Whisper in the Mists Epic 6 (Inactive)

Game Master Davachido

If by divine you mean holy we don't, though if you mean divine casting you have Trogg.

I don't think we necessarily need any particular roles/classes, I think what's most important is that the characters are interesting. Of course, Rikaku approves of as many big-strong big-folk between him and the enemy as possible.

In terms of party roles we have, Trogg playing support, Rikaku playing arcane blaster, Jazz playing frontline fighter and Variel playing utility.

Everyone also has some way to contribute to killing things currently so as Rikaku says we don't need any particular role. They can be anything at this point. I will endaevour to find some interesting people to join though. :D

You missed Clarence playing frontline fighter and Things Trogg Summons playing the role of monster food.

To the new members for when you check in welcome. What I want to do to get you up to speed is you are part of another adventuring group that came to Chamarel for prospects of reward, fame or glory. You had an original group of six and just recently the other 3 members of your group have been slain. The party is just about to reach where you guys are so gives us some time to situate your characters.

Basically, I will call one of you guys to relate your backstory to another of your group. Just post how they are related here, if you need examples of this look at the start of the discussion thread. This is so you will feel more interlinked as adventurers. So without further ado.

Rybal > Malthu
Malthu > Drak
Drak > Rybal

Welcome to the new people! Excited to have you here. The game's been going great so far, with lots of interesting and (at least right now) horrific mysteries.

Welcome! We'll just finish deciding whether to mercy-kill a vivisected NPC (possibly without his permission) and be right with you.

Hello, everyone! What's up, Helaman? (I was Lem in Cynarion's CC game).

I'm trying out a very tank-y Half-Orc mercenary. I'm going to try to use Antagonize to get the big guys to come after me, and my reach and Combat Reflexes to trip people. I like fighters that have options and can contribute more than just hacking away, so I thought I'd try this guy out. Thanks for having me!

As for integrating with Malthu, he's also a half-orc so there's a good possibility there. Let me read what he has so far.

Drak, I posted a little synopsis of my background in the recruitment thread, but didn't type it in my profile, so let me know if there's anything you need clarification on. Maybe a little later I can post it in the profile.

Hey all, welcome!

Rybal was chosen in his tribe, a great "honor" for a half-breed like himself. "Lucky", the shaman said, as he carved the ritualistic symbols into Rybal's face, arms, and chest with a heated blade. He didn't share the orcs' beliefs in such things, but looking back, perhaps the scars did bring him luck--on the day he received them, his fortunes changed.

That day, his tribe was attacked by a band of soldiers. Not holding much allegiance to his brutal half-family, Rybal tried to sneak away. He saw another half-orc in the raiding party, but before he could warn him, the man fell into a hidden pit trap. To his surprise, Rybal saw a heavily-armored soldier lift the half-orc unscathed from the pit.

Impossible , he thought. He raised his arms, still painful from the shaman's "gift", and ran towards the two.

Let me join you--I'm not one of them, and I can tell you all of their plans...

They could have killed him then, but they took him in, fed him, and taught him how to fight. Now here he is, friends slain, ready to avenge them. He is an imposing figure, wielding a massive curved blade in one hand and a man-sized shield in the other.

Does that work for you, Malthu?

That works quite well, Rybal. I'll adjust Malthu's background accordingly to involve an attack on orcs.

Malthu had come to know Rybal well since the attack on the orc tribe. As a half-orc, Malthu was a little uncomfortable about everyone's eagerness to attack the orc tribe. Rybal only confirmed his belief - another half-orc who could be turned to work for good (or so Malthu had convinced himself). He considers Rybal a brother, though he is aware that Rybal may not feel quite the same.

Aw crap, on second thought, Malthu was charging into battle as he falls into a pit, and thus not really reluctant at all. Would like to suggest an alternative approach to the story. I could go with either, but I think this approach works better:

Malthu was perhaps too eager to prove he was not part orc, as he charged into battle against the orc tribe. For all his life, Malthu's orcishness had been shunned by the humans, valued - yet feared - only for the strength and ferocity it gave him. His interactions with Rybal only confirmed this belief. Rybal was scarred and brutally treated by the orcs, and quickly turned on them.

On the other hand, Malthu felt a compulsion to act as an "older brother" to Rybal, undoubtedly because of their shared bond as half-orcs. Implicitly, Malthu had connected with Rybal because of their shared orc nature, the very nature that Malthu seeks to deny. But Malthu was not an introspective person, and does not realize the tension in these views.

dotting for the moment

Hello, everyone! What's up, Helaman? (I was Lem in Cynarion's CC game).

Little Padre? My my how you've grown! :)

Glad to see you and even gladder we are in the same game again. You'll help me lift my game some.

Drak knows Rybal from one of his thief catching jobs. Rybal didn't care too much, he was just looking for a payed job as some muscle. There was some decent money involved. Although Drak wasn't on the fondest terms with Rybal as he lacked some subtleness there was no doubt of Rybal's effectiveness in a fight.

Let me know if that is acceptable

Rybal wrote:

Hello, everyone! What's up, Helaman? (I was Lem in Cynarion's CC game).

Little Padre? My my how you've grown! :)

Glad to see you and even gladder we are in the same game again. You'll help me lift my game some.

Hehe, I have some cool tricks, but nothing as cool as headbutting skeletons ;-)

Drak, that sounds good.

Cool, just need Malthu's relation to Drak.

You guys will come in shortly after the current scene ends.

Seems like the relation should be pretty aloof, so how about this:

Malthu knows of Drak's reputation as a bounty hunter who Rybal worked for. Having seen Drak's talents for stealth and deception, he incorrectly assumes Drak is just another bounty hunter in it for the money. Naturally, he also incorrectly assumes Rybal works with Drak for the purpose of dispensing justice. Still, Malthu knows it's valuable to have a streetwise guide around.

Does that work? If it's obvious that Drak follows Iomedae, then Malthu can have a more respectful view.

Righto, new members are introduced. Check the main thread.

It's rather obvious. Personally I felt that (from Drak's point of view) Malthu and Drak would get along fairly well while it would be a little rough with Rybal

Okay, let's do it that way - once he knows Drak is a follower of Iomedae, there will definitely be lots of respect.

I have to pause and give kudos to the GM here.

The mindset and the setting is really well structured to allow for what just happened.

The duke offers lots of gold for a problem solved.

Town floods with adventurers as well as local townsfolk strapping on weapons to get in on the action... almost like a gold rush theme.

It plays really well AND allows for new members to join very plausibly with minimal set up.

*tips hat*

We've only been playing about 2 months but the feel is 'authentic' and the story creepy as hell.

On another note -

You bloody, dog-faced cur! I'll kill you for that!

Good conan/pulp sword and sorcery feel - loving it!

Thanks.

You have indeed figured out what the main purpose of the adventurers is from a gameplay standpoint.

For the original members I forgot to post what happened to Sventon and Beren. They are currently guarding Brice and Chara, when they get back to town their characters will say they can't deal with the task any more but will stay in town if you need them or if they change their mind.

Giving them a chance if the players come back

Dava - Do you have any issues with retconning Malthu to have the ride and handle animal skills? He would surrender the climb and perception skills in exchange, neither of which have been used. Looking into the future, he will probably want to try having a horse companion and occasionally dabbling in mounted combat.

No problem, feel free to switch the skills around.

Hey everyone, just saying that I begin my long travel home today... an overnight train and then an overnight plane. I may not find internet reliably for a few days, therefore.

I have to say, I like the feel of this campaign so far. It reminds me of an old-school RPG video game (which is a compliment, btw, hehe).

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! Busy and stressful week for me.

Don't worry Rikaku, work comes before play. ^^

Thanks for the compliment Rybal though out of curiousity how does it remind you of that in particular?

I don't know, just starting out (at least for us) in the middle of a battle. The enemies leave behind magical items that key us in on information to lead us to another point. One of our friends is grievously wounded, but we can go on a quest to get an item to use for an antidote to save her. It just reminds me of all the games I played (and loved) as a kid, you know?

Heh, I guess it does it some respects. Regardless I hope you enjoy the ride.

Permission to redo Drak skills a bit?

I get the feeling that UMD will be of little use in a E6 low magic campaign. I'd rework my skills and put some ranks in sense motive and survival.

I won't be able to post until Monday. If fighting breaks out before then, Trogg will sic Clarence on the golem if the other three leave any room around it, and will also hit Malthu and Rybal with his wand of Bull's Strength targeting whoever's in reach/whoever wants it most first.

Meep sorry, Drak totally missed your post. Yes you may change your skills around.

Okay Trogg, Clarence will get to biting.

Haha, I see Drak went for the more direct question. Let's hope he gives a good answer.

@Malthu re: surprise round--while it would be nice, I definitely don't think we should get a surprise round against the golem. We are all aware of each other. Even if we decide to attack first, that should just prompt initiative rolls

You can be aware of something but not be ready to defend yourself against an attack. Ultimately it's up to the GM.

I think you will gain a surprise round as you are attacking him unexpectedly however he will not be caught flat-footed. How does that sound?

That seems fair, it's akin to him delaying.

Not to be "that guy" about rulings (especially since in this case it's in our favor), it's just a slippery slope when you say that someone gains a surprise round if you attack "unexpectedly".

In my opinion, that is what initiative is for. We're talking and someone tries to attack, me getting a chance to notice his aggression and draw my blade first, that's what rolling initiative is, right? Now if you roll sleight of hand successfully and draw a concealed weapon and then knife me while we're talking, cool, that's a surprise round.

But just because we decide to attack someone while parlaying shouldn't grant us a surprise round (especially on this guy who seems to be placed as a guardian, unless his perception/sense motive is just utterly abysmal, you know?)

I mean, consider the opposite. Suppose we are talking with some NPCs and one of them decides to attack (before we post that we want to attack). If they got a surprise round, I think most of the PCs would be pissed (and rightly so).

Again, not trying to start trouble, I've just played from both sides of the "GM Screen" so to speak, so I know what y'all DMs go through ;-)

I guess it could differ by the situation, in this case you are basically springing a trap to outwit a golem. His sense motive/perception is not at all good (0 for each) and is expecting you to leave. If you attacked a bunch of more intelligent creatures then it would probably be roll initiative.

To be fair IMO initiative can be clunky at times but I'll try to weigh the options in scenarios like this.

I redid my skills a bit. Removed one point from Knowledge Nobility and moved it to Knowledge Local. Removed one point from Sleight of hand and put it into Sense Motive. Moved three points from UMD and moved them to Survial.

If there are any problems with any of this let me know. My profile has been updated with these changes.

Damn, I wish I was in this scene. Rikaku kept quiet about Snow because he's a crafty little kobold and he would be so curious to find out more about her... :P

Very interesting encounter GM - had me guessing what was going to be the outcome, kept alternating between if the golem was something to be destroyed or if it was some sort of innocent trapped as a golem. Well played and good choice of creature for what you were trying to accomplish. As a player I've never encountered a wax golem before.

Overall this is just a general kudos to you.

Agreed! I was seriously interested (and sad Rikaku wasn't around!) by what was going on :)

Heh, thank you. ^^

Glad you are enjoying things thus far.

Just saw a rules thread about how you get 1.5 times Str bonus always when using two-handed weapons, even if you wield it in one hand (which I can do because of my archetype). I'm going to update my stats in my profile, just wanted to let you know.

Just saw a rules thread about how you get 1.5 times Str bonus always when using two-handed weapons, even if you wield it in one hand (which I can do because of my archetype). I'm going to update my stats in my profile, just wanted to let you know.

Can you give a link? That sounds wrong to me.

Well, first someone pointed out this FAQ entry re: power attack

Core Rulebook FAQ wrote:

Power Attack: If I am using a two-handed weapon with one hand (such as a lance while mounted), do still I get the +50% damage for using a two-handed weapon?
Yes.

Then someone pointed out that it is not just limited to power attack if you look at the description of two-handed weapons in the core rulebook

Two-Handed: Two hands are required to use a two-handed melee weapon effectively. Apply 1-1/2 times the character's Strength bonus to damage rolls for melee attacks with such a weapon.

It's not that WIELDING a weapon in two hands gives you the 1.5 str bonus. Wielding a two-handed WEAPON is what gives you the bonus (and under one-handed weapons it also states that if you wield a one-handed weapon in two hands you get the 1.5 bonus as well).

Huh. I never would have thought. I guess the Titan mauler archetype just got slightly better.

And does that also make Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword) a little bit more attractive, then, since it's essentially still wielding a 2-handed weapon and therefore applies a 1.5 strength bonus? Interesting...