Well, suggesting she might want to gather her possessions from her room might prove entertaining. :)
There's a reason Phil's rocking a +12 in Bluff :P
So, the dice you guys ordered for me got here last week! Of course, last week was crazy-busy (for reference, I got my minis case last week too and still haven't opened it), so I've only now gotten around to snapping a photo so you can see them.
I've identified the lightest die, #1, as Gristav's ash, but I'm having a hard time identifying the rest of them. I'm thinking the black mesquite might be #3, and the imbuia #2, but I can't tell which of the remaining two is koa and which is loganberry. And the d20 is a random choice, so I'm not even sure where to start with it. Anyone want to take a guess?
Anyway, they're really lovely, and the box has a magnetic closure so they don't all fall out, and the inside smells like my grandfather's workshop when he took up woodworking after he retired. They arrived almost on time for our 5000th post. Thanks so much, guys, for your thoughtfulness.
Huzzah! - almost a year late, but very glad that they finally did arrive. I'll try and be a bit more punctual for this year's version :)
For the d20 my first guess would be Padauk - does it have a slight reddish tinge in the light?
That's really cool of you, Mark, fellas, for doing that. Can't say I've ever heard of anyone doing that for anyone.
That's pretty cool. Too bad I was late to the party on that one. That would've been fun. Although, a d12, 10, 8, and 4 looks like they're still needed. ;)
It was Mark's idea and effort. All I contributed was the word, 'Ash'.
Thank you, Mark, for letting me be a part of that.
And you, Joanna, for letting me be a part of this.
And Javell, I like the way you think.
Aw shucks - it's just a small token back to Joana for putting up with our shenanigans and dysfunction :P
Well the next anniversary's coming up soonish as well, and going by my jaundiced opinion I'd wager the thread's more fun and more involved than it was a year ago... so there's a chance we all might get lucky..
If you want a peek into what might be forming within the coagulant that forms my grey matter then google 'Wyrmwood Gaming' or 'Black Rock Relics'...
For the d20 my first guess would be Padauk - does it have a slight reddish tinge in the light?
It is reddish. I was thinking cherry, as our table it blends in with is cherry (or "cherry," as it's veneer over particle board), but Artisan Dice doesn't appear to have a cherrywood option. Padauk is a reasonable guess; it's much darker than the picture of the wood on the site, but the site does say the finished dice end up darker than the unworked wood.
Yeah the sealing of the wood can have some fairly drastic effects on the colour - I've some Purpleheart thats a deep indigo for the same reason.
Glad you got them okay and hope you enjoy them. Braddon's dice is, of course, the prettiest. :-D
And many, many thanks to Mark for doing, well, pretty much everything actually. :-)
Javell - just an aside to what's in thread. Phil just needs a chance to actually have a debrief with everyone and swap known information. He's got no intention of preventing you from asking questions later, and with them unconscious there's no rush.
We need to just get past the:
1) Tidy up the investigation of the rest of the flophouse
2) Spend a few minutes swapping notes on what happened
We can lock the halfling woman into a cupboard (metaphorically at least if not figuratively) for a little while to get that done if we need to.
Meta wise - we're in Phillip's dirty little corner of the world here, as these guys were linked to the Sczarni. The more we share, the more we know, the better questions we can ask.
Plus if we wait we can combine our forces to best serve the interrogation / questions.
Fair enough.
Meta wise: Had absolutely no idea you had anything to do with the Sczarni.
Heh - Snake still doesn't :P
Edit: should be good character development... showing how Phillip's like an ogre... I mean parfait... I mean onions... the layers bit... not the making you cry bit... well not always...
Kaj kial la maro estas bolanta, kaj ĉu porkoj havas flugilojn!
I have to say that I'm greatly amused that you guys literally have a pile of healing potions staring you in the face and yet a few of you are walking around at 3/15 and 11/22 and the like. You're remarkably confident that the combat portion of the day is over. ;)
Snake, have you healed Braddon today? Your profile says you've healing hexed everyone else. It might be neighborly to do after he's helped you move multiple bodies.
That has occurred to me, but not to Braddon.
Braddon knows he has that potion, but hasn't seen a need for it yet, and has been a bit busy to ask Snake, though will probably do so soon enough. He may want to show off to Sam first... assuming he lives that long. :-)
Even if you heal the wound, the bloodstains remain ;)
In other news - I've discovered that cool things can happen in Malaysia. Turns out that in November the finals of the Strongman Champion's League will be in KL... which means that The Mountain that Rides will be in the country!
I saw Andy Dalton at dinner Wednesday night. :P (You'll probably have to Google him just like I did your Game of Thrones reference. ;)
I see your Dalton and raise you a 'I was once at a Hotel buffet at the same time as Edward deBono'.
Andy Dalton I know. So that's pretty freaking cool.
Edward deBono? Not so much. Sorry, bud. :)
I worked with Sarah Michelle Gellar on Scooby Doo. :-P
My son and I solved a lot of puzzles with Steven Michael Burns...?
I worked with Sarah Michelle Gellar on Scooby Doo. :-P
Seriously, dude? C'mon now, you're just kiddin', right?
My son and I solved a lot of puzzles with Steven Michael Burns...?
No idea who that is. Although he does sound somewhat familiar.
Yes, one more room; I'll get a description of the contents up shortly.
Now, see, Dave, you missed the point of the Obscure Celebrities game; I didn't have to Google SMG. ;)
Okay, nevermind. I've heard of Blues Clues but could've never told you anything about the Burns guy. Which I now get the "solved a lot of puzzles" joke.
Or the deBono guy.
So I'd guess Dave helped solved the mystery on the movie by watching it? Unless you actually do live in L.A. and are some type of Hollywood cat that works on movie sets. Which you could totally tell me you do and there's no way I'd know if it's true or not.
By the way, I'm a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. No foolin'. :)
Well while offshore on oil rigs I've personally worked with a John Lennon, Cliff Richard and Jimmy Dean.
That sounds like the beginning of a joke: "John Lennon, Cliff Richard, and Jimmy Dean walk into an offshore oil rig...."
Heh - fairly enough it does... on one particular crew we had both a Wednesday and a Friday (first names).
My first boss in the oilfield was Cameron Manifold - which is a perfectly normal name until you realise one of the big oil companies is actually called Cameron... and guess what? - they sell Manifolds.
Still on rigs? We've folk going regularly to rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, but I expect you're in the Pacific?
I worked with Sarah Michelle Gellar on Scooby Doo. :-PSeriously, dude? C'mon now, you're just kiddin', right?
Scooby Doo was filmed just south of Brisbane, Australia, behind our tourist town the Gold Coast at our own Movieworld Studios.
It bills itself as 'Hollywood on the Gold Coast' and apart from the weather and the beaches is inferior in almost every way.As an unemployed actor I got to meet lots of famous people.
But if it was obscurity- maybe I should have mentioned that Matthew Lillard caught me reading a 3.5 PHB on set and told me all about his Barbarian that he was playing. :-D
Well that's cool. Did not know that. Of course, I've never seen Scooby Doo so that's probably why I know nothing of it.
An unemployed actor, huh? That's pretty cool too. Check you out, dude, living the "Not quite Hollywood" life. :)
You still acting? Or on the "I'm an actor and ready to be hired" list? Or whatever you do to get an acting job.
I'd like to act. That seems like fun. Too bad I'm just a regular ol' schmo who couldn't get noticed in a blue room if I was painted red. :)
Scooby Doo isn't really worth seeing. They removed pretty much every piece of genius from it before releasing it to cater to their 8 year old market.
I ended my carefree days as an unemployed actor when I got married. Living in poverty is fine when you're on your own but neither my wife or I wanted her to support me.
Acting was fun, but I never got to say a single line for money. I was always cast as an extra, usually a soldier or policeman, so the only real acting I ever got to do was in local plays and such.
If you want to discount acting, don't do it because you're a 'regular' guy. Discount it for the competition, the poverty, the sitting around for hours with nothing to do, the lack of reliable income and the constant networking to increase your visibility. Otherwise, anyone can do 'acting' and extra work. :-)
Though I've not physically been 'offshore' for a couple of years, there is still the threat of it (plus I'll likely be offshore at some point before the years end for some amateur pyrotechnics.
No so much the Pacific as SE Asia - to the South of the South China Sea.
If you go to Mumbai (I think) and stay in some of the hostels there's always the chance of picking up a background extra job in a Bollywood film? - a friend of mine (Frenchman in Malaysia) was an extra for a day on the set of 'Cyber' - and remarks similarly to Braddon... it ain't much fun and it's a long long day on the job.
Somebody talk me out of a Devout Pilgrim/Separatist Cleric of Desna as my 3rd level. Travel and Redemption for Domains.
Strong 'Cons':
No spells. :) The boy isn't wise enough.
Slows Magus progression.
But:
Channeled heals. (we need more heals)
Clerical tools will work reliably
Domain powers still work
Probably a horrible idea for now. But I can't shake the feeling that someday, maybe a retired Gristav does this. :)
Rather than have another edit missed, posting here that Gris scans the booty with DetMag, digging for whatever detail his skills allow.
Gristav - taking a level of Cleric would be... I believe the correct term is horri-bad.
Your only positives there are 'channeled heals' - which will only be 1d6, limited by a low Charisma, non-selective and at only 1d6 per burst not really big enough for the trouble.
10ft higher move speed (from Travel domain) is nice, but still not worth it. You could commission a pair of boots that cast Longstrider 1/day for 400gp... and the Touch of Good domain ability isn't worth a standard action spend.
The low healing is easily sorted by buying a wand, and we've got a whole bunch of potions from this too.
...but that's just me :P
Yeah, I totally wouldn't recommend it either. Especially with an in-town game. If this was a "cross the entire country" game, maybe. But even then, I'm still not sure I'd roll with that.
Wow, even if Gristav made it to venerable, he'd still only be able to cast 1st-level spells, without devoting resources to a Wisdom boost. Of course, if it's only a one-level dip, I guess that's all he'd need. ;)
Horrible idea mechanically, of course, but I can see the appeal of the flavor. I think this is what the new obedience/boon concept is for: devout PCs who don't have levels in divine spellcasting classes. Requires a feat, but that's a lesser investment than a level dip. I don't have Inner Sea Gods so I have no idea what Desna or Sarenrae's celestial obediences are, and I really dislike the system as implemented.
Well, he'll just have to keep kissing girls and taking gallant risks! :)
So they're up there with the more obtuse of the obediences. I love the concept of the obedience / boon, but agree that they're a bit squiffy in terms of implications in play.
Genuinely confused "Exactly what good work did this house do? The conceit of worship was clearly a hackish ruse."
"What band?"
"I always think there's a band, kid."
"I am the Sczarni man, I come from down your way, and I can play!"
"What can you play?"
"I play the cut throat man!"
"Cut-throat-cut-throat-cut-throat-man, cut-throat-man, cut-throat-man. cut-throat-cut-throat-cut-throat-man, cut-throat-cut-throat-man."
*Acts out slitting throats on stage*
And thus we come to the inevitable pass... is this a game about raising the destitute of Riddleport back into the light and bringing down the crimelords responsible for it's destitutery? - or is this about making a casino as profitable as it can?
Phillip could see to an option yielding the flophouse in Rotgut, but he'd need to see Crysanthemum free - and cut any ties between the flophouse and the Goblin to limit exposure.
To clarify the above, it's not meant snarkily or threateningly... but honestly.
Both Gristav and Serpe are of the neutral (emphasis mine) variety. Caring to the small folk, not afraid of waving a big stick when it need to be - but similarly unlikely to hit a man either defeated or surrendered.
I'd fairly solidly place Braddon in the Chaotic Shiny pigeonhole... which is not to diminish his agency, but more to highlight that he lives in the moment, is not driven overly by altruism (though still has a moralistic thread) and can be rather easily distracted or led.
Phillip is Chaotic Me - concerned overwhelmingly and primarily with his own interest. His interest (and profit) at the moment is tied to making the Gold Goblin make money.
An argument could be made that the casino is as much an evil as a house of flayleaf (once the murder aspect was removed) - both prey upon the weakwilled, make addicts of them, rob them of their money with gilded promises, and then leave them destitute thereafter...
I know what Phillip gets out of tossing his chip in with Saul - and I've got a fair grasp on what Braddon either gets or hopes for (*coughSamarithacough*)... what drives Snake and Gristav to help the Goblin?
I know Gristav is driven to assist Larur... but Larur's also (currently) in the business of making as much money as he can before he croaks.
I'm with Mark on the idea of leaving it all to Marzo as a peace offering. Metagaming, we stick with the Goblin and follow the (assumed) major plot and let any Marzo side adventures come to us.
I can see how that directly contradicts Javelle's motivations given he appears to have substantial back story tucked away there, but keeping a finger in Marzo's business does mean he/we can still follow some back story.
Setting the place up as anything else requires effort on our part, and while Joanna obviously has no qualms about us leading her adventures, it does mean we start playing around Rag's End instead of the Gold Goblin. As much as I wouldn't mind the Shadowport Sandbox adventure, I would rather stick near the Second Darkness plot (what Joanna may have left of it ;-), which I assume by the presence of the Blot hasn't been abandoned just yet.
Braddon has been tending towards a good alignment despite some questionable behaviours and could be convinced with some effort to build a church anew. But he isn't really into charity and he is trying to be loyal to Saul. His next loyalty would be to the General. So, being CN like Phillip, he'll settle on Phillip's idea rather than Gristav's for now. If you need him to change, let me know. One of the great things about Braddon is I can shift his actions pretty easily without compromising his personality.
We'll work on those Good tendencies after you start spending a bit more time with Phil :P Maybe discuss it over some gambling and honest bloodsport this afternoon.
Just want to point out, that when presented with fallen foes soon to awaken, and standing alone and unsure of his team's status and presence... Gristav struck. Apparently, killed a man. When he learns it, he'll regret it.
He's not so good as he tries to be. But he tries.
As for his motivation, he's supporting Larur, and he doesn't see Larur as being only about profit. Gris might agree, that any delicacy to Larur's motivation is a closely held secret, but Gris believes it to be there.
Sigh... in my defence I did try to make it work...
But really Gristav - suggesting to a rabid and fanatical devotee of Calistria that he should commit himself to honoring and raising up a church of Sarenrae?
We've not yet had our 'faiths diversity' training. Who does HR at the Goblin? :)
Thoughts from the other side of the screen:
So I'm wrong. Gris will say so.