Info to come soon. Congratulations to those of you who were selected!
Woo hoo! Looking forward to getting this campaign started!
Congrats everybody, looking forward to a great campaign
Congrats everyone! I'll be playing the daring champion cavalier. Stats / background are pretty much all done. Just need to actually put together the alias. Looking forward to raiding tombs with you all!
Bing! Petra here. I have some possible tweaks/build stuff I'm gonna ask you about in PM, GM. Thanks for accepting me!
Yes, my brother is the 5th player. But what's a government-sponsored "lottery" without a little nepotism? :-)
Ok, so as far as the lottery goes--anyone can sign up, but you apply as a group. So this AP assumes that you all have formed a group and applied together to explore the buildings in the soon-to-be-opened necropolis. So what I'd like to do before we get started is have all of you guys read each other's profiles and determine the extent to which you each know each other as well as a group name to submit to the lottery.
So you might not IC know all of the background info about some of the group members, but I think if we work together to craft a believable group background the beginning of the story will flow more smoothly.
Also, this will help me audit everyone's profiles in case someone has any slight errors that I may have missed (skill points off, etc). If you all could format your profiles like mine it will help in that regard (delineating where the bonuses come from with your skills, for example). If anyone needs to tweak their back story to help make the group mesh, we can do that.
Once we have our collective background and all profiles squared away, we will start the tomb raiding! Congratulations again!
Bing! Petra here. I have some possible tweaks/build stuff I'm gonna ask you about in PM, GM. Thanks for accepting me!
Cool, sounds good
Hm, it looks like I'm the only person who has cure spells as something on my class list, eh. (Unless I missed someone!) Well, that'll be something, if Petra's your healer. :P
Also I know of at least one minor error on Petra's sheet right now; feel free not to point out more until I get a chance to post a revised sheet, ha.
Great to have you dbauer! The GM should always have the prerogative to add in players he or she wants. In my experience though, most GM's save their worst monsters, traps and critical hits for family members. Something tells me you aren't going to get any leniency....
Looking at backgrounds, it seems that three of us (not sure where dbauer's Cavalier is from) are from Wati. I didn't see a lot of natural hooks between Ishia and Mirri's backgrounds, but I did notice that Petra's RP sample included a run-in with a local pickpocket. The RP sample had it as a child, but what if it was a small Halfling with her hood pulled up? Petra turns Mirri over to the authorities, and she is thrown temporarily in jail (not her first offense). Mirri might also be known to Say'ri, was thinking that perhaps Ben-Ali spoke up for Mirri in court after her and her brother were caught trying to steal food from the temple kitchens, seeing that they were hungry. That event could have happened several months/year ago, and Say'ri may or may not have felt as kindly towards Mirri, then or now. If we come in as a group, it might work to have Mirri added as if "on parole" and under the custody of Say'ri (since she is benevolently known in Wati). The rest of the group may have already gotten together under one lottery "team" and Mirri was added to deal with scouting and traps.
Outside of my PC, I see that Petra and Say'ri both have backgrounds as temple guardians. Both might be dealing with some of the cognitive dissonance associated with "breaking in to" the kinds of places they used to protect. Petra, Ishia and Say'ri all have devotee of the old gods as a character trait, with Say'ri specifically with Horus. Maybe Ishia was also a member of the temple of Horus in Wati? Maybe Say'ri and Ben-li helped Ishia compile the pages for her spellbook?
Anyways, just some thoughts on how the group could come together. Feel free to use, tweak or utterly discard as desired!
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Say'ri would certainly be happy to take Mirri on 'under parole'. Since Say'ri is actively looking to assemble a team she might well have organised Mirri's 'community service' since she's aware that the halfling is quite capable in certain, nefarious, areas!
If Petra came to Wati and looked to enlist local help in dealing with Thurzen then Say'ri would likely have heard or even been the local help! It could well be an ongoing project for the two of them and since they have plenty in common (respect for the dead, worshiping the old gods) it could be the basis of a fruitful partnership. Again Say'ri would be keen to get her involved, particularly if Thurzen was rumoured/known to have joined another team? I imagine the surprised face when Say'ri re-introduces Petra and Mirri could be good!
Say'ri and Ishia would certainly know each other as Ben-Ali and Say'ri are more or less all that's left of the organised Old God's religion in Wati. Worshiping Horus is the easiest hook but even if you don't worship Horus specifically then we'd know each other. Ishia might have contributed fund to the new temple fund even... If Say'ri has put out feelers then perhaps Ishia volunteered to join her? Or Say'ri came and asked her outright?
That gives us links to four if you can all cope with Say'ri butting in to your plans/lives/jail cells!? We'll have to wait for our Daring Champion before we can tie him up... I mean in. :D
I was admittedly a little vague about which gods Ishia worships--she favors the ones associated with darkness and night, so Thoth, Nepthys and Newet more than Horus. She's part of merchant family though so contributing to the temple fund would definitely be in the cards.
As was mentioned in the recruitment thread, Ishia is less than scrupulous; she could've been a fence for Mirri and her brother before Malik's arrest.
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I was admittedly a little vague about which gods Ishia worships--she favors the ones associated with darkness and night, so Thoth, Nepthys and Newet more than Horus. She's part of merchant family though so contributing to the temple fund would definitely be in the cards.
As was mentioned in the recruitment thread, Ishia is less than scrupulous; she could've been a fence for Mirri and her brother before Malik's arrest.
Either way that gives Say'ri enough leeway to recruit you. Say'ri is wise enough to know she needs a range of talents and someone young, capable and with a good eye for value would be a useful person to have along. She'd even turn a blind eye to any less-than-reputable sources if they were useful. Horus is a pragmatic god, not an idealistic one.
Love all the ideas so far, guys! Originally Petra was going to worship Ptah, but after some talk with our GM I'm going to change her class a little bit; revised sheet coming in a tick, and then I'll weigh in properly on the get-together, but I dig the idea of Petra seeking out a fellow follower of the old gods and finding Say'ri, and things going from there.
Okay. Took a bit longer than I thought. Petra has been reborn as an inquisitor of Anubis, which I think in some ways fits her background at Erukrus better anyway. She's a little more focused on anti-undead, and has better healing and ranged capacity down the road, but she is otherwise still the same person-- a dwarf on a quest for the people who burnt her and stole from the tombs of Erekrus, and totally out of her depth with regards to social niceties and so forth. Like I said, I dig the idea of her finding help with Say'ri, and we can totally work in the idea of "at her arrival in Wati, Mirri tried to pick her pocket, blah blah" -- and now she's like 'WHAT I'm supposed to travel with and trust this person! >:["
I am sure Mirri will be able to win her over. :P
Great discussion, guys! Just wanted to say I'm following along and impressed with what you have so far. When my bro gets his alias created and we finalize everything I'll give you a little more OOC info.
Dien, that looks good.
A couple mechanical things--since there is a lot of dungeon-crawling in this adventure, I'm thinking I might post some of the enemies' stats. As long as people don't act on anything IC that their characters haven't learned form a knowledge check, it should speed things up.
Ex:
Suppose you're fighting some skeletons, but no one successfully IDs it. I may include this in the post...
So that way you can make your attack and damage rolls and not have to wait from me to see if something is destroyed. So if you hit a 17 for 9 slashing damage, you can just include in your writeup how you destroy the skeleton. Now, if you fail the knowledge roll but drop your khopesh and pull out a club just because the OOC tags say "DR: Bludgeoning", then we'd have an issue (but I don't think any of you would do that!)
What do you guys think? We have to think of a few ways to speed things up to keep the pace moving (and sometimes during the day I can't post).
I could even for some fights post the attack and damage numbers and have you guys roll for enemies' AoOs if you think that would help.
Yeah, that's not a bad idea for simple fights, GM.
I'd also suggest a general rule from PBPs that I've found useful: "the rule of two" -- if two PCs advocate a course of action and nobody disagrees, go ahead and assume we do that. Obviously at huge critical plot points that may not work, but if it's like, "okay, do we go left or right at this tunnel fork", waiting for everyone to weigh in can slow things down. Especially if everyone does the "well, I'm good with either, I'll go with whatever the party says" thing that is so common, haha. (I've done it myself at times! But in PBP, taking the initiative to make decisions helps the whole party, really.)
@GM: works for me RE: stat blocks. In other campaigns I've participated in, once one PC successfully ID's the creature via a Knowledge check he/she can free action (talking) convey the info to the other PC's. Does that work for you?
Totally agree with Rule of Two idea. Frankly for "do we take the hallway east or west" kinds of things I'd be fine with a Rule of One, but hopefully folks are posting enough that it doesn't matter.
Both of those sound like good ideas to me. Glad I put so many points in Knowledge
Not quite done, cause I'm trying to use MB's formatting style, but I should be able to finish up tomorrow night. Getting pretty pumped!
Looking around at the assembled group of 4 women and one man, Mirri cheerfully pipes up with what about Ibrahim's Angels! Her broad smile faded slowly as she saw no one else showing even a remote interest in the name.
Children of the Ennead, maybe?
This is the second pathfinder group I've been in with just one male character, so I could totally get behind Ibrahim's Angels. Or Ibrahim's Archons, maybe.
@GM: works for me RE: stat blocks. In other campaigns I've participated in, once one PC successfully ID's the creature via a Knowledge check he/she can free action (talking) convey the info to the other PC's. Does that work for you?
Yep, perfectly reasonable.
The Rule of Two sounds good, also.
Let me know if anyone has any last-minute things they need regarding gear or anything before we get started. I'm looking to put up the first post soon.
One thing I wanted to say is that the adventure kicks off with a sizable dungeon crawl almost immediately. Make sure you're prepared. I also wanted to say that, since there aren't many NPCs that were sealed up for 1700 years and can interact with you, I'll be relying on you guys mostly to RP among yourselves to drive the story until more NPCs come on to the scene.
Ready to go!
Can't afford anything else I want, haha. Though if everyone has a few dribs and drabs of coins left, we might be able to pool it for another scroll of CLW. At those really early levels, healing is at a premium, in my experience. If people wanna try for that, I can contribute 6 GP to the cause.
Ishia has a lot of gold left--how much are scrolls of cure light wounds?
25 GP a pop. Any first level scroll is 25 GP, which is a good thing to keep in mind when you're playing your level 1 wizard and your spells are so few for the day T____T
I could buy three CLW scrolls then, as much as it would break Ishia's heart to spend gold buying a scroll, lol
I have one of my own already, but given I'm the only healer, and normally I can cast a maximum of two CLWs a day.... it is not a bad idea to try and have a few on hand.
Healing is definitely a good idea. And Ishia, you can craft some scrolls before we start, as well. Any that you scribe yourself would only cost 12.5 gp.
Also, I just wanted to let you all know that my brother (Ibrahim) is an accountant and, if any of you are not from the US--it's tax season. So for the next month or so he's working 6 days a week a LOT, and he's also taking night classes. I know he really wants to play and has been spending his (very little) free time getting his character ready.
What we've discussed is that Ibrahim is a minor nobleman from Sothis who wanted to achieve a level of success without relying on his family name/wealth/influence. So he's traveled to Wati under an assumed name.
Ibrahim will be staying at the Tooth and Hookah, an inn that is a vibrant place where merchants sell their wares and locals and foreigners alike come to escape the heat. Petra can have a room there also. This way Petra, Mirri, Say'ri, and Ishia could all meet there to make plans for their journey to the necropolis and Ibrahim could encounter them there. Does that work for everyone? We can RP that exchange if you guys want, then proceed to the lottery (or we can say it's already occurred, if you prefer--I think it'd be funny if he accidentally spills a drink on Say'ri or something and kind of charms his way into a conversation). Here's a Pathfinder's view of the Tooth and Hookah, to give you a feel for the place.
In Varisia, lush fields ripple in the wind like the waves of an emerald sea, but here the grass is as sere as grandfather’s glares. The change in climate and geography took some getting used to. I don’t know how to find water or predict storms the way I could back home. I can still follow tracks, but the wind in Osirion can scour the deserts flat in minutes.
The dry air irritates my nostrils and chaps my lips, but I rather like the heat. Or at least I did until this last week. I originally headed for Wati in search of supplies, healing, and gossip—the currencies of a Pathfinder. After a few days under the blazing sun, however, I approached with a new sense of urgency.
My first view of the city, from a rise to the north, was spectacular. I’d have appreciated it more if I hadn’t been drenched in sticky sweat, with strips of skin peeling off my face. The walls wound like stone rivers, separating the old city from the new. Low buildings, painted white to reflect heat, clustered along wide avenues. Across their roofs I saw the Grand Mausoleum, the city’s temple to the death goddess, and a ruined statue of a sphinx out in the river. From the eastern side of the city rose a hill upon which noble estates sprawled, looking down on the bustling populace.
It was eerie, as I descended, to see the throngs moving through new Wati’s streets, arrayed in colorful caftans and buzzing with sound and life, while old Wati remained still and silent as the graveyard it was.
I made straight for the nearest gate and asked a guard where a foreigner might get a cold drink.
“You don’t look foreign,” he said, studying my dark skin.
“Looks can be deceiving,” I said in my broadest Varisian accent.
He shrugged and pointed down a sandy avenue. “Try the Tooth & Hookah.”
I joined the crowds and moved past inns and houses, markets filled with brass lamps and striped rugs, until I reached a quiet section near the old city wall. Canvas awnings stretched over doorways, casting pools of shade on the avenue. A flag hung from one awning, painted with a grinning green crocodile sinking its teeth into a gold hookah. I pushed through the curtained doorway.
Blessed shade and darkness. I sighed with relief as the mud-brick walls did their job, warding off the sun. The floorboards rasped under my boots, a fine layer of sand covering the floor. I took a moment to scan the room. I’d arrived in Osirion via the city of Sothis, and there I’d stayed in an inn catering to foreigners before commissioning river travel to the south. That had been what I was used to when I thought of inns, and this place certainly was not.
Pillows shaped like crescent moons surrounded low, round tables. Water pipes of dinged and dented brass with painted enamel bases sat in the center of each table. Clay bowls filled with the stubs of unlit candles hung from the ceiling. Filtered light from the curtained doorway left the room dim.
It took me a moment to locate the bar among the many counters crowded against the walls. This inn seemed more a miniature market than a tavern. Old books overf lowed on a table next to a counter covered with cheap-looking necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Wispy scarves embellished with tiny shining coins hung on a rack in a corner. The sight of the scarves, so like the ones worn by ethnic Varisian women,
gave me a pang of homesickness. I finally located the bar in the opposite corner: a tall, narrow table, its legs hidden by a cotton skirt patterned with faded yellow palm fronds, its surface covered with colored glass cups, bronze decanters, and an assortment of liquor bottles. A low stone ring at the end of the bar marked an indoor well.
The Tooth & Hookah seemed a popular place. Almost all the tables were occupied, mostly by Garundi I pegged as locals, but a few by foreigners. No one took much notice of me. A haze of smoke hung in the air, and I recognized the spicy scent of shisha tobacco. I made my way through the cloud and leaned against an open spot on the bar. The fresh, mineral smell of a deep well wafted from the corner.
“I’ve got a powerful thirst and a horrible sunburn,” I told the man behind the counter.
He gave a deep chuckle. His strong features were more intimidating than handsome, but I liked the way his close-trimmed hair curled over his brow. “I can help with the first part. For the second, I recommend staying out of the sun and drinking plenty of liquids. Guess I can help there, too.”
I grinned and he poured me something out of the ceramic carafe. “Thanks. You got rooms here?”
He gestured to a set of stairs half-hidden behind a screen painted with a camel. The artist’s haphazard brushstrokes gave the poor beast a look of permanent indigestion.
“Regular rooms cheap, or a suite for more, but that’s for groups of travelers. Unless you’ve got friends on the way?”
“For tonight, a single room will—” I broke off midsentence as I noticed what occupied the well. “Is that…?”
“A crocodile?” The man’s dark eyes twinkled. “It’s something, anyway. He surfaced one day and seems to like it here. We feed him scraps, but he never seems to get any longer than six inches. Call him Toothy.”
“Well that’s a first for me, and I’ve seen a lot.”
“Seems like you have.” The man glanced down at my bare forearms. The fresh scars still looked raw. “Had some adventure in the desert?”
“You could say that. Ran into some previously deceased individuals out in the sands. They didn’t take kindly to my presence. I’m Nenet, by the way.”
One eyebrow shot up. “Farhaan. Undead?”
I nodded as I sipped the sharp, clear liquid in my cup. It smelled a bit like roses and a bit like licorice. My sunburn still hurt like hell, but I was starting to care less. “I thought they might be mummies at first. The books I’ve read made it sound like mummies pop out from around every corner here. But they weren’t nearly powerful enough. Gave me a few good scratches, though.”
“I wonder why,” a soft voice said at my shoulder. I turned my head and saw a Garundi woman watching me with narrowed eyes. She wore loose linen trousers and a sleeveless tunic belted with a colorful sash. I picked out the table she belonged to right away—the two men who sat at it watched our every move, and seemed about as friendly as the zombies in the desert had been. I also picked out the knife hilt jutting from her sash.
“So many possibilities,” I answered. “My looks, my personality. Perhaps my manner of dress offended them.”
“And perhaps you were disturbing their place of rest. Many have fallen for the lure of hidden wealth only to find that the dead protect their own.”
I put all the ice of Irrisen into my voice. “Are you calling
me a tomb robber?”
“I’m saying that, despite all appearances, you don’t seem to be from around here. Perhaps you’re not familiar with our customs.” She moved a half-inch closer, a cobra in motion. “Stealing from the dead is a serious crime in Wati.”
The City of Wati--note that up is East
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In the interests of speed I'd say proceed straight to the lottery - but I'm fine with roleplaying it out if everyone else wants to. Only thing would be if Ibrahim can't post much then we could end up in limbo a long time without doing anything and striking while the iron is hot is usually good for PbP...
Ok, so all we need is a team name. Rule of two says we're going with Ibrahim's Angels.
I trust you guys to finalize your scroll purchase and whatnot. I'll kick things off soon, but I know that some people have difficulties posting on weekends.
Mirri can chip in 100gp's for 4 CLW scrolls Petra can hold onto. She has quite a bit of money left (103gp's) but I think it makes the most sense RP-wise if a good chunk of that represents money she stole before being nabbed by Petra and put in jail. Since we're going with the idea of Mirri being handed over to Say'ri for probation-oversight, it makes sense that Say'ri would have been given Mirri's possessions upon release. Presumably Mirri would be given the adventuring gear she had purchased, but the extra money could be used for CLW scrolls. After all, it was stolen anyways!
Ok, I think Ishia's going to scribe two scrolls of Mage Armor and two scrolls of Summon Monster I. That would cost 50 gp total, bringing her down to 28 gp; do we want one more scroll of CLW or is four enough?
For the glory of Apep I mean Horus, definitely Horus!
Opening scene is up--feel free to jump in :-)
Thanks MB! I'll do a more in-depth write-up when I have a chance (probably tonight or tomorrow night), but MB has the basic details down:
Ibrahim is a brash young nobleman. He believes he is destined for greatness, and is kind of a mix between Elan from Order of the Stick (but way less "meta") and Han Solo. He is chaotic and impulsive, and doesn't always consider the consequences of his actions, but stuff seems to work out in his favor anyhow, and when it comes down to it he cares about others.
Because he wants to do things on his own, he left home and forsook his family name, instead giving himself the surname "al Sahure" after the desert outside of Sothis. While he will likely be reluctant to divulge this info to your characters, I'm being forthright with it, as it kind of informs some of his decisions / actions. For example, he has knowledge nobility and speaks ancient Osirion as a result of his studies.
If he was religious, he would likely venerate Desna. Upon deciding he is going to be the next famous treasure hunter, he absolutely would go to the tavern and look for a group to leech onto, as "that's how they always seem to get together in the tales". He is clever when he needs to be, but grew up relatively sheltered, and is therefore rather naïve and often oblivious to his surroundings.
At any rate, I love the idea of the 4 ladies already being in a group and Ibrahim just kind of sauntering over and being like, "Well hello, I couldn't help but overhear you are planning on delving into the ruins. Care for another intrepid adventurer?" *Roguish handsome smile*
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At any rate, I love the idea of the 4 ladies already being in a group and Ibrahim just kind of sauntering over and being like, "Well hello, I couldn't help but overhear you are planning on delving into the ruins. Care for another intrepid adventurer?" *Roguish handsome smile*
Say'ri will have given him a pretty thorough grilling first! Something along the lines of "Well, you're very charming but how will that help us inside the necropolis? Can you actually use that sword or is it just for show?" Once you've convinced her she'll be business like - no victim of your charm here! :)
"My lady, straight to the point it seems? Not even a drink before you ask me how well I handle my blade? Fear not, I am skilled enough to protect you from whatever lurks in the dark catacombs."
Ishia doesn't have any points in Perception and has -1 from her low wisdom, so I'm not going to bother rolling for perception. I'm ready to go through the door--as soon as a couple people with actual decent Perception modifiers have given it a look to make sure it isn't trapped, of course.
So far it's fairly mundane loot, but how does everyone else want to handle found equipment and treasure/gold splitting and so forth? A lot of games use a communal spreadsheet; I'm happy to throw one up for us if people think it'd be helpful.
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My other games do something similar. I'd say go for a spreadsheet. When we put the loot in I'd suggest we put them in at sale value, then we can work out individual totals and adjust for items.
So we get loot with a sale value of 10,000 gp.
That means 2000gp/person. (10,000/5).
If Mirri wants Bracers of Armor +1 out of the loot (500gp sale value) then she can take them and only get 1500gp from the rest.
+1 for the system Say'ri is advocating
I was going to suggest the same thing. I would also point out that sometimes the group I play with gives out things that make sense for the good of the party without counting it towards that person's share of the loot.
The most obvious example would be taking party funds to buy a wand of CLW or Infernal Healing before divvying up the rest into shares. I wouldn't want to put the cost burden on Petra just cause she's a caster. :)