Apparently if I make a post, then the option to create a campaign, with all the relevant tabs should appear.
Hmmm, let's see ...
I guess I was right ...
Dierik’s Caravan
An independent merchant, for over a decade Dierik Ironcoffer has travelled around the Inner Sea, making quick profit on all manner of imaginable wares (and a fair few unimaginable cargoes to boot). He likes to run a tight crew and just a handful of wagons – not for him the great, unwieldy caravans of Qadira that take half a morning to get moving and most of the night to laager. He wants his train swift, responsive and manoeuvrable. And thanks to his band of road-hardened men and women, and his own fierce cajoling, more often than not he gets exactly that.
Emblem – Six long bladed swords, three with points to the sinister, three with points to the base, intertwined to create a portcullis like motif, on a red field.
Three six wheeled reinforced supply wagons of Molthunian construction, with traces for six oxen. Colloquially called the ‘Sixbulls’ by Dierik’s men. Piled high with trade goods, with just enough space for eight persons perched precariously on the cargo.
One four-wheeled armoured wagon pulled by a team of four draft horses. Handcrafted by master wainwrights P. P. Penamort & Brothers in Magnimar, with tightly latticed iron sides, black velvet upholstery within and two small skylight portholes in the roof (said to be made of glassteel). The personal accommodation and conveyance of Dierik Ironcoffer, as well containing the strongbox from which wages are paid. Usually referred to as the ‘Moneybox’, or sometimes as the ‘Flagship’ thanks to a long cane antenna from which flutters Ironcoffers’ colours.
The bizarre, gaily-painted contraption of Zriorinta the Apothecary, providing cramped living for her, her cats and her peculiar collection of charms, potions and magic trinkets. Bizarrely her wagon runs on three wheels, with two small conventional wheels at the rear of the chassis and a gigantic, axled wheel running between the two dappled ponies that pull the thing. Imagine a cross between a wagon and a three wheeled penny-farthing bicycle.
Two standard supply wagons principally concerned with carrying food and supplies for the men and women of the wagon train. Each wagon is four wheeled and covered, with enough space for six persons and pulled by a pair of heavy draft horses. One is called ‘Mealwheels’, being as it is the makeshift kitchen and jealously defended sleeping space of Crinkles Cupporchin the cook. The other is known as ‘Old Stubborness’ due to its tendency to break down regularly.
Four pack mules carrying additional supplies, useful for getting to places the wagons cannot reach.
Trail Captain Dierik Ironcoffer – A former Knight of Lastwall said to have been part of the charge that broke the horde of Warlord Graukard. His fame in Vigil was quickly tarnished by reckless gambling and adulterous womanizing, and soon his name was as synonymous with scandal as it was with heroism. Finally exhausting the goodwill he had exploited for so long, Dierik left Vigil virtually friendless. Then began a second career as one of the most determined (some would say reckless) merchants to trade around the Inner Sea region and beyond. His fortune have been won and lost a dozen times on some of the most dangerous roads on Avistan, and now Dierik prepares for his ambitious scheme yet; follow the Flood Road to the Realm of the Mammoth Lords!
First Master Deramil – An elderly, long-bearded half-elf, First Master Deramil has been with Dierik from the first. He rarely speaks to anyone but Dierik or Santrian, but demonstrates an empathic understanding of animals, and his skilled husbandry keeps the horses and oxen of the wagon train fit and healthy.
Second Master Santrian – Dierik’s main adjutant is Second Master Santrian. While Deramil sees to the health of the caravan’s beasts, Santrian’s responsibility is to its personnel. A Taldan by birth, like Deramil, Santrian has been many years in Dierik’s service, and is probably his closest friend. Santrian tempers his master’s more abrasive manner, and unlike many Taldans, is friendly, approachable and free of bigotry. He habitually wears a monocle.
Zriorinta the Apocethary – The eccentric and mercurial Zriorinta only recently joined Dierik’s caravan. For the last few years, this dark-haired, dark-eyed Varisian has lived the life of an itinerant peddler of minor magic, guiding her peculiar little wagon wherever fancy takes her. For now it seems fancy takes her north towards the Mammoth Lord realms, though her reasons are unknown to any in the caravan except perhaps Dierik. She rarely leaves her cramped little wagon, seeming quite happy with the company of the four ashen grey cats that share it with her.
Crinkles Cupporchin (cook) – Crinkles is not much of a cook, but his wit, good humour and the cheerful tunes he plays upon his fiddle are enough to keep his position secure. Resigned to the rigors of the road, the halfling nonetheless holds on to whatever comforts he can find. His best dish is a potato and jerky broth peppered with a spice none in the caravan can identify. Good as it is, familiarity has bred a certain disdain amongst Crinkles’ fellow travellers, as it gets served up at least twice a week.
Kelya Fylessi (priestess of Desna) – The only member of the caravan not on the payroll, Kelya joined Dierik’s crew a half year back in Caliphas. Content to follow the road and see where it may take her, Kelya could leave the caravan at any time should the whim take her. Until that day comes to pass, Dierik welcomes the free healing and blessings she brings upon his enterprise.
Agiz (purser and wainwright) – Another veteran member of Dierik’s team, the little ratfolk Agiz is a brilliant accountant and skilled mechanic. He has an exhaustive knowledge of the different currencies used across Avistan and their worth relative to one another, and perches assiduously at Dierik’s side whenever a deal is being finalized, making sure his master is short-changed by not a single copper. Furthermore, his rangy frame and nimble paws make him a great asset under the body of broken down wagon, and he can even get ‘Old Stubborness’ running again with all but the minimum of coaxing. However, he refuses to go anywhere near Zriorinta’s wagon, claiming an allergy to her cats causes his fur to fall out.
Drivers, drovers and haulers – Twenty-seven men and women serve Dierik running his caravan. Their duties include driving the wagons, caring for the animals, loading and unloading, and whatever other task their master puts them to. At least half are of Varisian descent. Although none of them are trained warriors, all will take up arms (usually cudgels, knives and hand axes) to defend the caravan, and several carry light crossbows.
Guardsmen – In addition to the adventurers recently hired by Santrian, ten mounted guards are responsible for the caravan’s defence. Led by Crooked Callan, a scarred old Garundi veteran, they all ride light warhorses, wear studded leather, and carry shortbows, wooden shields (onto which is burnt Dierik’s emblem) and longswords.
Shambles (dog) – So named because of his piebald coat of short fur and his disorientated gait after gulping down a bowl of cheap ale (often proffered by bored drovers looking for a chuckle), Shambles is a large mongrel dog that has followed Dierik’s wagon for years. Though nobody makes any claim to being his owner, he has become something of a mascot for the caravan.
And of course, our intrepid PCs!
• Numerous large barrels containing different strains of pigswill wine and vile, potent ale. Barely any can stomach such piss in the lands of man, but orcs are far less discerning.
• Several feather bolsters. It doesn’t often occur to orcs to provide themselves with comfort, but a lazy orc warrior will quickly take to the notion of something soft to lay his weary head upon.
• Clay urns of coloured beads. Popular for making crude necklaces and pasting into interesting patterns on the bare bone of favoured trophy skulls.
• Collections of dyes (mainly black, purple and crimson) for making textiles fearsome colours.
• A jar of sweet gobstoppers, each piece of candy lovingly made to resemble the face of a wailing elf.
• Crude, dissonant war gongs.
• Pewter drinking vessels which do not smash when hurled in fury.
• A collection of fake beards (actually horse hair) to be surreptitiously sold to proud orc warriors who have never had a chance to slay their own dwarf.
PC Wages
As part of their deal with Second Master Santrian, the PCs will receive a salary serving in Dierik Ironcoffer’s caravan. Pay is as follows:
Vigil to the Freedom Town: 3 gp per day.
The Freedom Town to Urgir: 5 gp per day, plus a 200 gp bonus on arrival in Urgir.
Urgir to the Realm of the Mammoth Lords: No daily wage, but a 2,000 gp lump sum on successfully reaching the Realm.
Return to Lastwall from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords: to be negotiated.
Daily wages will be paid at the end of each week. PCs may renegotiate their contracts at the major mileposts along the Flood Road (Freedom Town, Urgir, the Realm of the Mammoth Lords). Dierik makes no claim on plunder or treasure won by the PCs during their period of service to him.
Distances along the Flood Road
Below are some very rough statistics concerning the journey that faces the PCs. This information is not necessarily available to the PCs themselves. To many, the Realm of the Mammoth Lords is simply a far distant land somewhere north of the Hold of Belkzen. It could be a journey of weeks, months or even longer for all they know.
If your PC has ranks in Knowledge (geography), assume they have at least a vague understanding of the distances and times laid out below.
Travel times are based upon the speed of a slow moving wagon (roughly twenty miles a day at best). Of course, it should be remembered the PCs will face all sorts of delays, diversions and detours which will no doubt add considerably to their journey time (if not derailing the journey altogether!).
Vigil to the beginning of the Flood Road – 60 miles following the banks of the Path (then Esk) River (travel time three days).
Vigil to the Freedom Town* - 60 miles of poor trails unsuitable for wagons (travel time four to five days, perhaps even a week).
Beginning of the Flood Road to Urgir (Koldukar) – 40 miles (two days).
Beginning of the Flood Road to the Freedom Town* - 30 miles following the ruins of Harchrist’s Blockade (two days).
Urgir to Scarwall** – 200 miles (two weeks).
Scarwall to the Convenant Rock – 150 miles (eight or nine days).
Covenant Rock to the Algid Wastes*** – 50 miles (two or three days).
Vigil to the Realm of the Mammoth Lords (total distance) – roughly 500 miles, with the Flood Road running on for another 150 miles through the southern Realm of the Mammoth Lords before terminating in the Tusk Mountains (about 100 miles south of Hillcross). Travel time: perhaps a month, maybe more.
*The Freedom Town does not lie on the Flood Road, but Dierik still plans to stop in there on his northern journey. He could travel west, following the Path River to where its tributary the Esk marks the beginning of the Flood Road (a route well patrolled by Lastwall with better roads), then turn north-northeast, following the ruin of Harchrist’s Blockade to the town (a detour of some 30 miles from the Flood Road). Alternatively, he could travel directly northwest from Vigil to the Freedom Town (although there’s little in the way of good trails, especially trails capable of handling heavily laden wagons).
**Scarwall lies on the southeastern tip of the Kodar Mountains, overlooking the Flood Road. It marks roughly the geographical centre of the Hold of Belkzen.
***The Algid Wastes is a desolate stretch of wilderness stretching across the northern margins of the Hold of Belkzen and the southern Realm of the Mammoth Lords.
The Hold of Belkzen vs. Lastwall: The current state of hostilities.
As the campaign begins, the fighting between the crusaders of Lastwall and the orc tribes of the Hold of Belkzen is in stalemate. The last major military action was fought sixteen years ago, when the Lastwall heavy cavalry smashed the horde of orc warlord Graukrad. Since then, Lastwall has hunkered down, reinforcing its northern front with an incomplete line of trenches and fortifications. This line lacks the great forts and walls of the former frontiers such as the Sunwall and the Harchrist Blockade, in fact it lacks even a proper name, usually referred to simply as the ‘Front’ or the ‘Border’ by the grim, brave soldiers who man it.
Although few great battles have been fought, life on the frontlines is far from peaceful. Rarely does a month pass without an orc warband or two seeking to find a way into Lastwall to raid and pillage what they can before fleeing back into the wastes of the Hold. Although the powerful orcs of the Empty Hand tribe in Urgir seem cautious of provoking Lastwall, Grask Uldeth’s word has little sway in the badlands, thus smaller orcish tribes and tribeless renegades look south to satiate their lusts for blood, loot and worse. The ground immediately north of Lastwall’s border is claimed by the cowardly Cleft Head tribe, who usually let raiders through their lands uncontested.
Nervous talk in Vigil increasingly lingers on the Black Ax of Ruin, descended from the Kodar Mountains into southern Belkzen some two years ago. This belligerent tribe has grown swiftly, drawing many warlike orcs to its banner. It’s starting to become a question of when, rather than if, the Black Ax will launch a serious attack against Lastwall.
Here's the place to introduce ourselves as players, discuss the campaign and any other ooc stuff that takes our fancy.
A lot of supporting information for the campaign will also appear here over the next few weeks.
Hello everyone! Thank you for selecting me DM Tadpole! I'm very excited to be here!
Hail Dunagan, and welcome to the game.
And to all, I'm going to try and fire off as several quick posts about the game this morning.
However, in a couple of hours I'm off to a little gathering of friends which will last the rest of the day, all the night, and then take up a good sized chunk of the following day. As a result, it will probably be 24 hours (and perhaps a few hours longer) before the first official gameplay post is up. Hopefully by then all the players will have noted their selection and announced themselves.
About Your DM
English by birth, lives in Vietnam, wrong side of thirty (but not by much), newly married. Main interests outside of gaming: wildlife and fingerstyle guitar playing. Oh, and eating cake.
Posting Frequency
I've already specified that I hope daily posts will be the norm, but do you want to include weekends in this? I know it can be difficult for some. My preference would be daily posts including weekends.
Also please keep in mind I live in developing country. On the whole, electricity and internet is fairly reliable, but random short-outs are not unknown, and sometimes they can last most of the day. So if your DM drops off the face of the planet unannounced for 24 hours or so, that's probably what's happened, rest assured I'll be back in the game as soon as I can be.
Unexpected outages aside, I'll try and keep everyone in the loop if I won't be able to post for a period (as above), and I expect everyone to try to do the same.
For the Americans among you, I'm about 12 hours ahead time zone wise. I work as an English teacher; sometimes I'm working early in the morning, sometimes late in the evening. As such, there probably won't be a specific time I'll be posting, aside from as often as possible.
Handout Hosting
Does anyone have any suggestions on an easy way of hosting player handouts? I know Google Docs is used by other PbPs on these boards, but I've no experience of how it works. In a previous play by chat game I used dropbox (although it was set up by a fellow player, I'm not sure what I do to add others to my dropbox. I could probably work it out though). Thoughts and suggestions welcome.
Handouts will largely be maps (battlemaps and general maps), and perhaps the odd picture to help envisage a character or place.
It might be useful to have fellow player's emails to follow up anyone who goes AWOL. If you're uncomfortable with this I understand and fair call. If you're happy to share your email PM me.
The only predictable trouble I might have with posting regularly would be Sundays, and even then I can do so much, much later at night before bed.
I'd just recommend google drive if you want a simple (and free) way to host stuff and share. You can just upload files directly with it. From there, you just change the file's share settings to whatever you prefer and link it normally.
Looking forward to playing with everyone.
Oh, and just for gits and shiggles, here's a decent ballpark estimation of me half-orc in picture form: Bonegrit
Backstories and Second Master Santrian
The campaign will begin with the PCs meeting their employer Dierik Ironcoffer. Their offer (and acceptance) of employment by Dierik's adjutant, Second Master Santrian is assumed to have already happened, and will be expanded upon in a short flashback in due time.
On the whole, I'll be going for a casual 'PC hears on the grapevine about the caravan, seeks out Second Master Santrian and offers his services approach' rather than building a shared history with Santrian or other members of the caravan. The thinking behind this is that if the NPCs in the caravan are strangers it's easy to make discovering their personalities, foibles and secrets part of the adventuring experience.
I've also got some campaign related expansions to your PCs backstories (building upon rather than contradicting what you've already written) that I want to develop. Watch this space for those.
Character Sheets
Your PCs were chosen on their strength as characters rather than anything in their crunch. However, I'll try and make some time to ensure everything checks out on your character sheets (I'm sure it will).
Try and fill out any details you've not yet gotten to. The only thing you might want to hold back on is buying equipment. As mentioned in the Recruitment thread, one of the earliest scenes in the campaign will be a chance for PCs to buy some horses at discount prices (though discounts or not, horses are still expensive!). You'll also get some opportunities to make some coin before leaving Vigil, so if you can't afford to buy now, you might later. Finally, owning a horse is not in any way mandatory (you can always sit on a wagon). If you prefer to spend your gold in other places, feel free!
Hi Bonegrit and welcome!
Ouch, that dude under your foot is in a bad way. I've had students I'd have liked to have trussed up in a similar way!
I'll check out Google Drive and see what I can make of it. Thanks for the email address, I've PMed mine.
Weekend posting is fine by me.
I've seen other GMs use ImageShack to post maps as it is super easy and you can link anyone to the picture without them needing an account.
Since you have shared a bit about yourself, I'll do the same. I'm in California and in the Coast Guard. Almost 30, married, and have a house full of girls. I probably wont have any 24 hour or more disappearances, but if they do happen please feel free to DMPC me as necessary.
Oh, and just for gits and shiggles, here's a decent ballpark estimation of me half-orc in picture form: Bonegrit
How much did that human surfboard cost ya? I'm in the market.
DM Tadpole: Any chance that there are any 'portable' forges available? If so, how much would they cost? - I'm assuming the crafting kits do not account for a full forge, just the smithing hammer, tongs, etc.
I'll have a think about portable forges Dunagan. I'd imagine they'd be expensive for a start.
But my wife tells me it's time to go. Back in 24 hours, in the meantime, talk among yourselves!
Cheers!
Hello all! Delighted to be invited to join!
For starters, I live in North Carolina (Eastern US), engaged to a lovely young woman, on the wrong side of 30 myself, and general manager of a restaurant.
My posting schedule is pretty regular. I can manage 1-2 significant posts and multiple short posts a day. I can easily post from work. And since I pretty much work 7 days a week, that means weekends are no issue.
I will probably adjust Pyotr's equipment slightly, based on your recommendation, during the day tomorrow (I have meetings all morning). But, I will leave his stats as they are.
As it transpired, a small work crisis for my wife forced us to curtail our wild party plans, thus we find ourselves back home early ... which isn't bad at all, as checking the boards I see we've got battlecries from four PCs and a PM from the fifth; more than enough to get the ball rolling methinks.
As such, if you check out the Gameplay thread you'll see the campaign has officially launched :-)
Still, the clock's fast closing up on midnight here, so on that note I'll sign off. Expect (a lot) more on the morrow.
P.S. Pyotr, Delkaneth, welcome to the discussion thread!
Hello! I'm happy to be joining you all for the campaign.
Posting
I'm available to post seven day a week under normal circumstances. I'll have an occasional weekend of travel interfering, but even then I should be able to manage a post sometime during the day. I'm sure we'll all fall into a rhythm over the first few weeks.
Files
If everyone involved already uses gmail for their personal email, then Google Drive (formerly known as Google Docs) is a very easy way to host files.
Maybe you could beggar Tadpole for a proficiency swap with short swords and handaxes, hah!
Bards can wield whips like they were born to them, but can't figure out that you hit the bad guy with the sharp part of the axe?
Weapon proficiencies are often baffling...
Dang rules getting in the way of creativity!
Bonegrit has a point, handaxes and short swords are comparable in stats and wouldn't effect the game all that much - the biggest disparity would be the slashing property of the hand axe.
Dunagan's post got me thinking...
This would not likely be Pyotr's cup of tea, but for a more entrepreneurial character: Would there be any prohibition against us bringing our own trade material as part of the caravan? Pack mules are cheap, like 8 gp if I remember correctly. Then we would just have to determine what would be worthwhile trade material.
Or would that be frowned upon by our new employers?
Hi All,
As I mentioned in the Recruitment thread, your characters have the opportunity to purchase new mounts before departing with the caravan. First it’s important to say that having a mount is by no means a necessity, PCs without horses can simply travel by wagon. Second, although these horses are on sale at prices significantly lower than the standard (thanks to favours owed to First Master Deramil), your PCs may not be able to afford what they want. However, all is not lost; a purchase can be made at any time before the caravan departs in three days time. Perhaps a lucky opportunity to win some coin will come along before you leave Vigil. You might also be able to convince Second Master Santrian to give you an advance on your pay.
Ponies aside, all the different horse breeds have different characteristics (translating as slight crunch bonuses). Make a successful DC 10 Handle Animal or Knowledge (local – Lastwall) to reveal the spoiler below and find out about these bonuses.
Dort Charger (heavy warhorse): Bred upon Dotort Ranch, one of the leading estates in Lastwall for breeding fine horses, the pedigree of Dort Chargers is surpassed only by the heavy horse of Vigil. They’re known for their vicious kick, inflicting 1d6+4 damage on a successful blow from their hooves. Most have shining, glossy black coats, whilst their manes and tails are often brown, or even creamy white.
Lastwall Charger (heavy warhorse): Built for incredible power, the Lastwall Chargers are like unstoppable juggernauts. A rider taking a charge action astride a Lastwall Charger enjoys a +2 bonus to damage. Lastwall Charges usually have brown or chestnut hides, often with white blazes or star upon their foreheads.
Lastwall Palfrey (light riding horse): Known for their loose, ambling gait, it is said you could ride a Lastwall Palfrey all day without getting sore. They are intelligent, responsive horses, providing a +1 bonus to Ride checks to those who use them. They are often cream, dirty-white or dapple grey in colour.
Taldor Jennet (light riding horse): These brave, compact little horses are much prized in Lastwall, and these days hard to get hold of. They have gentle dispositions, and are very obedient; a character gets a +1 bonus to all Handle Animal checks made with a Taldor Jennet. They are usually black or brown.
Vigilant Courser (light riding horse): The fastest breed in Lastwall, Vigilant Coursers have a speed of 60 feet. Most are bay-brown, but occasionally a Vigilant Courser is an elegant palomino.
Vigilant Destrier (heavy warhorse): The epitome of a mighty warhorse, the fearless Vigilant Destrier carries the Knights of Lastwall across the battlefield. They gain a +2 bonus to Will saves versus fear, and a +1 bonus to all attack rolls and damage. Red or blue roan is the commonest colour, but many are pure white (like the beautiful mare just purchased by Dierik Ironcoffer).
Vigilant Rouncey (light warhorse): Swift but often strong-willed, Vigilant Rounceys are the favoured steeds of Lastwall scouts, as they can easily outrun the snapping jaws of a pursuing worg. They’re incredibly agile, conferring a +3 bonus on any Ride check made to avoid or leap over an obstacle. Although many are a fairly boring dun colour, occasionally a prettier roan or chestnut can be found.
Furthermore, each individual horse has its own traits – some good, some bad. Your PC can investigate as many individual horses as he wants in turn and make a DC 15 Handle Animal or Knowledge (Nature) check. Success indicates he has identified the horse’s traits; you may click on the spoiler associated with that horse and find out whether it’s the heroic steed you’ve always wanted or a hopeless nag that will bring you more trouble than it’s worth. That’s a lot of potential skill checks flying about; I suggest you roll and spoiler them in the Discussion thread rather than clogging up the Gameplay thread. Obviously, don’t read the spoilers if you don’t make the roll, although successful PCs are welcome to tell their fellows what they’ve learnt (try and do this in game and in your character’s own words).
If you end up buying a bad horse your PC won’t recognise its faults until it’s been ridden for at least a couple of hours. Never fear, PCs will get the chance to correct bad traits with Handle Animal checks and a little perseverance.
I’ve not added anything regarding the appearance of the horses, or their gender. Feel free to fill this in if you buy. The ponies are suitable for characters of lesser stature like Dunagan and Tibal. Dunagan can also ride a Taldor Jennet, a smaller breed of horse. The others can ride horses comfortably (including Taldor Jennets), but not ponies.
Diehard feat
24 hit points
No traits
11 hit points
Earned Trust: -3 penalty to Ride checks until the rider has spent a week regularly riding Cornalium, after which the modifier changes to a +3 bonus to Ride checks
Exceptional Leaper: +2 bonus to Acrobatics or Ride checks made for jumping
19 hit points
Wild Overreaction: On failing a Fort or Reflex save the horse bucks wildly. Its rider must make a DC 15 Ride check to remain in the saddle
17 hit points
No traits
14 hit points
Skittish: the horse’s rider suffers a -4 penalty to Ride checks to control Iaspis in battle
Carrot Junkie: Iaspis loves carrots more than anything in the world. Offering a carrot gains a +1 bonus to Handle Animal and Ride checks
Mean-spirited: if Iaspis’ rider fails a Ride check by more than 5, the horse demonstrates its annoyance by trying to bite its rider, a painful nip causing 1 hit point of damage on a successful attack roll.
15 hit points
Nose for Water: Jallire gets a +4 bonus to Survival checks made to find water.
Sure-Footed: On a DC 10 Ride check, Jallire can ignore the penalties of one square of difficult terrain (undergrowth, shallow bogs, rubble etc.) per round.
20 hit points
Exceptional Leaper: +2 bonus to Acrobatics or Ride checks made for jumping
Spirited Fighter: +1 bonus to attack rolls
12 hit points
Fear of Water: Rokasilv’s rider must make a DC 20 Ride check to incite the horse to cross a body of water (unless on a firm bridge).
14 hit points
Ruby Fancy knows its name and will come when called by a trusted rider.
Obedient: Ruby Fancy’s rider enjoys a +2 bonus to Ride checks
10 hit points
Lazy: Sard doesn’t like to be pushed. A DC 10 Ride check is required for each hour of hustling overland, and a DC 15 Ride is needed to make a forced march.
Fox’s Soul: +2 bonus to Stealth checks
19 hit points
Small marking on flank bears a vague resemblance to Iomadae’s holy symbol.
14 hit points
Vengeful: The Duke enjoys a +1 attack role bonus vs. any creature that has inflicted damage against it.
9 hit points
Unstoppable Speed: Torshen’s Hammer can wear medium or heavy barding without penalty to its speed.
Obedient: Torshen’s Hammer’s rider enjoys a +2 bonus to Ride checks
19 hit points
EDIT: Regarding skill checks for the above, I realise nobody has Handle Animal, Bonegrit has Knowledge (nature) and Tibal (I believe), has Knowledge (local; Lastwall). With this in mind I'll make some slight alterations. Lastwall residents know about the different horse breeds with a DC 15 Intelligence check (that covers all the characters except Delkaneth, who can still use bardic knowledge for the easier DC 10 check).
As for the individual horses, a DC 20 Wisdom check to find out about their qualities if you don't have Knowledge (nature) or Handle Animal. I'd rule that Bardic Knowledge is of no use here. Other options include a bit of roleplay and some Diplomacy checks talking to the horse ranchers (which we'll cover in the Gameplay thread).
A quick roll to see about the different horse breeds DC 15 INT Check:
Dunagan specifically inspects Cornalium as the horse's name sounds like a rare ore: DC 20 WIS Check:
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Dibs on Cornalium! He/she isn't aweful and he/she has an awesome name! Now I want to discover a rare ore or a new mixture of metals and name it after him/her! I'm all giddy over here at the potential, haha.
In answer to your questions:
Portable Forges
I agree with your assessment that a crafting kit probably doesn’t account for a full forge. So as to the question of purchasing a portable forge, I’m going to say no, but read on . . .
To have a portable working forge you going to need an anvil, a bellows, a kiln, fuel and water (for cooling). Even ‘mini’ versions of these elements are going to take up a lot of space, not to mention costing a fair amount of coin. Dierik’s probably not going to appreciate making room for those items, especially as if it’s at the cost of storage space for his own trade goods.
Another important thing to consider is that getting a forge going takes time – you’ve got to get the temperature in your kiln really hot before you can start shaping your metal. The caravan’s going to be travelling through the day, there won’t be much spare time to set up your forge, get the kiln going, start forging etc, unless Dunagan works through the night and slumbers on a cart during the day.
Now the obvious way around this problem would be to have a portable forge which was actually mobile – set up on a wagon, an entire smithy on wheels. Now that’s pretty cool, but it would be some feat of construction; you couldn’t build the wagon out of wood for obvious reasons. A smithy-wagon of this kind is something I’d love Dunagan to have, but not immediately. I think it should be something obtained through adventure (perhaps stumbling across an ancient design, or even a working prototype in the darkest depths of Urgir . . .). How does that sound to you?
Axes
How about this? Delkaneth loses his proficiency with short swords, longswords and rapiers, but gains proficiency in throwing axes and hand axes (but not battle axes or greataxes).
As for the question of whether or not to spend money on a shortbow, well I leave that entirely up to you . . .
Trade Goods
I think bringing your own trade goods along with the caravan is a great idea. Dierik’s not going to provide you any space on his wagons for trade goods (although personal equipment is fine, helpful if you’re facing encumbrance penalties), but if you buy your own pack mules, carts or wagons that’s fine. It will also add an extra layer of bookkeeping keeping track of wagon/mule loads and trade prices, which I hope a player would take on rather than the humble DM! :-)
The only thing to take into account story wise is that Vigil won’t stand for you taking arms and armour for trade into the Hold of Belkzen. Other stuff is fine. Also the half-orcs amongst you might find some price inflation if you’re shopping in Vigil, especially if merchants know where you’re headed. On the other hand, you’ll probably do better than your companions when it comes to selling stuff to orcs in the Hold.
specifically inspects Cornalium as the horse's name sounds like a rare ore
Actually I came up with the name playing by jiggling with the letters of carnelian. Cities of Golarion has a sidebar discussing famous horses of Vigil, one of which was called Jasper, so I started considering mineral related names. Sard is also a kind of stone.
I came across this when I was doing a google search: 3.5 edition portable forge . While the magic item is neat, I think a forge-wagon would be all the more better and thematically more impressive. Plus I like the idea quite a bit. I also found a way to create a make-shift portable pit forge by digging a hole; laying down a steel pipe in the hole, with air holes in it; covering most of the pipe with coals, and placing firebrick around the coals to magnify the heat. Bellows can be used at the end of the pipe to blast air into the forge. But I think that would be rather complicated and not all that practicable for anything larger than a dagger or minor repairs - which he Dunagan can do magically by mending.
I like the idea of trade goods. The hard part will be discovering what goods are needed in the places we are headed. I'll volunteer to do the book keeping if we decide to go down that route.
For Sard, DC 20 WIS Check
Sword Marks and Shield Marks
Citizens of Vigil bear the Shield Mark, a mark of justice upon the right palm in the shape of a Lastwall shield, sealing their oaths of loyalty to support the crusade and its ideals, and swearing to treat citizens and strangers alike with fairness, honesty and respect.
Soldiers of Vigil bear the Shield Mark, a second mark of justice upon the left palm in the shape of Iomedae’s symbol, swearing to faithfully serve their commanders, to protect the life of any citizen in danger (even at the risk of their own), and to temper justice with mercy and uphold the crusader ideal.
(paraphrased from Cities of Golarion)
People in Vigil not bearing one of these marks are known as the Oathless, and are forbidden to own property or businesses within Vigil. Furthermore, they may bear no weapon greater than a staff or dagger within the city walls. Vigilants with the Shield Mark may bear arms, but rarely do so except in times of crisis. Vigilants with the Sword Mark commonly go armed about the city.
With regards to our PCs:
Bonegrit – probably Oathless, owing to short time spent in Vigil.
Delkaneth – newcomer to Vigil, Oathless.
Dunagan – almost certainly bears the Shield Mark.
Pyotr – Shield Mark and probably Sword Mark. Perhaps, as the knight-captain says, he’ll never be a Knight of Lastwall, but the Precentors-Martial would probably let him serve as a soldier.
Tibal – probably bears the Shield Mark, although potentially Oathless.
Dunagan – almost certainly bears the Shield Mark.
Dunagan would have the Shield Mark upon his right palm. It's interesting that the spell is necromancy.
Pyotr has a rather pie-eyed view of knighthood. He would likely try to appear as a Knight of the Shining Crusade, even merely employed as a caravan guard. I would say, if gather information fails to yield any results, that there's a reasonable chance he may just buy one of the heavy horses blindly, assuming I can raise the money in time.
Also, I took the "Sword of Vigil" trait. So, Pyotr should have both marks, I would think.
Dunagan would advise that if you bought any heavy horse blindly, you should definitely get the one with hammer in the name!
Haha! As good a reason as any! Most likely I would just roll a d4. There are at least as many fun RP options to grabbing a tempermental nag, as there would be to getting a Champion Destrier.
All righty, here goes the ole skill checks.
Imagine that - a ranger who knows his animals! Bonegrit will likely "let people know" when they're making a poor choice.
I'm liking Amiro, personally. Torshen's Hammer is a hell of a horse, but riding a fully armored charger into the thick of battle isn't really Bonegrit's style. Will go ahead and note that I will likely be (tentatively) applying my Hunter's Bond to the horse I end up with, though that could easily change if I come across something else more interesting down the road.
Whoops, I got a little gungho there. Reread the post and realized it isn't a One Check Fits All. Am I allowed to Take 10 on the check, or would you prefer I roll them all out individually?
If not... here's a parade of dice.
- - Cornalium
- - Sard
- - Torshen's Hammer
And the rest:
@ Dunagan. The Pathfinder School of Blacksmithing, but a different Pathfinder! Interestingly enough, when I was looking for inspiration on horse names I discovered one of the winners of the English Grand National was a horse called Pathfinder.
@ Pyotr.
Also, I took the "Sword of Vigil" trait. So, Pyotr should have both marks, I would think.
Indeed, you are right.
@ Bonegrit.
Technically, I think taking 10 would be entirely acceptable, although from a play point of view it's neat to have some horses that remain unknown quantities. I'd go with assuming Bonegrit succeeded his checks on Amiro, Sard, Torshen's Hammer and any other horses he's already mentioned in the gameplay thread, but for the others stick with what you rolled. Thanks for the parade of dice!
Would it be possible to sneak in a Wild Empathy check with Amiro over the course of saddling him up?
@ Bonegrit; most certainly.
One further thing; I’m loving your writing style... but would you mind writing gameplay posts in present tense?
Sorry about that. Third person past is a very natural narrative voice for me to use. I will correct.
Also, glad to hear you're enjoying the writing.
@ Pyotr: Thanks and check your PMs. Your DM is plotting behind the scenes.
OK Folks, DM's bedtime. I'll be back with more posts tomorrow morning (which is probably late evening for most of you).
Good to go, with moving the story along, when DM awakens. =P
Sense Motive DC 15 for Bonegrit, and any other PC who happens to be standing near Dierik, Santrian and the half-orc ranger at the time:
Once again, posting here so as not to clutter the thread. If you'd prefer I keep such rolls in the gameplay section, I will happily oblige.
Alas, Bonegrit's grasp of civilized interactions are equally as inept as his horse whispering.
Hey guys. Feel free to post rolls in the Gameplay thread. I only suggested using the Discussion thread regarding the horses because they'd be a 'parade of dice' as Bonegrit so aptly put it.
Ultimately, it'll be more convenient all round if we use the Gameplay thread for the majority of rolls. I'd like to keep the Gameplay thread as 'pure' as possible to the story, but equally I don't want to make our lives too complicated and have us jumping between threads to get all the information we need.
Aye, aye!