Serpent's Skull

Game Master CLOAKn

I went to dairy queen last night for the first time in 7 years. Took home a loaded blizzard and made some excellent beer floats with a robust stout. Nothing brings people together like beer and icecream.

You've reminded me that there was a place in Boston that had Guinness ice cream. Not that I had it--sounds a bit much for me. I did find a frou-frou hipster place that had mascarpone ice cream with balsamic figs, smooshed between vegan ginger cookies, and that was TASTY. Well worth the pretention.

Those are some fancy eats! Full Tilt in Seattle makes a pretty lovely array of various boozy ice creams, which always go well with their selection of pinball machines.

Ah, I hope to go back up there next year. I'm bringing a Siberian musical group through OR and WA. I was hoping to see a friend, but he has been given a Viking funeral recently. Well, not his actual remains, but there was a ceremony with a burning ship, and if you're going to be remembered, it may as well be that degree of bada$$.

I lived in Seattle for six months. Didn't like it at all.

Lived there for six years, it was excellent, and I look forward to moving back there next year. Given recent events I am curious if you are talking about Dave Brockie...

Seattle is easy for me to like as I study the oceans, love the rain, and drink my fair share of beer. I poked both of our missing companions on skype, but have not gotten any sort of response.

Rained...maybe twice while I was there. Was hotter than hell the entire time. They drive ok but they can't park to save their lives and they don't know how to act around a pickup truck. I'm from Colorado where debit/credit card fees on purchases are against our Constitution so you can imagine the slap in the face that was coming out of the airport for the first time.

Seeing girls in dresses was nice. Too windy in Colorado for girls to wear dresses, makes me sad. The huge variety of fresh fruit was nice as well. Didn't understand the organic thing. I hate when I accidentally buy inorganic fruit.

I'm referring to Julian D_____, not sure I should post his whole name. Oh, right, Oderus also got a Viking funeral! I don't know the GWARians--that must have been a wild and moving event. I believe their HQ is in Richmond, VA.

Wow, sounds like you were there during a very atypical Seattle epoch, Belor.

Yep, they are more of the east coast region, but I figured I would as as the viking funeral thing isn't too common these days.

I have to agree on parking and trucks, but luckily public transit is pretty solid in Seattle (though constantly loosing funding, as public transit does). Yeah they really need to rework food naming aspects, cuz non carbon based produce would be rather unpleasant.

Colorado is pretty lovely. Got a friend going to gradschool out there currently and she seems to be having a grand time of it.

I'm gonna PM Ellal and CLOAKn and see what's up. Ellal used to be the most gung-ho GM recruiter/poster/proactive player, but I think he had to switch to mobile and maybe life has gotten in the way. Although I hear Wayfinder is great for Android (I am an iPhone user, don't hate).

If we hear from them, I'll let you know, and if we don't, I'll also let you know, and we can decide what to do. This is my third incarnation for Serpent's Skull and I'd love to keep going, personally! Well, same incarnation, but two reboots, I suppose.

No word from Ellal, and CLOAKn has no messaging ability. Shall we look for a GM?

I have reached out to both on skype (to my knowledge they have not logged off since I last spoke to them), If we don't hear back might be worth looking for new blood.

I had forgotten about that--yes, there's a Skype list somewhere. Hope we find out what's going on!

I kind of burnt out for a bit. I went total Red October status. I am not able to promise full commitment at this time. I just started a new semester and it's going to be a doozy. I miss the game but I can't do it.
It was uncool to just go dark. Sorry, all.

Tim disappeared, too?!

Thanks for letting us know, Ellal. Malick, Belor, what are your thoughts?

I'm still interested in continuing, if we can find a GM. I didn't realize how resource-poor we would be. We could probably use a proper healer, maybe one that uses a bow. Or I could make one.

I can ask a few people if they want to join a campaign.

I would like to move forward with the game if possible.

Fellow Skullians, we have two GM's who are interested in GMing. Come over thisaway and introduce yourselves!

Serpent's Skull Re-re-recruitment

Ellal, if you can come back let us know!

Fellow Skullians, we have two GM's who are interested in GMing. Come over thisaway and introduce yourselves!

Serpent's Skull Re-re-recruitment

Ellal, if you can come back let us know!

I definitely will. Safe travels. Kill, live, proliferate. Take island wives. Find treasure. Save the princess.

So where would you guys wanna pick the story back up from, assuming we are not going to make any changes with adding in new people or whathaveyou? I would like to start from at least the point where the group has visited the ship and gathered up all the NPCs.

I imagine it will be a while before this game begins again but it is likely worth while to figure out where we want to start from.

Personally, I'm fine with resuming where we are, but I'll go with the majority (or GM decision).

I'm fine with whatever the GM wants to do, but I'd like to continue from where we are.

My bad guys! I switched to TSP's phone plan and cut my internet, then went WAY over on his data! Went 6 GB over, so I owe him $90 on the phone bill/internet bill lolz! I wanted to try that Forsaken World MMORPG, because a good bit of people seem so obsessed with it, but it was like 22 GB in download and patches... so whoopsie! I can show you all my messages, if you want to see the message about how bad I went over the data usage! Thankfully, he's a sweetheart and didn't get uber-mad about it, so I've been trying not to use too much. He said I could let you all know the circumstances, since I was sort of squirming wanting to let everyone know what was up. The data resets at the end of the month, so only a few days delay!

So, a few quick questions before I have to scamper off for 2-3 days.

1. Resume point?

2. Add players/keep existing players only and make you guys a bit stronger?

3. Change character creation guidelines in general to boost power?

4. Straight Serpent's Skull storyline or extra homebrew added to it?

5. Continuing the campaign past book 6 into the Mythic range?

6. Introduce Kingdom-building mechanics at a later point that makes a lot of sense?

7. Is everyone fine with me, when I get extremely bored, posting like 5-6 posts a day? I can understand if not.

Real life is always the number one priority, so don't worry too much about us. That said I do appreciate you letting us know that you will be out and about for a stretch.

1. We are in the middle of a fight I think, and I am picking it up right there seems just fine to me.

2. I have no problems with another player or two so long as they play nice with others.

3. Unknown? 20 point buy is my standard fare and it has rarely let me down, but something extra could be fun. Not sure if I would lean toward more raw power (higher stats) or more versatility (bonus feats or such?).

4. Being flexible within the campaign is always fun as it can turn some binary checks and moments in the written story into grayer and more dynamic events.

5. That would be quite interesting! I have little mythic experience outside of the Magical Girl game I DMed for the playtest (little more Madoka little less Sailor Moon).

6. Again, my experience here falls short, but a pirate fleet and some coastal conquest could be awesome so long as it isn't a spreadsheet simulator.

7. So long as posts do not leave people behind when they need to operate around their own schedules, more posts on flavor and NPC dynamics could flesh out the story. Transforming my survival check to build a shelter into me overhearing NPC's chatter away about rumors and myths could be a pretty cool thing to come home and read (no pressure).

Do your biz and thanks again for joining us!

Data limits are Satan. Should be illegal.

I'm pretty open to whatever so long as it's fun.

1: I'd like to continue where we are or right after the fight we're in. We got a solid alpha strike in and outnumber the baddies a fair bit, so no real question where the fight's going.

2: I wouldn't mind one more.

3: As long as it doesn't make things too easy :)

4: Changes and homebrew are fine, especially if they fix things that don't make a lot of sense, since my characters tend to point a lot of them out and it can get quite annoying.

5: I don't know anything about mythic but I can read up on it. I'm not against it.

6: Can I make an animal army?

7: Usually at least a couple days a week I can post multiple times a day, so that's no problem for me.

1. Where we are is fine. That battle was fun!

2. I am fine with another player. Can we GMPC Nagl through this fight?

3. I have no need of a power boost if we have a fourth player, or some other adjustment.

4. Anything that enhances and improves is fine by me!

5. I have never tried Mythic and am not against it.

6. Kingdom building? Now that reminds me of a Temeraire novel. Koro would probably build a strong native kingdom dedicated to smashing slavers.

7. Whoa! Yeah, as long as we don't get left behind. I

I have asked a few people if they would like to join. Two people are not feeling the play by post style, and two have not yet responded. I think it is safe to assume that we will not find any new players from my resources.

And the folks I asked didn't reply. I think fresh blood is in order...so to speak. We probably need a little melee and healing, but that's speaking pragmatically, and where's the fun in that?

We do have a cleric NPC and a bard NPC, so we might be able to rope them into the roles of Heal and Buff.

You have both ranged damage and arcane knowledge, while Belor has his Beatstick, Beast-Shtick, and nature magics. I am sorta good with a sword, decent with people, and can disarm traps like a rogue.

We can cover many of the roles for the rolls already so there is a lot of freedom for anyone looking to join. Any buffy classes would be awesome, but not mandatory.

I thought of one more person to ask...and yeah, Koro is built to blast, mainly.

Don't light our island on fire.

We have an interested player after all--survivor of the first game assembly. I don't know what kind of character she would work up. How would you all like to proceed?

I imagine that we could do some planning or what have you before our GM returns in a few days. I suppose if character creation rules change with their return that would be the slight snag, but I'd hazard it can be worked around.

We should turn the island in to a tropical resort. I'll run the grill.

You don't trust me with the grill? :( I can zap bugs, then.

Beach Volleyball with curled up eurypterids, goodberry and snake kebabs, guided tours of local ruins and shipwrecks. The resort builds itself, we just need to work on our PR campaign.

Shame we had to scrap the Cannibal Barbacoa Extravaganza--"where YOU are the main course!"

We had it filed under Cultural Experience, but the Commission for Extraordinary And Supernatural Experiences decreed it an Evil Act despite the cultural context. We just don't have the capital to cover Atonement Insurance or to be licensed as a Profane Purveyor.

Still I got a great feeling about our new set of water slides on that oddly smoking-and-warm-to-the-touch mountain. Should make for one hell of a slide down those flumes!

Hi, I am the interested player that Kororinda mentioned. Assuming the rest of you are ok with me joining, is there a particular role you want covered?

I usually like playing Charisma classes, so was tossing up the idea of a Dervish Dancing Bard, or perhaps a Skald, but would understand is there was a different role you wanted me to fill.

Charisma is quite fun. Bards and Oracles are always fun, but your direction with the Skald could be quite fun. I is tempting me to go from a Dexterity focused Swashbuckler to a Strength focused one. You could also take a look at the new Magus archetype that makes them into a spontaneous charisma based caster (eldritch scion).

Are you aiming for a balance of buff and bash?

Yes, the thought of the Eldritch Scion was interesting, but having to spend 2 arcane points to use Spell Combat (at least until you hit level 8) is a real tax, as well as Swift Action issues between Eldritch Pool / Arcane Accuracy. In addition, the Magus is a pretty complicated class, and I am unsure if I could really do it justice, with all the complicated rulings it has.

Are you aiming for a balance of buff and bash?

I prefer to think of it as versatility, playing a class that can go in and out of melee combat, but can use spells as a toolbox as required (Charm Person, Haste, Grease etc). Worth noting that Dervish Dancer is a more selfish caster (which trades Bardic Performance for Battle Dances), while Skald is team focused, (giving rage powers to the party).

Bard would potentially go into Evangelist PrC (which is currently the coolest thing in Pathfinder that I have seen in ages) if she survived that long, while Skald would very likely just stay as a Skald for all his/her career. That said, I could adjust either character if we were lacking in something really specific, its not really a problem!

I think you should play whatever makes you the happiest; that being said, I think the dervish dancer idea is a great one.

I would likely do well to change my build a bit then so we do not compete for equipment. Having to arm wrestle over every scimitar we see would get tiresome pretty quickly.

Yeah, play whatever you want. We can make it work. You don't always get to choose who you wash up on a desert island with. A dexterous combatant does fit the island theme. You don't hear about many tropical island dwelling orc paladins.

I am going to take the opportunity, speaking of Magus, to switch my magical lineage to Ear Piercing Scream. I dunno what I was thinking with Shocking Grasp...

How about a Glam Rocker or Metal Singer (Thunder Caller Bard) that seeks to share the primal glory of music with the world? We could form a band using music and raw force to bring the island under our control.

I think I'll check with Red Velvet Tiger if he/she is ok with the Evangelist PrC in the future. If it gets the green light, then I will very likely go with the Dervish Dancer, otherwise I will bring in a Skald.

Hey there everyone! Just getting back now. The data technically doesn't reset until midnight, but I got the green light to post! ^_^

Why no island BBQ? ROASTED CANNIBAL MEAT FOR EVERYONE! IGNORE THE BRAIN-ROTTING PROTEINS! :P

Ginganinja, you seem familiar. Why is that? Are you in one of TSPs campaigns? it seems like that's where I remember you from. If you are, you have my apologies for delaying him by downloading my 22 GB MMORPG with his 15 GB data plan. :/ Oh and Evangelist is green-lighted!

As a note for everyone, I am tailoring some treasures to specific PCs, so the issue of 'arm-wrestling for a weapon' should only rarely occur.

And is everyone interested in another PC? I know someone who is interested? We could go 5, assuming everyone is ok with it!