GM Rednal's Northlands Saga Complete (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Paladins of Tiwaz actually are a thing. They're by no means common - we're talking, like, count 'em on one hand for the entire Northlands region because they're even rarer than Clerics - but they do exist. XD This probably has something to do with the fact that he's the only Lawful Good deity in the entire pantheon... and he was adopted in, at that.

(Those more familiar with the setting will know him better as Thyr - who, along with his sister Muir, the Goddess of Paladins, actually shows up rather often in Lost Lands books.)

Identifying mundane items is fairly straightforward, given the trading post nature of Halfstead. Feel free to assume that can be done.

Oh, no, I meant specifically someone who could cast an Object Reading on the relics from the skeleton king. If it's too uncommon, I'll pick that talent up in a few levels anyway, so, eh.

"Uncommon" might be a little too generous of a word. "All but nonexistent" is closer. XD There's a grand total of one character who has anything even approaching that, and there will be a cost for their help - not unduly burdensome or anything, but a cost all the same.

(Magic is rare in the North, to the point that spells and magic items basically can't be bought just because you want them, and never for something as simple as handing over some gold. Even materials for magic item crafting are only available in limited quantities. They, uh, really hammered in the "rugged independence" feel of this place when describing what was and wasn't present. Fortunately, possibly to make things a little kinder for the players, there are a small handful of options we can use if you're looking for that kind of help.)

Half-Plate will work. Field Plate might also be an option. Either way, though, I'd be looking at Mithral, and that's +9000, so for now I'll hold on to my plunder.

It's cool, I can always just hunt around for stories or something. I'm trying to stick to "magic that can be disguised as skaldic shenanigans" which means I'll mostly be going for passive effects and divinations anyway. Also oh man am I excited about some of the new level 10+ masterpieces (Winds of the Five Heavens is going to be epic at level 12-15, when I start being able to summon arbitrary hurricanes by shouting at people)

Take the Weather Sphere and you can do a lot more than just wind. XD

I don't recommend it until you're at 7th Caster Level, though.

Eh... bardic masterpieces can give winds and lightning much faster than sphere talents can (might skip on lightning though, since I've already got weird words).

To be honest, I'm not sure what we're waiting for. Is there anything left to be decided?

I wanted to be sure everyone had a clear plan after arriving back at Halfstead. o wo/ You all set with the numbers and such?

Out of curiosity are we doing the extra stories too? I noticed dear Endzeitgeist reviewing Winter's Teeth, from the brief blurb I read suggests it's designed to be slotted into the campaign.

We are not doing the extra stories. ...Unless I change my mind and decide we are. XD They're really not part of the plot, though they could be run as an interlude between chapters when there's a ton of downtime. I feel like that'd work better in a face-to-face game, though.

So I'll be away at a conference for the rest of this week... but also my keyboard is broken. Will try to post if I can, but feel free to bot me.

I'm fine moving into downtime.

I'd like to RP more, but frankly have no idea what to say and don't wanna force it, so we'll head to the down times.

In that case... everyone give me six months of downtime activities. Remember that earning money and goods/labor/influence (if desired) is done weekly, not daily, due to the limited economy of the north. Halfstead does have supplies for mundane crafting (and limited amounts for magical crafting), as well as teachers for any retraining you may be interested in.

Siiiiiix monnnnths?

Uhhhhh what am I even doing for six months.

Are we strongly encouraged to stay in Halfstead, or can I go visit some other nearby towns as a traveling bard and come back, as long as I happen to arrive back before the next plot stuff happens?

You can certainly travel if you want to. ^^ There are a fair few settlements you can reach in that timeframe.

OK, let's see...Anything over 10 earns one point, anything over 20 earns two. Once again, I won't bother going for money (I think we have the shinies now) but instead I'm looking to gain the influence, goods and labour to build a home.

If I roll well I'm adding a jacuzzi!

OK, so that totals up to 11 points of Influence, 15 of Goods, and 13 of Labour. That would bring my totals up to 26 Goods, 21 Influence and 21 Labour.

I'd go re-read the system to see how much more I need before I can do really cool stuff with it.

Okay, my computer is finally fixed! Ugh so many games to catch up on, I think I've been good about these though because I can keep my post short.

Book-keeping with cash Ring-giving: 2860 gp (286 xp) for party.

1050 to trash chain shirt and pick up a mithral chain shirt instead.

200 gp to retrain 1 point of gained dex into one point of gained str

250 gp for a heavy horse and masterwork saddle

Are we still paying half-cost to earn capital through skill use?

@Eydis, that's quite a bit, though are we not paying the reduced cost for it?

Eh, even untrained, I can ride... slowly...

With the seasons changing, it's time for Eindrid to return to the road; not one for farms and fields, he uses some of his newly-found wealth to purchase a horse, and takes to the road, visiting villages he hasn't set foot in for a year or two.

Still... there seems much treasure and honor to be found in service of Halfstead and its Jarl, and this time he sets to the road with the intention of returning after some months, merely doing what he can to earn favors and respect across the countryside, building up resources he might be able to call on to raise a hall of his own someday.

26 labor, 16 goods

Okay, seems like a decent haul for now.

Just need Hakon's plans for earning money, etc., if he does that on his trip. XD

Sorry, caught up with some real life stuff, please continue without me for a bit.

@Eindrid: Earning Goods/Influence/Labor happens as per the rules in Ultimate Campaign (aside from the once-a-week modification due to the relatively small economy of the Northlands - it just isn't a wealthy area, and even a lot of what you can 'get' in that regard is basically just promises from other people that you can call upon, rather than a ton of supplies left sitting around).

Right so uh we *are* spending currency on it (at half-cost), then?

Spending prices are what's listed in the book. (If you need 10 Goods for something, then you need 10 Goods for it. Making buildings isn't like making items.)

Err, what? It's almost exactly like making items—according to UC rules, if you make the skill check, you don't actually get goods/labor/etc; you're crafting it, and can acquire it for half the normal GP (but some GMs don't stick a GP cost on it, which is what I was asking about).

I think we may be getting confused somewhere. XD; What, exactly, are you trying to spend capital on?

Nooo, trying to gain capital to save up for the future.

In that case, don't worry about prices right now. XD

Yeah I'm just trying to figure out whether I should track gold spent on gaining those resources or not...

Nnnnnope.

Bump? Waiting on Hakon?

I thought they might be back by now, yes. It's sometimes hard to continue when people haven't all posted. XD;

Sorry, back. Question: Hakon doesn't have crafting or a profession. Can I spend those six months just training and hanging out in the long house?

I'm going off this:

-Downtime: During downtime, characters can either work on crafting or spend their time working. If working, characters can earn money or Goods/Influence/Labor once per week (not once per day), usually through Profession (Farmer) or a Perform skill. Most other skills cannot be used for earning money in the Northlands (a rare few, like Fisherman, can - but the place really is limited in terms of what people spend their time doing).

Well, you do have a Perform skill... but yes, you can basically just pass the time.

Guys, apologies but I'm having a lot of trouble finding the time to post of late. Having a newborn in the house has made it a challenge to do my work, much less PbP. As such, I understand if you'd all rather replace me with fresh blood that can help move the game forward more consistently.

*Looks at the rest of the party* Up to you. o wo This WOULD be a fairly good time to switch people out...

It's up to Hakon. If he wants to bow out (perhaps to return later) then it's totally understandable. If he wants to continue, albeit a bit more slowly, I won't object. I've got four kids. It takes a little time to adapt.

Yeah—I'd say it comes down to whether he wants to keep posting, or if reducing game load for a while would make things easier on his end.

Thanks for being understanding. I think I'd rather bow out rather than always feel a lingering sense of guilt over being the one holding the game back. Best of luck finding a new player. It's been fun!

Right-o. o wo/ Glad to have you with us while it lasted!

It's been a blast. Have fun being a fully functional parental unit! As a man who changed at least one nappy for ten years, you have much to look forward to.

Not, you know, that bit. But other parts are fun!

Thanks! I've had a great time rping with you guys, and wish you all the best. Cheers!

Annnd there's the plot! Neat!

Hmm. Do we have more downtime before the ship leaves (as in a few days)? I might potentially try to retrain one of my spheres if so, especially with new character coming in. (The Fate one that compels people to do things, since it's not super thematic or useful, into a momentum talent or something)

Oh boy! Time for a second shopping trip I guess.

I should probably have enough time to retrain the Judgment talent into Aggressive Momentum, which might well be a lifesaver over the next two levels (that 2 extra party attacks whenever could've made a huge difference earlier) while possibly being better setting-suited (or at least not worse). Since our characters are now prioritizing war over diplomacy and all. This should be 200 gp.

Masterwork oars for +2 Profession (sailor) seem like a good idea right now. And I guess also a climbing kit. If Masterwork Cleats/Shoes for +2 to Acrobatics checks to balance are an option, I'll pick those up too, otherwise just a Balancing Pole. And a Compass if one is available.

How are we on re-recruitment? (people finishing things up, etc?) I noticed quite a few people sort of misinterpreting the idea of the game, but it seems we've got at least a few completed characters suggested now.

Pretty close to closing that and moving on, I think. ^^ Woulda been done by now, but with the site's hiccups, I decided to extend that a bit.

Oh Paizo, you so crazy...broken.

Yeah, Paizo's been... ah... fun. XD

@Aelfred: A few quick notes...

First, please use this profile template for your character. (I run a lot of games. Having everyone use the same profile template makes it MUCH easier to find what I'm looking for.

Second, pretty minor, but the local spelling of Odin is "Wotan", not "Woten". XD

Third, unless you've left the Northlands, you probably haven't fought Orcs. (They're not really present in the area.)

Fourth, not actually a problem, but your character would know that the wandering wise women of the North are very good with nature. (Also, I'm gonna slightly modify the reason you're present once I bring you into the story. Don't worry, it'll be pretty obvious when you are. XD It won't modify much, but it will help me set something up for later.)