Here is where we'll discuss this game of The Mummy's Mask.
I've made my initial choices already, so those players should feel free to drop in and introduce themselves. The two reserved spots should be doing so shortly.
First, I'd like you to discuss how the group came together. My preference is that the original group formed in Absalom after hearing about the opportunity. Perhaps picking up Nevai Alaro when they got in country and needed a guide, of sorts. But I'm flexible and open to any ideas you guys may have.
Second, keep an eye on the application thread and let me know if you particularly like any coming in. Feel free to PM me if you'd prefer.
Finally, you'll need to come up with a name to eventually register for your adventuring party. My only request is to try not to be silly. I'd prefer it not be too campy, but that's a difficult line to tread without it falling into too uptight/serious. Good luck. I'm glad I don't have to do it. :)
Party wizard checking in.
Fine with being in Absalom prior to this, though that isn't her home nation. This character has been a bit of a nomad with her wandering.
Hey all- really excited to be part of the group. I'm actually at my monthly RL game right now so I can't post much but thanks for the pick.
I can revise my background if need be, but as written I'm a business man trying to assemble a good team to mount an expedition... If everyone's cool with that we can talk about who got hired where and who (if anyone) were already working together.
Also, I don't know how anyone else feels but for a pulp-style tomb raid I'd be excited to have a gun wielder for our ranged person (though that's definitely secondary in my mind to concerns like a good backstory and promising dynamics).
Party trap-finder and jack-of-all-trades, checking in :-)
I can work with an adventuring party having formed in Absalom - that would fit nicely with Setesh's desire to move abroad, and expand his (business) horizons.
Hired was the wrong word (when I said we could talk about who got hired where), if people are ok with me sort of being the one to bring the party together we can talk about who signed on where...
Any one have any thoughts so far on any of the options for the last spot?
I would prefer to think of us as being equal partners in the enterprise, rather than an employer and employees - that would set-up a power dynamic that may line us up for difficulties later down the track.
As for a name, how about something like:
"The Amber Asps"
"The Steel Scorpions"
"The Hematite Hawks"
Yeah- that's why I wanted to clarify 'signed on' as opposed to 'hired'... I was picturing it as a partnership (not that I was in charge, just that I had the resources/vision/diplomacy to help bring us together).
Hey guys, saw the post go up earlier, but I was out and didn't have a chance to post. Thanks for including me. This is actually my first play-by-post game, and I'm excited to see how this format goes.
Meetup: Perhaps I could have found you en route to Wati and helped you find your way. Alternatively, if I arrive alone, I would be out looking for a competent group to which I could offer my services. If any of you are the type to get into "friendly competition" with someone at a bar or some such and wins, and had made your intentions known to enter the necropolis, I would introduce myself.
Names: My character has a falcon theme since it's his god's favored animal, so he would offer Fleet Falcons, Radiant Raptors or perhaps Alliterationbane Hawks. Getting away from the falcon theme, perhaps Dawn's Delvers, or the Crypt Crew.
"SSSKKREEEEEeeeeeeee!"
Still trying to think of a group name, but I'd rather not pick anything that sounds like Osirira's Football team. :)
Also my character would rather not use any animals in the name at all.
Equal partners rather than employers/employees works fine for me, unless someone specifically had that in mind for their concept. Then I am sure we can work in at least one employee.
Looks like we've got everyone but Tourach's bard. I think he's got his character mostly settled in, he's just trying to be flexible based on what else we might get.
My suggesting on meeting up with Nevai would be in the country but on the way to Wati. Just in case someone comes along and wants to play a native from Wati. They'd still need a good story, of course, but at least there'd be some leeway there.
ok, so if nobody minds Micah being the recruiter behind this partnership where do you all want to have signed on? I was in Sothis when I found out about Wati opening up (unless I need to revise that bit of background), but I certainly have business contacts (and family) in Absalom... anyone who wants to have joined on in Absalom we could have orchestrated via mutual contacts, anyone who wants to join in Sothis would be easy...
Nevai, would you possibly have been as far off as Sothis? I'm not super familiar with Osiriani geography, but (if not) I assume there'd be towns on the way to Wati where we could have run into you... Micah's not overly competitive but after a few drinks a friendly wager wouldn't be out of the question. If you offered your services as a knowledgeable local guide that would have been a fairly easy sell.
For group name... "Inner Osirion Trading Company"?
Almathea at least is coming from Absalom. Which means that she (and anyone else with her) would have to go by ship to Sothis first and then travel up river by barge to Wati. I imagine that river travel would be the easiest and safest means of travel though the desert.
http://pathfindersociety.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Osirion.jpg
As for names, I was thinking something along the lines of "The Restorers". Almathea is a traveling scholar with the Indiana Jones mindset of recovering lost artifacts and ancient knowledge so that it might be put on display and shared with other scholars and universities. (She is fully willing to take payment or be funded by such universities of course.)
Nevai has spent most of his life traveling between the various Osiriani cities, hopping between oases by camel, so it would be very reasonable to meet up and request his services. His clan is a mix of traders and caravan guides for foreign merchants, and he knows traveling with companions is significantly safer.
Since you're requesting to head to Wati, and that seems to be where he's being drawn, he'd happily accompany you. If that's the case, you'd be there when he meets Skyblazer. Apparently, your guide speaks bird.
Just looked at the map, and yes it makes the most sense to travel from Sothis to Wait by river barge. Perhaps we met on the boat, or I suggested that method of travel in Sothis. After getting to know one another we decide to stick together while we explore Wati. I know I could use experts in traps and the arcane for sure if we're heading to ancient ruins.
Nevai- if you've hired yourself out as a guide before we could just say that I've hired you in the past (since I've been doing business in Osirion for a while now but haven't bothered to learn anything about it) and contacted you about this partnership?
Almathea- what if we have a mutual contact in Absalom who purchases antiquities for a university in the wise quarter? They could have arranged for us to meet in Sothis, knowing of our mutual interest (and the fact that I needed an expert and you needed support).
Do we really need a group name? What about the "Osirion Antiquities Preservation Company"?
Yes, for the purposes of the lottery, you will need to register under a group name. I have a strong preference for an academic or trade guild name, but it's up to you all.
I expect that Tourach and Almathea's characters will have traveled to Sothis knowing that they're headed to Wati. They, of course, need some funding and someone that knows people around here, so find Micah (or Micah finds them rather). Micah in turn picks up Nevai and possibly brings in Setesh, knowing that his skills will be useful. Setesh could have been in Absalom and joined the small group there, or in Sothis, and join up then.
A few notes on the Lottery:
The game will start with the group already registered for the lottery with the priesthood of the Grand Mausoleum. Registering is not difficult; there were no background checks or special fees or requirements. A priest simply recorded the name of the group and the names of its members, and gave you a token to present when the group receives its first assignment at the lottery’s opening ceremony.
Micah - A mutual contact works fine for me. :)
Nevai's son wants to know what Uncle Micah is bringing him this time and why he isn't traveling with the whole clan this time.
Setesh- are you planning to have traveled overland across Katapesh, over the Brazen Peaks, and through the desert to Wati; or to go by boat to Sothis and then down the river? Also, are you totally on your own for your little exile or is it possible I've done business with one of your family members in the past who might have connected us after hearing about my/our plans to head to Wati?
Going by boat to Sothis, and then traveling up-river to Wati, would seem to be the most logical choice - it is not unreasonable that he would be moderately familiar with the route (to Sothis, at least).
As to some form of connection between Micah and Setesh, I would be happy with that - Setesh's family is a fairly widespread one (thanks to his exceptionally-long-lived father). Whilst no-one would cross father directly, it would also not be in the family's best interest for Setesh to die, so linking him up with a trusted non-family contact would be perfectly reasonable :-)
@GM- are my group name suggestions sort of along the lines you're hoping for? If not could you please give an example or two of potential 'trade guild' type names?
Micah - Sounds fine to me. That can also be the college my character occasionally guest lectures at.
I'm sure he'll be quite pleased.
Those are pretty good "trade guild" style names. Basically anything that sounds like East India Trading Company is going to fit the style of the pulp adventure theme. (Royally chartered organizations)
As for examples of academic names:
The Society of Seekers of the Secret and Obscure
The Royal Guild of Antiquarians
The Association of Scholars of Antiquity
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How about:
Haynes Excavations, Procurers of Fine Wares and Ancient Relics
@Tourach- I'm not sure what you have in mind for origin or where/when you'll join up... would you like to talk about what connection you and I might have, or would you rather come as a 'package deal' with one of the other PCs that you were already working with?
@everyone- we're going to be a party of 6... How does everyone feel about splitting loot 7 ways?
(OOC) Im perfectly willing to be voted down on this, but (IC) Micah would strongly support setting aside a 'party share' to cover incidental expenses like travel, food/lodging, pack animals (if needed), potions/scrolls/wands, bags of holding/handy haversacks, and so on; maybe eventually some administrative costs too if we determine there's profit to be made by having others working for us... Like I said, as a player I'm cool either way- this is something we do in my RL game (and now a shattered star PbP I'm in) and it has worked out really well for us.
A seventh share of sold treasure being reserved for things like utility consumables, Raise Dead/Restoration/etc., and such sounds fine to me.
My groups usually take the first batch of sold treasure, buy the front line masterwork armor and a masterwork weapon, and then a wand of Cure Light Wounds first, then split loot. At later levels when we bring in a haul we make group purchases first (usually scrolls like BoL, a Bag of Holding, etc.) before splitting the rest among the party members. Just setting up a seventh share might be easier in this format compared to face-to-face.
I would actually prefer to split things six ways, but prior to the split, take money out for 'group' purchases like wands, scrolls, et cetera.
The system that I usually use is for items to go to whomever is best suited to using them, then splitting the remainder between the party (less whatever is needed for group purchases).
That system has worked fine for me both in PbP and FtF formats :-)
(Provided someone maintains a loot spreadsheet (and I am perfectly happy to offer my services in doing so), it doesn't add any real complexity to the game.)
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In terms of a name, how about Antipodean Antiquities Acquisition Association (or AAAA)? ;-)
I believe the intent, for Tourach's bard, is that he and the others from Absalom (hopefully the new ranged character included) will form (or be) a group there (probably more like acquaintances?), then head to Sothis after hearing of this opportunity. Almathea's contact, Crispin, tells her that she should meet with Micah because he knows people and can bring together a group of explorers to help them.
Almathea and Micah meet in Sothis and put their respective groups together to head on to Wati after Micah brings in Setesh and finds a local guide, Nevai.
Keep in mind that characters don't have to all randomly arrive in a city all at the same time looking to do the same adventure and just decide then that they want to work together because their classes happen to line up. Becoming a group could have happened organically, small groups form, then come together, all with their own motivations. Micah is clearly going to be the driving force behind getting the group together, so that's the focal point we need to get to, but it isn't necessary that everyone get there individually.
Oh, the ranged character could also be someone that regularly works with Micah. That would work out well too. Possibly someone that's not *quite* a partner in his business but he works with a lot?
Alright, on the topic of ranged characters, does anyone have any strong preferences from the candidates? Feel free to PM me over the course of the day. I'll probably have a decision by this afternoon. I'll also have some more information about the background of the game and what you all know up till now. Once people settle in with a group name and some connections, and any last minute changes people need to suit the final party composition, we'll start.
I am alright with group purchases for things like healing items, but not for any other gear or armor.
@GM Listener: PM sent.
The 'need before greed' model for loot is great for a bunch of good aligned heroes united in their common quest to stop a great evil and/or save a bunch of people... and it can work in other games if most/all the players are motivated by less tangible things (knowledge, for example)... but for much of this group/AP this is largely a business venture and the idea of passing out stuff randomly and then splitting leftovers, or buying a bunch of gear for one or two individuals at the expensive of everyone else's profit, is not going to be a realistic decision in character...
The arrangement Micah would/will push for as the party organizes is this:
- the value of all loot is calculated and a total determined
- that total is split 7 ways- one share to each person and one party share
- anyone who would like to keep an item can 'pay' for it out of their share but only pays the 50% resale value that we would receive, not the full market cost of buying it new (so, if we found a +1 sword you'd pay 1,000g to keep it instead of 2,000g to buy one).
- if someone wanted to keep something worth more than their share they would have to borrow from someone (keeping that item would reduce the amount of actual gold received from selling the loot by more than a share so someone will actually receive less than their share until paid back).
- group fund would pay for travel, lodging, meals, and rations; plus wands/scrolls/potions that the group agrees on (mostly healing probably, but some utility could be a really good idea too... spider climb, air bubble, the kind of stuff that can really save our butts in an unforeseen situation...); a bag of holding is probably a worthwhile investment too (since it lets us carry more loot on future trips).
- group fund could also be borrowed against for someone to keep an expensive item if the party supports it with a simple majority vote.
As I said before, as a player I'm willing to work with other systems but for Micah, as a business man, this is the kind of arrangement he would work really hard to get in place.
The AP guide has a pretty good overview of what the characters will learn about Wati on the boat ride down from Sothis. For those characters that know a little more, I've included a bit below. There's a lot of information in there, hence the spoilers. I included what I thought each character might know, but they aren't meant to be entirely exclusive to each character. If you think your character might know a bit more (or less), feel free to improvise with the information given.
While you aren't intimately familiar with the city of Wati, you are aware that there is a small, but prosperous church of Abadar named the Sanctum of Silver and Gold. You've heard tales of its vault as one of the most difficult to be breached. You've also been told that while you can find just about anything you'd want in the Sunburst Market, the prices from Terhk's Fine Expeditions tend to be more fair. Even if the owner is a bit...dangerous. (It's said he eats those that try to cheat him.)
As a traveler of the area, you have stopped in the city of Wati on more than one occasion.
The Grand Mausoleum:
The temple’s high priestess, Sebti the Crocodile, rose to power from the common rabble. Daughter of the previous keeper of Pharasma’s sacred crocodiles and largely self-educated, Sebti has been a constant thorn in the side of Wati’s nobles since assuming control of the church a decade ago. Preaching a doctrine of personal fulfillment rather than happiness, wealth, or achievement, Sebti invariably sides with the common citizenry on government matters, making her popular with the common folk but loathed by the rest of the council and even some members of her own faith.
In addition to the temple’s clergy, the Grand Mausoleum hosts an arm of the militant wing of the church called the Voices of the Spire, dedicated to eradicating any undead within the city’s sprawling necropolis.
The Hall of Blessed Rebirth:
An academy specializing in anatomy,chemistry, and medicine, and even tutoring exceptional students in alchemy and wizardry. Most of Wati’s
residents give the school a wide berth. The guildhall contains a shrine to Anubis, the ancient Osirian god of the dead.
Shrine of Wadjet:
Although Wadjet’s faith is no longer as popular as it was during the city’s founding, a shrine remains, and most religious and civic festivals in Wati begin or end on the stairs and the plaza before it. Popular superstition claims that water drawn from the base of the stairs under the sun of the solstice has healing properties, and pilgrims come from across Osirion to make offerings and bathe in the first currents of the holy river. Even the priests of the Grand Mausoleum draw the water for their fonts from the stairs’ edge.
Golden Lake:
Separating the Grand Mausoleum from the Sunburst Market, this artificial pool takes its name from the coating of gold dust cast over its surface each year on the Day of Bones. The lake also houses a rare breed of white crocodiles that are sacred to Wati’s Pharasmin church. Regularly fed and cared for, these long-lived cousins of the more dangerous crocodiles found in Osirion’s rivers pose little threat to tourists or residents.
Tooth and Hookah:
This modest inn and hookah bar is best known for its mascot, Toothy—a tiny crocodile that lives in the inn’s well.
The Whispering Stone:
Owned by Khufu Blackblossom, the Whispering Stone has been Wati’s most popular tavern, inn, and game house for generations. The bar is built around an enormous, ruined statue buried up to its shoulders and broken off halfway up the head, leaving only a chin and pair of lips visible atop a 7-foothigh neck. Determining the identity of the so-called “Stone Lips” is a popular pastime in Wati, and the statue has been variously identified as representing Pharasma, some ancient Osirian goddess, one of Osirion’s forgotten pharaohs, a local noblewoman lost to history, a warlord who conquered Wati in its earliest days, or a nameless wizard who supposedly tamed the local elementals. Those looking for luck in love sneak a kiss from the sandstone smile—usually after buying a few drinks, of course.
Not intimately familiar with the city itself, you have heard of a certain academy within its walls.
Hall of Blessed Rebirth:
A multitude of professional funerary organizations once flourished in Wati before Bahjut Everhand took control of the city’s influential embalmer’s guild. After 30 years of the half ling’s silver-tongued negotiations, backroom dealings, and economic intimidation, most of the region’s morticians, doctors, and alchemists have joined the guild, transforming the guildhall into an academy specializing in anatomy, chemistry, and medicine, and even tutoring exceptional students in alchemy and wizardry. While most of Wati’s residents give the school a wide berth, ambitious families across Osirion send their children to the Hall of Blessed Rebirth to master the Half-City’s techniques in medicine and embalming.
Mistress Bahjut Everhand is a worshiper of Anubis, the ancient Osirian god of the dead, and the Hall of Blessed Rebirth contains a shrine devoted to the jackal-headed deity. Bahjut gained her epithet from her desiccated left hand. Rumors claim that she preserved the exquisitely mummified appendage while still an apprentice. Others claim the old crone mummified her heart as well, as she’s never shown a hint of fear or compassion, even to the Pharasmins whose oversight she appears to resent.
In –1608 ar, Pharaoh Djederet II ordered the construction of a grand city to mark the birthplace of the Osirion’s greatest natural resource: the River Sphinx, springing from the confluence of the Asp and the Crook. With its early foundations magically laid by the church of Nethys, the city sprang to life within just a year. Named Wati, the riverside town soon dominated trade across southern Osirion. Hardwoods and spices from Katapesh and the Mwangi Expanse bound for Sothis, and manufactured goods and luxuries from the nations surrounding the Inner Sea bound for Osirion’s southern territories, all paused long enough in Wati’s warehouses and markets to make its citizens famously wealthy. For centuries, Wati endured through political upheaval and the births and deaths of entire dynasties as it dominated its younger sister cities of An and Tephu.
But Wati’s destiny was forever warped in 2499 ar, when the cult of Lamashtu unleashed the Plague of Madness among the city’s thriving populace. Many of those whom the fever did not immediately kill were driven to murderous insanity, and within months, more than half the city had fallen in painful, anguished death. Most of the survivors fled Wati to make new homes elsewhere, but a stubborn minority remained behind, determined to reclaim their city. But even once the plague had run its course, their livelihoods collapsed as An and Tephu took over Wati’s once exclusive trade routes, and their floundering community struggled against recurring outbreaks of the undead from the city’s many abandoned buildings-turned-tombs.
It took almost half a millennium for Wati’s fortunes to reverse thanks to the church of Pharasma. With the tacit permission of Osirion’s Keleshite sultan, a Pharasmin priest named Nefru Shepses marched on Wati in 2953 ar with a small army of alchemists, masons, and morticians under his banner, intent on consecrating the entire city to the Lady of Graves, beginning with a new, monumental temple to Pharasma called the Grand Mausoleum. Over the next 30 years, Nefru Shepses and his followers recovered the bodies of those slaughtered in the Plague of Madness from their hasty, makeshift graves and the Pharasmins walled off that portion of the city that had been abandoned, transforming it into a metropolis of makeshift tombs. Thousands of corpses were given formal burial rites and reinterred in this dead copy of the living city, which continues to serve as Wati’s necropolis today.
The consecration of the city and its necropolis revitalized Wati, and though it never reclaimed its dominance among the cities of the south, over the next 1,700 years Wati grew until its necropolis—once more than half of the city— took up less than a quarter of the city’s total area.
Notable people:
Oshep Kahmed, the personal representative of Pharaoh Khemet III, serves as Wati’s haty-a, or governor, and head of the city council.
Other groups you're aware of:
Falto, a bravo from the streets of Absalom. You were not the only person in Absalom to hear of the newest opening announced by the Ruby Prince. There were rumors that Falto, a scoundrel you've run into once or twice before, had found someone to fund his own expedition just before you left town.
Setesh may have to pay the college a visit - especially since at higher levels he will probably end-up partially mummifying himself ;-)
Absolutely. There are a lot of gods out there, saying prayers to a few others that are patrons of your craft would be normal. You aren't a cleric, after all! :) And even then, having respect for other Gods is perfectly fine.
The game will start with the lottery, so it's perfectly fine if you'd like to have stopped in to the college when you arrived in town. Maybe even spend a day or two.
Once we arrive in Wati, I lead the group to the Grand Mausoleum to register for the lottery, then show them around the city, spending a few minutes at each shrine to the old gods as we go.
Eventually, we come to The Whispering Stone, which I suggest as our inn for the evening. Due to its popularity, it is a prime location for those inclined to mingle a bit and get some information about what we might expect to find in the necropolis and who else we'll be competing against. For the rest of us, it should be an enjoyable evening of food, drink and comfortable beds.
For everyone else, feel free to read the section above in Nevai's spoiler about The Whispering Stone. Because of it's popularity it is also the most expensive Inn in town. But not to worry, you won't have to back pay for nights spent there before the game! :)
The game will start with the lottery. Registering was as easy as walking up and giving your group's name. You were given a token to present at the lottery itself when your name is called.
If anyone wants to have gathered information, you're welcome to roll it here while we're working things out.
I pass the evening sharing a drink and catching up with a few of my acquaintances from years past.
Looks like none of my closer friends were around that night.
If we're getting close to starting could you please open the gameplay thread so we can dot it? (Posting and then deleting the post will make the game show up in our campaigns tab without cluttering the thread).
Also, we will need an actual name to start... Could we maybe all vote and limit ourselves to options already presented? Regarding loot... I didn't get any feedback on Micah's proposal... should we vote on that too? or is there anyone who wants to propose amendments to it? If/when we do vote should we vote yes/no on that plan and go from there or have everyone vote for the one their character would chose out of the options offered so far?
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Combining a couple gets us "The Inner Osirion Antiquities Acquisition and Trading Company". I like long names. :)
I am ok with Micah's proposal for loot distribution.
Total lack of realizing we'd gotten a discussion thread going so apologies for the delay in posting.
As for loot, I don't really have a preference. I think some things being "group" purchases makes sense to me. I want to avoid the voting and other administrative nightmares like loans to personal funds if possible though (especially given the high rate of PbP player turnover). Perhaps only buying "utility" items like CLW wands. And other than that need before greed is fine with me.
As for group name, I'd prefer something that sounds like it is foreign. The Chelish Osirion Trading Company is rather lazy, but that is similar to what my character would suggest. Though something super arrogant like Crusaders of the Light works too.
Perhaps...
Pan-Avistan Regional Treasures Acquisition Company?
You could do "Governor and Company of Merchants of Absalom trading into Southern Osirion " or for common use, "The Southern Osirion Trading Company".
Mainly because Wati is considered part of "South Osirion" even though with a cursory look at the map it seems more middle-ish.
Gameplay thread will be up later this evening. Don't feel rushed to begin, but feel free to dot the thread. We're still waiting on the other character to finish up and I'll give you guys plenty of time to work out loot and group name before we fully begin the game.
Diplomacy DC 15, Gather Information. The further off you are from the DC, the more obviously ridiculous the stories that you get. Feel free to be creative if it comes up, though none of them are remotely believeable. You get the sense that while The Whispering Stone is a popular place, it's not the best place to gain accurate information. Tall tales are not only expected but encouraged.
Information you manage to gather:
At the Whispering Stone you quickly learn that Teht Blackblossom is the new owner, daughter of the late Khufu Blackblossom. You also quickly learn that she's willing to spin any tale you're willing to drop coin for.
From what you gather, entrance to the necropolis is highly regulated by the Church of Pharasma. You are told tales of bottomless wells, gangs of ghouls, and a mummy that rules over a section called Vizier's Hill. It's hard to put any stock in these tales or separate the fact from the fiction.
As to the nature of the lottery, you are told that the local Church has decided that if it must open the necropolis, it will do so in an organized and methodical manner. They've chosen sites and will use a lottery to match them up with groups willing to venture inside.
Lastly, you learn that there are at least a dozen other groups already registered. One turns out to be a cleric of Abadar named Valtius, that you briefly met trying to get a boat out of Sothis. He and his team are actually present at the Whispering Stone, but they don't seem too talkative. His large friend, a man named Kadasi, keeps anyone from approaching their table too closely. The other groups range from a small group of locals who people claim are training out in the desert, to a group of Keleshite halflings and their trained fighting dogs. A half-elven singer at the Inn claims to be a member of a group called the Flickering Four, but won't say more than the rest of her group is "busy". She's obviously quite enamoured with the idea of being a real adventurer, but doesn't seem to have all that much real experience.
Does there happen to be any way to tell where Falto is and/or the name of his team?
And I like the Governor and Company of Merchants of Absalom trading into Southern Osirion
My concern with "Governor and Company" is that we don't actually have a governor in our organization (I don't think Absalom has a governor at all even)...
That sounds like sort of 2 votes for a super loose 'need before greed' loot system... If the majority want to go that way that's fine but I want to make sure that we're clear from the beginning (to minimize future tension)- Micah's motivation is profit; he has no objections to splitting everything recovered evenly, but if the plan isn't to actually divide it equally by value then he will work hard to make sure that he gets as much as he can. I don't mean that to sound confrontational at all but I don't want it to come as a surprise to anyone either...
Is there a reason equipment distribution needs to be determined by character greed? Could your character be motivated to find the greatest archaeological discovery of all time (for which coincidentally, the prince would be inclined to pay handsomely)?
Neither splitting everything perfectly evenly by value (sell all and split it up, penalizing people that want to use cool items we find?) nor selfish "me first" loot-grabbing sound very fun to me. I'd personally rather play the adventure than to try to rack up the high score.
I'm not recommending that we split things by in character greed.
My recommendation is that characters take the item(s) that are actual upgrades that they can wear/use. The rest of the items get sold off and money gets split evenly with the understanding that the "group" will pay for certain items (like the CLW wand) and otherwise people can do whatever they want with their share.
I don't think that needs to be inflexible - if we find upgrades for every character except one and it happens level after level then maybe we give that character some extra shares to get back in line with the average wealth. But otherwise it seems like a good loot system and obviates the need to have in character arguments about loot.
As for the name, it doesn't necessarily have to be Absalom or the word Governor. It can be regent, it can be baron, it can be whatever. And I suspect the GM wouldn't object to my character claiming to be (or even signing as) some random minor title in Cheliax.