Hell's Rebels with GM Zek

Game Master Zektolna

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Hey everyone,

It’s been close to three months since we started this adventure together (longer, if you count the recruitment period). As most of you probably know, this is my first time GM'ing a PbP game. I want to ask everyone for your feedback on how things have gone so far. What have you liked? What have you disliked? What do you think I’m doing well (or okay, at least)? What am I not doing well (be as brutal as necessary)?

I want to keep improving both for our benefit and for the benefit of any future group I might GM. I know for a fact that I’m far from perfect, so any and all feedback is appreciated!


Codename: "Falcon" Male 'Human' Divine Marksman Urban Ranger 5/Bard 2 (AC: 19 [T: 13 /FF: 16] -1 if using Buckler hand; CMD 20; HP: 58/58; F+5, R+10, W+4 [+1 vs. Mind-affecting]; Init: +4 (+6 in Kintargo); Perc: +14 (+16 in Kintargo) [Low-light vision])

Updated my profile to reflect dropping the extra weight. I now only have the -1 ACP from my armor.


Female Human Sorc 4 | HP 8/29 | AC 14/11/13 | CMB+2 CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+5 | Resist fire 6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 |
Spells:
1st (0/7): Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Shield, Shocking Grasp | 2nd (4/day): Telekinetic Volley |
GM Zek wrote:
I want to keep improving both for our benefit and for the benefit of any future group I might GM. I know for a fact that I’m far from perfect, so any and all feedback is appreciated!

Oh, you precious, precious man. Yeah, alright.

THE GOOD: You are a dedicated motherf&*%er, sir, and I love you for it. Writing a substantial post every single day (sometimes more!) can't be easy, but you've kept good on your promise of daily updates for the past three months. Play-by-posts live by the dedication of their GMs and you are as ceaseless as the heath-death of the universe. Kudos, dude. You make myself (and I'm sure a few other players) feel inadequate.

On the subject of those posts - they're good. They're legible, easily read and understood, and just plain easy to parse information from. In other words, the opposite of my own overwrought bullshit. It's easy to appreciate your writing, and it has rarely, if ever, left me confused as to what the PCs are facing.

It also needs to be stated that although I don't know your modifiers, you are diplomatic to a fault, in both discussion and gameplay. You clearly strive to be fair towards every player and are quick to weigh in on any potential contention, traits I'm hugely thankful for in GMs as I myself am typically about as confrontational as a lamb with social anxiety. The commitment to letting every player be heard is noted and appreciated.

Also, on a personal note, extra credits for indulging my poor ideas every now and then. Although this really shouldn't be a positive. Seriously, that's just gonna come back to bite someone in the ass.

THE BAD: This is less a criticism as much as a hope that you never dismiss narrative logic in favor of... well, anything really. I'll bring up the example of the squad of random people who appeared out of nowhere into the secretive headquarters while we were out for, like, an hour. In a purely narrative sense, it made just about no sense. Now, I meant what I wrote then: it really didn't bother me. It was an unfortunate expression of the rebellion rules manifesting into the game world, and ultimately it disrupted nothing. It wasn't a problem. But I'd be lying if I said this isn't one of the things I get anal about. I find play-by-posts interesting because of the medium they're shackled to: narrative prose. It lends a game a very different feel when every player has to justify their actions with something other than the rules. What does a sneak attack look like when written out in prose rather than just declared at a table? How does a 'channel energy' manifest? Where a player might just declare that they are 'out' of spells for the day, what does that actually mean for a PC? Do they feel exhausted? If so, how? Physically? Mentally?

Like, I agonized for quite a while over how Di should actually take out the one guard in my last post. Clearly, a plain old nonlethal attack would do the job. The rules say so. But within the narrative of the story I myself know that beating someone unconscious is not so simple and certainly not so pretty. The dude isn't just going to wake up with a headache. Knocked out = brain damage in real life. Is that something I could allow Di to do? Would I be breaking her moral code if I wrote her doing that? How about instead writing her trying what's referred to as a 'blood choke'? That's largely harmless. But can I justify Di knowing such a technique? Do the rules even allow for such a thing? This is the shit I think about when writing. My point is that when the rules as written and the narrative logic do not mesh, things get ugly. And play-by-posts especially are vulnerable. In a game where narrative prose rules, the game mechanics breaking narrative logic leads to a really jarring disruption.

I hope it's obvious that I'm not advocating for chucking the rules out the window. Your PC can not do whatever you manage to logically justify. Di does not have an intimate knowledge of every street in Kintargo despite having worked as essentially a beat cop, because she doesn't have any ranks in Knowledge (local). It's just that simple. Of course we should all adhere to the rules. What I am advocating is trying, at every turn, to have those rules make sense within the narrative.

Apologies for the criticism just being a cautionary rant. A selfish one at that, because all this narrative nonsense is merely how I enjoy play-by-posts. Doesn't apply to all, I know. The stuff above, good and bad, is just what came to me when writing; I'm sure there's plenty more to say on the game, Zek, but I'm looking forward to the next three months.


Panache: 4/4|Female Half-Elf (Chelaxian) Swashbuckler (Inspired Blade) 2|HP: 17/19|AC: 16/13/12|Saves: Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +2 (+4 vs. Fear/Enchantments)|Init: +3|Perc: +7

I'm going to be leaving for a local convention tomorrow and I won't be back until Sunday evening.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17
Didiana Drost wrote:
Lots of stuff...

I generally have the same nits with the rules listed here, which is when they really erode the verisimilitude. Sometimes I wish there were less rules, and that a character like Di would just have a background, and when it was appropriate (aka Knowledge Local type stuff), she would roll on her background vs a specific concrete skill. But that would be a different game than 3.5e/Pathfinder.

I do think more recent product by Paizo falls into the trap of mini rulesets for fun as opposed to providing rich fluff, as fluff only, for a GM to work with. It seems like these days every AP tries to tack on a mini-game that usually had very little player-testing. I've tended to start to ignore those in the campaigns I run. It might be they are hunting for more word count to pad out the books since they have a set page count, versus back in the Dungeon days when they could fill with other things unrelated to the AP installment.

I do approve of thinking out of the box and going into the greyspace between rules... that's why we're playing an RPG vs a CRPG!


Maps | Info | Loot

Thank you for the feedback, Didiana and Gilda. Please keep it coming! If anyone is uncomfortable providing feedback here in the discussion thread, feel free to PM me about it.

As for the rebellion rules, I definitely plan to adjust how new teams are introduced going forward. My current plan is to still have the activity and event phase rolls at the beginning of each new in-game week, but have the team(s) be recruited over the course of the week. Events can probably still take place at the beginning of the week, but if it has anything to do with a team or teams, it won't apply for any new team you try to recruit for that week. There should also be more downtime going forward (for a bit, at least), so hopefully that'll allow new character introductions to be less jarring.

In addition to what you stated, Gilda, I think part of the problem with all the mini-game systems is that even if they had player-testing, most players (and GMs) still won't have experience with them. The core rules almost everyone will be familiar with, but a system like the rebellion rules is probably going to almost always be a first-time experience for most people. I still think it's a pretty good system, human failings not withstanding, but it's certainly not perfect. Hopefully we've already worked out some of the kinks. I definitely agree, though, that a lot of mini-games in APs feel completely unnecessary. And, granted, we could run this one just fine without the system, but I don't think we would have quite the same feeling of running a rebellion if we did.

As for flexibility on the rules, I do want everyone to have the chance to be creative with your solutions, so I try to lean on the side of RAI instead of RAW. The rules are still necessary, of course, but they can't account for every possible scenario.

Lia Aulamaxa wrote:
I'm going to be leaving for a local convention tomorrow and I won't be back until Sunday evening.

Thank you for letting us know.

-----

On another subject entirely, I want to thank Gregor for being studious about watching the weight he's carrying. While, as I mentioned previously, I'm not going to be a stickler for having your weight down to the exact number of pounds you need to keep a light load, it is important to keep things realistic.

Both Evander and Lia have 10 strength, so it's not really realistic for you both to carry around about 100 pounds without some sort of penalty. I'm not going to count it against you for this combat, but please plan to remove 40-50 pounds before future fights. You can, of course, keep the gear, but you'll need to leave it at your homes, lay it down, or pass it to someone else temporarily to avoid encumbrance issues.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

I've actually been operating under the assumption I'm leaving most of it at home, or at the Wasp's Nest. I'll delineate better in my profile what's on me, and what's at home or there.


Maps | Info | Loot
Evander Forrell wrote:
I've actually been operating under the assumption I'm leaving most of it at home, or at the Wasp's Nest. I'll delineate better in my profile what's on me, and what's at home or there.

Sounds good. Thank you.

Also, for the record, I consider Friday to still be a weekday, but since it's the first round of combat, I'll give Gilda till tomorrow night to post. If she posts sooner, I'll try to go ahead and update us.


Male NG Human (Chelish) Brawler 7 | HP: 67/67 | AC: 22 (16 Tch, 18 Fl) | CMB: +10, CMD: 24 (grapple 26, trip 25) | F: +7, R: +7, W: +7 | Init: +2 | Perc: +15 SM: +14 | Speed 30ft | Martial Flexibility: 6/6 | No Spellcasting | Active conditions:none

My bad for opting to 'turn on' cleave first. I figured I'd have the time to do so x'D guess not.

As for feedback, I honestly like the way things are going. There's a healthy mix of leniency and expectations from the DM side of things that, for me, makes the game flow in a fun manner. I don't feel babysitted, but I also don't feel like it is group vs DM.

As for certain things being a little hamfisted, I've long ago accepted this when playing any Paizo AP. There's only so much you can change and do, but there will always be a certain railroading and 'eh, what?' events that just need to take place to keep the AP going as it should. Book 2 of Serpent's Skull is the worst in this regard :'X


Maps | Info | Loot

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Matiscio. With the way things are already going, it may be a quick fight.

Thank you for the feedback. Fun is definitely a goal of mine so that's good to hear. I'm hoping we're also building trust so that when I do have to bot one or more of you, it's not that big of a deal.

And yeah, I feel like, having read the AP, Paizo does a pretty good job with having things flow in a logical manner. But, at the end of the day, it is an Adventure Path, so there's bound to be a bit of railroading from time to time.


Maps | Info | Loot

Hey folks,

I wanted you all to be the first to know that I'll be starting recruitment for another adventure some time tomorrow (or later today, depending on your exact location). It's a homebrew campaign set in Golarion that I've been working on for a while. For those of you who might be concerned, the new campaign doesn't affect my commitment to our game the least bit. I had a creative itch that I needed to scratch and the forthcoming campaign fit the bill.

While I can't promise a spot, I would love to see what characters you can come up with for it, if you're interested. I'll leave the exact nature of the campaign as a surprise for when I make the recruitment thread.


#iscurious


Panache: 4/4|Female Half-Elf (Chelaxian) Swashbuckler (Inspired Blade) 2|HP: 17/19|AC: 16/13/12|Saves: Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +2 (+4 vs. Fear/Enchantments)|Init: +3|Perc: +7

Well folks, I'm afraid I'm going to have to withdraw from this campaign.

I've been going through a period of burnout on these boards, and it's aversely affected my posting quality. You can probably just have Lia assume a background role in the Rebellion after this little sortie.

It's been a pleasure rolling dice with you.


Maps | Info | Loot
Lia Aulamaxa wrote:

Well folks, I'm afraid I'm going to have to withdraw from this campaign.

I've been going through a period of burnout on these boards, and it's aversely affected my posting quality. You can probably just have Lia assume a background role in the Rebellion after this little sortie.

It's been a pleasure rolling dice with you.

Thank you for letting us know, Lia. And for being upfront about it. I've enjoyed gaming with your character.

For simplicity's sake, we'll probably still keep Lia in her current role in the rebellion for those mechanics, but we'll have her step back in terms of actively participating in missions. I will go ahead and bot her for this mission as it was set up with 6 characters in mind.

Thank you again for letting us know and I wish you well in your future endeavors.


Male NG Human (Chelish) Brawler 7 | HP: 67/67 | AC: 22 (16 Tch, 18 Fl) | CMB: +10, CMD: 24 (grapple 26, trip 25) | F: +7, R: +7, W: +7 | Init: +2 | Perc: +15 SM: +14 | Speed 30ft | Martial Flexibility: 6/6 | No Spellcasting | Active conditions:none

That's awful to hear. Good luck and hopefully you'll find that spark again, Lia.


Female Human Sorc 4 | HP 8/29 | AC 14/11/13 | CMB+2 CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+5 | Resist fire 6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 |
Spells:
1st (0/7): Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Shield, Shocking Grasp | 2nd (4/day): Telekinetic Volley |
Lia Aulamaxa wrote:
Sad shit

Sorry to see you go, man. I enjoyed Lia; the extravagant noble rounded out the party nicely. All the best.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

Sorry to see you go. Glad to have gamed with you.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17

Good luck Lia!

@GM Zek: If you weren't adjusting the printed AP in any way to make things more challenging, I'm good with the printed encounters with 5 players. Ends up less work for you to make things challenging?


Maps | Info | Loot
Gilda Grabapple wrote:
@GM Zek: If you weren't adjusting the printed AP in any way to make things more challenging, I'm good with the printed encounters with 5 players. Ends up less work for you to make things challenging?

I was beefing up some enemies' health and increasing the number of enemies, but I can stick with the AP as written with only 5. I just thought it might be a bit jarring to do so in the middle of a fight. My previous post was referring to the fact that I had already adjusted the first encounter in the Salt Works to account for 6 players. The AP is set up for 4 players, so it may not need adjusting with only 5. We can try the next fight after this one (whenever that might be) as written, if everyone would like, to see how challenging it is.

On a similar note, I'll hold off on posting for a minute as it appears you're here to post, Gilda. : )


Male NG Human (Chelish) Brawler 7 | HP: 67/67 | AC: 22 (16 Tch, 18 Fl) | CMB: +10, CMD: 24 (grapple 26, trip 25) | F: +7, R: +7, W: +7 | Init: +2 | Perc: +15 SM: +14 | Speed 30ft | Martial Flexibility: 6/6 | No Spellcasting | Active conditions:none

I think APs are written for four players using 15 point buy? That being said, APs tend to vary greatly in difficulty. I've played the first two books of Council of Thieves and good Lord, it's all over the place: from 'ha, this is easy, too easy' to 'mommy please'.

I don't think we got a min-maxed party (nor an overly optimized one) so I think we'll be fine either way? So far, things have seemed right.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17

What I'll tend to do, just because I'm always looking to save time in prep is I end up holding the PCs back a level at two points during the AP when I have 5 players.

Usually have them at level 3 doing level 4 sections and then when they get to about level 11 content, I'll have them playing at level 9.

I'll almost always tweak encounters where it's a single enemy and it didn't have to be just because I think it makes it more fun. So if it's like an advanced cave spider, I'll turn it into a pair of non-advanced.

I guess I wasn't requesting you to run vanilla so much as suggesting that as a player to their GM, that you shouldn't feel bad if you used other techniques to scale the adventure that would be more convenient to you, if you desired. Running an AP PbP over a few years is quite taxing, so having the option during hectic weeks to run as printed is something I'd often welcome in the GM seat.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

Usually for 5 players in an AP, I tend to maximize the hit points for named NPCs and maybe add another opponent or two if I think the encounter needs it. Some encounters, I won't adjust at all (those who have played Rise of the Runelords probably know which encounter in the first book I'm talking about). If you want to stick with things as written, and then see if they need adjusting as we go, that's fine by me.


Female Human Sorc 4 | HP 8/29 | AC 14/11/13 | CMB+2 CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+5 | Resist fire 6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 |
Spells:
1st (0/7): Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Shield, Shocking Grasp | 2nd (4/day): Telekinetic Volley |

Should go without saying, but CR is not an exact science. How could it be in a game so staggeringly variable? I typically see APs as little more than guidelines. Does the encounter seem reasonable enough with regard to your own perceived level of the party? Does it make some sense within the narrative context? If the answer to both is yes, then I say you can't ask for much more.

Do note that what an encounter being 'reasonable' actually means varies, even within the same level. Not every encounter should be a perfectly calibrated challenge, after all. That just smacks of level scaling, the greatest evil of our time.


Maps | Info | Loot

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback. Maximizing health and adding an enemy here and there has been what I've done so far, but I'm very interested in Gilda's idea about delaying leveling.

I would want to make sure everyone was onboard, though, as it seems like leveling is one of the most satisfying aspects of any adventure. I don't mind continuing to manually adjust encounters, but, like Gilda said, it would be a lot simpler to just delay leveling. Depending on the difficulty, we could always adjust down the line.

-----

On another note, I don't plan to redistribute most of Lia's things (including her gold), but I do want the party to keep the items you've collected so far in the campaign. That means that the cloak of resistance +1, the +1 leather armor, and the potion of cure light wounds are currently up for grabs. I went ahead and moved those items to the shared tab for now. I'm assuming Evander is keeping the cloak of elvenkind. Remember that you can sell one or more of those items if no one wants them. There are some other items in the shared tab that you might also want to sell.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

Shoot. If I'd remembered to post that I grabbed the cloak of elvenkind back, I'd have had a 25 Stealth check opening the door, which means we might have gotten in unnoticed. Ah, well. C'est la vie.

We'll handle who gets what after the fight, I think. Makes more sense.


Maps | Info | Loot
Evander Forrell wrote:

Shoot. If I'd remembered to post that I grabbed the cloak of elvenkind back, I'd have had a 25 Stealth check opening the door, which means we might have gotten in unnoticed. Ah, well. C'est la vie.

Next time! ; )

-----

On the topic of difficulty and leveling, would everyone be open to delaying leveling? It likely would be the simplest solution to up the challenge of encounters. It won't actually be a factor for a while yet, but I would like to get everyone's opinion on the matter.


Male NG Human (Chelish) Brawler 7 | HP: 67/67 | AC: 22 (16 Tch, 18 Fl) | CMB: +10, CMD: 24 (grapple 26, trip 25) | F: +7, R: +7, W: +7 | Init: +2 | Perc: +15 SM: +14 | Speed 30ft | Martial Flexibility: 6/6 | No Spellcasting | Active conditions:none

I don't mind being it being staggered. I got no clue how tough the AP is and the only one that knows is the person I must trust, the dm, you ;)


Codename: "Falcon" Male 'Human' Divine Marksman Urban Ranger 5/Bard 2 (AC: 19 [T: 13 /FF: 16] -1 if using Buckler hand; CMD 20; HP: 58/58; F+5, R+10, W+4 [+1 vs. Mind-affecting]; Init: +4 (+6 in Kintargo); Perc: +14 (+16 in Kintargo) [Low-light vision])

I just wanted to apologize to all my games, especially the ones I'm running. I have been going through a bit of posting malaise, and don't want to burn out, or even worse quit. As such, I've just been trying to build up to posting. Just wanted to let you all know, I'm not gone, not leaving, just less than motivated at the moment. So, please bear with me. For my games, I expect to have a post up today.

I don't mind the level delay. If we were getting xp, we would be behind 1 out of every 5 anyways roughly.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17

Yep, that's the old-school gamer in me using delayed leveling to scale the AP... if you figure the fact that a 5th person splits the XP another step, it all just magically works out.

(or it's supposed to if the game designers do their job right)


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

If we want to give the level delay a try, I'm down for it. If it turns out to be a bit too dangerous, we can always go back.


Maps | Info | Loot
Gregor Ward wrote:
I just wanted to apologize to all my games, especially the ones I'm running. I have been going through a bit of posting malaise, and don't want to burn out, or even worse quit. As such, I've just been trying to build up to posting. Just wanted to let you all know, I'm not gone, not leaving, just less than motivated at the moment. So, please bear with me. For my games, I expect to have a post up today.

Thank you for letting us know. Hang in there. I would hate to lose you. Let me know if I can help in some way.

-----

I would still like to hear from Didiana before we say yea or nay definitively, but it seems like most folks are open to delayed leveling. Keep in mind that, following Gilda's suggestion, it's still going to be a while before we actually get to a point in the campaign where leveling is delayed. It never hurts to plan ahead, though.


Female Human Sorc 4 | HP 8/29 | AC 14/11/13 | CMB+2 CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+5 | Resist fire 6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 |
Spells:
1st (0/7): Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Shield, Shocking Grasp | 2nd (4/day): Telekinetic Volley |

Sure, we can delay levels a bit. Like Gilda, I delayed levels a bit myself in the one Paizo AP I've run (Runelords, if anyone's curios). Worked well enough. Appreciate that you want our thoughts on the matter, Zek.

But yes, this is likely not a measure that needs to be employed anytime soon. The early levels are the fickle ones. Once the group starts getting some real power under their belts (and especially when the GM decides that he'd rather not let the pesky casters have access to that spell level just yet) that's when delaying levels should step into effect.


Maps | Info | Loot

Yep, you pesky casters can certainly cause headaches sometimes. But your ability to come up with creative solutions to problems is one of the most fun things to see as a GM.

And of course I want everyone's opinion on the matter. Some GMs might consider it to be 'my campaign,' but now that we're all here, I firmly believe this is 'our campaign,' so I want everyone's input on decisions such as this.


Maps | Info | Loot

I’m going to hold off on updating us. I think a combination of the site being down for several hours today and it being Columbus Day weekend here in the US probably conspired against us. I’ll update us tomorrow night or Sunday night.


Female Human Sorc 4 | HP 8/29 | AC 14/11/13 | CMB+2 CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+5 | Resist fire 6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 |
Spells:
1st (0/7): Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Shield, Shocking Grasp | 2nd (4/day): Telekinetic Volley |

I think people may find more to react to if they see whether or not Kossrani complies. Unless someone wants to take things in a different direction, there's unfortunately not a whole lot for everyone to say beyond "I wait and see what happens" a la Evander.

On that note, assuming Kossrani hands over some sort of ledger or other physical evidence of black market dealings or whatnot, I'm hoping to spend two days retraining a spell, Scrivener's Chant, if possible. Retraining a cantrip fortunately doesn't cost a fortune. I was then hoping, with the help of Matiscio's journalism, Evander's skill at satire and Lia's caricatures, to print the best gosh darn newsletter Kintargo has seen. We don't necessarily use it to broadcast our mission statement or anything, but publicize Kossrani's crimes, evidence copied, to cast Barzillai's government in poor light. We can continue this throughout the game whenever we find something we can pin on the man.

Feel free to tell me this is an awful idea. Because it's probably an awful idea. I dunno what the hell the repercussion, good or ill, this will have. Just seems like a natural thing to do with the party composition (Lia notwithstanding). Feasible, Zek?


Maps | Info | Loot

Oh, Didiana. You never cease to amaze and challenge me (both in good ways). That probably is why others haven't responded yet. Unfortunately, I'm going to a wedding today about 5 hours out of town, so I won't be able to write up a good gameplay post till I get back late tonight.

Retraining your cantrip is fine. I plan to give you all some downtime once you're done at the Salt Works.

There may be some... notoriety... increases as a result of your newsletter, but as long as you remain anonymous, your identities should remain secret (for now). There will always be consequences, they just may not be immediately obvious or actually immediate.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

Eh, it’s just the next step for the Reverend Loflar. I’d be down with the newsletter.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17

Yeah I think most of us don't have much to add until we know how Kossrani responds, although with the charm kicking in, I expect full compliance so the question is what he turns over.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

Will post tomorrow.


Maps | Info | Loot

It seems Columbus day and Monday have both conspired against us, so I'll hold off on updating us till tomorrow. It's kind of important for everyone to participate in the current conversation anyway.


Male NG Human (Chelish) Brawler 7 | HP: 67/67 | AC: 22 (16 Tch, 18 Fl) | CMB: +10, CMD: 24 (grapple 26, trip 25) | F: +7, R: +7, W: +7 | Init: +2 | Perc: +15 SM: +14 | Speed 30ft | Martial Flexibility: 6/6 | No Spellcasting | Active conditions:none

So what’s the plan now? Stage the Salt Works? Go back to Laria and Rexus? Go your separate ways for the night? Some combination of those things? Something else?

A summary of the Salt Works situation:
-We got the evidence / proof of guilt of Kossrani and co.
-We pretty much murdered everyone involved in his scheme (did we off the two sleeping ones outside?)
-There's 10 flunkies and 1 Kossrani for a total of 11 bodies.
-The mercs are saved and now available to be recruited (if we so desire).

What we could still do:
-We could search the place in hopes of finding more funds and items or secrets/info.
-Torch the place and make it appear they perished in the flames and the collapse of the building.

I'm sure the list isn't complete, so feel free to add what you must to it! I'm in favor, assuming the fire wouldn't spread to the neighbourhood, of torching the rooms with the bodies after cleaning up what blood and gore that needs not be on display.


Female Human Sorc 4 | HP 8/29 | AC 14/11/13 | CMB+2 CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+5 | Resist fire 6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 |
Spells:
1st (0/7): Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Shield, Shocking Grasp | 2nd (4/day): Telekinetic Volley |

There was talk about staging things to make it look as if some sort of infighting took place, but I'm not entirely sure how we would pull that one off...

Should we maybe just run? Evander lock-picked the door to Crowe and the other prisoners. If we were to break the door down now from the inside, the natural conclusion from any investigator would be that the mercenaries staged a revolt and killed all within. Can't imagine Crowe and the gang would mind that angle too much; merely escaping will already put a life sentence on their heads.

Of course, a single Speak With Dead spell or some such would find the truth, albeit not our identities, hidden as they are with Evander's disguise checks. Not sure if the investigating dottari have the resources for stuff like that.

Oh, and I approve of Matiscio's somber tone in the last post! Kintargo is a city of 12.000 and our PCs are all natives in their 20s; realistically, we went to school with some of these poor dead idiots.


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

What's school? Evander didn't have no fancy schoolin'. Just an old man who was well-learned and took a liking to him. That's how Evander got his education.

I believe we merely ensured the two sleeping ones wouldn't wake up. We can take the time to off them if you'd like.

I wonder if Crowe and the others are actually "on the books" as it were. Since they were being used by Kossrani for an illegal salt production operation, I wonder if the dwarf made sure they weren't documented as prisoners. GM, would we be able to tell that from the paperwork?


Maps | Info | Loot
Evander Forrell wrote:
I wonder if Crowe and the others are actually "on the books" as it were. Since they were being used by Kossrani for an illegal salt production operation, I wonder if the dwarf made sure they weren't documented as prisoners. GM, would we be able to tell that from the paperwork?

Within the documents you found, you would discover a contract for Kossrani indicating he and the thugs aren’t actually members of Kintargo’s government or the Church of Asmodeus. You would, however, also recognize that Crowe and his men were official prisoners of Thrune, but apparently not deemed high profile enough to warrant being kept in Castle Kintargo.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17

I think we're fine risking the odds that investigators 'speak with dead'.

With the evidence left behind and properly staged, any government would rather squander the money than try to see "beyond the truth" to what really happened.

I don't think we should torch the place. A medieval town was absolutely terrible at stopping fires, so a single intentional attempt to burn down a building tends very much towards Chaotic Evil with its destructive potential to wipe out a whole district.

Do we have an example of Kossrani's handwriting? Perhaps we can add a couple entries to his books and make it look like he was shafting a few of his thugs, and they called him on it.

We should take a single body with a recognizable feature with us, if there's enough book-keeping via his payroll logs, and if we can we should implicate whichever thug we take with us as the "lone survivor" it'll help explain why there's no money/valuables left behind here.

If we wanted to get even more elaborate, we could Disguise one of us as said thug, go to the nearest drinking hole and buy a round for everyone, dropping our name and suggesting we came into some big money that we "were finally due from that bastard Kossrani". After about 15 minutes, that disguised person could hoof it.

I'd wager the city guard would wrap this up real quick, since all the locals would give them the validation they need to their top theory.


Maps | Info | Loot
Gilda Grabapple wrote:

Do we have an example of Kossrani's handwriting? Perhaps we can add a couple entries to his books and make it look like he was shafting a few of his thugs, and they called him on it.

There would be examples of his handwriting in his ledgers.


Shaman 7 | HP 58 | AC 13 T 11 FF 12 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +6 | Ref: +3 | Will: +10* | Init: +1 | Perc: +17 | Sense: +17

Slammed at work. Catching up tomorrow AM!


Maps | Info | Loot

Thanks for letting us know, Gilda! I've missed seeing your posts.


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KintargoCast Summary, 2nd Edition

1st Edition

Wealday, the 12th of Arodus, 4715 AR

Laria send the group into the Wasp Nest to try to find Nan Comerivos.

The group dispatches an albino alligator and a dire corby while also discovering the half-eaten and fully dead body of Nan.

The group explores further and encounters the Fushi sisters. The sisters explain that the bird-like creature was a dire corby named Chough and was their ‘sister.’ They’re grateful you dealt with the issue for them. After some tense negotiations, the group convince the sisters to join the rebellion and recruit them as their first unique team.

Didiana acquires a couple scrolls of decompose corpse from Crissali to deal with dead bodies.

After discussion with Laria and Rexus, the group agrees to investigate the sites of the fires from the Night of Ashes.

The group investigates the sites of the fires, Didiana nearly has a nasty fall, the group encounters a lone tiefling, and a coffer is discovered and recovered.

The group decides against pursuing the tiefling and heads to Clenchjaw’s tavern.

After some shenanigans, the party discovers a potential new ally in a faerie dragon named Vendalfek.

Vendalfek proves his usefulness when part of the group scout ‘the ocean front.’ Those there also learn a bit about the one in charge of the Salt Works, a dwarf named Kossrani.

The other half of the group returns to ‘the flower shop’ and discovers that one of their newest recruits has fallen prey to sabotage of some sort. Poor Bix. That half of the group also get to know a bit about Geoni and his fellow freedom fighters.

Everyone regroups at the Wasp Nest and discuss the potential sabotage along with their next course of action.

Oathday, the 13th of Arodus, 4715 AR

The group prepares to assault the Salt Works. The party assembles after night falls.

Other than a few scrapes, the rebels takes the main building of the Salt Works without issue. They discover Crowe and his men imprisoned inside.

A single thug hears the group coming as they go to the Salt Works’ sleeping quarters. After dispatching most of the half-naked inhabitants of the room, Didiana charms Kossrani into being cooperative with the help of some hexing from Gilda.

After some interrogation, Didiana decides the dwarf’s usefulness is at an end and caves in the man’s skull.

The group does its best to stage the Salt Works to look like there was an internal power struggle and that a lone thug made off with the Salt Works’ loot.

Didiana and Matiscio have a heart-to-heart talk.

The group go to the Tooth and Nail Tavern run by Setrona Sabinus. They commiserate over a few drinks and learn a little bit about the proprietor of the establishment as well as some rumors about Nox and the Red Jills.

Everyone leaves for the night to reconvene the next day at the Wasp Nest to discuss the Silver Ravens’ next course of action.

Current List of Barzillai Nicknames:
Boarzilla, Barzeelie, Borezealous, Barzelbum, Beetlezub, Boarbeetle, Brasslizard, Barzlebutt, BargeOfLies/Barge’o’lies, Lord-Mayor Loon, Barge’o’flies, Boarbadger, Beerbutt, Beerlizard


Male Tiefling (Pass for Human) Investigator (Conspirator, Empiricist) 6/Swashbuckler (Inpsired Blade) 1 | AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 18 | HP 53/53 | Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +6 (+2 vs illusions); resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 | Init +3 | Perception +13 (+15 to notice scrying); low-light vision, darkvision 120 ft | Inspiration 6/6 | Panache 4/4 | SLAs: Deathwatch At-Will |
Extracts:
Level 1: 6/6; Level 2: 4/4
| Active effects:

...We're really big on nicknames, aren't we?

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