Jo - Yes, that should still be fine.
Now I know why Jo hasn't done so yet but I want to remind everyone that you can level up to 7th if you haven't done so already!
Okay, Joanna should be up to date now.
Well, hope no one else has gotten sick over the past week. Guess Lady Ladile is busy with stiff at the moment. How are the rest of y'all doin'?
Hey folks, I wanted to check in and say that I'm sick/have been sick and haven't had much mental energy for posting beyond very basic posts. While I should hopefully be back to 100% in another day or two I'm also back to work for the next three nights starting tonight (Saturday) so I'm just going to take a break from PbP until I'm done with my work shifts (Tuesday morning).
Yeesh. That's no fun. take care and try not to let them work ya too hard.
take care Lady L! We have time we can wait
In the meantime, I guess we can have a little fun discussing what our next moves are going to be.
Beyond finding the location of the next Shard and getting Halli's madness cured, I'd like to do something that's relevant to Jo, but perhaps not the others. I want to figure out a way to get her younger sisters out from Mother Dearest's thumb. I was thinking about talking to Lady Heidmarch about it and asking her if we could throw a party celebrating the first expedition to successfully explore the Lady's Light. Invite All of the nobles and present Teldon, Brianna, Shadlah, and Arsith as the party that did it while Jo and Zee in disguise lead Jo's younger sisters away and smuggle them out of the house. Part of the plan would involve getting Joanna's step-mother skunk-drunk so she didn't notice they were gone until they were out of the city.
Possible issues with this plan are, beyond this mainly being for one PC's benefit, Jo's step-mother is still looking for her and has hired the Gallowed to look for her. Jo's step-mother could not come or could not bring Jo's sisters, which would cause some issues with the plan since Jo and Zee would have to infiltrate Jo's home alone or wait for the party to be over and we all try sneaking in while Jo's step-mother sleeps it off. Lady Heidmarch could also refuse since this isn't really relevant to our mission of collecting the shards.
So any thoughts?
Two notes - I'll need to recheck some stuff in Gameplay but I'm pretty sure that, at least initially, Lady Heidmarch wanted the group to keep a low profile re: the hunt for the shard pieces. In light of that, a big, "Hay guys we explored the Lady's Light" party might not be the best of ideas. That said, it's always possible to cook up another reason to have some sort of a party so it's not off the table for sure.
Point two - In light of all the potential side-stuff that Jo has expressed interest in doing, does anyone else have any side-threads or plots that they would want to pursue during the period between books? Or something for the more distant future? For those who haven't read the blurb for Book 3 I will say that we will be leaving Magnimar again once we officially start and so if there's anything you'd like to do in and around there or even Sandpoint, please let me know!
Also I may ping Teldon again if he doesn't check in within the next couple of days; some side-stuff can probably be handled individually as people are able to post but other parts I would like to have at least two-three of you able to participate.
Maybe Arsith could (in the long term) find love again, or just succumb to short term lust after that trip to the Lady's light
What about a debutante ball for Shel, instead? That could be fun having Arsith, Briana, and Joanna give her a crash course in courtly manners.
Believe me: I know all about life getting in the way of PbP gaming!! Take care, Lady L... and take all the time you need.
I really like the idea of a caper, where we try to smuggle Jo's sisters out of their abusive household. I think that would be a great interlude adventure!
That said... I know that would require some design work on Lady L's part, especially as PF isn't really designed around Ocean's Eleven-style capers. (The system for that is Blades in the Dark.)
I'd be more than happy to help with that if she doesn't mind.. :)
I don't really have much of a horse in this race. At this point, Shadlah's just along for the ride, as it were.
Don't worry, we'll figure something out for Shadlah to do. I could see her acting as a distraction for some part. Joanna's probably gonna get antsy as things are getting taken care of with regards to Halli and an armor upgrade courtesy of Arsith, if she doesn't mind. Would Shadlah be up to a friendly sparring match?
Okay, so I decided to reread the thread and have found a few potential enemies.
1. The Washside Wreckers - We stumbled on one of their smuggling operations. Not sure if they'd recognize any of us, though.
2. Terisha - She was the Tower Girl that was hunting Natalya and lead a small band of Tower Girls back to the Crow while we were working on getting the amulet to go deeper into the Crow. We beat her down and let her leave with the three other girls that we fought, but based on what one of them said I can see her allying with another gang to get back at us.
3. The Sleeping Snake - The shadow organization that is hunting Thassilonian relics to supposedly keep them out of the wrong hands.
4. The Creepers - We ran into them about the same time as the Sleeping Snake during the lead up to the Aspis Consortium Auction. Basically, Zee set fire to one of their drug caches and caused them to come running. Not sure if they got a good look at us, but Jo's the only one they'd be able to recognize now anyway.
5. The Gallowed - Jo helped get Birt out from under them and onto the Golden Key (one of the Whitehall Mercantile Company ships). Then, we thwarted a puppy-napping attempt by them. Both times they had a chance to get a good look at Jo. On top of that, Jo's stepmother has hired them to look for her, if I'm remembering correctly.
6. Gravendale/Leonard Kriegler - Not sure if Leonard Kriegler the shapeshifter took Gravendale's place or not, but I'm lumping them together because they are similar. I don't think we'll see them again, but it's always possible they might see our actions in Ravenmoor as a serious enough threat to come looking for us.
7. Lord Baz - An Accuser Devil that we ran across in the Crow. He teleported somewhere during our fight with him and we haven't seen him since.
8. The Boggards around the Lady's Light - Pretty sure they aren't going to come after us while we're at Maroux's, but we do have about a week before our ride back home is supposed to come by. We may run into them while exploring or hunting for dinner.
Beyond all of that, there's also the grizzly murders that have started to happen in the Shore. I have a hunch, but since we never investigated it, I don't know if what I think is happening is what Zed had planned. We did a favor for a Lacedon named Lockerbie Brast who stated his plan was to head up from the catacombs under the Crow to Kaer Maga. I'm wondering if he decided to go hunting instead.
Wow! Thanks for going through nearly 3000 posts for the old hanging plot threads!
Another plot thread we could pick up in The Asylum Stone would be Zee's family of origin. Kaer Maga is where she left her Varisian caravan to set out on her own... and where she had been eking out a living as a Harrow reader before she crossed paths with some Pathfinders.
Thanks, but honestly I enjoy reading through the thread from time to time. I'd definitely play Joanna differently now than I did, but I like how she's grown and developed. Currently at the part where we were taking care of the devils beneath the Crow, so almost 4000 posts through. I'm sure that I'm going to run across others that got lost in the shuffle.
That is... a lot of hanging plot threads!
Good thing a few of those could be lumped together. :)
Honestly, it's more like most of the potential threads. I didn't include Zograthy, for example. The Tower Girls we let go are another potential thread that could be added in during the next adventure.
One thing I am looking forward to beyond just playing again is showing off some Jo's hidden talents.
Jo, thanks for taking the time to read back through the Gameplay thread and mention these things. I'll be honest, I've done well to just read through the first 3 books - I've maybe gotten 10 pages into rereading the campaign thread at this point.
That said, I'm also going to be honest and upfront - I'm most likely going to stick a lot more closely to the books-as-written as a GM than Zed did. While I'm not averse to reintroducing past NPCs if it makes sense for them to pop up in some fashion, I'm not going to go out of my way to homebrew resolutions for some of these plot threads because I just don't have the time to do it and at some point I would also like to move on with the actual story a bit.
I wasn't posting them with the expectation they'd get resolved before we hit book three. Just thought it would be easier to see what threads we could pick up if we needed a break from the story. Would you be open to a Co-GM? I could run and prepare the extra bits while you prepare stuff. If not, that's fine. I just figured it would help you not feel so overwhelmed.
hey guys, sorry its taking so long for me to post- RL's been... a lot lately. I've paused the 2 games I GM but I'm going to try to sort of keep up here, if that's ok? I'm not going to be able to post like I used to but I think if this is the only game I'm doing I can probable manage a post every couple of days.
I don't have time to catch up on gameplay right now but I will do it tonight, feel free to voice any concerns/objections here in the meantime.
None here. Hope things get better for you. Take the time you need. We'll be here when life calms down.
So, they've added some new avatars and I found one that I think is much closer to how Jo actually looks, so ta-dah?
Do we still have everyone? I know Nate's been busy as has Haladir and Lady L.
@ Lady L: Anything I can do to help out? I know I've bombarded you with a lot of stuff, and I feel pretty guilty about it.
Hey, no, not at all! In retrospect I realize my last post probably came across in a sharper tone than I'd meant it and I apologize for that. It's actually really great to see folks excited for downtime activities and I was serious when I said that I appreciated you making all those notes about previous NPCs that we've helped (or tangled with) and their current status. It was actually something that I wanted to do myself for basically the same reasons that you stated; to see if any of them might have reason to pop up again later or in the case of one or two, even maybe become actual allies.
In response to your offer to Co-GM: provided no one else has any particular objections then yes, I'd be happy to take you up on that if the offer still stands. My PbP plate is pretty full at the moment and will probably stay that way for the next couple of months and while I'm not sure how Co-GMing would work in a PbP format, I'm not too proud to turn down help when it's offered!
There's also been some legit RL stuff that's slowed me down lately. My husband is about to start a new job at the same place I work at which is both exciting and more than a little anxiety-inducing. I think I've just also been in a bit of a depressive slump in general, probably not helped by the increased rainfall we've been getting.
*edit* And I like the new avatar for Jo!
Still here, but a bit sick with a kind of flu, don't be afraid if I'm quiet for a few days...
Er...not too proud to accept help, is what I think I should've said. My brain doesn't work too good sometimes.
Also yuck, feel better soon Arsith!
Thankies!
Oh no. Get better soon Arsith. Flu is no fun.
Re: Co-GMing
I was thinking that I could run some of the Extra bits and help wrap things up. As for how that works ould work, it'd be similar to how Zed and I did things when we passed through Sandpoint on the way to Ravenmoor. I'd run things for a bit while you got the next section ready. We'd have to discuss things to make sure that what I add fits with what you have in mind, but it should free you up to concentrate on the AP more without having to worry as much about weaving in everyone's side stories.
I also hear ya on the rain. It's been dreary today.
Glad you like the new avatar. I'm just happy they've been adding new ones!
Okay, I get you! I'll try to get around to an actual Gameplay post a little bit later today but unless folks want to play out all/part of the time period where we wait for the boat to return and pick everyone up, how about I GM us back to Magnimar and then you can take over for a bit?
I know Teldon said he'd try to check in here from time to time but if he'd rather not worry about the game for the next little bit I'm sure that the Heidmarches could assign him some side-work involving his alternate identity and the Aspis Consortium that can happen all/largely off-screen while we play out some of these other side plots. Thoughts?
That works.
The only things Joanna would really want to do would be fixing that meal that she promised Maroux and try getting the Xulgath(Troglodytes) on at least a non-evil path. The only loose end is the boggards, and Joanna's content to leave them be as long as they stay out of her way.
Well there are those two mystery guys that landed about two weeks before we did, but I'm happy to let that particular dog lie right where it is.
EDIT: So, what are we going to do about Zee's appearance? I don't think she's gonna appreciate having to wear a cloak that hides that she looks like Sorshen now.
True, but outside of well-learned scholars how many people have actually seen a depiction of Sorshen before? You might get some puzzlement from folks that have seen the Lady's Light in person (sailors, travelers) but the average lay-person isn't likely to make the connection.
Now there would probably be some gawking from people that just happen to find Zee's new appearance really freakin' hot but that's not something I'm personally interested in RPing at random. Zee using said appearance to get information would of course be a different story :P
I think I can pretty well commit to posting once every 2-3 days right now. I might be able to do more sometimes, like if we got into combat I’d try to post my turn right away when it came up (even if it was a short post). That said, if it’s relatively convenient to write me out for the next little bit (and bring me back before too super long) that would be fine with me.
I have a ‘side hustle’ running that could serve as a means for writing me out for a little bit... I made a bunch of money when we had to do the auction and rather than throwing off the party wealth or figuring out an in-game reason to take it from us Zed and I shifted it off camera where we were (loosely) using the investment downtime rules. I currently have it tied up in an Aspis Consortium venture recovering artifacts in Osirion. I had been periodically making rolls (history and appraise, iirc) to help ensure a good profit. I don’t know if you want to continue any of that, or how much, but we could use it as an excuse for me to absent? Long-term, Briana made an off-hand comment at one point about liking the quaint houses in the hinterlands around Sandpoint so the plan was to grow the money until it was enough and then buy one.
Right, I keep forgetting that Lady's Light is Sorshen isn't common knowledge.
I need to update that list of loose ends with Bivillin and the Black Kiss Boys. There's also the grey-robed person that was tailing Joanna and Jasper Kandamerus before our visit to Lady Midnight's Menagerie, but I think that was probably a Pharasmin trying to see what they were up to. It could be a fun encounter to have at some point, though.
As far as writing Teldon out, I figured he'd be busy at the bronze house until we had almost finished up in Magnimar or until things had calmed down for you.
So, yeah. Anyone got anything they want to do while we're in town for a while?
It's entirely up to you Teldon; I just thought it might be an idea if you really didn't want to worry about the hassle of keeping up with the game for a couple of months.
I'm still around, just... kinda stuck. Been in my own slump. About to start seeing a psychologist, which has me feeling pretty "=/".
@Shadlah- I'm not sure how it is in Australia, I know in the US there's still sometimes some stigma around seeing a psychologist, but I think its a great idea and you should be proud of yourself for being brave enough to go. In my line of work I'm sometimes approached for counseling and I'm willing to meet with people a couple times and talk through things with them but I'm not shy about suggesting they go and see a psychologist if its something bigger than we can talk through in a couple sessions. If there's an issue going on with your physical health the responsible thing to do is go see a doctor; in the same way if there's something going on with your mental health seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist is the responsible thing to do. Good on you!
@GM (and everyone)- If its ok with you I'd like for Teldon to tag along with everyone while we're in town... that way I can post RP when I get the chance and I'll be around to make skill checks as needed, since skill checks are where Teldon really thrives.
Works for me.
@Ronnie: That first step is always the scariest. But what Nate says is right. Finding someone who can help you work through whatever you're dealing with can be a huge help. The catch is that you have to be willing to change. I'm also speaking to myself here. I've gotten better, but I still need to work on some things.
I'll be praying and rooting for you!
EDIT: So, what are we going to do about Zee's appearance? I don't think she's gonna appreciate having to wear a cloak that hides that she looks like Sorshen now.
Zee now has the Disguise Hex, which allows her to use disguise self for up to 6 hours/day. I imagine that she'll be using that to appear as her old self whenever she's in a place that knew her before the... accident.
This, of course, could have interesting RP possibilities if someone realizes that she's using a glammer and accuses her of being an impostor!
Oh that is really nice. Don't suppose she could use that on Joanna?
@Shadlah- I'm not sure how it is in Australia, I know in the US there's still sometimes some stigma around seeing a psychologist, but I think its a great idea and you should be proud of yourself for being brave enough to go. In my line of work I'm sometimes approached for counseling and I'm willing to meet with people a couple times and talk through things with them but I'm not shy about suggesting they go and see a psychologist if its something bigger than we can talk through in a couple sessions. If there's an issue going on with your physical health the responsible thing to do is go see a doctor; in the same way if there's something going on with your mental health seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist is the responsible thing to do. Good on you!
I'll echo what Nate says. Good for you, Ronnie, for seeing a professional! Counseling isn't magic, and it's not a cure-all, but it can be very, very helpful.
I've been on the other side of Nate's example: The first time I went to see a psychhologist was at the recommendation of my minister, who'd I'd gone to see for some spiritual counseling. Turns out that my problem was less a crisis of faith and more about mental health. I am SO much happier now!
Oh that is really nice. Don't suppose she could use that on Joanna?
Alas, no. That hex is self only.
Darn.
@Ronnie: Let echo what Haladir has said about it not being a magic bullet. It's gonna be rough at times. I'm in a much better place with regards to depression, but I still need to work on my social anxiety issues. Don't worry, though. We're here if you need someone to talk to or a cheerleader. :)
I just looked over my profile and saw that I haven’t picked any 3rd level extracts yet, and haven’t picked/written up my familiar... I’ll get on that as soon as I can. Does anyone remember if I ever did an initial “here’s my new familiar” post? I don’t think I did, but I don’t want to double up if I did...
I don't think so. I'm almost done with rereading the thread and I haven't found one. I'll know for sure tonight.
On another note, I did find something that gave me an idea for a little interlude in Magnimar for Teldon. :3
The stigma isn't terrible here, it's just a matter of money, time, and drive. Thankfully, I managed to find a psychologist who bulk-bills through Medicare. He seems okay, now it's a matter of working through everything. I have a lot to unpack, apparently.
I'm not expecting it to fix everything overnight (though I *wish* that were possible!) I'm just looking for some kind of help, I guess.
Hey guys, real talk time. I know that my posting habits (or lack of) have been really erratic lately and out of character. While it's something that I've been aware of, the fact that a few of you guys (my players across various games) have checked in with me privately via PM is just further proof of it.
This is frustrating for me because I can't point to any one thing as an explanation for why this is. I still feel excited when I think about the vast majority of my current games as both a GM and as a player. My terrible traitor brain continually whispers, 'Hey, you know <scenario> or <module>? You should totally GM that in the future!' But when I sit down to write, I just...can't concentrate. Sometimes I can't concentrate at all, other times I may be able to get through a few games before my brain pulls me in a different direction and I get distracted with something else.
I don't know if it's stress because I don't feel particularly stressed, but who knows? I don't know if it's lack of proper rest - my sleep schedule is *still* somewhat erratic, especially lately with having to pull random day shifts at work due to being short-staffed. I don't know if it is burnout, just manifested as inability to concentrate rather than feelings of apathy/dread/loathing. I really don't know. But what I do know is that it's affecting my ability to provide fun, quality games for my players and to be a fun, quality player myself. And that's not fair to you guys, to my GMs, and to my fellow players.
As much as part of me feels like it's admitting defeat - for I can actually be a pretty stubborn person under the right circumstances - this has been happening for long enough that I'm working on reducing some of my game load and having to sort of decide what games I'm already in get posting priority over others. I still want to GM/help GM this game. That's not changed. I've got the next few days off from work so I'd like to try and kick the tires a bit on my end and either get us back to Magnimar or at least on the way back to Magnimar so that DM Salsa can take over for some of the interlude bits - which should hopefully give me a little extra time to wrap up some of my other GMing commitments and allow me more time to focus on this game when the time comes to head into Book 3 proper. I hope that will be okay with everyone!
Totally understand on all points, and I'd be okay with taking over from here if you feel that would be better for you. Sometimes we just need to step away for a moment to recharge and regroup even if we're excited about or interested in something. I also had a couple of ideas for wrapping up a couple of loose ends here on the Lady's Cape if you want to just focus on your other commitments and finish those up.
That said, I know what Joanna and Teldon want to do, but what about the rest of you? I'd love to personalize a few encounters and have some fun while Lady Ladile takes care of business and recharges her batteries.
- All:
--- Report back to Lady Heidmarch and recover from this latest excursion.
--? Find out what happened to Bivilin (I really need to learn this guy's name). Last thing any of us found out was that there'd been a struggle and his shop had been left unlocked. Shadlah was the one who found this though she never revealed it to the rest of us.
- Teldon:
--- Visit the Bronze House and check on his investments.
--- Another date with Briana, maybe?
- Briana:
--- Another date with Teldon, maybe?
- Ziomarra:
--- No idea.
- Shadlah:
--- No idea, either.
- Arsith:
--- I've got nothin'.
- Joanna:
--- Get her sisters out from under Mother Dearest's thumb, which might involve:
------ Sneaking into a high society ball.
------ Teaching Shel about upper-class manners and etiquette.
------ Possibly having to fight the Gallowed or other hired goons.
------ Sneaking out of the city.
--- Get Halli back! I miss the furry ball of mischief!
------ Definitely going to involve negotiating a favor for a wish spell.
Please let me know what you'd like to do. I know we all want to get going with book 3, but one of the things I've loved about this game is how each of our character's stories has added to it and I want that to go forward. I can come up with ideas all day long, but I want to know what you'd like to do since that will be the thing that gets you excited and having fun! If you're having fun, I've done my job as GM.
As I mentioned earlier for Arsith, she might start to seek someone to love.
She would be willing to help Jo, of course
- All:
--- Report back to Lady Heidmarch and recover from this latest excursion.
--? Find out what happened to Bivilin (I really need to learn this guy's name). Last thing any of us found out was that there'd been a struggle and his shop had been left unlocked. Shadlah was the one who found this though she never revealed it to the rest of us.
- Teldon:
--- Visit the Bronze House and check on his investments.
--- Another date with Briana, maybe?
- Briana:
--- Another date with Teldon, maybe?
- Ziomarra:
--- No idea.
- Shadlah:
--- No idea, either.
- Arsith:
--- Get a girlfriend. (Sorry, couldn't think of a clever way to phrase this.)
- Joanna:
--- Get her sisters out from under Mother Dearest's thumb, which might involve:
------ Sneaking into a high society ball.
------ Teaching Shel about upper-class manners and etiquette.
------ Possibly having to fight the Gallowed or other hired goons.
------ Sneaking out of the city.
--- Get Halli back! I miss the furry ball of mischief!
------ Definitely going to involve negotiating a favor for a wish spell.