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I'm in and out of meetings at work all day today so my posting may be sparse; busy day for me.
Unrelatedly, I realize Akshara isn't going to be of much help in the investigation aspect of this module, as she (at present) is neither invested nor proactive due to her nature, but she is also naive. So, if anyone thinks there's something she could be doing to help, by all means feel free to coerce her into assisting.
Hi, folks.
Sorry for lack of gameplay from me last night: I had an after-hours work thing figuratively blow up that required quite a lot of attention, and I'm dealing with the aftereffects in the office today.
I love the heavy roleplaying of this game so far, and want to respond in-game. I hope to squeeze in a post during my lunch break this afternoon, but if not, hopefully tonight some time.
Elion: Thanks for compiling our list of leads and info!
Elion - great post, thanks! Would it be helpful if I copied that to the campaign info thread or something so it's easy to find in the future?
You're all doing great so far. Loving it!
Thanks to Google Translate for the "Varisian" that Val spoke in my most recent gameplay post.
Since the Varisians are loosely based on the Roma people (who generally don't like to be called "Gypsies"), I figured that Romani would be the appropriate language analogue. Google Translate doesn't have Romani, so Romanian will have to do. (No, I donn't speak it in real life.)
Seems like a pretty reasonable language to use for Varisian. Cool!
Elion - great post, thanks! Would it be helpful if I copied that to the campaign info thread or something so it's easy to find in the future?
It was of a 'notes to self' kind of thing and the points will change as we learn more. If everyone likes that having the info I can keep posting it in this thread periodically. I'm not sure how useful it will be as a static entry since it's a living document. I'm not sure how the campaign info thread mechanics work. I'm guessing players can't change it but if you (GM) can edit the list as it changes, sure why not.
For players, let me know if I've missed any info or messed something up.
In my character background I wrote that Elion was from a small village near Absolom. I'm not sure where I originally found the name Absolom but it seems to be located on a island off the coast. I could re-write his backstory to include a sea voyage, but it's easier just to change the city to Magnimar. Following the lead of several other players (because it's a good idea) I also changed out a language for Varisian. All this subject to GM's approval, of course.
As for the GM rolling for dice on my behalf, I would consider that to extremely offensive if I didn't completely expect it (in other words, go ahead and make the rolls anytime it makes sense :-).
Te backstory switch is fine - and don't worry about me rolling for you too much, I mostly just do it for things that are "automatic" (Perception, Sense Motive)... That sort of thing.
Er, to be honest, I completely forgot about Bardic Knowledge when we first started. Perhaps it makes more sense to make the checks in the morning, anyway?
Certainly wouldn't be the first thing I thought of after ending a days-long prison wagon trip that ended with me being sent on an assassination mission.
After dinner and a good nights sleep, though, Leynus might be a bit more preoccupied with his fate. After all, it is at least in question now. Knowing where he is could certainly beneficial.
Haha, sure thing - any stuff you want to know about, just make the rolls and I'll see what you might know.
Tomorrow I'll make a post that advances us to the next day, if there are no objections. I may not get to it until the afternoon. You will have a chance to do various things things around town: shopping, asking questions, making foolish escape attempts... and soon we'll be on our way...
Sounds like Varisian is THE language to know! I'm such a trendsetter.
Sounds like Varisian is THE language to know! I'm such a trendsetter.
It was a good idea. I'm not proud, I'll steal from anyone :-)
^ Yup. That.
Inspired by the recent minor antagonism towards Bellicus:
I'm pretty sure I am going to deeply enjoy some of the character interaction in this one. The thrown-together party makes for some very interesting dynamics, as far as our values and social mores go.
On the most basic level, we have the alignment and mental stat breakdown:
Valeria, Chaotic Good.
Elion, Neutral Good.
Bellicus, Lawful Neutral
Anton, True Neutral
Teral, Chaotic Neutral
Leynus, Chaotic Neutral
Akshara, Chaotic Neutral
I know that's only the barest indication of how anyone behaves, but it interests me. It means we're going to be fairly divided on a whole lot of minor issues and a few major ones (lawful vs. chaotic!), but on the whole, we are at least united in that capital 'E' Evil is not on our to do list. In my experience, this leads to some fun in-game arguments and conflict, but rarely does it come to PvP or any other such nonsense. Pretty much perfect, in other words. Yay for that.
Sounds like Varisian is THE language to know! I'm such a trendsetter.It was a good idea. I'm not proud, I'll steal from anyone :-)
As Picasso said: Good artists borrow... Great artists steal.
We'll see who laughs when the big bad and I share a secret language!
It's kind of funny: On an metagame level, I had assumed that Varisian wouldn't be particularly useful at all for a PF-converted 3.0 module. I picked it solely for character background and role-playing reasons, once I settled on a Varisian connection for my character.
Anton: Hey! No spoilers! (Really-- I have zero familiarity with this module, aside from knowing that it has an excellent reputation.)
Teral: Yay Team Chaos! (Or is that a contradiction in terms...?)
That's probably a big reason why we all ran afoul of the Thrunnies.
Oh-- this is more than a month away, but the real-world me will be in Montreal for the first week of July. I'll be turning off cell roaming and data usage on my WinPhone (international data usage rates are exorbitant), and I'm not sure if the B&B we're staying in has WiFi.
No spoilers, I know nothing but in character stuff ...he's a druid!
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I'm interested to see how (if at all) Akshara's morality skews from one direction to another dependent on the group's interaction with her. I chose her alignment for two reasons: One, inborn predilection towards chaotic alignments, and neutral due to having no moral standpoint. As she's had no real "compass" in her life, so to speak, her morality will be very subjective depending on who winds up becoming a strong influence on her.
I like that way of looking at alignments. Some of my favorite rp experiences have involved the gradual shifting of a character's alignment. From the neutral tiefling swashbuckler that became an LG paladin out of spite to the CN rogue who eventually went full CE due to a bad influence, heh.
When posting as Anton, I try to think "How would Christopher Lee say this?" Which is made all the ore ridiculous by the fact he probably looks more like Bieber.
Imagine Anton's confusion. He's looked like either Christopher Lee or Alan Moore for centuries ...
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I too am enjoying the interactions between the PCs. I am seeing lots of the sorts of things I was hoping to see! And some things that I was not hoping to see... ugh, Bieber... if you had any experience points, I would take them away!
Oh-- this is more than a month away, but the real-world me will be in Montreal for the first week of July. I'll be turning off cell roaming and data usage on my WinPhone (international data usage rates are exorbitant), and I'm not sure if the B&B we're staying in has WiFi.
While you're away, Valeria will be sent to the Nine Hells for happy fun times. That's just the way I roll.
Aww, everyone else, don't be jealous - the week of July (9th-16th) when I'm on my honeymoon, ALL of you get to go there! It'll be exciting.
Actually, we'll probably just take a break from whatever action happens to be occurring for some RP.
We'll work all that out when we're a bit closer to July.
I'm interested to see how (if at all) Akshara's morality skews from one direction to another dependent on the group's interaction with her.
I'm hoping Val can be a good influence.
It's actually very refreshing to play a cheerful, friendly, free-spirited character for a change. The campaign I'm running (a somewhat-modified "Rise of the Runelords" AP) is very serious, with strong horror elements.
Before I took the GM reins, my last two character were both rather grim and taciturn.
I'm running Runelords myself for my local group, so I know what you mean. Yikes.
I am excited to see what influences Akshara more - the kind words and deeds of (some of) her party members, or the cruel nature of Chelish society and the harsh reality of the life of an adventurer-slave...
In any case, if you haven't already done so, you should be reading the gameplay thread, not this one. Hop to it!!
The halfling comes running back at that moment bearing a new tray of meats and cheeses for his master. Out of breath, he briefly glances up at the seven of you, then quickly back down at his feet before making eye contact.
Is this what you meant to say? It seems out of character for the enslaved Halfling to be making eye contact?
I meant that he glances at his feet before the possibility of making eye contact, but I see how it can be read as meaning that he looks at his feet and then makes eye contact. Thanks for pointing that out - I'll edit it!
Ah! Makes sense.
I'll pick up 20 sling bullets, 2 flasks of oil and a Tanglefoot bag.
Add Cold Weather outfit (8gp) and Gloves
total: 58gp 4 sp
If anyone is short on money, Elion has about 40gp he can loan out. No interest, no strings, just pay him back when you can. No point carrying a lot of gold into a deserted tower. I don't plan on buying any 'magic' goblin fruit.
Mike: Now that I've played her a bit and her personality is coalescing more, I'd like to make another minor tweak to Val's stats.
Could I switch my skill rank in Bluff to Diplomacy? Now that I've gotten into her head a bit more, I think that suits her character better.
Elion: Val is going to try to hit up our employer for reasonable expenses.
Akshara's cheese post is one of my favorite things I've read in a long time.
Akshara's cheese post is one of my favorite things I've read in a long time.
Agreed! That was hilarious!
Yay for cheese tricking people. That was definitely pleasing.
Me, I'm amusing myself with the high Charisma character who doesn't want to talk. For some mildly perverse reason, that just tickles me.
On the alignment-changing note, I think Teral may end up slipping into Chaotic Good despite himself. The first reaction he's had when people are being bigoted or talking about their slaves has been to put a stop to it, and you just can't keep valuing other people's personal freedoms like that without ending up a good guy. Sooner or later, I suspect he'll realize that regardless of people's expectations, he can choose the path people expected him to follow of his own free will, and then rock the hero thing whole hog. That'll amuse me less, but he'll certainly have a better time.
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I hope nobody minds Bellicus' casual racism, but he's a product of modern Cheliax, unfortunate social mores and all. If anyone has a problem, just let me know, I'll tone it down.
That said, I do look forward to seeing how adventuring with you lot will change him. While he wants to rejoin the Hellknights, he's also LN, and hasn't completely drunk the infernal Kool-Aid. He probably agrees with Abadar's doctrine more than Asmodeus', but he'd never voice that opinion. (When mind-reading is a thing, thoughtcrime is probably an actual offense.) Maybe he'll be persuaded not to rejoin the Hellknights. Then again, maybe he will, but will balance the needs of his group with the needs of his Order.
Or, yet again, he'll rejoin the Order, and say to Hell with the lot of you. He can go a lot of ways.
Not offensive to me at all. There's a separation between character and player, and while I've run into one or two people who have trouble with that distinction, they're definitely the minority 'round these parts. In the meantime, I'm always pleased when a player actually roleplays the less savory bits of their character. Most people like to gloss over that stuff, but I feel like it really adds to a game.
Just don't necessarily expect our characters to respond with pleasure. ;)
Agreed. The casual racism fits a Hellknight, and I have no problem with you playing him that way.
Val is turning out to be even more of a rebel than I'd originally intended. It's always interesting how characters seem to go in their own directions sometimes. Taking a cue from the Church of Asmodeus (she has certainly attended plenty of services, as church attendance is practically mandatory), she's planning to keep to the letter of her orders while ignoring the spirit. Which should be easy on her mind, as the spirit of her orders is certainly malevolent! Attaining a Good ending to the quest-- especially if she's able to get some subtle Desnan proselytizing in-- would be a delicious irony.
On a somewhat related note, as a way to try to get more into Val's head, I'm putting together a Spotify playlist of some of her songs. (You'll probably see that I'm a fan of Celtic music from what I put together.) I'll post the link on this thread when it's ready.)
Loving the party dynamics. Part of the reason I wanted to run this with the "service to House Thrune" angle was to allow for characters with totally different ideals to be thrown into an adventuring party together.
I too like to play characters whose alignment may shift depending on the other party members, NPCs, and the story in general. I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress for all of you!
I can't wait until you have to decide what to do about **spoilers omitted**, and dealing with **spoilers omitted** will be quite fun as well! ;)
Valeria - I would LOVE if you made a Spotify playlist of Val's songs! I'm also fine with you switching to Diplomacy. In general if a player makes a stat choice I allow them to change it until they've used it, and I'm more lenient at early levels when people are still figuring out their characters.
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I figured nobody would, but hey, you never know who's on the other side of the computer screen. Casual racism towards tieflings and halflings is one thing; casual racism towards real-life ethnic groups is definitely another. While nobody I know has been discriminated against as a three-foot tall creature that extolls the virtue of a pastoral life, I've no idea what ethnicity anyone is. Much the same way I'd offer this caveat towards women if I were playing a sexist character, I figure it's better to err on the side of caution.
You definitely did the right thing. Some people prefer not to have certain subjects or behaviors crop up in their games (and any players in this game should speak up if that's the case). Casual sexism in gaming is particularly bothersome. But I think Bellicus' casual racism towards halflings and tieflings makes sense within the setting and honestly these sorts of reactions will be common from NPCs as well...
There was absolutely no need for Leynus to sneak up on them, except that both he and I just wanted to, heh. I should make clear that I only intended him to overhear the mayor's secret portion of the conversation.
You made a good sneak roll though!
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I did, surprisingly. I couldn't resist the opportunity to creep Elion out more. Although Leynus probably cherished the opportunity to be sneaky, he also resents the idea that someone's learning something that he isn't privy to. Glad the roll went well.
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Valeria's setlist, on Spotify.
You will need to set yourself up with a (free!) Spotify account, if you haven't done so already.
Some of these songs might run the risk of the singer getting hanged in Cheliax. (Notably the set closer, "Chimes of Freedom"-- I envision this as having been an Andoren song that was popular during the Revolution against Cheliax.)
On a slightly related note... I can't believe that I stayed up to 1AM doing this!