The Great (Pathfinder) Society...in Magnimar!
Game Master Eric Swanson

OK Guys,

Here is the discussion thread. Please post with your alias to confirm your interest in this game. Also, feel free to describe what you are currently doing in Absalom and where you are at.

It is currently 22 Rova 4708 (Wealday)

I am here, and somewhat pleasantly surprised. I had kinda figured that Ganer was a little out there as characters go.

As for what he is currently doing, Ganer is at the Cathedral of Failure in the Ascendant Court. He is looking over the shrines, trying to determine what each person chronicled there did wrong.

Hello :) Thankyou for accepting me I am looking forward to playing :D

Ratcliff is finishing off a scroll in his home, the sewers. He senses his Kin scurrying near him yet still he feels alone. He pulls at his wiry whiskers before returning to his work.

I think I still have a few random things to finish off but not much

Thank you for the acceptance as well as for running this game, Eric. This looks like it will be a fine group, and I look forward to the fun we'll have. I'll admit, I have only played in rather large groups in my prior play by post experience and I am excited to play in a smaller group. I am currently on vaccation in Maine with my family, so my posting will be a bit spotty till about Sunday, but I'll be very available then!

Gared would have done his best to find an honest and humble inn keeper of any race, and volunteer his services in any way he could in exchange for room and board. Plenty of quiet dedication to spare from this old dwarf. *winks and smiles*

I think everything is pretty much fleshed out with his character sheet other than the question of weather or not he could have a strength rating on his composite longbow if it is the only real item of any value he would keep. RAW, it's beyond his reach at first level, and I'm alright either way. Thank you again, and I look forward to seeing you all tableside, so to speak.

No sweat guys, just waiting on Signore/Horven to join us here.

I am probably going to do this in Media Res...which mans we jump right into things, he he.

Also, for Combats to speed things up, I will roll for initiative and then you can post your actions whenever you want. I will adjudicate results according to your initiative rolls. I will also post map links when combat starts.

I believe in having players roll their own dice, so I will ask you to roll skill checks as needed. Feel free to be proactive though and roll them if you so desire (Perception and Stealth checks you can never have too many.) On occasion, I will make secret rolls for you, but they will be rare.

Please respect the Spoiler tags...if you do not peek it makes things more fun for everyone involved IMO.

BTW, if you have any rules questions or suggestions/concerns, please bring them up here in the discussion thread. We are here to have fun, and I am willing to listen to your concerns.

I will start the Game thread on Monday, which should give me time to select an avi for my alias, he he.

Sorry, had a power outage yesterday, but here I am and happy to be a part of this.

At the moment, Horven is trying to find out if he needs a license to sell his carvings and asking various traders about the matter.

My but this is a motley crew. It looks like I'm the closest we have to a tank, which I should be okay at it, so long as I don't wear anything heavier than light armor. Considering that we have two ranged attackers, it's a good thing I picked cause fear for a first level spell rather than obscuring mist.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this group will come together.

Gared isn't designed to be a tank, but he's able to take a hit or two, has excellent saves, and is always melee ready, with or without a bow. With a tanking buddy like Garner, I'm sure the party could hold a line quite well.

It seems to me that this will be a group that uses their wits as least as often as their spells or swords. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to Monday.

I won't lie Ratcliff would crumple with one punch ;) However he is able to deal out a canny chunk of damage God's willing. There is always my master plan of Oil mixed with the Spark spell.

I think that this group looks great, besides it is always more fun to have to actually work as a team :P

Have to agree with Gared can't wait till Monday!!!

We'll definitely suffer because Horven isn't centered around combat, but I'm sure that will change as we get into scuffles ;)

I don't know, you seem like you could do all right. Especially with weapon finesse and 17 dex. Besides, I don't think a rogue is too good in a fight until you have weapon finesse and two weapon fighting.

Oops, I'm still getting used to selecting which alias to use first. . .

That last one was me.

OK guys, sorry about the delay here. Needed to get a root canal done so to take my mind off the pain I will direct you all to the GAME THREAD, he he.

A quick note: You are all equipped with all of your normal gear.

Out of curiosity, how tall is everyone?

3'2"

Six feet tall, one hundred seventy pounds. Also, the stuff that I mentioned as being visible beneath the cloak shouldn't be readily apparent. So anyone that wants to play along, especially if you have a low perception score, should be surprised to discover that Ganer isn't human.

I rolled a 1 on my knowledge check, should Gared know the results of the knowledge check?

Gared: Technically no, but I am assuming the other players would fill you in on what they know (unless they all decide not to tell you, he he.)

Well, Ganer did put out some info before the knowledge check results, so you could base Gared's reactions on that.

Indeed. I must admit I am intrigued by the intrigue of our character's predicament. An old courthouse set by water in a haunted city is an excellent setting for horror! Bravo to our DM!

And Ganer, I think with Gared's perception check he may suspect that your are something other than human, though he doesn't particularly care what race you he is.

He he, I don't deserve any credit for this adventure. That honor does to [name redacted]. I can tell you I am a huge fan of his adventures and of his writing in general.

Ganer/Gared, I will let you two handle how much you know of each others racial details. I will just sit back and watch :)

That's fine with me, though I'm hoping that there will be at least someone in the group that will react with surprise/horror when his true nature is revealed.

I'm kind of looking forward to the cat and rat interchange when it happens. *amused*
Gared is too far gone is his self worth to place any value in fear, and far to wise to judge anyone by anything but their actions. He also is not likely to have any clue what a beastbrood is.

I think Horven is a bit scatter-brained right now to wonder what Ganer is. Right now, he's concerned about making sure someone has his back...or, at least, a flanking partner ;)

OK it took a while...but finally found the perfect avi for meself, he he.

I think Ratcliff has some kind of animal instinct warning him about Ganer but he doesn't have a clue why ;)

Oh and my character is about 3ft 9 inches so fairly tall for a rat.

I thought that I would just mention that I have never played a wizard before so I may not be fantastic!!!

oh and I am from the UK so if I don't post for a while it's because I am sleeping :P

Edit: Just realised Ganer that you have Detect Magic, I will choose a different orison to prepare then if the GM is all right with me changing :)

I wouldn't, from what I understand, detect and read magic are spells that no one should be without.

You're in good company, also. Ganer is my first caster of any sort.

Ratcliff, feel free to change the orisons...err...cantrips prepared if you want to.

BTW you guys are doing fine right now. As you can tell this has a mystery feel to it. I will give you guys some more time to talk and interact with each other before moving things along, he he.

Ganer is at least a foot and a half taller than the rest of the party I think, which amuses me. Nice picture there, dear DM. Also, at your leisure, I'm still waiting on the results of some sense motive checks I rolled earlier.

Haha I am used to playing Clerics or Oracles so got Orisons stuck in my head ;)

Hmm I think I will probably switch out Detect Magic for Read Magic. Feel like that could be more useful :)

Ack! You ninja'd me there! Shall we just say that's what Gared was saying as Horven walked over to the table? Now, onwards to battle!

Sorry about that Gared...I should clarify that was not the start of combat. In actuality, Horven triggered a HAUNT. So what happened is Horven failed to detect the haunt before it manifested.

Actually, Gared would have detected the haunt, but he could not have prevented it from manifesting. Next time, I will be more careful about giving the other players a chance to react to the haunt.

BTW: When combat starts, you will know it, he he.

*grins* Alright then, something to look forward to!

Seeing as Gared wouldn't really know what a haunt was, and only that something alarming was happening, his reaction would be the same.

I am *so* trying not to go Sherlock Holmes on this. Ha ha ha!

Not to sound like a broken record, but I think you missed a sense motive and perception check or two of mine in the confusion with the haunt. Gared is still waiting on his intuition before he continues.

By the way, Eric, in the intro the unnamed human was wearing Iomedae's symbol, but when he touches Patrissa's shoulder he's wearing Sarenrae's. Did I miss something?

Would you believe...a quick change artist? No? Oh ok...for the record he is wearing Iomedae's symbol. Sarenrae does not make an appearance in this adventure, he he.

EDIT: I have come to the realization it is hard for me to keep track of these perception checks. So I am going to assume you are taking 10 on your Perception checks, unless you state otherwise. Please note your 'Passive Perception' score (as if you rolled a '10') on your profile, thanks.

As I indicated to Horven, it takes a move action to perform an active check.

Since we woke up, I've been coming to realize just how inept Ganer is in an investigative role. He's a good diplomat and a better liar, but he has no idea when he's being told a lie. On top of that, of the skills that I wanted, perception was the one that I couldn't get any bonuses on, so it's at the mighty total of. . .1.

Profile updated. I'm sorry if Gared's numerous die rolling is any hassle, but he's inclined to watch, listen, and learn. In real life, that's a relatively unassuming role, but in a role playing game that has an air of mystery to it, that can be a real handful to manage!

Agreed, Gared.

I added in a perception DC for Gared's whispered reply as the base DC for hearing a whispered conversation when someone is standing within 10' under normal conditions. If any of the other PC's or NPC's were interested on eavesdropping, I've found it useful to provide a target for them to hit, plus or minus a couple for conditions such as distance.

Off to bed now! I'm also going to be travelling for a bit tomorrow, so I'm unsure of when I'll be able to post after 10 or so in the morning for the rest of the day.

Has Madge joined the four of us in the north room?

No Madge is still inside the courtroom, holding onto Horven's lantern. Ganer cast Light on his mace so you are all good in the illumination dept.

BTW...I misspoke there, the door is in the WEST wall, the same wall as the double doors inside the courtroom. Sorry about that.

Well...it could've been in the east wall...then the west wall. It is a haunted courthouse. :P

I got goosebumps from the description of the room, Eric! Looking forward to what ever we find, and hope we all make it out of this alive!

Also, on the map, the NPCs have moved into the room we just left. Is that the case?

Thanks Gared! As I have said before, the text is from the heretofore unrevealed author and slightly embellished by me, he he. Doing horror over a PbP is not easy to do, so I do rely on the players to supply their own sense of horror.

I know things are going slow right now, but this is intentional. Once you continue your investigations, things will get quite interesting indeed. And trust me, getting out of here will be more challenging than it looks...

As for the NPCs, yeah, they are hanging back for now and trying not to get in your way, while keeping you guys in sight. They are still present, so if you want to chat with any of them, feel free to do so.

Horven seriously needs his eyes checked. It's been pretty bad for the rogue.

He he...I think it's more likely Horven is...distracted for some reason...

Ha ha, very likely...You're enjoying having Madge around, aren't you?

Gee...(BWA...HA...HA..HA..HA.AH.HAHAHAHAHA!!!) what makes you think that?