CrazyHedgehog's Serpent Skull

Game Master CrazyHedgehog

Hello everyone. I'll get the adventure thread up and running soon. In the meantime, you can use this thread to introduce yourselves and if you want to discuss finishing off characters.

Thanks for the selection CrazyHedgehog! Definitely looking forward to playing it.

For everyone else, there are no major spoilers in my profile, so feel free to read it. Yekskya grew up in the Bandu Hills of Sargava, but was taken as a slave only only recently purchased his freedom. He works as a guard in the region from the Shackles to Sargava.

His latest job is guarding the shipment of a Vudran statue purchased by a noble in Eleder. The current owner, Sanjeet Ralama Pakhesh, proprietor of Obari Imports has secured a berth for the idol on a ship named the Jenivere. Yakskya has boarded with the idol in Ilizamagorti to ensure the cargo gets to Eleder.

I'll read the rest of the backgrounds. I suspect his only experience with most of you has been on the Jenivere.

CrazyHedgehog - not sure if you want details on the idol. If you do, I'll be happy to add them.

Sweet googly moogly! Slicingsong made the cut! I'm super excited. One, I really wanted to play Serpent Skull but my IRL game never really got of the ground. Two, I've never played a bard and wanted to for a while now.

On that second note, if anyone has feedback on my build I'd be more than happy to hear it. I take constructive criticism well. Looking forward to playing with everyone.

Also, if anyone needs to contact me quickly during the course of the campaign, my email address is jason(dot)linker(at)gmail(dot)com I check it regularly at work, home, and mobile.

Slicingsong, interesting angle on your background and build plans. Are you still a hidden stowaway or have you emerged during the voyage. I could see Yekskya taking an interest in someone from a culture so different from his own.

Thanks for accepting, CrazyHedgehog. I feel honored to get into one of these on my first attempt. Looking forward to playing with you all.

Feel free to read the backstory - none of the information is anything Zag wouldn't share if asked.

As stated, it is my first PbP here, so please excuse anything facepalmworthy that I might do. I've read through a tiny bit of existing games to kind of see how things work... I think I'll manage just fine, but it seems like a pretty helpful community if I have any questions.

I don't have a 'build' in mind, really. I'm really not an optimizer. I tend to prefer having my characters evolve naturally based on their experiences. I've always liked Druids a lot but I've never been much into wild shaping (indeed, I know, I do not embrace one of the key aspects of the class so readily). Zag is very much a survivalist, so you can expect a good amount of defense-boosting and healing spells from him.

Also, a question for CrazyHedgehog, what is your view on animal companions for this adventure? Obviously, starting out on a boat and the whole shipwreck angle, having one right off of the bat might not make sense. Are there any companion choices you aren't keen on? I've known some DMs who are a bit wary regarding certain choices (larger animals, dinosaurs, so on and so forth).

Woodsmoke - LN male half-orc druid - Zaghigoth Stormbile

Fraust - AL? female Forlorn elf alchemist (grenadier) - Faey Vallidorn
michaelane - NG male Mwangi human fighter (archer) - Yekskya
YuenglingDragon - CN male Shoanti human bard - Slicingsong
Nostrus - AL? male half-orc ranger (trapmaster) - Grym the Trapper
A'vandira Silvermane - joining shortly

Wow, thank you for picking me. After looking at some of the other submissions I'm very surprised to see my name up there. Faey is going to be Lawful Neutral by the way. I'll add that to the details I need to get her sheet finished up.

Looks like we have a good mix of melee and ranged abilities in the group, though our access to healing is a little limited (I don't recall what A'vandira Silvermane was making, if it was mentioned...so maybe that will be rectified). Faey's first discovery is going to be infusion, so I'll be able to help there as soon as we level.

As a bit of an introduction, I'm Fraust. I've been playing RPGs sense the early 90s, and playing Pathfinder sense beta. Being a student, father, and currently trying to figure out the whole divorce thing makes time a premium...so just about all of my gaming happens here on the Paizo boards. I'm involved in two other PbP games, Twig's Rise of the Runelord and Thod's Carrion Crown. In real life I play a lot of darker/devious/semi disruptive type characters, largely because when I play it's normally with good friends who are all cool with it. Online, with strangers, I try to go more for team oriented types, though they do seem to have their quirks.

I'd like to play Faey as initially very sheltered as far as life experience goes, and something of an anoying know-it-all when it comes to anything academic. She's a quick study though, and will likely get the hang of this whole adventuring thing soon enough.

As a heads up, for anyone not familiar with the alchemist class, it's one of those classes (along with the summoner, though easier to figure out) that can quickly and easily feel over the top. Basically, it's stupid simple to optimize....I'm specifically going to build a functional but not munchkin character with her, but not everyone's idea of munchkin is the same. Long story short, if at any time someone feels that Faey is too much, please let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix the problem.

I'll try to get some AP specific background up for her tomorrow, but I've got a chem lab I need to make up, so it might be later in the day (I'm in mt time zone...least I think I am. Moved to Idaho, and if memory serves, they're mt)

Anyways, really glad I got accepted into this, and I look forward to cracking skulls and filling in the empty spots of the map with you all!

I tend to think that there is a difference between playing a powerful character and always having to remind everyone that you are playing a powerful character. A powerful character helps the group (granted I don't gauge my fun factor by how many bodies I pile up, so other people might see that differently), but then there are the powerful ones who regard the rest of the party as superfluous jokes. As you say, though, people are going to have different ideas of optimization. I've been playing with the same core group of people for the past ten years and none of us go out of our way to optimize, so certain things would inevitably happen where as a group we would see things as quite powerful... on the other hand, I also used to lurk the 3.x Wizards forums, where people seemed to think that you were underpowered if you didn't have a way to deal 100 damage a round at level 5 (/slight exaggeration).

But yeah, as far as I go, you won't be stepping on my toes if you are bombing half of the island into a graveyard. I'll be buffing and taking intermittent, sub-par swings at things, ha.

And, for the record, my timezone is EST (GMT -5). I work nights (9pm-6am EST), but other than that and sleep, I'm home doing a whole lot of nothing, so I will definitely be able to post regularly.

Hi there folks, my name is John and I'll be your friendly Half-Orc Trapper for this trip. I'm a father-of-one, and husband of four years. I've gamed extensively with CH (currently a SW Saga home game, and as part of the Nevis Lodge for Society games her on the forums).

Grym was born near Sandpoint. He wasn't wanted and has spent most of his life fending for himself. He's not overly charismatic, and has a fairly dark sense of humour but is confident in what he knows.

He's a half-decent bowyer, so can hopefully assist in crafting some ranged weaponry for the group but focuses on using axes as his own brand of pain-inducement. Life hasn't been simple for him, and looks to become more complicated very soon.

Grym is headed to the Mwangi Expanse to try and make his fortune. He doesn't know whether he will succeed or not, but he knows he is not happy where he is. Having spent his entire life savings on the berth, he is now fixed on his path. Where it will take him remains to be seen.

So a bit about me. I'm a father of one 10-month old daughter, married for five years and some change and I work in Baltimore, MD and live in the suburbs outside the city. That means I post from EST as well. I'm in the office from 8am-4:30pm but I'm on the train after that and can keep monitoring the thread, though I won't post anything substantial from mobile for fear of the post eating monster. I'll be checking in mostly during the day but I'll try to sneak some time in during the evenings as well between daddy duties and baby doodies.

Also, I switched out Invigorate for Cure Light. I did not read Invigorate, just the summary and didn't realize it was illusory relief from fatigue. That's a silly spell...

Slicingsong, interesting angle on your background and build plans. Are you still a hidden stowaway or have you emerged during the voyage. I could see Yekskya taking an interest in someone from a culture so different from his own.

He sneaked on board in Port Peril so he hasn't had to hide that long. Since he's been willing to hide even in the bilge, I suspect he smells like crap but he's still hidden. I'm willing to change that for good RP opportunities, though.

Actually, that's a good thing to mention. I'm always willing to change something to have more fun, better group interaction/cohesion, or a good RP opportunity. Just say the word and I'll retcon or whatever.

Baltimore? Small world - I actually live in Harford County.

About me, rather than Zaghigoth:

Well, there is not much to tell, really. A 24-year-old (though I often feel closer to 80) nihilist living the illustrious life of a third shift supervisor. I do not have a spouse nor any kids, but I have a pair of roommates. I started playing D&D 3rd about ten years ago, and along with achieving escapism through music it quickly became my favorite activity. Sadly, due to the sporadic-at-best schedules of my offline players and myself, I do not get a chance to play nearly as often as I would like. I came to the boards to search for nearby players, stayed to try the PbP.

(Also, you can tell by the frequency with which I reply to this thread that my life is very interesting).

Baltimore? Small world - I actually live in Harford County.

Ah Harford county. Land of...the space between Baltimore and Pennsylvania...

I kid. I have almost-family people in Belcamp, plus Harford's got one of the only Roy Roger's in Maryland! That sh*t's classic!

Hi there, I'll introduce myself as well. Like some of you I'm also a father, two kids, working now as a librarian and am really loving it. I know Nostrus from our games here in Scotland, though originally I'm from southern California - great to see a few fellow countrymen, and from different parts of the country, too.

CrazyHedgehog - not sure if you want details on the idol. If you do, I'll be happy to add them.

Sure, if you have some definite ideas about the idol, I'll incorporate them into the game; otherwise, I'll try and cook something up. Sounds interesting.

On that second note, if anyone has feedback on my build I'd be more than happy to hear it. I take constructive criticism well. Looking forward to playing with everyone.

I think you have an interesting character there, especially that you have the whole Shoanti barbarian culture thing going as well. None of my bard characters really got anywhere, but I've always had it in my mind to play a dwarven multiclass bard/barbarian. I'll do my best to give you all opportunties to play your characters to the hilt.

I'll post up some in-game stuff soon once all the characters are complete, but in the meantime, let me know where your PC took ship aboard the Jenivere. I've posted an itinerary showing the group's route below with where I think your characters might have boarded based on what's been posted so far, but feel free to make amendments as you feel might be necessary for your character's story.

Also, if you need to send any info, I can be reached at thecrazyhedgehog at hotmail.

Also, a question for CrazyHedgehog, what is your view on animal companions for this adventure? Obviously, starting out on a boat and the whole shipwreck angle, having one right off of the bat might not make sense. Are there any companion choices you aren't keen on? I've known some DMs who are a bit wary regarding certain choices (larger animals, dinosaurs, so on and so forth).

That's a good question, but I'll leave it up to you. As you say, you all meet on the Jenivere but the action really takes place elsewhere. So you could call an animal native to where you are shipwrecked to be your animal companion, or it might be you already had an animal companion with you when you boarded ship (you may have had to do some convincing to get it on the ship with you).

Apart from that, choose what appeals to you. The player's guide is probably the best help, though I'm not sure how it works with beginning druids and powerful animal companions. As there are 5-6 of you, I'd maybe shy away from elephants and dinosaurs until higher levels, but I think these other suggestions from the player's guide should be no problem, along with companions from other creature books up to perhaps CR2:

Ah Harford county. Land of...the space between Baltimore and Pennsylvania...

I kid. I have almost-family people in Belcamp, plus Harford's got one of the only Roy Roger's in Maryland! That sh*t's classic!

Smaller world. I also live in Belcamp.

There might be a Roy Roger's here, but Baltimore has The Abbey Burger Bistro, which trumps all other burger joints a thousand times over.

Apart from that, choose what appeals to you. The player's guide is probably the best help, though I'm not sure how it works with beginning druids and powerful animal companions. As there are 5-6 of you, I'd maybe shy away from elephants and dinosaurs until higher levels, but I think these other suggestions from the player's guide should be no problem, along with companions from other creature books up to perhaps CR2:

They did a pretty good job at balancing out the companions. No starting companion starts out larger than Medium, and no animal companion ever gets larger than Large (so even stuff like Elephant, Rhinoceros, Tyrannosaurus, etc. never become anything bigger than Large), and the size increase doesn't happen until 4th or 7th level, depending on the animal companion and how they ended up balancing it. Most dinosaurs don't get their advancement until 7th level. Other than that, all animals acquirable as companions are powered down considerably to be first level choices, and scale naturally with level.

That said, I'll probably call something native to the area. I don't think Zag would be too keen on forcing something from somewhere else out of its natural habitat and taking it so far away.

Let's add another Baltimore connection. I lived in Baltimore for ten years and worked in Harford County at Aberdeen Proving Ground for five of them. Now live in Chicago after passing through Ottawa, Detroit, and Nashville. 44, married 21 years with two boys that both play Pathfinder. Run the Chicago office for an ad agency. Been playing RPGs since the dawn of time and Pathfinder since the beta. Run PFS for my FLGS and play in quite a few PbPs.

Let's add another Baltimore connection. I lived in Baltimore for ten years and worked in Harford County at Aberdeen Proving Ground for five of them. Now live in Chicago after passing through Ottawa, Detroit, and Nashville. 44, married 21 years with two boys that both play Pathfinder. Run the Chicago office for an ad agency. Been playing RPGs since the dawn of time and Pathfinder since the beta. Run PFS for my FLGS and play in quite a few PbPs.

You know, my wife has family in Springfield so I've been to Illinois a half dozen times but I've never been to Chicago. I feel like a butt every time I think of that. I hear it's pretty excellent.

I live near Aberdeen too. The Scottish one though...

They did a pretty good job at balancing out the companions. No starting companion starts out larger than Medium, and no animal companion ever gets larger than Large (so even stuff like Elephant, Rhinoceros, Tyrannosaurus, etc. never become anything bigger than Large), and the size increase doesn't happen until 4th or 7th level, depending on the animal companion and how they ended up balancing it. Most dinosaurs don't get their advancement until 7th level. Other than that, all animals acquirable as companions are powered down considerably to be first level choices, and scale naturally with level.

That said, I'll probably call something native to the area. I don't think Zag would be too keen on forcing something from somewhere else out of its natural habitat and taking it so far away.

Ah, I didn't realize. In that case, any of them would be acceptable. If it's helpful, from looking through the adventure I'd say the following are available on Smuggler's Shiv: bird, boar, giant rat, constrictor snake, viper snake, monitor lizard, crocodile. I'm sure we can think up a rationale for it being on the island, if you prefer to take something else.

Hedgehog, would it be ok if I applied the Savage Skald archetype to Slicingsong before we get started? It doesn't change much, just stuff like Fascinate and Suggestion that Slicingsong's low Charisma meant he'd use approximately never anyway.

This image is my new inspiration to make Slicingsong as awesome as I can.

I'll definitely throw down some Call Lightnings for you.

Nice, looks like a scene from the plains of Sargava...hey, aren't we almost there?

Yup, Grym got in at Magnimar.

A'vandira Silvermane here.

Thanks for contacting me on FaceBook about this game, CrazyHedgeHog. Really appreciate it.

For the rest of you, HedgeHog and me played on PlayByWeb several years back in Age of Worms under DM Brainiac.
I'm a long time gamer, both table top and on-line (realtime chat and PbP), started AD&D back at the university bacause my then-girlfriend now-wife (married for 15 years) played with a group of fellow students.

Posting from Rotterdam, The Netherlands (wrong side of the Atlantic Ocean). Usually at work between 0630 and 1730 (GMT+1). Can post both from work and home, though the weekends usually mean I'm pretty busy with other stuff. Should my presence be required, I can be reached via werner[dot]verboom[at]gmail[dot]com or you can send me a message on FaceBook (Werner Verboom) (both of which I can read on my phone).

Cat's character sheet does not hold any secrets, so feel free to read her background as well as everything else. Suggestions and such welcome. Decided to go Rogue, with perhaps a few levels of Ranger (which she may pick up from Grym). Any questions I will answer to the best of my ability.

Looking forward to playing with y'alls.

Hey there, sorry to be a stranger, RL has managed to swallow up my free time over the past few days. If it should come up that I'm ever away or not able to post, I'll try to let you know in advance, so apologies in this instance. I'm excited to get started! I think I'll post up a bit more background information that your characters are aware of that you might also want to know, then we can make a start.

Rowena: Welcome, your character sounds like she'll fit in perfectly with our group of heroes. If she's from Varisia, I take it she boarded in Magnimar?

Zag: Any ideas on what your half-orc would take as an animal companion? Want to make sure we can work that in in the course of the game.

Nostrus: Any character sheet yet for Grym?

Slicingsong: Like the image, so is that what your bard does for fun? Creatures of the Mwangi Expanse - beware!

Hedgehog, would it be ok if I applied the Savage Skald archetype to Slicingsong before we get started? It doesn't change much, just stuff like Fascinate and Suggestion that Slicingsong's low Charisma meant he'd use approximately never anyway.

Yeah, we haven't started yet, so that's not a problem. Sounds like a good fit for your character's background.

Here is some information that all your characters probably know about the voyage to Sargava.

While the Jenivere is a merchant ship, primarily concerned with delivering goods to and from Sargava, she’s traditionally kept several compartments open to take on paying passengers. This trip is no exception. You are aware of at least six other passengers aboard ship. As the characters have spent some time aboard the Jenivere, they have at least passing familiarity with these others making the passage to Sargava, and a few notable members of the Jenivere’s passengers and crew:

Yeah, we haven't started yet, so that's not a problem. Sounds like a good fit for your character's background.

Thank you kindly. I'll update tonight.

Slicingsong: Like the image, so is that what your bard does for fun? Creatures of the Mwangi Expanse - beware!

That's Slicingsong. Serving up soulful dirges and pan-seared funky bug meat.

Zag: Any ideas on what your half-orc would take as an animal companion? Want to make sure we can work that in in the course of the game.

Crocodile, I believe.

Crocodile sounds absolutely perfect for this AP

Yep. Boarded in Magnimar, along with a shipment of goods to set up shop in Senghor. Goods are primarily geared towards exploration and traveling supplies.

I was going to go with and ape originally - I have always liked the idea of having an animal companion that makes ladders/canyons/shafts/other vertical obstacles a non-issue...plus the possibilities of teaching tricks that take advantage of hands/thumbs. The crocodile is MUCH more forgiving at early levels, though, with 17 AC and +4 to attack compared to the ape's 14 AC and +1, so it should be more survivable. The swim speed should be useful in this path, though. Perhaps at a later level if I am of the mind to get a new companion I'll see about the ape.

I've set up a gaming thread and the first post, I think we're just about there. Nost, I see you've got Grym the Trapper on your page, is it the Grym for this game? :)

Not entirely, I've got to change some things. Cannabilising a previous alias.

Since I didn't hear anything to the contrary, I'm going to keep Slicingsong stowed away. It'll eliminate the chance for shipboard interaction, but I think it might be kind of cool to get an "outside looking in" view of the activities and maybe provide an interesting RP moment later when someone they've never seen pops up.

Since I didn't hear anything to the contrary, I'm going to keep Slicingsong stowed away. It'll eliminate the chance for shipboard interaction, but I think it might be kind of cool to get an "outside looking in" view of the activities and maybe provide an interesting RP moment later when someone they've never seen pops up.

Yeah, I think that'll work. In which case, could I get you to roll a straight 1d6?

Just waiting for Nostrus to finish up Grym, then we'll move on to the next part; in the meantime, feel free to keep rping onboard ship.

1d6 ⇒ 2

Thanks, Slice: that will come in handy - soon.

Hey guys, I've updated the Jenivere's itinerary, with notes for when all of you and the other passengers boarded. You never know when it may come in handy...

Port of Call - Days in Port
Magnimar, Varisia - Grym and Rowena board; Gelik Aberwhinge and Ieana board; the Jenivere departs
Kintargo, Cheliax - 2 days - Faey boards
Pezzack, Cheliax - 3 days
Corentyn, Cheliax - 7 days - Jask Derindi brought aboard
Ilizmagorti, Mediogalti Island - 2 days - Yekskya boards; Sasha Nevah boards
Ollo, The Shackles - 7 days
Quent, The Shackles - 2 days
Port Peril, The Shackles - 3 days - Slicingsong boards as a stowaway; Aerys Mavato boards
Bloodcove, Mwangi Expanse - 4 days - Ishirou boards
Senghor, Mwangi Expanse - 3 days - Zaghigoth boards
Days at Sea 71
Total Journey 104 days, 3,400 miles

Edit: Also, I've uploaded some images of some of your fellow passengers, which can be found here

I've seen a note from Nostrus, looks like he's had a long weekend with family and will be back to posting tomorrow. I was thinking to move the game on tomorrow in any case, once Grym is complete we can work him into the game.

heh heh heh...

It's cool. It's actually been neat having so much time to RP being on the ship. Most groups probably don't get this.

Have to agree with Slice on this. I like RP-ing the down-time aboard the ship.

Also I love that his nickname is Slice. Cracks me up for some reason.

Also I love that his nickname is Slice. Cracks me up for some reason.

:)

F*cking gleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Now (actually a while ago) is a good time to ask how you'd like to run combat. Do you want us to do the current round and our best guess at the next round which you can adapt as needed to move things quicker? Or just round by round?

I'm pretty open to whichever way each of you is most comfortable with. If I have a general idea what your character is wanting to do over the next round or two I can work that into the description, but I can understand if you prefer to hold off to see the outcome of each round before deciding what action your character takes.

And, if you do post future actions, it's not to say that you can't change your mind and have your character do something else if the situation changes.

Is Slicingsong's gear also in the pile or did he keep it since he wasn't drugged like the rest?