Hi, Everyone!
First off, apologies for leaving anyone in the lurch by my weeks-long absence. Unfortunately, it’s my turn for that “real life” stuff to get in the way of all my fun. *sigh*
Between the time spent on my studies and other commitments, I simply have neither the energy nor the wherewithal to carry on with role-playing. Sadly, this means that I have to take a hiatus from role-playing. A real shame, as it is one of my favourite pastimes. I sat down and had a good think about it, but this is for the best, as my studies have to come first.
Playing with everyone here has been a pleasure. I always enjoyed seeing how the stories we collaborated on in the RPG environment move along nicely. It has been a pleasure and an honour playing with everyone here. I wish I was able to continue, but it would be profoundly unfair to everyone else (players and GM) if I could only commit to a sporadic appearance at best.
A real crying shame I have to step away from this campaign in particular. It was my favourite by far. I'll definitely miss this one more than any other online campaign I've played.
As the Romans would say: “Valete!” (all of you be strong/be well/farewell)
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PS: @ GM Rusteg: feel free to bot Juraan as you see fit until someone else can fill his shoes.
I'm very sorry to see you go Juraan, but I completely understand - RL always comes first! Thank you for checking in with us and it's been a pleasure playing with you for these last 3ish (!!) years. Best of luck and don't be a stranger (if you ever have the time to drop in and say hello) :)
Thanks, Marigold. As I said, this Cauldron campaign is my personal favourite and I profoundly regret to have to give it up.
I'll try to pop by on occasion to see how things are shaping up here...
I second Marigold's sentiments. I'm not adverse to guest appearances by the drakblood, should you desire to reconnect in more relaxed months ahead ;)
I'll echo the previous sentiments chief - it has been a pleasure and I'm sad to see you go, but also understand that RL has to be the priority.
Hopefully you return to the virtual gaming table down the line - heartily hope it's with us (as I've a feeling we've a few more years in the tank at least lol).
Please keep up with our (mis)adventures and hopefully the good Professor will grace us once again with his scale'd company.
All the Best
BD/Maxim
And I'll add in my appreciation to. What makes this game great is the interactions from everyone. Thanks for playing, and thanks also for letting us know why. I'll miss you.
In short, I second the words of all your companions. It was a great time playing together and I hope you can find a spot of time to came back around even if only for an occasional peek. Do not be shy to post and let us know you are around ;)
I would like to know what the others think about looking for a player replacement or keep going with 5.
Besides, I am lagging down because I am giving the final touches to a new creation my boss wants to bring to a Congress at San Francisco next week. Hopefully normal post rate will resume during the weekend.
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So far into the campaign, I'd say, as long as we have a strong five, we continue with who we've got. Real Life is a thing, no doubt, and lags are just stretch marks on old campaigns.
I seem to recall from somewhere that this goes all the way to level 20?
Wow, scary to think how much more stuff there still is to do to save Cauldron.
But given that, it would seem we are only half way through. Always hard coming into a well established campaign though, and always the chance for a new person to throw off the balance we have. In other words, no strong feelings either way.
Personally I think we could press on with 5 - however might be sounding out either JamZilla (Reuben's player) or Gaming Ranger (who played Dandarrion) - if we were to seek out a replacement having someone come back to the fold "fits" best in my mind (and experience).
That's right Maxim. I could reach them, although I am not sure if they will be interested, but we can definetly try. Juraan's enthusiasm will be difficult to replace anyway.
Which reminds me my business made me forget we just recently past our Campaign's 3rd anniversary :)
And we are just so close to the middle of the campaign that we can certainly think of 3-4 more years of playing. Unless we want to cut down on the final two chapters which have much less narrative potential than the middle area of the campaign.
Yes, I think we should be good to go with 5 but I'm also fine with seeing if Reuben or Dandarrion would want to try to jump back in.
First of all let me second all of the well wishes to Juraan, hopefully he's still popping in and will see this. I completely understand having to juggle real life and the gaming world. It can be very tough. Stop in and visit sometime.
as for going on with 5 or seeking a 6th, I like Maxim's idea of reaching out to some of those who have been with us before. My offensive production is limited, personally missing an acidic fireball rolling through the scene right now, trying to make up for it with other abilities.
Huzzah! Happy 3rd - a bitter sweet birthday with alas an empty seat at the party :(
Here's to us and another 3-4 years. Have complete faith GMR that you'll continue to conjure up roleplaying magic from the source material.
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I forgot to tell after the fight with Zaur Sza and Motruk you have enough experience to level up to 11!
Remember though new spell slots and daily uses will not be available until next rest.
Haha - how bizarre GMR - was just looking over Maxim after the last scrap and wondering my level up options when they come :)
He'll be taking a level in Arcane Trickster - my first dalliance into PrCs :)
Will need to learn Mage Hand spell from Maavu's Spellbook at the next rest juncture also.
: (Takes him 30 minutes to learn and the equivalent of 5GP in costs)
Yay! Third (oopse, 5th) attack, here I come. Not that I expect to hit with it too much.
Any thoughts about new favoured terrain? I'm liking the idea of the plane of fire, and we have certainly met the odd fire elemental and burning situation - although we have never been to that plane itself. Still, JJ has been putting a lot of effort into his planar researches since we started.
I admit to running a little short of in-character options - last time I picked jungle just because we had been in the jungle while finding Alex.
Huzzah! Another feat and another revelation! Update with all that soonish :)
Level 11- Paladin
HP: +9 (+6 Ave+1, +2 Con, +1 Favored Class)
BAB: +1 (Third Attack)
Aura of Justice
Feat: Iron Will
+1 Lvl 3 Spell/Day (Total of 2/day)
Divine Bond +3
Skills:
Diplomacy +1
Sense Motive +1
Profession(Ratcatcher) +1
Lore(Malachite) +1
+1 Hero Point
+9 HP (5 + 4 Con)
+1 BAB
+6 Skill Points (Fly, Kn. Planes x2, Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft)
+2 BG Skill Points (Linguistics - Terran, Kn. History)
Gain +1 4th & 5th Level Spell/Day
Gain +1 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Spells Known: Hold Person (2nd), Chain of Perdition (3rd), Blessing of Fervor (4th), Break Enchantment (5th)
Gain Feat: Spell Penetration
Gain Revelation: Moonlight Bridge
*edit* Somehow I had my Initiative modifier jacked up? It's a +5, not a +6 or +7 or whatever it was I had listed. Apologies!
HP +7 (6 class, +1 con)
BAB: +1 (third attack)
Saves all go up 1 (yay)
Favoured terrain: Plane of fire +2; Abyss improves to +10 (fear me demons)
Feat... good question. Tossing up between Toughness (more HP) and Improved Iron will (reroll on those failed saves vs succubi).
---> I'm leaning toward toughness, as his will save is not great, and a second chance at a save that he is unlikely to make probably won't be that big a difference.
Also thinking about retraining my weapon focus (SS) to weapon focus (staff). Given he is using Alakast so much these days.
Skills: 6(class) +1 (human) +2(background)
Acrobatics +1 (16)
Linguistics +1 (11) - need a new language... any thoughts?
Perception +1 (15)
Stealth +1 (14)
Survival +1 (15)
Heal +1 (5)
Swim +1 (8)
Background:
Know(geog) +1 (14)
Know(planes) +1 (15)
One hero point restored. Thank goodness.
@JJ: Personnally I'd go Improved Iron Will - we'll be facing more and more foes with domination/charm abilities. A second tilt at a failed save (throw in a Hero Point bonus) is better than straight up HP I reckon? While we can't afford him to drop in a scrap, having JJ be used against us would be a nightmare... :S
+1 Level in Arcane Trickster (now Wizard (Spellslinger) 6/Unchained Rogue 4/Arcane Striker 1)
+6HP (+4 Class +2 CON)
+1 Reflex, +1 Will
+1 Hero Point
+1 Caster Level & Spells per Day (No new spells learned - will have to cherry pick Maavu's spell book :)
Feat: Penetrating Spell
Skill Ranks (7): Acrobatics, Disable Device, Knowledge (Arcana), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft & Stealth
Background Skill Ranks (2): Appraise, Craft (Weapons)
BTW - anyone snagging that Belt of DEX (+2)? If not "ah'm your huckleberry" ;)
I have iron will. It is the improved iron will I'm wondering about. Reroll once a day.
JJ fighting the group would be nasty, but not *that* nasty, as he only has a +2 favoured enemy effective against Ryan (&Juraan).
Thought from others? I've factored in toughness for the moment, but pretty happy to change it from IIW (or if someone has an alternate suggestion, sing out)
@GM thoughts about retraining my weapon focus from short short to staff?
@JJ: Thought I was referencing Imp Iron Will? Second reroll etc? Yeah not so much your favoured enemy - more volume of attacks and ability of move around. everything that makes him an uber skirmisher makes him one against us?
HP of course is always dead handy (see what I did there ;)
Well, I've been "killed" but for hero points twice now.
On the flip side, there have been a couple of embarrassing will save fails too. I was initially looking at IIW, but the recent brush with death made me look at the numbers a bit more. Losing out on favoured class hp is starting to add up.
Perhaps more importantly given his less than stellar will save, there is the question of - if he failed the first time, how likely is it that JJ would actually succeed on the re-roll? PFS GM rerolls at least get your star bonus to help carry though on those difficult situation.
IIW however would be kind of nice in terms of showing his growing determination to tread his own path. hmm.
+7hp (5 + 2(con)) = 82hp
+1 BAB +8/+3
saves - no change
Channel Energy +1d6 = 6d6
FCB = +1 skill point (6 adventure, 2 background)
+1 3rd level spells - Dispel Magic
+2 6th level spells - Bull's Strength, Mass? while adventuring, Sacrificial Oath / Find the Path domain
Feat - Antagonize
comments, suggestions?
All is good! Seems you are getting a well rounded character with Kikinnin :)
Scarred Soul gives you +2 to initiative, with improved initiative +4 I think you should be at +6 unless there is some penalty I missed.
Ok, to the feat swap. I will only require you to follow the retraining rules. Which means 5 days of training and a 10xlevelx5 gp payment to the trainer.
Power attack is always useful in case you face an enemy with high DR. In that sense the quarterstaff gives you more room, because you can use it 2-handed for +50% Str to damage.
You can also do weird things with quarterstaff master and access weapon specialization without being a fighter.
I would suggest getting greater invisibility as soon as possible as a way to profit that sweat sneak attack ;)
Cool one that Antagonize. Note you should be able to determine a language to speak to them first ("You cannot make this check against a creature that does not understand"), which might be tricky in some circumstances.
One of my favourites at this level is divine interference.
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I'm glad he's coming across as such :)
Looks like GM Rutseg's Shackled City has entered the Top 50 on the Boards!
D'oh! That's right! That + Improved Initiative + the Warrior Priest feat should put me at Init +7 after all. Don't know why I got so confused for a second there!
Huzzah! Top 50!
@GMR: Copy that :)
I am fine with that JJ.
Noted in my roll helpers Marigold ;)
I knew the language thing would be an issue at times as well as some creatures just being big dumb dangerous things - current opponent likely qualifies as one of those. Using craft wondrous I wanted to create a brooch/torq something like the emissary's breastplate.
If you want to keep the breastplate idea....
Ryan could work with Maxim, if we have time for crafting that is, to complete it. Maxim has Craft Arms and can cast the arcane mark if required, a divine focus - Abadar's Golden key emblazoned on his breastplate would be nice. And in return Ryan could benefit Maxim with some crafting.
Hey folks, I'm sick/have been sick and while I've managed to scrape together the mental energy for some basic player posts I think I'm going to take a few days off from PbP, especially since I'm supposed to go back to work for the next three nights starting tonight (Saturday). Feel free to bot/delay Marigold as needed and I'll check back in early next week!
Be well Lil' Miss - we'll miss you more than a lil :)
@Ryan: Sounds a plan. Abadar would approve I reckon.
Best apply your energies to seeing yourself well, Marigold. We'll be here, gargling with antiseptic...
I'm feeling much better now and more or less ready to get back into the swing of things! Thanks for the well-wishes and the patience :)
Scheduled maintenance is playing havoc with the dice rolls :P Tried posting, got some good rolls, realized it double posted, tried to delete the last post, and the dice rolls shifted... I might wait a bit to let the Boards settle down.
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"You guys got yourselves in a whole heap of trouble without me." Ruben says, flashing that charming smile. "Figure I'd better see what I can do to help you out. Listen, it ain't that me leavin' and you dyin' would be on my conscience or anything, more that I don't want any of you hauntin' me. I hate it when that happens."
He shrugs.
"Plus I'm broke."
I can't speak for anyone else but I'd love to have you rejoin if you can manage another game!
There's, uh...a lot that's happened so I know we/the GM will have to catch you up on the particulars but hopefully that shouldn't be a problem :)
(Truth be told, I could use a refresher myself since I've grown a little foggy on some of the earliest plot connections.)
I'll second Marigold's comments, and welcome you back to the fold once more.
And a refresher sounds great although the GM has done a pretty thorough job with notes....
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Guys. You really want a 2nd Level Bard trying to tailwind us powerful Watchers? I'm not carrying his dead body, nor am I spending cold coin on his constant resurrections...
Sounds good to me too. Keeping continuity is really helpful. And in "game time" we have only been a few months if that, I think.
Ok cool. I mean I am hoping that Rutseg will let me level up at least a little and I've asked whether I can rebuild completely but keep the same character. Or I guess draw up a new one entirely depending on if you feel there is a role you are missing.
In all seriousness though, I know what it's like to play a game like this over several years and you all become a close-knit team. If you think I might disrupt that then it may well be better to continue as 5.
In the meantime I'll wait for the GM to come back to me.
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Echoing the above chief - would be awesome to have you back in some (any) capacity.
Having Reuben rebuild (or advance) with an increased emphasis on arcane spell casting (o'er duelling) would be helpful as Maxim is very much a wizard/rogue. In losing a sorcerer we've dropped some arcane spell support - however the bard's buffing will also lend a mighty hand to our collective output (and make GMR's crunch tracking all the more fun lol).
Something like a Sound Striker would be cool (reminds me of Dune's Weirding Module)
Regardless would be great to have you rejoin the fold mate :)
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Welcome Ruben!
Do not feel pushed back by the black dwarf's humor, you will get used to it, maybe :D
There are some small details we would first have to sort out.
First of all... I have not commented you but... Ruben was turned into stone by a Beholder by the end of the first book. I think Kikinnin's proposal to set the statue in a brothel did not progress, so it should be still standing at the deepness of Jzadirune.
The party could take the blood from the basilisk they recently killed and use it to prepare a concoction to break your petrification. Or I can just let slip a scroll of stone to flesh on one of the soon coming treasures. Or... you can wait until Maxim is able to learn that spell!
This brings the ultimate ability to restore Ruben at the characters hands, so it is their ultimate decision the how and when if they want to. Anyway, not before they come back to Cauldron (they are currently at the plane of the Abyss in a layer known as Occipitus in another crazy quest of domination).
As about the level, we can say the petrification experience has been traumatic and changed Ruben in some way. It would be great though if you were open to play with 2 or more levels less for a while for some sense of continuity. The other characters have passed through a lot after all and it makes sense they are more powerful now. But we can quickly offset that.
Also, about the role in the party, the character that left, Juraan, was a blaster sorcerer. Maxim can also cover that niche, so there is no real need for you to repurpose Ruben to provide that. I would like you avoiding to step on others toes though. As the last arrived it would be crappy if you could suddenly do something better than the character that was filling that role until now. In that sense I think late arrivals work better as support characters. Because Ruben was a bard, I think keeping up with his main class would work better both for continuity and avoiding to step on other people stuff, but let me know about what other good fits you may enjoy. Deprived of the requirement to provide real power to the party, perhaps it is a nice opportunity to explore some less mathematically efficient but more circumstantial/thematically memorable build?
I would like to know if someone feels there is some area to cover. For you to have a better picture, it would be something as this:
So, if all those limitations still do not make you rear back, you are most welcome to work on Ruben's return during the following weeks!
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Above series of posts gives you an indication of where we all sat on Reuben's petrification and potential freedom. Even mentions his cut of the treasure :)
Awesome, thank you guys.
I am open to filling any role you feel you have missing.
GM, do you want Ruben to come back specifically for continuity (in which case I would stay some kind of bard) or would an entirely new character be permissible to better fill a void? (again more than happy to start levels behind even with a new build)
If I were to stay as Ruben it would be hard to explain an additional 50+ skill points and a whole load of new abilities from where he left off. I guess my preference would be a new character, but it's your game and you are best placed to say what would fit for the group and where the game is currently.
I enjoy arcane characters generally and 6th level casters - especially Magi, Investigators and Occultists.
Thanks Maxim, nice to see you did right by him :)
GM, speaking of enchantments, would "Break Enchantment" work on Reuben or Kikinnins little sister?
Ryan has the ability through his travel domain to bring bring Reuben's statue back to Cauldron, although the bat guano might be best left below in Jadrizzune