Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Yeah, I think the Taldan people knew that already. But there are fewer slots than there are lions so we have to pick out four of them in the correct order to place before the door. There have been hints along the way.
Sleepy not-reading, go! So far, the only painting clues have been “Our monarch’s virtues are our own.” and "Preserve, Preserve, Preserve!" The last two, I did not see in any spoilers privy to my own eyes.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
"We could have walked about in any order though, what?"
AC21/T14/F18/CMD23||HP77[67]|F:+8 R:+12(+2 vs traps) W:+6(+2 vs illusion)|Init.+3|Percept. +15(+18 trapspotter) Human Professional Detective 8
Niko knits his brows in concentration, before finally looking up, a hint of a smile on his face. "I think I have it. Remember the phrases, “Persevere, persevere, persevere!”, “In the end, loyalty is its own reward.”, “A cunning lie is never told twice.”, “To serve Taldor, I must first learn the history of Taldor.” Niko grabs the the statues of cunning, loyalty, history and perseverance. "You notice the words, first, twice, end and the persevere was written three times. I believe the order is History, Cunning, Perseverance, and lastly, Loyalty."
Unless anyone argues, Niko will place them in that order.
Chests of expert craftsmanship line the walls, and on the far side of the room stand two bookshelves burdened with yellow paged tomes and sundry ancient trinkets. Banners and tapestries cover nearly every inch of the walls, each representing long dead nations or depicting conflicts left not chronicled.
As part of the time spent searching for texts, you run across a heavy bronze shield decorated with a lion’s head in the same style as the Guardian’s. Maybe this would be proper receptacle for Guardian?
Standard skill checks here.
Male Human Fighter (CAD) 2 (hp 20/20) | F +4 R +1 W +0 | AC 16 T 11 FF 15 CMD 17
"Tim think lion look batter on book." The large man says while lumbering into the room to look for more useful words.
Perception 1d20 ⇒ 18 Wow, Tim may actually contribute here.
Grave Consequences
This is a thin journal that explores the origins of Tar-Baphon, studies the circumstance of his lichdom, and analyzes what the author
knew of his necromantic techniques from the perspective of a scholar
searching for a weak spot in the Whispering Tyrant’s defenses.
Lines of Succession
This long scroll details the rules of succession throughout the history of Taldor. It also highlights times when the nation chose an heir in a way that was an exception to the rules. This matches the description of what the Pathfinder Society is tasked to recover for Princess Eutropia.
And give me a perform check and a perception check.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Was the Shield magic or just really, really fancy with a lion face? In any case, it'll have to do for our Lion friend..
"Sirs, I do believe it is time to leave," Wadsworth notes, ensuring the shield is in tow. "I do insist we retrieve our lion acquaintance before exiting entirely, however."
Sleight of Hand for librarians or whatever...?:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
"Well, we have some information on this ancient Taldan artifact for Lady Morilla and a few notes about the Shining Crusade so I would say we have gotten what we came for. Let us speak with Glorymane one last time before going out."
You all take the shield back to the Guardian. "I like your resourcefulness. This shield used to have an enchantment similar to own own, once. It will make for a fine receptacle. The name is Glorymane by the way."The Guardian gingerly grasps the shield in its mouth and concentrates for a minute. As it does so, the shield’s patina recedes leaving a bright and burnished surface. The inside of the shield also bears the inscription “Glorymane,”.
You make your way back just as Tobias comes in to check on you. He hurriedly escorts you out and you make your way to VC Muesello. He excitedly welcomes you back. "So what have you learned on your field trip today?"
"Ser Muesello, we have notes of a number of things. We learned of their tactics."
Notes for VC wrote:
Encarthan Maps
These maps depict Lake Encarthan, the Isle of Terror, and the nations that surround it. Of particular interest are the hundreds of hand-drawn notes and lines showing troop movements, preserving the changing plans of the brilliant generals who orchestrated the Shining Crusade.
General Logbooks
These journals record the perspectives of Taldan generals that led various phases of the Shining Crusade. Collectively, they provide valuable insight into challenges the crusaders had to overcome.
~~~
Wadsworth saves the following bit for the faction leader, unless Musello is unhappy with a lack of info provided (or Tim anyone mentions the Horn.
If this is needed to add: "Additionally, we learned of something that may help with the combat."
Quote:
A Silver Horn
This text describes in detail an enchanted silver horn capable of granting courage in times of need, which Taldor used for the fifth Army of Exploration and much later during the Shining Crusade, when it was shattered into several pieces. A priest of Aroden prophesied that even if re-forged, the instrument would never sound again, and it was given a hero’s burial. The text mentioned nothing of the horn’s present location.
AC21/T14/F18/CMD23||HP77[67]|F:+8 R:+12(+2 vs traps) W:+6(+2 vs illusion)|Init.+3|Percept. +15(+18 trapspotter) Human Professional Detective 8
Niko follows suit and removes the notes he has taken along the way. "I did find some interesting tomes and took notes." Niko steps a little closer to Musello. "Sir, I have found a few references to the cipher, but the message you gave me still eludes me. I believe it is a combination of cipher types, but did not have the time to study them further."
Niko's note wrote:
Failed Prophecies
This text gives a detailed analysis of hundreds of proclaimed “ironclad” prophecies that have failed since the disappearance of Aroden. The author speculates that any prophecy made by Arodenites should be viewed with considerable skepticism.
Enemy Analysis
This tattered, leather-bound book describes the tactical considerations that the generals of the Shining Crusade had to consider when fighting supernatural foes. It includes many ways for the rank-and-file soldiers to mitigate the damage dealt by powerful spellcasters.
Cipher Notes:
Taldan Cipher 1
This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backward, reading only every third letter; all other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is “RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES,” which means “soldier.”
Taldan Cipher 2
According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it’s a particularly puzzling cipher to break).
Taldan Cipher 3
This text contains an example of an encoded message that
uses a common substitution cipher (in which each letter
represents a different letter). It claims that “DQFIZ KPIED
WZYWS QIVKO ZKXFW ZIMVT DQFXW CFPAF PDFZ VFTJF” translates to “The orcs of Tar-Baphon circle around the lake’s western edge.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
AC21/T14/F18/CMD23||HP77[67]|F:+8 R:+12(+2 vs traps) W:+6(+2 vs illusion)|Init.+3|Percept. +15(+18 trapspotter) Human Professional Detective 8
Decryption!:
Niko finally breaks the code, handing a slip of paper to Musello, he says. "Has the Bell of Obedience."
Dude, if this was RL, I'd probably wouldn't have got it before the store closed. I kept going at it the wrong way, trying to use the code on the cipher, rather than working backwards to arrive at the cipher. Sheesh!
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Yeah. . . there were quite a few complaints about the cipher thing. My players made the same mistake and did it the wrong way the first few times. It wasn't very well written or clear.
Honestly, I thought half of you were going to opt a pause to focus on the Siege event. Tomorrow, my Data Plan resets so I can scan more without risking a paltry $15 that I really don't want to pay only because I know Verizon is getting it, do ho ho. If anyone has any preferences, my Excel is only somewhat out of date (and GMing things never mattered to me if I ran it before.)
At that point, I believe it goes down to how many players we have, but I'm not sure. The decision-less rules I've been both confused about and enjoying, simply because I hate making decisions. If the ninja is dropped for the level 2 "not-a-wizard", then we drop a little farther, too.
AC26/Touch18/Flat22/CMD28||HP80[80]|Fort:+6;Ref:+13(+16 vs traps);Will:+10|Percept+20(trapspotter)|Init+4 Human Bard(Archaeologist) 11
I think I'll keep Flinders. My other is still a serious candidate for retraining.
Relevant Text from the GtPFSOP:
Starting with Season 4, scenarios are designed for six characters and contain instructions on how to adjust the scenario for four-character parties. When the APL of a table is between two subtiers (like APL 3 for a Tier 1–5 scenario), a party of four characters must play the lower tier without any adjustments for party size. A party of five to seven characters whose APL is between two subtiers must play the higher tier with the four-character adjustment.
Human (Tien-Dan) Ninja 2 / Figher (Weapon Master of Shuriken) 2
I couldn't imagine playing a sorc-oracle, unless it was some hideous Orc Sorcerer Dip / Flame oracle gm credit baby Fireball cannon. All those lost spell levels...
But, yeah, Sen is my highest 1-5 character (since Xathalial is pending a Fangwood Keep upgrade to 6th.) Flinders' lock does pretty much set us at 4-5. That's pretty butts, but I guess if I really like it, I'll GM star replay it with that theorycraft Rogue/Sandman Bard/Lion Blade (who is pretty much my PFS Slayer) that I've been thinking about for the longest time.
I'll get Traitor's Lodge applied to Sen once it's dead set for high tier. Did anyone message Sior?
Human (Tien-Dan) Ninja 2 / Figher (Weapon Master of Shuriken) 2
Myeh, once I realized that Dragons Demand chronicles work like they do, my plans for that Lions Blade or Slayer went through the window harder than a brick fired out of a cannon in a habitable part of a low gravity planet. Play what you want; Sen will soon be in the territory of being deficient at subterfuge too, given Fighter Skill Ranks, so I should probably enjoy that while I can. Play what you want, Ser Tektite and others.
Side note: While I DO have a classic boon Tiefling, he's basically a waste of XP at this point, so I really don't count him for anything unless I really, REALLY don't have anything in tier for live games.
Reading a little more in depth, it's ok, not bad. It updates the Living Monolith PrC. (I think, didn't check the old one to make sure.) Introduced another PrC, Thuvian Alchemist. New Oracle archetype, a few spells, traits, and equipment,
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Ooo, really? I played my Living Monolith tonight. It was written for 3.5 but it's one of my favorite PrCs. Ka Stone let's you enlarge three times a day as a swift; it's great. I wonder if they'll make PCs update or just grandfather the 3.5 version out.
I've got that one coming in some time this week; can't wait to look at it.
Um...I just realized I screwed up. Flinders leveled to six after the Traitor's Lodge chronicle. Hmmm, so, I have Jarlgur or my Sczarni Johender. Then like I said, I have a 2xp Barb and a 1xp nothing.
I don't know if that'll change Burglar's or Sethious' choices.
We have a lot more options without the level 5 lock in. All combinations assume Henry at 4.
The highest math puts us at a 3.75 AVG, with the soracle, and the two ninja/fighters. Solid round up high tier.
Any combination involving any mentioned tektite characters plus me and Seth's level 2s caps out at 3, and low player count pushes us to low (I'm pretty sure.)
That said, I kinda do want to play some Taldans in this, given Taldor's lack of representation (and the thought of putting Tim in a library is amusing.) If Seth wants to play the ninja pair, I will for not-dragging-the-party bits, but it seemed like above that he was only playing the ninja on the assumption of high tier. Could be wrong, as always.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Yeeeaaaahhhhh investigators! Probably great for this mission too.
AC21/T14/F18/CMD23||HP77[67]|F:+8 R:+12(+2 vs traps) W:+6(+2 vs illusion)|Init.+3|Percept. +15(+18 trapspotter) Human Professional Detective 8
I can't decide if I want Niko to be Taldor or not. I sort of think of his place in the group, being Grand Lodge, analogous to being a UN observer. Valsin sent him along to keep an eye on all these Taldans.
Male Human Fighter (CAD) 2 (hp 20/20) | F +4 R +1 W +0 | AC 16 T 11 FF 15 CMD 17
Bringing Tim out for this on Burgler's request. Not sure how you handle improvised weapons Red, but he two-hands a giant stone "spellbook". Whatever you want to assign the damage die to let me know. The last two DMs ruled 2d6 and 1d10, so I ask at each table and run it how they want to.
Reading the gameplay into.....you want me to play Tim in a scenario with subtlety and not break things? lol
Fun (probably a) fact: In PFS, the lowest level one can be to enter the Lion Blade prestige class is 7th level, either by being a rogue 3/Bard 3 or (my favourite) a bard (sandman) 5/Rogue 1. Because Acute Senses.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
I say let's check out the rooms beyond first. We can hit this again on the way back if we have time; he said the more important books lie beyond.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Sorry if it feels like I'm metagaming or controlling the game too much. I just don't want you guys to miss things or screw things up simply because of the PbP format. Because while I love this scenario and we had a blast in real life, sometimes these things are much harder to do over PbP. When I did it in real life, my players were taking notes like crazy and they figured this out in two minutes because their notes were right in front of them and they had just heard it an hour ago. But over PbP where some of this stuff happened two weeks ago, it's easy to forget things or not make connections.
So (players or GM) just tell me to shut up if I start giving too much away.
Ha, no worries on my end; I'm running on "Oh God Why All This Snow" sleep levels. This morning, my alarm going of the first time and the time after the snooze button literally blended into one string of ringing.
AC21/T14/F18/CMD23||HP77[67]|F:+8 R:+12(+2 vs traps) W:+6(+2 vs illusion)|Init.+3|Percept. +15(+18 trapspotter) Human Professional Detective 8
Any thoughts on the order of the lions? There was the statue when we first came in. On the book there was listed-“Innovation, respect, knowledge, courage, integrity, honor, excellence, glory”
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Hey everyone! I'm about to head on the road within the hour! I should be able to watch the game via my phone but I'm not sure if I'll have much free time to update except perhaps right before I go to bed. I will be back to my regular posting late Saturday night or Sunday morning. Feel free to bot me if needed; Henry's attacks and skills are already worked out (and in dice format too!) in his profile. Thanks!
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
Re: another game
I've actually only got two PFS characters in game right now (and they should be done in a couple weeks, hopefully) so I can certainly do another. I don't have anyone at the 6-7 tier and probably wouldn't want to play up for Bonekeep. But I've got a smattering in the 3-5 range and plenty of others in the 1-5 for the new Destiny one.
Henry and Indiana II Flaxseed Male Halfling Lord 8 | HP 47/76 | AC 24 T 13 FF 23 | CMD 22 | F +9 R +4 W +3 (+4 against fear)| Init +1 | Perc +0 | SM +7 | Banner: +2 against fear, +1 attack when charging
Indiana II:
HP 32/45/ | AC 26 T 14 FF 22 | CMD 21 (23 overrun/bull rush, 25 trip) | F +7 R +9 W +3 (+4 Will against enchantments) | Perc +5
