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cyberkevvideo · 4 years

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My Changes to “Way of the Wicked“, Extras 3: Extraplanar Hunters

I kind of had the first one in the back of my mind for a while, but always forgot to put it down on paper, but thanks to vlogger Dungeon Dad converting a bunch of old 3.5 and Pathfinder 1e monsters to 5e, I was reminded that these creatures were very different in 3.5 compared to Pathfinder, and why I had originally considering at least the inevitable for this adventure path.

As always, for space reasons, I’ll be cropping the encounter build.

I do not have a Patreon or a Kickstarter, but I do have a Ko-Fi page (linked) for those who would like to support my work. There is no pressure or obligation to do so, however, but a like and a share would definitely be appreciated. Of this and my older work.

Just before get to it, I hope everyone’s staying safe right now.

There are three sets of stats this time around, and two of them are actually one NPC; a hound archon and his dragon mount. More on that later, including a description regarding how the concept exists. This is what I was talking in the last entry regarding this being something that was skipped over in the Pathfinder bestiary from its 3.5 version.

I’ll say for starters, I didn’t give the NPCs any traits. Those are for PCs, more often than not, but admittedly that was a staple of Gary’s builds to try make the NPCs able to stand up to the villains more. It also felt like an in-joke that the NPCs were the heroic PCs all along. If you want to give them one trait, that’s fine, but for these ones, I didn’t feel it was overly necessary to do so. The only one I even considered was the hound archon, and only to give him armor expert to negate the final armor check penalty to skills.

For starters, inevitables are the very definition of law. Each one has a specific mandate for how things should or shouldn’t be, and how everything interacts with the multiverse.

For starters, we have a zelekhuts are defined as “ bounty hunters and executioners all rolled into one.” The PCs were supposed to die or at least be judged and sent to the salt mines. They escaped. That needs to be rectified. By all means, you can use the standard CR 9 version and have it appear during Book 2, but mine is slightly different. More so because in Book 2, unless you’re doing this incredibly early, the villains may have already amassed a literal army, if only undead. A CR 9 inevitable isn’t going to cut it. My version would appear much later, and it’s also a little different from your regular zelekhut.

I’ll say now, that the reason Judiceye is a variant is because most zelekhuts would just arrive and rain down lawful smiting on their chosen to die. But this one is more crafty. Mitra has seen what the villains can do, and how devious they are, not to mention how large their ever growing army has become. This particular zelekhut’s duty is to show up at the end of Book 3, during the winter months, free any and all prisoners as best as it can, and cause in-fighting among the bugbears and other riffraff that have joined the 9th Knot. If it can take out some unwanted undead, all the better. The PCs are supposed to lose a portion of their troops at the end of winter anyhow due to them running away and leaving their minions high and dry, so this just furthers that plot line all the while putting the PCs on edge. There’s either a traitor among them or maybe the villains just can’t control their people, showing just how unfit they are. And if they start executing their own men for not listening when it’s really just the zelekhut? All the better to use as kindling to create riots and arguments, and really give the villains a run for their money. It’d make for a long winter indeed. And right before the king shows up, or whenever the time is right in the GM’s mind, and the Knot is near their breaking point (possibly when there’s the most confusion), the zelekhut can start a major brawl and try its luck in taking out the PCs. Even better, with its greater hat of disguise, it can change itself to look like whomever it needs to. Just needs Intel first. It can be a PC, a bugbear, a vampire, the medusa half-fiend, or whoever. Doesn’t matter. Because it start a fight, then leave, and turn into someone else. Whatever needs to be done to take down the PCs.

I will not that the DD for the elemental combat style is from the Pathfinder Disciple's Doctrine. Normally I would go OGL and Core, but this time I need some extra damage, and this was about the only way to pull it off. Also, the reason the hat’s trapped is because these things aren’t supposed to normally have treasure. This will destroy the treasure and maybe do some damage to the PCs at the same time.

JUDICEYE (CR 16; XP 76,800) Variant advanced zelekhut ranger (guildbreakerUI) 7 LN Large outsider (extraplanar, inevitable, lawful) Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +25 DEFENSE AC 31, touch 17, flat-footed 23 (+1 armor, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +13 natural, –1 size) hp 236 (21d10+121); regeneration 5 (chaotic) Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +15 Defensive Abilities constructed; DR 10/chaotic, DR 3/— (small ranged piercing weapons); SR 27 OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee 2 chains +31 (3d6+10/19–20 plus 1d6 electricity and trip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks favored enemy (goblinoids +2), favored organization (Knots of Asmodeus +4) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18) Constant—true seeing At will—clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimensional anchor, dispel magic, fear (W-DC 18), hold person (W-DC 17), locate creature 3/day—hold monster (W-DC 19), mark of justice 1/week—lesser geas (W-DC 17) Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +8) 2nd—chameleon stride 1st—lead blades, resist energy STATISTICS Str 30, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 18 Base Atk +21; CMB +32; CMD 50 (54 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, EnduranceB, Improved Critical (chains), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (chains), Improved Vital Strike, Inner FlameARG, Mobility, Power Attack, Scorching WeaponsARG, Step Up, Weapon Focus (chain), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +25 (+33 jump), Bluff +15, Disguise +15, Diplomacy +17, Fly +19, Knowledge (local) +10, Knowledge (planes) +13, Perception +25, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +11, Stealth +21, Survival +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Sense Motive Languages truespeech SQ chains, combat style (elementalDD), crowd stride, deep cover, favored terrain (urban +2), read the cityUI, track +3 Gear quilted clothUE, greater hat of disguise (trapped: maximized fireball; 60 fire damage, R-DC 19) SPECIAL ABILITIES Chains (Ex) A zelekhut’s arms end in long lengths of barbed metal. These chains deal slashing damage and 1d6 points of electricity damage with each hit. Constructed (Ex) Although inevitables are living outsiders, their bodies are constructed of physical components, and in many ways they function as constructs. For the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as a ranger’s favored enemy and bane weapons), inevitables count as both outsiders and constructs. They are immune to death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Inevitables are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. They are not at risk of death from massive damage. They have bonus hit points as constructs of their size.

Catching up on a few posts from GMs and players who are going through “Way of the Wicked”, most groups are having no issue whatsoever with the AP because they have a necromancer and a cleric who are creating epic armies of undead. That said, there have been one or two groups that have found themselves struggling, if only because they never rescued Grumblejack, or he died on them back during Branderscar because they all bailed and abandoned the ogre. As such, they’re finding that as the game is progressing, they’re having issues. I’ve got something to help potentially counteract that, if only for one part of the book.

It’s a Book 5 add-on that I thought of. Marut inevitables go after those who artificially extend their life. Namely, lichdom. Now, depending on the PCs, this could be yet another encounter for them too. If they’re using the feat tree that turns them into a vampire or lich, or they all became vampires in the alternate version of the story where Thorn’s a vampire, this thing’s coming after them. There’s just no way around that. However, my initial thought for this, so as to help parties that are having troubles, is the marut came to take down the now ex-Cardinal Thorn, but was dominated and sent after the party. This encounter would take place on the main floor, probably as soon as the PCs entered the cathedral. If the PCs have the means, they could break the control and have it join them in the final battle against Thorn. But you’re asking, “how can Thorn use that spell? It’s not a cleric spell and it’s 9th level.” It’s also a 6th level summoner spell, so miracle would work to cast it. This would reduce Thorn’s 9th level spells by 1, and hopefully that’s enough for the PCs who are struggling. After that though, the marut would leave, its mission completed.

Finally, my last inevitable add-on, and this would be for whenever someone in the party broke a contract (or someone attached to the party, etc). It can even be someone the party is dealing with, who broke a contract, and they summon one to go after that person/creature. The kolyarut is all about negotiating bargains, and they don’t like it when contracts and negotiations break down. They punish all oath-breakers. As stated: “They care little for the terms of the agreements in question, only that promises are fulfilled, debts are paid, and balance is maintained.“ They are definitely someone that the PCs want on their side. Pit fiends and contract devils are great, but they don’t necessarily like to get their hands dirty. They just want souls and payment. Kolyaruts, on the other hand, will always make the time.

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And now, the ultimate combo that’s just bonkers. I even did a small feat sink on this one despite it actually being something in the original edition that happens for free, and just adds to the CR.

As for where you would encounter this one, there’s any number of ways. 1) Could be a fight not long after they finish Book 3. Mitra might send the archon as an avenger for what happened. 2) Could right after Spring arrives and the villains are fleeing from the king and his army. This could either be an air battle or the very second they land, but before Tiadora arrives. 3) They could arrive with any other encounter, boosting the over all combat and aiding whomever else decides to attack the villains. You could even hold out until Book 6 with this one, if you really wanted to.

The monster info on this variant hound archon reads as thus:

Hound Archon Hero Mounts

In the course of their adventures, many hound archon heroes befriend bronze dragons, which may come to serve as their mounts. The relationship between these mounts and their celestial riders goes beyond even the special bond between paladin and mount. The dragon and the archon are naturally allies and friends, as can be expected of two powerful servants of cosmic justice. The juvenile bronze dragon mount gains 2 additional HD, 4 points of Strength, an additional 4 points of natural armor, improved evasion, and +10 feet to speed in all its movement forms. The dragon cannot, however, command other creatures of its type as other kinds of paladin mounts can.

Note: Under normal circumstances the Draconic Companion from the Dragon Companion Handbook would give you a dragon and have it go up as an animal companion, with the Dragon Companion Mastery feat giving you their full power. Hound Archon Heroes already get an equivalent ability for free so I’m revising the feat to instead give: frightful presence 1/day, +2 Dex instead of +2 Str (which is a swap option you can choose), SR 5 + paladin level, share spells, empathic link, and two of the four bonus dragon feats. However, I’m ignoring the other two bonus feats the dragon would normally gain, additional bonuses to Str/Con/natural armor, and standard ability score increases every 4 Hit Die. The trade off being that a standard bronze dragon has higher mental stats and spells, so it easily balances out.

Overall, this not all that different from the 3.5 Monster Manual version, and should be considered a difficult CR 16 encounter. Also, their wealth is for a CR 16 NPC. Bartel shares it with his dragon mount.

BARTEL, THE HOUND ARCHON HERO (CR 16; XP 76,800) Male Advanced variant hound archon paladin 11 LG Medium outsider (archon, extraplanar, good, lawful) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, low-light vision, scent; Perception +18 Aura courage (10 ft.), justice (10 ft.), menace (20 ft.; W-DC 21), magic circle against evil, resolve (10 ft.) DEFENSE AC 33, touch 12, flat-footed 31 (+9 armor, +2 Dex, +12 natural); +2 deflection vs. evil hp 229 (19 HD; 19d10+125) Fort +24, Ref +16, Will +21; +4 vs. poison, +2 resistance vs. evil DR 10/evil; Immune charm, disease, electricity, fear, petrification; SR 27 OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee +2 cold iron greatsword +29/+24/+19/+14 (2d6+12/17–20), bite +22 (1d8+4) or bite +27 (1d8+8), slam +27 (1d4+4) Special Attacks channel energy (W-DC 20, 6d6), smite evil 4/day (+5 atk & AC, +11 dmg) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +11) Constant—detect evil, magic circle against evil At will—aid, continual flame, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), message Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +16) At will—detect evil Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 8th; concentration +13) 3rd—heal mount 2nd—bull’s strength, eagle’s splendor, resist energy 1st—divine favor, hero’s defianceAPG, protection from evil, shield of fortificationACG STATISTICS Str 24, Dex 14, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 20, Cha 20 Base Atk +19; CMB +26; CMD 38; +2 vs. evil Feats Blind-Fight, Draconic CompanionDCH, Improved Critical (greatsword), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Ride-by Attack, Weapon Focus (greatsword), Word of HealingUM Skills Acrobatics +14, Diplomacy +19, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Intimidate +15, Perception +18, Ride +18, Sense Motive +19, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +14, Survival +18; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth, +4 Survival; ACP –1 Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; truespeech SQ aura (overwhelming good), code of conduct, change shape (beast shape II), divine bond (dragon mount; Arlakaida), lay on hands (5d6, 7/day), mercies (cursed, dazed, fatigued) Combat Gear wand of cure light wounds (15 charges), holy water (2); Other Gear +3 mithral breastplate, +2 cold iron greatsword, amulet of mighty fists +1, belt of mighty constitution +2 SPECIAL ABILITIES Aura of Menace (Su) A righteous aura surrounds archons that fight or get angry. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of an archon must succeed on a Will save to resist its effects. The save DC varies with the type of archon, is Charisma-based, and includes a +2 racial bonus. Those who fail take a –2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit the archon that generated the aura. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by the same archon’s aura for 24 hours. Change Shape (Su) A hound archon can assume any canine form of Small to Large size, as if using beast shape II. While in canine form, the hound archon loses its bite, slam, and greatsword attacks, but gains the bite attack of the form it chooses. For the purposes of this ability, canines include any dog-like or wolf-like creature of the animal type.

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ARLAKAIDA THE BRONZE (CR —; XP —) Female juvenile bronze dragon LG Large dragon (water) Init +6; Senses dragon senses; Perception +25 Aura frightful presence 1/day (90 ft.; targets are shaken for 14 rounds; W-DC 21) DEFENSE AC 36, touch 13, flat-footed 33 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 deflection, +18 natural, –1 size) hp 161 (14d12+70) Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +15 Defensive Abilities improved evasion; Immune electricity, paralysis, sleep; SR 16 OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., fly 130 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. Melee bite +25 (2d6+15), 2 claws +24 (1d8+11), tail slap +22 (1d8+15), 2 wings +22 (1d6+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks breath weapon (80-ft. line, R-DC 24, 12d6 electricity), repulsion breath Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18) At will—create food and water, speak with animals Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +8) 2nd (4/day)—mirror image 1st (7/day)—alarm, obscuring mist, true strike 0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, resistance STATISTICS Str 29, Dex 14, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 19, Cha 18 Base Atk +14; CMB +26; CMD 40 (44 vs. trip) Feats Ability Focus (breath weapon), Alertness, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Powerful BreathB, Quick Breath WeaponB, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Diplomacy +19, Fly +12, Handle Animal +16, Heal +16, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (arcana) +19, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +14, Swim +29; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome SQ empathic link, change shape (animal or humanoid, polymorph), share spells, water breathing, wave mastery (40 mins) Gear +2 studded leather barding, amulet of mighty fists +2, belt of physical perfection +2, cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +2 SPECIAL ABILITIES Dragon Senses (Ex) Dragons have darkvision 120 ft. and blindsense 60 ft. They see four times as well as a human in dim light and twice as well in normal light. Frightful Presence (Ex) This special quality makes a dragon’s very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice than the dragon’s. An opponent that succeeds on its saving throw is immune to the dragon’s frightful presence for 24 hours. Multiple uses of a dragon’s presence don’t stack. This ability is a mind-affecting aura. Paladin Mount (Ex) Arlakaida cannot command other creatures of its type (bronze dragons) as other kinds of paladin mounts can. Quick Breath Weapon (Ex) Arlakaida is able to unleash her breath weapon and deliver an attack before her opponent is the wiser. On her turn, Arlakaida can choose to use her breath weapon in place of her bite or one of her claw attacks. Repulsion Breath (Su) Instead of a line of electricity, a bronze dragon can breathe a cone of repulsion gas. Targets must make a Will save or be compelled to do nothing but move away from the dragon for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per age category. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. Water Breathing (Ex) A bronze dragon breathes water and can use its breath weapon, spells, and abilities underwater. Wave Mastery (Su) For up to 10 minutes per age category per day, a juvenile bronze dragon, along with creatures or vessels within 50 feet, can move at twice its normal speed in water. ------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s everything. I don’t know that I’ll ever have more to add to this particular adventure path, but maybe I will. Just depends on how inspired I get.

In the meantime, I hope everyone who is running or playing “Way of the Wicked” is having a fantastic time.

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viraljournalist · 4 years

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Tom Brady can't leave the Patriots after this loss

New Post has been published on https://viraljournalist.com/tom-brady-cant-leave-the-patriots-after-this-loss/

Tom Brady can't leave the Patriots after this loss

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady would be foolish to leave the New England Patriots as a free agent, and Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick would be even more foolish to let him leave. Brady as a Los Angeles Charger? Brady as an Indianapolis Colt?

Yeah, I know. It’s no more absurd than Michael Jordan as a Washington Wizard.

But as much as Brady would love to do something Jordan did not — win a seventh championship ring — the modern-day athlete who might serve as a better comparison is another former Michigan man, Derek Jeter, who understood the power of being a one-uniform icon and who might enter the Baseball Hall of Fame later this month as its second unanimous inductee.

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Jeter was big in New York. Brady is bigger in New England. If the 42-year-old quarterback had a perfect end-of-career situation waiting for him, such as a chance to play for the hometown team of his childhood dreams, then maybe this would be a pretty tough call. The problem is that the would-be successor Brady conquered, Jimmy Garoppolo, has that job nailed down in San Francisco. It’s funny how life works out sometimes.

If nothing else, you should understand this after Tennessee made everyone remember the Titans on Saturday at a Gillette Stadium wrapped in a London fog: You have not seen the last of Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. in shotgun formation. After he initially deflected a news conference question about his future following the Titans’ 20-13 AFC wild-card victory (“I just came off the field,” he said), Brady called the possibility of retirement “pretty unlikely.”

Given his restraint when it comes to saying anything of substance for public consumption, this was Brady clearly Gronk-spiking any chance that the pick-six he threw to former teammate Logan Ryan will go down as his 11,614th and final NFL pass.

Brady has said more than once that he might play beyond age 45. In September, his father said Brady was in the best shape of his life and capable of going another five or six seasons. Tom Sr. also talked to ESPN.com at the time about his son’s decision to put his Brookline, Massachusetts, estate up for sale (the price has reportedly been slashed to a bargain-basement steal, at $33.9 million).

Tom Brady completed 20 of 37 passes for 209 yards with no touchdowns and one interception on Saturday. Matt Campbell/EPA

“You don’t want the house sitting on the market two, three, four years if you get cut,” Tom Sr. said. “It’s a two-way street. The Patriots may feel they have the arsenal to continue on for many years after Tommy’s gone, and that makes Tommy disposable. You know as well as I do that Bill is not the least bit sentimental with his ballplayers. If Tommy regresses in Bill’s eyes, then he becomes expendable, and Tommy would have no choice but to go somewhere else.”

Although Brady played this season at around the same declining level at which he played in 2013, right before Belichick drafted Garoppolo to replace him, he just won his sixth Super Bowl title 15 minutes ago. He’s still good enough to win No. 7 with some improved playmakers on the outside and with the return of his left tackle, Isaiah Wynn, and his center, David Andrews. Brady played the entire season without his starting center — and without Rob Gronkowski as a bailout option — and managed to go 12-4, an improvement on last season’s 11-5.

Brady was still good enough to win the AFC East for the 17th time. Then he was asked after this gutting defeat if his 11th consecutive division title would be a factor to consider as he enters free agency for the first time. Brady was essentially asked why he would walk away from the AFC East when nobody has succeeded in taking it from him.

What you need to know: • Full playoff schedule » • AFC divisional round reset » • Super Bowl LIV coverage » More NFL coverage »

“I just don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said, “and I’m not going to predict it. And no one needs to make choices at this point. I love playing football. I love playing football for this team. I’ve loved playing for this team for two decades and winning a lot of games. And again, I don’t know what it looks like moving forward, so we’ll just take it day by day.”

Right from the start Saturday, the fans tried to make Brady’s decision for him. “PLEASE STAY TOMMY” pleaded one large sign in the stands. When Brady took the field for New England’s first possession, the crowd welcomed him with a profound roar. Fans chanted throughout the game: “Bray-dee … Bray-dee.”

But it wasn’t meant to be for the man who had won 20 of his previous 23 playoff games at home and whose 30 postseason victories were four better than the combined total of the other 11 starting QBs in the tournament. Brady delivered a few vintage passes, including a third-down dart to Julian Edelman late in the third quarter that cut through four Tennessee defenders, but his offense couldn’t score a single point in the second half, marking only the third time that Brady’s Patriots went scoreless in a half in his 41 postseason starts. What’s more, New England’s league-leading defense couldn’t stop Derrick Henry, who was good for 182 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries.

Brady is 30-11 as a starter in the playoffs, with 73 touchdown passes and 35 interceptions. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Down 14-13 with 4 minutes, 44 seconds left and the ball at his own 11, Brady heard the fans chant for him one more time. He answered by going four-and-out, but only after his cherished target for eternity, Edelman, dropped an easy ball that would have earned a first down and might have rewritten the story of the entire night.

In the end, pinned on his 1-yard line in the final seconds, Brady watched Ryan make good on the almost certain pick-six he dropped near the close of the first half, leaving the Patriots to star in a tragicomedy that was the kickoff return that finished their season.

“Thank you for being the best fans in the NFL,” the public-address announcer told the crowd as fans headed into the wet and miserable night. “Please arrive home safely.”

Looking stunned, Brady engaged in a series of handshakes and hugs with a Titans team that features a wide circle of players, coaches and executives who learned their trade under Belichick’s watch in Foxborough. Meanwhile, after he was finished with his midfield handshakes, Titans coach Mike Vrabel ran off the field like a kid running to see his new puppy.

NFL PrimeTime continues this postseason with extended highlights and analysis following the conclusion of each day’s playoff games. Watch on ESPN+

A three-time champion linebacker with the Patriots, Vrabel was the right guy to put his old team to bed. Asked about “the Patriot Way” during the week, he joked that Patriot Way is the name of the street the local movie theater is on. Yet Vrabel embodied Belichick’s system as much as any player who passed through it. He had 56 sacks, 11 interceptions and 10 receptions — all for touchdowns, including two in Super Bowls — during his New England career. He clubbed St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner in the head (no flag thrown) on the pick-six he threw to Ty Law in Belichick’s first Super Bowl victory, and he recovered the onside kick against the Giants to preserve the Pats’ 16-0 regular season in 2007.

A jokester who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, Vrabel sometimes gave Belichick suggestions for what he should run on defense. “When you’re a coach and you’re calling the defenses,” Belichick told him then, “you should go ahead and do that.”

Vrabel did that Saturday night, and he sent his former teammate, Brady, reeling into the most important offseason of the rest of his life. Would Brady really follow offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels out the door? Would he really leave New England behind if Kraft and Belichick don’t finally pay him market value — or close to it?

“I love the Patriots,” Brady said. “I mean, this is the greatest organization, and playing for Mr. Kraft all these years and for Coach Belichick, there’s nobody that’s had a better career, I would say, than me, just being with them. So I’m very blessed, and I don’t know what the future looks like, and I’m not going to predict it.”

Brady completed 59.3% of his passes to wide receivers in the regular season, his lowest success rate since 2004. He went 7-of-20 (35%) when targeting wide receivers on Saturday, his worst mark in a playoff game. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

This should be an easy call for the quarterback and the people who employ him. The 1997-98 Chicago Bulls broke up after winning title No. 6, and their lead actors — Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson — all played and coached after their premature end in Chicago.

Even if he’s intrigued by the idea of winning without Belichick, Brady should not leave for the unworthy franchises that appear to be fits for him. He was born in California to be a one-uniform lifer in New England. It’s time for Mr. Brady to sign back up.

It’s time for No. 12 to get to work on ring No. 7.

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