Arklytte

Also, there seems to be a formatting issue with your first post. Everything after "The seductive scent of roasted meats, baked bread, and—is that pipeweed?" seems to be bleeding into the block of text below it. I'm assuming it has something to do with how the site is formatting the text, as well as the background, and I'm not entirely sure how to fix it.

Then again, it could be a Me problem as well, and how my browser is seeing it. I'm using Firefox, which might be the issue, if you're not seeing it. Let me know, and if there's an issue we'll have to see if we can figure out a workaround.

Heya BWW!

First off, I just want to say, I am totally stealing your app/inline sheet format! That looks AMAZEBALLS!!! Is it fully editable? Because it looks like it is. I'm DEFINITELY swiping the code for that!

Ok...now that I'm done gushing, first things first. Your traditions look very cool. Approved.

Also, I see several questions, but I'm not sure which of them still need answering. As a favor to me, could you copy/paste any questions that you still need answering into a new post, then I'll answer them all at once? Thanks in advance.

re: Links/OOC's in the sheet; LOVE IT! Anything that makes keeping track of/looking up info on items and abilities easier totally makes my day. My IC posts tend to be...involved, and one of the biggest time wasters is looking up mechanics, especially in combat. So the simpler folks can make it for me on the front end, the more appreciative I am.

Xetpe! Sup, my dude!! Long time, no chat. 😁

App's looking good so far. Cant wait to see how it all comes together. If you get too bogged down in the weeds with the Origins stuff, save it til last. I'll be happy to give you a hand, if and when. For me, it helps to just think of it like another Sphere. They basically took the Custom Race rules and turned them into a Sphere, so that's not far off the truth.

Heya Ted!

Tradition looks good. Approved.

I learned a lot about the Alchemy sphere in a non-magical post apoc game I played about a year ago. I hadn't really done much with it before then, and I thought it was kind of a niche/sub par sphere. HOLY CRAP was I wrong!!

I'm definitely going to be incorporating it into my characters in the future.😈

Sorry to hear that Inash.

I dont know if you saw my announcement, but if it helps, I extended to cutoff date to Friday. I'll be making my decision over the weekend, so if you just need a bit of extra time, it's available.

If not, I totally understand. IRL time crunches are the death of RPG hobby fun. I know that sad fact far too well.

Heya Fred.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. You know how it is.😵

Traditions both look good, approved.

Re the size change to Small, in this instance, for consistency with the other house rules, yes, you'd get the appropriate change from dropping a size, per the Alteration Size Change talent.

BBK, I dont know how the hell I managed it, but while trying to split off your Tradition request post, I somehow merged your ENTIRE APP INTO THE Q&A THREAD!!

Have I mentioned how much I hate this new site? I know it has nifty new features, and I know it's more "mobile friendly", but compared to the sheer functionality of OGMW...IT SUCKS!

Anyway...sorry, rant over. It just irks me that such a basic function can somehow manage to screw things up THAT badly.

On a completely unrelated note, tradition approved. 😁

On a different completely unrelated note, the app is looking good. Cant wait to start going through them and reviewing.

Also, the ferret is ADORABLE! I'm a sucker for the little crackhead fuzzballs, but, since I have several cats, two of which are EXTREMELY good rat/vermin catchers, I dont dare get a ferret, because I'd be worried that one of the kittens would mistake it for a pest, or a chewtoy, and either way, I'd be heartbroken.

Maybe when I get new kitteh's. 😺

11 hours ago, BBK said:

@Arklytte I want to confirm that my custom Unified tradition is valid and get your approval.

@BBK Moved this to your App thread. The reason I ask players to request approvals there is that it makes it easier for me to look such things up going forward. Trying to find one post in a multi-page thread is time consuming and irritating, and keeping things neat(er) keeps me sane(er). 🤪

21 hours ago, BBK said:

Not really, no. My character only really uses the Telekinesis & Warp Spheres. +2CL would only give him either +2 to the Steal Maneuver for the Telekinesis Sphere, or provide a bit of extra room & weight limit to his Extradimentional Room & Storage talents...which is just fluff, honestly.I think

I'll go with these, if approved:

• +1 Aiming Telekinesis Implement for the character
• +1 Aiming Veilweaving Implement for his familair.

If possible, both simply worn items like an earring for the character and a pair of goggles or something for the familiar. The Aiming ability is a +1 priced Implement special ability that grants the implement's enhancement bonus (+1 in this case) to Attack and Damage rolls made with sphere effects, so while it isn't much, every little bit counts. The character uses the Telekineses Sphere's Bludgeon ability as his attack, and the familiar shapes the Ordan's Clockwork Mantle veil to play at being a diminutive siege sniper.

Yeah, I'm ok with both of those items. Just choose a Body Slot for both and make a note on your sheet/your familiar's sheet (if they have one).

21 hours ago, BBK said:

Are alchemical items under 15gp like Acid and Lamp Oil considered 'Mundane Gear' for the purposes of being free with starting gear?

Yep! If it's under 15GP, and it's normal gear, you can have as much as you desire (within obvious, common sense limits, of course 😁 )

21 hours ago, BBK said:

The Houserule that states that "If you take the Sphereshaper Talent (or the Sphereshaper Talent Feat), you may, in addition to any other Veils you know, gain access to one Sphereshaper Veil." Does this give them the ability to shape the additional veil on top of the other veil(s) they can normally shape each day? Or do they only gain it as an additional veil known?

Additional Veil known. You're still limited to the normal number of veils you can shape each day. You just have access to one more.

21 hours ago, BBK said:

Can Origin talents from Familiars be traded at the same ratio as PCs - I.E, trading a single Potent talent for 2 Auxiliary & 1 Utility talent?

Nope. Familiars gain "1 potent origin talent from the Form sphere, 3 auxiliary talents, and 1 utility talent at 1st level.", per the Custom Familiar Base section of the Origin rules. Per my house rules, they gain an ADDITIONAL One Potent OR Two Auxilliary talents for every 4 Caster Levels their master has. They cant swap them out, however.

7 hours ago, TheFred said:

Ark, I think your post may have broken Baldr; maybe they didn't expect folks to write so much all in one go? 🤔

YIKES! Thanks for the heads up Fred. I'll have to keep that in mind going forward.

@droobles My apologies. Here's what I posted to you in the above post:

7 hours ago, TheFred said:

I like the Akashic stuff very much (no doubt because I liked Incarnum, which it's an unapologetic sort-of copy of, though it's also very much its own thing with a distinct flavour), though man did DSP fall prey to the feature creep at the end (well, at the start too, honestly).

I'd recommend giving it a whirl though I would say that the Veilweaving Sphere is maybe not the best place to start, even for someone who knows Spheres and no Akasha; it's especially wonky (why they felt the need to create it, I don't know; I think it's this "in spheres everything must be spheres!" mentality), feels like a straight upgrade on regular Akasha in a lot of instances, and really allows dibbing and cherry-picking (protip everyone: grab a single talent for Cincture of the Dragon or Courtesan's Cloak for a small but always-on bonus! Or Armoury of the Conqueror!).

(Not trying to get you to change your plans for this game, but I don't think you get a fair Akashic Mysteries feel from the sphere and only the sphere, just to make you aware 🙂)

I definitely like the Akashic stuff, in principle, but it's very confusing, at least initially. And yeah, DSP has a very bad penchant towards Feeping Creatureism.

The Veilweaving stuff is 100% on my radar as something to learn, when I have the spare time/brainpower. Most likely, I'll have to apply to a game with an Akashic character, so I'm forced to learn the ins and outs to make the character work. 😀

7 hours ago, TheFred said:

Hey, you're telling me. I'm still holding out hope for an Ultimate Spheres of Might (a better use of time, IMO, than Origins, but what do I know?). USoP in my opinion messed with a few things it didn't need to (the double saves on Destruction feels rough) but was, for the most part, a good bit of streamlining and tightening of the rules. SoM is way overdue something like that. Especially when you have all these things like "Only one Barrage attack counts as an attack action" or "Ki Blasters can't dual-wield" which are basically errata and make kinda significant changes to the rules.

I want USoM SO FREAKING BAD!! I know it's been discussed, and people on the Discord have practically BEGGED for it, so, my hope is that it will happen at some point. I'm just not going to hold my breath.

7 hours ago, TheFred said:

I misread this at first as "shuriken with a greatsword", like you're throwing greatswords at people, which is funny because I was just theorycrafting using Flurry of Stars to throw a bunch of shuriken, Asynchronous Swing to make them damage like greatswords or whatever, and Palm Throw to up that by three sizes (maybe throw in Armoury of the Conqueror for good measure).

Now that sounds like an interesting sight. 😁

7 hours ago, namo said:

Just to be sure: the characters will start as a party, already knowing each other? (though possibly to varying degrees, of course)

Yep, they will be. I'll get more into those details once the final team is chosen, but yes, they'll be a group that's been together for at least a little while, if not longer. I plan to leave some of the details up to the PC's, but I'm going make sure they have at least SOME history together, as a plot point of the start of the story.

5 hours ago, Boogie Woogie Wookiee said:

Since, you know, that forest is heckin' spooky.

Yes. Yes it is.

<INSERT MR BURNS LAUGH HERE>😆

ANNOUNCEMENT

<Dr Nick Voice>Hi Everybody!!</Dr Nick Voice>

So, I know that things have been a bit hectic, and that I've been slow to respond to everyone's questions. For that, once again, my apologies to one and all. In light of that fact, I've decided to extend the deadline for finishing by a couple of days. I'm still going to close the ad on the 11th, so I wont be accepting any new apps after that. BUT, for everyone that's got an app started by that deadline, you'll now have until Friday, Oct 13th to finish. That will allow me to take time over the weekend to review apps and make my final decision, then I can move forward at the start of next week with the final group.

The extra couple days should ensure that I get fully caught up with everyone's individual threads. Oh, and a note for those that have never applied to my games before. At this point in the process, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to make sure your fluff is done, or it's getting on towards done. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating. More than 90% of my decision for who I choose has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with mechanics. I'm interested in getting to know your character, not how hard they can punch. That will come later, once the game starts, and when the time comes, we'll fully dive into the mechanics. But for this part of the process, I'd MUCH rather you be short on the crunchy bits, in favor of the fluffy ones. There'll be time, if necessary, allocated to finishing the mechanics once we have a team, and, given that I plan to do some internal balancing, there may be a need to tweak your mechanics anyway. So, focus on the fluffy bits, make sure they're solid, then finish the crunchy stuff off as we get down to the wire.

Once again, thanks to everyone for your patience, and for giving up your valuable time to play around in my little corner of the interwebs. The apps I've been seeing are incredible, and I know that, when the time comes, I'm going to have a hell of a time whittling it down to just four. Personally, I consider that the highest compliment you can give a DM...making apps so good that it causes genuine mental pain to choose, and I can definitely see that happening for me. So, from the bottom of my blackened DM heart, thank you, one and all.😁

@whitelancer Thanks Kella! Sorry I missed this initially, but I very much appreciate it. 😃

@BBK Love that little insight into your character. Cant wait to see how the end result comes to fruition.

ANNOUNCEMENT

<Dr Nick Voice>Hi Everybody!!</Dr Nick Voice>

So, I know that things have been a bit hectic, and that I've been slow to respond to everyone's questions. For that, once again, my apologies to one and all. In light of that fact, I've decided to extend the deadline for finishing by a couple of days. I'm still going to close the ad on the 11th, so I wont be accepting any new apps after that. BUT, for everyone that's got an app started by that deadline, you'll now have until Friday, Oct 13th to finish. That will allow me to take time over the weekend to review apps and make my final decision, then I can move forward at the start of next week with the final group.

The extra couple days should ensure that I get fully caught up with everyone's individual threads. Oh, and a note for those that have never applied to my games before. At this point in the process, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to make sure your fluff is done, or it's getting on towards done. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating. More than 90% of my decision for who I choose has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with mechanics. I'm interested in getting to know your character, not how hard they can punch. That will come later, once the game starts, and when the time comes, we'll fully dive into the mechanics. But for this part of the process, I'd MUCH rather you be short on the crunchy bits, in favor of the fluffy ones. There'll be time, if necessary, allocated to finishing the mechanics once we have a team, and, given that I plan to do some internal balancing, there may be a need to tweak your mechanics anyway. So, focus on the fluffy bits, make sure they're solid, then finish the crunchy stuff off as we get down to the wire.

Once again, thanks to everyone for your patience, and for giving up your valuable time to play around in my little corner of the interwebs. The apps I've been seeing are incredible, and I know that, when the time comes, I'm going to have a hell of a time whittling it down to just four. Personally, I consider that the highest compliment you can give a DM...making apps so good that it causes genuine mental pain to choose, and I can definitely see that happening for me. So, from the bottom of my blackened DM heart, thank you, one and all.😁

In the meantime, I'll answer any outstanding questions in this thread, and work on getting caught up with your individual threads. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day. 😃

29 minutes ago, Eric said:

Something

NIFTY!

29 minutes ago, Eric said:

Something else

Thanks Eric 😁

Is there a quick/easy way to break up a large block of quoted text into several smaller blocks, as we could on OGMW? ie if someone asks a bunch of questions in a single post, can we break apart the quote to answer each one inline, rather than having to post a response as a bunch of lines of text at the end of the quote?

I know it can be done in the Source, using HTML, but that's kind of a pain in the ass, so I was hoping there was a simpler way.

9 hours ago, TheFred said:

You did spell it out very clearly, in my opinion, but then namo asked:  

And you said that is correct.

In particular, I'm talking about the option to begin with two potent OR one potent, three aux, one utility. Do your rules supersede that? I had assumed they did, but see above.

Obviously, for any subsequent auxiliary talents, one potent for two aux + one utility is a far better deal than the standard which allows only a 1:1 trade.

Yeah yeah, catch me out with my own words. 🤪

What I have in the House Rules thread is correct. You start with THREE Potent (And ONE Phenomenal Potent) at level one, plus ONE MORE Potent at Level 5. You can trade ONE Potent for TWO Aux & ONE Utility. And just for full clarity, you can trade any number of Potents for

2 Aux/1 Util, so you could, in theory, trade away all four Potents, though I doubt you'd want to.

Again, sorry for the mistake. I'll try to be more careful going forward and not miss those little details.

9 hours ago, Boogie Woogie Wookiee said:

I'm in the process of learning the Spheres of Power rules, especially the Might subset, and I'm a little confused about how they work.  I was hoping one of you might be able to confirm my analysis regarding attack actions.

If a talent states that it's triggered by an attack action or a specific type of attack action, all such talents apply to the same attack, yes?  The only major exception is if a special attack action is involved. In which case only talents that specifically state they work with that particular special action can be applied.

So for example, you could combine something like Duel Wielding (Dual Attack) with Duelist (Blooded Strike) because they're both reliant on attack actions, but you couldn't combine Blooded Strike with Sniper (Deadly Shot) since the latter is a special attack action. But Sniper talents with the (snipe) subtype would work with Deadly Shot, but only Deadly Shot and only up to the limit specified in the subtype.

If that's right, is there any limit to how many spheres and/or talents can be applied at once?

The core of SoM is the Attack and Special Attack Action, and it can definitely be confusing at first glance. But your summation is exactly correct. You can apply (basically) unlimited modifiers to an Attack Action, but you can only apply only one Special Attack Action. You cant stack two Special Attack Actions onto the same attack.

Once the game starts, whenever the first combat is triggered, we'll take it slow for any newbies, so they can get used to things. Plus, I have a rule that, after the first combat, I allow players to make changes to their character's mechanics, if they so desire, since it's often the case that you'll see some collection of talents that looks awesome 'on paper', but, once you're in the thick of combat, it kind of falls apart.

That still happens to me as well. Spheres is an awesome system, but it has it's share of issues, just like any other 3PP product (or any RPG, if we're being honest 😁)

9 hours ago, Inash said:

My limited understanding as a spheres noob, is no. If I'm wrong on that, then I would've expected someone to yell at me in the high level spheres included pvp game I tried running not too long ago, so I think I'm likely right.

You are correct. 😀

9 hours ago, Boogie Woogie Wookiee said:

Cool, that's what I was thinking myself.

Regarding magic spheres and talents, basically the opposite is true unless you have something like a Dual Sphere feat? You can use as many talents from the same sphere that apply to a base ability of that sphere unless a specific limiter is included, such as with Destruction (Destructive Blast) only allowing one (blast shape) and one (blast type) under normal circumstances. As opposed to, for example, using Divination (Divine) with all of your available Alternate Divinations plus, say, the Fast Divinations, Lingering Divination, and Divine Spellcaster talents. But trying to weave in a Mind effect at the same time would be no bueno regardless of what type of action they'd both normally use.

Also correct.

3 hours ago, bcool999 said:

Alright I am getting close to review status but I need clarification on one thing.

Does the above mean what I interpret and we get a Favored Class bonus for each side of the gestalt if we advance in both our favored classes simultaneously?

 

For instance character has Favored Class: FC1 and Favored Class: FC2 and takes 5 levels of both FC1 and FC2 (FC1(5) // FC2(5)). That character would get their choice of +10hp +10 Skill Points or +5 hp and +5 Skill Points, or 5 pips in each favored classes respective unique bonuses?

And if a character took Fast Learner or equivalent at 1st level they could have +10 HP and +10 Skill Points?

Correct, and correct. Your examples are exactly right.

2 hours ago, BBK said:

Question on the Collector archetype for the Armorist class. Would the archetype's 'Prizes' still count as Summoned Equipment, Bound Equipment, or both when qualifying for or using Arsenal Tricks that normally require or use such? Mostly asking for Additional Binding (which usually requires Bound Equipment), so as to have more than a single item bonded as a 'Prize'.

Also, the 1 minute per class level time limit where their 'Prizes' return to storage from anywhere on the same Plane...does that include if you're still wearing or wielding said 'prize'? Because having your armor and/or weapon poof back to storage on its on while you are actually using it seems... dumb. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe it's just a 'You have to be mindful of the time limits' thing, but you're already giving up some things for this power and that seems like a heck of a flaw in the mechanics.

 

 

As Relek pointed out, your Prizes would count as Summoned/Bound weapons for purposes of Arsenal Tricks, so yes, you could do the Additional Binding to have an additional Prizes slot available.

AFA the 1 minute/level thing, yeah, that's oddly worded. For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to say that, unless you're in a high stress situation, or you're incapacitated in some fashion, you can just keep 'resummoning' the items as a sort of unconscious reflex. I agree that it's kind of dumb for your armour, for example, to suddenly disappear off your person just because an arbitrary time limit was reached, if all you're doing is just walking down the road or eating dinner. And since it's only a Swift/Move action to summon them, AND it doesn't cost a Spell Point, I'm not going to fuss over it.

Note that combat WILL count as a high stress situation, so if, somehow, you're involved in a combat that lasts more than 5 minutes/50 rounds (Assuming a 5th level Armorist), then on Round 51, I'd require you to sacrifice a Swift/Move action to keep the item out. That could, in theory, become a problem if you've got more than three items summoned simultaneously. But since I cant imagine a combat taking that long, it's highly doubtful it'll become an issue.

Yep. As I said in the house rules, Class abilities that give Vancian magic work as written. Trying to convert them to Spheres is a headache that I'd rather not deal with.

6 minutes ago, Boogie Woogie Wookiee said:

Is this a change you made? In the aforementioned rules that I had originally missed, it says they can start as Tiny, Small, or Medium for animal companions or Diminutive, Tiny, or Small for familiars under "Size."

Whoops! I thought you were talking about your CHARACTER, not your COMPANION. My bad!

If you want to make Companions smaller than Tiny, then yes, you can do it with either a Potent talent, or the Improved Familiar Feat. This works in reverse, as noted in the house rules, if you want to go bigger than Medium.

To all and sundry. I was able to get the Q&A thread questions answered, but I'm feeling kinda knackered, so I dont know if I'm going to be able to get the character thread questions answered tonight. I'll give it a shot, but if I dont get to your char thread questions tonight, I apologize. I'll do my best to get caught up tomorrow.

Feeling better, but still pretty tired, both physically and mentally. Flu sucks!!

On 10/2/2023 at 1:49 AM, Steel Warrior said:

I added this while you were responding.

If I spend Origin talents to start with the Warp Sphere (ala Specialized Training [potent] x2 for (Basic Magic training and Extra Magic Talent (warp)

Could I apply both the Mageknight Doomblade and Broadcast Blade Archetypes. The only thing that would stack is they would "normally" have to use the 1st level bonus talent for the Warp or the Destruction Sphere. There is an exception to that rule in the Archetypes.
 

Warp Warrior

The broadcast blade must choose the Warp sphere with the magic talent she gains at first level, unless she already possesses the Warp sphere.
Author's Note: This alters the magic talent gained at 1st level.
and
Destructive Focus

The doomblade must choose the Destruction sphere with the magic talent she gains at first level, unless she already possesses the Destruction sphere.
Author's Note: This alters the magic talent gained at 1st level.

My argument is that it alters, not replaces the talent gained at 1st level.

2nd) Also I didn't get an exact answer to the cost to go from Small to Diminutive.
 

If I go from base size Small to Diminutive is that 5 Potent or 3 Phenomenal talents or 8 Potent talents or 5 Phenomenal Talents (Cost of 2 size changes combined).

I am assuming it's 5 Potent or 3 Phenomenal talents because 8 and 5 seem really expensive if I am paying for the full cost of tiny separately and then diminutive.

I'd be ok with you taking both Archetypes. Obviously, you'll need to fill both Sphere requirements right out of the gate.

On 10/2/2023 at 10:59 AM, Boogie Woogie Wookiee said:

Please disregard! I found the answer by visiting the actual base rules your house rules were, well, based on. I'm a total derp sometimes, my apologies.

Though it did lead to another question: Is there no way to get a bird (such as a raven or owl) as a familiar? Your only limibs options are four legs or two legs/two hands, and all of the flight-granting talents seem to be Phenomenal.

No worries. I miss stuff all the time. I'm glad you were able to find part of an answer. 😃

To gain a Flying familiar, give them the Arm-Wings Variation. This allows them to take the Developed Wings talent as an Auxiliary talent. Technically, it's a Phenomenal Auxiliary talent, but in this case, I'll allow you to use one of their normal Aux talents instead. Flight is a powerful ability, but not so powerful that I'd require you to give them your one Phenomenal talent just to have wings. 😁

On 10/2/2023 at 11:05 AM, namo said:

"You may choose to make a companion Small-sized instead of Medium-sized."

But you do need an extra talent (or more) to make it Tiny or smaller, yes.

Correct. You need to spend one additional Potent talent to go down from Small to Tiny.

On 10/2/2023 at 12:18 PM, TheFred said:

Oh, so we can still trade one Potent talent for three Auxiliary talents and one Utility talent, as per standard Origins, in addition to your houseruled option to swap Potent talents for two Aux + one Utility?

I believe I spelled it out quite clearly. You can trade ONE Potent talent for TWO Aux & ONE Utility.

The reason I did it that way is because I gave everyone an additional Potent talent at 1st level. So you could, in theory, trade two Potent talents, gain FOUR Aux and TWO Utility talents, and still have ONE Potent talent remaining. Or you could keep TWO Potent talents, gain TWO Aux/ONE Utility, and still be ahead of vanilla.

Either way, it's a better deal than the standard rules.

On 10/2/2023 at 12:31 PM, TheFred said:

Also, I'm not quite clear, do the stat changes for sizes apply for going to Small, as well? Standard Origins it looks like you can choose to be Small and your stats don't change?

To keep things consistent, yes, you would gain the ability modifications from going from Medium to Small.

12 hours ago, Rudra said:

Hello, i've stumbled on another(minor) issue and i'd like a ruling on it:

For background reasons I'll take the Oath of loyalty(to nazana's deity) and integral oath feat(for said loyalty oath)

It's a central element of the character so i'll take it in any case, however in the house rules it say "you may trade 1 feat for 2 oath points"

Now, integral oath is a feat that impose extra restrictions and grant 1 oath point, could it get the same treatment as the house rule and grant 2 oath points instead of 1?

 

as alternative, can i take integral oath as a drawback, without the bonus oath point? basically taking only the restrictions

8 hours ago, bcool999 said:

@Rudra Check out the Integral Oath Boon in the spheres wiki. It gives you the effect of the Integral Oath feat while using the bonus Oath Point to pay for itself.

@Rudra What bcool said. The Integral Oath Boon basically allows you to take the Integral Oath feat at a 'discount'. So take the feat, and the boon, and you're golden.

Apologies to everyone for not responding to questions last night/today. Been feeling super under the weather the last 36 hours or so, and my brain is currently doing the 'wandering in a fog' thing. I'm going to crash, and hopefully, once I wake up, I'll feel more like a human being, and I can get caught up on stuff.

In the meantime, please, by all means, keep the questions coming. I'll respond to everything once I'm feeling more myself.

Also, my continued thanks for everyone's interest in the game. There are some awesome characters starting to shape up, and I cant wait to see where they all go.

TTYL

You can always use the Mark All As Read function.😊

1) It's never a waste of my time. It's literally my job as DM. So no worries. 😀

2) If you want to play a Warp specialist and/or a Sneak Attacker, play one. I literally dont care if I have multiple PC's with similar builds, because when I choose players for my games, all I really care about is the character themselves. Their backstory, personality, etc, and how well you breathe life into it. Mechanics only come into play (as part of the selection process, anyway) insofar as making sure your mechanics and story compliment one another.

Not only that, once I do choose the final four, there will be a period of time where we take a few days (or however long it takes) for folks to coordinate their characters with one another. I always take the group through a balancing process, to see where everyone's mechanics stack up against one another. I'm a big believer in inter-party balance. It doesn't matter to me how powerful the PC's are as a group, because, as the DM, it's my job to set appropriate level challenges against them, and I can easily tailor my baddies as needed. But it's important to have the PC's be relatively comparable in their actual mechanics, so that I can create appropriately challenging encounters that dont either get insta-obliterated, or insta-obliterate the party.

This gives folks a chance to make tweaks to their mechanics, if they feel that the group is too heavy tilted in one direction or another, or if they just want to leave things as is. But that's decided by the group, as a whole. AFAIC, I can adapt the game either way.

Anyway, hope that helps.

tl;dr: If you want to change things up, go for it. If not, then stick with your original vision. I'll judge your character on their own merits, not how they compare to anyone else's.😃

20 hours ago, Llyarden said:

I did not use the throwing mechanics as much as I should've. I didn't even realise until super late in the game that you could throw healing potions at your allies, so about the only time I was throwing stuff was the occasional alchemical item and I had Gale with a returning pike for a while. Between shove and my Tav being a College of Swords bard with the ability to make knockback attacks (and having very high Strength and Athletics to help with the shoving), I did do plenty of yeeting enemies in other ways, though.

The basic idea I'm going for with Valros's backstory is that he's a tiefling with gold dragon blood who actually grew up in the care of his gold dragon grandparent in dwarven lands, so his fighting style is a mixture of a traditionally dwarven fighting style, his own kinda clumsy brute strength, and a limited amount of magic he convinced his grandparent to teach him even though he doesn't really have the magical power to use it properly (thus why he has to kinda burn his own magical blood to pull it off). The blood stuff is a little bit of a nod to something in BG3, but it's from a later act so I won't spoil it.

Hah! Yeah, I never did figure that out about the healing potions. Fortunately, my wife is much smarter than I am, and she DID figure it out, so I was eventually able to start doing it. Saved our bacon in MP more than once. Though, you do have to be careful, because if you give it to someone with the Ring of Throwing, and you hit the CHARACTER with the potion, rather than the ground at their feet, you can do more damage than you heal. I MAAAAAAAY have accidentally offed Astarion in one playthrough doing that...but I admit NOTHING!

I LOVE THE SHOVING MECHANIC!! My first character was a Warlock, and the first Invocation I got was Repelling Blast, and I had SO MUCH DAMN FUN yeeting baddies off cliffs, bridges, etc. Combined with Misty Step to get in the right position, it's deadly, especially at higher levels, when you get more blasts. That's how I killed the hag the very first time I fought her. I Misty Stepped to her side, Eldritch Blasted her right off the span she was standing on. It was the first time I realized I could do it, and it was a total accident, but it became my goto move after that. Wifey was PISSED though, since she didn't realize you could yeet the hag. She gave me a hard time for days about how easy the fight was, and how I didn't earn it the hard way. I just had fun giving her smug looks. 🤣

That sounds like a cool background. I look forward to reading it once it's all put together. But from the blurb, I definitely like it. Plus...well...let's just say that it has the potential to make for some interesting interactions once the story gets going. 😈

Also, I appreciate you not spoiling stuff. I mean, I know you never would, but I still appreciate you being thoughtful. 😀 I haven't actually even made it to Act II yet (though I'm almost there). I'm having too much fun exploring EVERYTHING, plus I've restarted several times with new characters, because there are just so many different dialogue and story options, depending on your class, and I'm having entirely too much fun exploring them. Plus wifey and I have been doing a MP run, and that tends to take longer than running by yourself, at least from what we've found. But it's hella fun, especially since they seem to have worked really hard to improve the MP experience with Patch 3.

Correct, on all counts.