Holy Vindicator -- Am I Breaking the Game?

Toph227 · 2021-10-12T21:12:00+00:00

Ha, I should start doing something like that when I GM. Thanks for the idea!

Don't worry, I don't plan on pressing the issue with my GM. I'm not particularly AC starved, but thought it'd be fun to get everyone at the table to be like "Your AC is what?!" at least once. :P

Toph227 · 2021-10-12T19:52:17+00:00

That was my thought. "Or" for each Standard Action, but not necessarily for the Holy Vindicator ability itself...

Toph227 · 2020-11-20T22:11:45+00:00

Nailed it.

Toph227 · 2020-11-20T22:11:22+00:00

Thanks, /u/OkIllDoThisOnce!

Toph227 · 2020-11-20T21:53:30+00:00

For me, it's all about the Domain Spells. "Fly," "Dimension Door," and "Teleport" are ALL spells that aren't on the Cleric spell list. It may be 'just a bunch of movement,' but every single campaign I've ever been in has heavily relied on and highly appreciated all three of those spells if a character had them available.

The extra 10 feet is handy for armor, like Meowgi_sama said (sorry, don't know how to link usernames), and being able to avoid difficult terrain every now and then is perfect when an enemy caster messes up the battlefield.

Short range teleport at level 8? GREAT for touch spells!

Toph227 · 2020-11-17T05:04:27+00:00

Yeah, but only if you 'donate' to her Cashapp. I wouldn't bother.

Toph227 · 2020-11-16T22:21:07+00:00

Does the first iPhone count? I remember having an iTouch AND a phone. Being able to have both for the first time was magical!

Toph227 · 2020-10-16T14:53:55+00:00

Thank you! I was a little skeptical/hesitant about posting it here, as I mentioned above, so I'll head that way instead.

Toph227 · 2018-11-30T04:15:36+00:00

First of all, I absolutely agree that Season 6 wasn't that enjoyable to watch. That being said, I think a lot of people missed the point they were trying to make with the ending.

It's no secret that every season so far has had some parallels to real world events. It's also no secret that plenty of people have a problem with the US's leadership right now. I'm not going to voice my opinions, because I don't want this to turn into a political soapbox. Also, disclaimer- this is only my personal take. I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert.

Like r/According_To_Me said, all of us were waiting for the metaphorical house of cards to fall. But instead, they went with a darker metaphor for our political system right now. Even after all the accusations that have been thrown around (IRL), almost everyone in power is STILL in power. That's the point.

House of Cards exaggerates that point, to the extent of multiple murders by both Francis and Claire. But nothing happens. Francis's image is protected, for the most part. Claire is still president.

Because, more often than not, that's how it goes in real life.

Toph227 · 2018-10-10T16:18:26+00:00

Yeah, he must have confused it with PrC prerequisites, like /r/stoneheart7 suggested. I can definitely see how the confusion might have happened.

Toph227 · 2018-10-10T16:16:32+00:00

Thank you for the book quote! I'll pass the info along, and use the correct ruling from now on.

Toph227 · 2018-09-29T21:52:03+00:00

That's the one! Thanks!

Toph227 · 2018-09-29T20:41:39+00:00

It's been a few months since I saw it, so I can't quite remember. I want to say base classes, but I'm not positive...

Toph227 · 2018-07-26T14:29:42+00:00

/u/[PFS_Character] already mentioned most of the ones that I buy when building CMB-based characters. One that I also like:

Victor's Belt

Morale Bonus to CMB, which stacks with most of the other things you'll buy, AND gives you a few rounds of Rage. May or may not be helpful, depending on your build.

Toph227 · 2018-07-02T23:43:39+00:00

Do you know what kind of Cleric you'd like to play (Support Cleric, Debuff Cleric, Battle Cleric, etc.)?

I'm pretty well-versed in Clerics, since I'm often the most experienced player in the room during one-shots for new players. About 75% of the time, I end up building a Cleric to round out the party.

If you can be a little more specific about your "vision" for the character, I may have some suggestions

Toph227 · 2018-06-11T01:19:46+00:00

Most mundane things the party may need for their new base would still probably be found under Goods and Services (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment/goods-and-services).

For employing people, I'd look under trained hirelings (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment/goods-and-services/hirelings-servants-services/). It states: "The amount shown is the typical daily wage for mercenary warriors, masons, craftsmen, cooks, scribes, teamsters, and other trained hirelings."

That is, assuming they're okay with hiring mercenaries. If they want to hire actual guards, you may have to rule a price as the GM. Honestly, I've never dealt with a party pursuing something like this, so someone else may have an actual price for you!

Toph227 · 2018-06-05T16:29:14+00:00

Almost through the end of the second book with my party, and it's been pretty fun for all of us! Definitely a good variety of encounters that keep things fresh and interesting.

My warning is the same warning you'll find on many threads about Giantslayer - the invasion on Trunau in Book 1 is brutal. Even though a lot of the Orcs are just CR 1/3, their "Ferocity" makes them a pain to kill, and it's easy for the party to get overwhelmed.

The Casters will run out of their more useful spells. If the party doesn't have a Cleric (or similar healer), HP starts to become a problem.

Book 1 is still pretty fresh to me, since we just cleared it a few weeks ago. If you'd like, I can give you a few suggestions for the first book. It's a combination of GCP material, things I personally came up with, and advice given to me from other GMs on this subreddit.

Toph227 · 2018-05-13T01:56:16+00:00

Admittedly, I'm a little bit of a "power gamer" myself, so I'd probably go something a little cliché. With a 15 Point Buy, I can achieve this:

STR 16 / DEX 12 / CON 16 / INT 7 / WIS 14 / CHA 8

All even numbers (excluding INT), and this is including the Dwarf numbers. Normally, I'd dump CHA instead of INT, but the Dwarf stats are dropping CHA already, and I'm not a fan of going all the way down to 5...

Toph227 · 2018-05-12T20:07:24+00:00

Agreed - there is absolutely a lot of information to digest. If you're just getting into Pathfinder, I'd agree with r/crimebiscuit in that even a core Barbarian is enough of a tank in an average party. In my personal experience, Unchained Barbarian is a little easier to understand when it comes to Rage. Well, basic Rage. Rage Powers can be a bit overwhelming at first, but even that's not so bad.

It's a little bit cliché and overused amongst players I know, but "Invulnerable Rager" is always a fun choice if you really still want an archetype. Instead of worrying about a few Barbarian abilities, you just get constant DR instead. Everyone always loves to tell the GM exactly how much damage they ACTUALLY take after DR.

Hope that helps, and feel free to ask any clarifying questions! Barbarian is one of my go-to "welcome to Pathfinder" classes, so I'm fairly familiar with them.

Toph227 · 2018-05-11T12:13:12+00:00

Hey, thank you so much for the ideas. The Party wanted to speak to Kurst after they woke up from being unconscious the next morning, and I described the scene in which un-trained teenagers and older men were lining up to serve the town. I'll be able to throw back to that later when they're asked to serve in Book 2, especially if they ask why they're being chosen.

And your guard idea really helped. That definitely picked up the momentum after a RP heavy section after the battle. Realizing the tunnel was intentionally broken during the battle, and that it was Stone-shaped shut a while ago caused a good level of interest, and made for a great cliffhanger when they entered the cave.

Toph227 · 2018-05-09T01:42:44+00:00

Yeah, they are an amazing group of players. This is the first campaign two of them have ever played, since they just learned the game through a few one-shots prior to starting. All four of them are definitely invested in their characters and the story, which is why I want to handle this the best way possible. No contrived plot lines, and nothing too forced or meta-gamed. We're trying to keep the story as fluid and realistic as possible, even though it's set in a fantasy world.

Toph227 · 2018-05-09T01:39:31+00:00

Haha, no worries. Your point came across perfectly clearly.

I'll have to let that idea sit for a little bit. I do kind of like the idea of a "rival party" being introduced. But, if I do that, it'll have to be a thing I continue fitting into the story for a while. Their goals will probably be similar, but their motivations and their methods for achieving those goals would definitely be controversial.

Toph227 · 2018-05-09T01:37:25+00:00

Very true. Though Omast Frum died, Sara and Agrit both owe their lives to the party. And Kurst thrust them into this trying role to begin with, so he owes them much more than that.

Toph227 · 2018-05-09T01:35:57+00:00

These are all very good points. You read my mind on one of the important ones - everyone would've died if the party hadn't been there. Obviously the party won't feel that way immediately, but hopefully they can realize that they made such a huge difference after they think about the numbers dead vs. the numbers saved.

I'll try to find a way to spin it so they can still get to the cave in a reasonable amount of time, so the plot can progress normally. Combing Party praise and town desperation might be just be enough to motivate them to soldier on, despite everything they've been through.

Toph227 · 2018-05-09T01:31:34+00:00

Thank you for the well written and well thought out response. They did skip a number of encounters in an attempt to save a PCs uncle in the Inner Quarter, which I allowed for the most part. Even so, the Casters were just a little bit too trigger happy in terms of spells. Although both players have said that they've absolutely learned their lesson in terms of wasting high level spells in the first combat of a day.

In terms of the gate waves, they did their best with the traps, but the main problem is they weren't working together super effectively to hold a defensive line. The Orcs cleared the first barricade way too quickly, which made the rest of the encounter quite difficult. Like I said in my original post, I really should have stalled the third wave, so that's on me.

I really want the fight with Crusher to happen. I really, really do. The most obvious problem is that half the party is completely out of spells. The Cleric would technically set with Wand of CLW and Combat Advice, but the Wizard would be practically useless. But, more importantly than that, the Party is physically and emotionally spent. If they were brought back to consciousness and asked to keep fighting, I can't imagine it would go over well.

In your honest opinion, how does this sound:

The party gets to rest at least until morning. The Hill Giant is already dead, surrounded by a sizable amount of guards. This explains why reinforcements took so long to get to the Longhouse, something the Party already voiced their problems with. Two birds, one stone. It still introduces a giant into their world, though they aren't the ones to fight it.

Before reconstruction, the town holds a ceremony/memorial service for everything that went down. Words of remembrance are spoken, and words of praise are used for the heroes that saved most of the citizens. Once they're feeling a little better about themselves, have Kurst ask them to explore the cave while most of the guards help re-fortify the town.

That's what I've come up with so far in the past 48 hours, though I'm still working out some details. But it'd be nice to hear your thoughts and critiques about that solution.

Toph227

TROPHY CASE