Ustalav introduction campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Browman

That Other Guy wrote:

I don't think we know IC that they are now returning, so I'd assume we keep exploring the cave

But is it a good idea to keep exploring a cave who knows where, containing who knows what, without half your team and hoping that the others can follow a very convoluted trail that would be a couple days old by the time they find it.

I totally get what you mean, but IC I don't know if they will think the same way.

I handwaved the time to get the two groups back together. Hopefully we can pick up some momentum, things have kind of stagnated the last little bit.

Yeah it would be good to get the game back on a faster pace again. I'd like to do a recap, but so much stuff has happened... We got directions to the ruins in some demon-haunted forest from where the carver had copied his designs, and were on our way there, when we arrived in Kotla, where the group split up. I guess that's the short version.

Garekk you are our designated money handler and quartermaster right? I'll give the 20 gp from the pelts to you.

Yeah it would be good to get the game back on a faster pace again. I'd like to do a recap, but so much stuff has happened... We got directions to the ruins in some demon-haunted forest from where the carver had copied his designs, and were on our way there, when we arrived in Kotla, where the group split up. I guess that's the short version.

I think part of that was the long separation of the party, things seemed to slow down when there were only 3 people posting for each half-team. So lets try to avoid splitting the part in two for any long period of time.

Yeah. At least Rois won't have missed too much stuff, if he returns.

Chingo, No problem.. Will do.

so no reaction to seeing something down the trail?

It's a baby wyvern right? Does Voryn recognize it?

It's a baby wyvern right? Does Voryn recognize it?

It is not a baby wyvern, close but incorrect.

Dang! Well, Voryn thinks it is. I hope that's okay.

It is a knowledge Arcana check to identify exactly what it is.

Was unable to post during the weekend. I'll catch up now.

Hey guys I'm getting on the plane back home from China to the U.S., won't be posting until probably Sunday or Monday (conservative estimation.) If I can post in transit I will.

Vorelloex will continue to be as a moody teenager... if we run across anything that resembles a mage he will auto-rage and try to smash it.

Hailey is currently experiencing computer issues. She has asked me to NPC her. In the current situation she would probably say Calistria should get close enough to use her positive energy against the skeletons.

Just as an FYI, I'm going to be gone on vacation starting tomorrow and lasting until May 3rd. I will have internet access, but I cannot guarantee a regular amount of posts. I will do what I can :)

What do you guys want to do? Sir Rois has completely disappeared from the forums, Calistria's presence is spotty, Hailey has computer problems. Swift palm and Vorel are both temporarily unavailable it would seem. Do we need to recruit more people to replace sir Rois and Possibly Calistria? And do we want to wait for at least one of Hailey, swift palm or Vorel to get back before launching into combat?

I'm gonna be back and ready to post in about 9 hours, sorry for the prolonged absence.

I think we'll be okay tempo-wise, but maybe we would like to just take a break until May 3rd and see if we can contact Calistria in that time to reel her back in? That seems good to me.

hmm.. I dont know. how extensive are the problems that Hailey and Calistria are facing? It sucks having your comp go down.. been there.. but I like the chemistry that we have. I guess that it may end up falling on you to make the decision, Browman. None of the rest of us know whats been going on with everyone else. We should probably find a replacement for Sir Rois, but beyond that, I dont know.

Hailey has serious computer issues but should be back eventually, Calistria hasn't been around much recently if at all. I expect Hailey to be back, but am extremely unsure if we will see Calistria again but I will PM her. As long as Sir Rois is the only one permanently gone we shouldn't need to recruit more as we still have six people.

Okay. If we don't hear back from Calistria then we can let them be eaten by zambies or whatever and look for a new face. Whatever you think best, GM.

I hope everything turns out ok. Would be sad to see this one go down. :(

I hope everything turns out ok. Would be sad to see this one go down. :(

Worst case we recruit another 2 people. I have no plans on ending this campaign.

Good to hear, Browman.

Thank you, DM. My computer has been repaired, or at least I think it has. So, your gnome-cromancer is back.

Yay!!!!!!!

-Posted with Wayfinder

Welcome back Hailey. :)

I think my relief was premature. But I'll post as often as possible, even if I have to go the library every single day (or nearly every day) to do it. So I'm not leaving you guys.

Well good luck.. and I am glad you are sticking it through.. you add a flavor that keeps things very interesting!

-Posted with Wayfinder

Yes, it's official. My laptop died this morning. But I will make it a point to get to the library as often as I can, so I'm still here. Just not quite as often as I used to be.

I have been super busy the last few days, I should be able to update either after work tomorrow or the day after.

Protection from Evil is actually an excellent little spell, now that I've fully read it over. It's not just +2 AC bonus against attacks from evil, it's also partial protection against mental command, possibility of re-rolling a failed save, and can even hedge out the natural weapons of summoned evil creatures.

It only lasts for a minute because of how low level Hailey is, but that should be enough time to fend off an ambush.

Very nice.. I like. Thank you!

I will update after work today.

My participation in the game is going to be seriously hampered until the 22nd, as I have no internet in my new apartment until then. Also, glad the game isn't ending :)

Thank you for the scrolls and spellbook, DM. We're getting near to a point when, for Hailey, it's time to begin thinking of these things.

The way I saw it, we had four options.

1) She'd have to find some scrolls somewhere.

2) She'd have to find a teacher somewhere.

3) You'd have to allow her to remember some of the spells that the wizards and sorcerers cast while she counselled them in the church of Nethys, or remember some of the spells that she learned in her priestess classes there. Or some hodgepodge of the two.

Or 4) You would've had to allow her to create level 1 wizard spells, which would probably have been the least palatable option to you.

You picked option 1, and I'm glad of it. Thank you again.

No worries, a GM should aim to have things set up to allow their players to do what they want within reason.

On the recruiting new players front I am planning on recruiting 2 new people to bring us back to 6 players after you guys hit level 2. Which should occur in your current location.

A healer might be wise, DM. Hailey can cast cure spells, but not spontaneously and she doesn't like to cast them. She prefers to hex people rather than heal them. She'll do it if she must, but can any of you picture Hailey being the lead medic for this party? Perhaps if you were all turned into vampires or something.

A healer might be wise, DM. Hailey can cast cure spells, but not spontaneously and she doesn't like to cast them. She prefers to hex people rather than heal them. She'll do it if she must, but can any of you picture Hailey being the lead medic for this party? Perhaps if you were all turned into vampires or something.

I won't be recruiting for specific classes or roles but based on who submits the best characters.

Thank you for the scrolls, DM. Ray of Enfeeblement is a spell Hailey's going to relish casting.

By the way, I've decided after a review of the schools of magic and the spells in them that the two schools I'd originally intended to sacrifice (as one must when they specialize) in order to become a necromancer, Illusion and Enchantment, were partially incorrect.

I fully intend to sacrifice Illusion, as I like the idea that, try as she might, Hailey just can't practice the normal gnomish way of things . . .

But the second school she'll sacrifice will be Conjuration. Sorry boys, no mage armor from Hailey, I'm afraid. Maybe our budding sorcerer will pick it up. Conjuration does have roughly half the damage-dealing spells wizards are renowned for, but since I'm not sacrificing Evocation, which has the other half, she can still use Magic Missile, and Flaming Sphere, and Fireball, and Ice Storm . . .

See, I was originally of the opinion that Illusion and Enchantment were best to sacrifice because they don't work on undead.
But I'd also intended Hailey to be a counterspeller, something I've played before, frequently, in 3.5 games. The DM told me he didn't like this idea and I decided to accept his ruling.

But that doesn't mean I can't use spells to either defend against enemy spells or deprive the enemy spellcaster of the score needed to cast spells at all . . .

So after reviewing the spells available, I noticed that Enchantment has spells, not just Sleep and Charm person, which work wonders against weak enemies, but also spells like Touch of Idiocy and Feeblemind, which can be used (alongisde Bestow Curse, a spell Hailey definitely wants from another school) to hex an enemy caster's ability scores, stripping him of casting power entirely if she can get him down to 9 or less. And the fact that Enchantment can make people unable to do things for a turn or so as well.

Add in Abjuration spells like Shield, Dispel Magic, Spell Turning, and the defences against element spells, and it's very much like counterspelling, either rending their spells useless or stripping them of power.

I just love the idea of using someone's own undead against them. I've never done it before and I'm getting increasing thrilled with the idea.

In short, she's still going to become a Necromancer. But she's giving up Illusion and Conjuration.

Her spell list will be a blend of Necromancy, Abjuration, and Enchantments. Her opponents won't be able to guess what she's going to do.

Aren't you glad she's on your side, boys?

Well then, I may as well continue.

It is not interesting to me to raise an army of undead. That was never Hailey's point. Pathfinder is not Diablo 2. If I wanted to make an army, I would've just played one of my typical druids. After playing 3.0 and 3.5 for a while, druids and multi-class druids became what I felt happiest playing, especially when I could tweak them to make them masters of healing to the point where, if we didn't have a cleric among us, we didn't even notice. The price, of course, being that I had to sacrifice the strength score and keep my druid out of battle to serve as the medic, relying on summoning creature spells to fight for me. But that was fine with me. I don't care for battle unless I want to play a martial class.

Battles of magic were always far more interesting to me than battles of blade. Once, as a druid in a 3.5 tabletop game, I saved the entire party from dying to a fireball spell by countering with Quench. They never questioned my countering again. My big question was always if I could get a DM to let my druids cast the Regenerate spells rather than the Cure spells, and finding a way to give my druids Spell Turning. Druids, even in Pathfinder, don't get the Magic Domain, sadly. Thank goodness for the Spell Parry feat in the Advanced rulebook now.

Should we need a healer, we actually do have one - Hailey. She's neutral, not evil, which means that, though she can't cast them spontaneously, she can prepare and cast cure spells. She won't want to, but all wizards get Scribe Scroll for free at first level, so she can prepare Cure Lt. on scrolls whenever she fancies, so we'll have medical attention available even if our healer does favor the dark side . . .

Anyway, my hope was to use necromancy against necromancy, and really, have any of you ever heard of someone trying that before? What a delightful experiment to try, I thought.

Besides, if any of you are still interested at this point, the archtype I meant to use for Hailey was Mother Grace from the movie and book "The Servants of Twilight." If you want a better understanding of what Hailey is in my eyes, watch the movie.

Oh well, my rant is over. Enjoy, and again, aren't you glad the gnomecromancer is on your side, boys?

Hailey! You're definitely one of the most enigmatic and unique players I've had the pleasure to play with. You're so into your character that you make me feel like I have a lot of work to do in order for Swift to be on par. Keep up your good work and I look forward to rp-ing with you.

From a player like you, that is high praise indeed. Thank you.

I have to agree whole-heartedly with Swift, and I am very glad that the "Little One" is on our side! You bring a depth to your character that is not often found, and I find it to be a clear and fresh breath of air. I have never been much of one for playing magic users.. in fact, I have ever played exactly one wizard, and she is only level 1.. But I find your rationalizations to be rather intriguing. I really look forward to seeing where she ends up, but more fun.. I look forward to the journey to get there!!!

Oh my. I didn't mean to start all this. Thank you, too.

I haven't set up the recruitment thread, I was waiting until we got closer to a point where I could integrate new characters.

I will likely start it sometime this weekend and will post a link here.

cool. I have seen that done a couple of times on the boards, where the current players interact a bit with the applicants in recruitment, or talk things up. Any opinions on that?

cool. I have seen that done a couple of times on the boards, where the current players interact a bit with the applicants in recruitment, or talk things up. Any opinions on that?

I have no issues with you guys talking on the recruitment thread once it is up. I am going to be looking for people with limited experience and more concerned with their character concept than a balanced party or system mastery.

Sounds great to me!

I am going to aim to recruit 3 new people.