Divine Rise of the Runelords

Game Master nate lange

"I'm actually not sure myself," Sal responds. "It seems like what version you get depends on who you ask, from a pumpkin-headed monster summoned to seek vengeance on people who wronged the summoner to a happy figure that you sit and wait for in the pumpkin patch," she frowns. "I mean I'm pretty sure that first one is just a story told to scare children into behaving but I don't know where the second one came from."

”I’ve heard some of the Desnan acolytes say that the only way for me to be lucky in cards is to cheat, but that’s a tale for a another time,” Tera replies to Orin’s statement. ”Thankfully I’ve been blessed with some amazing friends, so that more than makes up for it.”

The young mage smiles over her mug before taking a sip and focusing on the little, gobliny apparition on the table. It changes from the nearly nude and rather scorched goblin that had been puffing out its chest to one with a more cunning bearing and shifty eyes.

”As for the Pumpkin King, there are many tales, but this one is the real story of how he came to be. We all know goblins hate writing because they think it steals the thoughts from your head and you can get them back. Worse, a book could steal your very soul,” she begins, several goblins appear on the table, looking about curiously before fleeing in terror as books come galloping after them. The shifty goblin, though, looks on, his lips pursed as he rubs his chin and narrows his beady eyes. ”However, there was a goblin that had a thought. What if you were to consume the words? Wouldn’t you grow stronger? He would sneak into the library at night and steal books from the dustiest of shelves, lest the townsfolk catch on to his plans.” A bookcase rises from the tabletop and the goblin looks to both sides, then up, and then under the bookcase before stealing the shiniest, and most dust covered tomes he could reach, being careful not to look at the words on their spines and covers.

”He’d lure goblins away,” she continues, the shifty goblin pulling a ridiculously oversized jar of pickles from nowhere to trick another goblin into following him. ”He’d tie them up,” after a few steps, the shifty goblin turns on his prey, leaping at the unsuspecting goblin and causing both to disappear into a dust cloud for a moment. When it clears, the shifty goblin is dusting his hands off as the other goblin sways woozily in the cocoon of rope that was more rope than goblin. A good length of rope trails from the cocoon and meanders along the floor. ”He’d force them to read a book,” the shifty goblin holds out a book and grins wickedly as he begins to flip through the pages as the tied-up goblin screams in horror. ”Then he’d devour the book,” the shifty goblin eats the book, going om-nom-nom-nom as he’s surrounded by paper confetti. The tied-up goblin drools a little as it looks off at nothing in a daze. ”And just for good measure, he’d eat the goblin, too,” The tied-up goblin stirs then screams in wide-eyed terror as the shifty goblin gobbles him up in a single bite, slurping up the excess rope like a pasta noodle. He picks his teeth for a moment before letting out a belch, and the skull of his latest victim.

”The goblin chief found out when one of his favorite advisors was eaten. Aghast that one of their own would stoop to using words against their fellow goblin, the chief sent his best to arrest the heretical goblin,” a veritable horde of blindfolded goblins charge the shifty goblin. After a brief fight that sees most of them slain by each other, the survivors hoist a trussed up goblin over their heads, then proceed to run into various things on the table as they haul him off.

”The goblin chief decreed that for his crimes, his head would be lopped off and eaten by the chief.” A fat goblin wearing a fool’s crown appears. He gives the shifty goblin a wicked smile before pulling out a horsechopper with a fork on the opposite end of the blade. The shifty goblin pouts, looking more sorrowful and annoyed than scared, before the goblin chief brings the crude weapon down on his neck. It takes a few tries before the goblin chief is able to lop off the shifty goblins head. The chief then flips the horsechopper around and skewers the now loose head of the shifty goblin. He licks his lips and opens wide before munching on the “snack” with a crunch.

”They thought the threat ended there, but they were wrong,” Tera whispers, her voice dark and spooky as the now headless goblin rises and begins stumbling along. ”The goblin was so crafty, he rose from the dead and searched for a replacement for his head.” The goblin trips over a pumpkin and feeling around, finds it. His hands explore the shape of it for a moment before picking it up and twisting it on its neck. ”He found his replacement, a scary jack-o-latern!” The goblin looks up and around, fixing everyone at the table with his carved out eyes. He raises his arms and waggles his fingers like a child pretending to be a ghost.

”He took over his tribe and demanded tribute from all of the surrounding tribes, naming himself the Pumpkin King. The other tribes eventually grew tired of it and wiped out the tribe, not even deigning to speak its name. But before he was devoured by goblin dogs and goblins, the Pumpkin King vowed to return and reclaim his throne.”

Tera lets the illusions vanish and takes a long sip of her hot cocoa.

”Who knows, he might just be looking for another pumpkin to replace his head,” she says mischievously before focusing on a spiced pumpkin muffin and levitating it to her. She takes a bite of it, before sipping her cocoa again, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Sal remains silent for a moment, mulling over the story that Tera's just shared with them. "Okay - that version is way better than either of the ones I've heard before," she finally says with a laugh. "Bonus points for the touch of realism with the reading and all, because I can definitely see a goblin being crazy enough to try that!"
______

As always, I am envious (in a good way) of your ability to spin yarns like that!

Sadly I can't take full credit for this one. I knew a guy when I was first getting started in college that had a goblin PC that would eat books to get the thoughts they contained. Never got a chance to play with that one.

"I could see them doing it too, though I think I'd be rather upset about them munching on books that I haven't had a chance to read," Tera says with a grin. "Of course, the Pumpkin should never be confused with the Great Pumpkin Turtle."

"Great... Pumpkin... Turtle?" Kaede stops herself from asking about that equally tall tale, and just shakes her head in disbelief. "This place is weird...." she finally states, before sipping on her mulled cider again.

"At least it's not boring," Tera laughs at Kaede's comment. "Just be careful saying that around the Chelish. They'll agree with you about any place that's not Cheliax."

She takes another sip of her mug, glad that the card game had been forgotten for the moment. She looks at the Shelynite priestess and a thought pops into her head.

"Hey Kaede, does Shelyn consider storytelling an artform? You wouldn't happen to have any tales of your own to share, would you? I think it'd be fun hearing stories that came from Tien Xia."

oh, this thread makes me happy! I need to review the AP a little and read back over a bit of the gameplay thread but expect a new gameplay post from this week. Sorry the hiatus was so long.

No worries! All I have to say is, "WOO! You're Back!"

I am so looking forward to getting back into this game. I'm also looking forward to Emi's recovery from her illness. Teldon, well... I think I'll let you catch up on that thread. :)

Welcome back! Ready to get started again when you are :)

Yeah, glad to see you back GM - ready when you are!!!

hmm, I was hoping there might be a few more takers on posting a little RP in the gameplay thread... I wonder if everyone is getting updates for both threads? lets do this:

Role Call!

please check in here and let me know you're still here (and still want to continue). and, if you're willing maybe a quick RP post in gameplay for getting back to sleep (which should also ensure that you start getting updates from that thread again). Sometime in the next couple days I'll make a longer post for the next morning in which I'll try to sort of remind everyone of what's going on (right now you guys overheard some goblins in the woods in the middle of the night, accidentally gave away your position trying to get up, and then killed them all in the ensuing fight).

I'm still here and willing to continue! Though, that's pretty obvious, :D

I've been very very very very bad about getting on to post, but I'm still game.

Yup, still here... looking forward to starting again.

Still here! Had just missed the last few Gameplay posts because they weren't showing up; should be fixed now that I've posted :)

Glad to see this one is still up and running as its sort of the brother-sister/inspiration campaign to my Rise game :-). Welcome back Nate!

BTW, Taryn still lives in the Eberron campaign and he is DMPCed with the group if you'd like to play once more.

Thanks, Shadow!

I'm so far behind on all the games (and still busy enough) that I'm trying to ease into things one or two games at a time. If my spots still open in a week or two I should be ready to pick it up again.

So the only one we haven't heard from yet is Zache and his player isn't always able to post right away. I'll shoot him a PM to make sure he knows we're moving again. And, I'll give him a little bit longer to check in. (I'm hoping to have my next post up in 12 hours or so).

@Kaelaah- there's incineration taking place if you want to avail yourself of the opportunity to slip in a gameplay post.

I'm here, I'm here! I just didn't get any updates ^^'

Folks, I have had a busy day packing for holidays and then tomorrow will be travelling - I expect to have wi-fi / internet where we are staying but I think my posting will be sporadic for a week... apologies (and feel free to GMPC me as appropriate)

I was hoping to get at least one gameplay post from everyone before moving on but, given Kaelaah's post, I'll move forward tomorrow morning with or without that...

Sorry, I've been in a bad state. Some news shook me pretty bad, and I've been fighting a pain of a cold. On top of that, I've had convention stress going on, and politics in my local PFS lodge. I'll get to posting soon, I'm just... struggling right now.

Hang in there, okay? I suspect things will be a little slow still as we ease back into the game.

Yeah. And remember that we're here for you.

Don't worry, Zache, you guys were super patient while I was gone- I'm hardly going to be less patient with anyone else.

have you tried crystal meth? It should help with the cold and give you decent energy boost.

^ *facepalm* :P

By the way folks, my posting *might* be a little slower than usual for the next couple of months as PbP Gameday VI kicks off this Friday and I'll be running a PFS scenario for each session as well as playing in a few games. Since those games will be on something of a timer, I'll be giving them higher posting priority until we're done - especially the games I'll be GMing. So while there shouldn't be a true interruption of service on my end, it might be a little slower here and there :)

Buuut...since we're trying to get rolling again, I'll do my best to get posts done in a timely manner so we can truck along as best as we're able.

Please hold for me until tomorrow. Some family drama hit and I haven't been able to post in anything.

As I said before, just try to hang in there okay? We'll be here when you're ready :)

First, I know that some of you are in other games that I am posting/have posted this notice, some as the GM, but I want to make sure that I get everyone in these games, so apologies for spamming your campaign tab and repeating myself. Poor Lady ladile, Zed and Nate are going to be seeing this three times.

Second, the reason I am posting this is because I enjoy the roleplay and interactions have been going in these games. I love the stories that we've been telling together. I would love to GM a game with anyone of you (and I'm GMing a game with some of you already.)

So, I would like to ask if any of you would be interested in playing in a game I'm currently working on? I need player input in order to proceed and I'd love to be able to build parts of the world around your characters. You'd be part of a crack team that handles different missions that are delicate and require skill and finesse in a space setting. Think something like a cross between the A-Team and Cowboy Bebop, or just think the A-Team in space if you've never seen or heard of Cowboy Bebop.

If I haven't made a total hash out of my explanation and this sounds like something you'd be interested in (or if you'd like to play a Sci-Fi game in general) go here and dot both the gameplay and discussion threads. You can also ask me questions and collaborate on characters or parts of the world there so I'm not hijacking all the threads. I know that things are busy, but I'm not going to be starting right away, and this is a cool opportunity to work on some concepts that you might not try in PBP because they might not pass the recruitment for a game.

I'm intrigued but I've been so busy with this semester that I haven't even gotten back into half my previous games yet... I really can't add anything else right now.

It's fine. I'm not starting just yet. This was more to see who was interested and to get started on characters.

pickle talk

I'm going to blame the current goings-on in Shattered Star for my mind going there but this makes it sound way naughtier than what was actually being discussed :3

Grrr... board ate my post... will try again tomorrow. There's a surprise round coming, so start thinking about what you'll want to do with a single standard or move action...

Checking in, just waiting to see what happens re: Tera and the goblins for now :)

I had a busy day and sleep is looming so I'll get a post up tomorrow after work (or perhaps earlier if things get slow at any point)!

Here, just have had a busy couple of days at work and I'm about out of juice for the day - and I've noticed I tend to make a lot more mistakes with my combat stuff when I try posting in this state! I have the day off tomorrow and will try to get my post up relatively early :)

Hey all,
I hope you're all enjoying getting back into your characters. I'm enjoying getting back into running for you all. I know people have other stuff going on (and scouting, while tactically very useful, kind of slows things down), but it feels like we still haven't really hit our stride again yet. I've been trying to think of a way to encourage people to post more often without penalizing those who simply don't have the opportunity to... I have an idea we're going to try out.

From now on (unless/until I say otherwise) 1/RL day you can add +1 to any one attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw if you made an actual gameplay post the previous RL day. It has to have been a real gameplay post though, not something in discussion and not just an ooc comment; if things are moving slow a little RP is fine (say something to another player, write a line or two about what your character is thinking, or just do a sentence or two about their body language or something). Please keep the +1 separate from your other bonuses so I can see when you're using it.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.
- it's an untyped bonus
- if you gain a reroll on the roll you used it on (or get to roll twice for some reason) you get the bonus on both
- if you use it on an attack roll and threaten a crit it applies to the confirmation roll too

Something else that might be worth considering is setting up some kind of SOP for scouting and dealing with doors and locks, that way you can roll us through 'dungeon' areas more quickly.

As for me specifically, I've been busier than usual lately due to PbP Gameday as well as working more day shifts (which means large gaps of time where I usually can't post at all). Things should calm down a bit in about a month or so when Gameday ends!

I agree with Sal about finding a way to accelerate this scouting. Honestly, Kaede's going to be holding back to let Sal and Tera scout, with the intent to dive in if combat starts. Until such a time, This is Sal and Tera's show.

Yeah, Kaelaah isn't really the king of scouting... give him something to burn and he'll be happy!!! Having said that, I have had a lot on my plate work-wise and haven't managed to keep to a post per day in any of my games (apologies to those I am GM'ing and to GM Ladile)... having said that, both of my Blight games are coming to an end - and I have a full day of business travel tomorrow so definitely going to be catching up with my games again!!!

I didn't mean that as a scold to anyone- I'm just looking for a way to help encourage people to keep their post rate up when they're able.

And, as I said, I doesn't have to be a big paragraph, or anything active (I know sometimes you're just waiting on someone else's action) but even a quick post like "X paces anxiously and grips his/her weapon a little more tightly than normal while waiting for Tera's return" or a line or two of thoughts (eg. Sister Tera has gotten much better at scouting... I'm not crazy about her wandering off alone when there could be any number of goblins lurking around any corner but it is useful having her gather that information...) will help with verisimilitude and help us get back into a posting rhythm (and earn you your bonus the next day).

And there's always banter. That can serve a few purposes. :)

Sorry… I tried to update gameplay last night, but apparently I fell asleep before I posted it… I’ll have something up soon

No worries DM, I've done that sort of thing before myself :)

...and, apparently by "soon" I meant in almost exactly 12 hours.

I have turned the crude map into the layout of what you've seen so far... I'm not sure its as clear as it could be, but hopefully it'll be helpful.

Currently, Sal is in I7, Tera is in J7, and everyone else is somewhere in the 'entryway' area.

Let me know if there are any questions.

Aside from trying to just sneak up on him (or possibly snipe him with her bow and I think Tera might actually be better-suited to do that), Sal doesn't really have any other ways to get close to the goblin to kill him or just knock him out. We could try the luring trick again but it might be too suspicious to do now that we're inside.

Happy Halloween! Have fun, stay safe, and watch out for spooks! :D

oh no- its halloween and I forgot to post something yesterday! For the next 72 hours (from the time stamp on this post) if you put on the pumpkin helmet it bursts into flames that don't damage you- any creature attacking you has to make a DC 13 will save (vs fear) or take a -2 morale penalty to hit you for 1d4 rounds, and if you use the produce flame power it deals 2d6 damage instead of 1d6.

I was going to have that work yesterday, today, and tomorrow but I guess this timing is actually better since the fight just started.