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Pathfinder: Kingmaker Varnhold's Lot w/ Call of the Wild Mod Let's Play

Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
Running the Arrowsong Minstrel Bard archetype from the Call of the Wild Mod through the Varnhold's Lot DLC (lvl 5-10)

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/co...aizo-bard-archetypes/arrowsong-minstrel-bard/

https://www.nexusmods.com/pathfinderkingmaker/mods/112?tab=description

Arrowsong Minstrel is a good fit for running the Companions the DLC provides since they give you four melee characters already and only one Ranged (along with full caster). The one ranged character is locked into Longbow and there is a very good Shortbow for sale at the beginning where you're given 25,000 gold to start for the purpose of purchasing same.

In CotW you need a plan for dealing with Soft Cover (+4 AC for your target if something else is standing in the way of your shot, +2 if partially obscured) on ranged characters and Arrowsong Minstrel has one - it bypasses Soft Cover if it is provided by someone under the effect of your song, which we plan to keep up at all times. You also get Precise Strike as a Bonus Feat replacing your Versatile Performance at lvl 2, Arrowsong Strike at level 6 which lets you Spellstrike (but not Spell Combat so it's just a Standard Action not an enhancement to your Full Attacks), and access to several spells from the Wiz/Sorc list including Hurricane Bow and Rays.

The Bard itself also fills a very valuable niche in the group since the Competence bonus of the Song, the Morale Bonus of Good Hope, and the Enchantment Will targeting spells are all unavailable elsewhere among the companions. Unfortunately Arrowsong Minstrel has Diminished Spellcasting like a Sword Saint so will feel overstretched if you're trying to beat saves much.

The companions you do have are an interesting bunch, and better than they look. Owlcat does a good job teaching players about abilities and approaches they may have overlooked via companions (and increasingly in Wrath via the foes you encounter).

Bruiser is a Scaled Fist Monk whose main Scaled Fist ability (electrifying his fists) has received a substantial upgrade from CotW, now lasting several rounds.

Likewise Cephal the Conjurer's Acid Dart ability got a similar upgrade, now gaining dice like a Kineticist.

Tehara is a high Strength Freebooter who Dual Wields Daggers of all things, but CotW has upgraded Two-Weapon Fighting to gain iteratives naturally like normal attacks so you don't have to keep taking Feats for them, leaving an interesting choice for lvl 6 Two-Handed Combat Style ability.

Gekkor is an Animal Domain Herald Caller with an Elk pet. Her Deity Erastil has given her Longbow proficiency which she uses to little natural effect due to her 10 Strength. Big decision at level 7 is whether to take Boon Companion.

Finally Maegar Varn is a high-DEX Rogue who dual wields Shortswords. He comes with Dirty Trick to set up his targets to fall to his blows.

Screenshots next.
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
This is the information configuration for the screenshots which follow:

Info settings.jpg


If any of this feels like cheating to you, the one that matters the most is the bottom one. The cooldown timers let you play RTwP like turn-based because you can tell the order in which everything is happening.

Vdlc Equipment for Bruiser.jpg


This is an important piece of equipment for Bruiser. One of the benefits of playing a CHR-based Monk is that you start out with a decent UMD. Part of the strategy of the DLC is what choices you make initially with that 25K. A wand of Shield and 10 Mirror Image Scrolls for Bruiser gives you a bona fide tank. I once argued that Crane Wing AC should be Shield AC but it isn't and he doesn't have Uncanny Dodge either so I'm looking for AC that stays on when he's Flatfooted. I've tried to get there on making him an Intimidator and using Shatter but you have to give up too much. So instead his limited skill pts (you get half in CotW) go to UMD and getting Mobility to 3.

vdlc ungraded Acid Dart.jpg


Here you can see the upgraded Acid Dart. In unmodded the damage goes up one per level, here it's more than twice that. Note that it also bypasses Spell Resistance. Tricky part is getting around Soft Cover to land it. Precise Strike doesn't require Point Blank in CotW, but even that isn't really worth it for just this ability so use judiciously. If you're trying to go through Soft Cover into melee you're looking at a whopping -8 to hit. In this situation no malus at all.

vldc maegar combo.jpg


Here you can see Varn in the first fight using his Dirty Trick Blind to get his target flat-footed for his Sneak without needing anyone flanking. He's also standing behind Gekkor's target to avoid providing Soft Cover against her shot. To count as flanking you need to be on both sides of the mob so if another character were here they'd each be standing to the side of the mob.

vdlc positiong.jpg


Here's a later picture where you can see them doing that with the Hill Giant. Cover and flanking mechanics from CotW and it's related mods add a while new layer of tactical interest to the game.

vdlc owning Alchemist.jpg


Not sure why the Combat Log doubles up like that. Had that happen a couple times. This Alchemist also owned us a couple times despite having Resist Fire, Communal up. Here we get our revenge after finding the chink in his armor - Will Saves. Doesn't hurt to double crit either.

vdlc bruiser initiative.jpg


You can see here how important Initiative is to all that sweet, sweet Monk AC the theorycrafters love. If you're flat-footed you don't lose all of it but you lose enough to get owned. And this shot is just after taking Improved Initiative for his lvl 6 Monk bonus Feat. Gotta be careful out there.

vdlctankingpositiong goblincave.jpg


When, survived being flat-footed. Now we're good. You can see the Elk moving both to get the boss flanked and to get out of the way of his master who is trying to shoot him. A lot of that to pay attention to in CotW. It's fun.

vdlc Goblin cave.jpg


Tehara's Freebooter's Bane is a Move Action so keeps her out of harm's way the first round of combat. Then her high Strength usually makes her your most reliable damage dealer once she reaches the front lines. On full attacks she already gets four attacks. Looks like she must be Enlarged to get that kind of Reach from her daggers. Cephal keeps her and Gekkor Enlarged as much as possible.

vdlc maegar Trickery.jpg

Here Maegar's Trickery expertise pays off. You'd do well to develop another Trickery expert in the group. Tehara starts with some, but she's better for Athletics. If your MC can handle it you're ahead of the game and since with CotW Traits anyone can make it a Class skill with a small boost there's little reason not to.
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
The Goblin area is harder than it looks since Cephal has Divination for an opposition school making See Invis, Communal unappealing. The Gobs use their Invis potions to make you pay. One thing it does provide is your first level up since you start close to six. That level includes bonus Feats for Tehara and Bruiser and two (!) for Maegar whose Favored Class (Human) finally comes to fruition. Unfortunately he's already used his Combat Trick.

vdlc bruiser charge.jpg


Here we're in the first big area that plays out like a harder Old Sycamore with a few mini quests and a variety of foes. Here Bruiser is tanking Giants (he used Charge from Stealth to get his Fighting Defensively and Crane Wing turned on). You can see his Scaled Fist electrification ability. You end up using it instead of the extra attack ki ability, and since it now lasts three rounds and works even when you don't get a full attack a significant upgrade. Charge gives you the AB ability the entire following round, and if you win the Initiative roll (Giants have poor DEX) you can catch them flat-footed too.

When things are gummed up and I don't need to waste a spell or ability Cephal uses his Aid Another ability which is another nice feature added by CotW. It's no Blessing of the Faithful but it gets the job done. These guys have weak Will Saves (MC is casting Hideous Laughter) and Bruiser has them under control so no reason to burn anything else.

vdlc tehara high AB.jpg


Tehara being a Ranger she'll consistently have your highest AB. +25 is pretty good for lvl 6. Looks like she's wearing the +2 STR belt so Bull's Strength would get her another +1/+1.

vdlc arrowsong cover bypass.jpg


Gekkor is positioned so that no one is standing in her way as she shoots. Bruiser is providing Soft Cover to the enemy against the MC's attack, which would usually be another +4 AC (Tehara would be providing Partial Soft cover for +2) but since they're being affected by the Minstrel's song he bypasses it.

Maegar's Debilitating Strike (the Bewildering Injury option lowers AC) is InEffect buffing your whole team a total of 14 AB. But Vivi.

vdlc Bruiser getting hit.jpg


You come across these ongoing battles between Bandits and Monsters and can join in or let them fight it out. Here I've gotten into kind of a clusterfuck and Bruiser gets caught without his Fighting Defensively, Crane Wing, or Defensive Spin up.

vdlc Athletics dive.jpg


This chest is the reward for making Tehara your Athletics specialist. Don't forgot to put her armor back on after she goes for a dip. Pretty cool that she also was the one who Perceived it. Rangers do it all.

vdlc Athletics REward.jpg


I'd have a tough time not save scumming this one. It goes on Bruiser to shore up his 15 base STR. You could take him DEX-based but Feats are at an absolute premium and I can't spare the Weapon Finesse it would take (you can buy Agile Fists +1 to get DEX to damage). You can go that way then use Reduce Person to get to Tiny, but he's got enough defense to tank even when Enlarged and that takes advantage of his big fists better. SF6/Thug3 would be very interesting.

Varn Sneak vs Veonomanticore.jpg


Some of these Magical Beasts have sky high AC so it's nice to have some Sneaks for when you do get in there.

vdlc Bruiser 45 tank vs wargs.jpg


These Wargs are no joke, but neither is Bruiser's lvl 6 (!) AC. Dude is a serious tank. And this is without burning one of his Mirror Image scrolls.

It's interesting how CotW handles Stinking Cloud. To reduce the cheese he has it simultaneously spawn an Obscuring Mist that gives Concealment (20% miss chance) up to five feet and Full Concealment (50%) beyond that.

vdlc CloudCall vs Wargs.jpg


Cephal also comes with a Wand of Burning Arc with 30 Charges at Caster level 3 which isn't the worst action economy, especially vs high AC targets since it doesn't need an attack roll. You can see Gekkor flanked out the right again to get a clear shot. Got the main threat, the Greater Warg, with the mighty Cacophonous Call on the second try. In a different group Arrowsong Minstrel could focus more on dealing damage as it's designed but in this one they need the enchantment CC.

vdlc varn owning Cyclops.jpg

You can try to get Elk to matter on this map but it only gets big at character level 4 and Animal Domain is late pet so you've got that -3 no matter what you do. Even dipping a full pet class at level 6 doesn't get you there. You might be able to splash Fighter then use Bonus Combat Feat for Boon but I'm not even sure if Boon is available as Combat Feat. Long story short take your medicine, stay Cleric, get rewarded later. These Cyclops hit hard but Varn takes care of business. Cephal even getting in there with a random Acid Splash.
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
Now that the Cyclopes are down we've cleared a path to the quest objective at the bottom of the map where there's a substantial Persuasion check to assuage some Centaurs (if you passed the Lore (Religion) or Knowledge (World) checks at the beginning of the map). Bard MC gets there - otherwise a very tough fight and we head back to home base to rest up.

Camping with help.jpg


We rest there because the NPCs at the camp chip in if you get ambushed while resting. And they're pretty good too. Here they're Hasting the group. You can sort of grind here I guess if you have high enough Lore (Nature) and that is your thing.

vdlc Manticore DR.jpg


This guy is a massive pain in the ass. Pretty sure he's got some buffs and Wings or whatever that gives him a super high AC. Whenever there are two Damage Reductions like this they stack. Otherwise there would be one category where it would say Magic or Cold Iron. You're probably better off to sneak in with Maegar and steal his treasure (+2 Chain Shirt). Tiefling Tehara comes with Invisibility as a spell-like ability.

vdlc stunning fist vs Mantiore.jpg


The mighty Cacophonous Call saves Bruiser. Archon's gets there which helped. Confirmation roll of 19 doesn't get there. If it did he'd be dead. That's why people want all that AC.

vdlc Caco vs Pale Yan.jpg


A lot going on here.

Maegar is behind the Bandit archer getting free AoOs and working on Blinding him. Not sure where he got that Keen Shortsword but it's destined to trigger many future Outflank crit chains.

Cephal added a Grease to the earlier Pit he used to trap the Spriggan xbowman. Grease isn't the greatest against Rogues and Barbs who tend to have decent Reflex saves. Probably should pick up Glitterdust for Cephal, he has Greater Spell Focus, Conjuration.

Bruiser has skillfully drawn the attention of the two main threats. And as I've been telling people no reason your tank(s) can't also be an offensive threat(s).

Tehara hasn't had the opportunity to get sufficiently tanky yet so the Archer is lighting her up. This kind of situation is why Missile Shield or Deflect Arrows are better than they look.

The random Will saves are from Gekkor's Archon's Aura. You can see it debuffing both AC and Saves. It's pretty good. She's wearing the Mental Perfection Headpeice you get from solving the Dragon puzzle.

And of course the mighty Cacophonus Call again.

vlc mc crit vs warg.jpg


And of course MC can do some damage as well. Still think I may restart with just a regular Bard. You find a good Shield on this level with no one to use it and you really need the spellcasting more than the Bow. I did take Shield Bash for Tehara but the -4 malus on both hands for non-Light offhand is just too much. Arrowsong is supposed to be about singing and damage when the gaping hole in this party is attacking Will saves.

vdlc Dominate Animal gets there.jpg


Animal Domain spells mostly suck. Dominate Animal is super narrow and on top of that it's a full round action so as you can see here by the time it goes off it no longer matters. You could sneak up from the north and start combat with it I guess, but you'd need to burn an invis or buy a Reach Rod to get in range.

vdlc interrupt Elemental Breth.jpg


This is cool. CotW (I think) added a very punishing Acid Breath attack to these Elementals. It's also relatively easily interrupted if you take the fight to them.

vdlc Bruiser tanking Elementals.jpg


You can see the aftermath here of the second one getting the breath attack off. Looks like the Aid Another AC bonus takes a round to kick in.

vdlc bruiser tank skellies.jpg


A couple of these Skeletons at the bottom of the map are level 16 and 18. You can see Cephal lining up his Spiked Pit here after Bruiser Charged in to draw all the heat.

vdlc pit vs skellies.jpg

Great Spell Focus Conjuration + a ton of Int makes for some serious lvl 6 Pits. Only one survived, but he's the level 16 one so good to get him alone. He's the one that will turn you into a pincushion on the next map if you aren't prepared.
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
Once that big bad is down Cepahal Dismisses the Pit and we gank the other Skeletons who emerge Prone.

vdlc booter vs big Skeleon.jpg


Look at that Summoned Dog going off. Cephal has some Feat that boosts his Summons but I think that's just bypassing the DR/Bludgeoning. Tehara bypasses it by wrecking face.

Greasing Zombs.jpg


On the next map Cephal's Grease sets her up to make quick work of the Zombie Cyclopes.

ArchervsBruiser.jpg


This is the guy who survived the Pit. He will own you on this map from off the screen if you don't have a plan for him. We're ganging up on him here and he's pouring lead into our faces.

Ferocious Archer Stats.jpg


Don't know why he only has +1 Weapon Training but whatever. He Slays.

ArchervsVarn.jpg


What he doesn't have is a way to bypass Soft Cover, but as you can see here it doesn't much matter.

VDLC Dish.jpg

The next map is a nice one where you can get some good EXP for having your skillz covered. Think I'll look at what my reroll options are. Remembered some things I've missed now that I've run through it again.
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
Old Stump begins with a vendor who doesn't sell much and doesn't last long. The Acid Ring is dece. You can reup your chocolate supplies if you're running low, but there's only one more chance to use it.

vdlc no rest.jpg


That's because this whole area is a big no rest zone. Good thing CotW lets you come prepared for just such an occasion.

vdlc diplo checks.jpg


First up some C & C. If you go for the fat Diplo EXP you end up fighting everybody, which is quite the challenge when everybody is like twenty people. I feel like there are some other downsides I'm forgetting. I just agree with the Varnster. His house, his rules.

vdlc zombie cyclops.jpg


You get good guys and bad guys in the middle, then Zombie Cyclopses come out of nowhere and fight whoever. Guy at top right will whack those Cultists if they're still around. No big deal but VTomb is level 12 and we're level 7 here.

vdlc aura of doom.jpg


This spell is a nice pickup from CotW. Fairer Dirge of Doom replacement. Nice combo with Archon's Aura. Who's that casting that Displacement at the bottom of the log?

Tehara big AB.jpg


I took Shield Bash for Tehara and have a +2 Heavy but it really nerfs her AB since it isn't Light. Looks like maybe I should put it back on with this kind of AB. Especially since you need Bludgeoning against these guys to bypass their DR. They give you two Summoners for fights like this and we're up to lots of wolves where things get good.

Maegar crit.jpg


Thought I gave Varn Outflank? In any case 41 damage through DR is good work. He does have Slow Reactions which will let him hit and run if necessary. Gained a new appreciation for that one. Howling Agony is a third, stacking, layer of pain, this time from Cephal. Zombies Immune.

:updatedmytxt:

This is how you learn. Try shit and see what works.

vdlc main boss.jpg


So that's who was casting that Displacement. Nice prebuffs, Josh. Zombs have Great Cleave and Cleaving finish so really want to burn them down before they get a lucky hit in. And their Crits are x3.

vdlc big elk.jpg


When the Elk gets big he gets real big. We'll see just how big in a minute (hint: try to use Charge a lot). Cephal lining up the Acid Pit for the boss.

vdlc saves battle.jpg

Good old fashioned Mage battle. No blood drawn. Figured out that all the living things are attacking the non-living threats so might as well unleash some Channeling (no way you can afford Selective).
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
Another reason she's Channeling is that I just noticed this:

vdlc Herald Caller malus.jpg


Either they just added this in an update (or is in the CotW AI supplement I just turned on) or I've been playing half the game with a big malus I just noticed. You can use Armor with which you're not proficient in CotW but if you do you take the Armor check penalty against your AB. Oh well her she brings a hammer of a pet, spontaneous Summons, and a ton of great buffs and passive debuffs. She could sit around doing her nails in combat and be a big contributor.

vdlc bad plan.jpg


MC trying to Arrowsong Strike a Snowball here. Learned something NOT to do. Back to drawing board. Attack rolls not really where you want to be against this guy. Tehara getting low as she does when she draws heat. She'll be better when her Barkskins come in.

vdlc burn and interrupt.jpg


How about just a Snowball without the Spellstrike? Better, but still have to deal with Displacement. Cephal has the idea. Keeping the heat on prevents spells.

vdlc finishing blow.jpg


Finally got it figured out. Great, great spell, especially against these guys.

vdlc Glitterdust targeting.jpg


Glitterdust is a similar spell, that I bit the bullet for and selected instead of a fourth level spell since haven't seen a scroll yet. Not the best cast ever. And one of the Zombs gets lucky. Lets hope he isn't attacking Maegar. This fight is to the East of the last one. Probably unnecessary to even go here.

vdlc good touch.jpg


That is some impressive level 7 Touch AC lol. You can see the Draconic Fury (from Scaled Fist Archetype) upgrade here. Longer duration makes it much more worth it.

vdlc big acid dart.jpg


Likewise this is a much more relevant Acid Dart than before. Plays like the Arcanist Exploits.

vdlc zordstats.jpg


Here we've rushed the final boss of the area with Bruiser and the Elk, with Varn on the Alchemist. Bruiser dodges another bomb with his insane Touch AC and gets the rub-ins with Evasion too. Didn't expect Zord to be immune to Howling Agony as well but took the edge off some adds. This will be important due to the improved CotW AI as you'll see in a moment. I know a Neutral Evil boss isn't casting Forced Repentance. What could he be lining up?

vdlc suffocated.jpg


Good God, Suffocation! And all the adds rushed my wide open back row. And we've got the Contingency Mirror Image thing again letting him get the big bad spell off. Alright, alright...

vdlc lookingbad.jpg


:rage:

Getting so owned...
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
The RNG taketh away, the RNG giveth.

vdlc lucky save.jpg


This means he lives now, right? That's one weird ass, scary spell. See also: why I burned a level 4 spell pick on Glitterdust. Y'all walked right into my plan, suckaz! Better tune that AI up a little more there Holic.

What really sticks out is the last two lines of the Combat Log tho. That's an animal companion. It's not a crit. Ponder that.

vdlc InvectiveGlitterdust.jpg


My main man adding his own chastisement of the incursionists. CotW does have some fun spells. Some more sadistical details.

vdlc Suffocation survival.jpg


So I think the way it works is that if that 5 were a 6 he'd be dead. Struck low from the Grave is 100% on point for a Cult Leader of Charon, marked for death with nothing to be done. Good show Holic. So was the verbal showdown between LE and NE that ensued.

vdlc Cephal Staff.jpg

Profane stacks with Enhancement so DC 26 Acid Pits here we come.
 
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Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
And now a word from our sponsors:



Holic is a colossal asshole. He's also prolifically productive and damn good at what he does. This is not a coincidence. Play his mod. Send him money.

Owlcat should have hired him yesterday. Some day maybe he'll hire Owlcat. His latest stroke of genius:

vdlc Deadly Juggernaut.jpg


Ki Powers needed some spice and Holic was the man with the plan. Let's see how long it takes Bruiser to get this bitch charged up on the Tomb Threshold map.

vdlc jug 1.jpg


A rare crit to take rare heat off of Gekkor. One down four to go.

vdlc Cephal Step.jpg


Shout to the legend Dorateen here's Cephal using the advanced Conjuror ability to escape from the unwanted attention of that Centaur Warrior who had Charged at him to the north, placing himself in perfect position to attack the Centaur Brute with no Cover impeding his Acid Dart. Anyone who thinks Wizard School abilities are bad should give CotW a spin.

We've now loaded Holic's Advanced AI which consists of a lot of dudes Charging your back line so 8 teleports a day looks even better.

vdlc Tehara Bash.jpg


Tehara's decided to take up the +2 Heavy Shield and get to bashing. It brings her AC up to a much more respectable 30 AC and this attack is missing both Freebooter boosts so is a little deceiving. If I can find a suitable Light Shield that -4 goes to -2. You'd get Shield Mastery to turn it off altogether at lvl 11 but the DLC doesn't go that far. Had she taken Sword and Shield Combat Style she could have gotten that Mastery at lvl 6. Yes, that's very good.

Gotta watch out for Cover in melee when Enlarged.

vdlc jug 2.jpg


Two fights, two notches. Need to pick up the pace. You can see Cephal stepping out again.

vdlc Hold Animal fail.jpg


Animal Domain blows part seventy billion. The Elk is a Monster. Archon's Aura and Aura of Doom are great. Also buffs and Summons. Yay I guess. Ploink.

vdlc corrosive cold iron.jpg


Might be good to know this is here while designing your MC/Party. Seem to remember Cold Iron mattering.

vdlc necro battle saves.jpg


Probably most interesting fight of the level. That Necromancer in the middle will drain some levels if you're not careful, or even if you are. Not easy to get at. Don't be afraid to unleash some Burning Arcs. No attack roll can be nice once Cover is a thing.

Cloak of the Lion doing a helluva lot of work here. Make sure to bring someone LG, and makes Pals better than they'd normally be.

vdlc Enervation + Image.jpg


He has one of those Contingency Mirror Image things too. Elk is farting in his general direction? Lorentus at 1.4 seconds, Necrodork at 1.5. Who will win?

Bruiser got another notch on the Alchemist who can also be dangerous for the unprepared.

vdlc dodging dead Enervation.jpg


Casting Defensively looks like it doesn't do diddly for Rays, or maybe AoOs still go off since it's a ranged attack, but too late to stop the spell.

:updatedmytxt:

Cephal did get his off in time, but I guess in the time it took to get there the Enervation fired. In any event saved by the Soft Cover for once. Another thing to keep in mind for ATs in CotW.

vdlc Cephal DCs.jpg


Cephal is officially not longer messing around. 23 DC Grease. Jeebus. Time to kick up the difficulty looking like.

Elk with 52 damage on the non-crit. Yes. It is time.

vdlc jugs duration.jpg


Made it in just over two minutes. This is going to be fun.

:kingcomrade:

vdlc jugs 5.jpg


:yeah:

vdlc coordinated.jpg


Getting there the hard way (Hunters Tactics is the easy - had to give the pet a useless ranged feat for the prereq because Animal Domain sux) but Coordinated Shot is much needed AB Boost for MC to start landing those Arrowsong Strikes.
 
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Testownia

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Running the Arrowsong Minstrel Bard archetype from the Call of the Wild Mod through the Varnhold's Lot DLC (lvl 5-10)

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/co...aizo-bard-archetypes/arrowsong-minstrel-bard/

https://www.nexusmods.com/pathfinderkingmaker/mods/112?tab=description

Arrowsong Minstrel is a good fit for running the Companions the DLC provides since they give you four melee characters already and only one Ranged (along with full caster). The one ranged character is locked into Longbow and there is a very good Shortbow for sale at the beginning where you're given 25,000 gold to start for the purpose of purchasing same.

In CotW you need a plan for dealing with Soft Cover (+4 AC for your target if something else is standing in the way of your shot, +2 if partially obscured) on ranged characters and Arrowsong Minstrel has one - it bypasses Soft Cover if it is provided by someone under the effect of your song, which we plan to keep up at all times. You also get Precise Strike as a Bonus Feat replacing your Versatile Performance at lvl 2, Arrowsong Strike at level 6 which lets you Spellstrike (but not Spell Combat so it's just a Standard Action not an enhancement to your Full Attacks), and access to several spells from the Wiz/Sorc list including Hurricane Bow and Rays.

The Bard itself also fills a very valuable niche in the group since the Competence bonus of the Song, the Morale Bonus of Good Hope, and the Enchantment Will targeting spells are all unavailable elsewhere among the companions. Unfortunately Arrowsong Minstrel has Diminished Spellcasting like a Sword Saint so will feel overstretched if you're trying to beat saves much.

The companions you do have are an interesting bunch, and better than they look. Owlcat does a good job teaching players about abilities and approaches they may have overlooked via companions (and increasingly in Wrath via the foes you encounter).

Bruiser is a Scaled Fist Monk whose main Scaled Fist ability (electrifying his fists) has received a substantial upgrade from CotW, now lasting several rounds.

Likewise Cephal the Conjurer's Acid Dart ability got a similar upgrade, now gaining dice like a Kineticist.

Tehara is a high Strength Freebooter who Dual Wields Daggers of all things, but CotW has upgraded Two-Weapon Fighting to gain iteratives naturally like normal attacks so you don't have to keep taking Feats for them, leaving an interesting choice for lvl 6 Two-Handed Combat Style ability.

Gekkor is an Animal Domain Herald Caller with an Elk pet. Her Deity Erastil has given her Longbow proficiency which she uses to little natural effect due to her 10 Strength. Big decision at level 7 is whether to take Boon Companion.

Finally Maegar Varn is a high-DEX Rogue who dual wields Shortswords. He comes with Dirty Trick to set up his targets to fall to his blows.

Screenshots next.

Arrowsong Minstrel sounds like a good option for Linzi in the OC.
 

Desiderius

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Linzi is fine as base Bard. Arrowsong Minstrel is for dealing damage when you already have the control piece covered. You'd want a full sized man with decent Strength for that.

Again, sounds like you're too fixated on damage and are missing half the game. Put Linzi in melee where she belongs and make some use of that Shield and Mirror Image.
 

Testownia

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Linzi is fine as base Bard. Arrowsong Minstrel is for dealing damage when you already have the control piece covered. You'd want a full sized man with decent Strength for that.

Again, sounds like you're too fixated on damage and are missing half the game. Put Linzi in melee where she belongs and make some use of that Shield and Mirror Image.

Doesn't Linzi already start with ranged feats, though?
 

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DEX to damage is for melee alone as well. Relieve a certain Pitaxian of his Rapier, Reduce Linzi’s Person and go off.

Tiny isn’t just for Swarms.
 

agris

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those combat screens look like a total charlie foxtrot - is that actually what live combat looks like?

edit: talking about these

The RNG taketh away, the RNG giveth.

View attachment 18354

This means he lives now, right? That's one weird ass, scary spell. See also: why I burned a level 4 spell pick on Glitterdust. Y'all walked right into my plan, suckaz! Better tune that AI up a little more there Holic.

What really sticks out is the last two lines of the Combat Log tho. That's an animal companion. It's not a crit. Ponder that.

View attachment 18358

My main man adding his own chastisement of the incursionists. CotW does have some fun spells. Some more sadistical details.

View attachment 18359

So I think the way it works is that if that 5 were a 6 he'd be dead. Struck low from the Grave is 100% on point for a Cult Leader of Charon, marked for death with nothing to be done. Good show Holic. So was the verbal showdown between LE and NE that ensued.

View attachment 18360
 

Testownia

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DEX to damage is for melee alone as well. Relieve a certain Pitaxian of his Rapier, Reduce Linzi’s Person and go off.

Tiny isn’t just for Swarms.

That's interesting. Isn't the Flame Dancer Bard more suited for a melee character, though?
 

Desiderius

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Why would you say that?

Flame Dancer gives you some burn to give you some better spell options vs Undead and/or Reflex saves.
 

Desiderius

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those combat screens look like a total charlie foxtrot - is that actually what live combat looks like?

edit: talking about these

I've got all the information turned on. What's wrong with them? Do you need help following? I'm getting most of my information from the Combat Log.
 

Desiderius

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Into the Keep

vdlc Masterpiece.jpg


This is a nice little Bardic Masterpiece I like to keep up. Gets those Charge ranges right where you want them.

Stinking Fae.jpg


My views on the cheesiness of Stinking Cloud have changed in light of all the Poison immunity in Wrath and Holic's implementation of an Obscuring Mist with it. Plus even if Delay Poison properly Delayed the Nausea instead of preventing it it would likely wear off during rest in any case. For other Poisons that could be fatal/or cause permanent stat damage but with Nausea it's just a few rounds of inaction, which you're already doing while sleeping anyway.

First real fight is ambush by Redcaps with weakest save Fortitude so perfect time for Lorentus to let rip with a nasty one.

vdlc jug 3.jpg


Deadly Jugs up to three on first fight. This is going to be good.

vdlc Bruiser tank Athach.jpg


Screw it, I'm getting the Belt. When this guy uses Lunge he can reach pretty much anything on the screen. Get well clear. I guess if you don't want to save scum this you can have both Cephal and Gekkor memorize it (there are also a couple backup scrolls), but we got it on the first try.

Athach laugh.jpg


Weak Will save but not that weak on Hard so probably should havee stuck with Cacophonus Call. He wasn't hitting Bruiser anytime soon but if he got lucky things would have gone downhill fast. He's not trivial to hit so the Prone from Laughter helps.

vdlc athach Dart.jpg


Touch is pretty easy though (whenever you're dealing with tons of Natural Armor Touch should be your go to), and the upgrade Holic gave to The conjuror Acid Dart makes it a real threat. For those, like myself, complaining about the Arcanist Exploits in Wrath this is a good thing to learn. They end up working in a similar manner and playing out pretty well on high difficulties.

vdlc athach loot.jpg


And here's your loot. Pay attention to those Dinosaur Bones! Bruiser likes those Fists too. Rewarded for staying STR-based.

Vdlc Agile Blind.jpg


Varn splashed a level of Fighter to get Agile Maneuvers since he's not getting any more levels. Only thing that makes his Dirty Trick viable. You can get Agile Maneuvers via Traits (Social -> Adopted -> Intrepid Volunteer) but Traits are not currently working for companions (unlike Wrath). I'd suggest it to Holic but he's too high and mighty for suggestions.

vdlc keep jugs.jpg


Got there on the Jugs with 4 minutes left. Let's see what else we can kill.

vdlc golemstats.jpg


Seems like a good time to take on a Golem. Spell Immunity, but not immunity to Archon's or Debilitating.

vdlc Acid Dart vs Golem.jpg


The almighty Acid Dart again. There are a couple abilities in CotW that boost AoOs that I heven't tried yet but with all this Charging all the time I may need to.
 

agris

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those combat screens look like a total charlie foxtrot - is that actually what live combat looks like?

edit: talking about these

I've got all the information turned on. What's wrong with them? Do you need help following? I'm getting most of my information from the Combat Log.
Every single combat screen is cluttered to death with popups, enemies are on top of each other with over-the-head info stacking and overlapping, as well as the VFX.

To my eyes it looks a mess. Complexity isn't a problem, I'm talking about presentation and clear situational awareness.
 

Desiderius

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There are of course Evil Outsiders running all over Wrath. In Varnhold Lot there is one:
vdlc nightmare stats.jpg


DR/Good is something you learn to be prepared for in Wrath. Not so much here.

vdlc Nightmare Save.jpg


Hate to burn an AoE on a single target but need the help. Varn had Dirty Trick on autoattack from last fight, should have turned it off to get Debilitating Strike turned on. Gekkor is putting Wrathful Weapon on MC's Bow to burn through that DR. You can see the difference in the first pic compared to the second.

vdlc nightmare gank.jpg


2d6 Holy Damage and turns off the DR. Purty good.

vdlc dcat Bruider AC.jpg


And the main event. This fight was such a pain before Dispelling Strike was "bugged." Still is no picnic. Yes, pls, keep attacking Bruiser with your 5 attax per round at 25AB at lvl 8.

vdlc mc damage vs dwemorcat.jpg


They're not even evil so no Holy Damage. I do remember to turn on Inspire Courage this time though. Best defense is a good offense.

vdlc UMD.jpg


And UMD + Mirror Image. Gekkor just a dumpster fire on offense at this point. Wrath abundant casting that lets Clerics buff and cast offensively is a godsend. Probably should have just taken Selective Channeling and healbotted I guess. Missing Erastil religious trait (can ignore Soft Cover from one source) just killing her. In a real game she'd eventually get to Improved Precise (which bypasses it all), Frightful Aspect, and spamming Divine Power and be ok, but that would take awhile. Just so much easier to go melee where Clerics belong.

vdlc varn trickery.jpg


Gonna really miss this old son of a gun.

vdlc elemental acid.jpg

This is a nice addition in CotW - Elementals have Elemental attax. This lucky hit ended up taking a big bite out of Varn's hide over the next couple rounds.
 
Last edited:

Desiderius

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those combat screens look like a total charlie foxtrot - is that actually what live combat looks like?

edit: talking about these

I've got all the information turned on. What's wrong with them? Do you need help following? I'm getting most of my information from the Combat Log.
Every single combat screen is cluttered to death with popups, enemies are on top of each other with over-the-head info stacking and overlapping, as well as the VFX.

To my eyes it looks a mess. Complexity isn't a problem, I'm talking about presentation and clear situational awareness.

You can turn it all off if you don't like it. I know what it all means so for me it's great. Main thing to keep is the little timers since those let you know inwhat order things are happening. I've got the rotating camera mod so you can pan around to see where everything is (shouldn't be anything on top of anything else).
 

Desiderius

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The Elder brother gets his own version.

vdlc elemental interrupt.jpg


Best way to improve your Saves is just not letting shit go off in the first place. You can see everyone spread out just in case.

vdlc arrowsong elemental.jpg


Not easy getting damage thru DR 15/Adamantine but looks like Fire does the trick. Bard + Burn + Bow = good fun.

vdlc discorant.jpg

Looking forward to unleashing that Blast at lvl 10. Really wanted to pick up Manyshot but Discordant Voice was too sweet to pass up.
 

Desiderius

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New Allied Spellcaster from CotW:

New Allied Spellcaster.jpg


Can get +1 on the Barkskins and Shield of Faith and Divine Favor/Power spells that tick up with Caster Level if you have for instance a Cleric, Ranger, Alchemist, Inquisitor combo. Likewise +4 Spell Pen is a lot. Arrowsong Minstrel Bard having the Rays on hand can boost your Wizard, etc...

vdlc mc big crit.jpg


MC saves the day as Hard Zombies in tight quarters against expiring buffs begins to take it's toll.

vdlc hard whiff varn.jpg


Soft Cover? He's standing right next to it!

Yeah this isn't going to work. Stinking Cloud would help with the adds (with this AI mod they all just zerg the casters instead of focusing on Bruiser. Might be able to use Invis to help?) but don't have one up. Obv need to get main guy Flat-footed (13 DEX bonus), this is where Hap falls in love with Shatter Defenses.

But Arrowsong has no Dirge of Doom and even if it did we're not to level 10 yet where you get the spell that lets you keep up two songs at once. Other sources of Shaken allow Saves or are unlikely to get there outside of a focused intimidator build that we don't have. Don't have the Feats to get there on Shatter either. True Strike on Varn's Dirty Trick could work but would need Alchemist to cast it on him. If you're Evil at Old Stump there's a Crown that gives it I think.

vdlc bruiser vs ankou.jpg


I think I've had Bruiser tank this while focusing the main in the past - if you kill the main one the others dissappear - but his Juggernaut has expired so that would be a slog at that AC. Even if we rest no way to get Juggernaut back, would need to plan whole dungeon for this fight.

vdlc snowball cover.jpg


Snowballs bypass SR but again with the Soft Cover that he's supposed to bypass with his song up. I can probably beat Hard but not Hard plus bugs.

Main Ankou has 27 SR which at this level means effective Spell Immunity.

vdlc true strike.jpg

Main has True Strike, but if you don't have nearly enough time to True Strike 15 damage a pop.

May try to Stealth in there for the loot and leave the Ankou alone for first time. Can't remember if he drops anything.
 

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