DM Brainiac's War for the Crown: Table 2 (COMPLETE!) (Inactive)

Game Master Brainiac

Yep, ditto. I assume we regrouped and shared our respective findings before moving to the next thing.

Edit: Ninja'd by the DM. Can we just roll a Diplomacy check or something to get info from her? Probably no sense in holding up everything for one conversation.

Hey everyone, I’ll be out of town 8/8 to 8/17 for a vacation with family in Alaska. I likely won’t be posting at all during that time. Please bot Maya as needed.

I am away from 8/15-8/20 with uncertain availability.

Updating
* Baron Kustios is ill, sick at home for several days. One of the associate councilors, the banker Rhundle Navin, is also unexpectedly absent today (though this may have nothing to do with Kustios). Both are on the Loyalist side.

Kustios is convalescing in his manor.

* Terrible, unsavory dreams haunt many of our citizens; some of the council has had them and their cumulative effect is crippling to morale and our economy.

Lady Aumber: The people I spoke to about them didn't go into too much detail, but they mentioned the dreams featured them engaging in acts of unbridled lust and cannibalism. There have been several suicides and bands of haunted-eyed townspeople wandering the town in a stupor as a result.

A local conspiracy theorist named Caradinna Farkin has long been known to make erratic proclamations about the 'veiled masters' in town. Recently, she's become increasingly strident and insistent, even accosting a few of the council members in the streets. However, Farkin hasn't been seen in the last two days. Did she stumble onto some genuine clues?

* The Taldan Horse cavalry regiment that protected the city has, in large part, vanished.

Lady Rauls is looking into this. Her investigation lead her to a gnome priest who was passing through Yanmass a few weeks ago, about the time that the regiment went missing. He claimed to have seen several members of the Taldan Horse riding to an old ruined manor outside of town. If that's true, then it's likely the old Orvestikar Manor, a ruin 9 miles out of town. The manor has a reputation for ill luck among the people of Yanmass, who have shunned the site for generations.

* The rise of banditry on the eastern plains: Qadiran bandits, specifically, preying upon good Taldan trade. (Lady Carmelio notes it's Keleshite and Taldan trade being affected)

Lady Rauls: "I've got a more reliable lead on the bandit attacks. An elderly Qadiran merchant witnessed two separate attacks recently, and he noted that both of them originated near a caravanserai called Talgrasses, out on the Whistling Plains east of the city."

* The Cult of the Twilight Child in the Encircling Bower. Good citizens are joining this mystery cult. (Enumerator Abrun raised this concern.)

Chief Enumerator Abrun is uncomfortable with the public perception that it's an offshoot of the Church Abadar. He wants to discuss this matter further, and wants us to come to the temple later.

* The troubles in Yanmass started shortly after a terrific new restaurant called Savories opened, according to Rudig. It could just be a coincidence, but perhaps the owner of that restaurant has some insights he might share. The owner's name is Argentus.

* Lady Aumber "There's one more rumor that's been going around that somebody has been hiding out in Hedge Hill, a local park. I don't many other details, but if somebody is lurking there, they may be hiding from something important." This may be connected to the dreams, or may not?

--

- Lord Rudig supports Pythareus, since his cause seems more stable.
- Baron Kustios has Loyalist leanings
- Banker Rhundle Navin was an outspoken Loyalist

--

I'm still inclined to argue we should go see how Kustios is doing and/or check on Navin. After that, I think we should go to the Abadaran church and learn more there.

Then -- pending an answer to my last in-game post -- I'm leaning toward thinking we might be best off checking into Caradina, Hedge Hill and the Savories before we head off to the old Orvestikar Manor or the Talgrasses caravanserai. Let's try to get a handle on some bigger picture issues/causes before dealing with the smaller, more specific symptoms. (But can still play that by ear after Kustios, Navin and the Abadaran church.)

I have family visiting in town this week. I won't be able to post much, if at all, except for in the early mornings until Saturday or Sunday.

I'm good with that plan, Katria. As you mentioned, we can always adjust things further after we visit Kustios, Navin, and the Abadaran church.

I'm also okay with this.
I think we need to learn the city and everything that's going on on a large scale.

Fine by me (I’m still reading along, it’s just social situations make for very time-consuming posts, which I rarely have the chance to write up).

Ok so what do you think I should do in this Persona Phase? I don't have too many Agents to send out so I can't watch the Earl (too few Agents for a Persistent Subterfuge).

I was thinking of maybe attempting to spread rumours of another Cult with the special option. What do you think?

You've got 18 agents, which is more than Katria has.

We can only do the competing cult operation twice, so I think it might not be time yet -- I think we should see what else we can learn/do first. I think watching Yander or infiltrating the cult would be of more use right now, though both are risky. If you don't want to risk that, I think I might just start with canny investment. ...

You could also try to boost your Charm one more rank so you can do advanced operations.

Do the agents have to be from the same Stat?
I misunderstood that then.

Your facet ranks determine your total pool of agents, which can be assigned on any operation.

I'm not 100 percent sure. From what I can see is all the agents, once they're attracted, are the same, regardless of how you got them (i.e. which facet you improved in).

I could seeif you were doing an operation that was limited to a specific facet, the agents might need to be from that, but there's nothing actually in the rules to indicate that. I think it's more limited by your personal facets. So you're limited because your top rank is 5, which means I don't think you could ever send more than 5 agents on a mission (and it also means you don't have access to advanced operations).

Gotcha, that clarifies things then! Thanks!
I'll probably work toward getting that 6 Rank so I can do some Advanced Operations because they seem really interesting.

Also as an aside, the very first Critical of the day on her or Natural 1 Save that Amelia does will always trigger her Defiant. Just to expedite posting for you.

Hey everyone, I’ll be out of town 8/8 to 8/17 for a vacation with family in Alaska. I likely won’t be posting at all during that time. Please bot Maya as needed.

Just a reminder that Maya's away (I'd forgotten too). That said, we're waiting on Doritan to post.

And since it'll likely come up in short order, another reminder:

I am away from 8/15-8/20 with uncertain availability.

I will bot Doritan and Maya tomorrow morning.

If you end up having to bot me, Inspire Courage +2 (move) and a spell (standard) are a pretty good choice. Probably Admonishing Ray (NL), Good Hope, or healing.

Amelia is advocating kidnapping, while Liam is against it. What will you do?

If you want to take chances with the guard I'll be fine with that though there is no guarantee that they aren't in the same pockets as whoever sent these.

Let's wait for the authorities. We were attacked, and defended ourselves with nonlethal force.

Maybe we can even start turning this to our advantage, blaming the Imperialists/wondering if this is the type of danger we can expect for all citizens under that rule. I feel sure Maya or Amelia could manage that.

I agree with Katria. If the guards do happen to be in the same pockets, it would be good to know that.

Works for me then.
If I can spin rumours, I shall.

And my guess is they're not. If whoever our foe was had the guards in her pocket, she wouldn't have needed to charm folks (though I guess she could have hoped we'd just kill our attackers like some sort of crazy murderhobos to use that against us).

To be fair, our unknown enemy's possible plan to get us to kill these folks could quite possibly have succeeded had we not noticed that they were enchanted.

Sorry. Hadn’t been able to post over the last couple of days (almost back to my normal schedule). You can assume that Doritan stayed when asked, being part of the group but staying silent.

Wanted to give everybody a heads up. I'm in Hurricane Dorian's potential path, but I work for a local news station so I'll likely be working 12-hour shifts starting in the next few days and throughout the week. Posting will likely be sporadic, especially if we lose power at home.

Thanks for the head's up. Stay safe.

Ummm... hello guys! First of all, I'd like to apologize that my departure from this game wasn't as smooth as I'd have wanted it to be. My mental state has been deteriorating quickly from the day of my recruitment to the army, and what few weekends I got to go back home with internet connection I spent relaxing and mentally preparing myself for this arduous journey, so I never got around to updating you on my situation. I only managed to get an appointment with a military psychiatrist two and a half months later, and that meeting led to me quickly being reassigned to an office position in a base not far from home so I can go there and back every day, sort of like an IT job for the army, and I've been recovering since.

Well, now I'm back around, and I finally managed to open up the paizo website despite the mental difficulty of revisiting many moments from the past months of wanting to update you but being in too much strain to do so. I'm very happy to see this campaign is still around, and hope you're enjoying it and will continue enjoying it for a long time.

Though it pains me greatly to ask this after all this time, DM Brainiac, please remove me from this game.

Here's hoping I can play with you amazing people again one day, maybe when my service comes to an end and my mind is clearer. Until then, all the best and happy gaming. It's been a pleasure.

Bernal Iacomo / TheSuperDodo / Edo

EDIT: Sorry if I'm being obnoxious or childish, but I'm legit tearing up. This is the hardest goodbye I've had to say in a long time. I keep wanting to believe the game has been frozen in time since early April and I can just jump back in and continue and it's so painful to accept the truth. I'm so, so sorry.

Edo, I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties, but glad things seem like they're starting to look up. I don't think you're being obnoxious or childish at all. I certainly appreciate and accept your apology and would be happy to play with you again when you're able.

There was in the back of my mind another worry about why your deployment might have led to your absence. So I am glad you are physically okay and offer my best wishes for your continued recovery in mental wellness. I too would be happy to game with you again.

Thank you for letting us know. There are always questions when someone disappears, so I really appreciate you taking the time to fill us in. Take care!

Thanks for checking in, Bernal. Good luck on your recovery.

Just need Doritan's actions. The ram is badly wounded after Amelia's attacks so if he is able to finish it off, it might save Liam and Maya some spell slots since his initiative is higher than theirs.

Sorry for the delay, I'll post once I'm out of classes.

I'll keep in mind Blazing Rondo for the future.
I just wanted to get my full round in before Doritan moved into melee... I don't have Precise Shot.

Wow, Blazing Rondo is amazing.
Blood of the Beast in general seems to have some pretty powerful options.

4 Hits, 3 Misses with Cold Iron arrows. Does that match up? I'm just kind of estimating the AC to be around 20 ish.

The pairaka's AC was 23.

I'm ready to full round, I'll hold and see what you all do first though in case of various magic. I'll ignore the old man and go straight for the paraika.

Remind me to buy a Page of Spell Knowledge for Unbreakable Heart. That Spell is so good.

Also can't you utilize Protection From Evil instead of Spell Immunity?

I could, but didn't prepare Protection from Evil today. Probably should have. It is a really good spell, as is Unbreakable Heart.

Liam gets Spell Immunity as his domain spell, so he has that every day.

Does the paraika think I’m an ally at this point (that the Charm is still in effect)? If it does, I get my extra Hidden Strike damage.

"We were looking for you as well, Rhundle Navin. You are a banker, right? And an associate of the Yanmass Mercantile Council? Ill luck seems to plague the Loyalists in this city, though in truth I do not think luck has anything to do with it.

When did you last see your son?"

Whoops. Thanks, Liam. I apparently did some misreading (again!), and thought ... I don't know what I thought. I apparently got Rhundle and Edmond confused, though. I think I thought I was talking to Edmond and Rhundle was the son, but ... I guess, reading is hard. :)

Liam of Kozan wrote:

"We were looking for you as well, Rhundle Navin. You are a banker, right? And an associate of the Yanmass Mercantile Council? Ill luck seems to plague the Loyalists in this city, though in truth I do not think luck has anything to do with it.

When did you last see your son?"

Whoops. Thanks, Liam. I apparently did some misreading (again!), and thought ... I don't know what I thought. I apparently got Rhundle and Edmond confused, though. I think I thought I was talking to Edmond and Rhundle was the son, but ... I guess, reading is hard. :)

Liam is a sort-of-bard through his archetype, so exposition is really fitting for him.

I'll wait on the results of the Grease spell. If they tripped then my ranged attacks will be pretty hard to land.

Reflex: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 211d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Both are still standing.

Does anyone mind if Doritan takes the belt? I think I'm the only one who actively uses all three physical scores (Dex to attack, Str for damage, Con because how often I get hit).

And then your Belt of Dex +2 goes to Katria? That works for me.

Does anyone mind if Liam takes the banner? It rather fits with his role.

That works for me unless someone else wants the belt of Dex. I'm fine with you taking the banner, Liam. Glad we can get use out of it, since I wasn't sure we'd be able to (editing the post I was in the process of typing up now). :)

Doritan and Katria getting their respective belts sounds good to me. Maya already has a dex one anyway.

I was thinking Liam would be best for the banner when I read about it this morning. Sounds like a good fit.

I mean, I have Mirror Image and Deivon's Parry but I use all three stats as well.

Honestly 7 HP and +1 Fort won't make or break me.