hey guys. sorry for being away for a bit.
Real quick - Accomplished a major milestone in my martial arts training; yes real-life here. This weekend I tested for 6th degree and passed.
Congrats!!! That is a bid deal.
@Danica. Wow congrats!! Quite an accomplishment.
@Andjela. I was looking at your character sheet. It says that you are still level 9. Did you forget to level up a few time, or is it just the level numbers that haven't been changed?
@Danica. Wow congrats!! Quite an accomplishment.
Now he's Yuck! Proud of you, Brotha! Or is it Senior Master?!
@Andjela. I was looking at your character sheet. It says that you are still level 9. Did you forget to level up a few time, or is it just the level numbers that haven't been changed?
Oopsie, I missed one... also thought imagined I had converted Andjela to HeroLab... but, not the case! I will work on that.
And Level up manually, ASAP.
I have to level up Danica. Sorry for taking so long.
These last couple of weeks has been crazy.
6th Dan test, Anti-Fraud application going live tomorrow, AML patch for next week. OMG. Calgon, take me away!!!!
@Danica. Wow congrats!! Quite an accomplishment.Now he's Yuck! Proud of you, Brotha! Or is it Senior Master?!
OK, OK, OK... I'll explain my own joke. 6th Degree is Yuk Dan!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Apologies, trying to post later today... holidays seem to have gotten tougher timewise.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone, if you partake!
Partook. Stuffed now.
Thanks, and you too!
I don't think we ever set up the actual meeting, Quinley was still at it... and he discovered the hideout we rescued our two new friends from. Three if we count the monkey!
Of course you count the monkey!
:D
Monkey Dance anyone?
I have a feeling this monkey is gonna get way too much attention.
By the way, maybe Danica can use the monkey, strictly observing of course, to progress her Monkey style feat to the next level. ;-)
Aubra and the Monkey could be plants... and I don' tmean flora! Well, maybe not the Monkey given familiar rules.
You're up, Andjela
Happy New Year guys.
Sorry for the absence, the holidays were far from being the relaxing time that I was hoping. Instead I had to deal with stress and anxiety. I'm in a better place, but taking one day at a time.
Sorry to hear. I guess it does not help to know that your experience is all too common for the holidays.
Honestly, forgot Quinley was there/would be affected. Oopsie!
Sorry for disappearing guys. My desktop was blown up and I still haven't recovered from that. I will post as often as I can.
Oh no, as an IT guy blown up PCs tug at the heartstrings... what will it take to fix? SSD, PSU, any other acronyms?
Gamewise, I'm quickly reminded how extaordinarily "meh" Paladins are at channeling!
You guys still there?
I am here?
I'm here, following... But finding it difficult to contribute meaningfully. No real knowledge or lore.
Even RP wise, it's more of a finesse gamer at the moment.
I understand, but still need to know where you want to go next. The vampire meeting or the clue from the gargoyle.
Your "Utility Tank" is still here.
I seem to have been kicked off the site (unbeknownst) on all devices and Judy got back in... Can't log into site on desktop.
Thought it was awfully quiet.
Yea. I think everyone was locked out for a while. I tried for a full day to log back in, to no avail. Seems to be fine for now...
Is this the Elder speaking or the younger male?
Sorry if this is seeming like Anna's taking control of the scene -- and it kinda is -- but she's seeing what the old vampire guy is doing. He's manipulating the heroes by making it clear that he's the lesser of two evils. I know (and Anna knows) that the Whispering Way needs to be stopped and it's the right call. I strongly suspect that the AP is headed in that direction as well. But from a character perspective, Anna's seething that the vampire is effectively giving a dog a scent and sending it off to take care of his problem. And she doesn't like seeing her friends being taken advantage of like that.
So, as for her demand, she's also not convinced that the vampires' role in society is as benign as the old vampire says it is. From her commoner's viewpoint, she recognizes the fact that desperate people are the most susceptible to this kind of parasitism. And she hates that. It's an audacious demand, but hopefully one that's within her character and perhaps even something her companions would approve of.
Anyway, I thought I'd write this up and give you my "behind the curtain" reasoning for Anna's actions at this point. Hope there's no hard feelings. She'll probably reign it back for the next few scenes.
Probably.
Maybe.
Eh, 50/50.
Wait, is Anna "woke"? :P
There is a strange capitalistic feel for what the old vampire is doing, isn't there. Not too different from homeless and others down on their luck selling blood for cash in the real world. But he also included the well-to-do trading blood for favors, etc. Still I wonder... When you can dominate people with a glance it's hard to tell who is volunteering.
And I did not mean to get political here. lol
Oh, and I can't wait to go read what Anna wrote. :)
Eh, we're all allowed our political opinions... but, I suppose if it gets others' underpants in a twist... politics, gender affinity and religion, have at it.
So long as folks don't force it on others (you must think like I do!)... the world generally stays peaceful. But, then... I'm crazy!
I admire Anna's approach and it's a complex one. So, not adding complexity.
Anna's always tried to protect the underdog. Perhaps she can win a promise but I doubt it will be worth much. Who can say.
This is getting interesting. Perhaps the module does provide an alternate path to siding with the ruling vampires. Tolvan does not see it, but knows Anna needs to check every option before getting on board.
Lets hope this decision does not defeat us when the vampires could not. I am sure it was written to do just that.
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Anna, I'm loving the way you are playing the character.... rogue, street type with some morals.
Yep. For me it adds to the setting. For a while there I thought we had to succeed with a hard Diplomacy check against Anna. :)
Thanks! I appreciate the praise.
I've really enjoyed developing Anna over the years. (Hard to believe we're fast approaching this game's ten-year anniversary!) She's gone from a snarky, self-centered and somewhat damaged con artist/thief to an actual, if slightly reluctant, hero and champion for good.
(But still snarky.)
Damn, 10 years... I know I wasn't there for several of them.
I totally like what you're doing with Anna character wise, probably more work for the stalwart DM though.
I am sure the mod considered the dilemma here. Hard for a good party to work with vampires. It is really the lesser of evils to do so? Tolvan thinks so and came to the conclusion quickly. But others might take longer or never get there.
Going to a con this weekend. Leaving in an hour. So if I do not post please bot me if needed.
Have fun!
Can I bot you into agreeing with me? :)
I am back. Can we discuss this decision out of character a little?
Here are some things I think are true. Our GM might choose to step in and correct me on some, or not.
1) The Established vampires were at least a thorn to the Whispering Tyrant and perhaps a lot more than a thorn.
2) The only reason we know the Way wants them removed is to remove them as a threat to their plans. There may be another reason but we do not know it yet.
3) The enemy of my enemy... but I guess that works for both sides.
4) Lesser evil = I believe the vampires being aided by the Way will be much worse for the local people if they succeed.
5) I have a feeling that the module assumes we continue to oppose the Way eventually.
I honestly do not understand why Anna thinks one group of vampires will ever be better than the other. We know one side has aid from the Way and is murdering while the other has shown years of restraint and, as far as we know is not murdering. Out mission since day 1 is stop the Way. The path is clean to me and to Tolvan. His offer to come back once the Way is stopped is honest.
I am interested to hear Andjeal's IC position on this. Does her code allow her to work with or even protect vampires for any reason?
If the plan is to oppose all vampires and clean up the town before we leave here then Danica may be right and we focus on the easier group to take out, which I still think is the ones aided by the Way. Of course we could investigate for a while, effectively stalling and letting them take each other out for a while. I wonder if the mod allows for such...
Here's how Anna sees things right now, in response to Tolvan's points:
1) The established vampires might have *once* been a thorn, but now they can't be counted on to do anything but save their own asses. At least, it sure seems that way.
2) True, but given the fact that they don't seem to be a current threat to the Way, Anna's guessing the Way wants something from them. Otherwise, why stir up a hornets' nest?
3) Except, the established vamps aren't doing anything but letting us do their job.
4) BIG philosophical debate here. Maybe it's just Anna's own sympathy about the poor, overlooked and downtrodden talking, but she sees the established vamps' evil so much *worse* than the apocalyptic kind because it's so blasé and mundane. They're not murdering, but they're keeping an unjust society in place so they can feast off the desperate. Even paladins of the most staunchly good gods are willing to overlook it because there's more pressing matters. It's pissing her off because everyone's just going along with it and flat-out being used by the old vampires.
5) Yeah, probably. That's sort of why I have Anna going after the location that's both, so I have to assume it's plot-relevant and maybe will shine more light on what both sides are doing.
Anna, established vamps are akin to the deep state that invisibly controls the world. Not to get all politico. The Way is alien, something truly other.
No matter how much resources you have, you probably don't have enough to overthrow them. And, you can't "wake" people who don't want to be awakened.
As to Paladin - I think Paladin should be the plural of Paladin, like sheep, wait... that's not right. :)
From the beginning (founding GM), Andjela is an anomaly... a Dhampir Paladin of Desna (a CG deity, mother was Desnan Priestess). She straddles the line between Lawful Good and Neutral Good... She's not Lawful Stupid.
In this scenario, Andjela would logic the greatest Good (save the world, perhaps not improve it) is to fight the greatest Evil (The Way) which is intending to annihilate, white-wash or erase free-will, soul, spirit, heart, identity, individuality of everything across all worlds and planes.`
Enslaving mind, body and spirit. A Lovecraftian Matrix?
Anna, established vamps are akin to the deep state that invisibly controls the world.
And who doesn't dream of taking it all down? Fight the power!
;P
And who doesn't dream of taking it all down? Fight the power!
;P
True dat!
But if you had the power to help stop an truly alien (other, no human context, unfathomable) invasion...
The angst against "the power" gets de-prioritized. Cooperation (help, info, resources & reward) is called for, putting aside differences to combat an "absolute" threat.
Unless they are already in league with the invaders, like our upstart vampire.
And they did help us, they have us context (history) and information (current intelligence) and they're willing to part with a bauble/trinket (each? to his millennia long existence).
To us it might be amazing, legendary, etc... and help prolong our lives, further our careers as do-gooders, profiteers, liberators, etc...
So, you guys are ready to move on?
As much as I would like to push the game forward, I don't want to make the decision for the group. This is an important moral jonction for every characters. It is important that everyone is in agreement on the plan. While the adventure does give some hints of how to proceed if the main direction isn't the path you want to take, it is not very detailed. However, I don't want you to stick to the suggested path for my sake. I will come up with something if you want to liberate the city from all evil influences.
I think the tailor shop is an excellent compromise. We might still have some more philosophical debate ahead, but at least we can keep the game moving by going to the one place I think we're all agreeing on.
At least, that's the sense I'm getting from everyone.
Yep.
Goin' with the flow...
Ready to move one.....Danica's sword at your service.