Sabriyya Kalmeralm

Voomer's page

Goblin Squad Member. 1,023 posts (3,883 including aliases). No reviews. 2 lists. 2 wishlists. 7 aliases.


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Thanks so much! Ok, so the legacy tag is no big deal. We will just ignore it, unless for some reason one of you think it was intended to be deleted in the remaster in a particular instance, and then we can decide how to proceed (probably I'll be fine continuing to use it if a PC wants to, unless it seems problematic for some reason).

And thanks for the heads up about golems/bastions. Food for thought!


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Tiefling investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 | HP 53/53 | AC 23 | CURRENT AC 24 | F+6, R+16, W+8 (W+7 w/ mutagen) | Per +16 (+18 traps), stealth +16, Init +6 | Inspiration 8/8 | panache 6/6

Although his countenance remains calm, Dezső is very moved by the centaurs' enthusiastic reception to his efforts to entertain. Following Korak's declaration and introduction, Dez thanks Korak most formally and then takes a mighty gulp of kvass and raises the horn in salute to Korak and the Voaldyn. He bows deeply and formally to Erdija and salutes her with another big gulp from the horn. "I am honored to meet you Erdija and thank you for your guidance. You can trust that we will follow your lead and fight fiercely by your side."

Dezső will spend the night in revelry, letting his guard down more than usual, after the warm reception from the centaurs -- such warmth and acceptance being so unfamiliar to him. Even before the drink, he hardly feels the cold (he has natural resist cold 5), and he again muses to himself that his natural comfort in the cold is perhaps a sign that his true home is in the colder climates of recent weeks.

Dez will look for opportunities to bond with Erdija and Korak in the revelry, and do more tricks for the foals and any others. For fun, he will use his tail to hold his horn of kvass. If he overdoes it, as seems likely, he will make fun of himself and flatter the fortitude of the hosts (finding someone to help translate): (slurring)"I ... am but a puny two-legs... a skinny one at that ... how can I drink kvass like the mighty Vaoldyn?" But he promises Erdija he will be a capable traveling companion, despite his inability to handle large quantities of kvass...


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I fixed the second set of links too.

Catalina: No need to track ammo, since it's pretty cheap. Crink does have standard ammo to purchase and we can assume you buy a bunch. You can look at the consumable special ammo and tell me what you're interested in. He probably has common consumables and probably needs to seek out uncommon consumables.

I think my rule of thumb for uncommon items will be that, unless there's a good reason for them to be available in town, usually it is something Crink needs to track down -- unless I just decide I don't want to make it available. This applies to both the ring and the rapier-pistol. Crink is happy to try to find them and when all the requests are made here in the discussion (and it seems we are reaching that point), I will put a summary in the gameplay thread.


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No problem. I've been a bit out of it too, and Lisi's player is recovering from surgery. Hope you're able to resolve your issue promptly and without too much unpleasantness.

Catalina: I'll look for the link you sent in Discord. I've found keeping up with Discord challenging and I find it non-intuitive, but I'll find the inventory link and get it up on here. Not tonight though because it's my regular gaming night tonight...


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I will address the above posts later, but first there is a very important RETCON! Caiten's comment about Cev's bow (on Discord) made me realize the group and Hezle never discussed Cev's fate. (At least I'm pretty sure we didn't!) So, here it is...

After Hezle and the party reach safety away from the mine and start to discuss matters in detail, Hezle shares a very important piece of information regarding one of your companions... "The elf, he wasn't dead, just unconscious. The spellcasting boggard cultists -- they are the bosses of the other boggards -- they decided the elf should be taken, with all his equipment, to Belmazog. They figured Belmazog would want to question the elf about what the Ekujae know and have planned. Of course, your friend clearly wasn't an Ekujae, but the boggards figured he was special since he's an elf. I have to admit, it was sharper thinking than I usually gave the boggards credit for. There was nothing I could do to stop them. And they left within an hour or two after the battle, with your friend all tightly bound and gagged. I don't think Belmazog will kill him, if she figures he might be important to the Ekujae. She's no genius, but she might want to hold your friend as some kind of leverage against the Ekujae."

I'm sorry I forgot to mention that important detail! To be clear, Belmazog either killed Cev right away or is holding him as a prisoner and any delay in going after him makes no difference. I definitely would not have wanted to push you all to rush at the fortress to go after Cev. Feel free to discuss this news in game (RETCONNED to back at the camp near the mine) if you like (and ask any questions of Hezle) before we return to the Akrivel story...


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M CG catfolk artist bard 1; HP 16 | AC 18| F+3, R+6, W+5 | Perc +5 (Low-Light Vision; imprecise scent) | Speed 25 | Class DC 17 | Active Conditions: _____ | Hero Points: 3

Hello all! This is Voomer and here is my character in the game. I'm playing a catfolk bard named Remqaur, or Rem. Looking forward to the campaign. I'm a forever GM, so this is actually my first PF2e player character. If anyone has any suggestions related to my choices, such as spells (but anything, really), let me know. There may be a narrative reason for my choice, but maybe not!


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Tiefling investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 | HP 53/53 | AC 23 | CURRENT AC 24 | F+6, R+16, W+8 (W+7 w/ mutagen) | Per +16 (+18 traps), stealth +16, Init +6 | Inspiration 8/8 | panache 6/6

Dez watches in fascination as the stepping stones appear. Watching out for traps and other notable details, he ascends the stepping stones and, if no hazards are apparent, he claims the hourglass and returns to the group.

Perception (+2 more vs traps): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34


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Thanks! We still don't have an action from Oren (we can retcon his action as needed, and he doesn't do ranged attacks anyways), but I'm going to go ahead and resolve your actions and roll initiative.

FYI, I've had a crazy week having to buy a new (used) car unexpectedly, and I'm leaving tonight for a few days (happy Juneteenth all!). But I hope to be able to post on my phone.


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Hi, folks. I'm back! It would be great if people wanted to put posts in the gameplay thread kind of introducing the group to any significant changes from the gain in level. If there's nothing all that significant, then may just mention so here in the discussion thread and it is ok to skip it. I believe Yasami at least had a significant change to introduce.

Once we are through with that, I will move the action to the edge of the mining pit, because it seems like you have a plan.


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After answering the group's various questions (I'll get to that later, but I don't want to interrupt this roleplaying yet), Hezle sits quietly, so small and silent that the party almost forgets she is there as they muse around the fire. After the group has gone around with their comments and sit lost in reflection following Lisi's contribution, Hezle speaks up, in accented but articulate common:

"I, for one, am glad you were able to see that, for many of us, evil is something we have done, not something we are. The vrock -- yes -- that is a creature who thirsted for destruction at its very core. Have you noticed how quiet the jungle is near the camp? That is because the vrock killed all the birds. Was it hungry? No, it had plenty to eat. It just loved to kill.

It is different for us kobolds, and even the charau-ka and the boggards. We are born and are raised in certain circumstances, habits, and cultures. Evil gods and their agents work their influences upon us, and it is said the gods themselves whisper to some of our leaders at night, to keep us on their paths. I don't mean to excuse the evil I did -- I knew what Belmazog did was wrong and that whoever is backing her means to bring much evil in the world. But we Thornscales find few opportunities to advance ourselves here in the Mwangi. The Ekujae, for example, don't trust us and most often would kill us on sight if they find us on their lands. And I can't even blame them, given the history of our people.

It is the same for the charau-ka, and they also are plagued with their blood lust, and it is rumored the ancestral touch of a demon running through their veins. It is same for the boggards, and their devotion to Belmazog borders on worship.

Again, I don't mean to make excuses, and Yasami is right that the cultists gave you no choice but to kill them. But it is easy to make bad choices in this world, and for some of us more so than others, and I am grateful that you have given me another chance.

And I ask that you give Kyrion the same chance. As I told Yasami, Kyrion is a young red dragon that Belmazog raised. She somehow got hold of the egg, but I don't know how. I've only met him a couple times -- once at my village and once at the mine. But it was Kyrion's presence with Belmazog that made us Thornscales agree to her mad plan in the first place. (You all know kobolds are obsessed with dragons and view them as kin.) Kyrion is majestic and smart and curious and doesn't deserve to be caught up in Belmazog's plans. You know, Belmazog is a bit of a fool, and I'm sure she's way over her head with these foreigners. I'm not even sure she is evil to the core, probably more delusional than anything else. But, I do ask you to give Kyrion a chance to redeem himself when you encounter him at the fortress."


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Lisi, the camp is quiet and the spiders have returned to the mudpit. There are no cultists left. You can see that the floating worms still hover around the totem and Hezle made reference to creatures with shifting forms in the water in the mine pit. It's clear you'll want to rest up before dealing with that totem, and that you should have an opportunity to do so tomorrow morning before any reinforcements arrive.

The group heads over to the bunkhouse, which is abandoned and in some disarray. All of Caiten and Oren's equipment is there in a jumbled pile, along with all of Dario's equipment.

You search through the belongings of the charau-ka but, with one exception, there is nothing of value -- it is mostly just scraps of clothing, crudely made wooden carvings and jewelry, and half-eaten food. The group does, however, find under the bunks reserved for the butchers 5 moderate elixirs of life.

I'm going to assume all serious questioning of Hezle happens back at the camp. I'll go ahead and answer Lisi's questions, but you all should still let me know your remaining actions at the cultists' mine camp.

Back at your camp

Hezle does her best to answer your questions. "The vrock was conjured by Belmazog in an elaborate ritual. I've never seen any other cultist who could do something like that.

We did not bring the spiders here. We just noticed that they had moved into the mudpit at some point. They are mud spiders that we have here in the jungle. They have left us alone, but I knew they would get annoyed if I disturbed their nest.

The floating worms and the creatures in the water just showed up one day. I think they are some kind of side effect of the pillar. I think they must come from some other place because I have never heard of those creatures in the jungle, and they just seemed to appear out of nowhere. The worms have not bothered the workers and the creatures in the water have only shown themselves when the water is disturbed.

And, yes, Belmazog has some kind of fortress several days South of here. I have never been, but that is the word the boggards used to describe it. I do know that the cult’s dragon pillars or totems are somehow protecting the fortress and and that you should make sure you destroy all the pillars before going after Belmazog. I know the locations of all the pillars and can mark them on a map for you."

Please let me know what else you want to do at the mine and feel free to ask any other questions of Hezle.


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Catalina, note you did receive the 28 points of healing from Lisi's 3-action heal.


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Yikes about the fights!!

Good luck wrapping things up at school. I hope your summer will be restful.

All looks fine in the gameplay. I totally understand why you missed that detail with everything going on for you -- as a GM I want to make sure a player's action is made with understanding of the character's knowledge about the situation. I mean, I let things slide where it's not important, but this is a very sensitive moment in the battle!


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Catalina, I'm so sorry to hear you were sick this weekend -- that doesn't sound like the restful time you needed after all that's been happening at school!

I wanted to mention that it's clear to your character that if you stay in the area (rather than running into the jungle) you're spider food, but since you (the player) were sick all weekend and have so much going on, you might have missed that. If, in light of that understanding, you want to change your action, I'm totally fine with that. It's up to you.

If Catalina chooses to stick with the same action, it would be great to hear your character's thinking in the gameplay thread, because it seems pretty clear the spider is poised to finish off the boggard for you, unless you finish off the boggard first and then become the only available target for the spider...

I'm fine waiting to resolve the round. Unless you all end up engaging with the spiders in the open, we're getting very close to the end of the battle.


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Catalina sees one of the charau-ka butchers staggering, and targets it with a punishing blast, and it recoils with pain and surprise.

The charau-ka butchers don't have any traditional vulnerabilities or weaknesses. Catalina intuits, somewhat to her surprise, that reflex is their weakest save. She also knows that they are capable of going into rages, causing their attacks to be even more brutal and bloody. (I don't think that is the classic info to get with this check, but I wanted to give you something, since they don't have any weaknesses or vulnerabilities.)

In the confusion of the explosions and movement everywhere, Lisi fails to hear Caiten's suggestion to target the boggards with a fireball. Instead, he emerges from the trees so he can target the two charau-ka butchers with a scatter scree spell. Lisi's player is very busy all day today, and was very busy when they posted yesterday, so even though I can't consult with them, I'm going to override Lisi's targeting of the single charau-ka warrior that Yasami has covered and have him target the two more dangerous butchers. I don't think the player will mind.

reflex saves:

reflex: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
reflex: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

Both charau-ka butchers are surprised by the bludgeoning rocks from the sky and fail their saves. The one in back is covered with blood and staggering on its feet.

We just need Oren's action to finish the round. If he does not act by later this afternoon, I will bot him to make his way along the treeline, as Yasami suggested.


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Life has been a LOT recently, and I have had a ton of obligations to try to juggle, and also trying to continue to do a good job at work. I'm still here, and I'll try to do better. I am committed to continuing, even though the regularity has been hard for me since I returned from my trip. I'm very sorry about that.


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Sorry folks! I had busyness after being away and then some teenager school drama. I will aim to get a couple of posts up tomorrow.


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I'm back from Aotearoa New Zealand! I love that country so much: so much beauty, so much friendliness and peacefulness, and -- despite the continued injustices and only partial reparations -- the Maori have a real presence and agency (in some domains at least and especially on the North Island where I was) that's very moving.

And thanks for all the awesome roleplaying while I was away. I'll try to get up the info soon from Lisi's recon, but I think we probably won't fully leap into the next phase until Catalina is back from the woods.


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Caiten wrote:
Survey: Would you allow Hero Points to be used with Quiet Allies? If so, who would spend one?

Yes I would, with the person rolling (here, Lisi) being the one to spend it. No need to roll for this broad-level surveillance though.


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Rocco Shadow drool from their flapping tongues and lick Lisi's cheek. Guba nods somberly, its leaves twitching in the wet breeze.

I'll get a post up tomorrow with the results of your scouting. If I'm understanding the quiet allies feat, I'll just need a stealth check from Lisi. My assumption is that you're just getting a general look and not approaching anywhere too close just yet, but it would be helpful if you told me the closest you get and how close you're willing to get to any guards you spot.


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Not that I'm aware of! If he takes damage while dying it increases his dying value, so that's to be avoided. I don't know how many enemies you'd miss, but it's not a game changing amount of damage (the butchers are tough!) and it seems like the main functional purpose is to discourage pursuit. For that purpose, better to have most (if not all) of the ash IN the jungle. As you have it, if anyone decides to move towards the jungle they will rapidly find themselves in the clear.


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Yasami and everyone, please never hesitate to bring up any rules questions or anything you think I might have overlooked, large or small!


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So do you all suggest I just wait for Cev to post? How long? At this point its the only thing stopping the next round from starting.


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Thanks very much for that. I was confused about the electricity damage -- you're right that already happened. Lisi's player came up with 10 hit points left, so that discrepancy from your calculation will need to be resolved.

Anywhere Cev can touch Lisi he would still be in reach of the vrock, which has 10 foot reach. And of course, Cev is very injured too and might be taken down by an attack from the vrock.

Basically, it's a tough situation. The safest thing for Cev to do is three step actions to get Lisi in the clear so he can run into the jungle, and then hopefully not collapse from the persistent damage. Then, as you will see, the dinosaur is going to fundamentally change the dynamics with the charau-ka, but the vrock will still be in a position to have a good chance of knocking Cev unconscious on its turn, which is soon.

Anyhow, I wanted to give the reasoning behind my relatively cautious action for Cev.


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Oren, regarding your hero point use, did you mean this option? "Spend all your Hero Points (minimum 1) to avoid death. You can do this when your dying condition would increase. You lose the dying condition entirely and stabilize with 0 Hit Points. You don't gain the wounded condition or increase its value from losing the dying condition in this way, but if you already had that condition, you don't lose it or decrease its value."

If so, you are unconscious at 0 HP and I'll say you are no longer bleeding either.


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I'm going to go ahead and bot Cev in about an hour. He did use the glimpse of redemption to assist Lisi, and that reaction has now refreshed, but first he needs to make the two fort saves, which will determine how many actions he has available. If by some good fortune he has 3 actions, I intend for him to take two actions to step himself and Lisi back, and then lay hands on Lisi. Of course, if Cev posts before I do, he may want to do something else, within the confines of the results of the 2 fort saves.


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As for the tumble through, yes I accounted for the full stride as part of that action.

As for the encounter, it is definitely do able in the abstract. The party in my non-PbP game managed it, and they made one major mistake that you all haven't made so far. But you've had some unlucky rolls (Catalina missed over and over; there were lots of critical hits on you; etc.). Most importantly, in retrospect, the group would realize that drawing the vrock away to attack the party outside the mine area probably would have been a good approach -- it seems unlikely the cultists would have run into the jungle if they heard the vrock in combat. The vrock is a tough opponent, but you have managed to injure it a good amount.

Obviously it is up to you all to decide what to do, and I agree you're in a tough spot. It would occur to some of you that if the group were to take all the time to travel back to Akrivel, the circumstances at the mine and perhaps the situation in general could change substantially in ways that might make things more challenging. You also know the Ekujae cannot travel to this part of the jungle due to the magical barriers, so they could not provide reinforcements...

In terms of what you do immediately, it's fine to discuss here, but you should ultimately have your characters communicate to each other out loud in game.


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Thanks for mentioning that. It does apply! The vrock's action and attitude doesn't significantly change, but it does seem a little more annoyed at Cev...

Also, Lisi, as I mentioned in a DM to you, if you fall as a free action (which I don't think is RAW but I would allow it), it would provoke an AoO, so my understanding is that you instead want to take a step to fall off the dinosaur. The only difference is that you don't have the extra action to run behind Cev. I will adjust the Roll20 map accordingly.


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I will bot Cev if he has not acted by tomorrow morning so that we can move on to round 3. I'm open to botting suggestions, since I don't believe Cev has provided them yet.


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I botted you Cev, but I'm fine with you changing the action if you post another action today in the gameplay thread. Just include the word "retcon" in bold.


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Catalina's pistol explodes out of the trees, raining leaves on the ground but falling short of its target. In future rounds, the vrock will have cover unless Catalina comes to the edge of the trees -- hard to aim the pistol with the trees and other foliage in the way.

The vrock screeches in surprise, pain, and fury, turning both in response to the lance and hearing its native tongue, looking down at Caiten out of intense red eyes.

The group hears wild charau-ka shrieking from within the quarry and, less pronounced, some croaking. Cev and Caiten are surprised to see a whooping, hatchet-wielding charge out of the quarry and almost reach them, moving much more quickly than they expected. Another charau-ka and a boggard appear at the top of the quarry ramp.

Yasami hears commotion and charau-ka whooping within the bunkhouse, but none come out.

Cev (2 more actions), Oren, and Yasami are up.


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Right now, Lisi is 40 feet away (being 10 feet in the air) and the vrock is 50 feet away (being 20 feet in the air). My understanding is that you still have two actions and I will move Cev to this intitiative block in the future.


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Tiefling investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 | HP 53/53 | AC 23 | CURRENT AC 24 | F+6, R+16, W+8 (W+7 w/ mutagen) | Per +16 (+18 traps), stealth +16, Init +6 | Inspiration 8/8 | panache 6/6

Despite the pressing circumstances, Dez lets himself feel the pleasure of Yrja's compliment, quickly responding, "At the University I read A LOT of books."

He proceeds forwards with her, and is impressed with Yrja's directness in addressing the apparition, and surprised by the answer.

sense motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25

Dez gently signals to Yrja to pull back and speaks quietly to her: "I don't think this is actually Yelizaveta, or even her ghost. I think it's some kind of dream fragment, an echo of Yelizaveta, but it's self-aware. She won't want to tell us anything, but maybe we can bluff her, bit by bit. It feels like we need to find out what she wants..."

Dez again approaches, "Your highness, we may be strange, and we may not be jadwiga, but I can assure you were are no vision, and Grandmother has not sent us here to talk to you. Perhaps we can help."

Diplomacy (because he's not actually lying, because he doesn't know what lie to tell): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28

Bluff (if necessary nonetheless), plus inspiration: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 10 + (2) = 17


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Cev, I would be fine with that, and I will try to remember he does that the first time each round a proximate injury occurs, but the Vrock and Lisi are both way more than 15 feet away. Lisi is 60 feet away and 10 feet up (on the back of the dinosaur) and the vrock is 60 feet away and 20 feet up (not 25 feet, like I said before).


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So, it probably comes as no surprise that there's no RAW on mounting and riding an untrained wild dinosaur without a saddle or bridle. Most of the info I could find is feats for doing a mounted build. What I'm thinking is another DC 27 command animal roll to let you try to get on its back, this time at +2. No extra time is needed for that (or for the mounting); just the roll. Then you need to do a command animal action (DC 27, no bonus) anytime you want to tell it what to do (which is always the case for mounts, except for a move with the ride feat). If you fail, it does what it wants (initially go after the vrock as you already convinced it; if the vrock is unreachable or defeated, probably eat cultists until it decides to leave the area, unless a PC gets in the way).

The trickier part is making up rules for staying on. What I'm thinking is that you'll be flat footed (distracting situation) and you need to use an action each turn to stay on. And every so often (I'm not sure yet what makes sense, but not every turn) it will make a move or get annoyed in a way that requires you to make a DC 26 (level based) reflex save to stay on. That's sort of like the buck reaction some mounted monsters have. Certainly a critical fail on command animal would require that save, but some other situations could as well.

So, it's unlikely you'd manage to stay up there the whole time, but there is a decent shot of at least a few moments of glory...

I'm open to listening to thoughts you or others have. I do think we are in the making sh*t up terrain here...

relevant image, although she's well kitted out


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I'll get back to you on that!

So far you've opened the cage reasonably quietly and convinced it to go after the vrock, at least initially. But you still need to let me know where the vrock was when you opened the cage, since you get to time that.


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Tiefling investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 | HP 53/53 | AC 23 | CURRENT AC 24 | F+6, R+16, W+8 (W+7 w/ mutagen) | Per +16 (+18 traps), stealth +16, Init +6 | Inspiration 8/8 | panache 6/6

Dezső will give the room a once over to make sure we aren't missing anything and then will inspect the south door.

Perception (extra +2 vs traps): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24

"Anyanka and Elbrynn, are you coming with us? If you are also connected to Baba Yaga, then it may be she means to bring us together, especially since she has taken our Jadwiga wrestler away from us."


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Let’s get going!
 
You awaken to a soaked morning, but you spent a reasonably dry night within your tents and feel appreciative for the warmth offered by the small silk blankets Renali made each of you during your travels through the jungle, her hands always busy.

Renali quickly packs up her camp and embraces each of you as she takes her leave. ”I will tell the Ekujae what we found here, and I will meet you with the elephant people in 6 days time (6 days is a better estimate, including a careful day spent crossing the river with the elephants). Please take care.” You see her move off with her few possessions and supplies in a silk bag strapped on her back. Soon she disappears into the thick greenery.

Lisi wanders off to speak to the large reptile in the cage (as already detailed). He returns after about 40 minutes, confident that the reptile will not attack him and will attack anything else nearby. Note: Although Lisi does not need to command the reptile to continue targeting a nearby foe, Lisi doubts the reptile will chase a foe that flees or moves away. He thinks it is likely the reptile would turn to the next closest target.

Yasami heads out to scout further and place the explosives. Her boots occasionally make a squelching sound in the damp underbrush, but it is covered by the sound of rainfall. As she gets close, she drinks the potion of invisibility, which greatly increases her confidence, despite the continued squelching and prints left in the mud and soft foliage. The single sabosan remains in its nest-like platform high above. It appears to be dozing.

Yasami approaches the large building to the South. As she does, she gets a better look at the sick creatures on the cots. She counts four boggards and two charau-kas groaning and writhing on filthy reed mats. Of more concern, there is also a group of six healthy-looking boggards lingering near the mats, also to the West of the building. They lazily lounge in the mud, staffs lying at their sides. They appear to be quite comfortable in the rain and casually croak to each other, presumably speaking in their native tongue. They appear to be lousy nurses. They were not there when Yasami scouted before. Neither the lounging boggards or sick cultists appear to notice her.

Up close, the wooden building looks sturdier and more comfortable than it did from a distance. Thick, gnarled trees packed with reeds and mud form the walls, while piles of rattan create an insulating roof, only 10 feet high. There is a wooden door that is closed, but not quite properly, probably due to the warping effects of the moisture on the wood. Yasami pushes the door open a few inches (which appears to go unnoticed) and sees a number of sleeping mats neatly arranged on the half of the room she can see through the crack. She sees five charau-ka relaxing on cots; several seem to be grooming themselves, trying to get the mud out of their fur. Next to all of the cots she sees small piles with the charau-kas’ hatchets and hide armor. The room is dry, and and smells heavily of musk, fur, and smoked meat.

Yasami knows she would risk notice if she opens the door all the way to see the whole room. One note/retcon: The Thornscale kobolds you helped with arsenic poisoning told you that Hezle lives in the small hut to the East of the pit. That is her room and her lab. Another note: the kobolds clearly had great respect for and a fair bit of fear of Hezle. Apparently she is a tough boss. But she is kin and they hope you can convince her to leave the quarry. They do not think she will actively help you in the fight against the Cinderclaws because, as tough as she is, they know that Hezle fears Belmazog and the vrocks. She is also terrified of the Ekujae. She is committed to her work, but the kobolds think that fear is why she didn’t leave — fear of revenge from Belmazog because she is essential to the mining operation, and fear of capture by the Ekujae.

Yasami’s other observations: Yasami notices that the vrock that patrolled to the East of the pit is nowhere to be seen. The vrock to the West is there same as before. Yasami also notices from her closer position that the 5 charau-ka near the fire pit to the West do not look the same as the ones in the bunkhouse. These others look bigger, and carry tridents instead of hatchets. Yasami cannot see into the quarry from her current position, so she is not certain if there are changes below, but she can hear the sounds of picks, grunting workers, and the occasional whimper from one of the baby elephants.

Seeing the healthy boggards near the sick beds, Yasami re-thinks her plan to put the explosive barrel to the West of the bunkhouse. She thinks it will be less likely to be spotted if she puts it to the South or East of the hut (the entrance is to the West).

Yasami has been gone for over 20 minutes. She knows she just has a few minutes of the invisibility potion left, and then it will be a 15 to 20 minute walk back to camp. (I don't believe the distance from the quarry was specified, but with the sometimes noisy warg puppies along you can't camp too close by.)

Did I miss anything? Any questions? What does Yasami want to do at this point? The others?


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The reaction rule definitely is confusingly written, as it both says "The GM determines whether you can use reactions before your first turn begins, depending on the situation in which the encounter happens" and "Once your first turn begins, you gain your actions and reaction."

I think the way I will handle it is that as long as the PCs are in reasonable expectation of combat with weapons drawn, you can take your reaction even before your turn. Most of the time that will be the case, but there could be situations where you are surprised and cannot take a reaction until your turn. But the default rule is that you can use your reactions anytime.

And, yes, it would be helpful if each of you posts here and adds to your character profile standing orders for reactions and botting.


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Paizo made the transfer! So, we will be ready to go soon. I want to take some time to look back and see how Fern handled combat to see if want to handle it exactly the same (I know there is some variation in how DMs handle combat). But this does mean that we can probably get started up again in the next couple days...


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Hey all. Fern was able to hand over her Roll20 campaign, so that's great. I still haven't heard back from Paizo. I'll ping them again to see if they can transfer over the campaign. Seems like we should wait for that before launching the battle to come, but we can re-assess if they don't get back to me.


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If Fern is the Roll20 master, then I assume she's right there's no way to hand the campaign over to me. I've made good progress on the map but I will need to add all of you, I guess once Paizo gives me control and I can add a link to it to the top of the page.

Even though I don't have control of the campaign yet, I went and made my first post in the gameplay thread. Please let me know if you have any concerns with what I put in spoilers or don't, or if you think I need to be using out of character commentary more than I do. Or let me know if there is anything I do that seems wrong/confusing/annoying! As I said, PbP GMing is new to me...


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Thanks, everyone. It all sounds good and gives me enough orientation for the moment. Dario, the summaries on your profile page are great. Just a brief update based on the campaign so far would be great when you have a chance.

Fern gave me the go ahead to ask Paizo to transfer the campaign to me, so I'll send them an e-mail and ask them to do that.


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Tiefling investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 | HP 53/53 | AC 23 | CURRENT AC 24 | F+6, R+16, W+8 (W+7 w/ mutagen) | Per +16 (+18 traps), stealth +16, Init +6 | Inspiration 8/8 | panache 6/6

"My name is Dezső, and I come from Ustalav. Baba Yaga's servant, the Black Rider, sent us here, and gave us keys to operate the hut, which we placed in the cauldron. He told us Baba Yaga has not returned as expected to place a new daughter on the throne. And that Queen Elvanna has hunted down the Riders who would herald Baba Yaga's return. The Black Rider died before our eyes. We agreed to help Baba Yaga so that Elvanna cannot spread her winter across all the lands.

I tell you our story because you identify yourself as a ward of Baba Yaga, and we could use assistance in understanding this hut and how to help Baba Yaga. But if you are a servant of Elvanna, you will fall like all the others before you."

The last part is delivered in the same matter of fact tone as the rest. He has his rapier in his hand, but does not raise it.

My understanding is that Dez is some distance from the door, but Orik is presumably right near the door and Anyanka.


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Hearing no objections from current PCs, I'm officially expressing my willingness to place upon my head the Helm of Game Mastering, which I can only hope will offer a +2 to PbP GMing checks! You seem like a great group and I'm excited to get to know you in this context and grow my GM'ing skills in the PbP arena.

I've been in touch with Fern, and we will figure out the right timing and process to officially transfer over control of the game.

I will also try to figure out a list of questions I would like to know about the campaign. I want to give a little ramp up time before starting the assault on the quarry, since that will be major.

A Request

One request I have, if people are willing, would be for each of you to write here in the discussion thread a short (or long if you like) description of your character and significant relationships (such as NPCs the PC has special affinity to) or themes or objectives (both short and long term) that have emerged for your character during the campaign so far. Tell me anything you like, with the idea that I want to be able to continue to enable those personal relationships, themes, and objectives. If you want, you can also share common approaches to exploration and combat, but that isn't required, since that will also emerge in game.

I'm also curious to hear from each PC about what their motivation is in undertaking this adventure? It isn't entirely clear to me what you all know about the overall story arc at this point, so it might be interesting to spell some of your thoughts and speculations.

I know I can try to distill some of that from the gameplay thread, but, as Yasami mentioned, that would be an overwhelming task. And, really, I'm especially interested in your reflections at THIS point. Some of you have some information in your profile -- especially pre-campaign backstory -- and feel free to point me to that as part of your summary.

If someone doesn't have much to say, don't feel obligated. Some characters have relatively straightforward motivations and not a lot of schemes cooking, and that's totally legitimate. But I want to enable your character development, so I want to provide this opportunity for you to share with me, since I was not able to learn about your characters organically as the initial GM.

Finally, feel free to send me a private message if there is something more appropriately shared in that way.

I hope that all sounds good to you and makes sense! I'm hoping this kind of reflection will be fun for you and a good way to transition into a new phase of the campaign.


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Thanks for all the helpful and kind comments.

Yasami, you definitely don't have to worry about me mindlessly copying and pasting! I can see why that wouldn't be any fun at all.

Regarding Catalina's Thaumathurge, I've never played in a group with one, so I'll need to familiarize myself more with how the class works, but I don't have any problem giving recall DCs up front. It sounds like that's just something Fern did at the start of every combat encounter so Catalina could include the action in the first posting?

It's funny, one of my gripes about the PCs in my home group is they rarely take the time to recall knowledge, but it sounds like that won't be an issue here! Definitely let me know as things proceed to make sure the flow and the way I'm handling recall knowledge is comfortable for you.

Regarding metagaming, I'm not too concerned with this group about that, since you're all so focused on character. In my experience, when PCs are focused on character, the metagame knowledge might heighten the tension or excitement for the player, or lead the player to be a little more thoughtful, but players focused on character are unlikely to break character due to metaknowledge. And the only really really important metaknowledge would really be stuff about the overall plot, and it doesn't seem like most of you have that in any meaningful way?

Caiten, that seemed like a super annoying interaction in the Edgewatch campaign. I think my general approach would be to provide a narrative explanation for how something like that would work, rather than just posting a table with shorthand from the module. But I definitely agree it would be important in a situation like that to work out any questions or ambiguities in the discussion thread, and PbP has the advantage of being able to take the time for that. I actually appreciate knowing that you (and I assume others) are alert to places where things may get tricky rules wise.

If we do go forward, which is seeming likely, I'll definitely have a number of questions about the campaign on points like Yasami mentioned. As for house rules, unless it is something fundamental that is likely to come up every combat, it is probably best for folks to just point it out the first time it comes up, like the first time a PC uses a certain ability that has been house ruled. I'm unlikely to have a problem with something you have all agreed upon. The AP is challenging, at least at various moments (including the one right before you), so I don't want to hold you back with stingy rule interpretations or overly harsh RAW.

Let me know if I missed anything, if you would like clarifications, or if there are more questions or comments.


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Hi folks! Lisi/Axolotl told me that the apparently very excellent GM Fern is unable to continue GMing your Age of Ashes campaign. I’m curious to chat with you all about the possibility of me taking it over, at least to give it a try and see if it works out all around.

I started gaming with the D&D Basic set as a kid and returned to TTRPGs about 20 years ago. I’ve been a Pathfinder GM for well over a decade in a more-or-less weekly home game. We did the complete Carrion Crown AP for PF1 and we are currently about to move into the fourth module in the AofA AP, after an extended homebrew diversion. So, I’m definitely familiar with where you are in the AP right now, and where things are headed.

I’ve played in several PbP games, but never GM’ed one. As a GM, I’m pretty diligent and detail oriented, but not a total master of the rules (which matters a little less with PbP, since there’s time to look things up). I’m thoughtful about NPC/monster motivations; don’t have a binary view of good and evil; and I’m open to PC creative problem solving and don’t think every encounter needs to end with the enemy dead on the ground. I dig character development and I’m happy to give PCs room to develop their personalities and relationships. I’ve scanned the recent game thread, and it seems like GM Fern is a very colorfully descriptive writer. I would do my best in that department, but it is something I would need to work on, as it’s different in PbP than in live games.

I guess, before going further into details, I’m curious if you have questions for me or things you think I should know about the campaign or your expectations. Have a good day, everyone!


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Tiefling investigator (empiricist) 6/swashbuckler (inspired blade) 1 | HP 53/53 | AC 23 | CURRENT AC 24 | F+6, R+16, W+8 (W+7 w/ mutagen) | Per +16 (+18 traps), stealth +16, Init +6 | Inspiration 8/8 | panache 6/6

Can Orik re-direct his other arrow shots?

Feeling the effects of the blessings of Erastil, as well as Yrja's more mysterious boon, and seeing Nazhena still grounded, Dez charges forward without hesitation and lunges at the wicked witch with his flaming rapier.

Flaming rapier attack with bless and haste: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

Flaming rapier damage with bless: 1d6 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 6 + (4) = 12

Flaming rapier attack with bless and haste possible crit?: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

extra damage if crit: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Dez REALLY wants to confirm that critical, so he is going to expend two inspiration to get an extra d6, which may not be necessary, since we don't know Nazhena's AC. But Dez does know Nazhena will soon be in the air...

Seeing this may be his last chance to strike the witch, Dez strains and twists the fiery blade, trying to thrust deep into Nazhena's chest, bringing focus to his thrust by concentrating on all the suffering she's caused and declaring, "This is for Nadya, and for what you did to her daughter Thora. You will die here today."

add inspiration on attack to confirm crit: 1d6 ⇒ 2 equals total of 26 to hit

If applicable, an AoO during Nazhena's summoning:

Flaming rapier attack with bless and haste: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

Flaming rapier damage with bless: 1d6 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 6 + (3) = 12

I don't think any incoming melee attacks are likely, but Dez will use panache to attempt to parry any that do come his way, because he's leaving it all on the field in this battle.


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Hi, James! The Age of Ashes module "Tomorrow Must Burn" says...

quite minor Nidalese diplomat spoiler:
... that the Nidalese diplomat Halleka's specific area of expertise is velstrac relations; "he wants to discuss how the Silver Council might improve their city with their velstrac aid." I don't understand that. What could the velstracs have to offer Kintargo, at least for any price Kintargo would want to offer? The velstracs would probably demand victims in exchange for any assistance, and I can't really imagine any assistance they could offer that wouldn't be evil (like torture). Any ideas on how to explain Halleka's thinking that makes sense? If not then I suppose I could just say he is a diplomat and omit any reference to the velstracs, but I'm curious what the author had in mind...


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Maybe I missed something, but can someone explain how the PCs are supposed to be motivated to go through Dreamgate when they do not know it goes to Ravounel? I mean, after they defeat Heuberk they will be motivated to go to Ravounel to pursue the Scarlet Triad, but they have no way of knowing that the gate leads to Ravounel, do they? Also, how to explain the coincidence that the gate happens to go to the exact next place where they are headed in pursuit of the Triad? Doesn't that seem like too much of a coincidence?

To be clear, it makes sense to me the PCs are motivated to go through the gate, out of curiosity, and it makes sense to me they are motivated to go to Ravounel, to follow the Triad. But why would they think the gate would lead them to Ravounel, and how can I explain the coincidence?

Here's a thought: Perhaps Heuberk (or writings found on Heuberk's corpse) indicate that Lasluun's research suggested Dreamgate may exit somewhere in Ravounel, which is part of why she chose to set up her slaving operation there?