Thank you so much for applying to this campaign, I really hope we all have a lot of fun together.
If not already done, please create an appropriately named alt and include your stats, background, description, etc in the profile for that alt. I love using myth-weavers too, but for convenience it would be great to have everything a single click away.
Putting together the initial campaign post right now, and may have it already up by the time any of you read this, but feel free to discuss matters like whether any of you have already met before, etc, and please ask away if you have any questions for me!
Cedric has a profile, everything should be there.
I am super excited to start!
My profile should be in order. Thanks for having me.
The avatar is current. I've replaced Grease for Cure Light Wounds.
Checking in, glad to be here.
Took this time to make minor but time-consuming changes to equipment.
Scarf around his neck is bladed, explaination for how he lives through that is in profile under appearance.
Reduced 10 day rations to 5 and dropped grappling hook to get a light crossbow and bolts.
Happy to make any prior connection to anyone, might be nice if we weren't all strangers to each other.
As usual, in my efforts to understand what DM's look for in characters, I ask the DM, what was it about my character that lead to you choosing me?
Zindelo, GM
What do you think the best relationship between Lord Breakbottle and Lady Jana? Both are information brokers. Are they competitors, Lady Jana the relatively new upstart? Does Lady Jana work for Lord Breakbottle? Or do they focus their information gathering in different networks and potentially compare notes?
Once we decide on that relationship, the relationship between Zindelo and Jubal should yield obvious options.
cheers
@Jubal- Great minds think alike, I've been reading backgrounds to see how the group might fit together. I see Lady Jana as old (late 50's) by game standards, she's been at this business for decades, but not as long as Lord Breakbottle! It could be played as any of those, but Lady Jana I see as working for family and friends, and not to be bored(a motive gnomes would understand better than anyone.) I don't see her as mercenary, she has all the money she needs and more. Of course this can be adjusted as to the needs of the campaign. I guess it would depend on each persons goals.
Thinking about it, I think that having different but somewhat overlapping networks, they are sometimes rivals but work together at need. (Both are too good at what they do, not to know what each other really does and keep it to themselves.) They have a mutual respect and will cooperate when it suits them. Since both seem to think this colony plan is a good one they are, for now, somewhat in agreement. They both worked to get their guy on the team and succeeded. They'll assume that person (our PC) are agents for them. (Jana might not know about Lord Breakbottle's other movtive in preventing Jubal's bleaching).
Zindelo would be told that Jubal is related to the Breakbottle family and everyone would assume a noble scion would be loyal to his family. She might not clue him in to all her suspicions though as to not tip him off to Lord Breakbottle's true position.
On the other had we might have worked together on mutually beneficial jobs.
That's getting a bit long, so what do you think?
@Dove - We could have worked together as scouts, on some of those goblin hunts. How does that sound?
@The nobles, Lady Arduinne and Sir Cedric, given your backgrounds, I'm having a harder time coming up with a reason to really know each other. You are the kind of people Lady Jana invites to her soirees, I could have been around but it would have been in a somewhat ranking servants role(He's only a commoner, only a step-nephew, and Heavens! a full Varisian to boot.) It is not well known that Lady Jana is anything other than a charming old lady with an active social life.
@DM I added to the character sheet that Zindelo speaks Varisian, just an oversight I meant to all along. Are you playing with the option that people have the language of their region or ethnicity for free, in addition to common or should I change my goblin to Varisian? Thanks.
I honestly doubt Arduinne would have rubbed shoulders much with the nobility in Magnimar. Her family is considered merchant class rather than noble, although they do have some business contacts in the city. However, she likely has been living in Magnimar for a few months at least, so there's ample opportunity for her to make a chance meeting with one of the others here. (And despite appearances, Arduinne isn't the type to get hung-up on the social class of her acquaintances.)
@Arduinne - I see, yes I was thinking Merchant Princes type noblity(think d'Medici) but your background is a step down from that. How about a trading link between Lady Jana's late husband (a merchant) and your house, along with your talents that would have Lady Jana take an interest? I'm looking for something to link us, both of us are personable but don't seem to have a lot in common.
Interestingly the highest social status is Jubal, that should influence our relationship, but in what way?
@Zindelo
I like the idea that "Lady Jana I see as working for family and friends, and not to be bored." Maybe she's become more like Lord Breakbottle in her old age, maybe as an active or passive role model.
Maybe there networks split like this: Breakbottle has the oldest families, some wealthy and some that have fallen on hard times. He knows where the oldest bodies are buried and is interested in how traditions evolve over centuries. Lady Jana would have the relatively newest families and potential power-brokers. Their overlap could be the middle when the new finally become powerful enough to pique Lord Breakbottle's interests.
Jubal dabbles in his father's hobby, in order to have something to talk to his father about, like sports between father-son in real life. He is an able courtier and wealthy enough to attend whatever Magnimar social event. His primary limitation has been interest; court politics do not interest him.
Jubal is older than Lady Jana, so he is probably aware of her and her hobby. However, he wouldn't necessarily connect Zindelo to her unless you want to.
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@Cedric
Depending on how long you have been in the Lord-Mayor's guard, you could have met Jubal at a social event. Entirely up to you. From your background, politics don't very important to you, so you would probably not know of Lord Breakbottle's hobby. He would just be known as one of the living founders of Magnimar, which begets celebrity and wealth by itself.
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@Arduinne & Dove
I don't see an obvious connection between you and Jubal. Not that there needs to be. You may know of him, because of Jubal's family name, but he doesn't necessarily have to know you. Unless you want to create an encounter. Up to you.
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@GM
When Jubal is selected, I would appreciate the opportunity to research the Coast using his father's and other noble's libraries. As opposed to rolling knowledge at every encounter, I would appreciate a list of things that he can expect and what they can do. In a game mechanics way, he is 'trained' in every knowledge at +2. So maybe he knows a list of creatures up to CR 2 or 4, if you give him a +2 library bonus. For example, I would like him to know all about goblins and maybe how various tribes interact there.
In addition, I took Varisian as a bonus language growing up in Magnimar. These dialects hardly ever get gameplay. IMHO, they're mostly for flavor. I don't know if you noticed that, because he also took Thassilon, which would be important considering all of the ruins in Magnimar. Please confirm or suggest which one you would prefer Jubal to have, because he only gets one bonus language.
cheers
@Dove I was thinking about how to add into character interactions. How do you like this? When Dove wandered into Magnimar low on funds, Cedric had just newly arrived as well. Cedric saw the dingy woman walking into town and he thought she was a beggar, so he gave her some gold to cover a couple of days of food.
@Jubal that's a good idea. I would have been one of the guards at the event. So there is a good chance I have meet you. Is your character a prankster like other gnomes?
@ GM and other players - I am trying to think of the future of Cedric stat wise, how does the Battle Herald archetype sound to you all?
@Jubal that's a good idea. I would have been one of the guards at the event. So there is a good chance I have meet you. Is your character a prankster like other gnomes?
Not at all. He is aristocratic: emotionally guarded, traditionally polite, socially isolated from the mean streets, and oddly searching for his interest in life. Camping in the outdoors will be quite an adventure for him by itself.
How would Cedric have reacted to that kind of gnome?
@Jubal Respect would have been his main focus. He would at least know of your past and most likely go out of his way to greet you.
@Jubal - That works, Lady Jana would herself have been a member of one of the older houses that fell on hard times, that's why they had to marry her to a wealthy up and comer, to restore family fortunes. She built influence over the "new men" and created links to the old. After a while Lord Breakbottle saw what she was doing. They have their zones of influence with some overlap and usually get along.
Since it seems that Jubal himself would have limited interest he may not know how close Zindelo is to his aunt but he could have noticed Zindelo charming the servants, the way he was charming the nobles.
@Cedric - Battle Herald is a good leader type choice, the only caveat I have is that it's a bit skill point hungry for entry. If I counted right it will take every skill point you can get for the next four or five levels. Aside from that I like it.
I plan to follow this campaign because the APs are so interesting. I want to see how Indraea runs it. Do any of you care if I comment on the discussion thread on occasion if I find something interesting?
@Arduinne - I see, yes I was thinking Merchant Princes type noblity(think d'Medici) but your background is a step down from that. How about a trading link between Lady Jana's late husband (a merchant) and your house, along with your talents that would have Lady Jana take an interest? I'm looking for something to link us, both of us are personable but don't seem to have a lot in common.
Interestingly the highest social status is Jubal, that should influence our relationship, but in what way?
Certainly a possibility. I omitted specifics apart from the fact that Arduinne's brother Francis helped to arrange it -- so, sure, we could say Lady Jana is her patron, although I don't know if that would provide an opportunity for our characters to have met each other previously.
@Arduinne - I did think of one thing, Zindelo is an excellent guide in the city as well as out. Perhaps, he could have shown her the city, taught her the basics of what's where? How long do you think Arduinne had been in town?
@Xavian - Up to the DM, I'd say, I have no objection.
@Arduinne - I did think of one thing, Zindelo is an excellent guide in the city as well as out. Perhaps, he could have shown her the city, taught her the basics of what's where? How long do you think Arduinne had been in town?
@Xavian - Up to the DM, I'd say, I have no objection.
Three months, at least. She'd have taken up residency there.
@Arduinne- I see Zindelo as having been in service for over a year with his aunt so, that matches up. What do you think of the guide idea for a link?
@Arduinne- I see Zindelo as having been in service for over a year with his aunt so, that matches up. What do you think of the guide idea for a link?
Sounds like a fine idea! She may not remember him that well, but it's something to go on.
Okay, back from work and I got the first post up, so let's go over everything here.
@Zindelo- Yes, ethnic languages are free for members of that ethnicity.
@Jubal- Go ahead and roll Knowledge checks with a +2 bonus for the library over in the game thread and I'll let you know what your research turns up. Even if his father didn't have a library, Magnimar does, which Jubal would have access to.
@Cedric- Battle Herald would be a pretty good choice if you can meet the prerequisites, but don't forget you need to live long enough too!
@Xavian- I have no objection at present.
@GM Let's hope I live that long. :P
I was thinking of going 5 levels of Cavalier, 5 levels of Battle Herald, then back to Cavaler. Also would you rule the human favorited class bonus works while taking levels of Battle Herald?
@all players and GM
This is my first experience with a PBP and I was wondering. How do I use the dice roll thing on this site? I have tried it before but it didn't work, any help would be appreciated.
Present! Yeesh, you take one day off, and a potentially great PbP group spontaneously assembles itself...
Anyway, let me look over all the comments.
Also, Cedric, the dice roller works like so [dice] 1d20+#/1d6+#/etc. [/ dice ]
@Cedric- Sorry, but favoured class bonuses are never applicable to prestige classes.
@Dove- Yay! That's everyone!
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@Dove thanks!
@GM aww sad face :(
Also one quick question, how do you want us to figure up our animal companions HP?
@Zindelo: Given that Dove barely knows the ins and outs of the Magnimar nobility, that is a nice and simple to get these two aware of each other. I would image working with a Shoanti druid wielding a big earthbreaker and sicking a Siberan tiger on the poor goblins would leave a lasting impression.
@Jubal: Maybe they briefly interacted once when Dove's benefactor Tellian and Lord Breakbottle were at big social function?
@Cedric: A great idea. It would probably be the single event that convinced her to keep giving Magnimar a chance.
@Arduinne: Unless Dove got lost and wandered into Korvosa for a couple of days before leaving, I do not see how she and Arudinne would have met before the sorceress arrived three months prior to the start of the story.
@Dove-I have no doubt of that.
@Arduinne We'll go with that then.
Group's assembled great, looking forward to this.
@Cedric- For animal companions, max hp for their first hit die and roll for each hit die after that, basically the same as PCs. For regular animals, like the ones you can purchase, it's just flat average for their hit dice.
Well, if we're rolling for HP, then I might as well roll for Gaia's second HD (Animal Companions start with 2 HD).
Not bad at all~
Asfaloth's second hit die
I like it
That is cool. You guys get to be the original colonists of the Lost Coast.
Nice inclusion of a Kaijutsu, Indraea. I see where you're going with this. Pretty neat.
Indraea - How are you handling logistics? Without farms close by, feeding any horses we get without grazing and slowing by half at least, is nearly impossible. Most DM hand-wave this away but you may have other ideas.
On the other hand, feeding the humanoids wouldn't be too big an issue.
Call Animal + Deer + Earthbreaker = Dinner
People are easier, they need much less food and can eat many things. Horse need about 10 pounds of fodder and around 5 pound of grain for each day worked(ridden). If they are pure grass fed, they have to spend most of the day eating, not working. Horse are expensive, not to buy so much as to feed.
Horse feed is 0.05 gp & 10 lb. per day
From a game mechanics point of view, it's not the cost, it's the weight.
Your question is valid. How much detail will be required to maintain the logistics of this operation?
cheers
@Zindelo- There are farms along the coast, so depending on how far north you go, rarely more than a couple days' ride away by horse through areas you've explored, and I might suggest seeing whether you could persuade Lord Kaijitsu to loan you one or two additional horses beyond what you need, so that the extra horses could carry fodder and other supplies.
Also, I'll hand wave a fair amount of details about supplies, but for exploration, you do need to at least have them. So yes, it will make travelling by horse a bit trickier, but the upside is moving twice as fast, and Jubal might have some input on the value of horses.
Huh. Never knew that horses ate so much in-game. Sadly, I really don't have anything spell-wise to assist with that until later.
@Jubal, I know but that old D20 rule is a bit of a handwave itself. I was going by reality. It goes back to long discussions about treating horses as though they are sport cars not living creatures. All about how the DM wants to treat it. And yes, weight is the issue, pioneering was hard.
@Indraea- Just needed to know how you were going to handle it, pack horses for additional supplies is a good idea, but only goes so far. (You have to feed the pack horses.) I assume we'll be checking out a bit of the interior, getting enough farm land to matter is hard. And as I recall the reason that the natives(Shoanti and Varisians) are nomads is because most of the land is not that good for farming, so herding dominates.
And to finish being nitpicky, what's the climate like? Some have suggested it's like coast of Northern California, which is chilly, clammy, and rainy most of the year. Others, think it's more like the European coast, like north coast of Spain. A cool Mediterranean climate, cool but not freezing winters, mostly cool summers with few hot days. Also with frequent but light rains. Or something else, just want to know what to prepare for.
Hit points are a hand wave, too. ;D
@Jubal- Regarding illusions, you'd need to be a bit more specific. Varisian caravans are not an uncommon sight along the Lost Coast, but would attract goblins, ogres, and Varisians alike, which might not be your intent. Also, the terrain itself is fairly heterogeneous, which is part of why it has resisted exploration and settlement so far. If it weren't for the steep cliffs, forests, hills, marshes, etc, you'd not be needed!
@Zindelo- You are correct, most of the land is not that good, but Cheliax has plenty of good farmland, and once a society settles down and becomes agrarian, they tend to get rather skilled at making even poor farmland usable. I envision the terrain as very much Northern California/Oregon, so certainly it would be ideal terrain for crops of fruits, though perhaps not ideal for grains.
To be more specific, I would like to create illusions of creatures of the Bestiary, especially ones that one could expect to see in the Lost Coast. It has been argued that one needs to know about or have seen the subject in order to create an effective illusion. So can I create an effective illusion of a goblin, hippogrif, large green dragon, etc. That sort of thing.
cheers
Ah, much more helpful. I'll start putting a list together. Are you aiming mostly for fierce creatures?
I actually did purchase a mule as part of starting wealth (which I may revert, if horses are gifted to us), because Arduinne has no desire to hike for days on end with almost 80 pounds of gear on her back. The weight of feed is an issue, but we could consider pooling our funds to buy a cart for 15 gp, which can carry up to 300 pounds. If we load it up with nothing but feed, it would be enough to keep five horses fed for six days, which should be more than enough for our purposes. (And the horse drawing the cart would be able to bear a rider as well.)
Ah, much more helpful. I'll start putting a list together. Are you aiming mostly for fierce creatures?
Not necessarily. Anything distracting. An easier lunch could be distracting, too.
I prefer flying things like hippogrif and griffins, because Jubal can maintain with swift actions at a range of 400 feet and reasonably expect things not to hear them until they close when he can use Ghost Sound with a standard action.
thanks
I actually did purchase a mule as part of starting wealth (which I may revert, if horses are gifted to us), because Arduinne has no desire to hike for days on end with almost 80 pounds of gear on her back. The weight of feed is an issue, but we could consider pooling our funds to buy a cart for 15 gp, which can carry up to 300 pounds. If we load it up with nothing but feed, it would be enough to keep five horses fed for six days, which should be more than enough for our purposes. (And the horse drawing the cart would be able to bear a rider as well.)
I don't think a cart is a good idea, they are very slow. In historical RL fast cross-country movement was by pack carried by Horses, ponies, mules, camels, or porters.
By the rulebook carts have a base speed of 2 miles/hour vs 5 for light horses, and 3 1/2 for heavies that are loaded and that's on a highway (very good road). Cut in half for cross country. We should make around 4 miles per hour, maybe a bit better when using the explore rules (they are very idealized for convenience.) Add in rain, mud, etc and even horse will be slow, carts will get stuck every mile, if the DM wants to play it that way (very realistic).
And someone roll-up a newspaper and whack me with it. I'm in over-analyse mode again. :)
*whack*