Hall of Heroes

[Zen Gypsy]

A place for us to gather and to discuss! Also ... a Discord Invite!

Edited February 26 by Zen Gypsy (see edit history)

[Vedast]

As our Apps are full of information and details, I thought I would provide a precis of what Caltrix would be doing in the current circumstance, before our GM sets the stage, in case we want or need to do some bumping into one another.

• her domicile, if you can call it that, is a sort of lean-to up in the Shingles, specifically in the Old Dock area between H3-V3 on the main map.
• she plies her trade of acrobatics & juggling; games of chance and card tricks; and possibly a bit of discrete cutpursing in the areas of Northgate between G3 (City Hall) and T3 (Bank of Abadar): an area where folks with money and a willingness to spend or be careless with it pass back-and-forth. Anywhere, really, in Mainshore and Northgate.

More generally, she's waiting and watching for signs of Lamm or his henchmen and an opportunity to prove her innocence to the Cerulean Society.

Edited February 26 by Vedast (see edit history)

[Thramzorean]

Ionacu is living in his family home in North Point currently trying to gather information and work out the best method to approach the abduction of his retainer's daughter.

[saithor]

Ihrin is temporarily renting a room while trying to find Lamm. Keeping her distance from her family so none of them possibly tip him off. Visits her sister being cared for by their teacher each day. Performing on the streets to try and keep herself fed.

[Vedast]

@Zen Gypsy & @saithor

Since there seems to be a fair amount of at least potential overlap between Ihrin and Caltrix, I thought, with GM's permission, I might retool Caltrix slightly from the DEX+CHA build as submitted to more of a DEX+INT emphasis.

So specifically, I thought to:

• CHA: 16 =>12 and INT: 10 => 14
• Add Trained in Society and Lore (Cerulean Society)
• Add Gnome and Varisian languages

This would also seem to fit well with her background in working for the Cerulean Society and with Lore (Games). With a larger party, she may not need to rely on Demoralize and Feint so much herself for flat-footing opportunities and we have two characters with CHA = 18 so we have no need for a third 'face.'

Otherwise, she stays the same as submitted originally.

Edited February 26 by Vedast (see edit history)

[Thramzorean]

Just as a comment Iocanu has Society well covered, he'll be going expert there as quickly as he can, and speaks Gnome and Varisian 😃

[Vedast]

15 minutes ago, Thramzorean said:

Just as a comment Iocanu has Society well covered, he'll be going expert there as quickly as he can, and speaks Gnome and Varisian 😃

Gnome as a language fits Caltrix as she has gnome blood via a grandparent (and this plays a role, possibly, much farther down the line for her Shadowdancer Archetype)

I'm willing to look for another good candidate for a language. Given that Varisian is spoken, likely, by the Sczarni it would seem to make sense for a thief to be familiar with it, but I would welcome a suggestion.

A rogue with some INT is going to have most skills covered: Society was one of the last non-magical ones I could pick and, again, seemed to make sense for one who is - or was - a member of the Cerulean Society.

So not trying to step on Iocanu's toes here, but Caltrix's key background features were well established early on.

Edited February 26 by Vedast (see edit history)

[Thramzorean]

Understood, I was just pointing it out in case the choices were just base covering. I also found the coincidence quite amusing. Having a common language that others are unlikely to speak or understand can have plenty benefits actually, gnome could be good for that, while Varisian is, well, spoken by half a continent, I'd select it myself for the character 🙂

Edited February 26 by Thramzorean (see edit history)

[Vedast]

^ Indeed. Thanks.

Hopefully, we can use common languages amongst the group to our advantage and, perhaps, some RP fun. And backup on Skills is always useful -- looking meaningfully at the Dice Roller.

I had been torn between INT and CHA on this character from conception: I wanted INT for the Games Lore and espionage side, but CHA seemed to fit Halfling Luck and, of of course, boosts Feint and Demoralize. As noted above, it seemed we had CHA well covered both mechanically and conceptually in the Party, so a slight shift for Caltrix from CHA to INT as a secondary seemed a bit natural. But she focuses that on secular, not magical Lores and just rounding out her skills and languages.

Speaking of base covering, it seems we have about half the Party trained in Medicine. Not sure whether anyone plans to Archetype into Medic or build skill feats into Medicine?

/stream of consciousness :-)

[Whitehart09]

Hi everyone!

So, for Carthen, I wouldn't say he is a prominent person in the Northgate ward but he does have a reputation as a thug. He shakes down businesses and collects the occasional overdue debt for local bookies.

When not doing the above he is generally found at a local tavern, "The One Shoed Horse" or the "Horse" for short. He doesn't tend to be one to make waves on his downtime.

Edited February 26 by Whitehart09 (see edit history)

[Gnaws]

Valerica would most commonly be found working at her failing smithy in Midland, Shaw Arms; a name she'll never share now. This would be somewhere between S11 and S12. Outside of that, she could be anywhere across Midland, but rarely ventures further than that at current.

 

Medic is one of the archetypes I was waffling on. I'll either take that or archery, based on how other builds are looking but will fill that archetype if no one else is.

[VennDygrem]

Aquila spends most of her nights sleeping in various homes of "family" in Old Korvosa, and most of her days searching through the various marketplaces for signs of Lamm; The most notable market is, according to the wiki, the Gold Market in the Midland district, so she finds herself there frequently lately. Before her father died, they managed to establish a meager but steady livelihood in Pillar Hill, also in the Midlands, though it's been years since she formally lived there due to the aforementioned death.

As for healing, Aquila is capable of helping with downtime healing, though combining it with another character's medicine checks will be most useful to us. Aquila isn't trained in Medicine, otherwise, so definitely won't be a candidate for the Medic archetype.

Edited February 26 by VennDygrem (see edit history)

[Vedast]

@Zen Gypsy  Sort of a collating post for the current location and activities of our characters. Hope this helps. Of course, all of us are looking out for word or sight of Lamm.

 

• VennDygrm/Aquila (Kinteticist): itinerant domicile in Old Korvosa; daytime at the marketplaces primarily in the Midland District.
• Gnaws/Valerica (Ranger): lives and works in the Midland District (see S11 and S12).
• Whiteheart09/Carthen (Fighter): lives and works (as a racketeer) in the Northgate area.
• Keante/Lira (Thaumaturge): Midlands, working the Harrow?
• Saithor/Ihren (Bard): location ? Street Performing to earn a living.
• Thramzorean/Ionacu (Witch): family home in North Point; gathering information.
• Vedast/Caltrix (Rogue): living amongst the Shingles in Old Dock near the narrows; earning a living in Mainshore and North Gate via games & acrobatics (and maybe some purloining).

Oh, btw, Acrobat is both Caltrix' Background and her intended Archetype dedication. Same word is used for both, so can be confusing given that features arise from both.

PS Three characters are trained in Medicine: Valerica; Ionacu; and Caltrix.

Let me know if there is anything I can add. Mainly, this is to give our GM a ready reference here at the start.

Edited February 26 by Vedast (see edit history)

[Zen Gypsy]

I appreciate the organization, I will update my own notes, but I've got a whole spreadsheet with the group on it, skills, etc. Regardless, I want folks to know work has been busy this week so it might be a day or so until the introductory post pops up ... however ...

As far as tweaking characters, I highly suggest that you do. Determine what direction your fellow PC's are going, and build a cohesive, balanced group. If someone is planning on taking Knockdown, maybe pick up a feat that lets you capitalize on prone opponents, you have someone who is going to demoralize alot, perhaps Dread striker, spell selections, feat selections based off of the group's own skills are highly valuable.

Also, please realize, with seven players, the group is large enough to split into two parties, there are times where splitting the party, typically a no-no, will be beneficial. Now, I am not talking about running a dungeon or similar at half capacity, but if you have two goals talking to NPC's or delivering evidence to A and B, both of which are on opposite ends of Korvosa, you should feel free to do so.

If there is anything in your background that you want to make sure gets some 'screen' time, just let me know, either here, send me a message, or through Discord.

[Vedast]

Not sure how best to lay this out without risking wall-of-text exhaustion (consider yourself warned 😀), but I'll try to get the discussion going. I'd guess everyone is familiar with a Rogue/Thief so no real mystery here.

I'm planning for Caltrix to be a classic halfling thief in PF2e style. With a fairly low CON and low ancestry hps, she's the classic "glass cannon." She'll be looking to Hide and shoot or dart in-and-out of melee to work with a flanking buddy. She won't do so well standing in melee trading blows. She'll take the Acrobat Archetype at 2nd level, but the combat feats for that Dedication only kick in at mid-levels.

She's not quite at max AC as her starting STR = 8 means no armor. I'm planning to boost that to 10 at 2nd level to get her into leather armor until, probably 7th level when the GAB gets her DEX to 20(+5) and leather is no longer of use.

She has Cat Fall, Quick Jump, and Steady Balance ... so she'll be able to move about reasonably well (though boosts & buffs are appreciated). As for class/skill feats at levels 1-5:

• I plan to take Trap Finder (class feat) at 2nd level. In an urban setting with active thieves guilds, it seemed appropriate to go all-in on the Find/Disable traps motif.
• I could get Quiet Allies (skill feat) in early. Coupled with Follow the Expert (Exploration Activity), this allows the entire party to make one collective Stealth check (albeit at the lowest bonus in the group) rather than having to make x7 of them (!) if we are all together. Mathematically, this is usually an advantage. Maybe avoid chain armor?
• I'd like to take the Dread Striker class feat at 4th. Essentially, with this feat, the Frightened Condition makes the Target flat-footed to the rogue. So if anyone can cast Fear or is good at Intimidation, this allows ranged attacks (or melee attacks) that trigger Sneak Attack damage. Caltrix can't do a lot of damage via ranged attacks given a low STR, but the SA damage boost will help. And Frightened is just a great debuff anyway - it affects everything.
• I'd like to get the Shadow Mark skill feat somewhat early on: this one provides a debuff to a Target's Perception which helps the rogue avoid being spotted (following the Target) and gives an edge when/if Encounter mode is initiated (debuffs Target initiative and makes it more likely to start the encounter with the Target flat-footed). Given this campaign setting, I suspect spying and espionage will not be uncommon activities.
• Pickpocket and Intimidating Glare round out the level 1-5 skill feats I have envisioned.
• She'll take Fleet at 3rd to bump speed to 30' - allowing 15' Sneak moves compared to 10'.

That should cover it for levels 1-5 in terms of my character planning. With a larger group, I'm trying to max out the utility and exploration/movement features rather than combat specific class feats e.g Trap Finder in lieu of the more combat oriented Twin Feint or Tumble Behind.

 

As for background brought forward, I suspect GM will be weaving in some elements of the Cerulean Society: Caltrix needs to clear her name with them (and maybe point the finger at Lamm, the real embezzler) and, depending, perhaps bring her back somewhat within its ranks, even if not openly. I suppose this will be some fun emergent gameplay.

Edited February 28 by Vedast (see edit history)