Got your text and updated my round action. Sorry if I was slowing things up.
The grid in this new map might be a bit different from before - I finally adjusted the grid size and such to better align with the map.
Carry on.
Ooops, seems Calvin and Libby are in the same square. Put Libby in N12, again facing the stairs. As I said, she is collecting weapons and equipment so it might be a turn or two before she gets there.
DM: what is that at the bottom of the map that the guard is standing in front of?
Still around, just trapped myself action-wise for the time being.
I'll probably throw in some banter depending on how things proceed. :)
@Libby: It's a large fireplace with a huge chimney - large enough for a man (but not an ogre) to descend, it appears.
Also, it appears we've lost another player. Anyone have a friend on the boards who might want to step in and feel the roguish role?
Just to let you know that Libby is not on the front line (and I doubt Stavros would be). Put her in L13, looking into room 17, please. :)
(It was my fault, I should have been more specific as to what I was doing...and paid more attention to where others were moving.)
If in any case Gideon had to stop trying to tug the armor off the guard's corpse, could he pick up where he left off or would the duration reset?
You can pick up where you left off.
You MUST play a cleric. Or else.
:P
Now that raises an interesting question - I understand y'all have recently lost your rogue, and GM Tallgrass tells me he'd like a character to step into the skilled role (namely disable device). Anything else you all feel is lacking? It seems you've got some arcane ability, some divine and more to come as your ranger and paladin level up, melee fairly well covered...
I know it's early in the adventure, but is there anything else you'd want more of? I can just make a rogue and plug into that role - or I could make an arsonist fire sorcerer descended from efreet (or something like that), and come up with some way to give him disable device. But he wouldn't have trapfinding, so couldn't disable magical traps.Anyway - input welcome - I've a pretty strong stat array, so the sky is the limit, as long as it's an evil sky.
How about something like this? I still need to pick two languages - any recommendations?
Caden Sharp
Male Half-Elf Rogue 1
NE Medium Humanoid (elf, human)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10 (+4 Dex)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +2; +2 vs. enchantments
Immune magic sleep; Resist elven immunities
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
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Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 18, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 15
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 16
Feats Two-weapon Fighting
Traits Forlorn, Crime (Murder)
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff +6, Climb +6, Diplomacy +6, Disable Device +7, Escape Artist +8, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +6 (+7 to locate traps), Profession (gambler) +4, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception
Languages Common, Elven
SQ elf blood, trapfinding +1
Other Gear You have no money!
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Special Abilities
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Elf Blood You are counted as both elven and human for any effect relating to race.
Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Elven Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Sneak Attack +1d6 +1d6 damage if you flank your target or your target is flat-footed.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Trait: Crime (Murder): +1 damage when flanking
I always knew I might end up in prison, but I always thought it’d be for gambling, not murder. Bastards had it coming, though. A bloody human and an elf, like the two parts of me, both asking me which I was, not leaving it alone. It felt so good to deal that card off the bottom of the deck and get away with it, I had them right where I wanted them. But they cheated too, I’m sure of it, though I still can’t figure out how. Guess I won’t find out now, with them dead, and me going next.
It had been a normal night at the card table for Caden, until the newcomers came into the quiet little back room at Fenn’s Tap, hard by the docks in Daveryn. He’d thought how strange it was that an elf and a human could walk in as friends, when his own elven and human halves couldn’t even seem to get along inside him. But he watched them buy into the game, and listened to them start in on him almost immediately, asking whether he was elf or man, asking him to pick a side and take a damn stand. As a gambler, he was used to other players trying to rattle him, and kept his cool. But he determined to take them for all they had. The cards went generally in his favor, and when they didn’t he was able to bluff his way through. But in the crucial hand, the biggest pot of the night, he needed a little help – and so he helped himself, dealing from the bottom of the deck and leaving himself with a hand that was hard to beat. But the two strangers both beat it, with matching hands. They split the pot between them, laughing at how they had each taken “half of the half-elf.”
Caden could stand it no more, he left the game with nothing to show for it, and stormed out of the Tap with his blood boiling and his mind racing. How had they done it? What was their game? Was he distracted by their taunting him? Caden knew he was better at bluffing and false-dealing than at spotting other’s tells, at reading other players – but he should have noticed something!
He wandered the night for a time, ending up back at Fenn’s Tap through force of habit, just as the two gamblers came out the door and turned down the street ahead of him. Their drunken laughter grated on his soul, and he approached them to confront them, or perhaps to learn from them, ask them how they had done it. But as he got closer, coming on them from behind, he could hear their conversation:
“That poor halfie! Had quick fingers and a sharp enough eye, but not enough sense to watch us both! He never saw it coming, just kept feeding the pot.”
“Ah, you got that right – I didn’t see his trick deal, he was quick. But I saw him puff up with confidence sure enough, and I knew we had him. And it helped that we really got under his skin, asking him to pick a side. I wonder if it bothered him so much because it was true, that he’s nothing – not an elf, not a man, and surely nothing else on this earth.”
Caden scarcely remembers what happened next, but they never heard him coming, and there was blood on both his blades when the watch caught him. They asked him if he was trying to rob the men, but he didn’t even think to take back the money he’d lost, so focused was he on his anger – and on the truth the two gamblers had spoken.
Looks good to me - feel free to magically replace Stavros this round.
Also, apologies for how long this battle has been drawn out. Just to "pull back the curtain," I kind of expected you guys to stop Grumblejack from barging to the guardroom so you would have time to plan and I could introduce the fact that Grumblejack is a little stubborn. You're definitely making the escape more combat-focused than I anticipated - which is totally fine, just unexpected.
Here's hoping you survive the first part of the first book!
Nice story. Not much talk of deities in it, tho, which I find unusual for a cleric. :P
If all we're missing is Disable Device, you're not limited to a rogue.
Urban ranger gets DD as a class skill and trapfinding (albeit at level 3) and would also give us some extra firepower.
An oracle of metal gets DD, too, as does the alchemist. And, of course, a trait gives it to everyone. :)
Gideon is our only dedicated melee-ist, with Arash concentrating on ranged, so another meat-shi...erm, defender of the unpure would be nice.
Very true, Fetus. You could take the vagabond child trait and make DD a class skill for any class you'd like to play, Khelreddin.
This party does need some more muscle as Grumblejack is not doing much to help at this point.
Yeah, I looked at a couple of other options, but I was sort of flailing, trying to make a sorcerer into a skill monkey. I thought about Urban Ranger, but I've got one going in another PbP with Poki, and didn't want to step on Arash's ranger toes.
But I hadn't realized you needed more melee meat (because I didn't wait for anyone to answer my question before making a character...)
So now I'm thinking about a tricksy, melee-focused inquisitor of Asmodeus. A couple of questions for Mr. GM:
1. We've got one tiefling - any objections to an Oni-spawn tiefling joining the group? I figure he'd be from a line of devout Mitra worshippers, and his tainted blood manifested after many generations of dormancy. He turned to Asmodeus as the call in his blood got louder, and Asmodeus answered. If it's a no on the tiefling, I'll likely go dwarf, which I probably haven't played in 20+ years.
2. On domains: Trickery would go very well with the Oni-spawn and the mirror image ability would be useful in melee. Asmo's other domains are: Evil, Fire, Law, Magic, and subdomains are: Arcane, Ash, Deception, Devil, Divine, Smoke. Thoughts on this are welcome.
Edit: If it would fit the game better, I could take Fiendish Facade as my first-level feat, in order to appear human.
Well, Tallgrass, I'm going to do it again, since I'm temporarily in a very different time zone from y'all: posting before I get an answer to my questions. I've got an almost done tiefling inqusitor, just have to pick a feat and a couple of languages, I believe. Let me know what you think, and if the story is compelling enough to justify a non-core race.
Ferrin Venax
Male Tiefling (Oni-Spawn) Inquisitor 1
NE Medium Outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
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Defense
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AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 9 (1d8+1); judgement of profane healing 1
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +5
Defensive Abilities copy cat (su) (6/day), judgement of profane protection +1; DR judgement of profane resiliency 1: magic; Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5, judgement of profane purity +1, judgement of profane resistance 2 (-choose-)
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks judgement of profane destruction +1, judgement of profane justice +1, judgement of profane piercing +1, judgement of profane smiting (magic)
Spell-Like Abilities Copy Cat (Su) (6/day), Spell-Like Ability, Lesser (Alter Self) (1/day)
Inquisitor Spells Known (CL 1):
1 (2/day) Protection from Good, Cure Light Wounds
0 (at will) Guidance, Acid Splash, Light, Detect Magic
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Statistics
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Str 20, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 6
Base Atk +0; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats
Traits Vagabond Child (urban) (Disable Device), Crime (Murder)
Skills Bluff +2, Craft (Clocks) +4, Disable Device +5, Disguise +0, Heal +7, Intimidate +5, Perception +7, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +6, Survival +7; Racial Modifiers monster lore
Languages Common, Infernal
SQ domains (trickery), judgement (1/day)
Other Gear You have no money!
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Special Abilities
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Copy Cat (Su) (6/day) (Sp) Create a single mirror image duplicate
Damage Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Damage Resistance against Cold attacks.
Damage Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Damage Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Damage Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Damage Resistance against Fire attacks.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Inquisitor Domain (Trickery) Granted Powers: You are a master of illusions and deceptions. Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth are class skills.
Judgement (1/day) (Su) Variable bonuses increase as the combat continues.
Judgement of Profane Destruction +1 (Su) Weapon Damage bonus.
Judgement of Profane Healing 1 (Su) Fast Healing
Judgement of Profane Justice +1 (Su) Attack bonus
Judgement of Profane Piercing +1 (Su) Concentration and vs. SR bonus
Judgement of Profane Protection +1 (Su) AC bonus
Judgement of Profane Purity +1 (Su) Save bonus
Judgement of Profane Resiliency 1: Magic (Su) DR/magic
Judgement of Profane Resistance 2 (-Choose-) (Su) Energy Resistances
Judgement of Profane Smiting (Magic) (Su) DR bypass
Monster Lore +3 (Ex) +3 to Knowledge checks when identifying the weaknessess of creatures.
Nearly a century ago, Ferrin Venax was born in Ghastenhall, into a family of craftsmen renowned for the quality and reliability of the clocks they made. While the Venax family certainly valued the beauty of what they created, they placed far greater significance on what the clocks stood for: order, precision, predictability and, of course, punctuality. They expected things to happen on a schedule, and at their proper time, and by the age of 15 or so, it was clear that Ferrin was not following a normal schedule. He had always been a bit…different, as a boy. He struggled to fit in to the ordered structure of his household and society at large, leaving his parents to hope he would outgrow his social awkwardness, even surliness at times. But a greater trouble arose - as his classmates and siblings grew and came to be young men and women, Ferrin seemed to be lagging behind, as if under some spell, or as if he were one of the longer-lived races, an elf or some such.
His family, being devout worshippers of Mitra as well as believers in the proper, natural order of things, were quite distressed by this. They took the boy to priests and wizards, hoping to understand their son’s ‘condition’, and ‘cure’ him. It soon became clear that the boy was not under a curse or a spell, but no one could provide an answer to why he did not appear to be growing and aging like a normal child. One day, however, a senior priest of Mitra came to visit the Venax household and speak to Ferrin’s parents. Ferrin had always been a curious, even sneaky, child, and knew where he could hide undetected and hear everything said in his father’s sitting room. He felt the priest had almost certainly come to discuss Ferrin’s ‘condition’ and made sure to eavesdrop, and what he heard changed his life.
The Mitran priest said that he and other learned priests had discussed Ferrin at great length, and had come to the unfortunate conclusion that he was some sort of devil-spawn. The priest had come to collect the boy, and bring him to the temple for study and perhaps exorcism, or worse, if that failed. Ferrin heard only the very first words of his father’s protests, for he knew the Mitrans would have their way in the end. The boy fled his home that moment, and fled the city by nightfall.
Since then, Ferrin has wandered from city to city in Talingarde. He stays for ten years or so in each place, finding work as a valued assistant in the best clockworks in each city, for he learned a great deal in his own family’s workshops before leaving home, and he has a natural mechanical talent that extends beyond the inner workings of clocks. After a decade in one place, though, it begins to become clear to those around him that he is not aging, and questions begin to arise. Ferrin learned painfully that he needs to leave where he is before that time – after 12 years in Daveryn, where he felt relatively comfortable and settled, he had to kill a man to protect his secret. Soon after that, he began to develop strange powers, including the ability to see in the dark and transform himself into other creatures, which have helped him keep his true nature a secret and move on. He knew from this that the Mitran priest was right, and that he was the spawn of some hell. In response, Ferrin turned to the secret worship of the Lord of Hell, and felt his powers grow still greater. With no church of Asmodeus he can visit, his worship is a lonely one, but one he feels all the more strongly as a result, and that sustains him in his wanderings. He has found that he can return to a city after he has not been there for 20 or 30 years without stirring up questions, but he has no idea how long he might live, and wonders how long this 80-year-old game of hide-and-seek will go on.
Unfortunately, the question of how long he will live has been taken out of his hands. After a few years in Matharyn, where Ferrin was working in a venerable clocksmith’s shop where he had once been employed nearly forty years earlier, disaster struck. The elderly patriarch of the family, who had been Ferrin’s employer long ago and who scarcely ever came to the shop any more, saw Ferrin and recognized him. The old man’s puzzlement about Ferrin’s age could have been explained away as senility, but he called in two younger relatives, who had known Ferrin when they were children and had not recognized him. All agreed this was the man they once knew, untouched by age. They peppered him with questions, and Ferrin grew evasive and gruff with them. They refused to let him leave the store and, though Ferrin is a big man, managed to tackle him while the old man called for the guard. Desperate not to reveal his strange powers, Ferrin drew a knife from the belt of one of his assailants and killed him, and then his younger cousin. He then made to flee out the front door, but in the wealthier districts of Matharyn, the watch is never far away. Ferrin ran out the door, battered from the fight, a bloody dagger in his hand and two bodies in the workshop behind him, with no explanation for his actions. A pair of guardsmen clubbed him into unconsciousness immediately, and he woke up in a cell in Branderscar Prison.
I've always liked Inq's for being an extremely solid class. I've played one and been in a game with one and, although they've never stood out, they've always contributed.
What time zone are you in, Khel?
Don't forget, DM, that Grumble should get an AoO on the dog, unless it 5' stepped all the way!! :)
Yeah, I've got an inquisitor going in a PFS First Steps game (also with Poki, now that I think about it), but he's a bit vanilla and I haven't really gotten to experience too many of the wonders of inquisiting.
If GM Tallgrass is good with this build, he may stand out a bit, or so I'm hoping.
As to time zones - I'm usually on the US West Coast, but have been in the Marianas Islands for a couple of weeks for work. I've got 4-5 more days on Guam (where I've just returned from a fantastic night dive!) and then back to Cali. Posting from here is odd, because I'm on the other side of the date line from PbP'ers in the US - so there's a long quiet spell in my evenings, which I now use to make up characters for this game.
Edit: see how I worked a deity in there for ya, MacF? And no input on the domain question? I figured for sure you'd have a view on that.
Khelreddin, I'm good with it. A 6 score is a little disconcerting, but we will rp it as necessary.
And, I have some bad news everyone: my computer has gone to its home at Apple HQ for some repair work. I should have it back by Wednesday, but I won't be able to advance the game until then. I'll try to resolve the guards actions so you can all post your actions for this round, but we'll have to hold up after that.
Okay, I'll finish him up and get an alias together. A couple of questions still:
I agree about the 6 ability score. I usually don't go for such extreme dump stats at all, but the Focus/Foible method makes that happen. If you're willing, I'd happily switch a couple of points from Int (currently 15) to Cha. Or we can RP him as an unloveable bastard, who's managed to develop some of his Cha-based skills to avoid detection over the decades.
Any recommendations - based on the campaign and location - for my additional languages?
Do you feel the Fiendish Facade feat is required for him to fit into the campaign? If he's part of a secret mission to infiltrate and take over Talingarde, standing out as a tiefling may make that difficult - but if he's not so outlandish-looking, perhaps some ranks in Disguise would take care of that.
Sorry to hear about your computer. I'll be travelling back from Guam in the next couple of days, so will also be incommunicado for a bit.
I went ahead and put together the alias (internet's too slow where I am to pick an avatar) - a couple of things:
I assumed it was okay to shift 2 points from Int (now 13) to Cha (now 8) to avoid having such a low dump stat. Total point buy for ability scores would now be lower. Will shift them back if you prefer.
Also assumed I didn't need to have Fiendish Facade to have passed for human, and took the Tiefling feat Fiendish Darkness, but applied to alter self ability. Can also change that if you want.
All right folks. My computer has returned and everything is back to normal. It looks like the "Updated Map" isn't actually updated - sorry about that. I'll update it on Grumblejack's turn to include our new friend and make sure everything is where it needs to be.
Ferrin - I'm good with the point shift and I appreciate your willingness to do that. I never like 6's, and there's far less of a penalty when a 6 is in Charisma, so 8 seems ideal. Thanks. And I'm good with Fiendish Darkness.
Game on!
DM: DC of Intimidate is 10 + HD + Wisdom. I'm guessing an 11 fails but, if not, he's at -2 to attack rolls, saving throws and skill & ability checks for the next round. (Condition = shaken)
Also, please note that, in my previous post, Libby had pulled the sack and potion vial patches off the veil.
Hey, welcome aboard Khelreddin, glad to see you here!
Inquisitor's, a fine choice.
Thanks very much, Poki/pH - for the welcome, and the invitation to join! I'm looking forward to playing this character, and to this campaign and party.
Ok, finally had a chance to pick an avatar - and Ferrin does look superficially like a pale, black-haired human.
@Tallgrass - thanks for the flexibility, on the build and on Ferrin's error-filled intro post!
Speaking of errors - I failed to include the +1 attack and damage from Libby's Inspire Courage - don't know if that +1 would take the guard down or not.
Hey all - at the risk of sounding pushy having just arrived at the party, are we waiting on Gideon? It's been 9 days since he posted here - perhaps Tallgrass could PM him?
Oh no, I've been around. I've just been waiting till the five rounds to take it off end. I admit it was kind of silly of me to start stripping this guard in the middle of combat, since it is something I could get done much faster outside of combat.
Excellent - I was just looking at the initiative order and it seemed Gideon was the only one left to act before the guards took their turn. Glad you're still here!
Calvin - could you heal the ogre, so we have him as an ally? He'd be useful to send down the stairs first, if we get him back on his feet. I can heal him as well, but now that I'm altered, I'm in good shape to fight the guards, so might be more useful doing that.
Unfortunately, I've got no way to do that. I used my heal hex on him earlier when he fell. Once I get a spell component pouch (which it appears our dear bard has recently acquired), I can cast a good ol' CLW.
CLW only has verbal and somatic components, so you don't need a spell component pouch to cast it.
Oh. Right. Good point. Thanks for that.
Edited my post, GM.
No problem. For the record, I had to look it up. But I had some recollection of a character of mine casting CLW when all his gear had been taken, so I thought it was worth checking.
I apologize for the slow-going, everyone. Thanks for sticking around!
No worries, GM - just glad it's going again!
I see there was some early discussion of initiative, and that you're rolling for each of us and doing individual initiative. That's great - I like to do it that way. One question:
Should I wait to post my actions until the bad guys (or good guys, I guess, in this case) have gone? Or just go ahead and post and let you figure it out creatively, as you did with Ferrin's first action?
Ignore the bracketed number in the OOC; it's a round tracker.
GM: pre-empting the end of the combat, could you give us a list of all the gear we're able to salvage, please. We can get write up sharing it out and get the hell outta Dod...erm, Brandescar.
(I'm probably not the only one who's lost track of who's got what and what's left.)
That would be helpful indeed, MacF. I have no idea what's around, but wouldn't mind some armor. Then I can turn into a troglodyte in a chain shirt!
What about the other items on the veil? Or did we get all that it had to hold?
The 3 things on the right, the window and the pentagram remain.
Anyone care to guess as to what the pyramid is? Or what the window is for?
Libby also has a sack of clothes in various sizes.
That's a cool-looking magic item! No idea what some of the symbols mean, though the lantern seems pretty clear. The thing under the pyramid looks like a rope, which was probably obvious to you.
On an unrelated note - is Arash still around?
So...I've kind of messed things up with the fleeing guard. He would have easily gotten some reinforcements by now. Let's pretend that I never said that. The guards you killed were the only guards who responded to the signal horn. Sorry.
Also, I apologize for the slow-going with the game. Hopefully we can keep things moving with at least daily posts moving forward.
Finally, you've all received a total of 500XP instead of 400.
Ok. Mistakes covered. Moving on...
He died of his wounds. Blood loss, shock... :)
BTW, DM, you've listed 100 gold coins twice. (The contents of the veil.)
The list of mistakes goes on and on! There is only one stack of 100 gold coins. Thanks for the catch.
No need to apologize for such things - in the case of the guard, you didn't really even need to mention it, and we'd never have known the difference. Taking back the 100 gp, however - that merits an apology. ;p
Also - can I suggest a tweak to the marching order you've put on the map? As an archer, Arash would probably prefer not to be in the front row, and Ferrin would like to be. And if we put Grumblejack in the second row, he can use his reach to attack anyone in front of us. How about something like this:
Gideon / Ferrin
Grumblejack
Calvin / Arash
Libby / Poki
And speaking of Poki - very nice nasty touch with her eating the guard. I believe you have set down your marker for mostest evilest.
Still around, just... Dealing with IRL issues. Hopefully I shouldn't be absent like that again.
And speaking of Poki - very nice nasty touch with her eating the guard. I believe you have set down your marker for mostest evilest.
Not evil...just hungry. Now what would have been *really* evil is wasting food.
DM: at the RPG club I'm in, we have a rule that, when the players reach 2nd level, they're allowed to tweak (or even change completely) their characters if they wish. It gives people a level to find out what works and what doesn't and they also get a chance to change if they're not enjoying the character; is this something you'd consider?
Definitely. As long as you don't change anything major - race, class or crime come to mind - I'm totally good with tweaks.
Nice. Thanks. :)
Also - and sorry for yet more questions - has Grumble been taking AoO's for being unarmed? Would someone with an 18 Int but little combat experience realise this fact?