Campaign Beta Sign Ups

[Jenius]

Well I've mentioned this before but I'm running a campaign this summer in real life. However it's my first campaign so I kinda want to test it a bit to see if the encounters are balanced and such. The party size is kinda unique (3 people) so it's hard to properly balance things and I can't just swipe things from the book. It'll also be nice if people can comment on the story etc.

So I need 3 active people who will actually be on and play. For this to work we need to progress roughly a week ahead of my real life group to give me time to tweak things as necessary. Unless encounters take longer than my experience of them, I plan to go through roughly 2-4 encounters a week, so that would mean people should be active enough to do that much online in a similar time frame, and we'll merely start here a week before I start in real life.

Signups:
1. Van - Cleric
2. Cara - Fighter
3. Clone - Striker/Controller

Tentatives:
1. Shady (he has first shot at third slot if he decides he wants it within the next few days.


Character creation notes; I don't really care that much about alignment with the stipulation that evil would be frowned upon. Characters will be level 1 and you may have any equipment you want (excluding magic items) aside from the equipment you're currently wearing, I'll probably give each person between 100-300 to spend on potions and such. As there's only three people you should probably have a dedicated tank, healer, and a flexible striker.

If you're in you should probably try to have your characters up by next weekend (may 2nd-3rd), as we'll be starting the following (may 9th-10th) though you can get the sheet up as late as the Friday before I get things rolling properly.

If I get three people interested (and again you must be active, the game will crumble if we pull the usual source shit for it) then I'll post more info about the campaign in general.

[Cara]

I'd be interested, but how much "house rules" are we going? Fixing the Alignment? Also, which books?

[Jenius]

I'd be interested, but how much "house rules" are we going? Fixing the Alignment? Also, which books?
The only house rules I'd really consider were ones the players wanted, but I don't really plan to mess with the rules much. The common one I can think of is whether 1 is simply a bad roll or a critical failure. (it's a house rule to make it a crit fail).
The books you need are probably phb1 and 2, adventurer's vault, Martial and arcane power, and really any supplemental with classes in it. Though if you're using an obscure one tell me so I know to get it as I only have most of the common ones on hand.

[Cara]

Yar har fiddle de dee

[Jenius]

Yar har fiddle de dee
I'm not sure whether this is confirmation of interested or the statement that you desire to play a pirate.

[Cara]

More of disappointment I can't find a single source for those books.

[Jenius]

I just remembered that I don't have arcane power yet and looking around for torrents it looks like the full version hasn't been scanned yet so people aren't expected to have that one, though I might have it irl before we start.

[Van]

I got the PHB 1 and 2 last night, but I haven't seen Martial Power anywhere. Also, I volunteer to be the tank if no one else wants it. If they do, I could be a healer,

[Jenius]

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4700086/Dungeons_and_Dragons_4e_Collection

Most books you would need are in there, though there's a lot of useless stuff too. In case you're too lazy to read, it has phb 1, adventurer's vault, mm, dm guide, martial power. MM and dm guide aren't really necessary, but they're kind of a useful addition to your collection. Forgotten Realms Player's Guide is decent too, but this won't be a FR campaign.

[Jenius]

The game will likely run a while, I have the first dungeon planned out, I have 3 tentative dungeons after that, and from there depending on whether I get the impresson the players want the game to continue or not, I have a branched path to go on longer or to simply stop there. It should last most of summer at least, and it's possible it could keep going well into the school year.

Also inexperience is fine, though if you really have no idea what you're doing feel free to hit me up this coming weekend and I'll help you make a character. The people I'm planning to play with irl range from first time to fairly experienced, so my encounters are already going to be pitted against a few newbies.

[Jenius]

Also how do people feel about skype or vent or something? It might make encounters go smoother/more quickly if we could find a time where everyone was on. Play by post is still probably fine it's just a random thought.

[Cara]

I actually want to be in two, but I don't like talking on voice chat, so maybe no.

[Jenius]

@ Cara: Voice chat was just an afterthought, it could make things easier, but it could also be somewhat annoying (I plan to play with a grid so people would make their moves like declaring chess, and that might be somewhat tough over vent but who knows).

@Shady: The campaign could potentially last all summer, it could also potentially last all year. As far as how long 2-4 encounters, I'd say each counter probably lasts somewhere between 5 and 10 rounds(each round containing one action per person) so 2 encounters would be somewhere between 10 and 20 rounds on a weekly basis, or if you were posting, somewhere in the 2-3 posts per day range (purely for combat, story could be truncated as needed to keep things moving).

For perspective, an average tabletop dnd night gets through 1 encounter in like half an hour to an hour depending on the difficulty and how much people goof off. So usually people play in blocks of like 3 hours, get 2-3 encounters and some story. With my rl playgroup, we'll probably be doing weekly blocks of 2-4 hours, hence my 2-4 encounter guesstimate. So if we were to do it over vent/over an aim chatroom or something, we could probably pull it off at similar speed.

As far as commitment goes, really if people drop out after the first dungeon and just wanted a taste that's fine, I'll probably have gotten the grove of encounter difficulty by then, I think between story and how many encounters I have, the first dungeon might only last 2-3 weeks depending on pacing, maybe a month if people were going super slow.

[Cara]

Does Wizard's play online site actually work?
...


...

Never mind wizards made it lol

[Jenius]

As a side note, as the first dungeon is pretty short, I actually plan to get through it in 1-2 weeks irl as opposed to 2-3, so really if you were just sticking around for that one dungeon, you'd be in and out fairly quickly :V. Looking over my encounter list, act 1 of sorts only has 5 encounters including the bossfight, and I'd be surprised if my rl playgroup couldn't set aside enough time in two weeks to do that.

Speaking of Acts, I'm pretty much ignoring the in game leveling system and just giving everyone levels at predetermined times. I'm thinking one level per act, maybe 2 if it's a long act, or maybe just a flat rate of 1 per week.

[Jenius]

I dunno, SA has plenty of successful play by posts going, but voicechat is an option. If cara is out because of that, we may just have to scrap.

[Cara]

cara doesnt like voice chat because cara would have to reconfigure this computer to not to do audio through my motu interface it'll take awhile every single time and then reset

[Cara]

Hey man those 828mkIIs are pretty cheap if you know where to look.

[Jenius]

Aim is possible for combat but actual story feels like it would be lost if it wasn't typed out in post or done with audio.

It's possible also to kinda have a thing where cara listens on audio and we also have an aim chat running at the same time, as people other than me may not need to speak that much, and during combat it wouldn't be that much different typing out you attack goblin 1 than saying it. This is assuming you guys actually want to listen to me, my voice irritates even me.

Also cara is totally a dude.

[Cara]

Text to speech is obviously the solution. Microsoft Sam can make the most dangerious of solutions seem like a math problem.

[Jenius]

If we were going to do aim chat already I don't really see how adding vent would hamper anything, so that kinda seems like the most reasonable solution.

[Jenius]

Actually having someone narrate while we do everything else on AIM would work, unless your voice is truly cringe worthy.


obv

It's not really that awful I just dislike it. I always hated listening to my voice back when I did radio and ran into pre-recorded versions of myself talking. It's just on hindsight I'd feel incredibly geeky describing the dungeon rooms over voicechat while staring at my computer screen.

[Jenius]

Also I'm prolly going to need Cara's contact info.

I have both aim and msn so either works, though van only has aim to my knowledge and I have no recollection of shady mentioning msn.

[Cara]

Cara has to get an AIM account now.

[Cara]

Yeah, I have one. Anyone call a class or something?

[Cara]

Also, I can't find this player's handbook 2.

[Van]

Yeah, I have one. Anyone call a class or something?

I shall play a Gnome Paladin :V

[Cara]

you're a moron

edit: point buy?

[Van]

you're a moron

edit: point buy?
Hence the ":V"

And fuck point buy man 3d6 no re-roll

[Cara]

i rolled at 18s that cool

[Jenius]

Standard 22 point buy. Also try not to gimp the party Van :P, there's only 3 people, no intentionally shitty characters.

[Jenius]

Also, I can't find this player's handbook 2.

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4788243/Player_handbook_II_(2_Dungeons_and_Dragons_4th_edition)

It was cleverly hidden under a tpb search for "phb 2"

[Cara]

I have no idea how this choosing abilities things work.

[Jenius]

I have no idea how this choosing abilities things work.

At level 1 you get 1 feat, 2 at will powers, 1 daily power, and 1 encounter power. Feats can be found in various feat tables, your powers can be chosen from your class. You'll see the green at will powers at the very beginning, from there it should say "Level 1 Daily power" in red boxes and "Level 1 Encounter power" in black boxes, you simply choose 2 of the green at wills, 1 of the red dailys, and 1 of the encounter powers. These are your powers. If you're still having trouble I suggest reading the character creation section in the first phb, if you're still having trouble after that I hit me up on aim sometime this week or weekend and if I have time I'll help you.

Jesting Jenius is my aim, I always have it set on away so just poke me to see if I'm there.

[Cara]

Well mainly I'm confused about the rechoosing of abilities later. It doesn't say anything about keeping the same level slot, so can I just upgrade one ability per level?

[mrs_bun]

If you decide replace an ability, it has to be with one of the same level or lower, unless you are actually granted a new higher level ability per the level dependent benefits table. So you can trade something you don't like or don't use, but you can't jsut upgrade every level.

However, you can trade out lower level feats for higher level ones, although you can't trade out anything that is required for something else you have without trading that out first.

[Jenius]

Bun is right, with powers if you retrain, you only get same level or lower, and only in the same slot (so you can't retrain an encounter to a daily to my knowledge).

Feats are weird in that you can retrain a heroic feat to a paragon feat so long as you don't make your feat list illegal (you have feats you don't have pre-reqs to because you swapped a pre-req out).

[Cara]

How do I roll for abilities, yo.

[Cloneysocks]

I bet that system for feats makes creating higher level characters much less annoying than it could be sometimes in 3e.

[Jenius]

How do I roll for abilities, yo.

I'm not sure what you mean. If you mean ability scores like str dex and such, read the phb before asking stupid questions :V. I said standard 22 point buy, which is explained quite thoroughly in the book and can be found in the creating character section of the phb. You basically buy scores and the scores cost points, you have 22 points to buy with, so usually you get 1 decent sized score for your primary stat (16-18) and one and ones that are like 14ish for your secondary stats.

We can do an array if people would prefer that though. I tend to like point buy because it allows for more customization, but arrays are fairly easy to work with.

[Jenius]

Also bun/clone feel free to state your interest if you want in. Shady and Cara haven't officially stated that they will play and I'm probably going to scrap this idea in general if I don't have have a designated cast by/on this weekend.

[Cara]

You did not say 22 point stat buy jerk. :/

[Jenius]

you're a moron

edit: point buy?

Hence the ":V"

And fuck point buy man 3d6 no re-roll

i rolled at 18s that cool

Standard 22 point buy. Also try not to gimp the party Van :P, there's only 3 people, no intentionally shitty characters.

[Cara]

Lies and edits.

[Jenius]

The edit was to make fun of van in that post, it always had the statement about point buy :V.

[Cara]

Making a fighter as we speak.

[Jenius]

So we got our tank and I think Van mentioned he'd be willing/like to be healer so the final role is a striker/controller. You(shady/whoever) may be able to get away with another leader (like a warlord) though so it's your call.

[Cara]

Is there a damn program that will fill out a character sheet for me?

[Cara]

Sen't

[Van]

Are there really any other options for a healing class besides Cleric and Paladin?

[Jenius]

Paladin is not a healing class, paladin is a tank class.

But for other options, shaman (in phb2) I believe is a healer. They haven't made many healers, it sucks, they give us a whopping 3 tanks (fighter, paly, warden, 4 if you count spellsword or whatever from forgotten realms), 2 healers, and like a bajillion strikers.

Because we need more ways to make people want to roll striker/controller over the actually useful roles. (No offense strikers, but really, your abilities aren't that impressive, my tank fighter tends to do a similar caliber of damage as our warlock).

[Van]

Holy shit there's a lot of feats. And it's not like, only 3 of them are useful. Just going with Channels alone, I can see 3-4 feats I want. Probably going with Melora’s Tide or Raven Queen's Blessing...though I haven't even looked at any other books aside from the PHB.

[Cara]

http://203.194.161.207/sheepy/chargen/ would be great if it was updated. How ugly can our character sheet be?

[Van]

I dunno but mine is pretty damn ugly. I used http://www.pathguy.com/cg4.htm#top_of_form

[Jenius]

I could be totally wrong but from my recollection priests get the channel divinity by default and they can only do it with one god.

[Van]

I could be totally wrong but from my recollection priests get the channel divinity by default and they can only do it with one god.Yes, Channel Divinity is there by default. I was just trying to pick which additional Channel ability I get to use.

Anyway, I finished my character. I'm not sure how it looks in Word, but it looked alright copy-pasted into OpenOffice.

[Jenius]

I was wrong, you can pick multiple gods to channel, you can just only use one per encounter, so it might be a waste of feats to get more than one.

[Cara]

Is there an easier way then to use photoshop to put text over the PDF?

[Jenius]

Is it really that hard to manually type things up? It makes it look a whole lot less cluttered (it takes 5 seconds to figure out your attack bonus on powers, it's excessive to list them all).

[Van]

I was wrong, you can pick multiple gods to channel, you can just only use one per encounter, so it might be a waste of feats to get more than one.What about ones with "Triggers"?

And if the character generator Cara linked is correct, I can actually get most of the Channel abilities of other gods while still under Moradin. Nice.

[Cara]

Is it really that hard to manually type things up? It makes it look a whole lot less cluttered (it takes 5 seconds to figure out your attack bonus on powers, it's excessive to list them all).

I get lost without the boxes.

[Van]

A much simpler character sheet:
Halthar --- Dwarf Cleric 1
Good (Moradin), Male ----- Medium, Height: 4'7", Weight: 220
Low-Light Vision, Perception: 14, Insight: 19,
Languages: Common, Dwarven (Common, Davek)
Speed: 5, Init: +1


HP 24 ----- Bloodied 12 ----- Healing Surge 6 x 8

Str 14 +2 | Dex 09 -1 | Wis 18 +4
Con 12 +1 | Int 10 +0 | Cha 15 +2

Fort 12 -+- Ref 10 --+- Will 16 -+- AC 16


=== Basic Attacks ===
Str +2 | Con +1 | Dex -1 | Int +0 | Wis +4 | Cha +2

Warhammer : +4 vs. AC --> 1d10+3
Crossbow : +1 vs. AC --> 1d8-1 15/30



=== At-will Powers ===


Lance of Faith -------- Radiant (Cleric 1, Implement)
=========================
Ranged 5
+4 vs. Ref --> 1d8+4 (radiant)
====================
Hit: One ally you can see gains a +2 to his or her next attack roll against the target.
=========================


Sacred Flame -------- Radiant (Cleric 1, Implement)
=========================
Ranged 5
+4 vs. Ref --> 1d6+4 (radiant)
====================
Hit: One ally you can see chooses either to gain 2 temporary hp or to make a saving throw.
=========================



=== Encounter Powers ===


Turn Undead -------- Radiant (Cleric, Implement)
=========================
Each undead / Burst 2
+4 vs. Will --> 1d10+4 (radiant)
====================
Hit: You push the target 5 squares. Target is immobilized until end of your next turn.
Miss: Half damage, and the target is not pushed or immobilized.
Special: You can channel divinity once per encounter.
=========================


Healing Strike -------- Radiant [Healing] (Cleric 1, Weapon)
=========================
Melee Weapon
--- Warhammer ----------
+4 vs. AC --> 2d10+3 (radiant)
====================
Hit: Target is marked until end of your next turn. You or one ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge, restoring hs+4 hp .
=========================



=== Daily Powers ===


Beacon of Hope -------- [Healing] (Cleric 1, Implement)
=========================
Each enemy / Burst 3
+4 vs. Will
====================
Hit: Target is weakened until end of its next turn.
Effect: You and all your allies in the burst regain 9 hp, and your healing powers restore +5 hp until end of encounter.
=========================



=== Utility Powers ===


Divine Fortune -------- (Cleric)
=========================
Encounter, Free, Personal
Effect: You gain a +1 to your next attack roll or saving throw before end of your next turn.
Special: You can channel divinity once per encounter.
=========================


Healing Word -------- [Healing] (Cleric)
=========================
Encounter, Minor, You or one ally / Burst 5
Effect: Target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6+4 hp.
Special: Can be used 2 times per encounter, but only once per round.
=========================


Moradin's Blessing -------- [Healing] (Feat)
=========================
Encounter, Free, Ranged 10
Trigger: : Your attack drops an enemy in range to 0 hp or fewer
Effect: You or an ally in 5 squares of the enemy can spend a healing surge, restoring hs+4 hp.
Special: You can channel divinity once per encounter.
=========================




=== Skills ===
+ 2 . Acrobatics
+ 0 . Arcana
+ 1 . Athletics
+ 2 . Bluff
+ 7 T Diplomacy
+ 6 . Dungeoneering
+ 2 . Endurance
+ 4 . Heal
+ 5 T History
+ 9 T Insight
+ 2 . Intimidate
+ 4 . Nature
+ 4 . Perception
+ 5 T Religion
+ 2 . Stealth
+ 2 . Streetwise
+ 2 . Thievery


=== Features ===
----- Combat features
Dwarven Resilience : Use Second Wind as a minor action
----- Defense features
Cast-Iron Stomach : +5 racial saving throws vs. poison.
Stand Your Ground : Move 1 square less with forced movement ; when knocked prone may immediately save to stay up

----- Applied features and feats
Low-Light Vision, Dwarven Weapon Proficiency, Encumbered Speed, Healer's Lore, Moradin's Blessing

=== Feats ===
Moradin's Blessing : Gain encounter power
Ritual Caster : Perform rituals of your level or lower.


=== Equipments ===
Melee Weapon : Warhammer
Ranged Weapon : Crossbow
Body : Chainmail

[Jenius]

What about ones with "Triggers"?

And if the character generator Cara linked is correct, I can actually get most of the Channel abilities of other gods while still under Moradin. Nice.

Any channel divinity is still a channel divinity so yes, once per encounter regardless. You don't have to activate trigger powers, so you shouldn't be put in a situation where you'd use one by accident.

Also that one is significantly less painful on the eyes, thank you.

[Cara]

ALL DWORF PARTY GO

[Jenius]

I noticed that too and thought it was kinda odd, but dwarfs are one of the best races for fighter tanks and I guess +con and wis is useful for clerics too.

[Jenius]

Also I'm pretty sure your char sheet got your initiative wrong you have a -1 dex mod and the default is 0 so 0-1 is neg 1 not positive.

[Cara]

I seriously can not figure out how to create a decent character sheet. How the fuck do I add text in Adobe Acrobat Pro?

[Jenius]

It has to be enabled in the pdf, if the sheet you got is locked from text you basically can't. Though if you really want to use a sheet if you have a scanner that's an option.

[Cara]

With my handwriting?

Actually not such a terrible idea.

Edit: Which fucking moron removes the ability to add text on a character sheet PDF?

[Jenius]

Edit: Which fucking moron removes the ability to add text on a character sheet PDF?

I think it's something copyright related but honeslty I don't know as wizards has char sheets available for free on their site.

[Cara]

Yeah, I'll do that other generator but do the math myself. :/

[Cloneysocks]

Just downloaded the PHB 2. Reading it, I might be inspired to make a character.

[Skydin]

btw, try plothook for online character sheets.

[Cara]

Sankis Steellast
Level 1 Fighter
Dwarf, Good, Avandra
4'4'' 136 pounds, 143 years old.

14 Str +2
18 Con +4
11 Dex +0
12 Int +1
16 Wis +3
8 Cha -1

33 HP, 16 bloodied, 8 surge value, 13 surges/day

Movement speed = 5

Passive Perception 13, Passive Insight 13 (LowLight)

19 AC 16 Fort 13 Ref 13 Will


Attacks:

+4/1d10+4 (Craghammer) Brutal 2, reroll any die that comes out less then 3.
(at will) Crushing Surge : Same as above, but gain 4 temp stacking hitpoints
(at will) Tide of Iron: As above, but push it one square away if it is one size greater then you or smaller, then you can shift into said square
Covering attack: +4/2d10+8, plus adjacent ally can shift 2 squares
Knee Breaker: +4/2d10+12 target is slowed, or immolbized if already slowed (save ends), 4 temp stacking hit points. Miss: Half damage.



Powers:
At will:
Tide of Iron (1)
Crushing Surge (1)

Encounter:
Covering Attack (1)

Daily Powers: Knee Breaker (1)

Feats: Dwarven Weapon Training (+2 damage + profinecny with all axes and hammers)

Class/Path/Destiny features
Combat Challenge: Mark a target on attack, target -2 to all attack roles not against you until next turn, if target moves, attack it
Combat Superiority +3 to AoOpperunity, stops moving.
Battlerager Vigor: +4 HP after a close/melee attack hits, Temp Hit points from Invigoration stack.


Skills:

Acrobatics -2
Arcana 1
Athletics 5 T
Bluff -1
Diplomancy -1
Dungeoneering 5
Endurance 9
Heal 8
History 1
Insight 3
Intimidate -1
Nature 3
Perception 3
Religion 1
Stealth -2
Streetwise -1
Theivery -2

Race features:
+5 poison save,
2nd wind as a minor action,
Prof w/ Hammer+Warhammer
Not slowed by armor or weight
-1 to forced moves, save on knockdowns.

Languages: Common, Dwarven.

Items:

Weapon: Craghammer.
Armor: Scale.
Shield: Heavy Shield.

Standard adventurer pack
5 potions of healing because thats all I can buy.
50g

[Jenius]

I hadn't specified money yet and if you don't buy potions you probably will die, also no magical items yet including mundane ones like everburning torch :V. Note that lighting will probably not be involved in really anything.

[Cara]

The everburning torch is mainly there to reduce book keeping issues with the light more then anything else. :V

[Jenius]

I'm thinking I may just give people an adventurer's pack, a couple potions, and like 50 gold and ignore everything else entirely.

I didn't mean to steal your thunder I just hadn't really mapped out what I was going to do on equipment other than give you what you're wearing. I just didn't like the idea of all the characters having an everburning torch from an aesthetics standpoint. Magical items should be special.

[Cara]

Hey Van when you choose rituals check out Dragon 366 in addition to the books.

[Jenius]

Also bun/clone feel free to state your interest if you want in. Shady and Cara haven't officially stated that they will play and I'm probably going to scrap this idea in general if I don't have have a designated cast by/on this weekend.

This post still applies, so if we don't have a third before sunday we're not going to be playing :V.

[Cloneysocks]

I'm working on a Deva Avenger, I'll try to have her done asap, but it'll take a bit. Lots of things to do.

[Jenius]

Well I didn't necessarily mean character sheets I just meant an official /in as opposed to pussyfooting around like some people are :V.

[Jenius]

To reiterate, I just need confirmations that you will play by sunday, not a character sheet. We will be starting the week after at which point you'll need a character sheet.

[Purser The Guy]

Only limitation on my /in is that I can't do anything earlier than 8 PM PST on weekdays due to my 11-7PM work schedule. Otherwise I'm set. Weekends are pretty much open whenever I happen to wake up.

EDIT: I don't go to college or anything and my job has no take-home work, so I have a much steadier work schedule. Also, I also have a Half-Elf paladin set up and ready to roll.

EDIT EDIT: To be clear, if the weekday timing is not a problem, I would mucho like to try out 4th ed.

[Jenius]

We don't really have room for a paladin and I think weekday play may end up being important but we'll see.

[Cara]

And paladins kinda suck.

[Cloneysocks]

Yeah, definitely in. I'm going to make several characters and, with some consulting, choose the one that would work best.

[Cloneysocks]

Does anyone have a pdf of Arcane Power that includes all the chapters, instead of just chapters 1-5? I can't torrent on campus, and through download links chapters 1-5 are all I can find.

[Jenius]

I just remembered that I don't have arcane power yet and looking around for torrents it looks like the full version hasn't been scanned yet so people aren't expected to have that one, though I might have it irl before we start.

In other words I'd rather you not use it as I don't have access to it.

[Cloneysocks]

Can I use the part they have scanned? I want to make an illusionist.

[Jenius]

I'd rather not use the book until I had the whole book. It's something that would bother me for no apparent reason.

[Cloneysocks]

I know how you feel. I'll make a druid instead.

[Jenius]

I might be getting the book before we start so if you want to you can make up a sheet for it, it's just some ocd thing of mine to not use something until it's complete. I hate game demos for example.

[Cara]

Let me upload it really quickly: Re Arcane Power.

[Cara]

Holy shit kevin smith did art direction!

Warning: Possibly worst scan ever.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9QBGQS5B

[Cloneysocks]

Should have mentioned that most things like rapidshare and mediafire and 4shared work, but megaupload, among those, does not. >.<

[Jenius]

How large of emails does your provider allow in terms of attachments? I can send it, but I know some emails bounce attachments over a certain amount.
Edit: Nevermind, I'd have to break it up into fractured zips anyways. I could do that if you want or I can upload it to sendspace.

[Cloneysocks]

An online service like sendspace would be easier for both of us, I think. Maybe mediafire.com?

[Jenius]

I like sendspace so unless you have objections I'm currently uploading it there.

[Jenius]

Looks like it'le be 20 or so mins, my upload speed isn't so hot.

Also I don't see an illusionist anywhere in this book, what was it a subclass of? Edit oh, the search feature doesn't work, wizard.

[Cara]

I cast Tide of Iron at The Darkness.

[Jenius]

http://www.sendspace.com/file/nmd1bp

[Cara]

I'm ready whenever.

[Cloneysocks]

oro the avenger

:(

:confused:

If you mean you're playing an avenger, I'll make a shaman. We'd be better without a controller than without a leader, to use the terms the game does.

[Cara]

Isn't a cleric a leader?

[Van]

Isn't a cleric a leader?

Yes.

And to reiterate, only 3 people are playing. :V

Shady and Clone are going to have to fight for that last spot. We need a striker.

[Jenius]

Well shady showed interest first so if he wants he prolly should, but because he never officially said /in I just went with clone. I guess now I'm not sure what the socially fair way to do this is :V.

[Cloneysocks]

Both of us make a striker, and then we go to the arena?

Edit: I was going to edit this and suggest that I make a controller/striker, but in an arena that would get schooled by a straight striker, unless we were doing some sort of trial rather than wailing on each other.

[Cloneysocks]

Mara the Lost
Level 1 Druid
Human, Good, Avandra
5'8'' 142 pounds, 23 years old.

10 Str ±0
12 Con +1
16 Dex +3
10 Int ±0
18 Wis +4
10 Cha ±0

24 HP, 12 bloodied, 6 surge value, 8 surges/day

Movement speed = 7

Passive Perception 19, Passive Insight 19 (Normal vision)

17 AC 12 Fort 15 Ref 16 Will


Attacks:
(All attacks with the primal keyword get +1 versus bloodied foes)
(beast form)(basic attack)(at will) Grasping Claws: One creature in melee touch range, WIS vs. Reflex, +4, 1d8+4 damage, and target is slowed until the end of my next turn.
(at will) Chill Wind: Each creature in ranged burst 1 within 10 spaces, WIS vs. Fortitude, +4, 1d6+4 cold damage, and slide the target one square.
(at will) Call of the Beast: Each creature in ranged burst 1 within 10 spaces, WIS vs. Will, target can't gain combat advantage until the end of my next turn, and on it's next turn, it must target my nearest ally or take 9 damage.
(at will) Thorn Whip: One creature in a range of 10 spaces, WIS vs. Fortitude, +4, 1d8+4 damage, and pull the target two squares.
(beast form)(encounter) Darting Bite: One or two creatures in melee touch range, WIS vs. Reflex, +4, 1d10+4 damage, and if at least one attack hits, I can shift 2 squares.
(beast form)(daily) Savage Frenzy: Each creature in close burst 1, WIS vs. Reflex, +4, 1d6+4 damage, and the target is dazed and slowed (save ends both). On a miss, half damage, and the target is slowed until the end of my next turn.


Powers:
At will:
Grasping Claws (1) - PHB2-85 (Beast Form, Implement, Primal)
Chill Wind (1) - PHB2-84 (Cold, Implement, Primal)
Call of the Beast (1) - PHB2-84 (Charm, Implement, Primal, Psychic)
Thorn Whip (1) - PHB2-85 (Implement, Primal)

Encounter:
Darting Bite (1) - PHB2-85 (Beast Form, Implement, Primal)

Daily Powers:
Savage Frenzy (1) - PHB2-86 (Beast Form, Implement, Primal)

Feats:
Primal Fury - PHB2-188, Improved Initiative - PHB-198

Class/Path/Destiny features
Ritual Caster: see rituals below
Balance of Nature: begin with three Druid at-will attack powers (+1 human). At least one must always have the Beast Form keyword, at least one must not.
Primal Aspect - Predator: when not wearing heavy armor, +1 to speed
Wild Shape: as a minor action, change from humanoid to beast form or vice versa. Shift 1 square if changing from beast form. Can only use keyword Beast Form powers while in beast form. Drop weapons and wondrous items, hang onto implements and worn magic items.

Skills:

Acrobatics 2
Arcana 5 T
Athletics 4 T
Bluff 0
Diplomancy 0
Dungeoneering 4
Endurance 0
Heal 4
History 0
Insight 9 T
Intimidate 0
Nature 9 T
Perception 9 T
Religion 0
Stealth 2
Streetwise 0
Theivery 2

Race features:
+2 Wisdom, bonus skill training, bonus feat, bonus at will power from class.

Languages: Common, Giant.

Items:

Weapon: Tooth and claw. :P
Armor: Hide.
Shield: Light shield.

Standard adventurer pack
Whatever else

Rituals:
Animal Messenger - PHB-300 (can use once per day without components)
Create Campsite - PHB2-214

[Cara]

I'm loling@party dynamics.

[Van]

I'm loling@party dynamics.

Clone shoulda picked a dwarf too. :teach:

I need to pick a different ritual. I guess I'll look though Dragon 366 for some options before we start. Too lazy to do it now though.

[Jenius]

I have no clue what dragon 366 is could you guys elaborate.

[Jenius]

As an aside isn't human an incredibly shitty race due to only getting one +2? I know the extra at will and feat is tempting but if you went razorclaw shifter for example you'd have an extra +2 to dex (which is a +1 bonus to AC) and you get a fairly good +1 bonus to AC when you first get bloodied until the end of the encounter. So you'd lose 1 at will and 1 feat for +2 ac which seems kinda good to me. Alternatively, dwarves would have two more life and some fairly useful racials, I dunno human just seems subpar.

[Cara]

I have no clue what dragon 366 is could you guys elaborate.

It has a great article about a bunch of rituals, and most of them are pretty damn useful. Want it to be sendspaced?

[Jenius]

What do you mean article? Like is it an actual official product or is it some random internet thing?

Also why isn't clone taking pounce it's like really good unless I'm missreading it.

[Cara]

Dragon is one of the two D&D Magazines, as far as I know, Dragon is for players, Dungeon is for DMs.

[Cara]

Ooh can I be a warforged can I be a warforged?[/kidding]

[Van]

What do you mean article? Like is it an actual official product or is it some random internet thing?

Also why isn't clone taking pounce it's like really good unless I'm missreading it.

What Cara said. It's one of the oldest D&D mags, and most stuff posted in it is cannon.

[Cara]

You get it (legally) from D&D Insider.

[Jenius]

I see, well if it's cannon and cara uploads whatever copies your using/links me to a torrent of them then you can use it.

[Cara]

When are we starting?

[Cloneysocks]

What do you mean article? Like is it an actual official product or is it some random internet thing?

Also why isn't clone taking pounce it's like really good unless I'm missreading it.

Granting +2 to the next attack against the creature? It's alright, but I think that enemy target control, movement shutdown, the ability to shift a group of four, and the ability to pull vulnerable targets works better given the role makeup of the group. Van can grant us attack bonuses while I focus on being a controller with a bit of a striker side. I'm thinking about picking up Savage Rend, though, but I'd like to try this build and see how it works to figure out what I need the least of the powers I picked. And I'd really rather not give up humanity. Versatility in controlling the battlefield is my aim, especially because we only have three party members.

I haven't closed the case on playing this druid yet though. I'm going to experiment a bit more with character creation first, and post another possibility tomorrow.

[Cloneysocks]

Reisa Dynaja
Level 1 Sorcerer
Dragonborn, Good, Bahamut
6'6" 257 lb., 19 years old.

16 Str +3
14 Con +2
12 Dex +1
11 Int ±0
8 Wis -1
18 Cha +4

26 HP, 13 bloodied, 8 surge value, 8 surges/day

Movement speed = 6

Passive Perception 9, Passive Insight 9 (Normal vision)

17 AC 13 Fort 12 Ref 16 Will


Attacks:
(basic attack) Dagger (+3 proficiency): One creature in melee touch range, STR vs. AC, +6, 1d4+3 damage.

(at will) Burning Spray: All creatures in close blast 3, CHA vs. Reflex, +5, 1d8+7 fire damage, and the next creature to attack me before the end of my next turn takes STR (3) fire damage.

(at will)(basic attack) Dragonfrost: One creature in range 10, CHA vs. Fortitude, +5, 1d8+7 cold damage, and push target back one square.

(encounter) Dragon Breath: All creatures in close blast 3, STR+2 vs. Reflex, +5, 1d6+2 lightning damage.

(encounter) Tearing Claws: Each enemy in burst 1, CHA vs. Reflex, +5, 1d10+7 damage, and push target back 1 square, or 3 squares if they're bloodied.

(daily) Lightning Breath: All creatures in close blast 3, CHA vs. Reflex, +5, 3d8+7 lightning damage, and until the end of my next turn, any enemy hitting me with a melee attack takes 5 lightning damage and is pushed back one square. This effect can be sustained with a minor action.
Attack Modifiers:
Dragonborn Fury: +1 racial to attack rolls when bloodied.
Draconic Power: add STR bonus to damage of Arcane powers.
Implement Expertise: +1 to all powers using a dagger as an implement.
Dragon Soul: ignore 5 points of lightning resistance.

Powers:(see above for more in-depth descriptions)
At will:
Burning Spray (1) - PH2-138 (Arcane, Fire, Implement)
Dragonfrost (1) - PH2-139 (Arcane, Cold, Implement)

Encounter:
Dragon Breath (Racial) - PH-34 (Lightning)
Tearing Claws (1) - AP-29 (Arcane, Implement)

Daily Powers:
Lightning Breath (1) - PH2-140 (Arcane, Implement, Lightning)

Feats:
Implement Expertise (daggers) - PH2-185

Class/Path/Destiny features
Spell Source: Dragon Magic - PH2-137:
-Draconic Power: Add STR modifier to Arcane damage rolls.
-Draconic Resilience: When not wearing heavy armor, can use STR to determine AC.
-Dragon Soul: 5 resistance to lightning, ignore 5 points of lightning resistance.
-Scales of the Dragon: +2 to AC for the rest of the encounter after becoming bloodied.


Skills:

Acrobatics 0
Arcana 5 T
Athletics 7 T
Bluff 9 T
Diplomancy 4
Dungeoneering -1
Endurance 1
Heal -1
History 2
Insight -1
Intimidate 11 T
Nature -1
Perception -1
Religion 0
Stealth 0
Streetwise 4
Theivery 0

Race features:
+2 STR, +2 CHA.
Dragonborn Fury: +1 to attacks when bloodied.
Draconic Heritage: Add CON modifier to healing surge value.
Dragon Breath: See attacks.

Languages: Common, Giant.

Items:

Weapon: Dagger
Armor: Hide.
Shield: Light shield.

Standard adventurer pack
Whatever else

[Jenius]

When are we starting?

I've said about a bajillion times we'll be starting next weekend.

Edit and Clone, you guys really don't need a controller as much as you need a striker, I primarily said controller/striker because controllers also tend to do a lot of damage. Granted you can play whatever you want.

[Cloneysocks]

I'm also fiddling with a drow rogue, but I think that Reisa will be my character. +7 to damage for all of my arcane powers is too good to pass up.

[Jenius]

Yeah personally I was considering a halfling wildmage sorc cause I thought that'd be awesome, but dragonborn dragonmages are a solid choice too, +7 is huge and having two different stats scale your damage is pretty damn good. My level 11 fighter only has +10 on damage rolls (+16 on a few of his abilities).

[Cloneysocks]

I'll write one up and see how it turns out - I'll probably be able to get another +7 damage bonus; but I might like a wild mage better, flavor-wise. Are there still size modifiers in 4e, or did they scrap those?

[Jenius]

Size mods are present, but since you're a caster it won't make much of a difference for you. I don't know what all they entail so look them up before modifying stats or whatever, cause I don't know if being small is + ac due to dex.

[Cloneysocks]

I'm a little confused about Lightning Strike (Arcane Power page 28). Under 'Storm Magic' it says you can apply the Storm Power bonus to either the primary or the secondary target. Do Chaos Power and Draconic Power and Cosmic Power apply to it the same way? Or does the damage bonus not apply (it should, it's an arcane power) or apply to both? (that would be really weird)

[Cara]

I've said about a bajillion times we'll be starting next weekend.

I thought THIS was next weekend from when you said that.

Oops.

[Jenius]

On lightning strike you only roll against on of the targets and the power bonus explicitately states +whatever on damage rolls (for any of them, storm, draconic, etc). So you only apply bonuses for rolls on stuff that makes you roll.

[Jenius]

If you're in you should probably try to have your characters up by next weekend (may 2nd-3rd), as we'll be starting the following (may 9th-10th) though you can get the sheet up as late as the Friday before I get things rolling properly.
To reiterate, I just need confirmations that you will play by sunday, not a character sheet. We will be starting the week after at which point you'll need a character sheet.

[Cloneysocks]

On lightning strike you only roll against on of the targets and the power bonus explicitately states +whatever on damage rolls (for any of them, storm, draconic, etc). So you only apply bonuses for rolls on stuff that makes you roll.

So, only with storm magic can you choose to apply the damage bonus to the secondary attack instead of to the primary one?

[Cara]

I am blind.

[Jenius]

No, only with attacks the use damage rolls (be it the primary or secondary attack). For instance, with chaosbolt because you roll 1d6 on the secondary attack, it gets the bonus (I'm pretty sure).

With lightning strikes there's no roll on secondary attack, it just does your dex mod.

[Cloneysocks]

Maybe you should read the part where it says "Storm Magic" in the description of Lightning Strike. I suppose it is only storm sorcerers that can do that, then.

[Jenius]

"You can apply your Storm Power bonus either to the damage roll against the target or to the damage taken by the enemy within 10 squares of the target."
Emphasis mine. IT'S NOT A FUCKING DAMAGE ROLL IT SIMPLY DOES DAMAGE THEREFOR THE "STORM DAMAGE BONUS THAT ONLY AFFECTS DAMAGE ROLLS WOULD NOT NORMALLY AFFECT IT BECAUSE IT IS NOT A DAMAGE ROLL IT SIMPLY DOES DAMAGE.
This is why the effect itself specifies you may use your storm bonus, because in a normal situation you couldn't because it is not a damage roll. The first part of the attack however, is a damage roll, so the bonus would normally be applied there, the power just lets you move the bonus elsewhere.

On other attacks like chaos bolt, you do damage rolls on the secondary attacks, ergo it does not need to be specified, you get the bonus automatically because it's an arcane power and it does a damage roll.

I'm not sure what about this is so hard to understand.

Though admittedly, I could be wrong, I'm not entirely positive you're allowed to apply the damage mod on a secondary attack made by chaos bolt. I'm fairly sure you are and I don't see why not, but maybe there's some rule somewhere that says power bonuses can only be applied to one attack per turn or something. I am however pretty sure that there's a difference between damage rolls and static damage.

[Cloneysocks]

"You can apply your Storm Power bonus either to the damage roll against the target or to the damage taken by the enemy within 10 squares of the target."
Emphasis mine. IT'S NOT A FUCKING DAMAGE ROLL IT SIMPLY DOES DAMAGE THEREFOR THE "STORM DAMAGE BONUS THAT ONLY AFFECTS DAMAGE ROLLS WOULD NOT NORMALLY AFFECT IT BECAUSE IT IS NOT A DAMAGE ROLL IT SIMPLY DOES DAMAGE.
This is why the effect itself specifies you may use your storm bonus, because in a normal situation you couldn't because it is not a damage roll. The first part of the attack however, is a damage roll, so the bonus would normally be applied there, the power just lets you move the bonus elsewhere.

On other attacks like chaos bolt, you do damage rolls on the secondary attacks, ergo it does not need to be specified, you get the bonus automatically because it's an arcane power and it does a damage roll.

I'm not sure what about this is so hard to understand.

Though admittedly, I could be wrong, I'm not entirely positive you're allowed to apply the damage mod on a secondary attack made by chaos bolt. I'm fairly sure you are and I don't see why not, but maybe there's some rule somewhere that says power bonuses can only be applied to one attack per turn or something. I am however pretty sure that there's a difference between damage rolls and static damage.
I understood that from your quieter post, and tried to indicate so in my last one by applying it. Perhaps when it's hard to understand what's so hard to understand about something, given the information given, you might come to understand that there is no misunderstanding, except for one about whether there is a misunderstanding.

[Jenius]

Maybe you should read the part where it says "Storm Magic" in the description of Lightning Strike. I suppose it is only storm sorcerers that can do that, then.

This post clearly indicates that either you didn't know what I was talking about, or you disagreed with it. So obviously there was a misunderstanding somewhere, or you thought I was wrong.

Unless what you're trying to confirm is that when a power specifies it's only usable by storm magic, that it is indeed only usable by storm magic. In which case your phrasing was incredibly fucking poor and you should have something like "For lightning strikes, under the storm magic section, can you only use this ability if you're a storm sorcerer?" If this is your question, the answer is yes, if you were a cosmic sorc and you used that ability, your mod would only apply on the primary attack, and you couldn't have it be on the secondary.

[Jenius]

I am blind.

To be fair I'm in a foul mood and to be snarky I was planning on quoting several posts that specified when we started but it only ended up being 2 when I searched the thread.

[Cloneysocks]

Thank you for graciously answering my question. I understand now.

[Jenius]

I lol'ed at your edit, but if that really was your question you could have clarified after I first mentioned the damage roll/vs "does damage" because it was clear I was going off in the wrong direction from what you wanted answered :V.

My apologies for being snappy but I think you were a bit vague.

[Tidal Kraken]

drama and douchebags more like

heh


hey can i play one of them dragonpeople thingies?

[Jenius]

Clone, Van, Cara, are you all ready to go whenever? If sooner is fine with everyone, I'll probably be posting the background info and such tomorrow night, and people can start a play by post for the story portion in the beginning thursday. Unless people move particularly slowly, we'll probably get to our first encounter friday or saturday, and the dungeon should begin probably on sunday.

That cool with everyone, or do some people have finals/work/whatever that would prevent them from participating until the weekend?

[Cloneysocks]

Fine with me. I'll be playing Reisa Dynaja, not the druid.

[Jenius]

As a side note, your char sheet there says human, not dragonborn.

Decided you disliked wild mage? I still think they're better than dragons (dragon sorceror's focus too much on close blast attacks which are fairly subpar in my gameplay experience. Enemies simply don't bunch up so conveniently), but I think dragon ones might be more fun to roleplay.

Keep in mind though, that with 3 players aoe spec might lack efficiency as encounters will tend to not have a large number of enemies.

Edit: I'm reading on wotc forums that an ideal spec for sorcerers actually involves using vague wording on a couple of weapon feats and using the fact that sorcerer's can use daggers as implements.

[Cara]

I'm here.

[Jenius]

As Van hasn't said anything I'll assume he's busy with exams and such so I'll maintain the original schedule and start on the weekend.

[Cloneysocks]

As a side note, your char sheet there says human, not dragonborn.

Decided you disliked wild mage? I still think they're better than dragons (dragon sorceror's focus too much on close blast attacks which are fairly subpar in my gameplay experience. Enemies simply don't bunch up so conveniently), but I think dragon ones might be more fun to roleplay.

Keep in mind though, that with 3 players aoe spec might lack efficiency as encounters will tend to not have a large number of enemies.

Edit: I'm reading on wotc forums that an ideal spec for sorcerers actually involves using vague wording on a couple of weapon feats and using the fact that sorcerer's can use daggers as implements.
Yeah, it should've said dragonborn. Now it does.

I looked through the wild mage's powers and decided I prefer Lightning Breath to any wild magic I would get early on. I don't know how many adventures this game will last, so I'm not going to plan absurdly far ahead. And it doesn't seem like Carados has focused on AOE. I tried to check Van's sheet for that, but seeing the word INCLUDEPICTURE everywhere made it a little tricky. Yes, in OpenOffice. What's that for, anyway?

[Jenius]

What about the 6d6 daily, I can't recall whether it was wildmagic specific(I'm at work), but it's a lot of damage for a level 1 daily, and chaos bolt is pretty good from what I can tell.

The problem with AoE damage is killing stuff is better than wounding a bunch of things, but sorcerers are kinda geared for aoe so I can't fault you for going that route. I might modify an encounter so we have more minion action going on or something, so you'll actually be able to aoe stuff rather than using a blast spell on one target :V. Also beware because it's kind of a pain orienting blast effects to hit enemies but not the tank.

Also this just in, wizard's official faq says weapon focus and similar abilities work for classes that use weapons as implements (Such as a wizard staff or sorc dagger), so you can (eventually) get weapon for for your sorc and two weapon fighting a miscellaneous other fun stuff and stack mods in a really weird but awesome way. I like implement expertise for level 1 though.

This opens a whole can of interesting wurms. It makes me want to make a wild or storm sorc that multiclasses rogue for backstab and abuses the couple feats that let you use your at will's at melee basic attacks. With those, daggermaster (your crit range while holding a dagger is 18-20), two weapon opening (on crits you can make a melee basic) and other such garbage you can be blasting off a ton of pointblank acid orbs or chaos bolts. Seems like it'd be fun to rp too.

As a side note, assuming this game actually lasts for a decent length, I'll basically be allowing you guys to reroll your character every level if you want. Probably stay in the same class(unless you really want to switch), but if you want to change more then the alloted 1 power/or feat per level I won't care. Also at level 4 because you get your stat boosts, if you want to redo your pointbuy so you have 17 in your primary or similar allotments to abuse the +1 point to stats you can feel free to. Anyone can abstain from these privelages if they feel it'd be un-rplike or whatever, I just wanted to offer it so people don't have to sacrifice being good now to be better later (for example: taking 17 in a point buy before the level 4 +1 can be kinda painful to your other stats without good reason).

[Cloneysocks]

I'd like to fiddle with it, but I today and tomorrow I've got exams. In fact, I should probably be studying now. If you draw me up a first level build that you think would work better, I'll give it a try (halflings are awesome), but I just don't have time to do it on my own before next weekend.

[Jenius]

See above what I said about rerolling, anyone who wants to try out a couple different builds can do it as they go. The daggermaster build isn't availible till you hit level 11 so building specifically for it before then might be pointless. I'd probably recommend you keep your current build and if turns out AoE and such is working for you keep going with it, otherwise just switch to a different specialization at your leisure.