A Game of Kingmaker

Game Master Wandering Wastrel

<-- Still happy to prosecute if you want a happening XD

Yeah, Diplomacy has several limitations that often get overlooked. The first is that it takes a full minute of interaction; the second is that it presupposes that the target of your attempt is at least vaguely willing to be Diplomatised.

EDIT: see, Raquel? Not all of your dice rolls suck

True; honestly I was just trying to get him to shut up more than anything, and since he is a murderer, no point in sugar coating the seriousness of his situation. I don't believe the what happened act, since he kept the ugh... trophies.

Is that something that Nariel's werewolf research would've turned up, whether or not people in their alternate states remember their actions or not?

So on one hand I don't know that transporting this guy to Nivatka's Crossing is a job for the entire party, but you don't split the party and I don't want to put it on NPCs cause I'm afraid he'll get free and kill somebody. And also I don't have any subordinates to tap to help transport.

I'd offer Nariel to go along, but she is neither useful at restraining big tough creatures, nor do I get the feeling Arianna would appreciate her company, since she was clearly very annoyed at Nariel during the last encounter XD

On other news, I'll be leaving out of town for a few days starting tomorrow eve, and unable to post until Sunday.

It's ok, you have colleagues to do that sort of thing for you. I'm going to move this along accordingly :)

In amongst the sadness, there is some good news: you have negotiated the tangled web of favours and disfavour and made your first tentative dabblings in Brevoyan politics. You have also set up a nascent province in unclaimed territory, and built a town, as well as successfully defended it from outside trouble.

Please advance to 5th Level at your convenience :)

Woo! I shall do so tomorrow.

Ooo, how exciting! Wastrel, before I go choosing feats, I was wondering if it's possible to purchase a scroll of Fox's Cunning? I would need that spell to craft a headband of Vast Intellect +2; on that note, I was still of the mind that using Nariel's bonus magic feat for Craft Wondrous Items would be helpful, get some magic items a little cheaper and more easily.

IDK where you would buy a scroll of Fox's Cunning, we don't have a magic shop. It's unfortunate you can't copy spells from my formula book seeing as I have good reason to invest in Int, too.

Anyways this is a very good level for me, I get 2nd level extracts, Studied Combat, and Studied Strike.

Hang on though... do you have access to Fox's Cunning? If you have access to the spell, we can co-create magic items; I asked Wastrel about that earlier, and I don't think the rules prohibit Alchemists and Wizards from working together; two headbands for the price of one sounds good to me if we can.

Purchase limit at Thornhold is currently 500 gp; a scroll of Fox's Cunning costs 150 gp so it's technically available, although - as Arianna pointed out - you don't have a magic shop.

What I'm going to say that you can do is place an order for it, and it will be delivered via travelling merchant in the next few weeks or so. Once you have a magic shop of some sort, you'll be able to purchase scrolls in the usual way without having to wait.

Hope that's a satisfactory compromise: it doesn't stop you getting the spell you need, but it keeps the incentive to build stuff like that more locally :)

EDIT: Nariel, I don't remember that conversation (sorry!) - any chance you can link me to it?

It was awhile back, but here is the post.

Hope that helps!

Thanks - it does.

Bear in mind though that it takes 1 day per 1,000 gp value of the magic item (which is the base value, not the half-price you get for creating it). You can't go adventuring or do ruling-type stuff at the same time as crafting.

It's still a good discount, but it will cost you your time; and in this campaign, time might - on occasion - be the most valuable thing you have.

That is a valid point; any time spent crafting does have an opportunity cost (in at least Nariel's time, and possibly others if co-crafting)

Maybe I'll solicit everyone's opinion then... my thought process has been taking crafting was to save us money on those items we would all need (namely stat boosting items) and allow us to splurge more on things for specific players (weappons, armor, wands etc.) but if nobody feels it a good use of player time, we could just pay full price for that stuff and Nariel can use the feat elsewhere.

Yup, buying the stuff will save you time, at least once you have the right shops, but it will cost you money; and in this campaign, money might - on occasion - be the most valuable thing that you have.

I do have access to Fox's Cunning but two things, one, Alchemy as a class feature is weird, you can't take item crafting feats and technically I don't even have a Caster level, two, I only get one new extract each level and have no other use for Fox's Cunning.

...and on top of that Arianna is irritated enough to not want to ask Nariel to let her look at her spellbook...

...and on top of that Arianna is irritated enough to not want to ask Nariel to let her look at her spellbook...

LOL okay then, fair enough. I guess Arianna has reached her quixotic elf limit for the moment, has she? I'll admit, something about the relationship of these two characters is amusing to me XD

Sooo on that note Wastrel, it appears Nariel will be ordering that scroll after all!

Also, I'm just gonna go ahead and take the Craft Wondrous Item Feat, since Wastrel just gave two very ambiguous posts about the greater value of time vs. money; so with that lack of clarity, I'll just default to my original plan. Well played Wastrel, well played.

Yeah, Investigators don't count as casters in that way. I'd overlooked that one.

I'm also enjoying the interaction between Arianna and Nariel - they're both applying their intellect in very different ways, and it makes for some great reading!

@Nariel - no problem, go ahead and mark the gold off and we'll say that the scroll will arrive at the end of Arodus.

@Everyone - because the trolls and then the werewolf interrupted your kingdom-building, you will need to stay in town from 5-9 Arodus, which gives you a few days to bury your friend as well as do general role-play and run errands (no crafting, retraining or other downtime activities though).

Alternatively we can just skip ahead to 10 Arodus when presumably you will go exploring once again.

I'm conscious the game has dragged slightly in the last few weeks, so let me know if you just want to kick ahead.

Raquel is good with kicking ahead. There's nothing specific she wants to do once the scene at the bar wraps up.

That's fine. Where do you want to explore next?

Onward and upwards! Should be finalizing my next level over the course of today.

Agreed. I'll post later this evening for the bar scene, but I'm good to push on. Also, here is my level five breakdown:

Wastrel, I also need to upgrade Ayluin's stats, but I'll do this later tonight. Ayluin can now converse with Nariel though, which will look weird to others, but gives us more flexibility (and role-play opportunities given how sassy that bird is already)

Also, if there are any Wondrous Items you'd like, take a look at the requirements and let me know. We can start ordering the goods necessary if we don't have them presently (mostly spells) or we can co-craft if it's say a spell that Tristan, Aivar or Raquel have the ability to cast.

@Tristan: Upwards is the one direction on the map that you don't need to explore :)

Level Up!

HP +6
Channel Energy 3d6
3rd level spells
Skills!
Feat: Extra Channel

I say we start at the hex south of where we fought the river drakes and work our way along the bottom row from there.

I will try to do Aivar's level-up later today. I'm torn between the mount and the bonded weapon as neither feels exactly right. An upgraded mount is useful, but when will it come into play? And while the weapon is powerful, it really doesn't fit Shelyn's whole shtick.

Disagree: if it comes to a fight, it's more merciful for it to be over quickly :)

Oh Raquel, don't forget that Wastrel has us taking the max hit points per die, meaning you would actually get 9 or 10 HP depending on how you decide to use your favored class bonus.

In other words, yay! More HP :)

Ack! I always forget that! Thanks! :D

I am off work until next Thursday December 5th, so my posts may be sporadic until I return.

Level up notes
*+10 HP (FCB)
*+1 BAB
*Class Features: Swift Alchemy, Studied Combat +2, Studied Strike +1d6
*Skills: Climb, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Intimidate, Know History, Know Local, Know Nature, Perception, Sense Motive, Craft (Alchemy), Linguistics (Draconic)
*Feat: Extra Investigator Talent (Quick Study)
*Extract Slots: 4x1st, 2x2nd
*New Formula: Ablative Barrier

Draconic is a tad obscure but it's the major language of arcane magic and there's a kobold colony not far from our settlement.

Ablative Barrier has hours/level duration and it's the only 2nd level extract I have so I'll take it in the morning and after midday so it'll always be active while we're travelling.

One last minute shopping item, Nariel will scribe a level 3 Fly scroll at an additional 375g.

Also, I'm going to switch the language picked up this level; I'll take Terran, which probably makes a little more sense given the number of elementals Nariel summons.

@Sasha: I have to admit that I forget what abilities Rogues have - it may well be that you would get to act in a Surprise Round even if you failed your Perception check.

If so, you get to post an action in the same way as Nariel (basically post your Surprise Round action and Round 1 actions together).

@Aivar - scythe trees are evil so you can smite them

@Raquel - yup, for once I didn't forget your Adoration ability ;)

Haste notes posted on the battle map. The big bonus here will be the extra attacks, so have it folks!

Edit: My bad Wastrel, I realized about ten minutes after my post that the trees have reach, so Nariel would need to cast defensively. I always forget that about spellcasting if PF. If if I fail, no haste for folks.

Defensive Cast Haste: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Edit: Ugh, also realized that I had cast invisibility, so same issue. Man, my tabletop switched to 5e about a year ago, and AoO's are not at all the same mechanic. Anyway, second defensive cast.

Defensive Cast Invisibility: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Yup, that one blew up in m'face. Blah.

I snuck in a ninja edit to add in the haste attack and what not :)

I am sorry, but I have actually been spending Thanksgiving with my family and don't have a computer and cannot figure out how to edit my profile and stat line on mobile (nor do I really want to, I'm afraid of accidentally deleting something important).

I'll be back home tomorrow but in the meantime, I have HP 51/51, CMD 17,Per +7, and saves are F+5 R+9 W+4. Active effect is Ablative Barrier

Hi Arianna - not a problem, have a great holiday :)

Tristan, Sasha - still need your actions. If I haven't heard from you I will move things on to the next round, to keep things moving.

Was also busy with family and such over the weekend. Posting momentarily!

I'm not sure what opportunity I will have for long posts tomorrow so am posting the next round now. Sasha, feel free to post your previous round's action and I'll slot it in on the next update :)

Yikes! Okay, I think Nariel will try re-casting invisibility and get out of dodge. Is the dark forested area considered difficult terrain Wastrel, or just tree cover? It makes a big difference, as Nariel needs to do a 5' step to the south-west or otherwise be forced to defensive cast again.

Man, that failed defensive cast hurt...

Tristan: Sleep will NOT work

You can tell I've never played a character who used Power Attack much because right as I was about to post I decided to check and see if the effect was on the attacks individually like I thought. It wasn't, but at least I figured that out myself.

Why not? Can't he play them a sweet jazz tune and put them in the mood to nap-and-photosynthesize?

Why not? Can't he play them a sweet jazz tune and put them in the mood to nap-and-photosynthesize?

FTW. A little Kenny G would do right about now XD

Yeah, no. These aren't photosynthetic trees. They feast on flesh.

Hey GM, please stop trying to murder my elven girlfriend smoking hot platonic life partner. Thanks! Love, Raquel.

Wow. That went spectacularly badly, and Wastrel's rolls vs Nariel have been crazy good. Is Nariel in range of the healing burst? She'll need ever HP she can get in order to make a stabilizing role, otherwise she'll bleed out in two rounds. Oh yeah, and nobody can see me. Great...

Right about now, it's a fade to black sound track XD