Ravenloft preparations and intro

For discussion of the Expedition to Ravenloft
malphas
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Post by malphas »

EvilGenius wrote:Half +1 gives a nice standard that will help keep us alive.
where did this 2/3 hd & round down hp come from? that screws over wizards does nothing for any other classes except barbarians which get 1 more hp over 1/2+1

if you want to play a low hp character, play a elf with 6 con
setanta14
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Post by setanta14 »

Its in HeroForge... I guess because one of the Living campaigns uses it (Eberron?)

malphas wrote:
EvilGenius wrote:Half +1 gives a nice standard that will help keep us alive.
where did this 2/3 hd & round down hp come from? that screws over wizards does nothing for any other classes except barbarians which get 1 more hp over 1/2+1

if you want to play a low hp character, play a elf with 6 con
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erilar
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Post by erilar »

I'm not against what you're saying Ken, and I sort of miss the randomness in char generation as well - we could roll ability scores as well, for what it's worth. That said, we'll have to draw the line somewhere. Let's see what the others opinions are.

Bob is rather on target with Wesley. *You guys* remember Wesley fondly for his HP shortcoming. On my side of the table, it was extremely frustrating to be playing a highly skilled swashbuckling fighter made out of fine china.

I'm on the fence with this one - I'd be happy either way. So far, nowhere in the module does it say that the campaign is intended to be particularly more difficult than the typical module. I'm inferring that from some of the encounters, and of course Bob has done his part to freak everyone out. :) It might not be that bad, and we might be overcompensating too much. The party will be well-balanced up front, and that is 9/10 of the equation, IMO. The rest will come out in the wash.
"This enemy you cannot kill. You can only drive it back damaged into the depths, and teach your children to watch the waves for its return." - Quellcrist Falconer
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

I'm just putting my two cents out there. We can save the randomness for another campaign.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

Well, if we want to go old school and roll stats and hp that's cool. but that means a lot of character creation at the table.

and let's face it, playing time is getting more precious as we grow older and schedules become more hectic.
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Lars Porsenna
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Post by Lars Porsenna »

Based on Bob's advice, I tweaked the character; he now no longer has any ranks in any knowledge skill, but has much better search/disable/open lock scores. BTW, Perform is near-maxed (7 ranks) so any perform problems won't be an issue.

For magic items I'm taking: Cloak of Resistance +2, Chain Shirt +1 Light Fort, Longsword +1, Heward's Handy Haversack, 3 Potions Cure Light, 2 Potions Oil of Bless Weapon, and 2 Potions SHield of Faith.

Damon.
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

Lars Porsenna wrote:Based on Bob's advice, I tweaked the character; he now no longer has any ranks in any knowledge skill, but has much better search/disable/open lock scores. BTW, Perform is near-maxed (7 ranks) so any perform problems won't be an issue.
I think that's a little extreme. I don't know if you missed it, but I'm going to do a burgler-type rogue (all sauve breaking-and-entering) so while it is useful for your character to have a few ranks in search/disable/open lock scores (either for your own attempts, or to assist my character) it's not essential.

Also, Bardic Knowledge is limited in what it can get you. From the d20 SRD:
A bard may make a special bardic knowledge check with a bonus equal to his bard level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places

DC Type of Knowledge
10 Common, known by at least a substantial minority of the local population.
20 Uncommon but available, known by only a few people legends.
25 Obscure, known by few, hard to come by.
30 Extremely obscure, known by very few, possibly forgotten by most

It's helpful of course, and good for augmenting knowledge skills, but I don't think it makes for a good replacement. You get a +2 synergy bonus on checks to this skill if you have 5 ranks in Knowledge (history), so at the least I'd try and get that.

We've tended to use bardic knowledge as a sort of "knowledge check of last resort", so there's a bit of a fudge factor of what areas it covers, but still, it's useful for a bard to have at least a few ranks in knowledge skills.

Also, don't forget that Torthan was exceptionally good at this because he had the Obscure Lore feat (I think that's the one) that granted him a bonus to such checks, so much of one that he rarely failed it. You wouldn't be so lucky.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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Lars Porsenna
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Post by Lars Porsenna »

This is how I originally interpreted the skill, Ken. But Bob seemed to think otherwise...

Damon.
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T1Mirage
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Post by T1Mirage »

I can try out the marshal. I have no preference on a class to play.

While we are discussing the classes, should we also discuss the role/function that each class is going to be? E.g., are the clerics going to be more fighters, are the fighters ranged attackers, etc. The knight I assume will be melee fighter with a high AC - will the other fighter play off of this?
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

Lars Porsenna wrote:This is how I originally interpreted the skill, Ken. But Bob seemed to think otherwise...
You were right, Bob was wrong.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

Wow, I was totally wrong on that! :)
Lars Porsenna wrote:This is how I originally interpreted the skill, Ken. But Bob seemed to think otherwise...

Damon.
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

(psst, george, while we were talking in general about the marshal, lance is really not too interested in variant classes and you'd have to show him all of the material and have him approve it before hand. and most of us [except nate and jess] agreed that since almost no one has the book that it was printed in, it was probably not a good idea. play a paladin, george. ;) )
T1Mirage wrote:I can try out the marshal. I have no preference on a class to play.

While we are discussing the classes, should we also discuss the role/function that each class is going to be? E.g., are the clerics going to be more fighters, are the fighters ranged attackers, etc. The knight I assume will be melee fighter with a high AC - will the other fighter play off of this?
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Jonkga
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Post by Jonkga »

EvilGenius wrote:( play a paladin, george. ;) )
T1Mirage wrote:I can try out the marshal. I have no preference on a class to play.

Or better yet, George, roll up some sort of arcane caster, if you'd be so inclined. :)


That would give us 2 clerics (Jess and Bob), 2 fighter types (Jon and Nate), 2 expert types (Damon and Ken), and then 2 arcane types (Cory and George). Not a bad mix, and good if a few people couldn't make a particular session.
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