"(Imaginary) Life is Hard and Unfair" :p
Forceful information extraction was the first major branching point I feel. We know now that it would have let us learn that Ilvah was a werewolf. But it could also have just traumatized a regular child.
I feel that there are supplies, such as antivenom or restoration scrolls, that could have saved her. Will grab some of those.
I think there's probably better ways then endurance hunting to run down people, so things like scrolls of phantasmal mount (or what those super-fast shadow horses are called?) could be handy.
At least the last two points are good reminders :p
Yeah, Phantom Steed and Phantom Chariot are really good.
I'm not going to say that endurance hunting is good or fun, but it was necessary and marginally effective. The party has tried and failed to catch people before through tracking, and this time we actually succeeded.
Aye, the outcome was...tragic, to an extent.
However, Ilvah was aware that we were capable adventurers, would be nobility of sorts, had means and goodwill towards her.
And it was unlikely she could have hidden her condition for a prolonged period.
She could easily have pleaded illness and asked us to help - it's not like you get infected with lycanthropy voluntarily, usually.
We WERE going out of our way trying to help her - she was aware that we were asking around trying to find out what might have happened to her, or if she had relatives. Even though we had places to be.
Even if I was(and am) wary of the Fey-Tag-Along, I never expressed hostility towards her, only avoiding her where possible. But Ilvah still made a decision to try and lure her away to kill her.
And when we chanced upon her, to kill us. She didn't pull any punches there. And as said, we followed HER tracks, they didn't suddenly turn into wolf tracks, and she had assembled others there. This was not her trying to get away from us to ride out the full moon. It was a conscious decision and she was in control of her transformation.
I am surprised at how well she bluffed us for such an extended time period, figuring with such prolonged and intense contact she would mess up sooner or later. But she pulled it off. Either way she must have known at latest when Alia foiled the Mindreading that I was quite willing to help her. She had every chance to try and get help about her condition and choose not to take it.
Even if she was afraid, she would then have willingly accepted moving to a new place and continuing to murder others there. Heck, even if we had no means to heal her she could request to be shackled and imprisoned one night a month until such time as a healing could be found.
There were options.
@Endurance Hunting: Aye, and about time we once managed to succeed. I would have much preferred if we had succeeded with one of our other targets, but at least there is some closure with Ilvah.
Redemption would have been wonderful, but I fear she was too far gone.
As for lessons, yeah, there are. After almost getting murdered by her ward, Alia will definitely be more cautious in the future. She will still heavily dislike mind-affecting magics of any sort, but not object in similar situations.
(But you still best never think about using it on her).
It may be (but probably is not) of interest that one of my PCs has the game's worst means of blocking mind-reading magic. The Glimpse Beyond story feat.
Now, said PC only has the feat because a story feat was a campaign freebie and it fit with her backstory; she lacks the Completion Benefit.
But if she were to get killed or driven insane by an aberration, evil outsider, or undead, and then somehow raised, she would then drive insane any who tried to read her mind (well, 1d6 Wis damage, anyway).
I think "Take the story feat and then get killed and raised" is a rather inefficient method of blocking mind-reading compared to "Tell other players it is not acceptable."
But it would be quite the story feat to give to everyone in a Strange Aeons game...
Amusing you mention that. I had a (Unseelie) Fey Character that had both Glimpse Beyond(with completion(before game start, as worked out with GM, we could have a story feat already done to start) and the horrifying mind trait (not all that strong, but great thematic synergy).
Unfortunately the game didn't last very long - you could probably call it more of a character concept rather than a proper character - but I'm a big fan of both of those.
i'll be away from the 29th to the 4th.. so 28th to the 3rd to most prolly, i'm at gmt+8
I might have net connection or phone.. might
Roger that.
As for me stupid busy at work still (starting day 10 of 12 of my extended work week). I should have something up tonight/this morning if I can still see straight. ;)
I'd also like to note that that hovel has been standing there, decaying for years, probably crawled over by spiders, serving as lair for who knows what small beasts, weathering strong winds and winters of intense snow weighting down on it - also possibly crashed into by some beast(fleeing from giant spiders) and all we want to do is go in, pick something up out of a open chest, then go back out, but we are entirely certain it could pick THIS exact moment in time to collapse - as if the winter coat we retrieve was load-bearing and the structure unsound enough that breathing would collapse it.
Purely technical, there should be a chance close to zero that it would collapse at exactly that moment when we step inside, reach for an item, and step back outside.
But we all know that the game just waits for that cocky self-confidence of using real-worth logic :D
Also, we could probably use some long pole/rod, or if necessary turn it into a fishing rod and retrieve the clothes that way. I just figure we have neither a Rod nor Naleksa(selling Rods) anywhere close by so would need to find a suitable branch.
Finally, I have a nagging feeling that the moment we retrieve the clothes, we hear the pling of a ring falling to the bottom of the chest - which detect magic fails to penetrate because it's lead-covered. Sooo....who is going in? :P
The great documentary Indiana Jones have shown that loot is indeed load bearing :p
Got detect magic and could make the dc on a take 20 - but not a take 10. So maybe once we've rested if none other pokes open the spoiler before then .)?
I pinged Fergus to see if he is still with us.
As to this hovel, I am curious but not particularly greedy for the loot. We can move on if it seems too much trouble.
What is the plan to move on and retrieve your horses?
EDIT And don't forget that coffee table-sized chest that you pulled from the well!
I think we need to take a nap first, unless the tracking route was significantly longer then the stumble-back route.
Our people with survival skills may know?
Otherwise yeah, horses and hopefully Erewenywg.
"well-well-well-well"
Now this is a fairy I could get along with :D
Do Illthir know/remember any distinct pieces of clothing or such that Erevenywg would wear?
Spell Kenning for Locate Object and just a brisk five minute ride around the area we saw her leave in doesn't make or break our schedule. And we would have tried at least :)
Now, of course, there's a non zero risk she feyed off to the First World and will come back with some wolf-slayers in 1d10 years to help us ... :p
Assuming no on the above then. Hope we don't have to regret not looking harder.
Do Illthir know/remember any distinct pieces of clothing or such that Erevenywg would wear?
Not really. Erevenywg used long lasting disguise self every day to get dressed seeing it as way more efficient than carrying, washing, drying, darning, ironing, picking out, and wearing clothing.
Her belongings include: A backpack with little swatches of cloth sewn into it depicting various places in and around the Stolen Land some of them sport inked on check marks; 4 packages of trail rations that move on their own--clumping up, breaking apart and forming interesting patterns like star-fields; 1-foot of hemp rope; a 5-pole; a tinderbox from a tavern you all stayed in, a snuff box with one dose of wolf's bane inside; an old bear trap; one of each denomination of local (Brevic, and Mivon) coin except platinum, these she had mounted inside of a small stiff folio with room for more; and a half-full waterskin.
She's making a scrap book?
Shame about the Locate Object thing, but didn't expect it to help. Just hoped :p
With a bit of luck we'll find her again eventually ...
Oh! And there's a big, well chest too.
Re wolvesbane - isn't that what helps resist lycanthropy? Very convenient if so ...
Might be interesting to figure out for those that got gnawed on by Ilvah :p
---
And that knock spell on the chest too ...
Apologies, my kids are doing the second round of being ill in a circle.
It's not fun and the nights are short.
I would like to apologize to you all for my absence. I don't like talking about it, as usually I can deal with it, however I have, slightly random swings of burnout and apathy over the course of the year where I lose all interest in almost everything. Where even things I normally greatly enjoy feel like a chore to do at best. Normally, I can push through, continue on and eventually the "burnout" as I've called it leaves. However I've hit a particularly rough patch this time around. That coupled with doubling my work time due to the holidays has left me with the desire to do nothing. However, that doesn't excuse my radio silence in this, and my other games. So again, I would like to apologize for that.
I think I'm on the upswing, and, if you would still have me I will happily rejoin the game properly in hopefully a few days time.
No worries on my part (though you just beat me from PMing you). I feel that pain often (both the feelings of overwork and the wish to shut down for a while). Thanks for letting us know you're still there.
Okay, I am a bit uncertain on the bank.
Durgan previously had 2,176 GP. This is his "bank"?
Now we found a total of 2,200 GP in items in the chest.
If Durgan were to spend 150 GP out of his "bank" on another scroll of Lesser Restoration, then he would be down to 2,026 GP and the chest would be down to 2,050 in items?
Mm I'm not sure if the bank find is "you can purchase 2200gp worth of things from your bank" or "add 2200gp to your bank. You may purchase stuff now".
Also any luck on making up lore bits about the noble we are visiting :p?
(Also note for myself - unless I missed a post Illthir currently has 1400gp in her bank. Just before this! Should probably write it down on the char sheet as well :p)
((Last time was when we visited the castle with the creepy - but polite - puppet?))
On level-up to 5 we got sort of a reset on wealth, I think.
Because of the "no more than 25% in each category" limit at that time, Durgan had a bunch left over. He did get a lot of crafting components back then so that Alia could upgrade his axe and armor, which has all been done.
Oh right! Fairly sure Illthir just spent the spare coins on crafting supplies back then, so no banking!
With that I realize I have grown terrible at bookkeeping :/
Added the horse-belt to the magic loot list at least.
Aye, I was also uncertain if I understood it right.
My interpretation is: We find treasure worth 2200 in that chest. What we find uses the Bank model, so we get to decide what it is.
However: Do we get an additional 2200 GP worth of bank from which to purchase RIGHT NOW - and then it's gone?
Do we draw on our own, existing bank, and it's just a chance to get items into the game without delay?
Who gets to make the pick? First come, first serve?
Or is it actually 2200 GP bank per player and everybody gets some stuff because most of the wolves and spiders had little loot and we are behind on WBL?
I tried sleeping on it because I was tired when I initially read it but I am not any more confident right now than I was then. Please clarify?
Okay, I am a bit uncertain on the bank.
Durgan previously had 2,176 GP. This is his "bank"?
Now we found a total of 2,200 GP in items in the chest.
If Durgan were to spend 150 GP out of his "bank" on another scroll of Lesser Restoration, then he would be down to 2,026 GP and the chest would be down to 2,050 in items?
So there are three sorts of treasures in this game.
Treasure Treasure: What you see is what you get (example: equestrian belt). You can take these sorts of treasures and either keep them or sell them in the (CORE Rules) normal fashion.
Bankable Treasure: What you see can be taken, or left as potential future treasure. (example: 6 bandits weapons and armor). I'm not a fan of heroes looting bodies needlessly (you don't really see that in films or literature), and much of Kingmaker in particular is encounters with creatures that don't carry a lot of pocket change (a Tasmanian tiger at the bottom of a pit, and owl bear, etc...). Also there is a shortage of big towns and magic shops to sell in, and vast distances to travel. So this sort of treasure is an attempt to make treasure meaningful to the PCs and save them some encumberance. You can save your share of such a find in your character's "bank". And when a suitable treasure drop occurs--usually in a "horde location" like a boss monster's lair, or as a gift from an important PC like a king at the end of quest. The character receives an item or items equal to their share of half the value of the treasure just as they would have done if they carried all the bandits' armor and weapons back to town and sold them (minus anything that the PCs actually took for their own to use) and then bought the item themselves. Basically, whatever the characters leave behind, disappears from the battlefield and reappears (at half the item(s) cost) in their banks, as funds for potential treasure down the road.
Banked money goes into a pool that the PC can draw from and use to purchase needed items the drawback being that the locations they can "buy" from are left to GM whim. Though sometimes they happen just before some huge and dangerous event. Just sayin'.
Actually Banked Treasure: The hypothetical treasure bank account containing a PCs banked treasure (usually equal to half the cost of the adventures banked goods--all those suits of full plate mail they would otherwise be carrying through the woods to take to a town to sell). It's Schrödinger's Treasure. (Example: this box). This crate of pirate treasure counts as pre-banked money. There is nothing inside, except potential treasure. If no one wants anything just now the 2,200 goes into their banks and, the party has basically been carrying a heavy box around with worthless material inside, BUT! it might also contain that magical dwarven chainmail stolen by northern pirates long ago that Durgan's player has been waiting for, or fifty bottles of cure light potion, or just gold. You make the call.
As for Durgan specifically. I like Illthir have been bad at paperwork of late. But if Durgan has 2,176 gp that might be in actual coin, or bank--I myself would have to look. Generally you should be noting these things separately, as one is the actual physical coin your PC has on them (actually carrying) and the other is all or part of a hypothetical treasure they might pull from a dragon's lair.
And to be clear, the 2,200 gp per character in this particular chest is pre-banked money (you don't have to halve it's value when you add it to your bank funds). You can use all of it (and whatever you might have already banked), some of it, or just roll it all over for their next horde. There are price limits to how much any one item you buy can cost. I use a rough version of the Pathfinder Society purchasing rules for this so even if Durgan had enough bank to buy a Mythical Dwarfy Weapon of Ultimate Power™ He wouldn't be able to find it until he was an appropriate level.
That was really really long.
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Aye, I was also uncertain if I understood it right.
My interpretation is: We find treasure worth 2200 in that chest. What we find uses the Bank model, so we get to decide what it is.
Yes.
However: Do we get an additional 2200 GP worth of bank from which to purchase RIGHT NOW - and then it's gone?
Do we draw on our own, existing bank, and it's just a chance to get items into the game without delay?
It's 2,200 gp that each character has added to their own individual bank the moment the chest is open. If they want to spend it now they could and find whatever they spend it on inside. How much are two elephants?
Who gets to make the pick? First come, first serve?
Or is it actually 2200 GP bank per player and everybody gets some stuff because most of the wolves and spiders had little loot and we are behind on WBL?
The latter.
I tried sleeping on it because I was tired when I initially read it but I am not any more confident right now than I was then. Please clarify?
Hopefully done. ;)
If Durgan were to spend 150 GP out of his "bank" on another scroll of Lesser Restoration, then he would be down to 2,026 GP and the chest would be down to 2,050 in items?
2,200 gp per PC.
These are shares, not the total. In cases of actual treasure (like the 6 dead bandits and their armor and weapons above) some folks might want some of it to use ("I need more arrows" says Zokon.), that bit is taken out of their specific share.
Also any luck on making up lore bits about the noble we are visiting :p?
He's one of the premier proponents of the Aldori-style of whirling-dervishy sword-fighting in the north. His estate has doubled as a school for select nobles at various times.
He is the longtime ally of Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellenius (Mayor of Restov), going back at least as far as the first post on the game thread, and one of the principle nobles involved in the exploration and settling of the Stolen Lands.
He is a staunch Rostlander and often speaks out (almost openly) against the rule of King-Regent Noleski Surtova.
For more info on the political situation in contemporary (4710 AR) Brevoy you can go here.
Thanks! I had a creeping suspicion that we've seen him somewhere, given his ties to the expeditions, but not when Illthir was a player :p
re banking - thanks for the refresher! And clarification on if this was treasure or just spending opportunity.
re elephants - I mean there's several nice dinosaurs in this price range >.>
But dinosaurs don't come with big trunks.... ;)
Doot doot I'm sure we can still find one to boop on the snoot
As for Durgan specifically. I like Illthir have been bad at paperwork of late. But if Durgan has 2,176 gp that might be in actual coin, or bank--I myself would have to look. Generally you should be noting these things separately, as one is the actual physical coin your PC has on them (actually carrying) and the other is all or part of a hypothetical treasure they might pull from a dragon's lair.
That 2,176 that Durgan had was leftover from leveling up to 5. Here is that post. If it could be "bank assets," then combined with his new share of 2,200 from this chest he might happen to find a Belt of Giant Strength for example (cost 4,000 GP).
I will be on vacation from the 5th of November to the 17th of November, inclusive, and will have very limited access during this time (I'm going to Disneyworld). If I am in your game, please bot me. If you are in my game, please sit tight and we will resume on my return. I will try to get as much posting in as possible prior to this time, but we are still dealing with a death in the family.
I think this is fergus's first deposit into his banked account. Its almost as exciting as opening ones first bank account. Except better and without all the fees.
Treasure!
1x Tengu Drinking Jug (1000gp)
1x Caber Twig (300gp)
1x Nesa's Coin (450gp)
1x Bottled Sunlight (200gp)
+250gp to the bank (for a total of 250gp!)
That 2,176 that Durgan had was leftover from leveling up to 5. Here is that post. If it could be "bank assets," then combined with his new share of 2,200 from this chest he might happen to find a Belt of Giant Strength for example (cost 4,000 GP).
You can count it either way this time (I'm not certain I ever gave you and Serena the "Bank Statement" about how it works) although remember if it was actual treasure on hand it would count toward encumbrance as normal.
I will be on vacation from the 5th of November to the 17th of November, inclusive, and will have very limited access during this time (I'm going to Disneyworld). If I am in your game, please bot me. If you are in my game, please sit tight and we will resume on my return. I will try to get as much posting in as possible prior to this time, but we are still dealing with a death in the family.
We'll leave the light on for you.
Treasure!
1x Tengu Drinking Jug (1000gp)
1x Caber Twig (300gp)
1x Nesa's Coin (450gp)
1x Bottled Sunlight (200gp)+250gp to the bank (for a total of 250gp!)
One down.
Two with Serena.
Durgan will find a Belt of Giant Strength +2 and a Scroll of Lesser Restoration, leaving him with 226 GP. Of that, I guess 100 in the bank and 126 carried. I will track those separately in the future.
I've never finished my gear properly.. i'll try get it done tomoz, work is killing me atm.
I've never finished my gear properly.. i'll try get it done tomoz, work is killing me atm.
I hear (and feel) that.
sorry, fergus is banking his entire 2200.
I will look into finding something soon.
I have 2 sick kids at home, still - during what was supposed to be 2 weeks of vacation, but I end up having less time to post than when I am at work.(due to less time with the computer overall).
Apologies for the impact this has on posting frequency. It's dragging on for weeks now...
...fergus is banking his entire 2200.
3...
Speaking of things that are going slowly ... :p
(Sorry about the zuckerbergian face - in my defence most of my minis have helms and/or masks!)
She looks about ready to step out of the cover of a power metal album :D I'm going to imagine this is Illthir in her heroic daydreams :p