Megan's Curse of the Crimson Throne (Inactive)

Game Master Megan Robertson

I just realized i had never dotted the discussion thread.. "Slaps forehead"..

My thoughts on the previous million comments are moot now because it has been resolved.. I will just say that im glad yall worked it out.. Everyone here seems to be great at rp and gameplay.. Im glad its staying that way..

As far as the remarks of my character.. I will admit i've played him down just a bit because of the lawfulness of the group.. I don't think this is a bad thing and my reasoning is because he has only just met these people.. He is in an unfamiliar town and if he's to make friends(besides Varrel) he need to tone down his Gorumness until everyone felt comfortable with him.. I think he's almost there with the group so very soon you will see a bit more of an unforgiving Graxer..

Additionally he's not stupid.. Charging around killing everything he could when valuable information could be gotten from alive captives has not slipped his mind.. Only half or slightly more than half need to be killed immediately lol..

Overall I don't think I've slipped to far off the path of the actions of an Inquis of Gorum.. If at all..

Cheers to a good game!

Nice to hear from you Graxer!

This is a snippet of that post I refrained from posting concerning this issue...

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"Mercy to criminals… hardly. Ashe is not sparing these Physicians any more then he will the cultists/clerics of Urgathoa. Ashe is merely saving them for a trail. The reason for this is not just a stubborn dedication to some written word. Bringing these villains to Court, Trial and Execution; it allows their victims to face them, hear their crimes and condemn their actions TO THEIR FACE! It is a justification that they are guilty, it is a public declaration of their crimes for all to see, it is the presentation of the evidence of their vile deeds for all to see and a public declaration that such deeds society condemns and will exact the ultimate justice of executing those responsible of such crimes against society and morality! This is the HEART of lawful action in Ashe’s opinion! It also allows evidence to be presented in their defense in the case a miscarriage of justice might occur... to kill out of hand relies upon the absolute truth/certainty that one is in the right which no flawed mortal can ever claim! It is the option of court to show mercy once all the facts are known and on display for all to see. Extenuating circumstances can be considered so that the punishment fits the crime. It is necessary for a lawful society to allow for this specifically to avoid becoming the tyranny of Cheliex and Hell! Blind law is Evil law!"

"Ashe has no intention of letting these villains go unpunished if he must exact that justice with his own blade.. but he MUST support the lawful application of the justice!"

"A Gorumite might like to spill blood… perhaps even revel in senseless slaughter as some of Gorum’s followers are indeed evil, but no paladin would. So Ashe is NOT letting these villains go! Ashe will not endanger the party just to try to capture every foe alive… its not practical to try that. Sometimes dead is better! But his goal remains the same to bring villains to lawful justice."

"Were we out in the wilderness with no such authority in the area THEN and likely only then, or perhaps unless he felt the lawful authority was unreliably corrupt & evil, would Ashe then administer justice with a heavier more direct hand."

"This might be an issue between Ashe and Graxer but it need not be… if Graxer is not evil or just insane with blood lust."

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Practically ... there is No way for Ashe to apprehend Every villain he can.. and no he does not have a bag of unlimited manacles. so likely Ashe is cutting sections of his 60'ft or rope to have them bound.. those he can practically do so with. It is unlikely that Ashe will bother trying to subdue actual clerics this way. Though if they are rendered unconscious and stable.. they will not be getting up anytime soon. Likely if this Lady Andasian is here.. Ashe will try to take her alive ... not for just his own chivalrous feelings on the matter... but also from a practical sense in that she will know the details of the plot and could incriminate the Queen and Dauvalus - both in the plot!

She will die.. as will ALL those here as Justice demands they pay with their lives for the crimes they have committed..at least as far as Ashe is concerned...but he wants full knowledge of what is going on here before we just start wacking people out of hand. We have the law behind us.. we should make use of it.

Queen Ileosa is NOT the ultimate authority in Korvosa! This is NOT Cheliax. Ileosa rules at the suffrage of the nobility on the request and/or dismissal of the Seneschal of Korvosa. The 'Police chief' - Field Marshal Kroft, and the 'National Military' - Commandant Marcus Endrin are with us in this so.. we have every reason to expect justice will be served if we have the patience to let it work and we reveal these evil goings on backed with facts!

That's sensible, Graxer.

Our inquisitors are from different backgrounds as well. Dwarves do tend to be more lawful than barbaric humans. I imagine a bit of the dwarven sense of order remains even in chaotic dwarves.

Straf Dommerstrom was a human from a family of judges whose main function was to provide justice within a tribe of barbaric viking-types. He was the son of the most powerful judge in the tribe. He had the attitude that his word was as good as law no matter where he was. He meted out justice as he went. That was an additional reason why he brought the hammer hard on enemies pronouncing judgment in the field. He would keep a few alive for questioning if he felt it was necessary. Fun character for Rise of the Runelords.

That's why I love Inquisitors. You can do so much with them given all their various skills and abilities.

Curse of the Crimson Throne -

That's fair Ashe.. Graxer certainly isn't blood crazed, but he does wish to ferry souls to the afterlife in the name of the Lord in Iron.. Ultimately this is his life mission.. However, he wishes these souls to be evil is possible.. He is CG afterall.. Normally he would have only spared enough to get information and killed the rest.. The fact that he knows they will meet the gallows is why he hasn't clashed more with you about killing them all.. He has very little mercy within him.. I think it should continue to provide great rp between him and Ashe..

Deriven doesn't to mind i he kills everything down here so.. I think that's partly because these are all Ugathoan cultists..

The reason Deriven doesn't mind if Graxer and Varrel kill everything is pragmatic. If he were entering the dungeons with an Iomedaean force, they would subdue as many as possible. They would hold them at the temple if the city leadership could not be trusted, try them, and publically execute the lot of them with a full reading of their crimes. In that respect Deriven agrees with Ashe and wishes they could do as they normally would if they had a large Iomedaean force.

Deriven views the city leadership as corrupt. He doesn't know who he can trust. He doesn't know the power relationships in the city. Korvosa seems like an overly tolerant cesspool of corruption and crime ruled by an evil Queen who has taken measures so unbelievably vile that Deriven no longer trusts the rulership in the city. If the Queen has enough support that crimes of the nature she has committed are not enough to cast her from her throne, then he feels the majority of the city must be at the very least leaning towards evil.

Thus any foray into the city to mete justice will be of the kind necessary in savage lands where justice will carried out swiftly against those who commit heinous crimes. Everyone present in the temple of Urgathoa at the moment is part of a mass murder. Thus they are all by association guilty of the most heinous of crimes punishable by death. He sees their death as nothing more than a sentence carried out.

Iomedae does not require a lengthy trial when the crime and punishment is not in question. All she requires is that after the sentence is complete, the people be told what was done and all the evidence revealed. So the people know Iomedae the Lady of Valor enacted justice when the Queen would not.

If Graxer and Varrel act as the instrument of that justice along with Ashe and Deriven, so be it. Justice is justice no matter whose hand carries out the judgment. Any outcome at a trial other than guilty and a death sentence would be a corruption of justice. Deriven would rather not allow that possibility.

That is Deriven's view.

I see. This Lady Andasian name comes from a corpse interrogated earlier. I was wondering where that name popped up.

Guys you might want to STOP posting. Megan has yet to post a reply about the actual damage to Ashe or explain if the poison effects only him or what. when you post ..post after post its obvious Megan does not read everything as she has missed vital facts in the past. We need to give her time to read ALL the posts.

Sorry - now working Monday-Wednesday with little time to bob by here... normal service for the rest of the week, though. Now to try and catch up with you!

Damoc is that an errata? Here is what my core book says about Treat Deadly wounds. I've not used this much so my information on it might be incomplete.

Opps found it your correct its at the far bottom! Don't know how that is supposed to be of any use ever really?

I only bring this up as Ashe Would VERY much like Damoc to not Expend a Remove Paralysis spell from his prepared spells for this as Ashe himself has not used a lay on hands upon himself yet.. its not critical enough in his opinion as yet. But with so many healers.. he will likely drink a healing potion. Saving lay on hands for in combat... as using LoH does not provoke an AoO as drinking a potion does.

As for a poison second save..maybe I'm mistaken about that. I thought I read somewhere that it did grant a second save if applied the round after. I'll search around... maybe I'm getting game systems mixed up somehow. Maybe that's a WoC - 3rd Edition D&D rule? Or perhaps I'm getting mixed up with the protection from evil versus mind affecting failed saves?

You mean Deriven I assume. Did you look in the action section of the skill?

PRD

It says an hour on the PRD.

This is from the official Paizo PRD.

Action: Providing first aid, treating a wound, or treating poison is a standard action. Treating a disease or tending a creature wounded by a spike growth or spike stones spell takes 10 minutes of work. Treating deadly wounds takes 1 hour of work. Providing long-term care requires 8 hours of light activity.

I've always found it annoying you can't use Lesser Restoration during battle. I took a Word of Power with a feat on my life oracle healer, so she could restore abiility damage during battle.

Ah I see... its anti-plague that grants a second save versus a failed Fort save versus a disease.

So nothing but wasted effort... ah well. Guess Ashe will need a hit from the Lesser Restoration Wand as well.

A shame really I guess all the healing skill does is stuff useless for anything needed immediately.

You can have a potion of Lesser Restoration for instant use in combat.

Yep. Only potions for instant use. I guess they want us spending that gold on magic items. Seems a cleric would have developed a spell for instant use ability restoration besides heal.

Hmmm.. didn't know that about ability damage. I'll keep that in mind in the Pathfinder Games I run. So Ashe is at a -2 to all his will saves until its restored.

Haven't had the gold to spend on the Clear Spindle Ioun Stone to put in Ashe's Wayfinder to make it mostly moot.

I was doing it the old way myself until someone pointed it out. We had a guy taking con damage. Another player told him not to take as many points off his save as he was because the numbe was uneven in his favor. He showed us the rule. I was quite surprised.

Here's the ruling to read. I found the change interesting as I was doing it the old way for ability damage for a long time.

Ability Score Damage, Penalty, and Drain

Ability Drain: Ability drain actually reduces the relevant ability score. Modify all skills and statistics related to that ability. This might cause you to lose skill points, hit points, and other bonuses. Ability drain can be healed through the use of spells such as restoration.

Been afew days... Whats up?

Yeah. Holiday's possibly? Been waiting as well...

I hope everything's OK.

Werepox, thanks for the heads up on the attack roll. I'll fix his sheet right now so that I don't forget again.

I am now teaching Mon-Wed and have little free time to get online. Must put the adventures on a memory stick...

Heads up: I'll be away for the weekend with no internet access until maybe Sunday night.

Werepox, STR Ranger, you guys are killing me with the dwarf spoilers, but I'm being good.

Just old friends conversing.

Why would Ashe think Alchemy would help cure a disease rather than the Heal skill? As far as I know, Alchemy has little to no effect on disease other than to give a boost to the Heal skill? Or is there some module specific cure concocted from Alchemy?

Well Antiplague's would certainly help make the save, but i think there is some sorta alchemical solution to the problem that's module specific.. Not for sure but i think there is..

Graxer has the truth of it... I would think that if I have enough information on a plague and alchemy can make the remedy anti-plague a specific cure can also be concocted. Megan has said this plague 'Blood Veil' is also artificial and concocted, likely I would assume through alchemy and possibly magic.

Also, Megan has made it clear that there is not enough magic in the entire city to stop a the plague with magic spells alone. So I would think an alchemical remedy could be much more easily manufactured and distributed than magic which can only be applied individually. Unless the module has some specific mass use magical artifact that can cure the disease.. if so that would be found somewhere here in the Temple.

I could be completely wrong though... but Ashe is going to try... it 'seems' reasonable. I don't know how many adventures I've played in my gaming career that 'seeking' a cure for some poison, disease, curse... was not handled by just throwing magic at it but seeking the herbs, components, medicine to cure the malady was the better answer.

I'm just trying to keep my mind open for a not so obvious cure. I mean early on in the first module of this game.. the party discovered books in Vreeg's lair in the Dead Warrens that give a bonus to heal checks involving disease.

Well Antiplague's would certainly help make the save, but i think there is some sorta alchemical solution to the problem that's module specific.. Not for sure but i think there is..

Ah. I wondered why a Paladin would invest so many points into the Alchemy skill without intelligence as a focused stat and a low number of skill points. Heal skill is the more intuitive skill for curing something like a plague. If you knew the module had an alchemy solution to a problem, I can see why the skill investment.

Thanks for clarifying. I haven't run this particular module. I know very little of what is required.

LOL. As I said before.. I could be completely wrong... I don't know there IS a cure to the disease in the module that can be made with alchemy! There may be none... but we won't know that unless we look for it even a little!

But my story for Ashe has always been he wants to be doctor that cures illness as much as he is a killer that slays. I didn't spend Ashe's skill points in the most efficient way possible... and he only has 1 skill rank in Heal Anyways, but does have 2 ranks in Craft: Alchemy. That allows him with all his materwork tools to take 10... and get a 20. Which I do know is the DC for many useful Alchemical mixtures.

So yes, not only does Ashe know a bit of healing he also knows a bit of medicine lore as well. I don't really know if it will matter in the overall module though.

With all his gear in hand I don't really need to put anymore ranks in either skill as I can easily get 20 with either. Though there are a few alchemcial mixtures with DC's of 25 or higher that Ashe would have to roll to try to get... but most of those are not something I'd think he'd need to make for curing or treating th einjured.

I got a job WOOT!

have 2 move to the other side of the country but the pay is awesome and I can finally climb out of this hole.

Thanks for putting up with my outburts recently.

Truly good news. Congratulations, STR Ranger! Best of luck with the move and the new job.

So what will you be doing in this new job?

that's the bad part.

My preffered trade is an SERO. Safety and Emergency Response Officer.

Normally I train mine emergency teams and manage emergencies on site.

There has been a huge downturn in Australia's mining boom and thousands of Safety Pers and miners are still out of work (8 months for me)

I have been applying for everything I am qualified to do.

I found a job as a Crusher Process Operator. Haven't done it in 3 years but it's basically driving a huge crushing circuit at an Iron Ore mine.

But the pay is sweet ($40 an hour). 2 weeks on, 1 week off. 12 hour shifts.
It will be nice to get some financial stability for my family. I'll try to get back into safety later. Just need a job.

Congrats!

40 bucks an hour is nice.. Thats what i make and im in nuclear energy..

Awesome, Varrel. Good to here. It's miserable and stressful being out of work. Glad you're back on track.

I noticed mining companies taking a huge hit in the stock market. There's been talk that the cost of extraction has exceeded profit due to reduced demand, especially so in gold. The mining industry has had to adjust on the fly to bring costs into line with demand. If the world economy can get rolling again, demand should improve.

Congrats!

Wonderful news, Varrel... even more so that you are on a decent wage!

So far I am still part-time and earning the same as I was getting on benefits. At least I'm earning my pittance, but I am no better off.

STR Ranger, it's excellent that the pay is good. The hours are pretty crazy. Are you on a remote location during the 2 weeks of work, or are you coming home nights? In any event, good luck in the new position.

Megan, I salute you for working when you could be bringing in as much by staying on the dole. There's many that would take the easier road.

I hope you both end up with your ideal job eventually.

From the game

The slimy fellow has a wand of magic missile (CL 3rd, 43 charges), a masterwork dagger, a cloak of resistance +1, a headband of intellect +2, a ring of protection +1, some unguent of timeless (6 doses), mortician's tools, 6 black onyxes worth 25 gp each and a spellbook about his person.

Both the priests have potions of cure moderate wounds, a masterwork scythe, a +1 breastplate, and a key.

The physicians have leather armor, a masterwork club, a healer's kit and a <i>plaguebringer's mask</i> each.

"Well it seems we have our destination picked out after we finish destroying this vile sanctum.. Damoc this gear looks mostly for you.. Well besides that ring and cloak.. Ashe i believe it is your turn to upgrade defenses.. Varrel, Deriven, Either of you have need for this cloak? Ill take the potions.." He picks up the headband, wand, and spellbook and hands them to Damoc.. He pockets the 2 potions before moving over and helping pile up the beds.

As prime beneficiary, I am more than agreeable to this split, but if anyone wants headband, wand, or spellbook, I am more than happy to share too.

If he didn't have one already, I'd have said Varrel is a better candidate for the headband. Anything to prolong his spells and reign of destruction ....

The wand is a clear improvement over Damoc's magic missile scrolls, and I think you all would have better things to do in combat anyway, but if anyone thinks they can use it I'll happily part with it.

The spellbook will naturally be a common resource for Varrel too. I'll just play mule for it.

Happy for all spell books to go to Damoc first.

As someone who plays a paladin and 2 inquisitor's right now, I would add the ring to Graxer if he doesn't have one.

Smite applies a deflection bonus to AC anyway and this does not stack with a ring. Plus swift action self Lay on hands means while Graxer has more attack power, Ashe can take WAY more punishment.

Deriven can have to cloak. If the cleric goes down we all go down.

+1 to you Megan. Working just to break even compared to benefits is a very noble undertaking. The last few months have been the hardest for a long time. I wish to so much success.

In teaching, particularly in the post-compulsory sector where I am, part-time work is a common route into a 'proper' job - just nobody seems to worry about whether you can actually live on what's coming in. There is an almost-fraudulent gap in the UK welfare system, if you work 16 hours or less you can still get some out-of-work benefits; if you work at least 24 hours you are eligible for 'working tax credits' that top up your wages... but if you work 18.5 hours (half-time for a teacher) no support whatsoever is available.

I understand the need to push on for spell durations. I can't see Ashe and Deriven leaving these guys guarding the lift. If someone comes down it, then they'll be killed. If escaping Urgathoans try to go up, then they'll be killed. If some random creature passes by, they'll be killed. If we for some reason die in battle, they'll be killed. There's no good reason other than impatience to leave them in harm's way. They're sick, malnourished, and have been tortured. They don't seem to be trained warriors. No use leaving them in a bad way guarding the lift.

We detected no lies with the Grey Maiden's. Deriven trusts his ability to read character. The Grey Maidens showed no signs of lying. People in their profession aren't very good at it to begin with. They may be evil, but they are lawful and should stand by what they said. They did seem to have little to no knowledge of what was occurring here. We should be ok.

All points I agree with and support.

Ashe only relented as two members seemed clearly of the opposite opinion and Ashe relented...simply because EVERYTHING does not have to go Ashe's way. The Temple Foyer was not ideal..but it was indeed cleared of hostiles as was the upstairs. Ashe does not believe Commander Hilgar will go back on her word.. she may be evil but she clearly was misled about what was actually going on here. So Ashe felt there was little threat over all to the survivors. It just gives Ashe more 'motivation' to not fail to vanguish the rest of the evil of this temple to ensure no further threat will come to the victims.

That all said, however, the clear directive of a Cleric of IOMEDAE trumps all other concerns and beliefs. Barring truly extreme circumstances... Ashe will ALWAYS support the clear directives of a Cleric of his faith!

Ah... DM takes notes... :)

As long as we have the key, the lift is going nowhere. I guess the Maidens could repel down the shaft and cut through the roof of the lift if they wanted to. A lot simpler just to shoot us all when we come back up ala Varrel.

Nevermind. That's what I get for checking the OOC thread first. Good point about incoporeal undead, Maddigan. I hadn't thought about that.

...

From a strategic perspective, spell casting needs to be done sparingly. Casting every room reduces resources unnecessarily. These physician's and priests are weak. They don't require the use of spells to defeat them.

I do agree with this. Damoc's in good shape on spell count, but it seems to me like we have been burning through spells. I hope we don't end up facing the priestess with nothing left in the tank.

Well, not necessarily 'burning' through spells.

Varrel carries multiple pearls of power just for this reason. The Invisibility spells were off scrolls, and Forstbite, SG are 1st level spells with big payoff, all recovered via my pearls. The shield spells have come off a 1st level Wand.

As it stands, my pearls are now expended and I am down one first level, one 2nd level spell. And I have 4 more 1 minute uses of flight

We are in great shape.
And my Hexes are unlimited.

Depending on how the Boss fight goes I'll likely debuff hex for a few rounds while Ashe and Graxer pound on it.

Cool. I haven't played with magi or inquisitors at this level. I haven't looked at anybody's PC sheets. So I don't know what all you've got for resources. If you're confident in your pacing -- that's good enough for me.

Yes, at 1st level for only 12.5gp Scrolls are a wizard's best friend when he writes scrolls for the spells he knows. Purchasing 2 scrolls for every 1st level wizard spell in the book turns a wizard into 'box of Spells' real quick and 25gp each is not very expensive!

Pearl of Power at 1,000gp for a 1st level spells are really nice too!

Well said.

Really for the craft cost there is no reason a wizard should not craft scrolls.

Pearls are a prepared casters best friend.

Well... Megan?

Yes?

Bit delayed.. as well as the usual 3 hectic days teaching, got rear-ended on the way home Monday night, so spent this morning scampering around seeing about car repairs.

I hope everyone was OK after the accident, Megan. I also hope the repairs go smoothly.

The accident was caused by someone nipping out of a side street into a line of slow moving traffic and mistiming it rather badly. He hit the car behind me with enough force to push him into me. The poor fellow in the middle car was complaining of back & neck pains so I called for an ambulance & he was taken to hospital. His car is a write-off, both front and back badly crumpled. The fellow who caused the accident was fine, but the front end of his car was a mess and his air bags had gone off. This is where I am glad for a solid car... no more than a bit stiff (not helped by the fact that I cannot teach sitting down!), and a nice dent in the rear of my car. I took it to the insurer's preferred garage for an estimate, they are now reviewing it before deciding what to do. As my car is old they may want to write it off rather than mend it. If so, they will be asked to find me an equivalent vehicle... just paying me the book value will not do, it isn't worth much but if not for their client's actions I'd still be driving around in it. (Well, I am driving around in it, but you know what I mean!)