To Wear the Carrion Crown (Inactive)
Game Master Haldhin

Awesome, welcome Oorin!

@TSP or Pharasma, whatever... ;)

Okay, game is live.

Sorry for the late posting lately, my wife and I have a 2-month old and surprisingly, he hasn't really been cooperative for my posting schedule lately. Suffice to say, I'm going to make every effort to post between 6-10pm, but it might be later. Sorry for any inconvenience, but I hope everyone understands.

@ Slaughter: Thanks, is that something Prof Lorrimor would know?

@ Slaughter: Thanks, is that something Prof Lorrimor would know?

Yes he should know that.

if asked by common folk, TSP introduces himself as "Arthur" hehehe

reminds me of that scene from the Mechanic hehehe

@ TSP: Okay, thanks!

Also, the casket is actually at the church, not the house (where the party is right now). You'll be going over to the church immediately after this scene though, if you want to incorporate that into your actions.

Good morning everyone, I'm pumped to finally get this thing started!

In an effort to better support the campaign, I've started an Obsidian Portal site for the game. It's mainly going to be a repository for all of the maps, documents, treasure lists, etc that the party has or needs.

I was becoming concerned about only posting links in threads, that eventually they would become buried as the game continued. I'm not a fan of flipping backward in a thread scouring posts just to find a map or a player handout, so I think putting such documents in a single location would be best. I'll continue to post links, this just provides another way to easily find everything.

I'll probably also create a weekly recap in the Adventure Log tab each Sunday so we have a record of what's happened in the game.

The intent is for this to be a resource for the campaign, not something you have to interact with or watch for updates. All the game action and discussion will continue on the Paizo boards.

Obsidian Portal Link

Hey Haldhin thanks for putting all this together. I know how tough it is having a little one, our son is two months old too! Hooray for gamer babies! Anyway, don't sweat it if you need to delay a post every once in a while to catch up on sleep. I for one totally understand.

@Haldhin & @Karl Most of my friends are of the age where they have many young children right now, so I have a fair idea what you're going through. A two-month-late congratulations to both of you. :)

While I'm thinking of it, I figure I should give fair warning that I'm going on my slightly delayed honeymoon in time for my first anniversary this October, for a few weeks. It's... unlikely I'll be able to post while I'm away during that period. That's still a ways off, but this way I don't surprise you with this out of the blue.

Unrelatedly, do we have an idea when Oorin will be jumping in?

@ Karl: No problem, I'm having a blast. And congrats to you! What are the odds?

@ Roland: Thanks man, and nice on the honeymoon, that's awesome. Can't believe you don't think you'll be posting though... ;)

Oorin was having some issues and he was rebuilding the character - same idea, just putting it into the character builder again. He told me last night that he wanted to join asap.

My plan is to keep the story moving and just let him hop in whenever he arrives.

Sure, we can assume he's just quietly grieving until he speaks up.

Hey Roland, Congrats to you too. So, let's keep it moving then, shall we?

Okay, I'm all set. Sorry for the slight delay but not only did Hero Lab crank out the wrong numbers but I can't edit or delete the old Oorin alias so I had to create another one; that's why there's that silly asterisk next to my name. There are some slight differences, mainly in starting skills and known spells, but most of the character is identical. I like the avatar better too (except the spectacles) but at least it's the right hair color.

Welcome to the game! Don't worry, we just barely got started so it won't seem strange that you haven't posted yet.

It is strange that you can't change your avatar - I haven't had any problems with it. You should be able to go to "My Account" at the top of the page, and all your messageboard aliases are listed in the left-hand side. There's an edit button for each alias that allows you to change things like avatar picture.

If you're still having problems with it I'd ask in the website help portion of the messageboards.

Oh man, Oorin's avatar looks like a boss.

Glad to have you with us.

Oorin* welcome aboard :-)

I like the spectacles.

Welcome the party Oorin!

Hooray Oorin! Glad to have you along!

Glad you could join us, Oorin!

Morning people, seems like we're moving along nicely. Appreciate everyone's efforts so far, seems like we've got a fun group. :)

Got a couple of administrative items I wanted to mention.

First, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the next series of story posts. They require me to include some sizable text blocks pretty much verbatim, so the posts will likely be fairly long. I will reduce the standard viewing size where possible by using 'spoiler' tags, but I just wanted to give everyone the heads up.

Second, I'm going to be using group xp tracking. What I'll do is give everyone a few days notice before the characters actually level. My thinking is that will give everyone time to get characters updated, then players can post the leveled versions when it happens in game. Will that work for everyone?

Third, creating magic items... Is anybody thinking about taking one of the crafting feats aside from Brew Potion and Scribe Scroll? I'm fine if that's the case, but since we're doing party xp rewards, individual characters won't have xp to spend. Not a big deal, I'll figure something out, but I wanted to see if people were considering crafting feats before I really started thinking about it.

Finally, my plan is to continue playing through weekends. Please let me know if that causes an issue for anybody.

That's it, thanks.

I'm cool with group XP tracking.

I certainly can't speak for everyone, but I had no intention to take anything beyond the Brew Potion feat I came with, so no item creation problems on my end.

And, I'm perfectly okay with weekend play, so I think that covers everything from me. :)

No big deal on the story posts. AP's = box text. It's to be expected. Group XP is fine by me as well. Now if only I could get Treantmonk's ranger guide to open on my phone.

As for crafting, I hadn't planned to do any with this character, but I guess I'm curious about your stance on the Leadership feat once we get to higher levels. Would it be ok to set up a crafting henchman?

Last, I thought there was no xp cost for crafting in Pathfinder. Of course, it's your game, so if you're ruling that there is an xp cost, I can live with it, as long as you let me play my totally OP and way unbalanced homebrew class. ;)

As for crafting, I hadn't planned to do any with this character, but I guess I'm curious about your stance on the Leadership feat once we get to higher levels. Would it be ok to set up a crafting henchman?

Let me answer like this... I'd rather not have the party in a situation where somebody feels like they have to take Leadership in order to get the stuff they want at the prices they want to pay. To that end, there will be situations during the campaign where you can build relationships with people and/or organizations that might be able to provide similar (if not exactly the same) function as a 'crafting henchman'.

As the DM, I'd rather set up something that makes sense in game than have characters feel like they need to spend a feat on Leadership for crafting items.

So I'm not against it per se, but I hope nobody feels like they have to do it.

Last, I thought there was no xp cost for crafting in Pathfinder. Of course, it's your game, so if you're ruling that there is an xp cost, I can live with it, as long as you let me play my totally OP and way unbalanced homebrew class. ;)

Ah, you're absolutely correct. I was thinking about the group xp thing and the MIC rules for Pathfinder just slipped my mind. Sorry for any confusion. That's what I get for doing campaign research while rocking the baby at 3am. ;)

And yeah, I'll have to decline on that, I think one homebrew class review per campaign is about my limit. :)

Yeah I don't have a problem with reading the occasional big block of text. Group XP is fine (and how I usually run my own games, just for simplicity sake).

As for crafting, I don't plan on making anything other than mass quantities of holy water (and not for sale). I'm also really against the idea of getting a cohort just to use as crafting slave labor. Doing such a thing would have severe repercussions in any of my games - I consider it rules abuse and not at all in the spirit of the game - but that's just me.

And yeah, you already figured it out but Pathfinder removed XP penalties for crafting so it's a non-issue.

Chiming in to say that I have no problems with your plans, DM Haldhin.

Good night.

Let me answer like this... I'd rather not have the party in a situation where somebody feels like they have to take Leadership in order to get the stuff they want at the prices they want to pay. To that end, there will be situations during the campaign where you can build relationships with people and/or organizations that might be able to provide similar (if not exactly the same) function as a 'crafting henchman'.

As the DM, I'd rather set up something that makes sense in game than have characters feel like they need to spend a feat on Leadership for crafting items.

So I'm not against it per se, but I hope nobody feels like they have to do it.

This is an eminently fair and reasonable solution and as such I must rail against it! Yeah, just kidding. Seriously though, this works really well for me, I just hope Karl's low Cha doesn't keep him out of the running for these sorts of things. Thanks as always for your timely response.

No problems for me. I think, for PbP anyways, group XP is best.

As for magical crafting, I highly doubt it even though, as a wizard, I would be one of the most likely to do so. In part, ever since 3.0 I've never particularly cared for the rules dealing with crafting magic items. Also, and this is purely personal preference, I've always felt that mid to high level magic items should be something you're rewarded with, not something you crank out for yourelf in your spare time.

Also, and this is purely personal preference, I've always felt that mid to high level magic items should be something you're rewarded with, not something you crank out for yourself in your spare time.

Here, here.

I'm new to this PBP thing, so if I keep saying "sorry about this or that," it's because I'm not totally familiar with the etiquette and what I should, or should not be doing. So, yeah, sorry. ;)

Also, my weekend at present is technically Thursday and Friday, I work some bizarre hours, and I have internet access at work. So if I seem to post a lot, at strange hours, that's the reason. I'm certainly not trying to hog the thread. Just let me know if I should ease off.

Fun so far! Hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as I am! :D

Sunday is my RL gaming day. In a few hours I'll be heading out and I won't be back for quite a while, but after I do get back, I'll be free to post.

All the posting has been top notch AFAIC. Enjoy RL gaming Michael. That's one thing I definitely miss with the new baby.

All the posting has been top notch AFAIC.

I agree; seems like a solid group.

I've changed my alias name to Oorin's full name since I got tired of looking at that ugly asterisk.

Hey Haldhin, I found this map of Ustalav on another Obsidian Portal page and thought you might want it for the campaign page.

I agree about the posting, I've been really happy with how we've started.

Oorin (and everyone), I'm fine if you want to use spells, feats, equipement, etc from any of the published Paizo sources. The initial restrictions were only for character creation.

Only a couple of caveats: first) I'll say is that if anybody finds something that totally destroys the fun in the game, I'll probably step in to try and mitigate it. But generally speaking, I prefer to err on the side of "let the players have it and tweak later as needed" instead of "NEIN! NEIN! NEIN!".

Caveat the second: if you decide the character is going to take levels in a prestige class, let me know a few levels ahead of time. I like to include an in-game link for prestige classes if possible, so giving me a heads up gives me a chance to include something for the character in the campaign.

Thanks for the map link, I like it!

@Haldhin My initial pitch for Roland included the intention to pursue a prestige class, so hopefully that was enough warning. ;)

I took a look at the "Master Chymist" requirements and it looks like level 8 is where I'll be able to take the first level in it. Prior to that I intend to built up to the... uh... split that is inherent in the class. I may also set up a separate alias for the alter-ego.

I'm not planning on any Prestige classes for Karl, but my intention is for him to dip rogue at 2nd level (maybe 4th level as well) and otherwise play straight switch-hitter.

I recall that in Roland's original submission, and it won't be a problem. You and I will need to work through a few in-game questions and answers to fill in some details, but nothing that would derail your plans.

I'm always fine with multiclassing between base classes.

I guess I also need to know if anybody wants to go gunslinger. I'm not currently planning to support firearms in the campaign, so I'll have to do some extra work to get suitable rewards included.

The only Prestige Class I would consider taking would be Loremaster (though I've never played one before). I can easily see Oorin becoming fascinated by multiple areas of study. IIRC (I don't have the book in front of me), that isn't available until 8th level anyways so plenty of time to think about it.

I recall that in Roland's original submission, and it won't be a problem. You and I will need to work through a few in-game questions and answers to fill in some details, but nothing that would derail your plans.

I look forward to it!

Alright I'm back. Had a good game today (though the cavalier in our group got insta-glibbed by a phantasmal killer spell. Death effects on a level 4 party? Ugh). How's everybody doing?

Michael, glad you had fun. I'm with Karl, table gaming is something I'm having to forgo for a while - at least until I can teach my son how to roll dice himself. :)

In other news, apparently Obsidian Portal requires a subscription in order to upload more than one map. I'm going to get the subscription tonight and get that Ustalav map up asap.

All, I wanted to let everyone know that I'll be out of town Sunday, June 17, and I won't be able to make any posts that day.

Typical posting will resume Monday, June 18.

Wow, 16 new posts and I still don't have anything to respond to, lol. Guess that's what happens when you split the party. Still, it's interesting to read the back-and-forth between Roland and Arthur.

From a meta perspective, I believe the protection from evil spell grants the subject immunity to possession, which will is a ghost's most dangerous ability.

Heh, yeah, when I logged in and saw all the new posts I thought, "Holy Crap! What did I miss?" Turns out to be Roland and "Arthur" boozing it up. You should never let Alchemists into bars ☺.

I just want to know if I fell off that roof...

I just want to know if I fell off that roof...

Reflex save to react and catch Karl if he falls off the roof: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15 (Damn Divine Grace not coming until level 2!)

Let's hope I roll high...

My Hero! *bats eyelashes and swoons*

Me too, we were running around this morning, I got home at lunch and was like WTF? Good surprise though! :)

Prot Evil does prevent Malevolence, the ghost ability.

I've updated the Gameplay thread, no you didn't fall, thanks to a +5 circumstance I was planning to give you. Besides, I've climbed on enough barns to know it's not really that hard.

The field that we're currently in: where is it on the Ravengro map? I'm trying to get a sense of where the different trails would be going to/coming from..

Bottom right of the map, next to the compass rose.

The north trail leads to the rectangular building NW of the N in the compass rose.

The western trails lead toward the back of the building labled M2 (side facing SE). It appears these trails lead through the creek, not to the bridge immediately to the north of M2.

Sorry guys - I should have given you a heads up but I'm on the road most of this weekend with limited access to internet. Feel free to DMPC me as necessary.