The Faceless GM's Irrisen: The Realm of Winter Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master kamenhero25

I more sense a failed prisoner exchange. :p

Yeah, I too believe evil fey couldn't care less about exchanging a valuable prisoner and member of the nobility for one of their number (if that's what you meant, Inire). I'd be all for capturing it only for the information it can provide, namely how did they come here from Irrisen, what's their long term plan (assuming it's been made privy to it), who created the zombies (assuming it was part of the attack) etc. etc.

What to do with it then? Well, the first one to open the backpack is going to get Colour Spray'd almost immediately, so there's that to consider. Even then, we can't let it go or it would alert its masters of our presence (on that note, get ready to blast Sprite 2 with Alchemist's Fire if it tries to flee). We might just carry it around, though I have reason to believe it'd be the most annoying mascot ever. No more stealth for us, for starters.

I played a paladin in a Kingmaker campaign and almost immediately I had to beg the party's wizard (OOC of course) to stop using Colour Spray against our foes (one of the best 1st level spells, at least at low levels!) just for the massive headaches it was causing every time we had to decide what to do with unconscious prisoners (for the record, the net result was turning Oleg's Trading Post into a correctional facility).

Very interesting train of thought... :)

Color Spray is absurdly useful at low levels. I've always been surprised that it's so damn good for a 1st level spell. And you still get at least 1 round of stun with it at any level as long as your target fails their save.

Well, the only thing we could do with an evil fey prisoner is to hand her to a good fey... but unless anyone knows a friendly neighbourhood nymph it's gonna be tricky.

I have no idea how to deal with their spell like ability. A portable fey prison made of cold iron might help... but we have none.

Even removing it from an arctic environment (because, say, we'll probably want to go back to Heldren for supplies sooner or later, or to escort Lady Argentea back should we manage to save her) might spell its death – or at least terrible discomfort. Just another thing which came to mind.

On that note... a cold iron bird cage could be a neat thing to carry around to use as a threat. :p

Small chance to find one around here... unless we roll a very high Diplo check with Yuln (you know your ancestral weapon passed down from father to son from the times etc. etc.... it's now... uhm... a mighty ancestral bird cage +1. It served us with honour! *tear).

Tiferet counts no nymph in her social clique either (an unforgivable social faux pas, I know).

So... are we putting the grapple thing on hold until we have a clearer idea of how to deal with it? Eve, as the one who originally thought of it: what's your plan? ;)

(Sorry if I derailed a decision which seemed already taken, but Nathara's post suddenly reminded me of all my terrible experiences with prisoners and interrogations in DnD. The worst thing was that usually APs tend to have the handing out of information hard-coded into their structure, so we often ended up putting lot of effort to know things that we would have discovered anyway had we just progressed into the campaign).

Someone poke Eirikr until he wakes back up again, please

I'd love to... but being unconscious, rather than asleep, I'm afraid there's nothing to be done save waiting for the spell to run its course.

Another reason for solving this conundrum. The sooner combat ends, the better. I'll wait until tonight (GMT+1) and then I'll post Tiferet's actions (spoilered unless Morgraine has acted in the meantime, of course).

Stick him in the backpack shake until we get answers

This part we're on the same line. The problem is... and then?

Eve wouldn't have any moral problems killing him as far as she's concerned he's a kidnapping murderer

Bring him back to Heldren where he can be a tiny prisoner. We can build him a tiny prison and everything.

Alternatively, the good characters can turn around and close their eyes while the neutral characters handle him.

The moral high ground falls apart when it's 'kill them now' rather than 'kill them after we get information from them'. :P

D&D morality leads to some weird places

This discussion is exactly what I wanted to avoid.

The point is that killing it in combat presents no moral conundrum, out of combat... Tiferet and presumably other Good characters would probably have reservations. OOC it's the same thing (but as a player, I don't really care), IC it might be problematic.

All for information which sooner or later we'd probably get anyway (all this from a strictly OOC perspective, obviously).

You started it! :o

I don't want to kill fey. The first was already one too much. :(

PS: Well, technically I started it.

Option Three: We adopt the fey as our mascot. I'll take Craft: Sewing as a skill next level and start making him tiny outfits

It would have been unavoidable once we'd reached the point of what to do with it. I'm trying to prevent it from really taking place.

We just have to offer it a biscuit with a bit of our blood, and some honeyed milk, and he'll be our buddy in no time.

Eve can't fight but bluff is a lot of fun.

It is. I'm still not home, but have spotty net atm. I'm content to watch. :)

That was brilliant, Evelynn

Evelyn is an excellent liar and this guy isn't very bright. I'm rather happy with this actually. Now I can drop some foreshadowing.

My question is... how worldly is Evelyn, and how much is her just putting on a show of not being impressed? :P

Also... it's good to be home. I'm tempted to stop carpooling for RP, because I wind up trapped by other people's whims ;~;.

I would like to go back as well. Nathara has used both her level 1 spells and to be out of further healing is no good.

Unfortunately our enemies will eventually find the dead fey and the tatzlwyrm and be forewarned... And it may prove difficult to hide the signs of the battle.

Yes, our resources are mostly spent by now. Surely we're in no shape to attack a fully-defended lodge. We can still make camp here, however, unless there's some shopping we want to do.

As for hiding the signs of battle... they might get suspicious when they don't hear back from the fey (however, it looks they were busy hunting crows and playing with their pet rather than being on reconnaissance duty), but concealing two diminutive creatures among plenty of freshly-fallen snow should prove quite easy. Less so with the tatzlwyrm, but if we drop it under a pile of snow a hundred feet away from the gully, chances are it won't be found any time soon. As far as stealth and infiltration are concerned, snow is our best ally.

I'm fine with setting up camp and resting

Does nath translate the pixie? If so eve has an idea

She would like to. But she does not want the fey to know, and you're carrying him in your bag.

She left the bag with ashen away from the group so they could talk without him hearing

EDIT: ninja'd by Evelyn

Eve would try to tie her bag shut and place it near Ashen. "If he tries to get out take care of him." She wasn't sure he understood but trusted Eirikr to translate if not, once he was secure she'd move so the sprite couldn't hear she'd talk to her allies.

:)

I should probably remind you that unless you have a lot of tents and blankets, you're either going to have to backtrack out of the snow covered areas or sleep in snow that's several inches deep.

Sleep in the woods, Eirikr can use Ashen as a blanket.

Can I use Survival to clear an area for a campsite?

I was thinking that if we found a ravine or an uprooted tree we might try to clear it of snow and improvise a shelter with branches, fern, twigs... things like that. Might be tricky to make it in such a way that it does not catch fire, but it should be possible with some stones. It would take some time to build it and hide it, but it should be possible.

Ideally we would find a cave, of course, but that would be quite a coincidence.

The question is how long it would take to get out of the snow covered area. Either way: if we don't go back to the village we will need a fire. It's still very cold outside the snow covered area.

You can use Survival to find somewhere that you can camp reasonably comfortably.

To clarify, Tifert's performing her celestial obedience. I intend her to take the appropriate feat at 3rd level, this is just a bit of foreshadowing.

Tolc's Obedience: Kneel naked outdoors at night while dipping your hands in two bowls of tepid water. Slowly raise your hands above your head and hold them there until the water from both bowls has evaporated.

Fine by me. Very cool in any case.

In order for everyone to get 4 hours of sleep with paired watches, we'll need to be here for twelve hours with three 4 hours sets, yeah? Does anyone have any super powers that help them not sleep as much? :)

Just to be clear we agreed to tie the pixie up and leave him somewhere? so Does eve have her pack back?

In order for everyone to get 4 hours of sleep with paired watches, we'll need to be here for twelve hours with three 4 hours sets, yeah? Does anyone have any super powers that help them not sleep as much? :)

By RAW, fatigue is eliminated after an 8-hour rest, but it doesn't specify if that requires uninterrupted sleep or simply a mixture of it and other non-strenuous activities (defined as everything which wouldn't make a disabled character lose HPs).

IME, I think the usual procedure for the standard 4 player party has traditionally been to camp out for 8 hours divided into four 2-hour watches, so that everyone spends 6 hours sleeping and 2 hours standing guard. Non-spontaneous casters would also use that time to prepare spells.

In our specific case? What about a 9-hour stop-over with three 3-hour shifts? Even then, adventuring days are usually capped by how quickly resources are expended rather than by hours of daylight available, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue ;)

Just to be clear we agreed to tie the pixie up and leave him somewhere? so Does eve have her pack back?

I believe we do. I was waiting for the GM to tell us if that entails some particular rolls, but in the meantime I think you can safely assume you've got your backpack back.

I'd probably solve that particular issue before setting up camp, so that his Colour Spray has not yet recharged.

Mouse is ready for bed when others are. :)

I believe we do. I was waiting for the GM to tell us if that entails some particular rolls, but in the meantime I think you can safely assume you've got your backpack back.

I'd probably solve that particular issue before setting up camp, so that his Colour Spray has not yet recharged.

Sorry, I have morning classes. Anyway, it's an Escape Artist check to tie him up.

And same as always, once three people tell me they're turning in for the night, I'll move on to the next day.

Oh, Nathara is done for tonight.

Same. Has someone by any chance ranks in Escape Artist? Or is it a check against Binder's CMB + 20 for him to escape it? In both cases, I'm not too confident about our chances to restrain him for long.

May I dig a hole in the ground and cover it with a stone, leaving some food and water and making sure it is properly aerated? That way he'd have to dig its way out, presumably taking a bit longer.

Or... we can leave him in the backpack. Tiferet would buy Eve a new one afterwards and offer to carry her things in her own sack in the meanwhile.

EDIT: by the way, how are handling rations and such? Are we supposed to keep count of them (if so, I'll scratch one from my inventory) or are we just going to gloss over it? (I prefer the first option for realism's sake, but both are fine, really)

EDIT^2: by all means, don't stall the game just so that we can work around this problem. We'll figure something in the meantime (hopefully something which doesn't involve him fleeing and alerting every fey in the Border Wood of our presence. How I'd like having access to Geas/Quest now *sighs).

Eve's ready to move on whenever just let me know if I need to ditch my bag or not

Well, I guess there are some fey native to the border would who do not look to fondly on this sudden winter.

Keeping him prisoner might be the wisest choice. A creative plan might be a prison of ice that will melt in the sun light... I doubt that will work, but it has something. :D