Defense of Brookside

Game Master caster4life

Yes. I, too, would like to congratulate you on a wonderful (and long) campaign, GM. Running a campaign of this scope through PbP is real achievement that you should be proud of. And I'm grateful to have been part of it all this time -- since it started in December of 2017. Thank you very much!

I've been frantically trying to come up with something poetic and uplifting to end Hal's story, but I just don't seem to be able to find it. I hope I am not bringing things down :(

This campaign has been amazing - both for roleplaying and story. I haunted it for a long time before joining. I almost applied back when it first started, actually started drafting a character but had too many games at the time - I regret not trying for back then.

This is definitely going to be one of the campaigns I remember forever. Thank you.

I think you're doing fine!

Also, I'm really glad to have finally found an opportunity to talk about the Balance of Seasons. I came up with that years ago, and it's been informing my RP all this time, but there's never been a good moment to formally introduce the idea.

Thanks, guys! I have really appreciated playing with you all and crafting a story together. That's what it's really about. And you players have made it worthwhile.

This is my last campaign on Paizo as I really just play on Discord now. I know Kaz has tried discord and doesn't like it so I hope to see you around somewhere, sometime.

So, we're back in Helm. We should wrap up Fyrtor and Túrion's stories. GM, I think this is best left in your hands.

Edit: Also, looks like a couple of my posts went in as Melia Elman because of default settings on different web browsers. Blah.

Hal and Kaz, care to share and we'll proceed?

Kaz please do share your spoiler info too when you get a chance. I understand that right now you're trying not to interrupt Hal.

Will do! I’ll get a post up as soon as I can

Hal doesn't know Perrin, so I think this is up to the others...

Sorry, last week was crazy.

Monday: basically normal.

Tuesday: took the day off to attend my friend's swearing-in as a US citizen, with a picnic to follow. Also my AC went out.

Wednesday: took the morning off so as to be home for an HVAC tech, who announced that the unit was frozen and he couldn't really diagnose it till it thawed. Went to work in the afternoon, leaving the door unlocked for the tech. AC needed freon, because it's so old it still uses freon. A thousand dollars later it was operational again, and I have an appointment to get a quote on a new AC unit. Stayed up till 3 AM working on prep for a one-shot scheduled for this past Saturday.

Thursday: got to work at 9 AM sharp and kept at it till 7:30 PM. Rushed home. Cleaned my house top to bottom in three hours flat, then drove to the airport to pick up a house guest whose plane landed at 11:05 PM. Brought guest home, punted them into the guest bedroom and collapsed.

Friday: at work at 9 AM, leaving house guest unattended. I had two meetings that just couldn't be rescheduled. Took the afternoon off and played a series of games: some Magic the Gathering, two rounds of Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, and I think one other thing I can't remember.

Saturday: wildly finished one-shot prep in the morning while house guest managed to incinerate some garbanzo beans in an attempt to make hummus. Finished prep 30 minutes before go time and printed out all the things. Guests arrived, including the house guest's partner who traveled separately for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.

One shot was supposed to go four hours, but ran seven instead. The final fight took 3 hours all by itself. Killed the PC of house guest perma-dead. Two other PCs dropped into negatives twice each. They won, but I definitely overdid it with that boss monster. Rounded out the day with dinner at Olive Garden.

Sunday: Brunch at a local restaurant. Then two hours of axe-throwing. Then back to my place for a round of Betrayal at House on the Hill, then some chit-chat, and finally a game of Stone Age. House guest and partner had rented a hotel room for the night and departed at 8 PM on the grounds that they had to get up at 2:30 AM to begin their trek back home. I smiled, waved goodbye, tumbled into bed and passed out.

And then I've been back at work for extra hours yesterday and today trying to catch up from last week plus prep for a regular session on Saturday and returning to double-workouts at the gym because past me apparently thought it would be smart to sign up for an endurance camp.

So yeah. I've been busy.

Sounds busy. But in a good sort of way.

Sounds awesome. I love me some good axe throwing.

How did the house guest feel about PC death? Some people like how real it can make the game feel, others hate it.

I mean, she wasn't happy -- who would be? -- but she took it in stride.

I think it helped that the death occurred not long before the end of the fight, so she didn't have to spend long as a spectator.

Coming off a random discussion on Reddit, I'm curious how you all would treat the following scenario.

Alice is currently the subject of two spells: Invisibility and Mind Blank. She is standing in a room with Bob, who does not know she is there. Bob currently has a Comprehend Languages spell running.

Alice says "Hola!" Bob does not speak Spanish. What does Bob hear?

A) The word "Hola!" untranslated.

B) The word "Hi!" translated because Comprehend Languages works on the speech, not the creature speaking.

C) Nothing at all, because the fact that Alice spoke would reveal her presence, which is "information about the subject [of Mind Blank]". Mind Blank suppresses the speech entirely so that Bob gains no information.

Ah, when Pathfinder reads like the Talmud.

Invisibility shouldn’t affect this. It is purely blocking visual.

Mind Blank:

“The subject is protected from all devices and spells that gather information about the target through divination magic (such as detect evil, locate creature, scry, and see invisible). This spell also grants a +8 resistance bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting spells and effects. Mind blank even foils limited wish, miracle, and wish spells when they are used in such a way as to gain information about the target. In the case of scrying that scans an area the creature is in, such as arcane eye, the spell works but the creature simply isn’t detected. Scrying attempts that are targeted specifically at the subject do not work at all.”

Comprehend Language is divination, but it doesn’t gather information about the person. It just translates. Therefore, B is the correct answer

I agree completely with Grumbaki. In general, Mind Blank is an annoyingly written spell but this case is sufficiently clear, imo.

Wow, a final appearance for Rally! I didn't expect that. But it feels good, even if this is her end.

I spent some time reading back the earliest portions of the campaign, just the bits before Mel joined. Cyrus was a good character. It's a pity about that greataxe. But at the same time, I would never have gotten to make Mel if Cyrus had lived; and he just would not have had the same kind of motivations she did to pursue more campaign. Mel, having messed up the Council's plan and put her people at risk, felt a need to go fix the mess and prevent a war between Iustia and the Concordat. Cyrus would have thought that the prospect was a terrible thing, but also he was a citizen of Helm, and if Iustia and the Concordat are busy fighting each other that means they're not invading Helm.

I guess the one thing about Cyrus I want to wrap up was the last item in his final inventory: that creased and folded piece of paper. I kept hoping that maybe someday someone would ask about that -- even hinted at it a couple of times in later discussions -- but nobody ever did. So now I'm just going to out with it.

Those were Cyrus' discharge papers, documenting his dishonorable discharge from the Astin guards for conduct unbecoming a guardsman. In the time after he left Astin, he would re-read those every night, marinating himself in misery. It was only after he found his faith that he began to make peace with his past. And only when he found Rally that he was able to finally stop poring over those papers. Even then, he carried them on his person at all times: a constant reminder of his shame ... right up to his very last moment.

I think his father probably found those on him when they prepared him for burial.

And burned them.

Tough decisions you're giving me! If dice were involved here, I would blame the decision on them either way. But when it's just narrative, I had to think hard about what I prefer here.

Cyrus was a great character, indeed, and an important part of the story going where it ended up. Yes that sounds good about his funeral.

For what it’s worth I think you chose well.

Likewise! This takes me back to my earliest days of role play, on the bulletin boards of Prodigy. Nobody had any dice, and I don't know if any of us had ever actually played a TTRPG. We were just writing collaborative stories. It was a lot of fun, even if the narrative did get a little tangled at times. I wish I had an archive of those old stories, but I didn't think to do such a thing at the time, and now those bulletin boards are long, long gone.

So, GM. Would you say that the events of the last few posts would qualify for completing the feat Blessed, Mel's third background feat?

Yes that counts for Blessed. Wow. I lost track that you had taken that feat. The story just worked out to fulfill it. I suppose mostly because the same Mel who chose to took that feat also tried to redeem Perrin, with some degree of success.

The afterlife in Golarion is messy but, in a totally made up fantasy afterlife, I feel like he would face some penance for all the wrongs he did but eventually be accepted into the upper planes for his good intentions and final acts in search of repentance.

I may have been thinking of Perrin when I took it back in ... checks notes ... October 11th, 2021, around 9:08 PM Central. Just going off the time stamp on the Discord message I sent you back then about how Blessed makes Mel better at lying to, intimidating or coercing angels with magic. Such a poorly worded feat!

But the completion benefit of constant Protection from Evil is awesome. Particularly since, somehow, Mel never got a Cloak of Resistance.

Also, this means that I have officially completed a Story feat! I've never done that before! I don't know anyone who's done that! Woo!

It’s an accomplishment! I’ve honestly never seen one completed before either.

Same!

Am I right that Hal is far away at the moment? And not supposed to come back?

You teleported scores of miles to the village of Brookside. You could leave the body in the woods and come back into the city of Helm if you like. So it's up to you whether you are in this scene. My preference leans toward involving more people in the current scene when possible.

I didn't have any particular destination in mind -- just away. And I suspect Hal might not be to keen on getting grilled by the authorities. You're welcome to come back if you think Hal would be helpful here.

So as for the story Mel just told -- on a literal level, everything she said is true. But at the same time, she's implying that the Plague Doctor revealed his plan in a standard villainous monologue, and that we killed him. If questioned, she'll confirm that he's dead. If pressed on the point, she'll say that none of us got the killing blow in because he was using some dangerous magic that turned on him, all of which is true.

She will not mention the name "Perrin Alders". She wants to keep that name firmly distinct from the Plague Doctor, so that we can take him back to Brookside and bury him quietly with the respect due to his motivations.

Meanwhile the heads of state in there need to know that none of them are responsible for this attack. Let the Plague Doctor take the blame, and the negotiations can continue.

In addition to the actual funeral I have one more short scene I'd like to play out after that's over, for which I will need Kazador, at least briefly.

After that I guess we'll need each need to narrate a final epilogue post for what each of our characters. If you all don't mind, I think I'd like to write Mel's epilogue last.

And then ... that's it.

Yes that lines up well with my plans, of which there are essentially zero left.

Sounds good!

I'm good with the plan, just saw an option to give storyteller a bit of a whirl :)
1 scene left to go Mel?

So I've got a draft of the funeral. But I didn't want to put it in the same post with the viewing. Also I want to polish it a bit.

After that the short scene with Kazador, then epilogues.

I'm really struggling with this one. It's probably the hardest thing I've written in the entire campaign. Bear with me.

Okay. It's up. If you want some background music, put on Heart of Nowhere. I had that on loop while I was composing this.

I think the main reason it was so hard to write that is that I'm pretty sure that this is not just a eulogy for Perrin. It's a eulogy for Avoron, Perrin's player. I mean, I don't know for sure. He just dropped out of sight suddenly in late 2018. But ... I can't think what else might account for it. So ... it had to be as good as I could make it.

Please feel free to add things if you wish, at the funeral or the wake afterward. Then I've got one more scene for Mel and Kazador, and then we can do epilogues.

Yes Avoron was quite engaged with this campaign as well as a gestalt oneshot I was running on here at the time then suddenly ghosted both as well as everything else on paizo.com. I hope he's ok. I did have one time when somebody ghosted a campaign then a stranger came to the discussion thread and said they had died rather suddenly of an infection and were notifying people. I have no reason to think they were lying as they weren't taking up a collection for cards or anything. It's a crazy world and I hope you are all ok!

The description of Perrin's house in today's post I copy-pasted from a private message Avoron sent me back in 2018, only very lightly edited. Like, I omitted the description of the turpentine he was brewing for Mel back when he sent that, since it's obviously long gone.

I guess it's up to the GM if we find anything in the house as we search it.

Oh interesting! I'm curious as to why you guys were PMing about his house. Planning RP or something I assume.

Yes. It was during the lead-up to Mel's initial confrontation with Perrin over his worship of Haagenti. I asked him for a description in gameplay, and he responded thus:

Okay, you wanted a description of Perrin's alchemical lab? Let's see...

His lab, office, and home are all contained within a small three-room building on the edge of the town, albeit one made from stone rather than the usual wood. The front room contains only a simple chair, a desk with scattered papers on it, and a raised cot for patients. Beyond that is a closed door leading to Perrin's bedroom, and a slightly open door leading to his lab.

The lab itself is a clean but cramped room, its small dimensions giving the objects inside a cluttered appearance. The room is well-lit, though, by a broad window set high in the far wall. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of finished alchemical products, with the racks and shelves flanking the doorway devoted more to raw ingredients obtained from Brookside and the surrounding forests, as well as basic equipment like beakers and scales. To one side lies a small fireplace with some sort of grate over it, upon which rests a pot of some gently bubbling liquid. Next to it lies a crucible with an attached funnel, coated in residue from what appears to be molten gold. On the wall above the grate are carved several strange symbols and runes that you can't decipher (unless you happen to speak Abyssal) but seem vaguely unsettling nonetheless.

The remainder of the space is dominated by a narrow L-shaped table beneath the window, with a tall wooden stool in front of it. The table is filled with miscellaneous reagants, and among them you recognize several of the items we scavenged from the orc camp: the shaman's holly and mistletoe, a handful of gold coins, and even a hunk of salted meat. You also see the Perrin has laid out the materials you requested: a bottle of grain alcohol, a small tin of verdigris, and a bowl of freshly-tapped pine resin - some of which has been placed in a device to more rapidly distill it into turpentine.

Anything else in particular you wanted to know?

That's very helpful, thanks.

Is there a visible unholy symbol of Haagenti anywhere in the room?

Yeah, let's say there's one somewhere on his desk. Note, though, that Haagenti's unholy symbol is a philosopher's stone, so to a casual observer it would probably just look like an ordinary rock. Also, Perrin definitely held up his symbol to channel energy yesterday right after Mel joined the group, so it's up to you whether she noticed or not. Seeing it again could jog her memory.

If you're asking if Mel should get a Knowledge (religion) check to realize that Perrin's worshiping a demon lord, I'd say definitely yes. Going by the chart I'd say probably around DC 20 since he's relatively obscure, but you'd know if you have some reason to recognize the signs. If nothing else, one of those symbols on the wall is Haagenti's demonic rune, so if Mel's familiar with that it could tip her off.

Okay, good to know.

Mel has a +11 in Knowledge (religion), and I rolled a Knowledge (Religion) check to see what she knew about Haagenti almost a month ago. It came up 22, which you can verify with the GM if you like -- we had a PM discussion about it. Here's what he had to say:

Brookside GM, Feb 10th wrote:

Quote:

Yes he uses the holy symbol when channeling, which I don't believe Mel has seen yet. Given that knowledge check she knows he [Haagenti] is an evil god of alchemy and change. He loves subtlety and is often helpful to some who bargain with him for a long time before he exploits them.

So this'll be interesting.

Fun!

Love it!

I think I'd rather do the epilogue posts as a conversation amongst the PCs, where we each talk about our future plans, rather than a private reflection before bed. Maybe fast forward to the morning?

I’m…alright with that…

I’ve been meaning to write this up. Work is insane and I’ve put it off, as I didn’t want to rush it and ruin the final post of such a great campaign.

Sorry! My PCs wifi card stopped working and I lost track of the game cycle.

That's fine! A lot of the pacing considerations of PBP revolve around long-term sustainability so we don't really need to worry about that now.

Brookside GM posted the recruitment thread for this campaign on December 9th, 2017. Today, seven years, eight months and two weeks and 6,709 posts later, we have finished.

GM, I just want to thank you again for this tremendous experience. I have played a lot of Pathfinder, but I think this is the deepest and most satisfying campaign I've ever participated in. It had its ups and downs, but I wouldn't change even a moment of it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of the time and effort and thought you put into making this such a wonderful world and campaign.

Thanks so much, Tinalles. That means a lot, especially coming from an excellent RPGer like yourself. You've been the beating heart of the player side of the table as we've had our normal, PBP share of player turnover.

Kaz and Hal, thanks so much for coming in partway through and committing to this experience. Your characters have been so unique and critical to the formation of the story and world. Whole parts of the world exist just because your characters made them make sense.

It has been a privilege to be at this table. While I might do a final post such as it is, knowing that this campaign ended so well is truly a joy. Caster4life, I especially have to say that your world building, and player engagement, was top notch. I have nothing but praise for what you have created.

Just to echo the sentiments above, I truly have to offer my thanks for being able to be a part of this. And I truly hope to be at more tables with you all.

This was a fantastic campaign. I sincerely regret that I didn't apply when the initial recruitment came out.
The characters really have been unique, and I was continuously astounded at everyone's mechanical knowledge and skill with words.
GM - Your characters were well rounded, the world made sense, and the narrative was superb... but most of all thank you for your commitment to seeing the story through. I know campaigns have periods where the joy of running can fade and quality - or even the campaign itself - can suffer and the fact you delivered every step of the way is just incredible.

I really like that final post, so despite the fact I desperately don't want to let Hal go, I think I might leave it at that. I love the imagery of Mel, Hal and Kaz walking together out of Brookside as the sun rises and the 'camera' stays back with the town.

If you go back and look at the very first post of the campaign, you may note some similarities. I was aiming for symmetry to book end the campaign.

Agreed. I’ll be leaving things are they are without any further posts.

It also feels right. As Tinalles, to quote our GM, you’ve been the “beating heart of the player side of the table.” Your “last word” in this is both well written and feels right. :)

Thanks very much to both of you!