They’re within easy sight and sound.
Sup guys. Are you needing me to push things along?
Not sure there's much Kizziar can do to contribute at the moment.
Morvan doesn't know where we're going.
Kizziar, not that I want to encourage metagaming, buuuuut, you have a weekly Commune sla, some ranks in Knowledge (Planes), and the mystery of how you briefly connected with Ves...
Those are very good points. Does anyone happen to know where the post where that happened is, because I honestly don't remember the circumstances of that connection?
Site's back up. Are we agreed on going to hunt the priests of Zyphus temporarily?
Yeah. Can we just jump to the part where weve traveled in the direction we need to?
Yep. Fighting Zyphus' clergy is probably easier that fighting the psychopomps.
yep
Hey guys! Sorry for such a long delay. I am here, and the forums are here. I will have a fresh new post for you guys upon the morrow. Get ready to smash some cultists!
Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I decided that this battle would be complex enough to need a map, but I'm still putting it together. My bad.
It's okay. Thanks for the update.
I will be out of the country starting tomorrow evening. I will have my phone and access to Wi-Fi, but I don't know if I'll be able to post. Please bot me if necessary.
Will do. Thanks for the update. Stay safe!
Waiting on you guys. Urashu and Kizziar have made their actions, but Melii and Kallant still need to post (I'll bot Morvan if he hasn't posted by the time they do).
Hey guys. So just fyi, my brother's wedding is this weekend, and judging from how the bachelor party was it's gonna be a wee bit crazy. Due to such I'm only working two days this week, which means I have to work twice as hard. I'll do my dead best to get this fight wrapped up so you all can plan and process, but I think you all know by now that this is not the quickest of games.
Also: it's been a while since I've asked, so if you want I'd super love a pm (or a post I guess, whichever works best for you) critique of the game thus far. Like last time, let me know what you like and don't like, and what you want to see or not see. Whatever comes to mind. I don't want this game to be a chore for you guys, so I'll try to do anything (short of actually posting on a reasonably fast timetable =P) I can do to help you enjoy it more.
The pace is obviously slow but I still just really want to know where this goes. I think this zyphus possible side quest seems extraneous but we'll see. Also a little unfortunate that with how detailed the quest is that it goes slow and I forget some of the details.
Only suggestion is maybe skip some of the lesser RP stuff.
And also keep every fight so that the bad guys line up in a single file
I certainly feel invested in the story, particularly in the retrieval of Vespartius. Very interested to see how that encounter goes. I'm also glad to have a map for the current fight. Hopefully that continues (though I do realize that making maps is more work for you, so if not that's fine).
My one major suggestion would be to streamline the story somewhat, given our current pace. It's often hard to remember the main plot when a sidequest can take weeks or more IRL. Cutting out some of the stuff that doesn't advance the primary storyline would make it easier to stay engaged.
I do feel like we've gone a bit astray in terms of the overall plot. I'm enjoying the game overall, but it seems like we keep getting sidetracked. Maybe reducing some of the lesser sidequests would help.
I also find that random encounters can slow down PbP - eliminating those would probably be to the benefit as well.
Ok, so removal of side-quests seems to be a big thing. Not a problem. I can't always promise maps, but I will endeavor to make all significant encounters have a map.
I'm going to bot Melii either later tonight or first thing in the morning. Was planning on doing it earlier today but I had a surprise 3 hour meeting and also just received my 2020 project, so I'm a bit brain dead atm.
I've got a few weeks RAM in my head, so offroad or on the railroad, please just give us a summary every couple of weeks of where we've been, why we're doing what we're doing, and what's the overall goal.
And give us a push when we dither.
thanks
Sorry, I missed the post saying that it was my turn. I didn't realize you all were waiting for me. I can post in the morning.
Had an emergency conference out of town today. Only have my phone. Will try to post at some point today though.
Kizziar Kallant and then Morvan are up. Or if you want to just let the remaining ones flee that works too, just let me know.
I didn't mean to be botted. I'm posting relatively often. If I'm delaying, then it means I'm confused about what's going on.
Please prompt.
thanks
If you’re unsure what’s going on, it might be better to ask about whatever’s confusing you rather than just not posting and waiting for the GM to say something. This game is slow enough as it is without that kind of extra delay. (If anything, I think SOLDIER-1st could be more aggressive in botting people to keep combat going.
Kallant is still running with two negative levels.
Cured after a long rest?
You will get to roll to remove the level. Also Melii and Morvan should be capable of casting Restoration.
Nope. I'm level 8 - no level 4 spells yet. I have 6-level spellcasting. Regardless, I don't think we have the necessary diamond dust for Restoration.
Ooooh, very correct. Well hopefully you'll be able to find some in Aaramor then.
Hey sorry for my absence. I have no power at my house and I’ve been trying to make sure as little as possible gets destroyed. I should be able to post Monday.
I will be traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the US, starting tomorrow. I will have my phone, but cannot guarantee my posting availability. Please bot me if necessary.
Kallant, you should continue to take the lead in the discussion.
I'm sorry. I cannot remember why we're here.
I'm brain-fried from work at the moment.
If anyone can summarize or point me to the old posts, I would be terribly appreciative.
thanks
You're attempting to see if you can get aid in rescuing Ves from Hellions grasp.
@Soldier
You're exceeding my memory of this game. You're asking questions that my character should be able to answer that the player is incapable of providing a proper response. I skimmed back to April of this year and couldn't find the answers.
Please help write the story.
thanks
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No worries, this has been a long slow game.
So, to recap:
Your first mission was given to you by none other than Vicarius Giordano Torchia, the head of the Order of the Gate himself. You were tasked with delivering a letter to Imazi, the leader of an organization called "The Tower". You successfully did so, despite interference from storm-mage called Zakat.
Upon returning, you were praised for your efforts (or at least as much praise as Hellknights are wont to give or receive) and given a slight bonus. Not long after, you received your next mission, publically to testify before the Kalistocrats of Druma, and privately to impress Captain LaDour of the Blackjackets, in order to set up cross-training programs with the best military organization in Avistan.
You teleport to the Order of the Godclaw's citadel, joining up with groups from the rest of the major orders. The next day you recieve your briefing and head out. The first bit of the trip is somewhat uneventful, though there is an ominous but unidentifiable buzzing in the air. That night however you are attacked by a hoard of enslaved barbarians, and Vespartius is captured by an unknown party!
The Vicarius sent you a letter increasing your security clearance and commanding you to locate Vespartius and purge the information breach in whatever manner necessary. He gave you the location of someone who could help smuggle you into Numeria, where intelligence suggested Vespartius would be held.
After the hearing at the Kalistocrats court in Kerse, you arrange passage across the lake into Ustalav under a half-elf, one Captain Briande. While she and her crew are highly skilled, the trip does not go well, with uncooperative, supernatural weather pushing you dangerously close to the Isle of Terror. This ends with you being attacked by a ravener, an undead brine dragon bound to the necromantic energies of the Isle. It takes the entire group, and several sacrifices (including Soba, Captain Briande's autistic were-badger partner) to escape, but you eventually manage it, and finish your trip to Thrushmoore in Ustalav.
There you are met by Jade, a suspicious, prickly woman who serves Lord Vezivo. She, with help from a baku, plane shifts you to the Ethereal Plane, which allows you to cover the trip to Lord Vezivo's estate much much more quickly than you would have otherwise been able to. Eventually you arrive at Lord Vezivo's manor, which is highly fortified in both the Ethereal and the Material, including angelic guardians.
Upon meeting Lord Vezivo, he describes Numeria and explains the situation there.
"I am something of a patriot, and so I do my duty to ensure that Ustalav is protected as much as is possible. To that end, I do my best to keep tabs on how things fare in our neighboring countries. About a year or so ago, a woman, Ms. Nought, came to my attention, asking for a very peculiar form of assistance. While I was unable to help directly, I did refer her to your Order, as I believed your goals meshed quite well. There was a new political faction, led by a semi-divine entity called Hellion, which she was opposed to. Hellion seems to be singularly devoted to chaos and the destruction of all authority not itself. She had attempted to slay the... thing, but it managed to escape, and due to interference from the Technic League she was and is unable to devote the time and resources necessary to hunt it down. Thus my and, by extension, your involvement," he returns his focus to you.
"After deliberation between myself and your Vicarius, it was determined prudent to support Ms. Nought in her endeavor, as an ally in Numeria would be quite valuable, and she is in a very good place to become a significant, if not the predominant, power there. However, neither I, nor your Order, have the manpower to offer direct support. As such we have been limited in our assistance. However, it seems we have not been discrete enough. Your Vicarius has reason to believe that your missing member was abducted by Hellion's forces. How he knows this, and for what purpose the kidnapping occurred I cannot say, but Torchia has always held his cards close."
"However, that is irrelevant I suppose," Lord Vezivo sighs and leans back in his chair, "The point is that Ms. Nought will be able to provide information on Hellions forces and the most likely locations for your missing Hellknight to be held. My assistance will extend only as far as getting you to her. Once you're in Numeria, you're on your own."
After that, Morvan shared his thoughts with the group.
Looking at the group, Morvan says, "Lord Vezivo mentioned several things that caught my attention for why this Hellion would be interested in raiding the Hellknights, especially given how far away we are: first, he said the the Vicarius insinuated the Hellknights had recently acquired a weapon that could defeat Hellion. Second, he said that these robots were vulnerable to electricity. Third, he said Hellion seems to be singularly devoted to chaos and the destruction of all authority not himself. Who else might we have encountered that is devoted to chaos and the destruction of all authority? Who may also have a strong affinity for lightning-based spells?"
Later that night, Melii, with the help of the rest of the squad, helped Lord Vezivo with a personal problem, allowing the astral spirit of his father to complete a decades long plot that succeeded even despite his death. After doing so, the spirit agreed to lend Melii his divinatory prowess should she ever call upon him.
The next day you deliberate with Lord Vezivo, conferring on how to best infiltrate Numeria. It is eventually decided that getting into direct contact with one Jacqueline Nought would be the best way to prepare, so that night you do so, communicating with her in Lord Vezivo's dreamscape.
After meeting her, you are convinced that she is indeed as powerful as everyone has been alluding to, and curiously enough Kizziar has a brief connection to Vespartius after hearing her voice.
Lady Jacqueline explains about Hellion and magical complications.
"Hellion is an artificial intelligence. Think of it perhaps as a soulless ghost, that can only exist by possessing certain objects. Last we fought, it inhabited a robot. Not overly dangerous in and of itself, but guided by Hellions will it proved a significant threat. I do not know if it has since changed platforms though. Obviously, the more powerful the host it possesses, the more dangerous it becomes. However, it's main weakness is it's instability. It is overwhelmed by anger and hatred, and so has little capacity or desire to focus on any but the most basic and instinctive of its powers. That is honestly the only reason I am still alive. I think however, given events lately, it has found someone or something to shore up its magical weakness, as it now has impeccable wardings that even I cannot reliably pierce. And that worries me greatly," she sighs, then continues.
"As for the magical disruptions in the area, they are caused by multiple events, some of which are my own fault. The Technic League, Hellion, and I are all playing a long distance game of subterfuge, and we all have various levels of divine empowerment. I believe that the constant back and forth of wardings and disjunctions used to counter the scrying and teleportation tactics we've been using have slightly warped the arcane field in this region. It is close to devolving to a primal wasteland. The schools of divination and conjuration in specific tend to trigger instabilities when not cast carefully. And Numeria was never the most stable place to begin with," she explains.
"Direct combat with any but the most basic and frail host that Hellion controls will be very likely to end badly without overwhelming numbers or some way to neutralize his divinity. There are several spells which can do this to various extents. If we ever meet in person, I can attempt to teach you," she says, cautioning you but also giving you a bit of hope.
"You can still cast your spells, it is just possible that it will go wrong or have adverse effects. I cannot predict how bad a specific area might be. I have heard of certain wizards who have developed a metamagic alteration to stabilize primal magic, but I have not had the time nor resources to develop such myself," she continues, a tiny note of annoyance finally coloring her normally neutral voice.
"It has been very recent, less than a month. He disappeared completely for a week or so after I defeated him the first time, and the next time I encountered him, he had definitely acquired some source of magic. I very strongly doubt it was his own, most likely he dominated some spellcaster, though that is suspect too. The power behind some of the spells I examined on it was considerable. A mage capable of such would certainly be highly difficult for Hellions fumbling abilities to overcome. I simply don't have enough information to speculate accurately, I apologize."
Kizziar suspects that Hellions newly found magical capabilities are coming from Vespartius.
She discloses that one of the easiest ways to get into Numeria unmolested is via ley line travel, and she gives Lord Vezivo the knowledge to conduct such a ritual. After promising to look for you once you arrive, you all leave. The next day, Lord Vezivo gathers up all your supplies and takes you out of the town, meeting up with some druids who agree to help with the ritual. After some debate, you all agree on where to try and travel to, and finally arrive in the Numerian Plain of Ten Thousand Swords.
Numeria is just as inhospitable as you had been warned, and travel across the Plain is complicated by constantly having to avoid danger. After dodging danger for a couple days, you wake up to a strange mist, and meet a trio of shoki psychopomps. Though you manage to avoid becoming entangled in their machinations temporarily, they eventually convince you to aid them after helping you combat a robot similar to the one that abducted Vespartius.
Though it takes some time to find the cultists that the psychopomps requested you dispose of, the actual disposal itself was laughably one-sided, the deranged lunatics no match for Hellknight tactics, despite you not having slept in several days at this point.
You finally rest, and in the morning discover Pharasma has given her thanks for your efforts. Though you're not sure what the coins do, you take them with you anyway. It doesn't take much longer to finally arrive at Aaramor, where you meet up with Chief Rothgar, Kallant's blood brother.
Wheew. Sorry for the wall of text, but that was a lot of gameplay to summarize.
"The Hellion? I don't think I know of anyone by that name..." he says, thinking, then shrugs.
"But tell me more about what's going on. Where is your man? How did she get him? What is she like?" he queries, focused.
So for specific answers to Rothgar's questions, you believe that Vespartius is being held somewhere in Sunder Horn territory, he was abducted during a large assault on your Hellknight caravan, and Hellion is a technological entity called an AI that can possess robots.
Hope all that helps.
Also: it would be a good idea to continue contemplating this... ;)
Kizziar, not that I want to encourage metagaming, buuuuut, you have a weekly Commune sla, some ranks in Knowledge (Planes), and the mystery of how you briefly connected with Ves...
Those are very good points. Does anyone happen to know where the post where that happened is, because I honestly don't remember the circumstances of that connection?
Here you go
Oh! I also forgot that after you defeated the cultists, Morvan and Melii briefly spoke with Lady Nought in a dream. She has an agent in Aaramor named Ten, who should be able to help you with your journey.
Thanks for the recap. Our story so far is pretty impressive when laid out like that.
If anyone has suggestions for good ways to use Kizziar's commune ability to get more information on Hellion, Vespartius, etc. that would appreciated. I don't have many ideas for yes/no questions that would be helpful.
1. Is Vespartius alive?
2. Does Hellion have Vespartius?
3. Is Vespartius being held in Sunder Horns territory?
4. Was the connection that you briefly felt with Vespartius in the dream meeting with Lady Nought caused by her physical proximity to him in the real world?
5. Is Vespartius the source of Hellion's newfound magical capabilities?
Had my RL game last night. Will post tonight
Those are good ideas. For some reason I hadn't really considered trying to confirm or deny things we suspect but don't know for certain.
When Kizziar does use commune, question 5 should probably come first so as to avoid redundancy if the answer is a yes.
That's just the order I came up with the questions in. I don't know how many questions you have total, but we could use any leftover to see if Lady Nought is being entirely on the up and up with us, as well.
I agree on 5 being the primary question. 4 could be the next most impactful, but it also could be nothing. I think that has to be next, especially if 5 is yes.
So, have you decided what you're going to do? Some people you already know of that you could talk to/investigate are:
1) Andura Jakos
2) Chief Rothgar's lieutenants
3) Ten
4) Kannath
5) Shepherd Euna and Rikk (the people Rothgar was eating with when you arrived)
Halloo? Anybody still with me?