Motteditor's Savage Tide (Inactive)

Game Master motteditor

You have a day to spend before dinner at the Vanderboren estate if you wish to do anything.

After the wake, Kyson will return to his room at the local inn, tired from his day of doing stuff, but excited to be invited to do more stuff on the next day.

However, realizing that stuff sometimes means danger, Kyson will run out to buy some supplies for scribing scrolls.

During the day that he has to wait until he is due at dinner, Kyson will spend 2 hours in the quiet of his room, scribing one scroll with 2 spells: bless and cure light wounds. (-25 gp)

* * *

Kyson will walk by the address on the invitation early in the day (so he knows when to leave and not be late) before returning for the dinner at the right time.

Wishing that he had proper cleric's vestments (like he used to wear at the monastery), Kyson will dress in the best attire he has: his scale mail. Though not quite appropriate, he hopes to earn forgiveness by having his holy symbol to Sarenrae in full view, as if that will pass for decorum.

His heavy shield will be slung at his back and his scimitar (more of a holy Sarenrae-symbolic show piece than actual weapon) will hang at his hip.

Just noticed this thread :) Dotting, post will follow later.

"Of course, my lady. You can always count on Silvio", the young nobleman anwsers Kora and accepts her offer by bowing low and kissing her hand before departing. Walking away from the wake with a bolstered ego Silvio seeks up a tavern or pub close to the harbor to mingle with his seafaring bretheren. While diceing (-15gp) and drinking he tries to learn as much as he can about the Vanborens.

Knowledge (local) check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

The next day is spent mostly the same (-10gp) before evening sets and Silvio ventures to the Vanboren estate.

"Ah, my little friend, you made it!", he exclaims and shakes Finnwappet's hand. "And you brought friends! I am Silvio Callgari Pazzi, great captain of the world seas. Who are you that have the pleasure to make my acquaintance?", he asks and displays two rows of pearly white teeth enclosed in a wide smile.

Copy over from the recruitment thread.

Throughout the rest of the evening the Varisian makes his rounds, shaking hands and sharing stories. He is purposely vague about his history with the departed but answers questions as best he can without giving specifics. Eventually, he gets to asking about the couple's children, their dealings, and if they followed in their parent's footsteps.

Sekathral will go to a moneylender who doesn't know him and attempt to borrow enough cash (which he doesn't really intend to pay back) to make himself presentable/get kitted out on the strength of his new 'job' Do I need to make a Bluff check for this? , then do a spot of shopping and see what contacts he's still on speaking terms can tell him about the Vanderborans.

Silvio, you appear to be in the wrong part of town to find out information on the Vanderborens, as no one seems to be able to tell you anything more than that some of them died very recently, and a wake was just held for them in the city's Sunrise District.

Zstelian, you also are unable to find out anything new about the family.

Sekathral, you make your pitch to the moneylender, who shakes his head. "Sorry, but I don't think you're a good bet," he says. "Why don't you try to peddle your story to someone who hasn't been around for quite so long."

Zstelian knowledge (local): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Sekathral bluff: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Moneylender sense motive: 1d20 + 1d10 ⇒ (8) + (9) = 17

"Finnwappet Luggnagg, at your service!" the gnome bows.

"I'm not sure what quite to expect from here, but I'm sure there will be something to enjoy." He reaches into the folds of his robe and pulls out a couple long, skinny leaves, which look to be dried and steeped in some sort of dark syrup. "Would you like one? Chewing one will keep your energy up, and helps purify your aura of negative energy."

As you arrive in the eastern section of the Merchant District, the Vanderboren Manor is impossible to miss. A seven-foot-high stone wall surrounds the estate, while the towering, Gothic three-story house dominates the grounds within. Leering gargoyles and capering nymphs festoon the eaves of the manor's roof, and several trees give the manor grounds a nice buffer from the bustle of the city.

The front gates have been left open and unattended, while bright lights shine from the manor's windows 25 feet inside.

Please give a physical description of your characters as you arrive, then take it away.

Zstelian is a shaggy middle-aged Varisian man with olive skin and long dark hair. His clothing and equipment are clean but carry the unmistakable wear and staining that comes with frequent use and exposure to the elements. Although getting on in years, he is in good physical shape and light on his feet.

A fierce raptor, a particularly large hawk, circles high overhead. At one time he calls it down with a quick melodic whistle, feeds it something from a pouch, and then hoists it back upwards where the bird tears off into the sky and resumes its position overhead.

As he approaches the manor, the ranger adjusts the long curved blade and bundle of javelins strapped to his back.

I might have missed something. Why are we at the manor? Is this part of the wake?

I put the last bit of role-playing in a spoiler in the recruitment thread, but you were all approached by Kora, the halfling, and invited to dinner the next day at the manor. I was fast-forwarding past the end of the wake to the next day, though you had the day to spend doing whatever you wanted beforehand.

Gotcha.

"It's been a long time since I've attended a formal dinner of any sort", the Varisian says uncomfortably. "Do you think my being under-dressed will be a problem", he asks.

The gnome named Finnwappet has the odd coloration common to gnomes. In his case, his skin is a pale but brilliant blue, the color of a sun's halo through a patch of clear winter sky. His long, straight but unruly hair is a deeper indigo, held in place by being pulled through the carapace of some kind of shellfish--Zstelian figures it to be spiny lobster. His large eyes contrast this look, being a full, luscious shade of orange.

He dresses in what appears to be a cerulean gi, loose fitting and flowing, but upon a second look, it is just a cover over a leather harness underneath. The outer garment is tied shut with a wide orange belt, oddly bulging in certain spots. A pair of spears are strapped to his back--about the same size as Zstelian's javelins.

To people who see Kyson Tirc, his Taldon features are hard to miss...the dark hair, beady brown eyes, and mucky complection hint to the strength of his lineage. Sadly, Kyson's pale skin tone and lack of muscle tone gives even stronger hints that he has spent too much time inside and not enough time exploring the world or doing much of anything besides his calligraphy and scroll work.

While he stands close to 6' tall, he cannot be considered imposing or forceful by appearance. The scale armor he wears with the heavy wooden shield is necessitated more by his need to hide and protect himself than it is about martial prowess.

In the monastery, Kyson would happily be wearing his clerical vestments if he owned them. As it stands now, Kyson's holy symbol hangs prominently around his neck is the only sign of Kyson's connection to Sarenrae.

Kyson has three weapons of note (a rusty scimitar, an unused whip, and a cutting knife), but none of them show any sign of heavy use, sharpening, or care save for the cutting knife. Kyson will tell others that he's been trained to fight with the scimitar, but those lessons have long been forgotten and Kyson's arms look barely adequate to even hold the blade, much less use it effectively.

* * * *

At the appointed hour, Kyson will approach the Vanderboren estate. He will wait outside by the front gate for a few moments, nervous about letting himself in, but will eventually gather enough courage (or if he sees someone else enter first follow them) to enter.

Sekathral is relatively short for an elf at about 5' 10"; his short stature is exacerbated by a pronounced stoop. His clothes do not fit well, having been stolen from an unattended washing line some time ago; they are of an indeterminate shade between black, grey and brown and full of holes, and more akin to the styles worn by the peasantry in Tian Xia than those seen around the Inner Sea. Despite the heat, he has a heavy black cloak over his shirt and trousers and wears a scruffy black turban wound around his head.

His hair is black, and tied back in a long, tarred pigtail, his eyes are a dull silver and his skin is brown; faded Ekujae tribal tattoos cover his face, with less traditional markings adorning the rest of his meagre body. Possibly the only things about him that are in good conditions are his strong, white teeth and his weapons - a basket hilted cutlass and a selection of nasty-looking daggers, all immaculately clean and razor sharp

He pushes open the gates and walks in, instinctively avoiding areas of strong light and looking about suspiciously for guards. He walks up to the door, stares at it for a moment, then spits loudly into a potted plant next to the entrance and knocks.

"Leaves that give energy, ey?", Silvio says and smells one of the leaves. "Silvio's got energy a plenty, but it is poor conduct to refuse a gift, so Silvio will accept", the man says and puts the leave into his coat pocket. He is clothed in the same garb he wore at the wake with a tricornered hat added to the outfit. A fine blue coat with matching trousers, a white shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned underneath and a pair of sturdy leather boots of good craftmanship on his feet. Attire fit for a man of high birth, although not well maintained and in need of a good washing.

The chelaxian himself has cleaned himself up notably. His shoulder long brown hair have been washed and combed and his mustache has been trimmed. His pearly white smile and golden brown eyes makes the young man's face almost glow. He is in short, quite dashing.

By his hip hands a thin blade roughly the lenght of a longsword, sheathed in a beautifly crafted black scabbard.

"Clothes matter not", silvio laughs and pats Zstelian on the shoulder. "You're invited. It is with words and charm you will win their favor! So says Silvio", the young chelaxian proclaims. "You however", he says to the Kyson, "will find the evening cumbersome and , clad in that uncomfortable steel." He flicks one of the scales with a finger, producing a ringing tone. "Fine for fending of swords and axes, no doubt. But not forks, knives and idle chatter! Yet, the best defence is to not be where the blade falls. The empty air has taken many blows for Silvio!", he laughts.

"You! Silvio recognizes you from the wake", Silvio calls out to Sekathral as the elf enters. "Come, step into the shadows and tell Silvio and his newfound friends your name!"

Kyson instinctively raises his hands to deflect the flicking blows (both verbal and physical) from Silvio.

"Don't hurt me! I came here for dinner, not to be beat upon." Kyson backs up a few steps.

"I have nothing better to wear and I rather like the feel of the metal, thank you. It feels safer."

Kyson looks to Zstelian to see how he reacts to the onslaught.

"No, you misunderstand Silvio", Silvio states and raises his hands. "Silvio is not here to hand out beating, he is merely handing out advice. You should trust Silvio, he knows these things", the young man insures Kyson. "You are to tense. Some wine maybe, to ease your nerves", he suggests and looks about as if his words would magically summon a servant.

Zstelian stifles a chuckle at the Chelaxian's bizarre demeanor.

"I hope you're right", he says at Silvio's affirmation. "The Vanderborens were important to me. I'd hate to make a bad impression on their family and friends".

"Any ideas what this is about? It seems that not everyone at the wake was invited to this dinner", the ranger says as he folds a colorful bandanna he had been wearing around one arm and stows it in his pack.

"I take it your name is Silvio? Nice to meet you..." I think...."I am Kyson Tirc. Of the monastery of Sarenrae. You seem quite forward, Silvio."

Kyson looks at the man thoroughly as if to judge how likely he is to beat Kyson a second time.

"Maybe I'll go stand over here while we talk." Kyson moves back a few feet. "At the monastery, we have a concept of 'personal space', a holy circle that belongs to you and Sarenrae to fill, unless one is involved in 'relations' or tending to injuries."

I don't recall inviting him for 'relations'.

"Sarenrae?", Silvio says and looks puzzled for abit. "Ah, yes. She has something to do with the sun, yes? Silvio has heard of her. But Silvio is a creature of the sea, so he has never seen a priest of her until now. It is nice to meet you, Kyson. Silvio Callgari Pazzi, at your service", Silvio says and bows deftly before turning to Zstelian. "So you know about these Vanderborens, yes? You tell Silvio about them. They where great adventurers, yes?"

Your conversation is interrupted as the door is opened shortly after Sekathal's knock. The old halfling woman from the wake welcomes you into the house.

"Thank you for arriving so promptly," she says as she brings you to the atrium. "If you'll wait here a few moments, Lady Vanderboren shall be with you shortly."

After a few minutes, a group of four familiar figures -- the Jade Ravens from the wake -- emerges from the hall and heads past you toward the door. The tall, handsome man who'd identified himself as Tolin is wearing a polished breastplate and carrying a bastard sword; the half-elf wears leather armor and a half-dozen daggers of different shapes and styles; the dark-skinned dwarf, paced by what appears to be a large badger, wears brown and green robes and a sour expression, and carries a large curved spear; and the attractive human woman wears dark purple robes, with a tattoo of a crescent moon on one cheek.

Tolin glances over the group for a moment. "Hmmm. You must be the help Lavinia's bringing in to do the chores. Best of luck!"

Zsetlia's expression suddenly turns to one of confusion, "Wait, I'm afraid there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I thought this had something to do with a dinner in honor of Verik and Larissa's passing. Is help needed to prepare for the feast?", he asks.

Kyson will enter last and give the others the chance to interact with the other guests first.

Upon entering, Kyson will introduce himself (maybe again...he's trying to be polite) to the halfling lady. "I am Kyson Tirc. Nice to meet you."

At the prospect of doing chores, Kyson's face lights up and asks the halfling, "Chores? What kind of chores? I like scribing and copying. Or raking leaves. That would be keen."

The Jade Ravens all laugh at your comments. "Well, hopefully it won't be anything too difficult," Tolin says. "But we've got our own work to do."

The woman, still laughing, lets her fingers trail over Kyson's armor as she walks by him, a wide smile on her face. "Raking? Simply keen..."

The four head for the door, leaving you waiting in the atrium.

Silvio's attention is immedietly drawn to the woman clad in the purple robes, the scorn from the mercenaries fly past without notice. "I see that the Vanderborens are keen on the company of beautiful women. This is a trait they share with Silvio. Come tell Silvio, is your name as wonderful as your eyes?"

"Watch out, cap'n" mutters Sekathral to Silvio. "Get too fresh and she'll turn your old chap into an angry baby reefclaw. Happened to me once, and I've never looked sideways at a sorceress again." He pauses, then speaks again. "Don't know what they want with us, but I'll bet anyone 10 gold that we end up with the dirty end of whatever it is. You mark my words" He relapses into a moody silence, wrapping himself up in his cloak.

Zstelia watches the mercenaries walk away and turns to his companions even more confused that before.

"Maybe Lavinia can explain all of this".

The woman, still laughing, looks over her shoulder at Silvio's words. "My, you are a bold one. Do you have any doubt my name is as wonderful as my eyes? Perhaps if you manage to do a good job ... raking the leaves ... I'll even grace you with it."

With that, she turns and follows the other Ravens out of the manor, though you think she may have been strutting a bit more as she went, looking to draw the eyes of any of the six of you.

A few minutes later, Kora returns. "Thank you for waiting," she says.

She leads you through what appears to be a trophy hall -- the many trophies here, all preserved by a skilled taxidermist, include saber-toothed cats, a crouching sharp-toothed dog-sized lizard of some sort, a bloated toad the size of a pony and a strange badger-like creature with golden fur and eight legs, among the more mundane animals -- into a spacious room filled with upholstered chairs, bookshelves and a few ables.

A window in the dining room overlooks the manor's central courtyard and the carpet is think and soft. A large portrait hangs on one wall, a fine work depicting a handsome young man with a short beard and a sneer on his face. Standing before the portrait is an attractive human woman in her early 20s wearing a long, flowing blue dress, who smiles as you enter.

"Welcome," she says. "I'm Lavinia Vanderboren. Thank you so much for accepting my invitation. Won't you please be seated?" She gestures to the table, where plates already sit filled with food and glass goblets are filled with a white wine.

Zstelian finds himself staring just a moment longer than would be curtious as old and very powerful emotions flood his thoughts.

"It's a pleasure to meet you", the older man says with a sharp bow. "I knew your mother quite well. You... have her eyes", he compliments - the pain subtle in his voice.

Kyson will enter the room and examine at the trophy-lined walls.

"Are we supposed to dust these?" Kyson points a mean looking saber-toothed cat.

I've never cleaned fur before.

Kyson prepares to take a seat.

Nice food and wine for a chore-doers.

As an after thought, Kyson will introduce himself to the lady. "I am Kyson Tirc. Of the local Sarenraen monastery."

Sekathral slopes in behind Kyson and looks around him suspiciously. This is not the sort of thing he's used to in the slightest. He salutes in a desultory manner and grunts "Sekathral" , then sits down and peers at the food and wine, looking for anything that might suggest the presence of poison.

Before Lavinia enters, Finnwappet replies, "Bah, never worry, a bit of industry is a good thing to accomplish. Having goals, and something to set your mind and body to, that leads to the continuation of a healthy body, mind, and soul. I, for one, welcome it."

Once Lavinia enters and introduces herself, the gnome adds, "Finnwappet Balnibarbi Foonshizzle Luggnagg, at your service. Feel free to call me 'Finn' instead, if it will help."

Finn jumps into his seat upon invitation and examines the food and drink. "Goodness me, these look fantastic! Your cook is quite the find."

The woman, still laughing, looks over her shoulder at Silvio's words. "My, you are a bold one. Do you have any doubt my name is as wonderful as my eyes? Perhaps if you manage to do a good job ... raking the leaves ... I'll even grace you with it."

"Bold? Me? No!" Silvio says and throws up his hands to display his innocence. "It is you my lady. Silvio is not himself when around you", the nobleman claims eventhough he just met the woman. "It breaks my heart to see you leave, my lady, but it is a feast for my eyes to watch you walk", he calls out as she leaves with the other mercenies.

If he was infatuated by the woman in purple, Silvio shows no signs of it when faced with the lady Lavinia Vanderboren. He bows deeply and kisses her hand. "You need not thank Silvio. When a lovely woman calls, Silvio is powerless to resist." He smiles his pearly smile and takes a seat. "I can see that this is a dinner to Silvio's liking", he says and tastes the wine.

Lavinia greets you gracefully, though she does seem a bit surprised at Zseltian's comment and gives him a quick, but searching glance, then looks around for a moment, perhaps for someone not in the room, before turning back to you.

"Thank you," she says. "While we were not always close, I loved my mother very much.

"And you, Brother Tirc, are welcome. I have to admit, I have received correspondence from Brother Innersol at your monastery about you. Unfortunately, I can not fulfill his request at the moment, but perhaps with your help, I will be able to."

She smiles at Silvio's comment, saying "I hope you shall all enjoy it. Please, Finn, Sekathral, all of you, be seated."

When you all have settled yourselves around the table and begun eating -- broiled parrot over coconut rice -- she lets her gaze travel to each of you for a moment, doing her best to catch your eyes.

"As you may have heard, I recently inherited my parents' estate," she says, both sadness and strength evident in her voice. "Along with this fine house, unfortunately, came a fine amount of debt owed the Dawn Council, the harbormaster and quite a few guildhalls. It seems my parents, for all their successes, were not as skilled at finance as one might expect. If I'm to get these taxes paid, I'll need to access my family's vault under Castle Teraknian.

"And that's the problem, you see. The vaults are magically locked, keyed to special signet rings. Both of my parents had these rings, at least until recently. My mother lost hers a few months ago. She arranged for a replacement, but it won't be done for another month or so, too late for me.

"Which leaves my father's ring. He never wore it -- he had a thing about men wearing jewelry -- but kept it hidden somewhere on his ship, the Blue Nixie. The problem is the harbormaster sized the ship until someone pays for the last four months of mooring. I've paid the fines to the man he put in charge of my ship, a brute named Soller Vark. But when I went to claim the Nixie, Vark's men wouldn't let me on board, claiming I hadn't paid yet. I spoke to Vark again and he denied ever receiving my payment. My complaints to the harbormaster have fallen on deaf ears -- he's a doddering old fool who trusts his man and won't relent.

"Vark and his men are up to something on my ship, I know it. What I need to find out is exactly what it is. Unfortunately, Vark's not the type to react well to diplomacy or logic. I need someone who speaks his language ... which is where you come in. If you can find out what he's using my ship for, or even better, recover the money I paid him, I'll pay each of you 200 gold in return once I have access to my vault."

Zstelian tries to focus on his meal but can't help but steal glances at Lavinia and each time he does he thinks about Larissa. Resurfacing memories of the woman he loved cause a deep ache within his heart.

"Yes, of course. I'll help", the Varisian says softly.

"How much do you know about this Vark? Does he have a favorite tavern he frequents perhaps? How many men does he have at his disposal?"

"Unfortunately I don't know much. I fear he's a dangerous fighter -- he has a large scar on his face that he said he got during a fight with a hook-handed pirate. I saw a half-dozen people on the ship when I tried to board it, but there could be more."

"Well hopefully we can make him see the error of his ways without it coming to a straight up brawl", Zstelian says. "I used to get into a scrap here and there when I was a young buck but those days are behind me", the Varisian laments.

"Then again, the Dwarf looks like he's built to fight a small army", the ranger says indicating Dargon.

“Don’t worry Lass, I’ll go down to the Nixie and set this Soller thug straight if that’s what needs doing. And I don’t want to hear another word about paying me any gold either. You and your folks were dear to me and I’ll not stand by while some thugs keep you from what’s rightfully yours.”, Dargon responds.

Dargon won’t accept payment for this. In general he also wouldn’t ask for anything in return for helping Lavinia with anything she needs. Although, he would fear refusing gifts given in genuine thanks as he would consider it to be rude.

Kyson eyes go wide.

"What? WHAT?! You've been talking to Brother Innersol?!" Kyson tries to take a moment and regain his composure.

Calm down there, Kyson. Of course they've been talking.

"What were Brother Innersol instructions to you, if you don't mind me asking. Or, better yet, he had instructions for me? Plans?"

* * *

After hearing the tale of the ship, Kyson is less worried. "Oh, is that all? Go talk to some ship-people and then I can go back to the monastery? Uhm...okay."

"Welcome, Dargon. It is good to see you too, but please, my ribs..."

"Thank you all for accepting. I hope it will take no more than words, but my intuition tells me something isn't right. Why wouldn't they let me on the ship if not? It is mine, after all. It can't simply be trying to blackmail me, as I have no more money unless I can get on the Nixie."

"I appreciate your generosity, Dargon, but I wouldn't want to put any of you out. As I said, though, unless you can find my father's ring on the ship, I wouldn't be able to offer any of you any recompense."

"Brother Tirc, I -- or rather my parents, I should say -- received a request from Brother Innersol regarding you. He has a brother, one of blood and not just faith, whom he wishes you to meet and thought my parents could arrange transportation. At the moment, it's of little relevance, though, as I could not grant the request anyway."

"What's the plan, then?" asks Sekathral through a mouthful of parrot. "I can get on board quietly pretty easily - maybe slip something in their food to make sure we're not interrupted, if Finn has anything suitable... Don't reckon we'd get too far talking to them, but..." He shrugs and continues eating.

Finn raises an eyebrow. "Slip something into their food? I prefer to think of myself as a master of health, but I'm sure I could arrange a distraction. However, I'm wondering more about Mr. Vark's motivations. Ms. Vanderboren, what about the payment? How was it delivered? Could he know about the ring?

"I gave the money to Vark myself. Unfortunately, I guess I was as foolish as my parents. I should have had witnesses to the exchange, but what's done is done. I don't think he could know about the ring. If I had to guess -- and it is just a guess -- he's planning to sell the boat to someone else after claiming it to pay for the dock fees. Still, I don't know why he wouldn't even let me on board as I could hardly sail it away myself."

"If that's the case it seems important that we make our move sooner rather than later", Zstelian concludes.

How far is it from the manor to the docks where the ship is being kept?

Please give a physical description of your characters as you arrive, then take it away.

Dargon has a wild red mane, deep eye sockets and black eyes. Standing at 4'5" and just over 200 lbs, he's a bit stocky, with a slab-like torso, and arms the size of battering rams. He is just over a century old but doesn't look it. With rosy skin and a near wrinkleless face, it's not hard to mistake him for a dwarf half his age.

Unlike most dwarves he doesn't favor armaments and is wearing nothing but a simple vest and trousers. The most notable part of his dress is the silver clan signet ring of a pick ax over a mountain range that he wears on his right index finger. In addition to that he also has both a throwing axe and a hand axe, usually strapped to his belt, that he leaves at the door. Those more perceptive might notice the outlines of 3 flasks (of various dwarven ales) in pockets behind his vest.

"I gave the money to Vark myself. Unfortunately, I guess I was as foolish as my parents. I should have had witnesses to the exchange, but what's done is done. I don't think he could know about the ring. If I had to guess -- and it is just a guess -- he's planning to sell the boat to someone else after claiming it to pay for the dock fees. Still, I don't know why he wouldn't even let me on board as I could hardly sail it away myself."

"Don't beat yourself up Lass. You had no way of knowing he wouldn't do right by you," Dargon says in an attempt to comfort Lavinia. “We’ll go and try to make this right for ya.”

Dargon takes a moment to think on whether he knows of any harbor contacts due to his merchant profession that could help tell him more about Soller Vark.

"Then again, the Dwarf looks like he's built to fight a small army", the ranger says indicating Dargon.

Dargon looks to Zstelian with a slight chukle, “That I could, Zstelian. But perhaps we should talk to him and keep it from coming to that. I wouldn’t want to give them reason to cause little Lavinia any more trouble.”

"What's the plan, then?" asks Sekathral through a mouthful of parrot. "I can get on board quietly pretty easily - maybe slip something in their food to make sure we're not interrupted, if Finn has anything suitable... Don't reckon we'd get too far talking to them, but..." He shrugs and continues eating.

Dargon then turns to Sekathral looking him up and down for a moment, thinking to himself, "I trust Lavinia's judgement... but best keep an eye on that one."

Then says to him in response, "Not a bad plan if it comes to that, but I plan to go talk with Soller first. It'd be good to 'ear from him what this is all about. If it gets us nowhere, might try your way. If nothing else to keep it from looking like Lavinia is the one causing the trouble."

"If that's the case it seems important that we make our move sooner rather than later", Zstelian concludes.

Turning back to Zstelian, "Agreed."

Kyson looks over the rest of the group.

"I can go help talk to them. It's probably just a misunderstanding, right? I'd hate it to come to violence. Besides, I'm sure Soller Vark probably has some ledgers or notes that show that you paid, right?"

Kyson likes reading.

"I would be happy to go first thing in the morning...unless you'd like us to go right now?"

Kyson is not a big fan of the dark.

Sekathral looks up at Dargon and Kyson. "Fine - talk first, business if that fails. Do you want the rest of us along as extra muscle in the event of things getting lively, or shall I have a discreet look at this ship?" He turns to Lavinia. "I don't suppose you've got a plan of the vessel, or could you draw one? Anything'd help - just knowing where a cove who didn't want to be seen could get in and out would be a start"

Sniffing contemplatively at the parrot, Finn continues Sekrathal's thought, adding, "It wouldn't have to be a large space. I can squeeze through some rather impossibly small spaces when required.

Sekathral looks up at Dargon and Kyson. "Fine - talk first, business if that fails. Do you want the rest of us along as extra muscle in the event of things getting lively, or shall I have a discreet look at this ship?" He turns to Lavinia. "I don't suppose you've got a plan of the vessel, or could you draw one? Anything'd help - just knowing where a cove who didn't want to be seen could get in and out would be a start"

"Sekathral, don't go encouraging them to do anything stupid by boarding the ship just yet," Dargon interrupts, "But if you can do so without them taking notice, go ahead and get in for a closer look before we come knocking. Knowing that Kyson and myself won't be walking into a dragon's den would be good.

***

Sniffing contemplatively at the parrot, Finn continues Sekrathal's thought, adding, "It wouldn't have to be a large space. I can squeeze through some rather impossibly small spaces when required.

Dargon gives Finnwappet an approving nod then looks back to Sekathral, "Maybe take Finn to help."

Welcome all, and congratulations. Really excited to get started.

Please set up aliases and post here letting me know I can look over your character sheets. I'll assign you a trait then.

Silvio, you'll need to let me know what you actually want to play. We do have a rogue, so I'm assuming fighter or bard. Though since we don't have a full arcane caster, you may want to consider magus as well, to give the group a boost in that area. Any of the three is fine with me, though.

Zstelian, I'll take another look (probably later today) at your background and see if we need to tweak it at all to get it to work.

P.S. Since Dargon apparently thinks the birth of his child is of more importance than role-playing -- some people just can't prioritize ;-) -- I assume we'll have to wait a couple days for him. If everyone's ready before he's back online, we can probably start without him and catch him up.

Silvio signing in! Will have a profile up in a while. Silvio was originally built for a free hand fighter, an upfront kind of guy without being clad in full plate armor. I'll take a look at the magus class, but a word to the wise, i don't play a caster well :)

Speaking of wise, i have a question. Silvio's stats came out like this:

str 15
dex 15 (17 with racial)
con 14
int 12
wis 12
cha 15

Would it be ok if i lowered the wis score to 8? I don't want to raise anything else, just lower the wis. Silvio is not ment to be wise.

Thanks for choosing me but I'm going to decline after all. I'm just not comfortable with the drastic spread of stat arrays (Dargon being super high and the rogue being really low).

I'm sorry to hear that, Feral. Is it just the stat array? I'm happy to let limelongears re-roll if he wants. (And can check with Dargon about lowering his, since they are indeed really good rolls.)

Would it help if I re-rolled? Regardless, I wanted to check a couple of things - firstly, I'm moving house (and am fairly new to Pathfinder); all my books are in storage, so apologies in advance for any howlers/omissions in my character sheet (which can be viewed in my profile). Secondly, can my character use cutlasses? Going from memory, these are light weapons; 1d6 slashing damage; 19-20 critical. They're not in any of the Pathfinder books, but did appear in Stormwrack and possibly another 3.5 book...

Profile created. I still have to buy some starting gear (and check if a magus is right for me).

Rerolling would help but I don't want to ruin anyone's fun.

Perfectly happy to do so if it's OK with motteditor. Realise I've missed out a lot - revised character sheet below. Stats may change depending on whether I end up rerolling and I'm not at all sure what the proper bonuses to Sea Legs are...

Sekathral Silvereye
Male Elven rogue (pirate) 1
CN Medium Humanoid (Elf)
Init +4; Senses Perception + 2
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11. . (+1 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +2
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 30 ft.
Melee cutlass +0 (1d6/19-20/x2) and cutlass +0 (1d6/19-20/x2)
Ranged dagger +4 (1d4/19-20/x2)
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 11, Dex 19, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 9
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 14
Feats Sea legs (bonus), two weapon fighting
Traits River rat
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff +2, Climb +4, Disable device +8, Knowledge (geography) + 6, Linguistics +6, Perception +6, Profession (Sailor) +6, Stealth +8, Swim +5
Languages Common, Elven, Polyglot, Aquan
Combat Gear Leather armour, 2 x cutlasses, thief’s tools, 6 x daggers, pipe, pouch of flayleaf, bottle o’rum
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
River rat +1 to hit with daggers; + 1 to swim skill; Sea legs: + 2 to acrobatics checks when on board ship and perception checks in bad weather (??)

2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 2) + 6 = 14
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 6) + 6 = 14
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 6) + 6 = 13
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 1) + 6 = 12
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 4) + 6 = 13
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 3) + 6 = 13

2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 4) + 6 = 11
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 2) + 6 = 12
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 3) + 6 = 15
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 = 9
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 4) + 6 = 16
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 2) + 6 = 13

2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 1) + 6 = 13
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 5) + 6 = 14
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 4) + 6 = 15
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 5) + 6 = 16
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 2) + 6 = 10
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9

How are the third lot? I'm doing this on a rather poor mobile connection, which is why I appear to be a couple of posts behind...

Limey, try rerolling, to maybe bump you up a bit. However, I think Dolgrim just really kicked butt on his rolls. When he gets on, let's see if he'll mind lowering a couple of them. I like high stats on characters, but those really are very high. (And, Feral, not playing ruins *my* fun. I think you had an interesting character going, and I like the falconer class.)

Limey, can you please create an alias for your character. (To do so, go under My Account, and you should see an area on the left saying message board aliases, with an option to create a new alias.)

Also, if you need the "books," you can also get them at http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/. I find that INCREDIBLY useful, especially when I'm doing PBP, as I have everything at the click of a mouse.

I'm fine with using cutlasses like that -- basically the same mechanically as short swords, except slashing instead of piercing.

Looks like Pathfinder's version of Sea Legs is You gain a +2 bonus on Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim checks. I guess that's only meant to be when you're on board a ship, though it doesn't say that in the benefits part of the feat (just in the description). OK, starting to look over the profiles shortly.

Why don't you use that last lot but bump the 9 up to an 11.

And Patrik, you're welcome to drop Silvio's wisdom.

"**RAWR**"

I summon myself from the aether into this thread.

Fear my coming!

* * *

Apologies for my tardiness...for some reason I didn't see this thread had started.

I'll get this profile up and updated tonight.

I believe I'll be re-using the Kyson Tirc alias instead of Briar.

I'm looking forward to this.

Thanks for the help - amended stats below:

Sekathral Silvereye
Male Elven rogue (pirate) 1
CN Medium Humanoid (Elf)
Init +4; Senses Perception + 6
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12. . (+2 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +2
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 30 ft.
Melee cutlass -2 (1d6/19-20/x2) and cutlass -2 (1d6/19-20/x2)
Ranged dagger +4 (1d4/19-20/x2)
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 11, Dex 18, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 14
Feats Sea legs (bonus), two weapon fighting
Traits River rat
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff +4, Climb +4, Disable device +8, Knowledge (geography) + 6, Linguistics +6, Perception +6, Profession (Sailor) +6, Stealth +8, Swim +5
Languages Common, Elven, Polyglot, Aquan, Osiriani
Combat Gear Leather armour, 2 x cutlasses, thief’s tools, 6 x daggers, pipe, pouch of flayleaf, bottle o’rum
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
River rat +1 to hit with daggers; + 1 to swim skill; Sea legs: + 2 to acrobatics and climb checks when on board ship and + 2 to swim checks

Sekathral Silvereye

Male Elven rogue (pirate) 1
CN Medium Humanoid (Elf)
Init +4; Senses Perception + 6

Spd 30 ft.
Melee cutlass -2 (1d6/19-20/x2) and cutlass -2 (1d6/19-20/x2)
Ranged dagger +4 (1d4/19-20/x2)

Feats Sea legs (bonus), two weapon fighting

Ah, the classic 2 weapon rogue conundrum: 2 weapon fighting or weapon finesse first?

Would you be happier and more effective with one strike at +5 rather than 2 at -2 to hit? Tough call.

But luckily you can get the other feat at lvl 2...it's just takes forever to get there in an AP.

Ahh - thought I had to have a +1 attack bonus to get weapon finesse (working off 3.5 rules), but it looks like I don't, so yeah, it would be a better option (although I like the idea of an elven rogue with two cutlasses... style vs. substance). I'll go with weapon finesse, I think.

Here's Finnwappet "Finn" Luggnagg, ready to go!

Finn looks good to me.

Sekathral, if you can put your character sheet into your profile, I'd appreciate it. Just click on the profile name, and you should see an edit button. You can just copy and paste it in there.

Looks like you need to update the combat stats if you did decide to go weapon finesse before two-weapon fighting.

Would you mind doing your skills like in Finn's profile? Makes it a lot easier for me to reference quickly if I need to make a roll for you (I tend to roll a lot for players just to speed things along). Also, if you can put the special abilities all on a separate line, that's helpful.

Looks like you may not have your elven bonuses incorporated (I can't quite tell). I'm thinking if you put one rank in perception, it should be +8 (1 rank, +3 class skill, +2 Wis, +2 for being an elf. I think you're also missing your favored class bonus -- you should have +1 HP or +1 skill rank

Up to you on this, but you may want to also consider this, since it doesn't look like you're planning on using elven magic, though rogues can get some magical abilities. It's completely up to you but I wasn't sure if you were aware of this from the Advanced Players Guide:
Spirit of the Waters: Some elves have adapted to life in tune with the sea or along the reedy depths of wild rivers and lakes. They gain a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks, can always take 10 while swimming, and may choose Aquan as a bonus language. They are proficient with longspear, trident, and net. This racial trait replaces elven magic and weapon familiarity racial traits.

Holding off on Silvio until you decide what exactly you want to be (and if Feral does decide he's not interested, going fighter's probably the better choice than magus, though Dorgan will also be able to provide some martial prowess...)

Bonus traits:
Finn -- Inspired by Greatness: Whether you knew Verik and Larissa Vanderboren well or only in passing, as colleagues or competitors, their careers and lifetime of discovery inspired you to be better at what you do. As you honed your craft, you all corresponded, and they were delighted to hear that they had directly or indirectly motivated you to strive for your full potential. Saddened by the news of their death, you feel that you should honor their memory by ever striving to attain greater heights and someday match the inf luence and impact of your idol. Choose one spell you can cast. From now on, you always cast this spell at +1 caster level. (Obviously your spell can be one of your extracts...)

Sekathal -- Making Good on Promises: At some point in the past, Verik and Larissa Vanderboren did you a favor under the condition that he would someday call on you to repay it. After they came to your aid, however, you never saw nor heard from them again, leaving you with a sense of unending anticipation that each day might be the day you were asked to return the favor. Yet that day never came, and your fears and anxiety about what the adventurers would call on you to do continued to grow, until you heard of their death, leaving you with a strange need to finally repay them. Years of living with the fear and uncertainty of the unclaimed debt have inured you to extreme anxiety. You gain a +2 trait bonus on saves against fear effects.

I'd love to stick with it if you're okay with leveling us out.

Edit:

What trait would Zsetian be getting?

Mobile until Friday or Saturday so rp will be rough but I'll follow the tread and might pop in with simple post. Dragon rolled awesome but the game is more important. Whatever make good is needed on my part to keep all interested is perfectly ok.

Thanks Dargon for being understanding. I hate being 'that guy' but the disparity would eat away at me no matter how hard I tried.

For reference this is the stat points we're looking at:

Sekethal - 26 pts
Silvio - 26 pts
Finn - 30 pts
Briar/Kyson - 38 pts
Zsetian - 34 pts
Dargon - 52 pts

He has literally double the stats. LOL.

Profile made!

Dargon, do you mind going with 38? Definitely not quite as good, but should still be a character to be able to brag about. I appreciate you using the lower stats.

Feral, I do want to tweak your background slightly. I fudged it a bit for simplicity's sake for the recruitment, but Larissa was actually the more adventurous of the pair, eventually marrying Verik, who joined her on some explorations. (They were more explorers than your classic PC-style adventurers.)

I think your background still works, but your adventures were solely with Larissa, whom you fell in love with. When she decided to marry Verik instead, you left, feeling bitter.

Also, Larissa has a couple adult children, so I figure she was at least 43 or so, and probably closer to 50 when she died, since she was an adventurer beforehand. Not sure if you want to be that old, and if you want to deal with the aging effects, if so. Perhaps you found a fountain of youth that reduced your age? (It could even have been cursed, wiping out your experiences, which would explain why you're first level. I know I hate when I envision a more experienced character but I'm still starting out at level 1.) You could also just have been younger than her when you were together, but unless you were more in schoolboy-crush mode, you'd still be middle-aged for a human (you could also be a half-elf, which would solve the aging issue if that is something you're concerned about.

I'm thinking for a trait something like "For Family Honor," indicating your persistence to protect the Vanderboren family. I'm thinking it gives you +1 to saves when you're trying to protect the Vanderborens. Something like that work for you?

Let me know your thoughts. I'm happy to tweak whatever we need to get something you're happy with background-wise.

Also, I noticed your name's changed a bit. Are you Zsetian or Zstelian? And I'm assuming pronunciation-wise, the Z is silent?

Yeah, I mentioned him being middle-aged because I figured they were older. I'm okay with being on the upper end of middle aged and just assuming that my current stats has taken the adjustments into effect. I like the idea of breaking the mold of all adventuring non-wizards being young bucks.

The adjustment to the background is cool. He still blamed Verik for stealing his woman (even if it was her that had pursued him) - perhaps the wisdom of years has forced him to figure out that he was wrong. He's low level because after being spurned by Larissa he laid pretty low and led a fairly adventure-free life in the interim time. Also, he's a bit rusty. As he levels he'll remember tricks from his younger years and get some spring back in his step.

The trait sounds cool. I trust the Vanderboreans are going to be featured fairly heavily throughout the AP?

Yeah, I mistyped the name at one point and kept with it in the name of consistency. I prefer Zstelian. You're correct, the Z is silent - pronounced Stelian.

Works for me. Yes, the Vanderborens are featured very prominently throughout the Adventure Path -- unless you all mess up really badly : ). They're a little less important toward the end, but I may tweak that part since it starts getting into areas I don't think are quite as interesting as the first two-thirds of the Path. (Even if not, you'll have gotten as much value out of it as traits that give you extra starting gold, for example, so I think it'll be nicely balanced.)

I'm fine with you being older -- that was definitely part of the reason I picked you (don't know why I didn't think to just assume the age is already factored into the stats -- and also prefer Zstelian as your name.

Will look over the sheet in a bit.

Motte-

Finally at home and working on more details of my yahoo. Do you have anything changes or restrictions/suggestions for crafting feats? I have tentatively taken Scribe Scroll, but wanted confirmation that it might be useful in this campaign.

Do you have any home rules for crafting?

I'm fairly inexperienced at crafting -- as in we've never actually done it in a campaign I've played in since we switched to Pathfinder (and didn't do it much in the 3.x we played either). I know there is plenty of crafting time available (the Path spans a year or two, with plenty of downtime available).

I know in the KM campaign I'm running, we cut the time it takes to craft something (this was nonmagical, though) since it would have been two months holed up working, but other than that, my inclination is to pretty much follow the rules. Certainly don't see a problem with scribe scroll. (I'm probably less inclined to cut the time allowed for crafting magic items, since I don't want you running around with 100 scrolls, but I'm fairly easy going other than that.)

PFRPG drastically reduced the time needed to craft magic items and really streamlined the whole process, including a crafting-on-go mechanics.

Ironically, they didn't reduce the time it takes for mundane crafting. So while it's possible to enchant a 9000k +3 Fullplate in like 3 days. It takes 90 days to make the actual fullplate. =/

A'ight, I'll keep the scribe scroll feat, but might poke you about it later on.

My build is up, still tweaking and fiddle-faddling, and need to complete the some portions of my alias, but the main parts are done. I'll be fixing it up tonight.

Also need my trait.

Dammit. Had half of this written up and then accidentally closed it when I meant to switch tabs. Grrr.

From memory, then:
Zstelian -- Your sheet looked fine. If you could just put the heads (skills, feats, traits, gear, etc.) in bold, that makes it a touch more readable for me. I'd appreciate it.

I assume you're going with a switch-hitter? Just curious, are you planning to use javelins as your primary ranged weapon? I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that, but as with your advancing age, I like the change from the usual.

Also, looks like you've got 71 gold left that you don't have marked down on your sheet.

OK, I think that was everything. Mental note to copy and paste now before switching tabs.

---

Kyson -- Love the diary. You did make it to Eleder safely.

I'm a little lost on your skills. Looks like you used the favored class bonus there (I'm thrilled so many people are using their favored class bonuses in skills; I honestly thought I was the only one who did that) and thus have ranks in appraise, heal, know (religion), profession (scribe) and sense motive. I'm not sure how you got a +4 in craft (calligraphy).

Also, please don't try to swim or climb anything. : )

Am looking for a good trait. Probably won't be a "campaign" trait but something based more of your monastery life.

---

OK, waiting for a final confirmation on Silvio's class. (And if you don't want to do magus, Patrik, that's fine. Was just throwing it out there.)

Also, Dargon will have to be redone with the lower stats. Plus, how'd your wife do? Congrats on the baby. Boy or girl?

Sure thing. I copy/pasted that stat block from my application post. I'll get a fresh HeroLab export in there when I get home.

I went with javelins for now because composite bows are too expensive for a level 1 character =P. Alternatively, there's a pretty cool sling feat in UC if I remember correctly and I may end up using that as my ranged option. When was the last time you saw a slinger that wasn't a gnome or a halfling! Slings feel like a very appropriate gypsy/Varisian weapon.

I was planning on switch-hitting but I may end up focusing on one style more than the other depending on what the rest of the party does.

Oh yeah, I can't play a PC without skillz...drives me bonkers. I have to be able to do some stuff or I go nuts. Or start randomly multiclassing (like starting as a paladin and double dipping into rogue).

Anyhoot, Kyson should get 6 skill points per lvl: 2 cleric, 2 int, 1 human, and 1 for fav class.

6 Skills are: Appraise, Craft (Calligraphy), Heal, Know (Rel) Prof (Scribe), & Sense Motive.

Sadly, Kyson doesn't have access to the usual fancy fine calligraphy kit like he did in the monastery so he is much less adept at calligraphy before he gets the proper tools for the job.

I believe the scoring for that looks like this:
+2 Int
+1 Skill point
+3 Class Skill
-2 No tools
----
+4

I kinda figure that Kyson is currently trying to use an inkpen for calligraphy and he can't quite do it right until he buys his own calligraphy kit.

Got it. Forgot about the human skill point bonus.

In which case, Zstelian, do you have all your skills? I think you may be one point short. (Or I'm just really bad at breaking down people's characters...)

I'll check it out when I get home but I believe I've got all my skills.

I chose the favored class option where I give the bonus HP to my animal companion.

I chose the favored class option where I give the bonus HP to my animal companion.

Ah, that'd explain it then. I didn't realize that, so thought you had put it into skills (while forgetting to account for your extra skill point for being human). You should be fine.

Dammit. Had half of this written up and then accidentally closed it when I meant to switch tabs. Grrr.

From memory, then:
Zstelian -- Your sheet looked fine. If you could just put the heads (skills, feats, traits, gear, etc.) in bold, that makes it a touch more readable for me. I'd appreciate it.

I assume you're going with a switch-hitter? Just curious, are you planning to use javelins as your primary ranged weapon? I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that, but as with your advancing age, I like the change from the usual.

Also, looks like you've got 71 gold left that you don't have marked down on your sheet.

OK, I think that was everything. Mental note to copy and paste now before switching tabs.

---

Kyson -- Love the diary. You did make it to Eleder safely.

I'm a little lost on your skills. Looks like you used the favored class bonus there (I'm thrilled so many people are using their favored class bonuses in skills; I honestly thought I was the only one who did that) and thus have ranks in appraise, heal, know (religion), profession (scribe) and sense motive. I'm not sure how you got a +4 in craft (calligraphy).

Also, please don't try to swim or climb anything. : )

Am looking for a good trait. Probably won't be a "campaign" trait but something based more of your monastery life.

---

OK, waiting for a final confirmation on Silvio's class. (And if you don't want to do magus, Patrik, that's fine. Was just throwing it out there.)

Also, Dargon will have to be redone with the lower stats. Plus, how'd your wife do? Congrats on the baby. Boy or girl?

Wife and baby boy are healthy and doing great!

New stats. (call me out if they dont add up, doing from memory)

Str 18 (17 pts)
Dex 14 (5 pts)
Con 15 (7 pts) -> 17
Int 12 (2 pts)
Wis 15 (7 pts) -> 17
Cha 10 (0 pts) -> 8

Same build options likely with perception, sense motive, climb, swim, profession (merchant) as chosen skills. I'll do a complete rebuild Friday. This is just to give everyone an idea.

Made some small changes. Added the trapper archetype, swapped my INT and CHA, and fixed a few errors.

I've made an attempt to format my profile like Finn's, with partial success at best... I'll add in background details (etc) a bit later on, as I'm supposed to be working at the mo. Sorry to be a pain, but how do you get the show/hide button to show up as per other people's posts? Copying the coding from the page source doesn't appear to work; searching the site hasn't got me anywhere, either...

OK, will take a look, Zstelian.

Sekathral, you type [ spoiler=xxx] blah blah blah [ /spoiler] without the spaces right after the brackets. You should see, when you go to post, a how to format your text button at the bottom of the screen. That's got all the various commands you can use. (italics, bold, etc.).

Taking a look, what I really want (more than spoilers, though you're free to use those if you want) is for the headers of sections (i.e. the word skills before your list of skills) to be bold. Zstelian's is a good example there. Sorry if I was confusing.

Thinking about a trait for Kyson, would something like this work? I'm not sure if it might be TOO powerful (in which case I'd probably just nerf it a bit; I like the idea behind it). Feedback's welcome...

Skilled scribe: You've spent much of your life scribing and have a knack for it. Any scroll you create functions at +1 caster level.

(If that's too powerful, perhaps something like +1 to any rolls you make based on a scroll you scribed, or +1 DC for saves on them...)

Thinking about a trait for Kyson, would something like this work? I'm not sure if it might be TOO powerful (in which case I'd probably just nerf it a bit; I like the idea behind it). Feedback's welcome...

Skilled scribe: You've spent much of your life scribing and have a knack for it. Any scroll you create functions at +1 caster level.

(If that's too powerful, perhaps something like +1 to any rolls you make based on a scroll you scribed, or +1 DC for saves on them...)

In my opinion it's ok if he can't exceed his caster level. That means the real benefit won't kick in until level 2, and it will act more like a discount to caster level cost.

Thinking about a trait for Kyson, would something like this work? I'm not sure if it might be TOO powerful (in which case I'd probably just nerf it a bit; I like the idea behind it). Feedback's welcome...

Skilled scribe: You've spent much of your life scribing and have a knack for it. Any scroll you create functions at +1 caster level.

(If that's too powerful, perhaps something like +1 to any rolls you make based on a scroll you scribed, or +1 DC for saves on them...)

Ah. That'd be fine, Motte. No, I don't think it's too powerful. Traits are supposed to be about half a feat. And, in this case, that seems about right: Cypher Magic.

It's a twist on half of that feat, but with Dargon's additional rider about level cap, seems about right.

I've chosen Reduce Person to get the bonus for my Inspired by Greatness.

I've looked through the magus and it could be a fun class but doesn't really fit with what i had in mind for Silvio. I'm going to stay with the free hand fighter. Just need to buy some starting gear then he's set.

@Mott: Can you add all the player to the campain page? It will make it easier to keep up with the thread.

Wife and baby boy are healthy and doing great!

Congratulations!

I've looked through the magus and it could be a fun class but doesn't really fit with what i had in mind for Silvio.

"Of course not!" Silvio interjects. "Just read the class description!" the exiled nobleman continues and stats to cite from memory.

"You hear that. Books! Books are not for Silvio. The sword is for Silvio! Leave the books for those with no heart for adventure and Silvio will take their share of swords, wine and women!", he proclaims with a smile.

Kyson, sounds good to me.

Finn, Sekethal -- if you want to me come up with more original traits, let me know. I think those ones are perfectly good (I copied them from Carrion Crown), but they seem a little less exciting than the more personalized ones for Zstelian and Kyson.

Patrik, I think you get added by just posting in the game thread, no? I'm not aware of a way to manually do it. (Speaking of which, does anyone know how to make a supposedly current campaign into a previous campaign? I've got a couple there that I'm no longer involved in...)

You're all welcome to begin posting, by the way, if you want. Let me know if you want to do anything before the dinner (which can include any knowledge checks you may want to make about the Vanderborens or anyone other NPCs from the recruitment threads). I figure we can start that before the PCs are fully vetted, since it's role-play, not roll-play. Dargon, if you get to post, great. If not, we'll pretend you're there and join in when you're ready.

(I'm on vacation this week, so have been posting a lot. However, I'm heading down to DC for Friday-Monday. I assume I'll still get a chance to post somewhat, because my friends go to bed hours earlier than I do, but am not sure exactly how much time I'll get online.)

Patrik, I think you get added by just posting in the game thread, no? I'm not aware of a way to manually do it. (Speaking of which, does anyone know how to make a supposedly current campaign into a previous campaign? I've got a couple there that I'm no longer involved in...)

You're all welcome to begin posting, by the way, if you want. Let me know if you want to do anything before the dinner (which can include any knowledge checks you may want to make about the Vanderborens or anyone other NPCs from the recruitment threads). I figure we can start that before the PCs are fully vetted, since it's role-play, not roll-play. Dargon, if you get to post, great. If not, we'll pretend you're there and join in when you're ready.

I didn't even notice that there was a game thread created :) Yep, it got added to my campaign list as i posted in the game thread. Good stuff!

Edit: Not until now i noticed the roleplay part of your last post in the recruitment thread. This is not my day it seems :)

Edit pt 2: Silvio's sheet should be complete now, except for a trait of your choice.

Regarding your other question: I posted somewhat the same question here.

Silvio's sheet looks fine, other than you're missing the closing italics tag on the name of the ship you stowed away on.

For Silvio's trait, how about Confidence: Your complete sense of confidence makes your "exaggerations" more convincing. +1 trait bonus to bluff rolls, plus bluff is a class skill for you.

OK, just Dargon left to check. Let me know when you're ready.

Sekathral, consensus seems to be that the bonuses conveyed by the Sea Legs feat apply all the time, not just when on a ship, so I'd just add them to your overall skill scores.

Silvio's sheet looks fine, other than you're missing the closing italics tag on the name of the ship you stowed away on.

Fixed.

For Silvio's trait, how about Confidence: Your complete sense of confidence makes your "exaggerations" more convincing. +1 trait bonus to bluff rolls, plus bluff is a class skill for you.

Love it! (since i use herolabs i took the "Fast talker" trait, which is identical)

Dargon is ready for review. I should be able to start rp sometime tomorrow.