[OOC] Nentir Inn Taproom (OOC)

[hvg3akaek]

Originally Posted by TheKeck

The disadvantage for me is the surprise and mystery of it all. When the cleric prays to his deity that he will finally score a hit after a string of low rolls, I can feel the tension and imagine the player really feeling it. When the cleric already KNOWS he's rolled a 19, it seems more mundane. When I described my rogue saying something sinister and slowly sliding his blade into the enemy's throat when I had three different bonuses going, but then rolled a natural 1, sure is SUCKED, but it also made for a very interesting turn of events. Such a thing would never happen with this system.

Originally Posted by Trapper

...You don't HAVE to look at the result.

hah, yeah I was going to say that. The other thing is, aside from the extremely high / low rolls, those in the middle ground, you don't know if they hit. You still have those rolls where, without looking up monsters defences, might hit, or might miss

[hvg3akaek]

Originally Posted by TheKeck

On the other hand, if you can work up some lower versions of some of the things I have listed, that would be really cool too. A lot of the stuff that made sense for me RP-wise was just a lot higher level than I wanted it to be!

Yah, will try to do that, but no promises

[TheKeck]

Originally Posted by hvg3akaek

Yah, will try to do that, but no promises

Hey, it was your idea. I will try to get some lower level replacements in there in the next few days. (And with me, that almost surely means "tomorrow, if not sooner". )

[hvg3akaek]

heh, my idea for level 15+ items? You do realise that the adventure only covers a few levels? I might be able to stretch it to level 5 or so...

[hvg3akaek]

Hah, Kaiser put up his wishlist before introducing his character, offering a CS, or even giving me his name I guess I know what's important to Crucas now...

[kaiser6012]

Oh. I tend to get into one thing before another, no matter what that thing is or where it lies on the importance scale .
I was working on them all at roughly the same time. That one must've got posted first...

On the flipside, though, I have got my charrie up now, so it shouldn't really matter.

[Halcyon]

Sorry I'm delinquent on posting my info. So much is happening so fast! I'll have my stuff up as soon as possible (hopefully tonight). BTW, Hvg3, is it a pain in the butt to change all references of Jett'el to his new name, Bregga Jalal? I'm not terribly picky, I could just make his full name "Jett'el Bregga Jalal al'Finn"... has a nice ring (or two) to it!

[TheKeck]

Originally Posted by hvg3akaek

heh, my idea for level 15+ items?

I just meant it was your idea to possibly offer lower level versions of the items I requested, rather than just saying "take a hike, Keck." And honestly, I wasn't thinking about the fact that the scenario will only be a few levels.

On a totally different note, I would love to learn more about waterborn genasi and what they're all about. Can you point me to where I might read about them, Halcyon?

[RuneColnor]

Forgotten Realms Players Guide. There also may have been something about them posted by Davion in the original folder for this game.

[TheKeck]

Thanks.

[RuneColnor]

Don't they gain resistances to certain things based on the "born" type as a racial power?

[Halcyon]

To be honest, I haven't seen anyting on waterborns in particular, other than a reference in the FR guide that dictates in underwater dwellings all genasi have to be waterborn to survive (they can breathe underwater as a racial power). Part of the challange that I loved was the clean slate to make up what they were all about. For example, Bregga's city is kind of like the Gungan realm in Star Wars Episode 1! Waterborn can survive underwater, but other than water breathing, they don't get anything that makes living underwater any easier. They don't even get any bonuses to swimming! So I assumed that they'd use magic to surround their dwellings in 'atmospheric bubbles'. I mean all the little day to day things would be too hard underwater: communication, writing, cooking, etc. Not to mention the lack of sunlight at depth under the ocean. Genasi are part mortal, so they are flesh and blood to some degree. Other than that, I assumed all waterborn would need the feat: versatile resistance, to grant them 5 resist vs cold... the water is freezing where they live! For communication while swimming, I rp'ed that they used sign language mixed with a slow, pervasive speach pattern that resonated kind of eerily when out of water. That's why he can't really whisper or shout. His voice is always the same reasonable tone (with no inflections) that tends to drive land dwellers crazy after awhile!

Underwater living also affects waterborn gear. His backpack is made of mesh netting and he wears little clothing. His armor is smooth to facilitate cutting through the water. He has a journal made with leathery pages and written in water resistant ink. I was a little leary about the swordmage thing since swinging a sword isn't easy underwater. I was going to ask if it was ok to make him a 'spear-mage', but then I figured since they lived in air bubbles, he could get the training that he needed.

As per his city of origin, I figured since it was right off the coast of a major terrestrial metropollitan center, it would be prosperous by trading the bounties of the sea that were easily harvestable and highly sought after (i.e., pearls, abolone, exotic animals, etc). Since it was an affluent city, I assumed they would have highly developed forms of magic, which lead full circle to the swordmage profession.

Due to his cold resistance (from feat) and his affinity for water, Bregga thrives in wet weather while on land. No amount of precipitation is uncomfortable for him. On the other hand, he doesn't much care for sunshine, which tends to dry out his skin. He has a tendency to wrap himself up on beautiful days to protect himself from harmful UV rays, but wear next to nothing when it's grey and raining.

Laslty, I've been thinking about the elements themselves and how in reality water, atmosphere, rock, and fire behave very similarly. All are dynamic, albeit they operate at drastically different speeds. The atmosphere is really not that much different from water, except that it is made up of lighter elements. In fact, a large percentage of the atmosphere is made up of water vapor. They both flow in response to temperature and pressure. The earth too flows. Tectonic movement aside, solid matter is not at a state of rest. Fire consumes. It cannot exist without the presence of gases, which are given off of solids and liquids especially as you increase heat. Once fire starts, it perpetuates itself until all fuel is consumed. Intuitively, genasi sense these things and it affects their outlook and behavior. Though they have short lifespans like humans, they have a different 'bigger picture'; they carry a view that emphasizes the inorganic as much as the organic. After all, organic matter is made of the same elements that make earth, water, and atmosphere, just in a different configuration. Believing that earth and sky, flame and ocean are living entities is only a matter of perspective. I imagine such a view would place less importance on Gods. Instead inspiration would come from the raw power of elemental forces which genasi seek to emulate, much like the ancient greeks (the first people who created gods in their own image and worshipped their own perfections... and imperfections). Genasi tend to think big and do big, but with the expectation that it will all be washed into the sea... eventually (or else they would be disappointed).

I've been working on a background that incorporates a lot of these elements and will post it hopefully tonight.

[TheKeck]

Thanks x 3.

[Halcyon]

oops! Wow this is a first! I've sent duplicate posts out before, but this is the first time I sent out a triplicate post

The site was acting up... I'm surprised that it came through once let alone 3 times! But everytime it didn't go through, I added to my thoughts, so the last one (now the only one since I deleted the other two) is my complete train of thought!

Originally Posted by RuneColnor

Don't they gain resistances to certain things based on the "born" type as a racial power?

Waterborn do not get any resistance unfortunately. I think they should, but they don't. Instead, they get +2 to saving throws against ongoing affects, which is also nice!

[RuneColnor]

There may be something about Waterborn in the FR Campaign Guide. I'll look tonight when I get home. BTW - I I'm fairly certain I have literally every piece of [official] 4e source material, so if anyone wants something looked up....

"Will Work For PB&J"