Reign of Winter (Inactive)

Game Master Just a Mort

Crummock enthusiastically pats the dogs.

"Good cappelthwaite!"

Fishing around in his belt pouch for some treats purloined from the breakfast table, he puts the dogs through their paces...

(It never hurts to reinforce training!)

...and rewards them appropriately when they follow through.

He then goes to see what alchemical gear he can find in town.

Specifically, looking for any or all of these items:

Alchemist's Fire
Blackfire Clay
Frostbite Ointment
Heatstone
Tindertwig

We should also make sure that someone has a handaxe (to chop wood or ice), and a shovel (to shift snow).

Crummock enthusiastically pats the dogs.

"Good cappelthwaite!"

We should also make sure that someone has a handaxe (to chop wood or ice), and a shovel (to shift snow).

Cappelthwaite: is this the right idea? and it looks like were going back to the store for handaxe and a shovel, can't we just get one of these?

I don't know the pathfinder equivalent for this honestly, feel free to suggest what it could be

Alchemist fire, Blackfire clay, Heatstone -> check with Terssarrea

Frostbite Ointment - Mother Thedora

Handaxe - Isker

Tindertwig, shovel -> general store

Funnily enough I never saw you asking the storeholders(though you visted some) what they sell.

Crummock goes to see Terssarrea.

"Diwrnod da, I am provisioning for a trip to see what is happening with the bandits, and the missing Arglwyddes; do you have any alchemist's fire, or blackfire clay? If we are going into the snow, they might be useful."

EDIT: Einar, yes, something like that was the reason for the name - I came across the concept of 'The Black Dog' when looking at Welsh mythology.

I don't know the pathfinder equivalent for this honestly, feel free to suggest what it could be

I wish the answer to all the questions were that easy ;)

Tessaraea replies, "Yes, how much do you want?"

State amount, buy as much as you want(to what you can afford)

"Well now, I be thinkin' two doses o' the fire, and three of the clay should be sufficient..."

Once the transaction is completed, he gives a satisfied nod.

"May the Gods favor ye!"

He then heads across to the general store.

"Do ye be havin' some tindertwigs in stock?"

If the answer is yes, I will take seven.

EDIT: If people have the spare cash, they may want to stock up on some of these items, as well.

Cadence takes the sword. "It's a great honor that you are doing us. We will bring her back if we can." The lack of snowshoes bothers her. "We can't afford to wait to craft them, can we? The longer we wait, the more chance that the lady will suffer dire harm. I dislike setting out at such a disadvantage, though."

She has ten gold left to contribute to any party purchases, and will.

@Cadence: The benefit of snowshoes isn't amazing - they only reduce the penalty for moving through snow by 50%; so, basically, every 5' square costs 1.5 squares of movement, rather than 2. You still can't 5' step :-/

You could all do craft checks and hope the glue sticks. If it does, your shoes are ready next morning. 1 set of craft checks per person.

"Oui, ai 'ave tindairtwigs." She takes them out from beneath the counter and hands them to Crummock. "Many péople buy zese. Good fair starteng a fiyaire, non?"

From Heroes of the Wild: ARCTIC KIT PRICE 27 GP WEIGHT 30 lbs. This kit is designed for use in cold climates, where the weather can be deadly and the terrain treacherous. It includes 10 candles, a candle lamp UE, cleatsUE, a cold-weather outfit, a handaxe, a shovel, a signal whistle, a small iron pot, snowshoesUE, and five tindertwigs, all wrapped in a winter blanket.

While in the general store, Mr. Whiskers asks about getting a signal whistle and a winter blanket. He is not surprised when he is told no cleats are available given the comments about winter clothing.

I assume I can get the whistle and a correctly sized blanket, 13 sp. total.

Then he looks to Einar and says "Someone in the group should bring a hand axe and a shovel. Do you already have either of those?"

Shovel is 2 gp for normal or 12 gp for folding, hand axe is 6 gp

"Do we wish to set out by day or night? The fey will likely see us either way, but going at night may give us an advantage over the humans."

"Think I have about 5 days worth of provisions. We probably want a little more."

After the general store...

Watching Crummock work with the materials to make snowshoes, Mr. Whiskers tries his best to copy it.

Craft: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 No surprise, a failure.

Einar shakes his head, "Nein, mein Freund, I have zee glaive und a kunai, zee weapon tool combination zat I purchased in Kaer Maga from a Tengu." He shrugs his shoulders, looking to Cadence and Crummock, "Zee darkness vould give us an edge against Menschen, er men, but zee cold mould be Vorse at Nacht. I agree vee should get more rations, no vone vants to eat zee hunde"

Following along with Mister Whiskers, Einar also attempts to make a pair of snowshoes, but he has to stop, due to a very bad splinter, yeah that's it a splinter.

craft: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

"Crivens! Know ye naught about the Unseelie? Their vision is about as good as elves - in the pitch black of night, they can be almost as blind as humans..."

Actually, marching at night (with Endure Elements cast on each of us) could work...

Cadence tries to make a set of snowshoes, but she has absolutely no experience with it.

Craft: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

"I don't even know what these things are supposed to look like!" She holds up the broken show parts and sighs. "I'm okay with traveling at night. I'm human*, but I've always had great night vision."

___
*She honestly believes this. She has no idea that she's anything other than human.

The party dashes around like Heldren like madmen, trying to get all the items they need for their expedition, drawing curious stares from the Heldren residents. Some children look as if they want to touch Mr Whiskers, but their parents, sensing the party’s urgency pull them aside. At the end of the day, after visiting Iskar the Blacksmith, Vivalla the General Store Proprietor, and Mother Theodora the herbalist, they are able to get all the items they are looking for (with the exception of cleats and snowshoes).

Cadence leaves the party, telling them she will be singing at the Silver Stoat later, to have dinner with her family. The rest of the party retires to the Silver Stoat.

After spending some time in a failed attempt to make snow shoes, Einar, his mind focused on preparing to leave, calms down and helps purchase the items they would need. ’It will be good to be back on the road again.’ Einar nods to Cadence as she is leaving, ”Ve shall see you at zee inn.”

Now to catch up!

Snowshoe making party!

As Mr. Whiskers leaves his attempt at snowshoes to dry, he says to Crummock "I know we have a lot to do, but how good are you at the healing arts? There was rumor of that sick boy in town. I would guess that Madame Theodora has already looked in on the child, but if you have been trained in healing it is possible you know of a remedy she doesn't."

---

Towards the end of our shopping today

Later that afternoon, after checking that everyone has what they needed, Mr. Whiskers makes his way back to Madam Theodora's herbalist shop. "Hello Madam Theodora! I was wondering, would you have any scrolls of spells? I am always looking for opportunities to expand my selection."

Have about 70 gp left, which should be enough to buy one first level scroll and scribe it with money left over.

----

Dinner!

In the Tavern:
With his mouthful, Einar shrugs his shoulders, cutting a quarter of one of the pheasants then stabbing it, putting it on his plate, swallowing. ’How much do I tell?’ "Ich weiß, dass du Magie benutzt, aber du schaust es nicht ab und verschwendest es nicht. Magie ist Macht; Magie ist eine Waffe, sie sollte nicht leicht behandelt werden” Pointing in the general location of the ‘herbalist shop’ with his Kunia, ” Die Herbalistin ', die sie der Gemeinschaft zufügt. Sie benutzt die Magie, um sie zu beeinflussen, indem sie vorgibt, dass es keine gefährliche Waffe ist, wenn sie vorgibt, dass sie hier ist, um zu helfen, was ist ihr Winkel?” He cuts the leg from the thigh of his pheasant quarter. ” Erinnerst du dich, als ich mit Erlis die Axtgriffe verschonte? Als wir fertig waren, reichte ich sie sorgfältig, wenn sie Waffen waren. Auch in der Praxis behandeln wir unsere Praxiswaffen mit Respekt; Weil Waffen gefährlich sind. Es ist das gleiche mit Magie, müssen wir behandeln es mit Respekt, nicht wie es ist ein Spiel.” Holding the thigh with his Kunia he grasps the leg and tears it from the thigh and begins to stuff it in his mouth dropping his gaze, not ready to continue. ’And it didn’t help that Cadence and her sister were there, seeing her with her family stirs up bad memories for me. But I’m not ready to explain that to anyone, not yet.

In the tavern at dinner

Mr. Whiskers takes another bite from his slice of pie and chews on it. Is that all he sees in magic, is a weapon? I suppose it shouldn't surprise me, but still it does.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin before speaking, he then asks “Einar, wie viel wissen Sie von Magie? Ich nehme an, Sie wissen, dass es verschiedene Arten und verschiedene Methoden der Verwendung von Magie. Was sind Sie vertraut?"

I believe this fits under ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols that are all part of knowledge: arcana. GM Mort can correct me if I’m wrong. Identifying some of the common stuff should be DC 10 or less, allowing you to know something.

I wonder if he knows that the battle trance he goes into draws on magic. Even if he does, that would still fit neatly into his view that all magic is about power.

’Not bad, a little gamier than chicken, but not as dark as duck or as greasy as goose.’ After finishing the meat from the small leg Einar drops the bone back on his plate."Ich bin aus dem Land der Linnorm-Könige, nicht aus dem leeren Norden, wir hatten Kleriker, Inquisitoren und Kriegsgefangene, die alle auf Götter für ihre Kräfte vertrauten."

Picking up the thigh and taking a bite. "Es waren reisende Barden, die kamen und spielten für ihr Abendessen, mit kleinen Magie versuchen zu behaupten, dass es harmlos war. Auch der Graf hielt einen Skald, der wie die Barden unterhielt, aber wir sahen auch ihre Liedzauberarbeit im Kampf, so dass wir nicht wussten, dass wir den scheinbar harmlosen Barden vertrauen konnten. "

Biting into the thigh again he chewed and swallowed the bite, not wanting to speak with food in his mouth. "Der Earl hielt auch einen cheliax Zauberer in seinem Angestellten, er sagte meiner Mutter, dass er ein Zauberkünstler war, er würde oft Kreaturen beschwören, und natürlich gab es mehrere Hexen. Einst war ein Botschafter, der den Grafen besuchte, eine weiße Hexe, wie die unsre Freundin so angst hat."

Einar spits out a small bone. ” Schließlich war meine Mutter eine Zauberin. Das Produkt eines Sklavenmädchens und eines Cambion, oder so ist die Geschichte überliefert worden; Und ich glaube, es muss wahr sein. Die Zauberei einer dämonischen Blutlinie ist seit mehreren Generationen durch die Mutter und ihre Mutter geführt worden. Meine Mutter, bevor sie meinem Vater gegeben wurde, wurde um den Earls-Haushalt herumgereicht. Sie benutzte ihre Magie, um die Köpfe der Männer zu kontrollieren. So wie sie bekommen, was sie wollten, würde sie gewinnen, was sie wollte; Geschenke, Wissen, Rache. Schließlich wollte sie die Frau eines reichen Mannes sein. Also, mit ihrer Magie manipulierte sie den Earl und gab sie meinem Vater. Sie verwendete schnell ihre Magie, um meinen Vater zu veranlassen, seine gesetzliche Frau zu scheiden und sie zu heiraten. "

Pushing his plate away. ” "Es gibt viele Arten von Stärke: finanzielle Stärke, körperliche Stärke, militärische Stärke, geistige Stärke und magische Stärke. Alle Stärke ist Macht. Alle Stärken sind Waffen der einen oder anderen. Der Geist ist eine Waffe so viel wie der Arm so viel wie Magie. Diejenigen, die die Kraft haben, die Macht, die Waffen; Sie werden sie für ihre eigenen Zwecke verwenden und ansonsten glauben, dass es töricht ist. "

Einar gives his friend a sad smile. ” "Es ist nicht aus Unwissenheit, dass ich denen nicht traue, die die wahre Natur der Magie verbergen, sie ist aus Angst und Respekt. Ich vertraue einem Mann mehr, der sein Schwert auf seinem Gürtel viel mehr trägt als ein Mann, der ein Messer oben seinen Ärmel steckt. "

Looking down at his plate as he wipes his mouth with his sleeve. ”It appears zat I have lost my appetite.

Mort, if this is too much "knowledge" about magic, he can change his background skill from geography to lore: magic in the north.

Cadence arrives at the Silver Stoat, fiddle slung over her back, her entire family in tow. She smiles warmly at everyone, and starts the fiddle playing merrily, taking breaks to sing to Dorja and her nervous beau. From time to time, she grins out at the rest of her family, or meets the gazes of Crummock, Einar and Mr. Whiskers. But most of her attention is on her shy younger sister, the one who always loved quiet activities at home.

♫ When I look into your eyes
And I see the woman who's come to call
It always comes as a surprise
To see the change, see you fair and tall

Home could be Oppara's glittering lights
Or our Heldren's early morning dew
Wherever life leads, your future bright
Home is now the two of you ♫

She holds up a glass. "To my sister, Dorja, and her intended, Justin! A toast!"

____
Source: You're my home by Billy Joel

Mr. Whiskers listens as his friend describes what he knows of magic. I don't think he has received any real training in magic. He is judging it by what he has seen it do. It doesn't seem like he knows anything of the training required.

When he pushes his plate away, Mr. Whiskers says "Es tut mir leid, wenn das Thema des Gesprächs Ihnen Unbehagen verursacht hat. Darauf können wir zu einem anderen Zeitpunkt zurückkommen."

Feeding a scrap of bread soaked in some of the juices to Nivean, he says "Ich denke, Sie sollten wissen, dass Freyas Magie erfordert Ausbildung nur um Unfälle zu verhindern. Frau Theodora hat Freya gewarnt, dass sie mit ihrer Magie vorsichtig sein muss, und sie scheint diese Warnungen ernst zu nehmen. Die Sache ist, dass Madam Theodora auch weiß, dass für jemanden wie Freya die Magie veröffentlicht werden will. Freya muss damit umgehen, um es zu kontrollieren."

Switching to the Taldan language (Common), Mr. Whiskers also decides to change the topic. "It looks like we will be leaving in the morning. We should relax and enjoy tonight!"

Shortly after that, Cadence arrives and gives her performance. Mr. Whiskers happily joins in the toast.

Cadence's song is greeted by raucous cheers and applause by the taverngoers. Justin and Dorja drink a toast to Cadence, and Cadence can see that some of the worry ease out of his sister's face and they give you a genuine smile.

Cadence returns to her family to sleep while the rest turn in for the night.

"your my home" from "Piano Man" not my first Billy Joel tape, not my last. Yeah, I said tape…

Einar empties the stein in front of him. ”Ich verstehe Unterrichtskontrolle. Aber nicht lehren sie die Natur der Macht selbst setzt sie für Schmerzen am besten und kontrolliert von anderen schlechter. Die Welt ist nicht schön, alte Damen, die Pflanzen wachsen und verbergen die wahre Natur der Dinge. Es ist böse Männer, die jede Waffe benutzen, die sie ihre Hände auflegen können. Ihr und ich beide wissen, Wenn böse Männer Waffen nicht kontrollieren können, zerstören sie sie. Ich will nicht, dass das mit Cadences Schwester passiert. “

Einar stands to leave, just as Cadence and her family walks in, not wanting to seem rude, he returns to his seat and whispers to Mr. Whiskers, ”Vee have traveled far together mein Freund, have you not noticed zat I do not relax vell.” He lifts his stein to let the server know he is ordering another mead, when Cadence finishes her song, he applauds along with the rest of the crowd.

One of the servers walks over to Einar, and says, "Sorry. We're under orders by the Mayor not to serve you guys too many drinks. You've got an important journey ahead of you tomorrow. Would you like some Apple Cider instead?"

Lol Curfews!

Earlier during shopping

"Hmm a lang journey yuh out pon no?"Mother Theodora nods her head, "Di spirits sey yuh might need dis. It wi help yuh understand fi a while any tongue spoken an written." She takes out a small scroll from the scroll cabinet behind the counter. Then another scroll, out of its own violation, flies out of the cupboard and lays itself beside the first. Mother Theodora looks surprised."Hmm dis a strange, di spirits undecided,"she remarks."Ribbit" Mr Whiskers hears a croak from somewhere around the counter.

Comprehend languages - 1st scroll, magic weapon - 2nd scroll. Your choice.

Mr. Whiskers thanks Madam Theodora and pays her for the scroll of Comprehend Languages. While there, he also buys sufficient supplies to scribe the spell.

25 GP +10 GP. I probably will not have a chance to scribe it right now. Just the one scroll for now.

At the tavern

With a short chuckle, Mr. Whiskers quips "So, you need practice relaxing my friend?"

When offered the cider, Mr. whiskers holds out his cup and says "Gladly!" He takes a short sip before thanking the server.

He will stick around for a short time, but wants enough time for another shower before bed. He wants to be in bed by about 10PM so he can awake well rested.

Cadence hugs half the folks in the tavern before leaving, saying goodbye to as many of the faces of Heldren as she can. Then she comes up to Einar, Mr. Whiskers and Crummock. "I'll see you boys in the morning. Where shall we meet, and when?"

Before leaving, she gives Einar a friendly squeeze on the shoulder, and she sets off.

Don't worry about scribing. As long as you have gp, it suddenly magically converts into ink and paper. Because, Magic. You'll pay GP cost for scribing, but nothing else. I will also not make you have to carry 5,000 gp diamonds for raise dead. As long as you have the gp, you can cast the spell.

The server pours Mr Whiskers a mug of apple cider.

Mr Whiskers has a good hot shower before he goes to bed.

Basically there will be a sending-off band for the party

My own marching band!

Freya pulls out her fiddle, and plays along with her family as they march towards the tavern.

♫ Into the woods
For Lady Argentaea --
Into the woods
As a bandit slayer!

But into the woods,
Into the woods,
Into the woods
Saving Heldren town
Exploring after dark! ♫

Source: Into The Woods - Prologue Into The Woods

The band plays on merrily along, with George and Freya banging the cymbals enthusiastically, and by the time you get there, half the village is stepping out in their night dresses, rubbing their eyes sleepily in astonishment, staring at the band. Some of the villagers (Cadence's close friends) get dressed and join the band, singing to the song.

Mr. Whiskers asks if he couldn't have a small portion of the quiche for breakfast and a single muffin to take with.

He is rather surprised when he first hears the music, but smiles brightly as he figures out what is happening. Quickly finishing his last bite of quiche, he quickly wipes his paws and mouth with a napkin. He gladly joins Cadence as the group is given a parade out of town. When Alfred salutes, he awkwardly tries to return it.

Once out of sight of the townsfolk, he looks to Einar and says "Shall we try to find the trail?" He starts searching as they move through the area.

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Yale smiles and gives Mr Whiskers a small bag for the muffin, after serving him the quiche.

Crummock's snowshoes are the only usable pair the party has managed to fashion, the rest falling apart in the night. Einar also collects his crocodile hide boots and belt from Sophia.

Mr Whiskers easily picks up Yuln's trail as the party and their dogs makes their way into the woods. As they proceed deeper, they find the woods getting colder, and a layer of snow on the ground floor of the woods. The party starts doning their cold weather gear.

Yes, without your cold weather gear you'd be making fort saves now as per CRB rules: An unprotected character in cold weather (below 40° F) must make a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who has the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description).

About 3 hours later

The road ahead is littered with debris and corpses of slain humans and horses. A carriage stands in the roadway, its team of horses missing or cut free, while another overturned carriage lies sprawled and broken next to the tree line. To the south, more bodies have fallen around what appears to be a statue of ice. A snowy trail leads deeper into the forest. Most of the bodies lie pierced with tiny needles and shards of ice. All of the bodies have been stripped of armor and weapons.

From here on, everything is considered as difficult terrain, it takes 10 ft of movement to move a 5 ft square due to snow. You are unable to charge or take 5 ft steps.

what no more alcohol?
'Well if the alcohol is done, I may as well go to bed. Einar pushes his chair back as he stands nods toward Mister Whiskers and Crummock, "I may as vell go on to bed, Haben eine gute Nacht Herren, err, a good evening, ya." Realizing Cadence is headed their way he stays put long enough for her to reach the table. As she asks time and place Einar again looks from Mister Whiskers and Crummock and recommends "Vee should ask Innkeeper Kale to vake us up at dawn und eat a qvick Frühstück, So let us meet out front fifteen minutes or so after sunrise." As Cadence reaches in to squeeze his shoulder, Einar rests his hand on her shoulder, attempting a smile he tells her, "Enjoy your Übernachtung vit your sister, ya." As he watches her leave his smile fades. 'so much like the flower, the room fades when she leaves.' As he heads to his room he asks "Gastwirt Kale, could you vake us at dawn?"

at dawn
Hearing the knock on the door, Einar quickly gets around dressing in his winter garb, grabbing his rucksack and grabbing his glaive he heads to the dining room. Resting his glaive in the rack near the door, he rests his pack under it he joins his companions at the table. Seeing the quiche and muffins he raises an eyebrow when Kale asks 'or' 'quishe or muffins did Sheila stop paying? Oh well. Einar smiles and points at the muffins, reaching into the warm basket grasping two in each hand, his smile broadens, "Zee muffins please, und I vill take one or two for zee road ya?"

Just as he finishes the second muffin he hears the sound of music moving in their general direction, tucking the last two muffins in his coat pocket, gathering his pack and weapon, he joins Crummock and Mister Whiskers as they exit the building.

Slipping his pack on and resting his weapon on his shoulder he slips in with the parade seeing the towns favorite daughter off. Smiling slightly as Beatrice slips into song, 'Ahhh she got her talent for music from her mother, no surprise, we all get something from her don't we. As the team moves out of town, Einar slips to the front with his friend, 'Back to what I do best, working the front with Mister Whiskers. Einar nods as Mister Whiskers mentions looking for the trail, and begins searching for the tracks from the big northerner that gave them his sword.

perception: to find: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
survival: to follow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Nodding in agreement as Mister Whiskers points out the trail, They follow it together as the sun rises, until they come upon the road littered with the remains of a battle.

Einar instinctively throws a fist into the air at shoulder height and drops to a crouch, so he is only slightly higher than Mister Whiskers. Seeing only the bodies of men and beasts Einar turns and recommends "Crummock could you command zee dogs to stay here? Vee do not vant them to varn anyvone." Moving quickly to the first wagon, Einar hearing movement softly calls out "Be still, I vill open zee door." He rests his glaive against the wagon and with one hand removes the spear and with the other opens the carriage door.

Einar sees two guards in the caravan, their colour an ashen grey. One has his neck half sawed off, the other has been disembowelled. Yet they both rise at the side of Einar, trying to grasp at him.

Cadence Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Einar Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Mr Whiskers Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Crummock Init: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (13) - 2 = 11
Zombies: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Cadence knowledge religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Cadence realises those two guards are already dead and have been animated as zombies. She also knows that they are resistant to damage done except by slashing weapons.

'Undead in the wagon, no one said anything about undead.' Realizing his proximity to the undead, he uses the spear he drew from the handle as he calls upon his demonic heritage; his body tranforms: His ankles and feet shift becoming more animal like, his hands also grew larger with talons, now appearing as claws, his maw extended and his eyes grew red, his small black horns became more prominent as his skin shift from pale almost unnoticeable scales to large glistening ones. He thrusts the spear at the nearest creature. As he screams "Ve are set upon by undead!" and releasing the spear he steps back looking for an opportunity to pounce on the other one.

rage, round 1, attack: spear, 5 ft step back
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 for damage: 1d8 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 a one, he rolled a one... maybe I should have taken power attack

You cannot 5 ft step! Treating it as a bite, you remain where you are.

The zombie doesn't taste good, but not as bad as it could have been(cold preserved it)

One of the zombies tries to clobber Einar, with the other trying to shamble up, which Einar cuts vertically into two, with the two halves toppling into the snow.

slam: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Einar Aoo: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
dmg: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Crummock, Cadence, Einar, Mr Whiskers, then zombie again

Retcon - Einar never got his AOO out so still 2 zombies. And he didn't bite the zombie either, choosing to stab it 2 handed with his shortspear.

Einar finds that his spear does not petrate as deeply as it should. The remaining zombie shambles towards him, and stops.

Dmg: 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

"Ack! Gyrff Cerdded!"

Crummock stabs the injured zombie.

MW Cold Iron Starknife: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 1 = 15, for 1d4 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 1 = 10 damage.

My name is Mort and I’m interested in running a AP/Mod(haven't decided which one yet?). I intend for this game to progress at a fast pace. I have run games in person and on Roll20 many times.

I post minimum once per day, and I can probably do multiple posts per day as well.

My posting requirements are as follows – You are required minimally to post not more then 24 hrs after my last post(multiple back and forth posts throughout the day are, of course, welcome). The first time you get a PM warning, the 2nd time you get another PM warning, the third time, I’m looking for a new player. Should you have RL commitments that make you unable to do so, please inform me in the discussion thread. I’m not totally unreasonable.

The maps will be provided on Google Drive.

Also, if you feel you need any help with character building, please ask your fellow players, or friendly neighbourhood GM. We should be well equipped to answer most character mechanic questions =)

I will not start this game till I'm done with the gestalt run of no response from Deepmar.

And please vote on what stuff you might want me to run, here. Both Robert and Luke have played dragons demand before, Hmm and Bretl are in Rise of the Runelords and Kingmaker.

I would rather run one of the older APs, and no Iron Gods, Skulls and Shackles, or heavy intrigue mods like Curse of Crimson Throne, Council of Thieves, Hells Rebels, Hells Vengeance. I will not touch Wrath of the Righteous with a 10 ft pole.

Dotting for fun and profit.

Robert is in skull and shackles and serpents skull. Luke is in Giantslayer, Mummy's mask, skull and shackles.

AP list:
Shattered Star(Luke GMed it)
Second Darkness
Jade Regent(ye I know Luke has played)
Carrion Crown
Reign of Winter
Legacy of Fire

Tentatively.

My top three would be:

1) Reign of Winter
2) Carrion Crown
3) Legacy of Fire

I will note, though, that Second Darkness and Legacy of Fire are technically 3.5 APs, not Pathfinder, so encounters may at times be a little under-powered, or require some minor converting.

Also about varying power levels in group....

Please see this.

Just food for thought.

that was absolutely awesome, so does that mean My Halfling thief gets a BMX oh goodie!

I'm not as interested in Shattered star or Jade Regent or Second Darkness, as I am the other three. I've started all three Reign of Winter, Carrion Crown and Legacy of fire didn't get very far in any of them.

Keeping the video in mind I really liked the characters I had in Carrion Crown and Legacy of fire and might want to keep them, which isn't necessarily a good thing. If I went with Reign Winter I would create a totally new character. So in order:

Reign of winter
Legacy of fire
Carrion crown
shattered star
jade regent
second darkness

don't get me wrong, I'm on board for any and I know you and Luke won't let me build a munchkin (even if he is a hobbit Halfling

I have halfling phobia. Its the halflings that do the craziest things...like drop logs on you....chop you into two with a greataxe ;) Or try to...

Either Reign of Winter or Carrion Crown would be fine with me. I had started a CC campaign, but it died rather early. You can see it on my campaigns if you are curious how far it got.

If we go with Carrion Crown, people will want to carefully consider their choice of race. I doubt that provincial Ustalov would take kindly to a tiefling or wayang. Compare that to the Reign of Winter where they say "Because the PCs will all be foreigners in strange lands, this campaign might be a good chance for players to try uncommon races."

Reign of Winter is my absolute first choice! Yes!

I am a very reliable poster. I love bards and oracles but can also help fill party gaps with some other option. When you say maps on google drive, do you mean slides? I can move my minis on slides but not on drawings.

From your rules above, no flame dancer bards, correct? Also, can you create a first post in gameplay so that the rest of us may dot-and-delete?

Hmm

Sorry, there's a technical error atm, I am unable to add a new post for gameplay. I believe it's similar to the error yesterday, I'll wait till paizo fixes it out.

I'd have expected you guys would be discussing about what AP longer, but heh appears we have a clear winner. I'll pick up the AP and give it a quick glance through tonight, then post the revised rules.

I don't believe in being mysterious and all that, so if there are things likely to screw you over, I will let you know.

For me, when I run stuff, no matter what the module says, I do not restrict, in the name of fairness, what players will come up with(other then build rules). I may have townsfolk act weird, but will impose no mechanical disadvantages.

I was in the same CC campaign as you, Bret, I know. Also, I'm not as eloquent and descriptive as Aest, but I have my occassional

Also yes, it'll be on slides. I don't know how to do drawings, me being of luddite nature.

All right. Use technological device check successful, gameplay is up for dots!

Botting rules:

Sometimes the GM, when she runs out of patience, or reading into what you describe what you want to do, will bot you.

However, if you are inactive for more then 24 hrs, I will not bot you, instead I will leave it to any of the other players(like it happens on table top), to bot you. If you have any issues with what they made you do(like stand in front of a 6-headed hydra), you can take it up with them.

I've read the ROW player guide, bascially just prepare for snow, and everything else that comes with snow. Also smells pretty like Mab, in a Dresden Files kind of way. Right. That's all I'm going to say about the whole thing.

Amendments to races: No races that have cold resistance are allowed as starting races. If your race allows it, go trade it off for some other racial feature.

I'm looking at playing a Ratfolk Brown Fur Arcanist.

Would this be a problem in any way?

No problems there. Does your fur also happen to be brown? ;)

since we are at four are we looking at playing closer to the "big four" roles?

An arcanist would obvious handle arcane responsibilities... which is fine with me I prefer skill monkeys or melee and the divine casters third.

Hey Mort, was there trouble posting today? I just got off the road and didn't see any posting in "No Response"

There was at some point, but its cleared now. I was hoping for Hastur to go shepherd you around for a bit :P

Re Big 4 - Some combinations can take multiple roles.

I.e investigators can do knowledge/melee/trap. Any decent well built ranger can do Melee/archery. Can even do trap by using urban ranger/trapper.

The boundaries are not as fixed as you think they are...

Say Sylvan Sorcerer = Arcane + Melee(in form of animal companion)
Archer cleric = Divine + Archery + Support in the form of evangelist, if it happens. Take the right domain, at Lv 5 you get a full powered animal companion, which makes it like...melee as well? (But your archery will suffer for a lack of feats)

I prefer to think of the stuff as per Zeinth's here. But generally Paizo APs assume fighter, rogue, wizard, cleric, but again depending on module it may be easier/harder for some lacks. For one, I don't see any issue in say Council of Thieves without a cleric, but it might get problematic in Carrion Crown...

I was thinking of potentially a flame oracle or an evangelist cleric, but I could come in as something else as well. Druid perhaps, or a hunter or something. I'm willing to fill in to help fill party gaps.

Hmm

GM Mort, so your not real concerned if the characters are actually from Taldor as long as the have found a way to be there and as long as they are not cold resistant.

I was thinking slayer, so he could handle the traps. Not sure if I would go range, melee or switch. If someone really wanted skill monkey I would go melee, and if both were filled I would do a divine caster with a melee slant.

Hey 'Hmm' the sad thing about that is I remember ABBA's Mamma Mia!

EDIT:'Hmm' you ninja'd my post!

Not really, I'll just dump all of you in a tavern and start the adventure that way. How you got there...Magic!

Fur: Based on rat colors, I am currently trying to decide between Cinnamon or Agouti. Given that, he will have black eyes. He will also likely have Irish markings -- a white triangle on the chest and white forepaws.

According to Inner Sea Races there are Ratfolk warrens in the Storval Plateau. That seems like a reasonable starting point.

For this campaign are you going to want us to take one of the Campaign traits?

I like creating stories and background for characters. We'll have reasons to be there!

Hmm

I like creating stories and background for characters. We'll have reasons to be there!

Hmm

me too, it helps me remember who the character is and what he is doing.

I need to read the stuff in greater detail to actually be able to tell you about backstories and stuff. I just did a quick glance...or you guys can look at player guide yourself, also. Sowwie.

it starts in a little town in Taldor where something bad has happened, that's about all I remember, I assumed one of the traits would be from the campaign, do you care either way GM Mort?

It's an interesting player guide. I am looking forward to seeing what you all come up with for characters. Do you want me to cover divine, or does one of you want to take that niche?

Hmm

You can choose if you want a campaign trait to be one of your starting traits. No I ain't giving free traits out.

So at present we have:

Bretl - (Ratfolk) - Brown Fur Arcanist (so, presumably, covering arcane/buffing, and knowledge skills)

Robert - Slayer (Trap-finder/skill monkey) - melee or ranged

Hmm - Divine (of some flavour)

I'll put some more thought into what I will push forward as my submission :-)

hey Luke_Parry, if you want to incorporate disable device somewhere I am just as happy doing melee/tank, either way!

If we want more melee, I can switch over to the Occultist archetype and summon critters instead of buffing and battlefield control. I can see either working with the background I'm slowly building for him.

I originally avoided it because lots of people don't like the battlefield filled with summoned creatures.

I don't really care about how many summoned creatures except you place them on the board and roll their attacks yourself. Also note for evangelist clerics, the semonic performance doesn't work on summons unless they can understand the language.

I may have sounded a little draconian at the start when I said no races with cold resistance (unless you can trade it off for something else), but there are reasons.

The idea of the AP is to put forward the idea on how cold things can get. I don't want to run into a situation where the AP assumes that (sensible) people should be hiding in the tavern(blizzard outdoors or what), and there we have team Aasimar/team tiefling having a snowball fight, iceskating on a lake without a care in the world because they have 5 cold resistance(what's the likeliness that 1d6 will roll a 6?). Adding up that they have flexible stat modifiers, there is really NO build that you can't do with an Aasimar/tiefling base.

That being said, I do not care if you should use traits, or take a class that gives you cold resistance. That shows at least a sacrifice on your part, which I am willing to accept. I will not ban every single cold themed class because they happen to grant Cold resist, that would be being unreasonable on my part.

I've a question on languages.

The rules in the ARG limit the additional languages a Ratfolk gets from high intellect to:
Aklo, Draconic, Dwarven, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Orc, and Undercommon.

Note that the ARG only has the core languages, none of the setting specific languages.

Would it be alright picking some of the human languages? I would like Varisian, Shoanti and maybe Skald.

As for more melee lets wait and see what Luke offers up and then we can all tweak a little.

So aasimar is cool just need to trade celestial resistance, say would you let us trade the cold resistance for heat resistance or should we just take something else entirely like "Celestial Crusader" or "Deathless Spirit" or "exalted Resistance"

I'm not sure I'm playing an Aasimar, I just know I will miss the 60 ft darkvision.

Mostly I only play core races, tengu's and Aasimar, maybe I should try something different....I will wait to see if my Slayer will be more dex or more str build.

The stuff you'll want is Halit, and Skald, allowed, and yes you must trade away the cold resistance, go take something else, like celestial crusader, or deathless crusader, or exalted resistance.

I'm reading the mod, it certainly is engaging!

A bit too much, actually. I was supposed to be hitting some books, and not of this sort...

Actually, I think it would be cool if the entire party had Darkvision - we could get up to all sorts of shenanigans if we did that :-D

You may not take any vision blocking abilities/equipment, combined with the way to see through them(I.e, goz mask + obscuring mist, deeper darkness + fiend sight).

Please see caveats above...if you all want to get darkvision, that's fine. Start casting darkness as part of combat tactics, not allowed. I could make a case for evasion of combat, though. Though there certainly aren't restrictions going around at night except for it being colder...

No, I remembered that - I just thought it might be a nice tactic to allow night-time ambushes, and dungeon exploration - for once, not having a bright light source widely telegraphing our location ;-)

Actually, I think it would be cool if the entire party had Darkvision - we could get up to all sorts of shenanigans if we did that :-D

yeah but not as much fun as one lone tengu wandering around in the dark...

Trying to decide if I want to at least look human, I have never played a Tiefling, they can look human, but I think it would be fun to have the scales, tail and maw...

Could go Aasimar, but with an oracle/bard along no need to try and look pretty. Or possibly a tengu that went to Taldor to show how good he is with a Falcata. Though the bird would be a pretty weak build...

Still chewing on it, of should I say 'dreaming' on it, back to bed for me.

Not going in a dungeon without a light over your heads, I approve off. Until today I can never understand how does a rogue without darkvision actually do any scouting in a dungeon. Wouldn't that huge light bulb over his head give the game away?

Don't count on me being a bard / oracle. I'm still trying to figure out my different options here. I'd love to be a bard or a skald, but I'm not sure we can afford it with a group of only four. There are so many roles to cover here. I've been looking at hunters, inquisitors, cleric archetypes as well. Shaman also looked very interesting but I think it may take a long time to come online since hexes don't come in right away.

Robert have you looked at the Garuda aasimar? You could have feathered hair. Literally! Their bonuses go to wisdom and dex.

Mort, more questions for you.

One... Are you open to the idea of recruiting a fifth player? I was thinking of DAA or King of Anything, both of whom are excellent roleplayers.

Two... Are you open to the idea of Automatic Bonus Progression? From the GMs I've talked to who've tried it, what it means is that you don't drop cloaks of resistance, magic weapons and stat bonus items from the AP's treasure. That is more than enough to halve wealth by level without any further calculations on your part. Everyone gets the automatic bonuses at the appropriate levels, and no one has to worry about covering the Big Six.

Three... That said, how do you feel about dropping a wand of CLW early on? I don't want to be the only source of healing for the group. I wasn't thinking of being a Life Oracle or doing a channel-centric cleric. If I go divine, I'd like to be able to make use of the other spells available to me. If we can get access to CLW wands, that might open up options a bit more.

One: 5th player - link their aliases so I can judge for myself. The primary qualification is activity and reliability + timezone issues also. I get the impression that the more people there are, the slower the game might go(due to differing timezones). Also - APs were traditionally meant for 4 people.

Two: The mod was written with the usual stuff in there - to use ABP would mean I probably need to take things out. Which would be a little weird since I wouldn't know what to take out.

Three: I need to read the mod more about it. I'm actually trying to find where the wands might be...but if so I will need to tweak the mod that some places you'll get no treasure to make up for that wand. I agree that the starting town is too small to have a wand...so.

If it helps, I will use the rules in CRB for cold weather conditions and not the AP rules(which are harsher).

Ok, I know where to insert that wand of CLW. You'll have to find it, though =)

About ABP... You leave out anything that is just a +1 booster. No +1 weapons, armor, cloaks of resistance, anything like that. But if you're uninterested, that's fine. I just find APs challenging because they tend to starve you of useful equipment. You may get weapons that no one can use, and that the party can't sell because there's no market handy. You also may concentrate all the wealth on a couple players because no one else can use the items you find. I like the idea of ABP because it would even this out a bit more amongst the team.

__

King of Anything has played Grigorii in three of my PFS PbP games. He always moves plot, supports others and brings out roleplay.

Death's Adorable Apprentice is someone you know better as Ronk Bonk. You were his mount in the goblin game that we briefly shared.

If everyone is in similar timezones, even parties of five or six can move quickly. The key thing is that everyone posts quickly in combat.

King is in the same time zone as Bret and myself -- N. American Central.

DAA is supposedly in the same time zone, but her swing shift job really puts her more in line with European time.

Luke and Robert, what time zones are you in?

Nah, don't want to alter mod --> no to ABP. Part of the challenge is rolling without gear. *wicked gleam in GM eyes*

Note that this time, I did NOT forbid crafting. You're perfectly free to craft whenever and whatever you like, and so far I think this mod looks like you could sit a little while and craft your @ss out to make out for the low WBL (yes I'm sorry, that's AP life for you).

Euro timezone is not that suitable to be honest. I'm more interested in actual available to post time then whatever timezone the person is on. I'll start tracking Grigorii, but the reason I picked all of you is because I believe that you guys can do it(on 4). I'm looking more for team synergy for builds.

Just ask Luke and Robert, they're happily Gestalting No Response in Deepmar, and I haven't really done too much to them yet ;) And that's only two of them ^^

Re: Dark vision

No, I remembered that - I just thought it might be a nice tactic to allow night-time ambushes, and dungeon exploration - for once, not having a bright light source widely telegraphing our location ;-)

I was planning to trade Darkvision out for Low-Light and 30' base movement speed. I can keep the Darkvision, but doing so means I'm slower.

BTW: Are the NPCs also restricted from using Deeper Darkness / Dark Vision or other such vision combinations in combat?