GM Rennai's Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale (Inactive)

Game Master Rennaivx

We actually don't have a ton of poisonous ones here, either - I think brown recluses and black widows are about it, and they're not terribly numerous. Where I grew up we had literally none. We do have cougars, wolves, and human-habituated bears, though, so there's that. :P

I am in Oklahoma and some of the critters here are scary. Poisonous spiders, all of the ticks, some poisonous snakes like the rattle snake and the cottenmouth, humans, bobcats, and the occasional mountain lion.

No wolves in the wild but we have coyotes and foxes. So the slightly more adorable options.

Though if you include the animal rescue places there are cheetahs, tigers, and I think one of them has lions.

Of course we have bears and stuff, but you don't tend to find those in your bathroom. Or in your shoe. :P

What are you talking about? I opened my shower curtain just the other day to find a black bear in there...just waiting...and the shoe cougars are a menace. :P

My parents' home burned down today :(. You may not hear from me for a few days as we sort things out. Thanks for your patience!

PS no injuries

Certainly. I am glad no one was hurt.

Based on Perry's response, I'd assumed that he read it aloud, since he commented aloud on its specific subject. So we'll assume that the information's disseminated to everyone - if not by Perry's reading, then by Amund's reading and sharing with others. So everyone's at least relatively caught up.

Also, friendly reminder that posting these sidebar conversations in Discussion makes for a neater and more reader-friendly Gameplay.

Also, friendly reminder that posting these sidebar conversations in Discussion makes for a neater and more reader-friendly Gameplay.

Yes, please. :P

Perry read it aloud, of course. Elsewise, his comment would have not made sense.

But Balthus didn't take the scroll; hence Amund did not snatch it from Balthus.

As for the camp/ride, Perry will use two channels to remove the nonlethal (lethal with horses, AFAIK) so we can return ASAP.

Ok I assumed that it was not read out loud. All is well then. I guess just ignore the post about saying it was on Perry then.

FYI I plan to resume posting tomorrow!

Good to hear! Hope everything's as good as the time following such a situation could be. :)

Glad you are on your way back :D

I guess just ignore the post about saying it was on Perry then.

Yeah...that was a little overly dramatic.

That was assuming you did not read it out loud.

Anything else before we head back?

Nothing comes to mind. We have to get Thallin back to the fort, and deliver the news about the dwarves.

+1 to Jetta, although Perry wants to try something.

When he wakes up, he exchanges his summon dire pig to prepare speak with dead.
No casting, just preperation.

Just that you know, I'll be out of town for a funeral for a day or two. I might be back as soon as tomorrow evening (EET), or Sunday at the latest. You might not even notice I'm away, but if I don't get a post in during the weekend, that's why. I doubt I'll be able to react to... whatever it is that's going on right now. Dire moles? :P

Bot me as necessary.

By the way, completely spaced/ran out of time on getting it in earlier - think about your level 7 changes. You guys will be leveling when we get back to the fort...about time, right, after twenty-two pages of gameplay? ;) For anyone who's picking up a cohort and hasn't run build ideas by me already, let me know.

I also want to thank you guys - you've already made this game fantastic, and I look forward to more to come. :D

Woo level 7! I need to start up hero lab and see what's coming.

And thanks to you, GM, for leading us on a very enjoyable story.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this game. The Cavalier is a lot more fun than i though it would be, I am rather partial to the class now.

My crossbow sucks.

Woo level 7! I need to start up hero lab and see what's coming.

And thanks to you, GM, for leading us on a very enjoyable story.

Same here, thanks for hosting!

Kweshin:
The rose does not rot, does it? If it would, I suppose Percival would have noticed and sent it back home already, but I keep forgetting IC.

The rose does not rot - it doesn't even wither.

Hooray! Here's my (expected) crunch for level 7. I'll update profile later.

Anthuria
Feat: Expanded Arcana (+1 3rd level spell known)
FCB: +1 Spell Known (2nd Level): commune with birds
HP +6
Bonus (bloodline) Feat: Extend Spell
Bonus (bloodline) Spell Known: speak with plants
Spell Known Level 1: lock gaze
Spells Known Level 2: commune with birds, resist energy
Spells Known Level 3: deep slumber, slow
Spells/Day: Level 1 +1, Level 2 +1, Level 3 +1
Skill ranks (3): +1 K(nature), +2 Spellcraft
Background skill ranks (2): +2 Handle Animal

HP: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Woo!

+4 Skill points (Perception, Kn. Religion, Heal)

Prepared: Air Walk (awesome), several open slots, Order's Wrath, etc.

I'm still kind of torn on whether I should pick Leadership or not. With two other characters going that route, I feel like we would get clogged up with cohorts. On the other hand, having some other Hellknights to interact with would be cool. I don't know if that requires taking the feat, but it certainly would give a good in-character reason to receive some reinforcements. The followers could be armigers (1st level fighters), who could be used to support the fort's garrison. Maybe having a signifier (spellcasting Hellknight) as a second-in-command would enable me to leave them at the fort most of the time, remaining in a more supporting roll (providing some knowledge skills, extra healing, divinations, etc.). A promotion to Field-Maralictor or somesuch would be cool as well... :P

Any thoughts? If it's too much of a bother, I can just go with Cornugon Smash and get some use out of Jetta's Intimidate. I do feel like she is already more than fit to deal with combat, though...

I think the extra Hellknights make sense. That and they do not have to go out with us each time either like you mentioned. And Jetta is angry enough she doesn't need feats to back it up though that is a good one for her. My vote is still leadership.

On a note completely unrelated to this game are any of you familiar with the Duelist Prestige class? I am a making one for a different game and i am a little torn between going down the trip line, the disarm line, the Step up and strike chain, or is there a better option?

A signifier and a retinue of armigers sounds really cool, actually.

Actually, it sounds like a CR-equivalent challenge for a few lvl1 dudes.

In-game, I don't know what interests the Order so much to send reinforcements, though.

In-game, I don't know what interests the Order so much to send reinforcements, though.

Probably Jetta's reports of continued success. The whole reason she was sent to the Vale was to see if it was worth the investment, and the overall situation seems quite promising: the fact that the road is coming along nicely indicates that there is a strong mercantile interest in region, but there is a lack of military commitment from Korvosa. That allows the Order of the Nail to get their foot in the door early on.

Jetta's leadership score would allow for only 6 or so followers anyway, and 6 out of the 300 armigers stationed at Citadel Vraid seems like a reasonable investment. :P

Speaking from someone who has a 'companion' (although you all forgot about Slasher last time)... :)

It's a lot of work for the GM to handle a party with too many 'individuals' and it tends to dilute the input from PCs.

I would rather keep my parties small, no more than 5 PCs and 1 companions.

Just my unsolicited input.

Game on!

Your input is absolutely welcome, Balthus. That's why I asked everyone. :)

What I'm going for could probably be achieved without taking Leadership, though I'm not sure if there is enough time in the module to involve the Hellknights if I don't 'force' them into the story by taking the feat. As I said, my intention is not to be dragging along more characters into the field (I also prefer the 4-5 PCs + 1 companion party composition) as much as having some NPCs that would be interesting for Jetta (and maybe others) to interact with. Then again, if I'm not going to be employing the feat for any mechanical benefit whatsoever, I might be better off not picking it. Having the cohort be a supporting stay-at-home spellcaster would be a good compromise, I feel. The followers would be there solely for fluff, unless the Fort is actually attacked at some point and it becomes relevant how many troops we have to defend it.

I'm not sure Jetta needs to take a feat to ask the Order to provide soldiers, though.

Now that I think of it, the Leadership rules sort of interact weirdly with the setting.

Pre-Leadership feat, Enrico works for Perry already (for a couple of decades in fact), and if Perry ordered him to try to pacify a couple of rebelling townsfolk, he'd probably do it.
Post-Leadership feat, Enrico still works for Perry, and instead of Perry ordering him to do something, I can (out of character) control Enrico to try to pacify a couple of rebelling townsfolk.

Other than bypassing roleplaying/controlling the character sheet, what benefit does the Leadership feat provide?

That is actually a legitimate point. Kind of up to GM Rennai about if the feats are necessary. I can see it working either way.

Indeed. Above that, when a cohort is added via Leadership, it also has another bad side effect (other than bypassing roleplaying in favor of direct control), which is that players feel compelled to make optimal use of cohorts (such as Perry bringing Enrico to battle for buffing), which usually inflates party size and messes up CR calculation (since Pathfinder inexplicably measures CR with a 4-man basis, not a 1-man basis).

You're right - Leadership is a funny little feat. I think its existence is for two reasons. One, it gives quantifiable justification and management paradigms for attracting people, and some people want/need rules for just about everything. Two, adding an extra body to the field, even two levels below the rest of the characters, is actually a very big power boost, since action economy tends to be king. Having Leadership as a feat requirement to bring an adventuring buddy along makes it so you're having to invest something to gain that power - and considered that way it's one of the most powerful feats in the game.

I think I'll go ahead and rule that Leadership need only be taken for cohorts/followers that are going to be accompanying the party adventuring or having a significant in-fort presence. If someone's going to be working more in the background or acting more as window dressing rather than providing a lot of measurable benefit, I won't require Leadership to be taken. That sound fair?

I guess so. If Enrico provides off-the-cuff help or advice, or fights only when everyone is threatened, then he is acting within the system's expectations for an NPC, and Leadership is not required.

I'm getting Quick Channel instead. I've been using Channel energy often.

Perry selective channel might be a good option.

@Jetta: With the above ruling, I think Cornugon Smash (or improved trip) would be a better pick.

@Amund: Normally, I'd take that feat, but I have enough options in combat. If channeling did more harm than good, I might take the chance to drop the Pig Lord or a proper spell, or (gasp) may even take to the melee.

...or (gasp) may even take to the melee.

Not...not the melee! :O

Speaking of which, we do have that morningstar to parcel out somehow, or sell if you like.

Very well, Cornugon Smash it is. Jetta will keep sending reports to her superiors, but whether or not any promotions or reinforcements are forthcoming is entirely up to GM Rennai. At least you now know that is something I've been angling towards (who doesn't want to be called a Field-Maralictor?). If it matters, Jetta has not left anything out of her reports, save for personal drama.

@Morningstar: I wonder if I can shift the enchantment to my crossbow. Can that work?

@GM:
For reference, here are the ranks (lowest-to-highest) and my (rough) assessment of the order to gauge the general backdrop for a promotion.

Armigers: Not full members, must defeat a devil to be promoted (level 1-4).
Hellknight: Seasoned knight (~level 4-6; understood from the PrC)
Maralictor: Officer rank (~level 4-6; Bastards of Erebus/CoT)
Paralictor: Officer rank higher than Maralictor (~level 8-9; Magnimar sourcebook)
Master/Mistress of Blades: Field Marshal (~level 8-9; What Lies in Dust)
Lictor: General (~level 14; Bastards of Erebus/CoT).

*If the hellknight uses magic, they are called Signifiers. Signifier Master of Blades is called a Paravicar. Signifier Lictor is called a Vicarious.

Presumably, they run on a level-like basis from level 1 (Armiger), to level 5-6 (Hellknight, if going by the PrC). A Maralictor is seemingly around the same general level expectations, since there is a Maralictor of level 5.
The closest paralictor is around level 9.

@Officerdom: If we're talking an officer, it would make sense for an officer to lead a squad. 4-8 (or 2d4) armigers and 1 Hellknight subordinate sounds appropriate.

That is more or less how it works, though the levels vary wildy between orders, and level does not always imply rank. The lictor of the Order of the Nail, Severs DiViri, is only a 10th level character. The mistress of blades and paravicar of the order are 8th level characters, though the former is also a centaur(!) with racial hit dice. To put that into perspective, there is also a field-maralictor in the order who is also 8th level, serving as an attendant to all of the above. Obviously, fighting prowess or magical might do not matter as much as personal accomplishment, tactical acumen, or seniority.

The real-life equivalents of the different ranks are more or less as follows: a lictor is a general, a master/mistress of blades is a colonel, a paralictor is a major, and maralictors are lieutenants. Maralictors with 'titular concerns or duties' (such as arms-maralictors, field-maralictors, gate-maralictors, and shield-maralictors) are of lesser rank than actual maralictors. Junior officers, essentially. Something like that would probably be the next logical step for Jetta, assuming they give her a command.

Balthus level up...

+9 hp (class, con, fav class)
+1 bab
woodland stride
+1 2nd level spell
+1 7th level feat: iron will
+7 skill ranks (acrobatics, climb, k. nature, perception, ride, stealth, survival)

Are we using background skills?

Are we using background skills?

Yes.

Balthus Tauran wrote:

Are we using background skills?

Yes.

Ok then profession hunter and craft fletcher as background skills.

Ok, so I think I've seen level-ups from everyone except Amund. We'll move along later - I'm super scattered right now and don't think I can compose a good enough post. XD We're going to have some downtime; if anyone has anything specific they want to accomplish, shout out.

HP: 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 And that is just sad.

Challenge goes up to three times per day. Please remind me to use it. I keep forgetting because I am a bad player.

Feat is leadership.

Background skill goes into Perception and Survival

Skill points into
Diplomacy
Geography
Local
Profession
Handle Animal
Ride
Sense Motive

And my BAB gets better