[ACG] [PluTo] Adventure 3-3: In Search of a Sage by Yewstance

Game Master Yewstance

I was looking at my potential Item Upgrades and it turns out I don't actually want any of them.

There's an Item 3 up for grabs if someone wants to grab it.

I'll be out of town Friday to late Monday. Please bot as needed. Thanks.

Sorry for slowdown... super busy today and will try to post tomorrow morning (US time).

4th scenario at tier 3. We get a card feat. We get to tier up. We can now add a card of tier 2 or less to an empty card slot.
We get a role. And we get a free power feat after applying that role.

Card Feat: Ally Adding Crow
Tiering up?: Yes
Role: Wild Warden
Power Feat: Extra +1 to reveal an animal feat

Upgrade: I'll pick after everyone else, Probably none.

You might have noticed that I've taken very few upgrades over the last 2 tiers. There just wasn't much worth upgrading to.
But tier 4 has an item, a blessing, an ally, and at least 2 spells.

Any idea how to add the Role card stuff to the Deck Handler?

Card Feat: Item. Adding Topaz of Strength.
Tiering up? Yes.
Role: Daredevil
Power Feat: ☐ When another character at your location is dealt damage, you may reduce that damage by 1.
Upgrade: depends on what's available. Armor 3 if we got one. Probably nothing else.

I've tried to answer everything in the scenario update post, but do note the following, in brief.

Card Feat: Ally, adding Bound Lantern Archon (UM 2)
Tiering up? Yes.
Role: Necromancer
Power Feat: Animate Dead: May put any monster in my hand ([ ]Or any monster)
Upgrade: Spell 3: 1d1000 ⇒ 478

"Power Feat: Animate Dead: May put any monster in my hand ([ ]Or any monster)"
Wut? Oh. "☐ When you defeat a monster that has the Undead trait (☐ or any monster) and would banish it..."

The Thriae side looks much easier to me so I vote for them.
Worth noting that while backing the Alchemists means we could stay together more due to not having to chase down the villain, Thriae Constructor is the multiple henchman and is immune to mental damage. No help from Binder's Tome.

It looks like there may be a few charisma checks here so if no one objects I would like the Hand of the Honest Man loot.

Card Feat: Blessing, adding Blessing of Gorum
Tiering up? Yes (Just to make paperwork easier since everyone else is)
Role: Bog Medic
Power Feat: ☒ Instead of the first exploration of your turn, you may shuffle a blessing (☐ or a spell) into your deck to shuffle 1d4+1 (☐+2) random cards from your discard pile into your deck.
Upgrade: Ally 3

Now I can start removing some cures from my deck. :)

I agree with Thriae... mostly because I'd rather side with them. XD

Skill feat: +1 to Wisdom.
Upgrade: spell 3: 1d1000 ⇒ 218

As for the trader 3 of us could pick Hadden Hoppert and we would see 4 spells of AD 3 or 4. Downside is if he doesn't have at least 3 spells worth taking we would just miss out on loot.

And in my case it means I couldn't take the Natron Fang anymore.

An alternate option is for Lini and Valeros to pick either
Smiths of Waiti Offers weapons for 2 boons
or
Shardishad Offers melee weapons for 3 boons.

If Lini and Valeros both picked the same weapon trader we could visit it and be shown 3 weapons. Lini has equal use for melee and ranged weapons so Valeros could take a weapon of his choice and Lini could take the second best weapon to keep or trade for Natron Fang.

Valeros will take +1 Str for his skill feat.

I'll have to look at the upgrades and the traders to see what I want to do. I'm realizing that Topaz of Strength wasn't a very good choice for me (I thought it would let me roll my Str skill, but now I realize it just lets me roll my die) but we didn't get any Items beyond Bs. Could I trade it away at a trader (I think no, because I need to trade something within 2 levels of the card I'm gaining)?

If you trade at Sunburst the AD# of the card you are trading in doesn't matter.

If you are trading with one of the other traders you can trade in any boon that is within 1 level of the card you want.

So if you decided you want better melee weapons you could reduce the cost of Shardishad. Then next scenario you would visit Shardishad and assuming you are the only player visiting you would be shown 2 melee weapons AD 3 and/or AD 4. If you decide you want one of them, Say an AD 4 melee weapon, You would bury an AD 3 or higher boon and trade in another AD 3 or higher boon.
If the weapon you traded for is banished then at the end of the scenario you don't get the AD3+ boon you traded in back but you do keep the AD3+ boon you buried.

At least I think that is how it works.

Edited with correct AD.

You must trade in cards that are within 1 AD# of the boon you're trading for (or higher).

So for an AD4 card on offer, you must trade an AD3+ card, at least.

I can take the relevant MM Rulebook rules about traders and add it to the Trader spoilers in the campaign header, if desired.

Otherwise, everything stated is perfectly correct.

Valeros will use one of the acquired Armor 2 cards to upgrade Lockpick Shield to Stanching Buckler.

I'm wondering about whether or not to take the loot card Neferekhu again. "For your combat check, reveal this card to use your Strength or Melee skill + 1d8. If the bane has the Undead or Outsider Traits, you may discard this card to add an additional 1d8. Reveal this card to add 2 dice to any Wisdom or Knowledge non-combat check at your location; then succeed at a Diplomacy 8 check or draw the scourge Curse of Withering from the box." I mainly took it because I thought revealing to add 2 dice to any Wis or Knowledge non-combat check at my location seemed pretty great (and Valeros' chance of avoiding the curse is not bad: he rolls 1d8+4 for Diplomacy), but so far I don't think it's come up a single time. Maybe it'll be more now that there are more reasons for Valeros to stick together with other PCs, but I guess my question is how useful is this ability to any of you?

If no one else wants it, Valeros will take the loot card Sun Falcon Pectoral (trading his Topaz of Strength for it).

If no one else wants it, Valeros will take the loot card Nefti the Bard (trading Dredge for it).

Valeros will use the Adventure Reward to reduce the cost of the Smiths of Wati trader (weapons) and he will also go there for trading before the next scenario.

Skill Feat: +1 Charisma
Card Upgrade: Spell 3: 1d1000 ⇒ 448

I'm wondering about whether or not to take the loot card Neferekhu again.

Stepping outside of my GM position for a moment.

I consider Neferekhu the greatest Loot card ever printed in PACG - not necessarily just for it's power level, but how unusual and cool it is, and how uniquely potent it is for a variety of characters.

Now, with all of that gushing out of the way, there's limitations.

It's not actually a strong 'weapon', for one. If you can't handle the Diplomacy check consistently, the penalty for it's great power is nasty (albeit it can't stack with itself, so once you're Cursed you may as well always reveal it). If you don't have a Wisdom-based caster in the party, noncombat Wisdom checks won't consistently come up (closing checks and some barriers is going to be the majority), and you have to be at the right location at the right time to be of help.

In this particular party, the only truly Wisdom-centric character is Lini. Whilst almost tripling (not really, but at least doubling in practice) her noncombat Wisdom/Divine/Survival skills should help her to defeat barriers, acquire animal allies, recharge spells, close locations, acquire spells and acquire blessings...

...Lini is unusual in that she adds significant static bonuses to all of her checks anyway, so any time she's asked to make a noncombat Wisdom-based check she usually just autopasses it regardless. A lot of her turns are listing out "Blessing X auto acquired" or "Ally Y auto acquired" or "Spell Z auto recharged".

I do believe that there's great value in Neferekhu... but it is using up an Ally slot that could be spent providing an exploration, and most of its value is entirely reliant upon your team-members choosing to stick with Valeros and making Wisdom checks where they would want the assistance. Ultimately, it's going to be up to team dynamics whether Neferekhu pays off, rather than Valeros' own actions, so I understand why you might choose not to use it.

I would have asked for it but can't risk drawing it as my only starting ally. But Yewstance is correct that the bonus comes up rarely enough that you shouldn't feel any pressure to add it to your deck.

The Natron Fang worked out fairly well for me last game but I'll wait to hear from Darago before deciding on the trader reduction.

Skill Feat: +1 INT

Trader Cost Reduction: Hadden Hoppert

Card Upgrade: Considering Replacing Blessing of Sivanah with Blessing of Isis. I'd work better for me, since I'm making tons of INT checks, but would be less helpful for Grazzle and Valeros (and Lini, but not as much) since it won't add 2 dice to CHA checks any more. Eventually, I'll add another Blessing slot to put in Blessing of the Seventh Veil.

What do people think?

REFERENCE POST for 3-4A

All locations listed will have a henchman shuffled into them when built, as per the scenario rules.

=============================================

Personally I'm in favor of blessings that can grant a bonus to either check. They both grant

Isis adds 2 dice to your spell combat checks though I don't see Grazzle's Blessing of Pharasma being added to spells much.

Most of us don't add the acid trait to our checks but there are a few constructs including I think some barriers.

Seems like what I call a sideways upgrade. No major improvement or downgrade. So I see no harm in trying it.

Seems like even with my low roll I get one of the spells

Upgrading Frigid Blast to Volcanic Storm.

Choosing Smiths of Wati for my cost reduction.

Thanks for the input. I'll stick with Neferekhu for at least another scenario or two and see if it starts getting some use. Lini, if I draw it I'm happy to give it to you (but can you handle the Diplomacy 8 check?). Alternatively, because of Valeros' new Damage Reduction power (plus his old power from his allies boosting your combat checks), it makes more and more sense for Valeros to stick together with other PCs, so if Neferekhu comes up he can just plan to be in the same location as Lini.

Forgot to mention, whichever trader gives spells would like to reduce cost of that one.

Just to clarify, do you have a post to how traders work in PFS? I am playing MM box but I know it's a bit different in OP.

Trader rules are in the campaign header - under Traders -> Trader Rules. The rules are otherwise identical to Mummy's Mask.

To quote from the campaign header...

========================

In Season of Plundered Tombs, traders work differently than in Mummy’s Mask, in the following ways.
• When you are rewarded with a trader, instead of checking it off on the Bazaar card, record it on your Chronicle sheet.
• You do not visit traders after winning a scenario. Instead, at the start of each scenario in this Adventure Path, before setting out the locations, you may visit 1 trader you have recorded on your Chronicle sheet.
• Pay the trade cost with the usual number and type of cards from your deck, but instead of putting those cards in the box, put 1 in to your deck box and bury any others.
• At the end of the scenario, return the card you traded for to the game box, and put the card you returned to your deck box back into your deck.
For example, to pay the trade cost to a trader offering spells at a cost of 2 boons, put 1 of those boons into your deck box, bury the other boon, then add the spell to your deck. At the end of the scenario, return the spell to the game box and put the first boon back in your deck.

=========================

Like in standard Mummy's Mask, you must trade cards within one AD# (or higher) than the boon you're trading for, and traders will only offer boons of the current AD# or one below (as per the FAQ).

Lini does have a 50% chance to make the diplomacy 8 check but you should hold on to Neferekhu.

I'll be slightly busy over the weekend, but just clarifying that I'm waiting for Grazzle's trader choice (Sunburst Market or Hadden Hoppert, I assume. Unless he wanted to go to the Smiths of Wati to add another choice there).

I'm getting extremely busy in life recently, and really need to cut back on my PbP games. I'm gonna have to duck out. I just can't keep up with all my games anymore (and am not really enjoying trying to keep up). Maybe one day I'll return, but thanks for the games.

Thank you all very much for the fun times!

Take care, Andrew! Enjoyed playing together and hope life gets less hectic soon!

Sorry to see you go but completely understand the issue.

Sorry to see you go; I also understand, especially given how my free time has been increasingly rare of late.

You're always welcome back here; hope your time with PACG PbP was enjoyable. Take care!

Unfortunate... I hope life calms down soon!

Well, I'm very sorry to do this because I've been thoroughly enjoying our games, but I'm afraid I'm also going to withdraw from the table. I've just learned that my father is quite sick and I'm going to drastically reduce my PbP commitments as a result. I look forward to playing PACG again with y'all, but it may be awhile.

We're very sorry to see you go, but it's been a great time, Abraham. Best of wishes to you and your family.

(With this all in mind, I will try to get Chronicle Sheets for all completed adventures up to this point out to the team within the next week, and I'll PM all players, including Abraham and Andrew.)

To Darago & Lini:
Please share your thoughts as to whether you would like to continue as a duo, whether you would like to merge with another team playing Season 3*, or whether you would like to take an extended break until more players return, or otherwise.

*Note that I currently am playing in a 4-player table that is close to completing 3-3E, one scenario behind this one. I have raised the discussion point with them as to what their thoughts would be on a merge between our two tables.

If we do merge the tables, it will be likely that I'll end up as both a BR and a player, but I believe I can manage that (and, in fact, will allow me to dedicate more time to managing this table by combining 2 separate responsibilities). Our most illustrious BR, Hawkmoon, on our other table has a lot of responsibilities fighting for his time, and he and may well appreciate the break.

Sorry to hear it Abraham. I hope things get better for you and your family.

I don't mind merging the tables. What is the healing situation at the other table?

Quick post from mobile, excuse my brevity.

We have myself as Estra, a Divine caster who can very actively self heal and carries Healing magic in addition (and my party members there virtually never ask for healing, and healing is even less important in large parties where each player gets less turns). We have an Alchemist who can potentially heal, especially given the loot option for Potion of Healing.

Discussions on the other table are still ongoing; I'm looking for a solution to fit everyone's desires, ideally. If you and Darago would rather play as a duo; that works too. I just ask that everyone shares their honest preferences.

I like playing with other people. 4 players is what I'm used to but I would prefer 6 players to 2.

I'd also be down to merge tables. I'm used to 3 - 4, but I think I'd rather play with more than less. And the remaining party composition leaves lots of gaps (if we run into something immune to the Attack trait, might as well end the scenario early...).

I saw that there was concern about you being both a player and BR, but I've been doing that for our Season Tapestry's Tides table and I don't feel like I get an advantage. Sure, you learn what the top card of the deck is after processing the locations, but I've found that I end up forgetting by the time my turn rolls around again. Just try to not process an update immediately before your turn, and you should be good. (BTW, if you think we're fast, you should see that table. We're on 3-3D and we started mid-November!)

I also saw a concern about posting speed. All the tables I've been at (This one, my SOTT, AoA and Cosmic Captive) have all been pretty fast, so that's what I'm used to, but I don't want to impose that on another group if that's not their style.

To clarify, any "?"s shown in the Location List for scenario 3-4A listed above are all monsters. I didn't realize the database still had some listed as unknown from something that must've happened a couple of scenarios ago.

Power Feat: Banish Monster from hand to checks by characters at my location.

Card Upgrade: Spell 4

Power Feat +1 hand size
Upgrade Replacing Remove Curse with Channel the Gift (spell 4)

TABLE SWITCH

This is now the Discussion thread for the Season of Plundered Tombs table comprised of...

Hadden Hoppert for certain for Qualzar. I’ll be taking at least the loot Elemental Treaty- will decide on Remove Curse after trading, but if anyone else wants, go for it.

(A shame the Behemoth Golem isn’t a Giant, despite the “damage is dealt to all characters” ability. That Giantbane Dagger might have become immediately handy!)

Alternate upgrade proposal in light of the upcoming scenario.

EmpTyger - Weapon 4 as requested
Estra - Ally 2 as requested
Cogsnap - Armor 4 as requested
Darago - Blessing 4 as requested

Those 4 are uncontested.

Skizza requested Item then Ally as did Lini and beat Lini on both rolls. But Lini's ally 4 upgrade is a negligible improvement. However her item 4 could be very useful in the upcoming scenario where we are all sticking together.

Magnetic Grimoire
On a character at your location's check that invokes the Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire, or Poison trait, reveal this card to add 1d4.

Recharge this card to draw a boon that has the Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire, or Poison trait from your discard pile.

So I'm hoping Skizza is agreeable to taking Ally 4 this time around.

As for the trader I see 3 options.

1. Focus on Hadden Hoppert in hopes of gaining a Safety Bubble MM Spell 4.
2. Hit up the Sunburst Market for a mix of Cures and Elemental Treatys.
3. Just go where we always go and be sure to win all of the combats. Don't sweat the failure condition.

Skizza has agreed so
Lini - Item 4
Skizza - Ally 4

And hopefully we'll find another item 4 for Skizza.

As for traders, As much as I want another Cure, Constructs are notoriously magic resistant so I better visit the Smiths of Wati again.