Is there a woodworker, wainwright, carpenter, or similar figure in town who can supply a darkwood shield?
What kind of other businesses are there in which we could invest? Khardir would be interested in funding a mason, or becoming a patron of a local library, if one exists.
Is there a woodworker, wainwright, carpenter, or similar figure in town who can supply a darkwood shield?
Yes, there's Belhaim Woodworks (#29 on the map), a carpenter's workshop run by one Selia Woldenar. As long as the item's price does not exceed the town's base value, she does sell darkwood equipment.
What kind of other businesses are there in which we could invest? Khardir would be interested in funding a mason, or becoming a patron of a local library, if one exists.
Well, there's the Mason's Guildhall (#9), led by a guildmaster named Gregol Lenton. They, as it happens, are in desperate need of funds. There hasn't much need for their services since the quarry flooded. As such, without a new source of valuable stone—or a new business strategy—they are unlikely to be a very profitable investment. Partially draining the Dragonfen to dig a new quarry is a perennial point of contention between the local factions.
There really isn't a library in Belhaim, or even a bookstore. There is a school (#12) attended mostly by the children of wealthier Abadarans, as well as a scribe's office run by the Nachis Sisters (#6). The former have a very small collection of books for teaching purposes, while the latter mostly copy letters and such, only occasionally transcribing longer manuscripts. The single largest private collection of books is owned by Bassy, the local historian and writer. People occasionally loan books from her, but it isn't really a business, per se. She and Khardir don't really see eye to eye, I'd imagine, with them being on the opposite ends of the Lawful-Chaotic spectrum.
For ease of perusal, I'll try to include all the different businesses when I have the time to cobble together a sheet for displaying your relationships with everyone. Meanwhile, feel free to ask for clarification.
Would you prefer that I RP my interactions with the groups, or just state my intentions and let that get figured out on the backend? I don't want to hoist the entire game with a dozen posts back-and-forth with the local schoolmarm if other players aren't going to get to participate.
I have no real preference. Play-by-post is cool in that we can totally have those side conversations (hidden in spoilers, etc.) without holding back the action—at least as long as everyone is not doing solo stuff at the same time. So, it's up to you. We can just discuss your characters actions from an OOC perspective too, if you'd rather do that. Either way is completely valid.
What does Bernard know about the religious split that divides the town? Is it as hardcore as people not talking to each other, or more of a friendly rivalry..?
Delbin's Devices sounds like the place for me to invest in and probably spend all my money.
What was done with Lukas's body? Nisnay wants to make sure he has a grave or that his body is sent home in a coffin.
What does Bernard know about the religious split that divides the town? Is it as hardcore as people not talking to each other, or more of a friendly rivalry..?
For most of Belhaim's history, the different congregations have coexisted in relative harmony. It was not until the quarry flooded a few decades ago that the tensions between the factions grew more tense:
The Abadarans hope to see Belhaim someday become a hub for trade and export again, and are willing to expend a lot of the town's tax revenue to make that happen. Ever pragmatic, they frequently come into conflict with the Shelynites, whom they regard as layabouts. They have repeatedly put forth plans to have Dragonfen drained in order to salvage the land for agricultural use and to reveal potential new quarry sites.
Shelynites prefer Belhaim as it is—a cozy town that doesn't see much action. They see the Abadarans as greedy traditionalists who have forgotten how to take the time to enjoy life. They actively oppose the latter's plans for land reclamation, both for aesthetical and environmental reasons. They find some common ground with followers of the Green Faith on the latter, but usually alienate them with their perceived flightiness.
The followers of the Green Faith are fiercely apolitical, and quickly get frustrated with both of the former for their continuous squabbling. As for the quarry issue, they don't really care either way, as long as no one does anything to break the Treaty of the Wildwood. They also make up most of the working populace in town, which means they pay a lot of the taxes that the other congregations would use for "impracticalities."
The extent to which these conflicts escalate depends on the individuals involved, but people generally keep to their own. Let's put it this way: when drinking in the Wise Piper, Abadarans sit with Abadarans, and Shelynites sit with Shelynites. Though she is a Shelynite herself, Talia doesn't kick anyone out for their beliefs, but that's about far as that goes. There's usually no violence, save for the occasional bar fight. People do hold grudges though, and getting folks from different congregations to collaborate on anything of note is nearly impossible. That tends to devolve into arguments about the quarry, and arguing about previous arguments about the same subject. The baroness does her best to mediate between everyone, but being an Abadaran herself, she is sometimes accused of favoring her Eupaphenia Targas and her flock.
Delbin's Devices sounds like the place for me to invest in and probably spend all my money.
What was done with Lukas's body? Nisnay wants to make sure he has a grave or that his body is sent home in a coffin.
Sure! Phedra Delbin is a rather timid person, usually secluding herself in her workshop. She mostly busies herself with fixing various things for other townsfolk. On her free time she mostly works on mundane inventions having to do with agriculture, hunting, and woodcutting, but also some more eccentric contraptions of dubious functionality. Though she doesn't have the expertise to produce them, she is fascinated by and magic items and collects them.
As for Lukas' body, it is being prepared for burial and temporarily stored in a crypt at the Sunset House (the local mortuary), until they can determine what to do with it. Likely, this will mean sending word to Cassomir to see if he has a written will, or any close family that might wish to bury him somewhere specific. Assuming they find neither, he will be buried in Belhaim. Nisany could certainly affect that process if she so wishes.
Quick note: my roll there was supposed to read survival, not perception.
While Vibenia might be selling herself a bit short there, I just want to confirm that this animal is currently hostile, and calming it with Wild Empathy would be extremely hard. Without having won the initiative, she would not even have opportunity to try. So, do with information that what you will.
I didn't explicitly state this in her post, but if the boar is out of range, she will ready her spell for when it comes into range.
Does Vibenia want to take a five-foot step away from the boar? Otherwise, you'll invoke an attack of opportunity when you shoot.
Definitely!
Bonus! Isadorer gets meat for weeks!
Heh. Well, she does have a lot of mouths to feed... :P
Unless there are any objections, I'll move us along soon with the assumption that you'll pop back into town, and then head straight for the quarry.
Lots of questions to answer, so I'll put them all here for the sake of expediency...
I'd like to take the opportunity to see if the Baroness would accede to my plan, to have the masons disassemble the fallen and dangerously unstable parts of the tower and use those for new construction of, well, whatever else the town might need - a new gaol, a guardhouse, a granary, an extension on her manor house, whatever.
Getting an audience with the baroness—at least outside matters directly related to your current assignment—would take more time than you have in between returning to town and heading out. She is a busy woman. Her butler would request that you leave a written proposition, so she can look it over at her leisure, and offer to schedule for a meeting later. Would you like to do so?
Pensive, he gazes above the tunnel entrances, looking for some propitiously located large boulder that they feasibly might dislodge to fall down upon the kobolds.
With the penalties from distance, that is not enough to tell for certain. Yes, there are certainly some smaller boulders above the entrances, but it's hard to tell if they could be easily dislodged—and whether or not you could do so without causing an uncontrollable landslide. Getting closer and inspecting the rockface with Knowledge (engineering) could give you a better idea, but that would require a Stealth check.
The town's Base Value is 1,000 gp. Any mundane items under that price are available, as long as it makes any sort of practical sense that they would be sold in a remote town in Taldor. Any magical items priced under 1,000 gp have a 75% chance of being available, with GM approval for more obscure objects. Hunclay was the highest-level arcane spellcaster in town, but not the only one: 1st level scrolls are still available.
The problem is, you would have to go to the local hebalist *cough* witch *cough*, Anagrit. She is quite distrustful by nature, and as a result, unfriendly towards anyone but Vibenia, who shares her faith. That means a 50% increase to the price of the scrolls you seek, unless Anagrit can be made indifferent with a DC 19 Diplomacy check. Or you get Vibenia to go in your stead, whichever seems more plausible to you.
Here's a list of the specific magic items currently available in town:
- House of Abadar: +1 light crossbow, +2 longsword, scroll of restoration (3), wand of cure moderate wounds (39 charges)
- Shrine of the Seven Roses: deep red sphere ioun stone, goggles of minute seeing, wand of lesser restoration (43 charges)
- Sensina Hides: +1 studded leather armor
- Delbin's Devices: +1 frost short sword, golembane scarab, ring of minor acid resistance
- Chance Smithy: +1 bashing heavy steel shield
Just to clarify: You are currently 100 feet away from the entrances, which are the middle of a 50-foot long strand of shore. The furthest you could descend without landing in the water would be 25 feet away from either entrance. There is no cover down on the shore, so you will be seen when you get down. The question is, would you rather get down and approach along the shore while getting pelted with sling bullets, or risk sneaking up above them (where there is ample cover from the vegetation) for an ambush and/or a hopefully controlled landslide. Or I guess you could swim up to them, if you want to go that route. ;P
And yes, the rope would make climbing down easier as you describe, though you could not take 10 due to the immediate danger of being seen by the kobolds.
Yes, I'll write a proposal for the Baroness, but it would be helpful if I had some idea if:
1. There are any specific projects in town that could benefit from stonework - a granary? A new shrine? Foundations for a few new farmhouses?
2. Is there any prospect of un-flooding the quarry after the kobolds are dealt with? Or was it a result of a nonreversible problem?
1. There are any specific projects in town that could benefit from stonework - a granary? A new shrine? Foundations for a few new farmhouses?
As far as you are aware, there are no pre-existing construction projects, as there has been no stone with which to plan such affairs. Once stone becomes available due to the salvaging of what's left of the tower, people might start coming forth with propositions. Though his plan is solid when it comes to removing the danger posed by the tower, Khardir does know that the whole thing is kind of a risky investment. With that said, you are more than free to suggest something he thinks would be beneficial. Any of the things you've mentioned could be good for the town, as long as that they are properly realised. What would be Khardir's priorities, or his vision for the town?
Convincing the baroness shouldn't be too hard, assuming that, A) you actually put some money behind your proposition, and B) you take care of the kobolds, making her more disposed to trusting you.
2. Is there any prospect of un-flooding the quarry after the kobolds are dealt with? Or was it a result of a nonreversible problem?
The water is seeping up from somewhere under the quarry, as result of an earthquake. To put it into to context, the most popular option would be draining parts of the Dragonfen to find a site for a new quarry, and even that would be hideously expensive and time-consuming. So no, save for really powerful magic—or a small army of non-profit dwarven excavators—there is very little that could be done to make the Old Quarry operable again.
Finding other sources of valuable rock is certainly possible, but it would require some scouting. You'll have opportunities for that in the future, don't you worry.
No, I did not sell either of the mithral daggers. Bel has one, and Nisany has the other.
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Hmm, seems like either way we'd be getting pelted, as we run the shore, or when we climb down. Climbing is 1/4 speed if I remember correctly, so the movement distances are about equal. If we go the shore route, however, I assume we have the option of running at x3 or x4 our movement, getting there in one turn.
I vote we go the shore and rush them.
Bel will have bought all the scrolls mentioned above in town. I will get a post up in gameplay in a few hours.
Hmm, seems like either way we'd be getting pelted, as we run the shore, or when we climb down. Climbing is 1/4 speed if I remember correctly, so the movement distances are about equal. If we go the shore route, however, I assume we have the option of running at x3 or x4 our movement, getting there in one turn.
I vote we go the shore and rush them.
The main difference would be that climbing down at a distance, you'd be getting pelted both as you descend, roughly two at a time (unless you have multiple ropes), and as you approach.
Also, while not difficult terrain, the coarse gravel would require a DC 10 Acrobatics check to not trip and fall if you're running across it.
To get more into the nitty gritty of Climb rules: Assuming you knot your rope, you could do an accelarated climb at half speed (DC 0 with a -5 penalty), and drop the last 10 feet with an Acrobatics check into the kobold's midst. Further, assuming that you can succeed at your Stealth checks to get into position, you could take your surprise rounds to climb down the first 15 feet, and then the last 25 on your first turn, as described above.
You could also use the same tactics at distance, to get down faster and minimise the time getting pelted. I'm telling you because your characters would realise this.
Of course, if you have multiple ropes, you could combine these methods and have people descend at different spots, etc. Both are meant to be valid options, though.
So, what'll it be? I'm not seeing a clear consensus here on how to proceed.
I'm not sure we have one. I think we'll follow Bel's plan of charging across the beach. Subtlety and James Bondian escapades with ropes and grappling hooks sounds a little beyond us at this point.
:( But I wanna be a secret agent! Or a hero. I could settle for fame and fan worship.
Sorry if I made things a bit too convoluted. I guess I'm still not quite used to running play-by-post. :S
Not at all! I love these kinds of scenarios where there's no obvious approach. They do lend themselves to some back and forth and debate, however. It's all good!
Indeed, no problems here. Ha, in fact, I was working up this whole write up of an intricate plan to move across the beach, with staggered actions and phalanx tactics, but just couldn't find the time to finish it this weekend. Sometimes my A-type personality rears its head :/.
Anyway, this remains one of my favorite PBP games to play in.
The back and forth is unavoidable and there is no issue with the scenario you put us in. Things are supposed to be hard, easy is boring.
Sorry got hit with the flu
Ouch, hope you feel better soon!
@Everyone: Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it. :)
@Vibenia: I hope you get well soon!
The flu is crawling everywhere and I hope you get better soon.
And anytime. This is a fun game and play by post is weird.
For future reference, I would consider climbing a move action, so technically you could try twice in the same turn. Of course, if you fall from somewhere high up, you'll most likely end up prone, but climbing over lower obstacles (such as these boulders) doesn't carry any risk other than being slowed down.
What would it take movement-wise to get to the southern group of kobolds? I'm not sure how to interpret those rocks on the map and tell what needs climb checks and what doesn't.
The only gap in the boulders that is even remotely passable from your position is the one to the west, which I've now marked with a red arrow. However, it is sized for kobolds. Nisany could get through without problem, and technically a Medium-sized creature could use Escape Artist to get through. That would take at least a minute though, so probably not relevant for Bernard.
As long as you can succeed at the DC 10 Climb check, the boulders don't take up any extra movement. So, for Bernard to get to the square north of Cyan Kobold in one turn, you could either make two Climb checks (to climb up, down, and then up again) or one Climb check and then a DC 10 Acrobatics check (to jump the gap between the boulders).
Khardir continues to make no progress.
You totally do, though! That first roll is a success.
Ah, I couldn't find the DC and thought it was 15.
Whoa. Things seem... different.
Very
I hope I didn't make too many assumptions about how far you were going to proceed, but I did give you all a bonus to your Perception checks for being on the lookout for an ambush. Smart, that.
To (hopefully) clarify the layout of the room:
- The ceiling is 12 feet high, so there are no attack penalties for Medium creatures, except at the top of the ledges.
- The trench in the middle of the room is 20 feet deep, but the bridge is 5 feet wide and doesn't require any sort of check to balance on while crossing.
- The ledges at the sides of the room are 8 feet hight, with steep inclines requiring a DC 15 Climb check to ascend. This effectively takes 10 feet of movement. A reach weapon could be used to attack the kobolds from ground level, but not normal melee weapons.
Please see point three in the previous post. There are no apparent ladders.
Sure, it didn't take you that long to move into the cave. Let's say you have turns of the spell left.
If only a greatsword counted as having reach...
Just to be clear: the kobolds don't actually have cover, but they do have a bonus to AC against ranged attacks from being prone. Kind of hard to describe in more flowery language.
I am trapped in house hunting and loss of a lot of sleep. Feel free to bot Nisany if need be
Um, does Bernard fall off the ledge when he's dropped? Hard to tell from the map if there's room for him to lie prone up there.
@Nisany: Will do. Good luck with your hunt!
@Bernard: I don't think he ever actually succeeded at climbing (DC 15), unless I missed something. He would be lying at the bottom.
Oh! Right. I thought it was DC 10. Nevermind then ;)
one bomb left. Nisany is gonna try to look for rock to throw
@Nisany: Sorry, but you don't seem to have any other ranged weapons you could have used, at least as far as I can see. Your bombs really made this encounter, though. There's also some loot that might help you in that department...
Speaking of which, here's what you find on the kobolds:
- 5 × alchemist’s fire
- 5 × Small studded leather
- 5 × Small mwk light crossbow (with 100 bolts)
- 5 × Small short sword
There's also some slightly scorched fish cooking on the fire, if anyone is feeling peckish.
I am happy to help. Nisany would just want to keep on in reserve. The alchemist fire will be helpful though. Way better than rocks.