DM Rich's Carrion Crown

Game Master Briccone

Glad for you, some hope and joy in these moments of sadness.

Hey, folks.

So sorry for disappearing again. My life has gotten complicated recently, and I've had scant little time for gaming.

I *think* I'm through the storm and will resume posting shortly.

Thanks again for your patience with me!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to everyone!

My Christmas was wonderful, and New Year's Eve is shaping up to be a lot of fun, too. I'm tapping this update from my new Kindle Fire.

My December has been rather trying otherwise. I'll spare you the details, but some things beyond my control have been taking up practically all of my spare time.

I think that the worst is behind me now, and that I'll be able to return to regular posting after New Year's Day.

Thanks for bearing with me!

Happy New Year!

--Mike "Haladir" Ferdinando, Ithaca NY, USA

Do you think we might need replacements for Amaria and Bert?

We haven't a real fighter in our ranks

I'm going to be looking for replacements soon once the trial is over. Let me know what kind of characters you all think would be most helpful. I may only recruit one unless the majority wants two.

The current active PCs are a wizard, an oracle, a rogue, and a cleric.

We could really use a warrior of some sort: Fighter, paladin, ranger, gunslinger, hunter, brawler... something like that!

Sophie is a pretty capable combatant, but... she is very fragile.

I agree we need some kind of melee fighter, though I'm open to outside the box submissions that have high HP and are good at drawing enemy attention

Hi, folks.

I am dealing with some elder care issues from 300 miles away. I'm not sure when I'll be able to resume regular posting.

Thanks for understanding.

Sorry for the very late post, work was hectic these last weeks, and honestly I didn't knew what to say or do...

Let me know when you level up to 6th. I'll try to have an evidence list up in the next few days.

Sweet! I am enjoying Sophie and think she brings a lot to the campaign, especially with some of her abilities to speak with the dead and such.

But there are some awkward parts to her and we no longer have a tank. Should I move Sophie off to the side and roll up some kind of tank? Or are we going to recruit one?

Will we be getting PFS chronicle sheets for this section?

I was going to recruit a front-line tank after the trial ends, but if you want to bring a tank in instead, I can recruit a different character type.

If I can get three players who want PFS Chronicle sheets, I'll provide them for this book. However, they won't be coming until after the upcoming second part which is the section you have to play for credit.

If the rest of the party feels Sophie is adding decent value I will probably keep her. I may consider asking if I can make a few tweaks after this module, but I'll think about it more first.

I think I have Sophie properly leveled. I used a new template for her stat block (GM, you should be seeing this same template pop up on my other characters the next time they level). I noticed a few discrepancies:
- I didn't have her languages listed anywhere, so I added those.
- I still had Linguistics as a class skill, even though Spirit Guide replaces the Mystery class skills, so I had to remove the class skill bonus there
- I for some reason had 5 spells known listed for level 1. Unless you can think of a reason I should have more than what it says in the chart... meanwhile, I removed protection from evil, since I'm pretty sure I've never used it (I know for sure I've used each of the others at least once).
- I feel like there was another one, but I forgot what it was

These are the spells Sophie knows now. Does anyone have suggestions on one I should swap out? Oracles can swap out one spell known on every even level.

0 - DC12
Create Water
Detect Magic
Enhanced Diplomacy
Guidance
Light
Mending
Read Magic

1 - DC13 - 7/7 day
Unseen Servant (Mystery)
Cure Light Wounds (Oracle)
(Spirit spell)
Divine Favor
Hide From Undead
Sanctuary
Weapons Against Evil

2 - DC14 - 5/5 day
Spiritual Weapon (Mystery)
Cure Moderate Wounds (Oracle)
(Spirit spell)
Silence
Ghostbane Dirge

3 - DC15 - 3/3 day
Heroism (Mystery)
Cure Serious Wounds (Oracle)
(Spirit spell)
Chain of Perdition

Tara changes:

HP Increased from 33 to 39

base attack bonus increased from +3 to +4 (CMB, all attack rolls increased by +1)

All saves increased by +1 (Will, Reflex, and Fortitude)

Channel energy DC increased by +1

Spell slot increased by 1: 2nd level spells, 3rd level spells

Lore Keeper check increased from 24 to 25

Gained the Remote Viewing (Sp) ability from Knowledge subdomain;

Remote Viewing (Sp): Starting at 6th level, you can use clairvoyance/clairaudience at will as a spell-like ability using your cleric level as the caster level. You can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

Skill points spent: +1 to Diplomacy, +1 to Perception, +1 to Spellcraft;

Taking one level in Inquisitor (Rogue 3/Inquisitor 3)
+1 Bab
+1 spell level 0/1 known
+1 L1 spell/day

Solo Tactics (Ex): At 3rd level, all of the inquisitor's allies are treated as if they possessed the same teamwork feats as the inquisitor for the purpose of determining whether the inquisitor receives a bonus from her teamwork feats. Her allies do not receive any bonuses from these feats unless they actually possess the feats themselves. The allies' positioning and actions must still meet the prerequisites listed in the teamwork feat for the inquisitor to receive the listed bonus.

Teamwork Feat: At 3rd level, and every three levels thereafter, the inquisitor gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as teamwork feats. The inquisitor must meet the prerequisites of the selected bonus feat.

Skills (6 base+1 Int+1 race=8)
+1 in Know Arcana/Dungeon/Religion/Nature/Planes
+1 in Survival
+1 Diplomacy
+1 Perception

Teamwork Feat: I was supposing this one could be helpful, what do you think? "Stealth Synergy (Teamwork)
Working closely with an ally, you are able to move like twin shadows.

Benefit: While you can see one or more allies who also have this feat, whenever you and your allies make a Stealth check, you all take the highest roll and add all your modifiers to Stealth."

How often does anyone else in the party make a stealth check?

Yeah, that wasn't so good an idea.... any suggestion?

I always like escape route for maneuverability in combat

I like the one that gives a +4 to attack rolls when flanking (instead of +2) and the one that gives an extra 1d6 precision damage when flanking.

Lookout is pretty handy, especially if your build particularly likes acting first.

Okay, while we wait for Stefan to return and update his character, here are the pieces of evidence you collected in the previous day. Each character can only present 1 piece of evidence. You only receive a bonus to your Diplomacy check from the most compelling piece of evidence presented. When you present multiple pieces of evidence, you prevent the other characters from presenting them which can significantly hurt your case.

Since the most compelling pieces can give a large enough bonus to make the check regardless of what you roll, so you may want to consider having those with the lowest Diplomacy rolls present those pieces of evidence.

I'll need you to decide what evidence Bert (Diplomacy +1) and Amaria (Diplomacy +11) present at the trial. I'll make their actual in character posts unless one of you want to do it.

* * *

Here are the pieces of evidence:

• Getting Karl to admit that Vorkstag and Grine were occasional visitors to Sanctuary

• Establishing that Brada knew Vorkstag and Grine, either through his papers and/or the bleach vial

• Speaking with Dr. Brada's head, he revealed that Vorkstag came in disguise the night of the fire after an argument about money. The doctor and Vorkstag fought, lanterns were knocked over, and Brada died in the fire.

• The origins of the surgical tools found in Morast also lead the group to Vorkstag and Grine's Chymic Works.

• Displaying the skin found in Vorkstag's closet that looks like the Beast [Shambling Man Skin]

• Displaying Vorkstag’s crocodile bite scar [The Beast of Lepidstadt was supposedly bitten by an alligator when chased out of Morast by the mob.]

• Presenting Vorkstag’s Cabinet of Skins and Faces [This has other skins of other individuals other than the Beast]

• Getting Vorkstag to confess [Will require a Diplomacy or Intimidate check vs. a Hostile Vorkstag]

• Describing the Shambling Man skin from Vorkstag’s Cabinet of Skins and Faces to Karl and getting him to admit the connection

* * *

So, I'd suggest using this time to determine which pieces of evidence are most compelling, and then determining who will present them.

All the evidence you found in total can be found in the Campaign Info Tab for the campaign.

Bump!

I'll give Stefan until next Thursday to update, then we will need to move forward and he can just catch up.

My thoughts for the most important piece of evidence:

1) Speak with Dr. Brada's head to reveal that Vorkstag come in disguise ect.

2) Get Karl to admit the connection of the shambling man skin

3) Display the shambling man skin

4) Display Vorkstag's corcodile bite scar

5) Get Vorkstag to confess (should be done with someone who has a high diplomacy)

6) Present the Cabinet of skins and faces OR show the surgical tools found in Morast to connect Vorkstag to the other crimes as well.

Any thoughts?

I think the Cabinet of skins is the best evidence:it explains how someone else than the Beast could have committed the crimes

Do any of us have a high enough diplomacy or intimidate to get Vorkstag to confess? I'm not sure the crocodile bite is in the top 6 for evidence.

I think these two might be better candidates:

• Getting Karl to admit that Vorkstag and Grine were occasional visitors to Sanctuary

• Establishing that Brada knew Vorkstag and Grine, either through his papers and/or the bleach vial

But I otherwise like Tara's list

I'll give Stefan a few more days to update before resuming.

In the meantime, you probably want to finalize who is giving what testimony, including Amaria and Bert. Remember, the better the evidence, the better the bonus. Some evidence is compelling enough to give a large bonus guaranteeing success to the Diplomacy check (assuming you don't have a negative modifier).

Hi, folks.

I've been having issues with Hero Lab, and will need to advance Stefan manually. Hope to get to that later this weekend.

I finally got Hero Lab working again!

As to the evidence to present to the court...

We need to present the whole story of Vorstag and Grine, and how they essentially framed the Beast of Lepidstadt for their own crimes.

If I recall correctly, each piece of evidence must be presented by a different PC, and that no PC may present more than one.

I think the most relevant pieces of evidence are...

• The cabinet containing the various skins that Vorstag wore, especially the mongrelman skin.
  
• Testimony from Dr. Brada's head, via speak with dead. (I know that using magic at the trial presents a penalty, but I think the testimony would outweigh any bias against the use of magic.)
  
• Vorstag's ledger detailing sales of body parts, and that Dr. Brada was a customer.
  
• Getting Karl to admit on the witness stand that he knew Vorstag and Grine, and that they were regular guests at Dr. Brada's sanitarium.
  
• The surgical tools that we found at Morast had been sold to Vorstag and Grine, implicating their involvement with body snatching on Boneyard Island.

I think we should present a narrative of our theory of the case: That the crimes the Beast has been accused of were mostly committed by a pair of body-snatchers: Vorstag and Grine. We should paint a tale that the pair of body-snatchers had originally been stealing corpses to sell to local doctors, alchemists, and wizards. However, when the supply of fresh corpses began to run low, then started to murder people to keep their customers happy. At various points, Vorstag donned a disguise that made him appear to be the Beast of Lepidstadt, so as to throw the public off his own crimes. Vorstag and Grine were responsible for the fire at Dr. Brada's sanitarium, and also for grave robbery in Morast.

Since Tara is the person who can cast speak with dead, I think she should present the testimony of Dr. Brada.

I would be happy to present the evidence of Vorstag's cabinet of stolen skins; particularly the skin of the 8-foot-tall mongrelman.

Thoughts?

A couple of notes:

The cabinet of skins and the mongrelmen skin are two different pieces of evidence. If someone presents both then you'll only get the highest bonus between them.

You can present what the head of Dr. Brada said to you when you spoke to it earlier with magic. You don't have to use magic to make it repeat what it said, especially in light of the 'no magic' rule in court.

I'm fine with your suggestions!

Okay. I forget: Did we present the surgical tools earlier? If so, then we don't need to present them at this stage of the trial; merely talk about them as our lead to investigate Vorstag and Grine.

I will volunteer to present the cabinet of skins and to talk about the sort of creature Vorstag really is.

Who should present the mongrelman skin and show how it could be mistaken for the Beast?

Also: We captured Vorstag, correct? Can we compel him to testify and/or confess to his crimes?

This is unrelated to the trial...

Amaria would be our best attempt at making Vorstag confess with her +11 diplomacy (potentially +12 if we are allowed to place a level 6 skill point) with most hostile diplomacy checks looking to start at a DC 30, it would be a long shot, but our most compelling piece of evidence.

Bert has a low diplomacy (+1) so it might be beneficial to have him present the shambling man skin.

Vivian has the highest of those of us remaining, so I would feel like we would want her to either press Vorstag for his confession, or present another higher compelling piece of evidence (the closet of skins or something similar)

Tara has a +8 to diplomacy now, so she should be able to finally successfully present something, just let me know.

I think we need to finalize by Saturday, April 21st 2018 at the latest, that way we can get the trail wrapped up and not draw this section out anymore.

Stefan, I think it's best if we just used material directly published by Paizo. That spell in particular seems a bit powerful in this AP.

Stefan, I think it's best if we just used material directly published by Paizo. That spell in particular seems a bit powerful in this AP.

Fair enough.

Apologies if I overstepped by botting Amaria.

Vivial, Sophie, and Bert still need to present evidence.

We still have to present:

• The over-sized mongrelman disguise itself
  
• Vorkstag's cabinet of skins and faces, proving that Vorkstag isn't human.
  
• The surgical tools that we found at the Boneyard in Morast, linking Vorkstag and Grine to the grave-robbing there.
  
• The testimony of Dr. Brada's head itself.
  

I would recommend that Bert present the mongrelman disguise: It's pretty self-explanatory, and the bonus should be big enough that he should succeed in his Diplomacy check, even though his bonus is only +1.

On the contrary, thank you for botting Amaria!

I will tackle either the Cabinet of skins and faces or Dr. Brada's head's testimony sometime this week. I will be at a conference all week, but I should be able to get that one post in at some point.

will post this afternoon

Marking as OOC for non-relevance to the campaign...

As times goes on and I get more experience with other game systems, the more the core d20/OGL resolution system frustrates me, especially in out-of-combat situations. It feels that half the time, rolling the dice interferes with the story that everyone wants to tell, rather than enhancing it.

In a system like Fate, for example, the GM always tells you the target before you roll. After you roll, all of the players and GM have the oppirtunity to spend a metagame resource tied to the characters' backstories to influence the result before the plot-point is resolved.

My IRL gaming group switched to running shorter-tern campaigns using Fate or the Apocalypse World Engine two years ago. I'm finding it a little frustrating to switch back to the more-narratively-restrictive Pathfinder/OGL game system.

Anyway,just griping.

I'll give Sophie some time to post so I'll just need to make one post to wrap up the trial.

As for Amaria's testimony, I encourage you to have her present something else. In any event, you guys still have an opportunity to create a positive outcome for the Beast.

Stefan/Haladir I like what the Angry DM has to say on this topic, and I also find taking 10 to be very helpful in the hands of a skilled character. When that philosophy is applied and characters have invested heavily enough in a skill to usually succeed at it, I find a lot of the frustrating randomness is mitigated.

On the other hand, in the case of this trial, it seems pretty hit-or-miss whether or not the PCs will be able to persuade the jury/judges/audience, evidence notwithstanding. So it makes sense to have to roll, I think, barring some of us having very high diplomacy modifiers.

Additionally, the GM has been kind enough to give us some hero points, which the PCs should use to try to swing things at critical moments like these.

The Cabinet gave a +20 modifier on Sophie's roll, so she didn't do as poorly as it seemed.

I'm going to try to recruit someone in the next couple of days. Did you all still want a front-line character? In any case, Amaria and Bert will be taking their leave of the group as of the meeting with Daramid, at which point I'll try to bring the new person in.

Yeah, I think a front liner still makes sense.

Also, what's the verdict on PFS credit? I see that almost all of us have at least one PFS character.

I need to look over the loot sheet and see about selling some stuff. Sophie is lacking most of the Big Six and should probably find a way to acquire some of them.

If I have at least three PC's interested, I'll put out a Chronicle sheet. The Chronicle sheet is for the next section, however, so there won't be one until the end of this book.

I agree with Sophie, we would benefit the most from a front line character who will be able to soak and deal some damage.

I would also agree that a melee fighter type character would be best.

As for PFS credit: I don't play in Society, and have no opinion. As long as you can run the campaign the way you want while keeping it kosher per PFS GMing rules, I'm fine with it.