The Ballad of Bloodmarch Hill

Game Master Joana

I threw up four times yesterday. That totally makes me qualified to write a post about competitive overeating! Right? Right?

Yikes! Get better!

I'm feeling mostly better today, thanks! But it just means I have to get back on the wagon of this work deadline... *groans and drags self off to write 9,000 more words*

Blergh. Take care.

Apologies for the delay, guys. I'm dealing with getting some home repairs done this week and just ran out of time to update today. Should be back on schedule within the next 24 hours.

Will be out of action till Sunday as I am travelling.

Hope you enjoy your time away. I desperately need some time off, but it's two more weeks before I can get any. This week has been crazy. I got the PDF of book 2 almost 2 weeks ago and haven't had the time to do anything more than skim it for major plot points.

That shouldn't be an issue. If this is anything like Shadows we'll never reach the second book, right? ;-)

Three day staycation was a bit of good fun - swimming, fishing in a pond and a whole pile of satay for dinner one night. Nice little break for a recharge.

Brinya and Kerst both look like they're reading their lines, with their matching glances off to the right like that. I didn't notice it until their avatars were side-by-side. :)

That shouldn't be an issue. If this is anything like Shadows we'll never reach the second book, right? ;-)

:P I'm hoping this game will move along at a quicker pace; there ought to be less political maneuvering.

In that vein, is there anything anyone wants to do over the course of the evening before the celebration winds down? The requisite NPCs have been introduced, and I can summarize us to the next event before too long.

Vhailor is essentially and literally killing time at the moment, so can be shoveled along as and when needed :)

Same with Alicia.

Happy to move along.

Sorry. Didn't mean to be rude about Shadows. The implication was that we've been having a great few years playing it at a leisurely pace, and I realised afterward that anyone who didn't know that may well interpret my statement as criticism, which couldn't be further from the truth.

Must remember friendly teasing loses a lot online, mostly the friendly. :-)

I was quite sure you were teasing, but I didn't want to scare away dien or Ansha. Not everyone is up for a game that covers a week of in-world time in 2-3/4 years. :)

Assuming Banny is ready to fast-forward a bit, I'll put together a summary post, maybe tonight but more likely tomorrow, to move the timeline ahead.

Sorry to hold things up! I'm fine with moving ahead, Banny's just sulking and drinking, anyhow. :P

You're not holding things up. I wouldn't have had time yet to put together a cutscene post anyway. :)

Joana, you forget that I'm in the Sargavan Saga with you, where we've been on the same day for 1-2 years. ;P

Fast-forward post is under construction, but I'm going to have to save it in Wordpad and finish it tomorrow; I have a morning appointment to keep in less than 8 hours.

Dien, I'm just fine with some in character tension. Feel free to ask Joana about some of our past characters... :-)

I was thinking that with Banny having been looked after some by the Iomedaen mission, Marikel may have formed some sort of bond with her. However, there's nothing to suggest that what Marikel thinks and what is actually going on are the same thing. And the booze is a very fair thing for us to quarrel about.

Marikel's got a decent diplomacy and sense motive so I will be trying to win you over eventually. If I start making things worse instead of better, let me know. He's LN so he will give almost as good as he gets sometimes, but I'll save any bitter vindictiveness for the NPCs. :-)

I think everyone but Alicia is just about ready for the next day. Once she wraps up what she's doing, I'll move us on.

Mark, could you copy your bullet-point background for Vhailor into his profile so I don't have to go hunting it in his posts?

Mark, could you copy your bullet-point background for Vhailor into his profile so I don't have to go hunting it in his posts?

Done - it's in a spoiler right down at the bottom.

For clarity, at the moment, spellcasters are considered as not having prepared spells for the day ... although I don't believe any of you explicitly cast any yesterday so you ought still to have those spells ready until you get a chance to prep.

Also, Mark, I presume that Carbonel will be with Vhailor by default unless you specify otherwise?

Joana - a very fair assumption and one that I'm happy with.

Just a quick note that I'll be on tour this weekend down to Singapore for an under 7s rugby tournament... so it should be a hoot. Downside is that it might curtail my general propensity for verbiage and long windedness... though I should still be online of occasion.

I'm going to be away from home through the weekend. Should still be able to manage a daily update, but I'll be reliant on hotel wi-fi.

I have a guess as to who it may be before the big reveal.
I'm thinking Patrolman Grath, the father of the two Grath brothers and head of the patrol.
He's a big name NPC, we haven't met him, he's got the two sons as party links (whom Joana made half orcs for ??) and killing the Head of security would be a great lead in before the Battle of Bloodmarch Hill, which, I've just realised, is not the name of this adventure.
Oh well, but yeah, still my guess. :-)

Well, this should make things even more interesting between Banny and Marikel :-)

I was close.

Alicia, the Grath men all live in the Longhouse, the brothers bunking in the barracks. Do you want to go into the barracks and look for his bunk/footlocker? (You certainly can, if you care to, but it will be hard to do so unobserved at this juncture.)

Yeah, that seems like something Ali would do.

I'll be home again tomorrow, so I'm going to hold off on making any further posts until then. Easier to keep up with details when I'm not in a hotel room with three other people and a running TV.

dien has asked about rebuilding Banny a bit. Since Unchained came out since char-gen and we haven't had any combat yet, if anyone wants to tinker with their PC, now's the time to do it.

Ansha, I don't know if you've looked at Unchained, but my impression is that the Unchained rogue is pretty much a straight upgrade over Core: You get Weapon Finesse for free, for example, which would free up a feat/rogue talent. The Unchained monk seems to have more trade-offs, vis-a-vis Core.

Not only do you get Weapon Finesse for free as an unchained rogue, but at 3rd level, you also get dexterity to damage. Biiiiiig boost for any dex-based rogue.

(So of course, all of the current rogues I'm playing are STR based....)

I'll have to look into it. Haven't looked at Unchained hardly at all, but anything that boosts a rogue is a good thing.

It's all good changes for the rogue.

Unchained monk is an improvement over straight monk, but not necessarily over an archetyped monk like Banny. I'll weigh my options, but I would definitely suggest you upgrade for the rogue.

Does the PFD20SRD ever explain "skill unlocks"? I didn't see it with the Unchained rogue.

It does, but it's not collated well in one convenient spot on d20pfsrd. I haven't looked yet on the regular PRD, it might be there.

Basically, if you go under any particular skill in the d20psrd, you'll see a bit down in there about skill unlocks, the exact benefits of which don't kick in until at least 5th level.

Optionally, a character who reaches 5, 10, 15, or 20 ranks in a skill unlocks various bonuses and abilities unique to that skill. The unchained rogue uses these rules extensively, but others can gain access to them with a new feat.

In this system, characters unlock additional abilities when they attain 5, 10, 15, and 20 ranks in a skill. The skill unlocks system interfaces with the unchained rogue to make the rogue the true master of skills.

Skill unlocks give characters new abilities and ways to use their skills upon reaching 5, 10, 15, and 20 ranks in a skill. Any character with the Signature Skill feat can earn skill unlocks for a single skill, and they are a prime feature of the revised version of the rogue who uses her rogue's edge ability to gain skill unlocks for several of her most iconic skills. Alternatively, you might make skill unlocks a universal part of the game, but you should be aware they add significant power and flexibility to skills, so giving them for free to all classes would grant power boosts to other highly skilled classes such as the investigator and bard, particularly in comparison to the rogue. Another alternative is to eliminate access to the Signature Skill feat, limiting skill unlocks to rogues and rogues alone.

So, essentially, at 5th level, you get the Signature Skill feat for free, and then whatever skill you have selected with that gets boosts depending on the particular skill, and you need to look at the individual skills in order to see what they would be. For Disable Device, for instance:

5 Ranks: Reduce the time required to disarm a trap or open a lock by taking a –5 penalty on your Disable Device check for each step by which you reduce the time required: 2d4 rounds, 1d4 rounds, 1 round, a standard action, a move action, a swift action.

[etc]

I'm happy with grumpy. :-)

What is the point of masterwork hide armor? For 65 gp less, you can get a chain shirt with identical stats and not be slowed.

Some of these stat blocks, I swear.... :P

Druids, I guess? I think they can't wear chain.

(Or if you otherwise don't want metal armor for some reason. A pre-Iron Age campaign? Or a primitive tribe? Or you don't want people with that +3 bonus to shocking grasp to get you? I DUNNO)

eta I've never understood why druids can use wooden shields but not metal ones. I mean, for a wooden shield to exist, a tree had to DIE. For a metal shield to exist, some ore had to be processed...? One seems like a more explicit violation of the whole 'oooh, I'm one with nature'. IDK, I guess you can argue that ore has just as much a connection with nature as trees do, but it still strikes me as ironic that a druid can walk around with a tree-corpse on her arm, but NO NO CAN'T DO IT WITH METAL

Point.

I guess also a good pre-emptive defense against heat metal. Whatever. I don't think I've ever seen a PC actually choose to wear hide armor.

(I have to admit to buying padded once. I was low on starting gold and decided masterwork thieves' tools were more important than AC for a Dexy little rogue.)

Re your edit: Perhaps the tree died of natural causes? :)

I think the only PCs I've ever seen with hide were people who were new to the game and didn't really understand the armor rules. Unless you have a strong thematic reason to go with it, a class restriction such as druid, or some really cool material (dragonhide!!) then yeah, I agree that hide is pretty subpar as an armor choice when compared to other things of the same price range.

HEY DON'T BRING YOUR LOGIC INTO THIS TREE DISCUSSION

... ore has just as much a connection with nature as trees do, but it still strikes me as ironic ...

Hahaha... :-)

Anyway +4 armour for 15gp is a steal, especially at 1st level.
Once you have that 100gp to throw around, sure chain shirt is way better. But most peasants that get 100gp are just as happy to retire.

Back in the days of 2nd Ed, I rolled an 18/70ish for strength and had to have a greatsword to capitalise. With a low money roll, I could only afford hide armour, and lo, a barbarian was born. :-)

+4 armor for 165 gp is a more puzzling matter. It's like setting a cubic zirconium in platinum. :P

Up to you guys whether you adjourn to Ivory Hall, to Brinya's place, or somewhere else entirely.

Yeah, but any Masterwork armour that isn't the top of each tier is kinda redundant.

Marikel looks to Roderick.

"I believe Kerst was to be laid out in the Ivory Hall?" Marikel asks, louder, so his voice easily carries to the Patrol members.

Marikel was intending to get rid of the body and most of the patrol people to Ivory Hall. He's happy to follow Brinya to her place.

I generally go leather -> masterwork studded leather -> mithral shirt. But I hate ACP and/or being slowed.

Marikel is going to share all of the information he learned about the body but is obviously focusing on the injuries with his high heal skill. I'll try and mention everything in character, but feel free to prod or ask leading quiestions.
Other things of note, he will mention, but probably won't pick up on their meaning immediately, though with a high Wisdom I'm prepared to introduce it if no one else wants.
For instance, the bow cut cleanly in two, not broken or snapped. How? Probably not in a fight. Is it Kerst's even?
His sword in scabbard suggests an unexpected attack- either someone he trusted got behind him, or maybe kept him distracted while someone else got behind him. Unless his sword was out but was put back in it's sheath, in which case there may be more clues on the blade.
Scratches on arms and torso- I think they're drag marks like Marikel said, but I'm open to other suggestions. We might want to see if we can find where he might have been dragged from. I think there's only like two places outside the town.
Back of head smashed seems pretty standard, though Joana does mention both base of his neck and crushed skull. My own anatomy isn't great, but isn't there like a bit of distance between those points? Or is base of his neck the top of the neck where it meets the skull? How big is this wound?
My theory for the person falling from the cliff is that it was a silent image, but that suggestion won't come from Marikel who has no magic skills.
I'm open to anyone and everyone else's suggestions too, though we probably have a lot of NPC's to chat to before we find the truth. Sara Morninghawk gets a couple of mentions. :-)

Joana - just how far is the fall the body took again?

Um... pretty darn far?

I can't actually find a reference on how tall the cliff at Bloodmarch Hill is intended to be. The plateau where the Longhouse is built is said to be 40 feet "above the rest of the hill"; seems like it would be more useful to tell us how far above the ground it is. Maybe 50 feet or so? Means a 4th-level fighter can just hop down without any fear of death, I suppose, but that's the falling rules for you.

I think there's only like two places outside the town.

And heaven forfend anything happen somewhere without a map reference! ;D

Back of head smashed seems pretty standard, though Joana does mention both base of his neck and crushed skull. My own anatomy isn't great, but isn't there like a bit of distance between those points? Or is base of his neck the top of the neck where it meets the skull? How big is this wound?

Probably a poor explanation on my part; Marikel's the one with the high Heal bonus and should be clear. Intention is a single blow to the back of the neck/base of the skull by a decent-sized blunt object; there's both bruising and punctured/torn skin in the area. Could well have been caused by falling hard on a sharp rock; could also have been caused by other means.

we probably have a lot of NPC's to chat to before we find the truth. Sara Morninghawk gets a couple of mentions. :-)

Hey, if you guys want to be brilliant detectives and solve the puzzle without questioning NPCs, you're free to do so. NPCs are there to give you a push in the right direction if you need it. :)

Beh, busy few days. *drags self back in*

You're good. It's been the weekend.