LDDragon Posted February 28 Clone Share Posted February 28 (edited) For Group A to post downtime stuff in, if desired. Life in the Academy GMs, Share This With Your Players The details of the academia subsystem aren’t a secret. This article is spoiler-free and written from a player’s perspective, so you can share it with your players and help them make informed decisions for their characters’ academic careers. Throughout the Adventure Path, you’ll find numerous opportunities to tie into the academia subsystem, called out either in sidebars or in the text. “Listen, for this is a story that means something. I sing the songs of those who came before. They taught us much that we remember today, and even more that we have forgotten. I sing the song of the one, the Old Mage, who showed us the way. I sing the songs of the Ten, the Magic Warriors who spread his mission. I sing the songs of the hundreds who built this school and shone a light over all the world. And I sing the songs of the thousands, all those who came before us and made this place the Magaambya. Their strength and their legacies live on in me. Now they shall live on in you as well.” —Lore-Speaker Janatimo In the Strength of Thousands Adventure Path, you’ll have the opportunity to play characters who are students at the Magaambya, the oldest and most storied magic school in all Golarion. You’ll learn new magic, advance in your studies, choose one of the five prestigious branches to join, and more. As you continue your academic career, adventure will call, but you’ll never cease to be a Magaambyan, tied inextricably to the thousands upon thousands of students who came before you, stretching across eight millennia of history and tracing back to the legacy of Old-Mage Jatembe, one of the most legendary and powerful wizards in the history of Golarion. The academia subsystem helps you express your character’s academic and intellectual growth throughout your time at the Magaambya, starting as a new initiate struggling to find your place at the school to an academic powerhouse respected by all researchers in your field and beyond. You’ll continue your studies alongside your adventuring career, allowing you to gain a series of useful benefits to improve your character’s capabilities based on the progress of your academic work. The Five Branches of Scholarship “As the creeping menace swept across the land, the snake led the way, ever the adaptable guide, ready to shed skin to fit the situation. The patient leopard, full of valor, crept closer toward the oncoming threat, the better to protect her friends from danger. The spider whispered quietly. Would the people be safe? Our comrades, our friends, our families? Would this be the end? The hyena laughed—not even he, who looks between, could have imagined the scope of the threat. But it was not the end, and the elephant never forgot.” —Elephant’s Chronicles Magaambyan scholars believe in many fundamental values of scholarship. Key among them are adaptability, camaraderie, imagination, knowledge, and valor. The school’s faculty and lessons are divided into five branches, each emphasizing one of these values. Cascade Bearers esteem imagination, from the dreams of the most visionary magical theorists to the innovations of creative problem-solvers of all stripes. Emerald Boughs emphasize camaraderie, the sense of community and connection to fellow Magaambyans; they also interact with those outside the Magaambya and spread the academy’s message. Rain-Scribes value adaptability in thoughts and deeds, as well as a willingness to admit errors and learn from past mistakes. Tempest-Sun Mages inspire valor, not only the physical courage to stand up for friends and the school, but also the intellectual courage to consider opposing viewpoints and widen one’s understanding rather than staying entrenched in a single paradigm. Uzunjati understand that knowledge lives in stories passed down through the generations and also is earned every day through personal experience. While all Magaambyans are expected to embody these values to varying degrees, and members of the different branches work together on and off campus, every student joins one primary branch to shape their academic understanding. In addition to this choice, you’ll also select a secondary branch that influences the expression of your primary branch and supplements your education. Your learning within these branches progresses from levels 1 to 20, just like your character. You can never have more levels in your primary branch than your character’s level, and you can never have more levels in your secondary branch than half your character’s level. When you create your character, choose a primary branch and a secondary branch; both begin at level 0. Classes at the Magaambya are open to students of any branch, but each focuses on the values embodied by a specific branch. If your primary branch is Tempest-Sun Mages and your secondary branch is Rain-Scribes, you’ll attend Tempest-Sun Mage classes to advance your level in your primary branch or Rain-Scribe classes to advance your level in your secondary branch. You don’t need to create a specific course load or class schedule, since you’re always choosing whether to focus on your primary or secondary branch. Branch Skills, Lores, and Feats Each branch has two or three associated skills, one or more subcategories of lore, and a general feat. As you gain levels in your branch, you’ll gain benefits that apply to the associated skills and lore, as well as the associated general feat. Table 1: Branches, Skills, Lores, and Feats Branch Skills Lore General Feat Branch Cascade Bearers Skills Arcana, Occultism, Religion Lore Academia Lore General Feat Canny Acumen Branch Emerald Boughs Skills Deception, Diplomacy, Society Lore Specific settlement (such as Nantambu Lore) General Feat Adopted Ancestry Branch Rain-Scribes Skills Medicine, Nature, Survival Lore Specific terrain (such as Forest Lore) General Feat Fleet Branch Tempest-Sun Mages Skills Intimidation, Performance Lore Warfare Lore General Feat Toughness Branch Uzunjati Skills Crafting, Lore Lore Any Lore General Feat Incredible Initiative Changing Branches It’s perfectly natural that a player might choose a primary or secondary branch at character creation and, after roleplaying the character for some time, decide it was the wrong branch to represent their character’s personality. While your GM could create a downtime activity to allow branch retraining in place of advancing in a branch, this can wind up permanently leaving your character behind the rest of your party. Instead, work with your GM to swap out your branches. Keep in mind, the Magaambya looks extremely poorly on those who flippantly attempt to alter their branches of scholarship to gain personal power and will staunchly deny any such exploit. Academia? No Thanks While many players in an Adventure Path about a magic academy might be interested in developing their characters’ academic careers, some might want to skip right to the action. That’s okay! You can either skip the subsystem entirely, in which case characters will be a little less versatile than normal, or just allow characters to automatically advance their primary branch at every even level, to a maximum branch level of 11 when the character reaches level 20. Advancing your branch level “From my time studying medicine at the Magaambya, I might not have learned any magic, but I did learn to value service over promoting my academic publications. That’s not to say the Magaambya doesn’t produce some of the finest scholarship in the world, but rather that a true Magaambyan doesn’t care about taking credit. It’s about building knowledge for everyone. Of course, that sort of attitude led to my work being plagiarized before I started taking authorship more seriously, so this ideal isn’t as an absolute. Still, it’s the heroic attitude of Magaambyan scholars that has changed the world for millennia and continues to change it to this day.” —Kassi Aziril Unlike your character’s level, your levels in your primary and secondary branches don’t advance automatically when you gain Experience Points. Instead, you advance your branches through academic achievement; early in your career, this typically happens via bookwork and exams. As a student at the Magaambya, you can use either the Study downtime activity or the Cram downtime activity to represent your accomplishments in your studies and exams, with the timing based on the academic calendar (as noted for the GM in each volume of the Adventure Path). Truly accomplished scholars also might be able to use the Practical Research activity as a downtime activity in the field to gain additional new insights and academic advancements during adventures, as opposed to during the normal curriculum. Later volumes of the Adventure Path will note such opportunities for the GM, but if you have additional ideas for location-based research beyond those provided in the adventures themselves, the GM might reward your creativity with an additional opportunity to perform the Practical Research activity and raise your branch levels! Even with these extra opportunities, you can’t advance your primary branch level above your character’s level, or your secondary branch level above half your character’s level (both with a minimum of 0). If the result of any of these activities would raise a branch level past those limits, put a star next to your branch’s level. The next time your character gains a level, raise that branch’s level to the new limit and erase the star. This way, if you have an opportunity to advance your branch level, you don’t have to wait until your character level is high enough to pursue it. Each of these downtime activities takes a few months, as they occur over an academic semester. You might have encounters during or between these checks as the story requires. Study Downtime Requirements You are an initiate, attendant, or conversant. You give everything you have to your studies, in keeping with your branch. Choose either your primary or secondary branch and attempt a skill check with one of the branch’s associated skills against a standard DC of the branch’s level. Critical Success Incredible results! You ace every exam and cause a stir that all the instructors notice. Increase the level of the branch you chose by 2. Success You succeed in your studies admirably. Increase the level of the branch you chose by 1. Failure You need to work harder and try again. Your branch level remains the same. Critical Failure You make a major mistake that requires you to perform remedial studies. The next time you would get an opportunity to attempt this activity, you must skip that opportunity to catch up. Cram Downtime Requirements You are an initiate, attendant, or conversant, and your branch level for either your primary or secondary branch is 2 or more levels below the limit. Realizing that you’re falling behind in your studies, you cram more than you probably should. You Study twice, each in a branch that satisfies the activity requirements. However, the extra studying comes at a price. Until the next time you take the Study downtime activity, you’re particularly tired from all the extra hours cramming; at the start of each day of adventuring, you must succeed at a DC 8 flat check or be fatigued for that day. Practical Research Downtime Requirement You are a conversant or lore-speaker. You identify something interesting in the field and perform special research on it. This requires an appropriate check, which the GM will describe when the opportunity arises. The results of the check vary. While they typically include all the benefits of the Study activity, some opportunities for Practical Research also offer unique benefits, such as access to new character options. Branch benefit “Many of you already understand that the five branches of scholarship shape your journey through the Magaambya. What you probably haven’t realized is that they will shape your legacy as well. All of us stand here buoyed by the strength of the thousands who came before, each with their own unique story to tell. Ask yourself: what will your story be?” —High Sun-Mage Oyamba At every branch level, you gain the benefit listed in Table 2: Branch Benefits By Level. The benefit entries below also include the branch levels at which you gain them. Table 2: Branch Benefits by Level Level Benefit 1 Additional Lore 2 Steeped in History +1 3 Dedicated Attendant 4 Skill Feat (Trained) 5 Branch Influence +1 6 Skill Increase (Expert) 7 First Branch Feat 8 General Feat 9 Skill Feat (Expert) 10 Skill Increase (Master) 11 Steeped in History +2 12 Second Branch Feat 13 Branch Influence +2 14 Skill Increase (Master) 15 Skill Feat (Master) 16 Make Your Own Luck 17 Branch Influence +3 18 Skill Increase (Legendary) 19 Skill Feat (Legendary) 20 Magical Paragon Additional Lore 1st At 1st level in a branch, you learn more of the Magaambya’s deep well of lore associated with your branch. You gain the Additional Lore feat in a Lore skill associated with the branch. Steeped in History 2nd At 2nd level in a branch, you learn about the history of the branch and the Magaambya in general. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Recall Knowledge about the Magaambya, the tenets or history of your branch, and members of your branch. At 11th level, this increases to a +2 circumstance bonus. Dedicated Attendant 3rd At 3rd level in a branch, if you have completed your Perquisite, you have proven your commitment to a sufficient degree that your branch promotes and supports you as an affiliated attendant. The first time you reach this level in a branch, you gain the Magaambyan Attendant Dedication feat (Pathfinder Lost Omens Character Guide) as a bonus feat (even if you haven’t taken enough feats with a previous archetype to take another dedication feat). Skill Feat 4th At 4th level in a branch, you uncover hidden techniques that grant you extra benefits from your branch’s associated skills. You gain a skill feat that requires the trained rank in one the branch’s associated skills. At 9th level, you gain an additional skill feat that requires the expert or trained rank in one the branch’s associated skills; at 15th level, you gain an additional skill feat that requires master or lower rank in one of the branch’s associated skills; and at 19th level, you gain an additional skill feat that requires legendary or lower rank in one of the branch’s associated skills. For any of these skill feats, you can select a variable skill feat, such as Automatic Knowledge or Assurance, as long as you do so for an associated skill. Branch Influence 5th At 5th level in a branch, you gain greater influence, making it easier to collaborate, hoodwink, or browbeat members of that branch. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, and Performance checks to interact with members of the branch. At 13th level, this increases to a +2 circumstance bonus, and at 17th level, it increases again to a +3 circumstance bonus. Skill Increase 6th At 6th level in a branch, and every 4 levels thereafter, your studies lead you to deeper understanding of your branch’s associated skills, causing you to gain an additional skill increase that you can use to raise one of the branch’s associated skills, up to a maximum of expert. At 10th branch level or higher, you can use these skill increases to become a master in a skill in which you’re already an expert. At 18th level, you can use this skill increase to become legendary in a skill in which you’re already a master. For Uzunjati, who have Lore as an associated skill, you gain the Additional Lore feat when you choose to improve Lore, instead of gaining a single skill increase to a Lore. Branch Feat 7th At 7th level in a branch, you become so immersed in your branch’s secrets that you gain access to special training only offered to other members of your branch. You gain the 6th-level Magaambyan attendant archetype feat requiring affiliation with your branch (such as Uzunjati Storytelling for the Uzunjati). You must still meet any skill prerequisites the feat has. If you already have that feat, you gain an additional 6th-level class feat (even if your branch’s feat was not a class feat). At 12th level, you also gain the 10th-level Magaambyan attendant archetype feat requiring affiliation with the branch (such as Tempest-Sun Shielding for the Tempest-Sun Mages). If you already have that feat, you gain an additional 10th-level class feat (even if your branch’s feat was not a class feat). General Feat 8th At 8th level in a branch, your understanding of your branch’s traditions improves your general capabilities, stretching beyond your studies in specific skills. You gain the general feat associated with the branch. If you already have that general feat, you gain a 1st-level general feat of your choice instead. Make Your Own Luck 16th At 16th level in a branch, you’re so accomplished with your branch’s associated skills that you make your own luck. Once per day, you can reroll a skill check with one of those skills and take the new result. This is a fortune effect. Magical Paragon 20th At 20th level in a branch, you embody the branch so completely that you gain a unique special ability depending on your branch. Many of these abilities build upon Magaambyan attendant archetype feats you have gained. Cascade Bearers: Nothing is beyond your imagination. Once per day, you can cast any common 7th-level spell from the arcane, divine, occult, or primal spell lists without expending a spell slot. When you do, you use your spellcasting proficiency for your halcyon spells. Emerald Boughs: You can stretch your hideaway well beyond the original intended usage, creating a special extradimensional abode in which to rest with your allies, host visiting diplomats, and more. At any time, you can spend 1 minute to enter and expand your hideaway into a magnificent mansion; it remains in this form until you leave, at which point it expels all remaining guests and becomes a normal hideaway as Emerald Boughs Hideaway until you spend another minute to enter and expand your hideaway again. Rain-Scribes: You can adapt to almost any situation. You can survive in severe and extreme cold and heat without taking damage. You move at full Speed through difficult terrain and greater difficult terrain, and take no damage from hazardous terrain. When using Rain-Scribe Mobility, you clear the effects of all three types of terrain from the spaces you enter for 1 round. Tempest-Sun Mages: You have the courage and magic to protect all your allies from harm. When you use Tempest-Sun Shielding, you can choose to reduce the triggering damage to you and all allies within 30 feet by four times the spell level, rather than reducing the triggering damage to you or a single ally by four times the spell level. Uzunjati: You know a surprising number of stories, and you weave them all together into a coherent narrative. When you use Uzunjati Recollection, you Recall Knowledge three times instead of once, each with a +2 circumstance bonus. You also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your skill check for Uzunjati Storytelling from the captivating combined narrative. Roleplaying Academia The academia subsystem is at its best when the players and GM use the opportunity as a backdrop for roleplaying events and occurrences that highlight the reality of life at a magic academy, rather than just quickly rolling some skill checks and tallying up branch levels. Maybe one hero has to go on a hunt for a book that should be available in the library but has been lent out multiple times, while another must convince a straitlaced professor to allow them to conduct a potentially dangerous experiment. For more guidance on ideas for downtime events and how to intersperse them throughout downtime, refer to the Gamemastery Guide. Downtime Running Downtime There’s more to life than fighting monsters and looting treasure. What happens when a PC wins a deed to a tavern in a game of cards, crafts a magical item, builds a home, or pursues a relationship? All these goals and more are resolved by running downtime. Long-term Goals Downtime’s more satisfying when the PCs work toward long-term goals rather than perform disconnected tasks. You can ask players what their PCs’ goals are, and also look for storylines they’re interested in that you can use as seeds for long-term goals. Long-term goals might include running a business, creating a guild, establishing an arcane school, returning a despoiled land to its natural splendor, reforming local politics, or rebuilding a ruin. Goals involving organizations are a good opportunity to use the leadership subsystem. If players don’t have clear ideas for their goals, look at their backgrounds, NPCs they know, and things they’ve expressed interest in during adventures to develop some suggestions. Remember that you’re not trying to get them to accept your exact suggestions, but to pick a goal they really like. Long-term goals should shape the game, and reinforcing their progress is key. Show changes, good and bad, that result from the PCs’ efforts, both in downtime and on their adventures if applicable. This doesn’t have to be subtle! You can directly say, “You’ve been trying to get the magistrate to allow you to buy this plot of land, but the fact that you entered the wizard’s tower illegally seems to have soured him toward you.” Think ahead in stages. For instance, if a PC wants to run a business, you might have them... Start with a simple stand to sell their wares. Show they’re drawing big crowds and need to expand. Build a storefront. Open to modest success. Get a small but loyal following. Hire employees to keep up with demand. Deal with supply issues or competition. Get enough interest in a nearby settlement that they might want to expand their business. And so on. You can deliver each of these details through a little vignette. For example, if you use the second bullet point, you might describe the throng of people crowded around the PCs’ stand, and say they sold out of goods before half the people were served. Downtime goals are a great way to weave the PCs’ agency into the story. Success and Failure Success at a reasonable long-term goal should be likely, but not guaranteed. Give the player an expectation of how likely their goal is to work out based on how ambitious it is. Be clear about how much downtime it will take compared to the amount of downtime you expect the party will get during your campaign. Then let the player decide how to commit their downtime, and to which tasks. Repeated failures or outside problems could lead to the whole goal failing. It happens! But give the player a fair chance. Even if their goal is really hard to achieve—like driving the undead out of Ustalav—they might find a way. Don’t undermine their efforts or ideas, but do make clear the magnitude of the task they’ve chosen. Remember that even if a goal fails, the effort was worthwhile. A failure or a success at a long-term goal can be a major emotional beat for the character. They’ve changed the world, after all! Don’t shortchange it just because it happened in downtime. In fact, because it might have taken place over multiple sessions, the player might have been looking forward to the results for a really long time! Buying and Selling The game leaves it up to you to determine what items the PCs can and can’t purchase, and the final market Price for them. Settlements the size of a town or bigger typically have at least one vendor for basic, common gear, and even magic and alchemical items of 1st level. Beyond that, it all depends on how much you want to allow the players to determine their abilities and how much verisimilitude you want in your game. You can set the specifics where you need, but let’s look at three possibilities. PCs can buy what they want where they want. You gloss over the details of markets. PCs can sell whatever they want for half the Price and buy any item to which they have access at full Price. This approach is focused on expediency over verisimilitude and is likely to reduce the number of unusual or distinctive items the PCs have, as many players seek out the ones that most directly support their characters’ strengths. This still means there’s a limit on purchasing uncommon or rarer items, but you could even do away with rarity if your group wants, or add a surcharge instead (depending on your group’s play style, that could be anywhere from 10% to 100% for uncommon items, and 25% to 500% if you also want to open up all rare items). PCs can buy what they want but must put in additional effort. If they want to sell or buy items, PCs must be in a location where the markets can support that. They can usually sell a single item for half its Price, but the Price for something already plentiful on the market could drop lower, typically to 25% or 10%, or be refused entirely if there’s a glut. Buying an item usually costs the full Price; buying higher-level items (or uncommon items if they’re available at all) requires seeking out a special vendor or NPC and can take extra time, representing a real investment by the PCs. They might be unable to find the item at all even after their time investment, based on the settlement’s parameters. This approach allows PCs to determine some of their items, but forces them to really work to get more powerful items and discourages looting every enemy to sell off fairly ordinary armor. This can be the most work for you but can make the world feel diverse and complex. Magical markets are rare or nonexistent. PCs get what they find in adventures and can Craft their own items, if you allow them to get formulas in some way. If you have magical marketplaces at all, their selections are small. They sell items at full Price and have difficulty attaining the funds to buy more items. They might purchase items for half of the Price but are far more selective about what they take. If you use this approach, PCs are far more likely to use strange items they find but might be dissatisfied or even underpowered depending on what items you give them. Even in this style of game, you might want to allow them to get weapons and armor with fundamental runes fairly easily, or make sure you award those on a regular basis. Tasks and Events Players will often look to you for tasks they might take on during downtime, especially if they’re looking to Earn Income. You should also interject special events to surprise your players and add interesting scenes. If you need some quick ideas for tasks characters might offer a PC, look at the tables below for inspiration. The Earn Income tasks are arranged with tasks appropriate for low-level PCs first, but most can be adapted to the level you need. For the events, you might need to “zoom out” to focus on a special scene or even a short encounter or adventure. Table 1–1: Earn Income Tasks Academia, Library, Other Educational Lore Work at a school or library Compile information on a distant land for an expedition Serve as administrator for a school or library Acquire a rare book on dragons for a local noble Crafting Make tools for local farmers Brew a crate of healing potions for a local church or hospital Sew a dress for a noble’s debutante ball Supply magical weapons for the palace guard corps Engineering Lore Assess the fortifications built to protect a town Plan the mechanism for a drawbridge Create schematics for a new mill Food or Drink Lore Brew simple ale or cook an ordinary dish for the local inn Identify a dozen bottles of wine Create a showpiece dish for an upcoming festival Create a nine-course meal for a noble banquet Genealogy Lore Compile a family tree for a minor noble family Determine next of kin to settle an inheritance dispute Map the web of intermarriages of a sprawling royal family Determine the lineages of an ancient civilization Trace the lost heir of an ancient empire Guild Lore Recruit initiates for a guild Identify symbols of an ancient guild in a tome Consult on rearranging a guild’s hierarchy Oversee the merger of two guilds or one guild splitting into two Herbalism Lore Supply poultices to a physician Prepare herbs for a small restaurant Identify the poisonous plant eaten by a local lord Legal Lore Clear some minor red tape Defend someone charged with theft Bring a corrupt noble to justice through the legal system Find loopholes in a contract made with a devil Mercantile Lore Price a crate of imported textiles Find the best trade route for a pirate crew to raid Set exchange rates for a trade consortium Mining Lore Work a shift in a coal mine Determine where a raw ingot was mined Prospect to find a site for a new mine Performance Busk for townsfolk at a street fair Play in the orchestra at an opera Attend a society figure’s salon Perform for visiting nobles Impress a visiting maestro to bring glory to your hometown Put on a performance for a patron from another plane Politics Lore Lobby for a vote or decision to go a certain way Smear a noble to lower their station Sailing Lore Crew a ship on a short voyage Render a ship in dry-dock seaworthy Pilot a ship through monster-infested waters Underworld Lore Find out where a stolen item ended up Get someone an audience with the head of a thieves’ guild Smuggle a shipment of valuables out of the city Warfare Lore Teach a spear fighting class at a dojo Instruct an officer in various military stratagems Advise a general in planning a battlefield offensive Table 1–2: Downtime Events Craft or Earn Income (Crafting) A shipment of important materials is delayed, and the PC must find out why. The PC creates a superlative work, which draws the attention of a collector or museum. The PC discovers a more efficient technique to work a material and must decide to share it or keep it secret. Create a Forgery (Society) The format for paperwork the PC is attempting to mimic gets changed, and they must adjust. The paperwork is spoiled by a freak accident, such as a leaky roof above the workshop or a clumsy assistant knocking over beakers of chemicals. A mysterious benefactor provides the PC with special tools or a source document they didn’t have, but suggests they’ll ask for a favor later to reciprocate. Earn Income (General) A fussy client demands multiple rounds of changes throughout the process. An accident at a work site puts someone in danger. Something the PC is working on becomes a fad or hit—demand skyrockets! A visitor is impressed with the PC’s work and offers them a more lucrative task in a distant location. Conditions on the job site are abysmal, and other workers ask the PC to join them in confronting the bosses. The bosses or guildmasters are doing something illegal and attempt to bribe the PC to look the other way. The PC returns to their work one day to find someone has tampered with what they’ve done. Earn Income (Performance) Due to the performance’s success, more shows are added, running the PC ragged. A competing show across town draws away customers. A powerful noble finances a special performance but demands some changes to the contents. One of the PC’s fellow performers doesn’t show up, but the show must go on! Subsist (Survival) Over a long time subsisting in a single area, the PC finds an unknown berry or herb that could be useful for making a new medicine. The PC finds signs indicating some large creature has been foraging as well—possibly a monster. Buy and Sell Items The PC sells an item of interest to members of a particular group, who pursue the PC. A merchant sells the PC a fraudulent item. A shop the PCs frequent is in trouble and about to go out of business without help. Someone else offers a higher bid for an item a PC wants, resulting in a negotiation or in the NPC offering a job the PC must perform to claim the item Retrain The PC sustains an injury in physical training. Tapping into new magical powers inflicts a magical curse or creates an odd phenomenon. A retraining instructor falls ill or goes missing. Someone witnesses the PC retraining and asks to join them as they study or practice. The PC’s training comes to a halt, and they need to acquire a rare book or something similar to continue. Money in Downtime While the amount of money the PCs can earn during short periods of downtime is significantly less than the value of the loot they gain adventuring, it can still serve as a satisfying bonus. The PCs might use their money to outfit themselves better, donate it toward a good cause, or pool it together to save for a major purchase. If you find that a PC tends to forget about their money or save it up more cautiously than they really need to, offer them rewarding opportunities to spend it. For instance, they might be approached to contribute to a charity in desperate need or sponsor an artist looking for a patron. The downtime system includes a guide for calculating the cost of living, using the values found in the Core Rulebook. Tracking cost of living is usually best reserved for months or years of downtime since that’s when someone might earn a substantial amount of money from downtime activities and find that costs really add up. You can usually ignore it if there are only a few days of downtime, though if a PC is roleplaying a fine or extravagant lifestyle, you might charge them during even short periods of downtime to reinforce the story they’re telling. Investments The downtime system isn’t meant to deal with investing money, receiving interest, or the like just to make more money. Rather, investing should result in changes in the world. PCs might invest in founding a museum, and find on their return that the collection has grown. If they fund an expedition, they might get access to interesting trade goods later on. When characters are investing in a major endeavor, the amount of in-world time invested often matters more than the money. While spending additional money greatly increases the efficiency of Crafting an item, you can’t build a fort in a day just because you have enough money to pay for the whole process. Downtime is a good opportunity for characters to start long processes that can continue in the background as the PCs adventure, provided they can find a trustworthy, competent person to run things in their stead. Money During Long Periods of Downtime If the PCs have a very long time between adventures, especially years, they have the opportunity to collect a great deal of money through downtime. Use the guidelines for average progress and cost of living in the Core Rulebook to figure out how much they get. Because you’re trying to convey that a long time has passed, have them spend it before you jump to the end of downtime. What did they invest in during those years? What drew their interest? Did their fortunes rise or fall? Did they acquire interesting objects or hire compelling people? Consider this expenditure another way to show how the PCs impact the world. Retraining The rules and suggestions for retraining are covered thoroughly in the Core Rulebook. Your primary responsibility here is to determine the time, instruction, and costs of retraining, as well as adjusting details to align cohesively with the story and world. Consider what effort each PC puts forth as they retrain, so you can describe how they feel their abilities change. What kind of research and practice do they do? If they have a teacher, what advice does that teacher give? You can run a campaign without retraining if you want the PCs to be more bound by their decisions or are running a game without downtime. However, if your campaign doesn’t use downtime rules but a player really regrets a decision made while building or leveling up their character, you might make an exception for them. Teachers Most of the abilities PCs gain come through adventuring. They’re learning on the job! Retraining, on the other hand, is dedicated study that might require a teacher’s help. You don’t have to use teachers, but it gives you a great way to introduce a new NPC or bring back an existing one in a new role. The role of a teacher could also be filled by communing with nature for a druid, poring through a massive grimoire for a wizard, and so on. The important part is the guidance gained from that source. The following list includes sample teachers. Archwizard Koda Mohanz, wizard academy proctor Bagra Redforge, aged artisan Baroness Ivestia II, tutor in etiquette and social maneuvering Byren Effestos, Esquire, advisor in matters of law, politics, and finance Dr. Phinella Albor, professor of medicine and surgery Dr. Revis Enzerrad, mystic versed in the occult Grita the Swamp Sage, purveyor of strange draughts and cryptic riddles Jeballewn Leastfire, tutor in alchemical experimentation Kpunde Neverlost, retired veteran adventurer Lyra, teller of legends and master of handicrafts Major Venaeus, instructor of military tactics Mother Elizia, high priest and religious scholar Professor Kurid Yamarrupan, senior university lector Quintari Solvar, coach for fitness and healthy living Ragged Sanden, hermit and speaker for nature Silent Flame, Master of the Seventeen Forms Tembly the Daring, veteran acrobat and circus performer Twelve Fingers, experienced thief and spy Wen Hardfoot, well-traveled scout and naturalist Zuleri Gan, conductor, playwright, and music scholar Extreme Retraining By the default rules, PCs can’t retrain their class, ancestry, background, ability boosts, or anything else intrinsic to their character. However, you might be able to find a way to make this happen in the story, going beyond the realm of retraining and into deeper, story-based quests. Class and ability modifiers are the simplest of these to justify, as they could come about solely through intense retraining. Especially at low levels, you might let a player rebuild their character as a different class, perhaps starting by retraining into a multiclass dedication for their new class and swapping into more feats from that dedication as partial progress towards the class change. Just be mindful that they aren’t swapping over to switch out a class they think is great at low levels for one they think is stronger at high levels. Retraining a class or ability scores should take a long time, typically months or years. Changing an ancestry or heritage requires some kind of magic, such as reincarnation into a new form. This might take a complex ritual, exposure to bizarre and rare magic, or the intervention of a deity. For instance, you might require an elf who wants to be a halfling to first become trained in Halfling Lore, worship the halfling pantheon, and eventually do a great service for halflings to get a divine blessing of transformation. Retraining a background requires altering the game’s story so that the events the PC thought happened didn’t. That can be pretty tricky to justify! The most likely scenario is that they had their memory altered and need to get it magically restored to reveal their “true” background—the new retrained background. Of course, in all these cases you could make an exception and just let the player make the change without explanation. This effectively acknowledges that you’re playing a game, and don’t need an in-world justification for certain changes. For some groups it might be easier, or require less suspension of disbelief, to ask the group to adjust their ideas of what’s previously happened in the game than to accept something like an elf turning into a halfling via magic. Edited March 2 by LDDragon (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Samreeth Posted February 29 Clone Share Posted February 29 (edited) Banana smiles at his cohort as he brings out the carving he's been working on, entitled "Why We Do Not Speak Her Name" "This is an artistic depiction of the reason why my tribe, the Thunder Hunters, do not speak Dark Mother's Name. And it also contains some of the oral tradition of how we came to dwell in the Mwangi in the first place. I do have to warn you, it is not a story with a happy ending." He points to the topmost panel, which depicts a great many kholo. They are split in two by a hideous figure. It resembles a humanoid jackal with three eyes, and the figure of some grotesque fertility goddess, her body covered in scars and monsters clamoring over it to nurse from her. On one side, kholo are bowing, offering up other races as sacrifices, and leading others in chains. On the other, kholo are cowering, averting their eyes, and packing belongings. "One thing that all of our cultures agree on is that Dark Mother is the one who created our species. I have no doubt that you know of her name, and that she is the mother of countless demons and monsters. Some of the new race clung to her. They offered their praise, their souls, and the lifeblood of others in her name, and sought to emulate her cruelty. But others were horrified to be her children. They feared her, hid from her disciples, and eventually chose to flee from the sands and travel west, to avoid being slain as apostates and non-believers." The next row shows the kholo fleeing into the jungle, pursued by their gnoll kin. There, they discover three figures towering over them. One is a beautiful woman, carrying a glaive with a magnificent bird perching on the shaft. The second is also beautiful, but of a more carnal sort, smiling as she holds an enormous wasp. And finally, the third is unmistakable with his mask, one half white, and one black. "Fled we did, into a new land. We were still fearful, for the land was unfamiliar, crowded with trees and full of animals, where the deserts were open and empty. And here, we found the Sisters and Brother. 'Come,' said Shelyn, 'I shall teach your women strength to defend, and your men to make beautiful things. You shall drive your Mother's warriors away with firmness, and return to your families with love in your hearts.' Calistria laughed. 'I shall teach you to bewilder those who would do you harm. You shall tempt them to turn from Mother, and should they refuse, you shall drive your blades into their backs even as they come to embrace you. They will doubt their own strength and their own minds, and those that they killed in your Mother's name will be avenged tenfold.' Finally, Nethys beckoned. 'I shall show you wonders and hidden things. Knowledge of how to call to those who came before, and see what is yet to come. You shall learn to create without tools, and destroy without weapons." The third panel has scenes of village life. Powerful hunters bring down dinosaurs, while the males tend to the young and craft, while both work feats of magic. "And so we learned from them. We began to prosper, and took for ourselves a new name, 'kholo', to fully reject the ways of the desert. All we crafted, we did with our own hands. We learned, grew, and prospered, to the point where we seperated into many different clans throughout the Mwangi. And though the gnolls pursued us at first, they understood not how to survive in the jungles. They gave up their crusade, and for a time, we knew peace." He sighed, as he pointed to the far edge of the panel, where a human in Ancient Osiriani garb raises his khopesh menacingly at a kholo, recoiling as she holds him at spear's length. "But only for a time." The fourth panel is war. Kholo armed with spear, axe, and sling face off in chaotic fashion against the regimented, orderly Osiriani, with their khopesh, bows, and chariots. "The desert came for us once more. But this time, it was people of the great Osiriani Empire as they conquered. They were not individual warriors, but an army. They fought with tools of bronze and iron. And they had magic at their disposal, just like us. Our ancestors were not strong enough to stand against their knowledge, and our warriors buckled before their might. So we beseeched our gods." Once again, the kholo gather before the gods they have found in the jungle. But their expressions are not the same. Shelyn looks sorrowful, Calistria looks angry, and Nethys looks mockingly amused. "Shelyn bowed her head in sorrow. 'I am sorry, but many of those you face also praise and worship me. They, too, seek love and beauty. I cannot favor one over the other, so I cannot intervene.' 'Did you not listen to what I taught you,' Calistria scolded. 'I gave you all that you needed and deserved! If you were clever enough, you would be able to solve this yourselves!' And finally, Nethys simply laughed at his petitioners. 'You expect me to side with you? What I build with my left hand, I destroy with my right! I shall bring Osirian low in time, but not by your pleading! So, as the armies of Osirian pierced deeper and deeper into the dungeon, one priestess, heavy with child, went to the place where the unclean and cursed things were discarded, on a night when moon and star were hidden by blackest clouds. 'Dark Mother, Old Mother! The gods who welcomed us in the jungle will not drive this army away! We are at our wit's end! We have called on all we know, and all who we know, and still we are slaughtered!' And she called Dark Mother by name, which had not been spoken since we left the desert, though she wept and wretched at the thought of it." The penultimate panel shows a pregnant kholo, alone. Terrified. Crying. Desperate. And leering out of the shadows, grinning with sick satisfaction, is the face of Lamashtu. "'You never escaped me," Dark Mother told the priestess, savoring her despair like the choicest of meats. 'Even as you gave your souls to the three gods in the jungle, I was watching and waiting. For the gods you met are also the gods of humans and elves, and many others. They cannot turn against those who worship them just as earnestly as you. But me? I am your mother. From my guts and womb you were molded, I nursed you with my milk and blood. Though you curse me and hate me, I am always nearby. Always waiting. All it will take is one desperate prayer, and two souls. I shall deliver my children from this consequence - but I will have what is MINE!'" Finally, the armies of Osirion, once orderly and almighty, are broken. Some fall upon each other, eyes wild with madness, while others flee from dinosaurs and monsters. Though those closest to the broken army raise their weapons and cheer in jubilation, others have found the priestess - drooling, crazed, and dying from where her malformed, stillborn pup has torn through her belly. "And Dark Mother did as she said. With madness and monster, Osirion was routed. They turned elsewhere for their conquest, until their empire collapsed. But the priestess and her unborn child were both claimed. The child never drew breath, and the priestess bled to death, unable to do anything but call Dark Mother's name over and over. And so we are taught. Dark Mother is patient, for she never abandons her flesh and blood, as much as we wish for her to depart from us. All it takes is one name, called out in desire, in despair, in greed. And she will take what is hers." OOC Sorry, I put the rolls for studying in my character thread. I got a 17 in Arcana for the Cascade Bearers, and a 28 in Crafting for the Uzumjanti Edited February 29 by Lex Samreeth (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycar Posted February 29 Clone Share Posted February 29 (edited) After his harrowing experience in the tunnels under the Magaambya, Mac seems to be a bit withdrawn and silent then usual. When asked about it, Mac is at first reluctant to talk about it, but eventually he opens up. "Yeah you know, I'm here to learn to be a proper Druid and, like, steward of the wild and stuff. And in theory, I should take to that whole magic thing like a duck to water. Because, you know, shape-shifter. Except it doesn't. Like, at all. And then you people all make it look like it's not even a thing. Heck, even Chezire is called a slacker by everybody, when the truth is, he can do his work in his sleep! Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. I'm struggling with cantrips..." He certainly does struggle with his studies, but that just means he has to work that much harder, trying to cram as much study into his time as he can. As a member of the Emerald Boughs, he is supposed to learn interpersonal skills, be ready to take the teachings of the Magaambya into the world. But while he is polite enough, Mac does not seem to have a dishonest bone in his body. "What's wrong with that?" "Sometimes, it is wise to be selective about what to tell people." "...You mean lying." "No, I mean curating your words carefully." "... Lying by omission is still lying." "*Sigh*" Still, his work at unravelling the curse of lycanthrophy advances his understanding of medicine, and so he can accompany the university's members in their efforts to aid the people of Nantambu, helping to treat diseases and treat the occasional injury. 'E' for 'Effort' at least. As for the Tempest-Sun Mages, Mac just has to hang on by his natural prowess in fighting. But even here he can feel his fellow students catching up, so his head-start is dwindling. Still, he does have a mind for (pack?)tactics, and so he is progressing. Eventually. One day, after a long night of book-reading, Mac is pretty tired, but Banana chooses to tell his fellow cohort members about the Kholo people, and how they are not Gnolls. And about how gods can be real bitches. Even the nominally male ones... On the other hand, he does at least seem to have some talent for primal magic. "Hey guys, did you know that Leshies have a sense of humour? Come on, let me show you something...", he tells his fellow students, out of the blue one day as he just walks into the common room, looking half upset and half excited. So he turns around, walks out onto the lawn before the dormitory and waits for everybody who bothers to follow to do so. "Okay, yeah... You know how my ancestors were basically lumberjacks? Before the whole 'incident'? So today an oak Leshy took me aside and showed me this", he explains, then takes a breath, and performs a cantrip. "Baum! Fällt!", he calls out the verbal component, and suddenly, a small tree, maybe 15 or 20 feet high, materialises right next to him. The tree is obviously dead, devoid of any greenery. It stands upright for a second or too, then it falls over. It sure would hurt to be hit by one of those. And then, what would take years in reality, happens in mere moments: The fallen tree, log and branches and all rots away, leaving nothing behind. "Because, you know, lumberjack. I mean, like, that's kinda cool and all, but I'm not sure if that one wasn't just, you know, taking the piss..." [Emerald Boughs and Tempest-Sun Mages levels 1->2. Cramming: "Until the next time you take the Study downtime activity, you’re particularly tired from all the extra hours cramming; at the start of each day of adventuring, you must succeed at a DC 8 flat check or be fatigued for that day.] Edited February 29 by Lycar (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Cramming for Emerald Boughs, (Nanatambu Lore) DC 15 17 1d20+8 9 Cramming for Tempest-Sun Mages (Warfare Lore) DC 15 17 1d20+10 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegoku Posted March 1 Clone Share Posted March 1 (edited) Sweeth Tooth - Catfolk Thaumaturge 4 HP: 44/44 | AC: 19 | Speed: 25ft | Hero: 2/3 | Spell Slots: 1/1 Perception: +8 Low Light Vision | Fort: +9 | Ref: +10 | Will: +9 StatisticsStr +0 Dex +2 Con +1 Int +3 Wis +0 Cha +3 Languages: Ammuran, Common, Draconic, Elven, Sylvan Attacks: -Wand Reflex DC19 Damage: 2d4+2 Electrical • Concentration, Evocation, Magical, Manipulate, Thaumaturge, Range 60ft -Star Knife +9/+5/+1 Damage: 2d4+2 Piercing • Agile, Deadly 1d6, Finesse, Thrown 20ft, Versatile S -Unarmed Strike +9/+5/+1 Damage: 2d4 Bludgeon • Agile, Finesse, Non-lethal, Unarmed Prepared Cantrips: Gouging Claw, Shield Innate Cantrips: Detect Magic Prepared Spells: Magic Missile | Equipment Consumables: -Jade Cat -Owlbear Claw Adventurer's Pack: -Bedroll -10x Chalk, Flint &Steel, Soap, Waterskin -Rope (50ft) -5x Torch -Spellbook Armour: -Leather armour Coins : 8gp 9sp | AbilitiesClass: -Fling Magic -Exploit Vulnerability -Diverse Lore -Scroll Thaumaturgy -Talisman Esoterica -Esoteric Lore -Implement's Empowerment Ancestry: -Cat's Luck -Land on your Feet -Liminal Catfolk Skill: -Schooled in Secrets -Intimidating Glare -Dubious Knowledge -Terrifying Resistance -Assurance (Esoteric Lore) Other: -Wizard Dedication -Basic Wizard Spellcasting -Attack Potency +1 -Skill Potency (Esoteric Lore) -Devastating Attacks (2 dice) | SkillsAcrobatics: +8 (T) Arcana: +9 (T) Athletics: +6 (T) Crafting: +3 Deception: +9 (T) Diplomacy: +9 (T) Lore (Academia): +9 (T) Lore (Esoteric): +12 (E) Intimidate: +11 (E) Medicine: +0 Nature: +6 (T) Occultism: +9* (T) Performance: +3 Religion: +6 (T) Society: +9 (T) Stealth: +8 (T) Survival: +0 Thievery: +8 (T) Conditions : Sweet Tooth begins to study, thinking that her knowledge from her time as the Occult Librarian would mean she would sail through the studies. It did not work out that way. She found the time spent in both classes to be difficult, the way the professors explained things is not how she had learned and understood them. The way they framed questions were not how she thought about the arcane. And yet she persevered and she studied and she learned the new ways. And with it came understanding. She split her time between the branches of the Cascade Bearers and the Uzumjanti. The Cascade Bearers emphasised imaginative use of magic. The use of imagination to enhance and empower the magic itself. This made sense to the Thaumaturge. She had to think on her feet often. She had to apply magic and artefacts in imaginative ways. Had she not used ectoplasm from a ghost to allow her to strike at the stone ghost? The Uzumjanti on the other hand spoke of stories passed down, and this too matched the catfolks opinions and thought patterns. She had collected tales and stories on so many creatures, so many strange things. She had to recall this to overcome obstacles in her way all the time. The Uzumjanti shared new stories with her, and taught her how better to remember all those twists and turns. Study Cascade Bearers - Use Diverse Lore to use Esoteric Lore in place of Arcana, but take -2 - 16 Success Study Uzumjanti - Use Diverse Lore to use Esoteric Lore in place of Arcana but take -2 - 12 Fail, use Hero point to reroll - 17 Success Sweet Tooth spends time working in the school Library - Lore Library (success) 7s x 3 = 21s Plus Stipend (4gp/month) = 12gp Total 14gp 1 silver Edited March 20 by omegoku (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Esoteric Roll (Arcana) Cascade Bearers 16 1d20+10 6 Esoteric Roll (Lore) Uzumjanti 12 1d20+10 2 Hero point reroll Arcana 17 1d20+10 7 Lore (Library) 19 1d20+9 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses Dare Posted March 3 Clone Share Posted March 3 (edited) Omolara Ancestry: Human | Heritage: Half-elf | Class: Ranger | Background: Sponsored By A Stranger Rank: Attendant | Primary branch: Rain-Scribe (lvl 4) | Secondary branch: Uzunjati (lvl 1) HP: 56/56 | Hero Points: 2 | Application | Character sheet Cantrips (2): root reading, stabilize | Spells (1): weaken earth Focus Points: 2/2 | Focus Spells: animal feature, gravity weapon Condition(s): The months following the battle with Stone Ghost were a whirl of activity. Omalara felt her understanding of magic deepen, to the point where she could now perform her mage hand cantrip—bequeathed on her first day—whenever she wanted. Her mastery of primal magics grew as well. Casting her first proper spell was nearly as exhilarating as its disappearance from her mind was disturbing. Unfortunately between honing her mystic arts and her duties as an attendant, Omalara found her studies falling behind. The solution, Esi assured her when the subject was broached, was something called “cramming”. Which, it seemed, largely consisted of using the hours she should be sleeping to study instead. It was grueling. But with Haibram's patient tutelage, and Anchor Root pointing out the occasional misstep, she passed her exams with flying colors. Tabletop Cramming: Until the next time you take the Study downtime activity, you’re particularly tired from all the extra hours cramming; at the start of each day of adventuring, you must succeed at a DC 8 flat check or be fatigued for that day. Haibram Thodja: When you Cram for Rain-Scribe classes, you can Study three times rather than twice. Anchor Root: Treat your critical failures when you Study for Rain-Scribe classes as failures instead. Spent 1 hero point for a re-roll. Edited March 3 by Ulysses Dare (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Survival roll for Rain-Scribe advancement (DC15) 22 1d20+9 13 Survival roll for Rain-Scribe advancement (DC15) 14 1d20+9 5 Survival roll for Rain-Scribe advancement (DC15) [reroll] 26 1d20+9 17 Survival roll for Rain-Scribe advancement (DC15) 10 1d20+9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagleheart Posted April 15 Clone Share Posted April 15 (edited) Thura HP: 44/44 AC: 18 Perception +10 Fort +8 Ref +8 Will +12 Thura has spent the recent weeks away from the Magaambya, helping her tribemates and meeting with representatives of other iruxi tribes. It has been rewarding, but she has fallen behind in her studies. She buckles down and tries her best to catch up, studying with the Rain-Scribes and training with the Tempest-Suns. She performs surprisingly well at the latter, even impressing Teacher Ayuwari, but it takes a toll on her body. Edited April 15 by Eagleheart (see edit history) Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Cram for Rain-Scribes 17,14 repeat(1d20+10,2) 7,4 Cram for Tempest-Suns 28,12 repeat(1d20+8,2) 20,4 Fatigued? 16,2 repeat(1d20,2) 16,2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRaconteur Posted Monday at 07:16 PM Clone Share Posted Monday at 07:16 PM Sorena Ortho - Traitor to Cheliax AC: (19) | HP: 56/56 | Fortitude: +12 | Reflex: +9 | Will: +8 | Perception: +6 Conditions: WIP Mechanics Main Hand: Empty Off Hand: Empty Conditions: Channel ElementsAura Kineticist Primal Requirements Your kinetic gate isn't active. You tap into your kinetic gate to make elements flow around you. Your kinetic aura activates, and as a part of this action, you can use a 1-action Elemental Blast or a 1-action stance impulse. Your kinetic aura is a 10-foot emanation where pieces of your kinetic element (or all your kinetic elements, if you can channel more than one) flow around you. The kinetic aura can't damage anything or affect the environment around you unless another ability allows it to. Channel Elements has the traits of all your kinetic elements. Your kinetic aura automatically deactivates if you're knocked out, you use an impulse with the overflow trait, or you Dismiss the aura. Though you can't use new impulses while your kinetic aura is deactivated, ones you already used remain, and you can still Sustain any that can be sustained. Stance impulses are linked to your kinetic aura and end when the aura deactivates., Metal CarapaceImpulse, Kineticist, Metal, Primal Sheets of bent and rusted metal cover you in an armored shell. The carapace is medium armor but uses your highest armor proficiency. The carapace's statistics are: AC bonus +3, Dex Cap +2, Check Penalty -2, Speed Penalty -5 feet, Strength 14, Bulk 2, Group plate, Armor Traits noisy. An bonuses, runes, and magical abilities of your actual armor are suppressed, but any that could apply to the metal carapace are replicated onto it. When you use this impulse, you can create a rusty steel shield in a free hand, which uses the statistics of a regular steel shield. You can Shield Block with this shield even if you don't have that feat. The hand wielding this shield counts as a dree hand for using impulses. The shield crumbles to flakes of rust if it becomes broken or leaves your grasp. Hardness 5; HP (BT) 20 (10) The impulse lasts for 10 minutes, and you can Dismiss this impulse. If you use this impulse again, any existing one ends. The metal is rusted and fragile. If you take damage from a critical hit, the metal shatters and the impulse ends. Level (+3) The shield's Hardness increases by 1, its HPP by 4, and its BT by 2., Thermal NimbusFire Impulse Kineticist Primal Stance You direct waves of warmth into or out of your kinetic gate to drastically shift the temperature around you. Choose cold or fire. You and allies in your kinetic aura gain resistance equal to your level to damage of that type. Any creature that starts its turn in your kinetic aura or moves into your aura during its turn takes damage equal to half your level of the chosen type. Elemental resistance from a gate junction is cumulative with resistance from Thermal Nimbus., shield raised. Action 1: Action 2: Action 3: ACTIONS IMPULSES - DC 20, +10 attack Channel ElementsAura Kineticist Primal Requirements Your kinetic gate isn't active. You tap into your kinetic gate to make elements flow around you. Your kinetic aura activates, and as a part of this action, you can use a 1-action Elemental Blast or a 1-action stance impulse. Your kinetic aura is a 10-foot emanation where pieces of your kinetic element (or all your kinetic elements, if you can channel more than one) flow around you. The kinetic aura can't damage anything or affect the environment around you unless another ability allows it to. Channel Elements has the traits of all your kinetic elements. Your kinetic aura automatically deactivates if you're knocked out, you use an impulse with the overflow trait, or you Dismiss the aura. Though you can't use new impulses while your kinetic aura is deactivated, ones you already used remain, and you can still Sustain any that can be sustained. Stance impulses are linked to your kinetic aura and end when the aura deactivates. raise aura, can combine with 1 action stance or 1 action elemental blast Base KinesisImpulse Kineticist Primal It's trivial for you to create some of your element or alter a portion of it that already exists. Choose one of your kinetic elements to affect. This impulse has a range of 30 feet, and the Bulk of the target must be negligible or light. The GM decides what Bulk the element is. You can't affect an element that's magical, secured in place (like a stone mortared in a wall), or attended by a creature unwilling to let you. Choose one of the following options, though the GM might allow you to make similar small alterations. Base Kinesis can't deal damage or cause conditions unless otherwise noted. • Generate You bring an ordinary, non-magical piece of the chosen element from its elemental plane. The element can be used for any of its normal uses. For example, air can be breathed by an air-breathing creature, and fire casts light and can ignite flammable substances. • Move Move an existing piece of the element up to 20 feet in any direction. If you bring it into your space, you can catch it in an open hand. You can Sustain the impulse to keep moving the element. • Suppress You destroy an existing piece of element, such as snuffing out a flame or evaporating water from a cup. This affects only natural forms of the element, not durable, crafted goods like a stone statue, metal lock, or wooden door. Level (+4) The range increases by 15 feet, and the maximum Bulk increases by 1 (allowing Bulk 1 at 5th level). 30' light bulk, generate, move or suppress Elemental BlastsHit: +8 Attack Impulse Kineticist Primal With a wave of your hand, you collect elemental matter from your aura and swing or hurl it. Choose one of your kinetic elements and a damage type listed for that element, then make a melee or ranged impulse attack against the AC of one creature. Add your Strength modifier to the damage roll for a melee Elemental Blast. If you make a 2-action Elemental Blast, you gain a status bonus to the damage roll equal to your Constitution modifier. The element determines the damage die, damage type, and range (for a ranged blast). A damage type other than a physical damage type adds its trait to the blast. • Fire 1d6, 60 feet • Earth 1d8 bludgeoning or piercing, 30 feet Critical Success The target takes double damage. Success The target takes full damage. Level (+4) The damage increases by one die. or 30' slashing or piercing d8, 60' fire d6 Flying FlameFire Impulse Kineticist Primal A Tiny shape of flame appears, taking a form of your choice— such as a bird, an arrow, or a simple sphere. It Flies from you up to 30 feet in a path you choose. Each creature it passes through takes 1d6 fire damage with a basic Reflex save against your class DC. A creature attempts only one save, even if the flame passes through it multiple times. Level (+2) The damage increases by 1d6. 30' line of 2d6 fire damage. Basic Reflex Weapon InfusionInfusion Kineticist With a signature flair, you shape blasts of elemental power into the form of a weapon, such as a sword made of whirling wind or a bow that shoots flames. If your next action is an Elemental Blast, choose a weapon shape for it to take. You can choose to change the blast's damage type to bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing - whichever suits the weapon shape - and you can choose other alterations depending on whether you make a melee or ranged blast. Melee: Add one of the following traits of your choice: agile, backswing, forceful, reach, sweep. Ranged: Choose one of three options: range increment 100 feet and the volley 30 feet trait, range increment 50 feet and the propulsive trait, or range increment 20 feet and the thrown trait. shape blasts into a weapon, add a trait Metal CarapaceImpulse, Kineticist, Metal, Primal Sheets of bent and rusted metal cover you in an armored shell. The carapace is medium armor but uses your highest armor proficiency. The carapace's statistics are: AC bonus +3, Dex Cap +2, Check Penalty -2, Speed Penalty -5 feet, Strength 14, Bulk 2, Group plate, Armor Traits noisy. An bonuses, runes, and magical abilities of your actual armor are suppressed, but any that could apply to the metal carapace are replicated onto it. When you use this impulse, you can create a rusty steel shield in a free hand, which uses the statistics of a regular steel shield. You can Shield Block with this shield even if you don't have that feat. The hand wielding this shield counts as a dree hand for using impulses. The shield crumbles to flakes of rust if it becomes broken or leaves your grasp. Hardness 6; HP (BT) 24 (12) The impulse lasts for 10 minutes, and you can Dismiss this impulse. If you use this impulse again, any existing one ends. The metal is rusted and fragile. If you take damage from a critical hit, the metal shatters and the impulse ends. Level (+3) The shield's Hardness increases by 1, its HPP by 4, and its BT by 2. raise AC to 20 Thermal NimbusFire Impulse Kineticist Primal Stance You direct waves of warmth into or out of your kinetic gate to drastically shift the temperature around you. Choose cold or fire. You and allies in your kinetic aura gain resistance equal to your level to damage of that type. Any creature that starts its turn in your kinetic aura or moves into your aura during its turn takes damage equal to half your level of the chosen type. Elemental resistance from a gate junction is cumulative with resistance from Thermal Nimbus. stance to deal 2 fire to all within 10', allies gain fire resistance 4 Shield BlockContent... Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Retroactive Craft at level 2 6 1d20+5 1 Retroactive Craft at level 4 12 1d20+10 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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