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Well, it's the last day of the year (Fiscal year), and I'm almost all done!
What a long week. Whew.
But I'm just about finished, just a little more polish and review and I'm outa here for a week. *Looks around the empty front office and almost-empty parking lot outside,* and it also looks like everyone else is about ready to leave for their week off, too -- the few actually still here.
This school year is done and dusted. Next one starts on the 10th.
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Have a great weekend, gamers, I'll probably be back on the Boards Monday.
Sounds like you are due a well earned break Ray.
I have a question for you when you get back. If you read my last in game post I was looking at the lack of water in Varni. Yaos observes than water must flow out of the Eismonts on the south-eastern side somewhere.
Assuming she is right I was thinking of constructing some form of canal. The question is, would earth elementals help? I can summon a d4 + 2 small elementals for 8 minutes with my SLA. Will the burrow speed help? Or are they adept at working earth? It is a matter of GM interpretation I think.
Ah, all done and dusted, going home.
@Yaos, rivers and streams do indeed flow out of the Eismonts. Most go west to the ocean. Some few go east where they can turn south into Gheradescci County. Not much goes into the Badlands.
It's possible, sure, to reroute a water source from the Eismonts into Varni.
I will let you know my intentions with conversations most of the time. Also I will probably not be on the boards much until Tuesday next week. Canada stat is on monday so I'll still be at the cabin.
Which is good, cuz I am traveling right now and won't be able to post till tonight.
Well, me I can post to my heart's content. :P
Holy Cow the week of lazying around, reading and sleeping-in is almost over and I haven't once looked at our campaign.
I'll rectify that shortly.
Ray, all good, real life is more important.
I for one, will be here, waiting.
Hope everything gets better for you soon
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I don't know why I'm posting this, just wanted to share. (I've deleted it a couple times.)
One of my best friends lost his new baby girl Friday; she was here with us three days, but had been born very prematurely.
I got to see her in the hospital Thursday; we thought the doctors were getting hopeful after 36 hours. But it wasn't meant to be.
Anyway, I'm with my buddy and his girl and their 10-year-old, just trying t be here for them.
That is absolutely horrible.
There are many things that sensibly take priority over PbP, but that renders PbP totally insignificant.
Just posting to check up on you Ray, hope all is going as well as can be.
Only noticed this now. I hope everything is going better for you and your friend at this point.
Given the PM I received I will post this here for all to view.
Just a heads up, from August 16th to 23rd I will be in the process of getting married and honey mooning so I may not be available during that time. Feel free to bot me as needed.
I am down to continue playing after the 23rd.
I would suggest we proceed by starting exactly where we left off, maybe a day or two in the future.
I will also state my desire to play even if it is on my own. A game such as this can handle having fewer than four people.
I also am busy the rest of this week, working and attending GenCon.
I am, however, totally willing and exited to get back to this game.
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Okay,
I'm going to start up again. Going to push through.
Wednesday sometime I'll find time to post in Gameplay. Yaos w/ Baroness Stella Spartaco, Magnius Arvanxi with soldiers/guards, Alfred Ensbridge learning interesting bits from local folk.
Besides, we're not suppose to be in Gheradescci County too long -- once you guys make a name for yourselves politically, Her Infernal Magistrix, Queen Abrogail Thrune will hear of it and request your presence in the Capitol.
I'm super excited to continue this game!! Thanks for coming back to us Ray! :)
Yay. We are to restart again soon.
I honestly don't remember for certain if it's Spring. I think it is. I'm pretty sure.
But whatever, it is now.
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I'm getting to posts with which you can react and roleplay asap. It's going to be a busy day at work but I think I can manage my duties here and find time to resume.
I'm taking time now to reread the last posts and have thought for several days, off and on, on what I think I can do.
Hopefully Gheradescci County, House Spartaco and this little Barony of Varni will come alive enough for you to take the campaign by the collar and implement your own plots, conspiracies and dreams.
Question for my fellow players- Yaos has been asked what we would want in return for hunting down any Bellflower agents in the area. It sounds like an adventure, but I don't have any ideas as to what to ask for. Do you guys have any ideas on what to ask for?
My three go to's in this type of instance are
1 - Gold - cause why not
2 - A title, position or some office with influence - give us more influence
3 - A favor of equal merit to be asked in the future - Just an open ended debt to be repaid when asked
I almost always try 3 first because a favor can grant 1 and 2, as well as many other things. Favors are my preferred currency.
I second an open ended favor.
A sound idea. I will pursue the notion.
@ Alfred Ensbridge,
Hey, I was wondering if you could include a couple lines of text describing how you're trying to relate to the Viscount.
I know Magnius and Yaos are using their status as nobility when dealing with the various Spartaco lords, and I know you are going-under-the-radar so to speak, taking the roll of a servant or hired specialist or something to the other two PCs.
As such, little things, such as whether you make eye contact with the Viscount when talking or, I dunno, how forthright you are in your speech and mannerisms, will help me when I decide how they react to you.
Anyway, food for thought.
Now, Viscount Mogranzini doesn't show the cognizance or guile of the typical Chelaxian noble -- so you can avoid the Bluffs or Diplomacies or what have you here. But his wife, the Tiefling Carnacella and the other Spartacos, even young Baroness Stella, are a bit more perceptive.
I just want to be clear what persona or personality you're projecting.
The last post shows how far we are from hack and slash D&D / Pathfinder. This is a good thing.
@DM Ray,
I will do that. I think we talk about this already and I just keep forgetting.
In this instance Alfred is being deferential, eyes down and head bowed slightly. His speech is clear, easy to make out, and assertive in his questions and answers, confident in what he says. Alfred is acting as the specialist and confidante, seeing himself as able to speak amongst nobility as a near equal due to his abilities, though deferential due to his rank.
Will make sure to add more description in the future.
It took me a whole day of thinking to realize I'm just not capable of writing 'girl talk' dialog. Hopefully Stella's post is good enough to get you want info you want out of her.
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A note on one of the topics she spoke on (in segue): She mentioned your not focusing on your 'Aristocrat potential.' ....In other words, her own Knowledge: Local check was sufficient to know that you have Levels in Summoner but not Aristocrat.
And while she has a touch of Sorcerer in her, it's clear that she's more interested in gaining steps as an Aristocrat rather than Sorcerer.
Now, I didn't roll a Knowledge: Local for her; I just arbitrarily decided she got high enough to know at least a little bit that you have levels in Summoner but not Aristocrat.
If you guys feel that you have enough info to get back together and decide what step you're going to take next, go ahead and excuse yourself from your conversations and get back together.
It sounds to me like you may go out hunting Manticores or something more typically done by adventuring groups. But of course you can always take a more 'intrigue-full' direction.
If you prefer to go in a more intrigue-full direction -- or may want to -- but are not sure of some possibilities, let me know and I can throw out a couple ideas for you to develop into possible plans of action.
It took me a whole day of thinking to realize I'm just not capable of writing 'girl talk' dialog. Hopefully Stella's post is good enough to get you want info you want out of her.
I might be able to. But Stella and Yaos are probably going to chat and so on for hours, the vast majority of it having little if any effect or import for the game. So typing it all out is... aimless.
And are you sure you can't do girl talk? I know you have read a lot of Sylvia Plath's poems. Surely that is a good guide.
And I hadn't realised you were talking about the aristocrat NPC class. No matter.
I suggest we go out hunting Manticores for two reasons, one in game and one meta.
1 - It will give us more credibility with both the guard and the townsfolk.
2 - I enjoy experience points and the imagined sound of my bow twanging.
We may also find other ore deposits, cool cave places, and otehr resources we use to improve out favor with the nobility.
I have no objection to hunting Manticores. We can always hunt bellflower agents also. Later.
I'm also OK with the hunt.
got it
You can attemp Survival checks both individually, as you spread out in a direction, keeping each other in eyesight, and collectively with one PC the primary survivalist and the others assisting, this together, walking for a while in a direction.
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Please attempt three --
One for north of Varni toward the Eismonts,
One for west of Varni deep into the badlands,
And one for south of Varni nearer the Anferita
My guess is we sill be assisting Magnius. Yaos has a +0 Survival, though I managed to roll better than Alfred with his comparatively brilliant +1.
Do you want perception rolls for Pale Wing, on aerial lookout?
And should we look at the conversations that were done under spoilers, since we now have to to share. Unless someone is going to be secretive or deceptive. Not Yaos [honest].
Survival is sufficient for Pale Wing.
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That's a great point about checking all the conversations. You can roleplay talking amongst yourselves comparing notes and the like, or obviously just read the conversations. And segue the conversation with each other where you share what you've learned.
I find that I don't have too much problem un-spoilering just one conversation and reading it all the way through -- then hiding that one and un-spoilering the next to read all the way through.
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I hope everyone's weekend was as spectacular as mine!
In my Saturday night game, the pesky PCs got one step closer to finding out where a colony of Intellect Devourers lair in their home of Korvosa . I'm certain to have to kill one soon! The 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' arc of my campaign is nearing it resolution.
And Sunday afternoon, My PC did 206 points of damage (in 2 Rds) to a Dragon while it took all but fourteen of my hit points in the first round. And just before the Dragon's turn in the 2nd Rd (I've been healed another thirty), our archer did 18 HP to the Dragon, killing it. So, I did 206 and the bastard archer did 18 and stole my kill!
And yesterday I DMed a special holiday one-shot where the 1st level PCs fled Korvosa from HellKnights and the Cerulean Society, went to Kaer Maga where they fought constructs and oozes in an underground half-broken space ship -- and then were sent back in time to near the founding of Korvosa in the middle of a Shoanti attack on fort Korvosa while a "Death Squad of Pit Fiends and Cornugons" assassinated Lorthact (whose CR is the same as Treerazor).
Oh yeah, and I did laundry and cleaned my bathroom and graded some papers. What a weekend!
So you can go back north to find whatever that thing is that's killing and eating Ankhegs -- then bring its carcass back to Varni to show how cool you are.
You can go south and try to discover the mystery of the large dog-like creatures whose tracks appeared from nowhere, circled around a large area, and disappeared again.
Or, west of Varni, further into the badlands is a camp/lair that, with a little work, can be made into camp/lair for yourselves, far from the prying eyes of House Spartaco. But it's a good three hours from Varni.
A recent encounter where my character performed well,
or,
Why summoning is an excellent strategy.
This was part of Jade Regent, where our 10th level party was attempting to clear out a stronghold of evil spirits in a high, relatively thin tower.
Dramatis Personae, party
Susano-O Level 10 half elf Master summoner, my character
Hikari Level 10 human Magus, Marks character
Erika- Level 10 human Wizard, once a PC
Amieko NPC Bard, pivotal to adventure path
Spivey a tiny flying creature with clerical levels, NPC
Kelda NPC Barbarian
Bad guys
A- some kind of spider kami + level 12 sorcerer
4 Gossamers- again spider like kami with decent casting levels
4 Shadows, each folowing a Gossamer as a class feature.
The party enters a new, higher level of the tower from below. The bad guys are all one level above that. With them a Dire Lion with the Aerial Template and a large Earth Elemental summoned by Susano-O. The party moves cautiously forward. We know there is something hostile ahead, not exactly what or where.
Susano O conjures 4 Lions with the Aerial Template upstairs that go after what turns out to be shadow conjurations. They then start searching for invisible creatures with there scent.
The creatures find us as the 4 Gossamers appear from invisibility and hit Kelda, Hikari, Erika and Susano-O with a web bolt each, enhanced by true strike so they all hit. A very nasty ambush. The boss A employs a spell that knocks the earth elemental off what it is climbing up and it falls though the floor. And the floor below that. Erika hits a Gossamer with magic missile and Hikari strikes another. Kelda riding a dire lion wades in as does her steed. A group of conjured lions tries to attack A but is stopped by a force cage. Susano-O usesher Staff of Journeys to free herself.
The gossamers retaliate and the 4 shadows appear, all attacking Hikari. Strength drain kills Hikari outright in the first attack. In the next round further damage is dealt on both sides. The Shadows mass attack Kelda this time. The strength damage does not kill her, but a second attack like that will. Kelda sensibly uses a magic item to teleport away to a random location.
The situation is now desperate. The party's 2 front line combatants are dead or have had to flee. There is a Wizard entangled 15 feet from numerous enemies who will be dead very soon if not rescued.
Susano-O has the 4 lions charge the Gossamers and the Dire Lion attack them too. Susano-O, who can fly [aspect class feature] flys over to Erika and dimension doors them to just below the entrance to this level, a safe disatance away. Erika then casts a fireball on the Shadows. The good thing about alive wizards is they can cast spells. This she repeats the next round, after Susano_O has cast Greater Invisibility on her to protect her from retaliation. And we remember to use the Ectoplasmic Rod this time, all the shadows are now nearly a zero HP. Spivey and Amieko also retreat below. They mostly buff and heal all combat.
Spells rain on the combatants in the middle level from above and below. It all ends with only 2 lions standing, both nearly dead. Susano-O has dimension doored up a level now and peeks out and glitterdusts the force cage, making A visible. At this point the GM calls the combat. A is visible, nearly out of spells and will not flee the tower. Susano-O was going to smother him with summoned creatures, she has 7 summon monsters left and 3 should be plenty. We stop to eat the meal of Potugese chicken, Aglioni, peas, corn and salted caramel cheesecake I have prepared.
Summoned creatures substituted for the front line combatants that had been eliminated from the combat early, did a lot of damage and, vitally, took a lot of hits and spells that would otherwise have fallen on party members. Summoned creatures gave the party the numbers to outlast the opposition.
Oh yeah, and I did laundry and cleaned my bathroom and graded some papers. What a weekend!
I know how you must love marking papers.
I hope cyclone Irma stays out of your area. I know Houston has been devastated. There has also been a flood disaster on the Indian Sub-continent. And it has killed a horrifying number of people. Natural disaster is everywhere.
I vote for making a base camp then using it to investigate the other locations.
I vote for making a base camp then using it to investigate the other locations.
Do we need something separate from Varni? I don't mind the idea, but is it strictly necessary?
Also, can we assume that at some point we each fill each other in on the various conversations we had prior to our scouting? Magnius has a temp solution to the water problem, but he isn't fully aware of how bad it is.
I am in favour of sharing information.
I am sitting on the fence as to the base camp. But if Alfred is keen on the idea, I am quite OK with establishing a camp.
Personally, I am most curious about what has been killing Ankhegs.
I feel that the sharing of information should be the default assumption, whether it's roleplayed or segued is up to you. Roleplaying it may be boring if it's just a recount of what everyone already read ten posts ago -- but if there's an interesting way to do it or better, if you can develop your own PC for personality or background and what have you, it can be worth it.
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Let me know if you want to discuss further, but it sounds like you're in favor of using the old Bugbear lair as a make-shift camp and then going north to find whatever has killed a couple Ankhegs.
I mainly want the base camp incase they find the BF agents and get them to talk. Not that there's a whole lot incriminating they can say, but I prefer not to be entirely reliant on the good will of the people of Varni. That being said we can skip it if you guys don't think its necessary.
And I am all for assuming shared info without needing to tell each other about it IC.
I'm at work right now (Fri morning) helping to board windows and plastic wrap stuff, battening down the hatches and such in case Sarasota County rolls a nat 1 on our Ref vs Irma.
I'm pretty sure both my games are going to be cancelled this weekend so I should theoretically be able to post in Gameplay all weekend long. But who knows; I'm likely going to spend some time with neighbors sharing some of the workload with home windows and sandbags and such as well. Plus I have several days of food to cook so that when/if power goes out for more than twelve hours I don't loose all my perishables and have, you know, food to eat that's precooked.
I'm confident I'll get to Gameplay this weekend to describe what you can do with a base camp out west, track down a creature hunting Ankhegs in the north, and provide water for some folks at Varni.
Wish us luck in Florida -- check out the Thread I started in Off Topic Discussions about Irma for my latest updates -- that's where I'm spending quite a bit of my Paizo time.
Thanks for the heads up and good luck!