I think we should load up everything. Are the crates stamped with any kind of identifying marker?
Yes, the crates are stamped as property of the academy.
I don't know how one hour of travel time aligns with sunset and supper.
I've got the current time of day posted at the top of the page. (Seems a better use of that functionality than the "brief campaign description" that it's labeled for.)
I'll leave some time to make sure everyone has a chance to weigh in, then I'll move us forward.
Now, one more thing: Tokor is in Linhaus, but the nearest authorites are in Sempal (and that's where the eight people are from, as well). Which way first?
I say Sempal. Tokor can wait. It's just books.
Also, Gwenifer is okay with the argument of holding them accountable and declaring their innocence as a way of helping them cope and will allow the people to be judged with that in mind. But she will argue in defense of the people's innocence if the judge turns toward condemning them.
Sempal first. Besides, the courier contracted with the Sempal academy of magecraft.
Early evening +1 hour to the road +couple of hours-ish = arrival time before dark? Not to belabor the point, but without a feel of when the sun sets, I don't feel like I have an answer to the underlying question, which is: will we be relatively safe to reach Sempal before darkness? If not, is it normal and safe to travel on the road after dark?
I'm not asking for a wristwatch and a timetable for the sunset. I'm just looking for better information to make a decision. Honestly GM, if you make the decision, I'm happy with that, too.
cheers
I treat "evening" as meaning that the daylight hours are winding down and the sun is getting noticeably lower in the sky, so by the time you reached Sempal, it would already be a bit after dark. The road should be reasonably safe, especially for such a large group.
Naia will defer to Finlogan's greater experience and knowledge, htough personally she see no fine distinction between degrees of guilt. Mostly she finds the cave crew pitiable, and guilty by association.
Okay, soon-ish I'm going to make a long post moving us forward.
Meanwhile, we're rapidly approaching the close of this little introductory chapter. It'll be followed by several days of downtime, during which you each have several options of things you could do:
You could spend your time working toward learning a new language or skill/tool proficiency.
You could work on crafting mundane items (if you have a relevant tool and the proficiency for it).
You could spend your time researching a topic of interest.
You could work on cultivating an existing relationship with an NPC or an organization, or try to initiate a new relationship (the latter might be more relevant later in the campaign, after developing some long-term goals or accumulating some needs).
You could rumor-hunt in an effort to find an adventure hook opportunity for a lucrative expedition or some such thing.
You could just relax the whole time (might be more relevant later if I start throwing persistent injuries/ailments at you).
Or you might have some other idea of what to spend a few days doing before more adventure happens.
Be thinking about that. No leveling up right now, but probably at the end of the next arc.
How much do we heal from a long rest?
Your HP is fully recovered. You also recover a number of spent hit dice equal to half your total hit dice (rounded up).
FYI, I might not be able to post much (if at all) over the weekend, as there's a good chance I'll be out of town.
Naia would be interested in bending Tokor's ear to find out who would be the best person to talk to about the strange "dying sickness" that infestd the hanging swamp; so I would say she is "researching a topic of interest"...
Having completed this arc, you can go spend your gold if you need any gear or whatever.
You've now got about 7 days of (in-game) downtime before I drop the next adventure hook. Where that hook comes from and what the nature of the adventure will be is going to depend on what you all focus on during this downtime, so I'll need an answer from each of you.
Also, you'll need to mark off gold for 7 days' worth of your lifestyle of choice, unless you want to save up by means of spending your downtime working to earn your living.
Just for record keeping purposes, we each made 20 gold from the mission? How much does a week's upkeep cost for just a moderate level of comfort?
It wasn't 120 gp each?
Gwenifer will choose a modest lifestye at an inn. -7 gp.
If we only received 20 gp, Gwenifer can't buy anything. If we received 120 gp, Gwenifer will replace the potion of healing that she used and save the rest. -50 gp.
During her downtime, Gwenifer will try to work with the local guard to eliminate the remaining wood skinks along the road between Linhaus and Sempal. (Any of her allies are more than welcome too.) If the guard isn't interested, she'll see if she can find some able bodied civilians to help her. During the each night, Gwenifer will perform at the inn with her wrestling and music. Let me know if I can make any money doing that or not or if I can use it to pay for my modest lifestyle. (Although I see in the book, if I have proficiency in performance, I can support a wealthy lifestyle).
Teo, the lifestyle costs per day are:
Wretched: 0
Squallid: 1 sp
Poor: 2 sp
Modest: 1 gp
Comfortable: 2 gp
Wealthy: 4 gp
Aristocratic: 10 gp
It wasn't 120 gp each?
No, it was 120gp total.
Teo will live modestly, one gp per day.
She will also brew up a new batch of her tonics to sell the last day the group was in town. She didn't want to sell them while she was still remaining in town, of course. Fickle customers.
For the other few days, she was happy to help Gwen kill any of those awful wood skinks that were a clear menace to travelers.
No, it was 120gp total.
Boo! What a cheap skate. I should break another one of his chairs out of principle.
But remember, this is 5E gold, not Pathfinder gold. ;)
He returns to Sempal and attempts to stay with a noble there. He'll hop noble homes for the week as necessary. Beyond his hosts' generosity, he spends 4 gp per day on lifestyle. Running out after 6 days and probably over-staying his welcome.
While in Sempal, he learns all he can about Vekk and his workers: their trial, personal stories, and illegal business. He stands witness and pleads mercy for the workers, as he said he would. He uses it as an opportunity to learn the Sempal legal system. If workers will be released, he visits them to describe his actions and provide them Mr. Tokor's name and opportunity for employment.
If he has a day off from his above actions, he would return to the cave and poke around for anything cached.
EDIT He would invite Lady Tam to accompany him to Sempal.
"Lady" Tam respectfully declines the good Prince's extended invitation - she spends her days politely pestering anybody in the know that Tokor directs her to and her nights in the surrounding wild areas shapechanged as a streamdog... nosing around.
Okay, to sum up what we've got so far:
Gwen is mostly just practicing a profession, earning a living so she doesn't have to spend her current gold on it. Also some eco-genocide on the side.
Teo is mostly focused on brewing new snake-oil tonics. Is your goal to make and sell these to effectively earn your living for this week, or to end up actually having some tonics with you as we go into the next segment of adventure?
Finlogan is going to follow the legal drama surrounding your first adventure, and try to help the scribes while working within the system.
Naia is researching a phenomenon from her backstory.
Wraith is...?
Eco-genocide sounds like a bad thing. Gwenifer is keeping the road safe for travelers.
Potay-to, potah-to. ;)
DM, I'd like to sell those tonics during the end of my week in town, before we get on the road. Teo is not one for lingering after concluding her business.
DM, I'd like to sell those tonics during the end of my week in town, before we get on the road. Teo is not one for lingering after concluding her business.
Well, none of you know how long it'll be until the next adventure hook. Speaking of which, long post incoming; hopefully I don't get interrupted, and can finish before lunch is over.
hopefully I don't get interrupted, and can finish before lunch is over.
NOPE
But it's ready now! On to Chapter Two! :D
Naia is circumspect, and provides a fairly brief rundown of what she witnessed in the swamp lands near her home, and of the occurrence, at least according to her and Wraith's research of a similar pestilence elsewhere...
Not to be pedantic, but would you please actually post what Naia actually says. At least an outline. Without reading your background and your personal spoilers, I've no idea what Naia said.
If your story doesn't make a difference to the game, I don't need to know. If your story is the basis of the next chapter, I would greatly appreciate knowing more.
thanks
A good rule of thumb for PbP is "Always leave things different than you found them." The best posts are those which provide everyone else the information and tools they need to keep progressing the story. Try to post in such a way that you can expect the game to be in a different state by the time you come back the next day. :)
From this post and this post, I failed my reading comprehension check to understand the gravity of the issue.
I, as a player, understand that without insects the entire ecosystem will be negatively affected causing all sorts of catastrophic effects.
Finlogan, who doesn't have the Nature skill, would not understand without explanation.
cheers
Good call Jiggy, and sorry for my absence.
I'm ready to move on and down South.
Okay, so presumably you'll all head out in the morning. If you need to do any last-minute shopping, feel free to just update your inventory; any of the normal stuff from the PHB is readily available.
Also, two ways we can do the exploration:
• Group checks — You all work together to navigate the wilderness. I roll survival for each of you, and if at least three of you succeed, then the group succeeds. Otherwise, failure.
• Leader — One person leads, possibly with one other person helping. I roll Survival for the leader (with advantage, if someone's helping) to determine success or failure.
The latter option has better odds for the Survival checks. However, anyone who is contributing to the Survival checks is "in the front" (even if that's the whole group, for a group check), whereas those who don't have a hand in the navigation will be "in the back". This will be relevant if you stumble onto a trap/hazard, get attacked by monsters, etc; being in the front or back might determine who gets targeted or who is allowed a Perception check, or other circumstantial elements of adventuring.
So, let me know how you want to do this.
Also, if you have any special abilities or clever ideas you want to point out, please do so. :)
I think I'd prefer the latter method, with the caveat that I will be in the back since those skills aren't my strong suit. If the skilled trackers want to take the lead, I am fine with it. If they don't, I understand and am completely fine with the first method.
The latter is fine with me. Gwenifer is unlikely to lead or assist unless necessary. She doesn't have the skill anyway.
Fin can lead with Wraith, too.
Okay, we'll have Finlogan and Wraith doing the navigating, with Wraith in an "advance" position when possible, Finlogan in "front", and the other three in the back. Gameplay post incoming.
DM, just wondering. Why did I have a disadvantage on that ranged spell attack I just made? I'd like to know for the future, as I'm still fuzzy on most of this lol.
When I was describing the scene, I pointed out that the tall grass was imposing disadvantage for ranged attacked (due to it being hard to see your target).
Ah gotcha, thanks for that. I do remember that now. I was worried about something I had done wrong there.
The wool elf prince. "Bahhhhh"
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I'm still around - just not so good at all the talking, so I usually let everyone else handle that. I don't even have any snarky comments like Gwen. I prefer to remain silent and inscrutable.
Unfortunately, "silent and inscrutable" doesn't get communicated by a lack of posts. Instead, it sort of just makes you disappear from the story altogether.
Remember, a post doesn't have to include direct speech (or even internal monologues). Even simply describing how you're standing, where your attention is, or what you're looking at, can still contribute to the story and put you in the scene (in addition to making it clear you're still involved). Think about reading a book with a silent and inscrutable character: failing to mention them doesn't portray that character type, it just leaves them out of the scene entirely. But a description of how this silent and inscrutable character responds to (or even ignores) their surroundings will get that persona across much more clearly. :)
Everyone please remember to keep your stat lines updated, just like you would keep a paper sheet updated during a face-to-face game.
Guys, my sister just passed away this morning. She was only 31 and is leaving behind a 2 month old child. My family is devastated. I don't know what the next few days will be like. I'll still post when I can but if I miss a day, feel free to bot Gwenifer.
Oh geez, that's awful. :(
I'm so sorry. Don't worry about a thing, just go do what you need to do.
So sorry, Gwen, that is terrible. Thoughts are definitely with you and your family.
Gwen, you have my deepest sympathies.
I am extremely sorry for your loss... Take care, and I hope your niece/nephew is ok too...