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Also, BP, I'd like to say you have some giant cojones for letting us all run off to do our own thing, and then dealing with each individually.
10,000 respect units to you, sir.
^ +1 It is impressive, isn't it? Makes me feel less bad about having been absent. Back now, though.
BP: basically, Rigel is giving up on the idea of help from the king - he clearly can't protect the convoys coming in, and there's no way he'll send soldiers to Shadeholme given the cloud of suspicion that town is under. Even if Oios or Imix manages to convince him that it was a set-up, there's enough room for doubt that they won't be getting any support.
Her new plan is to find some friendly nobles (or just some nobles) who like wearing silk and point out that if Shadeholme falls to invaders like the mountain men, there won't be any silk as the savages will likely burn the trees just for the hell of it. It's clear that there are private armies within Tkoyah society, so she hopes to be able to put one together based on greed for silk.
This will likely cause its own problems down the line, but hey, Wis 8: she'll solve things as they arise.
What do you think?
Apart from 'muaahahahahahahahaha' I mean...
It's a good plan - I suspect Imix is not coming down any time soon - if at all.
Sorry, Imix - that scene had moved far enough along that I didn't see a way of inserting myself into it, beyond a handwaved 'Rigel was there all along, she just hadn't said anything or been interacted with at all up to that point' and my suspension of disbelief just wasn't willing enough for that...!
Yeah I'll echo Isitel. This game is really something else in terms of forcing the best out of the players.
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I think it is important in a sandbox environment (which this is a bit of a test of, before we open it up for good) to let everyone do what they want to do. The downside is that it is a substantial bit more work for me. I don't mind it, but on busy days like today, I may not get updates for everyone. My apologies.
Let me return the kind words by saying that I chose the players I did because I suspected you all would do well in a game like this. I've played with you all and enjoyed the experiences in our other games, so it was an easy fit for me to contact you all about this one. You as players force the best out of me. And that's a lot of the fun of GMing, in my estimation. Anyways, hugs.
Back now, though.
Yay!!! Glad your sorted and back.
What do you think?
What do I think? Mwahahahah--
Apart from 'muaahahahahahahahaha' I mean...
Oh yeah. Right. My apologies. I think your logic is sound and going to the nobles is a good idea (one I certainly hadn't considered, although I've got some nobles - Mwhahahahahaha--)
Ah, again, right. The evil cackling thingy. Sorry.
@Rigel: not a problem. I've managed to avoid using the name "Shadeholme", so hopefully haven't made things worse.
@GMBP: very nicely handled. I hope it;s okay if I take a little while to think on this one. I want a good reply...
I can see that Imix wants to see the king, but one-eye could have killed him, so one-eye should be on his side, so maybe one-eye thinks Imix is on the other side and this is a setup, so one-eye thinks Imix is going to kill the king, so Imix can't see the king, which means one-eye is paranoid and trustworthy, which means Imix should trust one-eye...
@ Imix - no problem, take your time.
@ Rigel and Istiel - I'll get posts up for you tonight. I'm working out what exactly a Takayan noble dance would look like. For some reason it seems like it shouldn't be very 'traditional European medieval/renaissance ball' feeling, but I'm a little stumped. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Also working out at what point the monks wouldn't have knowledge of FP.
@ Oios:
Library of the Shadows
Complexity 17
Research check: Knowledge (local), Knowledge (history), or
Knowledge (nobility), knowledge (geography), knowledge (arcana), knowledge (religion); Knowledge bonus +2
kp 15
xp ?
Oios wants to know about compulsion and shadow beasts and Mountain Men fire priests. I'm guessing Inquisitors are 1d8 against kp or 1d4? Digging up secrets is what they're supposed to do so I was thinking 1d8.
I'd say 1d8 is a good baseline. It seems they'd be excellent researchers.
So what knowledge rolls would these topics be? Oios knows nothing of arcana so I'm hoping it's not that :p
compulsion: arcana (you can make a check untrained in a library).
shadow beasts: none for what the library's resources have
mountain men fire priests: local and religion
OK, so timelines. Here's where we're at:
Drazan: evening, Gozran 8
Rigel: late evening, Gozran 8
Imix: early morning, Gozran 9
Istiel: noon-ish, Gozran 9
Oios: noon-ish, Gozran 9
Celebratory games happen on Gozran 10, Tribute on Gozran 11.
I decided that studying can be done in 8 hour chunks, just like crafting, etc., which will give the researchers a bit of time on Gozran 9 if they want to do something.
If some or all of you are wanting to get back together, this should give you an idea of where you're at currently.
Random question BP: What are the status of dragons in the land? Non existent? Legends? Street peddlers hawking dragon repellent on every corner?
Oios will go back to the Excise camp noontime and see who's there. I'm thinking he needs a nap? Or was that a part of his Fort roll?
I'm pretty much okay with having exhausted his Inquisition resources. Though he's held on to his pass and will go back in if there's anything else to research. One simple idea is to research odd movements of weapons and armor as that's a lead.
Two things 1.How would Oios send a message to his sister in Te-Moak?
2. The names on the scroll, can't believe I forgot about them. Who on the Excise might have a good idea of who those guards are?
Random question BP: What are the status of dragons in the land? Non existent? Legends? Street peddlers hawking dragon repellent on every corner?
Drakes exist in the mountains that flank the Baunti, and historians think that dragons are the ancestors to these creatures. Drakes are known to be fearless hunters, of animal intelligence, and cunning.
No dragon has been sighted in the valley in hundreds of years, but that doesn't mean they don't exist...
Oios will go back to the Excise camp noontime and see who's there. I'm thinking he needs a nap? Or was that a part of his Fort roll?
No nap needed!
Two things 1.How would Oios send a message to his sister in Te-Moak?
2. The names on the scroll, can't believe I forgot about them. Who on the Excise might have a good idea of who those guards are?
1. Find a chasqui. There's a lot in Cornucopia. They'll deliver goods/messages for private individuals as well as for the government.
2. Those soldiers are just minor guys that happened to be in the wrong town at the wrong time. You could ask around the military (and for completeness's sake, we'll assume you use Imix's contact to push the question up the chain). But its not going to glean any particularly useful information.
Unless something occurs to me later, at which point we'll revisit it.
--------
Busy, busy, busy today and tomorrow. I'll try and get an update together today, but might be as late as tomorrow night.
Sorry for the delay everyone. Life is busy for me at the moment.
Imix, I'm a little confused on what you're planning on doing next. Fill me in, and we'll get you rolling.
No problem BP, take your time.
I asked about the Dragons because Istiel will be picking up the Dragon Style unarmed fighting feat soon, and was wondering how played up I wanted to make it.
I assume it's thematically named after Bruce Lee's fighting style, but the second feat in the tree gives access to Elemental Fist, so it's a bit more "dragon-y".
Lying low.
Three things
(A) research in the Suriname home's library in case this is one of the forbidden arts - and ensure the remaining children are trained.
(B) check out this birth - though he'd like others of the Excise with him in that case
(C) make sure the Wo'Tah are brought up to speed. Looks like his new boss hasn't agreed with that though, so he'll hold off for now, and mention it in his next report.
I asked about the Dragons because Istiel will be picking up the Dragon Style unarmed fighting feat soon, and was wondering how played up I wanted to make it.
Cool! I think it could be a very old martial arts style, of which it is said that inspiration was drawn by the dragons themselves.
(A) research in the Suriname home's library in case this is one of the forbidden arts - and ensure the remaining children are trained.
I'm going to leave the details (design, look, total inhabitants) of Suriname Home up to you, as the whole Suriname thing is your creation, and I think you'll do it more justice than I.
forbidden arts? Do you mean the contracts?
Suriname Home Library
Complexity 15
Research check: Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nobility), knowledge (arcana), knowledge (religion), Knowledge (planes); Knowledge bonus +2 (history, nobility, religion), Knowledge bonus +1 (arcana, planes)
kp 15
xp ?
I asked about the Dragons because Istiel will be picking up the Dragon Style unarmed fighting feat soon, and was wondering how played up I wanted to make it.Cool! I think it could be a very old martial arts style, of which it is said that inspiration was drawn by the dragons themselves.
Nah it was clearly invented by the monk Luce Bree.
Sure - let me write up what I think - you might want to revise the stats if you agree with it.
Suriname house was formed by the fifth Suriname, Enki.
The original Suriname had lived in a house near the hot springs where the Royal Crocodiles live, but when Cornucopia suffered an extreme flood the house was destroyed and all records were lost. Enki declared his purpose to be to prevent such happening again. He devoted himself to the problem, and eight years later shaped a nearby rock formation into a seamless waterproof hollow house embedded in the river.
The whole house is warm all year round, the effect of geothermal springs nearby, the depth of the house, and magical effects of various Suriname over time.
The house projects thirty feet above the ground, with ramps leading up twenty feet to the first door.
The Suriname and their Keepers live in the top twenty feet.
The records of the Suriname are stored beneath that in the Maze.
The Maze is a series of twisting passages that were formed out of the original rock by Enki. Records of the Suriname are carved into the various walls, and detailed statues of the Suriname stand guard.
Only the Suriname and the Keepers are allowed access to the Maze. Torches are forbidden, and thus all illumination is magical.
Suriname deeds and learnings are recorded during their lifetimes, and when they transform the Keepers carve brief encrypted summaries of the records into the maze. The Abbot of the keepers has the only index as to what knowledge is stored where. This index is based on Suriname magical theory, and consequently hard to master.
The Abott also has the various cryptographic keys. Various keys have various levels of security depending on how forbidden the knowledge is. The key to transformation magic, and the index, is passed on only orally. Suriname who achieve their Purpose are given the key to Transformation.
While any number of witches and sorcerers would sell their soul to get access to the Maze, they would be dismayed to discover how difficult it is to unravel.
---
The Suriname are raised to believe the Keepers only use the knowledge contained in the Maze to teach new generations of Suriname, but in fact with the dearth of Suriname the Keepers have used the gaps between Suriname to become proficient in Suriname magic themselves.
The 'Transformation magic' is actually transformation into stone. A Suriname who achieves their Purpose is essentially tricked into using their magic to kill themselves. The resultant statue is then stored in the Maze as a 'tribute'.
The Maze has terrible ventilation. With no fires and only occasional visitors this simply results in a light headed feeling. Keepers have killed Suriname by discretely lighting coal fires and causing the Suriname to pass out and expire.
The carved stone nature of the wall means Suriname can take copies of knowledge by doing Rubbings. This information can then be perused in less desperate environments, under the supervision of the Keepers.
Destroying knowledge in the Maze is all but impossible. On the other hand destroying the Key to various facts serves much the same purpose and is far easier.
The Maze contains only the History of the Suriname, Suriname magic, and Forbidden Knowledge. Anything that can be stored in the normal library is. This, combined with the need to keep records brief, leads to information that is highly abbreviated and useless without context. "S. Katzi ex rebel leader who tried to become king in 6.3.23", for instance, instead of the whole story about how the Suriname Katzi fought a war against the rebels who sought to overthrow the divine monarchy during the reign of Chauxi III.
I figure it's a highly magical lying cryptic you have to be a genius to understand, and that will kill you in the end. Basically a stone Suriname.
"What would a paranoid sociopath with a sense of duty do?"
@Istiel - Do the martial masters of Dragon Style use wristbands?
@Imix - Sounds good (and yes, much better than what I would've come up with). I think your description raised the complexity rating of the library to 20 though :/
On the plus side, bonuses to checks and total KP will increase.
Cool idea!
Suriname Home Library
Complexity 20
Research check: Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nobility), knowledge (arcana), knowledge (religion), Knowledge (planes); Knowledge bonus +3
kp 20
xp ?
OK, so timelines. Here's where we're at:
Drazan: evening, Gozran 8
Rigel: late evening, Gozran 8
Imix: early morning, Gozran 9
Istiel: noon-ish, Gozran 9
Oios: noon-ish, Gozran 9Celebratory games happen on Gozran 10, Tribute on Gozran 11.
I decided that studying can be done in 8 hour chunks, just like crafting, etc., which will give the researchers a bit of time on Gozran 9 if they want to do something.
If some or all of you are wanting to get back together, this should give you an idea of where you're at currently.
Is this still true? In the gameplay thread you said Istiel is on Gozran 8? Axtually everyone seems to be a day behind of what you've said here. Just need to know when the games and tribute happen.
Woops, sorry about that:
Drazan: evening, Gozran 7
Rigel: late evening, Gozran 7
Imix: early morning, Gozran 8
Istiel: mid-afternoon, Gozran 8
Oios: noon-ish, Gozran 8
Celebratory games happen on Gozran 10, Tribute on Gozran 11.
I decided that studying can be done in 8 hour chunks, just like crafting, etc., which will give the researchers a bit of time on Gozran 9 if they want to do something.
If some or all of you are wanting to get back together, this should give you an idea of where you're at currently.
I doubt that GMBP!
Trick now will be getting in, I guess. I think he'll need to come clean with the Abbot, at least.
Istiel will be training, sparring, etc, until the games begin. We don't have to make rolls for every thing she does, I was just making flavor. She'll probably challenge some other monks to mock fights too (even though she's still injured, lol). She kind of drank the potion she was going to study...
Can Istiel register for any of the games, or is it a professional athlete thing?
Woops, sorry about that, redux (I should read the entire post I'm editing):
Drazan: evening, Gozran 7
Rigel: late evening, Gozran 7
Imix: early morning, Gozran 8
Istiel: mid-afternoon, Gozran 8
Oios: noon-ish, Gozran 8
Celebratory games happen on Gozran 9, Tribute on Gozran 10.
I decided that studying can be done in 8 hour chunks, just like crafting, etc., which will give the researchers a bit of time on Gozran 8 if they want to do something.
If some or all of you are wanting to get back together, this should give you an idea of where you're at currently.
Can Istiel register for any of the games, or is it a professional athlete thing?
Istiel can register for any games she wishes to.
What are the games? Are sign ups right before the games?
I kind of hope there will be something similar to a Spartan Run, which is a 5K obstacle race.
What are the games? Are sign ups right before the games?
I kind of hope there will be something similar to a Spartan Run, which is a 5K obstacle race.
Sign up is before the games. We can do a 5k obstacle race. Probably represented by a slew of skill checks?
EDIT: There's a grand melee at the end, storytelling, arguments of philosophae and religion, archery, chasqui sprints, anything else you want to dream up.
This pleases me greatly! Yes the obstacle race would be ideal. Maybe the grand melee if she's not too beat up at the end of the race.
There best be coywolf josting.
On another note, the universe seems to have it out for Drazen.
I do need to stop getting Drazan in these situations.
Admittedly doing a lot of lurking here, but wanted to take a moment to comment on how great this game is so far. Compliments to GMBP and all the participants. Really looking forward to seeing how things develop.
That is all :)
There best be coywolf josting.
Heh. They're big, but I don't think they're "horse" big. Coywolf racing, sure, that could be done.
I do need to stop getting Drazan in these situations.
Admittedly doing a lot of lurking here, but wanted to take a moment to comment on how great this game is so far. Compliments to GMBP and all the participants. Really looking forward to seeing how things develop.
That is all :)
Thanks for the kind words! I'm kind of enjoying the idea of putting Drazan in really strange situations whenever he wanders off, but I'm afraid my imagination isn't robust enough to do it forever.
EDIT: I forgot:
Officially, the penalty for using a nonproficient weapon for classes that in normal PF have martial proficiency is -3, not -4.
We need some vertically challenged individuals to ride the coywolves into battle. We might not have halflings but I'm sure there has to be some really short people!
The apprentices are quite short.
Did Imix see the ravens?
If you'd like him to see them, sure. They're probably viewable from the brow with a good vantage point not obscured by buildings.
The apprentices are quite short.
Hoo boy. Good thing there's no child labor laws in the Baunti*
*Though there likely will be after Suriname Imix's first apprentice race...
The apprentices are quite short.Hoo boy. Good thing there's no child labor laws in the Baunti*
*Though there likely will be after Suriname Imix's first apprentice race...
*grimace* :P
Is it wrong to want to punch your own character in the face for arrogance?
Nah that just means you're doing a great job!
However, leave the punching to Istiel. It's kind of her thing.
EDIT: I forgot:
Officially, the penalty for using a nonproficient weapon for classes that in normal PF have martial proficiency is -3, not -4.
Have you decided to replace the warrior classes martial weapon proficiency with something else in exchange for the loss?
I think it was the ability to get proficiency in normally exotic weapons 'for free', and the ability to learn proficiency in other weapons quickly.
Makes sense, given how euro-centric the proficiencies are.
^ Yep, that was my reasoning. Add in the slightly less onerous nonproficiency penalty for 'martials' and I think it is a fair trade.
I thought everyone had the ability to learn to use any weapon already, and it wasn't something unique to warriors. Is that not the case?
Fair point. Gaining a new weapon proficiency will only take 'martials' 5 days, instead of seven.