I wrote out his combat post last night, but he killed both Corwin and Berrin with a single cleave attack.
...
Corwin's still kickin'! He may yet live, especially if Jemini arrives to tick the Drag Lord off.
I keep telling him, the gods are on our side. Even the pbp-forum-dice-roller gods. :D
...would've been epic if he killed Berrin and Corwyn and we *did* end up winning in the end. But probably not...
Since you all haven't been using your hero points too often, let's go over the rules as to what we can do with them.
1. Gain an extra action of any type less than full-round.
2. Gain a +8 bonus to a d20 roll if spent before or a +4 bonus if spent after.
3. Perform a readied action without readying.
4. Regain a spell or use of a limited special ability.
5. Reroll a d20.
6. Survive a fatal attack (2 points)
I'll put these in my avatar for reference.
Great I didn't see any mention in the character creation guidelines or see anyone use one in my reading of the game so simply didn't realise they were available.
Wouldn't have changed anything except me feeling a lot better about the possibility of dying. I'll save my two. If through some miracle of fortune I'm still up next round I'll likely use one for an extra attack.
Talk about a nail-biting battle! Great descriptions too! *Lurks*
So with the end of Chapter 1 approaching rather quickly, I think it's time to make a decision about Zander and Verik. I've mostly given up hope that they're going to return, but I don't want to waste the potential for storytelling and camaraderie that they brought. I am considering bringing in people (such as F. Castor here, who is an able writer) to fill in for them (as I did with Kyras in DRA's Mists of War).
What do you guys think? If you're against the idea, I won't go for it. (Obviously, if either of them were to return, the fill-in would be expected to vacate, but I would find a place for the player.)
Oh gosh. I dunno. On the one hand, I do miss those two characters really badly; Taisper and Verik's hot-and-cold (though mostly cold) relationship and the surprisingly brotherly rapport my little sociopath here had with Zander were both excellent story grist and would be great to have back.
On the other hand, I would really need some convincing via writing samples as both Kacy and Rellen were/are just terrific RPers and writers.
I guess I'm open to it. But man the replacements are gonna have to be good.
Is there anyone in your games that isn't in this one that you might recommend?
I think I also want to bring in a player for Duron over in Carrion Crown.
Hmmm...maybe Azami/Irondawn. She's really good and likes writing for really RP-heavy characters like Verik. Do you think Min/Corerue would fit? He seems like he'd be able to do a good Zander.
I'm quite pleased with Azami's work. I'm also quite fond of Min's. However, F. Castor up here made the effort to come in and ask if we have any vacancies. His writing is good, and I think having the opportunity to work with such skilled players here would only improve it.
What say you, F. Castor? Think you'd like to pick up either Zander or Verik? (Or Duron over in Carrion Crown?)
Although I would love to play with a DM as good and reliable as you are -not to mention this great group of players- I will have to decline. I avoid playing already established characters for a variety of reasons, the main ones being that I will not be as invested in a character not my own and that I do not believe I will be able to do them justice even if I were. And I will admit that Zander and Verik being a ranged fighter and a divine caster is not helping either. :-)
As far as Carrion Crown is concerned, while the above still stands, there is also a friend of mine that will probably be starting a PbP for that AP sooner or later, so -as much as it pains me, because I really like that path- I think I will be waiting for just that.
Still, I thank you for the opportunity, as well as the kind words/compliments concerning my writing. Nevertheless, I believe I will continue lurking if that is alright with you; certainly the current battle has me at the edge of my seat, so to speak.
Fair enough. It's not for everyone to pick up someone else's concept and play it as best you can. (Anecdotally, though, I find playing Kyras to be very rewarding even though I didn't come up with him.)
I'd be okay with it, in the same way as DRA. I'm okay with them bringing their own spin to the characters and such, theres no time for growth and change like the last few events. Preferrably I'd like someone interested in maintaining existing relationships, Verik and Taispar, Zander and Berrin, Verik and Jemini and Zander and Tandlara's awkward tension. Someone whos intersted in exploring those, not merely willing to do them as a chore that comes with the character.
As the new guy I don't mind one way or the other but a blunt observation. No matter the intention a replacement player is never going to play the character in the same way as the old. The style whatever you want to call it is going to be off no matter how hard the new writer tries. And it would be unfair to blame them for that.
But if someone is keen let them try by all means.
BTW, if you do want me to ping Azami, let me know; she's one of my players IRL and we're gaming tomorrow night so I can ask her.
Yeah, float the idea.
Okay, will do.
Well, somebody's going to die in a second.
Do not worry! I have it all under control!
Okay, maybe I don't.
Whoever is killed by the Stag Lord (Jemini or Taisper, though I think I know what Jemini will choose) has a choice to make:
1. Continue with the same PC in the afterlife, and their quest to return to life.
2. Start an entirely new PC after the battle.
3. Adopt one of the existing NPCs as a new PC.
(Personally, I'd prefer #1. I think it would be a lot of fun. You'll soon have the resources for a resurrection/reincarnation, so it would be a temporary time at best.)
Jeez. Dark stuff.
I almost wish it was Tandlara, I've thrown it in that she dies on her third spat of adventuring, but it doesn't make sense and I'm not ready to die yet. We'll definately pool the resources to get the character back, maybe try and find a more powerful local witch, get raise dead there rather than going back to Restov.
Jeebers!
Choice 4
4. Let Taisper die. Revel in the powers of darkness and become an anti-paladin ... nah
Can Berrin hit the Stag Lord at this point please.
Maybe Tandlara will pick up Corwin's Axe and finish him off!With 17 hp left, if Taispar and Berrin get him even lower! :p
That would be a fun end! Especially if he kills one of Tandlara's Dear Ones!
That would be amazing!
Get away from her b#!!#!
Gallows humour aside it looks like a likely TPK if Staggy gets another attack. Taisper and Berrin both need to hit and do sufficient damage to down him.
Berrin's got to go around Akiros. That shouldn't be too hard, considering that the man is blind, but it will eat up valuable time.
Jemini will opt for the otherworldly journey and return stronger!
Bravo.
Man, I can't wait to see everyone's reactions. Especially Taisper's. He definitely should know that she sacrificed herself for him.
She has to face the moon-turtle!
Tandlara is going to flip, she was closest to Jemini and sees them all as her adopted children in a way. Her family. Not sure what I can do. Might delay until after Taispar and see if the boss monster is still standing, if so I'll try and kill him myself with my last hero point.
If you want Jemini to come back different, I'm okay with that. Time for me to figure out what sort of afterlife adventures Jemini gets to have, as well as how long she'll stay dead. Her family will likely pay the cost of any resurrection, but it might take a while to get that done.
Tandlara! Here's your chance to killsteal! :D
I was saying on FB that Tandlara needs to throw her sickle at him. That would be delightfully anticlimactic.
Yeah I was wondering if we would see a sickle kill as well.
Ironically with the roll and a hero point I think it was 50/50 :)
With our luck it will leave the Stag Lord exactly on 0hp.
I went the blind route. Hopefully Taispar can't miss and that should be the end of it.
Hopefully...
Got him. Took my last friggin' hero point, but I got him.
Again, I apologize for posting out of order, had to get this in before we leave on a day trip.
It doesn't affect the outcome (given that Taisper successfully hit full AC), but from what I understand Tandlara already rolled the Fort-save for the Stag Lord (who made the save). Tandlara also used a hero point to increase the DC which I don't think is possible(??).
In Taiper's case, I think he's forgetting the "-2" from being shaken to his attack roll. But, if he instead spent his hero point to add +8 to his attack roll, then it doesn't matter and he hits.
AND DAMN HOORAY! Only 20% of the party dead (at this point) ;)
...
@DM Barcas: you don't need to be quick about it; even for the Lebeda holdings it isn't easy to get the necessary resources in place to raise people from the dead. Especially out here in the woods. Also a question of cost; I don't really want her to come back for "free". Perhaps her loving parents put her on an interest-free loan or something. Or part of the cost is carried by whatever she needs to overcome on the other side.
I trust fully in your ability to make it happen. As a friend of mine puts it: "I don't like to cheapen a character death."
It was a re-roll but should still have hit his 15 AC (17 - 2 for blinded) whether or not he has a dex bonus to also lose. At least heres hoping..
The tandlara stuff was all discussed over facebook, I boosted my save with a hero point and failed. But DM Barcas decided to intervene on behalf of my mysterious patron because of Riddleskin's sacrifice to the power, and the patron's own goals, and forced a re-roll which the Stag Lord failed. Its not only divine characters with forces watching them I guess! :p
GO TAISPAR!!!!
Now to see how the battle pans out!
Ah! :) That explains it. The gods are kind.
I suspect we could've also won by dragging the fight on long enough for rage to end. Though that would require a lethal amount of waiting.
You'd be waiting a while.
Hitting on a 15 is legit thanks to his blindness. I approved the +4/+8 to a spell, since there was less benefit for HPs for spellcasters than melee.
Okay, so you remember a few months back when I got an email from that lurker? I got another one.
Well as you know I've been a steady lurker now of your Kingmaker campaign (as well as a fan of your group in the Korvosa uprising), and I have to say I've been on my seat these past couple of weeks with the final showdown against the Stag Lord. So many good things here, and Akiros is really an interesting character that hopefully will live long enough to interact with the group in the future (Akiros is also scary-deadly, and the way the dislike between he and Berrin have translated to the battlefield is outstanding). I must say it's been awhile since I watched a battle unfold like this, and have been rooting and shouting at the computer every day as each round unfolds - because of uncoordinated tactics I thought the group was going to be doomed after round 1, but some gutsy rolls and Hero Points really made it an epic and evenly-matched struggle. Clearly as a DM you've shown that the opponent's rolls need to be the rolls, but I'm thinking you got that sinking feeling when you rolled those double 20's for the Stag Lord. Kudos to you for carrying that through - and though it means a character death the writing bears out that it has full significance and power to the story. I also really liked how you allowed the spirits to intercede on Tandlara's Blindness for the SL - it wasn't going to alter the outcome of the fight versus the SL at that point, but had huge consequences for Tandlara's character development, and was quite poetic. Very tragic but hopeful all in the same moment, which is what makes a good campaign live off the page (or the screen in this case). I have to say that watching this story and the Korvosa story unfold, it gives me a lot of good ideas for my own campaign!
Now forgive my impertinence, but I noticed you were still struggling with the issue of Verik and Zander, and had Alexius drop off as well. Verik and Zander are such strong characters that I'm sure you don't want to lose either of them, or relegate them to cameo NPC status, but at the same time you can't necessarily play both characters along with running the rest of the NPC's and the story. I find Verik Jarrow to be such an appealing and interesting character, with the dynamics to Taisper and Jemini, as well as his own self-doubts, humor and humility where it concerns his skills. If you were wanting someone to play as Verik for a time - at least until the true player came back - I'd be willing to give it a go. For some reason I think I could get inside Verik's head and play that role in a meaningful way which his creator intended. Of course, that is if you didn't have other PbP folks that you're acquainted with step up to the plate first. I've never been in a play-by-post campaign before (it's all been at the table for me), and have never posted on Paizo. I've also never run in the Golarion world before (my campaigns have all been old-school Greyhawk Oerth), though via the PbP forums and Wiki searches I've gotten more familiar with deities and history. That being said, I am fairly familiar with forums and posts due to my old MMO days, love writing, am current on Pathfinder materials, and currently play a cleric (named Jon) in my Iron League Campaign with all the elements of a full player-character. The forums that I'm using now for this monthly game are on a Guildlaunch site that we converted over to between-session posting, and you might enjoy the writing that is going on there for it, as your PbP is what I used as a model to get my players to start their IC conversations. http://kcf.guildlaunch.com
Anyway, I wanted to throw that out there as I'm a big fan of the story, and would hate to see great characters and great material fall by the wayside. There's a lot of "ifs" in that option I know, but I figured I'd throw it out there in case you wanted/needed an option, and I'd certainly be willing to try out for you and the gang there.
Cheers!
Tony Springstun (Vorduvai)
P.S. Can't wait to see how you will write the narrative and interactions for Jemini to go on her spiritual journey, and eventually find her way back to Golarion!
I instructed him to make an account here and introduce himself to you guys, as it's a decision that has to be made by the group. (I also asked him if he would want to play Zander, just for more options.) His writing is good, and he's developed an investment in the story. What do you guys think?
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Hi Everyone! Long-time lurker, first-time poster :)
Let me just say that your ongoing story here has been a joy to watch from the sidelines, and definitely stands up to that level of play where you want the campaign to take on a life of its own. Really fantastic dynamics with you all.
My history with your storyline comes from a few months ago when I was looking to take my monthly table campaign to a deeper level - my wife and two of our best friends have been playing together for years now on and off, but with jobs and kids and all that we can only manage to coordinate one Saturday a month. As you can imagine, things can get cold in terms of character interactions and feel with that gap, so I wanted to try in-character posted conversations to liven it up and give more role-playing options. I was browsing Paizo and stumbled across your Kingmaker campaign thread, and consequently used that as an example for my players on how to post spoken words, first-person thoughts, OOC, etc. As a result I was drawn into your story, read the whole thing from the beginning, and got into a habit of reading it at least a couple of times daily.
So I was really sad to see your players for Verik and Zander stop posting, because the dynamic between the characters was so rich and vibrant. I guess that happens in PbP campaigns, but you really have something special going. While this battle with the Stag Lord was going on, I kept thinking "man Verik and Zander needed to be in this fight" and wondering what they would do. That's where I came up with the thought of filling in for one of them for DM Barcas. Of course, if you had either/both players return to take those roles on, that would be the ideal and first-line option.
As it turns out, I have a knack for playing clerics (that's my favorite class at least), and I had a strong feeling for Verik and how he was interacting with Taisper, his own internal struggles with the tenets of Abadar "in the field" and his self-doubts on his martial prowess, etc. That is not to say I couldn't sort out the nuances of Zander (he's such a strong and tragic character in his own right), though I have a better internal feel for Verik, and any attempt would have to be spot-on or it would fall flat. As a long-time DM, I'm fairly used to jumping into roles of NPC's and figuring out how to make them shine, but filling a role for a main character takes a special amount of reverence and attention to detail. If I can help out and take on a character role for your group and help to benefit the story - at least until the original player returns - I'd be thrilled to do it.
Okay so I'll stop droning on now, and once again just say that you've got a great thing going here! Congrats on that nail-biter of a battle with the Stag Lord, and my condolences to Jemini, though her passing was a beautiful piece of writing, along with everyone's reactions to it.
Cheers!
Hi Vorduvai! :) I must admit, if Zander or Verik get a new player roleplaying them, then my preferred choice would be for Verik to come alive again as it were (although I think DM Barcas might prefer a Zander). I chose Verik simply because I really enjoyed the interactions between Verik, Taisper and Jemini; he also added a fantastic comic element to the game - which I really appreciate.
I must also add, that the few times DM Barcas played Verik, I was pretty convinced that it was authentic Verik. The kind of thoughts and words that would come from that man. I still miss the original player for Verik, who I credit for raising my own roleplaying game, he has an incredible gift with words that translates well into pbp. (I guess it shouldn't be surprising, if I understand it correctly he's a professional writer.)
So to bring it to a point: I'd welcome Vorduvai to give ol' Verik a try.
>.>
<.<
Awesome battle guys! =) Loving the story so far~ ;)
***~Goes back to lurking~***
Hi Vorduvai!
I'm happy to have you play Verik! Just be ready for me and Jemini to rib on you regularly! Of course, Jemini's dead and Tandlara's a bit... out of sorts.
Either way! You'll be a grand addition, and your already in the habit of regularly going onto the thread!
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Hi Vorduvai!
I'm happy to have you play Verik! Just be ready for me and Jemini to rib on you regularly! Of course, Jemini's dead and Tandlara's a bit... out of sorts.
Either way! You'll be a grand addition, and your already in the habit of regularly going onto the thread!
Well it's been a lot of fun to read to this point. Yeah call me crazy, but I get the feeling there's a lot of heavy emotions to sort out because of this battle - it's not like Taisper, Tandlara or Berrin are going to want to hop on their horses and go explore the next hex anytime soon. Oh and there's the fact that Corwin looks pretty much dead but isn't - someone get that man a heal!
I was in the process of reading Verik's and Zander's prior posts today, and to Jemini's point Verik's author Rellen definitely had a great flair for the written word. Of course, one of my favorite posts is by Zander when he described his first time at changing his appearance - that was really something (in fact now that I realize I can mark favorite posts I think I'll go do that).
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FYI - on the possibility that you wanted Verik to make an appearance on the battlefield after what has happened, I've written something up this morning for it. That may be presuming too much though. If you'd like I can e-mail it to DM Barcas for his review first, or post it here (that may be strange though I know).
I'm accustomed to BBCode tags on sites but usually where the GUI does it for you after highlighting text. It looks like it's manual here and I'll have to figure out any tricks you know to not make a mess of it :)
The BB Code isn't hard once you get used to it. Just bold conversation, italicize thoughts, and OOC anything else.
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The BB Code isn't hard once you get used to it. Just bold conversation, italicize thoughts, and OOC anything else.
Silly question then, but I'll ask it. I see the dice expression which must be for color, but how do you roll a die? In the battle it seems you could have an issue where you track the roles, but if you do a refresh or edit then it could change the results. I'm probably missing something obvious here though :)
EDIT: Okay nevermind - the /dice expression actually runs the roll for you and puts in the color. Go go gadget dice expression! I'm thinking it holds the calculated value then, even if you preview.
Yep, you've got it! It's an honor system to not fudge the rolls by adding/reordering the rolls.
There seems to be a consensus, so make a Verik avatar with the same picture and go nuts! Just name him Verik Jerrow or something similar.
Excellent start. Excellent indeed. Now all we need is Zander!
Hey, if you want to see the finalized kingdom building rules, follow the link in my avatar.
That was a very final post int he main thread! What now! Timeskip on a year? Shall we lay out the kingdom stuff in the interim?
Hey guys, miss me? ;P
Internet's back, for now anyway. Going to catch up as I can.