Ascension - Mageocracy

Game Master bbangerter

And back

@GM: Do you know what happened with Kit? She seemed motivated to join up with our group and then vanished. I'm assuming she is no longer with us (ever was?) given her lack of presence on the map. Are we good to go with 4 PC's? Fine by me if so.

Good with 4 PC's at this point. I'm not sure what happened to her.

OK then. Roland will definitely be taking an action regarding the guy in armor with bow (think I know who that is), but wanted to wait and ensure that the group is OK with bailing on chasing the Thieves.

Yeah cool with that.

Yes cool with that... In other news:

Two cases that I expected to be pleas of guilty over the next two weeks are now apparently going to be trials. I will try and sneak a post in every now and then but am likely to be very unavailable for the next couple weeks.

Sorry.

Good luck!

Looks like I got back just in time! Both cases were continued by the defense at the last minute. All the trial prep and none of the satisfaction. Bleh.

I don't know what any of that means but I'm sorry to hear :]

Well if Kit has been missing long enough to be pronounced dead, my friend is interested in joining.

Shall I hook him up with the info?

Well if Kit has been missing long enough to be pronounced dead, my friend is interested in joining.

Shall I hook him up with the info?

Yes. Same creation rules are original post, though starting at 7th level with normal 7th level wealth.

Hello there! I'm the friend Ian Marros mentioned.

I'm still reading through all of the introduction stuff in the Mageocracy faction to get acclimated to the houserules/setting before I make my character.

If anyone has any advice on what is needed in the group, I am open ears. I've played role playing games (both on forums and in person) for quite some time, and I'm fairly familiar with Pathfinder so I'm comfortable in most roles.

Is there anything you guys, and GM Ascension in specific, need from me before we get going?

Edit: Right now I'm eyeballing kind of an Arcane Trickster type build, but I have no idea how viable this will actually be with what you guys have been encountering. I'm all for helping the team out, so if that is a bad fit I'll scrap the idea.

Edit 2: Inquisitor is also looking appealing.

Welcome!

PvP is a real aspect of the game, and many of our opponents are fairly well optimized. That said a cleric or Paladin would be interesting as our next quest may be taking us against an anti-paladin and it would fill a need. Worship of a magic related deity would fit in... If you want a more rogueish character a buffer/caster bard would mesh well with the group. All that said, make what you will enjoy.

Greetings Lord_Grey, nice to have you aboard!

I'd echo many of Serelina's comments. Earlier incarnations of our group woefully underestimated the need to optimize, which led to what was basically a TPK. Our current group remedied that problem, and I'd encourage any PC you bring in to consider that as well.

You should make what sounds most fun. As far as our current strengths and weaknesses, we are strong in face skills, melee and ranged damage. We lack a true rogue type (though Rilumin covers some of this), and have a big hole at divine caster. If you were targeting pure need a straight cleric would not be remiss. Dervish Dancer and/or Scarred Witchdoctor are strong optimized options if you're looking to purely optimizes. All that said, make what sounds like the most enjoyable PC for you and I'm sure it'll all work out.

Alright, I'll go cleric. I was actually already thinking about picking a magic related deity since it seems like a good fit. I'm not really sure how different churches work in the setting though, the recruitment page was pretty brief about how they all tie in, and how well they work with the mageocracy. It does say that this setting uses the Golarian pantheon, in which case Nethys might be a valid patron.

Just my 2 cents, but I think a cleric of Nethys would be an outstanding fit, particularly given that we're the mageocracy!

Cool! Okay, I had some questons about starting gear. Does the " dont start with something more than 50% of your starting wealth" inflate for my level 7 starting funds ( 23,500)? So I can have gear up to 11000ish?

Also, what does it mean by "no custom gear" when starting? Does that mean I cant buy like... a suit of +2 Glamored armor?

That does change to 50% of your 7th level WBL.

No custom made magic items as in if its not something in the books, you can't create it (such as a slotless item of resistance, you want resistance, it goes on a cloak). But you can mix two different types of cloaks into a single cloak per the normal rules.

So +2 glamored armor would be fine.

Okay, rad! Im pretty close to having this all made up I think. I should get them all typed up and aliased tomorrow evening with any luck!

Posting will be sporadic at best over the holidays. Happy Holidays to all!

I heard that one of you had recently been playing a cleric. It is one of the classes I am the least familiar with in pathfinder, and including the additional source material we can draw from I am a bit bewildered when it comes to handy spells I should have prepared (Especially since spell based protection/crowd control will be my focus).

Hold person, dispel magic, blindness/deafness, bestow curse, shield other are all generally helpful things to have in the pocket from time to time. Any other tips of spells that'll help out the group in a pinch? I'm pretty terrible when it comes to offensive abilities (Dump in str, low dex), so support spells will be my main focus. I'm also thinking about taking Spell focus: Enchantment to really get those Hold Person spells to stick, so enchantment based spell recommendations would be great.

This was his char: http://paizo.com/people/Tavrus

RIP

I'd recommend Sanctuary with your setup:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/spells/sanctuary.html

Alright, I'm nearly there. I'm got about a days worth of final number crunching, feat/skill/trait selection, and profile editing but then I think I'm done. My stat block isn't ready yet, but most of my personal information is good to go. I think I'm ready to begin roleplaying, especially by the time people are back from their vacations and ready to resume!

@GM: Please let me know if something in my backstory doesn't fit the setting quite right, I'll fine tune as needed.

@Leo: I like where you are going with this build. Between Roland (when in Eidolon form), Ian and Rilumin we'll be fine on damaging opponents. So no worries about low strength and being more of a back-rank PC. While Tavrus offers some comparisons, as an Undead Lord archetype he was a somewhat different character. With such a high Wisdom, forcing saves by our opponents is a great use of your spells. Murderous Command is a solid first-level spell to consider, as is Hold Person at 2nd level. Blindness at 3rd level is good too, though more for PvP. Holy Smite and Terrible Remorse are solid 4th Level spell choices. I would also echo Ian's point about Sanctuary: against other player-led groups you may become a prime target as a lightly armored healer.

All: I totaled up the treasure haul. It comes to 13830gp's total, or 3457gp's and 5sp's for each PC. However, that would be if we sold everything, which I'm pretty sure we won't do. I did not include healing items in the total, since I think we'd be crazy to sell those.

Not sure how we want to handle PC's taking items from the treasure total. Way back at the start of this PbP we had an inconclusive discussion about it (Rilumin might remember...he and I are the only two "originals"). Basically it comes down to whether or not PC's should give up a portion of their share of the loot if they want items from the total and how to deal with multiple PC's wanting the same items. In my tabletop games, we require PC's to pay back to the total any items we claim (e.g. if Roland wanted a Handy Haversack he'd need to lower his share of the total by 1000gp's, so he'd get 2457gp's and the Haversack) and if two PC's want the same item we say they buy a full priced one and split the cost-savings of the item in the treasure pile. It sounds complicated but really isn't. Anyway...we need to decide how we'll handle these issues for the party as it will impact (at least for Roland) what items he'll want out of the treasure. He'd like the Metamagic Rod, the invis and Cat's Grace potions, one Haversack, the Wand of Expedition Retreat, and the masterwork manacles if we are not paying back to the pot for items we want. If we are paying back to the pot, he'll pass on all of it and just take the cash.

Regardless of what we decide, I'd be for carving out an exemption for Ian to keep his old armor. Pretty rare you get an item in the treasure pile you actually owned before....

Healing Items: Wand of Infernal Healing (25 charges), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (50 charges), Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds. Leo doesn't get a cut of treasure, but he'd be the best to hold on to all of these, other than the potion that Ian should probably get.

Here's the whole treasure list:

I'm new, but that all sounds fine to me. Also, Murderous Command is meaaaaan! I love it. I'm going to need to see if I can afford a rod of extend spell to get a couple of rounds out of each casting.

Update: No, I cannot afford that.

Okay, I'm all built I think.

@Roland: Can I actually use the Infernal wand? It's an evil spell descriptor and I'm a good cleric.

@GM: There was one thing I had a question about; a custom item I wanted: lightly smoked spectacles. I couldn't find mundane glasses in the books. There are some smoked goggles, but they are so dark as to provide bonuses against blinding/gaze effects but penalties to other things. I just wanted something smoked just enough to help hide my eyes, nothing bonus/penalty granting nor anything actually corrective. Basically just sunglasses. As is, I've put them on my sheet at the price of 10 gold (The same as the goggles I mentioned).

honestly, i hate doing loot math.

i prefer to have folks pick what they need, if there is an item that two PCs each want, they can discuss it amicably to see who gets it, or roll off, or whatever they feel is fair.

i find it has worked well in the games i have been in. when someone gets something in a slot they already have filled, the old thing usually is passed on to someone who doesnt have one (usually with big 6 items like cloak of resistance, ring of protection, etc.)

but that is just my opinion. we can do whatever. I just prefer to not do the math myself, let others do the math, and if i end up with less stuff for it, then so be it.

@Leo: Probably a good question for the GM to weigh in on. But even if he says it's OK, maybe your cleric would still be repulsed by using an item to cast an evil descriptor spell. If so, we can sell the Infernal Healing wand.

Regarding treasure calculations, I don't mind taking that on. It doesn't happen that often. But what say the rest of you regarding the preferred way to split the spoils?

@GM: Just curious, but did the half-orc pay to have Ian's armor refitted? (up to 800 gold cost). If so, Ian can't wear it now even if he wanted to and he'd prolly sell it.

@Leo, you may use the wand of infernal healing, excessive of use of it may result in side effects such as sleeplessness, headaches, and alignment change. And a pair of shades is fine.

@Ian, is there a refitting rule I'm oblivious to? Both you and the half-orc are medium sized creatures. Armor is a one size fits all for a given size category so far as I am aware.

Infernal wand: Well, he wouldn't like it and would try to avoid using it if there were any other options. Though there is some utility in making the person detecting as evil while the spell is on, probably not enough to justify keeping it. The healing of it is nice, but I'd probably use all of the charges from the other wand before I even considered using that. The spell is a wizard spell, so it is possible that Serelina could use it if she were to take that spell, maybe keep it for her?

Only for full plate
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/armor/full-plate

Anyway, I don't care. It's a pretty ignorable rule imo.

Yea, ignore that rule.

yeah, never liked the rule myself. it penalizes heavy armor wearers too heavily at early levels when it is hard enough for them to get heavy armor.

not to mention, adjustable leather straps are not some kind of space-age technology...

Tenro knows aaaaalll about adjustable leather straps

Merry Christmas all!

Had to do some profile/alias shuffling. This will be the Alias I'll be posting with here.

Happy new year. Hope we're diving back into this soon

I'm certainly excited to start! Happy new years, all!

I suspect we'll get re-started this week, since holiday time is over for most.

@GM: Looking back over the leads and clues our group has received since this PbP's inception, are there any you would say we should drop or are no longer a going concern.

I'm guessing we are back at the investigation phase, which usually means going back over the myriad hints we've received and missions given to us by the Mages. Not sure if some of these are now dead, particularly in light of the fact that Rebellion is gone. Just want to make sure we are tracking on the right things.

I'll go through that list tonight and see what I can trim down.

As to the rebellion, while the player group is gone, I do still plan to have an active NPC group related to that around.

@GM: This Ukalo guy, I don't see any information about him in the campaign info thread (though maybe I am looking in the wrong place). Is there anything specific I should know about him?

He is a higher ranking student of the tower. As a student still though, if it came to it any one of the group would probably mop the floor with him. He is a minor NPC that was introduced only recently.

@GM: Looking back over the leads and clues our group has received since this PbP's inception, are there any you would say we should drop or are no longer a going concern.

I'm guessing we are back at the investigation phase, which usually means going back over the myriad hints we've received and missions given to us by the Mages. Not sure if some of these are now dead, particularly in light of the fact that Rebellion is gone. Just want to make sure we are tracking on the right things.

Things that can be ignored at this point:

The big things still going on are Radgar, Firyin/Diguri and the thieve's guild war, future encounter with the thieve's guild, and a potential lead from Rosuc.

There are quite a few minor things that may or may not become more important.

@Leo: On page 8 of the Discussion Thread there is a list of possible leads to follow up on. I put this together (Tomlin was my prior PC) before our first fight with Thieves in what now seems a long time ago. Apart from just reading the entire Discussion and IC threads, looking over the Campaign Tab entries and this list would be the best bet to get you up to speed.

IMO, one of the best aspects of this campaign is the richness of the world and the variety of paths to choice. The GM drops a lot of hints and following up on these is the way this campaign moves forward. No railroad here. In the perfect world I'd like to update my review of the leads we have so far but doubt I will have the time in the immediate future. I've asked the GM to look over the leads and see if there are any to drop but I suspect many will remain.

EDIT: Ninja'd by the GM here. Good to know what trees not to bark up!

So I'm trying to build a clue graphic (Like the type of board you see FBI or conspiracy investigators building on boards in their homes/offices) for use with keeping track of all of the clues/plot points and how they relate to each other and would like some help fitting some bits together.

The numbered items are to represent nodes in the graphic, center points that we are responding to or are at least highly influential in things we need to respond to. The points within them are associated details/clues. Let me know if you see any holes I haven't mentioned!

1. Radgar the butcher.
-Associated with the Mithral Rose
-Hates the drow/slave trade? (for killing his family, I believe)
-Paladin/ex-paladin (Of what god?)
-Possible well armed servant (or maybe Radgar himsef) with a transposition ring. "I serve Radgar"
-Beggar woman that transposed with this person
-Possible link with guard killings until the drow prisoner is publicly executed.
-Items given to us by the Mithral Rose (Any relevance, or are these on the back burner?)
-Force of Paladins promised to us to use in apprehending this man?

2. The Thieves Guild
-The Anthony Gang (Who are they? Enforcers or decision makers?)
-Associated with the Drow? How?
-Watching the Western Gate. Do we know why yet?

3. The Drow underground
-Are running a slave trade?
-Associated with the thieves guild?
-The imprisoned drow, "Zov". Kept at the western gate? IS this why the Anthony Gang was there?

4. Pesh Distribution
-Find and interrogate Rosuc (Has this yet been done? Any info learned?)
-Anything else noteworthy?

Other possible tasks/relevant clues
-The situation in Gumlat (Any further information about this?)
-Hezek. Why is this guy important? I see him pop up in the notes a bunch. Is he a suspect in the pesh trade or just a small timer already put down?
-The Criminals (Something to do with the merchant guild)? Oh! This is the Anthony Gang, right?
-Find who killed Master Torenest and bring them to justice?
-Firyin/Diguri ? To do with the Drow Underground?

Also, but unrelated, I remember you guys mentioning scrolls/wands obtained in the last fight you wanted me to hang onto as the resident divine caster. Should I be adding these to my character sheet, and if so, what specifically are they all again? I might have to invest in some color coded scroll cases!

@Leo: Here's the list of Divine scrolls: Scroll of Desecrate, Scroll of Create Food and Water, Scroll of Protection from Energy

That's a fairly good recap you've put together. I'd add the following clarifications:

1) Radgar: You pretty much have it. Can't recall what god he worshipped, but it has certainly changed now. Good to remember that we've talked to Mithril Rose organization about Radgar and they volunteered to help. That said, we're currently short on clues to follow this up. We did take a look before at the items of Radgar's (and his wife's) that were offered, but we may want to re-look that.

2) "Anthony's Gang" aka "The Thieves" aka "The Criminals" is a criminal underworld group that is the enforcing-action arm of one side of the crime war. They work for Shannath Diguri aka "The Mistress", a powerful drow. Their base is underground, probably via the sewers, but we don't know where. They are involved in the pesh trade as well. Not sure of their connection to slave trade but wouldn't doubt it. Our group has personally fought them twice. The first we were pummeled; partially due to bad planning and partially due to not being as optimized as they were/are. The second time we routed them, killing two of their number and securing the bodies. We know they have resources and could potentially be true resurrected. They may also just get new members. It really isn't clear to me why they were watching the western gate when we caught up to them. Might just be coincidence. However, the drow that Radgar wants executed ("Zov", not his real name) appears to be on the other side of the gang war. Maybe a connection? Not sure; this would make a good Speak with Dead question.

3) Drow underground: as mentioned, the underworld criminal elements have been divided into a turf/gang war since this PbP started. As best we have figured out, one side has Firyin, "Zov" and now-deceased Vondreul(sic) who are all drow and the other has Diguri and Anthony's Gang. Apparently Anthony's Gang killed Vondreal, making Firyin furious. He's who Roland is meeting after he approached us in a drunken stupor demanding "justice" for this murder. Again, not really clear how the slave trade runs through them but I strongly suspect it does to some extent or another. That's a good observation about why Anthony's Gang was at the Western Gatehouse; maybe even why Radgar was there. Both might want "Zov" dead for their own reasons. It would be interesting to know if the Thieves have any info on where Radgar is.

4) Pesh Trade: This is a long-standing quest that has been a bit more back-burner since we started fighting Anthony's Gang directly. The two are related though. Rosuc is/was a senior distributor of pesh. We actually captured him sometime back and convinced him that Tomlin (in alias disguise) was rolled up too. We convinced him to work with us, using Tomlin as the go-between. With Tomlin now gone we'll need another way to work with Rosuc. It would be good to re-invigorate this in the near future.

Miscellaneous:

Hezek and Master Torenest's Desath: Hezek was a go-between for the group we believe killed Master Torenest. Via scrying, we ID'd the group that we believe did the deed at Hezek's Wares. This was a general goods store in Coran run by Hezek that was burned down in our efforts to capture Hezek. The group we scry'd was gone by then. Hezek is currently in custody. He links to anti-govt elements that we really haven't done much with. We do have clues to follow up on, but this angle has taken a back seat to dealing with Anthony's Gang and (more recently) Radgar.

Gumlat: We really don't know exactly what is going on there. Clearly there are problems, and it is sucking up a lot of the VIP's attention. As of yet we haven't been tasked to do anything about it yet.

The Merchants Guild: We have not seen much of them in a long time. They once fought Anthony's Gang as well and we had a good talk with them, even to the point of forging an alliance of sorts. Since then they have been completely off the radar. We could check in with them again and see their status and what they know.

There are a few other leads floating. Some of them are in the list I made before. I'm also curious about that Dether character we met earlier. I suspect he's up to something but not clear what. He was involved in the fight against the possessed guy who blew up on us. This may or may not be dealing with a demon-angle that has popped up from time to time but has never been a clear focus. Hezek may know more about this too.