Fair warning: There are a lot of moving pieces in the current encounter.
@Party - Illthir is trying to preserve our horses, friends and captives.
That'll only work if we actually win - so please do yell if you feel that it'd be better if she tried to hammer some kobolds!
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Also these seems to be a different type of kobolds right? Leafcutters instead of Soothscales...
Also these seems to be a different type of kobolds right? Leafcutters instead of Soothscales...
Your attackers are a mix of green and black kobolds. Zokon could tell you more about that being that he completed his ranger master thesis on the subject of kobolds. That, and I left him a recent spoiler.
Are you saying the koblods are voltronning up? Uh oh!
Question - How does the terrain look just south of our map?
Illthir might want to head up the slopes towards teal, blue and blue but she'd rather not play chicken race with a giant rock.
The land on the southern side of the map gradually rises to the east. The surrounding area is grassy plains broken up by the odd slopping bluff. Even the 'woods' to the north peter out pretty quick.
So it sounds like there's some space. Excellent! I moved her a little on the map, but she'd probably be a bit further south (and to the east as well?) if there's room.
Erp. We should probably have settled for only two masterwork weapons. I suppose we really should get to tracking sneeg down asap if we want him - he's bound to screw up some ride check eventually.
For next time, let's keep the prisoner on a leash.
If someone riding behind him has a rope tied around them tied to their saddle, then he's welcome to try and spur on his horse, then faceplant into the floor as he gets dragged off the saddle while the horse rushes forward.
Just saying.
Hm. Our last Level-up was quite a few discussion pages ago(about October 2017), and I thought we were close to leveling before taking the Staglords Fortress.
Where do we stand, there?
With Zokon leading the negotiations with the Kobolds, do we have any people left who can reliably track the guy?
Kudos to him for using the chance he had, but it kinda gets annoying that bad guys get away from us all the time. I refrained from posting because I was trying to review options, but they are identical to the last 3 times this happened. Only they are getting more cocky, now even running while bound and technically prisoners.
Hm. Our last Level-up was quite a few discussion pages ago(about October 2017), and I thought we were close to leveling before taking the Staglords Fortress.
Where do we stand, there?
Close
With Zokon leading the negotiations with the Kobolds, do we have any people left who can reliably track the guy?
Not really a question for me.
Kudos to him for using the chance he had, but it kinda gets annoying that bad guys get away from us all the time. I refrained from posting because I was trying to review options, but they are identical to the last 3 times this happened. Only they are getting more cocky, now even running while bound and technically prisoners.
Sorry, but this guy did have a chance to evade the noose. And you kids and your fox nearly had him with slumber.
@Not a question for you: Aye, that one was directed at the party - Alia's Survival is abysmal, I was wondering if anybody felt capable of tracking him.
@Evadethenoose: Totally. As said, Kudos to him for using the chance. That makes the world alive. We still need countermeasures. More restrictive bindings(such as a sack over his head) would go a long way. Just considering the future.
Durgan will be quite good at tracking next level. Right now he can do it untrained at a +4 (+5 with Guidance).
As I have said, Salzarus is not the last foe we'll want to track.
Not the first, either.
But e.g. Numalars dog had scent available and we had a capable tracker in Zokon. Other skills seemed more important to cover.
Or more relevant to flesh out what characters are supposed to be able to do, rather than to cover something we want mechanically.
(At last level-up, Alia got Perform(Act) to honor the memorable play they delivered at the fair. She also got Acrobatics after succeeding at quite a few daring acts. And Handle Animal to start training Vega. It simply made more sense to pick those up from a flavor point of view, back then.)
Durgan has been spending years in the Stolen Lands trying to build civilization. While he may have muddled through with an untrained +4 Survival, it's also not out of the realm of possibility that he has learned a few tricks.
The three main options for his level-5 feat:
1) Cunning (to get full ranks in Survival, and still have 4 points for other skills)
2) Skill Focus (Survival), for a +3
3) Additional Traits, for Militia Veteran (+4 to Survival) and also something else like Fate's Favored.
Durgan in-character wants to get better at tracking people, especially after both Salzarus and Sneeg escaped. There is no real difference between what he wants in character and what I want mechanically in this case.
I was not implying that there was a difference.
Just that we had decent coverage for our needs back then and it was hard to justify improvement on that without need when other things were more in line with events that took place.
2 years is a long time for things to happen and take place. I specifically wondered how close we are to levelling because it would allow us to adapt to our current(and recent) needs and situation.
Zokon will go try and find him..
I have skills all over the place, which took a bit of a hit with fighter level for the planned 4 levels. But i'll be back to slayer after that and skilling it up again... lots of tracking/survival incoming... eventually.
So right now it looks like Zokon, Durgan, and maybe Illthir are heading off after the bandit. Scarlet and Posh seem more inclined to press on to the Outpost. What is everyone else doing? Discuss here out-of-character or in Gameplay for in-character.
If you decide to split the party that's fine too.
For the future I can say this: the next level is coming as soon as the current would-be calamity is dealt with. Then we get to a long nebulous stretch of down time. Much of this can be handled here in discussion, but there will be opportunity to do deeper dives into anything your character wants too do. Want to revisit the fortress city at the bottom of the Sootscales' silver mines, we can do that. Want start running your own mine? We could do that too. There will be a mini-game where the PCs get to play the region's HR department. And some very important decisions about the direction of campaign moving forward.
There will also be the opportunity for adventure. There are quite a few short adventures and one whole Pathfinder module that could be slotted in during this period. The options available will be determined by the decisions made over the next couple of weeks.
The following module in the Kingmaker series Rivers Run Red by Rob McCreary is mostly a series of short "dungeons"/long encounters and like the first book does involve a lot more wilderness exploration--so Survival skills will be a thing for the foreseeable time, but politics and good social skills become more important as we go--assuming the party stays on the proscribed path. This next book does have an overarching story that connects about half of the action, but like the first book there are a lot of side missions, many of which (again, like the first book) you might not even get to.
I don't want to say too much more because it might influence your decisions before they even become viable options.
Well, we can heal the horses, so we would outlast the bandit there.
I dare say he also should have some penalty to riding for being bound. He can guide with knees, but he still has to keep his balance and could not use his hands to avoid falling off - but clearly he can take care of that with Take 10.
Still, eventually he'll want to try and get rid of his bindings. The problem is: He'll not be stupid enough to stop over the next hill, dismount and start rubbing against a tree. He'll likely ride the horse until it collapses, then moves on a while on foot in the dark before trying to free himself.
Still likely we will catch him. But we may lose several hours going that way, and then come too late for the Kobbo attack in the early morning next day.
I want to get the bandit, but the potential opportunity cost seems punishing. If Durgan has healing left, I'd say you guys try and see if you can catch up. Terrain was relatively open, so forcing him to knock out his horse to avoid you catching up could be a thing?
If no luck in the extended chase(an hour or two into nightfall - he has no light source with him and while the horse has low-light vision, I doubt it would move full-speed without throwing him from a sudden stop coming to an obstacle), I would prefer settling things with the Kobbos here and moving on to the outpost simply to avoid a slaughter. No matter if they are evenly matched or one side has superior might, I fear there would be a blood bath if it comes to battle...
Scarlet's priority is to save the Outpost.
While Sneeg is a criminal, even if he gets far he won't be able to do much. Either he becomes an underling for some greater badguy we were gonna fight or he's just a hermit. Meh.
Serena is much more concerned about the lives of those at the outpost. She doesn't want to see them injured, and would prefer to avoid conflict if at all possible. Still, if it comes to battle, she will lend her sword to the aid of the outpost.
Still going after Sneeg.
The fact that he has learned that we care about these kids is a weapon he could use against us if he met up with the right allies.
I think Alia has the right of it - force him to ride his horse to exhaustion, while Durgan can heal his and Zokon's horses.
Woo! Let's split the party!
What could go wrong!
Also sorry for my silence this week
Hopefully we don't stay split up too long. Sneeg doesn't have a huge head start on us and doesn't have Darkvision.
Zokon doesn't have Darkvision either.. you'd have to lead in darkness
Aye, but YOU can light a torch. He would have to stop and get his hands free. Plus if he gets light out, you could beeline for him instead of tracking in the dark.
Hence my earlier question regarding the moon and weather. If there's open sky and a full moon, his horses low-light vision might allow it to find the way from ambient light. If the sky is overcast or the moon closer to new, then he may have to stumble through the dark, possibly on foot.
There's a mostly clear sky, but the gibbous moon is not up yet.
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So I have a silly idea - our horses have Scent and track is a trick right? So if one were to try a handle animal check to push the horses they could sniff him out!
Too silly? Or worth a shot :D?
Every now and then (for no reason at all) I like to note that the discussion thread is for "table talk." Everyone at our virtual table is invited to converse here as they might all together in a comfy room at a real kitchen or dining room table about matters both in-game, and out in a casual out-of-character manner.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion thread.
Eh... I'm not sure what to make of this situation. It seems to be an ambush, but they're waiting for a signal?
Antagonizing and peace doesn't seem to work either. I'm also not sure how we can fight through so many kobolds.
Not sure what to do, here.
Hey, guys, I'm gonna get a Coke. Anyone else want one? How about some Doritos?
Pizza run!
Well, they don't trust you.
I think you can either try bluffing, or being sincere.
If the outpost is attacked and the nobles there murdered, an army consisting of hundreds(!) will come and take retaliation.
And instead of a trading outpost, they will rebuild a military fortification, hunting Kobolds tribes down.
I think that's no stretch considering Brevoys claims and their nobility handling.
You can urge them to consider other options, and try to learn WHY they are on the warpath. I may have missed that, but what's their given reason for assaulting Olegs?
Cleansing the area of non-scaled-ones seems futile, claiming the land for themselves even more so.
Suggest cooperation, then. Whatever their interests, it should be possible to work out a deal without someone dying on either side.
You can urge them to consider other options, and try to learn WHY they are on the warpath. I may have missed that, but what's their given reason for assaulting Olegs?
So they go to war because 2 of them were imprisoned for a while?
Because the nobles did not tolerate the Kobolds?
I thought there was more behind that...
Surely, compensation for the unjustified prison time could be reached. Without the need for bloodshed or starting a feud.
Appealing to their superiority complex could well work, claiming that the non-scaled ones were feeling insecure in the presence of the magnificent scaled ones walking among them, jealous. That they don't possess the wisdom to see the error in their reaction.
But that their deaths would still see hundreds of smooth ones in artificial scales come to avenge them, as smooth ones are prone to do to keep themselves safe by the threat of retaliation.
And certainly, there would be a better way to resolve this dilemma before someone does something that cannot be undone - on that part, we may want to inquire how they came to kidnap the Benzen Kids and if there are other hostages, and gauge whether Samuel Renault already started to form a militia...
Oh, I thought we were stopping a war before it claimed Oleg's. According to Mikmek that's happened already.
In that case it's time to side with Sootscale and kick some ass until we can reclaim the fort.
Mikmek wouldn't know whether or not the fort has fallen. He escaped and after imparting what had happened to his chief and then seeing what was about to happen came to find the Smooth Champions who overthrew Tartuk and his cruel god, Ol' Sharptooth (who of course sent him on so many dangerous missions to places like the Big Bear's Cave, and the Ol' Sycamore).
The two kobolds leaders at the ambush site, Chatchit (servant of another cruel god) and Vexset, informed Mikmek that there are plans being made to take the fort and burn out the surrounding farmsteads (this would include Samuel Renault's place, and the Benzen farm among a few dozen others). So the 'war' is still on.
While it's just "some kobolds in a dungeon" locking up foreign diplomats is a serious violation of trust. I understand why they are mad!
Maybe if we suggest that we might be able to "banish" the nasty smooth ones they'll feel that that is good enough?
If the militia is assembled then that might be a nice opportunity as well. If we hand over the children unharmed (assuming they were the only abductees and not much else was burned) as well as show that we have bested the stag lord maybe that enough for them to follow us - even temporarily.
Would give us more leverage at the negotiating table. Especially if things go poorly!
Also I should check in on the last pile of posts - maybe that has been suggested already.
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Down with a bit of fever and still on my trip. Don't feel like I have the brainpower to process the current situation at the moment, sorry!
I'll be home by Friday so then at the latest I'll have the peace and quiet to figure things out. Hopefully before then though :)
Get well soon.
Ditto that.
On a gamier note: Since we are about to embark on a bit of in-game downtime, it would be cool if everyone could figure out their individual character wealth so that we can collectively start getting our hands around the treasure issue. I think be best to get this out of the way before everyone levels up to 5th.
There's a lot of in- and out-of-character talking to be done in the very near future. So there is no real rush. Folks can, if they like, play out between-level-training and/or get to know some of the NPCs. Some of your character's time will probably be taken up by 'other projects' so don't go sinking too much time into anything just yet.
Durgan has 4,690 worth of gear, 84 gp in coin, 1,625 in "bank credit" from the Vsevolod Manor encounter, and an undetermined amount (roughly 2,000 I think) from the bandits and Stag Lord.
His starting gold was 6,000 gp; 750 of that was scrolls since used up (Deadly Juggernaut and Invisibility Purge). Maybe a bit more spent on some potions or scrolls or something else that I have forgotten about.
375 of the bank credit was used on another scroll of Invisibility Purge.
If you put up a spreadsheet, I will start populating it with the loot, noting what is sold for full value and what is sold for half.
Oh boy. Um, I'm bad at finances. Usually I just donate stuff to the bank. I'll need some time to track all of this.
One part that would probably be good to get an agreement on would be crafting.
With the extensive downtime, time is not a true constraint. Effectively, that would allow us to outfit people with custom gear well beyond WBL recommendations.
On the other hand, crafting DOES take investment and a toll - the archetype gives one fewer spells per level, it takes a Feat etc. So just sticking to WBL and pointing out it's custom gear would not feel quite satisfactory, either.
Some middle-ground, then, probably.
Also, I'll get stuff updated, but just as a starter, the party loot link to peets loot tracker does have the individual claims listed.
That should still be quite accurate for most people, aside from recent claims.
Hmm .. I'll have to look.. I'll want enchanting for my bow
as a late add, my gear is simple, $6k worth of stuff, primarily taken up by a handy haversack, ring of protection +1, and bracers of armor +1.
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Since many of the "newer" characters have no connection whatsoever to Brevoy (being Irriseni witches, elves and half elves, followers of strange foreign gods like Sarenrae (This is Brevoy for Gods sakes! What does this sun thing even look like!), being mercenaries, having not even met a single noble from Restov aside from the Magister, and so on) there are a number of conditions set upon your inclusion in the charter.
Most of the original party had roots in Brevoy rather than some frozen country half a continent away. We don't put chicken feet on our homes here! Nobles duel with swords for everything like sane people! Previous PCs had families that owned vineyards, or were otherwise in deep with the nobility to the point that they could tell Kesten Garess is of noble blood just by his name alone!
Basically, some of you people gotta get married, and perhaps produce heirs. Those would be MALE heirs (Brevoy is a patriarchy).
I know this flies in the face of the typical role-playing character's backstory of being born to an crappy sculpture of a mom made of wood molding, razorwire and sandpaper, and later to have lost said "mom" to a scrap-hauler only to grow up as a friendless, orphan on a heavy gravity death planet where even the moss is actively trying to kill you (or the Abyss--the Abyss works as well), explaining why all your ability scores are 18 except for you Charisma score which is 3--you know, for game balance. No one is just going to give your character a country and expect you to be loyal--especially since with a Charisma 3 you probably defecate while at the table eating to save time. Gotta keep an eye out for strange moss....
So folks need an in or their are likely to be left out, or alternatively are going to have to pledge their service to a mad Regent (we've got one of those!) like Pippin did in The Return of the King. Getting married is probably the easiest way (and if you don't get married to someone in Brevoy don't think they won't hound about it regardless). Other methods though do exist. Having close ties with one of the State religions (Abadar's church being one, and though not listed officially Erastil's is another), joining some organization or knightly order is another. Note that Brevoy is a CN nation and therefore does not have many knightly orders--it has dueling schools--which are like kung-fu schools with swords, and it has thugs, a lot of thugs--basically think of town guards in Brevoy like you might the police who work in and around the favelas in Brazil (Digression: On the topic of favelas, corruption, and Brazil, if you haven't seen it, you should really watch City of God which is much better than its trailer leads you to believe. Think "South American, street-level Layer Cake"). There too are many noble families in Brevoy that through a sort of "nobility breeding program" instituted by the nation's founder and former tyrant have been rolled into seven grand houses. Swearing allegiance to one of these groups goes a long way to giving a character an 'in' (but they are still going to eventually want you to marry one of them).
So please describe how your PC plans to show that they have some skin in Brevoy. This is an optional exercise for Zokon, and Durgan, but rest assured eventually they too will need to shore up their ties to the fatherland as well.
Some helpful info: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4. These sources come from the Campaign Info page from the "Knowledge (Geography, Local, Nobility)" section.
Scarlet's number one attachment is her mercenary company. Maybe they had a big break. Maybe Alia does fire her, but she's on a long-term assignment with a noble.
Or maybe Scarlet sees an opportunity to build a community from the ground up and do it the right way. Instead of running, she sticks around and helps build the former Stag Lord's fort into a model city.
Scarlet has no interest in marriage. So maybe she joins a dueling school to hone her skill.
If none of these work out I can roll up a new character who is tied more closely into Brevory. I wasn't thinking about that when I made Scarlet.