The Haunting at Helorus (Inactive)

Game Master goodwicki

Closed weird west horror campaign using an amalgam of various d20 systems.


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HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

Better late then never they say, welcome Corey/James looking forward to gaming with you!


Narrator / GM
Louie Speek wrote:

Assuming healing non lethal is 1 hp per level per hour? Or different in this combat system?

Correct; characters heal 1 HP/hour of non-lethal damage and 1 HP/day/level of lethal damage.


Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)
The Haunting at Helorus wrote:
Louie Speek wrote:

Assuming healing non lethal is 1 hp per level per hour? Or different in this combat system?

Correct; characters heal 1 HP/hour of non-lethal damage and 1 HP/day/level of lethal damage.

you said correct, but then you said something different than what Louie said... does non-lethal damage heal at 1/hour or 1/level/hour?


Narrator / GM

1hp/hour/level


Narrator / GM

FYI though I haven't been ninja'd yet, I'd just like to let everyone know to please wait about 10 minutes after my gameplay posts, then refresh the thread before posting yourselves - I'm often going to be posting chains of events from different characters/perspectives, and though I write them all up ahead of time, sometimes the site can be a bit troublesome. 10 minutes should be sufficient for me to post the next piece of a series, so after that you can assume I'm done posting and should feel free to chime in.


"Do Good" Doctor | HP 20/20 (40/40) | AC 12 (T 12 / FF 12) | CMD 10 | *F 14 / R 11 / *W 13 | Init +0 | Perception & Sense Motive +2 | Reputation +2 | Speed 30' | Action Points: 6 | Active Effects: none

Oh there are going to be ninjas in the campaign as well?!? awesome! J/k


Narrator / GM

@Thom: Helorus is "Nestled amongst the hills about twenty miles north of the Erie Canal and nearest rail line".


Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)

Well... sh!t. Did I notice the telegraph line during the carriage ride up here? If not I'll go somewhere and ask for directions.


HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

If the rail schedule allows a fast horse might get to the station and the lawyer before the train departs.

Erie Railroad maybe?

Map

1899 timetable


Narrator / GM

I don't have my map with me at work, but regardless the town is 20 miles from both the Erie Canal and whatever R&R line runs alongside it at that point.


Narrator / GM

I'd like to point out that Virgil hasn't simply vanished from the face of the Earth; he'll be staying at a barn just on the southern outskirts of town with his stage and team, and is available for transport purposes should anyone desire them.


Narrator / GM

Sorry guys, I've had a busy weekend - will have gameplay up tomorrow.


Narrator / GM

Let me know if anyone else would like to accompany Miss Pallaver and I will update tonight or tomorrow.


Narrator / GM

Alright, I'm assuming that only Oculus is accompanying Katherine and everyone else is staying at the Pallaver House.


HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

So being my first online campaign, should theorizing/ table talk be handled with in character exposition? What if you've got an idea for another player/character that's not based on your character's knowledge? And is this kinda thing frowned upon, or encouraged? I'm used to a collaborative D'n'D kinda play style, but don't know if it breaks immersion, or the intent of the scenario.


Narrator / GM

Basically, if it's in-character collaboration, do it in gameplay; if it's out-of-character collaboration, do it in discussion. If you have thoughts/suggestions that rely on knowledge your character doesn't have, it should go in discussion.

For gameplay, you don't have to do everything with actual dialogue. You can easily use something like 'Louie explains his thoughts on the situation, which are that he should be in charge due to his superior culinary skills and that the party should burn Helorus to the ground on general principle.' You guys can also debate a course of action out-of-character in discussion and once a consensus is reached, post the decision in gameplay: 'After much debate, Louie agrees to continue aiding Katherine Pallaver and leave the town unmolested, though he still believes his desired course to be legitimate.'


Narrator / GM

Sorry about the wait, guys; I'll have posts up for both groups tomorrow night.


HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

So here's what I've got gents, too many fresh biscuits and good coffee makes my head go curious places.

It seems peculiar Doc Pallaver updated his will so soon before his death, like he knew his time was up.

"Honor my fate" is what Miss Katherine was yelling in her sleep. Could this be tied to the Doc's death or did he put himself in harms way to protect her?

Curious what Miss Katherine's carpenter's bill was for, maybe her old man's coffin? Maybe some other lead?

What happened to Miss Katherine's mom/ Doc Pallaver's missus?


Narrator / GM

Alright, so compiling book bits for post took more time than expected. Helorus Stone post will be up tomorrow.


Narrator / GM

So now that I've done the first real "book post" I have a two-part question:

  • How do you want the text presented?
  • Do you want as much "real" text as possible, or as much summary as possible with only relevant specific text? The first is possibly more immersive, but also more difficult for me to create and for you to read. The second is probably less immersive, but is easier for me to create and will basically point out to you what's important, and thus require less inference and detective work on your part. I actually lean towards the former, more text method, as I enjoy the process; however, I don't want you guys to feel that the story is being too obfuscated or slowed down by an overabundance of information.
  • Same question as above, but specific to books that are actually real.
  • The King James Bible excerpts are from real biblical apocrypha , but are slightly different than the "real-life" versions (as they appear in a fictional printing of the real-life book.) I included a lot of unedited (by me) text for context; however, I could easily link to the original text and only include replacement text in the post. Or I could just summarize and provide the text that has been altered. This pretty much has the same options as from the question above, except if you'd prefer less text, I could summarize and provide links to real-life books so you could read them in their entirety (adding in the edited bits I provide) if desired.


    Narrator / GM

    Moved book descriptions to my profile page due to character limit concerns.


    "Do Good" Doctor | HP 20/20 (40/40) | AC 12 (T 12 / FF 12) | CMD 10 | *F 14 / R 11 / *W 13 | Init +0 | Perception & Sense Motive +2 | Reputation +2 | Speed 30' | Action Points: 6 | Active Effects: none

    I'm all for detail, but the summary would be good for me. I feel like it will help the story progress.


    Narrator / GM

    On my profile I have updated the KJB books to include a brief summary before the full text.


    Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)

    I've thought about this a fair bit and my preference is also for the summaries. It just gives you a lot more control over what you're revealing and also makes it far easier for me to keep player knowledge separated from character knowledge. For example, I'm far more familiar with the apocryphal texts than my character likely would be.

    Plus my character has 18 Int... I'm a pretty clever dude but I'm not that clever so it's more practical for you to tell me what I figure out instead of me struggling to piece together what my character would know.


    HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

    So I'll weigh in here and say the longer text was great to read as the character recipient and without player/personal knowledge as I am not up on my apocrypha.

    The summaries are great too, both for summing up and giving you as Narrator/GM a chance to distill the character's take/perspective.

    Doing both is probably extra work, but if it is something you like to do, I am appreciative of your creative output when it comes to gaming.


    HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

    As to character Intelligence, 18 is pretty damn clever, 20 is max for low level/young characters using high fantasy point buy.

    Age can add a maximum of +3 at venerable.

    Leveling a maximum of +5 at 20th level.

    So max intelligence of a venerable 20th level heroic intelligence leaning character would be 28 for a +9 bonus.


    Narrator / GM

    I want to give you guys a heads up that things are very busy for me at work at the moment, so I may not be able to update gameplay until the weekend.


    "Do Good" Doctor | HP 20/20 (40/40) | AC 12 (T 12 / FF 12) | CMD 10 | *F 14 / R 11 / *W 13 | Init +0 | Perception & Sense Motive +2 | Reputation +2 | Speed 30' | Action Points: 6 | Active Effects: none

    No worries! Getting back into the groove myself.


    Narrator / GM

    For the sake of expediency I'll allow Thom to pick the lock, but please note the modern equipment details; namely that most toolkits weigh a fair amount, i.e. a mechanical toolkit is 22 lbs (possibly even more in 1875.) Generally you'll need the entire kit to have any effect; a billfold full of tools specifically useful for picking locks or disabling small devices is a lockpick set, not merely a subset of a mechanical toolkit, and may raise questions/interest of a legal nature if found by authorities on one's person.


    Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)

    Fair enough. I was primarily trying to avoid the delay of going back to the house for tools but shall bear this in mind in the future. I apologize for overstepping the bounds of acceptable license taking.


    Narrator / GM

    I'm going out of town for the weekend and will only have internet via my phone, so probably no GM updates until Sunday night or Monday.


    Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)

    Sorry for the delay in my posting- I was convinced that I had posted Saturday.


    Narrator / GM

    Oculus, if you have no interest in the Honin Stone and are waiting on the other party to resolve the mausoleum before posting, you can assume that you make it back to the Pallaver House before them and go from there.


    HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

    So another aside, this time on the not sure where this falls on the knowledge continuum, but the Latin bible might be of interest if the gibberish is some sort of book cipher.

    What’s In A Book? A Brief History of Book Ciphers


    Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)

    I'm having surgery tomorrow and might not be able to post until Tuesday or Wednesday. After that I'll try to keep up but my posting may be a little sparse (and drug addled) for a few weeks. Sorry for any inconvenience. (I'll try to get something up today.)


    HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

    Nate hope the procedure goes easily for you, got you in our thoughts.


    Human Field Technician Squad Leader (skills)

    Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Surgery went well and I'm home recovering.


    Narrator / GM

    I have returned from my internet-less long weekend.

    @Louie: In game, general knowledge of cyphers would be covered by Linguistics. Other skill might apply to a specific cypher on a case by case basis.

    I'll be moving the game forward sometime in the next day or two. Currently I'm assuming everyone will reconvene at the Pallaver House to compare KJBs and discuss further thoughts.

    @Oculus: If you have anything else you'd like to do, whether at the Honin Stone, the Pallaver House, or anywhere in between, you have until I make my next post to do so.


    HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

    Nate, here's to a speedy recovery, glad it went well.

    Ed, welcome back to civilization.

    So possible cipher thoughts:
    roman numerals: what are the first letters of the text on the illustrated pages?
    star from tomb
    marked passages in Pallaver's KJB
    comparison between Pallaver's KJB and the Latin KJB


    Narrator / GM

    Alright, everybody's back at the Pallaver House. Proceeed as thou wilt.


    Narrator / GM

    Ok, I've got James & Thom working on the three books (KJB English, KJB Latin, "Cypher" cross book) for the rest of the day. I'll post up their results today or tomorrow.

    Oculus, Louie, what would you like to do?


    Narrator / GM

    I plan on moving the action ahead tonight, with James and Thom researching the three potential cypher books with help from Louie, and Oculus going through the journal he just found in the chest's false bottom.


    Narrator / GM

    Also, an assumption I will make going forward: Any time your characters rejoin each other and have a few minutes of downtime, any information you've gained will be shared amongst you. This way we don't get bogged down in redundant dialogue and "Did he actually tell me that?" uncertainties.

    This means that if you want your character to keep something secret, you have to post something to that effect. The sharing won't apply to obviously clandestine activities, aka Oculus's theft of the surgical kit he found, or seemingly mundane activities, aka the disposition of Thom's valet.


    Narrator / GM

    I'm going to start adding the in-game date to my posts for reference, so that if a time question/issue comes up it's not an act of literary forensics to create a timeline.

    After eight hours spend looking at various books, it's now solidly evening @ 8 PM. My suggestions are for the party to either discuss new discoveries (aka journal) or retire and state plans for the following day.


    HP 16/16 (32/32) | AC 18 / Touch 18 / Flat Footed 14 | CMD 16 | F* 12 R* 17(Ev) W* 12 | Initiative +4 | Perception +3 /Sense Motive +1 | Reputation +0 | Speed 30 | Action Points 6 | Active Effects: --

    Should we copy the in-game date in our post headers as well?


    Narrator / GM

    @Louie: You can if you like, but it's not necessary; once I advance the time frame with a plot/summary post, it will be assumed that all characters are then functioning in that new time/date.


    Narrator / GM

    Alright gents, you can post up any evening-time discussion, in character or out; if nothing's happening come Thursday night I'm going to assume everyone goes to bed without further ado and advance the gameplay thread to the next morning.

    I'll be out of town this weekend without internet/cell phone access, so I won't be updating after Friday night until Monday night.


    Narrator / GM

    Sorry about the delay; should be back on track this week. Please post any response to Stanislav, and any plans for your day.

    Current threads of active investigation:

  • Translating cypher of mystery book. Results gauranteed by James & Thom collaborating for 8 hours; James alone will have to roll.
  • Why Stanislav was aggravated by Oculus.
  • Albert, Katherine's brother. She seems reticent on the subject; might someone else in town be willing to tell more?

    Current obvious clues not followed up on:

  • Time/location of Dr. Pallaver's death. Katherine Pallaver, Father Grimsby, and Constable Schultz all seem like likely sources for this information.
  • Pallaver's Journal: Dr. Pallaver apparently confided in Father Grimsby; does he know anything relevant to the strange mausoleum or the Doctor's death? It would seem that perhaps Dr. Pallaver had some inkling of the mausoleum's strangeness.
  • A thorough reading of On Verifed Madness; requiring 8 hours. Knowledges relevant to the subject matter may provide further insight to the reader, namely: Behavorial Science, Earth & Life Science. James only skimmed the book.


  • Narrator / GM

    Anyone still reading this besides Oculus?


    "Do Good" Doctor | HP 20/20 (40/40) | AC 12 (T 12 / FF 12) | CMD 10 | *F 14 / R 11 / *W 13 | Init +0 | Perception & Sense Motive +2 | Reputation +2 | Speed 30' | Action Points: 6 | Active Effects: none

    Sorry, things have been crazy since Addie's birthday. I'm getting caught up and will be responding to Stanislav and Thom. Once the mystery book is completed i can move to the On verifes madness or go into town to gather more info if possible

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