Casting divination as the new 4th level domain spell granted by Istas' use of the one-time Pharasmin artifact in the hospice. Essentially, Istas is asking her goddess for guidance in pursuing Ramoska Arkminos and Ruan. Should she give chase? And, if so, where and how? The spell has a 77% chance for a correct divination. It has an instantaneous casting time, so it shouldn't take long. And Pharasma's response can be as cryptic as you'd like to make it. I'm mostly using this spell to enhance the roleplaying potential and give you a chance to steer things storywise in whatever direction helps tie off the way things need to go to carry forward from here.
Best John Cleese. You know the phrase.
I'm taking this one to the party. Do you want to hunt Arkminos down and kill him? I think I can safely promise that it will be an uninspired side trek. ;-p But if you want to hunt him down, I will humbly comply.
No need to pursue him. I know the storyline of all the APs. And, though Istas would personally want to pursue him, it would only be if it supported Pharasma's will. Out of character, I don't believe it would be Pharasma's will as she probably has a different purpose for Ramoska (which will play out in Ashes at Dawn in the Carrion Crown AP). Basically, even an undead creature like a nosferatu can still have a destiny which serves some greater purpose (i.e., avoiding the return of the Whispering Tyrant), whether Ramoska or Istas realizes it or not.
To me, that's how the divination response should come. And it'll help Istas recognize that Stannis is wrong to single-mindedly pursue the destruction of all undead. And the same goes for many other religious zealots among the Pharasmins. While it's certainly important to stop the rise of a cult devoted to Urgathoa (in the case of Lady Andaisin), it's not always the best course of action to stop or even destroy every undead creature. And that includes Ramoska...at this time. That revelation should help Istas transition to a whole new level of wisdom and piety in the faith of Pharasma. And it helps the story of this campaign advance in a way that makes sense without venturing down that side trek.
Well I think you know Heathers reaction..which was always to leave him alone..besides when my witch Andrea meets Ramoska in Carrion Crown she can remind him about his narrow brush with true death at the hands off the famed Istas Wraithscar.(She's from Korvosa and this story will get around)
...besides when my witch Andrea meets Ramoska in Carrion Crown she can remind him about his narrow brush with true death at the hands off the famed Istas Wraithscar.(She's from Korvosa and this story will get around)
Works for me. I rather like Ramoska. The self-loathing and determination to cure his vampirism and die as a man are nice details to flesh him out.
Wellard, he could have walked away after you nearly killed him the first time, but the text indicated to me that he'd be pissed if someone attacked him instead of letting him have his ticket home.
He still had a second dimension door, and invisibility, as well as the drainpipe, so there didn't look to be a lot of risk in coming back for a second round. He was still CR +2 I think. What a difference a level makes.
FYI, looks like Istas is around 9,000 gp in total gear.
However, I only priced the peacebringer dagger as a +1 weapon and don't know what additional value is inherent in it aside from that. I've also not bothered recording her actual money divvied up from any share of the party treasure she's due. In a PbP game, that's almost never necessary. So, I've been assuming her money goes directly to the church unless you drop a shopping spree on us.
Hey, Thom...if it's okay with you, I'd like to retcon the ability score increase to affect Istas' Charisma instead of Wisdom. I'd forgotten about that headband of inspired wisdom +2 we took off Lady Andaisin. And, I'd really like to power up Istas' Charisma a bit further to ensure she can more capably apply her channeling and exclude more targets with Selective Channeling. I've got something very specific in mind for her at 7th level in terms of feat selection, too. A nice little character change that's going to come over her as a result of growing in Pharasma's power. Let me know if you're okay with that.
AWOL again. The usual sources. (On the plus side how many people get to hang out inside the combustion chamber of a big gas turbine engine.) I am sorry . Should be posting tonight.
Dabbler, we had the discussion about the war college feat a while back and I had allowed, but nerfed it on balance grounds. Forget that level limit thing, I imposed. We'll use the feat as written. Next campaign I run fighters might get 4 skills anyway.
Also, Dabbler and Bill: Since I no longer have a strength based fighter to "protect". If you want to talk about some of the Dex based attack feats I discouraged earlier, I would probably be receptive. (No guarantees though. Kneejerk reactionism is me all over.)
Wealth check:
Heather 35,000. Really?! How'd I let you get away with that? Did you plan on keeping everything that the Guard supplied? Or would you like to return some of that against a better payday somewhere down the line? Completely your option.
Remember, I only counted the Peacebringer dagger as a +1 weapon...and valued it at 2,000 gp. It detects undead within 15 feet, so that's worth something extra. And I don't know what else you wove into it. We had discussed giving it the undead bane weapon property somewhere down the line, which would kick it up another 6,000 gp. I'm not sure how much that's warranted down the line. Undead aren't really the central theme of CotCT. So, maybe I should go a different direction with it. For instance, the returning or even vicious weapon property might be cool, as well.
I miscalculated somewhere along the line it was actually 28,170 gp plus about 350 for her mundane gear
Heather will keep the following Magical Equipment
5 potions of CLW 250gp
Ring of protection +1 2000gp
Headband of Alluring Charisma +2 4000gp
Bracers of Armour +2 4000gp
Wand of Enlarge Person CL1(25)375gp
Wand of Reduce Person CL1(25) 375gp
Wand of Protection from Evil CL1(25)375gp
Wand of Grease CL1 (20)300
Wand of Magic Missiles (CL3 24 Charges)1080
2 Scrolls of Knock(CL3) 400gp
2 Scrolls of See Invisibility(CL3)400gp
Scroll of Invisibility(CL3)200gp
2 Scrolls of Hold Person(CL5)900gp
2 scrolls of Slow (CL5)900gp
Worth 15555gp..say 15900 with her Mundane gear..against a WBL for 7th of 23,500gp
Sorry, guys, still catching up. TimThom, I'll get you that gear count in the next day or two. I still have to finish updating Keliwyn re: level up, too.
Gratz to Neil on finally getting to do a First Chapter of an AP....perhaps you can tell me how I can shoehorn a Irreseni Winter Witch into it given that it would generally be against her interests to stop Elvanna remaining in power.
I would assume there are plenty of winter witches who have left Irrisen to strike out on their own...or, who might otherwise be opposed to the current ruling class of jadwiga. Perhaps, your particular winter witch is from a prior clan which remained behind when Baba Yaga took their matriarch with her after 100 years of ruling in Whitethrone...maybe even the witch who predated Elvanna? If your PC then had several, continuing confrontations with the jadwiga Elvanna and temporarily left Irrisen to let things "cool down," she could then get swept up in the events of the Reign of Winter AP and ultimately return to her homeland to set things "right" according to her sense of what should be done concerning Baba Yaga's disappearance. There are, for instance, loyalists among the Iron Guard which are far more beholden to the Old Crone than the ruling queen. The same could be true of the former ruling jadwiga clans, as well. Or, you could play a rebellious male witch who resents the fact that female witches are always chosen over men for the throne. Essentially, you've got lots of options to explore a dissenting winter witch with very personal reasons for getting involved.
And thanks. Writing a first installment has been a personal goal of mine for awhile. I sat out The Shattered Star AP so I could more easily work my way out of the high level adventure rotation and take a shot at something lower. Also, this was a very fun adventure premise to work with, and Rob gave me a lot of leeway to impact the storyline beyond just The Snows of Summer. Having a chance to frame and shape some continuing elements of the campaign was especially cool.
The card a PC draws during the choosing has special qualities during this adventure. Each of these cards is tied to a specific encounter in “Escape from Old Korvosa,” and when a PC who drew that card reaches that encounter, he gains a +2 bonus on all rolls modified by Intelligence, and all arcane spells cast by him manifest at +1 caster level. These bonuses last for the encounter’s duration.
Out of commission this past week with a serious autumn cold. Also overworked at the office, as I had to tie-off a number of things before taking a business trip to Orlando next week. Not sure when I'll have time to catch up. Proceed without Istas for the moment. I'll cycle back in when things get back to normal for me. For now, just assume she's working feverishly (ha, I pun!) on finding a cure for bloodveil.
I like them too. But I like all the talky stuff that doesn't require me to know rules.
Neil, sorry to hear about the cold. I can certainly sympathize with work. And of course you have more writing to do. Good luck. Hopefully we see you back soon.
No worries, man. The cold is nearly at an end. And my business trip, as well. I think it's good, however, to occasionally have Istas step out of the frame now and then. The Heather/Sabina scenes do add a lot to the story of the campaign. They deserve center stage now and then, while the other carahcters are off-stage doing everyday normal things. Hopefully, we can say Keliwyn is doing the same thing and Bill will return to us soon.
Heard from Bill. He's been busy and should be rejoining us "SUNDAAAAYYYYYYYYyyyy!"
Can Wellard pick up that reference? It's going to be hard because audio doesn't always transcribe well.
Dabbler:
Sorry to dispel the illusion of DMly omniscience, but my memory may be fading. Who is this "she" in Old Korvosa that Emerion is worried about? Rowena? When Emerion first mentioned friends in Olod Korvosa I thought you were talking about Vencarlos Orsini.
If you can find an excuse to delay that trip for a day, it would work better for me. I'd like to get a little cash and some presents into the party's hands between the queen's celebration and the party at the Carowyn's. If Emerion swings by the bridge, would the presence of a menacing mob on the far side be sufficient deterrence?
I'm okay for now. Not sure how much things will crank up next week. I'm returning to the office after being gone on a business trip for a week. So, I'm sure there'll be a lot to catch up on.
This IS the internet you know ... Alegedly human Expert (IT) 5/Ninja 3/Witch 7
DM:
Yes, Rowena and her father Morino are on the other side, along with Vencarlo, and Emerion is actually worried sick about all three - but particularly Rowena. A mob wouldn't deter him - he'd just find another way around. What I did wonder was if he could infiltrate Old Korvosa 'under cover' and in disguise as it were (he has rogue levels after all) to do some intelligence gathering, depends on how it works for you.
Another possibility that would delay him is if he has to take care of business for his family in their absence, tying up any loose ends they have left behind.
If Rowena has died of the bloodveil it will be very poignant for Emerion, but will be a considerable spur for his future actions. If she has survived it will also stiffen his resolve, although he will try and smuggle her out of the city at the earliest opportunity.
Apologies for reading spoilers in the OOC thread, but it might be interesting if Rowena had contracted the bloodveil, but hadn't succumbed to it yet. That way, Istas' search for a cure would take on greater poignancy as Emerion hovers over her. Maybe Rowena took ill and her father brought her to one of the temples on the other side of the bridge. That way, instead of Emerion going to them in Old Korvosa, they've already escaped and can tell us more about what's going on in Old Korvosa.
Funky new thread / dot / focus behavior has just been general weirdness at my end. The Paizo servers have been up and down. I can not get to my campaign page. My work around is to pull up each alias and go to the last post. Very slow and frustrating.
Actual in game posting will suffer til Teter and company sort this out.
Hey, All, sorry for being absent, but life has been just a wee bit nuts lately. As long as I don't lose power due to hurricane Sandy, I'll try and catch up tonight/tomorrow.
