A Thorn In The Hand OOC

[Simba]

I have a question to ask from all of you. As my character is nearing its completion I looked up some handbooks in order to find if there's anything important I left out. All the Swift Hunter builds out there (well, most of them, anyway) suggest a 1-level dip into Cloistered Cleric at level 2 in order to get Knowledge Devotion to improve damage output by a few points. I hesitate as it would end at a level of optimization I usually avoid, but on the other hand the concept is weak enough to maybe warrant some cheese on top. It would give me some low-level divine spells, use of wands with divine spells, Knowledge devotion and a little turn undead. Good, bad or ugly?

[Malak'ai]

It would fit with your concept perfectly.
As to the OP level, this is designed to be mid-op... All the NPC's are built that way, the monsters have been designed that way (except a few that I've modded like the Orc's you fought that had PC levels) and all the rewards have been worked out that way.

So while I have no problem with you dipping (as long as it can be explained in-game and you don't end up with a character where I have no idea what it's supposed to be), please keep the mid-op range in mind.

[Simba]

Thank you. To avoid confusion I will change the build to: Scout 1 / Cloistered Cleric 1 / Scout 2+3 / Ranger from there on. Easier to follow and fits the whole background perfectly.

How much money can I spend on her? 3500 * 1.5 = 5250 gp?

[Malak'ai]

It's WBL x 1.5.
WBL for a 3rd level character is 2700 so your starting gold will be 4050.

[Wordplay]

I was thinking about taking extra turning for Raif's next feat, but if we' re picking up some extra Cleric support, and undead aren't going to play a particularly huge role, I think I might re-think that.

[Simba]

Crunch is more or less done, fluff will follow as soon as work stops clogging the channels and lets the creative juices flow again.

[Wordplay]

Thanks for the XP Malak'ai!

Almost ready to level...

Hope it's OK I took a few liberties with the Orc language. I went back through the forum to look at all the places where it had come up, and I tried to work in the existing words. Raif's a novice, so he can be wrong about any of it... I expect Elenora will tell Raif just how wrong he is about most of it.

Hmm...actually looking at it, Raif almost certainly should have said 'rizet' rather than 'krizet', if we're going to keep this internally consistent.

I went with Verb, Subject, Object order - 'Helps elf the dwarf' it would be ordered... so the verbs are 'krizet, kezan, ezan and bezen'.

I figured adjectives could go before the word they describe, and that Orcish could stretch the definition of adjective a bit more widely than common... So whilst warrior and priest are nouns in common, kartok and zirdreki are adjectives in Orcish - literally something like 'I am the Raif Clearsight with the quality of being a warrior and a priest', or perhaps 'I am priestish warriorlike Raif Clearsight'.

For the verb 'to be' I had the prefix change, rather than the suffix, as is usual for verbs in English, Latin, or any of the Romance languages.

(Present/Active/Indicative)
To be
(Singular)
Kezan - I am
Tezan - Thou art/ you are
Ezan - One is, it is.

Plural
Za'ezan - We are
Be'ezan - You are
Ga'ezan - They are

[Machuchang]

Wordplay, you are a damn cool dude.

[Malak'ai]

Thanks for the XP Malak'ai!

Almost ready to level...

Hope it's OK I took a few liberties with the Orc language. *snip*

You're welcome.

Now... I'm off to get a student loan so I can go to uni to understand what you just said...
I just look up the words I want to use and cobble them together however they look/sound best... But If you're writing a dictonary, I'll take a copy .

[Wordplay]

Thank you. I guess I had a little time on my hands... I think I'll definitely put a short word list together, at least, and maybe a rough grammar.

Thinking about I wonder if there'd be a market for a constructed Orcish grammar/dictionary? People do seem to buy PDFs like that to help with their campaigns...

[Malak'ai]

Quite possibly.

And just having had a look at all your character sheets, I'm just wondering why there's such a large difference in XP for those of you who have been here from the start.
As far as I can remember (and find in my notes), all xp up until this last lot I just gave out has been the same, so there should only be a 300 point difference between Raif and the others (except Mailali) not 975... Unless I've forgotten something that is.

[Wordplay]

That should have been the 4th set of XP right?

I looked back through the IC thread for the values.

For the Goblins we got 300xp
You gave us rp xp at the same time 400xp
For the Orcs holding the elves captive 675xp
For the Orc mage and the tiger 550xp

So that's 1925

Then 400 for Verossa, Elenora, Drayner and Halabur (2325) and 700 fro Raif (2625). We started with 3000, so Raif's correct at 5625. Everyone else, apart from Mailali, should be at 5325.

It looks to me as though no-one else added on the first group of Orcs. Elenora and Drayner come out right if you add them on. I think Arranis missed them for Halabur as well, plus hasn't added on the most recent batch. Verossa's at 3000, so Marlowe's probably tracking xp elsewhere.

If everyone but Raif and Mailali puts their total to 5325, it should be right.

As for Mailali, (550+675+250=1475) should be at 4475, assuming he got xp for the 1st group of Orcs (which I'm pretty sure he did, as he was involved in the fight).

[Malak'ai]

Yes he did, and you calculations were roughly what I got as well (I couldn't seem to find what I had given you for the Goblins so I was about 50xp off for some reason... Don't know why I didn't just work backwards ).

[Arranis Thelmos]

We never discussed who took the third watch. Who wants it?

[Malak'ai]

Raif, Mailali and Rochenion.
Wordplay organized the watches in post #1163 on page #39... No one disagreed so I went with it.

[Wordplay]

To make sure that there were always two of us watching these NPC elves...and that for the third watch, if Mailali was in on it (obviously I know he's not, but Raif doesn't) that Halabur and Raif would have their spells prepared, and everyone would be rested. I didn't really think that they were anything other than they said they were, but Raif assumes everyone 'lies' (not always intentionally, or even deliberately).

@Malak'ai: Can we make a spot check instead of a search check? Oh, and I haven't done my prepared spell list yet, so I'll do that before I look at the thread again.

[Malak'ai]

@Wordplay: The Search check is to find the source of the bubbling (even though I've said where it's coming from) as it's still pitch black in the cave.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Please excuse me, my brain's been fried from finals. On a brighter note, I got a 96% on my AP Bio final.

[Malak'ai]

Please excuse me, my brain's been fried from finals. On a brighter note, I got a 96% on my AP Bio final.

No worries.
So... How many chromosome pairs do Elves, Orc's, Gnomes and SpellScales have? .

[Machuchang]

Please excuse me, my brain's been fried from finals. On a brighter note, I got a 96% on my AP Bio final.

Congrats dude! I never scored that high in my AP Bio class!

[Simba]

Please excuse the long delay, Trisha is almost done, only a few finishing touches to her background are still to be written.

[Arranis Thelmos]

No worries.
So... How many chromosome pairs do Elves, Orc's, Gnomes and SpellScales have? .

Elves: 24 pairs (48 chromosomes)

Orcs: 6 pairs (12 chromosomes)

SpellScales: ... You got me there.

Gnomes: 23 pairs (47 chromosomes. Just don't ask where that extra one comes from...)

[Wordplay]

Ok, spells prepared. Changed less than I thought - left the level 1s and cantrips alone - swapped out Eagle's Splendour and Enthrall for Spiritual Weapon and Aid.

[Arranis Thelmos]

I didn't change any of my spells either.

[Wordplay]

I think we need a search and listen check from Mailali... don't forget Simba, he's on the third watch too.

[Malak'ai]

@Arranis: You can certainly cast Dancing Lights if you want... In fact, they'd be easier on the eyes than a torch or sunrod when they first appear.

[Wordplay]

I think Drayner has a wand of light too... it's difficult, we want to sneak up on it, but we also want to see it, and we don't want to be suddenly blinded.

I'd say go for Dancing Lights.

I hope everyone's not too annoyed if it turns out to be just some random bubbling... better safe than sorry right?

Also, it occurred to me we never poked the walls and ceiling with a 10ft pole when we first checked out the cave... watch out for ceiling attacks, and attacks from the mouth of the cave.

[Malak'ai]

What 10' Pole?

Who ever says they have a 10' Pole is either boasting, bluffing or delusional (not meant in a dirty way at all, I just checked all your character sheets and no-one has one in their inventory ).

EDIT: Never have a conversation with your mother about something she was told at work while writing a post...
I ended up actually typing "lying" before when I what I was thinking was "bluffing" because she had asked if I thought one of her workmates was lying about the cost of a new laptop.

[Wordplay]

Just being jocular That is the cliche after all... We'd probably have just used Verossa's halberd if we were seriously worried about it.

Personally, horror films have got me looking at the ceiling more than is healthy.

[Malak'ai]

Just being jocular That is the cliche after all... We'd probably have just used Verossa's halberd if we were seriously worried about it.

Personally, horror films have got me looking at the ceiling more than is healthy.

I'd be more worried about sink/bath/shower drains or taps but that's just me... Damn you Pennywise!!!!!!!