Welcome to the Sweet Trade - An S&S PbP Adventure

Game Master ICTSpiceMerchant

Hello, and welcome to the game, future scallywags! Thanks for all your applications - I look forward to playing with you.

If you haven't already, finish up your profile and create an alias for your character. Let me know when you're ready for me to review your crunch.

Just as a refresher, here are the guidelines;
2nd Level Characters
Max HP at level one, roll or average+1 thereafter
15-point buy
Two traits - one should be a campaign trait. If the flavor of a trait isn't perfect for your character, I'm fine with tweaking the fluff.
Max gold for your class

I'll double check Bedu later, meanwhile thanks for running this.

Isabella checking in; feel free to check crunch.

As for me, my name is John. I've been a gamer for more than 30 years, having cut my teeth on the Holmes-edition of D&D. I've played every edition since then, and many more games besides. In fact, I daresay you can't name a game which I haven't at the very least, heard of, if not tried. This is a fun AP to run as a GM, so I'm looking forward to playing it. Thanks for selecting me!

Before we jump in could we make sure we have the key skills covered as a party? I can tweak Bedu to backup several different skills, for instance.

Pleasure to meet you, Isabella/John. I have played quite a while, more recently on these boards while acting as a 43 year old house husband, running two precocious kids and looking after my very busy wife.

By the way, this is Bedu's second time out, he originally was built for a game with some of the Paizo designers and writers (before they hit the big time). He was fun to play then and I'm looking forward to getting back into his skin.

Cheers

EDIT: also DM what languages suit the AP? I have two free slots.

Foddertooth here. Looking forward to the game, been wanting to play in this AP for a while now.

The name's Andrew. I've only been playing table-top rpg's for about 10 years or so now, starting with the Basic Game box for D&D in 2004. I'm 21, a student at the College of Charleston, and am running another game and working to get together a dungeon world game (I'm playing Sebastion Atticus Abberforth IV) on the forums.

I'm pretty sure I've got everything in order, having done most of it in HeroLab.

Isabella was also done via HeroLab, so I'm pretty sure that she is correct.

Isabella's skill set includes Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Knowledge (local), Perception, Profession (sailor), Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, and Swim. She was designed to support her background and to fit the general theme of the adventure path, not with the specifics of the AP in mind.

I'm 47, happily married for 25 years, and have no children, but I do room with five cats which I daily alternate between fawning over and contemplating turning into slippers. I am currently unemployed, trying to get disability for my depression and social anxiety.

This is actually Isabella's second outing in this AP; the first never got past the opening scene, so I'm understandably very pumped to play.

I'm a role-player first and foremost, so if you post a message with a spoiler that doesn't say "Isabella," "Everyone," or "OOC," don't expect me to read it. I do not read spoilers that aren't intended for my character as I feel that it ruins the immersion. This includes speaking in a language Isabella doesn't know (for the record, she speaks Common, Draconic, Elven, and Polyglot). I'm in this for the fun, and the more we stick to our characters in the course of the game, the more fun it is.

Yes, I am running this AP for two different groups, but I am very capable of keeping player and character knowledge separate and Isabella will not act on anything that she could not know. I intend to play her by her stats: intelligent, though perhaps not with a full dose of common sense. She's sweet enough, once you get to know her, but can be a bit stand-offish at the outset of a relationship.

@Bedu - not to cop out, but I'd say the best language choices are the ones your character would know based on his life experience. You'll meet all manner of folks in the Shackles, speaking all manner of languages. What would Bedu know?

For those with Hero Lab, will you please email me you .por files? You can send them to Paizo Todd at g mail dot com (without any spaces, obviously). That will save a nice bit if time. Also, if someone doesn't have Hero Lab, let us know - either I or, hopefully, one of your peers will create your file. It just makes validating and tracking super convenient on my end.

Righty ho. No herolab here.

Forgot to mention I am living on one of the Channel Islands off the UK so I'll catch you guys at a more sensible time tomorrow.

Cheers

Checking in.
Fixing up profile now.

Since we're making introductions, I'm Alexander, 31, been gaming near 20 years since I was a schoolkid who inherited some AD&D stuff. I'm not married but have a partner of 12 years and 2 children (7 & 4) and I'm based in the UK.

I'm happy to shift some skills around, Akadi is a bit impulsive and lacks focus, so she'll probably dip into a lot of skills as she levels rather than keep improving.

I've taken Ployglot and Auran as languages he learnt at sea.

As for skills, I added Heal and Profession (sailor) to cover off his background although they aren't very high. Like Akadi, Bedu is not filled with common sense. They have been done while my daughter demands attention so hopefully herolab can make sure I've added them up right.

DM I gave him the saltbeard racial trait not so much for his past but as more indicative of his natural love of seafaring and all things nautical.

Has anyone thought about taking navigation, sailmaking or carpentry?

Cheers

Akadi Tana is updated and filtered through HeroLab (& e-mailed)
Which actually reminded me of a a few things I'd missed (mostly missing some skill points).

Please let me know if there are any problems and I'll get it sorted.

Checking in.

I will get a Hero Lab version of Alfonso to you soon~ish. Likely the evening on the 7th US pacific coast time.

Though everything is done under the alias save misc gear.
Core of gear: Sorcerer's kit, 2 spell component pouches, journal, club/swagger stick and dagger. The rest is stuff like chalk and string and calling cards. Maybe a potion of cure light or an alchemists fire but will nail that down tonight via Hero Labs.

Alfonso's decent at Appraisal (love that Raven familiar), Diplomacy and UMD. And can take a stab at the odd KN. History check but given the sorcerer's pitiful skill ranks that is it for now.

He speaks Common/Taldane (with a Cheliax accent), Cyclops, Polyglot, Thassalonian, and Abyssal. You will not know about anything other that the Common until needed but hopefully this bit of Meta can be forgiven.

As for me I am a long-time gamer, and newly minted librarian, living in Seattle.

Has anyone thought about taking navigation, sailmaking or carpentry?

Navigation is the only one of those that would remotely appeal to Alfonso. The rest are <shudder> work.

Seriously, I would love to be able to take craft/profession skills but a 2+int/lvl that is less than likely.

Glad to see everyone's checked in! I'll check through the .por files (i.e. read the validation errors) and let you know if I have any questions. Any one up for filling out Bedu's sheet in Hero Lab?

I did up Bedu's character in HeroLab, I may have missed a few things but there a few things that were different. (I don't have the traits in there which would give him +1 diplomacy and perform)

Things that stood out: one extra starting language, not proficient with scimitars, skills were affected by encumbrance, and you still had a lot of gold left. I may have missed some things on my end causing some hang ups, but this is just what I got.

It would appear your Sea Singer alternate class grants you either a monkey or parrot familiar at second level =D "BWWAAACK! Poly wanna cracker!"

Thanks Fodder. I'll get on it later. My son has just finished school for Easter so I'm off to the park.

I forgot to ask about the scimitar as a simple replacement for rapier since it fits Qadira better. Okay DM? Mechanically they are identical unless you are a zombie.

I didn't take a companion yet because of the way we start the adventure and that also applied to basic equipment. Would you prefer me to hold off having a monkey or parrot DM? Rather not see my friend get slotted in the first adventures by some pirate having a laugh at Bedu's expense.

I'll deal with basic equipment and the trait changes.

Cheers

I'm fine with the scimitar, and it's up to you whether you take your familiar now or later. Again, I'm big on backstory, so if Bedu would have had an animal friend through your travels, he should start with one. If it happens later, I'm good with that, too! If you decide to start with one, I solemnly swear not to kill it without provocation or story. :)

Right hero lab mailed.
Along with a note regarding tattooed sorcerers as I have yet to buy Inner Sea Magic for Hero Lab.

Gear complete under alias though still disorganized.

Hey Bedu that makes 2 familiars in the party

I'm fine with the scimitar, and it's up to you whether you take your familiar now or later. Again, I'm big on backstory, so if Bedu would have had an animal friend through your travels, he should start with one. If it happens later, I'm good with that, too! If you decide to start with one, I solemnly swear not to kill it without provocation or story. :)

Great on the scimitar, thanks.

I've taken out some equipment to reduce his weight to under 43lbs. That means he has about 102 gold spare. No medium load for this chubby dwarf!

The skills are revised.

I'd like to find a monkey companion in play then, not right at the beginning. Sea singer rocks as an archetype for this AP.

Cheers

The first gameplay thread is up. Feel free to post as you're able.

Please put all gear in a separate spoiler titled "Confiscated Gear" under you profile for now - apart from the gear indicated in the first post for a couple of you. If you hadn't finished buying gear, go ahead and do so, but put it all under the "Confiscated" section.

It begins!

Can Bedu's spare hundred gold be in the form of four scrolls?

I will throw in an update in the gameplay thread in a few hours. I have a nasty migraine right now that I'm going to get rid of.

Sure thing, Bedu.

And get better, Fodder.

And we're off! Good luck with your checks.

A couple of things to note:
1. Please use the following formatting in your posts:
Bold for in-character speech.
Italics for your character's thoughts.
OOC for out-of-character content.

2. Please add your characters key stats (similar to Isabella) below your character's name. Unfortunately, I'm new to these boards, so I'm not sure how to do that - can one of you vets please advise?

3. I believe this AP will require a lot of player initiative to keep things moving. I'll do my best to narrate your success and failures, but as you'll see, there are numerous, daily checks that need to be made. I'll describe more in the future, but I'll be leaning on you all a bit to keep things moving. This climb check is one such example - I'd like for you to narrate your success and failures as best you can.

Let me know if you have any questions!

It duplicates what's in your gender, race and class fields on your profile, so you can simply copy the data into one of those fields.
BBCode tags seem to work as well, so you can put links etc in if you like.

And we're off! Good luck with your checks.

...

2. Please add your characters key stats (similar to Isabella) below your character's name. Unfortunately, I'm new to these boards, so I'm not sure how to do that - can one of you vets please advise?
...

Let me know if you have any questions!

Advice incoming. The "Race" and "Classes/Levels" lines on a character's profile are displayed at the top of every post. As can be seen from Alfonso spoiler tags can help keep things looking clean.

That said ICT what stats do you want displayed? Saves, perception, AC? More?

Saves, AC, touch, ff, Init, Perception and CMD is sufficient.

Thanks for the advice!

I prefer not to bold speech, its a newer development on the boards and I am a grouchy curmudgeon at heart. However this is your game and I shall try to abide by that.

Cheers

So time for a new character.

This is a personal record. WOW this Ap deserves it's deadly rep.

Not upset in the least. I have a druid or a barbarian or a Wizard on deck and waiting the call.

Next up?

Ha! No worries, Bedu. Do your best.

Whoa - that's crazy. But not entirely unexpected (hence the bump to level 2 - which does a Sorcerer very little good).

The first mate wouldn't actually let you die. After your first two falls, he would keep you on the deck and have a tall, severe woman come over and heal your wounds. They can't afford to lose any crew.

That said, it's up to you - you can roll up a new character if you'd like, or proceed with Alfonso. I'm not afraid of characters dying, but also want to give them a chance to survive, you know, beyond the first rolls of the dice.

edited to stop after second fall.

Looks like we have a dead goblin though. Well a badly hurt one anyway.
The first mate will be busy.

I kind of ran with the assumption that your unlikely to fall out of the rigging entirely, just get to look like an ass as you get yourself tangled up.

You can definitely fall and get hurt badly, but they (and I) won't let you die just yet.

Ouch, in that case, I think I was 30ft up before I botched, Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Falling Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5

Akadi is a little bruised, but she's fared worse.

Hey Akadi! Where did you find the rule allowing acrobatics to knock a d6 off a fall? I thought there was something like this but I could not find it.
Closest I could get was the bit under the acrobatics skill and again under falling damage that states if one deliberately falls or jumps down or misses a jump an acrobatics roll will negate the first d6.

Could the acrobatics to negate 10 feet of non-deliberate falling be a hold over from 3.5?

If you have a ref PLEASE let me know. This is driving me mad.

Today's a bit bonkers and I have my RL game tonight, so I won't be able to get things updated until tomorrow. My apologies!

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/acrobatics

Falling: When you deliberately fall any distance, even as a result of a missed jump, a DC 15 Acrobatics skill check allows you to ignore the first 10 feet fallen, although you still end up prone if you take damage from a fall. See Falling Damage for more details.)

Yup found that. But a missed climb check is not a deliberate fall. Or am I misunderstanding something?

Hmmm, I've always played it just on falling, I'm not entirely sure what a deliberate fall is? never mind.
More ouchies: 1d6 ⇒ 3

RL game tonight so no posting here either.

Hmmm, I've always played it just on falling, I'm not entirely sure what a deliberate fall is? never mind.

[dice=More ouchies]1d6

Basically leaping down from a height. Jumping into a pit to save the party member at the bottom that is getting slaughtered by the pit dweller. The check softens the blow when you choose to avoid the rounds of climbing it will take to get where you need to be.

The bit about a missed jump is just gravy.

I have seen this apply when the party was sneaking over the walls of a fortress and the quick climbing thief and feather falling wizard got ahead of the slow clanking fighter and needed rapid rescue.

I have used this aspect of acrobatics as part of a "vertical charge". AKA jumping off a building and landing on your opponent. This last use is in a vague area of the rules. The devs for some reason did not envision an enlarged half-orc barbarian doing a cannonball from a 30'tower onto the ogre about to smash through the door.

ICT Or do you prefer Spice?

Just a bit of advance notice. Alfonso is a component pouch dependent type so a few questions regarding makeshift material components.

For Summon Monster I:
~Would a candle stub work as the "tiny candle" needed?
~Would a rag and a bit of string work to create the needed "bag" component?

I am assuming copper wire (message) and crystal/prism (read magic) are rare to unavailable shipboard. Pity beach glass is rarer than diamond in a pre-industrial society. It might have stood in for the crystal.

On the other hand, under Environmental Rules, we find:

If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage is the same but the first 1d6 is nonlethal damage. A DC 15 Acrobatics check allows the character to avoid any damage from the first 10 feet fallen and converts any damage from the second 10 feet to nonlethal damage. Thus, a character who slips from a ledge 30 feet up takes 3d6 damage. If the same character deliberately jumps, he takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 2d6 points of lethal damage. And if the character leaps down with a successful Acrobatics check, he takes only 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 1d6 points of lethal damage from the plunge.

So you appear to be correct. (Emphasis mine.)

I prefer "ICT" or "Mr. ICT of the Plains and the best GM I've ever played with."

Yes - those components would work just fine. I don't stress too much about tracking that kind of stuff, but I like that you're aware of your spell-casting limitation without the components.

Once I get a component pouch I will cease to stress as well.

I ran a Wizard in a similar situation back in the day. Once the Barbarian grappled a guard to death the cleric and I basically stripped the body for parts. I was casting Mage armor using a leather cod piece for what seemed like ages.

A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords?

Sorry for the delay, everyone! I'm still here.

I'm working on the next post and it's taking a little longer than anticipated - there's a lot to explain in these initial tasks. I should have it up and ready tomorrow morning.

No problem.

In running this one here on the boards, I stuck the info in the Campaign tab for ease of reference (current status of NPC relations, daytime actions, and nighttime actions). Just a suggestion.