DM Sharoth's page

~Sits on bar stool and taps fingers on the bar~

"can I getta drink over here?"
starts whistling the first part of dueling banjos and looks at Kael

~the bartender gives you a strong ale, on the house~

I have not forgotten you. I have about 1/4 of what I want to write done, but I am at work and will hold off until I get back home.

I will get the rest of the infor about how you all got to Cillamar and Caslte Whiterock later on tonight. But I am on a roll, so please bear with me. I will also be ready to start tomorrow, one way or another.

Brother Seamus,

Merian Benvalla,

Kael,

Has the Wandering Bard gotten his character done yet? ~gives an Impish smile~

Having...flashbacks....must...fight...rage...

Waith, I thought Chelaxians worshipped devils?

~Wicked smile~ I am Neutral Evil. I go both ways!

Also, remember that the Devil is in the details!

Priapus wrote:

I just noticed something that scares me a bit DM Sharoth is Chelaxian, this bodes ill.

O_O:

~innocent look~ Alow me to Demon-strate my innocent nature!

Um...it's cut-&-paste, right, because the map I got is in 4 pieces/PDF pages.

~grimaces~ Yea, I noticed that. But since I don't have a scanner or the hardcopy, I can't do anything other than hand you all that copy. However, once I get the hard copy, I will ask one of my friend's to scan the map into the comp and then reposition everything. Unless someone here would be willing to do that?

~grins~ I figure that we are here to have fun and provide me amusement as your characters writhe in pain and agony... ~clears my throat~ Did I just say that? Uh oh! Now my players know. ~grins~

I am off to get a bit to eat and then go to work. I figure one way or another, we will start tomorrow. I am almost ready anyway.

Oh, I will be transfering some of the info from this thread to the PBP thread to keep everying as clear as possible.

We will be having 7 players in this game. All will start out at level 1. Everyone playing on this PBP please send me an e-mail requesting the map for the Town of Cillamar. ~grins~ Thank God for PDFs and e-mail. I will get some more info on the town tomorrow. Hopefully the Hardcopy of Castle Whiterock will be here too by the time I am done with work. I so prefer hardcopies to PDFs for some things.

~sighs tiredly~ Tiem to get some sleep. Take care everyone!

For dice rolls, please use Invisible Castle, especially since I can access it at work.

As for work, I work Monday throught Friday 4pm to midnight EST. My personal e-mail can't be accessed from work, nor can my books or some of the web sites that we may eventually need. Please keep that in mind when it becomes time to "torture the DM!" ~grins~

I have started the PBP thread, even though I am not quite ready for everyone to start to post there.

Assault on Castle Whiterock

Hey, I am making progress ya know!

" A Dummies' Guide to Castle Whiterock "

" Listen up you primitive screwheads!! You're all fresh and shiny from your apprenticeships and alleyways and eggshells and mercenary regimental guard duties. That's nice and cute and furry - and will get your sorry butts fragged quicker than a mind flayer snacking on an inattentive gold dragon's noggin!!

" In order to survive, I have been tasked with given you pre-packaged self-propelled field rations enough information to maybe not die fifty feet outside the town gates. Or, in some parts of town, fifty feet outside the front door of the local bar. So, since someone asked me all nice and purty-like, I'm givin' you chowderheads the following tidbits of advice.

" Lesson #1: Do not assume. If you cannot figure this one out, well ... you are monster kibble waiting to happen.

" Lesson #2: Carry a variety of weapons. Not counting whatever your fancy shmancy nancy 'weapon of choice' is, carrying just one weapon is a surefire ticket to getting the tag 'CHOW' tattooed on your forehead. Since most of you chowderheads are at least proficient with the simpler weapons, we'll stick to what almost all of you know how to use without stabbing yourself in the foot.
" Always, always carry a dagger. If nothing else, that is what you probably eat with. In a pinch, a dagger is a throwable weapon at close quarters and that dagger may be what keeps you from finding out what the inside of a gullet looks like.
" Get - at a minimum a club, or some other wooden bludgeoning weapon. A club is free, isn't too too heavy and can - like a dagger - also be thrown. They are your best weapon of last resort in melee when your pappy's fancy sword is scraping off the ribcage of a skeleton or turning into rusty flakes from some spell. And, they are free.
" Obviously, just about all of you will have a primary melee weapon you fancy. Presuming you are not familiar with a Martial Weapon, you might wish to take a close look at either the morning star or the old peasant standby, the spear. The former does two of the three basic damage types, and can take advantage of a reasonably strong person when swung two-handed. Not a bad way to finish a downed foe. The spear is cheap, can be thrown and can be set to receive a charge.
" Now, here is the lesson I do not generally see ever being learned. Carry 2 to 4 javelins for throwing as a group. That's right - all of you can probably chuck a javelin, so all of you should be packing some. It is better to go to loot your foes' corpses than it is to have to spend perfectly good cure spells and healers' kits to repair damage you could have avoided.
" Lastly, everyone should carry a projectile weapon. Barring a rash of impoverished characters, this should be the venerable light crossbow. Packing a reasonably accurate range increment, capable of being locked and loaded as you trail behind your point-snack, this gives your entire party the capability of perforating foes as they come to you. And for the love of the gawds, carry BOLTS too ... lugging around a crossbow does you no good if you don't have any ammunition.
" You will not always have a full compliment of spells and magical dooflichies available to you with which to wreck havoc and kill things. That is where the weapons come in. Unless you or your foes break them, weapons can always kill things that want to kill you.

" Lesson #3: Basic Tactics. Not counting cramped underground environments, you chowderheads are likely to encounter significant amounts of hostiles at a surprising distance. Unless you all have pointy ears, it is likely you have one or maybe two real archers in the team and the rest of you hopefully are toting light crossbows as mentioned above. Unless there is a really, really pressing reason, do not ever charge to engage your foes unless there is no alternative. Let them come to you. Fill them full of crossbow bolts and arrows. When they get a bit closer, chuck those javelins I told you to get and fill them with those too. Never assume your foes will walk to you. You may find yourselves having no terrain that is conducive to engaging in melee, so you will be forced into a shooting duel. Other times of course your bows and crossbows will be more of a hindrance than a help. Adjust, adapt and think.

" Lesson #4: Gear load management. Just because you can afford everything in the general store, the smithys and the jewellers store does not mean you should carry everything. Strive to keep your gear to as light a load as you can. The trick, of course, is bringing enough gear to survive and thrive but not so much gear that a snail can chase you down and barf on your face. Basic gear is essential. Rope, a hammer, a few spikes, a crowbar, one or more light sources, a bedroll to sleep on, a spare change of clothes, and at least two sacks to carry loot or you buddy's head back out in are crucial. Two waterskins and food are also a really good idea unless you plan to drink whatever water you can find while subsisting on your own toe fungus.

" Lesson #5: Those who learn to run away can come back and kill things to take thier stuff later. Do not be afraid to run away when the odds are pretty clearly not in your favor. As a subset of this lesson, do not charge in blindy and hope you won't get your head lopped off. Otherwise, your buddies will probably be taking your head back in a sack.

" Lesson #6: Practice, practice, practice. Develope teamwork drills. [Referring to the Teamwork Benefits from PHB 2.] You never know when you chowderheads' teamwork will figure out that something bad is behind that door or that there is a secret door none of you would have otherwise singly been able to find. Do not forget to hone a trick or two that plays up to your own unique strengths. [Referring to the skill tricks from Complete Scoundrel.] Finally, get your team's spiritual leader(s) to pow-wow about a companion spirit that shores up your weakest or most feared area. [Again, referring to the Companion Spirits from PHB 2.] The more of these kinds of things you chowderheads learn how to do, the likelier it is you will get to die of old age.

" Lesson #7: Secret intelligence that is way above your non-existent divine rank gives us some vague idea of the kinds of threats you will be facing. " [This is where they are informed of the following recommended skill bonuses to be had. The physical ones listed are the bonuses recommended after armor check penalties are accounted for. 5 or more ranks in each of the following additional Knowledge skills : arcane, local, nature, nobility & royalty, religion and the planes / Survival at about a +10 / Search at about a +10. The trapfinder/lockpicker will need about a +20 to Open Locks. The 'face' will need about a +15 Diplomacy bonus as well as about a +10 Gather Information. Spell-lobbers will want at least some modicum of Spellcraft.
Obviously, it is not possible to have all of these skills at the higher bonuses at 1st level. But it is a clue to the players to keep in mind the kinds of things they can be expecting to have to deal with.]]

" Lesson #8: Do not let your melee guys get more than a simple move again ahead of the cleric or curative spellcasters. If you chowderheads do go charging off pell mell in order to wade into combat with a pack of little toothy goblins - and then you get your legs hacked off - the odds are it is because you charged in and left the healers too far behind to do your reckless butt any good. Think about your spacing and reach. Heck, form a shield wall with the spellhuckers packing longspears - which double nicely as 10 ft poles - jabbing the bad guys in front of you. It can prove surprisingly effective.

" That's all - now get out of my sight! I'd like a pleasant memory to go to sleep with tonight. "

Thanks to Turin the Mad for the initial writeup that I "Borrowed".

This is the PBP thread for Sharoths Castle Whiterock PBP.
The Discussion thread can be reached Here.

Castle Whiterock is located near the town of Cillamar in the country of Molthune, near the border of Isger. Canorate is the nearest City that is on the map. Please refer to the PF Campaign setting, page 102 - 103 for more details.

Merian Benvalla,

Testing! Testing! One two three! Testing.