So can I. :D
Alrighty, so if you're doing the Blood Watch ambush next, I'll need disguise rolls for whoever's serving as bait. I'll need to know what buffs you're putting up beforehand as well. Are you just planning on using one of the relatively empty intersections Talivar noticed during his observations?
Also, Talia, Assume Appearance won't work in this case since the Shadow Stalkers in question aren't dead (or at least not so far as you know). It doesn't look like you had it prepared today anyway.
I'm using the greater version GM
"This spell functions similar to assume appearance, except that you can imitate a creature even if you have only a likeness (such as a sketch or painting) that is fairly accurate."
Since we met them, I can probably look like them since I can draw, paint or sketch what I have seen.
As for spell preparation I actually can prepare it. I deliberately left my spell list wide open because I had to heal check Makkatat (and at the time we didnt know what spells would be required to heal him), and then I deliberately had to leave my spell list empty / open again because we didnt know the timeframe to complete whatever it was Betty would ask us to do. So my spell list has actually been wide open up until now. Divine casters don't have to choose every spell selection at the start of the day, they can fill slots later, provided they still take the time to do so (I think its about 20 mins or so). This is the only time I have done this and its only because there was so much uncertainly (and the time crunch). So, I should be able to run this as planned.
Are you ok with this GM?
Talia, the person in question still has to be dead. See the spell component list: "corpse or likeness of the deceased creature whose form you plan to assume."
You can still seek to imitate one of the people you've seen, you just can't use that spell to do it.
Also, I don't mean to be difficult, but it looks like this was your spell list for today, correct? Not sure you have any open slots in there.
O ok I missed that. That was rly dumb of me
I guess we scratch the Blood Watch thing entirely and go to sleep and do the Temple tomorrow and then skip town.
You can still discuss your plans here. This is ooc and out-of-time, so feel free to consider alternatives and to fine tune what you want to do. This is basically like talking as players if we were in a face-to-face game. Just let me know once you've finalized a plan. :)
I don't see why the plan to ambush the bloodwatch should pivot on this one spell. Can't we concentrate on getting a single good mundane disguise roll?
Unfortunately, its not just one good disguise roll.
If all of us are disguised, then its 4 different disguise rolls that we need to be successful. If its just one or two of us disguised then the rest need to be stealthed (which I don't have) since Invisibility isn't good enough due to Blood Watch having See Invis. Either way, its multiple rolls in succession and one low roll f~~&s the whole thing.
I'd still be inclined to take those odds (although I don't think we have ever succeeded at a team Stealth / Disguise check in the history of this game) if the penalty for failure wasn't so high. If our disguise check fails, there is no reason for the Blood Watch to investigate solo as they would if we were cultists, instead they being reinforcements.
I also legitimately don't care enough to rock the boat in the city right before we take on the Temple (which is the priority). Making contact with the Cult is cool and something I'm legitimately interesting in doing, but if its going to involve a bunch of successful rolls in a row to make happen I just wont bother.
2cents
We need 1 person to be bait not four. We can probably take ten on it and use a masterwork disguise kit and if you have any spell slots left open there are magics which can add competence bonuses to the roll. I.e not easily detected afterwards.
I don’t have any spell slots open so there are no other bonus. Also there will need to be multiple further stealth checks required by everyone not disguised, the guards are allowed a perception check to notice an ambush - it’s what we have been offered every time the Mantis try and ambush us after all.
You can still do it if you want Talivar but I do think it’s absolutely going to fail without having specific spells available to boost our success rate.
(Like spells that would let us ambush without stealth)
Uruelleth / Kilarra do you have a preference?
Not especially. You're probably right in that since we're all not built for stealth/disguise, there's a very good chance the Blood Watch will see through us.
My current preference is to just strike a pair randomly in the street and see if we can do enough damage in a single surprise round/round do take them out. Like, sleep hex plus a dogpile might do the trick in one of those lesser-patrolled streets.
I'm up for that as well. Killara what do you think?
I'll give Kilarra another day to chime in, but I don't think we should wait for her at this point. I'm not sure when she'll be back.
In the meantime, feel free to polish your current plan as you see fit.
Hi, back and posting. Thanks for your patience.
I agree with Ruel. Let's find a less patrolled street, strike a pair, and hope for the best. We should be able to take them down without too much time if we focus.
Right then, lets try it.
Welcome back, Kilarra! Glad you're with us.
I'll give Kilarra till Monday night to post.
GM is that a sect of Nocticula the Redeemer Queen? I'd never heard of them before today.
Hmm probably need a Kn: Religion roll here.
I think its probably Nocticula pre Redeemer, since her demonic aspect counted assassins as her worshipers, while post Redeemer its more like artists.
I'm still interested to know either way though, Nocticula is an interesting one in pathfinder.
I’ll respond in-character a bit later once others have had a chance to post, but to address your question, this is definitely pre Redeemer Nocticula. I know this was a long time ago, so as a reminder, Second Darkness and Wrath of the Righteous are the only APs considered ‘canon’ in this version of Golarion. Tyrant’s Grasp has definitely not taken place yet. Talivar would at least be unaware of any non-evil followers of Nocticula at this point with his knowledge roll and presumably Talia could confirm were she to roll.
No gameplay post today guys.
Something's come up IRL. I won't be able to post consistently for a few weeks. I'll pop in when I can, but please bot or skip me liberally.
Thanks for understanding.
Thanks for letting us know, hope you're ok!
Thank you for the heads up, Kilarra. Take care of yourself!
bump, bump, nudge, nudge
Sorry the days are all blending into one here, I started to write a response but the kids distracted me. Will try to get a post up soon!
Reading along, but mostly just letting y'all plan your own approach for now.
Has anyone heard from Talia? I hope she's okay with all that's going on in the world.
Sorry, some urgent work relating to COVID-19 cropped up that left me a little short on time. I should be ok now.
Bump, bump. Really relying on y'all to push the conversation right now.
Don't have much to say, Talia is the only one allowed to make plans ;)
Edit or at least that's the way it feels.
Don't have much to say, Talia is the only one allowed to make plans ;)
Dont know where that came from. The "cause a diversion via illusion spells" was actually your idea that I just adjusted slightly. You were actually fine with this plan months ago.
Like, if you feel that strongly about it Talivar, I'll just leave the game. Bye.
:(
Actually it's probably a better plan than mine.
Anyway I'm probably projecting things and the medium of pbp makes it very hard to perceive tone, so its quite possible this is just me being cranky today. Still frustration over planning isn't a new feeling, and I have been thinking of calling it quits on and off for many months.
The thing that's kept me here is Zek's wonderful world building.
Anyway sorry for offending you but perhaps it's time for Talivar to leave.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hey folks,
I suspect everyone's tolerance and patience levels are running low with everything that's going on in the world. I would recommend we take a week or two pause before deciding if things need to end in a more permanent fashion.
As Talivar so kindly put it, we've invested a lot of time and effort into the campaign, so I would hate to see it end so unceremoniously.
Anyway, please think about it, that'll all I ask. We're in this together, but I don't want to force people to continue if they would rather things end.
I can respect what you are asking GM, but I don't see this decision changing after two weeks.
I'm a little upset, because I love the story, the world-building, the players, and the GM but truthfully, I had been expecting that sort of post for months now, and really, its been playing on my mind a lot recently when typing up any sort of post in this game.
Between trying to take a back seat and watching the game slowly die to inactivity, or trying to push us ahead from Point A to B as quickly as possible and coping some kind of passive aggressive comment in response, I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place and therefore increasingly feel more and more discouraged to post.
Maybe this time it was a result of the situation gripping the world today, but its not the first or second time comments like the above have been made and I'm really just tired of it. Those comments are not constructive, or helpful. They don't lend to any sort of positive discussion and and it honestly just sucks to read. I feel horrible reading it every single time its posted.
Realistically, if I cannot come back after a week 'break', and make a post fleshing out someone else's original idea (so we can move on) without getting that kind of response then really don't know what to do.
So, I feel terrible quitting, because I know a lot of people want to continue, and I feel like I'm letting everyone in this game down, but (irrespective as to what decision Talivar makes) I think this is the end of the road for me.
I'm sorry everyone.
::Insert tear-faced emoji::
Wow, I'm sorry you feel that way, Talia. I for one have always appreciated your thoughtful approach to your spell lists and your character's battle plans. If I've ever insulted you as a player because I'm playing the relatively dim-witted brute who's main contribution to tactics is, "hit the enemy really hard with a metal stick," I deeply apologize.
I admit that I try to create levity where I can, and there's a lot of humor to be mined by the dumb brute. At least, I think so. While Uruelleth isn't the dumbest of brutes out there, he's still quite straightforward, and I find that refreshing but it also by default leaves me out of the in-character planning.
Again, I've always appreciated the time and effort you put into your character's battle plans. It might have gotten to the point that you're the de facto tactician of the group, so a pithy comment or two highlighting that reality might have been said here or there. I'm sorry; I wasn't counting and I didn't realize they were hurtful.
Anyway, I hope you reconsider and help keep this game going. And again, if I contributed to this feeling that's been building up, I'm truly sorry.
Urelleth the problem is me. I'm just not on the same page as Talia and I sometimes get irritated by well intentioned attempts to push things forwards. If we were to reset, something would likely happen again six months or so down the line :(
I'd like to suggest instead you recruit for another arcane caster, no need for anyone other than me to quit.
Alrighty, folks. I really want this game to continue, and it seems like at least a couple others likely do as well. Before we see about a way forward, if there is a way, I need to know who's still committed to continuing.
I was thinking about the possibility of adding another person before all this came to a head, so we'll probably end up needing to recruit one or two more if we do continue. If anyone has any problems with that, please let me know.
Also, if there's anything anyone wants to discuss via PM, you should also feel free to message me there, though I think the more we can resolve as a group, the better.
Yes, still around and willing to add more players. Though It'd be a shame if you both left. What if you stuck around and we added more players? It could shake up the group dynamics and might help.
If we were to reset, something would likely happen again six months or so down the line :(
That would be good Kilarra, but I did make a post earlier about how such comments make me feel, and Talivar has responded (albeit to someone else) by indicating that such comments are likely to continue in the future. I respect his honesty - it makes my decision to leave very clear cut.
As I said before, repeatably hearing such comments basically make me feel depressed / miserable and I'm just tired is all. Its really not putting me in a positive head-space and the idea of hearing it again in six months time is sort of demoralizing and mentally draining.
Bye :(
Bye, Talia. See you around the boards.
Talia and Talivar, if you are both truly gone, then you will be missed. I have greatly enjoyed playing with both of you.
Kilarra and Uruelleth, it seems just the three of us want to continue at this point.
I have a couple possibilities for you to consider, though please don't feel like you have to respond right away. One, we could of course recruit others. We would need to recruit 3-4 people at this point. I'm not sure how I feel about an open recruitment, so we might need to ask some specific people if we want to go this route.
Or, a second option, and one I've only thought about briefly up till now, is possibly fast forwarding the campaign to essentially the last chapter, which would also mean you would both need to level up to 17 or 18 or so. This might be a better option if bringing 3-4 new people up to speed seems unrealistic.
Or, we could, of course, end things here. This would make me rather sad, but I would understand if you prefer to let things be.
Whatever the case, please think over those possibilities, or perhaps even ideas I haven't thought of. Let me know what you think.
I'd like to suggest instead you recruit for another arcane caster, no need for anyone other than me to quit.
I don't know what to say Talia, I offered to leave so you don't have to...
I know Talivar, but I don't actually want you to leave over me, because there's a ton of stuff set up forTalivar. You still have your daughter to rescue, as well as the Project Otataral stuff that you and the GM set up for your character. There a lot of world building still to come for you.
If you are leaving no matter what thats a little different but I didnt get that impression from your post.
In the end of the day you've got to do what is honourable. So Zek please mark me as inactive.
Good bye folks.
I don't want to lose anyone, but it seems we have come to a crossroads. I need to know who is still here to know how to properly move forward. Before I officially mark anyone as inactive, Talia, are you staying or leaving?
Bye Talivar. It's been fun.
@GM I'm up for option 1 or 2, btw.
If Talivar is leaving then I suppose there isn't much point me also leaving as well, so I'm thinking of sticking around.
Goodbye, Talivar. I've greatly enjoyed playing with you.
Talia... thinking of sticking around? If you stay, I need to know you're fully committed. It will be different than before, as the group dynamic will change, but I need to know we have you 100%. If not, no worries.
Kilarra, I've been speaking with someone Uruelleth recommended, so I think we're going with option one. I'm hoping to get at least one more new person, so I'm open to suggestions.
I'll stay and be fully committed GM.