Carnival in Pathfinder

[The Giamarga]

I thought the woodcarving might be from Champions of the Mists, but it isn't. I probably just carried it over from the stats by User "Prof Pacali" on the ancient WotC thread. So you can probably disregard it. (Or is it in the novel?)

As for feats I understand that Blessed and Hope (and the whole subsystem) don't carry over well. But I found Spirit of Light to be particularly fitting and it does not reference the innocence subsystem at all. Your twisting effect is a bit similar but I don't think I like the hostile version of it.

I can definitely see Barbarian 1 or 2 for Claude. Check out a few archetypes (ones that switch out fast movement: breaker?, drunken brute! or urban) for a non-savage/tribal feel.

What year in the timeline is Carnival set? I'm asking because I see many very low level NPCs here which are quite old. Maybe advancing them a level or two might be ok. How about Brb2 for Claude and Exp 3 for the Imp? This would fit with his Ftr2 stats in 2e and both advancing a bit after their arrival at the Carnival at age 16 (which incidently is the minimum age for a human Brb1).

Also Ryan do you have an OR system in your PFRL?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

What year in the timeline is Carnival set?

the book came out in 99. That puts it around 753 or so. It's "now" 767 or so, if you sync the timeline to real world time.

[Nemesio]

Can't wait to see what else you come up with.

[The Giamarga]

Carnival also says Claude is fluent in a dozen languages in Carnival. I was able to get 11 languages with the PF rules. I could give Claude an extra level, and that could bump it up to 12, but I'm not too concerned.

Actually it says: The Imp has an ear for languages; between the Troupers, at least a dozen tongues are spoken in the Carnival, and the Imp is fluent in virtually all of them. The exception is the language of the Illuminated Man. Not even the Imp has mastered that one.

So 11 should be ok.

[Mortavius]

Thanks for all the feedback on the Imp folks!

I have given thought to what you suggested, and I have revised the Imp with a level of Barbarian. I thought about layering the stats, but unlike Tristen/Malken, Claude & the Imp are still two separate beings, just joined together physically. I figure that Claude took up the Drunken Brute class when he was sixteen, and this actually dovetails nicely with his background. His parents were concerned that he was getting violent; what if it was when he was drinking? And he was drinking because he was depressed and kept locked away?

Since then, the Imp, although it inherited control of the body, has taken on the Expert class. Claude is the only one who can use the Rage ability, but it still gets benefits from the HP and few skill ranks that Claude got as a barbarian. I also cheated slightly in the rules; I gave him two favored classes. I figure that Claude's favored class is Barbarian, and the Imp's is Expert. Since they are technically two different minds, I figured this made sense.

Also Giamarga, thanks for sticking to your guns on the feat choices for Hermos. I revisited Spirit of Light, and you've convinced me that it's a good fit for Hermos. I replaced Endurance with it.

[The Giamarga]

Nice.

Check out my Carnival settlement statblock in the other thread.

I'm currently working on the Brute. But if you have your own version go ahead and post it.

[The Giamarga]

Here's Tosk.

Barbarian is of course a natural fit for Tosk as he is described as coming from a tribal background. I chose the scarred rager archetype for it's excellently fitting Terrifying Visage ability, which would explain why he was considered ruggedly handsome by his tribe, and also why he takes to wearing a hood. BTW he got the hood, along with the headband fastening it from an animated scarecrow that he smashed to pieces. He'll be old in 762 taking a huge hit to his physical abilities, maybe sometime in the future he'll do another act as the Scarecrow?

BTW I imagine a lot of fun in dialogues with Tosk in Mordentish resulting in angry almost brawls, with the near homophones Tosk/tusk, tusked/tasked. Perhaps that's why none of the Troupers call him by his name anymore....

Question: Should the Twisting be represented by dispellable (Su) effects like for Hermos, or by (Ex) effects like I chose for Tosk?


Tosk, the Brute

Timeline
732 BC: Tosk is born in the in the orcish Kingdom of Thar on the world Mystara.
747 BC: Tosk becomes a champion of his tribe.
748 BC: Tosk enters Ravenloft. (How/why? Was he evil? Did he change alignment in the Carnival?)
748 BC: Tosk joins the Carnival. ("5 years ago" in the Carnival supplement which is set 753 BC)
760 BC: Present day.
763 BC: Tosk reaches old age (-2 physical, +1 mental)

Base Stats
S 17 D 11 C 17 I 9 W 7 Ch 6 (high fantasy, 20 pt)
Racial: Str +4, Int -2, Wis -2, Cha -2
Aging: Middle Aged (-1 physical, +1 mental)
Level stat mods: Str +2
Twisting: Str +2
Favored Class: +hp

Tosk, the Brute, 760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 7; XP 3200
Male orc barbarian (scarred rager) 8
LN Medium Humanoid (Orc)
Init +0 (Dex); Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +7
Weakness light sensitivity

Defense
AC 10, touch 8, flat-footed 10 (+2 armour, -2 rage)
HP 100 (8d12+48)
Fort +11, Ref +2, Will +2; +6 to resist spells, supernatural abilities, and spell-like abilities
Defensive Abilties ferocity, scarification, tolerance, improved tolerance, DR 1/-

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 greataxe +16/+11 (1d12+8), unarmed strike +15/+10 (1d4+7 nonlethal)
Special Attacks rage (21 rounds/day), rage powers (clear mind, intimidating glare, strength surge, superstition +4), terrifying visage

Base Stastics When raging, Tosk has the following statistics: AC 12, touch 10, flat-footed 12; hp 84 (8d12+32); Fort +9, Ref +2, Will +0 ; +4 to resist spells, supernatural abilities, and spell-like abilities; Melee +2 Greataxe +16/+11 (1d12+7), Unarmed Strike +15/+10 (1d4+7 nonlethal); Str 24, Con 16, Skills Climb +11, Swim +11

Statistics (while raging)
S 28, D 10, C 20, I 8, W 7, Ch 6
Base Atk +8/+3; CMB +14; CMD +24
Feats Cleave, Ferocious Tenacity, Grudge Fighter, Power Attack
Skills Climb +13 (2), Diplomacy -2 (0), Intimidate +13 (8), Knowledge (nature) +4 (2), Linguistics +1 (2), Perception +7 (4), Survival +5 (4), Swim +13 (2).
Languages Orcish*, Mordentish, Balok.
SQ bestial brute, terrifying visage

Treasure (7291 gp of 7800 gp spent)
+1 Greataxe (2320 gp), Leather Armor (20 gp), +1 Breastplate (1350 gp) (stowed), Travellers Outfit (1gp), a Scarecrow's cloth hood fastened with a Dead Man's Headband (3,600 gp)


Bestial Brute (Ex) As a result of the Twisting, Tosk's strength and bestial features were enhanced even more. He gains a +2 bonus to strength and the benefits of the half-orc alternate racial feature Bestial gaining a +2 bonus to perception.

Terrifying Visage (Ex): A scarred rager adds 1/2 her barbarian level on Intimidate checks against humanoids who are not members of barbarian tribes. When dealing with barbarians, the scarred rager may choose to add this bonus on Diplomacy checks instead. The DC of any fear effect created by the scarred rager also increases by 1. This ability replaces fast movement.

Tolerance (Ex): At 2nd level, a scarred rager who fails a save against an effect that causes her to become nauseated, sickened, fatigued, or exhausted can make a second save to negate the effect on the start of her next turn. Only one additional save is allowed. If the effect does not allow a saving throw, its duration is halved instead (minimum of 1 round). This ability replaces uncanny dodge.

Scarification (Ex): At 3rd level, a scarred rager can ignore 1 point of bleed damage per round. This amount increases by 1 every three levels beyond 3rd. At 15th level, a scarred rager can ignore 1 bleed effect each round. This ability replaces trap sense.

Improved Tolerance (Ex): At 5th level, a scarred rager’s tolerance ability also applies to effects that would cause her to become dazed, frightened, shaken, or stunned. This replaces improved uncanny dodge.

[The Giamarga]

Barbarian 1 might represent Claude's natural ability rather than training (that is, having a really, really bad temper and the desire to get the hell away from Carnival while he can), and would give him the very similar base stats to the Imp's expert 2 (e.g. hp would be identical, BAB identical...) .

It might be interesting to layer one over the other (like I did with Malken and Tristen) and see what you get.

I thought about layering the stats, but unlike Tristen/Malken, Claude & the Imp are still two separate beings, just joined together physically.

So why is he mutliclassed? They have two separate but conjoined bodies. They don't really share the body, it's more like they switch bodies. (Though the Imp hearing Claude's thoughts is a bit strange.)

I'd rather have him with separate stats. I would set it up like the mind switch psionic power where each would retain his own hit points, saving throws (possibly modified by new ability scores), class abilities, supernatural and spell-like abilities, spells and powers, and skills and feats (although skill checks use your new ability scores, and you may be temporarily unable to use feats whose requirements you do not meet in your new body). For convenience sake I would probably waive the negative level though, or maybe not.

Also since we're advancing the timeline for 7 years and Claude/Importun have been with the Carnival for 15 all in all, I would definately advance Claude to Brb 2 and the Imp to Exp3. A rage power and a new feat to play with...

I'll see if i can modify your stats and split them in two sets...

[Mortavius]

I thought about layering the stats, but unlike Tristen/Malken, Claude & the Imp are still two separate beings, just joined together physically.

Hmm... so why is he mutliclassed? They have two separate but conjoined bodies. They don't share the body, rather they switch bodies. I'd rather have him with separate stats. I would set it up like the mind switch psionic power where each would retain his own hit points, saving throws (possibly modified by new ability scores), class abilities, supernatural and spell-like abilities, spells and powers, and skills and feats (although skill checks use your new ability scores, and you may be temporarily unable to use feats whose requirements you do not meet in your new body). For convenience sake I would probably waive the negative level though, or maybe not.

Also since we're advancing the timeline for 7 years I would definately advance Claude to Brb 2 and the Imp to Exp3. A rage power and a new feat to play with...

Well, perhaps my wording is wrong. They *do* share a body...Importun's body is a small weak thing that can't even really move, according to the description. Actually my wife brought up a very good analogy when I was talking to her about this; she likened the two to a mother and her baby when it's in the womb. Two separate beings, but with a physical connection.

For all intentions, Importun uses Claude's body. Plus, Importun was aware and watching while Claude was learning to be a Barbarian. He couldn't help but absorb the knowledge. Once he took control of the body, he chose a different path to go down. Likewise, Claude sees, hears and experiences things while Importun is in control, but is powerless to interact in any way. That was my thinking as to why they are multiclassed; sort of a forced learning situation. Also, I want to keep the stat block user-friendly. I hate it as a DM when I have unwieldy stats to work with.

As to the experience, I'm hesitant. I sort of set a precedent with Hermos, saying that he gained 3 levels in twenty years. I don't want to wildly contradict that with other characters without good reason. Plus, I don't see Importun as going out and adventuring or anything; he wants to stay in Carnival. I'm really not sure about a second level in Barbarian. That class is all Claude, and he had Isolde's Twisting enacted upon him at sixteen years old. And before that, he was kept locked up by his parents. I like the idea of him having the basics of a class with his own natural talent, but I don't see any way for him to develop those skills.

I have a slightly different version of Tosk I'm going to put up, to compare to yours, Giamarga.

[Mortavius]

Here is my version of the next one...

Tosk, the Brute

Timeline
732 BC: Tosk is born on an Outlander world in the Orcish kingdom of Thar.
747 BC: Tosk enters Ravenloft as an Outlander and joins up with Carnival soon after.
760 BC: Present day.

Twisting: The Twisting enhanced Tosk’s physical strength, matching his strong personality. However, his ugly pride also came through, deforming his face.

Base Stats
Str 17, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10
Racial: +4 Str, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha
Twisting: +2 Str, -2 Cha
Leveling: +2 Str
Aging: Middle Aged
Favored Class: +2 to Con/level to determine death from negative HP (Effective Con of 31 for this purpose only)

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 8; XP 4800
Orc Fighter (Savage Warrior) 8
LN Medium Humanoid (Orc)
Init -1 (Dex); Senses Darkvision 60 ft, Perception -1

Defense
AC 13, touch 9, flat-footed 13 (+3 Armor, +1 Natural, -1 Dex)
HP 57 (8d10+16)
Fort +8 (+10 vs. Energy Drain & Death effects), Ref +1, Will +1
Defensive Abilities: Ferocity
Weakness: Light Sensitivity

Offense
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: Greataxe +17/+12 (1d12+14, x3) and Bite +11 (1d4+4)

Statistics
Str 24, Dex 9, Con 15, Int 9, Wis 8, Cha 7
Base Atk +8, CMB +15, CMD 24
Feats: Bullying Blow, Cleave, Grudge Fighter, Ironhide, Power Attack, Razortusk, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (Greataxe), Weapon Specialization (Greataxe)
Skills: Intimidate +5, Linguistics +0, Perform (Act) +1
Languages: Common, Orc, Balok

Equipment
Greataxe +1, Leather Armor +1, Silversheen (x4), Potions (Bull’s Strength, Cure Moderate Wounds)



I kept Tosk as a Fighter for a number of reasons. First, his alignment is LN; Barbarians cannot be Lawful. Secondly, Tosk comes from the Orcish kingdom of Thar. This is actually an old D&D supplement that allowed PC's to play the Goblinoid races in 2E. The word "kingdom" implies some semblance of order, even if it's loosely organized, or in a tribal fashion.

Tosk never struck me as a Barbarian. He has a short fuse, and is ready to respond to a slight with violence, but I see that as more of a product of his savage upbringing and a desire to prove himself, not of a barbarian's rage. Tosk is young (relatively-speaking) and he is high level; I see him something as a prodigy. This probably engendered jealousy and anger in those around him who resented his skill. Plus, his about-turn to reverence for Isolde, and to act as her champion also doesn't strike me as behavior befitting someone prone to near-mindless rages.

[The Giamarga]

Darn, but I like your Tosk. Very good. It's not as archetypical as my Orc Barbarian, which is rather good. Grudge Fighter is very nice as is Razortusk. I had considered them for my version too. I also like your gear for him. But I dig the Barbarian Strongman idea. Somehow I thought that in PF Barbarians can be lawful, which now that I look it up is not the case. Damn, damn, damn...

For all intentions, Importun uses Claude's body. Plus, Importun was aware and watching while Claude was learning to be a Barbarian. He couldn't help but absorb the knowledge. Once he took control of the body, he chose a different path to go down. Likewise, Claude sees, hears and experiences things while Importun is in control, but is powerless to interact in any way. That was my thinking as to why they are multiclassed; sort of a forced learning situation. Also, I want to keep the stat block user-friendly. I hate it as a DM when I have unwieldy stats to work with.

As to the experience, I'm hesitant. I sort of set a precedent with Hermos, saying that he gained 3 levels in twenty years. I don't want to wildly contradict that with other characters without good reason. Plus, I don't see Importun as going out and adventuring or anything; he wants to stay in Carnival. I'm really not sure about a second level in Barbarian. That class is all Claude, and he had Isolde's Twisting enacted upon him at sixteen years old. And before that, he was kept locked up by his parents. I like the idea of him having the basics of a class with his own natural talent, but I don't see any way for him to develop those skills.

It's not really a precedent with Hermos as he was a 0-level human, something that does not exist in PF, but generally translates to has NPC class levels. Not neccessarily only 1 level though.

As for Claude, well he did get in control a few times, and he should be plotting. How long does it take the average PC to gain a level? A few weeks? A month? As i said it has been 15 years for both of them. BTW the Imp doesn't need to go adventuring to gain some XP, I suscribe to SKR's Theory About Peasants, i.e. everyone gains some levels slowly over enough time.

Good point about the shared experiences between the two of them though, with the trapped one listening in on the other's thoughts.

I'll think about it some more and maybe build/post my two statblocks for them.

[The Giamarga]

So no comments? No one else reading this thread? Which Tosk do you prefer?

Next one up is The Illuminated Man, the tattooist abber shaman. A real tricky one! Will you use the Tattoo feats from Rite Publishing ? Or the one from paizo which essentially scribes tattoo scrolls only? Also will he be a cleric or should he be converted/rewritten to Tattooed Sorcerer? Or something completely different? The Tattooed Mystic prc from Paths of Prestige is another option.

The rules for dream walking and night terrors should also be converted... There's a 3.5 PDF on dreamwalking in the Library iirc. And I would definitely change the funky rules from the Carnival where he gets to bind 8 night terrors per level instead of spellcasting.

[Nemesio]

I think all you guys are doing a great job! I check in pretty frequently.

I prefer the fighter brute.

Can't wait to see the Illuminated Man!

What about the barker, Tindal. He was always one of my favorites.

BTW how do you guys put together the timelines? I imagine that the Carnival supplement only gives so much background info.

[Mortavius]

Carnival does only give so much info...but I also use John Mangrum's unofficial timeline for Ravenloft. Since he also co-wrote Carnival, I figure his dates are pretty spot-on.

As for the Illuminated Man...believe me, I've been looking into it and giving it lots of thought. Haven't made a complete decision yet, but I'm closer.

[Jester of the FoS]

On a semi-related note, the next Pathfinder Bestiary (due late this year) will have Pickled Punks.