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19 posts. Alias of Adrien Wasila.


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Scarab Sages

With many apologies about the late start (preparations for Christmas and then the actual holidays , plus feeling incredibly tired since I came back from the UK) the first post is now on

I hope you'll enjoy the introductions and the game . I will definitely be posting more regularly , checking the boards several times a day .

I hope you've had a good Christmas and look forward to the game :)

Adrien

Scarab Sages

It all started with a card . Its appearance upset the existence you have fashioned for yourself since Gaedren Lamm blighted your childhood , or your later life . It was to be expected therefore that the card and Gaedren's name ,whispered only by those who knew poverty or crime and seemingly unknown to the Korvosan Guard for all the zeal they put into arresting him, would appear together.

The card , one for each of you, found you in different places and at different times. They all bore a short message on the back . written in a small , cursive hand.

"I know what Gaedren has done to you . He has wronged me as well . I know where he dwells , yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 , Lancet Street at sunset . Others like you will be there . Justice must be done !"

More disconcerting than the message though , was the ink used to write it . As far as you could tell , even down to the faint smell of iron, the message was written in fresh blood.

In the distance , the bells of the Vault of Abadar have just rung the evening . It is nearly sunset on this windy , late autumn day.

What would you do ?

Arianna :

:
Apart from the disturbing message , the card feels almost reassuring to you . The Harrow is your constant companion and friend. When you turned the card over you saw the one that had chosen you. It shows a workman in a desert , the tools falling from his hands as he touched by a celestial hand from above , bathed in blue fire. It is the card of arcane knowledge , madness and genius. . It appeared face up when you first reached for your cards this morning.

The address is also familiar . It was the home of Zellara , a well respected and elderly fellow Varisian Harrower who disappeared mysteriously early last year.

Copper :

:
The card was found in the locked evidence box at a guard station not far from Lancet Street after you had been called in to be told of the recent disappearance of yet another Varisian boy, 8-year old Niklos Korda. The guards swear to have kept the box locked since last night which may be true , though it would be unusual in Korvosa.

The card depicts a glove puppet of a plumed knight in shining armour , slaying a winding ,snapping green cloth dragon on a cardboard stage while an audience of children cheers him on. "The Theater" is written at the base of the picture

Dammersel :

:
The card was propped up against a statue of Sarenae's sword arm when you went to perform your devotions to the goddess earlier on . Surprised and shocked by its sudden appearance , you took it down .

Appropriately enough , the card depicts a stalwart knight in shining golden armour and plumed helmet with a red cloak . He rests his hand on a broadsword expectantly. The name "The Paladin" is emblazoned across the bottom of the card

Rutter :

:
The card had found its way into a spider's web , woven in a corner next to where you slept last night . It was partly covered in dirty , dust-covered silk and it was only the bright blue colour of the top of the card that caught your eye. You can't remember it being there last night ,although the spider and web were there , but it looks like it has spent a good deal of time there.

The card depicts a wandering acrobat , perched on a brown plateau dotted with fir trees. In his hands he juggles far more than the brightly coloured balls and weights you'd expected . There's an elephant , a clock tower , a boat and a chest spinning around in his hands and a name written at the bottom : The Juggler

Senjin :

:
This morning , like most mornings since you joined the Sable Company's stables you were asked to clean the pens of the hippogriffs after they had been taken out for their morning exercises and flight. The card was resting on a bale of straw and caught your eye when you went to get some fresh straw to spread out after cleaning out the old one.

You were given the key to the supply room and told to open up since you were the first arrived and have gained a reputation for keenness and conscientiousness among the stablehands.

The card depicts a floating castle with many turrets , battlements and crenulations . It has red brick roofs and golden ,domed towers and spires. It floats in a red sky , while underneath armies of orcs and giants pour out ,rampaging, towards it. Underneath is its name : The Keep

Yamiko : The card was in a chest of chains , weighted metal shoes and crowbars used on prisoners condemned to "judicial questioning" , which in Korvosa is a routine part of inquests. The chest was locked , though you were given the keys . Today it was your turn (on a rota) to clean and check the solidity of the "tools of justice" as the array of torture implements is euphemstically called. It was the blood on the back of the card that first caught your eye , it was surprisingly fresh , too fresh to be even from last night's round of torture.

Turning it over , the card depicts a strange , giant queen ant with a bulging red thorax . Strangest of all it is wearing a crown and a red cloak trimmed with ermine . Underneath is the legend "The Queen Mother" .

Could this be a slanderous caricature of Queen Illeosa ? King Eodred has been ailing since last winter and never goes out anymore , with the queen ruling with his blessing . But she is a foreigner and there have been many executions of slanderers and firebrands even in the short time you have joined royal service. [/spoiler]

Scarab Sages

Just to give everyone an update on the game . I was stranded at London City airport until last night . It's unlikely I'll be home until tomorrow evening so , allowing for a day or so to let me review the first module the game will start on the 22nd ,sometime in the evening GMT

Sorry about the delay , it was quite unexpected - At least I managed to get a hotel room and a place on a flight unlike so many other people .

Scarab Sages

Copper Fratello wrote:

Changed out a couple spells, a trait, and a trained skill to try to better represent someone who is just coming into his magical abilities without the formal training.

Also, is there some way of doing Private Messages on these boards? I cant seem to find any way of contacting another member of the boards directly, other than posting in a thread they are in, and hoping they read it.

I don't know of any way to do that , but I could be mistaken . If you want to send me an email , my email address is awasila (at) mac (dot) com

Scarab Sages

Sounds good to me as well . Story and NPC interaction are also more important to me , although the AP is such that combat will be present.

Adapting treasure is a given , I'll definitely make sure you come across magic items you can use as well as those you can sell. Thanks for the suggestions about treasure.

I'm not sure about the spiked chain , I wasn't really aware they'd changed since 3.5 so I think I'll allow them to by default.

I should clarify that I meant something more like a 'swashubckling' game (with duels , standing up to evil and criminals, and so on which CotCT has a lot of) when I said heroic , although from your backgrounds all the characters are also plenty heroic enough for the game . As i said I couldn't have hoped for a better group (and group of players I'm sure)

I'm in West London (UK,GMT) and Luxembourg (Central European Time, GMT +1) alternatively which are earlier but I'll bear everyone's timezone in mind for the game.

Scarab Sages

Copper Fratello wrote:

I agree with generally leaving the amount of combat to rp as it is in the AP. Adding a bit here or there to hook our characters better is always good though.

For exp, its up to you. If I need to keep track of my own, fine. if you are just going to tell us when to level, thats fine as well.

I agree with Arianna about initiative, generally easier for you to roll for everyone. Also, if combat were to begin with a Perception check for a surprise round, or something like that, I think that falls the same way. Just easier for you to do it for everyone, instead of waiting for us, individually.

I can probably guarentee at least one post a day on any day except for maybe Saturday, though if Im not able to, I'll try to post an extra action for combat on Friday.

I like the Google maps idea that Arianna showed, though obviously its up to you.

Really looking forward to this game! Ive been considering reworking some of Copper's stats and such, but if I do, I'll make sure to have him done by Saturday, and his backstory wont change, nor will his race/class/ etc.

Sounds good . I agree about the initiative , it will be easier for me to roll it en masse . Google Maps sounds intriguing and relatively simple to use so I might use that , but as I said I think the first few encounters are probably manageable . I'll check again once I have access to my books

The XP question was mainly because I know the feeling of achievement that adding up XP individually usually brings , but I think thematically it will be easier for me to add up XP over the course of the AP and have all characters level together.

Copper (and indeed anyone else) . Tinkering with your character's stats is fine within what you suggest . I'll look over everyone's characters again on Sunday to set the stage for the introduction .

Looking forward to the game as well !

Scarab Sages

Thanks for your feedback about posting speed and experience . I'll definitely make use of your backgrounds to make the adventure more 'realistic' for your characters so Rutter's friend will get his comeuppance at some point .

As I said before I think this is the ideal party story-wise for this game since the characters are all linked thematically with some aspect of the adventure path . I couldn't have suggested a better spread of characters.

I hope this AP PbP will be a good experience for everyone and a good introduction for you Celestial Half-Porc . Some parts of it are better written than others but I think the NPCs are compelling and it helps redeem some of the less exciting parts.

I haven't really got any experience with using online maps . From what I can remember of the first volume the first few encounters can be managed without a map but depending on how it turns out I may use one later on in "Edge of Anarchy"

We're set to start on Sunday but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread in the meantime :)

Scarab Sages

Hello :)

This is a follow-up to the recruitment thread . Thanks to everyone for completing their characters earlier on . I think they'll mesh really well within the story and hopefully as a group as well.

This is the thread to discuss any questions that you might have about the game , both before and after we start.

The game should start on the 19th as I said earlier . Do you have a preference in terms of how often people post ? Once a day seems to be a regular number on the boards , but we could do a faster or slower game depending on what everyone's schedule is .

There's a reasonable amount of combat throughout the AP , do people have any preferences about running combat on a PBP basis ?

Initiative might be an issue , I think for groups of monsters I will simply have a flat initiative number and basic tactics (essentially just attacking or fleeing) after the PCs have acted and reserve round by round initiative for NPCs. This is closer in a way to "cinematic" systems and their "mooks" but it should speed up the process and allow the story to flow more smoothly

Do have preferences about the combat to story/NPC interaction ratio ? I will mostly be running the AP as written , ad-libbing some of the dialogue to flesh out the NPCs a little bit .
That being said if people prefer more NPC interaction I can reduce the number of combat encounters (e.g when exploring a dungeon or building) , or if you prefer a bit more combat (NPC interaction still forms a good part of the AP , especially early on) I can avoid some of the sidequests .

For XP I was planning to follow the AP's general guidelines (There are various points in it when party levels are suggested , i.e "The PCs should now be around level 2" or the like) and have the characters level together as the story progresses (in line with XP gained obviously) , but I'm open to a more traditional breakdown of XP if people want to keep track of their character's own XP .

Finally I was wondering if you could tell me if there's anything specific you'd like to see in the game , which I'll do my best to incorporate while using the AP as written . More swashbuckling or more investigation/film noir ? NPCs as companions ? Any other ideas ?

Personally I'd like to see a heroic CotCT where villains are suitably villainous and heroes are suitably heroic (of course some of your characters are Neutral like Nekogami's Inquisitor, their alignment will definitely have a part to play . CotCT doesn't have Dragonlance-like levels of moral conflict) The game opens with a plague on Korvosa which makes for some potentially altruistic or tragic interactions with some NPCs. Some of the NPCs will have a more nuanced viewpoint however and negotiation will of course be possible if you want it to.

Thoughts and comments welcome :)

Scarab Sages

Celestial Half-Porc wrote:
DM Amethyst wrote:
Disturbed1 wrote:
So, are we moving along still?

Yes , I hope so at least . We're just missing Celestial Half-Porc's Paladin . I guess I should create the OOC thread after that . The characters look set to work really well together background-wise which is great.

Any other questions welcome.

Sorry, I will have him done today. Hadn't realized you were waiting for me.

That's fine , there's plenty of time until the game starts . I was just posting to point out we were still on course to run the game later on. Take your time if you need it :)

Scarab Sages

Disturbed1 wrote:
So, are we moving along still?

Yes , I hope so at least . We're just missing Celestial Half-Porc's Paladin . I guess I should create the OOC thread after that . The characters look set to work really well together background-wise which is great.

Any other questions welcome.

Scarab Sages

Disturbed1 wrote:

Mmmmm, yea, maybe Draconic. Sounds like a good idea, though its not one I normally have characters take.

I dont know what it is about Draconic, but I always feel its somehow wierd to take it if you dont know alot of other languages already. Like, if you knew 4-5 other languages first, then somehow its ok.

I dunno, I guess Id compare it to like if someone who only ever spoke English decided to learn a new language and took Ancient Greek, instead of like Spanish, French, or something a little more 'normal' I guess.

Yes I know what you mean . Based on the Runelords campaign it seems like the 'language of magic' in Pathfinder would be Thassilonian but I think Draconic has merit . It's not that long ago that an 'education'(for men) required a smooth transition from English to Latin at least and maybe Greek whilst European languages were often left to the ladies to learn (in the Victorian/French Belle Epoque mindset) . It's up to you though

I also agree with Celestial Half-Porc , my suggestion for Draconic was that it would be something that your character would know innately because his ancestors had a long experience of it (prior to or even despite becoming merchants) . Kind of like Parseltongue in the Harry Potter books (though that comes through the tie between Voldemort and Harry Potter rather than because Harry's family were Parselmouths)

Scarab Sages

Yes it took me some time to figure out the bloodline as well but when I saw a mention of the ring and the bloodline power I realised it must be the Arcane bloodline and bonded object respectively. It doesn't say where your character acquired the ring in your background but it seems appropriate that the ring should be a symbol/manifestation of his his emerging magical powers and so that it spontaneously appeared on Copper's finger

Scarab Sages

Was that what you were looking for? If not I can likely come up with more.

Yes that's fine . It was only for the added bit of background . Thanks for the description

It's great that we've now got most characters ready to go ! I'll be opening an OOC discussion thread shortly but I'm pleased with everyone's contributions and look forward to starting . Thanks for your participation !

One question though: Is membership in the Sable Company something Senjin would inspire toward (like a prestige class) or is that something someone could be affiliated with at the start? I could see him working in the stables as a safe place to hide and keep him off the streets. Hoping one day to join the Company by proving himself. Unless someone of his background would be prevented from joining

My understanding of the Sable Company is that they're a kind of elite corps of the Korvosan guard, responsible directly to the Seneschal of Castle Korvosa Your PC can definitely aspire to join the Company (taking the Sable Company Marine feat at 4th level) and I think having lower level characters working in the stables would be a good way to represent that (because it builds esprit de corps). Because they're primarily devoted to the defense of the city I don't think they would reject anyone on the basis of their social background , so that can definitely be an aspiration

Character accepted :)

Disturbed1 : Good character , I like the 'Underground Railroad'/'Would-be-Vigilante' idea . Accepted .

Scarab Sages

my character is on this particlar alias. i vote for discussion thread too.

Accepted :) It looks like I will be creating that discussion thread tomorrow (technically today)

Scarab Sages

Disturbed1 wrote:
DM Amethyst wrote:


90 gold's pretty limited Disturbed1's . Shame about that but it does fit the whole 'former street urchins want revenge' set-up that kicks off Curse of the Crimson Throne

Yea, it is a bit limiting, but it is better than the average of 70 listed in the book. Wasnt sure if I wanted to go for it or just take the avg, but I guess it paid off.

Anyway, ive been working on my character's sheet. Still not sure what I wanna take for a couple spells, or a my second trait. Ought to have it done and submittted tonight sometime.

Biggest problem is I have it coming up with a cool last name. Human (varisian) sorc named Copper is anyone wants to give me suggestions for the last name, lol.

Also, I vote for a discussion thread as well.

Yes it is better than the average thankfully . Copper and the Sorcerer class immediately (and possibly wrongly) makes me think of alchemy-related words of phrases (e.g athanor . (opus) albedo, aquavit(ae)) but if your character is not an alchemist these won't work thematically

Varisians in the books often seem to have Italian or Spanish sounding names , real life Traveller-Gypsies in England have names that are recognised as belonging to lineages of Gypsy families . These often turn to be names from nature (types of trees , meadows , birds etc) or a profession name that Travelers worked in , although it's difficult of one that goes well with Copper

Out of interest which bloodline are you going for ? They're all exciting but often fire seems to be the one that's chosen en masse . I guess fire just does appeal to people (FIREBALL !)

Shuriken Nekogami (Nekogami ?)and Meowzebub : Good to know . Also looking forward to your characters !

Scarab Sages

BoggBear wrote:
Ah, never mind, I'll just stand by in case a slot opens up, and if not then good luck and good game to the rest of you.

Thanks ! . I'll keep Torolf and you in mind if some of the players have to drop out in the future

Talomyr , great character , Arianna'll definitely be at home in Curse of the Crimson Throne . Can you tell me a bit more about her familiar ? How did they meet ? Is her familiar more like a His Dark Materials-style daemon ?

I thought (wrongly) that there was a card called the Fox or one that features a fox on the illustration but the closest I came to that when I looked it up was The Rabbit Prince which doesn't work as well thematically (but then again) , so it could be a sign from the 'Spirit of the Harrow' or some sort of dream-sending ? If not it still definitely fits a Varisian (long-distance travelling , generally disliked/feared by non-Varisians....)

90 gold's pretty limited Disturbed1's . Shame about that but it does fit the whole 'former street urchins want revenge' set-up that kicks off Curse of the Crimson Throne

Scarab Sages

Disturbed1 wrote:

Im getting ready to start DMing a Rise of the Runelords game for some friends locally, and from what ive heard RotRL and CotCT have some stuff in common.

Obviously they are in the same area, but me running RotRL isnt going to spoil any kind of plot stuff for me in this game, is it?

I'd like to play in this game and feel I could keep from metagaming, but if you feel, DMethyst, that I shouldnt play, then please dont hesitate to inform me. Id completely understand.

No there aren't any spoilers for Rise of the Runelords in Curse of the Crimson Throne , although there is an 'Easter Egg' like minor character you can meet who comes from Sandpoint. So you're more than welcome to play.

Another Ranger or a Paladin (I like the concept of the Dickensian paladin , in fact Gaedren Lamm is very much a nasty (Character from Oliver Twist whose name is censored)-like character and hopefully when we start playing you should enjoy hating him in game as well as in your backgrounds) would give you some extra muscle .

A mix of diplomacy and combat strength should do fine . There will definitely be times in the AP where non-violent solutions are better/more straightforward but I will adapt as necessary to the part's style. The early adventure path is urban (until level 5 or so , you've got plenty of time) but there is also plenty of exploration in the great outdoors to be done later on

I will be adjusting the treasure you find so that you come across healing that might be needed later (if needed) and some of the item-types to match the ones used by your characters but healing items will definitely help the party .

The scenarios are pretty adaptable in terms of the party make-up so go with the kind of characters you'd like to play , provided there is enough of a mix to cover the basics things will work out (extra clerical magic could come from an NPC for example, although characters who can heal and/or have rogue-like skills would also help)

Although the AP is meant for four players , from what I remember it should be challenging enough for six . 7 might be too many , I need to read the full AP again to assess it properly but let's go with 6 as a working group.

Pleased to meet you Wander Weir and Celestial Half-Porc .I understand if the group feels too large for you Wander Weir and look forward to playing with you again some other time.

With the Paladin concept there's one spot left I think . We're not starting until a month from now though so things might change again as we all have different commitments and I completely understand.

It's quite a daunting experience for me as I'm returning to DMing but it should be a good experience and hopefully you'll enjoy the campaign. I'm certainly looking forward to it !

Scarab Sages

what is the point buy allotment? how much gold do we start with? i am thinking of toughness as one of my first level feats, and as my second, i am still undecided. for the rough draft, i will assume 20 points until specified otherwise.

Yes 20 point it is , otherwise I am going by the going by the standard rules for point-buy in the corebook.

Toughness would certainly fit (Endurance too) . I'm not sure what to suggest for your second feat but I'm looking forward to everyone's character so far . Inquisitors start with 4d6 x 10 GP

So far we have

- A Shoanti Ranger
- A Varisian Witch
- A Tian Inquisitor

I'll check the thread again tomorrow but thanks for your responses and pleased to meet you and your characters.

Scarab Sages

Torolf wrote:
Sounds like the game is full, but I'll happily take a standby spot, if one is available. I had a DM disappear on me, and was not accepted for two other recent games, so I have a halfing summoner and a gnome oracle I could tweak to fit the setting.

Hi Torolf . The game is potentially full (I'm waiting for all those who expressed interest to confirm they'd like to play) but if people drop out in the next couple of weeks I'm happy to consider your character on standby