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#31
In Character Discussions / A Gift of Folly
Last post by Johan - March 09, 2016, 08:19:47 PM
The Northguild Theather was nearly as much a home to Cameran as the Guilded Theather in Rhohannus was. But like many other things in life: your first is always your fondest. Still, in Kurr Cameran had made a great friend out of the Northguild Theather's owner, one Perith Corrina.

Perith was a dear friend of Sherina, and she took over Cameran's education as a favor to Sherina. And both Cameran and Perith delighted in it. Two years of working in the Northguild Theater with Perith – and occasionally Sherina when she visited – had taught Cameran much about the art of acting. About leading people to believe what they might or might not want to believe and about understanding which was which, even if your audience didn't themselves know.

Two years of entertaining noble daughters, nieces, and wives (in one way or another) had enabled him to piece together many schemes that permeated the upper crust of Kurr, some benign and merry, some foolish, and some nefarious, if not outright treasonous.

Most of these schemes he simply watched. Some he manipulated through to realization and others he manipulated to failure, but carefully: always in such a way that he could not be implicated in the final results.

Two years of living as a member of Friedrick Fitzsimmons' household fairly turned Cameran's stomach. It had taken rather a long time to piece together Fitzsimmons' persona, but the Headmaster's schemes were more often than not outright treasonous. In a few cases Cameran took measures to ensure those schemes failed, but he needed to do so judiciously, lest Fitzsimmons or his associates deduce that the empty-headed thespian was connected with those failures.

At the beginning of Venric, Valley Year 237 Cameran became aware of Fitzsimmons' most bone-chilling plot yet.

This plot included kidnapping, blackmail, possible murder, and agents from Xanthakos. Black tidings indeed. Good thing for Cameran that he was so stupid...
#32
In Character Discussions / A Gift of Folly
Last post by Johan - February 24, 2016, 01:58:53 PM
Friedrick Fitzsimmons was the Master of Scribes in Kurr, though he referred to himself as the "Headmaster". Cameran's initial assessment of Fitzsimmons was that the Headmaster was disingenuous, to say the least. With all due elegance and grace he welcomed Cameran into his home, but his eyes belied his wide smile. It was immediately clear to Cameran that he was an inconvenience to Fitzsimmons, to say the least.

In the way of getting to know Cameran, Fitzsimmons entertained his houseguest a bit over-lavishly during Cameran's first month or so in Kurr. Cameran became a focal point for many a pointed conversation – fishing expeditions, actually – among Fitzsimmons and his associates. At dinner parties, lunches, and other social engagements (all attended by Fitzsimmons' business associates) the questions were routinely the same: 'What does your father do?' 'Is that old money, or is he a self-made man?' 'Whatever will Prince Ravenwood do with those insubordinate, treasonous Barons turning their backs to him and allying with the savages?' Spearson, they reckoned almost to a one, was the primary thorn in the Prince's side, and to deal with him would be to deal with Jalgraxa and K'Aviak. Then, they supposed, the savages would be a non-issue and come to heel to the civilized nation.

Cameran, for his part, played Sherina's part. 'Oh, Father buys and sells...I don't pay overmuch attention to his business...I haven't the head for it.' 'He's had his money longer than he's had me!' 'Can you imagine the sorts of theater there must be in the savage lands?' 'That Prince Ravenwood must be a busy man indeed...do you know that he never once has stepped foot into the Rhohannus' Theater! Imagine!' 'Gads, man! Your cravat is impeccable! However do you tie that so perfectly?!?!' 'Oh, a reel! I love a reel! Might I borrow your niece for this dance?' 'Remind me: Spearson is an Earl, is he not?'

Within a month, it seemed clear that Fitzsimmons and his associates had decided that Cameran was completely useless to them. Gone were the interviews, the prodding conversations, the smiles that were at odds with the glares and leers. Now, though they still showed their teeth, their eyes were condescending and their invitations were for Cameran to entertain their daughters and nieces – sometimes their wives – and keep them distracted so that the men could conduct their business.

Cameran engaged himself during the days with the Northguild Theater, where he was surprised to hear that he was expected...Sherina had sent word to them that Cameran would be in the city, and that he would doubtless end up there. He therefore had work immediately.

As a guest in Fitzsimmons' home, though, we was expected to accompany the Headmaster to the social engagements at Vallensun Keep or at other well-appointed estates in the city. Of late, though, Cameran was left more or less to the attention of the ladies of the society. He had been gaining a name for the few parts in the plays that he had taken, and at such social engagements he had become known for his command of the dance floor and his telling of tales from his native Rhohannus.

Such as it was, Cameran was all but invisible to the leadership of Kurr, while yet being in their frequent company. Simultaneously, his growing social circle was in similar circumstances, being largely the daughters of that leadership, each of them hearing a snippet here or there. These snippets, taken singly or even doubly, didn't mean much of anything. But taken in their aggregate, knitted together over time, they told Cameran that Fitzsimons was very much other than what he seemed: a devoted and loyal member of Arch-Duke Corwynn Vallensun's royal staff.
#33
In Character Discussions / A Gift of Folly
Last post by Johan - February 23, 2016, 01:18:25 PM
Sherina Silkenvox – her stage name – was an actress in the Guilded Theater in Rhohannus. She was supremely gifted at her trade, and was strikingly lovely in her waning youth, and while she yet remained single she had many a gentleman caller who vied for her attention at the end of every show, and whose arms she adorned at all the social engagements of that City-State's most affluent district.

The reason, it was widely known, for her continued status as a single woman – so late into her mature years as she was – was because she was, beneath her unparalleled talents as an actress and beside her incomparable soprano tones (not to mention her obvious though fading beauty), utterly vapid.

The intellectual patrons of the Guilded Theater – the well-heeled social elite of Rhohannus – were accustomed to the flighty, capricious persona that was the hallmark of actors and actresses, but Sherina was another level of vacuous altogether.

Except...she wasn't. Not even remotely. In fact, as soon as Cameran had come to the Guilded Theater, he recognized that Sherina was not only not stupid, she was probably one of the smartest people he would ever come to know. The fact that for so many years – over two decades, in fact – she had led the entire elite of the City-State of Rhohannus to believe that she was an empty-headed ninny was testament as much to her acting talents as to her towering mental facilities.

Sherina recognized in Cameran a kindred spirit, apparently, and she spent years teaching him one powerful lesson after another, and the most powerful of them all was that it is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish. (~ Aeschylus).

And profit she did. And she brought Cameran along the way, teaching him the ways of the true actor...the performance, the schemes, the plots, the ploys, the twists and intricacies, and how to protect oneself in the company of what were often little more than human monsters. How to remain essentially anonymous in a City-State teeming with people who prided themselves on assessing and exploiting...owning, if one must state it factually...other people.

Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so (~ Lord Chesterfield). This was the boiled-down essence of Sherina's most oft-iterated cautions to Cameran. It was this lesson above all others that Cameran took to heart, as he had taken Sherina's friendship and maternal love.

It was this lesson that Cameran took with him when his father had informed him that Cameran would be journeying to Kurr, to live there with one of Cameran's father's long-time business acquaintances (they weren't truly friends, afterall...men like them didn't typically have friends, just business acquaintances that one might leverage for the betterment of their own positions), one Friedrick Fitzsimmons.
#34
General Info / PF MECHANIC: Take 5 and The Mo...
Last post by Wildfire - February 04, 2016, 05:29:22 PM
PF writes it similarly (which I didn't C+P into the thread):

In a normal round, you can perform a standard action and a move action, or you can perform a full-round action. You can also perform one swift action and one or more free actions. You can always take a move action in place of a standard action.
#35
General Info / PF MECHANICS: Have a Nice Trip...
Last post by Johan - February 04, 2016, 03:37:04 PM
Cool beans.
#36
General Info / PF MECHANIC: Take 5 and The Mo...
Last post by Johan - February 04, 2016, 03:35:41 PM
Although the end result is the same, I feel like 4e has a better "explanation" of these mechanics.

In any round, you get a STANDARD action, a MOVE action, and a FREE action.

You can use a STANDARD action to affect a MOVE or FREE action, and you can use a MOVE action to affect a FREE action.

The 5-foot step (in combat) represents your MOVE action.

Good to know though, that Standing up provokes an AoO.
#37
General Info / PF MECHANIC: Take 5 and The Mo...
Last post by Wildfire - February 04, 2016, 07:40:42 AM
When 3rd ed came out I didn't appreciate the battle grid. I felt it was unnecessary since I had played for many years without one. Then I saw a combat scenario with it and was instantly converted (no torture required).

What I saw was that it offered a chance to get into the weeds of combat strategy and add a level of tangible and visible realism to what is largely a game of imagination (some may argue the merits of doing this and they are free to do so. Everyone I've talked to loves it). Sure, in the past it was the GM that dictated the field of combat for placement of enemies, AoE of spells and who was affected, how fast one could help another, etc and it worked fine...I daresay the outcome was probably about the same as if a battle grid was used. The difference is that the players have more control, the GM has less to think about, and hence, they all typically have more fun!

With greater detail comes more guidelines (I hesitate to use the word 'rules' because any RP game- the exception being MMORP...because those aren't really roleplaying games- at it's core is free form and malleable to what the players want to do). Pathfinder walks the delicate line of making the combat realistic but also tries to not bog it down with ponderous rules (sometimes they succeed and other times they are less successful). One of the areas that opens up in complexity is movement.

With a battle grid, movement is very often strategic. How you move can be as important as where you move. So let's talk a walk...

Take 5-Foot Step

You can move 5 feet in any round when you don't perform any other kind of movement. Taking this 5-foot step never provokes an attack of opportunity. You can't take more than one 5-foot step in a round, and you can't take a 5-foot step in the same round that you move any distance.

You can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after your other actions in the round.

You can only take a 5-foot-step if your movement isn't hampered by difficult terrain or darkness. Any creature with a speed of 5 feet or less can't take a 5-foot step, since moving even 5 feet requires a move action for such a slow creature.

You may not take a 5-foot step using a form of movement for which you do not have a listed speed.

Speed

Your speed tells you how far you can move in a round and still do something, such as attack or cast a spell. Your speed depends mostly on your size and your armor.

Dwarves, gnomes, and halflings have a speed of 20 feet (4 squares), or 15 feet (3 squares) when wearing medium or heavy armor (except for dwarves, who move 20 feet in any armor).

Humans, elves, half-elves, half-orcs, and most humanoid monsters have a speed of 30 feet (6 squares), or 20 feet (4 squares) in medium or heavy armor.

If you use two move actions in a round (sometimes called a "double move" action), you can move up to double your speed. If you spend the entire round running, you can move up to quadruple your speed (or triple if you are in heavy armor).

Move

The simplest move action is moving your speed. If you take this kind of move action during your turn, you can't also take a 5-foot step.

Many nonstandard modes of movement are covered under this category, including climbing (up to one-quarter of your speed) and swimming (up to one-quarter of your speed).

Climb: With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, wall, or other steep incline (or even across a ceiling, provided it has handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed.

Accelerated Climbing: You can climb at half your speed as a move action by accepting a –5 penalty on your Climb check.

Crawling: You can crawl 5 feet as a move action. Crawling incurs attacks of opportunity from any attackers who threaten you at any point of your crawl. A crawling character is considered prone and must take a move action to stand up, provoking an attack of opportunity.

Swim: Make a Swim check once per round while you are in the water. Success means you may swim at up to half your speed (as a full-round action) or at a quarter of your speed (as a move action).

Move 5 Feet through Difficult Terrain

In some situations, your movement may be so hampered that you don't have sufficient speed even to move 5 feet (a single square). In such a case, you may spend a full-round action to move 5 feet (1 square) in any direction, even diagonally. Even though this looks like a 5-foot step, it's not, and thus it provokes attacks of opportunity normally.

Run

You can run as a full-round action. If you do, you do not also get a 5-foot step. When you run, you can move up to four times your speed in a straight line (or three times your speed if you're in heavy armor). You lose any Dexterity bonus to AC unless you have the Run feat.

You can run for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution score, but after that you must make a DC 10 Constitution check to continue running. You must check again each round in which you continue to run, and the DC of this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. When you fail this check, you must stop running. A character who has run to his limit must rest for 1 minute (10 rounds) before running again. During a rest period, a character can move no faster than a normal move action.

You can't run across difficult terrain or if you can't see where you're going.

A run represents a speed of about 13 miles per hour for an unencumbered human.
#38
General Info / PF MECHANICS: Have a Nice Trip...
Last post by Wildfire - February 03, 2016, 04:32:45 PM
Now, if you find yourself prone and you need to get up and want to try and mitigate your opponents AOO you have options. You can use Total Defense to get a +4 bonus to your AC and stand up or you can Fight Defensively and get +2 bonus to your AC and be at -4 to hit on your Standard Action attack after you stand up.
#39
General Info / PF MECHANICS: Have a Nice Trip...
Last post by Wildfire - February 03, 2016, 04:01:48 PM
After reviewing the AOO mechanics it is not correct. I also consulted the Paizo forums to see if this was discussed. It was! A prone opponent can make AOO while prone they just do it at -4.
#40
General Info / PF MECHANICS: A Little Help Fr...
Last post by Wildfire - February 03, 2016, 03:48:13 PM
This is a core mechanic. When I started to post these PF mechanic snippets the "House Rules" section made sense as a place to put them. Now I'm thinking "General Info". So if I can move them there I will.