DM Maslen's Second Darkness PF Conversion (Inactive)

Game Master Pathfinder Maslen

No worries! Happy to have you back, and congratulations on your new twins!

Sorry, guys. I completely missed somehow that these guys were pirates. I just thought they were locals, and Tippy was going to try to use them. But pirates aren't as useful.

Unless somebody else can suggest a way Tippy can exploit this gratitude that I'm not seeing?

I am happy to take their stuff ;)

Congrats! Glad to have you back.

Yay! I'm still around and happy that things are moving again.
Congratulations Waife!

I had a look through Grumm's aliases and it seems the last posts he made in the forums was in my campaign. He does say in other posts that his work load is large in march and april in another post. Because he hasn't responded to the role call may be grounds to recruit another.

I'm keen for a melee buddy. Iiked his build though...

If we do replace him, my vote is again for someome who can either
A. Take a massive beating
Or
B. Has saves through the roof.

That's just me though...

If we are recruiting, I'm not too fussed about the build. I'd rather make a decision based on their roleplay, pouring through their aliases. Last time was a little jarring...

Maybe we could have both?

DM Waife. Do you mind if we PM a 1 favorite PBP roleplayer to apply?

There's this dude I play with in Megan's Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Posts everyday, plenty of detail and good writing (It's Ashe the Paladin if you wanna read, I'm Varrel the Magus. We are buddies in game, but I'm the Punisher to his Sturm Brightblade)

I'll wait your call before PM'ing him.

That might be cool. That suits me. I play with another great roleplayer (martinaj) but the last two games I've invited him to have died, one of them my own... so I'd be a little embarrassed. If Marcus' friend isn't interested we could give him a buzz.

Out of curiosity, how far have we progressed in the first adventure, as written? Or have we been pure sandbox since we signed on at the goblin?

We having only got about a 1/4 through but have been pondering that and wish to speed up progress through the module. This will lead to my limiting random encounters and divergent story lines. Crooge's Cut and the Bouncer recruiting were freehand additives and now is time for me to push the story line on.

Marcus, PM your buddy and see how he takes it.

No worries.

Sounds good to me. :)

Pm sent.

Notes regarding Clegg's Visit map.

Bouncers and staff are identified with BLUE halos.
Customers have ORANGE halos.
Dealers/ Croupiers are alike predominantly red tokens.
Waitress are alike tokens with BLUE halos.
Clegg Zincher has a BLACK halo.
PCs have a YELLOW halo.

Excellent! This is a good bit clearer than last time. Thanks for all the hard work!

I'd be interested in establishing some history between Clegg and Iscarel. I've hinted at it before but wouldn't mind something tangible so I don't overstep my bounds...

Would that be in the cards? An unsavoury job or two in his decade in Riddleport. PM me if it's okay, and we could sort something out?

Go ahead and tell me what you plan to do about Clegg being in the Goblin. I'll autopilot Ascaria if needed.

Well, if the group doesn't think it likely that Clegg would know Tippy or Ascaria's face, the two of them could come to join their table.

Some women love a dangerous guy...

They could also send somebody to "provide for him some VIP treatment", also known as, "the blatantly obvious spy".

BTW guys, Ashe from my COCT game is keen. He's putting together an elf fighter/knifemaster rogue.

Ahh. He checked in here:

Link

Ahh. He checked in here:

Link

@ Tippy

Tippy, you need to give me feedback about Marcus' friends build. He is multiclassed fighter/rogue which doesn't appeal to me at all to replace Grumm. Straight fighter I would be more happy with as it's the role we are lacking currently. Let me know your thoughts please.

I'm half inclined to have Iscarel waltz over and begin addressing him in the most arrogant way possible (with some veiled sense motive checks along the way.) I don't really want to undermine the group here but I'd favor the direct approach over subterfuge.

Otherwise I'll likely stick to perform checks, and try to be ready to fascinate if the crowd gets unruly (my DC isn't great, though, and this would be a great time to have suggestion)

If we want a plan of attack, I say we rely on mine and Tippys perception and sense motive checks before one or two of us join him at the table. What do you think? Also perhaps we should set about trying to find the men in his employ. I'm not sure if he's the type to go anywhere alone (though the fact that he's waltzed in here so brazenly speaks otherwise).

Speaking purely out of self interest, though, I'd like to have some face-to-face interaction with him. I think it'll be a fun chance to roleplay.

I'm cool with it. Marcus will try to spot his minders.

Would it be considered poor form to point out that ghastly misspelling of "Darkstrider"? :P

Its intentional. :)

I'm not sure why, but one of the things that turns my stomach the most about Golarion is seeing the following of Calistria portrayed as the faith of a "good man". Not that that is in any way a slam against what Marcus and Ethaniel are playing out there in the game thread, which is stellar story-telling. I know that a cleric of Calistria can even be chaotic good in alignment, but I can't wrap my head around it at all.

Obviously, Tippy merely pays lip service to the Savoured Sting, due to his time living at the temple and the shelter it offered to him. I just couldn't get him to stomach watching men have their thumbs broken in cold blood, even if it were a Calistrian-approved method of vengeance/justice for would-be swindlers. Plus, I was originally going to have him turn those men as assets in the community, but some how completely missed the fact that they were pirates who would likely be on a ship ASAP and never seen or heard from again.

Calistria's a tricky goddess to follow, to be sure, and her status as the "elf goddess" is shaky at best. She is however ridiculously fun to invoke and still a damn sight better than Correlon Larethian... Oh boy.

As for alignment issues, I've never been one to debate alignment. Marcus strike me as "neutral angry" and Ethaniel as "chaotic paranoid"

I'm really enjoying the sermon, by the way. I'd join in if Iscarel is a position to eavesdrop. For all of Iscarel's prodding I'll probably be the last to hear Marcus' tale. (And here I thought we were getting along. You wound me, STR Ranger! :P)

Marcus is definately neutral angry. I am not being origonal though.
He is currently in a similar state of mind as Enterai was in the theives novels after he kills his 'uncle' only Marcus's loss and pain is recent. I am hoping the eventual death of the demon and maybe with friends and the love of a good woman he can find his way back.

At this point he feels anything he does for good turns to sh!t. And he doesn' t have alot left emotionally. He still has a soft spot for kids, victims etc. But do not cross him right now.

As for Iscarel, maybe his arrogance and smartassness reminds himnof somebody he doesn't like.

I think it's a faith that hinges on self-gratification and ruthlessness, but I think even "good" characters can have that element of their personality, even if the behavior itself isn't "good."

As for Ethaniel, I wanted to play a Calistrian who is uncomfortable with sex and murder, but finds himself paranoid and alone, and so is devoted to the visceral as the only thing that ever felt "right." He does have some shattered remnants of morality, and so admires Marcus. I don't think he would admire a paladin though. The good he sees in Marcus isn't really about alignment, but more about the fact that the ranger holds to principles.

And Ethaniel is definitely "chaotic paranoid." Good descriptor!

Whoa guys, that is really great stuff that you are doing there. All of a sudden I feel a little shallow with my little, naive, witch girlie who is still seeking her place in the world...

Keep it up, I am really enjoying it!

These posts are like crack. I get a hit whenever i see a new one up. Loving the content one and all.

I really dig what you do with Ethaniel. It's a lot of fun. I only wish you berated yourself or voiced your thoughts aloud every now. It's had to roleplay with an inner monologue. I think a big part of the Calistrian faith is getting the anger, rage, or even infatuation out of your system. Not so much about an all consuming desire for revenge or utter hedonism, but the acknowledgement and satisfaction in that you'll repay the slights against you and take the pleasures you can when the opportunity arises. It's about enjoying it. I'm only now realising how versatile she can be.

I try not to make Iscarel ALL arrogant, I'd like to think that's just the surface I think a big part of being an elf is being bipolar, in a sense. Darting between melancholic, homesick and overemotional (after all, one little thing can provoke hundreds of years of memories) and the facade they put up otherwise. Frivolous and fun-loving, perhaps, but Iscarel is bitter, regretful and irresolute instead. Since we've started back I havent had any 'wind down' time to play up his homesick side, and it's been kind of hard to get into the headspace.

As an elf, he's slow to make friends. I want it to be a big thing when we become brothers in arms. However, he's been away from my homeland a long time, and he's enjoyed the company of Ascaria and Ethaniel speaking in his native tongue, and the riddle of Marcus' past, being raised by elves, plays off the same sensibilities.

And Ascaria, I tend to find the best way to make a character is to just let them take shape. My most memorable character didnt have more to him than a joke name and a cockney accent. I usually like to let the campaign happen to me and just react and evolve in the face of it, but when I play in a play-by-post I tend to overthink my every post, seeing as I have the luxury of time, time that I wouldnt have on a tabletop or IM.

haha woo I'm having fun

Just stay away from my girl ;)

Yowzah. Marcus really endearing himself to Iscarel at all. But here's a taste of Iscarel actively TRYING to push your buttons. If we're going to draw battle lines now seems a good a time as any for Iscarel to lose his patience.

Iscarel's just concerned for his friend, though. I'm not really interested in pursuing Ascaria unless you folks particularly want to roleplay that out... also I'd have gone for the reassuring pat on the shoulder if there hadn't been a big oaf in the way. :P

Also looking at my sheet I'm really regretting a lot of my spell and build choices. I intentionally avoided archetypes and a lot of APG content and looking at Marcus and Tam's potential builds I'm a little worried about keeping up. With the progression I have planned I won't get to change any of my first level spells until 5th level. x.x

@All

Iscarel raises a good point here which i would like to clarify. As AP's take a long, long time to progress through I find that sometimes as a PC it is definitely considered to rebuild your toon trying to find a style of play you like. I am happy if you play with Archetypes and spells within your class. I draw the line at constantly modifying or changing class levels already chosen though. Let me know what you intend doing and if I am happy then you can make the on the fly change. If you make a change as a solution to an immediate problem in game then anyone would expect me to deny the modification.

I quite enjoy Marcus taking on the protective role when it comes to Ascaria. It brings a different tone to his otherwise gruff character which is always nice to have. And if a little tension with Iscarel arises from that it's gonna add to the roleplay fun (assuming they don't kill each other first).

Just to be clear about the bounds here: I'm fine if this evolves into some romantic relationship between Ascaria and one of the guys. However, I do not intend to fully roleplay every aspect of such a romance. There are other forums for this ;-) Making out a little would be ok though. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Hey, really? Awesome. Who says whinging doesn't get you anywhere? :P

I'd been meaning to broach the subject for a while. I did throw my sheet together in a bit of a rush. I'd like to change my spells to either not rely on saves, or otherwise ramp up my DCs. I also don't want to clash with Ascaria as I level, so where does she plan on specialising? Enchantment? Buffs? Debuffs?

Otherwise, I'm considering the Arcane Duelist archetype, as the extra feats would let me consider branching into Arcane Archer later on, but my main concern is with my spellcasting.

I'm still committed to grabbing most of the whip feats in order to be a capable tripper/disarmer, but the build I'm going for is pretty experimental, so it's good to know there's sort of a safety net if it really falls flat.

Ok. whew! That sure took a long time to write. Tam's history is done...along with his personality and appearance.

Sorry if the history is a bit wordy... I'll work on trimming it down to be more concise.

I'm currently reading ALL the gameplay posts from the beginning.

Ready to play... once I'm done reading all the back story...

I really haven't figured out Ascaria's build in all the details. I intend to let her do debuffs and a little healingto match her background. The spells she has so far do match that theme quite well.

Also looking at my sheet I'm really regretting a lot of my spell and build choices. I intentionally avoided archetypes and a lot of APG content and looking at Marcus and Tam's potential builds I'm a little worried about keeping up. With the progression I have planned I won't get to change any of my first level spells until 5th level. x.x

Well I'm just a plain 'ol vanilla ranger, Sir.

Seriously though, If you wanna see where I'm going

Similar to the ranger, As per my handbook on TWF for rangers (check advice forum if you wanna read).
My plan is to have Samson 'grow up' into a Large Mastiff (re:Wolf) animal companion.
He will be my flank buddy/tripmonkey and we'll punish foes who try to get away.
Outflank at 7 helps us both keep hitting and grants free AOO's.
This is all gonna fall flat on it's arse if I can't bring him underground. So I'll need a bag of holding to get him through tight spaces.

Doggie bag!

Sorry for that...could not resist...

Wow. I had no idea until now that Cause Fear made them shaken on a failed save. A save-or-lose spell that gives them a -2 penalty for your next spell if they make their saves? That seems almost too good. Curse that 6HD limit! :P

Love the 6HD limit :)

Hey.

Was wondering if I paid the 50gp cost, could I have Samson 'grow ' into an Apollo Mastiff. I did say at the start of the ap he was a Mastiff breed and this keeps him relevant till he becomes my 'wolf' companion at 4 (I can take a real wolf then if you prefer)

I would prefer you do an ingame requisition and train it as you see fit. As Samson has already been ingame I would like it handled in story.

I am waiting for you all to resolve your interaction before I move on. Let me know if you are a loss to proceed.

I am waiting for you all to resolve your interaction before I move on. Let me know if you are a loss to proceed.

Sorry about that. I'm ridiculously behind with my uni work, at the moment, so I'll be in self imposed exile for a few days until I can catch up. I should be back to my regular pace after that, but until then I'm keeping myself out of the gameplay thread, because I know I cant help myself. :P

lol no problemo

Finished making eyes at Ascaria.