Thrawn's Gallows of Madness (PFSRPG) (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Muldoon

Starting discussion thread to get everyone invited and campaign set up.
Please confirm final characters here, and feel free to work with the rest of the team for composition of the party.

"Greetings fellow Pathfinders, I am a cleric of Hei Feng. I have focused entirely on his aspect as the Lord of Lightning. I have been on one mission so I have a wand of cure light wounds. I can also channel positive energy. I need to know if I need to prepare buffing spells that I can turn into cure spells, or if I can focus all of my spells on lightning. I can fight in melee, but do not rely on my to be the main melee fighter, or meat shield. I look forward to working with all of you."

Let me know if you want me to explain any of that out of character.

"Greetings, I'm Ingrge, a Half-Elf Urban Ranger. This will be my first mission as a Pathfinder. I'm best at ranged attack with my longbow, but can fight in melee, in a pinch. I can also act as a scout since my bonuses in Stealth, Perception, Disable Device, and Initiative are pretty good. I look forward to our journey..."

"Hail! I am Quazel Karn, from the Ironbound Islands, devotee of Gorum, and scholar of battle. I fight with my greatsword, but also rely on my allies to defeat all opposition. A traveler and poet, I welcome my role in the Pathfinder Society."

Okay, I'm trying to figure out which character to bring but am a bit confused by this scenario arc.

You said it's evergreen for 1st level, but we can play it once with a level 2 or 3? Could you please verify that?

Thanks for running it! Looking forward to it!

Okay, I'm trying to figure out which character to bring but am a bit confused by this scenario arc.

You said it's evergreen for 1st level, but we can play it once with a level 2 or 3? Could you please verify that?

Thanks for running it! Looking forward to it!

This module is actually 3 separate scenarios + 1 bonus chronicle. So there are 4 chronicles in all.

Each of the 3 scenarios has the following rules:
Can be played in any order.
3 XP each
Can be played as many times as you want at level 1.
Can be played once at either level 2 or 3.

So if you play on normal track, and we play the scenarios in the order printed in the book:
1) A Foul Breed - Played at level 1, so you could still play this in the future at either level 2 or 3 in addition to unlimited plays with level 1 characters.

2) What Lurks in the Woods - You would be level 2 (after leveling up at the end of A Foul Breed). So playing this would us up your one play at level 2/3, but you could play unlimited replays with level 1 characters.

3) The Festering Blot - You would be level 3 (after leveling up at the end of What Lurks in the Woods). So playing this would us up your one play at level 2/3, but you could play unlimited replays with level 1 characters.

4) After playing all 3 scenarios on the same character, you'd get a bonus sheet which has 3 more xp (so you'd gain one more level, reaching 5. Level 4 would come from The Festering Blot.)

Okay, thanks for the clarification. Do you want us all at level 1, or can we do this at 2 or 3 for this run?

Okay, thanks for the clarification. Do you want us all at level 1, or can we do this at 2 or 3 for this run?

1) Starting above level 1 does adjust the difficulty. (This is true on all 3 quests.

Alright, I'll go ahead with this character, Khafra Almaktoum, Bloodrager 1.

Here is Truddig, a dwarven Druid that's starting with a Monk dip for melee purposes. I started building him before seeing both the Inquisitor and Bloodrager though, so now I'm thinking we could probably use a full caster more than another body in combat. So, I'm considering a rebuild to just Druid for that, but thought I'd run it past the group first. What do you think?

Hi! So I'm seeing we have a couple front liners, a support character or two, a mix of melee and range. I'm thinking what is needed here is arcane power rather than a rogue. I have been mulling over a magus. How eager are people to start? While I can have a character ready sometime this weekend, my next week is a blasphemy.

I would like to start by Monday at least.

Interestingly enough, for future planning, I plan to also advance as a skald for this character, and will eventually become a combo frontliner/supporter. So a magus and/or druid/monk may or may not enjoy synergy with my character's abilities.

I'm ready to start whenever all of you are ready. I can be as patient or as fast as people need me to be to kick this off.

I'm ready whenever everyone else is...

Same here.

Ready!

Ready.

Finally ready, I'm hoping this works out well. I'm somehow not really good at stating out arcane casters, and their ilk.

My posting will be spotty for the next week or so. i'l try and minimize that though for the campaign's sake.

It's been a long trip from Absalom to the nation of Isger. The village of Saringallow seems like a remote and unimportant destination, but Drendle Drang assured you that it was important for each of you to meet in this village, where arrangements have been made for you to discreetly meet with Mayor Sandra Trinelli. Your instructions are to help her with her reported troubles, in order to pave the way for the Pathfinder Society to start paving the way for a lodge to be set up.
Upon arriving to the village, you are guided to the town hall where you the mayor is to meet you.

Feel free to introduce yourselves to each other in ooc, as you have spend weeks on the roads and Rivers on your way to this Isgerian village.

After a short wait at the town hall, you are shown to the mayor's office. The plush red carpet and oak furniture upholstered with velvet lend this room an air of comfort, but it’s also clearly a place of official business, with several layers of administrative papers, staff memos, maps, and charts covering the wide surface of the solid desk in the center. From her tall-backed chair behind her desk, Mayor Sandra Trinelli looks up, shaking herself out of a deep concentration. A subtle look of relief flashes across her face as she motions to the oversized chairs in front of her.

“Normally, I’d exchange more pleasantries with my guests, but I fear there is no time. The business that brought you here is quite urgent—it may actually be a matter of life and death. Let me explain. You may have heard that several young apprentices from various establishments in Saringallow have disappeared in the last couple of weeks. Every one of them has failed to show up to work, and nobody seems to know where they’ve gone.

That’s not all. Rumors are spreading about sightings of enormous insects roaming about town. So far, the townspeople have chalked up such rumors to overactive imaginations, but I fear they might be real, and that they might have something to do with the missing apprentices. I have no proof that the situations are connected, but if folks get that notion into their heads, things are bound to spiral out of control.”

She shifts nervously, as if avoiding an uncomfortable implication, before continuing.

"Please, I implore you to look into this matter quietly and thoroughly—find out where our apprentices have gone
and discover the cause of our vermin problem. Don’t jump to conclusions until you have investigated every possible angle; we need to be absolutely sure that we know who or what is responsible before we take any necessary law enforcement actions.

I suggest you start by interviewing the masters of every missing apprentice on this list I’ve compiled. I suspect that, collectively, they might shed some light on the youngsters’ whereabouts. That could in turn illuminate our vermin problem, but until we have more information, I caution you against suggesting to anyone that the two situations are connected. Beyond that, though, you have my full cooperation in this matter. If anyone gives you guff about your line of questioning, show them this letter.”

The mayor pushes a scrap of paper with several names scribbled on it across her desk, as well as a rolled-up, ribbon-bound letter written on thick parchment.

“I know your organization is interested in continued relations with this village. As an additional incentive, I’ve pooled together 50 gold pieces as a reward for each apprentice you manage to find and rescue, as well as an additional 100 gold pieces if you can determine the cause of our vermin problem—and eliminate it. Do we have a deal?”

Handouts and Maps

@GM: Shouldn't this be in the Gameplay thread?

Absolutely right. Sorry

Don't worry about it. Some of us make more mistakes than they should all around. *awkward cough*

I make more than my share. At least as a GM, I don't have to switch avatars. As a player, that's my #1 crime.

I make more than my share. At least as a GM, I don't have to switch avatars. As a player, that's my #1 crime.

No worries, 'preciate you running this for us...

As for the avatar, I'm getting more used to it now...but made several snafus when I first started a couple months ago, and that's when I only had a couple of avatars. There's one guy struggling with that in another module I'm in now...he goes back and forth between his player and character avatar...and he always seems to catch it a couple of minutes after the hour time limit for editing is up...

I use a Chrome plugin called "Paizo Campaign Tools" that, among other things, sets a different default avatar for each campaign; it really help me post under the correct avatar.

I'll check again tonight to see if a decision on next location has been made. I'm good with conversations continuing too. Just want you to know I'll be out for about 5 hours unless I post from my phone.

With -4 for cover, -4 for in combat, that will be an 11 vs flat footed, which is a miss.

Technically, cover provides an AC bonus to the defender, which is managed by the GM, not the PC.

Firing into melee without Precise Strike is a penalty to the attack that PCs should account for in their rolls.

Thrawn007 wrote:

With -4 for cover, -4 for in combat, that will be an 11 vs flat footed, which is a miss.

Technically, cover provides an AC bonus to the defender, which is managed by the GM, not the PC.

Firing into melee without Precise Strike is a penalty to the attack that PCs should account for in their rolls.

Thanks. I usually add the -4 to firing into melee, but I was in the process of writing my attack post while you posted and didn't realize you had attacked (you beat my post by a couple of minutes, I think). I thought if I fired before anyone engaged the beetle, then the -4 for firing into melee would not apply...is that correct?

I thought if I fired before anyone engaged the beetle, then the -4 for firing into melee would not apply...is that correct?

Yes, that's how I see it. Sorry I stepped in your way; it would have been better it I could hit anything but branches. :)

No worries, that's one reason I have the Deadeye Bowman trait as one creature doesn't provide soft cover to my target...I should've checked again before I posted...

@Quazel Master of Many Styles trades out Flurry of Blows.

I should know that. But still, you were in great position for use of an extra attack.

Indeed! And had the dice-roller or the bushes agreed, we might be done with the beetles right now. :) Appreciate the haste; that's a nice ability.

Edit: This is where building for PFS gets a little shnikey. I'm going druid, so the long-term strategy is full attacks with natural weapons; Flurry is meaningless when that comes online, so it makes sense to trade it out. However, since you can rebuild for free up until 2nd level, I technically could have built without MoMS, keeping Flurry for this first level and rebuilding into MoMS right before applying the chronicle that levels me up to 2nd.

Though, now that I think about it, this module technically lacks the gap between scenarios that one would use to rebuild, so maybe that actually wasn't an option this time around. Either way, even if it's allowed to do it that way, it feels like gaming the system. :)

It costs me all my turn's actions, but since I'd only be able to draw and advance, I figured, let someone else have it.

Then again, if I did attack, that would have been my 12/100.

Beetle is at exactly 0 hp at the moment.

Did Evernight drop out?

I've been wondering the same. Sent a PM

You guys do keep a heck of a pace though.

:D

I try to keep up with whatever pace the players post at if I can, especially if it's short stuff I can answer. More complicated posts I take longer on unless I'm prepped and am at the right computer where I have it prepped. I try to do a minimum of 1 post a day, with more if I can and I feel it will keep things flowing.

We'll see how well I keep that up when I go to Disney in a week.

FYI - As alluded to in the last post, I'll be at Disney on vacation from Tuesday through Sunday. I'll still try to post 1/day, but won't likely be checking much more often than that.

I'll be updating late tonight. Train delays mean that I'm stuck in Boston far longer than I really care for.

Is Quazel up?

Yes, I'm likely going to bot him if there is no post by the time I'm heading to bed

Sorry, I'm back. Didn't expect to have all free time taken from me for a couple days.

I'm going to be out of the country on business next week. I'll have internet connectivity, but I don't know what my schedule will be like. Bot me as necessary.

Thanks for the heads up.

This is just a heads-up that I am going to be at a music festival this weekend. I'll be camping and I expect to have very poor cell service. I will be back on Monday; posting will be sporadic if at all until then.

Please feel free to bot Truddig until I return if you need his action to keep the game moving.

FYI, I'll be traveling in Europe for the next two weeks. I'll try to keep up on posting, but will likely be sporadic. Please bot me as needed.

I'm back.