Technically, Esme is kind of an exception or just on the border- she is a free-willed undead, but as far as any of you know she can't kill someone and turn them into another undead or otherwise make more of her kind. She could spread disease, being a walking corpse, but Ankar-Te is full of those. It comes down to outlook- if you're lawfully inclined, she breaks one of the few laws in the city, if you're chaotic or neutral in outlook it seems like she may be an exception.
Business contracts in Kaer Maga are the only thing that are truly sacred to the whole city, which is why Abadar and Asmodeus do so well in such a chaotic place. Undead creep out most of the city's residents, but, hey, it's not in their neighborhood so who cares? It may not always be the best idea to leave your neighborhood and the contacts you've cultivated to watch your back to go to another area, but it's your right to do so. Only Widdershins and Highside Stacks actively prevent other citizens from entering their ward without special permission and their residents are looked down upon for it. Plenty of factions don't get along- Freemen, slavers and the merchant consortiums that support them, for instance. The Freemen had to scale back their aggressive abolitionism after a point, for example, since it became clear that the rest of the city would be fighting them if they stayed as militant. For the most part, conflicts are solved through negotiations- for the most part. But people get mugged or robbed all the time and most people that live here just take it as part of the natural order of things- that's why it's important to make friends and watch where you're going and what you're doing, in their minds.
I imagine that the Pharasmins would see it differently though - not so much because giving Esme her freedom violates the rules of the city, but due to their opinion on undead.
Definitely, I was just talking about the city at large. Most people find it distasteful, but as long as it's just in Ankar-Te they don't think about it.
And yes, you can buy clerical scrolls at standard rates at the Cathedral.
Yep, still want to go a-dungeon crawling. Yang just didn't have time to scribe any spells or anything, which is why he plopped down in place. He's just waiting for the others return. Although on a side note, I will be heading back to Italy for a week starting Saturday. As they charge for internet, and my company won't pay, and I'm a cheap-a$$, my internet will be very limited. Please DMPC me as needed.
Guys, I am going to drop out of this game. I’m sorry that I have been dragging in my posting rate lately ... this is a decision I had pretty much arrived at about a week back (and probably should have arrived at earlier) but was delaying because I hate to leave a game. It hasn’t been fair to you all that I haven’t been posting as much as I should.
I am just finding it hard to keep up with my pbp games lately (particularly the ones I am GMing) and this seems to be the one that keeps getting left until last (or left behind). While I have enjoyed playing with you all I have just never really been able to get into my character and am not a huge fan of dungeon crawl games. This is not a reflection on James’ GMing – I have thoroughly enjoyed the other games that he has run. This is more to do with my character choice coupled with real life pressures. While I did consider asking if I could retire Detressa and start a new character, I don’t think that would really solve my time issues.
Good luck to you all and I hope this does not leave you in the lurch. Feel free to retire Detressa or drag her along as an NPC for a while as circumstances demand.
On another note- after this, I haven't got a published thing slotted to run yet. A few ideas, nothing I'm definite on- though I do want to use more of the city rather than another big dungeon. Let me know if your characters have specific goals (for example, I know Yang will want to research his bloatmage magic, Kua will want to advance with the Duskwardens, Uwais kicks it with the Freemen, etc.) that we can work with. A couple of immediate goals and a long term goal or two would be very helpful in the coming weeks while we finish going through the Ossuary.
I'll also roll through the game thread this weekend, check over the treasure gained so far and make a full listing. Without Detressa, there may be a greater need for healing items so we can retcon in any liquidations and purchases.
Uwais has been a difficult character to 'get in his head' - I'll read through how I've been playing him and see if any character motivations come through to me.
He may be interested in the Duskwardens after seeing Kua in action - I can imagine that knowledge of the caverns under the city would be especially tempting to a freedom fighter.
Slavery is also alive and well in the rest of the city and slavers from Urglin commonly make the journey across the Storval Rise to sell their sentient wares in the market. While the Freemen's previously militant abolitionism almost destroyed them when the rest of the city grew tired of their actions, no such protection extends to caravans on their way to Kaer Maga...
Identified loot and who I think has it:
Tripe- 2 Blue Potions (Potions of Cure Light Wounds)
1 Orange Potion (Potion of Enlarge Person)
2 Acid flasks
2 Alchemist's Fire flasks
2 Smokesticks
2 Thunderstones
1 Tanglefoot Bag
Bone Wand- Wand of Command Undead 13 charges
Masterwork Studded Leather Armor
+1 spear
Masterwork Embalming Tools
Recipe Book- contains Alchemist extract recipes
Tripe's Lab:
Full Alchemist's Lab - Yang
Set of Tomes and Notes: Secrets of the Chymists of Life in Death - Yang
Chime of Opening w/four charges, relinquished by Detressa
Tablets- Shatter and Remove Disease- Kua
Scrolls of Delay Poison x 2 (Detressa?)
Bracers of Armor +1 (from preserved Thassilonian corpse)- Yang
Sihedron Medallion- A silver disc on a leather cord inscribed with a seven pointed star. While worn, grants its wearer a +1 bonus on all saving throws. Once per day, it may be commanded to bestow the effects of false life on the wearer- these effects end if the medallion is removed. When placed on a dead body, the Sihedron Medallion preserves the corpse indefinitely with gentle repose.- Yang?
I don't remember claiming the bracers or medallion, but that doesn't mean I didn't. My memory has been lousy lately. If no one else wants it, I'll take the medallion. As for the bracers, they can be sold and the money split, actually, as mage armor is superior and I still have a scroll or two of that.
I thought I would ask before any future combats come up: how open are you guys to experimenting a little with the way we run fights here?
Max has been good enough to take care of mapping duties for me (which is awesome of him) since I'm not really a big fan of putting a grid together round by round. I picked up the One Ring game recently which has an interesting grid-less combat system that I was considering adapting to our game- it would be a bit less tactical and more loose and open, so there is a sacrifice involved for the sake of a quicker flow.
Basically the idea goes that you have three close-combat stances: forward, open and defensive.
In Forward stance, you're just going straight at the enemy, not really thinking about defense as much. I would determine this to be a +2 on attack rolls for PCs and for opponents vs. PCs (basically replacing flanking and charging with this stance).
Open is going on the offensive but paying at least some attention to defense- this is the default with no bonuses or penalties.
Defensive basically encompasses the full defense or fighting defensively actions (-4 attack, +2 defense)
Rearward is the ranged attack stance. In order to have a character in Rearward and out of close-combat, at least 2 PCs have to be in close-combat and if you're out-numbered 2 to 1 or surrounded then no one can take rearward.
Changing stances would be a move action.
Right now it's a basic idea and the way magic works would be the big hole in the idea that we have to work around; it also minimizes terrain considerations a bit. But it's something I can work on if you think it's something you would want to try as a method of keeping combat moving faster.
Hey guys- I'm in a really good homebrew game that Shadowborn in running and we're looking for a player to replace our missing halfling bard. Here's the recruitment thread if you're into it.
Hey guys- I'm in a really good homebrew game that Shadowborn in running and we're looking for a player to replace our missing halfling bard. Here's the recruitment thread if you're into it.
Sounds awesome. I wish there were a couple more hours in the day that I could use to post, ha ha.
Let me know if your characters have specific goals (for example, I know Yang will want to research his bloatmage magic, Kua will want to advance with the Duskwardens, Uwais kicks it with the Freemen, etc.) that we can work with. A couple of immediate goals and a long term goal or two would be very helpful in the coming weeks while we finish going through the Ossuary.
Other than normal Duskwarden business, Kua will definitely be keeping an ear to the ground regarding Esme. Their final encounter left a bitter taste in his mouth. The idea of the undercity is also intriguing to him, not sure where to go with that, but it's something.