OOC (out-of-character)

[michael]

This reminds me, when I was leveling Brion up, I realized he has a couple abilities that might qualify as special powers for the Leadership bonus. Weapon Master is technically a supernatural ability, but Divine Presence is too, and seems especially appropriate for attracting followers. (Allies withing 30ft are treated as having Sanctuary.)

[reefwood]

Re: Brion Shaw - cohort equipment

Apr 12, 2011 16:52:30 GMT -5 michael said:

Can I use the rewards package to get magical items and equipment from the Advanced Player's Guide? (Maybe just with Cohort's package, if it's considered exotic stuff that Nemedor doesn't have access to?)

I've been trying to keep my exposure to the APG down, so there's not a specific item I have in mind, I was just interested in what else might be out there that I could get.

If there is something in the APG Equipment chapter that looks like it could have been made with Alchemist knowledge or training, let me know, and I'll consider it. Items that anyone can easily make with Craft (alchemy) should be fine since the army probably has some mid-level Experts or Wizards who focus on this skill, but expensive or powerful equipment may still be beyond the grasp of this newfound knowledge, and anything that requires more than a low-level Alchemist to create will not be available yet either because soldiers have only just started training in this new class.

And nothing from the APG Magic chapter. But of course, if you ever select an Alchemist PC or cohort, that would open things up a bit more, as will time.

Apr 12, 2011 16:52:30 GMT -5 michael said:

From the regular rulebook, I was considering grabbing an Efficient Quiver for cohort.

This appears to be a typical arrow container capable of holding
about 20 arrows. It has three distinct portions, each with a
nondimensional space allowing it to store far more than would
normally be possible. The first and smallest one can contain up
to 60 objects of the same general size and shape as an arrow. The
second slightly longer compartment holds up to 18 objects of the
same general size and shape as a javelin. The third and longest
portion of the case contains as many as 6 objects of the same
general size and shape as a bow (spears, staffs, or the like). Once
the owner has filled it, the quiver can quickly produce any item
she wishes that is within the quiver, as if from a regular quiver or
scabbard. The efficient quiver weighs the same no matter what’s
placed inside it.

Could I put a ranseur, guisarme, or lance in the largest section? Personally, I'd lump them in with "spears, staffs, or the like." If you look at the pictures of weapons in the rulebook, their tips aren't much wider than a longspear's, and none of them are as wide as an actual bow.

The pictures don't seem to be a good way to compare sizes. The light crossbow is almost as big as a lance, and crossbow bolts are nearly as long as a longbow.

Based on the descriptions, I'd say that the short compartment can hold weapons like a dagger or short sword, so probably most light weapons.

The medium compartment would be along the lines of a longsword or heavy mace, so probably most one-handed weapons.

The long compartment lists staffs and spears as examples. A quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon with a 5-ft reach. A spear is two-handed weapon with a 5-ft reach. There is also a shortspear, but that is a one-handed weapon (with a 5-ft reach) and should be able to fit in the medium compartment, so we don't have to consider that. That leaves the longspear, which is a two-handed weapon with a 10-ft reach. It seems to be that the long compartment can long two-handed weapons with a 5-ft reach, so reach weapons that can hit 10 ft away are too long.

Additionally, the weapons have to be long and slender, so a warhammer would not fit in the medium (or long) compartment, even though it is a one-handed weapon.

---

Re: Nimarius Steerhelm - cruelty

Nim is not getting out of the cruelty penalty, but you bring up some good points and questions that I'd be happy to address. Don't have the time right now, but in the meantime, can you play next Monday?

Apr 12, 2011 17:51:25 GMT -5 icnivad said:

question about leadership modifier:
Leadership modifier is regarding your reputation, right? As in what people know about you? The reason I ask is because of the age old question of what happens if you chop down a tree in the forest and no one is around to see it fall. Has it really been chopped down?

Specifically, Nim has the -2 cruelty penalty, which was given for summoning and killing evil outsiders. It seems like this shouldn't affect his leadership score because it was always done in secrecy where there was no one around. Other than this act, Nimarious has always been fair and kind to the troops under and around his command. It also seems like this could be described as a 'good' act, since all of the creatures he's killed are evil. If a good cleric goes around hunting demons, would they be attributed the Cruelty penalty?

[michael]

The long compartment lists staffs and spears as examples. A quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon with a 5-ft reach. A spear is two-handed weapon with a 5-ft reach. There is also a shortspear, but that is a one-handed weapon (with a 5-ft reach) and should be able to fit in the medium compartment, so we don't have to consider that. That leaves the longspear, which is a two-handed weapon with a 10-ft reach. It seems to be that the long compartment can long two-handed weapons with a 5-ft reach, so reach weapons that can hit 10 ft away are too long.

Ok, I had thought it meant all spears, longspear included, but it makes sense it was only referring to just the plain old spear.

The way you describe it, though, I could fit my greatsword into the larger section? Any slender weapon that isn't longer than a quarterstaff can fit into it in one of the sections, correct?

[reefwood]

Re: Scheduling

Apr 12, 2011 15:07:29 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Scheduling - Chapter 17

How does next Monday, April 18th work for people? Or if that is bad for someone, how about Wednesday, April 20th as a potential alternate?

Monday the 18th works for everyone, woo! Let's aim for 6pm and start when everyone is ready.

Also, there is a bit of pre-game stuff to figure out, and I'll post about that soon.

---

Re: Brion Shaw - cohort equipment

Apr 12, 2011 19:40:13 GMT -5 michael said:

Ok, I had thought it meant all spears, longspear included, but it makes sense it was only referring to just the plain old spear.

The way you describe it, though, I could fit my greatsword into the larger section? Any slender weapon that isn't longer than a quarterstaff can fit into it in one of the sections, correct?

Yeah, it took me having to type all that out to figure out exactly what they meant.

And yes, a greatsword should fit into the long compartment. It's probably the widest weapon that could.

---

Re: Nimarius Steerhelm - Leadership (cruelty)

Apr 12, 2011 18:45:26 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Re: Nimarius Steerhelm - cruelty

Nim is not getting out of the cruelty penalty, but you bring up some good points and questions that I'd be happy to address. Don't have the time right now, but in the meantime, can you play next Monday?

Apr 12, 2011 17:51:25 GMT -5 icnivad said:

question about leadership modifier:
Leadership modifier is regarding your reputation, right? As in what people know about you? The reason I ask is because of the age old question of what happens if you chop down a tree in the forest and no one is around to see it fall. Has it really been chopped down?

Specifically, Nim has the -2 cruelty penalty, which was given for summoning and killing evil outsiders. It seems like this shouldn't affect his leadership score because it was always done in secrecy where there was no one around. Other than this act, Nimarious has always been fair and kind to the troops under and around his command. It also seems like this could be described as a 'good' act, since all of the creatures he's killed are evil. If a good cleric goes around hunting demons, would they be attributed the Cruelty penalty?

If you chop down a tree in the forest and no one is around to see it fall. Has it really been chopped down? Well, yes, it has been chopped down, but I see what you are saying. Does anyone know? You may not have seen anyone watching, but there turned out to be a Rogue hiding in the bushes, a Druid wildshaped as a mouse in the grass, a Cleric scrying on you from afar, plus the forest Fey who will consult the other trees as to what happened, and the ever-watching nature Deity noticed as well.

Of course, this is a somewhat silly over-the-top answer, but my point is that even if something was intended to be secret, it doesn't mean that others don't know. However, this extreme possibility is not the reason for applying the cruelty penalty in Nim's case.

Nim doesn't go around killing every innocents (though, I suspect he would have little or no qualms about it if improved his power somehow and he could get away with it), and being Evil isn't enough to earn this penalty, but I think Nim has shown himself to be unpleasant in various ways across multiple sessions and has even wanted to give off that impression. By unpleasant, I mean more in the "I will kill you or let you die" kind of way than a "just being rude" way. Also, I think intent definitely plays into perception, and Nim seems like a pretty transparent fellow. And to undo this perception, it would take much more than simply stopping to do these things. He would have to make an active effort to undo them and be extra uncruel (i.e. kind, selfless, etc) in ways that would not benefit him.

The two examples I gave were the most obvious to me but not the only ones, but as for those:

#1 - Granted, Brion was the one who actually destroyed the first batch of bloody skeletons, and it was a group effort to destroy the zombie crab. For the most part, however, the squad was destroying evil creatures created with evil magic by an evil person. Even if there was no army or city to care about skeletons and zombies wandering on the loose, I had the impression from past acts that neither of the other officers would have allowed these monsters to be set free in the countryside either. I think they would have preferred to destroy these monsters than set them free, and I don't see their intent behind this as cruel. As for Nim, it was pretty simple. He wanted to upgrade his minions, so be abandoned all the ones he created, and that seems to lean on the cruel side. Of course, I was the one that said that the army would not allow them to just be set free in their warzone, and that did leave destruction as the only option, but as far as I could tell, Nim has no qualms about doing this. If anything, he was trying to figure out the easiest way to destroy them. Another option that just comes to mind right now would have been for Nim to teleport all the skeletons to some faraway (or at least out of the way) place, but I kind of doubt that Nim would have wanted to use his mission spells to do this, and I'm not sure if the other officers would have allowed it anyway. And if Nim did have to option to just set them free, I get the impression that he would have been fine with this...and maybe I'm wrong, but from I have seen of Nim, that is the impression that he gives.

#2 - Killing evil creatures is not in itself a good act. If anything, killing is more aligned with as an evil act, but there can be justification for it. Intent plays a big part in it, and also, being evil doesn't necessarily make you cruel. It's more about what you do and how you do it, and you also don't need to be evil to be cruel. Nim could have called the evil outsiders and made a bargain with them. That would slide you further along the evil scale, especially if it became common practice, but it would not be cruel to make these bargains. If you used the evil outsiders to kill babies, that definitely would be cruel. However, Nim called the evil outsiders to kill them, and he didn't kill them because they were evil. He killed them to boost his own power. He did a cruel thing for a selfish reason. Of course, anything the PCs do to boost themselves, will likely also boost the army, but there are many ways to boost oneself. Nim has chosen to do so along an evil path, and that is totally fine, but it also helps define him.

Furthermore, all this was done on an open street (at the intersection too, so open to view in all directions) in the middle of a warzone, and the entire process took about an hour and a half. It's safe to assume that soldiers on both sides caught wind of this. Plus, you guys are pretty well known and people do talk, so when the creepy officer with a skeleton squad made up of enemy troops all of a sudden has a different squad of unworldly creatures, the speculation - even if not totally correct - is going to sway more on the not so pleasant side of theories.

Dang...how do some of my posts get so long? Anyway, a couple other little things that come to mind are how Nim was making the effort to be mean in Avan'ti at the mayor's office...and how he thought about potentially sacrificing innocents, and even soldiers, to try and gain benefits from the deck of magic cards without putting himself at risk. I know Brion entertained this idea too, but he is Neutral, so thinking about Evil isn't a big deal, and he has done Good and been kind too, so it balances out anyway.

Anyway, it seems to me that Nim is a cruel person and doesn't mind being cruel and even sometimes goes out of his way to let that be known. Which isn't to say he isn't fair and generous to those who serve him (even if most serve unwillingly...and even if he abandons them at the chance to upgrade), so he did receive that bonus too.

I think the last thing to add is that Nim could be cruel and not have anyone know, but this would have required effort and a commitment to secrecy. Such as opting to kill the outsiders in a building where others had less of a chance of seeing, and therefore, having to do this in a cramped space but if being secret is more important, this would have shown a commitment to that. Also, killing the outsiders with only his minions would have helped too. That way none of the other officers would have known exactly what he did. He could have said that he called skeletons, and the fighting sounds were just the effort to get them under control (cos the other officers had already seen the Ghoul break free and need to be rangled in)...and this may have required a Bluff check too. Anyway, the point being that I don't think Nim has made much effort to keep secret his acts or intent, and if that was his desire, it doesn't seem like he's done a good job of it.

But of course, he can always start to reform his ways right now Or at least start pretending, so that others *think* he has reformed

---

Re: Brion Shaw - Leadership (special power)

Apr 12, 2011 18:22:55 GMT -5 michael said:

This reminds me, when I was leveling Brion up, I realized he has a couple abilities that might qualify as special powers for the Leadership bonus. Weapon Master is technically a supernatural ability, but Divine Presence is too, and seems especially appropriate for attracting followers. (Allies withing 30ft are treated as having Sanctuary.)

These are supernatural abilities, but I don't want that alone to be qualifier. It's more about what they do and how unique the effect is.

Weapon Master lets him switch out feats, which is pretty neat, but they are all feats that anyone can take.

Divine Presence is pretty neat too, but really just expands a 1st-level spell. Essentially, it's like mass sanctuary if there was a mass version of sanctuary, and there are regular spells that provide a zone of protection too, so it doesn't really stand out that much more.

Sorry, but neither one seems special enough to me.

[michael]

These are supernatural abilities, but I don't want that alone to be qualifier. It's more about what they do and how unique the effect is.

Weapon Master lets him switch out feats, which is pretty neat, but they are all feats that anyone can take.

Divine Presence is pretty neat too, but really just expands a 1st-level spell. Essentially, it's like mass sanctuary if there was a mass version of sanctuary, and there are regular spells that provide a zone of protection too, so it doesn't really stand out that much more.

Sorry, but neither one seems special enough to me.

I see your point, but by the same token, Fire Breath is a spell, yet we all agree being able to do that through non-magical means is a special power.

Plus, level 11+ is considered "Legendary" status, and people tend to know you and talk about you. Even if any one of Brion's abilities wouldn't necessarily qualify, with all of them together, it makes sense he would be viewed as someone with unique powers.


"Shaw grasps your arm, and the next swing of your sword hits doubly-strong!"

"With a touch of his hand, he can make even the most oafish man capable of seducing a Princess!"

"There are feats of martial prowess that take great warriors decades to learn, yet Shaw can bring these abilities to bear perfectly, without ever having performed them before!"

"We were one hundred men tightly grouped, with the Sergeant at the center. Though the enemy surrounded us, they couldn't swing their swords, couldn't even loose a single shaft, not at any of us!"

[reefwood]

Re: Brion Shaw - Leadership (special power)

Apr 13, 2011 15:46:02 GMT -5 michael said:

These are supernatural abilities, but I don't want that alone to be qualifier. It's more about what they do and how unique the effect is.

Weapon Master lets him switch out feats, which is pretty neat, but they are all feats that anyone can take.

Divine Presence is pretty neat too, but really just expands a 1st-level spell. Essentially, it's like mass sanctuary if there was a mass version of sanctuary, and there are regular spells that provide a zone of protection too, so it doesn't really stand out that much more.

Sorry, but neither one seems special enough to me.

I see your point, but by the same token, Fire Breath is a spell, yet we all agree being able to do that through non-magical means is a special power.

Plus, level 11+ is considered "Legendary" status, and people tend to know you and talk about you. Even if any one of Brion's abilities wouldn't necessarily qualify, with all of them together, it makes sense he would be viewed as someone with unique powers.

The fire breath spell is from the APG, so it's not something I would consider as a comparison, and if anything, stuff from that book is more along the lines of a special power than an ordinary power since very few people can do them. What actually came to mind to me is the elixir of fire breath because anyone can get that under the right circumstances (if they can afford it, find someone who makes it, etc), but a one-time item doesn't compare to an innate ability either.

I actually skimmed through all the domain powers and didn't really see much that I would qualify as a special power for the Leadership feat, but I think that is fine. Some classes may give an ability that could be advantageous (or even disadvantageous) in certain situations, even from just a roleplay outlook, but it doesn't mean that all of them need to.

Level doesn't really do it either. At least not alone. You have to be a decent level to do more unique things, but even a low-level character could have a special power depending on their build, and even that is related to the setting. In a world where everyone can breathe fire, that is no longer special.

Which isn't to say that Brion isn't badass or talked about, but I don't see these supernatural abilities as special powers.

[michael]

Yeah, I expected as much. I wasn't even going to bother making a counter-argument, but I was drawn in by the prospect of writing all the gossip about Brion's powers.

[reefwood]

Apr 13, 2011 19:11:45 GMT -5 michael said:

Yeah, I expected as much. I wasn't even going to bother making a counter-argument, but I was drawn in by the prospect of writing all the gossip about Brion's powers.

It's cool. This is definitely a very subjective bonus, and I'm glad you brought up the question.

[reefwood]

Game Night

Just a reminder that we are set to play this evening at 6pm. Woo!

Apr 13, 2011 14:28:20 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Re: Scheduling

Apr 12, 2011 15:07:29 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Scheduling - Chapter 17

How does next Monday, April 18th work for people? Or if that is bad for someone, how about Wednesday, April 20th as a potential alternate?

Monday the 18th works for everyone, woo! Let's aim for 6pm and start when everyone is ready.

Also, there is a bit of pre-game stuff to figure out, and I'll post about that soon.

---

Cohorts

I would like to know how the players see the outlook of their cohorts. Other than serving their leader, or along those lines, what are they trying to accomplish? What are they for? What are they against?

The PFC soldier grunts (Duncan, Hunter, Paulson, Bodyguard) are part of the army, so they listen to all orders within reason and pretty much do anything that the officers say. Plus, they are several levels behind the PCs, so they are rarely steer the course. I kind of see them like limited use items. They help the PCs a bit and might be able to do a couple things better than the PCs and also save the PCs from using as much of their other resources. But when the grunts run out, the PCs should still be able to do just as well and maybe even replace the grunts' talents with other items; it may just require the use of more resources.

Anyway, the cohorts are much more powerful than the grunts, and while they will start out loyal, they won't be as automatically subservient as the grunts, so I want to know what they are about. I don't need anything extensive. The basics are good enough. Essentially, I want an overview on know how to run the cohort in case they are separated from the PC, or pushed toward something they would not do.

Also, how did Garm come to be on the material plane?

Skeletor came to being because the Covert Ops gave Nim a ritual book and ogre body to create a skeletal champion, as special thanks for capturing the Magnus Drekk (traitor turned vampire). The ogre used to be a Nemedoran soldier in life. Though, it should be noted that as far as the army knows, the ogre is dead. Its not like he was famous or anything, but much like anything else done by the Covert Ops, this action is something that was done on the down low. Of course, Skeletor still remembers his life (and death), and he is still evil, but this is also a second chance for him.

And we can go over all this at the table if people don't have time to post replies.

[michael]

Garm is lawful neutral, and he's been ordered to serve Brion by his god. I wrote a bit of mythology on why and posted it in the "World" section.

He's very much the "ours is not to reason why" type of soldier. However, Brion is the only one on this plane he views as his commander. The rest of the Nemedoran military interests him only insofar as it affects the orders Brion gives him.

He is a good soldier, so he's generally respectful to anyone in a position of authority, but he also kind of thinks he's superior to most beings on this plane.

He doesn't like evil beings, but it's more a prejudice from growing up in Heaven than an "I must smite thee!' kind of hate. He likes warriors, so he may even come to be friends with Skeletor after enough time, but he'll probably never come to like Nimarius.

[reefwood]

Apr 18, 2011 15:45:12 GMT -5 michael said:

Garm is lawful neutral, and he's been ordered to serve Brion by his god. I wrote a bit of mythology on why and posted it in the "World" section.

He's very much the "ours is not to reason why" type of soldier. However, Brion is the only one on this plane he views as his commander. The rest of the Nemedoran military interests him only insofar as it affects the orders Brion gives him.

He is a good soldier, so he's generally respectful to anyone in a position of authority, but he also kind of thinks he's superior to most beings on this plane.

He doesn't like evil beings, but it's more a prejudice from growing up in Heaven than an "I must smite thee!' kind of hate. He likes warriors, so he may even come to be friends with Skeletor after enough time, but he'll probably never come to like Nimarius.

Sounds good.

Also, I just realized something about Garm's constant magic circle against evil: evil summoned creatures cannot enter the area. This won't affect the skeletons, but summoned demons & devils will not be able to approach Garm or go through his square. This may not matter in most instances, but if Garm was ever in a doorway, evil summoned creatures could not cross it either way until Garm (and his magic circle) are out of the way.

[reefwood]

Chapter 17 - post-game

Great job last night! It got pretty dicey, but somehow, everyone managed to survive. I will post the recap and related details soon, but in case anyone wants to get started sooner... Sahme will be able to level up with 100% rewards. Brion can level up with 75% rewards, and if Brion levels up, Garm can level up too but does not receive a reward package. Also, the grunts of these PCs could have leveled up (Paulson to 6th, Hunter & Duncan to 7th), but they are retiring.

The grunts will retire with their original equipment, even if it was upgraded with magic enchantments, but the PCs can keep any additional equipment loaned to the grunts.

[reefwood]

Identifying Magic Items - Time Off

I have been giving this more thought, and I don't really like the idea of having Adepts in the Nemedoran army at all, let alone identifying items, but I still want this to be an option during Time Off.

What I realized today is that an Expert with Use Magic Device and a wand of detect magic (DC 20) can do this too. I think this fits better into the War Stories setting, and it lowers the chance of this effort being an auto-success because if the Expert rolls a 1, then the wand can't be used for 24 hours. But as per the Spellcraft rules, this effort can be tried on an item 1/day (I incorrectly said previously that it was 1/level), and I like how this fits nicely into mission success. If you do better and get more days of Time Off, you also get more free chances for items to be identified. And 1 casting of detect magic lasts 10 rounds, and each item takes 3 rounds, so each casting can look at 3 items.

One other thing I will tweak from my post about introductory ideas on this topic is that the Expert will be equal to half the level of the highest ranking officer in the squad. Right now that is Brion at Level 14, so it allows access to a Level 7 Adept.

Also, the caveats I will attach is that:
1) The Adept can only be accessed if the squad (or whoever has the item) ends in a Nemedordan base. Right now that is Verdas, New Briar, or Dragon Dock.
2) The number of wand charges is based on its Limited Use equipment line. When the charges run out, you have to wait until you gain access to a new Adept level. At each new Adept level, a new wand will replace the old wand, so any remaining charges are lost.
3) This option is only available during Time Off.

Anyway, here are the numbers for Level 1 Adept and a Level 7 Adept. If you can think of other feats that would help, let me know.

---

Human Expert (Lvl1)

Ability Scores
Int 13 +2 racial = 15 (+2)
Cha 12 (+1)

Feats
Magic Aptitude (+2 spellcraft & use magic device)
Skill Focus: Spellcraft (+3 spellcraft)

Skills (2 pts +2 Int +1 racial = 5)
Spellcraft: 1 rank +3 train +2 Int +2 MA +3 SF = +11
UMD: 1 rank +3 train +1 Cha +2 MA = +7

Equipment
Wand of detect magic (5 ch = 37.5 gp / 40 gp limited use)


Human Expert (Lvl7)

Ability Scores
Int 13 +2 racial +1 asi = 16 (+3)
Cha 12 (+1)

Feats
Magic Aptitude (+2 spellcraft & use magic device)
Skill Focus: Spellcraft (+3 spellcraft)

Skills (2 pts +3 Int +1 racial = 6 x7 = 42 pts)
Spellcraft: 7 rank +3 train +3 Int +2 MA +3 SF = +18
UMD: 7 rank +3 train +1 Cha +2 MA = +13

Equipment
Wand of detect magic (50 ch = 375 gp / 450 gp limited use)

Apr 9, 2011 2:04:06 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Re: Identifying Magic Items

I did some quick number crunching...so don't think this is totally correct or set in stone yet...but I do want to separate the identifying of magic items from the creation of magic items. I know it may seem a bit odd, but the people making magic items are just there to make magic items. It gives a reason for how soldiers obtain equipment but is not meant to serve other purposes.

Anyway, I wish there was an NPC caster class that used arcane magic and Intelligence, but there isn't, and it turns out the Adept will work just fine for what I have in mind. A soldier can have access to an Adept of half their level.

A 1st-level soldier would not get access to an Adept.

A 2nd-level soldier would get access to a 1st-level human Adept who could have a Spellcraft of 1 rank +3 train +2 Int mod +3 feat +2 feat = +11.

A 14th-level soldier/officer would get access to a 7th-level human Adept who could have a Spellcraft of 7 ranks +3 train +3 Int mod +3 feat +2 feat = +18.

I believe the only useful spell that an Adept has to identify magic items is detect magic, which seems fine to me, especially given the incredibly high Spellcraft modifiers they can reach even at low levels. Plus, an Adept who focuses on Int won't have access to spells above 2nd-level anyway, but if I missed a useful higher level spell, let me know, and I can play around with the numbers.

The level of this Adept would be based on PC level, so not tied into reward packages. Since it would be based on half the PC level, the level of this Adept would go up every other PC level, so if he fails to identify an item, and you want him to try again later, you will have to wait until he levels up and puts another point into Spellcraft.

And since magic items found on a mission can be claimed by anyone, it may make the most sense to say that your squad is assigned to a particular Adept, so his level will be based on the highest level PC. Right now that is Nim, but if someone gets to a higher level, the Adept will level up accordingly.

[reefwood]

Staves

I wanted to start introducing staves as an option around Level 11, but most of the staves in the Core Rulebook are very expensive (40k+). Another option would be to create custom staves. Would anyone be interested in this?

There would be restrictions based on the theme of a custom staff. You couldn't put any random combination of spells into it. I think a good way to keep it simple and practical is that all the spells in a staff would have to be from the same school or have the same magic descriptor [i.e. fire, death, healing, etc]. Even this may not be enough to cover every case because some spells have different descriptors based on different uses, so special cases will be left to DM discretion and perhaps additional restrictions. Also, no spell can require more than 3 charges to use.

Pricing is based on spell level and caster level. The minimum caster level for any spell in a staff is 8, and all spells in a staff must have the same caster level. When the staff is used, the spells use the caster level of the staff or the caster level of the user, whichever is higher. The default use of a staff spell is 1 charge per casting, but spells can be priced lower by requiring more charges to use. Pricing can be a little tricky, but I have it figured out pretty good.

400 gp × the level of the highest-level spell × the level of the caster
300 gp × the level of the next highest-level spell × the level of the caster
200 gp × other spell levels × the level of the caster

If a spell uses more than 1 charge, divide its price by the number of charges. If there is a focus for the spell, you add that to the cost, and if the spell uses an expensive material component, you need 50 of those (divided by the number of charges required). Here are a few examples:

Staff of Abjuration (CL 8, 1 charge each)
Dispel Magic
400 gp × 3rd level spell × 8th level caster = 9,600 gp
Resist Energy
300 gp × 2nd level spell × 8th level caster = 4,800 gp
Shield
200 gp × 1st level spell × 8th level caster = 1,600 gp
TOTAL = 16,000 gp

Staff of Abjuration (CL 8, 2 charges each)
Dispel Magic
400 gp × 3rd level spell × 8th level caster = 9,600 /2 = 4,800 gp
Resist Energy
300 gp × 2nd level spell × 8th level caster = 4,800 /2 = 2,400 gp
Shield
200 gp × 1st level spell × 8th level caster = 1,600 /2 = 800 gp
TOTAL = 8,000 gp

Staff of Abjuration (CL 8, 1-3 charges each)
Dispel Magic
400 gp × 3rd level spell × 8th level caster = 9,600 /3 = 3,200 gp
Resist Energy
300 gp × 2nd level spell × 8th level caster = 4,800 /2 = 2,400 gp
Shield
200 gp × 1st level spell × 8th level caster = 1,600 /1 = 1,600 gp
TOTAL = 7,200 gp

Also, Michael thought of a way to use reward packages to recharges staves, and I am looking into that idea too.

And you can find the staff creation rules toward the bottom of the Magic Item Creation section.

[michael]

I'd definitely be interested in making custom staves, but the way the rewards packages are structured now, I'm not sure if it would be worth it. Were you thinking it would replace the "2 wands" line of the Magic rewards package, or were you not sure?

Some changes would have to be made for it to be effective at this level. Maybe you could replace the "2 wands" with "1 staff", and fold the non-magical goods section from Magic combat into that line? Or perhaps introduce a new rewards package built around 1 high ticket item; it has fewer options, but 1 limit that's much higher.