DM Rich's Carrion Crown

Game Master Briccone

"Thank you, Tara!"

The doctor moves farther into the room and casts a spell. A blue-white ray of energy fires from his hand at the ghost.

Posting from my phone. Would someone please move Stefan's token 20 feet north?

Casts disrupt undead.

Ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Positive energy damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Tara, use the haunt syphon! You can harm the ghost that way!

Sophie pulls out another flask and steps beside Bert to try to pour it on the ghost.

Teil steps up and swings away.

Earthbreaker: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 10 ⇒ (2, 2) + 10 = 14

If there were ever a combat to use channels to keep people from bleeding, this is it.

Dr. Von Herzog moves to better vantage point which which to attack the wraith, but the aim of his Disrupt Undead spell is slightly off and it misses the Lopper. I moved Stefan's token to the position requested.

Sophie uses another Holy Water flask to soak the incorporeal madman, injuring the spirit once more.

Teilaenthis strikes the wraith with his earth breaker, doing some additional damage to the creature. Indeed, it looks like it may discorporate soon if not allowed to heal.

Vivian, Bert. Tara is on delay. Theodor will be botted after the others go.

Bert withdraws from combat to place himself next to Tara.

Theodor moves into Bert's previous position to attack with the bloodstained ax. The weapon passes through the spirit's neck and it immediately breaks apart into black clouds of smoke which then quickly disapparate.

Theodor handaxe +1: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 1 = 23
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 1) + 4 = 9

Combat Over

As the last of the 5 powerful spirits is defeated, a sort of gloom seems to lift out of the atmosphere of the prison, but its difficult to say precisely what has changed.

Investigating this room, there is a hole in the grate covering the oubliette in the center of the room with a rope leading down. Examining the bottom, you find the skeletal remains of one body whose legs appear to have been broken. Next it lies a separate skull from another body. There is also a small cache of items including 120 gp, a broken masterwork heavy crossbow, a masterwork longsword, a +1 Heavy Mace, a Stone of Alarm, and a ring of keys. I'm assuming Kendra identifies these magical items later if you cannot now.

What's the plan now? When you spoke with Vesorianna, she mentioned that she would like to have the Warden's Badge returned to her if you found it (You found it in a corpse in one of the offices). Otherwise, it would appear you've defeated all the major threats of the prison.

finish exploring the prison? Remove any other threats? Let's be thorough here. :-)

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Other than some haunts that may return later, the group is pretty confident that the prison is secure as long as Vesorianna can take charge of the situation as she claims she can.

"Excellent work, everyone!"

Stefan casts detect magic and attempts to identify the magic items.

Spellcraft vs. Mace: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Spellcraft vs. Stone: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

After sharing what he learns about these objects, the doctor suggests re-visiting the ghost of Versoriana to put these spirits to their final rest.

Sighing wearily, Teil nods. "Yes, let us see if we can put the wife to rest by delivering this badge and leave this accursed place."

Teil moves to lead the group back to the ghost.

Of course. And we should bring to her the remains of her husband, and then bring the two corpses outside and bury them together, so they spend the rest of eternity side by side. That's worth every treasure to my eyes.

As Bert retreats Tara touches his shoulder, infusing him with healing energies granted to her by her goddess. "I feel like we are missing something. Have we found any clues as to where the Whispering Way took the warden's spirit? Or why they needed that one?" Running a hand through her short hair, Tara sighs heavily.

Following behind Teil and Vivian, Tara waits for everyone to catch up before continuing on their journey to Vesorianna.

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (1, 7) + 3 = 11

These are truly good questions. But we can't answer them right now, Tara.I'd like to find out if Vesorianna can hold her part of the bargain, and banish these ghosts forever. Then, the place would be safer to search for clues.The battles were tough, and we need to regroup, rest and heal. If we stay there and search the place, we could get hurt again, or worse.

She shrugs
That's just my opinion, of course. I'm really starting to speak like my mother would. Where is the Vivian of yesterday that would take all the risks, just for the fun of it?

"I would like to rest my bones, yes."

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With evidently no more spirits to deal with, the group heads back up to the ground level with the help of rope and makes its way to Vesorianna's room.

As you enter inside, her spirit immediately rises out of her corpse with a surprised look, then a big smile, "You've done it! You've really done it! Now all I need is my husband's badge to take over as the prison's new warden and you'll never need to worry about the 5 prisoners ever again! Gods bless you all!"

Teilaenthis presents the ghost with the badge, understanding the residual power that objects can hold.

Bert spends most of the journey back looking at his halberd. "I struck it good, but it didn't get hurt..am I missing something? he finally asks.

Sophie leans over and pats his hand. "Magic, boy, magic."

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Tara smiles sadly at Bert. "Incorporeal creatures cannot be hurt but buy weapons of at least minor magic. I suppose it might be a trade off for being unable to truly touch the living." Tracing her holy symbol, the young cleric shrugs off the dozen holy symbols belonging to Sefick Corvin. "I'm glad that this will put to rest some of the troubles that Ravengro has been suffering. Vesorianna, do you know a way that we can possibly permanently help put everyone to rest here?"

Vesorianna graciously accepts the badge from Teilaenthis and places it on her dress. As it begins to glow with a soft golden light, she sighs with relief and smiles, "Oh, there's something that I missed. With this badge, I think...Oh my. This is wonderful!"

Without further explanation, she holds the badge aloft and concentrates. After a few moments, the light of the badge begins to shine as brightly as the sun and soon waves of light begin to carry various spirits and ghosts into the room. Each is pulled into the light of purity, and in some cases this appears to remove the hate and fear from the spirit to allow it to move on, but in other cases it completely eradicates the unredeemable spirits. The 5 prisoners are pulled in last, and they all only find destruction.

Soon the light of the badge grows dimmer, but still shines like a weak torch. Vesorianna addresses you all once again, "With your efforts and my husband's badge, I was able to remove all the spirits and haunts from this place. It is a prison now longer."

She waits for her words to sink in before looking up to the heavens. "And now it is time for me to move on. Thank you again for everything you've done." With a grateful wave, she then fades away.

The badge then falls to ground as it continues to glow. A thorough examination reveals that it now acts as a Rod of Lesser Ectoplasmic Metamagic.

* * *
With really nothing left to worry about in the prison, the group returns to the town as heroes. As the word spreads, the townpeople gather up a fund to reward your efforts equaling 300gp, and offer all of their goods at a 20% discount for the duration of your stay. You can buy any minor magical items found in the Core book here, but for anything more expensive, you'll need to go to a larger city like Lepidstadt. Since you don't have anything valued above the purchase limit of 5000gp, you can sell any and all of your items here now.

Kendra is also ecstatic about your success and thanks you profusely for saving the town. She also helps you identify the magical items you had trouble with earlier. For those of you staying for the remainder of the Professor's wishes, she does her best to make your stay comfortable. Having seen enough to last him for a good long while, Theodor decides it is time to return to his life outside of Ravengro, believing the rest of you more than adequate to watch over Kendra the remaining 20 days and to return the Professor's books to Lepidstadt.

Over the next couple of days it becomes apparent that the townfolk still regard Harrowstone as a cursed, haunted place despite whatever you tell them. Sheriff Caeller does eventually release Gibs Hephenus from jail once you convince him that the man is no longer in danger of being possessed again.

You still have 20 days left in Ravengro to watch over Kendra before the Professor asks that you return some dangerous books to one of the Professor's friends in the city of Lepidstadt. For doing this, you'll each be rewarded with 1000 gp in platinum. Nothing exciting will happen in time before we start the next section, so if you feel like posting your actions in the downtime, feel free.

The day after the party returns from the haunted prison, Teileanthis takes the time to find each member of the party and say goodbye to them. "I have done my part to help put the Professor to rest and to help keep the town safe. My path leads in a different direction now. Good luck to you."

With that, the teifling takes his leave.

The doctor spends a few days poring over the Splatter Man's spellbook, copying what he can into his own.

Question to the GM: Do you want me to make rolls on this, or can we just say I'm able to copy the spells of Level 1 and Level 2 into my own spellbook?

Those would be: comprehend languages, false life, gust of wind, levitate, and mage armor. (I already have magic missile.)

You can take 10 on the Spellcraft rolls, which should be enough. You'll have to cover the scribing cost with no discount. You can also add spells beyond your current ability now, you just won't be able to cast them until you reach the proper level.

In the morning a few days after the events at Harrowstone, there is a striking pale woman with red hair having breakfast with Kendra when you come down. She is introduced as an old friend of the Professor's who has arrived late to give the family her condolences. She thanks the group for their work in aiding the town and Kendra over the past weeks and offers her own services moving forward.

"From what I have heard of your exploits, it appears that the Professor's death may have been a part of a greater evil. I owe a great deal to the Professor and would like to help you as you take the Professor's books to Lepidstadt. Also, if a cult involving the undead may be at the heart of this - I'm sworn to hunt and slay the undead. I would be in your debt if you allowed me to join you."

"I would be happy for you to join us, child."

As the days fly by until the Professor's wishes are satisfied and the group will make its way to Lepidstadt, it becomes clear that travel plans ought to be made. It's quite a distance to the city from Ravengro, so you may want to consider purchasing mounts for the journey.

You can make Diplomacy (gather information) or Knowledge (Local) checks concerning your travel plans to Lepidstadt now if you wish. If your character is from Lepidstadt or the surrounding areas, you may make the Kn. (local) check untrained, or with a +5 if trained.

It's the same check for both spoilers, so please read both if you roll DC 15+.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

diplomacy: 10 + 5 = 15

Sophie considers the distance and decides to buy a mount.

looks like a light horse would be fine. Probably won't bother with combat training it

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Diplo: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

We'll need fresh horses to go to Lepidstadt, no way we'll do the hundred miles on foot. Think of poor old Sophie! With all due respect, of course.

She does a small curtsy at Sophie
Heard the town is in turmoil, cause the famous "Beast of Lepidstadt" has finally get caught, after years of terror. It will probably be burned for all his crimes, and people will want to watch this.Emotions will be high.

I just hope everyone knows how to ride. If not, consider this trip as a way to learn quickly. Personnaly, it will be a first

says the happy go lucky redhead with a grin.

So, if everyone is buying a light horse for the journey, that will cost each person at least 77 gp (for the horse and a bit/bridle). If you want to ride comfortably, it'll cost an additional 10 gp for a riding saddle. We'll assume you can find food and water for the mounts on the road. I'll give everyone a little more time in order to finalize characters, purchases, and/or travel plans. We'll begin in earnest tomorrow.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Purchases a riding horse, bit & bridle, and riding saddle for 87 gp.

"Ah, yes, the Beast of Lepidstadt! I would very much like to get a look at it before its trial. None of the rumors about it ever seemed to agree as to exactly what sort of creature it is..."

To Vivian's comment, the doctor replies, "I do indeed know how to ride, although I've never been much of a horseman. Frankly, I tend to prefer travel by coach, which is how I arrived here from Lepidstadt."

Amaria purchases a horse, bit, bridle, saddle, saddlebags, and seven days of feed. Gold updated.

Bert is purchasing a horse, bit/bridle and military saddle. I've updated my sheet, but not the online profile.

"I've ridden some..some, but usually on well trained mounts for the guard. This could be interesting." Bert says.

First one to fall of his or her horse buys a round of drinks for everyone?

Vivian winks at Bert, after buying a horse with all the needed stuff.

-87 GP

Wandering around the market, Tara catches only snippets of conversation. "What's this about a beast?" she asks, rubbing the palm of her hand into an eye and yawning. As she contemplates the horses for sale, the young cleric wearily approaches one of the animals. "Are we sure that there are no caravans going to Lepidstadt? That's how I got from Korvosa to Ravengro." Resigning herself to the fate of new horse ownership, Tara pays the man for the horse, bit and bridle, and saddle.
diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
-87 gp

The pale woman sits easily upon her horse, appearing to be an experienced rider. She grins at Vivian, overly sharp canines showing. "I will take the wager."

Part II: Trial of the Beast

Current Date: Gozran 24th, 4711 (Oathday)

With your horses, you calculate the 100 mile journey to Lepidstadt should only take around 4 days. Once you arrive, you are to deliver the tomes On Verified Madness, Serving Your Hunger, and The Umbral Leaves to Montagnie Crowl, a professor of antiquities at Lepidstadt University. The locked fourth tome with an eye and a scarab on its purple cover is to discreetly go to the home address of Embreth Daramid, a judge at the Lepidstadt Courthouse. She will also give those of you named in the Will the 100 platinum pieces each as promised by Professor Lorrimor's last wishes.

As the group prepares to depart for the city Lepidstadt, a small group of Ravengro villagers gathers on the outskirts of the town to see you off. Although the day is sunny, there is a chill in the air as Winter approaches, so those assembled are decked out in cloaks. All the town notables are there: Councilmembers Hearthmount, Muricar, Straelock, and Faravan; Sheriff Benjan Caeller, Head Cleric Grimburrow and various acolytes; and, of course, Kendra Lorrimor. The crowd all echoes their thanks for a job well done protecting the town from the ghosts of Harrowstone, but Kendra is especially grateful for all you've done for her. At this occasion she finally reveals her decision, she's going to place the Lorrimor home for sale. Once that is complete, she plans to relocate to Lepidstadt herself to continue her magical studies so that she too can effectively combat the forces of darkness if or when they materialize in her life again.

With your farewells out of the way, the group finally departs the town of Ravengro, happy in the knowledge that your valiant efforts undoubtedly saved the lives of most if not all of the inhabitants.

* * *

The first two days of journey are thankfully uneventful as you travel along the old Mountain Road that cuts through the southeastern foothills of the Tusk Mountains. There are even the towns of Tamrivena and Courtaud on the way to bed down if you wish a more comfortable sleep than that of the cold Ustalavian ground. You do notice that as the trip continues that you see fewer people on the road or working in the fields. Indeed, towards the end of the trip the only sights are abandoned ruins, marshes, and many, many trees.

Near twilight on the third day of the journey, after passing through more mist-shrouded moorlands and dark, dismal foothills, you come across a strange group of travelers at the side of road. This collection includes two women with incredibly small skulls milling about aimlessly as a boy completely covered all over in thick, dark hair howls inconsolably. Attempting to calm them is a woman with four arms and another tall woman with a beard. Meanwhile, a group consisting of an extremely ugly man, another with no limbs, a hunchback, and 3 others with extra limbs seem to be in the middle of a serious conversation.

This odd scene is set among 9 gaudily painted wagons, each of which bares the sign, 'The Crooked Kin—Ustalav’s Greatest Traveling Cabinet of Curiosities!' Under those words are pictures depicting some of the individuals you see before you, but all the images grossly overemphasize their disabilities.

As your party nears the wagons, one of the men with an extra arm moves to a wagon and knocks on the door. Another man emerges, an albino man with red eyes and long, white hair that hangs below his knees. He is currently wearing a tall red top hat, a long red coat with gold buckles, and striped trousers. After a brief convesation, the man in the top hat hurries to the side of the road to hail you, "I don't mean to be intrusive sirs and madams, but my traveling troupe could use some serious assistance if you could take the time! We are harmless folk, I assure you, but we've misplaced one of our members and we could really use the help of undoubtedly capable persons as yourselves!"

Vivian takes the time to scan the ragtag group of freaks as discreetly as possible, using her new powers.
She tries to remember if she has already heard of this particuliar group of entertainers, and looks at the top hat man intensely, to see if there is any foul play intended.

Detect Evil, at will
Stealth, ACP: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 8 - 1 = 11
Know local: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

You have "misplaced" one of your member? That's an odd way to say it. Unless the member you are talking about is an object, not a person.

She shows no particular fear, disgust or distrust of the strange looking troupe, but remain on her guard.

As Vivian begins to scan each person in turn, she does not detect any evil in their auras. Moreover, the albino man appears completely forthright in his plea for assistance.

"Ah, well, as you can see her sisters are already quite morose at this turn of events, so I'd prefer to not quite use the 'L' word yet to further dampen their moods, but your point is well taken milady." The pale man replies with a tip of his hat.

The redhead looks at the group of bereft women, then her green eyes comes back to their spokeperson. She looks more relaxed now, trusting.

So who do you wish us to look for? Where and when was she last seen?What does she looks like? For I suspect her appearance isn't ..casual?

Amaria nods steps behind Vivian. "Be at ease, I'm sure we can help find your companion."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Sophie nods along with Vivian and Amaria. "Dear, dear... We will see what we can do. Poor things." She shakes her head in sympathy. she's letting the other two take the lead on getting information, but she's not terrible at diplomacy if we need an aid

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"Her name is Aleece and she is a pinhead along with her sisters Lettie and Poppie." The albino man explains, pointing to the women with microcephaly nearby. "After we stopped for the day, she wandered away from camp. It's getting dark now, and my troupe is woefully unprepared for a search of the fens at night. I can see by your weapons that you are most likely trained in their use, so I have hopes you could be of assistance."

Taking off his top hat, the man offers a deep, theatrical bow, "My name is Kaleb Hesse, the Ringmaster of the Crooked Kin. If you can find our dear Aleece, we will award you with a magical dagger we have in our possession. She was last seen at the northern edge of our camp, perhaps there might be tracks there."

If you decide to look for tracks, please make a Survival check.

Sure! I'll look for tracks.I know a few things about tracks. The most important thing isn't the reward, it's finding Aleece as quickly as possible, Kaleb. I'm Vivian. Vivian Deberth. But we'll have all the time introducing to each other after we found the lost girl. as you said, the dark is coming.

and I hope we wont be too late..

Survival: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 1 = 21 +1 bonus for Inquisitor level 2

Let me assist you...

Survival Aid Another: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

survival, aid another, untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 2

"Is that a track there, dearie? Oh, wait. No. That's just a turd."

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Bert remains quiet and lets the others do the talking as he is more of a doing type of person. He keeps an eye out for danger.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Stefan regards the troupe of unfortunates with an expression of pity. He attempts to ascertain the nature of their afflictions and whether there is anything he could do to help them.

Heal (?): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26

"Of course we will try to find your lost member. Could you tell us a little about her: what she might have been following or why she would have wandered off?"

From a quick look at the Crooked Kin, Dr. Von Herzog deduces that most if not all of their conditions are congenital. There isn't much modern medicine could do for them.

In response to the Doctor's queries, Kaleb replies, "Hmm, well she's a bit younger than her sisters. With her condition, I'm quite sure you'll recognize her when you find her. Apparently she heard some strange noises and decided to investigate, when she didn't return for some time, we all started getting worried."

At the northern side of the camp, Vivian easily spots a series of fresh tracks leading out towards a river valley.

If you all are going to follow the tracks, please make two Survival checks and a Perception check in order to speed things along.

survival, aid another, untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 20

survival, aid another, untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 1

perception, aid another, untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Sophie manages to help with the pursuit a little.

waste of a good 20

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Welcome to the game and thank you all for applying!

Before we get started, I'd like everyone to check in and touch base, if you want to rebuild your character based on what the others are playing that's fine, just brief me on what's going to be different. In the next couple of days I'll be giving the sheets a closer look to make sure everything is consistent and you didn't miss anything.

Here are some expectations before we get started:

• I'll be rolling everyone's initiative, some saves and other reflexes rolls as necessary to keep the game moving smoothly.

• Initiative will be run in blocks. Specifically, I'll roll everyone's initiative and those PC's whose initiative rolls are together consecutively can act without waiting for the others ahead of them to act first. This is still consistent with the rules, as we just assume those who haven't acted yet are delaying. To make things easier to adjudicate, first to post is assume to act first. I understand that this might be a little confusing when laid out in text form, but I can provide an example if you wish.

• I will not be using Experience Points, instead the PC's will level at the times recommended by the Adventure Path.

• If someone could volunteer to keep track of gold and other loot found while adventuring, it would save me some significant time. I'd prefer it if you could set up a Google Doc Spreadsheet that everyone can edit, but I'm open to other methods if you prefer.

• I'm considering giving the group Hero Points whenever the AP suggests a Harrow Card drawing, but I'd like to hear your feelings about that first.

• If you don't post within 24 hours and haven't advised that you'll be gone, I reserve the right to bot you. Since I really don't like making PC decisions, I may have another player bot instead. If you are gone for more than 2 weeks or more without warning, you may be replaced.

• We will start at 6 players, but one or two are bound to drop eventually. I will re-recruit when we fall below 5 or a crucial role is missing in the group. I tried to invite some characters who can fill multiple rolls to avoid having huge gaps when attrition occurs.

Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks again for applying to be in my game!

no question so far, thank you for giving me another chance at this AP.

Checking in. Thanks for the opportunity!

I think the Hero Points mechanic works better than the Harrow Points mechanic, although the latter is a bit more thematically appropriate.

No other questions at this time.

Looking forward to playing!

@Dr. Stefan: Did I see you are playing in another Carrion Crown game?

Checking in and ready to be useful!

I don't mind keeping track of loot and things as it accumulates.

Hero points work for me! They seem a bit more straight forward than the cards.

Checking in and excited to go on an exciting journey!

I am up for either Harrow Points or Hero Points. I don't have any knowledge about this AP, besides what the Player's Guide informed me of, so I am excited to see what could possibly be haunting Harrowstone and the rest of the adventure!

so I am excited to see what could possibly be haunting Harrowstone and the rest of the adventure!

Ghosts probably?

Tara Eliade wrote:

so I am excited to see what could possibly be haunting Harrowstone and the rest of the adventure!

Ghosts probably?

Most likely! Or maybe it's a gnome wizard that thinks that it is hilarious to perpetuate rumors of haunted mansions and this is his latest lair. :D

Sentir Damutu wrote:

Tara Eliade wrote:

so I am excited to see what could possibly be haunting Harrowstone and the rest of the adventure!

Ghosts probably?

Most likely! Or maybe it's a gnome wizard that thinks that it is hilarious to perpetuate rumors of haunted mansions and this is his latest lair. :D

Isn't it the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh backstory? (yes, i'm an OLD player..^^)

Looking forward to playing!

@Dr. Stefan: Did I see you are playing in another Carrion Crown game?

This is the fourth Carrion Crown game I've played in with this character. The first two fizzled out after the other players lost interest and stopped posting; the third I resigned from because I didn't click with the GM and the posting rate was far too slow for my taste (3-4 posts a week, total). None of the other games got much past the reading of the will.

@Vivian: Hey! We're also both in the same Shattered Star campaign!

@Vivian: Hey! We're also both in the same Shattered Star campaign!

yeah, but different characters, different personnalities.

Checking in and looking forward to this. Never done Carrion Crown and never played with Occult playtest so this will be interesting.

Party looks fairly well balanced, hopeful for success!

Sentir Damutu wrote:

This is the fourth Carrion Crown game I've played in with this character. The first two fizzled out after the other players lost interest and stopped posting; the third I resigned from because I didn't click with the GM and the posting rate was far too slow for my taste (3-4 posts a week, total). None of the other games got much past the reading of the will.

I really enjoyed your posting in that other game. I look forward to playing with you. Hope Sentir and Herzog can build some kind of rapport (good or bad!).

I agree, I like a fast pace and I post everyday (if not more)!

Checking in and ready to be useful!

Glad we have a fighter. My other campaign has no solid melee characters so fights are always a bit touch and go. Glad you have you along!

Drace Kross wrote:

Checking in and ready to be useful!

Glad we have a fighter. My other campaign has no solid melee characters so fights are always a bit touch and go. Glad you have you along!

No worries! Drace will do his best to keep you all safe and hopefully help out with controlling the mess of enemies!

Tara Eliade wrote:

Sentir Damutu wrote:

Tara Eliade wrote:

so I am excited to see what could possibly be haunting Harrowstone and the rest of the adventure!

Ghosts probably?

Most likely! Or maybe it's a gnome wizard that thinks that it is hilarious to perpetuate rumors of haunted mansions and this is his latest lair. :D

Isn't it the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh backstory? (yes, i'm an OLD player..^^)

It is entirely plausible that it was; I've only been playing RPGs since 2009.

The Gameplay thread is now active, feel free to make an introductory post and role-play a bit if you wish.

Since the consensus is to use Hero Points, that's probably what I'll do although they won't come up in the story for quite a bit. In any event, you will not start with any.

Later tonight I'll be looking through your character sheets in more detail and sending you a private message if there are any issues. If you don't receive a PM from me, assume everything is good.

Dr. Hertzog is making me feel under-dressed and my posts very short!

I've used the off-camera robbery scene in the previous times I've run this character, so I just copied-and-pasted that part.

We have alot of high Int. characters in this group.

We have alot of high Int. characters in this group.

And me.

Are we going to have to fight ghosts with a casket on our backs?

Great.

That teifling is going to be trouble.

Sorry, long post, but Vivian is quite talkative...^^

Is there something we are supposed to do at this point?

Not necessarily, just giving everyone a chance to do some role-playing if they wish before we move to the grave site, which will be up later tonight.

Sorry, long post, but Vivian is quite talkative...^^

In game, that is Sentir thinking, not me. I liked the post!

GM Harker, just so you know, I will be unable to post this Sunday, April 5th as I am visiting my family for Easter.

Thanks for the heads up, Tara.

FYI - Camping this weekend - no internet.

I ask this in every PbP I'm in...

IRL, where is everyone located? I'm in central New York State, USA, about 50 miles south of Syracuse. I'm currently on Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4:00).

I'm due South of you in PA, Stefan. Almost a direct line south, actually!

Looks like we are in a slow weekend

North of France

Northern Indiana USA here, still in the Eastern Time Zone.

Richmond VA USA.

Richmond VA USA.

Hey, that's where I'm at too!

Teilaenthis Arcanos wrote:

Richmond VA USA.

Hey, that's where I'm at too!

I work downtown and live out in Brandermill/Midlothian. How 'bout you?

Tara Eliade wrote:

Teilaenthis Arcanos wrote:

Richmond VA USA.

Hey, that's where I'm at too!

I work downtown and live out in Brandermill/Midlothian. How 'bout you?

I'm about ten minutes from Short Pump Mall. My husband works in Midlothian right next to the double tree hilton.

Teilaenthis Arcanos wrote:

Tara Eliade wrote:

Teilaenthis Arcanos wrote:

Richmond VA USA.

Hey, that's where I'm at too!

I work downtown and live out in Brandermill/Midlothian. How 'bout you?

I'm about ten minutes from Short Pump Mall. My husband works in Midlothian right next to the double tree hilton.

Small Cyber-world!

If I ever get the time to do any table-gaming, we should get in touch!

I'm over in Burlington, Ontario, Canada here!

Hope it isn't distasteful to look that close at books. Assume he is being discreet and trying to distract himself. Not casing the joint....

I apologize for lack of posts but after dial-up ate my posts for the third time, I gave up. Will be back in civilization this afternoon!

All,

I have a big trial coming up Wed-Tuesday of next week. I hope to still be able to post regularly, but if I'm not responsive and slowing things down please NPC me.

Thanks!

I hope you're a lawyer and not the defendant! Best of luck regardless!

This Adventure lacks the GM rails I so sorely desire.

I'm loving the freedom! :D

I am going to go with Drace tomarrow to the shops and then the Inn. Want to go to the nice one or the poorer one, Drace? I assume we'll stay the night at the Lorrimor house.

Lets hit the nice one. Travelers and rich people will hopefully give us a less superstitious or biased reply.

Plus anyone watching Drace and Sentir wander around will see them doing exactly what they expect travelers to be doing.

Lets hit the nice one. Travelers and rich people will hopefully give us a less superstitious or biased reply.

Plus anyone watching Drace and Sentir wander around will see them doing exactly what they expect travelers to be doing.

Fair enough. Sentir naturally gravitates to lower income places. being a thread-bare scribe does that to you, I suppose. But hey, Drace is buying!

Same plan Drace, or do we get to play detective?

I hesitate to jump in directly or we'll get lynched by the locals.

I'm opening recruitment for the Carrion Crown AP on the Paizo boards. I'll be taking 6 brave souls willing to fight against the ubiquitous darkness that plagues the land of Ustalav. Google Drawing will be used for maps. Recruitment will run until March 27th.

If there is sufficient interest, I'll run it in campaign mode for Pathfinder Society credit. If you don't play PFS, worry not, campaign mode does not change anything about normal play.

Unless I'm blessed with an exceptionally quick group of posters, this game will take a long time to finish, probably several years. If you're unsure about this whole Play-by-Post thing or if you're on the fence about being locked into a horror based campaign for that long, please reconsider applying.

As an additional warning, there will also be some light gore as per the Adventure Path.

Also, I reserve the right to change any aspect of the Adventure Path as necessary to keep the game fun and running smoothly.

Character Creation
• 20 point buy
• Classes: All acceptable. Occult Adventures Playtest classes welcome, with the assumption you will rebuild as necessary when the official book is released.
• Races: Any Core, plus Aasimar, Tiefling, Changeling, and Dhampir.
• Traits: Two, one of which should be from the Carrion Crown Player's Guide. No Drawbacks.
• Starting Wealth: Average by Class
• Alignment: No Evil.
• HP: Max at 1st level, Half + 1 each additional level
• No 3rd party material, please.
• Previous experience with the AP will not effect your chances at being selected, but I will give preference to those who are not currently playing in another Carrion Crown campaign on the boards.
• Every character will need at least a short background. If you can incorporate some horror elements into it, that will only help your chances of being selected. Please also give mention to your relationship with Professor Lorrimor.
• Dark Secret: Every PC should have a dark secret of some sort, which, if exposed, would cause extreme embarrassment at the very least. Please keep it PG-13 and not entirely counter to your alignment. This should be part of your background, although if you wish to hide it via a spoiler tag or to send it to me via private message, that's perfectly acceptable.
• Please give me a rough idea of where you want to go with your character, and what skills s/he brings/will bring to the table to round out a good party.
• I'd also like to know your anticipated posting schedule. I'll be expecting at least 1 post per day unless you've already let us know you'll be gone for a short period.
• Please, no RP on the recruitment thread. If you want to show me your awesome writing skills, feel free to send me a PM.

The ideal group would include at least 1 Martial, 1 Arcane, 1 Divine, 1 Skilled, 1 Occult, and 1 Wild Card. Characters that are mixtures of the different roles are very appreciated.

I look forward to seeing your submissions, and wish you all fun in your character creation/updating.

A hand raised in quizzical interest as I ponder.

If I do put forward a character it will most likely be of an Occult bent.

This is perfect. Exactly what I've been looking for. Here's my character, A1ynthar.

I'll need to work on the dark secret idea, but his basic goals are to become powerful enough to eventually kill his former master, a mid-high level necromancer, and to make sure that nobody can ever f+*# with him again. I'll also need to pick his second trait and his relation with Professor Lorrimor.

As for me, I have no life, so I'll be able to post as often as you want.

Can propose this character. It's ready, except I'll have to think about a dark secret.

As for future development, I guess Vivian could get dual classed as Rogue/Cleric, an unusual combo.

Posting once per day, maybe a little more on week end.

Arkivolld here is a gnome cavalier I'd built for a previous Carrion Crown PbP -- but it fizzled while still in the pre-AP intro adventure the GM was running. I'd love a second crack at it!

Ark is intended as something of a straight-man oblivious comic relief character, who can be trusted to blunder into all sorts of dangerous situations and come out with a story about how he--personally--triumphed. (It's not that there weren't other people around for it, just that he tends to forget their role when retelling the story.) His Order of the Cockatrice "braggart" skill is therefore less about being rude and condescending, more about how amazing everything that happens to him is.

Build-wise, thinking ot potentially multi-class to Bard / Battle Herald (or Skald?) for a skill/support option, or just tiny tank/charge, depending on party need.

I'll rework from 15 to 20 points, unwind to first level, and come up with a Dark Secret; appreciate any other feedback you have in the meantime.

Generally, I can post daily, sometimes more, sometimes (work travel and kids) less, though I try to be clear when I'm going to be away for a bit.

Dotting for interest. This has always been an AP I have wanted to try. Now the hard part, deciding which of my many character concepts I want to put forward.

Considering Dwarven Warpriest.

Throwing a dot in. I need to think about a concept that comes to mind!

Dotting for interest. Probably a Pharasmin archer inquisitor or maybe a corpse hunter ranger.

Hello, I'm a character that was put forth by TheChelaxian for another Carrion Crown campaign that the GM couldn't start due to RL issues. Giving it another shot, hoping for the best.

Interested. I have an Oracle of Dark Tapestry from a game whose DM bailed that I'd need to retool pretty heavily to un-gestalt her and such. Are heavy Lovecraftian/Dark Tapestry themes and such along the sort of horror elements/dark secret fodder lines you'd be open to? Because if they aren't I could go with something else, I just want to make sure, since horror is a pretty broad net and that might not be the kind of horror you're into.

Dotting. My previous CC submission (never actually played it) was a psychic warrior, so I'll try and rejigger her into something that doesn't use 3pp.

Ghorrin Redblade

Presenting Wiles Malloy for your consideration! Everything is in the profile, but I can post it here in spoilers if you would prefer.

Edit: Can post as often as you like throughout the day.

If you're running this for PFS credit also. Does the PFS character need to be brand new? Can have 2 xp? Level 2?

LordLuke here: I have Drace up for consideration!

I'm looking to make him the dangerous Sword and Board fighter: Protecting the party, helping control the battlefield and crushing the enemy.

I also plan for him to be reasonably well spoken to help out in the diplomacy side of things, as well as finding his way around in the wild! I made Drace's backstory leverage the Hunter's Blood trait heavily, since that trait seems to be absolutely perfect for Carrion Crown!

My posting schedule is pretty much always consistent! I have some vacation time coming in the summer but that is really about it!

Please let me know if you have questions or if I've missed the mark. All the character information can be found in the character sheet link in the alias!

How lenient are you willing to get on the races? Because I have a concept I would love to pitch for this that would be funny, flavorful and amusing, but it's not on the races list...

Dotting for now.

Placing a dot for this evening.

As for role, Wiles would be shooting for the skills/face aspect of the party.

Hi GM Harker.
Dotting for interest.

@Alynthar42, I see you've submitted to a number of other Adventure Paths. I'd prefer players to only submit to one at a time. That being said, I'll still keep you in consideration once you complete a full application (i.e., a complete character sheet and a dark secret)

@Vivian, Unless I missed it, I believe you still need a dark secret.

@Arkivolld, It looks like I also need a dark secret from you.

@Aravis, How do you see your abilities progressing (i.e., are you going to be focusing on bombs, mutagen abilities, or the abilities afforded to you via your archetype)?

@Nidoran Duran, Feel free to incorporation those Lovecraftian elements into your submission. I'm not picky on what horror elements you want to focus on, most of all I want to see a fully formed character that you'll enjoy playing. Furthermore, part of the AP focuses on those very elements.

The main reason I've submitted to so many APs is because I figure my odds of success are very low, but even a blind squirrel finds the nut eventually. If I get into more than two or three games, I will probably have to pick and choose, but I have absolutely nothing else to do with my time (I have no friends, no job, and no school), so I could probably get away with playing dozens of campaigns.

Dotting Will probily make and Alchemist

@ GM: I'll be more focused in potions/archetype abilities with a minor in mutagens. That answer your question?

@Wiles, Assuming the background details with your mentor is your dark secret, consider your application submitted.

@gossamar4, When you play in an AP as part of campaign mode, it's functionally the same as playing a pregen, so you can apply credit to any character that hasn't out-leveled the chronicle sheet.

@Drace, As your Hunter's Blood trait comes from Wayfinder, I'm afraid it's not a published Paizo source, so I consider it a 3rd party material. Other than changing that, I see no issues, although if you're selected I would prefer to have your full character sheet placed under your alias for the sake of convenience.

@CaptainFord, Sorry, but I'm not accepting any races besides those listed in my OP.

@Aravis, Yes, thank you. Having an idea of what you wish to do will assist me in creating a balanced group.

Dotting.

I have a life subschool necromancer that was in another Carrion Crown game that fell through towards the start. I'll have to rebuild him from scratch, but that's probably for the best. I'll see what I can come up with.

Submitting for your consideration: Dr. Stefan von Herzog, physician, late of Lepidstadt.

I have run this character three times already in other Carrion Crown PbP games. None of those games ever got much farther than the reading of the will.

@Wiles, Assuming the background details with your mentor is your dark secret, consider your application submitted.

That was my intention...I figured it would flow better as part of my background. Thanks for the feedback. :)

@Dr. Stefan, I'm sorry to hear you've had such difficulties with getting the AP off the ground. In any case, assuming the details with Andrei are your dark secret, consider yourself submitted.

@Drace, As your Hunter's Blood trait comes from Wayfinder, I'm afraid it's not a published Paizo source, so I consider it a 3rd party material. Other than changing that, I see no issues, although if you're selected I would prefer to have your full character sheet placed under your alias for the sake of convenience.

Doh, I didn't even notice that. I just found it off the SRD. Changed that, I will add in a stat block tomorrow. I tend to think in sheets when getting a character created!

Is there a way I can just scan a PDF onto my profile? It's a lot easier than trying to type in the whole character sheet for everything I submit to.

I'm hoping I get picked for this one. I've been wanting to make my way through Carrion Crown, and the last game I was hit hit disaster due to party/GM issues.

My thinking is that Sonja can fill an occult/support role, casting spells, providing knowledge, and helping to keep the party alive between encounters. Currently her hexes are heavy on support, but I'd like to pick up some debuffs as she levels up so that she can contribute more to combat as well.

Assistant Professor Sonja Kulov 105gp
Female Half-Elf Witch (Spirits patron)

STR 08
DEX 13
CON 14
INT 18
WIS 12
CHA 12

HP: 8
AC 15, Touch 11, Flat 14
Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +3

Spirits: 2nd—ghostbane dirge, 4th—invisibility, 6th—speak with dead, 8th—spiritual ally, 10th—mass ghostbane dirge, 12th—shadow walk, 14th—ethereal jaunt, 16th—planar ally, 18th—etherealness.

Familiar: Spider (+3 Climb)

Skills
Climb +2
Craft (alchemy) +8
Heal +5
Knowledge (arcana) +8
Knowledge (history) +8
Knowledge (planes) +8
Perception +7
Spellcraft +8

Traits: Inspired by Greatness (Mage Armor), Possessed

Feats: Extra Hex, Skill Focus: Perception

Hexes: Healing, Ward

Spells Known: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Cure Light Wounds, Mage Armor, Unseen Servant, Comprehend Languages, Sleep

Spells Prepared
0: Detect Magic, Guidance, Light
1: Mage Armor, Sleep

@Drace: With that change, your application has been submitted.

@Alynthar42: If you have access to hero lab, I believe you easily paste a stat block into your profile, otherwise you'll have to type it out or find some other method. In any case, I don't require a full alias during the application stage.

@spectrevk: Your submission looks good to go on my end.

Here is Merck's submission, let me know if everything is alright GM Harker. I would be interested in PFS credit for the AP.

All right, I'm dreaming up a paladin or one of the spell-less ranger types, but before I pick I need to know, how does PFS credit work over PbP? Given that these characters can't be PFS legal (what with the campaign traits and nonstandard gold and such) I assume it's an apply-credit thing to a picked character.

@Ousk, I don't see any issues, consider your application submitted.

@Saving Cap'n Crunch, Yes, you apply credit to one of your PFS characters as if you played a pregen.

Awesome. Okay, I can't decide on my class. One moment please.
1=Ranger, 2=Paladin.
Yeah. This is how we do it: 1d2 ⇒ 1
Ranger it is then.

So here's my completed character sheet.

Saving Cap'n Crunch-
I propose that you play a Paladin. I've always wanted to be in the same game as a paladin because of the roleplaying opportunities it presents. Your character would be supremely uncomfortable with any character that I ran, and I would have to find ways to reconcile my actions with your morals.

I present Sentir Damutu for your consideration, GM Harker. A Occult Oracle, struggling to find his deity. He is a former resident of Razmiran, who fled after realizing the local faith was a fraud and sham. He met the Professor when escaping and they both saved each other's lives (more on this in backstory). Since then, had made a living as a fortune teller (partly legit/partly overdone fakery). Hearing about the Professors death however, have caused him to rush to Ustalav.

Please note any problems with him, I'm very interested in this game.

Saving Cap'n Crunch-

I propose that you play a Paladin. I've always wanted to be in the same game as a paladin because of the roleplaying opportunities it presents. Your character would be supremely uncomfortable with any character that I ran, and I would have to find ways to reconcile my actions with your morals.

That sounds like a good idea, but I've been sitting on this ranger concept for a while (well, originally it had Weapon and Shield style, but I didn't want to have as close a style to the sword and board guy somewhere above us on the thread). What I can do, though, is make this ranger a lot like a paladin, alignment and roleplay-wise. Does that sound good? I definitely like the idea, thanks.

Sounds like fun. I hope we both get picked.

Actually, now that I think of it, it's better than being a paladin, because a paladin may or may not lose his paladin powers by associating with me. I'm not evil, and don't play evil characters, but my morals are... interesting. For example, I would have no qualms about torturing a rapist to death, or stealing an item that I need and the owner doesn't. I would never harm an innocent, however, or steal from those who can't afford it or don't deserve it.

Here's Garaile "Rail" Maedre, human Inquisitor of Milani. Campaign trait is Chance Savior. His Combat focus is archery, with a heaping of Knowledges for identifying monsters. Development will be in the direction of improving his archery, his knowledge skills to ID monsters, and Intimidate and Sense Motive.

I'll make up an alias if he's selected. His sheet is currently on Myth Weavers; I'll put it in the profile when I make an alias.

Next up, Kizziar Halfast, the half-orc with a grudge blown waaaay out of proportion. Or maybe it's justified, I don't know.
He's mostly a martial (will go TWF after level one) with some nice utility, skill and divine spellcasting.

@Dr. Stefan, I'm sorry to hear you've had such difficulties with getting the AP off the ground. In any case, assuming the details with Andrei are your dark secret, consider yourself submitted.

Sorry, missed the part about having a dark secret. He's not ashamed about his past relationship, although he isn't the kind to talk about such things except with the closest of friends. Honestly, the doctor keeps the fact that he's a necromancer under wraps, as he knows black magic is usually forbidden. I also have a bit of backstory that the Whispering Way once attempted to recruit him.

@Alynthar42, Unless my math is off, you should start with 7 level-1 spells in your spellbook (3 + 4 Int Mod). Also, a question about your background, typically tieflings are born either between the union of an evil outsider and a human or between two tieflings. Which scenario is applicable in your case? Also, you appear to lack any gear.

@Sentir, Everything looks pretty good, except you haven't listed your oracle spells. What sort of role do you see yourself taking in the party?

@karlprosek, Are you an Inquisitor of Desna or Milani? Would you consider Rail more Martial or more Skilled?

@Saving Cap'n Crunch, What you have so far looks fine.

@Dr. Stefan, Great, thanks for clarifying.

Well, that was intense.

Geez, that was even more intense.
Fortunately, equipment is coming up! Nothing intense or bone-numbingly scary about that, right?
Edit: Here it is. It wasn't as intense, and this submission is complete!

@Sentir, Everything looks pretty good, except you haven't listed your oracle spells. What sort of role do you see yourself taking in the party?

Ah, sorry, oversight there. Will add the spells!

As for my role, do you mean story wise or mechanics wise?

Storywise- He is an intelligent but damaged young man struggling to find a god that chose him out of many, and saved him from a terrible fate. he can talk to dead people and hears all sorts of voices from beyond the beyond. Still, he manages to have some flair and panache, when the mood strikes him.

Mechanics-
1. I'm a pretty practical magic guy. I have Use Magical Device and Knowledge Planes as skills. I have Detect Magic, Read Magic and such spells. Good to have one arcane guy around, and I'm going to get mroe spells like Light, Create Water and those types, a practical magical man to have along in a journey through Ustalav.

2. Healer. oracles get Cure Light/Medium/Heavy wound spells so I'll have those + I'll be adding more spells along those lines as we level up. So that is always good.

3. At this early level, I even have some offensive spells, through my mystery and my curse. Burning Disarm, Burning Hands, and the Brain Drain Ability.

Oh and 4. Automatic Writing and stuff is very creepy and occult and gives the GM a good chance to scare the pants off of us.

Does that explain my vision of the character?

@karlprosek, Are you an Inquisitor of Desna or Milani? Would you consider Rail more Martial or more Skilled?

Sorry, he's a Desnan, not a Milanite.

Hmm. I guess it depends on your definition of Skilled. I usually see people referring to classes like the Rogue and Investigator as Skilled. If by Skilled, you mean active abilities like Disable Device, Climb, Swim, Use Magic Device, he's definitely not Skilled. Though if you mean scholarly, with a big investment in Knowledges, then he would be.

So he's more about knowing things than doing things (with skills, anyway). Would that make him more Martial? His personal goal is of a martial bent, as well, so I guess that could make him Martial.