Lacedon

Andros Firewind's page

60 posts. Alias of sunshadow21.




Welcome to the group. Here we can discuss out of character stuff.


Here shall be told the stories of a group of brave adventurers from the land of Eberron.


Time passes, and you all find yourself in Borentia, this time summoned specifically for some purpose yet unknown to you. It's been a year and a summer since that fateful lottery, and though things started out promising, you can't help but feel that at least some of the promise never came to be, even if you were able to make what most would consider a successful go at your respective paths.

The group in the south, after defeating the spider nest, found inside the cave system a path into the Great Light, which turned out to be rather dull. Stairs, a barely functional freight elevator, a storage floor for the fuel, and a light that could be fixed if someone really wanted to take the time to do so. Still, they reported it and the spider eggs to their employers, who sent out a team to secure the peninsula and explore their options. After a couple of months of trying to investigate the origins of the spider nest, and finding nothing, not even a nibble, they finally settle into the business of starting the tavern/inn as a business retreat for ATA operatives and executives. Now, however, at least a few of you have been summoned to Borentia for a special assignment, which is a bit unusual because it's fall, and they are usually wrapping up projects at this time, not starting new ones.

The group in the north explored several old ruins in the Great Waste and the Iron Valley, but none of them produce anything particularly interesting, at least as far as the party is concerned. There are some notable architectural discoveries made, but really all the ruins they explore raise more questions and answer few, if any, of them. It is clear that there is much to understand about the mysterious vanishing overlords of the past. Still, the jobs pay you well enough, and you get a decent amount of training in the process, so it's not a total loss. Now, as you were just starting to think about settling into another winter of the north, you get a summons to Borentia for an urgent task.
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You are called into one of the side drawrooms of the main headquarters. It's a comfortable room, simple but elegant, and clearly not where field agents typically get their briefings, raising your curiosity that much further. You are told that someone will be along shortly to explain your summons and to help yourself to the refreshments while you wait. There are a number of folks in the room, some you know, some that you don't, and a small conversation is struck as all of you wait to see what turn your path of destiny is about to take this time.


Game thread being put up for dotting purposes.


Sandpoint, a jewel in the rough, a light in the darkness, and other such phrases apply, but really only one matters, it's just dang lucky. Given it's location, and it's history, it shouldn't have even survived, let alone become the shining gem of the Lost Coast. Still, somehow, despite all the odds, and the tragedies, faced by the inhabitants of this village, it promises not only to survive, but to keep growing, and tomorrow represents a big step towards that, with the consecration of a new stone cathedral capable of supporting not one, but six, of the major gods of the region.

Pavro:
The last couple of weeks have been quite busy, and even you have not been able to shirk your duties as the preparations for the Swallowtail Festival. An air of hope and optimism fills the town, and despite the hard work, everyone seems quite upbeat. Finally, the night before the festival begins, you are able to finally get a short break, and head over to the Rusty Dragon to relax for a few hours before a short sleep, and the frenzy of the festival. As you enter the inn, you spy a small group of young ladies gathered around one of the tables, most of which are local, but a slightly younger lass just starting to come into her beauty is not, or if she is, she has been kept well hidden from you. More probably, she is a visitor in town for the festival.

Vors:
You and Evelina arrived in Sandpoint several days ahead of time at the request of Abstalar Zantus, who requested your help in some of the tasks required for the preparation of the consecration of the cathedral. Your sister quickly made friends with some of the girls working at the Rusty Dragon, where you and her are staying, and you have been free to spend your days aiding Zantus without worry of your sister. Finally, the night before the festival arrives, and a lull has settled over the town, as people rest before the festival itself, all the preparations that could be finished ahead of time done. You find yourself in the common room of the Rusty Dragon arguing religion and history with a number of other travelers when you see a young man heading toward the table where your sister is relaxing with her friends. You recognize the man as the nephew of the mayor, a roustabout whose reputation with the ladies makes you a bit concerned for your sister, who looks a few years older than she actually is, taking after her mother in both that regard, and the budding simple beauty she possesses.

Thandion:
You put off the return to Sandpoint as long as possible, but you knew that with the festival, rooms would be scarce, so you forced yourself to show up the day before to ensure that you would be able to get a room at the Rusty Dragon; sure there were other taverns and inns, but the Rusty Dragon was the traveler's inn, and despite your history with the town, or perhaps because of it, you feel more like a traveler than a local. Staying mostly in your room for the majority of the day, trying to piece your thoughts together, you venture down into the common room as evening approaches, and finally are able to relax enough to engage in a spirited conversation with a few other travelers sitting around the huge fireplace.

Severus:
The trip was long, much longer than it really needed to be, but the caravan master was clearly not up to the task, and between the seemingly perpetual delays, and the insistence of your fellow travelers to go on and on about this or that religion, you are relieved to finally see first the farms and then the town emerge out of the vast wilderness the day before the festival. Finally getting into town around dusk, and securing one of the last rooms in the Rusty Dragon, you have just enough time to get cleaned up before heading down into the common room for some repast, and you hope, interesting conversation. Fortunately, you are able to find both, are currently engaged in a lively conversation around the fireplace.

Marcoul:
Though you are skeptical of the success of the mission you have been given by your church elders, you agree to do your best. Arriving in Sandpoint a good week before the festival was due to start, you still find the local clergy busy with preparations and last minute details of the festival, the consecration, and putting the final touches on the cathedral, which is truly as impressive as the reports had indicated. After a few days, you are able to secure a short meeting with Abstalar Zantus, the high priest here, and the meeting, while not a success, could have gone worse. While he makes it quite clear that the pantheon for the cathedral was well set (and you're pretty sure that even if it wasn't, the answer would still be no), he does point you to several smaller chapels and shrines in town where travelers can pray and make offerings to their respective gods, including, if they so desire, Asmodeus, as long as they are respectful of their fellow travelers' beliefs. You find yourself spending most of the week bored out of your mind. While there is a scholarly group in town, they seem more interested in history than anything else, and you have little in common with any of the local clergy, even if they weren't out of their mind busy. Still, visitors start to trickle in, and you at least have some entertaining conversations around the fire at the Rusty Dragon in the evenings, so it's not a complete wash. You will be happy, though, for the festival to be over, so you can return home and your normal routine. The night before the festival, the group of travelers is particularly large, and the conversation actually manages to hold your attention for more than a few brief seconds.

Avian:
You arrive in town to deliver your warning only to find it in a state of optimistic chaos as it prepares to consecrate it's new church, and it becomes clear that no one will have the time to listen to you until this Swallowtail Festival is over. A bit frustrated, you settle into a room at one of the inns, the Rusty Dragon, and watch and wait as patiently as you can, amazed at how oblivious these people are to the dangers that surround them and their homes. The night before the festival, you find yourself in a corner of the common room, simply watching everyone, trying to understand this strange culture that you find yourself immersed in.


Discussion thread for The Past Returns, a Rise of the Runelords game.


Discussion thread for Shadows of the Past, a Rise of the Runelords game.


I have decided to run a game of Rise of the Runelords with a party of 5 or 6 while I develop my homebrewed world a bit more.

Allowed material: Paizo products, and any 3PP material that can be linked so I can read it
Attributes: Just to keep things simple, 20 point buy; much as I personally prefer rolling most of the time, point buy works well for this particular campaign
Races: Core preferred, but will consider others with sufficient backstory; just be forewarned, unusual races will get a properly unusual response from the NPCs as warranted
Classes: No real restrictions, but will be trying to make a reasonably balanced party.
Traits: 2 + 1 campaign trait; I do have some that I have made alterations to, so I would like to see these in the app
Gold: Max starting gold for class
HP: Max at first level; every level beyond that, either roll or take avg+1, with the decision made anew at each level

What I am not looking for at this time: a full blown character sheet and alias; having this will not hurt you, but it not absolutely necessary for this stage

What I am looking for: a paragraph or two (or more, if you want to) of backstory, basic personality, physical description, and why you find yourself in Sandpoint for the festival, along with a quick list of key mechanics, such as traits, feats, notable skills, languages, important gear, etc., that help flesh out the overall picture of the character. Again, I am not worried about the mechanics and gear themselves at this point; I am just trying to get a feel for the character.

Feel free to interact with each other in character. I will take apps until Friday the 21st, make my selection the following Monday, and hope to have the game up and running by the 28th. Posting for the game I would like to be steady, typically once per day during the week, and at least once a weekend, but I don't expect you to be tied to you computer all day, every day. I myself will generally stick to the schedule listed above, though sometimes might be a bit faster or slower depending on real life and in game events. Initiative will be rolled all at once by myself to speed things up, as will other reactive rolls as appropriate, and the order posted in the initial combat post. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and I will do my best to answer them.


I'm considering running a game on this board, having bought the anniversary edition, and am wondering how others have handled the maps. The maps that come with the AP are really nice, but there is no way I am going be to able to translate all of them to maptools without going crazy.


Discussion thread for the continuation of the adventures in Quateros.


Looking to recruit one or two players to bolster this game. It's a homebrew world and the campaign will involve a mixture of wilderness and civilization. Feel free to read the attached campaign notes, game thread, and discussion thread, and ask any questions you may have. I'm generally open minded about character concepts, as long they work mechanically. Current party composition is a aasimar paladin, half elf ranger, aasimar barbarian, and elven fighter. We're still just starting, so incorporating new characters will still be easy.


Eager to get started on their journey, our heroes gather together the next morning to collect a number of last minute supplies and get to know each other a bit more. Around noon, they find themselves in a cafe just outside the ATA compound. After a brief lunch, they walk through the plaza on their way to the main office building where they have been instructed to meet with the ATA officials briefly. The plaza is filled with wagons, tack, carts, crates, ropes, tarps, and various other equipment being cleaned, repaired, and inventoried by dozens of small teams of workers. In the meeting room, they find a single official talking with a cleric wearing the robes of Tula. After quickly wrapping up whatever conversation they were having, the elven official gets right down to business. "Pardon the lack of small talk, but today is a day for action, not words, so I will get right to the point. You have been selected to see if you can find a way to strengthen our trade network beyond the southern shores of Tora. We have had some contact with a number of places to the north, but they have been sporadic and rare, and there is much wilderness in between the scattered remnants of civilization that yet remain up there. If you wish, you may take a mule and small wagon from the stables. We also will provide each of you with a healing kit to help you recover from the unavoidable dangers of the road. Do you have any final questions before you depart?"


Eager to get started on their journey, our heroes gather together the next morning to collect a number of last minute supplies and get to know each other a bit more. Around noon, they find themselves in a cafe just outside the ATA compound. After a brief lunch, they walk through the plaza on their way to the main office building where they have been instructed to meet with the ATA officials briefly. The plaza is filled with wagons, tack, carts, crates, ropes, tarps, and various other equipment being cleaned, repaired, and inventoried by dozens of small teams of workers. In the meeting room, they find a single official talking with a cleric wearing the robes of Tula. After quickly wrapping up whatever conversation they were having, the elven official gets right down to business. "Pardon the lack of small talk, but today is a day for action, not words, so I will get right to the point. You have been selected to carry the ATA banner to the Midrealms and beyond, strengthening our trade network while finding your own niche in the world to thrive in. To that end, we have prepared a small list of contacts in the Midrealms and Cliffsgate to get you started, and if you wish, you may take a mule and small wagon from the stables. We also will provide each of you with a healing kit to help you recover from the unavoidable dangers of the road. Do you have any final questions before you depart?"


This is for the group heading into the untamed wilds, looking to build something new from the bones of the past that litter these lands.


This is the discussion thread for the group going west from Borentia.


Campaign Notes

I've been tossing around an idea for a world of my own for a while now, and have gotten it to the point where it's ready for a test run.

Quateros: Almost completely torn apart by a millennium long war that saw Quateros become a battleground for the gods, mortals, and outsiders alike, calmer heads finally prevailed before the final blow could be dealt. What existed before the war is now largely unknown, lost to the ravages of war and time. One continent still lies entirely under the effects of the magic gone wild, one is slowly healing, and one, where the campaign starts, was largely uneffected because the war was centered on the other two continents. Inspired a lot by Eberron, Golarion, and the idea of magic going wild and reshaping the world, the campaign starts after most of the damage has been contained, but still has a long way to go before being fully repaired. The characters start out as former employees/contractors of the Aquayn Trade Alliance, the premier shippers of the Zeritas Confederacy, one of the seven havens established in the later phases of the war to prevent the complete loss of civilization. Former because they would be sent out to other parts of the world to extend the influence of the trade network to other regions. I will gladly provide more information about the world as people desire, but I am trying to avoid unnecessary information overload.

Recruitment: I'm not worried about full stats at the moment, but rather character concepts. To aid with this, all applicants are at the annual spring festival held by the ATA, where every year the higher ups select a few lucky individuals to be given basic supplies, and sent out in small groups to neighboring regions to seek their fortune and expand ATA's trade empire. (This does not mean that everything the party does will be tied to the Trade Alliance, it just provides at least one outlet for resources for the party.) As you introduce yourself, converse with the other applicants, and any random NPCs you feel like making up to aid your cause that would be appropriate in such a scene. I will give people until sometime next week, based on how many applicants I get, and how quickly.


Boomer's Bar and Grill is open for adventurers between adventures and any other who care to step in for a bit of rping.


Boomer's Bar and Grill has once again been put up in a campsite near you. Come and enjoy a good steak or perhaps some stew as you rp and await your next adventure with others in between jobs.


Let's try this again, shall we?

First off, I apologize for coming across as if things weren't working. It is hard to step in after a game is already started and I could have been more tactful in how I approached the challenge of it.

2nd, to summerize the points raised from the previous thread: Most of you think that everything was going fine, and I can keep going with that, with a few exceptions I would like to throw out there for discussion. The dice rolling is something that I have found in other games really does save me time and allows me to update more often. For the combat posts, I can appreciate not wanting to do that entire block of text that I suggested, but round #, current vs total hp, and any other temporary effects not likely listed elsewhere would be helpful to keep everything straight. Otherwise, I am willing to keep going with what is currently being done as long as the pace of the game stays solid.

3rd, if you have ideas of where to go from here, post them here. I wasn't expecting the sharp reactions that I got in the last thread, so in order to alleviate that in the future, I will try to be more aware of what the group is looking for.

4th, once we have a direction determined, I will probably try to recruit one or two more people, but I don't want to recruit more people until I know that the group is going to be intact long enough to justify it.


male Half orc Shapeshifter Skirmisher 5

Continued with new name so as not to confuse new people, or other squadrons who have had their head bashed in one too many times.


Let the RPing begin.


And here is the thread for squad 3.


Male Human Eagle Shaman 1

This way we'll have some place to talk without cluttering the game thread.


Let the slaughter begin.


If you two could get your profile put together so I can see what else is needed, it would be a big help. Also, if any of the other characters jumped out at you, I would be curious to know which ones and why.


While I debate the merits of the various AP's I am going to run the Godsmouth Heresy module. Be forewarned, this will be my first attempt at running a pbp game on this board, and I am still learning how to handle maps and such smoothly.

What I am looking for:
If you already have characters worked up with profiles and such, great, but they are not necessary at this time if you don't already have them that developed.
Attributes: Rolling the dice: 4d6, drop the lowest, 6 times
Background: one good solid paragraph that covers the past and present efficiently is all that I'm looking for at this time. Refinement and filling out the details can come later.
Sources: Core and APG, I'm trying to keep this relatively simple.
Starting Gold: average
Traits: 2, only limitation is that they must go along with the background
Posting Rate: At least once every two days, preferably once per day or more

I think that pretty much covers the basics; I will take character submissions for a few days, than another couple days to refine characters, than by Friday or Saturday, start the introductary posts and the adventure. Again, be forewarned, patience may be required at spots as I get used to the various logistical, pacing and mapping issues of being a DM.

Edit: I would very much appreciate players that are willing to interact with each other when the situation allows for it; it gets very lonely and boring if the only reading in the thread is DM text, and player response.


Until I figure out what AP I want to run, and when, I started up a tavern thread at Boomer's Bar & Grill to give people a place to do general rping with each other while they wait.


Note: This is not an actual game per se as much as it is a way for the people currently bouncing around the boards to keep entertained while looking for actual games. It will last as long as it needs to last to fill the needs of new people on the board.

When you approach the roadside campground, you see a good sized tent being setup by a gnome and some helpers. As evening approaches, you see the gnome stick a sign up over the main door: "Boomer's Traveling Bar & Grill." If you go inside, you see a bar on one side, a stage in one corner, and half a dozen tables spaced appropriately around the tent. Above the bar is a sign stating expected behavior. "No fighting allowed, be civil, and relax from the road for a bit." The gnome, presumably Boomer, stands behind the bar, finishing up preparations as he awaits guests. His half orc assistants from earlier are lounging about one of the tables.


While I haven't had a chance to playtest the class, in either the old form or the new form, I do have a fair bit of experience playing with pet classes and the summon spells, so while not perfect, I do believe that my thoughts have at least some basis on actual experience.

First, the eidolon, aside from from minor tweaking, seems pretty good. Only major change I could see is reduce the natural armor to be more inline with that of a typical animal companion, and allow any equipment that fits onto the chosen form and that the summoner can afford, treating all gear on the eidolon as counting towards the total amount of wealth the summoner possesses, or not allow any gear at all, and make evolutions that allow the eidolon to emulate all kinds of magical items (at appropriate cost and level of course). Otherwise, only issue I can see is some tweaking of evolutions, which I would be surprised to not see happen, given the fact this is a playtest form still. I would like to see a few more options for non combat and smaller eidolons, but even in its current form, its entirely possible to play the eidolon as support for the summoner rather than summoner being support for the summoner.

The SLA is 99% perfect in my opinion. It allows the summoner an edge over other spellcasters in the summoning department, and with just a few minor adjustments, is just fine. The only adjustments I would recommend from the original writeup is limit the # of active of SLA's to one, and push either the extended duration or the quickened casting time back to level 5. I really like the fact that a summoner could use a summon spell out of combat with these methods, but having both at level one could overwhelm a low level party. As this does weaken the summoning aspect of the class a bit, I would add the summon spells as bonus spells, and perhaps even give augment summoning and extend spell(for summon spells only) as free bonus feats. This allows the summoner to maintain an edge in the summoning department, while not overwhelming a low level party with too many summons.

Other things I noticed was that something needs to be done with the skills. Either add a few charisma based skills to the class list or increase the number to 4+int. As it is, the summoner seems just a little too weak in most non combat encounters, and a skill like Diplomacy would make sense for someone who as dedicated his life to asking others to do the heavy lifting for him.

I apologize if these suggestions have been made elsewhere, and I know I've commented on many of them elsewhere on the board, but I wanted to try to put them all into a single cohesive thought.