War for the Crown with DM Vayelan

Game Master vayelan

I've certainly got some spells that can be helpful! I'll leave a 3rd level spell slot open in case we need something really specific.

Worth remembering that the bridge to Jambis is out, might wanna point money there if we wanna investigate the place for Paril's acolytes.

Sounds like the bridge would be a good project immediately. Make it solid stone too. Not made of wood.Something that lasts and can't easily be destroyed or unmade without serious effort or magic.

Persona system: Should I be coming in to this at square one (i.e. 1 rank each of Sagacity and Charm)?

I'm catching up on the posts. I didn't feel right continuing without reading Amandine's impressive post regarding one of her agents.
Kudos on the writing effort!

@Amandine: The result of your Gather Information operation would be that, once before the next Persona Phase, you can use the result of your Operation Check (which is d20+the number of agents sent) in place of a normal Diplomacy check to gather information.

@Meraki: Yes, that sounds good. Since we are still early in the Persona system, you will not be far behind the rest of the party.
I've updated the Persona tracker with your ranks.

Here are some of the "quest hooks" that you've picked up either from conversations with NPCs or from overheard rumors.

Overarching Goals:
*Earn loyalty of the county's population
*Renovate Stachys
*Deal with the Night Swan
*Overthrow Count Lotheed

Short-Term Goals:
*Search for missing Abadarans (last seen in Stachys, heading towards Gold Canyon)
*Investigate Gold Canyon in preparation for rebuilding bridge
*Avoid Sir Gusairne's suspicions and investigations
*Investigate the old pump house outside Stachys in preparation for renovation
*Try to catch "The General," a monstrous catfish that purportedly lives in Lake Pensaris
*Investigate situation at Jambis, where Baron Telus has reportedly abandoned his duties entirely after succumbing to a witch's curse
*Help residents of New Towne, a village (akin to a refugee camp) founded by people who fled Jambis
*Help the residents of the Beggarwood, left homeless and indigent by the count's policies.

Damn we got work to do.

Can you refresh my memory about the Night Swan? And are any of these time-related?

Good summary. I still think we can investigate the bridge and the missing Abadarans at the same time. Two birds with one stone you know.

The least important is the 'Catfish' IMHO for now.

I think the 'Night Swan' is an accomplished thief or assassin who dislikes nobility, or something like that. She showed up in the game just before I joined.

The Night Swan, depending on whom you ask, is either a local folk hero or a dangerous menace. She targets nobles and merchants with robberies, vandalism, and other harassment. At the Tanager Jubilee, she targeted Count Lotheed with a poisoned crossbow trap, but Greenly took the bolt.

The only one of those plot hooks that's time sensitive, although I won't say how or why, is the missing Abadarans.

Going after the missing people first certainly makes sense to me.

Wow, that list is considerably longer than I remembered.

I still think the missing acolytes should come first. Finishing it off should also close out the chapter involving Mags since we have the deal to get her healed.

Looks like a got the Jambis stuff and the Acolyte stuff scrambled up together since I didn't go back and actually check.

Yeah I'm down for acolytes

Hope I managed to tie Meraki in without too much cringe

I think you did fine, even if your eyebrow waggling gave away the game. :)

Do you know how hard it is for paladins to bluff? I've had nothing but underhanded dealings this whole adventure, baring that dungeon run and the manticore in which I hit things... exceptionally overtly. Oh and the joust, which was fun. Hopefully I'll get to do some more mounted combat stuff.

Olivia, the iconic Taldan they went with for the AP art is the cavalier, and as much as I love Kess, they chose Alain for a reason

I don't understand what you're saying Greenly

Horses

Kess is the iconic brawler. Like Alain, the iconic cavalier, she also hails from Taldor.

I believe Greenly is talking about how one of them better fits the theme of this AP, at least visually, than the other.

Okay, so horses, which probably includes mounted combat. Cool! I should try to get a mounted combat feat or two.

*cackling*

I know it's been a long awkward haul for Olivia through some parts of the adventure so far. Amandine is doing the best she can to keep Olivia insulated against things that might be a problem for her code.

It's tough terrain for a Paladin, much easier for weasels like Amandine. Just put all your trust in Amandine and she will keep Olivia pure by compartmentalizing away those things it's better she doesn't know about. :p

Olivia has her bonded horse now right?

If it's any consolation, Olivia, Meraki is even worse at lying. She's just learned the easiest way to not get caught in a lie is not to say anything.

Also, I definitely want a ride on the angelic horse sometime.

I won't give spoilers, but there are several opportunities among your current plot hooks for Olivia - alongside the rest of the party - to shine. Two of those plot hooks also offer the potential for mounted combat, as does another lead you haven't discovered yet.

Also, now that I'm reminded of the paladin's mount, I should probably incorporate an introduction for Damerrich...unless we've already done that, and I've completely forgotten.

On second thought, I will give something of a spoiler: you may soon be forced into battle with an enemy known as the Queen Without a Face, who will present a fitting challenge for Olivia.

I do have the bonded mount, but I haven't summoned him yet. Olivia knows about this power, which is why she was searching for a saddle. I was thinking of eventually "upgrading him" to a hippogriff. There's a feat for it, but I forget its name. Too many feats and too few opportunities.

I look forward to having some room to shine as a proper paladin. Olivia has been okay for most of her code, but the last two are problematic:
- I will suffer death before dishonor.
- I will be temperate in my actions and moderate in my behavior. I will strive to emulate Iomedae’s perfection.
You're doing great, Amandine. Olivia would have had a hard time stealing those relics without you.

Ahhhh! There's the rub isn't it? Lady Olivia claims to have problems...but you love the challenge don't you! I see it in your eyes (figuratively). Challenge the role-playing aspects of the game, the players, and the GM all at once! Enjoy it! Revel in it!

;-)

Truthfully Dro'gan is a departure from my normal type. I don't usually do 'face' characters or 'skill monkey' types since a lot of the people I role-play with IRL tend to do that and I don't like to duplicate aspects in a group. However, with 'intrigue' being most of this game's theme, I thought I would go all out. And when I saw the 'Busker' bard, I was smiling at the thought of my many possible role-playing shenanigans.

You can keep your horses...give me my Boots of Teleportation any day.
=)

Aw thanks Olivia, Amandine would steal relics for you anytime.

So should we go ahead and move on to the next day?

That's fine, but are we are going after the clerics and checking the bridge?

Sounds good to me! Before we head off to bed, I'll make a scroll of comprehend languages.

For tomorrow, I'll change my secondary domain from Revelry to Travel, and change my spell loadout a bit, though I won't change anything on my sheet until Vayelan actually moves us forward. Should give us a leg up on finding the clerics, assuming that's still the immediate plan.

I just noticed Greenly is still showing as 4th level. Is that a typo?

Yes, thank you

Hey hi I had phone and internet problems starting the same day and just got my phone back late last night; I'll catch up and post soon, sorry y'all

Life happens!

No worries Greenly.

Haven eaten snake, I found it bland and disappointing; a tilapia-esque flaky white meat. I hear it's an absolute devil to debone also, but as Taldans pride themselves on making do with food, I can't imagine any of that would discourage any of us, except maybe Meraki? Is Drogan likewise foreign? I cannot remember.

Dro'gan grew up in a Taldan slum-gutter, the son of a dead whore. No problems eating any sort of fresh meat for him.

Howdy again folks! I've got something for those of you looking to add a game to their lists of PBP.

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What is the plan from here? Escort the Abadaran back to Lotheedar? Do we have anything else to do in the area or any not-fully-influenced nobles in the area?

I don't think we fully influenced Lucrezia Marthane, where is she based out of?

We need to look into what it would take to rebuild the bridge here too. I think we plan to put our recently acquired help/wealth into it.

Rebuilding the bridge would definitely prevent more tragedies like this one, in addition to promoting trade in the region. After returning Festo to his people, maybe Jambis? There's a couple different threads dangling there, looks like.

Building a bridge was a great way of showing what a good, caring, holy person you were, back in the day. I think the bridge is an excellent use of our funds.

Rebuilding the Gold Canyon Bridge costs 3,000gp.

It allows you to travel more quickly to the western half of the county, providing easier access to Moost, Jambis, and New Towne, in addition to fostering more trade. It also provides 1 Loyalty Point.

In regards to other issues in the county that can be addressed, you have heard that Baron Telus has been withdrawn from public for many years. As a result, his town of Jambis fell entirely into ruin. Many of the residents fled and founded New Towne, which is little more than a shanty town that is in even worse shape than Stachys.

...

In regards to Olivia's questions, the Abadaran cathedral in Lotheedar is 22 miles from Stachys, meaning it is approximately 40 miles from your current location.

I'm happy to handwave that he came with a saddle, but I did not assume. I planned to get him shoes, a military saddle, and some light barding. And I'll be finding a lance at some point.

Even though we just discussed it, I completely forgot we had the carriage. I got so wrapped up in the idea of describing Festo recovering whilst on horseback that I overlooked the obvious, practical approach.

Rather than handwaving the presence of the saddle, it might be better to retcon that Festo rode in the carriage.

This brain fart has been brought to you by RL Responsibilities.

That's fine, I don't mind

Sorry all, I'm pretty sick and I've got to get a COVID test ASAP. I will try and stay active here, but I cannot guarantee anything for at least a week or so I fear. Stay healthy everyone.

Take care and get better soon Dro'gan! I hope that test is negative!

I'm feeling better today and my Antibody test showed negative for COVID. So good news all around. I just have the Flu or something...

That's great! Glad to hear it.

A message for all my games:

My apartment's internet connection went out two days ago, and it will not be fixed until Sunday at the earliest.
(I am borrowing a friend's WIFI to post this).

I will resume posting updates once my connection is repaired, but in the meantime, I will be out of contact.

My apologies for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.

"How do you farm Geese? Can't they just fly away?"

I have a great-aunt who raises geese, and based on my experiences visiting, they choose not to fly away as long as there are people around for the horrible monsters to chase.

Yeah, geese are really nasty characters.