No problem BP, we can wait to slaughter some more villagers!
Assuming I crit that guy in two...
Drazan, I think you critted that guy in four! Greataxes, yikes!
My work issues probably aren't clearing up until tomorrow afternoon. I'll move us along then...
Alright, post incoming tonight, after dinner and the dog walk. Sorry for the delay!
Since we lost a couple of days to my work earlier in the week, I'm going to go ahead and move us forward tonight. I'll bot anyone that hasn't posted by then.
Let's doooo the tiiiime waaaarp agaaaaiinn
Tied up with tax stuff. No chance of posting tonight. Please bot as required.
Apologies.
No worries, Rigel, good luck with the tax stuff!
Apparently you can't grapple as an AoO in pathfinder, which one doesn't make sense to me and two ruins what I was about to do.
I know you want to move things along BP, but Istiel will immediately begin trying to track Fox Priest, at least to see which direction he went, unless someone lays him low.
Apchux as an animated object is probably one of the coolest bits of magic I've seen.
I know you want to move things along BP, but Istiel will immediately begin trying to track Fox Priest, at least to see which direction he went, unless someone lays him low.
Sounds good, Istiel.
You all are effectively out of combat, 600 xp earned each. I'll wait for the others to chime in with what they're doing, but feel free to roll a survival check.
Apchux as an animated object is probably one of the coolest bits of magic I've seen.
I agree, it is quite clever. Nicely done, Imix!
Thanks! I was surprised how well it all worked out. My initial thought had been faked-up-elementals, but faked-up-undead works surprisingly well.
Pretty tired from working all week so forgive my lack of using the search bar, but what xp track are we using/how much xp for the next level?
Also sorry for being lazy about the tracking, I can make a detailed post later, but again, tired, and not wanting to hold things up.
Gah, work is the worst! I went ahead and assumed Istiel would ignore or not hear Oios, 'cause she's kind of headstrong.
At the excise, there are currently five bowsentients alive, the child soldiers having finished some off, as have Hamfatten's people.
Poor Apchux, and Anton, Hamfatten's lieutenant, are dead. Everyone else is alive. Apchux is also dead somewhere else, having wandered off in pursuit of his bowman.
Imix's kids won't go near Drazan's lineup of defeated - they're rightly terrified of the Man From Fire Peaks.
That's where we stand now. If you want to hash out what you do next here or in the gameplay thread, feel free - either way works for me!
Heal up the survivors from the excise is first priority for Oios
Then interrogate a survivor. Preferably one of the civillian archers.
Then get the hell to Cornucopia.
Sorry I've been so unresponsive.
Also, this is completely OOC, but someone needs to take a look at the parchment Fox Priest ripped in two. Probably covered in mud by now!
FP took the parchment with him. Damn monks, carrying items and fighting at the same time...
I'll get a post up at lunch.
Makes sense to me!
So the mountain men were packing herbal CLW potions, interesting.
Also, man, really need deflect arrows.
So the mountain men were packing herbal CLW potions, interesting
It was really just flavor, but I like the idea, and like to reward players when they run with something. You can use herbalism, instead of spellcraft, to brew potions if you take the brew potion feat.
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Tastes like magic :)
Are we doing the cave flashback? I'm worried it would interfere with the narritive now, but at the same time I don't think Imix would want to walk away from a cave with a 'magic' axe.
I'm happy if Drazan just recounts his story and we assume the others looked there and found nothing (assuming there is nothing). Should be able to get the description from Drazan's spoilers.
Alternatively, I guess we could plan to run to Cornucopia and then run back.
Drazan accounted everything already in his lackadaisical strange way already, but he is willing to show everyone the crypt cairn so they can all cram down into its depths and look at the pictures on the walls.
Drazan didn't miss anything though there were perhaps some information to be gleaned from skill checks and the like. You all can always hit the crypt on the way back from Cornucopia as well.
EDIT:I assume that you'll be taking the defeated with you to cornucopia? Of course they'd like to be freed but aren't in any position to change their fates.
I've got a bit of work to do on this next part of the game - I'll have something up tonight or tomorrow.
I hope there's more d6 diplomacy
I hope there's more d6 diplomacy
Depends on what you all decide to do. There's going to be a bit of sandboxyness going on.
Sorry for the massive wall of text. Scene setting for the capital is hard!
More incoming, but it may not happen until tomorrow.
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Ah, where is the Suriname building, please?
I'm going to leave that up to you. As the Suriname are your creation, it makes me think you'll do the Suriname building more justice than I would.
Can also see Texikuk wanting to address the throne.
Not sure if we'll actually get an audience with the king, but Imix thinks he will. He's always wanted to burst in and Gandalf them.
You're certainly welcome to try and wrangle a visit to the throne. How you go about it, who you talk to, how the dice play out - that all will play into whether or not you get a private audience. The king is a very busy person this time of year.
You all have arrived two days out from the tribute. In general, here's the leadup, which probably every PC would have at least a general idea, except perhaps Drazan:
The excises assemble on the Palenque* green, to the west end. The end of the green to the east, closest to the King's Mound, remains clear. The entirety of the excises often spend their time here, though only the guard/laborers and the excise-heads like Tex are expected to. In other words, the PCs are free to come and go. An accounting of the excise will be made before the tribute, and it will be compared to the preliminary report sent in by the excise heads a month back. Some discrepancies are expected, though they are expected to be explained, and discrepancies as large as Shadeholme's are unheard of.
The day before the tribute is a day of celebration, the largess bought and paid for by the crown. Parades and neighborhood festivals are common, the citizens get blinding drunk on chicha, and on the Palenque green, there are various games that take place on the green and are free and open to the public - a Chasqui race, storytelling competitions, scholarly debates, and finally, a group melee. PCs are welcome to enter any competitions they desire (and if a PC wants to make one up and enter it, go for it!).
The day of the tribute, the excise parties are called, usually alphabetically by city or administrative area, and they address the king and the king's advisers. Here they explain discrepancies between the delivered excise and the previous report/estimate, kiss the king's butt, and so on. However, this meeting is also an opportunity to bring grievances, concerns, and the community's needs to the attention of the king and his bureaucrats. It is here that the people of Wayrun have made their pitch for an irrigation canal to their farmlands for the past several years, without success. If you are unsuccessful in getting an audience with the king, you will certainly have the opportunity to address him here.
After the tribute, the goods delivered are taken to the Supreme Excise's warehouse for redistribution. The excise processions then make their ways home.
*Palenque is an extremely athletic ball game similiar to lacrosse. Those that don't have the mental makeup to be Chasquis, but have the physical tools, excel at this game. It is particularly popular among the Tkoyah ethnicity, and not so much in the area around Shadeholme.
Drazan, doesn't really make sense for you, as an outsider, to be there - will you be pushing in?
I think I forgot to get this into the narrative back at Shadeholme, so if I did, this happened off camera:
Drazan, Mayor Gilders approaches you before you leave the morning of the excise, holding out a rolled bit of vellum, embossed with his sigil. The vellum is, for all intents and purposes, a pass around the kingdom, as you will be representing Shadeholme's interests. In theory at least, the pass should keep you free from harassment by anyone in an official capacity as you are a representative of the excise.
In general, those not of the Three Peoples have no rights in Cornucopia and are confined to Bat Mound, subject to arrest and prosecution if they are found elsewhere without proper documentation. Thankfully, Drazan now has his papers.
I'll get you all to the excise green today, and then it is up to you all what you want to tackle, either individually or in groups, or all together. I've tried to seed some plot hooks into the narrative so far, but of course there is plenty else to do. Cornucopia is the the only real city in the entire valley, and as such, anything that can be found or experienced in the valley can be found or experienced here.
To wit, the PCs could:
- attempt to wrangle an audience with the king.
- partake in the festivities, either on the green in some contest or in a neighborhood, on Gozhran 9.
- PCs have various hooks as well, relatives, organizations or friends in the capital, deliveries to make, a religious awakening / miracle birth, etc.
The PC that has the least ties, due to his outsider nature, and therefore the one I've had most trouble seeding the narrative with potential hooks, is Drazan. Drazan, if there's some things you'd like to do, drop me a PM or post here.
Actually, that goes for anyone - if there's something you'd like your PC to partake in, let me know. Really, most anything can happen.
You've got Gozhran 8 (excises still arriving), Gozhran 9 (festivities), Gozhran 10 (tribute day) in the capital.
Let me know if you've got any questions, I'll get you onto the green at lunch.
Won't be able to post today. Did Isitel bring back any evidence?
Beautiful writing BP.
I will get a post up today but yes Oios Istiel will be bringing back the scroll the guardsmen had to sign.
Yeah, it is really emotive! I'm getting angry on Tex's behalf!
Thanks for the kind words!
Waiting to see if anyone is going to jump in and assist Imix...
Sorry, reading the long posts from my phone is causing delays... (stupid desktop *muttermuttermutter*)
No worries - it is a lot to process. I don't think I would function well without my desktop. Hope it all gets sorted out soon!
Hope Oios can get back to the Excise in time to assist Imix. At Father's mound Oios will approach those of his inquisition superiors that he trusts.
@Rigel: I think it is pretty obvious Imix is going to get an audience with the king. Is Rigel going to tag along?
I'm assuming the guards are at the border of the 'forbidden zone', or they'd have to execute a bunch of Tourists every Excise ;)
Good gravy! Imix can't make a social roll for anything! Next level he needs Suriname Social Skills - which is to say Mind Control.
@Rigel: I think it is pretty obvious Imix is going to get an audience with the king. Is Rigel going to tag along?
Execution counts as an Audience, right?
I'm assuming the guards are at the border of the 'forbidden zone', or they'd have to execute a bunch of Tourists every Excise ;)
Yep. I'm not sure what sports stadiums in OZ are like, but in the states there's a portion of the stadium reserved for the really wealthy and corporations called luxury boxes. Think of the entire east side of the Green as one big luxury box. This is where the king and his guests sit, and everyone else is most definitely not welcome.
It is also a security threat because it has an access point to the king's private grounds. So it is by nature heavily guarded.
Good gravy! Imix can't make a social roll for anything! Next level he needs Suriname Social Skills - which is to say Mind Control.
Since you all are down your face until Rigel figures out computer stuff, I'm not going to penalize you too much for bad rolls. But, a roll of a three, and using massive amounts of magic as an intimidation tactic on the Royal Guard? I can see how Imix would think this is a good idea, but it really begs for a delicious response. It threw me for a bit of a loop, honestly (and that's a good thing!), but I've just about got it figured out.
@Istiel - this seems like as good a place as any to break in the research rules from Mummy's Mask, which I'll have to acquaint myself with.
@Everyone, I'll start working on a post at lunch, but with all the moving parts in play, may be tonight before I get one up.
Good stuff, all!
Is there any way you can send me these research rules so I can learn/look them over? A cursory internet search was unable to reveal anything.
Each library or collection of the Great Library has two statistics: a Complexity rating, which reflects the confusion of the library’s contents, and knowledge points (kp), which are an abstract representation of the amount of information a given collection contains.
A library’s Complexity rating acts as the DC for a Research check to unravel that library’s clues. A Research check is essentially a Knowledge skill check, though each library details the specific Knowledge skills that may be used for Research checks based on the nature of that library’s specific collection. A PC can attempt one Research check for each full day of research (from dawn to dusk). Characters who access the library at night can make one further attempt for the period from dusk to dawn. A character cannot take
10 or take 20 on a Research check, but Research checks can be made untrained due to the Great Library’s extensive collections. Each library grants a bonus on specific Knowledge checks (including Research checks) made within that library, and each full day of research (dawn to dusk) in a library grants a cumulative +1 bonus on Research checks in that library. In addition, up to two additional characters can aid another in research; if an assisting character rolls a 10 or higher on a Research check, the characters gain a +2 bonus on the primary Research check.
Succeeding at a Research check reduces a library’s knowledge points, similar to dealing damage to a creature’s hit points. As the knowledge points decrease, a library reveals its secrets. The PCs learn the listed information when a library’s knowledge points reach various “trigger points,” as detailed in each library. How much a library’s knowledge points decrease depends on the character’s class. Bards reduce a library’s knowledge points by 1d12 + the character’s Intelligence modifier. Particularly scholastic characters, such as alchemists, wizards, and other characters at your discretion, reduce a library’s knowledge points by 1d8 + the character’s Intelligence modifier. All other characters reduce a library’s knowledge points by 1d4 + the character’s Intelligence modifier. For every 5 by which a Research check exceeds the library’s Complexity rating, the library’s knowledge points are reduced by 1 additional point. Rolling a natural 20 on a Research check acts like a critical threat. If the researcher confirms the critical hit by succeeding at a second Research check with all the same modifiers (this takes no additional time), the resulting knowledge point reduction is doubled. Conversely, rolling a natural 1 on a Research check automatically results in failure, and the library’s knowledge points increase by 1d8 as the library’s complexity causes a researcher to follow a wrong avenue of research.
When a library’s knowledge points reach 0, the PCs have learned everything they can from that library. To learn additional information, they must visit another library or collection and continue their research there.
XP Awards: Each library has a CR to represent its complexity and the possible dangers found within it, and successfully learning all of a library’s secrets earns the PCs experience awards. When a library’s knowledge points are reduced to 0, award the PCs the listed XP, just as if they had defeated a monster or encounter.
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Suuha will be assisting you with the your research. Alternatively, you can each research something different, or a different facet of Fox Priest, and each make a different knowledge roll (Suuha has no trained knowledge rolls, but can make an untrained roll in the library). Since this is a library about monks, each success by a monk will uncover 1d8 + int mod knowledge points.
Monastic Library and Archives
Complexity 12
Research check Knowledge (local), Knowledge (history), or
Knowledge (nobility); Knowledge bonus +2
kp 10
xp ?
Oh, and you can make a check this evening and a check tomorrow, but you'll need to make a fort save DC 12 to avoid being fatigued.
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Oooooh I like this a lot. I wish we used this system in the game my bard is in! This is going to be interesting considering neither Istiel nor Suuha have knowledge skills.
Will punching the books help? I punch the books.
I'll make the rolls after the posts are up.
I find in my day-to-day job book punching helps quite a bit.
Istiel's post is up.
Sorry, GMBP, I can be a pain to GM sometimes :(
Seems to me this is Perform: Oratory. Imix doesn't have that either. He'll take 20 if that's doable. Take 10 for a 9 if possible... Spend 7 rounds of Enhancement for +1 cha... if not...
Edit: iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigel!
Edit2: Well, at least he'll get to go down in history, albeit as "the Suriname who Went Mad".
Sorry, GMBP, I can be a pain to GM sometimes :(
Seems to me this is Perform: Oratory. Imix doesn't have that either. He'll take 20 if that's doable. Take 10 for a 9 if possible... Spend 7 rounds of Enhancement for +1 cha... if not...
[dice=Perform: Oratory]1d20-1Edit: iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigel!
Hahahahahahahaha!
Not to worry, Imix, you're no pain at all - just clever, and that's not a bad thing.
You need to put some ranks in some social skills, though. Yeesh!
Will punching the books help? I punch the books.
I thought this was going to happen in the gameplay thread. Nicely done, Istiel.
You need to put some ranks in some social skills, though. Yeesh!
I have characters that can convince you black is white and white is black that would fail on Imix's rolls. My threefold plan now is
(A) buy social skills(B) buy mind control magic
(C) buy (or at least rent) Rigel to act as a mouthpiece.
<Imix messages Rigel>Tell them to do it or I'll kill them
Rigel: "The Suriname says that he can see why you are reluctant. Perhaps one possibility is..."
It's Chukix I feel bad for
Abbot: "So Chukix: I hear your Suriname went mad and invaded the King's domain?"
Chukix: "Damnit Imix, I leave you alone for five minutes..."
Will punching the books help? I punch the books.I thought this was going to happen in the gameplay thread. Nicely done, Istiel.
Thanks. Punching scrolls is much harder than punching books though. :/
I've done enough research that this feeling is channeled directly from the heart. If she wasn't a devote monk, or if she had an int score above 14, I would have added an existential crisis to boot!
Oops I forgot to OOC spoiler something. I was in a bit of a rush when I typed all that, haha.
Imix: This has been beautiful. It's a shame you don't have the dice to back it up, cause you convinced me.
Drazen: Wow, you keep getting put in the most interesting situations.