Shadows of the Sand (Inactive)

Game Master caster4life

Shopping list:

Cloak of Resistance +1 - 1000
Masterwork Whip - 301
Masterwork Buckler - 155
Masterwork Chain Shirt - 250
Wand of CLW - 750
Wand of Heightened Awareness - 750
Scroll of Identify x2 - 50
Scroll of Comprehend Languages -25
Scroll of Remove Fear - 25
Scroll of Silent Image - 25
Scroll of Unbreakable Heart - 25
Scroll of Glitterdust - 150
+250.7 gp

Zaza then immediately uses a Scroll of Identify on the damn vest.
Spellcraft Take 10: 10 + 6 + 20 = 36

It's a mnemonic vestment.

Also, everyone can feel free to conduct their shopping as Zaza has just done. Just spell out what you want and, once I give approval, you can remove gold and add items to your inventory.

Zaza, all that can be provided at this base. The scrolls might not be on hand but can be scribed quickly and easily. The rest is certainly on hand.

I'm still looking into it. Should be able to post something soon.

For the mnemonic vestment, does Zaza need the scroll in hand to use it?

*Edit* - And if so, is it a move action to draw a spellbook and get to the right page?

I just realized that none of the spells in that spellbook are Bard spells, so maybe it doesn't work with the mnemonic vestment anyway. Was that the reason you were thinking we should hold off on selling the spellbook?

I would like: 3761.7
Cloak of the Hedge Wizard (Transmutation) - 2500
If I can, I would like to change my psicrystal crown to a normal staff. I was unaware of the limitations a crown imposed when I chose it. Since the crown was barely mentioned and never used, I could say that I was picking it up from special order now.

I will save the rest of my money, 1261.7

Zaza, my RAW reading of the mnemonic vestment is you only have to be carrying the written source. I'm amused that none of those are bard spells. I thought it would be a useful item for you, and I think it will be, but the spellbook isn't so useful since those aren't bard spells. Go ahead and sell it.

Hadha, that is completely fine.

Thanks so much Zaza for doing the quartermaster job and even donating the skill point to me, and guess we need to put a sold under the claim section for the stuff that we liquidated.

Dont think I took anything from that post since that was the mission before I joined I believe and only party loot I have so far is the headband of wisdom +2

Now for the shopping bit...kinda torn wanting to spend the majority of it on a set of mithral armor or the cheaper option of druchite armor (also feel like it would be slightly more appropriate for spies...both the bonuses for mithral is so good.) Will also say if anyone has any input for items to look at let me know...keep trying to understand the magic items but feel like I am constantly missing stuff or unsure the cost and thus overlook it.

What are the chances I can get either available for me or am I looking at ordering it and having to pick up after the monastery.

Guess the belt of str should go to either me or zaza unless Amari wants to trade out his dex belt which any of the remaining of us could take advantage of it.

Mhh I think the amulet was worn by no one, as we never ended up with a decision after all (this being the last mention of it.
I'll add it to my sheet for now to break the deadlock.
@Str-Belt: We could actually give it to serenity. AC's can wear magic items as well. It probably needs a redone for her to wear, but the magic works regardless. Once I hit level 4, Str Belt is a relevant option for Amari, as his Atk will be Wis-fuelled, so I could up Strength for additional damage (requiring me to get a stronger composite bow too)

Assuming 1100g for the efficient quiver, I am left with something like 2,4k gold. Mhh.
- I could have my bow enchanted to +1 (2k)
- (or) I could get Brazers of Armor (1k)

- Several doses of Inguested, Knock-Out Poison (90g*x)
--> How many doses would one need to, say, poison a big bowl of soup made for many people?
- 5 Menacles (75g)
- Another 2 stacks of blunt arrows & refreshing of spent ones (5g)

Hmmm.... Amari I see the efficient quiver's price listed as 1800 gp. Did I miss something?

I would say 1 dose for 1 person unless you are willing to dilute it and thus decrease the save DC.

And good point, Agaban. I figured fighting a monastery full of zen archers and other monks would be sufficiently challenging. Definitely at least a copper mission. Are you going to take the staff of animal buffs? I won't lie: it was intended for you.

Ahh, no, just me messing things up.

@Poison: Hm, okay. Gosh, poison is way too expense in PF. One possible plan I had in mind was us sneaking in an poison food/water supply with an disabling, ingested poison. But those poison prices are really debilitating.
Any chance that the shadows have a capable alchemist that would be willing to sell poison for the manufacturing price (so 1/10th for alchemists)?

@Monks: Well I'd imagined the majority to be 'normal' monks, rather than Zens. But yeah, this is going to be another straight-forward-is-suicide missions.

Shopping: Okay, so I am actually left with 1,7k gold instead. So no magic bow this time. Guess its time for +1 bracers (boy I wish we had someone able to cast mage armor on me reliably... I'd even buy them a pearl of power in turn) and maybe a couple of human bane arrows.

I can cast Mage Armor on you unreliably. I do have a wand with 10 charges. If you split the cost of a second wand with Lo, I can continue to tag both you and Serenity for a while.

For the Price of the bracers I can buy a full wand and have 250g leftover ^^
Still, a reliable cast with lvl progression for full-day MA would have been ice in cake ^^
... Researching ...
Ohio, I would be willing to pay (parts of?) A Ring of Spell Knowledge II.
It allows you to store the knowledge about a spell you do not know. If it is not on your class list it counts as one level higher (thus we need the lvl II version and you need to sacrifice lvl 2 spellslots).
You need to pass a Spellcraft 20 to make the ring learn the spell from any source you have at hand (including simply watching it being cast).
It costs 6000g, but that is by far cheaper than me and serenity getting armor AND it will scale with your caster level for all-day MA.
Not for the short run, but definitely a long-term plan in my eye.

Kind of a weird spot for me and the staff because at best I was hoping to get to a point where if I'm in melee then this guy is duel wielding daggers in honor of his god and worse case then will be using a two handed weapon with reach. So I pretty much wouldn't use it in combat if I am holding to those cases but think we have 3 people that can use the spells from the staff if needed (myself, Lo, and Zaza) so not sure if we want to sell it or hold onto it.

Will ask again anyone have any suggestions for items...generally dont play a cleric and when I do usually just go for armor to keep alive but this campaign feels like I need a little more versatility but not sure any good options.

My favorite cleric item is a metamagic rod of reach, which I like to use on Protection from Evil: Communal. I know that's an awfully specific thing, though. Pearl of Power is an old standby.

Staff of animal buffs is probably best used buffing before combat anyway so I wouldn't worry too much about it cramping anyone's style.

Not much help for casters, since I don't ever have played a full caster.
I mostly stick with martials or 6th level hybrid with a martial focus.

Having a good armor never hurts though - preventing a TPK is always a nice thing to do xD
Otherwise ... get wands for short-duration buff spells so your daily slots are more free?

Another way would be to go down and don heavy armor, get a shield and act as our tank. A slot we are lacking atm - and clerics can fill that slot quite well actually.
Obviously, you would have problems sneaking around in full plate...

Not worrying quite as much for the buffs since Zaza is carrying a bunch of utility spells/wands/scrolls.

Though think going for mithral kikko/chainmail/breastplate will probably be the way to go with a +3 dex bonus think that is almost the equivalent of a regular plate mail and will not drastically impact stealth or speed.

Guessing mithral armor is something to commission though and if so can I maybe go with mountain pattern with the symbol being changed to to something else?

Still wont like being the tank (remembers Gara and his shield) though we at least have 2 others that can cast healing spells.

Hah, sure do I remember him ... and his fate.
Although one has to note that 1st level combat is incredibly deadly due to dmg<->hp discrepancy at low levels

Mountain armor looks good and I can see various kind of symbols on such armor. What's Pharasmas symbol again?

@Spells: With Lo and Serenity, it might be an interesting option to prepare one 'Command' spell. It is an awesome payoff to prevent an enemy from attacking for one round AND making him provoke AoOs (by using 'Approach'' or 'Flee') option of the spell.

Ahh poor Gara. He just wanted to your friendly neighborhood, earth-themed, creepy torturer. Unfortunately the rolls were against him...

So think I have decided will go mithral mountain pattern. Were the masterwork saps small or medium size cant remember but may see about trading out my light mace for one if medium size.

I am actually not too sure how we are going to go with this mission.
My instinct is, to approach the monastary alone and see if I could go in as I am one of them.
Chances are they know I am with the Shadows now and will be attacked on sight as anybody else - or worse, they led me in and attack me then with no way out.
Should I made it in, it would be a massive boon to the mission, but I would probably hijack way too much spotlight and gametime in a solo-action. Of course I'd be looking to let you sneak in asap but we all know the 'speed' of PbP.

We could just try to sneak into the fort from the start. Not an easy task, but maybe with my knowledge of its layout, we could do it after some initial inquiries of the locals about what is actually going on.

But from there ... if poison is not an option to incapacitate most of the inhabitants we cannot risk any fighting without getting swarmed and taken out quickly. We can only hope that there is a big, splashy-colored thing standing around labelled with 'evil mind-magick inside' or some unknown caster-guy walking around like he owns the place - and subsequently try to take it/him out AND hope that as soon as it/he fails, my brothers will return to normal or it is tpk-time as well ^^

@GM: There is this funny RAW item "Masterwork Tools" that basically is a blank-cheque for a +2 on any skill if one can come up with an appropriate tool to help with the skill. As I anticipate this to be a massive stealth mission if there ever was one ... can we get Masterwork Stealth Tools for the party? Ideas:
- Specials black (ninja) clothing that is worn over everything else, preventing armor/weapons to hit each other in inconvenient times, including hoods and masks
- Special slippers similar to Cat's Boots special Catfolk item that soften the sound of steps
- Special black paint with a light absorbing quality to be applied to faces/clothes/items/...

@Hadha: Would yo be open for loaning me 300g so that I can get myself a +1 enchantment for my bow? I am not very happy about my other options at the moment and you stated you would keep the money for now...
Obviously I gonna pay it back from whatever share I would be getting from the next mission xD

Can do! No problem.

As for the mission, I think we are operating on too little information. I think we should head over there and see what's up exactly before we make any solid plans.

@Amari: I can caver that too if you need it.

@Zaza: Does that number include selling the mundane gear? I'd like to clean up the sheet if we can.

@GM: Can I get my bow enchanted on the spot (so within a day, two at most) or do I have to order that?

@Big-Money-People: Thanks :-)

Cool idea, Amari. I wouldn't normally allow that but such a stealth tool is so appropriate for this campaign. Go for it.

Also, a +1 enchantment is a common thing and can be done on the spot.

I'm thinking Campfire bead and maybe Smuggler's Wayfinder (or something that functions like one)

How about this? I'll let you guys keep shopping until Monday morning eastern US time then I'll assume you are ready to head to the monastery. If you let me know you're ready before then, I'll move us forward earlier assuming I can at that time.

I'm good to go.

I'm ready!

Two odds and ends:
1. There exists a Bag of Holding. Who wants it? If nobody else speaks up, I'll have it in my inventory just to close out the loot.

2. I already sold mundane gear. Now I'm selling the spellbook. 2 2nd level spells and 5 1st level spells. I read online that the value is equal to the cost of the scrolls and cost of the ink. So I have the sale value at (2x190 + 5x35) / 2 = 277.5. So everyone gets a whopping 55.5 more gold. Please add to your inventory, and that will close out the Mission 1 and 2 loot.

I roll with my bow upgrade (loaning 200g from Hadha) and awesome-cool-ninja-shadow stealth suits for 50g, taken from the salvage of the spellbook.
Then I am basically blank xD

1800g Efficient Quiver
2000g Bow +1 Enchant
50g Shadow Stealth-Suite
6g Stocking up Arrows (Normal&Blunt) and food/water
75g 5*Manacles
== 3931g

Money:
00573.3g - Savings
00055.50g - Spellbook
3,129.58g - Mission Payment and sold gear
== 3758.38g
+ 200 loaned coins

====
27g left
-200g credit

Guess I'm ready to go.

Did we agree Serenity gets the second +2 Str belt? Please add to inventory if so.

Oh, Zaza buys a Sap. She'll probably never use it, but just in case.

It's only an extra point of damage but sure.

@GM Let me know if these are OK to buy.
Muleback Cords
Pouch,Pathfinder
Boot's of the Cat

Wand of CLW

Price = 3750g
Remaining = 84g

Yes those would be on hand.

Hey Lo, Zaza bought a CLW Wand already. It's fine to have two, but wanted to let you know in case that shifted your purchases.

@GM: Just wanting to let you know that I am really looking forward for this mission!
It feels like it is going to be a very interesting coming-homenot-home-what-has-hapenned? kind of mission.
@Al'Fahds: I am making stuff up as I type, so please feel free to retcon anything that feels off to you whenever you see it xD

Sure thing! For the most part, I am ok with running with flavor details you devise as this is your homecoming. I'll keep one hand on the wheel, tho. ;)

(...)guards are positioned on the watchtower day and night in four eight hour shifts.

Golarion does have a 32h day, right?

XD

As usual, let me know when you've decided what to do.

All of the gear has been sold correct? I'd like to clean up the sheet if we can before we have to start adding to it.

Everything's been sold except for 4 bear traps--I couldn't remember how much they cost. So . . . anyone want bear traps?

I just started a new sheet. I prefer that than deleting anything, if that's what you had in mind, Lo.

Okay, proposed plan of attack:

Everyone buys dark suits for stealth! (That was a good idea we forgot to implement!)

Amari approaches from one direction, providing a distraction. The rest of the team sneaks up and gets into the watchtower. We either take them out or Agaban can silence first. We will try to do so non-lethally, maybe using saps.

That's all I got for my plan.

Plan approved.

A motion and a second to the motion works for me, assuming Amari is on board as he is the point man on this.

I am good.
It's late her though so no lengthy post before tomorrow from my end.

No worries. I'll go ahead and give the party their prompt.

@Sleight of Hands: Jup, that was kind of a nice-to-have feature, so he would not have attempted it if he was watched closely.

@Group: Well, s!#%. I think my best chance to take the remaining guard out is to flurry him unconscious with blunt arrows, but that will take more than one round, especially as I have to draw the bow first. But from the planning we had, Amari will probably trust Agaban to silence the bell with magic...
I could also go into a brawl, which would stop the other from ringing the bell immediately - but to shackle him, I have to win two (or three?) grapple checks in a row, which certainly isn't going to happen easily against another monk. Unless one side is getting very lucky, it will probably be a long draw and I will not be able to help you with the rest of the encounter.

@GM: In this situation, with the other monk still trusting me (?), would it be possible to shackle the monk with one treacherous action, while the other turn his back on me to ring the bell?