Hello and welcome to the game! I'm excited to get started with all of you.
If you haven't already, finish up your character using the criteria below. Please let me know when you're ready for me to review your sheet.
Character Creation:
1. All characters begin at level one.
2. 20-point ability buy.
3. Non-evil alignments.
4. All Paizo-created races are acceptable, but core races are preferred. No custom or third-party races are allowed.
5. Paizo-created classes and archetypes only. No gunslingers, samurai, ninjas or summoners.
6. Two traits. One must be a campaign trait. Try to pick traits that align with your backstory, not just add to your character's stats (or figure out how to add stat-boosting traits into your backstory).
8. Average gold for your class.
9. Max HP at level one, roll or 1/2 HD + 1 thereafter.
A Couple of Things:
1. Please put the following in the Class area of your profile. Obviously replace the numbers with your information.
Init +3 | Perc +10 | AC 15 / T 15 / FF 11 | HP 11/11 | Saves F +5/R +3/W +6
2. I use Dropbox to host images of maps, NPCs, etc. You don't need an account to view them, but some companies/firewalls block Dropbox. Please let me know if this is an issue for anyone.
3. When doing a skill check, please roll the dice - even if you don't know if your check is valid or needed. I might ignore your roll if it is unnecessary (or if you do a good enough job roleplaying that the dice check is replaced by your creativity), but it speeds thing up if I don't have to ask for it.
4. If any of you use Hero Lab, can you please PM me and send me the .por file for your character?
Thanks, everyone!
Ah! im in a kingmaker! :D 4th time lucky :p
Checking in, pleasantly surprised that I was chosen, so thank you for the opportunity
Aldarion, at your service. Looking forward to this! :)
Checking in.....again.
A wandering monster apparently ate my first post. Not an auspicious start.
Just double checking skills and funds before releasing Caelius for review.
Caelus We have similar names. Do you think this will pose a problem? I am happy to go with Nicos if it does.
Looks like a good group. This should be fun.
It doesn't pose a problem for me anyways
Glad to see everyone's checked in! I'm excited by the group - you guys all have different traits, unique backgrounds and distinct roles you can fill.
Give me a head's up when your character sheet is ready for review so we can get rolling as soon as possible.
I should be all good for review. Will send my por file when I get home
I think mine is done as well.
Everything looks pretty good, I think you may have put down max gold instead of Average for your class and your skills don't reflect your armor penalty (you may have that covered and just know to subtract 1 from your rolls). Can you please adjust?
Also, is there any significance - story or mechanically - for the noble house you chose? I'm just curious.
Thanks!
No there is no significance whatsoever to the house choice. In fact I just rolled a d6. If you have a preference I would be delighted to change.
Nah. You're not an idiot. Just greedy. HUGE difference.
I personally like the Orlovskys for your character concept. I recognize that it's a little "game-y", as your build focuses on Diplomacy, but I like that synergy in this instance.
Also, just out of curiosity (again), when are you transitioning to Fighter?
Yea I'm done for review I think.
Haha hey again Tazo. Three games together now I see
Not greedy but lazy.. Applied w/Caelius to another game a while ago. That game was max gold. Should have triple checked sorry.
Re: Fighter. Planning for a 2nd level change and not looking back. Debating if Investigator was the best choice. Having trapfinding could be useful. As a tactician C would have the skill points. Or is it too late?
Re: House. Orlovsky it is. Making changes now.
My crunch is now fully detailed. I also added Aldarion's back story highlights. I'll need a little more time to flesh out some quality-writing. If what I have is sufficient for your needs, we can proceed to begin the game, and I'll fill in a better written story over the next few days or so, as the muses come to me. Alternately if you'd prefer, I can make sure to hammer out a workable story by tomorrow night.
Seeing how people were being careful with encumbrance, I added mine up and saw I was over the limit. So the gear is a bit different now to hopefully maintain a light load (depending on how much gold weighs).
You're good... for now, at least. All coins weigh 1 lb. per 50 pieces. :)
...
If anything, people can call my character Vraie, as he is a nobleman from Taldor, he won't mind it so much. Even though he hates most of his family minus his mother and his adopted brother
Ok----Really done this time *crosses fingers*
GM - Good news, the muses have been kind. I still need to fully write out and then edit it, but I've now got a richer back story concept planned out that I'm satisfied with. I'll update my profile when it's ready to be read, and will keep you updated.
And now, back to what I "should" be doing... work. :)
Everyone looks good.
Everyone, that is, except for...
I think you spent two too many ability points.
I am writing up the first post now - the gameplay thread should be up shortly.
Ahh...I see. I've never actually played with age rules before. I see what's happening now. Thanks for clearing that up, Maja. And you're good to go, Aldarion.
Speaking of good to go - the gameplay thread is up. We begin!
Thanks Maja. Yes, it's the middle-age stats. Yes, I purposely avoided min-maxing so as not to cheat with that. Aldarion's feeling the pangs of age in his muscles and agility these days, though still a bit on the quick side. :)
GM Tallgrass, coolio. I never really see too many use the age rules either. So I like playing middle-aged guys sometimes (depending on the character), as it changes up the "everyone's barely legal for drinks or smokes" status quo, lol.
See you in the game...
I've updated the Campaign Info thread with a little information. Some of it - namely Oleg's Tactical view - is a little "game-y", but I figure this will save some time as we can roleplay the exploration of the post, but not get caught up in the details of explaining each location in-game.
I'll be updating the Campaign Info thread regularly, so check there if you need some information. I'll try to prompt you to check it out if there's something really important (as there will be from time-to-time) for you to check out.
Lovely map and drawings of Oleg's.
Do we have any idea roughly where the trading post is on the map?
It would be on the northern edge of the map. The post sits on the edge of the Greenbelt.
Aldarion has some silver, but since he's so used to bartering... lol.
To spare you the lookup legwork though, here's the book value of his mentioned trade goods:
- 5 lbs. of beans @ 2 cp per lb. (1 sp total value).
- 5 lbs. of nuts @ 3 cp per lb. (1 sp 5 cp).
- 1 lb. of garlic @ 5 sp per lb. (5 sp).
- 1 lb. of tobacco @ 5 sp per lb. (5 sp).
Timothy, apologies, I should have been a bit more vague in what Aldarion heard. But I think Maja's got it covered. It seems the trading post is experiencing late afternoon. Supper was referenced for Svetlana's meal, and stew, bread, and wine does sound like a dinner more than breakfast. Yet it's still light enough for Oleg to do roof repairs, hence maybe late afternoon rather than evening.
So perhaps it was morning for Timothy and Maja when they met at spearpoint, and they are now arriving in the late afternoon for supper?
Didn't see the supper reference lol. My bad
Really enjoying this so far, great roleplaying all around. And we have a sound plan in the works. :)
I agree with the sage. :7)
Looking at the lovely map the GM has provided up with I propose the following.
1. We close the north side of the main door and run a lightly buried rope all the way around to the north side of A2 where it is hitched to the donkey.
2. Once the bandits are in the courtyard someone spurs the beast and the door closes. With a little help from yours truly who had been hiding behind the open door.
3. The door now barred the entangle spell goes off, and we pick off any one who saved with arrows and stones.
Individual Suggestions:
Aldarion, you will want to be close enough to cast but otherwise out of the line of fire. Perhaps you could take donkey duty? The NE corner of A2 will give you line of sight for most of the outpost. Good? If needed you can move up to support the fighters by running around/past the tables.
Caelus, as Timothy will be drawing attention perhaps you want to be nearby but out of sight. Somewhere you can move out to engage anyone unaffected by the spell. Maybe in one of the alleys next to A4, or even in A4 behind a barrel or some boxes.
Maja, with healing, bless and a reach weapon available you might want to be near the Timothy-Caelus group.
Timothy, you are the linchpin here. Where do you want to be? I am thinking just inside the fence of A4. That way you are clearly visible from the entrance but somewhat protected from an immediate charge.
Me, I will be on door duty. Once the door is closed and barred I will climb up a knotted rope to the roof of A2 where I should have clear shots at anyone in the main courtyard.
The preceding is pretty much off the top of my head. What are your thoughts?
1. We close the north side of the main door and run a lightly buried rope all the way around to the north side of A2 where it is hitched to the donkey.
The turned line of soil may alert the bandits, although the alternative is to have a few sneak to the door to close it which I think has more potential for raising suspicion (if just one of the three rolls low on Stealth...). Also, if the bandits rush on seeing "Oleg" closing the gate on them they may become careless and miss the soil line anyway. Perhaps the line should be right along the base of the guest house's western & northern walls. We should keep the donkey and animal handler hidden from view so as not to draw suspicion.
I am also assuming the guest house is made from solid-enough appearing wood, and will not collapse when the donkey pulls the rope, lol. "Looks like we're sleeping outside in the cold tonight, friends..." as Oleg grumpily looks on, thinking And I just repaired that gods-damned roof!
2. Once the bandits are in the courtyard someone spurs the beast and the door closes. With a little help from yours truly who had been hiding behind the open door.
Aldarion has a reasonably good chance of handling the donkey without a hitch.
Hiding behind the open door might be risky, unless it's opened very wide, near to the outer wall (assuming the doors open outward, to the south). This would take longer to close it. Otoh, my idea of having someone hide in the catapult tower and climb down to close the door would take more time. So I think your idea will be better in this case.
3. The door now barred the entangle spell goes off, and we pick off any one who saved with arrows and stones.
Aldarion can contribute with his darts, though he's lost a bit of his aim since entering his prime years, lol.
Aldarion, you will want to be close enough to cast but otherwise out of the line of fire. Perhaps you could take donkey duty? The NE corner of A2 will give you line of sight for most of the outpost. Good? If needed you can move up to support the fighters by running around/past the tables.
Range is no problem: the spell can be cast up to 440 ft. away. Donkey duty, eh? As long as it doesn't involve a shovel and a sack. ;) Actually, Aldarion would probably put it to use as fertilizer... Seriously, yeah I can handle that with good odds. Maybe cast guidance just before they enter for a +1 to my check. I think I'll peek through the southeast corner first though, less conspicuous.
Caelus, as Timothy will be drawing attention perhaps you want to be nearby but out of sight. Somewhere you can move out to engage anyone unaffected by the spell. Maybe in one of the alleys next to A4, or even in A4 behind a barrel or some boxes.
Maja, with healing, bless and a reach weapon available you might want to be near the Timothy-Caelus group.
Timothy, you are the linchpin here. Where do you want to be? I am thinking just inside the fence of A4. That way you are clearly visible from the entrance but somewhat protected from an immediate charge.
Me, I will be on door duty. Once the door is closed and barred I will climb up a knotted rope to the roof of A2 where I should have clear shots at anyone in the main courtyard.
Sounds good to me. Timothy I think intends to start closing the one gate door as the bandits are approaching, perhaps when they're a few hundred feet away, to make it appear they need to speed up to get in before the gate shuts them out. Maybe he will fall back to the house or pen as the get very close, as if he's afraid and fleeing from them, thus egging them on.
Yea ill wait till they see me and close 1 gate. Hopefully they see me and come for me. Ill run back towards and past the plant trap. They walk in and get caught. People close gate and we take them out.
I think it's more reliable for people to close the second gate themselves than relying on Bran. He is oldish too. Try it if you want to though, that's just my 2 copper pieces.
You know what... where will we tie the rope to on the door where it wouldn't be visible to the bandits? I cannot think of a place...
Perhaps we should skip bothering stubborn old Bran. If Maja joins Caelius behind the door (which is 15 ft. wide, so plenty of room), the bandits should not have line of sight to you, hence they will be unable to see you. And if they ride in, it will be hard to hear you over the sound of horses galloping or trotting past. Hence, a lack of Stealth training should not be a problem for the door-closers. I think earlier I had someone sneaking up from one of the catapult towers stuck in my head still, which definitely would require Stealth training (or extreme luck) to pull off...
Timothy, color spray is my personal favorite when I play arcane casters. :)
Problem folks.
Entangle is a 40' radius. The trading post is only 95x125.
Where exactly we we thinking of centering that spell?
I would hate to entangle our side.
That's not a problem at all actually, since we'll be in the post as well, and I don't think we want to be entangled too, hehe.
I would expect the bandits to trot right into the open courtyard on horseback, the leader heading for the house most likely (if fake Oleg heads there).
I'm basically figuring on strategically placing a few rows of plants in the open courtyard and bench area, maybe a few along the middens, behind the pen, and by the southeast of the house, for good measure against bandits trying to jump the wall to flee. I'd leave a tangle-free edge for us to freely move around the north and south edges of the courtyard and bench area.
The south, for Maja and Caelius to not get entangled when they bar the gate. The north, for Timothy and Caelus. I'm thinking I'll figure an edge to go to depending on our need (give the bandits a good shillelagh beatin'). We can all attack on either edge this way, either melee or ranged. Maybe the western edge as well (along the stable's eastern wall), so that we can quickly get to the other side if needed.
By edge, I mean a 5 ft. wide edge of tangle-free space (only squares within reach of plants are affected). And bear in mind, if they're on horseback, horses take up 10x10 spaces. They'd be forced to dismount if they want to walk the open area... so if they manage to flee the post alive, they won't be so hard for us to catch up to on foot... muhahaha!
:D
Ok I see people are chomping to get to morning. So lets Get the hammered out.
Timothy: Good. So you start at the gate and then run to A4. You are in charge of starting the party. Color spray makes an excellent signal.
Maja: I still think you should be with Timothy and Caelus. If things go south your bless, healing, and flanking could make the difference. But it is your call. If you are at the door we will not need the donkey trick.
Aldarion: I think I understand you but you may have your directions muddled. North is to the right on the tactical map which puts the main gate on the East wall. I am still VERY cautious about that Entangle but I defer to you for placement.
Caelus: You good hiding near A4? Hate to loose Timothy to a couple of good saves. That is the other reason I think Maja should be with you. Always assume the baddies will make their saves.
Caelius: Hmmm small snag. No rope for the donkey trick. Perhaps the trading post has 100' or so.
I'm good with that, lets get the party started!
Yes lets test closing the gates that evening.
Maja: I still think you should be with Timothy and Caelus. If things go south your bless, healing, and flanking could make the difference. But it is your call. If you are at the door we will not need the donkey trick.
I see you posted ooc about tying the rope to the inside of the open door. I'm assuming you mean to tie the rope to its handle.
I like the idea with Maja assisting Timothy and Caelus, but there remains one serious problem I think. With that door opened wide enough to conceal your character Caelius behind it, the rope will be pretty obvious to spot for the bandits, even if they do get flustered from the "Oleg's closing the gates on us" ruse. Rope is an inch-ish thick, typically (it's not much thinner string).
To elaborate if this is not making sense: Caelius the rogue is going to hide behind the opened door, on the right in the map, right? I think the door opens outward, in the direction of the bottom of the map, or down (otherwise, they'd not be able to fully open, especially the door on the right which would hit A2 after opening about 75-80 degrees).
So, with Caelius behind the open gate door, he's sandwiched between the outside of the wall and the outer part of the gate door. And that door would have to be opened to around 135-150 degrees from its closed position (counterclockwise if we're talking about leaving open the door on the right). The right door would be in the 4 o'clock position, in other words, rather than the 9 o'clock position when closed (relative to its hinges).
Therefore, if the rope is tied to the inside of that gate door, it's totally exposed to the bandits entering. Placing the rope on the other side of the door won't help, since it would be very difficult to close the door in that position I imagine.
Aldarion: I think I understand you but you may have your directions muddled. North is to the right on the tactical map which puts the main gate on the East wall. I am still VERY cautious about that Entangle but I defer to you for placement.
As for direction, lol. I see what you mean, but actually, I think north is top - note that the white "N" on the map's right side is indicating north is on top of the (hard to see) compass below it, indicating the upwards direction is north. It's a bit confusing.
In any event, yes, my directions were meant as if north is upwards on the map, not to the right of the map. :)
With entangle, I am thinking the bandits will more or less clump together into the open area when they first enter - Timothy will be by the house at that point (hopefully!), at which point I will cast the spell. Only plants are affected, so as long as everyone steers clear of the plant's range (which I will carefully place so that we get a 5 ft. untangled path all around the field of entanglement), nobody should get entangled on our side, and the bandits would have to dismount to walk along that path unentangled (meaning they will be easier for us to run down should they manage to flee, win-win).
Caelus: You good hiding near A4? Hate to loose Timothy to a couple of good saves. That is the other reason I think Maja should be with you. Always assume the baddies will make their saves.
It's a good point about Maja. I'm just not sure how we can pull off the donkey idea without exposing the rope to the bandits and ruining the surprise for them. Digging it lightly below the ground, yes, but at the door, it's going to emerge from the ground and be in plain sight where tied to the door's handle.
Unless someone has a silent image spell prepped? I don't recall seeing anyone have that.
But what I can do if Maja hides with Caelius behind the gate door is leave a 5 ft. path along the west (read: left on map) of A2, so she can, if needed, move to Timothy and Caelus north (read: top on map) of the field of entanglement. Attacks of opportunity for her moving 30 ft. will only be provoked from her by non-entangled and non-color sprayed bandits adjacent to the path (I think she has relatively fair odds for that). In fact, perhaps I'll cover a rectangle of squares in the open trade area with 5 ft. all around it out of the plants' reach, and the same for the bench area (5 ft. path around that too). This will give us maximum flexibility in where we can move safe from entanglement. And of course, I'd add a few plants to cover behind the pen, the middens, and the eastern (right on map) ladder should any bandits care to flee to the wall and try to climb/jump it...
...I wish we had an online screen sharing app for this... so many words to try to clarify, lol.
I think that a rope being pulled from anywhere inside the fort would be incapable of closing the main gates. (Maybe that's not quite true if you can use momentum from an initial pull to finish the job, but that's pretty tricky.)
Sir Tallgrass, do you have an opinion? As I discussed before, we can roleplay a test run, if need be.
That would make it harder, though still conceivably feasible (assuming A2 is a durable-enough building). My main concern is the visibility of the rope where it's tied to the front gate's open door.
A test run is a good idea.