DM Jesse's Kingmaker PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Jesse Heinig

In response to Alexei's question, Korinne points over to Cass and Vallen. "Probably by way of how we got that tatzylwyrm back. Though can't we uh...what do you call it, field-dress it here? Isn't that what hunters usually do?"

Vallen doesn't leave the cloud of smoke slowly dissipating around him. He still has a hand on his belt pouch, ready to load another alchemical cartride into his pistol. "We can butcher it here, aye, and haul the meat to the fort on a covered sled. Just... make sure it's dead first. Did you see the way it loked at us? I've never seen an animal with such.. hatred in it."

Jenya grins and takes out her dagger Yup, I think we can take care of it here. It's a big one though so the more helping hands the better. I guess we take the head again fer proof of the deed?

I think Survival is the appropriate skill. Jenya has a +8 and will take 10

"Definitely not wasting this one," Cassandra says taking out a knife. She took another look at the beast and then at her measly knife and wondered if a sword would not be more appropriate. The thing was as big as a horse. "This is going to take a bit."

+11 to survival for me. 23 with take 10 and aid from Jenya. 25 if Vallen helps. I believe he has survival too.

After it is clear the boar is no longer a threat, Vallen holsters his pistol and moves towards the beast. "Hmm... I'll work on lifting this porker up so we can properly drain it." The dwarf comments, stroking his beard in thought.

He whips out his Traveler's Anytool, folding it into a block and tackle. In the background the priest can be seen busing himself- finding a sturdy enough tree to support the beast's weight, animating a silk rope to snake its way up the tree, securing the tackle, and preparing to hoist the boar up for draining.

Vallen +7 survival) will take 10 on survival to assist Cassandra, bringging her to 25 for the meat harvesting operation.

"I'm afraid I haven't much experience with butchering game," Alexei apologizes as the operation sets into full swing, "but I can start a fire so that we can all enjoy a meal of fresh meat. That'll be a nice change from the trail rations. Korinne, perhaps you'd like to join me? It would be safer to gather wood as a pair rather than risk one of us getting lost or running into trouble alone."

You're a handy dwarf to have around Vallen Jenya comments as they haul the boar up leg first to leave it hanging head down. A nice cut on the jugular and the we can start on the hide....

"Sure, sure," Korinne quickly agrees. "I know it's survival and all but I'd rather not be around to watch this anyway," she says with a grimace.

After some discussion you decide to spend some time prepping Tuskgutter for his final journey to someone's guts. Hatch reminds you that the bounty specifies that the boat will be made into head cheese, so the head needs to be intact. You do your best to butcher and smoke the immense boar, which takes the rest of the day.

One more hex, or back to Oleg's now?

As the explorers sit around the fire enjoying the fruits of the day's labor Alexei looks thoughtfully at the pile of meat and remarks, "it would be a sad loss if anything happened to all this good meat... and it's probably not wise to carry it while exploring, who knows what kind of predators it could attract. Perhaps we should head back to the fort, or to Oleg's, to drop off the food and maybe turn in some of the bounties we've secured?"

Jenya nods Yeah, don't particularly feel like carting around so much meat when we're delving into the wilderness. Let's get back to the trading post before we come back here. The region's definitely safer than it was before 'cause of our work

Vallen sits by the fire, slowly chipping away at the figurine that has become his pet project. "ye, let's go back and resupply. I need to order some things and send a letter. The sooner House Garess knows about the gold mine we found, the better. Ah, it will be good to hear the songs of working dwarfs again. They're considered holy hymns to Torag, you know. On top of that, this place could use a good dwarven tavern, though they would have to import their drinks until there is some farmland around here."

"Heading back seems like a good idea," Korinne agrees as she samples a piece of freshly-cooked boar. "We don't want any of this meat or the head to start rotting, for sure. Hopefully it'll only take us maybe one or two more trips out here to finish mapping and exploring everything! Then we can start on other projects, like Vallen's dwarven tavern."

"Hey Vallen, what's a dwarven tavern like compared to a human one?" she adds, turning to their industrious companion.

"Dwarven taverns are very similar to human ones except the doors are wider and the ceilings are lower," Alexei jokes.

Vallen opens his mouth to answer Korinne, only to be intercepted by Alexei's joke. "Wha-? No no no, it's more about-" He stops, hands halted in front of him in the beginning of a series of punctuated gestures. "Oh, that was a joke." The dwarf chuckles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah, well, you see... it's the atmosphere. Humans go to taverns to relax after a hard day's work. Dwarfs are different- the Forge-Father blessed us with the capacity for incredible industry, and excessive idleness is a sin. Most dwarfs are really only "relaxing" when they're sleeping. So in a dwarf tavern, all the miners and craftsdwarfs and soldiers aren't really relaxing. They're discussing plans, trading stories of our rich history or honoring our ancestors, collaborating with peers... It's social work, and the tavern is the heart of it. Just as a carpenter has their workbench, dwarf society has taverns to facilitate the crafting beautiful relationships."

He smiles, and admits with a jovial chuckle. "That's not to say we can't appreciate the finer things in life. Pleasure takes the form of fine ales and food at a tavern, or maybe a game of strategy like Dwarven Defenders or Towers and Time. But these are merely the vehicles for which bonding or discussions are carried."

Vallen strokes his beard for a moment, puzzling over something. "Though I may have generated more grudges than goodwill over Towers and Time. It's a bit of a specialty of mine and I'm not prone to defeat... Some dwarfs are very sore losers, unfortunately, especially after the tenth flagon or so."

"Huh...so more like what we'd think of as a meeting hall than just a place to sit and have something to eat or give your feet a rest," Korinne muses. "That's really interesting! I'm looking forward to seeing it once it's done."

"Oh, but you have to make sure to give it a good name - I was always told that first impressions are the most important and I'd bet it's the same for buildings, too," she adds.

Alexei raises his hands and spreads them grandiosely, as if framing a large sign, and offers, "The Maiden's Beard!"

Aww, I always heard dwarves had the best drinking songs. You're telling that me that ain't true Vallen? It's all building plans and figures and discussions of different metals?

Vallen dismissively waves off Alexei's suggestion. "Yes yes very funny... You humans always have such a wit about you. But Korinne is right, it would need something that really captures the spirit of what it is to be a dwarf mining gold in the middle of the wilderness. It's not my place to name this non-existant tavern, but I feel Glitterdust or perhaps Cup of Luck would be more appropriate."

The priest turns his head to Jenya, moustache giving a twitch in thought. "Ech, well.. All right, there are quite a lot of drinking songs. If you can call them "songs". It's more reminiscent of a rowdy badger repeatedly squeezing a bagpipe full of beer. But still! It's all about bonding, and coming together to share tradition."

Nice little scene there. :)

Discussion continues as you settle in for sleep, then you set out to return to Oleg's.

The first thing that Cassandra reports as you close in on the trading post is the smell. There are a lot of people there - far more than the small garrison and Oleg and his wife. Cassandra's nose wrinkles involuntarily as she catches the scent of refuse and fire-pits.

As you get closer you see white smoke - cook-fires. The palisade walls of the trading post rise on the horizon, and then dotted all around it are small tents made of burlap. Some are brown, some are beige, some are many-colored. People are moving about and bustling activity surrounds the fortress.

Over the scattered encampment of tents is a flapping flag of a black eagle with wings spread in front of a field of gold. (Note: The link goes to the page about the owners of the flag; the picture on that page is wrong.)

"Those are the banners of House Orlovsky, my kin," Alexei informs his associates with a sense of mingled pride and confusion. "What are they doing here now, though, I wonder?"

here to claim some of the new territory, no doubt... it is my house and I must honor that but if our work here is to help stabilize the homeland and bring peace then we must be careful not to enlarge the house so greatly that it emboldens the leadership to try to seize greater power at home...

"Come, let us ask what brings them," he invites those with him as he spurs his horse towards the camp. Once they arrive he looks quickly for the most important person nearby and offers, "I am Alexei of House Orlovsky, charter member of this expedition. Who is in charge here and where might I find him?"

sorry, just to clarify, we're supposed to be starting a new nation that's allied with (or even a vassal state to) Brevoy, right? Or are we supposed to be expanding Brevoy's borders? I need to know because I will affect how I approach this...

Vallen looks over the assorted tents, a frown growing on his face. "I thought I'd be happy to see more humans, but something about this rubs me the wrong way. I was expecting homesteaders and farmers, why does this feel like a military camp?" The dwarf grumbles, seeming to fall into a melancholic pessimism.

Jenya shrugs I thought we were just going to explore and clear out the bandits. That's pretty much done, right?

***before reaching camp***
As they ride towards the tents Alexei answers Vallen and Jenya, "Well, once the bandits and other threats have been cleared out there will be the work of repairing the fort, and building mines and taverns, and establishing new settlements and trade routes... so the job is really just beginning. I do... appreciate Vallen's concern though. I also expected that the early settlers would be small groups of homesteaders and the like. A major house, though, will have the resources to develop areas much more quickly; we'll just have to make sure that such development doesn't become disruptive of what we're trying to accomplish here, or dangerous back home..."

Sorry for the silence. Did a significant amount of house work over the weekend and got really sidetracked by "Humans are Weird" posts and stories on tumblr. They are fantastic.

Also, technically, the only thing we were chartered to do was map the area and deal with bandits. We don't yet know the behind the scenes politics fueling this and the other ventures into the Stolenlands. Some of us might know through connections or figure it out but for the most part we are in the dark.

Before Oleg's
Cassandra ignored most of the banter going on around her out of necessity. One look at the boars massive size and she saw a challenge presented to her. A fur coat that large could be cut into several smaller pieces. Cassandra wanted to do it in one though. One massive, perfect piece. With great focus she made her cuts slowly and precisely. Peel and cut. Peel and cut. On and on she went for the rest of the afternoon until finally she had a skin capable of covering the entire floor of a decent sized bedroom. Perfect.

At Oleg's
A few days in the woods and sometimes you forget what civilization smells like. You become used to certain smells and forget others. Cassandra recoiled visibly from the many scents emanating from Oleg's. Her steps forward were hesitant, both from the smell and the large gathering of people. For the first time in a while, she put her hood back up to hide here white hair and wild features. She gripped her bow nervously as they proceeded through the camp. Why in the world were so many people here?

"Well...whatever they're doing here, I'm sure Oleg's probably having a conniption fit right now with having so many people around," Korinne gapes.

Oh I dunno. I'm thinking he might be loving the extra business. Jenya grins It feels a bit like Jovvox here. 'cept fewer explosions and stuff.

As you approach, one of the soldiers on the palisade wall - one of Kesten Garess's men - shouts down to into the fort below. You spot people involved in cooking, talking, and even a few traveling tradesfolk - a cobbler seated at a stool in front of one tent mending boots, a woodworker carving out a new chair leg. Among the tents you also spy several pack mules and wagons.

Oleg emerges from the front gate and waves to you, but Auric comes out on horseback and rides up to join you. He is met along the way by another woman you don't know, also mounted, who comes from the camp.

"My lord," says Auric. "These settlers have arrived with more news from the north."

The woman says, "My name is Kiely Crowfarron. I've come at the behest of the Swordlords of Restov. Lord Orlovsky, we have important news for the charter group here. But first, I must confirm: is it true? Is the Stag Lord defeated?"

Vallen eyes the woman named Kiely with a hint of suspicion, as if blaming her for the sudden influx of all these soldiers. This better not turn into some territory dispute... I'm here to build a capital city, not get involved in human politics or watch humans butcher each other.

Kiely, incidentally, is a human woman with brown hair cut to shoulder length. You'd estimate that she's probably in her 30s, with some crow's feet at the edge of her brown eyes and premature gray along the hairline by her ears. She appears fit and skilled in the saddle. She wears a tabard with the livery of Restov over a mail shirt.

Auric says to the team, "We have conferred and I have determined that there is no malice in her motives," which you think is probably a coded way of saying that she doesn't detect as evil, "though of course she is simply the messenger for her lords."

Whoah, you guys are real formal when you want to be. My name's Jenya.

Cassandra wished to stay quiet and out of focus. But from the murmurs about her, she realized that was impossible. She carried the StagLord's helm and others were beginning to notice. She steps a few paces forward but still behind Alexei. I assume he is at the front right now. She holds it out for the woman to inspect. "Helm of the StagLord. It is actually blessed by Erastil so I decided to keep it." Cassandra keeps her head slightly lowered to shadow her face as much as possible.

Kiely says to Jenya, "Good day to you, Jenya. You are the traveler from Alkenstar, yes?" She turns in her saddle to regard the helm of Erastil that Cassandra wears, then nods curtly. "A body would be better, but under the circumstances this should be satisfactory." She reaches one leather-gloved hand into her saddlebags and retrieves a rolled-up scroll with a wax seal on it, then holds it out.

Once broken open, the scroll says:
"Be it so known that the bearers of this charter, having delivered the northern reaches of the Greenbelt from the scourge of banditry, having provided detailed maps of the lay of the land, and having done no small amount of work in the exploration of said land and the culling of hostile monsters and indigenous hazards, are hereby granted the right to rule. The nature and laws of rule are theirs to define, and the wellbeing of this new nation is theirs to protect. In accordance for providing a stable nation to the south of central Rostland, let there be a generous stipend of funds, support, and advice provided to this fledgling nation as a token of Restov and Brevoy’s goodwill, such that future relations between kingdoms might be mutually beneficial.
So witnessed under the watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and by the authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne."

Kiely clears her throat after you have a chance to read the document, then says, "To be honest, the politics of why the Dragonscale Throne would establish a new, separate kingdom are beyond me, but the orders are clear. The Swordlords have donated no small amount of resources so that you might establish a new township and, hopefully, from there stabilize and pacify these lands. House Orlovsky has also backed this venture with men and material, as has House Garess. It is a rare show of cooperation between the various Houses of Brevoy."

Auric says, "I have spoken with many of the people here and most of them are journeyman craftspeople, younger landless folk eager to make homes for themselves, and the occasional traveler, itinerant, or tinker. They have been sent with supplies under the banner of Brevoy to settle a new encampment and build a village at a place of your choosing."

For your verified defeat of the Stag Lord, the party is awarded 5,000 gold pieces in cash, plus you gain 50 BP (build points) with which to start a new kingdom. To do that you'll need to choose a hex as your starting point; the caravan will move there and establish a new settlement, just like settlers in a Civ game. Certain hexes have bonuses: If you decide to take over Oleg's, it gets to keep the trading post; if you take the Temple of Erastil, you can refurbish that and have a temple in your starting spot; if you use the Stag Lord's fort, you get a huge discount on building a fort in the area, which then converts to having Barracks and a Stable in the town that springs up. Or you can build in some other hex!

"Oh...oh wow..." Korinne murmurs as she takes a moment to let Kiely's words sink in. She looks at the others and a grin creeps across her face.

"We did it...we really did it! I can't wait to write home about all of this - I told them my studying magic would pay off one day! Haha!" she exclaims, laughing and bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. After a moment, she calms herself and takes a deep breath.

"Okay, okay, I guess we've got a lot of work to do, so we'd best get started pretty quick, right?"

Jenya scratches her head at the proclamation. It seemed like the formality was for a very good reason. Huh, seems like you all got a heckuva promotion

Well this was...honestly Cassandra had no idea what this was. She had not expected something like this so quickly and to this extent. The document said they, her and her companions, would rule here. Rule. She didn't know the first thing about ruling. Did any of them? One happy thought did niggle at the back of her mind though. She would be in a great position to negotiate the relocation of her village and help with the obvious tension that would arise from a village of monsters nearby. But first things first. "So, uh, what do we do now?"

Kiely says, "I would recommend sending back a letter to Restov to let them know that you are undertaking this task with all due seriousness. Then these people need to know where they are going to live. My understanding is that the Swordlords put out a call for settlers, which naturally attracted some poor folk and some folk from large farm families who did not have enough land to support all of their siblings, and they are eager to establish new homesteads. Houses Garess and Orlovsky delegated journeymen from various trades as well, as these journeymen and women need to earn their mastery and there are precious little opportunities for advancement among the guilds of the cities, where competition is fierce."

Hatch says, "We better talk to Oleg. He's probably pullin' his hair out, with all these people around."

Kiely continues, "While this is a project funded in part by Brevoy, you do have a great deal of leeway. Some settlers may assume that the laws of Brevoy apply in this fledgling settlement. Others may assume that as these lands are the River Kingdoms, they will abide by the 'rules' attributed to these parts - might makes right. You will want to move quickly to establish what will and won't be tolerated."

"You have established something of a reputation as dependable folk who can deal with the likes of bandits and monsters, so these settlers will look to you for protection," Kiely continues. "Responsibility now rests squarely on your shoulders."

Vallen stares at Kiely, processing the words of the document. "The right to rule?! I'm an architect, not some gold-bangled noble. This... Look, my loyalty is first and foremost to Torag, and then, well, politically speaking, to High King Borogrim the Hale. I'm on loan to House Garess, who is sponsoring me, because of my skills at building. You have to understand I can't rule anything behind the back of the High King and the Gathering Council in Highhelm. We have very clear rules on Dwarf Lords and their subjects, and I'm no royal bloodline. My family are merchants! Taking a public office with the possibility it could be interpreted as the will of the High King is unacceptable, maybe treasonous, without his blessing." Vallen frets, his speech increasing rapidly throughout the panicked moment.

It looks like his sky-blue eyes are about to pop out of their sockets, his moustache is frazzled in excitement, and his assortment of rings and metal all jingle as he stirs up his horse to move. "This is all happening too fast. You humans are always in such a hurry, all the time... I have letters to send, many letters, and plans to make, oh Torag I don't have any surveying at all started why have you sprung this on me, Forge-Father? No, I am sorry, it's the humans, I know, they do not understand your Grand Strategy and its need for careful deliberation, roads yes roads and farms..." He canters out of hearing range on his horse in a fuss.

I'll write up the letters to House Garess and the High King's Representatives tomorrow.

Ah ease up Vallen, I'm sure if you're just an advisor or something folks won't mind. Jenya grins at the frazzled dwarf.

Vallen finds a table, rubbing a hand through his hair and starting to partially calm down from the realization he was going to have to be responsible for more than just which hill everyone's excrement will be flowing down. I can't believe this. I just wanted to build a city. A work of above-ground art in your honor, Torag. Something unique, never before seen.

He sighs and sits down, putting a parchment down and holding the ends steady with various nick-knacks. He stares at the paper for a long moment, not even sure what to say. Well. The letter to House Garess will be the easiest. I'll start with that first.

He puts pen nub to paper and writes in Taldan- the dwarf's script is clear and effortlessly flowing cursive. So different from the runic language of Dwarven but beautiful in its own way.

Thick, stubby fingers fold the paper and set it aside, placing the shining piece of quartz-laden gold he took from the mine on top of it. Everyone can benefit from this mine if it is handled properly. These humans could stand to have some more of Torag's children around to advise them in any case.

Out comes the second parchment, and he sucks in a nervous breath. Addressing this to the High King himself would be presumptuous... I should send it to priests at the Forge of Torag so they can seek approval in my name.

This letter he writes in perfect runic script, each symbol bearing the weight of centuries of culture and tradition that demand precise pencraft so as to convey the correct connotations.

Vallen sighs and places the second letter to the side, holding his head in his hands. Well, worst case scenario he says no and I go on being an architect, right? It's not that big of a deal Vallen, just the fate of an entirely new political entity in a land full of sentient creatures stabbing each other over whose loaf of bread is bigger or whatnot.

Sluggishly, he puts away his writing materials, picks up the letters, and has them sent off to House Garess, and the Forge of Torag in Highhelm, respectively.

"Um...right, guess we'd better go talk to Oleg," Korinne agrees after watching Vallen hurry off in a tizzy. "Building up the old fort sounds like the best idea but this place is still going to see a lot more traffic now. We should see what Oleg and Svetlana want to do."

Cassandra was beginning to feel over loaded the more Kiely talked. Laws. Politics. Houses. Hell, what would they even name it the city? The Kingdom? What would be the laws? She'd heard of the Six River Freedoms but one of them was just mean. You have what you hold. That completely legitimized the Staglord and that was not right. Eyes wide and body tense, Cassandra latched on to what Vallen said. "Oh. I need to write a letter too."

Then she remembers what Hatch said. "Yes, Oleg. Meeting. Lots to plan. Lots." She drags out the last word in a sullen tone. Where do they even start? Kiely gave them some ideas but how do you start those? Cassandra was having a hard time seeing the little picture, too wrapped up in the scale of this endevour.

No sooner has Vallen wandered off to Oleg's small outdoor pub to fetch a pint and work on a letter than he hears his name shouted in a deep voice. "Vallen!" comes the unexpected cry, and as Vallen turns on the bench to see who is calling him, he is dumbfounded by an unexpected sight: Olin Silverclasp, his uncle.

Olin is wearing fine gray-and-green clothing with a heavy leather belt and hobnailed boots. He has a leather vest over his tunic and his salt-and-pepper beard is neatly brushed into three forks, each with a silver ring clasping it. Vallen recalls that Olin is a mason who not only makes works for his own people, but spent a good twenty-five years working on fortifications for House Garess. He became quite wealthy and well-known for his work, and he chose to remain on the surface for the prestige and the pay. (After all, if a dwarf works for humans, there is always the chance that rumors might start up that the craftsdwarf only did so because his skills were not up to the level of excellence necessary to succeed in a dwarf-hold... Olin is, certainly, a great stonemason; but rumors are rumors and once one has left the dwarf-hold behind, politics can become complicated.)

"I'd heard that you were here, charting these lands and making room for new buildings," says Olin as he eases onto the bench next to Vallen. "This will be a great reunion! House Garess has decided to invest in this venture and I had the opportunity to take a contract doing masonry for these new lands. How could I say no? My boy, making fortifications to defend an existing castle is one thing, but making a whole new city! Planning it from the start, getting it right, turning the earth and stone into a monument to creation!" He lets out a hearty chuckle. "Oh, I can see you have that fire too. With Torag's will, we'll make something of this place." He frowns slightly and looks off in the distance (which is essentially the palisade wall that looms overhead). "A shame that there's not a mountain to be seen, though."

MEANWHILE...

Korinne and Hatch go to talk to Oleg, who is practically fuming. Svetlana is running about fetching food and drink while Oleg is snarling at the occasional customer who has come to trade for supplies.
"WHAT NOW!" he snaps, before he realizes that it's Korinne. "Er, sorry, miss Korinne. It's just been so much busy and bustle here with all these people! I wish they'd move along. This is a trading post, not a town square!"
"Hush, dear," says Svetlana, taking a moment to lay a comforting hand on Oleg's arm. "I'm sure this will all die down in a day or so and business will be back to normal. Speaking of which, now that the ladies are back, shouldn't you try to get a note out to the locals in case there are any more jobs that need doing?"
"Right, right," he says, taking some coin from a settler and sending the man on his way with a shooing motion. "I came out here to get away from people, but they chased after me!"

ALSO MEANWHILE...
Auric says to Alexei, "M'lord, Kiely is simply a messenger. She will have to return to Restov with the information of how this settlement proceeds. We should draft a plan for where these people will settle, and then make a public announcement."

ALSO ALSO MEANWHILE...
Vance hauls Tuskgutter into the stockade. Later that evening, Vekkel Benzen finally arrives, hobbling on his bad leg. Vance and Vekkel exchange hearty hugs and Vance says, "You finally got the better of 'im!"
Vekkel replies, "Well, you folks did. But I'm sure glad to see he met his end, th' beast."
Vance says, "Nah, you did your part - you survived to tell the tale, made friends, that's what got 'im in the long run. Damn pig shoulda learned to talk an' gotten friends of his own if he wanted to live."
Vekkel chuckles and says, "My only regret is that yer friend the wizard didn't blow one of his legs off in revenge. But we'll have our revenge anyway! Tasty, tasty revenge. They may say it's a dish best served cold, but in this case it's best served piping hot with black pepper and barbecue sauce."

At this point unless you have specific things to do or want to explore more hexes, we can advance time a bit to get letters out and responses back, move the settlers to the fort, and start the new kingdom building.

Vallen has a hand around the handle of a pint, staring deeply into the dark brown depths of a (at best) sub-par human beer. The sound of his name causes his eyebrows to raise- that voice...

Vallen's head rises and looks to the source, but he already knew who it was. "Uncle Olin!" He nearly shouts, voice quivering with familial excitement. "Oh, praise Grundinnar! " The dwarf belts in their native language, quickly spreading his arms and leaping to embrace his kin with a happy laugh. "It's been years! Not since..." Vallen's laugh trails off, and he sits back up from the embrace with a sigh. "Ah...Azak's funeral." He says soberly, before the smile returns to his face, and he clasps the older dwarf's shoulder with a hand. "It is truly a blessing to see you here Olin, what brings you?"

Sipping his pint, Vallen half-listens to the mason's words. The other part of his mind coasts through memories- looking up to Olin throughout his entire life, occasionally seeing the drafts of his Uncle's works. Vallen nods enthusiastically, smiling at the shared vigor for construction he too feels. "Aye Uncle... Torag has given us this opportunity to create something truly special. You said it exactly, the chance to do it all right, to give these humans thousands of years of accumulated Dwarven wisdom, planning, and expertise! I swear to you, when they finally put me in the Silverclasp family tomb this place will be on par with the Sky Citadels of old!" The architect says wistfully, an excited gleam in his eye. "Though uh... yes." A sheepish smile creeps up to take over his face, and he admits sadly. "Well, once we ship in a bunch of stone from the Five Kings...it's not good mason territory, you're right, but by Torag's magnificent beard we're up to the challenge."

Nothing specific to do, other than buy some silver powder to make Holy water flasks with Bless Water.

"Oh! Um, it's okay..." Korinne stammers, unused to seeing Oleg so out-of-sorts. "But, about people moving on, er..." she glances at Hatch, unsure of how best to proceed. For a lack of any better ideas, she decides to plunge right in and hope for the best.

"Kiely over there, she had a proclamation from the Lord Surtova. It um, basically says that for doing such a good job of clearing the Greenbelt of the bandits and other hazards that we," she gestures to the other members of the group, "have been granted the right to rule here. As in, 'form a kingdom' rule. And all of these people here at the trading post are settlers and craftsmen hoping to get a fresh start out here. So...there's probably going to be a lot of traffic through here even if people don't actually try to set up shop right next to the trading post. Yaaay...?" she finishes, trying not to cringe as she waits to see how Oleg and Svetlana takes the news.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Oleg seems dumbfounded at Korinne's news. He opens and closes his mouth several times like a fish, but then - with Svetlana still resting a hand on his arm - he says, "I suppose, er, if you're going to make a go of turning this land from bandit-infested country to something resembling a real civilized place, I'd rather trust you ladies than anyone else."

Svetlana adds, "Though it seems odd that the Regent would extend aid for you to make your own nation, rather than just settling new towns in the name of Brevoy."

Oleg shrugs and says, "Politics. Feh." He scowls slightly and says, "I guess that means a lot more people coming through here now."

Svetlana says to him, "But that does mean we may finally have the means to fix up the old palisade and defenses, and to rebuild some of this place."

"Well... that's true I suppose," says Oleg. "Anyway, I guess... I'm gonna miss the tranquility of living out where people aren't bugging me all the time, but if the trade-off is that you're going to be my new neighbors and keep away no-gooders like those bandits who were harassing us just a month ago... I suppose that's a trade I can live with."

"I'm sorry, I know you two enjoyed your privacy," Korinne squeaks. "We still have a lot to talk about but I think we're going to try and build up the old fort as a center...but we'll have to build roads and one will probably end up passing right...by here..."

She takes a deep breath. "But I promise we'll do our best to keep things peaceable out here. And um...you and Svetlana still live here and you've been such a big help and all...do you two want to sit in on our meetings? This whole business concerns you as much as it does us."

Letter done, Cassandra rejoins the impromptu meeting with Korrine and the owners of Oleg's. So now they had to build a kingdom. Great. How does one do that? "Hey guys? What are we even going to call it?" she asks suddenly. "The kingdom. And the Staglord's old place. I assume we are using it to start things off right?"

"Ooh, right...we need a name. A noble but also spiffy name! Um, I'll have to think on that," Korinne responds as Cass wanders up. "And yeah, I mean it's already half-built, sorta, so all it needs is some work and we've got a nice little fort ready to go!"

Jenya has a letter of her own to write

Having done that she goes off to find Korinne and Cassandra; the two members of the group that seemed like they had been a part of the group the longest. Hey, I don't know if you guys need me around still but, would love to help you build this new thing.

Ok, we have a little work cut out for us!

Telmarni's "buddy": Someone needs to have a tie to Telmarni to explain how she got in on this business. :)

Chaos as far as the eye can see: We have a really heavily chaotic-leaning party here, which can run against some of the core themes of KM in terms of creating order, establishing law, and building government. So, I suspect this will play out more in the form of a desire to build a very hands-off, wild-west-style society -- a loose confederacy of towns with trade and mutual defense agreements, rather than a heavy-handed monarchy with a strong central government and tax base. The ultimate goal is to eventually build some kind of nation-state, so I just want to make sure that everyone is on board with that from the start.

Healing: You'll notice that your group doesn't have a cleric. Your healing will be handled by your witch and your white mage arcanist. Since your witch has the Cauldron hex, she should be making healing potions for you in downtime. :)

Traps: You're also kind of weak on Disable Device. You'll probably just have to suck that up unless you use Summon Monster spells or get a few ranks in the skill for someone down the road, or get a rogue cohort.

Checking in, thank you for the selection and I'm looking forward to playing with everyone. Looks like we'll have a fairly diverse and interesting group of characters! :D

Re: Telmarni - I'll have a read of Telmarni's backstory and see if there would be any way that Korinne would know her or know 'of' her!

Re: kingdom type - That actually would be fine with both Korinne as a character and myself as a player, as I think it would make for an interesting twist on the Kingmaker theme as you said! However, I'm willing to try for a more traditional style of kingdom if that's what the majority wants to do.

Re: healing - Based on the way the white mage archetype functions, Korinne will be more of a backup/oh s#$& type of healer. However, I'll be sure to keep investing in UMD so she can make use of Cure wands and such as needed. Valeska, I'm also happy to coordinate with you on healing as well as spells and such!

Re: traps - I'll leave that to someone else if they want to pick up DD at some point. Otherwise, we'll figure something out :)

Checking in! And really, really thanks for selecting Carinna, when I saw all the awesome PCs out there I had little hope honestly...

Re: Telmarni - Carinna's uncle Daranir Del'annerie is a respected and kind man in Restov, even if not of the high nobility. It would be not hard for him to adopt Telmarni, making she and Carinna friends. Daranir even trained Carinna with her sword and having a second student would make a lot of sense. He and his wife never had children, so adopting would be interesting.

Re: Kingdom type - Carinna would prefer a traditional kingdom, since she wants to build a place to the people of Rostland.

Re: Healing and Traps - Hum... completely lost at this point... I think a cohort would be nice.

Hi Nella! (Shuo here). Nice to see you made it too!

Hey Shuo, it's good to see you again!

How many of us are from Restov? It's always feasible that one or more of us know each other that way as well, in addition to Telmarni being linked to someone :)

*intense girly squeal* Sorry. Had to get that out. Happy to be here. So what does Telmarni need a buddy for?

Couple of things:

I added Tulis and Erastil as deities. Tulis because most of the people in her village can empathize with her story and Erastil is obvious.

She has Warded Against Nature so no animals nearby.

I switched some points for enough wisdom to get Keen Scent. I now have scent...for reasons.

Hi! It's great to be here!

Something's just come up today that's important to mention: I have to be out of the country for the last two weeks of November. So, I may need to be NPC'ed then, or if you want to switch things around, I understand. Just warning everyone ahead of time.

Otherwise, yes, I plan to be making healing potions every time there's sufficient downtime. I only need 2 hours to make a potion right now, so even extended camp time can work (although that eats a spell slot for the day). If there are enough healing potions, I'll start making other potions, like potions of enlarge person, mage armor, or remove sickness. It'll cost 25gp per potion. I've kept enough gold on hand to prepare three potions right away.

I figure I'll be light on cure spells for casting in combat, focusing on more control like Obscuring Mist to start. I also have the Slumber Hex, so expect a lot of that.

Also, 150 is not enough for someone that uses a Longbow.

Hey Shuo, it's good to see you again!

How many of us are from Restov? It's always feasible that one or more of us know each other that way as well, in addition to Telmarni being linked to someone :)

Do not know how old is Korinne (Carinna is almost 19). When she was a chield she used to run all over Restov playing with the other kids... if she is of the same age, we could be childhood friends.

Or Carinna could just love some delicious bread from your family's bakery!

Valeska's been traveling with a Varisian caravan throughout the River Kingdoms and Brevoy, and it's time she stops roosting with those vagabonds. The little girl shouldn't be wasting her time in entertainment, anymore.

(Valeska will do most of the posting, but I'll be around.)

Do not know how old is Korinne (Carinna is almost 19). When she was a chield she used to run all over Restov playing with the other kids... if she is of the same age, we could be childhood friends.

Or Carinna could just love some delicious bread from your family's bakery!

Korinne is 18, so either option (or both!) sounds good to me :)

Thank you DM Jesse for accepting Telmarni. I see Carinna is accepting her into the family. Though I want to ask, did you see them traveling often? Would explain how they came across a young strix girl.

Ohh... I am soo excited for this!

And for Kingdom, I kinda hope for a more good leaning kingdom. To treat Telmarni nicely and not... Arg! Evil Strix! Blarg! So... Since we're not lawful, maybe Chaotic Good or Neutral Good I hope. So she would definitely support it.

If anyone knows Carinna's family, they might just know of the strix in her family. Or she might be a guarded secret. What do you think? Also... What family trait would the Del'annerie family be of?

Also, 150 is not enough for someone that uses a Longbow.

Yup. :)

*intense girly squeal* Sorry. Had to get that out. Happy to be here. So what does Telmarni need a buddy for?

Couple of things:

I added Tulis and Erastil as deities. Tulis because most of the people in her village can empathize with her story and Erastil is obvious.

She has Warded Against Nature so no animals nearby.

I switched some points for enough wisdom to get Keen Scent. I now have scent...for reasons.

Telmarni needs a buddy because she is not just nonhuman, but from an adversary species. So, she basically needs a pal or sponsor to vouch for her as a reliable ally. Otherwise she'd just be causing intense fear in or attacked on sight by humans who don't know her.

Hi! It's great to be here!

Something's just come up today that's important to mention: I have to be out of the country for the last two weeks of November. So, I may need to be NPC'ed then, or if you want to switch things around, I understand. Just warning everyone ahead of time.

Otherwise, yes, I plan to be making healing potions every time there's sufficient downtime. I only need 2 hours to make a potion right now, so even extended camp time can work (although that eats a spell slot for the day). If there are enough healing potions, I'll start making other potions, like potions of enlarge person, mage armor, or remove sickness. It'll cost 25gp per potion. I've kept enough gold on hand to prepare three potions right away.

I figure I'll be light on cure spells for casting in combat, focusing on more control like Obscuring Mist to start. I also have the Slumber Hex, so expect a lot of that.

If needed, I will control Valeska while you are out.

Well the Del'anneries are low nobility (since they are from old Rostland) and differently from the high nobility that has tons of gold, her Family need to live. Their main business is trade, with her uncle Daramir taking care of the business since her father died.

Daramir travels a lot, making supply contracts and arrangements for the safety of their trading caravans. It would explain how he found Telmarni.

He is a well known citizen, loved both by the common people and the remaining Rostlander nobility. In the beggining it makes more sense that Telmarni remains a secret, for he fears that she might ruin his business and reputation, even more now in this unsteady atmosphere.

He needed to ask a lot o favors to put both Telmarni and Carinna in the group though.

@Korinne: Both sounds good! So childhood friends and recurring customer!

Also for downtime purposes, I've got Craft(Alchemy), so I can also make us alchemist's fire and tanglefoot bags and the like.

I am at Comikaze (terrible timing, I know) and will update tonight!

So what would be Telmarni's Kingmaker trait then? And if it is still Noble Born, which one would fit best?

Though the one that fits a merchant family is Lebeda. Since it mentions in the trait that their family are merchants and traders. And maybe the Del'annerie are a minor part of that family?

Well, Cassandra or her home, is an obvious choice but I think knowing there is a noble out there willing to look past the physical is important. That or they could have met up along the way to the meeting place to sign the charter. Considering her home and personality, Cassandra would help. When is the first Gameplay post?

Cassandra has a lower charisma than Carinna, so Carinna is probably the "safer" choice.

Also, Carinna, do you want me to make up your heirloom weapon's name and more details of is history, or did you want to flesh that out?

Working on getting the maps set up to start gameplay.

No rush DM, I imagine a lot of folks have also been busy with Halloween stuff (or maybe just stuff in general) this weekend!

On a slightly different note, since this is one of the APs where it will potentially matter the most, I'm hoping to slowly work on fleshing out more on the important NPCs in Korinne's life - family, friends, etc. since it's entirely possible that some of them might show up at some point!

Family will likely come up for most of this group!

I've set up the Roll20 page, and will be loading a map and starting gameplay tomorrow.

Happy Halloween and daylight savings!

Cassandra has a lower charisma than Carinna, so Carinna is probably the "safer" choice.

Also, Carinna, do you want me to make up your heirloom weapon's name and more details of is history, or did you want to flesh that out?

Working on getting the maps set up to start gameplay.

Hum, yes, I think I'll leave this to you. Makes more sense.

No Halloween here... I'm from Brazil! But happy halloween to all of you!

I'm looking over the other characters and wondering, are we getting three traits? I thought we only had two, with the campaign trait being one of them.

We can take a drawback for another trait.

Ah, okay. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

I took a drawback.

I'm tempted to take a drawback, but I just can't bring myself to take one.

It depends on the character background for me. If drawbacks are allowed and there's one that makes sense for the character (and one that I think I can roleplay effectively) then I'll take one, but sometimes there aren't any that really fit and that's okay too.

As Korinne said, it depends on the character and the background of said character. For Telmarni, she fled from Cheliax when she was young. She was a trophy slave there, hence the Mark of Slavery drawback.

A character doesn't really need drawbacks nor do they need an extra trait really. It just adds a bit more flavor for the game, somewhat. But doesn't really come out often.

Anyway, going back to traits, what Kingmaker trait should Telmarni take? I am just a bit lost right now due to choices now. I am leaning towards Carinna's Del'annerie family, so what trait would fit best for that?

Hum...kinda hard to say, though it might depend on how long you imagine that Telmarni has been with Carinna and her family. If it's been several years, maybe the Sword Scion or Rostlander traits? Bastard is only for humans, Brigand, Issian, and Noble Born don't make sense and I don't think Pioneer would be applicable since Carinna's family lives in Restov. Or maybe you can work out some sort of modification or custom trait with DM Jesse?

I mentioned in recruitment that you could perhaps take a trait associated with one of the noble families via adoption or sponsorship. Hang on, I'm just getting the first map uploaded (at last!), then I'll take a look at the KM traits and have a reply for ya. :)

I think Rostlander fits best then if nothing else. A +1 to Fort saves and living in Rostland, I guess along side with Carinna when she was being train in sword fighting. What do you think?

Edit: I just finished working out Telmarni's background with the Del'annerie connection! Please read and comment! :)

That works for me!

Great! Now... Lets see if I can get a bit more personality into her.

Telmarni paces around in her bedroom in her adopted family's hall. Dressed simply she holds a piece of paper that is written that she will assist her cousin in the "Reclaiming" of the greenbelt. Why does Dar-Father wish for me to go? Does he not wish for me to be around? I can see myself being of use to Carinna, but I might be a burden for her.

She continues to pace around her room, a plainly decorated bedroom of a girl who had a hard life before she found acceptance, at least after she was adopted by her new family. Near where she walks is a bed, and upon it lies a scimitar, made out of a weird black metal that was a gift to her in addition to the letter she received. Telmarni lets out a sigh and plops down on the bed, careful of her new sword. Well, the sword is well made. So it should be of use. But... She rolls over a couple times, wrapping her own wings around her. If it is Father's wish, I shall do it. Though I am not sure of the phrase, "Spread your wings" when he wanted me to find a better life. She frowns as she sits up on the bed.

Looks like you're getting into Telmarni's head just fine!

I've opened up the Gameplay page and made the initial post. You will notice as well that the campaign page has a link to a Roll20 map -- this link is also in the first gameplay page. If you still want to discuss the nature of your various character connections, you can do so here, or you can jump right into the role-play over on the Gameplay page.

If you have questions about what your characters see or what's happening at the trading post that is the start of the adventure, ask 'em on the Gameplay page. If you have more questions about tweaking stats/alignment/details, ask 'em here. :)

Was Path of War ever addressed in recruitment? Could I take few levels of Stalker at some point? If you refluff the extraordinary bits as utilizing her inherit animal instinct, it all flows quite well. I was thinking 2 or 3 levels to make the beast form more tanky and decent DPS.

Yes, it was in my creation doc, it's allowed.

I'm gonna be driving for about six hours but I should be on a regular schedule again tomorrow.

Just to confirm, Tzerny is indeed a magical beast, is a familiar, and is granted by a class ability, and so is not affected by Warded Against Nature.

I meant it has to be granted by a class of mine to not be affected.

"Animals do not willingly approach within 30 feet of you, unless you or the animal's master succeeds at a DC 20 Handle Animal, Ride, or wild empathy check. Animal companions, familiars, and mounts granted by your class abilities are immune to this effect."

Ah, okay. But Tzerny is still a magical beast, not an animal, by the rules.

I don't know... looks like familiars are not affected... the emphasis you made just states about YOUR pets. Regarding other players or NPCs, Warded Against Nature would indeed affect only animals.

At least this is the way it is writen.

Anyway, the GM should decide about it, since it is not clear enough.

Might as well figure this out now in case it becomes an issue later. Like if Tzerny needs to deliver a touch attack but I am in the way. Still, interested to see his reaction.

This disad (Warded versus Nature) is really poorly written, but:

* Tzerny's post above is on point, familiars (and any animal with intelligence 3+) are Magical Beasts, which are a separate category from Animals.
* The clear intent of this rule is to mimic the uncanny fear that "normal" horses, chickens, dogs, etc. have for supernatural beings that masquerade as humans, and I am inclined to work in that direction.
* It's a disad, so it should be a problem more often than it helps.

So, in no particular order:
* Warded vs. Nature will not stop Tzerny from taking actions, but he can certainly feel it. To him, Cassie doesn't feel like a human, she's a monster wearing a human skin.
* This will certainly be a pain when it comes to horses. Horses will generally freak out. This means that the party will want to try to keep its speed at 30' so that you can explore a hex (on the KM hex map) each day. Horses would make the group faster, but unless Cassie gets a mount as an animal companion, that's probably not gonna work very well. (I guess Cassie could stay some distance from the rest of the group, but that causes plenty of annoying little issues.)
* On the up side, natural animals will avoid Cassie whenever possible. This does mean that they will try to attack other party members if they do attack, though. ;)
* And most importantly, I really would rather not turn this into something that makes it harder for the party to work as a team. It is gonna be enough of a pain when Cassie tries to explain why horses always freak out and the party can't reliably ride across the countryside. ;)

How much of difference does the speed make? Does this bother anyone? I want a wolf as a companion but they don't increase to large until druid level 7 or 10 as a full ranger. I can change that with boon companion but minimum is still 7. Or I can get a horse 4 and trade out later. I am sort of rolling with her just being terrible with all animals but wolves since they are part of her bloodline.

I'm fine with having to move a bit slower until we can come up with more reliable workarounds to the horse issue. These sorts of things are what make games fun and unique...well, maybe not fun for the PCs, but I have fun as a player :)

It was a calculated risk but the RP options outway it in my opinion.

Agreed. As long as you keep speed 30'+ you should be fine. It's when you have people at speed 20' (like heavy armor or dwarfs or whatnot) that it really starts eating up extra time and resources.

Oh yeah. Thought I should ask. Am I right in interpreting the Change Shape ability allows me to choose which ability score to increase as well as a feature each time I use it? For now it is dex and darkvision. If I wanted to be a tougher melee combatant I will switch to str and AC. I can do this right?

For fluff, dex is cat-like, str is wolf-like and con is bear-like.

Correct -- each time you Change Shape, you choose what benefits you get in terms of stat bonus + special ability.