The flower is certainly reminiscent of a bluebell, though too roughly drawn to be accurately identified. You can write down what you see without issue.
Also, question: does the mirror still cast Continual Light, or was the spell infused with it changed to Shadow Evocation?
The mirror is, by default, set to replicate daylight. When closed and reopened, you can make it replicate any spell with the light descriptor that is of a level shadow evocation is capable of replicating—it can't replicate any other spells.
There we go—sorry about that.
What guise is Raveen currently in, by the way?
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I had a weird idea. Myrna is obviously missing the sun, and Raveen's fateful place in the shadow (balance between total darkness and light) makes him strangely-placed to do something.
Can Raveen use the Mirror's power (such as Daylight) to somehow simulate an awe-inspiring aura of sunlight? What if it is not guilt that can turn Myrna away from the darkness, but hope? Weaving it with other illusions could make the image I desire.
Since I'm no real artist, I've pulled up this Sauron's image as inspiration, but a bright halo instead of ring of fire. A musical inspiration was this theme, without violating copyright.
Light filled the miserable and dark hole, heavy with the weight of forgotten and lonely souls. Pure and radiant sunlight that belonged not in the prison--in fact seemed antithetic to it. In the center of the aura, a figure stood, slim, and shadowed.
The brilliance would have caused the eyes to tear, for the soul to quake, and for the fallen to rise. To see such a sight was not to see with the eye, but with the spirit, as if in a waking dream or nightmare turned bright. The brightness would pierce closed eyes and dimmed minds, and burn away all fear and despair.
The light was hollow, despite all that it inspired.
A shell, a mask upon a mask upon a mask. Yet, masks have power.
The man in the radiance observed the woman who has forgotten the light, and spoke.
"I have come with the sun."
Can it work?
Well, it'd certainly get her attention and give you time to do your thing. Coupled with a successful Diplomacy/Intimidate/Perform check, it could set you up for whatever you need to do next, effectively making her more susceptible and/or receptive to either being guilt-tripped or charmed. It's basically letting her know that whatever you're about to do is for her benefit, so that it's not as intensely unpleasant—especially so if you go with the guilt angle.
Is that what you'd like to do, then?
Well, there you go. Life is so very easy when you're rolling 20s. :P
Well, at this pace, I don't think so. But thank you. :)
My current translation project is nearing its final stages, so I'm going to be a bit flaky. Sorry about that.
Where do you want the rendezvous to be? What are the next steps? Just so that we're on the same page.
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Can you go over the plan again? This is what I recall.
Regarding Travers:
1. She has the responsibility of all logistic services, including bringing things into the Forgotten Track and out.
2. Travers is putting herself at great risk by enabling prisoners communication with the outside
3. Travers also apparently reads communications leaving the prison and probably curates them.
4. Travers 'changed' after the excavation work started, and it might be related to the monsters inside or the presence of the Other.
5. Travers is now engineering the transfer of weapons to engineer a prison riot.
6. Travers will contact Andrzej and Pike and tell them to go up the ramp.
7. Raveen will go up ramp and instruct Myrna to stay with Andrzej and that they will see the light. He will then go to the bell in sync with Travers. If the ramp is busy, he will use the ropes and pully mechanism he planted.
8. Raveen will hack the bell to reverse polarities and paralyze the guards, so the prisoners can get out
9. The team will try to paralyze or cripple Rastigar so he can't go after the Other, and so Raveen can prove he can succeed without losing himself or running away (unlike what happened in Westcrown)
10. Travers will open the path to the top to freedom.
Am I forgetting something?
Can you go over the plan again? This is what I recall.
Regarding Travers:1. She has the responsibility of all logistic services, including bringing things into the Forgotten Track and out.
2. Travers is putting herself at great risk by enabling prisoners communication with the outside
3. Travers also apparently reads communications leaving the prison and probably curates them.
4. Travers 'changed' after the excavation work started, and it might be related to the monsters inside or the presence of the Other.
5. Travers is now engineering the transfer of weapons to engineer a prison riot.
This is 100% accurate, save for a lack of evidence for #4 being related to the Other.
6. Travers will contact Andrzej and Pike and tell them to go up the ramp.
7. Raveen will go up ramp and instruct Myrna to stay with Andrzej and that they will see the light. He will then go to the bell in sync with Travers. If the ramp is busy, he will use the ropes and pully mechanism he planted.
8. Raveen will hack the bell to reverse polarities and paralyze the guards, so the prisoners can get out
9. The team will try to paralyze or cripple Rastigar so he can't go after the Other, and so Raveen can prove he can succeed without losing himself or running away (unlike what happened in Westcrown)
10. Travers will open the path to the top to freedom.Am I forgetting something?
Travers can accomplish phase #6 without too much trouble, though not without being noticed—she has enough authority to remove them from their cells and bring the up-ramp without anyone questioning her, though it will essentially blow her cover if your plan does not work. It's a risk she's willing to take, however.
Where do you want the "wait here" part of phase #7 to take place? In the clinic, the cell block in front, or the second top-most ramp?
Otherwise, I think we're on the same page. Notably, "Travers" has a way of blocking the warden in his quarters for a brief while, which will give Raveen the time he needs to work on phase #8. Since the Heralds are in with Rastagar, there is no one outranking "Travers" who could stop you from approaching the bell.
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In this case, Raveen will be the one who contacts Andrzej and executes step #6. The rope/pulley system is backup if something goes bad on the ramp. He will bring Andrzej and Pike up-ramp to the clinic's level (which is pretty high). Myrna he will tell her to wait.
As for the waiting here, Raveen will have them remain close by. How far is the distance between the clinic, ramp, bell, and the hatch leading out?
Hmm. That might be too much of a retcon, since you specifically convinced "Travers" that you shouldn't be the one to get them. She's already been on the case while Raveen has been doing his own thing. To be clear, she can do it without issue—this absolutely won't make things harder for you.
As seen on the map of the Track, Myrna's clinic is off the second-topmost platform (~20 ft by 30 ft), with a short-ish ramp (~20 ft) zig-zagging upwards. There is a former cell-block connecting the platform to the clinic, with the cells along it being used for storage. The very topmost platform—with the bell, the entrance to the warden's quarters, and the exit on the ceiling—extends off a rocky lip (with a combined extent of ~40 ft by 50 ft). The ceiling is ~25 feet up.
There are about a dozen Acolytes milling about the second-topmost platform, with 3-4 specifically watching the entrance to the former cell-block leading to the clinic.
Unfortunately, the ropes Raveen hid earlier might end up being useless, but that's how it goes when there's no set plot.
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Alright, the waiting will take place in the clinic. Raveen should focus on the bell. Raveen will also ask Myrna wryly if she has any poisons that he can use on his weapons.
At what stage is the riot taking place? Do we have to bypass the dozen acolytes or will they be busy with the riots?
@Ropes: Can I release the ropes to dangle to the lower levels? When the riot breaks out, it might be beneficial to spread the rioter's area of discord and scatter Rastigar's focus.
As it is, the path out goes up an easily defensible ramp, but the ropes can cause the acolytes to spread out their forces more stressfully.
Alright, the waiting will take place in the clinic. Raveen should focus on the bell. Raveen will also ask Myrna wryly if she has any poisons that he can use on his weapons.
Myrna will point vaguely at her bag, which does contain a few doses of poison (mainly those usable as medicine, such as blue whinnis and oil of taggit).
At what stage is the riot taking place? Do we have to bypass the dozen acolytes or will they be busy with the riots?
The riot will start as soon Raveen incapacitates the guards. As she fetches Andrzej and Pike, "Travers" will make sure that certain prisoners' cells are left unlocked and that cell keys and hidden weapons are left nearby, which should then escalate naturally as these firebrands set their fellows free. The dozen Acolytes will not be an issue—as a Priest, "Travers" can lead you through. By the time any of the mooks overcome their indoctrination and start to consider reporting a higher-up for messing with the bell, they should already be writhing on the floor or working for you under magical compulsion. That is, assuming you succeed...
@Ropes: Can I release the ropes to dangle to the lower levels? When the riot breaks out, it might be beneficial to spread the rioter's area of discord and scatter Rastigar's focus.
As it is, the path out goes up an easily defensible ramp, but the ropes can cause the acolytes to spread out their forces more stressfully.
Sure! Disguised as an Acolyte, Raveen can mill about the upper platforms quite freely (save for the very uppermost level).
Anything else you need clarified before we head into (what I assume will be) the finale of this prison saga?
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Before the actual roll, let's go through all of Raveen's resources and on-the-spot preparations. "Travers" has bought you a few minutes to work your magic.
Alrighty.
My UMD is +9, and I have my Guile pool; each point can give me +2 to my roll. I have also removed a manacle before and taught Andrzej how to remove one by tracing the runes of power. I have had ample time to observe the manacle alone during prison-time and during work, seeing one that is opened. I have also been woken up by the bell and am familiar with its resonant properties.I also have the aid of Gweledydd, who describes the artifact as a tool and also a musical instrument. If relevant, Raveen also has skill in Arcana (+9) and Planes (+9), Spellcraft (+10) and minor skill in music (wind instruments; +5). He has the Magical Knack trait (if relevant), which increases his caster level but also indicates some innate understanding of magic from his backstory.
He also has the mask given to him by the Other, and has already refused to drink from his cup, believing he can repel Rastigar from taking the Other's power without sacrificing himself. If Raveen believed that the bell can also scry him, he will take a minute during his ascension to activate the mask's second power to ward himself from scrying. The failure this time is: "I have overplayed my hand and accelerated the collapse, and am now rushing blindly to escape under someone else's terms."
If he and Shadow Naberius have any ability to aid me, now is the time.
I think that is all I have up my sleeves.
Gweledydd's expert guidance is worth a +4 bonus (since he aided in the bell's construction). You need to touch the shard to the bell to benefit from this.
Raveen's earlier inspection of the bell (as well as his study of the manacles, rings, and their connection to the artifact) provides a +2 bonus. Using both a manacle and a ring as foci will raise that to a +4 ("Travers" is willing to loan you her ring, as she doesn't want to be wearing it right now, anyway).
Perform (wind instruments) doesn't aid numerically (as Perform [percussion] obviously would), but the fact that Raveen has a sense rhythm and a basic grasp of musical theory does, at the very least, provide him with the basic competency to approach the bell as an instrument. Using the mask to shield himself doesn't aid directly, either, but does shield him from possible retribution (as the bell can't read you as being an inmate or attempting to tamper with it).
I'll also throw in a generic +2 for general competency (having ranks in Disable Device, Knowledge [arcana], Spellcraft, etc.).
That brings us up to a +10 bonus, not counting guile points. The Other might intervene, but that's not a given—if it could do this itself, it would have no need of you.
Feel free to narrate Raveen's attempt in the gameplay thread, and specify what you want to happen.
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Plan:
1. Raveen goes to reverse polarities and undo prisoners' manacles to go along with Travers' riot.
2. He then rings the bell to Charm the Acolytes and Priests, sending them as a human wave vs. Rastigar to soften him up.
3. If Raveen feels some resist the charm, he paralyzes them instead to enable the riot, and will call down on inmates to kill the Warden.
4. Once Raveen sees the Warden expending his resources on self-defense versus his minions and the rioteers, he will beeline for the Control Rod with a Sleight of Hand check, and ensure Rastigar's fate is sealed.
Gweledydd mentioned that Rastigar's sanctum had something that could aid Raveen in unscrambling his memory, so investigation of it is key.
Also, it might rely on luck or good fortune, but Raveen will prefer to use Priests/Acolytes he interacted with to fight Rastigar. Psycho knife-lady from Pascal's platform, the Acolytes who beat the prisoners during rounds--etc are primary targets.
I had originally planned to run this more like a traditional combat encounter, but you've got everything more or less where you wanted. There's probably a roll or two left here, but unless those go really awry, I think Raveen is in the clear (fingers crossed!).
By the way, since we're nearly done with this adventure, would you be interested in joining a new campaign I'm putting together? I’m thinking of running Academy of Secrets, a 13th-level adventure module for PF1. It's set in Naberius' alma mater!
Wait really? I legitimately engineered this to be clear sailing??
No way.
You had a good plan (even with the added difficulty of an unexpected deadline and having to negotiate and compromise with "Travers"; what might have been two clashing and mutually destructive riots became one quite smoothly), good prep (both in terms of information gathering and time management), and good execution (both narratively and mechanics-wise, culminating in an excellent roll [like, better than I thought would be possible]).
So yeah, I did have some complications in mind, even for a DC 30 roll, but at DC 40 it would just feel contrived and unfair to throw a huge wrench in the works.
Also, that sounds like an absolute blast.
Where does it lie in our weird meta continuity?
Well, I suppose it'd be years after Naberius' departure and the Westcrown debacle. I'm not planning on being too self-indulgent about it, as that might get alienating for the other players, so don't expect overt nods to our previous games. As much as I enjoyed Shadow Naberius, a scene like that wouldn't fly outside a solo game.
BTW, congratulations on the baby! I hope you're acclimating well.
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No lie, I was grinning ear to ear when I read the last post.
Not to roll the credits before the movie is over, but this is a seriously excellent solo adventure.
@Baby: Yeah, he's a little bundle of tongue-sticking and is surprisingly gentle and well-mannered. XD I'll see if I can send you a good picture.
@Academy: I can definitely brew up something, but need to think of something that could work. I just hope I forgot enough of the academy--I planned running it several years ago, but only remember there being a demon final boss and some kind of seal.
:( I hope I'm not too close to the mark.
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I forgot to do this, but just remembered it.
I'd like to use the shard of the mirror (held end bandaged of course) as a Gloom Blade to defeat Rastagar, instead of my normal +1 Westcrown-style dagger.
Also I noticed that I was misspelling Rastagar to Rastigar. This must be similar to the Korvosa/Karvosa spelling issue. xD
@Academy: I can definitely brew up something, but need to think of something that could work. I just hope I forgot enough of the academy--I planned running it several years ago, but only remember there being a demon final boss and some kind of seal.
:( I hope I'm not too close to the mark.
I don't mind you having some inside knowledge, as long as the spoilers don't ruin your own fun and you don't use them to metagame (which I trust you won't do). As for your recollections, I will neither confirm nor deny their veracity, save to note that they appear sufficiently vague. :P
Here's a link to the discussion thread. Unfortunately, my flurry of PMs didn't land us more than two people (including yourself), but I would have needed to get at least one person through open recruitment, in any case.
I forgot to do this, but just remembered it.
I'd like to use the shard of the mirror (held end bandaged of course) as a Gloom Blade to defeat Rastagar, instead of my normal +1 Westcrown-style dagger.
Sure, no problem.
Sorry for taking so long to wrap this up. I have a deadline coming up, and it's taken up all of my time and drained me of my writing juices.
Raveen, quite wisely, left himself some wiggle room: he never explicitly promised... well, anything concrete. However, in Gweleddyd's absolutist mindset: "in equal measure" = "You help free me, I help free you." That's partly why he was so quick to jump on the deal: he knew it was sort of ambiguous, but that ambiguity cuts both ways; he had just made clear his goals and established that he is very keen to avenge himself on oathbreakers. He trusted that by the time you'd (hopefully) succeeded, he would have made his point. Now it's up to Raveen whether or not he "goes back on his word." Again, whatever he actually promised is, from Gweleddyd's perspective, utterly irrelevant—any bid to finagle is now an excuse to enact sweet, sweet revenge.
The best way to handle loot is probably to do a little check-up if/when we get back to this, and bring Raveen roughly up to WBL+1 (not counting special items like the mask and the shard). No sense getting into it now.
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I sometimes fail to remember how important a DM's role is to set up the character development arc, but I keep getting pleasantly surprised.
All the characters here look so fleshed out and interesting, that merely interacting with them is a great roleplaying opportunity.
Again, great job.
@Items: Of course. I agree.
Even though I've struggled at times to keep this game rolling, the results have been quite satisfying. I hadn't really run anything like this before, but I have to conclude this is sort of ideal for PbP—with only one player to worry about, there's room to craft a story that's really about that player's character, and that reacts to their decisions in a truly fleshed-out manner. IRL games that rely on improvisation can be great as well (BitD is a great example), but it's always sort of hectic, and sometimes the stuff you come up with on the fly does not land. The down-side here is, of course, the effort required.
As I think I've said before, I had only a rough outline going in, and I basically improvised the rest based on where Raveen chose to lead the story. Like this whole slow-burn redemption arc with Myrna, and how that ties into Raveen's struggle with his own insecurities... I don't think I could have planned that out if I tried—it just happened.
We're more or less done for this part of the Masque of Quarters. I really need a break, though of course I'll answer any questions you might have in the interim. The next major decision would be where you're headed. Andrzej wants to go east to meet with the rebels in the woods, Ruxandra wants to go north and cross the border to Ustalav, while Gweleddyd will attempt to push you west towards his prison near Lake Encarthan. As for Nalutari, the correspondence will show she has been sent to Rastagar's superiors in the southern cities. Raveen will, of course, have a lot of say here, and might be able to convince the rest of the group to go wherever he is heading. Pike will follow Andrzej and Myrna will likely follow Raveen by default, at least for now.
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All of this just works.
- Todd Howard
I am seriously happy with how this ended up. The challenge was serious, the odds pretty against me.
I loved the amazing scenes, characters, encounters, narrative themes, plot twists, exemplary world-building and tension-control, adaptability to my posts, and consistency in using the characters. I loved the build-up, execution, and wrap up, and truly believe that this would make an amazing show (starting at Council of Thieves and carrying over to Masque of Quarters).
We've been playing since May 17, 2018, for a total of 1,233 days, and 437 gameplay posts, 389 discussion posts. You graduated and got a masters from start to finish. I also graduated from law school, got married, had a kid. For three years, I thought and plotted Raveen's escape from the Forgotten Track so he does not become forgotten himself. I'm sure you had a similar experience planning ahead, adapting, and writing out frankly beautiful posts.
You definitely deserve a break. I'll post my questions and plans in due time. I think we both need to bask in this achievement.
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I just realized I that besides my initial paint drawing, that I never posted Raveen's character portrait.
I guess the give bowl, gain friend meme really holds up now at the end, with advancing to Social Link with Andrzej, Pike, and Myrna.
I'm not mentioning Hjarni, Shadow Naberius, the Other, and Gweleydd, since I think this isn't the last of them.
I'm serious when I said you made memorable characters. S$~%.
Also, does this quarter end with Raveen leveling up?
I am seriously happy with how this ended up. The challenge was serious, the odds pretty against me.
I loved the amazing scenes, characters, encounters, narrative themes, plot twists, exemplary world-building and tension-control, adaptability to my posts, and consistency in using the characters. I loved the build-up, execution, and wrap up, and truly believe that this would make an amazing show (starting at Council of Thieves and carrying over to Masque of Quarters).
We've been playing since May 17, 2018, for a total of 1,233 days, and 437 gameplay posts, 389 discussion posts. You graduated and got a masters from start to finish. I also graduated from law school, got married, had a kid. For three years, I thought and plotted Raveen's escape from the Forgotten Track so he does not become forgotten himself. I'm sure you had a similar experience planning ahead, adapting, and writing out frankly beautiful posts.
You definitely deserve a break. I'll post my questions and plans in due time. I think we both need to bask in this achievement.
I'm glad to hear that! You're definitely a joy to run for, as well—you really seem to thrive in this sort of play. :)
I just realized I that besides my initial paint drawing, that I never posted Raveen's character portrait.
That's more or less what I've had in my head. I do keep forgetting just how young he is, though! Baby-faced little goth boy.
Also, does this quarter end with Raveen leveling up?
Sure, makes sense to me. At some point, I'll need an estimation of his wealth before the looting of Rastagar's office, but there's no hurry.
I think I'll mark this campaign as inactive for the time being, though I'll probably use the same thread when we return from hiatus.
I'll take the rest of the year off, at least, and then we can reassess.