Kingmaker: The Varnhold Vanishing (Inactive)

Game Master wehrpig

I believe Aldarion's intention was to take Kessle out of earshot of the other bandits - not the party. Assume you are all interrogating Kessle.

Quite right. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Earlier on, after defeating the bandits, Aldarion said we all should interrogate Kessle without the other bandits nearby. This way, she can't get cues from them to corroborate the stories they told us... meaning, if her stories deviate from what the bandits said, we know someone is lying to us.

I thought we loosened their bonds / released them to help clean up.

Lol, sorry I forgot about that.

Cleaning up is certainly fine. Sending them out to scout is another matter. I hope they can earn our trust eventually but its not bee 10 hours since they were shooting at us. Does it seem reasonable to send them out scouting already?

Thoughts on the bandits - Short term I think we allow the bandit followers to continue to earn our trust and perhaps become part of a guard team for Oleg. They need to be able to generate their own upkeep as we can't really afford to play them. For a while I think they can be talked into working for free if they are eating and have a decent place to sleep - sort of reparations.

But the woman - What do you think about assigning her to be Jhod's personal body guard? He works on her religiously while she makes sure he stays safe.

I think we need to execute the woman.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Agreed, and I'd guess we're probably not ready to assault the Stag Lord and his forces just yet. I vote for continued exploration... try to knock out some of the bounties first.

I am good with killing her. Should impress the others too. IC Zeke would have liked to give her a chance partly due to his past but she is not necessiarly trustworthy and seems to be a murderer to boot.

Since we were asked OOC, Aldarion votes to execute Kessle. He's willing to let the other bandits live, but will recommend a sentence of "indentured servitude" to the state (meaning, to Rostland as per the writ, and thereby under our jurisdiction) until they've satisfactorily proved their redemption. Death by hanging or rope will be their sentence if they chose to escape and are recaptured. In practice, this basically means something like what Zeke said: free labor in reparations for their misdeeds.

Agree with Seres, we should not head to the fort yet, and should continue exploring for now.

In the future, just to put it out there, I'd like to discuss and decide matters like these in-character. :)

Going away tomorrow morning, and there's a possibility I may not be able to post for a few days. I should be back for the 4th, but feel free to bot me as needed.

Loot: Old Stuff

Per the loot list we still need to identify the following. Lets do so before we head out.

1) Seven rune covered crossbow bolts
2) Ornately wrought bracers ( I thought we did identify these? +1 Bracers?)
3) a wand
5) Pouch with blue powder

Loot: New Stuff. We need to appraise some of this stuff.

Lets keep at least some of the 8 bottles of herbal liquor as there was something about the Stag Lord liking this stuff, right?

I've been a bit too busy to just catch up with my posting, apologies. But whatever you guys decide as far as loot goes is fine by me. We could spend a day wrapping up all the buying/selling/identifying, I suppose, and get a warm meal and a good night's sleep (or elvish trance) indoors for a change?

I think Seres is best equipped to identify the stuff, as Aldarion does not generally prep detect magic. Perhaps next level.

Agreed on the liquor.

Already ID'd on our last visit (and I've updated the spreadsheet to reflect this + the claims)

Wand of magic missiles (CL3, 28 charges)
Bracers of armor +1
7 x +1 flaming crossbow bolts
Boots of elvenkind
Dust of illusion (1 dose)

Connor also has a masterwork breastplate on order from last time if there's enough allowance following everyone else's purchases for the following week.

Only reason I'm not just selling the handaxe now. With the dribbling faucet, we need to use what we have, not just turn to gold immediately.

Connor, this week there is only a total of 500 gp, I think you already spent most of that on the masterwork lance, right? Were you thinking there was 500 gp each? I think as soon as we get to 800 we need to order a wand of cure light.

No, I'm aware of the limit, that's why the breastplate is in the back of the queue once everyone else has purchased what they want. May be a week or two.

I thought it was resolved, but I'd like to claim the wand.

Right. You should take that scroll of Fly as well. I think I already voiced this but I recommend we sell that set of Bracers of Armor +1. One point of AC for a wizard is not worth the price and Mage Armor is so much better.

I am headed to a local con this afternoon and will be gone through Sunday. I am unsure how much time I will have to post or if there will be good internet. Please bot me if needed.

Sorry, been busy again. Work and other side projects taking up my time, bot me as needed. I am hoping Monday I'll be back to normal.

As for gear, Al's got the medical equipment he wanted, so he's good for a while. Agreed on the clw wand. Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned feel free to prioritize your gear needs, everyone else.

Will you go north, northwest, or southwest from the camp?

My eyes are starting to involuntarily close on me atm, and I don't recall offhand all the remaining tasks or their details... but it sounds like ex-bandit Jare pointed us in the direction of both the abandoned Erastil temple Jhod mentioned and the boar with a bounty on its head... Tuskgutter? I'm down with whatever everyone else wants to do, though.

Hmm. We seem to have bogged down...

Missed my action. Will.post today, sry.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Apologies, this past week and the upcoming week have been/will be very trying for me at work as we launch a new website. I'm working overtime to get everything up and running in time.

No worries Aldarion, RL takes priority. Good luck with the website.

Does the grapple dismount Connor?

Just saw DM's note. Aldarion's empathy is primarily for plants but still works on animals just with a -4 penalty ... which he incorporated into his roll.

If that makes a difference, Connor will hold off on Cinder attacking until that plays out.

The green emphathy will have no effect on this particular bear.

Seres, yes your attack went off in Round 2. It was clear at the end of Round 1 that Aldarion was not successful.

Connor, yes, you remain in the saddle.

Thanks Connor. I was in the middle of replying last night when the site went down, lol.

Catching up now...

All,

I'll be attending Gen Con this year and will be mostly unavailable from this Wednesday morning through Sunday evening. Please bot me if needed.

I'm jealous. Have a good time!

Time to find a wand of clw... ;)

If it's a will o' wisp, can anyone do a Knowledge (dungeoneering) check to make sure? I don't think I can id it. Any additional info we glean from someone's knowledge check might be helpful in dealing with that thing next time, too...

FYI everyone - I added a goodberries count to my stats bar. In case anyone is in serious need of a few hp or stabilization and I haven;t posted yet, feel free to assume Al offers goodberries as long as he has the quantity prepped.

Apologies all, been very busy at work the past few days. Posting now...

Hey, I will be out of town this weekend starting tomorrow morning and will have limited access to my computer for posting until next Tuesday. Going to Dragon Con. :)

Someone remind me to pick up that alchemical item which masks your scent the next time we're at Oleg's. Could have come in handy right about now.

Aldarion may take his first round aciton - go ahead and specify where you want the entangle spell.

First choice: I'll aim for the westernmost group of bandits and dogs, but only if Seres can't knock them into slumber. If he does, then...

Alternate choice: No sense wasting the spell, I'll target the two dogs and the one bandit trying to get close to Al and Zeke.

Sorry, I've been on the road and generally thrashing. Am I unconscious/bleeding?

You've taken 16 points damage. You can take your missed actions and I'll retcon as necessary.

Being all split up is very bad for me and seems worse for our sorcerer. What were we thinking?

I thought we were all heading for the island? Maybe Seres logged in too late and we already started before he could move his icon on the map.

I would have moved to stay with the group, but if the dogs catch me anyway, it only changes where I go down.

Congrats on reaching 3rd level! Please post your level-up stats and update your profile.

Leveling. Ezekial takes a 3rd level of rogue.

HP: 1d8 ⇒ 5

He gains +1 BAB and +1 to both Fort and Will saves.

He also picked up Dex to his damage with Kukris and Blade Sense (+1 Dodge against light blades).

He picks up a Feat and takes Dodge.

And he gains 8 skill points, 2 of them background skills
+1 Acrobatics
+1 Bluff
+1 Diplomacy
+1 Disable Device
+1 Perception
+1 Stealth

+1 Appraise
+1 Slight of Hand

Hit Points: 1d6 ⇒ 5 +1 favored class bonus

+ charm person

+ 1 spellcraft

+ point-blank shot

Hunter +1 level (should've swapped Int and Wis at a lower level ... I'll work on a +2 wisdom headband later, so I can cast spells) -- only gonna be a 2 level splash, I think

Background Skills
+1 Handle Animal
+1 Know Geography

Skills
+1 Ride
+1 Diplomacy
+3 Perception
+1 Know Dungeoneering
+1 Survival

HPs: 1d8 ⇒ 5

Feat: Power Attack

Cinder: + Flank trick
Bull's Aspect on Cinder as an assumption, will change it as required.

Nice! Will do when I get back...

I'm actually going away for a couple of days and the Internet situation is uncertain. Please bot me as needed. I'm fine either way with hanging or sparing the bandits, as long as it doesn't significantly endanger us (i.e. if spared, unarm them and maybe bind them).

GM, would you mind if I swapped my Int and Wis so I can cast 0 level spells now and 1st level spells at next level?

Recognize that it was my piss poor planning, but think of it as taking a Will save penalty for 3 levels with all those doom spells as my punishment!

I'll need to remove 3 skill points. I'd take them out of survival, know dungeoneering and know religion since I've never used those.

Yes, no problem - you've been retrained!

What are your plans for the next day?

I'd like to consider our next steps OOC for a bit, because frankly I've kinda lost track of our priorities, apologies.

What I do know is that we're likely not ready to tackle the Stag Lord just yet. Even though I'm not comfortable with him knowing about and hunting us down.

The god-orb concerns Aldarion the most at present. Do we know of anyone who might know what to do about it? Maybe the priest back at Oleg's might shed some light.

Otherwise, we might generally want to continue exploring the northern hexes, then make our way down the map, if for no other reason than exploratory efficiency. Maybe head for a neighboring hex right now, perhaps the one northwest of the Fey woods (we're in the Fey woods, right)?

Would help me as well. We have a number of quests that we need to be tracking as well.

You are in the hex northwest of the fey wood - now titled the "dead trapper".