Lords of Themselves: A Kingmaker Adventure Path.

Game Master Red Ramage

Seraphina Medvyed wrote:

Maja pulls off a rather convincing female character, I must say.

Thanks - I'll take that endorsement with pride! Maybe it's what happens when you grow up with three sisters and no brothers. I think it's hilarious how a bunch of guys decided to play Queenmaker.

It is funny! Idris actually reminds me of my only bff from when we were kids. But she is a very interesting and unique lady. She has been a zookeeper, a sheriff's deputy, and a government consultant for National Security. Her home is essentially a rescue shelter for all manner of displaced critters, domestic, wild and exotic. She, her hubby and all 3 daughters go deer hunting as a family (for their honeymoon, even!) and when she takes her daughters to the beach, they hunt for remains of the still "missing" people killed in Hurricane Katrina and those since. She's not what I would call a typical female though, interesting to note; all her closest siblings were her brothers! ^_^

Oh my! Bara is something, isn't she? Seraphina's inner child is hopping up and down like a brat in a pet store, tugging at Maja's skirts and whining,
"Can I keep her? Oh, Can I? Can I, huh?"

Red, you simply can't make all the NPC's so appealing. She'll want them all for pets! *cough* I mean, followers! ^_~

ok, one extra large batch of 1 dimensional villains coming right up! :D

For realsies, though, this is the campaign for leadership, cohorts, followers, etc.

I like Bara too!

Idris's main friends at the orphanage were boys and like-minded girls. So, yeah, she's similar to the situation you described above.

Well, if she's so favored by us she may as well be the assassin for our future kingdom...

No rush, but I'm waiting on Maja's response to Bara before moving on, as events unfold differently depending on the outcome of that little chat.

Yes, I didn't want to butt in on their moment, but Sera would be very still and paying very close attention.

I was thinking much the same, maybe even absorb her as part of our exploration group but still need to see how things go. I keep trying to get the conversation more private... is this all occurring in front of everyone, captives included?

Yeah I was wondering that. Is this private, or in front of the other party members, or in full view of the NPCs?

Semiprivate. Kesten, Dhavik, and any party members who wish to be part of the conversation are present. Oleg and Svetlana are out of sight, and the prisoners are secured in the stables.

work kept me late, too tired to be coherent. post later.

Sorry for my delay as well, been having some technical difficulties. Not to mention binge-watching Game of Thrones. ^_^

So again, some of this might work out faster if we plan out of character some as well. I don't think anyone in the group would be happy about offing the guards, so I guess the other options are let them go home and hope/try and ensure they keep quiet about what happened. Or we insist that they stay and take up with us, which will probably not be happy news if any of them have families at home.

Sera's primarily trying to get a read on the soldiers to judge which option makes better sense.

Kivan is trying to get some sort of trial for Joanne, and a fair one.

Right, why is that precisely? We've never had a trial before and we really can't afford to go to war with the Regent yet. Is this just a character perspective, or you as the player feel we should give her a fair trial. (also, how would we do that?)

Pretty is leaving Joanne in Kivan's hands, as he thinks capable of doing this (or just too dumb anyway).

The soldiers, on a different subject, could be "persuaded" to simply tell our truth, that is, Joanne attacked and tried to arrest an unknown group of adventures who are traveling across the stolen lands. She wanted to arrest using lethal force. We resisted in the same manner, and spared those who weren't exceeding their duty limits, and thus only a soldier who threatened a comrade was killed. Although the woman almost died in her madness act, we were kind enough to spare her.

As soon as New Stetven hear about it they will demand we send the woman over (for trial, of course), and she will use her noble blood and connections to fool justice and later will create a warrant for all of us. Then we are screwed. It would have been best if you had let her die, Master Kivan...

Yeah, I'm getting a distinct Yoko Ono vibe from Joanne this moment. I can understand if this is just a character quirk for compelling some drama, but I feel like too much in-party bickering makes it less fun. Saving Joanne seemed a little pointedly done to force this sort of conflict, too. I don't mind roleplaying it out, but it feels like this is severe enough to possibly "break up the band" if we don't resolve Kivan's attitude about us all being murderers. =/

GM, a little ooc advice maybe? I got the distinct impression that we risk open war if we let her leave with her life.

For some unknown reason I'm enjoying this conversation pretty much.

Kivan's main issue with this is that Joanne isn't being allowed to defend her actions. Bara was allowed to defend her actions, and beliefs. The bandits we encountered at Oleg's were allowed to defend their actions and beliefs. The only people we have fought who haven't been allowed to defend themselves, or their beliefs were the mites, and we caught them torturing a kobold.

Didn't she defend her beliefs before trying to arrest and kill us? Or would you give her a chance to speak now, even knowing she could just pretend to be a good person because she lost the battle and then turn on us when she's away?

I feel like she defended her actions when we met her too. She claimed authority over us, and charged us with treason for not surrendering Pretty and ordered us all arrested. Now it seems to me that we either recognize her authority over us and go along quietly to be hanged, or we dispute her authority and judge her for moving against us(the rightful authority here, at least as far as the people here are concerned) and endangering the lives of all involved in commission of her crime.

But if Kivan just needs to hear her damn herself out of her own mouth, that will likely happen easily enough. I would like to point out that Bara surrendered and plea bargained once she couldn't escape, whereas Joanne fought till she succumbed to her wounds, expecting her men to the same. I primarily have no interest in hearing her defend herself since I know she can't say anything that will change what she has done.

What Do We Do With The Prisoners?, the new Adventure Path from Paizo.

All of my OOC advice is said by NPCs ;)

If Maja didn't have a Detect Evil ability at-will, then she might have concluded that everything Joanne did was just because she was a bit drunk with her newfound authority. So I think I understand where Kivan is coming from.

Been looking around for info on the Aldori dueling process and coming up short, but I'm guessing it's typical that they make the challenge to restore their honor/reputation. So I'd expect that if we let Joanne wake up, she'll demand the duel herself. Not sure if not accepting the challenge is really an option at that point. I'd also assume it's a "to-the-death" sort of duel?

It's Idris' rival so Sera will support her choice, but honestly, I think the Yalven woman would want the duel. I guess it's not realistic to know her challenge rating, but I did want to ask Idris if she is trying to put it off til after the Stag Lord so she can possibly gain a level before they duel?

Reminds me of a comic I read.

Ah! Is that the way of it then? If so, I'd say sooner is better than later. I must say, I really didn't have a good idea of what we were doing when we wrote in an enemy and a rival. I made mine a spiteful rumormonger. D'oh!

You rival does not necessairily means an enemy, like mine, since we eventually protected one another several times, and although I can't see we ending up like Idris and Joanne, who knows what can come out of it? He may be hired for a certain disgusting family to pursue some greater evil.... (me, in case)

Anyway, always good to have this kind of stuff popping up...

Idris wants to do the Stag Lord first out of a sense of Duty to the team -- if Joanne kills or maims her, she wouldn't be able to fight with them and delaying might lose the opportunity.

I got the sense that Pretty and Swift were rivals like competing lawyers or salesmen would be rivals. Argue all day in court and go have a beer afterwards because it's just business.

You are correct ^_^

Maybe there's more of me in Pretty than I thought...

Sorry to be difficult, but imprisoning Joanne just to duel her later seems a bit like keeping a captive for the sake of putting that person in a gladiatorial arena. It seems like a morbid spectacle. And what do we tell the men?

For the sake of moving on, I won't protest if that's what we're going to do. But I wanted to put the issue out there.

I think this has stretched on quite long enough, so lets just say that's the plan.

Yeah, that's fair.

^_^

going to move the action forward tonight, anything to do with this long day can then be backspoilered

Yep, those gals will gab all night if you let them. ;^) I enjoy conversational roleplaying a lot though, so I appreciate the time put into it.

Do you want us to post an actual watch or just narrate the details away? Sera would probably prefer the morning shift.

Oh! And we should make sure Yalven is moved away from her men before she stirs and wakes up.

Yay, before they find themselves receiving orders again!

Serendipity, love it! Turquoise is actually my birthstone! ^_^

Good point - I seem to have ignored weapons and armor for no good reason.

New purchase list:
Masterwork Cold-Iron Longspear (310gp)
Masterwork Breastplate (350gp)
Masterwork Survival Kit (50gp)
Mapmaker's Kit (10gp)
Scroll of Comprehend Languages (25gp)
Scroll of Liberating Command (25gp)
Scroll of Obscuring Mist (25gp)
Scroll of Protection from Evil (25gp)
Scroll of Remove Fear (25gp)
Two Spring Loaded Wrist Sheaths (10gp)

If that turns out to be too much, then the breastplate isn't really necessary.

^ This is what I found regarding what was ordered, though I think the survival kit might might have been marked off, considering the survival gear the sootscales gave us counted as such.

I think the only other items were the Wand of Infernal Healing, Seraphina's Noble Outfit, and Idris' +1 Aldori Dueling Sword?

Salvaged from the late Joanne Yalven: Masterwork Aldori Dueling Sword, Masterwork Cold Iron Dagger, Masterwork Leather Armor, Bracers of Armor +2, Cloak of Resistance +2, Brooch of Shielding, Ring of Protection +1, and 3500gp.

Sera would like the Ring of Protection the most, as that will raise both her AC one point both with and without the Mage Armor, but I'll understand if it needs to go elsewhere since I have quite a few AC goodies already. I'd expect Kivan should have the Bracers +2.

Also meant to mention before that no one is carrying the Wand of Burning Hands and Sera would be a good option since she is more likely to wade into melee now.

I thought Sera was already carrying the wand of burning hands, but I agree with you carrying it.

For the Bracers of Armor I suggest selling them. Kivan can cast mage armor already and that is a +4 over the +2 the bracers offer.

@Ramage Do you want me to put values over the personal items as well and include them in the gold sheet as "loot"? I'm talking about Maja's bow, Idris' sword and Sera's robe - so the average power and wealth would keep balanced?

@all
I'll keep the MW dagger since no want will use it (or so I think) and Joanne's cloak and ring would also interest me, although if Sera wants it I have no problem with it. I need a Mithral chain shirt ^_^

I'll take the MW sword and the +1 sword, since they're mainly useful to me, and Idris would like a mithral breastplate or something similar (with spikes on) but yeah that'll be a while coming.

OK I've updated my character with the new weapons and armor from the purchases. I guess my old gear can go into the party pool, for what it's worth: light mace, aldori sword, chain shirt.

That's up to you, Pretty. I'm not overly concerned with party member loot value equality, as long as y'all are happy.

Anyone against it?

How can we withdraw that certificate of deposit beloved GM?

Anyway, what we have to sell/decide:
Certificate of Deposit 600 gp (how?)
MW Longsword 157.5 gp
Pearl of Power (1st) 500 gp (are you keeping this Kivan? Maja?)
Gold Nuggets 900 gp
MW Clock Duskwood/Mithral 2000 gp (Are we able to find a buyer now?)
Silver Coins Sack (10k) - trade for platinum, if any.
MW Falchion 187.5 (Bara's. Are we returning this?)
MW Composite Longbow 2 300 (Bara's. Are we returning this?)
MW leather cuirass 80
Bracers Of Armor +2 2000
Brooch of shielding 750 (I think someone should keep this, specially a caster who will use Mirror Image/Blur/Displacement - and I think we should consider it a "group item". What do you say?) (How much is this worth since it's partially used Ramage?)

Pretty wants to buy something to please the fairies. Be it candy, shiny stuff or something like that.

@Sera: Did you sell the Bracers of Armor +1?

Here's the revised list of things Maja wants. I put in the price markup for the scrolls.

Masterwork Cold-Iron Longspear (310gp)
Masterwork Breastplate (350gp)
Masterwork Survival Kit (50gp)
Mapmaker's Kit (10gp)
Scroll of Comprehend Languages (31gp)
Scroll of Liberating Command (31gp)
Scroll of Obscuring Mist (31gp)
Scroll of Protection from Evil (31gp)
Scroll of Remove Fear (31gp)
Two Spring Loaded Wrist Sheaths (10gp)

Total: 525gp

She also wants some additional things if they're already available at Oleg's:
1 Buckler
1 Large Two-Handed Weapon, as her backup melee weapon. I was thinking a greatsword or greataxe. If that doesn't work, then that's fine.
Armor Spikes - I understand if it's too late for this.

**Edit** I assume we're returning Bara's things? Kivan should take the Pearl of Power if he hasn't. Maja will take if Kivan declines.

Also, I'm fine with adding Maja's bow onto the list for wealth balancing.

Just to reassure you, feel free to add whatever you want to the loot sheet, but otherwise I'll keep it updated to know how much coin our group have.

Removed MW Cold Iron Longspear from Maja's row.
Added Welden's bow for half the price (300gp) and included it in Maja's row.

Yes, I had said we'd return Bara's gear, including her horse since she's joining our little war party. We could still leave her out of the fight with the stag lord, but I'd probably rather she come along. Having Bara there fighting beside us will maybe tip the others off that surrendering is an option and we'd possibly have less to fight.

Note that I do have Seraphina act like a noble to some degree, so she won't ask everyone's permission before deciding some things, but if ever I jump out there with something you really disagree with, let me know!

Kivan, are you sure about the bracers? I know they are probably not what you would buy, but they would increase your pre-Mage Armor AC to 16 and your flat-footed to 12. I think it's worthwhile to help you avoid snipers arrows and surprise attacks and such. Then again, trading it in for a wand of shield might not be a bad idea, either. ^_^

Kivan is already going to have mage armor cast before we even get into the bandit camp, so the bracers aren't going to help him much. If he needs a large boost to defense he will just cast mirror image.

On the issue with Bara's items. I think we should just give her back her weapons, and armor. None of us need her items, and we can create goodwill with Bara for trusting her.

Out of all the items Kivan would only want the cloak of resistance +2 since he can now upgrade that with a little time and resources.

I was thinking more along the lines of walking into ambushes between here and there. It happens while we explore every now and again, but I won't harp on about it.

Since Sera has a little wealth to play with again, can she trade out her +1 bracers for the +2's. I might see about trading them in myself later so we could possibly use diplomacy to get a better price. Or wait, I forgot I had already asked for the ring and that's not on her list yet, nevermind, she doesn't have as much as I thought.

Would an armored kilt be available in Restov or somewhere nearby? It looks like it might be a good future option to free up her arm slot for something else. I'm guessing she wouldn't be able to wear bracers and wrist sheathes for wands. I think it's listed in the Adventurer's Armory.