[PFS] GM - Mark Garringer's 06-05 - Slave Ships of Absalom Table 2 (Inactive)

Game Master Zizazat

Huzzah! We can't go wrong with Kyra! After all, shouldn't she be like... level 9000 by now with all those missions she's been through? ;)

But seriously though, I'd love to see the stats as to how many people used her since the iconics were introduced.

Enough rambling on my part, glad to have you!

Let's see how it comes my Serenrae fellow!
I have messed a bit with the prepared spells, don't know up to which point I am alowed. I would like to see your thoughts on it as you better know what can better complement or buff your characters.

The ruling for messing with prepared spells is that you can do so as long as you have had time to sleep since the beginning of the scenario.Let's go Sarenrae!

Ninjaéd by Ozymandias in gameplay thread, just realized it later.
Should post faster hehe.

Ninjaéd by Ozymandias in gameplay thread, just realized it later.

Should post faster hehe.

I'm generally very quick to post. I do most of my schoolwork on a computer so it's just a refresh away to see if I have an update.

Does the initial night after we got the first message count as sleeping for spells re-sloting Mark?

Kyra - feel free to re-slot as needed. Playing a pregen can be tough enough without having to cripple their spell choices :)

Hehehe. I somehow knew I was going to get that expression, but it was worth a shot. You've got to love it when you have a character (and a player_ that doesn't know proper slave etiquette.

And that's what I get for trying to buy her freedom :)

Just looked it up. Can I make an intelligence check (Or... something else) to remember that this sort of business should be done on Misery Row, and quickly rectify what he meant? (As to not seem inconsiderate)

By any means, please replace the prepared cure spells^^

Yeah, you can swap spells around entirely, EXCEPT for those spells with a little (D) after them on Kyra's list. Those are her domain spells, so you're stuck with those.

By any means, please replace the prepared cure spells^^

Whose idea was to have the cleric of a good god prepare cure spells? I'm sure characters like that are self aware that they can just convert spells into cure spells on the fly. :3

I'm sure characters like that are self aware that they can just convert spells into cure spells on the fly. :3

Characters may well be, but the intended audience for pregen characters likely are not at all aware of that rule. :)

As for your Int question, I would assume a DC 10 would cover it.

Intelligence: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (20) - 2 = 18

Would the Chelaxians be willing to help me in this? I'm not going to free her by illegal means though to be honest, if you were Andorans, I would be glad to but, I do want her free.

Anything else, or are you guys ready to move on?

I think that we have gotten all we will get out of here. I think the actual seller of the slaves is our next stop?

I believe so.

I would like to point out that I don't believe there is any in-character or mechanical reason why Ozymandias should understand the nuances of scrying. :D

Aaah! I didn't know, I was just following his statements about the hair, I supposed his character knew about it. Maybe he had previous experience with scrying. Maybe he is even the spy we are looking for ¬¬

I would like to point out that I don't believe there is any in-character or mechanical reason why Ozymandias should understand the nuances of scrying. :D

...

I... isn't that common knowledge? :3

I guess I'm still in the mindset of the diviner that's my DMPC for the Tomb of Horrors game I'm running here. He was scrying not too long ago actually :)

When i understand this right, some or even one point(s) in spellcraft could change this^^

Just a head up, going to be away for a wedding this weekend. While I will be able to provide updates through my phone, I doubt I will be able to word the google docs map very well.

Not overly concerned because all my spells will be in range if there is something to do inside.

On another note: are we being a little overly cautious here? We are looking at a broken window and preparing for a crazy combat. Its not like there's a dragon in there... :P

Srsly - this isn't Sewer Dragon's of Absalom... :D

Alright, so the way I see it is we can:

a) knock on the door like normal people
b) burst in like the kool-aid man

my vote is b.

Oh yeah!

Thanks for the heads up BTW.

"Perhaps we shall enter cautiously."

...Kyra shouts...

XD The mood jumped to Leeroy Jenkins levels of hilarity in such a short amount of time/

I looked over my character sheets last night, and realized that I entered my statistics wrong here. While I thought I went with a bit more of a balanced stat spread of 16 Dex, 14 Wis, I am in fact at 18 Dex, 10 Wis. Oh well. We are locked into our choices, I suppose.

The only effect this has had was on my earlier perception check which should be +5 instead of +7. My character sheet is now updated and correct.

Thread ninjas struck while I was typing brackets on my phone. I will not cast unless it appears her talking him down isn't working.

Smurf.
hehehe I love that trick.
Anyways, Kyra, use your Jedi Sarenrae mind trick! "You do not want to sell me slaves... you want to go home and rethink your life."

Hey, if I were there, I'd probably be threatening him too ;) I worship Sarenrae... but I'm neutral, and NOT good aligned. I'm the sword arm rather than the redeemer you see...

Iason just finds it ironical that as the supposedly horrible child-eating Chelaxian, he's the one who is not holding swords to people's throats or threatening to maim them for life. :P

I'll wait for the slave merchant's reaction, and see if Charm Person will help, but it seems like you lot have this in hand diplomacy/intimidate wise!

Iason just finds it ironical that as the supposedly horrible child-eating Chelaxian, he's the one who is not holding swords to people's throats or threatening to maim them for life. :P

You see, we Andorans and Taldans take the civil OUT of civil disobedience ;)

My Hellknight Wizard PC was actually very infuriating for people to figure out. She was a slave owner herself and saw no problem with a dragon 'owning' a few ratfolk and treating them like slaves... but in that very same adventure we had the actual BBEG try her damnedest to kill us! I gave her the option to surrender, she refused, and we were having an epic fight... until she got hit with swords, an acid pit, and a fireball. She surrendered at about 2 HP. The Andorans wanted to kill her, but I didn't let them... actually, let me play out the dialogue:
"We're killing her" ~Andoran
"No we aren't. She surrendered, and so she is going to get a fair trial. Besides, I'm a Hellknight, and killing her now would be an act of murder." ~Me
"Oh come on, she hit you with a lightning bolt! Don't you care she tried to kill you?" ~Andoran
"Nope. She surrendered." ~Me
"Wow... you really are a Hellknight, aren't you?" ~Andoran

True, I could have executed her on the spot for assault OF a Hellknight, but alas, I had no ranks in Profession: Judge, so couldn't legally do it...

Hehe. Ah, he just called a gnome a halfling.

Blasphemy!
Good thing im "good"^^

OMG - I hope you guys are enjoying Muhjub. I'm running 4 tables of this concurrently and I've gotten a really, really great opportunity to flesh him out in a way that is only hinted at in the scenario itself. I'm having a blast role-playing him and over here laughing to myself like an idiot. My wife is pretty sure I'm crazy.

I support him as a character! Should you write more scenarios, I want a Muhjub cameo at the very least!

It´s pretty funny so far^^

I also love how first he asked for 400 gold... and after being threatened he asks for 500. Once a snake, always one.

I'm interested to see if he takes Iason's offer. *angelic smile*

I support him as a character! Should you write more scenarios, I want a Muhjub cameo at the very least!

My not so secret hope is that he becomes a recurring NPC :)

I think this 500gp is a clear "don't go that way" sign from Mark in an effort to guide us through metagaming Iason. It's just a way to say "you already got all from this encounter, go on".
If I am wrong, I would say that's a crazy prize to advance in the plot of a scenario. But provided you were forcing him about the list instead of him suggesting clues about it, I would say I am in the good track.

I said I would pay him 100 coins. I never said the coins would be gold. :P

And, in a meta-sense, I don't think it's necessarily essential to the scenario, either, but if Mark wants to see what players do with clues that get dropped, then, well, this is what players do with clues that get dropped. The fact is if we have a specific lot of suspicious slaves/potential spies, and the NPC that sold them tells us he sold seven others, then yes, many RPers will want to follow up on that, rightly or wrongly. If it's wrongly, and it's a red herring we're not 'meant' to pursue, then I'd suggest (for Mark's own ease!) not sticking a price tag on that info, because to me, a 500 GP price tag actually indicates that no, this is actually potentially useful data, but worth haggling down for.

Besides, I'm sitting on over 6K right now. So price lines for what might or might not be clear 'hints' as to 'no, this is not meant to be pursued' vary widely from character to character, and player to player.

I'll be happy to break down any and all meta type questions at the end of the game. "Why this? Why that? What if? How come?" :)

I know from experience that in some scenarios there are just NPC´s who want to be bribed and you can only lower the bribe with diplomacy, but you still have to pay something.
I have no idea what knowing the other slaves or not will have on the scenario outcome.
But, since i´m playing a character of the silver crusade and a good one too, i daresay it would very well be within character reason at least to try to help them. They might be pathfinders or similar too and the Okeno pirates are really bad slavers. They capture their prey and sell them, it´s not debt-slavery like with Atlag.
Oh i could make a knowledge check about them, probably local?

Uh would a knowledge history check do about them pirates?

I would say Kn(history) might get you some details about lore of the Okeno priates, but to know something more...operational about them (local) would be the way to go.

I really have no idea how to deal with slavery in-character.
I haven't met such a thing in life, but I see for example people who thinks animals shall not be treated as slaves nowadays, do not go against all the social rules killing people or attacking those who use animals for eating or festivities. They do not take part of it, not slaving or eating animals, and sometimes do protests against particularly famous events, but do not go intimidating or killing the local butcher.
Thus, I really don't know how to deal with it, because as a player I feel motivated to burn down all of them, but as a character I think Kyra shall be used to social rules even if she don't like them.

So far I think it is particularly mean from the scenario to present a slave seller as someone kind and fun. I don't say kind fun slavers have not existed, or that the scenario is enforcing slavery in any way, I just say it is poor homage to the milions of people whom has suffered it. I would much prefer it to be presented as the cruel and unfair thing it is.

I appreciate you being open about your discomfort. It is something I am sure other players have felt, but I have not seen much voicing of it. I hope the game as it continues to play out doesn't continue to be a source of discomfort to you.

To be fair, Kyra, this whole scene is a morally-grey (at best) Rocschach test. It is a very interesting role reversal to me, as Mahjub is well within the law and his rights (distasteful as his line of work may be) but the Pathfinders generally are coming in behaving in highly unlawful ways abusing this rights in the name of someone who has perfectly legally been sold into slavery.

I have been a vegetarian for the last 14 years, and I find the concept of commercial 'farming' of animals to be particularly barbaric and fairly ridiculous when you examine the net loss of editable food involved in the process.

Obviously I am not in any way supportive or defending real world slavery, nor is my aim to do so. I see no reason though to draw any parallels or inferences between what is/does/has happened in the real world and what goes on in make-believe land though.

I think you perfectly got my point :)
As a player I find this encounter calls for deep moral analysis, which is interesting from time to time.

And I am more than ok to go on with the scenario, as long as slavery is not presented as a happy/nice thing.

Well that´s one of the very advancing points of rpg´s, isn´t it?
You leave your own role in the real world and assume another one in some fantasy world, where you meet situations you hopefully don´t encounter normaly.
By encountering them and thinking about it, you can learn a great deal i think.
And this begins by playing a character of the opposite gender, but doesn´t end there.

Mark i think we are on the same boat there.
I lived vegan for some time, but eat some meat again now from time to time. Still i totally don´t agree how a lot of things are done or life is treated by many people.