Faceless: Roll Call

[Jaloopa]

Mentions don't seem to generate a notification. And when I click my name in the mention  above I get a profile not found page

[Red]

Found the alert options. Doesn't seem like a great default, but sorted now.

Also, now I know I'm a lady, my chosen character name is slightly out of place...

[GamesMaster]

You could be a handsome woman if you like, or you could be trans if you want too  

[Arantor]

Mentions don't seem to generate a notification. And when I click my name in the mention  above I get a profile not found page

Something went wrong then because the installer sets defaults. I wonder if somehow they got broken either by DB stuff or by other things.

[Jean Grey]

@ringy....... I highly doubt that you are in erfland right now......

call it a hunch.

:-D

also i see what you did there.

[Ringy the Benevolent]

@ringy....... I highly doubt that you are in erfland right now......

call it a hunch.

:-D

Hey, don't blame me, blame my mun (and the forum software)

also i see what you did there.

[GamesMaster]

If anyone has an image they want to use as a token for this battle please toss it my way. I have some generics otherwise

[Jean Grey]

Image request sent on slack because uploads aren't a thing yet and i havent added the ability to pin a specific image to my CDN yet (working on it!)

[Red]

I see a turn order on Roll20. Does that mean we're in battle mode now?

[GamesMaster]

I see a turn order on Roll20. Does that mean we're in battle mode now?

We will be when I get home. I will also be posting a Combat Primer.  ETA 3 hours

[GamesMaster]

So. Combat.

We are using popcorn initiative. I have secretly rolled all your initiative, but it actually doesn't matter; I kind of set up the battle map and then only later remembered I said we'd be doing popcorn. What this means is as follows:

1. The person with the highest initiative (in this case, Joker) goes first.
2. He may take his turn, or pass the initiative to anyone of his choosing: ally or enemy.
2a. If he chooses to take his turn, he passes the baton at the end of combat to anyone who has not yet gone.
3. The person who takes their turn gets to decide who to pass to afterward. You cannot pass to someone who has already gone.
4. When everyone has gone, a new round begins. The last person to go picks who starts the next round. This means if you all go first, the enemies get to finish out the round and then go again at the top of the next round if they so choose.


After combat 1, we are no longer using Popcorn Initiative. Instead, Initiative works as follows:

• Everyone rolls Initiative (or has it rolled for them in the short-term)
• The monsters also roll initiative. These may be grouped by type or separated into arbitrary groups at my discretion
• Each round begins with the character with the highest roll on their initiative, and proceeds in numerical order toward the lowest roller. The round ends after initiative 0 (or whatever) and begins again with the highest number. 

During your turn you get one standard action and one move action. The most basic form of turn is: move up to an enemy with your move action, and hit them once with your weapon as a standard action.

Some actions are full-round actions. This means they take both your standard and your move.

You can take a second move action in place of a standard at any time you can take a standard.

In addition, you can take any number of free actions (talking is a free action; so is falling to the ground or stopping concentration on an ongoing spell). You can also take one swift action, but those are very rare and usually tied into spells.

There's also immediate actions, which are swift actions that can happen on someone else's turn, but you can ignore those until I mention otherwise since they're very niche. The one exception is Attacks of Opportunity, which I'll discuss below.
As a move action, you generally have the following options:
1. Move up to your speed.
2. Draw or sheathe a weapon (though you can draw it as part of moving)
3. Load a crossbow (except repeating and heavy crossbows; those take a full-round action to reload)
4. Dig an item out of your bag

As a standard action, you generally have the following options:
1. Attack once
2. Use a magic item, drink a potion, etc
3. Cast a spell
4. Use a skill
5. Help someone else do something (Aid Another)
6. Take up a defensive stance (raising your defense for a turn, but giving up your chance to attack)

As a full-round, you generally have the following options:
1. Attack more than once, if you are able. This is generally level-dependent.
2. Load a heavy or repeating crossbow
3. Charge (a type of attack that involves rushing in a straight line only, then hitting someone)
4. Withdraw (move up to double your speed while still avoiding attacks of opportunity)

There is one notable no action thing you can do: Take a single step, moving up to 5 ft, once during your turn. You can only do this if you have not otherwise moved.

[GamesMaster]

Attacking and Defense

You all have a number called your Armor Class. This is your main defensive score. This is essentially the target number that an enemy has to score above in order to hit you. This is calculated as 10 + Armor bonus + Dexterity + other bonuses, though there's some extra math that goes in around whether you have a cap on the Dex bonus due to your armor. It gets complicated, but basically, if this number is not very high, you want to stay out of melee.

An attack is similar to a skill roll: 1d20 + Base Attack Bonus + Relevant Ability Score + any additional bonuses. At the level you're at, you all have enchanted weapons, which may add +1 or more to your attack.

There are two main types of attack: melee and ranged. Bows and thrown weapons are ranged weapons, and use your Dex score to attack. Melee weapons use your Strength score to attack. There are exceptions to this rule; generally, light melee weapons can use Dex if you have the right feat, and some bows are crafted to add your Strength score.

Your Base Attack Bonus is based on your class. At the level you're at, many of you have multiple attacks; this happens when your BaB is +6 or higher, and it is a -5 penalty to your normal attack. So you may have two attacks, one at +6 and one at +1, or +7 and +2. You will get a third attack when your primary attack is +11 or higher.

(Classes that specialize in combat get a +1 to their BaB every level. Classes that are the worst at combat get +1/2 every level, rounded down. Classes that are middling get +3/4 every level, rounded down.)


Attacking with a ranged weapon or casting a spell can draw an attack of opportunity from adjacent foes. Unless you have the relevant feat, you can only take one AOO per round. This is a free attack that happens before the thing that prompts it, though it doesn't stop the thing from happening automatically. Moving away from an enemy or moving through a square they can hit also prompts an AOO. Generally, you want to avoid drawing those, since if you're a ranged combatant or a caster, you're likely to be built to avoid being hit in combat rather than tanking hits.

Terrain and cover

In general, moving through a square costs 5' of movement. Humans generally can move 30' per move action. Moving on the diagonal still costs 5' of movement despite math not working that way.

Some squares are difficult terrain. These cost 10' of movement to move through.

To determine whether your target has cover from a ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC). When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has cover if any line from any corner of your square to the target's square goes through a wall.

If you cannot draw a line from any part of your square to theirs without hitting cover, they have total cover. The line you can or cannot draw is called the line of effect, which is often a term required for spellcasting.

If you can see someone, you have line of sight to them. If you have line of effect but not line of sight, such as when you're standing in a dark room and you can't see in the dark, they have total concealment against you and you suffer a 50% miss chance on any successful attack. There is a lesser form of concealment that only grants a 20% miss chance, but that's rare, since most things that block line of sight also block line of effect and thus grant cover.

[GamesMaster]

Surprise Rounds

If not everyone is aware they're going into battle, a surprise round might happen. If it does, anyone who was aware they were going into combat gets either a standard action or a move action, but not both.

Making it easier to hit people

There are technically multiple types of AC. The normal AC is usually the hardest to hit. There is also touch AC, or the number you have to hit in order just to touch someone (not hurt them); this includes their Dex but does not include their Armor bonus. Spells often hit the touch AC, colloquially defined as "making a touch attack".

The last type of AC is the flatfooted AC. Someone is flat-footed when they have not acted yet this battle (the first turn of combat or a surprise round), when they are flanked (someone on either side of them), or when they're being attacked by someone they can't see (someone using the Stealth skill or someone who is invisible). This allows their armor bonus but not their Dexterity bonus.

Dying

Each of you has a number of Hit Points. This is a measure of your capability to do battle: it represents physical wounds, exhaustion, et cetera.

If you drop to exactly 0 hit points, you are staggered. This is a condition where you can only perform a move action or a standard action, but not both. (There are other ways to become staggered). If you use a standard while staggered due to dying, you lose 1hp and become dying afterward.

If you drop to -1 hit points or lower, you begin dying. You fall to the ground (prone) and begin to bleed out. Without medical treatment, each turn you roll a stabilization check (a small chance to stabilize on your own); if you fail this, you lose another hit point. (You may also hear this called a death saving throw, but that's not actually accurate Pathfinder terminology; that's a DnD 3.5 rule that went away)

When your character hits 0-Constitution hit points, they are dead. With few exceptions, nothing can be done for them at this point. You're talking resurrection magic here, folks.

Hero Points

This game uses hero points.

You may spend a hero point at any time, without using an action, to perform the following effects. You may not spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat or 6-second interval out of combat.

- Bonus: if spent before rolling, a hero point gets you a +8 luck bonus to any one roll. If spent after rolling, a hero point gets you a +4 bonus. You may spend the hero point to aid another character, but they receive only half the benefit (+4 or +2)
  - Note: I will not confirm nor deny before you have spent the hero point whether that will change the outcome. Since we don't have dice inline right now, I will let you spend it after I've narrated the result, but it might not change.
- Extra action: you may redeem one hero point for an additional standard or move action on your turn.
- Inspiration: At any time, you may offer 1 hero point to get some divine inspiration about what to do next. The GM may refuse this; if so, you retain the hero point
- Recall: You may spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or regain one use of a special ability that had limited uses.
- Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any d20 you just rolled. You must take the results of the second roll.
  - Since we don't have inline dice right now, this can happen after I narrate the result as well.
- Awesomeness: You may offer a hero point to ask the GM to make something awesome happen. The GM may refuse this; if so, you retain the hero point.
- Cheat Death: You may offer 2 hero points to the GM in order to cheat death. The GM has full discretion over if or how this happens.


You can earn hero points in the following way:

- You begin play with 0 hero points.
- Naming your character gets you 1 hero point. You may only claim this once.
- Upholding the religious beliefs of your patron deity at risk to yourself will earn 1 hero point. The GM must approve the moral/religious code before it can be used in this manner.
- Writing up a particularly impressive description of your actions may earn you 1 hero point, at the GM's discretion
- Exceptional roleplaying may earn you 1 hero point per scene, at the GM's discretion
- You may not hold more than 5 hero points at a time.

You may nominate another player to receive one of the GM discretion hero points at any time.

[GamesMaster]

Any questions?

[Red]

Assuming the ridge up to Hunter's area is difficult terrain, it looks like I can't get to anywhere overly useful this turn.

I assume the caravan are aware of the raptors now, so shouting a warning would be too late

Edit: I only have a standard or move action anyway don't I, if this is a surprise round. Might be best off just trying to get as close to the main attack as possible