The Dissidents of Westcrown - A CoT PBP Adventure (Inactive)

Game Master Darkmeer

I did (was researching).

Leeka:

Sounds good. Would defeaning be possible with something like a sling (leaving a ringing in one's ears)?

That sounds more feasable, I'll run with it. For a stranger idea, raw meat could also work (think "boxing" someone's ears).

Dario - Level 3
Class: Ranger (Freebooter, Trapper) GM, let me know if you're not ok with this combo. It's sort of another take on an Urban Ranger/Bandit Leader in my opinion.

HP: 6+1 = 7
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2

Feat: Dervish Dance

Skills: Perform (Dance), Linguistics, Perception, Slight of Hand, Know (Engineering), Know (Nature), Know (Nobility), Stealth, Handle Animal

Class Abilities:
Freebooter's Bane (+1): Move Action to grant all allies within 30' +1 to hit and damage against a single enemy.
Track: +1 to Survival for tracking.
Trapfinding: +1 to Perception vs. traps and to Disable Device. can disarm magical traps.
Wild Empathy (+3): Diplomacy check vs. animals

Dario now has class skills in everything except Fly (though he's certainly not trained in everything).

Gm, Dario has a free language slot now. Any recommendations? He already knows Infernal, Elven, and Varasian. Abyssal?

Dario wants the Assisting Glove. He wouldn't mind a MW shortsword as a backup weapon, but he wants a MW or magical scimitar now that he has his Dervish Dance feat. He can wear the breastplate now, but would prefer a MW or magical chain shirt. Ring of Protection and Ioun Stone wouldn't be bad either.

Dario: I reread the entry on both the Freebooter and Trapper. Neither overlap, so you should be good. For languages, Abyssal would be fine (if illegal), as would Taldan or Draconic, depending on magic items you find.

And each assisting glove is an individual item, so you're in good shape, since there are two.

All: Once everyone has posted what they wish to keep, I'll list it all as a final listing (likely Monday night, or Tuesday evening if not everyone has posted by then).

Colgrim will like the dwarf axe of course

Leeka with the cloak and ring could be awesome. So she can dart in and out of battle and punch people in the jimmies.

Isn't Taldane the same as Common? Dario will take Abyssal.

I always forget that about Golarion... Grumble...

Also, from Stanley's list in the prior page:

Keep:
60pp 500 GP 750 sp and 1000 cp
Jeweled Shortsword (150 GP)
Lots of small gemstones, including a few pearls

Returned to the rightful owners?:
Many pieces of jewelry, some of which likely belongs to some poorer merchant families as heirlooms, given the list above.

I think just about eveyone could use/benefit from the ring of Protection or the Ioun stone.

This brings up the question of how we want to do splits? Do we shore up weaknesses (Ioun stone goes to lowest AC), enhance roles, (Ioun stone goes to one of the front-liners), or even split (eveyone has a buyout from a party amount)?

Also, is Iolana still with us, haven't heard her chime in since the battle ended?

I PM'd Iolana this morning, hoping to hear from her by tomorrow evening.

Splits should be discussed, and there is plenty of gear here for all of you to share. You also have a the Dusk Market you could use to fence/trade for other items in a week or two.

Even splits of money sounds okay.

I am a great believer in gear going to whomever can make use of it, and whatever remains being sold, and the proceeds split between party members - we are a team that is supposed to be working together, so as long as the loot stays in-party, it doesn't matter who has it.

(Also, just to prove that I don't have ulterior motives in making the suggestion above, let me state now that I am not really planning on laying claim to anything from the hoard.).

How to split money isn't really the question, there's no demand for a specific coin, as much as equal shares. As far as selling what no one wants, see my comment when I posted gear about AP's giving what will come in handy.

I understand the general PF idea of 'sell anything not immediately useful and buy even better big 6 gear' but it always feels disingenuous to me. The idea that everyone somehow has all the spellcraft and knowledge arcana needed to know exactly what magic items exist out there, and what they need for their future career path is a particular thorn in my craw.

[old man]Back in my day, we were happy with any magic treasure we found, and may have even developed our characters around it. The kids these days, with their selling of magic items at half price to buy specific ones is like throwing money down the drain.[/old man]

The only problem with the laissez faire idea of 'gear goes to whomever can use it' is that it still doesn't answer the question of what to do when multiple people can use the same piece. Where does the priority lie, shoring weaknesses or enhancing set roles?

I'm not trying to be difficult, but this is a question that is best answered early on, so there isn't conflict later when a particularly nice piece is usable/wanted by many.

I suggest the magic morning star and breastplate going to Iolana.

I'm also a believer in getting items into the right people's hands even if it means we have some decked out melee folks or magic types with world-changing wands/scrolls. Either way increases the survivability of the group.

Now for items multiple people can use or for things which don't seem to have anyone interested, I think we should look at enhancing our strengths over shoring up weaknesses. PF/D&D tends to favor offense over defense and specialization over generalization, so giving that ring of protection to a fighter or secondary melee-type to avoid a single hit, is generally way better than boosting the wizard's AC from 12 to 13, which will still get them hit. That doesn't mean stack every bonus on our main melee person, but it means giving the Cloak of Elvenkind to our stealthier members rather than the clanking fighter.

Now if we have a wealth of options, then we can look at covering our weaknesses more. But for now, let's look at getting people good at what they do.

Okay, Colgrim and Dario, these are both opinions I can stand behind. I really am not preferential to either way. I was just looking for a little more input on the subject.

So updated we have:

Armor:
+1 Breastplate *Iolana*
Masterwork Studded Leather Armor x2
Studded Leather Armor x 7
Masterwork Breastplate *Dario*
Lightweight, heavy, wooden shield (much lighter than expected) x2

Weapons:
+1 Morningstar *Iolana*
Masterwork Daggers x2
Light Mace x 4
Rapier x3
Masterwork Shortsword x3 *Dario x1*
Light Crossbow x8
Masterwork Rapier
+1 Dwarven Waraxe *Colgrim*

Wondrous Items:
Cauldron of Brewing
Ring of Protection +1 *Dario*
Ring of Sustenance
Ring of Jumping *Leeka*
Immovable Rod
Rod of Lesser metamagic: Silent
Dusty Rose Prism Ioun stone +1 AC
Pipes of Sounding
Cloak of Elvenkind *Leeka*

Consumables:
Assisting Gloves x2 *Dario x1*
Potion (Disguise Self)
Wand (Cure Light Wounds 19 charges) *Stanley*
Potions (Cure Light Wounds) x2
Tanglefoot Bag
153 bolts
Scrolls of Cure Light Wounds x4 *Stanley x4*
Scrolls of Invisibility
Scroll of Cure Moderate Wounds *Stanley*
Scroll of Inflict Moderate Wounds *Stanley*
Scroll of Fireball

Other
Unholy symbol
Treasure chest Key
50 wooden coins bearing a hellish Symbol (requires Religion check)
Masterwork scroll case (room for twenty scrolls) *Stanley*
Jeweled Shortsword (150 GP)
Lots of small gemstones, including a few pearls
60 pp
1140 GP
825 sp
1390 cp

Returned to the rightful owners:
Many pieces of jewelry, some of which likely belongs to some poorer merchant families as heirlooms, given the list above.

Please, continue to grab and take what you will from the pile (though some people may need some things pushed upon them, if we think we should hold them). Byron, at least upgrade your armor and grab the Ioun stone.

I think the Sustenance should go to whoever would be best on pulling watch if needed (Perception and such), that way they can do it more often.

Colgrim will take a MW dagger in case he gets swallowed by something.(That should be an item, a dagger that gets more bonuses if you get swallowed.)

So Dario can use the MW Breastplate, now that he has a level of Ranger. However, he cannot cast his Bard spells without the normal arcane spell failure like he can in light armor. If we're going full bore-melee like the last combat, then he would gladly strap the breastplate on, but under normal circumstances, he'd rather MW chain shirt. Perhaps the MW Breastplate should go to Colgrim.

Now if you get Dario a Mithril Breastplate, then the game is on.

I can only use light armor, and with my sub-par AC, we shouldn't bother putting a 5000gp Ioun Stone on me - better it go to someone with a half-way decent AC.

Actually, adding to Byron's survivability (and less needed healing), the Ioun stone makes sense.

Mithril could happen. Just not at level 3, Dario.

(as a note, the two Wooden Shields are Darkwood).

Yes, but if we sold it (2500gp), we could effectively give a front-liner +1 Full Plate, which would contribute substantially more to party survivability.

If they are already harder to hit, and have higher hp, they already don't drain a lot of resources. Nor is their effectiveness reduced/removed by risk of being dropped quickly.

You have great damage potential, but with your low AC and lower HP, it is quicker and easier to remove your potential from the fight. Which reduces the groups capacity to end the fight faster, which drains more resources. I would rather keep you up and in the fight longer than make the already hard to hit guys a little harder to hit.

Hi all! Still here. Sorry, weekend got crazy. And whoo! Lots of posts! :P

Iolana will definitely take the morningstar--ideal--and would happily take the breastplate, but I don't want to get greedy. It'd be a 2-point boost to her AC, putting her at 19/10/19 with her shield out, which is pretty dang high. So maybe it would help more to put it on someone a bit more fragile.

On the subject of shields, I use a heavy shield and will happily take one of those darkwood shields if no one else wants them. It's useful to be able to jump/climb whatever if needed.

For leveling up to third, Iolana's taken Alignment Channel, with the evil subtype. Figure that could come in handy if we meet any devils. ;)

Toughness might be good for Byron as a feat. Plus saving for mithril chain might be wise.

There. Problem solved with a level of Fighter. Can I trade-in that Ioun Stone + 150gp for +1 Full Plate?

Yup. Byron just got a whole lot scarier.

Leeka can now perform most of her dirty tricks at range. I hadn't intended to build her that way, but now I'm thinking some Precise Shot and Rapid Shot could make things very interesting...

Byron:
Sure, if you buy it from one of the "sanctioned" armorers for such things in Westcrown proper, it will have a wonderful Devilish look to it. You're welcome to go hunting for it in Westcrown once you fence the Ioun stone.

If you go the Dusk market route, the transaction is much simpler, pay and purchase.

Dario: I agree with your assessment.

Leeka: Yep. It's an interesting situation to be in for the group's foes.

There. Problem solved with a level of Fighter. Can I trade-in that Ioun Stone + 150gp for +1 Full Plate?

But doesn't gear not used by members belong to the party as a whole? Should not the profits of all sold items be split evenly amongst its members? This also begs the question, do items given to members become theirs to do with as they wish, or do all items found belong to the party, and are returned to the party to decide what to do with them once the user no longer has a use for it? Does the split of money need to reflect the gear others are using from the pile (e.g. a buyout method), or is coin split even regardless of loot being used?

These are just more of the questions that arise with splitting loot fairly.

Stanley is leveled
+5 HP (4 class, 1 FC)
Skills points, +1 ea to Diplomacy, Heal, Know Local, Know Religion, Sense Motive, and Spellcraft.
Spells added to familiar: Hold Person, False Life
Feat: Accursed Hex

Benevolent GM voice:

Overall, I am pro-buyout method (purchase at 1/2 cost as per selling items).

This doesn't work as well in AP's as it does in homebrew campaigns, especially early on, since one member or another would obtain a very valuable item (or even multiple items due to that adventure meaning more to that class type). I am trying to balance the treasure in the next adventure to help the less combat oriented.

My opinion as a GM and as a player, what matters is that every member of the party feel they have what they need to succeed.

Regarding the selling of goods: The profits should be spent evenly among the party members to be fair to all.

If the buyout method is chosen, I recommend a "party pool" of gold to be kept among members of the party. Each member places 1/6 of their treasure for expendables, such as wands, scrolls, and potions (things that will benefit the whole party). This is also where the buyout can do things, such as when a party member gets an expensive piece of equipment, they can "borrow" from the pool, repaying it in future treasure or additional gold from their portion of future treasures.

This balances everyone a little bit better, gives the party some additional funds for things the entire party needs (*cough* wands of cure light or moderate wounds, and potions of them as well, or a party buffing scroll or two). It could also go towards purchasing an apartment or a tenement within Westcrown, to give the party somewhere other than the temple of Aroden to meet.

The other way the buyout method succeeds is that the item remains the character's after purchase from the pool. Once that happens, there's no concern the other players should have.

Byron Radanavich wrote:

There. Problem solved with a level of Fighter. Can I trade-in that Ioun Stone + 150gp for +1 Full Plate?

But doesn't gear not used by members belong to the party as a whole? Should not the profits of all sold items be split evenly amongst its members? This also begs the question, do items given to members become theirs to do with as they wish, or do all items found belong to the party, and are returned to the party to decide what to do with them once the user no longer has a use for it? Does the split of money need to reflect the gear others are using from the pile (e.g. a buyout method), or is coin split even regardless of loot being used?

These are just more of the questions that arise with splitting loot fairly.

It was more a throw-away comment,then anything else - I just didn't want the 5000gp Ioun Stone, since I am of the opinion that selling it will benefit the party better.

(I am perfectly happy with selling it and splitting the proceeds.)

Can I just say, thank you to everyone for the great discussion? That was very intense, both as a character and a player, and I loved it. I learned a ton about Iolana from this, and I really enjoyed every minute. One of my favorite experiences I've had running an RPG character. :)

Pretty intense indeed.

Welcome Back Byron!

Now, onto the last scene:

I had debated heavily who Palaveen would choose between Colgrim and Iolana. Knowing that Iolana was a priestess of the Dawnflower sealed it for her, as the priesthood of Asmodeus hates Milani's priesthood (IIRC that faith is one that is banned in Cheliax).

Given how DARK that scene was, I was really concerned with how everyone would enjoy it, but you all played through it and did an AMAZING job!

I hope everyone enjoyed that scene as much as Iolana's player did.

Please let me know if that was too dark, dark enough, or fun to run through.

It did get a bit dark, but what made it amazing was how personal it was. I wasn't expecthing that. Kudos to everyone.

I enjoyed the scene greatly. I do not think it was too dark at all. In fact, GM, you know the site blocks most curse words. You could type out the expletive you were using for Iolana and it would get garbled.

Stanley doesn't think Iolana is a b~@@&, he just thinks she is an impetuous youth (he's an old soul).

Yep, the site blocked it for me.

Stanley now feels he needs to talk to her, but has no idea how to even start.

I'm recruiting a replacement for my Mummy's Mask campaign

the recruitment can be found HERE

Please feel free to apply.

Dark enough for me, but I really enjoyed it. I get that Stanley feels the need to talk, but she's likely to brood/sulk for a little bit now...we'll see how I manage to get her out of it.

Fascinating to see how uncomfortable she is with actually having power. A part of the "revolution" that she wasn't prepared for.

Stanley: I wish I had time to do another PbP. You're fun to game with.

I like Iolana's revolations. I need to look more at the clergy of Milani. Lots of depth there, nice work!

Pretty good rp.

Anyway, time for corpse display!

Yay corpse carts! Wait... you're not dead yet!

I had a bit of an interesting evening... in a good way for once. I will put a proper post up tomorrow. I have some ideas for the party's storyline goals as well as how we will move into the next adventure.

Hello to all my games:

Unfortunately, a substantial medical emergency developed in a member of my close family last night. I'm with my family now, and hopefully will be able to return early next week, but I won't have much time (or inclination, to be honest) to post until something develops. Please bot me as needed to keep things moving forward.

Thanks for your patience.

(Sorry this is coming in the midst of such great RP!)

Good luck, Iolana. I wish your family member well and an expedient recovery.

Uh-oh, Leeka! Looks like you lost your day-job. Run like the wind!

LOL Colgrim. With the above, I added Dario and Byron to the scene. We'll see how it plays out.

So when will the treasure be sold and split? I believe we took what items we are interested in and now are just waiting for the cash.

Unfortunately, running like the wind wouldn't occur to her...although she is starting to embrace a bit of personal freedom. She'll just kneel down and hope the man only beats her...

At this moment, she figures her time with the resistance is done, as Gug will take her back to Egorian.

Perhaps we can get a channel or two from Areal/Iolana to help our wounds?

We just need Stanley in here as well. :)