[OOC] The Pathfinder Lodge

[Naresh]

Naresh is a Half-Elven Sorcerer with 18 CHA and a solid DEX and CON score

I'm fairly new to pathfinder, and as far as I have been made aware, there is only the core book, so prestige classes are slim. Plus the fact I have been told PFS doesn't go all the way to lv 20

I chose Elemental for my bloodline, (air) based, And plan of going straight Sorcerer for the moment

[OwenQuillion]

I figured as much. I was just curious whether there was some etiquette to it or not.

Also, to pick on LC about his tendency to roll poorly, I recall we once actually kept statistics on our dice rolls (in a Maptools campaign of RotR I was running). Over about three (maybe four?) sessions it took to finish (most of) Burnt Offerings, he had something like an average of 10, Zeph had 11, and I had like 13. Of course I'm real swingie on my dice; 20s making mooks into forces of nature, 1s if there's an allied NPC... I'm pretty sure we made the observation that I rolled high or low, never just average.

He's prone to 'DM dice' too. I remember (not so fondly) my barely-wounded Half-Orc Paladin stepping forward to meet something with a lot of tentacles that rolled a 20/20 critical (among other hits) and at first thought it had brought me to exactly -14 HP (i.e. exactly dead in the Pathfinder rules). Fortunately I'd forgotten a miscellaneous modifier somewhere and I was in fact just a little into the negatives. Orc Ferocity and Lay On Hands go well together.



On Zeph's question, I'm pretty well planning to go straight Barbarian. And as regards Prestige Classes, I think there are four or five from Paizo's 3.5e material allowed in the Chapter 13 rules, though tracking those down might be a problem if you aren't a subscriber.

[MadSatyr]

So far, I plan on going straight fighter focusing on the shield feats and sundering. I have kicked around throwing in a bit of Cleric or Sorcerer to add a little pinch of the supernatural.

If/when that Hellknight PrC comes out, I'm making a beeline for that.

[Mythrantar]

Straight Paladin for me, unless some kind of interesting paladin-friendly PrC appears. Though, tbh, with Paizo's changes to Paladins, it is the first time in a very long time that I am really excited just taking the base class all the way through.

[MadSatyr]

That's one thing that really stands out to me about Pathfinder - the core classes are now competitive with prestige classes. I used to tell my players that Sorcerer was a class that only had six levels in it, but Pathfinder's version is quite viable straight through.

I hope it stays that way. I think WotC intended for core classes to always be competitive with PrCs, but over time, the proliferation of splat books and supplements shifted the balance of power, which is why "character optimization" became almost synonymous with "cherry pick a ton of prestige classes."

[idilippy]

I haven't really considered where to take Fenyx, he's stealthy and a ranger, and I might alternate him back and forth with rogue if we end up doing a lot of city adventures and it makes sense that he'd spend more time on roguish pursuits than bushwhacking. I never really go into a campaign with a plan for most of my characters, since their experiences tend to shape which direction I take them, so I'll have to see how he turns out.

[Tanuki]

I'm fairly new to pathfinder, and as far as I have been made aware, there is only the core book, so prestige classes are slim. Plus the fact I have been told PFS doesn't go all the way to lv 20

PFS caps out at level 12, yes.

However, the core book is not the only content allowed. Chapter 13 Additional Resources of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organised Play lists the stuff allowed from other Paizo books, and it's apparently frequently updated.

PrCs in this list are...

- Balanced Scale of Abadar (Dark Markets) -- divine PrC, gets some abilities to do with appraising, warding and accessing items. Kinda hard to explain.
- Living Monolith (Osirion) -- melee PrC, makes you like a living stone human, with a lot of law/guardian aspects.
- Low Templar (Campaign Setting) -- melee PrC, it's sort of like a grey guard or more rough and tumble paladin, except with a decent splash of rogue and ranger to it.
- Shackles Pirate (Campaign Setting) -- rogue PrC, well, basically, pirate themed...
- Davirat (Qadira) -- arcane PrC, a caster who is friends with genies, it essentially gives you abilities like a sha'ir and focuses you on elements and genie summoning
- Liberator (Second Darkness Player's Guide) -- melee PrC, gives some rogue-ish abilities mostly focused around escaping restraints and rescuing people from captivity
- Lion Blade (Taldor) -- rogue PrC, focuses on disguise, information seeking, spying, etc, but also gives some supernatural abilities

And of course the PrCs in the core book are okay as well.

There are other PrCs in the various books that may or may not be allowed at some point, including upcoming releases... I would be loathe to leave the core classes most of the time, though!

[Naresh]

I like the idea of Davirat

Fits completely with Naresh

[Elucidus]

I was going to take straight paladin, but it looks like we have one of those. I don't want to be a clone of someone else. So I will look at some other options.

[GeoAvanti]

Straight Fighter, but probably with Critical Feats instead of shields, what with the whole Falchion thing and all...

The Living Monolith sounds fun for an AC fighter build. I might try a Dwarf fighter into that, next.

[DarkMemories]

I'm a bit iffy about where I'm gonna go. But chances are, I might just stay straight ranger. The only thing that interests me is maybe a level of bard for knowledges, but my charisma is a bit..eh =) I just see the character as a tomb raider...and a bit of a specialist in the desert. But then again, he is osirion...stereotypical, yus?

[Tanuki]

Originally Posted by Elucidus

I was going to take straight paladin, but it looks like we have one of those. I don't want to be a clone of someone else. So I will look at some other options.

Well, two characters of exactly the same class structure are unlikely to be identical, simply through the different feat and skill choices you take. Not to mention in character differences. So I wouldn't worry about that.

[GeoAvanti]

Eh, there is no stereotype if none exist. Besides, sometimes it's refreshing to play something in a straight-forward manner.

Orrik is a sullen, individualistic half-orc with a falchion. I don't know how I can get any more stereotypical than that, except maybe Barbarian.

Also, I was just glancing through the PRD and came across a contemplative question: The rules on Profession seem a little vague.on how you can apply the common knowledge of it to the world at large. 'Answering questions regarding your profession' seems a bit... vague, especially if one does not use the listed source of 'common' professions.

For example, take Orrik; I opted to combine two professions to fit a nice little niche for him-- he is a Marine, a combination of Sailor and Soldier. That implies that he has basic knowledge suited for being on a boat, and the practical forms of soldiering (weapon/armor maintenance, etc.).

So, for determining the use of these 'assorted skills', is it generally the realm of lateral-thinking applied to the task at hand? ("Can you handle a boat?" "Well, I am a marine, so I might know something about sea-faring.") or is it pretty much highly restricted in what it can apply to? ("I know boarding operation tactics!")

Also, Orrik is blatantly Qadiran. Other Qadirans will know him; any who are curious will probably learn that he used to be on some of the Qadiran privateer vessels, raiding other ships. Any non-Qadirans will still know he is Qadiran, but the most he'd say would be that he worked on ships in the past. That's pretty much general knowledge for other Pathfinders that I don't mind handing out en masse. Also, I would be appreciative if people did mention if they intended to hide their faction from other PCs. I tend to refer to people as such, but if you intend it not to be known, please let me know so I can act accordingly. Granted, Orrik treats all Non-Qadirans pretty much the same, so it's not that big of an issue; I just want to respect people's wishes at the 'table'.

[Elucidus]

Good point. I will play her and see where she goes. My characters usually start off slow, but end up with a life of their own. I feel that is how they should be.

[Elucidus]

So do we know each others faction if they are from a different one I mean. I think ti would be more fun to not.