Madness in Kintargo (Inactive)

Game Master Profession Smith 6 ranks

Yeah things are nuts. I might be switching to working from home soon

I'm in the Seattle Area. Ground zero for the start of this mess in the US. The libraries have been closed for a week, and now all the restaurants, bars, theaters etc are closed for two weeks.

On top of all this, I work at a hospital. I don't have patient interactions, but still considered essential. I'm heading into the office about half the time, and working at home half the time.

So far everyone is healthy, but we all know it's a matter of time before that changes.

Take care. Rest when you can. We (the whole world) will get through this.

I don't think I've ever seen Charm Person or any variation short of Dominate, work as an effective combat strategy

Depends on it's use. Currently I've removed one enemy from the fight, and depending on what you want them to do it can work, it's just not useful. At the least it's one less who won't turn on me and can be useful in letting me get away if it comes to it.

Suddenly not having a cleric during an extended fight is really beginning to hurt.

Hi, I'm posting this to all the games I'm in.

My father passed away this morning. He was in hospice care for the past week, between that and the Coronavirus outbreak that's why I've been absent for the past stretch.

My sincerest apologies, I didn't mean to excessively disrupt the game and I hope I didn't. I hope to get back on to something resembling a normal schedule by the end of the week.

Thanks for your understanding.

Sorry to hear that; my condolences.

No problem being absent from the game. Do what you have to and come back when you can.

I'm so sorry for you loss Dom. Take care of yourself and your family.

I'm so sorry for your loss. We'll be here, take your time

I'm so very sorry as well. My thoughts go out to you.

Clearly you have all of our sincere condolences. Trying times indeed.

As some of you might know, I don’t have home internet access, walking instead to my local library to use their free wifi. Currently, I have a wifi hotspot on loan. The loan expires today, and while I don’t have to return it until the start of May, as I understand it the hotspot shuts down automatically when your loan period ends. With the library closed “until further notice”—‘til early April at the very least—I may be unable to post for the foreseeable future.

Hopefully my hotspot keeps working and there won’t be an interruption in my ability to post…but if it doesn’t, my state’s pretty much in lockdown mode for God knows how long and I have no good posting options. I’m looking into assisted/emergency internet access, but the application process takes some time.

I’m hoping I’ll post to games as usual tomorrow, but if I can’t…Stay safe and I’ll get back in touch when I can.

UPDATE: My hotspot's still working, so it looks like the game's still on.

Yay!! on the hotspot.

While we're not quite done at the Pitchfork & Flagon, I'm intending to have everyone level up to 5th level before moving us on to the next part of the adventure, so start planning ahead!

I reached out to both Dom and Leora (figuring her player might be interested in rejoining if she had more time due to the stay-at-home policies so prevalent during the coronavirus outbreak) but haven't heard back from either. Though Dom's on his 'third strike,' I feel uneasy about dropping him from the game at this point: Between his father's death and the madness the coronavirus outbreak is bringing (in one way or another) to all our lives, I'm leaning toward having his character fade to the background if he's not back by the time we move on to the next section of the campaign.

Do we want to try proceeding with just 4 PCs? Have me run Jessibel as a DMPC for her healing and inspire courage buffs? Or should I start thinking about bringing in a 5th PC with some sort of healing bent?

I'd dislike just kicking him given what is going on in his life right now. I don't blame him for getting behind.

As for whether to recruit another, we did lose Dekamund already getting another player might be a good idea. We can always bring Jessi back for a bit as a DMPC until we find out what is happening with Dom if we find we need one.

I think I am in accord with Falina on this one. I think a 5-person squad has better chances than 4, especially since T'chazzar is such an under-optimized build. ;)

Yeah, you and me both T'chazzar. Though in my case it was a lack of gear. Granted the whip makes up for most of that though I am not by nature a martial character (even if those trip attacks would say otherwise) so it's value is actually much lesser for me than it would be for anyone else. Not complaining, I love my whip as it goes well with the character, just stating from a mechanics POV.

Upside I will get another couple of spells known next level since a bloodline spell is gained which will be very nice.

T'chazzar will improve markedly over the next few levels, but yeah, at the outset this build is just starved for decent abilities and feats.

Because of the design of her bloodline Falina isn't exactly meant for combat either. She's got some spells for it but her bloodline is far better at mental control and manipulation than it is a straight up fight. I was debating what she might try to pry from the guard she has charmed right now but decided that there really wasn't the time as we should get out of there quickly and we don't need him tagging along.

Guess I'll just have to keep shooting them before they get close.

As I recall we are trying to rescue Kiri and the remaining Fushi Sister correct? This was a lead on their where-a-bouts, that they were being held in the basement I believe?

I'm inclined to let Dom come back when he can. Losing a parent is really rough.

If we can find another player, that would be a good idea. We are low on healing.

Davina will get more martial she's about to get studied Combat and Studied strike so her damage will go up some.

A fill-in for healing would definitely be a good thing, and yeah I'd say given the circumstances, Dom warrants being able to return. This would be different than previous disappearances.

I'm about to get another favored enemy so my attack and damage will go up marginally against these damned tieflings.

Anyone know someone--maybe a player from another game you're in--who might want to join and become the Silver Ravens' newest member (and healer)? If not, I can ask around in some of my games or just open up a recruitment thread.

Paladin (gray paladin, tempered champion) 5
+6 hit points
+1 BAB

Skills: +1 each of: Bluff, Disguise, Perception, Sense Motive; Linguistics, Sleight of Hand

New language learned: Infernal

Feat: Dual Enhancement

New class feature: Divine bond (weapons)

Sacred Weapon feature: Shortsword damage increases to 1d8

Hey guys! Silversong invited me to join as a healer. Going to take a bit to catch up on the game to date and come up with a character.

I've been playing and GMing on the boards for uh... several years now but have never had a serious crack at Hell's Rebels so excited to join up.

Mystery Roll: 1d30 ⇒ 21
Mystery Roll: 1d30 ⇒ 29

Welcome!

OK, I think I'm going to drop GM Paladin's boon rolls going forward--no one ever gets anything decent.

Spiderbeard--choose one of these bonuses for character creation (I don't think they'll make your PC overpowered).

1: Two extra traits of your choice (other than ones which give you more starting gold). The traits still need to be different types.

2: An extra non-combat feat of your choice

The party has a couple of healing wands but little in terms of innate healing, so your PC doesn't need to be a full-time healer. In fact, we seem to have recently lost our main melee character (Domitius), so a character who can contribute a bit in battle as well might be optimal.

Welcome to the game!

Awesome! That gives me a lot to work with. I'll have something roughed out ASAP.

Okay so I'm tentatively going with a human cleric of Ragathiel who is intended to be a former dandy who has sworn vengeance on Thrune and styles himself as a bit of a knight in shining armour. Almost a comic book character from the "rich guy puts on a costume to go battle evil" trope.

Other concepts were a cleric of Shelyn/oracle of Intrigue who is a retired opera singer but but she'd not be very frontline at all. Or a Calistrian hidden cleric spymaster type. I think the cleric of Ragathiel is what I'll build though. Work is brutal right now but I'll try to get things sorted so the game can restart soon.

I like the Cleric of badassery Ragathiel

Heh, a cleric of Ragathiel was my first character on the boards.

Urban Ranger 5

+6 hp
+1 BAB
2nd favored enemy (native outsider), +2 1st favored enemy
+1 1st level spell
8 skills (Acrobatics, Bluff, Disable Device, Intimidate, Knowledge Local, Knowledge Nobility, Perception, Stealth
Feat: Bullseye Shot (spend move action to gain +4 to next shot taken before end of turn)

So I normally do backstory then the character build but went hte other way around. Here's a frontliner shining bastion of goodness cleric in plate mail who hobnobs around fancy parties at night. Ready for review.

I'll now start turning my concept into something more substantive so I can fit into the game.

Okay backstory is in with GM. I'm starting to consider a dip into vigilante more and more so will think great thoughts since it'd fit this character nicely.

Yeah I'm pretty much playing a vigilante without being the Vigilate class, but you're right, this setting is perfect for the whole dual identity thing.

Welcome GM Spiderbeard.

Vigilantes are perfect for this AP.

Level 5:

4 Investigator/1 Swashbuckler
+5 HP
Level 2 Extracts (One of these days I'm going to need to add some formulae to my book.)
Skills:
Acrobatics
Bluff
Disable Device
Disguise
Escape Artist
Perception
Sense Motive
Spellcraft
UMD
Background:
Artistry Literature
Craft Alchemy

Feat: Combat Reflexes
Studied Combat
Studied Strike - 1d6 Precision Damage

Finally the investigator is kicking in.

OK...baby steps are better than no steps at all.

I still have a bit more work to do before restarting the campaign. My general lack of focus hasn't been helped by PaizoCon online and an influx of warm weather in my area, along with persistent back pain just bad enough to be annoying. Still, I'm trying to get some stuff done. And I think I've found a good way to introduce the new guy's character into the party.

In looking over his character, I couldn't help but think that he's got a lot of magical goodies compared to other folks. If you haven't used past loot distributions to pump up your gear some, this would be a good time to do so. Also, I'm not sure if anyone claimed any items from the Pitchfork and Flagon haul yet; if not, they can be sold off before we resume.

I'm working on updating the Silver Ravens Organization and Teams write-ups, but it's been slow going. I think I'll pencil in Viroleth as the new Partisan, replacing Domitius. Still no word from Dom (or Leora, for that matter) so they'll be in NPC mode when we resume.

Just so Davina (and other folks, if they're interested) can start planning for the next weekly Organization Checks, your recent actions have earned the Silver Ravens a new Unique Ally and a new Bonus Team. Info is spoilered below.

I'm hoping to restart the campaign this weekend or early next week at the latest.

Yeah, your fine Silver, you're at least keeping us up to date on things. I have one of on RPOL where the GM is still logging in, and had let us know that things would be slowing down months ago, but simply isn't responding giving updates at all.

Rather sucks because it's a very interesting game and I haven't been playing it all that long but it is a great concept with a lot of potential.

The guy took the concept of stories like Sword Art and .hack where you're trapped in a virtual world and made an RP game from it. There are several of us spread across multiple worlds with out own story lines and settings from high fantasy, to gothic horror, to present day, and future. Really hope he gets it moving again soon.

After playing with builds I'm going to go pure cleric. I think it fits the character better even though he has a strong vigilante vibe to him.

And on magic items, I'll take a look at recommended loot distro and other characters and scale back. I find that APs award loot well behind WBL and when you bring someone in at WBL, they can be way too loaded.

Since it looks like we're a go, I've adjusted my equipment to a little over 3k gold in gear since that's about what the rest of the group has. Also spells are memorized. Good to go!

Sorry, things have been pretty crazy for the last few days.

For me too. I live in the Seattle Metro area. I'm in the burbs so the looting isn't affecting my day to day life like it is some who live downtown.

COVID still is messing up my world. I work for a hospital that had a active shooter lockdown on Tuesday. It was a false alarm. Mistaken identity. Thank goodness. I was working from home, but it's still scary when I have staff on site.

I've got very little brain power to be creative. I'm still here, and still in.

Sorry for the delay. I'm going to give Davina one more evening to post before I bot her to move things forward.

I'm sorry. I've had a rough couple of weeks.

I'm sorry. I've had a rough couple of weeks.

No problem; these are strange and trying times.

How do folks feel about the current pace of the game? I'll admit I wish it were faster, especially when everyone knows we're in a combat. I used to hope for a response from everyone in about 2 days; it seems fair to double that to 4 days with the pandemic wreaking havoc. That way, we'd be able to complete close to 2 rounds per week, at least in cases where all the Silver Ravens' initiatives are clumped together.

Or are folks content with the current slower pace? I can understand not wanting to have one more thing to stress over, even if it's something as low-priority as a PbP game.

And now, having asked about speeding up the game, I have to give another warning about possibly losing my internet access. My hotspot rental is due to expire on 6/30. Since my area's libraries aren't officially open yet, I'm not sure if the due date will get extended again. So I may go suddenly silent at the start of next month...or not.

The good news is that my sister's a librarian, and she said she'll try to renew the rental on Tuesday. Meanwhile, I'll work on getting assisted rate internet access at home.

Stay safe!

ADDENDUM: I just noticed a Renew Button on my library profile's Checked Out page. I clicked it and my hotspot's now allegedly not due 'til 7/18. I know for a fact that hotspots are usually NOT renewable, but maybe it's a case of special rules for special circumstances. Keeping my fingers crossed....

I'm ok - I'm used to games going a little slow while this is all going on. Not bothered, just happy to jump in as time permits.

Lots of systems are making exceptions, so I'm not surprised they'd let you renew.

I'm good with the pace if this is what works for everyone.