KC's Age of Worms

Game Master Kobold Catgirl

I'm truly sorry KC.

Lots of cooking and baking today and yesterday, and I'm too tired to finish the post today. Tomorrow! :)

Oh, gosh, I only got a few hours of sleep last night. Gonna aim to get the actions posted in the morning, but in the meantime, I thought I'd sketch out a quick recap.

The party is here because the Order of the Storm, an ancient group that opposed Kyuss during Dragotha's war, hid Dragotha's phylactery long ago and you don't know where. The Library of Last Resort holds the secrets of the magically-wiped-from-history war, but the fey spirits of the Library want you to prove you can defend the secrets you'll learn.

You have to destroy the phylactery so you can kill Kyuss's mightiest servant, Dragotha the Dracolich, master of Ilthane (black dragon responsible for the worms in the lizardfolk eggs and for laying waste to Diamond Lake).

Dragotha also probably killed the hell out of Bucknard. Bucknard was a close friend of Tenser, and Lashonna, a noblewoman and ex-revolutionary of Redhand, was one of his only confidantes before he ventured out to investigate Dragotha personally. He didn't come back, and Lashonna has a personal score to settle against Dragotha.

These Vecnans? Aside from your old buddy Zyrxog, who seems to be investigating the Age of Worms just like you (albeit from a, perhaps less upstanding direction and with inscrutable motives), they don't have much connection to your problems aside from your immediate goals. You both want the secrets of the Library of Last Resort.

Nice recap, thanks.

I wonder if there's a "buff sheet" somewhere for PF1 that sorts all the major buffs into categories (like bonus types, extra senses) with simple check boxes next to the spell entries for each character, or something. My word.

I know you can do it with Roll20 character sheets but unsure if such a tool exists outside of the context of a digital tabletop.

Imagine a party with both a cleric AND a wizard!

(I am aware that the Vecnan squid fiend party almost fits this description. Let's just keep pretending that KC is talking about Astraden and Eben's buffs.)

*looks at extracts with profound sadness*

I'm in a bit of a downswing at the moment. All's well, but posting is definitely going to be slower for a bit.

I'm gonna try very hard to get the post up tomorrow. It's a big turn.

Sure, I'll gamble on my mirror images.

In regards to getting around mirror images/displacement before the next spell preparation, shutting one's eyes and using an action point to grab Blind Fight is still allowed, right?

Displacement is a flat 50% chance to miss, and mirror images make hitting even harder on top of that. But with Blind Fight and closed eyes you get that miss chance down to 25% and ignore mirror images.

Good idea, if that's allowed I will do that.

Yup, though you'll be unable to take AoOs until your next turn.

Which I just realized I forgot on the efreeti, even though I specifically made a note of it as something I needed to keep in mind. So that's 15 damage off the vulpinal, since he wouldn't have gotten an AoO.

If Astraden is dead, and Carina gets stunned, I'll allow Astraden to spend 2 Action Points each round to "extend" her access to Breath of Life.

I'll try to get up a post tomorrow--had a swingy day today.

Oh, geez, I must have messed up the dice roll orders with those additional clarifications while my half-finished post sat on the Preview Post page. The nightmare rolled very badly, and Darl's touch attack was, like, a 22, so that's why the post is the way it is. Don't worry about the numbers--it's all a wash, so I'm not gonna bother trying to fix it.

Oh, hey, it's our ninth anniversary in four days. That's pretty cool! Thanks for sticking with it. A year per installment average isn't so bad.

Granted, we finished the first chapter in a month, but it's not like the game has gotten simpler from there. In 2014, I was a part-time community college student. :P

I mean, your other AoW game is just over a year old and only just now approaching the end of Whispering Cairn, so, clearly you guys were just abnormal posting freaks back in the day.

No job and no friends helps. It really does.

9 years, wow. Time flies.

2014 I was still in China and kidless.

Thanks for running for so long.

Does the fact that Darl's body is currently being carried by displacer beasts mean it receives the benefits of displacement as well?

Hm... yeah, probably, similar to how Displacement still protects you from Sunder attacks.

Happy anniversary, everyone! Amazing job of GMing you've been doing KC. Thank you to all my co-players for good roleplay and wonderfully cheesy tactics throughout the years.

Tomorrow, my partner and I celebrate ten years together :) Funny that it is just two days apart!

Happy Anniversary in advance, then!

I'll try to post tomorrow--my new routine basically sets aside about an hour to see to PbPs, and today I had a big post for my other forum game.

By my count, you've got four villains, plus Clunk and (possibly) Krekie to move. Seriously, feel free to split that into multiple posts over a couple days if it would make your life easier.

I may! I often do an outline one day and write it up the next.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeesss! That slight chance of deafness screwing up Zyrxog paid off!

Spell choice from two levels back JUSTIFIED.

I may need a couple days; it's tax season and I'm also dealing with a medication change that's making my days pretty swingy.

Oh, I guess this is a first for me--I lied in the opposite direction. Still, I'll probably be posting more like once every other day for a bit, at least until taxes are past and/or the ritalin's under control.

I said this on the Discord, but I've slowed down a bit lately due to some changes in medication and routine. I'll keep getting posts up when I can, and hopefully I can find my way back to a consistent pace soon!

Heads up, probably not necessary for this game, but I'm traveling next week with uncertain time/ability/internet access, so may fall silent a bit. Bot if needed!

As an update, I'm trying to get back in the roll of things. It's nothing to do with this game. I've sort of had a very up-and-down month, with multiple medication changes and my sleep schedule going totally to pot. Basically the only things I've been able to focus on have been my RPG Superstar entries, and that's only by the grace of an intense hyperfixation that's finally starting to fade.

I've finally got the sleep schedule fixed now, but I also have a wedding to attend this week up in Seattle, unless this morning's sore throat is more than passing allergies, so I may not be able to get things properly going again until next week.

Assuming the sleep schedule gets fixed, I'll be playing catch-up a bit throughout the month, but I hope to get a post up soon. It could be a lot sooner, but I want to give a heads-up in case it takes longer.

Thanks for letting us know.

Good luck, my own ADHD messing with sleep lately too.

Maybe avoiding combat with Krathanos was an overrated concept.
Or maybe cloudcuckoolanders like Eben shouldn't handle negotiations, no matter how maxed out their Diplomacy score looks on paper.

Remember to reset your APs and increase the max value to 13, by the way!

So, this seems like a good time to talk about the PF1 situation.

I increasingly don't believe I know this system well enough nowadays to run it well at high-level, and I'm not sure I can keep the plates spinning long enough to finish Book 12. Putting aside whether or not PF1 is "too complicated", it's not a system I have mastery in anymore. Encounter building in particular has become a huge problem, though buff tracking is not far behind. This campaign started as a PF1 game, and it may remain as a PF1 game, but I don't know if it will be able to finish as a PF1 game.

The least radical option would probably be Pathfinder Second Edition (which I've gotten pretty comfortable with), but I know from our Discord talks that it is not everyone's favorite system around here.

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts or suggestions. I'm just a little burnt out on trying to run for high-level PCs, and it's only going to get worse. Ninth-grade spells are a level away.

The least radical option would probably be Pathfinder Second Edition (which I've gotten pretty comfortable with), but I know from our Discord talks that it is not everyone's favorite system around here.

:::redundant raising of hand::: Yeah, that'sa me. I don't have a better idea for the moment, but I'll follow along and see how the conversation goes.

Anyway, as far as leveling and looting, I just discovered earlier today that Eben had already claimed a +2 rin of protection from Marka all the way back in the Spire and I never got around to updating my character sheet. So, obviously, we'll have to retcon every fight I've been involved in since then and recalculate based on what my AC actually should have been...

Oh, fine, I'll just update my sheet now and use the new results moving forwards, you bunch of handwavers.

Actually, I think I'll still claim Zyrxog's ring for being a better trophy of a defeated enemy and toss Marka's back in the pile. Unless anyone objects, I'll also take at least temporary possession of Malahazar's amulet of natural armor +1 and Cretan's belt of giant strength +2. Genuinely surprised I hadn't claimed/bought anything along those lines yet.

New level-up fun to come.

Level upping:

16th level:
Bard 15
+1 STR
FCB: +1 4th level spell known
+7 hp (119)
+1 BAB
+1 Fortitude
7 skill points: +1 Perception, +1 Perform (act), +1 Perform (dance), +1 Perform (oratory), +1 Use Magic Device, +1? knowledge (arcana), +1 sleight of hand
***I know I was doing some late game purchasing of K:(a) for something, but honestly can't recall what at the moment.
bardic performance: +2 rounds/day
inspire competence +5, inspire heroics
+1 3rd level spell per day, +1 5th level spell per day
new spells known: 4th- freedom of movement? 5th- bard's escape

Remember to reset your APs and increase the max value to 13, by the way!

So, this seems like a good time to talk about the PF1 situation.

I increasingly don't believe I know this system well enough nowadays to run it well at high-level, and I'm not sure I can keep the plates spinning long enough to finish Book 12. Putting aside whether or not PF1 is "too complicated", it's not a system I have mastery in anymore. Encounter building in particular has become a huge problem, though buff tracking is not far behind. This campaign started as a PF1 game, and it may remain as a PF1 game, but I don't know if it will be able to finish as a PF1 game.

The least radical option would probably be Pathfinder Second Edition (which I've gotten pretty comfortable with), but I know from our Discord talks that it is not everyone's favorite system around here.

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts or suggestions. I'm just a little burnt out on trying to run for high-level PCs, and it's only going to get worse. Ninth-grade spells are a level away.

I'm kind of in the same boat, honestly. This and one other slow moving PBP are the only games where I use PF1 rules still. 5e has become my default system to run and play in. Whenever I post here I usually have to look up everything to make sure I'm not making mistakes with PF1 rules now. I've never really touched PF2.

Would be down to try whatever conversion if it would make things easier to run. With a game that's been going on this long I'd like to stay committed as long as everyone else is.

Will look over loot lists and level up as I have time the next few days.

So, we basically have four options. I mentioned them on the Discord, but to be sure we're all on the same page:

1. We switch to narrative-based--basically a fast-track to at least end the story properly.

2. We switch to PF2. I'm fully open to helping people through this system, as well as homebrewing in anything that doesn't translate properly. I've been doing a lot of design in PF2, and I have two friends who are very immersed in it--one of whom professionally--so I feel pretty comfortable making new archetypes or feats where it's needed. Like, the concept of a bloodrager hasn't gotten much official support yet, but I'm confident we could figure something out.

3. We switch to an alternative rules-light game like Savage Worlds. This theoretically works fine, but I don't know Savage Worlds, and I'm honestly not super keen on learning it? Which is obviously a problem for everyone else learning PF2, too, which is why I'm not ruling this out. Rules-light is a better way to end things than rules-none.

4. We either find a new GM or try co-GMing and stay in PF1.

Of these options, I think #2 and #4 are the strongest. Switching to PF2 is messy, but it's a system I know and feel confident in. I'd be able to build more interesting and challenging encounters.

Meanwhile, a co-GMing setup where another player like Farrukh handles the bulk of encounter building and I handle the bulk of story and dialogue could work. It wouldn't be perfect, and obviously it would force a player to take on a lot more work and give them information they strictly speaking ”shouldn't have“, but if people would overall prefer to stick with PF1, that's the most feasible way to do it. We could maybe tweak some of the more onerous rules, like spell durations. I have a friend who's working on a more PF2-esque house rule where durations are a little more abstracted; not as realistic, but a heck of a lot easier to track, you know?

I don't want to just do a simple “majority rules” vote, but maybe if everyone could rate these four options from 1-10, we could get a feel for which options would be the most viable and least disruptive.

I've been poking around Pathbuilder to get a feel for what 16th level would be like. It looks like I'd have to accept that Eben would turn into a more standard buffer/full caster and lose out on his arrow gish-iness. One the one hand, that's unfortunate because I was starting to feel like I'd finally gotten him to the point where he can actually contribute meaningfully in a fight; on the other hand, this last fight I never fired a shot and just relied on nonstop spell use, so maybe it was foreshadowing. :-)

Option 4 sounds appealing, but I have absolutely no desire to bring on an entirely new GM, and assigning a co-GM, while it wounds feasible i practice, I think does have the potential drawback of slowing down the game even more, since now we'd be relying on multiple people to keep things rolling. That said, if we do go that route, and we are all fine with thinning the player/gm separation walls, I'd be happy to lend a hand with re-statting encounters, in case we wanted to spread it around and not dump it all on Rynjin's shoulders.

So, with all that in mind, I'd rate the options as follows:

Option 1- 3/10. While I want to see the game through, narrative based taking away the 'rules' element feels like a letdown. I mean, how much fun will the game be if we don't have the opportunity to roll badly and have Astraden wind up dying mid-combat or Farrukh get eaten by every third monster? It's a feasible backup option if none of the other ones work.

Option 2- 6/10. Don't like PF2. Don't expect to be a convert to the glory of PF2 even if we switch over. BUT, it would still be at least modestly comfortable ground.

Option 3- 1/10. While I don't relish learning a new game system at all, I think having the GM have to learn a completely new system alongside of me just because I don't like PF2 is a terrible idea.

Option 4- 5/10. Weirdly I find myself less drawn to the option of sticking with PF1 with this caveat than I am opposed to transferring to 2E. It still would be a more acceptable transition than 1 or 3, but surprisingly my gut says I'd be more content with a conversion to second edition.

Prompting for Jelani's, Gark's and Rynjin's ratings--I've already gotten DCat's and Feral's general feelings on the matter.

Option 1 - Meh

Option 2 - Do I have to buy PF2 books to learn the rules? If not, totally down to try it. I have no feelings towards the system, since I've never played it.

Option 3 - Rules light sounds awesome, but I'm not trying to force people to learn rules they don't want to learn. I also don't know Savage Worlds at all.

Option 4 - Seems like it could work, but I anticipate it would slow things down to the point that it might just kill the game.

So I guess PF 2e seems best?

I don't care about what Cuetzpalli's stat block says at all, as long as he can still pwn dudes with Kelmarchen.

The AONPRD for PF2 is a little messy at times, but once you get the hang of it, it's one of the best PRDs out there for quick reference. I didn't have the books when I learned, but I did have help!

Cool, sounds like that should work

Prompting for Jelani's, Gark's and Rynjin's ratings--I've already gotten DCat's and Feral's general feelings on the matter.

I gave my ratings on the Discord a while ago, though I guess I never put numbers to them and you've changed the order since then lol.

Something like:

1.) 0/10, not a fan.
2.) 5/10, I'm open to being convinced the system isn't trash anymore I guess?
3.) 3/10; I personally would find it fun but you seemed lukewarm on it KC and I don't feel comfortable voting for something the GM would dislike.
4.) 7/10; I'm pretty comfy with PF and with being a co-GM in other games, I'm perfectly fine with this.

I realized I'd changed the order midway through the post and went to myself, "He's definitely going to make fun of that."

I know that Gark is extremely busy right now with work and union stuff, so we may have to backseat Astraden for a bit no matter which way the dice are falling. As-is, it sounds like co-GMing and PF2 are pretty evenly-supported. Clearly, the best solution is to compromise and do both. Storm Dragon can just co-GM PF2 with me! ;P

Like I said, this isn't a vote so much as just getting a feel for where everyone stands. I'm not doing an option that even one person is rating a 1, for instance. PF2 and Co-GM both have mixes of 5s and 7s, making them the least-despised options. I'd be fine with either, so I'm gonna go bother Gark about those two and maybe save them from having to do a big post about it.

At this time, we'll either be switching to PF2 immediately or hopping to co-GMing immediately. In an ideal world, we'd do a "trial run" of each, but the amount of labor required for those is kind of comical.

I was hoping to get a post up today progressing the story (we have matters to attend to before levels will matter too much), but all three of my PbPs are waiting on me right now and I have to make some decisions about the next couple scenes anyways.

So, expect a post tomorrow or Sunday!