Paxon

Trying out a character post format...

(Okay, those dice rolls sure are weird. They seemed to completely randomly put them in the stack)

Let's try another one, messing around with tables formatting...

Prelude: The Contract

Filthy, parched, exhausted, Jana approached the ramshackle nomad bazaar with hope and trepidation. The journey had taken two days, about half of which was atop a mule, the other half on foot after abandoning the mule to a hive of screechers to which she’d wandered too close. It made a meal for them, and a distraction for her to get away. Thankfully. Her rifle had only sixteen rounds, all that was left from what her settlement could spare, and it was doubtful it would have been enough if the screechers had come after her. She shuttered, sighed, and continued approaching her objective. 

The bazaar was a collection of vehicles and small portable structures, nestled up close against one another and connected by tangles of ropes, tarps, wires, and tubes such that it seemed to have all grown together like some mutant junk beast. However, if presented with a significant and insurmountable threat, the whole thing could be pulled apart, wrapped up, and driven off to a new destination. 

A rumble in the distance served as a reminder of just one such danger. Lightning flashed somewhere far off over the hills, and a dark thunderhead swirled out on the edge of the horizon. Clouds and haze mostly obscured a form moving along with the clouds, the silhouette of something impossibly large. Not this way, to the fortune of all nearby. She couldn’t tell if it was thunder that echoed across the plain, or footsteps. 

A turret atop one of the vehicles that made up the bazaar swiveled her way, though the gun didn’t seem to aim directly at her. Jana gulped and continued walking. She spotted several other vehicles and mounts surrounding the bazaar. Visitors, it seemed, utilizing the place as the way-station, trade depot, fuel stop, sanctuary, and road house it was meant to be. Several motorbikes were parked next to a pair of horses, of all things. The animals were easily more valuable and expensive to maintain than the bikes. A jeep, a couple buggies, and some sort of utilitarian truck also surrounded the bazaar. One one side she spotted a pair of metal mounts, with armor and heraldry that marked the pickup trucks as clearly belonging to Knights of Ford. A squire attended them, polishing a long lance that hung off the side of one, next to a mean-looking machine gun. On the other side of the bazaar stood another vehicle, big and brutish. All armor atop massive treads, with a huge gun barrel protruding out of a turret on top. They called it a tank. A few distant figures were busy working near it. This was Jana’s true target, but she was hungry, thirsty, tired, and needed a brief respite. 

“Welcome, stranger,” a voice called out as Jana drew near. A figure leaned out from atop the turret on the guard post, which seemed to be a platform atop scaffolding sticking out of a small trailer, a mounted gun on top. The thin man with a thin beard that addressed her didn’t seem highly wary of her. Jana knew she didn’t cut a very threatening figure, and the heavy artillery up there was meant for raiding parties or monsters. The man himself had a hunting rifle propped against a shoulder. “You look like you could use a drink. The cantina is that way. We have supplies for trade, if you’ve anything worthwhile. Not much in the way of handouts here, and you best keep your piece well stowed.”

Jana nodded, “I could use that drink. And something to eat. I got some shinies for trade, and I’m looking for a safe haven, not a fight.”

“Things can get rowdy ‘round here with the characters we get, but anyone who breaks the rules ain’t welcome back.” He pointed to a posting attached to the scaffolding under him, with a few written rules accompanied by iconography for those that couldn’t read. Jana could. A little. 

She nodded to the guard, and walked into the bazaar. A drunk man, looking rather wretched and possibly a mutant, was slumped against the wheel well of one vehicle/structure. He barely looked up as Jana passed. She nearly jumped when an old woman hawked her wares in a raspy voice, and Jana took a glance at the table where small tools, trinkets, and accessories had been hewn from scrap metal. 

Moving on, the sound of carousing caught her attention, and the smell of cooking meat captured her nose and dragged her forward. The source of the meat was something many wastelanders had stopped being picky about generations ago, though the quality did vary depending on where one settled or traveled. Greenwood, where Jana hailed from, was actually prosperous when it came to food, and her stomach and palette were used to goats and pigs. But her hunger was such that when she saw the charcoal-scrawled menu outside the cantina advertising roachburgers, tacos ratos, and fried crow, she didn’t exactly turn up her nose. To their credit they also seemed to have bison steaks, but no doubt it would be too expensive for what Jana had to spare. 

She opened the door to a long steel tube on wheels. Adorned with decorations and signage and windows, it served as the cantina. The smell of cooking food was stronger inside, as were the heady fumes of distilled drinks and unwashed bodies. Electric lights lit the interior, and power was even spent on an ancient music device playing scratchy songs from before. 

She found the proprietor easily enough behind a bar setup, and had him bring her a skewer of the meat special from the grill, a liter of thrice-filtered rainwater, and a shot of some milky-clear, hard-edged liquor. Jana unrolled a wide strip of leather which bound up some of her small trading valuables to show the barman, and he nodded in acceptance at a quick glance. There was enough there they could make a trade, the specifics could be figured out after. She wolfed down the skewer of meat, slammed the shot, and chased it all with a sip of the chill water before refilling her water bottle with the rest. The clanking of metal caught her ear.

She turned, and a man was sauntering up to her. A broad-brimmed sat perched atop his head and a red-brown beard framed his face. The clanking was on account of the armor he wore. It wasn’t like some full medieval suit like in the story books, but it did seem like an uncomfortable amount of steel plates covering thighs, chest, shoulders, and arms. A sword dangled from one hip, and a pistol was holstered at the other. It was an easy connection to make with the trucks out front of the bazaar, and a crest on his breastplate verified: A Knight of Ford, in the metal-plated flesh.

“Afternoon ma’am,” he drawled as he walked up to the bar, “You’re a little thing to be out on your own. Can we offer you any assistance?” He doffed his hat and dipped his head slightly.

It was an idea, trying to use the Knights, and one the town elders had discussed. But there were plenty of drawbacks to that plan, and to the order itself. “My thanks, good sir,” she said, knowing enough about their preferred customs and fragile egos to use proper etiquette, “but I’m doing just fine. Too little for most to notice, you see.” She followed it up with what she hoped was a winning smile, and too late her tongue felt a little bit of mystery gristle between her teeth from that skewer. 

“Suit yourself, but it's a dangerous world out there” he said with a skeptical look, then had the barkeep fetch him a watery-looking beer before heading back to a table with two other knights. 

Jana didn’t miss the hard look he gave to another table as he passed, one filled with an eclectic group of wastelanders. They had a hard look to them, no strangers to the dangers of the waste, clearly. But grimy and grease-stained as many of them were, they didn’t quite have the look of scavengers or bandits either. Jana had a feeling these were the people she sought. They were just getting up from their table, and left a generous lot of shinies behind for whatever they’d been consuming. Jana beckoned the barkeep over and bartered for the meal and drink, thinking it likely she got the short end of the trade in her rush. She hefted her rifle over her shoulder more securely, and exited the cantina in pursuit of the crew. 

It wasn’t difficult to follow them, and easier still that she was correct in where they were headed. She weaved around some barrels and mechanical detritus, stepping past the vague perimeter of the bazaar, and approached the group who had gone back to their tank.

Up close, the beast of a machine was even more intimidating. Battle-scarred but well cared for, it was a massive bulk of impenetrable-looking metal. Smaller barrels poked out of the sides, ready to spit death onto any lesser assaulters, and dangerous looking mechanisms jutted from the top that looked plenty deadly in their own right though she wasn’t sure exactly what they did. The big cannon was obvious though, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she could fit her whole head into the orifice, were she insane enough to do so.

The crew had noticed her, and a few were forming up a loose semi-circle as she approached while others stayed busy with whatever mechanical endeavors they were working on. They were an intimidating bunch, carrying all manner of weapons, and having the scars to prove they’d been on the receiving end of weapons in their own right. At least one seemed to be a mutant, maybe others. As scary as they were, they seemed to be waiting for her to make known why she’d ended up among them.

Here goes nothing. “Uh, well met,” she began, stumbling a bit over her words. She was met with a few inclined heads and returned greetings. Even a smile. She continued, “My name is Jana, and I’ve come looking for you on behalf of my town. Word has spread that you and your tank can face just about anything the wastes have to offer, and that is the kind of help we need. Uh, ‘we’ being the town of Greenwood. Well, not the whole town exactly. We have our troubles, but that’s not why we need you. A few of us… we want to get to Athens Station down south a ways. Heard of it? Probably have. My uncle of mine lives way out west, like, all the way west, and we want to bring something important to him. We hear they got a train running from Athens all the way out there, or most of it anyway. That’s not as important though… the main thing is we need to get to Athens, it’s real real dangerous, and we want to hire you to get us there safely. Me, my ma, my brother, and our vehicle. The town is well off, we can offer a good price in fuel, food, parts, or whatever we can figure. What do you say?”

She took a deep breath, she had got it all out. They asked her some questions, then huddled up to consider. It wasn’t very long. They came back to her.

“You have a deal. Get some rest. We leave first thing in the morning.”

New Sphere-Specific Drawback

Tank Focus

You may take this drawback related to any martial sphere. This sphere and any talents in it are not available for personal use by your character. Instead, you may only use this sphere when interfacing with the tank (as when you are using the Crew's talents). You gain an extra combat talent in the sphere you apply this to as normal. You may take this drawback for multiple spheres. 

18 minutes ago, PigLickJF said:

@Paxon Couple more questions.

 

1) Would you allow the Shifty trait? It's a campaign trait, and technically it's a Spheres of Power trait, but there's nothing inherently magical/supernatural about it.

 

2) You mentioned somewhere about the possibility of a Sphere drawback having to do with talents being limited to only when used in The Tank. Any further thought on that? Not an immediately critical issue since I know we'll have some time to tweak our builds before the game starts if we get accepted (fingers crossed!), but thought I'd bring it up now as I'm trying to sort out my final talent choices.

1) Yeah, I'm good with Shifty (and will have to remember it for future roguish builds 🙂 )

2) Yes, thanks for reminding me, I haven't put that up yet. Will do so today, look out for it in the Additional Options thread.

3 hours ago, Arklytte said:

For anyone interested, I put up a blank copy of a (very) basic character/application template.  Anyone who is having as much of an issue with this silly WYSIWYG editor as I am is more than welcome to swipe and use it.

 

Anyone who understands this blasted editor and can make nicer templates...please, feel free to share in the thread for the rest of us.  🤗

Very nice, thanks for putting that up. I'm very much looking forward to DMing this game, and slightly dreading trying to learn a bunch of new (buggy/in-development still) formatting while I'm doing so. But hey, that's why I'm doing it on BALDR in the first place.

You're good. As long as it was in before I checked in this morning (for me) I'm okay with the entry. Go ahead and keep developing.

Sorry, I missed these ones before:
 

On 6/4/2022 at 3:54 PM, Niblooey said:

Are modernized ring-bayonets an option? The sort that exists in Pathfinder are modeled off the older style bayonets, where you plug it up the muzzle, so it prevents you from shooting while it's on.

Bayonet Stats

Bayonet [https://aonprd.com/EquipmentWeaponsDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Bayonet]
Cost 5gp Weight 1lb.
Damage 1d4 (small), 1d6 (medium); Critical x2; Range —; Type P; Special —
Category Two-Handed; Proficiency Simple; Weapon Groups Light Blades, Close
Bayonets are close combat weapons designed to fit into the grooves or muzzles of crossbows and firearms. They allow you to make melee attacks with these weapons but render them temporarily useless as ranged weapons. Attaching or removing a bayonet is a move action.

Just to make sure, is Deft Maneuvers supposed to have the benefits of Improved Feint? Where you can use it as a Move action, but it grants no bonuses to Feint checks? You mixed it in with the combat maneuvers. Also, is the Firearms weapon group is still a thing, with Heavy Weapons as their own weapon group? Realized I was assuming that's how it worked when you never specified that. Would stuff like Weapon Focus (Heavy Weapons) also apply to handheld grenades?

I guess an idea I have for an Armor/Shield upgrade is one that negates the ACP for a single type of skill (or subset of one), like Climb or Stealth or Swim. Like the Buoyant enchantment, but generalized.

Bayonets: Yes, perfectly acceptable to mount a bayonet under the barrel instead of in it. You can also modernize an axe musket or dagger pistol, using whatever combination of firearm and melee weapon makes sense, treating them as a double weapon for MW purposes as those do. 

Deft Maneuver Feint: No, deft maneuvers just adds +2 to feint like the maneuvers it's grouped with (I know feint isn't an actual combat maneuver and some DMs using EITR uncouple it again from deft maneuvers. I'm fine with it staying grouped with this set of maneuvers.) And Deft Maneuvers can act as a prerequisite for anything requiring Improved Feint. However, if you want to feint as a move action you'll still need to pick up Improved Feint feat or the Fast Feint fencing talent. 

Upgrade: Interesting idea, and not out of line with other masterwork upgrades in terms of advantage. I would probably be open to negotiating some custom upgrades as players start to craft things. 

On 6/4/2022 at 10:16 PM, Djacob91 said:

I was looking through the new equipment list and I had a couple of questions. Some of the items require batteries to use, and I was wondering if Tech Sphere Batteries would work or would you need to use the listed batteries? 

Would the Tech Sphere Generator be considered an acceptable power source? If yes, would it charge at the listed rate for the batteries or the rate listed for the Generator?

Also, what would it take to plug a battery into the tank directly? I would presume that we could rig up some kind of adapter from the tank's system to a normal battery.

Yes, you can use tech sphere batteries to power modern equipment that requires a power source. I used tech sphere batteries as a little bit of a basis, and also wanted to ensure tech sphere batteries were superior. You can charge the rechargeable batteries with a tech sphere generator, but they charge at their listed rate (so the generator is outputting charges much faster than stock batteries can take them). You'll be able to plug batteries into the tank directly. In fact, I would set up some Craft (mechanical/electronics) DCs to do so, but I'm sure enough PCs are going to have high enough scores in at least Craft (mechanical) and doing so would basically be a take 20 task, that it wouldn't even be worth throwing up that barrier. So yeah, you can rig it up for the stock batteries to recharge from the power the tank generates.

On 6/5/2022 at 1:15 AM, PigLickJF said:

General question here, and one that usually comes up especially in Gestalt games, are we using fractional BAB/save progression?

Yes, fractional progression is in effect.

On 6/5/2022 at 5:43 AM, Arklytte said:

Since Crafting will be a thing for this game, and since it's unlikely that we'll have a whole week-long block of time to set aside just to Craft items, would you be amenable to using the Alternate Crafting Rules?

Yes, I think the alternative crafting rules are a good way to go for a game on the move. I'll likely alot a little bit of daily crafting progression while the crew is on-the-move in the tank, if it isn't through extra dangerous territory. I.e. if we fast-forward a day of travel, I'll let you know how many crafting hours you can reasonably apply.

On 6/5/2022 at 12:09 AM, Arklytte said:

Speaking of crafting, I took the Brew Stable Formulae feat (allow one to make Formulae from the Alchemy sphere that last til used, rather than 1 day).  I know we cant do normal pre-game crafting, but if I were to pay full price for them (rather than the lower Crafting price), could I be assumed to have whipped up a few before game start?

Yes, I think I gave a similar answer earlier in the Q&A around permanent crafted tech items, you can pay the full price cost to acquire an item at the outset of the game.

Sounds good!

21 hours ago, Demented said:

So I found a neat combo.

 

Guardian Sphere + Endure Pain turns all your delayed damage into non-lethal, and the Quick Recovery Boon quickly patches that up.  It's not complete invulnerability, but definitely maddening to put down.  Before I start bulding for it, will you allow it?

Yeah, that's no problem. Endure Pain is already pretty awesome for tanking, Quick Recovery really takes it up a notch. But you're right, not impenetrable, just extra hardy. 

You don't need a whole short story or anything. In fact I'm a big fan of brevity when folks can manage to do so and still convey a strong sense of a character, what their motivations are, how they might respond to certain situations. A few paragraphs would suffice. 

This is not what I'm requiring or anything, but occasionally when I'm trying to think through some characterization I'll go to the 10 minute background to get some good bullet points for my character, some quirks, and how they relate to their world. You could always try that to get yourself started, then flesh it out over the next week a bit before you submit.

I've also been intending to add a small piece of intro narrative, to set the scene before play begins. Looks out for that as well, maybe it'll give you something to react to.

1 hour ago, PigLickJF said:

From what I understand, and I could be wrong, it's because this game is set to a Public game, so there's no actual way to "join" the game (that I know of, at least).

 

But yah, I've brought up this exact issue in a thread and in Discord, so they're aware. 

Once we begin I'll set (or might need them to set it) to read only, or whatever option it is that has people join and otherwise closes.

10 hours ago, Niblooey said:

This is tentative, but for Athletics sphere talents that require you to be adjacent with a target during movement, is it easy for something as large as a tank to do this? Somewhat worried that they aren't going to be useful, since it operates on a much bigger scale than 5ft squares so there'd be a tight margin where they can work.

I felt like there might have been questions asked above this one, but I'm not quite sure. Re-ask if you need something else addressed.

As far as athletic talents, there are a few that specify adjacent to an enemy, but most actually seem to activate on moving through an opponent's threatened space. The kind of things you'll be going toe-to-toe with in the tank are going to be huge/gargantuan/colossal/++ so their threatened area will be significantly wider than being adjacent, and those talents will activate. Many of those things are going to be big monsters that want to close to melee range, so yeah, those kinds of talents will be useful. For ones that operate off adjacent, if it makes sense for them to also operate off of threatened area, I would likely allow that. It will be a situational basis.

9 hours ago, Steel Warrior said:

I just wanted to bring up something I read about the repair feature.
Repair: A Tamed Machine does not heal on its own. However, as long as you have access to an Artisan's Toolkit or Engineering Kit, you may work to slowly repair the construct. You may spend an hour performing maintenance and then leave it inoperative in self repair mode. For every 8 hours it spends in this mode, it gains back 1 hit point per HD. You may more quickly repair a Tamed Machine using a Craft (Mechanical) with a DC of 15 plus the HD of the construct, and spending 100gp in materials per HD. This repairs 1d6 hit points per HD, and takes 8 hours of work.

It seems a bit steep if you think about it. 100 gp/HD to repair something.

There is the Field Repair feat, would this apply to the above?
I ask cause well, my character is obviously part construct 😛

Well that cost is only for the fast repairing option. You can let it "heal itself" over time, like resting. 

The mechanic I listed there was only for these Wild/Tamed machines, and simply meant to be a solution around using mechanical animal companions but still treating them like machines. To get a cost like that, I checked out how expensive it was to repair something using the Craft Construct feat (pretty expensive).

For your PC, did you take an option that makes you officially a construct? If you aren't altered in that way according to game mechanics, healing will simply act as normal for you (healing your biological parts, and your mechanical bits take care of themselves though some latent nanotech or something)

On 6/3/2022 at 2:31 AM, Arklytte said:

If I have a class feature that gives me a free MW weapon, would I be able to pay the difference between MW and GM (900GP) to bump it to Grand Master (or even Exquisite, if I can afford it)?  Or would I still have to pay the full price for the upgraded weapon?

 

Also, have you had time to sit down and math out whether or not the Beanbag rounds I proposed were reasonable/feasible?

 

Also also, the Scholar's Knack Trick Arrows - given the setting, could we use that Knack to turn our flashbangs into impromptu pistol/rifle/shotgun grenades and launch them with a gun? Or would that be too OTT?

Yeah, just deduct the cost of the 1st level MW weapon from the final cost

I haven't yet figured out exactly what the effect of beanbag rounds will be, but I would like to integrate them in some way. If you want to earmark costs there, using the cost of rubber bullets, we'll make sure to figure it out before we begin.

I think they would really have to be a projectile large enough to feasibly affix flashbangs to, so regular bullets don't really work. I would allow combo-ing them with beanbag rounds once we figure out exact effect, and they could of course be fired along with - or in lieu of - grenades. I could even see adapting them to be their own kind of rounds, but it might take a "reloading" action to get them in the gun, then firing them as you would any other attack action. 

10 hours ago, Steel Warrior said:

Sorry if I missed this question if it was asked earlier. Can we assume Retraining is an option?
If so, would the cost of retraining be different since wealth levels are different for this game?

Unless stated otherwise, retraining costs gp equal to 10 × your level × the number of days required to retrain.
So retraining a feat would be like 10x5x5 = 250 gp (10 x 5th level x 5 days for feats)

I was thinking of retraining some talents for 5th/6th level. Of course as long as I still meet the requirements of the talent.

 

I also did not see a siege weapon talent in the Spheres of Might equipment list.
I am thinking for equipment like larger cannons or even a big flame thrower that fire on the back of the tank. Or trying to escape another vehicle, we open the back hatch and then the barrel of a cannon is suddenly facing the enemy.

Finally, would something like Dragon Ball Capsule Corp gear exist. Drop a capsule and suddenly we got ourselves a small car or bike, cannon or gattling gun.
I am sure something like that would be in the tech sphere lol.

I'll have no problem with retraining and we can figure out a cost that is in line with the particular economy of this game. But retraining is simply for well into play, isn't it? There is no retraining to do now, since you just choose the options you want as you build your character right now. Or am I missing something there? I admit I haven't actually used retraining before.

For siege weapons, if you build something new onto the tank (accomplished through the technician class, and I'll make sure there are expanded custom options for that as we get into play), the crew will be automatically proficient with it. Outside of that, you'll need to take an exotic weapon proficiency feat for a siege weapon you want to use (from there you can take the Siege Engineer feat to be proficient in all.

That Dragon Ball Capsule is a good idea, I may steel it for lootable item 🙂 But not at the beginning of the game.

Welcome!

Keep an eye out here for major game announcements.

I have one for you regarding Application Deadlines.

New character application threads should be submitted by June 7th, so if you've been lurking and waiting, or are just seeing this for the first time, get your character thread made.

I'll be giving another week past that to make final selections, and getting the game underway. Looking forward to checking out the completed characters!

16 hours ago, Arklytte said:

Also, and please dont smack me, but I took a somewhat deeper dive into my character, and I've decided that I would like to take the Harmacist archetype in addition to the Doctor, at the cost of his 5th level Material imposition.  I had initially been thinking that I wouldn't have enough talents to get any Poisons, but then I took a look at a couple Drawbacks, and then you revamped the bonus talents, and I did some poking around, and realized that I could, indeed, fit in a couple Toxin talents.  Couple that with the Harmacists class abilities, and it's definitely worth it.  I wont be doing massive damage (most of the Scholar's big damage dealing potential is from their Material Impositions), but I'll be GREAT at debuffing and crowd control.

Ha. Yeah that's fine. Approved.

13 hours ago, Arklytte said:

I was planning to take the Improvisational Healer feat, which allows me to make Heal checks that would normally require a Healing Kit without one.  Given the nature of the campaign, I thought it might be a good idea to be able to heal without having to lug around the kit (or worry about it going empty).  🙂 Plus, it gives a bonus if you do have one, so that's handy.  The Physician archetype does let you refill your Kit once per day, but if there's a lot of healing to do...basically, it gives him more options when he's doing his Doc thang.  Anyway, the point of this is, the feat also lets you apply a bonus to the healing from the Cure line of potions equal to your Heal ranks.  Now, obviously, Cure potions aren't going to be in the game, so would you allow me to apply that bonus to his Alchemical healing items (like Salve?)

Well, it's not exactly a bonus, more of a setting the level equal to your ranks. Usually functioning to give a small boost to one of those potions if you have higher ranks in heal than it was crafted at. Salve functions off of your craft alchemy ranks + practitioner modifier. I think the most similar effect here would be allowing this feat to substitute your ranks in heal for your practitioner modifier (if it would be higher) for the amount of healing a salve provides. 

13 hours ago, Arklytte said:

There's a trait, Battlefield Surgeon, it lets you do the Treat Deadly Wounds aspect of the Heal skill a second time per day per target (normally, you can only do it once per day).  In the Journey game that we played with CJ, he allowed Z to take it as a Feat for her Doctor character, and allowed her to use it once per Level per person instead.  Would you allow me to do the same?  Since magical healing is off the table, and most of the nonmagical forms have fairly stringent daily limits, this would be a good way to give us access to a bit more daily healing without being crazy OP.

Yes, that sounds like an acceptable allowance.

13 hours ago, Arklytte said:

Alchemist has an ability called Swift Alchemy, which lets you poison a weapon as a Move action.  Scholar has a knack called Poisoncraft (which the Harmacist automatically takes as their first Knack) that also allows you to apply Poison to a weapon as a Move action. At 6th level, it bumps that up to a Swift Action.  Since I have both, would I be able to apply Poisons as a Free Action instead?  If it matters, I also have the Fast Draw talent, so he can draw weapons as a Free Action as well.

I was a little bit leery here because the alchemy sphere says its poison talents don't interact with traditional alchemy poisons. However Harmacist seems pretty geared toward the two interacting, and the scholar knack also specifically mentions non-sphere poisons, so I think combining the two works. Let's see how it plays.

4 hours ago, PigLickJF said:

Good point, I actually didn't think about the limited skills. That being said, however, my plan was to use the companion's 4HD stat boost (see below) to bump INT to 3 to open up feat and skill options. If you'd rather I not do that, or if you want to rule that the companion can't get ranks in Diplomacy even with a higher INT, I'm still fine with that. As of now I don't even have any specific Warleader talents I'm considering, I was just trying to make sure I knew what was on the table. I don't really expect it to be directly involved in combats all too often, but I thought maybe a couple buff/support-type talents could still give it a bit of usefulness even in Tank combat, and Warleader mostly focuses on those.

Gotcha, didn't realize you were going to be bumping Int up. If you do, that is fine it can gain other skills as normal. And cool you are using the Mechanical Best Friends insight, in which case rules for that should probably supersede my Tamed Machine rules (most of which I simply stole from Mechanical Best Friend anyway 🙂 ) if there is a contradiction.

4 hours ago, PigLickJF said:

1) I'd like request using the Alternative-TrapWhenever this sphere uses or grants ranks in Craft (traps) or calls for a Craft (traps) check, you instead gain ranks in a Craft or Profession or attempt a Craft or Profession check. The particular skill used is determined by the GM when you first gain this drawback. You use your ranks in the chosen skill instead of Craft (traps) when determining saving throws and Trap sphere effects. It is also substituted for all checks made to craft the items in question. This drawback does not grant a bonus talent; removing this drawback does not require spending a talent, but requires GM permission. You use ranks in the chosen skill in place of Craft (traps) for prerequisites for feats and talents that require the Trap sphere. sphere specific drawback for the Trap sphere to switch Craft: Traps to Craft: Mechanical. (This doesn't really have any mechanical repercussions, I will already have multiple Tech sphere talents that grant ranks in Craft: Mechanical and multiple Trap talents that would grant Craft: Traps, it just makes sense thematically for both to use the same skill).

Approved!

4 hours ago, PigLickJF said:

2) I asked in the creation question threads about size small weapons and you mentioned not expecting to have any small-sized characters, but I was planning on having my character be small. I have the Mutation feat, and part of his mutation makes him smaller than usual. If this is a problem I can easily just be Medium, it isn't exactly a core component to the concept or anything (and as with the discussion of being large sized, I can easily still have him be smaller than average without actually being in the small size category).

Good to know. No problem being small. Again, it was more a feature of there not being halflings, dwarves, etc in this world so there isn't much "built in" support, but you can certainly be small and use small things accordingly. 

New Equipment

There are items in the modern world that have survived through the apocalypse, or are so useful that knowledge of them has been retained and new ones are built. Notably, batteries are much more difficult to make and acquire outside of individual tinkerers, and electronic equipment that uses batteries is available, but perhaps more difficult to keep powered.

Binoculars: Paired lenses built for seeing great distances. Standard binoculars reduce the range penalty for perception checks to -1 for every 30 feet (instead of -1 for every 10 feet). Using binoculars takes five times as long as making a perception check unaided. Cost: 100gp. Weight: 2 lbs. Uses batteries: No

Masterwork Binoculars: As regular binoculars, but the range penalty for perception checks is instead -1 every 50 feet. Cost: 200gp. Weight: 2 lbs. Uses batteries: No

Night Vision Goggles: Goggles that enhance light, allowing the wearer to see in very low light conditions. While wearing, user gains Darkvision 60' and Light Blindness. Cost: 500gp. Weight: 3 lbs. Battery: Yes, 1 charge per hour

Masterwork NVGs: This version of goggles has superior range and better filters for adapting to changing lighting. Darkvision 120' and Light Sensitivity. Cost: 700gp. Weight: 3 lbs. Battery: Yes, 1 charge per hour

Flashlight: Simple tool with bulb, casts a 30' cone of light in the direction held (can change direction as a free action while held). Cost: 30gp. Weight: 1 lbs. Battery: Yes, 1 charge per 8 hours

Floodlight: Very large and powerful light source, often placed on vehicles. Casts a 120' cone of light. Cost: 200gp. Weight: 6 lbs. Battery: Yes, 1 charge per hour

Gas Mask: This apparatus covers the face and connects to a chemical air filter canister to protect the lungs and eyes from toxic gases. It provides total protection from eye and lung irritants. The filter canister lasts for 12 hours of use. Imposes -2 penalty to sight/hearing perception. Changing a filter is a move action. Filters cost 10 each. Cost: 50gp. Weight: 3 lbs. Battery: No

Walkie-Talkie: This hand-held radio transceiver communicates with any similar device operating on the same frequency and within range. 1 mile range. Anyone with a similar device can listen in on conversation. Listed cost is for a pair. Cost: 50gp. Weight: 1 lbs. Battery: Yes, 1 charge per 2 hours use

Handcuffs: Restraining device for medium creature's wrists, these cuffs have hardness 10, 10 hit points, a break DC of 30, and require a Disable Device check (DC 25) or Escape Artist check (DC 35) to remove without the key. Cost: 30gp. Weight: 1 lbs. Battery: No

MW Handcuffs: Made of hardened materials and with higher quality, these heavy-duty cuffs have hardness 15, 20 hit points, a break DC of 40, and require a Disable Device check (DC 30) or Escape Artist check (DC 40) to remove without the key. They can also be adjusted to fit Large or Small size creatures. Cost: 70gp. Weight: 1 lbs. Battery: No

Battery: An item that is used to power electronic devices. They hold charges similar to tech sphere, and if user possesses the tech sphere, they can use charges from these batteries as they would their own charges. A simple battery holds 1 charge, and is not rechargeable. Cost: 10gp. Weight: .1 lbs. 

Rechargeable Battery: Similar to above, but holds 2 charges, and its charges can be restored if connected to a power source at 1 charge per hour. Cost: 100gp. Weight: .1 lbs. 

Big Battery: Similar to a car battery, storing more power. Holds 6 charges. Can be recharged if connected to power source, 1 charge per 2 hours. Cost: 320gp. Weight: 10 lbs. 
 

New Equipment List

Sounds good, marking as submitted

Yeah it feels a little more mysterious sometimes on Baldr. I usually check on the Overview tab first, which shows all new posts everywhere. That helps me track new posts coming up across this game forum. This OOC thread is a little less busy than Q&A though, so can be easier to miss

On 5/31/2022 at 1:46 PM, PigLickJF said:

Thanks for the answers. Understood on the companion firearm attacks - I knew it was a bit of a long shot (no pun intended) since companions can't normally used ranged weapons. Looking to the tech sphere may be something to consider for the future - I don't have the talents for it now and probably can't afford to buy it (those Craft Permanent Inventions are pretty pricey).

 

That lightning orthella from the rancer would actually work great for me (thanks for the suggestion Steel!). High speed is the main thing I was looking for in a mount, and it's as fast as the velociraptor, plus large size so I don't have to take the Undersize Mount feat to be able to ride it. As for the Jolt ability, rather than an actual teleport summon, we could just change it to a movement-based summon - it's got AI anyway, so the ability basically just represents me sending it a short-range signal to have it drive to my current location. It's a bit of a downgrade since it will still have to traverse the distance with its own movement, so could be blocked etc., but that's no big deal and still fits the setting.

Fair point, I think you can use something with the Lightning Orthella's stats, but a little less mystical. And yeah, it can simply by summoned and use it's movement to come to you, it doesn't need to teleport. You of course have none of those rancer class abilities that go along with it, but can use that as your animal companion mount. 

On 5/31/2022 at 1:46 PM, PigLickJF said:

1) Other than the spheres that specifically bar an animal companion from taking them (tech and beastmastery, I don't recall if there are others), are there any limitations on which spheres they have access to? Specifically I'm wondering about Warleader since it's less about physical abilities and more about social interactions, but I thought an in-game explanation could be that I incorporated some scavenged military drone AI into its programming, which it uses to constantly scan and assess the battlefield, threats, etc. then transmits helpful information/instructions (which translates in-game into the benefits/bonuses).

Leadership is the only other that is explicitly banned in the rules, but that's banned from this game anyway.

Some spheres are more of a reach than others and Warleader is actually one of those, but I can be open to it in the context you're talking about. However animal companions typical have animal intelligence (as does your mount), and can only learn the following skills: "Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str)." Warleader gives points in diplomacy which your mount cannot receive, and its ranges depend to some degree on diplomacy ranks. I feel like that is actually a realistic limiter to have if you want to give warleader to a mount. So you can do, but your ranges will be more limited.

On 5/31/2022 at 1:46 PM, PigLickJF said:

2) I'd like to request the Speed Boost (run) Legendary Talent from Athletics for my companion. (In case you're curious, I did the math and it works out to about 68 m.p.h for my companion with a move of 60).

2b) If approved, I'm wondering how that would interact with Strong Lungs for a construct. If you have Speed Boost and Strong Lungs, it allows you to run for a number of hours equal to your CON modifier, but since constructs have no CON and therefore have a CON modifier of 0, literally speaking that would mean it could run for zero hours.

Speed Boost approved, that makes sense.

Strong Lungs: real can of worms here making an animal companion a construct 🙃.  I mean, as a motorcycle it should just be able to go top speed until you use up its energy source. Let's go ahead and just for the purpose of Speed Boost, it uses its HD (should be 3 I think) for its CON modifier, so HD hours per day "running" and HD rounds when you use martial focus in combat for that +50 speed (after which it is still fatigued, even though constructs are normally immune. This reflects overtaxing the engine and needing to take it easy on it for a while after).

On 5/31/2022 at 1:46 PM, PigLickJF said:

3) Will we have a map of the tank? There are multiple feats/talents/etc. I've looked at (especially things like squadron and teamwork feats) that base their effects/benefits on presence/number of adjacent allies, so I'm just wondering how well those would work inside the tank. If all the stations are spread out enough that we won't typical be adjacent to one another, they may not be very worthwhile.

I can put together a map of the tank, though I think what I'll be doing is basically saying all personnel within the tank are considered adjacent to each other. If this seems to be getting out of hand or a particular context doesn't make sense, we'll make sure to specify distances and position adjacency. The motorcycle will not be within the tank under usual circumstances. (well, you actually probably can store it in the tank at the expense of two passenger slots, but I don't think that will be SOP)

On 5/31/2022 at 3:49 PM, Steel Warrior said:

The Load Bearer talent only alters my size. Size large until I hit 7 ranks, then it goes to huge etc.. It does nothing for actual strength score.

Sure, but going to size Large still gives an x2 to your lifting capacity 🙂

On 5/31/2022 at 3:49 PM, Steel Warrior said:

Hydraulic Load Bearer

Prerequisites: Craft (mechanical) 5 ranks, Tech sphere (Load Bearer).

The Load bearer has been augment further. You now also add two times your ranks in Craft (mechanical) to your Strength score for the purposes of their carrying capacity and increase your effective size category by one more for the purposes of calculating your carrying capacity (this is in addition to the regular benefits of the Load Bearer talent). At 15 ranks, you add three times your ranks in Craft (mechanical) to your strength score. When using Hydraulic Load Bearer it now uses 2 charges, but may opt to use only 1 charge for the standard Load Bearer mechanics.

 

 

In essence, it's nerfed to x2 instead of x5 initially, max x3
It also uses an extra charge per minute of use. So 2 charges per minute instead of 1 for Load Bearer.

Yeah, I think I can live with that. I was going to suggest doing something similar to Giant from the brute sphere, and what you put here actually is pretty close. Scaling up even more at 15 is reasonable. Don't know if we'll make it there, but I hope to! 

You should still be able to lift some quite impressive objects, but not absurd at this point. And you'll still be subject to physics and all that, so you'll need adequate leverage to lift truly immense object.

I just added a modification to the Bonus Feats and Bonus Talents oath boons in the Character Creation Guidelines thread. You may now have more talents or feats.