in a situation where magic traps, etc., might be present, I can verify it, rather than the more-careful rationing that 3E would require. I also really like the ability to identify magic items with a Spellcraft check, rather than an expensive spell. Interesting changes, PF!
Our next session is in two weeks, and we hope to further explore the Thassalonian tower - it may have a large role in the demon girl's plans, given the sage's mention of towers that could launch fire for miles and her plan to burn down the city.
I'm looking forward to a good night's rest restoring my Arcane Pool and letting me memorize my new spells! Then, I'll have both Daze and Acid Orb, I think, available at-will, which should make things a bit more interesting.
My updated spells-memorized list should look like:
0: Acid Orb, Daze, Detect Magic, Prestidigitation
1: Chill Touch, Shield x2
She was plainly not a humanoid, so any attempt to daze her was doomed to failure, and, apparently, she was acid-resistant, so my other magical attack failed to accomplish anything the few times I hit her. My remaining 1st-level spells - another shield and a chill touch - were either inapplicable or limited to melee range, and so did not offer any particular help against an invisible creature hovering 15' - 20' in the air.*** I considered dropping my rapier and pulling my bow, but at that point I was still engaged with the remaining humanoid (tossing acid splases via Spell Combat, the AoOs for the ranged attack missing thanks to my shielded AC), and elected to focus on downing it, instead. In the end, the foul creature turned back invisible and fled the room, leaving us in possession of the field, if somewhat the worse for wear. I had been holding on to my chill touch in the event the demon-thing came back within melee reach, but since she didn't, it went unused (along with my chance to temporarily turn my rapier into a kick-ass two-handed sword 
