GM Netherpongo's Champion's Chalice I (Inactive)

Game Master Nathan Goodrich

I was tweaking a bit of language just now, so you might want to look over it again Jiro. It isn't critical data, though, so you don't need to report a verified back in.

Okay I read through it. It'll be a fun and crazy experiment for us to play this scenario using PbP!

Okay so I think the very first thing that Nalina should focus on on day 1 is getting us food. She's got an excellent survival check.

Also, since Nalina can take tiger form for up to 8 hours per day, is it safe to assume that we can use the tiger's 40ft movement speed toward her speed?

All read and all good so far.

If/when we need it (maybe once we've got our armor and weapons and enough food left over from the previous day), Pethwen can cast Marching Chant to have us hustle for both phases for no fatigue penalties.

In the meantime, her best bet at advantages would be Perception for shortcuts, or having a stab at Crafting or Acrobatics or Survival for their various advantages. None of them are great skills for her, though.

Are aid anothers allowed to help boost others advantage rolls?

Going to read it tomorrow, long day today but tomorrow looks like a good one :)

Need to read tomorrow, too. Thanks

Nalina: the phases are defined as 4 hours long so that's probably fine. I'm going to say that tiger form isn't good for crafting or gathering though. Also, if your party travels for a third phase in a day or any sort of action happens after a second wild shaped travel phase, you won't be able to use wild shape for that, of course. Just declare whether you are being tiger-form in a given travel phase when you make your advantage check.

Since you mentioned gathering supplies on the first day, I'll just point out again that the Gather Supplies advantage does not count as an advantage for purposes of the maximum advantages number, and you can Gather Supplies even if the maximum advantages of your hex is zero. That's spelled out in the Player Handout #2, but it's worth noting again.

Pethwen: Aid another is allowed, but it would consume a player's opportunity to attempt an advantage themselves. At this moment, I'm undecided about whether to allow Aid another on rolls that have already occurred (the primary person on the check rolled first). It seems bad to say that someone can't aid because the other person got to posting first or to have someone wait to do their post because they are hoping for some aids. On the other hand, having people see that a roll came up short (or very likely short) and THEN deciding to aid when they would otherwise have rolled on their own seems bad too. We could just honor system it maybe?

If somehow you have declared your intentions to aid prior to the roll (perhaps before the current phase started) I'm very cool with that.

Okay cool, missed that Gather didn't count against the total. I also realized I could use the Falcon shape for some travel times instead, which would give me a base (flying) speed of 60 ft.

So, for the first two travel phases, Nalina plans the following:

Travel phase 1: Gather Supplies (food and water) and Know the Terrain, while in Tiger form for speed 40.

Travel phase 2: Gather Supplies (spell components) and Evade Hazards, also in Tiger form for speed 40.

Nalina doesn't need any weapons, but obviously others will, so someone with a good Craft or Intelligence skill should definitely spend their first phase crafting weapons (and don't forget you get to make TWO checks during each phase if you're using that action!).

I gave you the wrong impression. Gather Supplies does count as a character's action for the phase. It just doesn't count against the maximum number of advantages that the terrain type allows (so maybe three people can Craft Tools and you can still Gather Supplies while in Hills). You can't Gather Supplies and Know the Terrain in the same phase. Also, no wild shapes while gathering supplies unless you have a better explanation than I can come up with for how they make that work.

On an unrelated note, a nice bratwurst or medister with some grain mustard sounds freaking amazing. No pork or beef available for my consumption here in northern India! :(

I ended up making a were touched shifter.

Ah, gotcha! No problem then, Nalina will stick with being in human form and use the Gather Supplies action for both on the first day, the first one being food and water, and if enough is gathered for at least a full day for everyone, then she'll get the spell components in the second phase.

I have explicit "I read the Campaign Info" statements from Jiro, Nalina & Pethwen. I still need them from Crowe, Pregens & Ingrge before we can start the race.

This is a good opportunity for final questions, too.

Yes, read it but we have to come up with a plan on how to proceed. We listed our skills above but we would need to align on actions that also have the same speed etc. as the group would be ripped apart if one person gathers food and the other person runs ahead.

Also recon through animal form is important.

So Crowe can actually do almost nothing. :-(

Crowe

Climbing Lead (+5 Climb)
Evade Hazards (+4 Survival)
Fancy Footwork (+5 Acrobatics)
Gather Supplies (+4 Survival)
Notice Shortcut (+7 Perception)

Ingrge would have the following Advantages mods:
Climbing Lead (+6)
Craft (+4)
Evade (+7)
Fancy Footwork (+12)
Gather Supplies (+7)
Know the Area (+4)
Notice Shortcut (+14)

Nalina can help with any of the following:
Climbing Lead (+5 Climb)
Evade Hazards (+9 Survival)
Fancy Footwork (+10 Acrobatics)
Gather Supplies (+9 Survival)
Know the Terrain (+7 Kn. Nature)
Notice Shortcut (+14 Perception, +18 when using falcon aspect OR in falcon form, +22 if both in falcon FORM and using falcon aspect)
Special Movement (falcon form fly 60, tiger form land speed 40)

The rest?

I would say that Crowe should consider Climbing Lead for at least one of his first day's actions, since we're in mountainous terrain.

Ingrge has the Craft (bows/arrows) skill, although not with a really amazing modifier. Still, he could attempt to craft us some simple weapons for those in the party that need them.

As I've said before, Pethwen doesn't have any notable strengths in the relevant skills but could provide aid another in key ones each day.

Her best of the bunch are:

Perception +5
Acrobatics +3
Climb +2
Survival +2

Perhaps once we are onto the plains we may be in a position to hustle for several phases, which is where Pethwen can help with her Marching Chant spell, and of course she help out with healing if/when needed.

You guys are reminding me that I haven't given you craft DCs. The scenario itself is pretty oblique about it. Use the table in the Core Rulebook as a guide. If something you want to make doesn't have a fairly clear entry, just ask.

Also, remember to de-gear completely. No headbands of Wisdom or Strength or anything.

Nalina, where does all of that Perception modifier come from? I can get close to that +14 but I end up a few short: +5 ranks +3 class skill +4 wisdom (which might need to be lowered for no gear?) = +12. You have low-light vision as a human from something I didn't see at a glance, which might be where the rest is coming from.

Ingrge has the same modifier, but he has half-elf and skill focus going into it.

Sorry GM, I read the Campaign Info tab but forgot to post it here...

Think we should hit the ruins early on...the Baron dropped that subtle hint as he left... since it was an Outpost, we might find stuff we can use there so we might not have to lean so heavily on Crafting items...

As I've said before, Pethwen doesn't have any notable strengths in the relevant skills but could provide aid another in key ones each day.

Her best of the bunch are:

Perception +5
Acrobatics +3
Climb +2
Survival +2

Perhaps once we are onto the plains we may be in a position to hustle for several phases, which is where Pethwen can help with her Marching Chant spell, and of course she help out with healing if/when needed.

No worries, your healing ability will be essential since we can't carry wands...and your marching spell will come in handy as well...

@GM: yep you're right, I had an extra +2 in there for some reason (i think perhaps it's because when I originally planned the character, she was going to be a Skinwalker), and then there's a -1 for losing my Wisdom bonus from my headband, so the total should be +11. Updated accordingly.

I'm ready to start the race anytime, but we haven't heard from Pregens yet.

Jiro's tagline is updated for having no gear and he is ready for the race.

Havent been on much today, it is Good Friday so I plan to be on this evening after services.

That's fine, Pregens. Just let me know when you can confirm that you've read the Campaign Info section. Then we can start the race.

In fact, I don't have any super cool text to drop when the race starts and I might be a little scarce this particular weekend, so when Pregens confirms, assume that the race is started. You can make your first round of advantage checks.

Hey GM, a couple of questions, just to make sure I've got a grasp on the format...

1. We don't know how many advantages are allowed for each tile, so we put down our preferences and then the first X (where X is the max allowed) are then adjudicated (unless some were listed as low priority). As for the climbing lead advantage, it mentions a rope...since I'm assuming we're starting without one, does that mean we'd have to either craft one or find one before being able to use this advantage?

2. While I understand the different tactics, I'm less sure 'bout how they're applied. I'm assuming we each choose an individual tactic per phase and the party agrees on one group tactic per phase...is that right?

1a. You are going to know what the maximum advantages is in each tile when you take your actions. You are in Hills right now and (for now) that's all you need to know. If you decide to enter Mountains next (for instance) I'll tell you about the Hex progress & max advantages before you take an action there. Like I said in the Campaign Info, though, you can assume that all the numbers in Mountains will be higher.

I guess I will add just a bit more. The terrain numbers are fairly balanced. Not in the sense that your choices don't matter: they will. But Mountains isn't going to be like 1 more advantage but 10 more progress needed and you get stuck there forever. A highly capable party is probably better off if they go for the harder hexes, while a party that isn't confident in their skills would be better off shooting for the easy hexes. If you assume that a party can make use of an infinite number of advantages and will succeed at all of them, the harder hexes are better. They are also better if you want to craft a large arsenal of weapons & armor (and can succeed on your Craft checks).

1b. I don't require the rope for the climb check. I read that rope text as just an example of what you might be doing with the check. You could be free-climbing as well (although how that helps your allies go faster might be tricky I guess). Some of these actions are pretty abstract: you get to keep the food you gather even if you don't pre-Craft a backpack or something to hold it in, just as an example.

2. Basically what you said. Individual tactics aside from Recovery might be pretty rare, though: most of you don't have special movement modes that last long enough for the movement phases. But you should agree on a group tactic. There might be a lot of side-discussion about planning out a phase that is easier at a standard table.

Edit: I've also added a new version of the race map with numbered hexes so you guys can easily discuss which path you want to take.

Got it. Not sure how much help she can be but she will try :)

Sorry GM, thought I had this down but now that the race is starting, still have a couple of questions...

Two phases to each day...think we have a group movement of 3 per phase...so for the initial tile, we can take 3 advantages per phase...I'm guessing successful move advantage checks (climbing lead, fancy footwork) can increase the points while time consuming advantages (gather supplies, craft items) might decrease the movement. And ads like know terrain, find shortcut, and evade might decrease the points needed to get through a tile. In the same fashion the group tactics could increase group movement (or give you an additional phase) while fatigue and exhaustion would decrease it. Have I got the general idea right?

You mentioned 'dashing ahead' as an action during a phase...do you mean taking all move advantage checks during that phase?

Great questions. I was going to send something similar as well.

"dashing ahead" would just be going as fast as you can. It's not a specific game action.

Know Terrain & such don't reduce the amount of progress required to advance through a hex. They instead increase the amount of progress that you make that phase. There probably isn't a practical difference between those two, but that's how it works.

Say you guys decide to forego all crafting on the first phase & just decide to move as far as you can. You would go three progress without any advantages. If you guys had one person that failed at an advantage and three people that succeeded, your progress for phase 1, day 1 would be:

+3 base +3 advantages -1 failures = 5

You would complete the first Hills hex and would gain one progress toward the next hex, whichever one it was. (This assumes that the person that failed had an individual base speed of 3. If their base speed was 4 and they didn't fail their check by 5 or more, the group wouldn't slow down)

If instead you had Crafted and had one movement-aiding advantage, it would instead be:

(+3 base +1 advantages) / 2 = 2

You make 2 progress in the starting Hills hex and need 2 more progress to complete it.

Thanks for the clarification GM...since we're stopping at the ruins in the first tile, how would that affect movement? And I'm guessing Gather Supplies would work like Crafting in the example above?

Yeah, Gathering Supplies & Crafting are the same thing for purposes of how it affects your progress.

Encounters trigger at certain places and won't stop your movement for a phase. You complete the combat or whatever and then continue moving for the rest of the travel phase.

If I haven't mentioned it yet, the ruins is near the end of the first Hills hex.

Don't forget to choose a path (see the Chalice Maps for numbered hexes). I'm actually leaving home for the rest of the day in a few minutes. I should be back online tomorrow morning though.

Thanks GM, I think that's all the questions for me...glad I asked though...when I re-read your Campaign Info, I paid more attention to your THIS CAN GET PEOPLE KILLED message so I wanted to be sure...

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Well folk, what think ye on our path? I was thinking either 6-12-13-14-15 or 6-7-13-14-15 as they seem the most direct routes...we skip the mountains with the first path and go through 'em with the second...the mountains are likely to take more points to cross than the hills but will likely get us more advantages per phase...

Also thinking we should be move heavy through the hills for the first phase so that we can reach the ruins after/during that phase...and then do Gathering Supplies two (or even 3 times) after that to make sure we're covered with food and water for the day...and if we do a Forced March, I think we get another phase as well, if I'm reading that right...Pethwen could do Recovery and perhaps heal up some NL damage from Forced March...

I was thinking on doing the Climbing Lead to start off...Jiro gets a +12 on Acrobatics and could do Fancy Footwork, and Nalina could do either Notice Shortcut or Evade Hazards...think we'd be likely to succeed on at least 2, maybe all 3 of those...

Just an idea, not trying to dictate, as this format is new to me...what do y'all think we should do?

I think that 6-12-13-14-15 is a good path to follow, but if we start having any difficulty with mountain tiles, we could skirt the mountains by going 6-12-17-18-19-15.

I was planning on Nalina to do Gather Supplies for at least the first phase, so that we have food.

She is fine either way

Is going through the lake in 15 compulsory or can we go through 20 as the last square instead. Not sure about everyone else but if we don't have great swimmers that could hurt us at end of the race?

6-7-13-18-19-20, 6-12-13-18-19-20, or 6-12-17-18-19-20 if we want to bypass some of the mountains, sort of appeal to me. Might depend on whether we come out of the hills/mountains with plenty of stuff. Thinking we could hustle or run through the plains/forest pretty quickly but might get stuck in the lake.

I think we should go through as few hexes as possible...if I'm reading the map right, the only mountain tile in our potential path is #7 (as 1-5 are out of our way)...6-12-13-14-15 would be 3 hills, 1 forest/jungle, and 1 water tile (either lake or perhaps marsh)...

I don't know that 15 is a lake as there is no "swimming lead" advantage...it may be a delta/marshland/swamp...looking at the arrow, I'm guessing we have to go through 15 to reach the finish line, but I could be wrong...

If I understand correctly, I think we shouldn't necessarily use Gather Resources on successive phases as that'll slow us down...when we want to do GR we might want to do it multiple times in the same phase and then use all move advantages in the next, unless we didn't get enough food and water to sustain us all for the day...

Should we try Forced Narch of Hustle to begin with? I was thinking Forced March as it gives us a bonus phase...but as a group, our Fortitude mods are a mixed lot...

Sorry, just noticed my typing snafu above...should read "Forced March or Hustle"...typing on an old iPad with old eyes and fat fingers is not a good combination...

The lake-looking hex is swamp terrain, and that's the hex where the finish line is. (So yeah, you sorta do have to go through it)

Happy Easter, I will be back on tomorrow.

GM: A couple of questions...

1. So I'm guessing we don't declare if we're doing a Forced March till the second phase? Does that mean we can do Hustle as a group during the first phase and still have the option of a Forced March in the second phase?

2. You mentioned Gather Supplies doesn't take up one of the max advantages of a terrain...so the Aid Another wouldn't either would it? I'm assuming Pregens Aid Another is in support of Nalina's Gathering Supplies since no one else used an advantage with the Survival skill...

Quick Question, when it comes to aiding another, does the first person make the roll, or the person who makes the first roll, and then everyone else's aid, or not get added to that or do you take the highest roll and then add people's rolls who might have aided.

Does that question make sense?

If you are aiding someone, declare that you are aiding and who you are aiding. I'm not going to worry about timing.

I don't need an entire route from you yet, but do we know which hex you guys want to go to next?

I assume it's 12...

And that's all of our advantages for phase 2...

I am guessing we'll be at the ruins before leaving the hex...

We also need to decide if we wish to do a Forced March and take another phase...I vote Yes...

Hex 12 works for me.

forced march: YES!

force it lol

If you are aiding someone, declare that you are aiding and who you are aiding. I'm not going to worry about timing.

ok

Remember though, I think aiding others takes up an advantage unless it's for Gathering Resources...