[ooc] Kore | Kingdom of Harmony [terminated]

[doghead]

so does this mean I only need 5 levels of a class and then I qualify for duelist? And what am I allowed to gestalt my core class to?

Level 5 is an prereq in addition to any current ones. ie +6 BAB for the Duelist. See Creamsteaks outline in post #2 for the reasoning here.

For example a Samurai - at Fighter/Aristocrat6 and metting all the prereqs, he could take his next level as Duelist/Aristocrat. Not sure how you go about recording this (Fighter6uelist1)/Aristocrat7 ?? To avoid things getting seriously loopy, I think that characters will only be able to combine a PC or PrC class with an NPC class. No PC/PRC or PC/PC combinations.

well, actually making him a refugee from another land would work out nicely with the kind of backstory I have for him. I could give him the Serpent Totem barbarian class represented instead as an esoteric philosophy of combat (give me a day and I'll work that out in a more detailed manner, but I'm thinking the combination of opposites, control of body as in dex, but also loss of control in bloodlust). Also, serpent clan style thing might help with the poison.

yes, the layered referred to the inherent iron's poison plus adding a con poison to the blade. Actually it might work for him to be somewhat dishonorable, and of ill-repute. I could make it so that he had to flee the Middle Kingdom after an affair involving a duel with a member of the nobility and allegations of a poisoned blade. If I gestalt him into adept, I was thinking about the possibilities of deliberately using slow poison on your weapon to make the poison take effect later, helping to remove evidence.

So to sum up:

Change "barbarian" to serpent clan/adept from the middle kingdom, possibly a member of a shadowy ninja-like organization.

Character has bad reputation, whispered allegations of poisoning, but nothing proved.

Possible stats for a weapon: Thinsword(insert japanese name here): This weapon is lighter that a traditional Katana with less of an edge, the emphasis being placed on the point. It is used by some groups who favor quick, agile strikes. 1d8 damage, 18-20 threat range, exotic weapon.

I hope that solves things, otherwise, tell me and I'll fix it some more.

Sounds interesting but I don't knowe the serpent clan. Give me an outline and well go from there (Have a look at the nameless thread if you haven't already)

gotta dash. late for work

the head of the dog.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Nameless thread? Which are you talking about?

Okay:

The serpent clan I have thought up is in fact a group of ninjas from the middle kingdom. Coating their blades with poison, they hunt down those who oppose the will of their hidden leader. The fighting style of the serpent clan stresses agility and fluidity. Some of the more advanced members, however, move down a different path. Those known as "the wrathful ones" learn the discipline of controlling primevil anger to channel it as a powerful force. They learn to feel a constant sense of cold anger, using it rather than being used by it.

For the stats of the Serpent Clan wrathful one I was using the totem barbarian variant for serpent totem. You lose fast movement, trap sense, and both uncanny dodges. You gain +2 to fort saves vs poison at first level, +2 to move silently at 2nd level, Improved Grapple at 3rd level, and Improved Initiative at 5th level.

Proposed feat (or substitute for grapple at 3rd level, if you think that would work): Cold Rage: You can channel your rage into a cold, controlled fury. You may use combat oriented skills and feats while raging even if they require int, wis, or dex (e.g. you may feint while raging). Prerequisite: Rage class feature.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Feh. Could only stay away for so long.

I'm digging the idea of one of the old, animisitic shamans (i.e, druid) probably combined with Warrior. More thoughts on that soon.

Are we going with the Dexterity to attack instead of strength variant?

 

[doghead]

The Nameless is the title of my other game. Commoners and adepts. Caddoc. I put up some thoughts on how I approach my games that might be useful for you here.

I like where you are going with this. Given the purpose of the Serpent Clan warriors is to hunt down those who oppose the will of their hidden leader, how were you planning to transpose the character to the Kingdom of Harmony?

The Barbarian is fairly similar to a Rogue in may respects - only with rage instead of sneak attack and a little more combat orientated with a better HP and BAB progression. My initial feeling is to go with the standard barbarian class, as I want to avoid going outside the SRD as much as possible, and use your regular feats to create the elements you want. ie Greater Fortitude for poison resistance, Stealthy for the Move Silently bonus.

I'm thinking about altering the Rage a little to reflect the fact that is it learnt not cultural, and also to distinguish it a little from the regular barbarian rage.

1st: Rage: detox: 24 hours. (as per barbarian, +4 str, +4 con, +2 Will save bonus, - 2 AC, fatigued after.)
4th: Cold Rage: detox: 12 hours. Character may use int and dex based combat skills and feats.
8th: Quiet Rage: detox: 8 hours. Characters may use dex based skills.
12th: Calm Rage: detox: 6 hours. Characters may use Int and Cha based skills.

Serpent clan warriors use a drug (actually, a derivative of a snake toxin) to initiate their rages. While safe enough if used according to tradition, if overused it results in a loss of fine motor control (dex). Raging again before the required recovery time requires a DC 25 Fort check (no take 10 or 20) after the Rage has finished or the character suffers a -1 Dex loss. The recovery period penalties stack: for additional each time the character rages within a recovery period, there is an additional +5 to the DC.

ie 0900 Rage - recovery period till 2100. 1300 Rage - recovery period till 0100 hours.
So the Raging at 1300 - DC 25.
If the character raged again:
- at 2000 - DC 30
- at 2200 (but not at 2000 hours) - DC 25
- at 0300 (but not at 2000 or 2200 hours) - no check.

Basically, the character gets the option of using rage to get out of a bad situation, but is more than likely going to suffer for it. At 4th level, with Con 16, the character gets a Fort +7, meaning a roll of 18 is required. Just doable. At 12th level, Fort +11 requiring a roll of 14 would be required.

Probably not exactly what you were looking for, but me know what you think.

DrZ, TH and Cannibal, I'd like your input on this as well.

Actually, thats a standing invitation to everyone for discussions about setting ideas.

the head of the dog

 

[doghead]

Feh. Could only stay away for so long.

I'm digging the idea of one of the old, animisitic shamans (i.e, druid) probably combined with Warrior. More thoughts on that soon.

Are we going with the Dexterity to attack instead of strength variant?

Hey TH.

Whoops. Yes I was planning to as it better fits the 'form and precision' empasis of japanese fighting, and it gives the smaller races a more fighting chance against the larger ones (and I do like giants).

I've a sneaking suspicion that I haven't mentioned it. The dex variant basically uses the dex bonus for to hit rolls and the str bonus for damage. So DrZ, Cannibal, NMF, let me know if its going to cause any serious problems.

the hung head of the dog.

 

[DrZombie]

Nope, no problem, I was going for a monk anyway. Will have to see when I have some time to make the character. Busy busy busy.

 

[doghead]

I've decided to kick off the game with the four we have, once we are done, rather than wait for another two to arrive and go through the whole generation process. SEa trials if you wish, to discover any vices in the system or setting, and allow everyone to get a bit more familier with the mechanics.

So that means that we look like this:

Dr Zombie - Monk (Monk/???*)
Cannibal Kender - Anzen na Michi (Ranger/Expert?)
Nac Mac Feegle - Serpent Clan Warrior (Barbarian/???) from the Middle Kingdom.
Thomas Hobbes - Taoist Priest (Druid/Warrior).

If anymore do arrive and want in, I'll bring them in once they are set to go.

* DrZ - you don't have to gestalt your character if you wish. Basically, it is just a way to increase the skill range in many cases. As it would do if you took a Monk/Expert gestalt (4->6+int). But in the case of the Monk, as it is not a magic using class, the Adept is also an option according to the way it has been set up so far. Haven't really considered how that would look, or how it would go with the feel of the Monk class. Chew on it for a bit and let me know.

Chew it over and see what you think. And don't sweat the time you need. Things aren't likely to be close to starting for at least a week.

Just a heads up while we are on the topic of whats coming up. I've will be O/S for a friends wedding from the 19th to the 25th of May. I suspect that my access at that time will be rather limited. So I'm hoping to have the IC thread started before I go so you can use the time to get to know each other IC while I am away. Thats the plan at least. We'll see how we go.

the head of the inu

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

My initial feeling is to go with the standard barbarian class, as I want to avoid going outside the SRD as much as possible...

(snip)

I'm thinking about altering the Rage a little to reflect the fact that is it learnt not cultural, and also to distinguish it a little from the regular barbarian rage.

My initial thought is that if we're not going to go outside the SRD, it's probably best not too house rule too much either (gestalt and grim-n-gritty aside...). I understand your goals with the modification of rage thing, but the mechanic seems a bit on the clunky side. It seems to me that it would be best to keep it the same mechanically and change the flavor text.

(As a heads-up, I believe that the "serpent totem" barbarian Nac proposed is from Unearthed Arcana, the big book o' variant rules that Gestalt comes from. They propose a variety of different "totems" exchanging the standard barbarian abilities for different ones. This would seem to vouch for its balanced-ness if nothing else).

Dr.Z- you could gestalt with warrior to get the full BAB, which helps with both attack and defense, and be a "warrior monk"; you could gestalt with expert and be a "scholar monk"; or you could gestalt with adept and be a "mystical monk". Mmm, Gestalt.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Okay, as to why he’s in the Kingdom of Harmony, I though I dealt with that, but here it is again. He was in a duel with a noble over some point of honor. They fought, both received incapacitating wounds but neither was killed. Over the next few weeks, his wounds healed and he went on his way. The noble’s wounds festered mysteriously and he died in agony. There were allegations of poison, and the deceased noble had enough friends that he was banished from the Middle Kingdom on pain of death for the his deeds.

Also, I realized (re-read barbarian rage rules) that you can feint when raging.

As to the rage thing, I actually tend to agree with Thomas Hobbes on the rage thing. If you take away a Barbarian’s ability to rage several times a day as a free action, you really take away what makes the class worthwhile. I’d say just change the description, and if you want change a con bonus to dex or something.

Anyways, here’s his stats for now, just to get a head start. (By the way, I think that 4th level is 9000 starting gp. Is that right?)

Rokuro Kichiro, the Red Viper

Human 4th level Barbarian/Expert
Medium Humanoid (Human)
Soak: 10 (4 class, 2 con, 4 armor)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Defense Bonus: +8 (4 class, 4 dexterity), +9 vs. one opponent (dodge)
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7
Attack: Staff +9 (+1 Thinblade: 1d8+5)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Class Features:Rage 2/day, fast movement, Uncanny Dodge I, Trap Sense +1
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +4
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 11, Cha 11
Skills: Read/Write Language (Common, Yamani, Horde), Survival +7 (7 ranks), Spot +7 (7 ranks), Listen +7 (7 ranks), Intimidate +7 (7 ranks), Bluff +11 (7 ranks), Hide +11 (7 ranks), Move Silently +11 (7 ranks), Craft: Poisonmaking +9 (7 ranks)
Feats: EWP: Thinblade, Dodge, Improved Feint

Equipment (note: all poisons made with craft at 1/3 cost)
+1 Thinblade (2400 gp)
Masterwork Chain Shirt (250 gp)
Standard Clothes (negligible)
Gauntlet of Deception (+4 to bluff) (1600 gp)
1 dose Black Lotus Extract (1500 gp)
3 Doses Deathblade (1800 gp)
10 doses Sassone Leaf Residue (1000 gp)
15 uses poisonfix (keeps poisoned blade fresh) (300)
150 gp left over

Poison Stats:
Black Lotus Extract: Save DC 20, 3d6 con/3d6 con
Deathblade: Save DC 20, 1d6 con/2d6 con
Sassone Leaf Residue: Save DC 16, 2d12 hp/1d6 con

From here I’m planning on 2 levels of fighter/expert, 1 level of Assasin/Expert, then into Duelist.

How would you feel about this (non-core) feat: Armored Fighting Style: Allows you to use a class based fighting style in armor one level heavier (e.g. ranger can 2-weapon fight in medium armor).

In a day or so I'll put up a background and personality.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Hmm. As an aside, perhaps Sasson Leaf Residue should be upped in price for GnG. 2d12 isn't that impressive in normal D&D, but it's pretty nasty when you've only got 20 hit points.

Edit: Just got a much more interesting idea, doghead, if you're willing to go with it.

You said that certain aspects of the godhead are not worshipped in the kingdom, except as secretly conducted by the Emperor. So what if one of his sects revered Death and Trickery, and served a ninja-like role as assasins and enforcers? Cleric gestalted with Expert (for what skills Trickery doesn't give me) and maybe a little Warrior. Ninja death striku!

2nd edit: Nac, we get class-based soak now?

3rd edit: First draft.

Hiraku Mutsouru
Cleric/Expert 4
Soak: 5 (+1 constitution, +4 armor)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 30 ft.
Defense bonus: +6 (+3 BAB +3 Dex)
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: +6 melee (1d4, dagger) or +6 melee (1d6, quarterstaff) or +6 ranged (1d4, dagger)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Rebuke Undead 2/day, Spontaneous Inflict, Death Touch (4d6)
Special Qualities: None
Saves: Fortitude +5, Reflex +4, Will +7
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 8.
Skills (Bonus/ranks): Bluff +8/7, Climb +7/7, Concentration +8/7, Disguise +11/0, Hide +10/7, Knowledge: Religion +9/7, Listen +10/7, Move Silently +12/7, Spot +10/7, Sense Motive +10/7
Feats: Deceptive, Improved Initiative, Craft Wondrous Item
Equipment: Studded Leather +1 (1185), 10 daggers (20 gp), 2 Wands of Cure Minor Wounds (750), Sandals of Silent Moves +2 (200)*, Hat of Disguise (1,000)*, Prayer Beads of the Unseen (Invisibility 2/day, 2,160)*, 85 iron pieces remaining, Quarterstaff (0 gp), Sling
Languages: Common, Yanagi, Secret Cult Language

Spells per day: 5/4+1/3+1
Spells prepared: 0- Cure Minor Wounds x2, Detect Magic, Guidance, Detect Poison. 1st- Shield of Faith, Doom, Divine Favor, Magic Stone, Cause Fear* 2nd- Cat’s Grace, Spiritual Weapon x2, Invisibility* *Domain spell. Domains: Death (Death touch 1/day, 4d6) and Trickery (Hide, Bluff, and Disguise are class skills).

*Self-crafted items, and thus half price. I start 258 points of xp below the others. You could have me start a level lower and advance after an encounter or two, or (my recommendation) just have me keep at level 4 but still be 258 expierience points slower in leveling.

Hiraku's modus operandi would generally be to wander from town to town as a simple monk (in the non-martial arts sense), a cover (unless I am mistaken) used by the historical ninjas. He would follow instructions from those priests above him in the hierarchy of the sect, and the sect would answer to the Emperor.

When assasinating someone, he'd sneak onto the ground, get close to the target with invisibility, and depending on circumstances use inflict moderate wounds (+12 to the attack, due to modified touch rules and invisiblity, and the opponent is flat footed. 2d8+4, will save for half) followed by a use of his Death Touch (+10, hopefully winning intiative so he's flat-footed still. Roll 4d6; if the roll is greater than his hit points, dead with no save. "Hit points" in original D&D meant above 0; in GnG, considering the change of the "dying" threshold, it could be considered not to include those last 5 life pips. At higher levels, the death touch should follow the rules for spell damage). With an average damage of 13 or 6, depending on whether or not they saved vs. the Inflict, and rolling an average of 14 on the death touch, this should be an effective combination.

If there are guards, he'll summon Spiritual Weapons (which can be done from within invisibility) to take care of them before moving in on the target. Buffs and invisibility should get him out again.