How were you guys doing HP for subsequent levels?
It seems to have been Max HD per level up. The numbers match up when calculated as such.
My bad, but I didn't get nearly as much done last week as I expected. This weekend, however, I did manage to get to PFS scenarios I was running to completion, which is going to free up a chunk of my time downstream, and will make this Runelords game possible.
I will be doing some more homework tonight with an eye towards starting up again just after the 4th.
I think I have mentioned this but I fly out to Scotland for 12 days on the 5th. I'll have an ipad and expect wifi in the hotels so I can post some, but likely not daily.
Hear, hear!
I have been in touch with all of you regarding your character build and there have been a few tweaks. Adolina will notify me when last tweaks are done, and I'll make final review.
With that done, I expect to re-open the game this weekend (mean it this time). I will re-read the last bit of action and try to pick up where we left off, which I think was mid-combat.
Someone asked for a story synopsis, which I will try to provide this weekend as well -- without going into over much details. It seems that in Book 3 at least you were doing somethings without, maybe, really knowing why, so I will try to provide some of the textual background again.
Looking forward to moving the game forward with you. One more note -- I will be out of the country 7/17-25, so while we may just be getting started, there will be a brief pause. Otherwise, expect a daily (usually) update.
Most excellent. I appreciate you doing this and letting me come on board with you all.
I'll drop a post into the gameplay thread just so I can see updates on my profile. I hate having to manually find the thread by going through Aliases.
A foreshadowing dot...how ominous...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I have taken the liberty to summarize the first two chapters (and where you stand on the third). Read the parts you want.
In orer to save Sandpoint, the PC's must travel to Thistletop, the lair of the most powerful goblin tribe in the region, where they can confront the woman whose madness and wrath presents such a menace, yet who is herself the top of a much larger conspiracy that will soon threaten all of Varisia.
Arriving at Foxglove Manor, the PC's find the rumors about the mansion being haunted are entirely true. Eventually, they confront the murderer - a ghoulishly transformed Aldern Foxglove -- only to discover he's been working for another group based in Magnimar. Retracing his steps, the party come to the largest city in Western Varisia and uncover a sinister secret society, finally confronting its monstrous leader, the lamia Xanesha, atop a teetering clock tower.
Based on this, I will re-read the last part of the thread and see if you got the points of the meta-story. It seems when I read it before, you were kind of jumping from fight to fight, without a lot of the "why" behind what was happening.
If you need more details than what I provided, LMK.
Here is the note found on the lamia Xanesha that led you to Turtleback Ferry. Wonder if this makes any more sense at this point?
Perhaps some comprehension questions will help as you remember what has happened so far.
1) What was Paradise and what happened to it? Why?
2) The Sihedron Rune has been a link across this entire story so far, from Nualia to Foxglove to Xanesha to this Lucretia in Turtleback Ferry. What is the meaning of it?
3) You met the elven ranger Shalelu on the boat heading to the Ferry. Why was she headed this way?
4) You rescued three Black Arrow rangers from the Graul farm. Who were they, and what is important about any of them (if anything)?
There may be more comprehension questions to come, but these should start to tickle your memories.
|
Now I have to try ans answer based on what happened to us, and not just my meta-knowledge...
1) The Paradise was a boat that sank.
2) Adolina knows what it is, but not much more.
3) She wanted to find her (adopted) father - he's a ranger.
4) We sent them back to town I think.
[I know all the 'right' answers, but its been so long IRL I've no idea what Adolina knows.]
I am in the same boat. I have played through this once completely in a home game and I am not sure what is character knowledge and what Cadas knows.
I think Cadas knew more about the Paradise that it was a sunk boat. At least that the greedy of the town often went out and had to get a brand to be welcome. I missed that part of my home game so think if I know something it must be from Cadas. If it was full of people with runes perhaps it was sunk to sacrifice them all.
We know the rune has been used in multiple sacrifices and have tried in the past to not kill some of the giants with runes (I think).
The black arrows were from the fort. Seems we knew that one had gone bad? And one died but Cadas raised him.
Before I dive into the questions, DocEvil, I have corrected everything you found on my profile! Thanks for checking my math. Only thing I think is correct that you had listed wrong are my spells per day - if you look you'll see I do have 6 1st-level prepped (one prepped twice), and I think I should have 4 5th-level because I get 2 base +1 INT + 1 school. (I can notate them differently somehow if that helps.)
Onward!
What Marcellano knows...
1) As Cadas and Robin said, the Paradise was a boat that sank, probably a sacrifice of greedy people, probably done (this might be more of a "guess" than "knowledge") by Xanesha's sister. I don't remember if we confirmed the name or if I just suspect that based on lamias being tricksy.
2) The Sihedron is a rune that seems to link all the events they've been involved in.
3) I have to confess neither I nor, by extension, Marcy have any memory of why Shalelu was headed this way.
4) The three Black Arrows were the sole survivors of Fort Rannick - they bravely helped us take it back, though one of them died.
I got that idea as well. Regardless Cadas' sense of duty was to at least try to raise the man who fell fighting along side the party. That was never fully resolved. I kept stating that cadas was doing it and only heard silence (at least that is what I recall). If he was a traitor perhaps he refused the raise dead?
Hey all. Sorry for the lack of posts. Having some serious computer/tech difficulties that will hopefully be resolved soon! Please bot me as needed.
(I'm back, BTW)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It is interesting, when I take over other games, what parts the GM's included and what parts they excluded from the story. Your former GM was keen to get you on to the new parts and left out much of the flavor of the story, probably why you feel a little disconnected from the storyline. In PBP, it is hard to keep enough continuity, since things happen in such long stretches, especially through dungeon-crawling, to make the story matter.
I will answer the first few questions I posed, and also pose some new ones:
1) The Paradise was the gambling/sin barge run by Lucretia in the lake outside of Turtleback Ferry. Many townsfolk went there, and many got a Sihedron tattoo as a mark of an "insider" at the club. The boat was sunk, likely from the inside, and many townspeople drowned.
2) The Sihedron Rune, so far, has been tied to greed. It was carved on murdered bodies of greedy folks by the Skinsaw Cult in Magnimar area, it was tattoed on the gamblers on Paradise etc. It's meaning stems back to ancient Thassilon.
3) Yes, Shalelu was coming in search of her father, a Black Arrow leader named Jakarados. In a soap opera coincidence, you run into him and they reconcile.
4) Kaven was a traitor to the Black Arrows. He was charmed by the lamia matriarch Lucrecia and gave up the time when the Black Arrow captain, Lamatar, was gone (to visit his love Myriana in Shimmerglens) and when Jakarados (second in command) had taken out a bigger patrol. That's when the Kreeg ogres attacked and overran the place, with no leadership and numbers reduced.
More salient facts that you might have missed or don't remember:
1)you saw the lamia Matriarch Lucretia in the Fort, but she used dimension door to escape. She was in the chapel with the boss of the Kreeg ogres, Jaagrath. Not sure you understood he was the ogre captain at the time. Just where Lucretia went, you are now finding out...
2) Myriana and the whole Shimmerglens story was way underplayed. There were lots of other spooky, sad details there. In case you didn't get it, she and Lamatar were attacked by Lucrecia and some of the ogres the same day of the assault on Fort Rannick (more treachery by Kaven). Lamatar was taken, but not before the ogres had their way with Myriana. Fortunately, I guess, they only tore her limb from limb, while Lamatar watched. Her rage and lost love caused her to return as a ghost. She has tried to find or return Lamatar from the dead, but cannot without your help.
3) The flood at Turtleback Ferry came as a surprise to you, but throughout this chapter, it the driving rain and mucky conditions should have been mentioned. Then, when the floodgates at Skull Crossing were damaged, the river flooded, threatening the town. There should've been a serious encounter with a water monster, Black Magga, in the town that would've been a challenge even for your party, but was completely skipped. The rain is so constant as to be unnatural, and that strikes all of you as odd.
4)Do you know what happened at Skull Crossing? The ogres were sent up there to knock holes in the dam, but found the place populated by trolls and you got in on the aftermath of what must have been a serious fight.
5) What about the pit-fiend who powers it, what was that about? You should've learned that the fiend had been imprisoned there for a long, long time (like 10,000 years) and that his jailor was something called Karzoug. The mechanism of the dam drained life force from the pit fiends over the centuries until one was completely zapped. Once that happened, decades ago, the dam stopped working properly and led to, along with the ogre damage, over-topping. Your GM skipped two worthwhile fights while in Skull Crossing for some reason.
I guess I am GM who cares more about the story (and your immersion in it) than about the combats. I could hand wave the fighting, if I got to tell a better story. Sorry you missed out on some of that...but it's part of what's taken me so long to get ready to run. I want to know what you experienced and what you didn't to make the story work right. Getting closer.
Glad you are back at the helm. I already feel more connected to the story.
A quick point - Cadas did activate the devise at the dam, costing her a level and destroying the pit fiend (from memory). But I bet you got that already. And destroying is likely not the right word - sent home maybe?
I played through this game with my home group years ago so some of it is familiar and I confuse what happened to Cadas with what I recall playing a ranger 5 years ago. I do recall the fight with the Black Magga but was not sure when it was to happen. Sorry to hear we missed it.
|
|
The changes with the pit fiend were something is mentioned to Papa, same as I have with you about getting Adolina into a connection with Nocticulia. The way it was done didn't really work out though and Cafes destroyed it before Adolina could do anything else. So that should clear up that oddity.
I think Papa was having a tough time IRL so the game was quite stripped down, hence skipping fights etc.
Agreed on Papa having a rough time IRL; one reason he's ultimately left the boards.
I, however, very much look forward to a more story-focused game! :)
I am at the point to be ready to start the action up again, but wanted to ask a few things:
How do you feel about backing the action up a bit to the beginning of your entry into Hook Mountain clanhold. That's basically two encounters and the start of the new day? Reason being, is 1) I can give you the flavor of the place and 2)Its the start of a new day, and I don't have to go back and backtrack HP, spells cast etc for the day?
Thoughts? It is basically two encounters worth for you, so shouldn't be a big pain...
How are you tracking loot/treasure found but not dispersed? At all? I can see what is in your sheets, but don't know if you have other items you've found that you're planning to sell.
I am going out of town for a family reunion tomorrow, so first new post may have to wait until we return on Sunday or Monday.
I will come up with a way to track future loot, and will just assume you have zero to start.
I house-rule that any magical item re-sizes to the user, so the giant trident will become normal sized, and anything Robin finds (armor, weapon, wearables) will shrink to fit the desire of the hero. Having played a halfling and watched everyone else gear up on medium-sized things, I determined to not let that happen to my players...The exception would be unique artifacts but don't think you've seen any of those just yet.
I am good restarting as you suggest. But also I do not mind reviewing the buffs, hits and spells cast for the group and summarizing it for all if we do not.
I'm also ok restarting but would prefer to press on - I'm confident that spells expended, etc., are accurate. I'm less confident on tracking loot...I think generally whoever's been carrying something has been the one to write it down, including odd/unusual items (i.e. Marcy's got three other casters' spellbooks). But some stuff could have slipped through the cracks.
Again, not really a strong feeling re: starting here or going back to the entrance.
I have no say in any of this.
I'm just popping in to show I'm reading along.
I believe I will backtrack you for fluff but not the combats. You will see what I mean, I think. I will have you make your choice of where to explore after the main center room again, given new descriptions.
New posts are up in Gameplay, though they are still retroactive to where you are in combat. These are mainly to add flavor and set the stage, and perhaps add some story details you may have missed the first time.
I added a link at the top of the page to the Overview Map. The scale for this map is 10' square (which I hate BTW), and I am giving you this map for larger-scale view of the complex. When we get to actual fights, I will have a scaled down version of the map, which bigger squares etc for the tactical needs of Pathfinder combats. Hope that makes sense. I posted for areas D1 and D2 so far. Will have more tomorrow.
Hey Avdol! Glad you are keeping up! We will be with you soon!
As promised I went back to review what resources were used so far. But it seems we are not repeating the first combat but may be repeating the second? So I have broken down what people cast for combat 1 and then Combat 2. Can we get a clarification about combat two, which I think was two ogres and a giant.
Spells up:
Heroism - 100 minutes per person (used 4 2nd level spells)
Freedom of Movement - 100 minutes on Adolina
Communal Delay Poison - 180 minutes on Adolina, Cadas; 120 minutes on Robin, Marcellano
Magic Circle Against Evil - 100 minutes on all who stay within 10 feet of Cadas
Barkskin - 100 minutes on Cadas
Message - 100 minutes on all
Divine Favor on Cadas
Mage Armor on Marcellano
Mirror Image on Robin (4) (second combat)
First Combat:
Cast by Cadas
Freedom of Movement on Adolina
Communal Delay Poison
Magic Circle Against Evil
Barkskin on Cadas
Divine Favor on Cadas
Enlarge rounds: 1
Bramble Armor: 1
Channels 2
Cast by Robin
Herism X3
Dimension Door
Hideous Laughter
Perform Rounds: 3
CLW wand charges 3
Marcellano
Mage Armor
Magic Missles (from wand?) 2 charge or spells
Scorching ray
Second Combat:
Cadas
Brambles 1
Burst of Radiance
Channel 1
Silence
Robin
Perform 3
Hideous Laughter
Mirror Image X2 (1 failed)
5 charges of his CLW wand
Marcellano
Lightning Bolt 2
Ray of Enfeeblement
Charm Person
I think the consensus was to not re-play the combats, so I intend to provide the description and explanation that leads to them, but then hand-wave the actual round-by-round.
Thanks for looking up the spell list, everyone (including me) can make sure their resource sheets are accurate after the coming battle, which is a pair of ogre fighters and an erstwhile hill giant named Lunderbud who is something of a dimwit.
One thing to tickle your memories: when you were back in the Heart of Sadness inside Shimmerglens, you promised the ghost nymph Myriana that you would find the fate of her lover, the captain of the Black Arrow garrison from Fort Rannick, Lamatar Bayden. She believes he is dead, but wants you to come back with some token: a finger, a hair, or the like, that will allow her to resurrect her lost love, so they can be together forever.
I am sure you remember all about that -- if not, your characters still do...You recall that Lucretia and a squadron of Kreeg ogres assaulted Myriana, rending her limb from limb, and took the Captain captive, hauling him back to Hook Mountain for all manner of foul treatment.
I recall. Was thinking it was more of a reincarnation. But since she is a ghost I am not sure how all that is gonna work. :)
I remember that as well! And yes, thanks for the spell list, Cadas! It matches what I have.
Leaving in the AM to take my oldest kiddo to college for Freshman year. Will be gone till Thurs PM, and will likely be too busy (or emotionally wrecked) to post.
I remember doing that! It was worse when it was the youngest and we officially became empty-nesters...
Sounds like quite the time! Hope all goes well.
Just FYI, I'm actually moving a week from today...and then doing some moving again later that week...so the next two weeks will be pretty hectic for me. I'll try to log on whenever I can, but please don't be shy about botting me when need be! Thanks.
If it matters to you, I have posted the initial recruitment thread for my Terra Nova campaign. It is a homebrew campaign that is open source, to some extent. Feel free to look around, make a character, and see what develops. My idea is a bit novel, but the having multiple groups form and re-form using a hub location and then go off on their own threads for different adventures is the general idea.
Feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Hope you take a chance on it.
Probably taking a chance with that, but am embracing change...
Color me interested. I have played exactly one game of 2E and have bought the book. Still learning. How much time do we have to apply? On a related note to that question:
I wanted to give an update that I'll be at Dragon Con this weekend and will not be able to post much if at all. And this weekend starts Wednesday for me. :) I'll be back and on a regular schedule Tuesday.
Have fun at Dragon Con.
The game on Terra Nova should be an always changing and evolving series of mini adventures. If you can find a party, you can start when you want to.
I don't see a huge line to get in, so it can be delayed for a while.
I suppose if one of you wants to run Marcellano if he doesn't show, I will allow that until he pops back in.