The Carrion Crown (E7 goodness with House Rules frosting)

Game Master Helaman

I'd rather the sunrods go to someone without darkvision, but the rest looks good.

Note to all - if you go to item then loot then the google sheet, if you look under 'notes' you'll see links taking you to the post that tells you what the item does.

Rather impressed myself with that little touch.

If you haven't availed yourselves of the Obsidian Portal site as yet I can't recommend it enough. I think its worthy of 5-10min a week of your time to keep current with the game and the clues etc

Sunrods are to sell for the bow unless you've got it covered. Everyone else can cast light though I see that Simeon hasn't taken it. Maybe he can take one.

Well considering the total value of the sunrods when sold is 3 GP, that's hardly enough for a bow. I have 58 gold left over from character creation, meaning I need 17 more to afford the bow (if I want to spend every last cent on it, which I don't). It's gonna have to wait until we get some more loot.

Shortbow is 30gp.

Huh, I was thinking sun rods were worth more than 2gp... I still don't think we'll use them, but whatever.

I'm proposing we use the 50gp from the loot to buy the bow. I wouldn't look the silver arrow gift horse in the mouth. Also maybe we want to get more alch fire. I've got 1 vial.

Shortbows are.....meh. Not gonna waste my money on something that only does a d6 damage when I could use those arrows as d8s. If people want to use some of the party cash to help me buy a longbow, awesome!

Edit:Even with a longbow, I don't have precise shot. So it would require all you guys to hang back for me to effectively use anyway. I'm also the only full BAB character in the group so my powers should probably be put to us in melee.

Better that than nothing when the answer to 'who ya gonna call' is you. :)

But thats your call.

Hoping to see a post from Lament and Elidal and Simeon.

I'm currently at work and phone posting; Roll20 doesn't work on my phone but I'll try and be descriptive when I make my next post.

You're about 8 squares away from the action but not in a straight line. You can double move up and draw your weapon on the way if you want.

Not sure if this encounter came across creepy enough. I wanted it creepy... you know, that moment when you KNOW that something bad is gonna happen and then something DOES jump out.

I originally wanted a slightly different feel for it. Again I think I should have been more descriptive and did multiple posts for cut aways. Opportunity lost - will try harder next time.

On the upside, this is one of those moments I've thrown in there to help you win over some of the towns people as well as emotionally scar them... and that can only help them react to future events rationally, right?

It works for me; makes me think of both Pet Sematary and Cujo actually.

Work has been crazy this week. Sorry for the light posting. Things should calm down after today.

Whoa, didn't see that coming. Nice. Actually I think it was better not to have a lot of mood setting. More shock value with the suddenness.

Who all is there?

Just Simeon and Elidal are there.

You are investigating the bloody E Lament

Healing.

If Simeon is stablised and then healed with the heal skill, time etc. He'll have scars.

If he gets some minor healing (2-3 pts) and stabilised but healed naturally he'll have some marks that will fade over the years, maybe even months or a few weeks. They'll be there but slight depending on the amount of damage healed naturally.

If he is completely healed via magic? It will be like it never happened.

Well darn, Elidal doesn't have a sword or any slashing weapons...

Except for her claws.

Which puts her in an interesting predicament.

I didnt notice that. I thought longswords were standard kit for Iomadaens... but YAY on the conundrum. I like those.

This encounter, IN SPITE, of my hamfistedness seems to have played out nicely.

This hasn't been very fun for the PCs, but the on the flip side, if Simeon hadn't overheard the kids talking then I guess Old River would've likely eaten one of them or one of the villagers at some point during the day...

Fun for the players is mandatory. If its not fun for any one let me know and I'll do what I can though I hope that everyone signed up for what I am serving. Horror (or the best facsimile I can put out there of it).

Fun for the characters?

This. Is. Ustalavvvvvvvv.

Its a land wrapped in memories of being at the mercy of undead rulers where its people were little more than cattle, whose borders has been attacked by orcish and Kellid raiders, and whose nobility is without vision or drive except their own selfish needs.

Fun isn't likely to happen for the characters.

On the plus side? Its not the mist covered lands of Ravenloft and so there is not that overall malevolence... or... is there?

Who's at the posting pole? I thought we were at the monument..
Not sure if that's our entrance.

Btw I'm sure Simeon difn't enjoy it, but that was fun to read. : )

At the monument now but By the time the townsfolk reach you, you'll be at the pole

Yeah, I meant it hasn't been fun for the characters; as a player I'm having a great time. If the characters wanted to have a good time, they'd have been better off going to Varisia or some such. Maybe Sandpoint still has a vacancy for adventurers? ;)

*cue chorus of groans and eyerolls*

At the monument now but By the time the townsfolk reach you, you'll be at the pole

so you'll give us a prompt? also, i'm not seeing a legend on the Ravensgro map.

https://helaman-s-play-by-post-carrion-crown.obsidianportal.com/wikis/map-w ith-legend

Take the space out of that link

Scroll down. Legend data is under the map

You are at the B near M2 when the villagers catch you.

Waiting to see what lament and you do investigation wise while Night eyes does the tracking etc.

There's a way to do URLs. Check the formatting box under the submit post button. It's [url=blahblah then}the text you want to display[/url]

Replace the } with a ]

Yep. Just didn't do it this time.

bah, forgot that I had rebuke death. Would have been better to save the spell.
So from my understanding, Simeon was only at 1 injury so that is now healed and he will recover the rest of his strain points naturally in about 10 minutes.

Nope. It was a crit that put him there.

Crit = 10 injury
Bleeding from stnd action while at 0hp = 1 injury (because damage that puts him below 0hps)

Your healing = 3 hps/injury (healing returns both).

Simeon is at 2 hps/injury against his 10 total until healed. Until healed it's assumed his max hps is 2.

Resting will not help him recover more only magic or the heal skill will.

As Simeon is under 75% of his total? He counts as exhausted and is -3 to ALL rolls.

This is where injuries become nasty. You'll chew less resources but when injured? You REALLY need to use resources.

I am happy for you to retro you have rebuked death this time for a 3hp result.

I allowed a half a day nearly for you to post before moving thing to its current scene. If there is something you want to do now or in the confusion before let me know.

Oops. Forgot it was Memorial Day weekend. Apologies.

Elidal is spitballing it a bit in terms of what the rest of the party's exact motivations and histories are, but she's assuming that since they're still here that they have a vested interest in stopping this evil for one reason or another. Nighteyes is the only other person that she might peg as being "damaged" in some way; everyone else has either seemed fairly normal (Jaru) or just eccentric (Simeon, Lament).

I opted for a diplomacy roll instead of intimidate since we've got the whole dingdang town here and because she's attempting a call to (some degree) of reason. If it were a smaller group or just Gibbs and his cronies then she probably would've lost her temper again and an intimidate roll would have been in order...

Good speech! I'll throw a bonus in that too. Let's see what the others do and say. I've also PM'ed Nighteyes - he's gotten high tracking rolls and there are some possibilities ahead.

I am happy for you to retro you have rebuked death this time for a 3hp result.

cool. I was spacing on the crit double dip. if it's alright, I'll just add that clw roll onto my rebuke death roll as Simeon is going to need a fair bit of healing.

if allowed- rebuke: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

blah. and this is going to take a while evidently.

K, so I've got Simeon down as having 5 hp/5 injury. Did I get that right?

Just re-read your earlier post, I think he should be at 4/(4).

Yeah: 4/4 but you are now between 50% and 75% hps - that makes you fatigued and only -1 to all rolls.

Allowing more posting time due to holiday but you guys will be successful. The initial 20 was enough but you are into 'extra credit'.

Update. The intimidate works. I'll incorporate that in but intimidate has long term effects... Which probably doesn't really concern Nighteyes all that much.

Saw your PM, but no real reply. You worry too much, bro. I'm chill.

I opted for a diplomacy roll instead of intimidate since we've got the whole dingdang town here and because she's attempting a call to (some degree) of reason. If it were a smaller group or just Gibbs and his cronies then she probably would've lost her temper again and an intimidate roll would have been in order...

I was going to mention that folks constantly misuse intimidate. First, it can only be used on an (meaning one) opponent and if it is used to persuade, the opponent becomes unfriendly once the effects expire.

The only mass use is the following from the urban settings section:

Directing Crowds: It takes a DC 15 Diplomacy check or DC 20 Intimidate check to convince a crowd to move in a particular direction, and the crowd must be able to hear or see the character making the attempt. It takes a full-round action to make the Diplomacy check, but only a free action to make the Intimidate check.

It does seem to me that that DC is more for Indifferent crowds. Unfriendly or worse likely need a bit more IMO.

Good point. I hadnt read up on the crowd thing. I'll think on it but I was planning to use the effect as an aid another.

The crowd by and large is positive. Kids have just been saved.

I mean...the speech doesn't even necessarily need a skill role. I just want to deter any of them who might actually be thinking of attacking us. I.e. Gibbs.

I'm not trying to give them all the shaken condition or force them do anything. But there is no skill for what I'm trying to do necessarily. I threw the roll out there, because a lot of (most) DMs don't follow RAW for the two "social" skills. Also, you see in modules written by Paizo all the time where they call for an intimidate or diplomacy check to do something outside the normal purview of those two skills.

Mostly, Baradlon's just not diplomatic. -shrug-

Yeah. I hear you, that's why I was planning to use it as an aid another but with some long term fall out.

Ok guys, posting has been sporatic due to the holidays but I'll need you guys to drive this for a bit - I don't know what you want to do to handle the 'power brokers' such as they are that are with you now, what research you wish to attempt etc

I know that you want to do the names but where? Another crack at the town records via special request? Back to the Pharasism records? There was also the possibility of to research haunts raised to understand them better. Poor old Simeon hasn't really gotten much quality time on the Professors library either.

Not sure what other lines of inquiry you may be thinking of as well. I have Nighteyes attempting find the culprit via tracking.

There may or may not be things you want to do or places you want to visit either.

Jaru kinda covered a relatively obvious point with his last gameplay post, which was that at this point we'd have to more-or-less come clean with the town bigwigs about what we know and what we think is happening.

It sounds like our research topics are:

(1) Harrowstone
(2) The people who died in the fire (prisoners and guards alike)
(3) Haunts and hauntings

Plus other potential topics such as trying to find more information on the Whispering Way, for example. We've also got those books that belonged to the Professor but I'm not sure how relevant they might be to what's happening with the town. I don't think we ever figured out how to open that fourth book with the fancy lock on it, either.

Current options (that I can think of):

(1) Tracking (Nighteyes is on top of this one)
(2) Church records
(3) Town records
(4) Maybe try another crack at speaking with the blacksmith?
(5) The Professor's library

Another distant option would be to start asking locals if they've been seeing or hearing anything strange at night; this could lead to something useful but it might also give a lot of false leads since these people are rather jumpy. Not to mention I'm sure the large majority of them have been going in and staying in once the sun goes down.

That list is what I was thinking as well. I might add using the planchette to question the stirge victims about where the WW (whispering way) is hiding. Also, wasn't the Silk Purse mentioned as another lead?

The planchette only works with disquieted spirits - it's not a speak with dead unless you can commune with a haunt.

Silk purse is Gibbs sometime place of employment. There are some tough looking mercs who wear the uniform that Gibbs was wearing too.

ohhh, check. Then maybe the haunts at the graves then?

Good list Elidal!
Simeon want at those town records, but also the library, plus he want a look at all of the 'dangerous' books....sigh, not enought hours in the day!

Lament and Jaru
Simeon and vigilance
Nighteyes tracking.
Elidal?