Character Creation

[icnivad]

Huh. Interesting. I think I'll go with the greater blessing.

Blindsense (Ex) Using nonvisual senses, such as acute smell or hearing, a creature with blindsense notices things it cannot see. The creature usually does not need to make Perception checks to pinpoint the location of a creature within range of its blindsense ability, provided that it has line of effect to that creature. Any opponent the creature cannot see still has total concealment against the creature with blindsense, and the creature still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of a creature with blindsense. A creature with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see.


Blindsight (Ex) This ability is similar to blindsense, but is far more discerning. Using nonvisual senses, such as sensitivity to vibrations, keen smell, acute hearing, or echolocation, a creature with blindsight maneuvers and fights as well as a sighted creature. Invisibility, darkness, and most kinds of concealment are irrelevant, though the creature must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern that creature or object. The ability's range is specified in the creature's descriptive text. The creature usually does not need to make Perception checks to notice creatures within this range. Unless noted otherwise, blindsight is continuous, and the creature need do nothing to use it. Some forms of blindsight, however, must be triggered as a free action. If so, this is noted in the creature's description. If a creature must trigger its blindsight ability, the creature gains the benefits of blindsight only during its turn.

Tremorsense (Ex) A creature with tremorsense is sensitive to vibrations in the ground and can automatically pinpoint the location of anything that is in contact with the ground. Aquatic creatures with tremorsense can also sense the location of creatures moving through water. The ability's range is specified in the creature's descriptive text.

It sounds like blindsense allows you to pinpoint the location of a creature (ie, which 5ft square it occupies), but does not change the 50% miss chance from concealment. Blindsight allows you to pinpoint the location as well as allows you to ignore miss chance. It sounds like blindsense and blindsight require line of effect, but tremorsense does not. Is my reading on this right? Tremorsense does not mention anything about miss chance. Does this mean that it does not negate the 50% miss chance?

[icnivad]

Still considering options for items, but these are the ones I'm considering. I assume these are all ok, right?

Greater:
Eversmoking bottle: 100 ft radius of smoke fully obscures all vision, even darkvision. 50' in 1 round, +10'/round until the area is filled.
Item of darkness: lowers light by 1 step. 20 ft radius.
Mage hand: gives you a hand to do things with. This would be "handy".

Could the eversmoking bottle be partially stoppered, lowering the range of area that the smoke fills?

Lesser:
Can I chose studded leather armor? Or just regular leather?

[icnivad]

1) Where do you live? (i.e. den, nest, nomad, etc)

In a series of heavily webbed caves.

2) What do you eat? Has it changed since you've been awakened?

Giant bugs and insects, mostly, but also whatever gets caught in the webs. Oh, and male black widows, after mating with them.

3) What do you think about being awakened? (i.e. good, bad, easy, hard, wonderful, strange, etc)

Wonderful. The world is now full of so much interesting stuff.

4) In what ways are you the same as before your awakening?

Reclusive.

5) How do you act or see things differently since being awakened?

Curious about the outside world. Although, she hasn't explored it much. Has taken up knitting.

6) How do you get around? (i.e. walk, fly, swim, magic, etc)

Generally travel underground in the caverns, coming to the surface as close to where I need to be as possible.

7) How do you communicate across large distances with the other Caretakers?

Not sure. Travel and visit, I suppose.

8) What do you think of your Patron? (i.e. deity, parent, mentor, alpha, friend, etc)

Diety

9) What do you think of humanoids? (i.e. evil, flawed, foolish, weak, etc)

Unnatural, but a curiosity. I don't picture her having a whole lot of experience with humanoids, since she tends to be reclusive. Although, She would be very curious about their equipment and gear. Especially anything shiny.

10) How old are you? (i.e. actual years as well as life stage: young, young adult, adult, etc)

Young adult. maybe 10 years as a spider before being awakened.

[reefwood]

Re: Senses

All that is how I see it too. Blindsense lets you pinpoint the square but does not affect concealment. Blindsight lets you pinpoint the square and negates concealment. Tremorsense lets you pinpoint the square but does not affect concealment, but you could feel something walking on the ground that is hidden in the underbrush.

It seems that concealment is about being able to see. Or not see. Blindsense and and tremorsense don't help with seeing, but blindsight is as good as sight. At least it terms of pinpointing. Obviously, blindsight doesn't help with colors or facial recognition or those kind of details.

Although, I would say you'd be denied Dex bonus to AC from attacks originating outside the range of your blindsight. Like an arrow or spell coming from faraway. Or a rock falling down from up high.

Dec 2, 2015 18:38:47 GMT -5 icnivad said:

Huh. Interesting. I think I'll go with the greater blessing.

Blindsense (Ex) Using nonvisual senses, such as acute smell or hearing, a creature with blindsense notices things it cannot see. The creature usually does not need to make Perception checks to pinpoint the location of a creature within range of its blindsense ability, provided that it has line of effect to that creature. Any opponent the creature cannot see still has total concealment against the creature with blindsense, and the creature still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of a creature with blindsense. A creature with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see.


Blindsight (Ex) This ability is similar to blindsense, but is far more discerning. Using nonvisual senses, such as sensitivity to vibrations, keen smell, acute hearing, or echolocation, a creature with blindsight maneuvers and fights as well as a sighted creature. Invisibility, darkness, and most kinds of concealment are irrelevant, though the creature must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern that creature or object. The ability's range is specified in the creature's descriptive text. The creature usually does not need to make Perception checks to notice creatures within this range. Unless noted otherwise, blindsight is continuous, and the creature need do nothing to use it. Some forms of blindsight, however, must be triggered as a free action. If so, this is noted in the creature's description. If a creature must trigger its blindsight ability, the creature gains the benefits of blindsight only during its turn.

Tremorsense (Ex) A creature with tremorsense is sensitive to vibrations in the ground and can automatically pinpoint the location of anything that is in contact with the ground. Aquatic creatures with tremorsense can also sense the location of creatures moving through water. The ability's range is specified in the creature's descriptive text.

It sounds like blindsense allows you to pinpoint the location of a creature (ie, which 5ft square it occupies), but does not change the 50% miss chance from concealment. Blindsight allows you to pinpoint the location as well as allows you to ignore miss chance. It sounds like blindsense and blindsight require line of effect, but tremorsense does not. Is my reading on this right? Tremorsense does not mention anything about miss chance. Does this mean that it does not negate the 50% miss chance?

---

Re: Equipment

Either magic item would be fine. Opening and sealing the bottle requires a command word, which is a standard action, so you couldn't close it until the next round, so no partial stoppering.

You could start with studded leather armor, but it would be broken, which would negate the bigger AC bonus, if that's what you wanted. Although, you could do that, and I imagine you would have pieced it together from suits of armor you found while digging around.

Dec 2, 2015 19:17:06 GMT -5 icnivad said:

Still considering options for items, but these are the ones I'm considering. I assume these are all ok, right?

Greater:
Eversmoking bottle: 100 ft radius of smoke fully obscures all vision, even darkvision. 50' in 1 round, +10'/round until the area is filled.
Item of darkness: lowers light by 1 step. 20 ft radius.
Mage hand: gives you a hand to do things with. This would be "handy".

Could the eversmoking bottle be partially stoppered, lowering the range of area that the smoke fills?

Lesser:
Can I chose studded leather armor? Or just regular leather?

[icnivad]

Oh, yeah, I had it in my head that he would just get a 50% miss chance attacking someone outside his range, but you're right, he would lose his dex and get a -2 to AC as well.

Is the action for activating/deactivating the darkness item a command word, too?

Hm.. I wonder how annoying that 50-100' diameter cloud will be to my teammates. Does anyone else have tremorsense, or anything like that?
Ironically, the pyrotechnics spell that the eversmoking bottle is based on has a 20' radius range, which would be ideal.

[reefwood]

Re: Darkness Item

Yes, it would function the same as the smoking item since it's based off that.

Michael has darkvision. Evan and Mikey have low-light vision, so they can see far in dim light but not in darkness. Though, they do have scent.

Dec 3, 2015 13:53:53 GMT -5 icnivad said:

Oh, yeah, I had it in my head that he would just get a 50% miss chance attacking someone outside his range, but you're right, he would lose his dex and get a -2 to AC as well.

Is the action for activating/deactivating the darkness item a command word, too?

Hm.. I wonder how annoying that 50-100' diameter cloud will be to my teammates. Does anyone else have tremorsense, or anything like that?
Ironically, the pyrotechnics spell that the eversmoking bottle is based on has a 20' radius range, which would be ideal.

[michael]

Franco, how would you feel about swapping out my centipede's darkvision, and maybe even regular vision, for some type of blindsense, blindsight or tremorsense? It's how most real centipedes actually sense things, and it also makes a lot of sense as a regional variance for a creature that lives in a swamp constantly shrouded in mist.

[michael]

And as for the ever-smoking bottle, there are definitely situations where it could be really useful, but I don't think it would practical as a default combat strategy unless all four of us had some way of sensing things inside of the cloud.

[reefwood]

Re: Centipede

I don't want to start rebuilding animals outside of the blessing bonuses/penalties, but this is a good thing to keep in mind. That animals senses work differently than humanoid senses. There may be times when you feel something moving near by as opposed to see it. But I still want that to be based of Perception roles and just happen automatically all the time.

Dec 3, 2015 19:49:10 GMT -5 michael said:

Franco, how would you feel about swapping out my centipede's darkvision, and maybe even regular vision, for some type of blindsense, blindsight or tremorsense? It's how most real centipedes actually sense things, and it also makes a lot of sense as a regional variance for a creature that lives in a swamp constantly shrouded in mist.

[icnivad]

Dec 3, 2015 19:52:34 GMT -5 michael said:

And as for the ever-smoking bottle, there are definitely situations where it could be really useful, but I don't think it would practical as a default combat strategy unless all four of us had some way of sensing things inside of the cloud.

Yeah, I think you are right, which is unfortunate, since that environment would be ideal for my character.

[reefwood]

Dec 4, 2015 12:14:08 GMT -5 icnivad said:

Dec 3, 2015 19:52:34 GMT -5 michael said:

And as for the ever-smoking bottle, there are definitely situations where it could be really useful, but I don't think it would practical as a default combat strategy unless all four of us had some way of sensing things inside of the cloud.

Yeah, I think you are right, which is unfortunate, since that environment would be ideal for my character.

Although, it does still work pretty well story-wise since each of you spends most of your time apart, so group tactics isn't something you'd be too familiar with yet.

Also, since it is just regular darkness, which only lowers the light by one level, if someone can cast light on themselves, they will at least be able to see what is near them. Which may negate the usefulness of the darkness in that instance. But if someone is caught in a jam due to the darkness, this might a quick and easy way to nullify that instead of waiting for the darkness to dissipate.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there could be some instances where allies and opponents are moving in and out of the range of your blindsense, and depending on how much they differ (i.e. medium wolf vs. medium cheetah, or medium wolf vs. large lion, or medium wolf vs. small owl) or the situation, it could be easy to lose track of who is who amidst the chaos of combat.

[Rabbit]

1) Where do you live? (i.e. den, nest, nomad, etc)
Nomadically, out in the open regardless of weather conditions

2) What do you eat? Has it changed since you've been awakened?
It has not changed. Ranges from big game, such as elk and moose, to earthworms, berries and grasshoppers.

3) What do you think about being awakened?
He was awakened because he is the leader of pack. He is the strongest and the wisest. It is as it should be.

4) In what ways are you the same as before your awakening?
Still hunt the grasslands and act very much like a wolf.

5) How do you act or see things differently since being awakened?
Believing himself to be a caretaker and guardian now he is watchful of the world and looking for more than the next meal. He thinks deeply about the world and its mysteries.

He also takes advantage of his Patron’s gift, the necklace of Charm Animals, to observe and commune with the creatures of the valley. He uses the charm and his druid magic to communicate and sometimes he just watches them to learn from their ways.

6) How do you get around? (i.e. walk, fly, swim, magic, etc)
Roaming by paw. Same as normal wolves.

7) How do you communicate across large distances with the other Caretakers?
Howling signals.

8) What do you think of your Patron? (i.e. deity, parent, mentor, alpha, friend, etc)
Stalk is a wise mentor and teacher of magic. His ways are the natural ways. He is neither kind nor cruel.

9) What do you think of humanoids? (i.e. evil, flawed, foolish, weak, etc)
Unnatural outsiders who are a bit like boogiemen because they only exist in words. It is said they do not know their place in the world’s natural balance.

10) How old are you? (i.e. actual years as well as life stage: young, young adult, adult, etc)
Adult. Mature and wise, but not yet old enough to be challenged for leadership of the pack.

[michael]

Dec 4, 2015 1:13:32 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Re: Centipede

I don't want to start rebuilding animals outside of the blessing bonuses/penalties, but this is a good thing to keep in mind. That animals senses work differently than humanoid senses. There may be times when you feel something moving near by as opposed to see it. But I still want that to be based of Perception roles and just happen automatically all the time.

Dec 3, 2015 19:49:10 GMT -5 michael said:

Franco, how would you feel about swapping out my centipede's darkvision, and maybe even regular vision, for some type of blindsense, blindsight or tremorsense? It's how most real centipedes actually sense things, and it also makes a lot of sense as a regional variance for a creature that lives in a swamp constantly shrouded in mist.

Cool. I was more interested in the thematic changes than mechanical ones anyway, so using the existing rules and just saying it's sensing things in a different way works great.

[icnivad]

Couple questions regarding Summon Shadow:

Summon Shadow (Su): At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment matches that of the shadowdancer, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow receives a +4 bonus on Will saves made to halve the damage from positive channeled energy and the shadow cannot be turned or commanded. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the shadowdancer. This shadow has a number of hit points equal to half the shadowdancer's total. The shadow uses the shadowdancer's base attack bonus and base save bonuses.

If a shadow companion is destroyed, or the shadowdancer chooses to dismiss it, the shadowdancer must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the saving throw fails, the shadowdancer gains one permanent negative level. A successful saving throw avoids this negative level. A destroyed or dismissed shadow companion cannot be replaced for 30 days.

Stat question: Sounds like the shadow stays 3 hd forever, correct? Can I chose the skills and feats for it?

Fluff question: It's not explicitly stated, but my guess is that this was intended by the authors to be the Shadowdancer's shadow come to life. How do you want to play that in this game? Does Silk still have a normal shadow when she has a Shadow summoned? Or is this her "shadow" coming to life.

[reefwood]

Re: Summon Shadow

It seems like this class ability is similar in some ways as having a familiar because it gets a few bonuses, but it's also different because it doesn't progress in any way except for hit points changing whenever the shadowdancer's hit points change (whether that's an increase from gaining a level, or a decrease from Con damage). So, aside from the initial bonuses/changes/limitations that are stated and hp changes, it is a normal shadow with standard feats and skills.

Also, the ability is called Summon Shadow which made me think it worked like Summon Monster at first, but I think the shadow is just always with you, like a familiar or animal companion (it is called a Shadow Companion at the end of the text). Especially since there is no duration mentioned, and dismissing the shadow requires a Fortitude save, which also means you can't replace it for 30 days if you do dismiss it.

So, it's just a normal shadow that comes to you when you gain this ability (like a familiar or animal companion) and stays with you until destroyed or dismissed. It's not your actual shadow. That would be neat for some kind of shadow class, though, and in that case, if it were your shadow, it could perhaps be able to use your skill ranks and feats...or something like that.

Jan 27, 2016 18:24:25 GMT -5 icnivad said:

Couple questions regarding Summon Shadow:

Summon Shadow (Su): At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment matches that of the shadowdancer, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow receives a +4 bonus on Will saves made to halve the damage from positive channeled energy and the shadow cannot be turned or commanded. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the shadowdancer. This shadow has a number of hit points equal to half the shadowdancer's total. The shadow uses the shadowdancer's base attack bonus and base save bonuses.

If a shadow companion is destroyed, or the shadowdancer chooses to dismiss it, the shadowdancer must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the saving throw fails, the shadowdancer gains one permanent negative level. A successful saving throw avoids this negative level. A destroyed or dismissed shadow companion cannot be replaced for 30 days.

Stat question: Sounds like the shadow stays 3 hd forever, correct? Can I chose the skills and feats for it?

Fluff question: It's not explicitly stated, but my guess is that this was intended by the authors to be the Shadowdancer's shadow come to life. How do you want to play that in this game? Does Silk still have a normal shadow when she has a Shadow summoned? Or is this her "shadow" coming to life.