Well my boss didn't show up to work today so I guess I get to do PbP!
That's great! I'm hoping this goes on as long as possible. What is your longest-running game at? My longest is a homebrew game and it's about to hit 3 years of straight posting with the original 4/5 players in 3 weeks time. Very proud we've been able to keep it going, keep everyone together.
Okay writing this down so I don't forget. I'm mulling over these two options. There is going to be some objections but I'm thinking of asking the following people to do the following things:
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Strategy #1
Samuel & Orza -> Talk to River pilots
Lady Green Hood -> Talk to Pircien
Rudabeh & Dagen -> Talk to mercenaries
Orza might be able to convince the pilots to at least keep up their work even if Irovetti threatens them if Samuel is there to moderate her.
Lady Green Hood is a good choice to talk to the unattached nobles, given her old blood and desire for a return to some kind of oligarchy. Of course then they're going to want that at the end, which will be another struggle...
Rudabeh doesn't trust Dagen.. so she's going to keep her friends close, and her enemies closer. Plus, she hasn't gotten a chance to really know him yet. Them negociating with the mercenaries together could allow her to understand him better AND prevent him from pulling a fast one. Or he could just stab her to death, which she's so beat up it's not like she could stop him. Or he could really be into this and offer to pay them, I don't know.
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Strategy #2
Dagen & Orza -> Talk to River pilots
Lady Green Hood & Samuel -> Talk to mercenaries
Rudabeh -> Talk to Pircien
Sending Dagen and Orza out together will probably not result in anything happening, but it will keep them occupied, and maybe they can convince the river pilots to continue business as usual. I could be underestimating Dagen's persausive abilities here. IN any case it would get Rudabeh's two biggest critics out of her hair for a while.
Lady Green Hood and Samuel will have enough knowledge of how mercenaries work to maybe reach some kind of ceasefire with them, but without money I don't see them getting anywhere.
Banking on how Pircien feels about Rudabeh, she can probably get him and the other nobles to join the cause by using that connection. Seems certain, probably isn't.
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I don't know what to do about Oskara. Either he is playing the long game and is going to literally stab Irovetti in back at the last second (et tu, Brute?) or he's going to see which way this whole thing is going so he can be on the winning side (with maximum profits). I need to review Rudabeh's conversations with him to get a feel for his personality again and whether or not they should reach out for him to help or just let him do whatever it is he's doing.
Assuming, of course, the NPCs will listen to you anyway.
Okay I've had a day to chew on this so I should make a decision. After all, Rudabeh would have only seconds!
Even though I know they're probably not going to listen, just in case they DO; I want the ideas to be sound.
I think I'm going to go with option 1 because Rudabeh really doesn't trust Dagen... and I want to get to know him better. This is probably stupid considering how Rudabeh could likely very easily convince Pircien to join them, so I'm taking an assured victory and making it into a questionable endevor, but eh... Rudabeh isn't a master schemer so sometimes I purposefully pick ideas that seem sub-opitmal for roleplay purposes. It's just what she would do.
Sentient armor, eh?
Yeah, it came to me while you were asking me one thing I wanted to see in a game. We see plenty of intelligent weapons (cause they're cool and I'd still like for Rudabeh to have a b!~$*in' intelligent greastsword for some JUSTICE), but how often do we see other intelligent items?
I had an idea for an intelligent set of armor that is basically cursed. The maker was trying to create a golem out of a set of armor, but it went awry and ended up granting sentience to not just the armor, but part of it.
So you have this creature that looks like a set of full plate, but every part of it has a different personality, ego, and magical ability. They can't be separated from one another for more than a certain amount of time without returning to the breastplate (which can't move), which mostly prevents them from wandering off from each other. There are a bunch of other rules that would have to come up but this is just my initial thoughts.
I was thinking helmet, two guantlets, breastplate, greaves, and two boots for a total of 7 personalitities, but a cloak, amulet, every magic item slot basically, or hell even the individual rivets in the armor could each have a personality if you wanted to get crazy (Imagine, the rivets form a confederacy and if their demands aren't met they all rebel by popping out simutaneously and the whole armor falls apart). Each have their own goals and motivations and can refuse to stop functioning, basically paralyzing part of the armor/person wearing it or causing them to do something they didn't want to do.
This is complicated and crazy enough that it might warrant its own campaign, especially if it's shoe-horned in that the player is stuck in it and can't get out (or better yet, the armor doesn't want them to leave). That seems like a bit of a cop-out though, there should be ab etter motivation to wear/help the armor out besides "the GM says so", though it's fairly well established cursed items are very difficult to get rid of once equipped.
Just the musings of my fungus-addled brain. An intelligent weapon is waaay simplier, though of course there could also be intelligent armor that was made properly and is just one personality and could still offer some interesting conflicts between item and user.
I am quite taken with the idea, I must say.
Having every piece have their own personality may get unwieldy (look at the posts for this game when there are 8-9 people speaking) but there are ways.....hmmm.
Feel free to use it! In this game (totally down) or any others.
It would be pretty sweet and could either be an entire campaign or a story arc to remove the curse and unify the armor into one consciousness or release them from their bindings. The different parts could even be a fragmented soul or whatever we want to get existential.
I can fine-tune and balance the ideas if you'd like to talk about it for a while, or you can make your own modifications.
For instance: every piece having its own personality would get VERY unwieldy, you're right.
So every day (or hour, or whenever the GM feels like it), all the personalities could roll a 1d100 or something with the highest being the dominant personality for that time period and the next two highest being lesser but still present personalities. The dominant personality would have control over who else gets to speak when, wit hthe exception of the two lesser personalities that can push through when they feel like it but can't silence or allow others to talk. It's easy to explain this- they could all speak telepathically and there is only so much bandwidth that they all fight over, or something. In any case it reduces the number of speakers at one time while still allowing the player to talk to whatever piece they want (if the dominant personality will let them!)
well I can't use it in this game now, the real fun would be a surprise reveal...hmmm.
Did you see the fortune telling scene in Connacht's game? Thought you might like that.
Speaking of other games, did you and your SO decide anything?
Hehehehe that's a good point. But you're free to use it in other games! Just tell me if you do, I want to see it in action.
Read Connacht's game, that fortune teller was AWESOME. You really nailed the mysticism, it drew me in like a moth to a flame...
As for other games, all my games are still going and I'd really like to get down to three or less. Two games don't update often, but have sporadic bursts that come and go, to the point where I can barely keep up with all five games simultaneously when it occurs.
Dagen is such a great foil to Rudabeh. I enjoy talking to him.
Oops. I forgot ask, again, how long it would take for Irovetti's soldiers to arrive. oh well.
I have a soft spot in my heart for the classic wizard.
My first character was Drecker the wizard who brought a chair with him so he could sit while he casted in combat.
Me too. My wizard, Dasur Deeporn, is definitely in that vein (if a little crazy). After spending my professional life around PhD scientists that basically embody al the tropes of classical wizards, it's fun to work in all their little tics.
A chair?! How decadant! I hope he got to the point where he could animate said chair and have it carry him around the battlefield.
For some reason I imagine Viridia asking for a Fly spell and crashing into the First Palace like a missle.
Also, Dagen dropped a PILE of rings? They must not be on the Automatic Bonus Progression System...+1 rings of protection for everyone!
Sadly Drecker was made for a one shot, so he never got to level. Alas!
Yeah, I am going for classic adventurer here so piles of low level loot they haven't bothered to sell yet. Viridia's weight capacity is through the roof so they never bother to cut the deadwood.
Oh yeah... about the centimeters. I work a lot with the metric system with my job, so I flip back and forth between it and the imperial system. I don't even notice when I do it, sometimes.
Not sure if Nubuach is coming across right.....stressing out over the last few posts.
In other news, Rudabeh is really drained, huh? Low HP, running out of abilities......dangerous...
Yeah I think I'm getting him now, that last post helped me understand him more.
Yeah, she's not well but she'll keep going. It's what she does, and the harder the task ahead the more she feels the need to do it. She's not suicidal but she won't quit easily. Ifully expect her to die at some point in the campaign, but hopefully that will be a grand finale and not in the middle of an arc. :p
I was GOING to have her resupply (cause her player is stupid and should have bought more scrolls) BUT an angry mob burned down the church of Alseta... (okay, and she gave up the churc of calistria, that one's on her).
You're weaving quite a mystery here, GM. I wonder if Nubuach's research has anything to do with what Veleda was saying about Rudabeh not knowing why she was chosen until much later?
Oh, what are the odds?
But if you want to see mysteries, go check out the last few posts of Queshem's game. She just found a chest full of unknown plot hooks. Count yourself lucky.
I will check it out soon!
Also is that what Nubauch was expecting her to say? About the teleportation? She had gotten over it, so she didn't say it up front.
Nope, that wasn't it.
Damn it. That's going to really bother me not knowing what he wanted. I should have just asked what he was expecting, but I was trying to be cool and impress you with my deductive reasoning!
Actually, Nubauch was channeling my frustration a tad. It was something you mentioned IC as a possible course of action/plan and I was giving you an opening to act on it.
Ah well, I planted seeds. At least Rudabeh knows what makes the wizard tick now.
Aw, s~%%. I'll have to go back and re read what I said to figure it out. I forget things sometimes, sorry. I try so hard to be consistent too!
Head-First Diplomacy 2: Renegociated
Busy day, but wanted to get a quick post in!
Closing on the house this Friday woo
Very exciting! Good luck/congrats/all that stuff. Do you have a yard or anything?
There isnt much yard honestly, which is a shame because I really enjoy gardening, but everything else about the house is so great I let it slide. It's right on a really nice oak forested gully which I'm planning on using to cultivate edible mushrooms. There's also a tree in the front yard that is dying and should be removed which will free up some space for some raised beds. Or maybe I'll put an apple tree there, we'll see.
I saw all those plot items you dropped on Queshem, woooow... That's quite a mysterious batch. I really liked the scene with the treasure chest, very Shackles.
I haven't had a chance to look back through my posts and figure out what I was supposed to ask Nubuach. Was it trying to pit them against one another? Connsidering it was my idea in the first place can you tell me what it was? It's been bothering me and I want to stop thinking about it.....
Edible mushrooms. My father is always going out and picking wild mushrooms to eat, must be a Polish thing. Is that something you can actually 'farm'? How do you do that?
Apple tree is a nice idea but it'll be years before the investment pays off. One downside of trees.
As for the treasure chest, I am just sad Queshem missed the part where the X marked the spot. I really do need to put a treasure map int hat game...hmmmm.
Oh, for this game. It was just Nubauch was surprised you didn't try to enlist his help in swaying whatever 'vote' the Adventuring party was talking about. Pitax doesn't mean much to him so he can be bought.
Queshem doesn't miss things! She just puts them lower on her priority list
Oh yeah there are people that grow "wild" varities of mushrooms commerically. Big warehouses filled with tubs of growing mushrooms. Most fungi are very picky about what they grow on, so you just have to have the right food source to coerce them into growing.
For home farming, there are growers that sell plugs that are covered with spores of the mushroom you want to harvest. For instance: Hen of the Woods (Maitake) . The easiest way is to take an oak log, drill holes in it, insert these plugs, seal it with some kind of wax, put it outside on a raised structure, and let nature do the rest. In a year or two it'll start fruiting Hen of the Woods every fall until there is no more log left.
Most mushroom gatherers would probably consider this cheating, but I don't like gathering mushrooms from the wild. I like to leave things for the other animals in the forest to eat, they have a hard enough time as it is. This attitude will probably change when the raccoons and deer eat everythiing in my garden.
Haha I did not expect a visit from Queshem! You got some sweet loot in that chest! Rudabeh could have used that robe of fire resistance, it's been a rough day for her in terms ooof fire damage.
Honestly GM, my lizard brain completely forgot about the vote after Nubauch mentioned it, that was my fault. I didn't even ask him what the vote was ABOUT, which I would have if I had remembered. Ah well. I don't think Rudabeh has anything Nubauch wants, unless it was political favors, so I don't even know if she was capable of buying him.
I was looking at manacle rules and found these: Manacles of Cooperation. Adding it to my item wish list!
I have a bad feeling about this. I suspect it's about to get really tense.
Have you ever grown the mushrooms in your house? I am pondering it as a gift for my father but I want more information. I can research it (librarian!) if I have to, but asking a real live person with experience is always better.
Also, i hope you enjoy the mercenary scene. I was contemplating making Ractus a dumb barbarian but that seemed less fun/realistic.
Might I also say your posts are really good? Just the bit where you RP Rudabeh being ever so slightly tempted by the 'dark side' when Dagen is kicking ass is really great posting. It really is a pleasure playing this game with you.
No I've never grown mushrooms or any kind of fruiting fungi indoors, but there are plently of resources out there. From my experience with growing fungi in the laboratory it's all about temperature/moisture control and the right growth media. I think this would be a great gift for your father! Fungi are usually low maintenance once you have the conditions right, which is the hard part.
I am already liking this. I was going to ask about Finn, but you surprised me by him just coming out with it! Ractus is way better as a cunning monk than a strong dumbo.
Thanks for the kind words. I put extra effort into posting for this game because you always respond in kind. You have a natural talent for weaving a story, I'm just following the threads. I have so many unanswered questions from that last post alone...
What is Druxan hiding and why did Irovetti think it was okay to send him alone? What is Ractus really after besides coin? How did Ractus know about Rudabeh and Finn?
For the mushrooms, for example, the one you have linked says growth time 2-3 months and fruiting period as fall. So does that mean if I buy it now it won't grow until late summer? Or I can't buy it now and they will ship it in late summer?
Finn seemed a natural connection, and since I plan to have her show up....Although I am nervous about doing her justice.
As for your questions. Some of those are true mysteries and some are just.....sometimes a cigar is really just a cigar. But that middle question is an excellent one. Everyone has a price and it may not be something Dagen can offer.
Btw, needless to say, you really don't want to have Dagen be the one hiring these guys. Giving him 40 odd hired swords will make your job of reigning them all in very difficult.
I did some digging and the one I linked you appears to be for use outdoors. You place the plugs into logs and toss them outside. For indoors it doesn't matter the season, but the temperature and humidity are far more important. Here's a good guide:
About Finn... it's been over a decade since Rudabeh has seen her, and much of her memory of the women is from her youth. I think it's safe to say her idolization is probably leaving out bits of Finn's personality that maybe she conveniently forgot to see her in a better light, leaving you a lot of room to work with.
Thank you pointing out it would be a bad idea for Dagen to have control over the mercenaries- I was thinking about how I could possibly snag control of them ever since they set out, considering Dagen is giving out the coin. This looks like Rudabeh's chance to make him pay the monetary cost but put them under her command.
On that note don't be afraid to remind me of things like that, I appreciate it. I'm still kicking myself for not realizing what was up with Nubauch, because interfering with Dagen's plans (whatever they are) is kind of Rudabeh's secondary goal, and I totally missed an opportunity to do it.
Really busy (I'm doing some plumbing on the new house) but I wanted to try and get a post in. I'm going to think about what I want her to say, and if nothing comes to me right now I will post tomorrow. Don't want to mess this situation up after I bungled the Nubauch deal, or Dagen will probably come out way ahead and then I'll be sad.
Well I have huge post written up on my desktop computer but now the internet is out? I'll save it and finish it tomorrow at work. I didn't really like what I had written anyway. I don't think I've quite figured out what Ractus wants but i suspect it's political in nature.
Sorry for being slow.
There is no time rush. Better to notice the problem then think you posted it and have paizo eat it. Man I hate it when that happens.
I'm not entirely sure what Ractus wants either, I love exploring the NPCs.
I used a set of your posts to help demonstrate how PBP RP works to a person interested in the hobby.
Geeeeeze you're making me blush. Anxiety increasing over getting this next post... which I am working on now. I'm having trouble getting it to feel "right".
Really though, thanks. That's definitely the biggest compliment I've ever gotten.
Just curious, which scene was it?
I was in a rush and wanted something without TOO much backstory so picked the temple fight scene that escalates into a fire. I did have Queshem's latest bit about the cursed book, but thought that was too confusing (lots of named NPCs).
The temple fight scene was sweet and a good pick for the unitiated.
Oookay there's the post. Crossing my fingers this works.
If the mercs are following her and Dagen is pissed he had to pay for it at the end of this, I'll consider it a victory.
Oooohh, very interesting. You offered more then I expected at this junction (but I had hopes). Very cunning.
But the mercs are yet another faction to juggle in a world full of them.
And yes, another Outsea name drop! It'll be super awkward for me now if I set the next arc somewhere else.
Rudabeh has been gestating some long-term plans that I haven't revealed yet...
When Rudabeh inevitably takes the Leadership feat, if she doesn't have an intelligent item to bond with I was going to have her form a group of Paladins of Alseta that will serve as diplomats, judges, and law enforcement in the name of the Pact. Consider the promises she has made to the mercenaries the embryonic stage of this idea, because even without the Leadership feat she's still going to push for a Pact-wide police force of sorts.
So it may have looked like I offered too much... but it's really all part of my plan! Muahahaha (I really don't think this far ahead but I'm going to pretend that's what happened)
Okay yeah next arc better take place in Outsea or I'm gonna be miffed. MIFFED.
This line was pretty great.
'Veleda sent me here to represent the Pact of Years and keep the peace during the Festival. I have failed by accidentally inciting a civil war,'
You know, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, right?
I kind of got the idea for a Pact wide enforcement agency (this fits very well with a bigger plot you know nothing of, actually). Alseta doesn't have a real paladin order or anything and the Pact has no military arm. Rudabeh would be breaking new ground, in ways Veleda hasn't. Having a group of mercenaries (and later paladins?) would be a good move in lots of wways, both for Rudabeh herself and the River Kingdoms.
I am terrified the next arc will be a sophomore slump! But I do plan on having an OOC debrief after this story line ends (failure, success or middling). Sound good to you?
Hahaha yeah things did not go as planned...
Yeah I have the feeling there's going to be a lot of push-back about Rudabeh starting up a military force, or even having her own enforcement agency. ESPECIALLY after the whole rebellion thing. If it had gone the other way and she had 100% defended Irovetti maybe the other kingdoms would approve of such a measure, but this... it's going to be a hard sell. In any case I'm glad I'm preparing for further plot points!
Nah I don't foresee it being a slump, Outsea really intrigues me and I'm sure you have some awesome plans for it.
I'm all for the OOC debrief after we finish this arc! I fear middling more than failure... At least failure is concrete and sometimes out of your control, but middling? It would just make me feel like I didn't try hard enough to achieve success!
Supppppper busy, but I gotta get some posts in! My fear is that in my haste I will really screw something up...
Why do my "quick" posts always turn into hour long speeches? I get way too into this most of the time, oops....
I feel you. Queshem has a problem with this also.
It's because both of you are some of the finest Roleplayers I have ever had the pleasure of playing with.