Let's give Cedar the Talisman of Good fortune. I think rerolling any natural 1's in this encounter would be the best use of the item so far.
Otherwise, Silt is ready!
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Important note on that: it's a lesser talisman, so it crumbles to dust once it's used. But I agree, and I'm also ready!
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We've briefly encountered Perrell Beys and Harcourt Carrolby before.
Beys's text is spoilered, but here's the stuff about Carrolby:
A man with raven-black hair, pale skin, and distinctly Chelish features argues with Ramona. "I just don't understand why I have to share quarters! Someone of my stature shouldn't have to share a room with such a brute!" Ramona gives him a smile that doesn't extend to her eyes. "Harcourt, believe me, the company appreciates your being here and expanding the Carrolby family business at our new site. But the ship really isn't intended to house this many passengers, and everyone has to share."
A large man with a bushy mustache rolls his eyes hearing Harcourt argue. "Can you believe that man? Thinks he's too good to room with me. We'll see who's too good when he has to come to me for shoes for all those fancy horses! My name is Luetin Calewick, by the way, and I'm the colony's blacksmith!"
Thanks, Purpose!
I looked over everyone's skills. Here is a suggestion for divvying the rest up. Let me know if this is too metagamey; I don't want to get in the way of roleplay (although I figure that our characters would naturally gravitate towards those with whom we share skills, values, or abilities with).
Antona Sedgewick
- Sense motive - Silt (sense motive) +2
Perrell Beys
- Purpose rolled it and did well
Faedwyr Trundlebrook
- Toby Knowledge(nature) +3
Harcourt Carrolby
- Know(local/nobles) - No one has this. Skip.
Antona Sedgewick
- Cedar? Diplomacy +10 (In a pinch, Silt can enlarge self for a +4 size bonus to intimidate; net +2)
Perrell Beys
- Cedar +9
Faedwyr Trundlebrook
- Silt? +4 Strength mod / +5 enlarged
Harcourt Carrolby
- Diplomacy (ignore)
I'm not sure what the best spread here is. I think it might be best to start with the discoveries, having Toby and Silt make their attempts.
I think it might be best to ignore the noble altogether; this frees up Cedar with his awesome social powers for the soldier and the cartographer or noble. Silt can try the farmer. Toby can step in where needed. Perhaps Toby can try dimplmacizing with one of them first (whichever he might gravitate towards), then we can go from there.
Thoughts?
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Thanks Doug for laying all this out so clearly.
One question I have, do we gain influence as a group, or as individuals? I mean, is Cedar speaking for everyone or himself? If he fails, can someone else try? Can his influence with an NPC be different from Silt's, for example, or will we all have the same level of influence?
Also, in the list above, it seems like Toby has one more action.
Good questions. I was thinking Toby could attempt something in the influences part… he's got +1 on he main social skills and it's always nice to have an "x" card! Rally, if Dennis thinks Toby should roll something we can go with it.
Yes, if one person fails, another person can try.
Sorry, shoulda waited for us to talk things over! What you laid out look good though, Doug.
Got busy tonight so won't be writing up a big RP post, but I'll probably do one in the morning. My general tack was to just spend time talking shop with Beys (magical stuff, THE NATURE OF TIME, Azlanti things) and Sedgewick (look at this neat sword! I can sort of use it OK)
Toby will definitely try the knowledge (nature) roll on Trundlebrook. Beyond, the best I can probably do is try a Diplo roll on someone. I'll probably wait and see how everyone else does and try I whoever we need an extra shot at, since mine isn't very good.
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By the way, I thought it was neat playing A Case of Missing Persons yesterday, since both House Naran and the Andoran Lumber Consortium tie into the background of this adventure.
A "whatever your personal differences, Ramona is effectively your commanding officer" angle might work for the Antona influence check
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Cedar would know this information as an employee of the Bountiful Venture Company, so you can know it too!
The BVC is co-owned by two of the three merchant houses running Andoran's banks: House Naran and House Vaylen. The company protects the assets of the the two houses since a bankruptcy would simply result in the BVC's assets returning to the People's Council of Andoran, without additional effect on the Houses.
However, the company serves another purpose in that it allows the two Houses to hide their involvement in the colony. The plan is to set up export of natural resources (lumber, mined ore) and recovered artifacts and antiquities. (By the way, as colonists, you're entitled to not only a land grant in Ancorato, but also a small share of the profits once the export business is established.) House Naran also provides banking services to the Andoran-based Lumber Consortium, which makes the colony a significant conflict of interest. It would have dramatic ramifications if the Lumber Consortium found out that House Naran has a financial stake in the colony.
That's an interesting detail. For a group of folks who want to start anew, still having entanglements with mainland entities is a tricky little complication.
Anybody read China Miéville's The Scar? That's the only context I've seen grindylow in
Someone mentioned China Miéville to me recently… maybe it was Doug or Kate? I don't remember, but I wanted to get around to it!
Embassytown is great! The first book I think of when it comes to compelling portrayals of very alien concepts.i
I haven't read any Miéville either, so it's a mystery!
You can decide whether to rest or not before grindylows, but I will have to wait until late this evening to get the post up anyway.
Let's go in the morning!
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Purpose Creche shares what he knows about grindylow, and spends the evening before they head out playing a small lap harp—badly—and making shapes with his shadow stencils.
He also approaches Eaton to ask about Erastilian funerary rites, the bird man statue, and if it's alright for him to use the bow they found in the chapel.
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I'm so excited to follow the spider!
Yep, always had it! Just haven’t had the wherewithal to use it yet :D
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So it actually takes a caster level check to cast a fire spell underwater, but we can pretty easily retcon that to a different energy type.
Whoops, I even read it the other day and forgot!
I haven't found an answer yet, so my ruling for now is that it doesn't work against swimming opponents, but works as normal if you are standing on the ground underwater.
I also didn't see an answer for tumbling to avoid an AoO underwater, so I'm ruling that it works as normal. I figure as long as things work the same for both you and the enemies, it all works out.
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I haven't found an answer yet, so my ruling for now is that it doesn't work against swimming opponents, but works as normal if you are standing on the ground underwater.
I also didn't see an answer for tumbling to avoid an AoO underwater, so I'm ruling that it works as normal. I figure as long as things work the same for both you and the enemies, it all works out.
Sounds good, thanks Kate!
RE: tripping underwater, below's the bit from Aquatic Adventures. And no worries—I'm walking on sunshine underwater so it makes sense I can be tripped!
"Off-balance" is a special state (though not technically a condition) that is listed in the Combat Adjustments Underwater table on page 433 of the Core Rulebook. A creature off-balance in the water loses its Dexterity bonus to AC, its opponents gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls against it, and attacks it makes with piercing weapons are made at a –2 penalty and deal half damage. A creature typically becomes off-balance by failing a Swim check, which makes it off-balance for a round, even if it has a neutral buoyancy and doesn't sink or rise.
Tripping Underwater: While flying creatures specifically can't be tripped, the Core Rulebook doesn't specify whether the same is true of swimming creatures. Being prone doesn't mean much for a swimming creature, so instead, a successful trip against a swimming creature forces that creature to attempt a Swim check at a DC equal to the result of the combat maneuver check to trip; failing the Swim check causes the creature to become off-balance. Many aquatic creature can't be tripped or have a high Swim bonus and thus can always take 10, so this tactic isn't always effective, but when it is, it can make dexterous foes much easier to hit. However, being off-balance doesn't affect most of the target's attack rolls and the target cannot regain its balance simply buy succeeding at a Swim check to move on its next turn as normal.
Aha, thank you!
Good thing we still got those CLW potions, this isn't the group where everyone has a wand!
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I think this was described on Know Direction as the "I grab the rake" rule, and it's a good one to implement here.
The idea is that your PC is in a barn and wants to use a rake for something. The GM didn't specifically say that there was a rake in the barn, but it's a reasonable thing to be in the barn. The question is, can the PC just grab the rake, assuming it's there, or do you need to check with the GM first that there is a rake?
For Play-by-Post, I very much want to have the characters just grab the rake. If you want to use the terrain to your advantage somehow as Purpose just did, or have access to an object that would reasonably be in the room where you are, everyone should feel free to run with that!
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"Croak."
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Welcome, Bernie!
By the way, sorry if I've been a bit slow to post. My scenario is due Friday, so this is my big push to get it done.
No worries! And hello, mysterious frogman!
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Karl launches himself at a sandpiper and lands atop a dune; he abruptly freezes at the sight of the strange ship anchored nearby in the bay. His inscrutable dark eyes glisten, and for long minutes he doesn't even move a mandible. The forgotten bird has long since flown away.
When a silhouetted Grippli prince appears on the foredeck, Karl raises himself up on his hind legs in an attempt to look bigger, and extends his front claws towards the ship. It is a posture that implies danger, but also has the form of an open-armed embrace that says "welcome."
When the grippli disappears, Karl scrambles off behind the dune in search of fresh meat.
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Just let me know when you’re ready! For those of you whore on Facebook with me, I’d be grateful for a ping there!
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Oh dear! typo
That sounds good to me, Doug!
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I’ll be posting a bit of a flashback intro later today.
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So were the demonic apes in the backstory inspired by last night's adventure?
I'm excited to put up some RP today too… work is crushing me extra hard these last 48 hours.
Just so we're all on the same page - Joli Toli's timeline has now caught up to ours, and he's just entered the same cave in which we just fought a buncha grindylow, right?
Just so we're all on the same page - Joli Toli's timeline has now caught up to ours, and he's just entered the same cave in which we just fought a buncha grindylow, right?
That’s the assumption I’m going on. Feel free to continue flashback threads in spoilers, I would think...?