/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>179444
Mala shakes his head
"That 'Friendship School' was a political show

He tilts his head
"Honorable warriors? Proud Hunter-scavangers. That's nice of them. I don't actually know where I was born. My mother said I was born in Zebrica. I guess that means I was, though she would lie about other things. I don't know why she'd lie about that though. For some reason I think I remember hills with grass, but I don't know if that was actually in Zebrica, or if I just have an idea of Zebrica, and that's what I see. All of my memories, all of my other memories, are in Baltimare. This is the furthest I've ever gone from there. The furthest by far..."

>>179445
Kira: "Well, political show or not, it would have meant ponies would know about us and that we're honestly not bad creatures." Kira feels compelled to give Mala some more pets at other statements. "Grassy hills sounds right. Grassy hills of yellow tall grass, red rocks, acacia trees standing tall and providing shade and shelter, rivers cutting paths across the landscape lined with reeds and lily pads, muddy watering holes gathering rain water where the animals of the savanna gather to drink, mounds where vast colonies of termites make their home...sigh..."

>>179443
I work as an undead killer too. In fact, I can kill undead more efficiently than anything else.
Undead probably aren't going to appear in this adventure, but if we ever encounter a dragon zombie or a collosal skeleton, leave it to me.
>Silver: "Of course, our primary objectives always take priority, but planning out potential side objectives now rather than in thick of it could be useful."
"The ship is not the property of our commissioner, and this is disturbed territory. Any treasures aboard the ship itself are legitimate spoils. The ship itself won't be unguarded, so we should prioritize bringing the Marines to safety before we mess around."
>>179445
"You should really stop by the temple some time. I think the priest there would be more than willing to educate you on your culture. Their temple has seen a miracle lately, and they'll have reasons to be in high spirits, with plenty of fanaticism to go around..."

>>179447
>but if we ever encounter a dragon zombie or a collosal skeleton, leave it to me.
I bet I can kill it before you nerd.

>realize just now that I could have brought the disguised ghast with me as an aquatic scout
>realize that I could have given it a share of the reward
Eh, too risky for the party finding out. I'll just let it babysit my child instead.

>>179446
Mala lifts his head up and wags his tail
"Have you seen it?!"

>>179447
"Oh, I haven't been to temple since, well, since before my mom died. And that was 10 years ago. I don't know if I want to go back into Kaftar culture. I was around Crocuta much of the last few years. They weren't as nice as Silver Sword here. Silver Sword seems to think I can become like the ponies. I don't know if that's true, but I know that if I were a pony, I would be happy. I have seen fanaticism before. It didn't quite work out for me."

>>179449
lol, you mean the .5 cohort share?

>>179448
Let them fight

>>179448
Best me in initiative, zigger.
Rolling to wink at Dust
[1d20+8 = (14+8) = 22]

>>179450
Kira nods, and smiles at the gnoll. Silver also gives Mala pets at his reply to Posey.

Kira: "Yeah, that's where I'm from, where my tribe's from. All lamias are in Zebrica, I think. Well, almost all, except for me, I'm in Equestria now. Over Equestria now? Air travel is weird. But yeah, I've lived my whole life there, and that memory of yours sounds pretty accurate to how Zebrica actually is."

>>179451
Muh build
>tfw +0 to initiative
Dust simply scroonches in response, this hornhead is weird

>>179453
Do you have Zen Archery?
Clerics make the best ranged fighters. It would go well with guns since you don't need Str.

>>179454
No, he's mostly melee with a sling for backup.
Feats:
Weapon Proficiecny (Heavy Flail)
Weapon Focus (Heavy Flail)
Power Attack
Holy Potency
Sacred Vengeance

>>179455
Cool. Flails are underrated. Pick up Holy Warrior later.

>>179428
Relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vulJTr8u2gc

>>179436
"I don't mind it being dangerous... Just working is dangerous. Or not making the right creatures happy... But uh, I'm able to eat a lot of things that would be dangerous to others, but uh, I guess I won't eat the berries... Being able to eat berries that grew on shrubs seemed nice though..."

>>179451
>+8 to Initiative
Another thing to mark

>>179452
"Oh, nice" He smiles, or tries to. His teeth are kind of round, sharper towards the front, and in a few instances visibly chipped or black.

"Maybe I have been to Zebrica afterall. I had thought I had never been out of Baltimare until well, today. I could do without another plane ride, though."

>>179457
The UK is the worst about it. I will just pack my shampoos and whatever separately if I know I'm going through Heathrow.

>>179458
That's not initiative. That's a seduction roll.

>>179459
Oh. Oh. Oh....
uwu

>>179460
>>179459
>the zombie hunter ends up with the necrussy
Hm

>>179458
+8 to Initiative isn't out of the realm of possibility though. 18 Dexterity combined with the Improved Initiative feat would provide a +8 bonus.

It's a very handsome smile from a very handsome boy.

Kira: "I don't know, it's not so bad. I like it better than being on a boat, what with all of the slooshing and sloshing to and fro all day every day. But yeah, I'll take you out camping sometime if you wanted! You can eat some of the berries that grow on shrubs and bushes, you just need to know which ones are safe to eat and which ones aren't. The ones that aren't could do anything from making you need to 'go' constantly, making you hallucinate, to just poisoning you. I can tell you which ones are safe, I'm pretty good with surviving out in the wilds."

>>179461
Really makes you think...

>>179461
Huh, Maybe Defiant Dust really can find and slay the vampire, minus the "s."

>>179462
Mala continues to smile, though now not showing his teeth.

"How uh, how long have you been around ponies?" He asks

>>179463
Kira: "Well, counting today...two days! Ponies seem nice, and they're very huggable, like I just want to scoop up a whole bunch of them in my coils and hug them all at once. Again, I wish fewer ponies would run or hide at the sight of me, though."

>>179464
"Oh. Well, the running and hiding is about what I would have expected... what about other creatures? Like zebras or... what do they have over there? Hippogriffs?"

>>179465
Kira: "Hippogriffs are a bit far away still, they're basically on the opposite end of Zebrica from my tribe. It's unfortunate, I'd like to see one someday. Mostly it's zebras, they're alright but the history our peoples have with each other can make for some awkward moments. Griffons are...I'll get back to that. Occasionally we'll see a giraffe or a deer, and very rarely we'll see a kirin. Kirins are neat."

Meanwhile, back at the house
Gloomy attempts to bind the horned wolf, working hard with his Crayola implements
(Give him a break, he is very young, and he has no horn)
Binding check: (he can only succeed on a 20)
[1d20+5 = (20+5) = 25]

>>179467
>he can only succeed on a 20
>rolls a nat 20
This better not result in any harm to the Sword household

179467
Wtf, the little shid' did it. He bound the most difficult lvl 1 vestige, and he didn't even become possessed.
Posey always knew he was a genius.

>>179468
Gloomy is in full control. He can now breath fire, see in the dark and grow ram horns, as he inherits the powers of the disgraced Somnambulan god of light and justice.
Had he failed, this might have happened:
>Influence: Amon's influence makes you surly and irritable. In addition, since Amon despises living deities of fire, sun, and law, he forces you to resist even beneficial spells cast by those devoted to such powers. You must make a saving throw to resist such a spell if one is allowed; failure allows you to gain the benefit.
Becoming possessed by Amon makes you angry and hate Celestia, but Gloomy didn't become possessed because he's a genius!

>>179471
It will be fine (probably)

>>179466
"Do uh..." He freezes right there, and pauses for a while before asking a different question.

"Why would you want to see a hippogriff?"

>>179473
Kira: "The sound neat! A bit like a cross between a pony and a griffon, right? You know, beaks and front talons of a griffon, but the rear legs and hindquarters of a pony? I heard a rumor from a cousin of mine that they have the magical ability to transform themselves into these other creatures called 'sea ponies', but that can't be real, can it?"

>>179474
"I know what a hippogriff is." He says. "I've heard of hippogriffs transforming... I've never seen it. I think you may be thinking of changelings."

>>179467
>Manifestation: Amon manifests in a burst of black smoke, howling foul curses at his summoner. He possesses a black wolf's body with a ram's head and a serpent for a tail. His mouth is filled with sharp teeth, and fire escapes it when he speaks.
Gloomy shakes the silly dogs paw, and it howls before it disappears in a puff of smoke.

>>179475
Kira: "We don't have any changelings in Zebrica. Silver's told me a bit about them on these plane rides. They sound...kinda creepy. I wonder if one could shapeshift into a lamia."

>>179477
"They are, yes. I don't think one could shapeshift into a uh... a you. You're too big. Well, maybe a really big one could, or a powerful one."

>>179478
Kira: "Like one of their queens? Like Chrizy...Chrysler...Chrysanthemum..."

Silver: "Chrysalis."

Kira: "Yeah, that one!"

>>179479
"Uh... probably"

>>179433
>Consider Shadowbane Inquisitor.
I'll give it a look once I catch up to things. I'd appreciate the help. It's been a VERY long time since I last played 3.5.

>>179438
>You don't need to be doing that unless if you really want to. I can't write up a summary right now but if you'd like one, then you can continue just from the last few posts which you may prefer. If you do massive catch-ups not only does it take more time but the amount of effort might turn you off from playing, since it will seem more obligatory and not for fun.
I'd love to have a faster way to get caught up, but I've still got the specific catch-up posts from last week to get down into my notes. I've been in a campaign where I kept having to skip 95% of it and just get summaries, and it was a very unpleasant experience. Failure to keep up feels pretty terrible.

While I don't know how much effort it will take to catch up such that I don't collapse and become unable to keep up, not being able to understand what's going on when I read conversations means that by the time I figure out what's happening and where we are, we'll have changed already and I have to do that work all over again.

I have very strongly wanted to play D&D again for close to a decade, so I'm not going to pass this chance up.

I'm here now because my attention is fragmenting after reading up on the history. I have no idea what happens after the Equestria At War timeline starts, but I've at least got a rough grounding on different Pony countries, that Changelings are a thing that is also a country, and that the Griffin situation is complicated. I assume this will be covered once I get to those older summary posts I mentioned.

This time spent reading up on the posts from my "hello again" post and make replies to people while reading through and trying to understand every post now inside an ongoing conversation is to make sure that I'm not forgotten. Then I'll probably have to go to sleep and spend tomorrow trying to read up on last week's post. There are at least a few posts I need to get, and then copy into my notes so that I can re-read them as necessary.

The right way to record and organize the game related stuff isn't something I have a lot of practice with lately, so I'm trying a little of everything at once, not really being sure what I'm doing. How is everyone else managing their notes? [Pic Related]

>>179481
To be honest, I've always been really bad at notetaking. Usually I end up just relying on remembering stuff.

>>179440
>I think you have a wide array
I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean Paladins being dependent on multiple attributes? Yeah. I was hoping to go heavy DPS, with some specific flavour elements, but not knowing how much attention I'd be getting, and knowing that I was probably going to miss my Smite uses if I used them, I had to sacrifice most of my character concept to focus on filling a small role.

If I'm going Dex Tank, then I could probably avoid being complete crap with a ranged weapon.

>>179443
Oh, right, me too. I heard the group needed a frontliner, and a bit of healing. I had some fun the one time I played a paladin for a couple of sessions. Knew my role in the group, and had a simple martial class with a handful of tricks. It was better than being a Warlock (2 spell slots, but they recharge on a short rest) when the party only ever did long rests, negating my utility entirely.

The class feature sword also counts as a magic weapon, which is generally handy for various monsters. Otherwise, it's canon that it looks really cool, and I can phase it in and out of existence. I'm imagining a kind of transformation sequence in my head whenever I pull it out.

>>179441
No? And he's not an ascetic.

>>179451
>>179459
I was going to say, if it was initiative it would be ridiculous…

>>179458
>in a few instances visibly chipped or black
Needs a visit to the dentist.

>>179467
>>179470
You do not want to tick off a colt with those powers.

>>179473
>>179474
Cavaliere butts into the conversation. "You might find it a little difficult to meet a hippogriff. They have only one country to themselves–the Kingdom of Aris–and that is at war with New Mareland. As far as I can tell, their navy poses the greatest threat to our employer's naval dominance and were we to meet a hippogriff right now he would not be eager to shake claws with us."

>>179481
That's pretty well organized. I just have a physical character sheet and a .rtf document for each character. I don't really keep track of other party members and I leave that up to their players and the DM. I do have sections for inventory (starting and current), past, ongoing and possible quests, places that have been visited, and met NPCs.
>>179483
I like your concept, but be careful of being too much of a jack of all trades, master of none in combat. Silver has been able to make it work with both his signature melee weapon and whatever guns he comes across, but he also doesn't have to worry about smites or healing.

Progress on reading through the summary posts is very slow. I'm going to swap gears for a bit.

We were talking about equipment and armaments earlier. Would it make sense for Ten to have a carbine (cut-down rifle for easier transport)?

>>179485
>I like your concept, but be careful of being too much of a jack of all trades, master of none in combat.
Maybe I should start with character concept first again?

The group needed a frontliner melee.
The idea that I play a bat pony Luna worshipper was fun. The Luna worshipper was because that was the Cultural factor I was able to grasp, and it gives roleplay possibilities.
The light armour is because I can't fly with medium armour, and why have wings if I'm not going to be able to fly? There's a worry in me that I won't be able to get to the enemies in heavy armour before they get taken out by volleys of gunfire.
The way the magic sword class feature works, combined with the Paladin class, combined with what I heard of the paladin faction semi-disbanding after a war that had high casualties for them, works for me on a conceptual level. I have a few different ideas I think I might be able to use for backstory and a skillset.

I think I used to build characters at different levels for fun, using the Standard Array. Just out of the base pathfinder system or the PHB.

My feats are Power Attack, Awesome Smite, and Cleave. I originally wanted to get 18 Str and be a melee monster with good saves and a magic trick or two, but wanting to not waste the very expensive flight ability while in heavy armour re-made my build.

Ultimately, I want to keep the Luna worshipper paladin idea with a magic sword and some magic tricks, and I think we need a melee character. But I don't know how important or generally relevant ranged combat is going to be in this game, so I'll be flexible to character ideas.

Disclaimer:
The following RP group are a bunch of autistic spergs.
>>179486
I think its a perfectly acceptable build. Brie is a dps/melee stealth/skill build. He'll get worked over if he has to tank, but if theres an ally or two in the mix to grant/gain flanking and shit, and it'll be a bloodbath.

Maxed out ranks for his level (which somehow posey has higher ranks in) in stealth, hiding, locks, devices/traps, etc. Uses ranged, but only when he cant stab.

>>179486
If you don't know what you're doing for ranged, always default to a sling. It's a "kids toy" so it can fit with any background, does dagger-damage, has a 50' range increment (so -2 to 100', -4 for 150', etc), and uses mundane ammo that can be assumed to be gathered autonomously.
Beyond that it can get complicated, depending on your preferences

Brie emerges from the disappointingly cramped bathroom tricked out to the nines in probably the most sophisticated set of light armor any pony present has ever seen. Overlapping segments of treated and supple leathers and fabrics in a variety of patterns to give long-distance camoflage, it is an amalgamation of form and function, for the intrepid stealth assassin. Its statistically masterwork studded leather, but its the coolest set of masterwork studded leather (you)'ve ever seen.
His face remains exposed, painted in a digital camo pattern, a largely hardshell helmet/mask hangs from his utility belt. On his belt are two very fine blades, and small rings stick out from under his armor plates, suggesting an array of throwing knives.

>>179485
>No? And he's not an ascetic
Ascetic Hunter is just the name of the feat that combines your Monk and Ranger progressinn:
https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/feats/noncore-featsca.html#ASCETIC%20HUNTER
Complete adventurer
>if it was initiative it would be ridiculous…
Not really. It isn't hard to pump initiative. Spellcasters often go for it because they're squishy.
>You do not want to tick off a colt with those powers.
Yeah, lol.
>>179481
Very organized sheet.
>I have no idea what happens after the Equestria At War timeline starts
You don't need to know history. Just have fun. Pic related

>>179486
>The idea that I play a bat pony Luna worshipper was fun. The Luna worshipper was because that was the Cultural factor I was able to grasp, and it gives roleplay possibilities.
This adds an interesting dimension to the Harmonism worship of some other party members. Harmonism comes in many forms within Equestria.
>But I don't know how important or generally relevant ranged combat is going to be in this game, so I'll be flexible to character ideas.
It's very important, but melee builds have tended to work so far.
>>179490
>studded leather
REEEEEEEEEE my armor autism is activated
>>179499
I will take that feat next then. Probably. There are way too many to choose from.

>>179486
>The light armour is because I can't fly with medium armour, and why have wings if I'm not going to be able to fly? There's a worry in me that I won't be able to get to the enemies in heavy armour before they get taken out by volleys of gunfire.
Since you're proficient in medium armor, wear a Chahar-Aina (mirror shield)
Since you're proficient in light armor, wear a set of Dastana (bracers). Posey wears them. Anyone proficient in light armor should wear dastana.
Chain Shirt + Dastana + Chahar-Aina is +6 AC, before Dex, with no penalty to speed. Ad a shield on top of this, and your AC will be incredible.
Also, since you can fly, you probably don't want a special mount. Consider Stand Fast Instead:
https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/classes/baseCore/paladin.html#stand-fast
Stand Fast is recommended in urban adventures.
Charging Smite is good too though.
Also, remember that as per the urban adventuring variant, you can always swap out the Ride skill with the Tumble Skill.
>I don't know how important or generally relevant ranged combat is going to be in this game, so I'll be flexible to character ideas.
I think you'll be fine, but if you want more help with your build I can give you tips.
As for feats, I would need to get a better sense of how you want to plan your leveling before I make any recommendations.
You should probably have Divine Might and Battle Blessing if you intend to be a standard paladin.
>>179490
>>179488
If you're DPS melee, you might want to consider picking up Crescent Knife proficiency. It's one of the few exotic weapons worth the feat (I rank it tied with heavy harpoons, and slightly above spiked chain in general; but for melee rogues it blows every other weapon out of the water), as it functionally doubles a Rogue's DPS. Good with Craven as well.
It's also held with a crossbar that doesn't look ridiculous in a horse's mouth.
Craven (adds character level to sneak attack) and Darkstalker (subverts scent and other sensory abilities) are essentials for Rogues too.
>There are way too many to choose from.
Superior Unarmed Strike, Snap Kick, Darkstalker, Beast Strike and Catfolk Pounce are worth considering too.
Also Craven if you pick up Sneak Attack through Sidewinder Style Monk.
Rangers are really good because they're the best at ACF chaining. One of my most powerful martial characters was a Ranger.

... I realize that it's none of my business telling everyone how to build their character, but I already spent all this time typing it, so I'm just going to click new reply.

I suppose I should give a detailed description of my characters, since it hasn't been done yet for the new players here.

Silver is a unicorn stallion, with light grey/silvery fur, a darker grey mane and tail in a fairly common utilitarian style, a darker grey dorsal stripe running down his back, and bright blue eyes. Adorning his flanks is a cutie mark of a sword in the middle of a downwards arc. He looks to be somewhere in his early-to-mid twenties, which to Brie is still taking a bit of getting used to. He speaks with a heavy Severyanan accent paired with a deep voice. Silver looks to be a physical specimen, being as tall as a Saddle Arabian horse while still having the build and bulk of a pony. With his large size and impressive strength, the way he moves so smoothly and deftly feels like it should be impossible, but despite this the dexterity and flexibility his body maintains is undeniable. His most notable physical feature however is not his size, strength, or even dexterity, but instead is just the shear amount of floof he possesses. Soft, thick, and full even beyond what Posey can hope to achieve, it suggests that a significant part of his ancestry is Snowpony, which explains not only his impressive build for a unicorn but also his apparent affinity for the cold. Mentally, he seems to be neither the sharpest of mind or sharpest of tongue, though he is certainly no simpleminded idiot. He seems to be possessed of a wisdom well beyond the years shown on his face. As far as equipment goes, he is perhaps the most modernly equipped one in the party, or second most modernly equipped now that Brie has revealed his almost futuristic armor. He wears a flak jacket that appears to have seen some better days, as well as a series of belt, bags, pouches, and bandoliers for quick access to his equipment and ammunition, in addition to his saddlebags which hold everything else he doesn't need immediate access to. In his possession are three weapons of note: a Lavender Rifle, the standard-issue army rifle of the Principality of Equestria during the Great War with an internal magazine fed using stripper clips, a civilian model pump-action shotgun chambered in 12 gauge ammunition, and the most non-modern weapon in his possession, a great big greatsword either made of or plated with silver, intricately made with detailed engravings. The greatsword he seems especially comfortable with, even moreso than with the rifle.

Kira is, well...unique. No lamias have ever been seen in Equestria before, as far as the current group's knowledge goes. Her front/top half appears to be a pony with yellow/golden-yellow fur, a short red mane with a couple small braids off to the side held together with beads, and bright red slitted eyes. Her pony half appears to almost be like a bat pony, just lacking any wings. Her other half is what likely causes most ponies to panic, however; a long, massive snake tail, covered in smooth, metallic golden-yellow scales with a pattern of large red diamonds with black borders running all the way down to the tip of her tail. Her underside is covered in white/off-white plate-like scales which help her gain traction while slithering on various surfaces. A large bulge in her tail disrupting her otherwise clean silhouette suggests that she ate something rather big recently is a bit concerning, but if asked Kira will explain it's a goat she bought at a farm outside of Baltimare. With both halves combining for anywhere between 18 to 20 feet long, Kira appears to be on the very upper edge of what could reasonably be called "medium", and if somehow she were to grow much longer one could very easily classify her as a "large creature". Assuming lamias age in a similar fashion to ponies, she appears to be somewhere in her early 20s judging from her pony half. She looks be very strong, with superb muscle definition in her pony half and the muscles in her tail rippling with every movement. As expected of a snake-like creature, she shows remarkable dexterity and control over her every movement. She seems possessed of a kind, agreeable demeanor that would make it easier than normal for her to be diplomatic, if it weren't for the handicap of inspiring terror in lesser-willed creatures, at least until they get to know her. What's interesting is that despite her origin in Zebrica, she speaks completely fluent Ponish and has an almost Equestrian accent that means she is extremely easy to understand. As far as equipment, Kira wears a far more archaic style of studded leather armor than Brie, with plates of cured leather hinged together to allow for ease of movement, covered in a layer of steel studs or perhaps small rings for additional protection, laying over a tunic made out of either wool or hemp for comfort. She has fewer belts and pouches than Silver does, just enough to suit her needs without inhibiting movement, and near where her two halves meet the lamia-version of a saddlebag is strapped around her tail. Up near where the sleeves of her leather armor end are a pair of ornately-made gold bangles in the shape of a lamia eating its own tail that Kira has moved further up from the ends of her forelegs (or, perhaps just legs as she only has the one pair of them). This is because she needed to make room for a pair of studded leather bracers for protection from one of her weapons. This weapon, a bow of very unusual make, appears to be bent or curved back on itself, and Posey may be able to tell that this bow isn't just made out of wood but also materials from different animals. Paired with the bow are two quivers of arrows, one behind her back and one strapped to her right side, the arrows themselves tipped with barbed steel arrowheads meant originally for hunting, but will be quite effective against unarmored or lightly armored opponents. She also possesses a spear with a steel leaf spearhead, finely made, and a hunting knife of ordinary make on her left hip.

>>179490
ran out of characters in my description post to reply to this in it

Silver looks over at the bat, tilting his head at the unusual design. "Where did you get that? I have never seen armored made in such fashion before."

Kira, meanwhile, looks over and lets out an "ooooooooooo" as her pupils and iris expand to encompass most of her eyes, the catchlights in them seemingly turning into sparkles. "That looks awesome!"