In reply to Alohan Nuari (msg # 79):



Not me no... probably at another game, but Angati here, has never had mage armor as one of her spells... she is Oracle through and through...

@UROL:

Upon taking the lesser restoration, Angati would inform Urol that Harliss is afflicted also, so that he gives her another dose.


Completely OOC. I am not really familiar with Alchemists, but would it be worth that I take some other spell instead of lesser restoration if you can already do these infusions ?. Please let me know.

I'd probably get Summon Monster II, or Calm Emotions or Compasionate Ally

Oh! rolled a 1 at restore INT.... swell, updated char sheet with that.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:27, Fri 15 July 2016.

I really feel that some of the 'common use' wands should be taken out of the party treasure before it is divided i.e. each party member pays a little bit of the cost. Wands of CLW and mage armour are good examples of this.

Celene learning Mage Armour almost seems like a waste since it is something easily substituted by a wand, although admittedly at a cost.

@Ron, does Alohan want to put his little vest back on?

Too late at this point. Ill just do without and hope for the best.

I love the accidental Logan posts on the main thread. I would mess that up all the time GMing -accidentally post as the wrong NPC and junk.

Anywho, anyone been playing 5e much? It is beginning to be my preference but I havent much expierence GMing it. Unsure about the lethality of it all. Anyone have success with it?

No, Urol just had the two potions.  He can learn that formula, but I didn't choose it.  He has Cure Light and Cure Moderate Wounds, as well as some defensive stuff, but not restoration.  I think alchemists are like wizards, and if I was playing Urol for longer, he could copy the spell from a scroll, or learn it on his next level up, but those two potions are all for his restorations.

It's actually my fault!  My posts default to Logan and I keep forgetting to change them back to Urol.

I'm playing in a few 5E games here, having some fun with it.  The system and build options are interesting.  Certainly a lot less options than 3.5 or PF, though I wonder how much of that is just a function of there not being nearly as much material.  Still, without (default) feats, there's many less decision points for a build.  I mean, you get your two or three build options when you hit level 3 or so, and there's some different point allocations you might want to make before then.  (Like if you're making a fighter who dabbles in magic, you'd need some intelligence, for instance.)  But the simplified system seems to lend itself to more focus on the playing and less on the crunch.  That being said, I haven't run any games in 5E.

I'm thinking it might be very well suited to introducing my kids to RPing when they're old enough, though.  Without all the complex crunch of PF or other editions, it seems like it'd be much easier to pick up than.  And you don't have to worry about positioning/flanking/AoO like in other systems, either.  Though you could add it in, I suppose, and go from theater of the the mind to miniatures if you wanted.

Quick post to let you all know that I am off for vacation for a week. Have a nice break!

Enjoy !!!

Think we are waiting on Celene to update that post? I'll probably take the time to type up my second attempt and keep it on the Scratchpad.

John- you really feel there are less Character Options in 5e? I know on the surface it might seems so but I feel there is a ton of depth in 5e. With that said, I have a huge library of homebrewed stuff taken off the interwebs so it definitely expands 5e for me. For me, I feel like the bloat of 3.5/PF is eliminated -all the unnecessary bloat. That story oriented feel -lack of mechanics that bog it all down. Dunno, feels fresh. Feels better.

As for playing with the kids- Got my 4 and 5 year old playing this past weekend and it went very well! Here is what I did: took two pieces of paper and gave one a sword at a +3 and the other a bow at a +3. The bow guy got Sneak at +3 and one 'ability'. The sword guy got some armor and a spell. Whenever they rolled to attack the goblins I made them do the math. Gave them each a d4 of damage and made them roll that to smash the goblins. Very simplified and they had a blast. Saved Princess Twitch from Goblin town and my one boy befriended a goblin dog that now follows him around.

I think character creation in 5E is a lot more streamlined than in PF.  I mean, you pick a race, pick a class, assign your stats, and you're ready to go.  In PF, there's over 20 classes, and there's multiple archetypes for each one that you need to consider, plus feats, which you need to plan in advance, so you're not stuck with a useless feat at level 6 because you didn't take a prerequisite one at level 1.  Don't get me wrong, I like 5E, I just feel that there's a lot more options in PF.

Hmm, good idea for a greatly streamlined game.  Maybe I can give that a try.  I've done some abbreviated forms of other games with my almost-five year old.  We did some battles in Axis & Allies, forgoing the map component for rolling a couple battles, and he can play games like Candyland.

I dont want to start an edition war discussion but the reasons you just listed as 'depth' are the reasons why I want to strangle PF. They were so close to being unique and I feel squandered it. Sure, 20 different classes (some which are really good from a design standpoint: alchemist, oracle)  but when you look at their archetypes then nothing is unique. You can build a fighter like a rogue, or a cleric like paladin -alchemists can be built like anything you desire. Then the feat selection! Oh my.. makes my head spin. But like you said it 'feels' like you have a ton more options -and you do, dont get me wrong- but how unique and different are those options? Some are so similar that is just feels frustratingly complex. I still like it tho but it is drifting more in the realm of niche RPG for me. I struggle running PF in person but I think it does very well in PbPs.

EDIT: And Axis and Allies with the kids? Sounds like fun!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:39, Mon 18 July 2016.

In reply to Alohan Nuari (msg # 96):

I completely agree with that.  A lot of the "choice" isn't really, because a lot of the feats and archetypes seem like trash, or at least only narrowly useful.  If you want to build an "optimal" character, the set of options quickly vanishes.  And yet...there still is a lot of flexibility in the system.  I agree that you can build anything you like in 5E, and just describe it differently.  The system does seem to encourage more free-form play instead of something narrowly constrained by the rules.  Though PF probably needs that narrow constraint for PFS, which spills over into more casual games.  Still, I think both have their place.  Sometimes it's fun to get all nitty-gritty with the details of a build, trying to wring every last bit of efficiency out of it.  But your entire group has to like that, or else you end up with wildly differing power levels.  It seems like its a lot easier to build a competent character in 5E than in PF.

5e I have a problem with Skills... I really do feel limited there... you get them at start and then growth is fixed... for the most part.

It works very very well on kids... much easier than PF, so thats great. I too had a blast running the introduction to one of the first adventures.

Yea Beni, I hadn't considered  that. Very good input. Without 'ranks' to invest during leveling your skills are fixed since character creation. Huh- wonder if that really matters over the course of the game. Also, maybe I could homebrew a 'training' thing where you spend some time to get proficient in a new skill.

Anyways, I got the itch. Home games have died off and this is the only drip of DnD I can get. I need moar-

In reply to Alohan Nuari (msg # 99):

Re: skills.  I actually like the way that 5E handles it.  For most characters, you're going to dump all your skill points into a few categories anyway.  5E just makes that assumption the default, and flattens the target value.  Isn't a DC20 with a +10 just the same as DC15 with a +5.  (Except that someone with no skill points has a greater chance of doing the latter.)  It does do away with highly skilled characters (rogues and bards for the most part) spreading out their skill points a little bit to cover more bases, but I can live with that.

My only experience with 5E is the little bit I got in Beni's game, so I don't know enough to comment. I have to admit that the setting and style of a game is much more important to me than the game system.

Ron: I loved the story about you DMing for your boys and I look forward to doing that myself one day. What are you thinking about doing to scratch your RPing itch? RPOL or real life?

I only do RPol

Although... I do wholeheartedly propose that we try at some point to run at least a few sessions (of this game or another) through ROLL20 https://roll20.net

I have used it often with my friends, the only thing is finding a timing that works for all but the system works wonderfully well.

Charsheets, Maps, Fog to uncover map as one sees fit, Rolls, automated rolls vs AC if you want, oh and voice and video if one wants of course.

Its really really a Great gaming experience.

I have the itch. It may manifest itself as a PbP game here on Rpol now that (within the past week) Rpol is now unblocked at work. BUT These PbP games are a big undertaking, in more ways than live games -especially for me. Take aKoO as an example. I need all of those threads to help me explain my setting, help capture the feel. Without them, I dont think I am doing my setting justice. Also, aKoO was like.. version 1 of the story I want to tell. I have completely reworked it and re-evaluated the campaign to the point where Act I doesn't even take part in the same area. Thus, alot of the setting threads need to be retyped to try and steer potential players in a new direction.

As for Roll20? Beni is correct- it is beyond helpful. The biggest feature for me? Fully automated character sheets. That by itself makes me want to play a in-person campaign more than anything. I even prefer Roll20 over actual table play since I can showcase my maps, I can use interactive token/character sheets, and even include audio. Hell, I can even record it to watch and potentially upload at later times! I love DnD on Roll20. Problem (as Beni said)? Getting five adults together on the same night, at the same time, EVEN IF they dont have to put pants on and leave their house. It is more problematic than you would assume, especially for the chunk of interested friends I have. I have maybe a solid 3 or 4 players I can rely on to play but we are always missing that last 1 or 2 person to make a campaign memorable.

And by extension, one of the knocks against Roll20(and my personal GM style) is my inability to roll with the punches. My campaigns are built with the intention of keeping the same players, the same characters for the entire length of time. I am very much a storyteller type -the idea of running a bunch of mini adventures and stringing them together is horrifying. Thus it sucks when someone has to bail for the evening cause I 100% hate starting without them. If a player drops altogether? -it's almost campaign suicide for me. I even hate that shit in movies. Continuity errors drive me insane.

I also struggle with attempting to make my campaign appropriately epic. I loved aKoO but if I trap myself in my own plot hooks I struggle to pull myself out of them. Sure I use published adventures and modules as inspiration but they all seem... broken.. less intimate.  It is easier to adjust to unforeseen actions in a PbP rather than live play but at the same time, live play offers so much more.

The struggle is real. Got the Itch and don't know how to quench it.

I don't like what I've seen of 5E, but then I love all of pathfinder's mechanical complexity. I particularly enjoy making character's that don't do what they're "supposed" to do, like making a melee focused wizard or whatnot.

I agree about the roleplaying itch. I have this dream of running a pbp pathfinder game, and even have the basic world-building/plot outline ready, but I'm worried that I don't have the time to properly run it. I started this new job a few months ago, and once I feel settled in and comfortable with how much time I have in the afternoons, I just might.

Yeah, this has always been hard.  I think it was somewhat easy back in high school/college, when schedules were easier.  But even when I was in graduate school, having a weekly game was only successful about 75% of the time.  I kept pushing the DM to adopt a more lax style of game that would allow for players to come and go and the game to continue without one person, but he stuck to his guns, and we ran some of the best in-person games I've experienced.  But a lot of games got cut short or cancelled because of real-world problems.  Something like this might have fit the group:
http://arsludi.lamemage.com/in...iments-west-marches/
But the DM was interested in telling a story, and having a narrative flow which doesn't really fit with the sandbox-style game.  I was always torn.  I mean, on one hand, some game was better than no game.  But an excellent game was better than any game.  Is a 75% chance of an excellent game better than a mediocre game with certainty?  Certainly, on some weeks I would have taken the latter.

Alohan you need a remove curse.

The die roller hates you.

Is it worth having the misfortune be used versus the blinding on Diamondback?

Her will save is pretty good she will probably make it again.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Wed 27 July 2016.

Yea I am actually starting to get frustrated. It's been several months now and I can count on one hand the times I rolled above a 10. Oh well..

Sometimes if you roll poorly and you give the roller a few minutes it will break out of its funk.

I find that rolls that come one after another tend to be grouped pretty tight.

Maybe it's just my imagination though.