War for the Crown with DM Vayelan

Game Master vayelan

That works for me. Long as it’s clear Vyranos is fighting for the future of the children of Taldor (making sure everyone gets a choice of their future, and that all can get an education).

I am back!

Oof! So sorry! It's been a wicked rough couple of weeks for all sorts of surprising reasons. I'll be in the clear to get a post in on Saturday.

Oh PS to Vayelan: I thought I had asked this but I don't see an answer yet:

What do we newcomer PCs know in-character about the situation, both in general and in particular to this investigation?

I too would like to know what we know in general before being recruited?

Oh PS to Vayelan: I thought I had asked this but I don't see an answer yet:

What do we newcomer PCs know in-character about the situation, both in general and in particular to this investigation?

Sorry. I must have missed the question the first time.

You would have received the same briefing that was provided to the other party members when they were first dispatched to Yanmass.

Here are the key details:
-Yanmass, a wealthy city on the Taldan border with the vast Whistling Plains, has remained neutral so far in the succession crisis, but Pythareus has dispatched Earl Yander Merkondus to solve a number of problems the city has been facing, in order to entice the city's mercantile council to back the Imperialist faction

-A regiment from the Taldan Horse stationed in Yanmass went missing while patrolling the caravan routes leading to and from the city.

-Bandits have been operating in the plains outside the city.

-Sir Deir Dratavis, an agent sent by Martella to previously investigate the strange occurrences around Yanmass, has gone missing.

-An organization known as the Cult of the Twilight Child has sprung up in Yanmass, and Martella has heard rumors that the object of their worship is a miraculously revived Prince Carrius, younger brother of Princess Eutropia, who died in an accident 20 years ago.

-Our new party members would likely have also heard that the people in the city have been suffering from a rash of strange nightmares lately.

Thanks GM. I was also wondering what we know of the previous events in the city... like were we at some of the events the PCs previously attended? If this is just too much to summarize, never mind, just trying to get a sense of what we might discuss IC.

I am ready to jump in if you give us the word.

We've barely been in the city a day. We've made strides of course, but it might be best to talk through those in game.

Sounds like a plan. Then let's just set up a scene and start playing.

Is Amandine still here? I think we're waiting on her.

She gets busy IRL sometimes.

FYI Vayelan posted in one of his other games a new work schedule and family obligations has been interfering with posting.

We can continue to try to RP in thread in the meantime, but figured I'd pass that along.

FYI Vayelan posted in one of his other games a new work schedule and family obligations has been interfering with posting.

We can continue to try to RP in thread in the meantime, but figured I'd pass that along.

Indeed. This is correct. I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding.

Amandine has been AWOL a little too. No big deal. We have always been pretty casual here.

FYI:
I’ve been doing a little research and our best bet to return something from stone is some sort of magic item (Keogtom’s Ointment?) , or Break Enchantment at minimum. However, Break Enchantment is limited in itself and might not work unless the GM says it does. Stone to flesh is a higher level spell and even more out of reach for us. Not to mention gp cost. I vaguely remember that creatures like gorgons have the ability to de-stone victims using a potion only they can brew?

Im sure Im missing or am wrong about something, but that’s all I have so far.

So sorry for the long absence. A bad case of covid pretty much flattened me for a lot of August. Getting back to normal now.

Good to know you are doing ok!

Starting to worry there...
=)

It looks like our friend covid has gone nowhere :( But glad to hear you're ok, Amandine.

@Dro'gan: AFAIK Stone to flesh is the only cure, and that is level 6 spell, I think. And the whole lot of them turned to stone definitely sounds like basilisk or gorgon or medusa etc. Better go shopping mirrors before investigating :)

Glad you're okay, Amandine.

Good to hear you’re better. I’ve had a player in my own campaign out of commission due to COVID. Never a fun time.

@Dro'gan: AFAIK Stone to flesh is the only cure, and that is level 6 spell, I think. And the whole lot of them turned to stone definitely sounds like basilisk or gorgon or medusa etc. Better go shopping mirrors before investigating :)

I've had GMs home rule that Break Enchantment works on Stoned creatures because Stone to Flesh is a ridiculous spell to have regularly, except maybe on a scroll.

However I did find the ointment I was talking about:
Stone Salve!

Yanmass' base value is 5,720gp, so magic items of that price or lower can be found rather easily.

If you want to sell anything, the purchase limit for the city is 37,500gp.

Naliah wants to find an apothecary who is not going to be too shocked by poisons and trade one of her vials of greenblood oil for some cold iron blanch and/or holy water.

Greenblood oil is purchased for 100 gp, so it sells for 50 gp. If I can only get it for the selling price, I'll get two vials of cold iron blanch (40 gp/20 gp each) and a vial of acid (10 gp).

If I can trade it for the market value I'd get a couple vials of holy water (50 gp/25 gp each) as well.

Happy to describe the scene and roll appropriate dice as needed, but wanted to check in to see if this was doable. We can also handwave if you want to jump straight to it, but as she's trying to trade poison for other alchemical weapons ... well, it's not like she's just grocery shopping. :)

I'd like to buy a scroll of align weapon, and a cold iron kama (or any light monk weapon*), if available.

*) Travelling kettle for comic relief and tea-related puns.

Amandine opens a leather satchel and rummages a bit; from the sound it seems quite full of containers and packages.

"If we come up short on coin, I have some things I could sell or barter if I must."

She doesn't sound happy about parting with pieces of her kit, but willing.

Vyranos will purchase a single scroll of stone to flesh, if he can afford that. Is there any roll he can make to figure out what other methods to avoid petrification?

If anyone wants to make a DC 20 Appraise check, we'll say you can sell/trade in old items for 75% of the base price, as opposed to just 50%.

Vyranos will purchase a single scroll of stone to flesh, if he can afford that. Is there any roll he can make to figure out what other methods to avoid petrification?

The scroll would cost 1650gp.

Since we already did some rolls for knowledge, I'll rule that you know that one of the best ways to avoid petrification is to make use of things that increase your resilience and endurance (i.e boost your Fortitude save). You know that this is true whether the source is a spell or a creature.

I’ll take that scroll. Alternatively, I can buy a potion of bear’s endurance for each player. Or, if the GM could allow it, I could get the scroll and use Craft (alchemy) to make the potions. Whichever is the better idea.

Have a big deadline; will post Weds.

We were planning to go to the slaughterhouse first, right? And as far as we know, no petrification in there? "Just" a div, and whatever harm it can bring.

(Never harms to be prepared for all manners of dangers, of course)

Anything interesting/weird/rare pop out during the shopping trip?

Yes the slaughterhouse is our current end destination.

Sorry, today is Thursday and not Wednesday. Needed more recovery time than I thought.

Gonna do the Appraise check here, and write a summary post of Naliah's shopping in the game thread. Since Vayelan didn't describe any of the town/shopping trip, I am assuming he just wants to fast forward to the slaughterhouse.

Appraise: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

So Naliah will sell her oil for 75 gp and purchase 2 vials of cold iron blanch and a vial of holy water (65 gp). For now she'll pocket the other 10 gp and/or give it to someone, but since we're not going to where the petrification situation is immediately, she'll suggest holding off until they see what they find at the slaughterhouse.

It's late, this was a lot of dice rolls, and I'm not sure I followed the settlement rules for item value.

Here are some of the more unusual magic items available for sale in Yanmass:

Thanks! A lot of our loose cash went to improving the county, but I will review this list tonight and get back to you before the weekend is out.

OK, the only item I can afford to buy is the Wand of Protection from Evil (I'm asssuming it has 50 charges) at 750 gps.

NOTE: I have added the 'Book 3' tab to the Loot sheet!

Also:
Is there that much stuff on the Loot sheet still unclaimed? Any of it been sold for money or anything like that?

There are potions and such just sitting there still?

If possible I would love to claim:
From 'Book 2'
*Ring of Jumping
*Oil of Obscure Object (1)

From 'Book 1'
*Dust of Illusion(1)
*Wand of Eagle's Splendor (5 charges)
*Fine liquor (2)
*Wand of Create Food and Water (14 charges)
*Everburning Lantern (1)
*Boots of Elvenkind (What does 'Left Alone' mean?)
*Wand of Cure Disease (5 charges)(What does 'Left Alone' mean?)
*Dose of Arsenic (1)
*Dose of Medium Spider Venom (2)
*Whistles(2)
*Potion of Neutralize Poison(1)
*Belladona (4)
*Bloodroot (3)
*Potion of Enlarge Person(1)
*Potion of Hide from Animals(1)
*Tanglefoot bag(3)
*Fine wine(2)
*Smokestick(7)
*Tindertwig(10)
*Black adder venom(2)
*Medium spider venom(2)
*Oil of Taggit(2)
*Blue Whinnis(1)
*Giant wasp poison(1)
*Delay Poison potion(1)
*Neutralize Poison potion(1)
*Oil of keen edge(1)
*Healer's kit(1)
*Disguise kit(1)
*Juggler's kit(1)
*Potion of gaseous form(1)

Does anybody have any objection to any of this?

Most of this stuff is smallish and 99% can be stored easily in my enchanted Haversack for 'easy' use later on.

It's not Naliah's loot, but if you told her about it, she would want some of the poisons and maybe the potions of neutralize and delay poison.

If you'd rather use or sell it all, however, I understand.

I’ll try to post when I can but I caught something bad and am very sick.

Quick question-I got a lesser expand metamagic rod, and I’ve thought about using 2 out of the 3 spells for mage armor and shield, and keep the last one for the day for a summon monster or protection from evil if needed. If I’m reading the rules correctly they don’t consume a daily spell slot so long as the spells are of 3rd level and lower. Is that correct or am I missing something? Asking because this is my first time using a metamagic rod.

Hope you feel better soon, Vyranos.

I’ll try to post when I can but I caught something bad and am very sick.

Quick question-I got a lesser expand metamagic rod, and I’ve thought about using 2 out of the 3 spells for mage armor and shield, and keep the last one for the day for a summon monster or protection from evil if needed. If I’m reading the rules correctly they don’t consume a daily spell slot so long as the spells are of 3rd level and lower. Is that correct or am I missing something? Asking because this is my first time using a metamagic rod.

You are correct. That is how it works.

I went through Amandine's stuff and if we're selling off things to raise money, she can toss in some items in I think.

She has a potion of Gaseous Form she can let go of, and a fully charged wand of Remove Fear (unless y'all think it's better to keep it just in case). She's had the wand for so long I don't even remember where it came from and it's yet to be used.

One other thing worth discussing, and this is something I finally noticed after years of wondering why parties are always so poor in PbP games, we have a lot of stuff being held by inactive characters. Lots of loot goes poof because it just goes away during character turnover through time. I'd think we should collect all that stuff back, and either reallocate it among ourselves or sell it. For example, most all of the mythic items are out to others right now. We should at least keep those.

I believe Olivia still has Koriana's Blade. Greenly possibly has the Envoy Ring, Meraki still has the Subtle Mask, and Dro'gan has Dignity's Barb. So, as near as I can tell 3 of the 4 artifacts are in the possession of inactive characters.

Get well soon Vyranos!

Thankfully I’m already feeling a tiny bit better.

Also to make sure I got the extend spells right, mage armor’s duration is 1 hour per level, and shield’s is 1 minute per level, and extend doubles that, so it would be 14 hours for mage armor and 14 minutes for shield, right?

It's not Naliah's loot, but if you told her about it, she would want some of the poisons and maybe the potions of neutralize and delay poison.

If you'd rather use or sell it all, however, I understand.

As long as nobody else complains, you can have all the poisons as well as the potions you asked for. Im not much of a poisons guy, I just didn’t want it all sitting around when we might need it in this city.

Just mark the loot sheet with you character name on those items.

Im assuming the rest of the items I asked for, no one cares if I take them. I plan to use them if I need them, not to sell.

As far as the artifacts are concerned, we should redistribute them since it looks like all the other players have disappeared from the game for whatever reasons.

With the mythic items none of the weapons work for Amandine. She needs a rapier specifically, and Investigators don't do ranged combat well at all. The ring and mask kinda work alright for her, but really they might benefit someone else more. So, don't worry about Amandine when figuring out who's taking what, she doesn't really need a mythic item.

There might be more to be found in the future anyway.

OK, the only item I can afford to buy is the Wand of Protection from Evil (I'm asssuming it has 50 charges) at 750 gps.

NOTE: I have added the 'Book 3' tab to the Loot sheet!

Also:
Is there that much stuff on the Loot sheet still unclaimed? Any of it been sold for money or anything like that?

There are potions and such just sitting there still?

If possible I would love to claim:

So I removed the Poisons and potions that Naliah requested from my list, as well as the Ring of Jumping. Can't use the Boots of Elvenkind and the Ring at the same time, and the boots offer a better bonus in the end.

So the Ring of Jumping (+5 Competence bonus on Acrobatics for jumping) is still up for grabs.

Note: I'm adding the wand of Cure Moderate Wounds (50 chs) because I'm pretty sure I was given the wand to be a back-up healer, and since the Cure spells are Bard spells too. I'm also grabbing the Sustaining Spoon item...just in case.

NOTE: There is a hidden magic item on the list: There is one listed as 'Black Marble Bust' in Book 2, but the further description includes a Amulet of Natural Armor +2, so someone should claim that ASAP. I could use the AC bump for sure, but I'm already feel like I'm grabbing too much stuff.

If I’m reading the rules correctly they don’t consume a daily spell slot so long as the spells are of 3rd level and lower. Is that correct or am I missing something? Asking because this is my first time using a metamagic rod.

You use spell slot as normal (ie. 1st level slots for the spells you mentioned). But you don't have to use higher-level slots as it would normally with metamagic feats. So extended mage armor is still 1st level.

And you're correct about the durations. Extended mage armor is 14 hours and extended shield is 14 minutes.

@Naliah: Do you have the poison use talent? If not, there is a 5% chance of accidentally poisoning yourself when applying the poison (if you were planning to use them)

In general I believe the old party should claim/sell the loot. IIRC, us newcomers have full WBL, so might be better equipped. At least that's the way it usually is with AP's.

Yes, I have poison use. :)

I have +10 to Escape Artist so I might be able to get through a window.

He said the window was six inches tall. Unless you are a halfling acrobat…