Uncoiled Ambition (Inactive)

Game Master Mowque


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All right! One level down! Time to chat...

1. Did you enjoy it? Was my style suitable for you or not? We can call it quits here and no hard feelings.

2. If we go on, we can do it one of two ways...

A. Very episodic, mini-dungeons like this where you have a clear set task and it is up to you to do it. the tasks will change but each one is self contained. You will level, maybe have a NPC sidekick or two and so on.

B. More difficult, but interesting would be to try and change the angle of the story to that of Sevak's climb. I'm not sure how to add this political element into it. I have been pondering it for days now and still grappling with it, but is that something you want to do?

3. Do you like the character? I always allow a level or so for a total re-build in case you want to throw it out and start over.

Thoughts?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Let's see if I can put my thoughts into coherent form in between running tests here...

1) I enjoyed it in general. Having to try to maneuver around these much more powerful enemies instead of tackling them head-on was enjoyable, if sometimes a bit nerve-wracking. :D It's not something I'd want to do every time, but I wouldn't avoid it in the future, either, if that makes sense.

It's been hard for me to put a finger on what in the scenario bugged me... I think it was that it felt like I had to speak with Rasthiss to find out the genies' weakness. It would have been nice to be able to get some clues on my own, so that it didn't feel like going and running into the two genies first was something of a dangerous waste of time before picking the one right way to get the information I needed. Does that make sense?

2) I would like to go on. I was thinking what would be interesting to do would be to kind of blend option A into option B--basically, as Sevak continues succeeding at more and more dangerous and impossible tasks, he draws more attention from Iskassala. Perhaps at lower levels this would just mean that, instead of receiving missions from and reporting to an underling, she herself speaks with him. Then as he continues to be successful, she starts 'requesting' his presence for other matters, whether that be as someone to offer a few humble suggestions as she talks her way through a problem, or to serve as her representative to some dignitaries or some such who have come to visit.

Of course, as he gets this kind of attention, he'll probably start getting both enemies and allies in her court... and at the same time, he'll be developing his own naga form, which could set him up to eventually form his own independent faction. Or possibly Iskassala will take him on as a sort of protégé, or... yeah, there's lots of options, but that's a ways in the future. Does that sound good/like something you could work with?

Oh, a thought on the missions--I would like them being rather varied. Everything from dungeons to diplomacy to wilderness exploration would be cool, if you can pull it off. Perhaps as he rises in influence his opponents will keep suggesting different kinds of missions in an attempt to find something he'll fail at?

3) Yes, I have been enjoying Sevak, even though this little adventure put him rather out of his element. I've tried to build him to be as versatile as possible, with an eye towards being semi-competent in a wide variety of areas. Of course, at this low level, it's kind of difficult for him to fulfill that ideal, but at higher levels he'll be able to Wild Shape more (always useful for circumventing a number of obstacles), have a larger selection of spells, and of course just generally be tougher and more powerful.

The only thing I've been debating about is his Int--it feels like, in a nation of serpentine beings, cleverness and cunning would be important, and I kind of played him as rather crafty, even though he's got a strictly average Intelligence score. But really, I just don't have the points to spare for it--he needs good Wisdom to be a Druid, I want good physical stats so he can stand alone in combat, and I don't want to drop his Charisma any because I want him to be decent at Diplomacy. So I don't think I'll tweak that any.


Very well.

Feel free to level up now. Do you need any input on me from that?

I will try to work in some intrigue aspect then.

Do you want to RP that now or do you just want to get thrown into the next mission?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

I think I'd like a little bit of denouement here--just some brief words about what happens with the priests would suffice, and perhaps a scene of Sevak being 'debriefed'.

No rush on the intrigue aspect--I'm thinking that Sevak's ambitions won't really be awakened until 6th level, when he gets Naga Form and starts thinking, "Hey! I could be something other than a servant!"


Works for me!

Always nice to level up as a caster.

Was this 'segment' too long, too short or just right?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Ummm... I think it was a good length, though I think I'd like some of the missions to take multiple in-game days, too. Again, variety is good. :D

Oh! Should I do anything unusual for snake!Rashthiss's stats? I was just remembering, I'd like to play out a short scene of Sevak forming his bond with the snake before ending this mission--probably the morning after the current in-game day.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

There, I think I finally finished leveling Sevak up. Highlights:

*3rd level spells
*Natural Spell feat
*Stated out Rasthiss


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Oh, I thought I'd mention--I get the feeling Nagajor is supposed to bear some resemblance to the medieval kingdoms of Southeast Asia... an area and period I know little about. So in those moments when I'm bored waiting for something, I've been doing a bit of a wiki-walk through the history of the area. Here are a few nations that I think could probably be mined for ideas for this campaign:

The Khmer Empire, a powerful empire centered in what is now Cambodia.
The Champas of Vietnam, a less-unified culture that seems to have been based on trade.
The Medang Kingdom of Java, which built the enormous temple of Borobudur.

I've only skimmed the Wikipedia articles on these nations, but it seems like they'd be a starting point for thinking about the culture & politics of Nagajor.


Thank you for the links.

Happily, I a historical person by nature (although my personal area of history is Early Industrial America) and a research librarian by trade.

I think we can work in some titles and political systems from those lands....and maybe the food as well? With a reptile bent, I suppose!


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

My knowledge of history comes primarily from games and historical fiction, with the occasional History Channel program mixed in. XD As such, I mostly know about medieval/renaissance Europe, Rome, colonial America, WWII, and anything that shows up in any of the Sid Meier's Civilization games. So I'd actually heard of Angkor Wat and Borobudur before, thanks to them showing up as wonders in Civ, but I knew nothing about the nations that built them until my Wikipedia browsing this week. I can't say I know a ton about them now, but I at least now know they existed. Which is a pity, since it seems from my brief exposure now that they were some pretty interesting cultures, but there's only so much time to learn about history.

So anyway, I'll keep poking around when I have time and see if I can find more specific things to suggest, but I figured you'd be in a better position than I to learn more about them.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

I bought a Courtier's Outfit--I figure he'll need something nice to wear for negotiations. I also switched a couple of spells around.


SPOILER: I love that feeling when you find the perfect entry in the bestiary.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Uh-oh, should I be worried? :D


Perfect doesn't mean deadly but thematic, interesting and fitting.

Ok, fine, it means deadly.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Well, Sevak will just have to be more deadly!


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

I guess the summary for this episode would be--Sevak will try to be the hero, but if he sees danger he doesn't think he can handle, he'll be warned off.


A very different adventure this time...


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

I did ask for variety. :D


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

So... are you enjoying running this? I try not to be a difficult player to GM for, but I know I'm not always successful in my efforts.


Sevak Iskassala'naj wrote:
So... are you enjoying running this? I try not to be a difficult player to GM for, but I know I'm not always successful in my efforts.

Why do you ask? Something wrong?

My only fear for this one was, I left it a little sand-boxy so more then a bit concerned we'll get lost in the 'weeds'. Make sense?

What about you? Enjoying it?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Nah, nothing wrong. Just hard to tell sometimes what the person in front of the other screen is thinking.

I'm... well, I'm realizing how comfortable I've gotten with rails over the past few years of mostly playing AP's. XD So this has been getting me out of my comfort zone a bit. Which is good! I don't want to get stuck in a rut. It just makes me nervous. XD


We might have reached too far, but what else is gaming for? I will try to provide more direct routes to victory.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Eh, I wouldn't say we reached too far, just that my comfort zone needs some stretching. :D


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

I suspect you were kind of joking, but... I've been realizing that, in spite of talking about intrigue and such, I've made a character who is psychologically unsuited for it. I just can't really see Sevak doing a lot of the sort of things that need to be done to survive court intrigue... whoops. XD


Is that going to be a problem? I mean, every future adventure can be 'hack through these dwarves' if you like. And that can be fun.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

It's not necessarily a problem... as long as I can figure out what I actually do want to do with Sevak. Perhaps his experience here will so sour him on intrigue that he'll subsequently go to great lengths to avoid it? Certainly this assassination attempt is making him rather upset with the whole idea.

On the other hand, I certainly don't want it to devolve into pure combat, either... so that leaves the question of exactly what I want it to be. XD I'll keep mulling it over. Sorry I'm being kind of difficult.


Not difficult, just now I'm unsure of what kind of game you want/works for Sevak.

We can go full rails, if you like.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Eh, I don't think I need more rails... I think I just made a character unsuited for intrigue. XD I generally take a while of play to figure out a character, and while it can sometimes result in something awesome, sometimes it can end up clashing with what I was planning for them. And in this case, I think Sevak ended up a bit too much of the heroic yet humble servant to really play well for intrigue.

And to a certain degree, I'm feeling out solo Pathfinder, which is not quite like the free-form games that I've done solo before. Which is part of why I wanted some variety, so I could figure out what I like to do in it. So I think, for the next bit, some wilderness exploration would be good. Maybe he'll have to go chasing a rumor of a lost temple in the Valashmai Jungle that's supposed to have an ancient artifact in it. And maybe if I like that better he'll end up discovering evidence of an ancient rising evil in the jungle he'll have to chase after or some other cliche. And of course, that could include some negotiation with native tribes in the area or something.

But the truth is... I'm really not sure until we try it. XD


Is it You being ok with it or actually Sevak? It is pretty intrigue-y.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Both. Sneaking around is more his skillset and my preference than trying to figure out how to talk people into doing what I want them to. XD


Ok, just wanted to ask since we had some doubts about the character.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Okay, just brainstorming here, so no need to respond.

*Ideally, no one sees me. I'm breaking and entering, and it'd be pretty hard if there were any witnesses for them to *not* identify Sevak. But my chances of no one seeing me are pretty low.
*That wizard almost certainly replaced the Alarm spell. If I'm lucky, I can Dispel it, but I only have one Dispel Magic memorized.
*I won't have Wild Shape, but I'll probably want Kazeem with me, anyway.
*I don't want to kill anyone even if they spot me. I'll be in enough trouble breaking and entering, adding murder would be bad... and Sevak wouldn't murder people for doing their job, anyway. Well, unless that job was killing him.
*What would *really be nice to do would be to purchase some scrolls or other magic goodies... but I don't have any money, so that's out.
*I still don't know where the letter actually is. In fact, I'll probably have to read it to know it's the right letter. Which means I'm going to have to spend time searching, which will be... difficult.

Hmmm....


Go earn/beg/borrow/steal some money?

I am leaving this open-ended, I have no idea how you should do this. GM just causes problems, doesn't solve them.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Oh, I'm well aware, I'm just being kind of slow thinking my way through this.

So, I've listed out my problems. What are some solutions?

*The window at least gives me another point of entry... assuming they haven't boarded it up, but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it.
*That study seemed a likely first place to look. The writing desk, if it has drawers, could definitely have some letters in it, as could the cabinets. Hopefully it's not in the safe, or I'm out of luck unless I can figure out some way to crack a safe.
*Kazeem might have to pull another distraction if there are a lot of night guards. Hmmm... what if he tried to break in first? Could he draw away the wizard without being caught? Seems risky, but possible. Of course, he's been seen with me, so that still points back at Sevak more than I'd like.
*Earning enough money for some third-level spell scrolls in a day seems difficult. I could maybe trade that cloak for one, but it seems unwise to get rid of the Master's gift in the city... he might take that as an insult.
*What would really be nice is more info on the Red House. Maybe find out where the guards like to drink after duty and chat them up? A bit risky, since Sevak has zero anonymity, but... well, I'm going to have to take some risks here. There's no safe way to do this.
*Stray thought--it would be funny if there's another assassination attempt on Sevak in the middle of all of this.
*Should I wait for another day to make the attempt? That gives them more time to fix their window, but it also means I'd be able to swap my spells around and I'd have my Wild Shape back. I suppose... I'll have to look and see if it would be legal for him to just go to bed four hours early, wake up a couple hours before dawn, and get his spells and wild shape back right before doing this. An hour or so before dawn might be the best time, anyway, since the guards would probably be at their most tired then, as long as I don't do it too close to the time they change the guards.
*Should I bring Rasthiss with me? I could have him watch my back. On the other hand, he doesn't exactly know how to knock people out instead of killing them, which is undesirable.

Hmmmm... I may be overthinking this. XD


Over thinking is the best part of any heist. I love planning them.

You just need to hire a professional thief.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

You know, I may need to. Certainly having someone who could crack that safe would make me feel better about my chances of finding the letter I'm looking for.


Pay them in loot, I guess?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Pay is going to be a problem... but he'll definitely need help for this.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

I'm not asking for GM help here... but it seems like Sevak would definitely ask his expert's opinion on this subject. :D


Once you get this, we can wrap up this whole mission, it has dragged on long enough. Sevak needs abandoned cities to explore, not board meetings to rig (I have players who live to rig board meetings).


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Honestly, with the right character I'd enjoy a more underhanded game, but Sevak just... isn't right for such things. Exploration suits him much better, both in terms of skills and temperament.

I still think there's something interesting to do with him rising in power in Iskassala's court, I'm just... not sure what it is yet. Maybe he'll have to learn to let allies take care of this kind of thing for him? XD I'll keep mulling it over and see if I can figure out what I want in that regard, but a nice exploration mission would definitely be nice next.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Poor Sevak. He never wanted to break into people's offices and set them on fire, but now he feels like he has to. XD

More seriously, I thought at first that I could have some fun summoning dire rats and distracting the guards with a giant rodent infestation, but then I realized I'd traded out spontaneous casting for his archetype. First time I've ever really regretted not being able to spontaneously cast summon nature's ally...


Actually it doesn't have any DR.


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Very glad the RNG liked Sevak there. That could have gone very poorly if the demon had hit more often.

Anyway, interesting bit of self-discovery--even knowing it's a completely fictional situation, I still feel a bit guilty for setting a fire even as a distraction, and would definitely have felt bad about setting the library on fire had there been reason to make good on that threat. XD Which is probably why I'm shying away from the intrigue angle of things, now that I think about it. Intrigue usually means dealing with blackmail and corruption rather than, well, getting rid of the blackmail and corruption. And apparently I don't enjoy that kind of thing even at the distance of a character I'm role-playing.

So yeah, interesting thing to learn about myself there. It seems like there should still be something interesting to play with there... but I think I'll just mull on that for a while during whatever Sevak's next adventure is. :D


Interesting. Most players I have turn to fire and destruction as the first option. A player with a conscience? How novel!


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Isn't it crazy? :D

In seriousness, it's not the destruction that bothers me, it's the... lack of justification, I guess? I mean, I'd have no trouble burning down an enemy fortress if they'd just wiped out a village, enslaved the women, etc. Well, as long as I was sure no slaves were in the fortress. But in non-wartime conditions? It just doesn't sit right with me.

Or maybe it's just a sense of... fairness, of justice. Yes, there's the possibility that the Red House was involved in the destruction of the Floating Tulip... but if it was, the just thing to do is to (legally) get evidence and have them brought to a court of law, not engage in vigilante vengeance.

I guess this usually doesn't come up for me because 99% of stereotypical adventuring involves immediate threats to life or limb where it's not really practical to think about trials. XD I do often end up playing the character who wants to try to use diplomatic means to resolve situations before resorting to violence, though.


Now, see, you should have told me this. I can provide plenty of games with that as the main angle. We can make something much better for you (and Sevak) if that is your style. Simple adventuring can be dull (as you said, it lacks variety).

So you want more diplomatic angles to your work?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Yes, definitely! Sorry for not saying so before. I really haven't ever sat down and figured out what my actual game preferences are. XD Let's see... I can try to list out some of my other preferences? Hopefully they'll be accurate. I'm apparently not that great at self-reflection.

* I don't really like breaking the law. Unless the laws are just wrong--rebelling against an evil dictatorship is fun. But breaking reasonable laws doesn't appeal to me. I guess I just lean Lawful Good even when I try to play other alignments. XD

* I like variety. Having every encounter best solved by violence is boring. Having every encounter best solved by talking or solving a puzzle would also get old. I'd like to have a mix.

* I like having to get creative with my abilities... sometimes. I don't enjoy being out of my depth all of the time, but having instances where I have to figure out how to use druid spells to accomplish a rogue's work every now and again (for example) is interesting. But an entire adventure that Sevak isn't suited for is too much.

* I enjoy characters just... talking with each other. Honestly, when I do free-form play-by-post games, a big chunk of them often ends up being just the characters discussing their views on life and so forth. Obviously you can get too much of that, but I enjoy having some opportunity for it.

* I do love a good redemption story. One of my favorite recent RPG stories was when some terrific Diplomacy rolls and good arguments involving her history let my bard (and the rest of the party aiding him) convince an ancient red dragon to stop killing everyone and instead share her wisdom in an attempt to keep the tragic events of her past from repeating themselves.

* I appreciate when fantasy is... different. I love Golarion because it's not just Medieval Europe with magic. It throws every kind of mythology and some kinds of history together and somehow makes it work.

* I'm not fond of your typical 'horror' trappings--I actually didn't like the first couple modules of Rise of the Runelords because of this (if you've ever played it).

There's probably some stuff I'm not thinking of. It's... surprisingly hard articulating this. Even after I figure it out. XD

And I guess, if it's not clear, I don't look for everything in this list in every game. These are just some things that, thinking back, I really enjoyed having in some games. Or didn't, for the things I didn't like. :D


So, before you posted I had an idea for a radical new direction for Sevak to take. After your post, I am more convinced it might be the right direction. Here me out.

Sevak returns (hopefully covered in glory) but they have a new task for him. Something different.

The naga want to set up a colony, deep in the jungle, to capitalize on some new natural resources in the region. Sevak will be sent with the first colonists to set up and run this new settlement. Over time it will grow, evolve and be shaped by his choices. NPCs will come and go, the naga will send other agents and servants and special jobs may be required. Locals will need to be dealt with, both friendly and hostile, lands explored and so on.

Thoughts?


Male Nagaji Ex-Druid (Naga Aspirant) 6 | HP 45/45 | AC:18 T:14 Fl:15 | CMB: +6 CMD: 18 | F +8 R +5 W +10 | Init +2 | Perc: +15 Sense Motive +13 | Wild Shape 2/2
Spells:
2nd Aggressive Thundercloud, Bull's Strength, Barkskin, Animal Trance (D) | 3rd Dispel Magic, Resist Energy Communal, Greater Magic Fang (D)
Current Effects:
Fatigued

Hmmm... that does sound pretty interesting. Would we be using the rules from Ultimate Campaign for building the settlement, or will we not get that in-depth into that part of it? I'm assuming Sevak would fairly frequently have issues to resolve that take him away from the settlement.

But yes, that does sound good! Let's give it a try.

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