Hell's Rebels AP - Down with Thrune! (Inactive)

Game Master GM Red

Oooh, Halloween start up time? Sounds good to me.

I know I'm a buzzkill on this, but I'll be out of town Halloween weekend, not home until the Monday most likely :( But I'm ready to go then!

I should be ready to start whenever the rest of you are :) Even though the GD6 is chewing up my bandwidth, I should be able to hit the ground running!

Did someone say something about screwing with Hellknights and Cheliax? Count me in...

Can anyone who hasn't yet put their stats in their tagline, please? :)

Can anyone who hasn't yet put their stats in their tagline, please? :)

I suppose... Damn, you're up and on here earlier than me on a Sunday.

*waiting intensifies*

Red, what stuff do you want and/or don't need in the tagline? Do most people even need perc or init in tags now? How about CMB or CMD? What do you reverence it for and is anything else just for our use?

HP, AC, Saves, CMD, CMB, and initiative are the most important. I usually have an prewritten initiative block but initiative changes with level so I use that as my reference.
Conditions/Effects/Spells are up to you and I don't usually expect players to keep that updated all the time.

OK added tagline he he.

A young halfling sits busking on an old, rickety barstool outside the Three-Legged Devil, the oldest dance hall and music venue in the Jarvis End district of Kintargo.

He's big for a halfling, nigh three and a half feet tall and weighing almost three stone. His voice is a warm tenor, trained but retaining a folksy rawness.

The rapier at his belt and his dusty leathers mark him as a freeman, not a slave.

♫Freedom! (Have some faith in the sound)
You've gotta give for what you take (It's the one good thing that I've got)
Freedom! (I won't let you down)
Freedom! (So please don't give me up)
Freedom! ('Cause I would really, really love to stick around)
You've gotta give for what you take.♫
George Michael, Freedom! '90

A couple of Chelish noblemen toss him a silver as they push past him into the hall. One of them mocks him as they pass, "A dangerous tune, slip. Careful, or a hellknight will throw your ass in jail!"

Once they've gone inside, the halfling calms his resentment with a rosary to Milani, the Everbloom.

"Pádraig Henry's my name, mindless minions of House Thrune. You'd be wise to remember it," he whispers.

^This is going to be quite the eclectic and interesting group :)
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Off-topic a bit (but I figured it couldn't hurt since we've not started the game yet) but I've convinced my brother to give PFS PbP a try by offering to run a game for him. I told him he could pick the scenario that I run, if he wanted, but in the (likely) event that he leaves it up to my judgement what would be a good scenario to run that would help showcase some of the high points of playing online? He's not new to PFS or Pathfinder (in fact, he's the GM for our F2F group) but so far all of his games have been done live. Off the top of my head he's played the following:

I can't give my help on that, most of those listed are some of the few I've played. I'm starting Reaping What We Sow now.

The Goblin series has so much potential but for the most part my group and GM half assed it so it was just me and my Chuffy :(

I'd think less of the scenario and more of the group playing it!

One of my personal favorites is #7-15 The Deep Market Deception (Tiers 3-7).

At PaizoCon a year ago, I had a GM from Australia who gave the Deepmarket denizens a cockney accent, one of the female Ulfen guides a Russian accent.

I stole all that great stuff when I GMed it, and I gave the ratfolk voices like Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The little pipe fox sounded like Igor with a lisp. I tried to make the pesh addict sound like Joy Behar, and the mad alchemist-scientist sound like Bill Nye the Science Guy, filled with gloom and doom about global warming and the critical need to decriminalize narcotics. His kirrix companion sounded like Scooby Doo.

Hard to do voices in PbP, but if you mention what they sound like once, the players will have an instant and lasting mental image and ear for the NPCs.

I really liked the Gallows of Madness module. It's got a little bit of everything: an investigative puzzle to solve, notable and well-thought out NPCs, demons, goblins, bugbears, diabolical plots of noble houses... If he's looking for something with both flexibility and variety yet written in a way that would be friendly to new players you might recruit, I'd go with Gallows. Note that it is a 64 page module, so the commitment needed is more than a short scenario. You could always just run a chapter to start. Oh, and it's an evergreen.

Campaign-related question...

Is anyone wearing clothing that would qualify as being fine embroidered in some way? :)

Since his parents were killed during the martial crackdown on worshipers of Milani during the Night of Ashes, and after his superiors and comrades in the Silver Ravens were also slain, Pádraig has been very careful to adhere to the various edicts and ordnances Lord-Mayor Thrune has proclaimed, including the prohibition against such finery worn by anyone other than those from House Thrune or the Church of Asmodeus. (See "The First Proclamations," p. 20 in the Player's Guide.)

Wondering if any others managed to escape the Lord-Mayor's wrath, the "Silver Fledgling" has been keeping a low profile.

At least in public...

I haven't decided exactly how he's dressed yet, but I know its much more common wear to blend in with the regular populace.

Morvena: What about the Mists of Mwangi...or maybe the From Under Ice series?

As for the clothing question I would see no reason for him to violate the prohibition against such finery worn by anyone other than those from House Thrune or the Church of Asmodeus. His clothing would be of fine make but nothing fancy he he.

Morvena would probably be looking to keep a low profile so her clothes would probably be nice but not fancy.
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Thanks for the suggestions guys! As far as the group, well, I'd probably be looking to pull from the pool of cool people I know here on the forums to fill out the rest of the group! If I wanna show my bro a good time then I want to be sure to recruit other fun people too :)

I'll second the Gallows of Madness module recommendation. Trouble In Tamran is also a good scenario with lots of opportunity to roleplay in an urban environment.

Campaign-related question...

Is anyone wearing clothing that would qualify as being fine embroidered in some way? :)

Issil loudly and proudly displays jewelry, including her family signet ring and a brooch worth 200 gp. She also has a noble's outfit, but she doesn't wear that during work.

Intro post is up! Woo! Post at your leisure :)

Looking forward to it, I'll make a post either tonight or in the morning!

Ditto; I've got folks over right now but I'll hopefully get my post up soonish :)

Made my introductory post before I realized you wanted us to select one of the "Reasons to Protest" (on p. 9 of the Player's Guide). Pádraig Henry was Protesting the Government. The associated bonuses to skill checks don't match up with his actions, but that's okay with me, if it's okay with you. If you need skill checks, just let me know.

Campaign Traits: I selected the "Secret Revolutionary (Cheliax)" regional trait, instead of one of the campaign traits listed in the Player's Guide. It seems appropriate for the campaign, for the party, and for the PC:

You seek to return Cheliax to its heyday before the rise of the House of the Thrune. You have trained yourself to resist any questioning or torture should you ever be caught. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Will saves against mind-affecting effects, and on Fortitude saves against drugs or poisons.

Sounds good, Padraig.

I didn't discuss a posting rate or schedule at all, but I generally update in the evenings these days, and usually more frequently on the weekend. If there's a chance that work slows down, I sometimes post from there. This adventure's massive and I don't want the quality of my posts to suffer to benefit quantity, so if there's ever a break for half a day, that is why :)

That sort of update schedule should work for me. Most of you've played with me enough to see that I generally post more in the afternoons/evenings/at night than I do in the morning, whether I'm working or not. Otherwise my schedule fluctuates so much that I can't pin down specific days of the week where you might see me posting more or posting less. The best I can do is give notice for upcoming stretches where my activity might slow down, like this upcoming Thursday through Sunday where I'll be working day shift.

Regarding pace, I'm not worried - I'd rather have quality over quantity and though it's fun to actually make progress through an AP/module/scenario, the journey is also the destination as far as I'm concerned :)

*edit* And I've also got about 4-5 games (some GMed, some playing) that'll be ending in about a month or so when Gameday VI ends so that will free up some posting time as well!

I watch Paizo too much. I'll basically post as soon as you need me to, unless I'm having a busy weekend.

Hopefully no one saw my mis-post. I somehow thought Morvena rolled at least a 15 and provided her with a rumor. ... Oops. :)

Why must you tease me so!?

Seriously though, I'm just now making my posting rounds again so whatever you mis-posted, I didn't see it :)

I'll be outta town until Monday evening at least. Don't have too much fun without me!

Out late last night, making my rounds now!

@GM Red - Final Fantasy IX! Not only are you a good GM, you are also a good GM with good taste in video games :D

Of 100 nobles watching, 99 were impressed.

Roger/Viktor should be back tonight or tomorrow, I don't want him to miss his first combat round so I will wait for him rather than bot :)

That's fine with me! Thanks for the update :)

Happy Halloween! Have fun, stay safe, and watch out for spooks! :D

Hope you guys enjoyed your Halloween. I'll continue at my usual nightly posting rate today once I get home. Sorry if things have been on the slower side lately!

BURN!! j/k Slower is fine if that's what works for everyone. You know me and Issil will keep up no matter the speed.

My Halloween was spent quietly at home posting and watching people play scary games on YouTube, hehe.

No worries on the speed - it's worked well for me so far but speeding up a bit once Gameday is done shouldn't be a problem for me either :)

Bear with me folks as this is the first time I've played a character that will be making much use of the Summon Monster spells. It won't be her sole focus but it'll definitely be a thing she'll do from time to time so I'll do my best to make things as easy as I can on the rest of the group and GM Red.

Right now I plan to keep spoilered stat blocks on my Summoned Sidekick alias for the things that Morv summons on even a somewhat-regular basis but is there anything else that I can do to help keep things clear and orderly?

Another alias to hold onto your summoned monsters is fine with me. For more mindless creatures I tend to just post them with my character. For intelligent summons and eidolons I make a new alias for them. I've seen it done both ways.

For stats, I usually drop a link to the summoned monster. d20pfsrd already has statblocks for summoned monsters out of convenience- I just keep track of the hitpoints and current ailments. For example,
Princess Sparkletrot is a celestial pony my sorceress summons when she can't enchant her target.

Hey Pádraig, do you want a +2 Deflection Bonus to AC, or should I try to heal you?

Either would be very helpful, Issil. Your call.

@Morvena, the only thing I ask is to put the pawn on the map for me :) A spoilered stat block is a great idea too and I appreciate it! Normally, most players just rely on their GM to look up the statbox.

Not a problem! Anything to make things easier for everyone :)

*munches popcorn*

Yeah...for all the silent shade Morv was throwing at Padraig and Issil earlier, she's not exactly subtle herself. Might be why she has such a hard time grasping illusion and enchantment magic... :)

Running a small local con at the Jet City Comic show Saturday and Sunday, so my posts over the weekend will likely be short and sweet, lacking my usual excessive verbosity.

Woo, that's some nasty reinforcements. Do we want a tactical retreat?

That might not be a bad idea, even if we're able to take out some or the rest of the thugs this round...

Yeah this is not the hill Geoffrey want to die on here, so he does plan on retreating next round while covering your retreat.

Padraig's up, but he's conning away, so we'll give him some extra time.

I've added a Rumors spoiler to the Campaign Info that contains any rumors any of you have heard. Although some of you may not have heard them directly, feel free to read this spoiler. If this was face to face, you'd hear your GM saying it anyway, and it's likely your PC will share their knowledge with the others at some point or another.

^Thanks GM! Also, I hope everyone had a good weekend :)