[Planescape] Squaring the Circle Redux - OOC (Full)

[deadestdai]

Flaust Conkersforbrains is up, though without background or Appearance.

Let me know what I need to change?

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Flaust Conkersforbrains is up, though without background or Appearance.

Let me know what I need to change?

Lordy lordy, your character and mine are going to get into arguements. A lot.

 

[Sephiroth no Miko]

This is by no means a comprehensive examination of Burrow, but I have a few comments from a quick glance-through...

--Wild empathy should be +14 (11 level + 1 Cha +2 synergy from Handle Animal)
--Ride skill should be +12 (10 ranks + 0 Dex + 2 synergy from Handle Animal)
--BAB should be +8/+3 for a 11th level druid, not +9/+4
--Under attacks he's using a merciful quarterstaff and a flaming pistol but under his equipment he's got a thundering club? (Last I checked, pistols were not on the druid list for weapons! )
--Technically speaking, that pearl of wisdom would have to slotted or its cost would double to 8,000 gp

And I remain in awe, as always, at how fast you're able to put a character together, Isida. I cannot do that. I will never be able to do that...

 

[Thanee]

--Hit points should be 104, not 100 (you get max for 1st and 2nd)

Oops, missed that about 2nd level max.

--Will save should be +11 (8 base + 3 wis = 11), +17 with Superior Resistance

Oh, probably forgot to raise it after I lowered Wis and then raised Wis again.

--I am not using material from BoED so you'll have to find another spell to replace Eyes of the Avoral

np

--No matter how many times I do my math, I'm getting 87,850 gp total for your magic gear, which forces me to conclude that number is indeed correct. Not that that in itself is a problem, but it does mean you can't have 400 gp worth of diamond dust since that would put you over 88,000 gp.

Will look into that again...

Ok, for some reason I had +600 gp, fixed that by crafting the Hat of Disguise as well (which costs another 20 gp for getting access to the spell used in there). Added another 200 gp of Diamond Dust then, which leaves me at +80 gp (34 -> 114) and -72 XP (66,080 -> 66,008).

Should be good now.

--Please make a note somewhere that her speed is 20 ft. (when in armor).

Sure.

--And it might not be a bad idea to make another note somewhere that she casts magic vestment, greater magic weapon, and superior resistance every morning (?) with her bead of karma. (At least that's what I deduced from the bonuses.)

Yep, that's why I listed the bonuses to see where they come from, tho she will cast them in the evening (8h before regaining spells) and using Extend to raise the duration to 24h, that's why I included them, since they most commonly would be up.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Sephiroth no Miko]

Flaust Conkersforbrains is up, though without background or Appearance.

Let me know what I need to change?

Ehr, the first major thing is that Flaust should be 11th level. At third level, she paid 3,000 XP to get rid of her level adjustment. That means it effectively drops her total XP from 68,000 to 65,000. Which puts her right below 12th.

Since that changes a number of things, I'll wait until you've made the other adjustments.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

This is by no means a comprehensive examination of Burrow, but I have a few comments from a quick glance-through...

--Wild empathy should be +14 (11 level + 1 Cha +2 synergy from Handle Animal)
--Ride skill should be +12 (10 ranks + 0 Dex + 2 synergy from Handle Animal)

Okiday.

--BAB should be +8/+3 for a 11th level druid, not +9/+4

He's Small, and thus gets +1 bonus to attack. I shall list it separately for ease when wildshaping.

--Under attacks he's using a merciful quarterstaff and a flaming pistol but under his equipment he's got a thundering club? (Last I checked, pistols were not on the druid list for weapons! )

My bad, fixed.

--Technically speaking, that pearl of wisdom would have to slotted or its cost would double to 8,000 gp

Sorry, I should have noted that it was slotted to the amulet slot.

And I remain in awe, as always, at how fast you're able to put a character together, Isida. I cannot do that. I will never be able to do that...

Worry not. Part of it is that I have a template that has every possible thing in it. You've probably seen the character before, Quillia, the gnome wizard I use as a sample character for most of my 3.5 games. That character sheet has spells, a familiar, a spellbook, as well as bonus feats and things like that.

The other part is as a DM in college, I wouldn't have time to do NPCs very quickly, and the little time I had to make them custom instead of using an NPC generator, I had to move quickly. I'm also what I refer to as a "rules gopher." I know what page everything I want is on, and I go there quickly. I also use a calculator to make sure I don't screw up my cash or skill point totals too badly, and once I have a theme for a character in my head, I can pick out feats and skills from the PHB generally without looking. I also try not to do a lot with disposable magic items unless I have time, preferring to spend my money in large chunks. That cuts down on equiping time. So... no real magic, just a combination of a few simple tools and a memory for trivia.

 

[deadestdai]

Ehr, the first major thing is that Flaust should be 11th level. At third level, she paid 3,000 XP to get rid of her level adjustment. That means it effectively drops her total XP from 68,000 to 65,000. Which puts her right below 12th.

Since that changes a number of things, I'll wait until you've made the other adjustments.

Crap - I wasn't paying attention properly now, was I?

I'll check it out tomorrow after work. Thanks for pointing out what should have been obvious!

 

[Sephiroth no Miko]

He's Small, and thus gets +1 bonus to attack. I shall list it separately for ease when wildshaping.

Ah, I don't normally factor size into BAB.

Sorry, I should have noted that it was slotted to the amulet slot.

But he's already wearing a necklace of adaptation.... :\

The other part is as a DM in college, I wouldn't have time to do NPCs very quickly, and the little time I had to make them custom instead of using an NPC generator, I had to move quickly. I'm also what I refer to as a "rules gopher." I know what page everything I want is on, and I go there quickly. I also use a calculator to make sure I don't screw up my cash or skill point totals too badly, and once I have a theme for a character in my head, I can pick out feats and skills from the PHB generally without looking. I also try not to do a lot with disposable magic items unless I have time, preferring to spend my money in large chunks. That cuts down on equiping time. So... no real magic, just a combination of a few simple tools and a memory for trivia.

That's still pretty amazing, though. I know the rules and numbers pretty well so that's not a problem but I get hung up on picking things-- skills, feats, spells, what have you. That takes me forever. But I also meant your speed at picking a character concept and running with it. NPCs aren't too bad in that regard; usually, they're there to fulfill some sort of role and hence it's pretty easy to put something together. But for PCs, it usually takes me a while to come up with an idea that I like and find interesting enough that makes me want to play it. It's like I have to find a hook or something.

 

[Serpenteye]

Well, it could. But to me that explains why he became a ghost and didn't move on to his final reward (as opposed to say, being foully murdered and wanting to find his murderer)... and it still leaves the question of an anchor open. In my view, he needs to tie himself to something material to maintain his ghostly existence. Though from the sounds of it, your character would be better served anchored to an object-- something significant to him in life-- than someone.

The SRD mentions nothing about an anchor, but it does mention the Ghosts grave-site and that the physical orginals of the ghost's equipment lies there and that they must remain there in order to be usable to the ghost. That's not a magical compulsion, but a practical consideration that could serve as an anchor.

If you're worried about range, it's not like I'm going to require you stay within 10 feet of the item/person at all times. Your character will have the freedom to range out and scout around if he wishes. But if the item/person jumped into a portal from Sigil to Bytopia, your ghost would inevitably have to follow. Yeah, it can make exploring the multiverse harder because you'd have convince someone to 'carry' you/the item, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea of free-ranging ghosts (not just yours), so this is my way of balancing it a little.

My greatest worry is one of character motivation. What could possibly persuade a person to stick around after his death? Which powerful emotional force could motivate that?

There is nothing that could reasonably tie him to any particular item... He could be "protecting a family heirloom" or "a memento from a long lost love", but what sane person would devote his entire existance to that? What would be the point? Wouldn't he simply get over it? Isn't it greater to go out into the infinite multiverse and live, live eternally, tasting life trough a thousand malevolenced possessions?

He could be tied to another person, I guess. Love can do strange things to people, and people give up their own lives to obsess over someone else all the time. But that would also be a RP-problem. Whatever he's anchored to has got to be an object of powerful obsession, he has to love absolutely and desperately. (Whether that is romantic love or the love of family would depend on the other character, his race is not set in stone) That would be a tremendous role-playing challenge for me and for the other player who'se character is the object of the obsession. I'm not sure I could make that credible, and I'm not sure that it would be good for the party and the game if I tried.
The fact that he (I) would be completely dependant on another character (player) would reduce him to little more than a cohort. I guess that my character would be ripped away into oblivion as soon as the other character died, wether of violence or old age. And that kind of makes his primary motivation, the obsession for immortality, pointless.

Ghostly Equipment
When a ghost forms, all its equipment and carried items usually become ethereal along with it. In addition, the ghost retains 2d4 items that it particularly valued in life (provided they are not in another creature’s possession). The equipment works normally on the Ethereal Plane but passes harmlessly through material objects or creatures. A weapon of +1 or better magical enhancement, however, can harm material creatures when the ghost manifests, but any such attack has a 50% chance to fail unless the weapon is a ghost touch weapon (just as magic weapons can fail to harm the ghost).
The original material items remain behind, just as the ghost’s physical remains do. If another creature seizes the original, the ethereal copy fades away. This loss invariably angers the ghost, who stops at nothing to return the item to its original resting place.

These items would serve to achor the ghost to a specific location, not by magical compulsion but by a practical need to protect his ethereal equipment. The location of his grave would have to be somehow protected or hidden.
Having his grave-site as a de-facto anchor would also give him a way to make use of his new-found magical equipment. By returning to his grave and, with some sort of burial-ritual, placing the new equipment in the grave he would create an ethereal copy of the equipment that he could use. Otherwise the wealth-levels in the party would soon become severely unbalanced.

 

[Serpenteye]

Ehr, the first major thing is that Flaust should be 11th level. At third level, she paid 3,000 XP to get rid of her level adjustment. That means it effectively drops her total XP from 68,000 to 65,000. Which puts her right below 12th.

Since that changes a number of things, I'll wait until you've made the other adjustments.

How does that work, btw? The paying off of level adjustment? I don't have whatever book that rule is in, but it sound like I could use that for my character.