Yorick Presents "The Throne of Night" (Inactive)

Game Master YoricksRequiem

"Not really, no. I've never lived there, but why would I? I want to live in a glorified place, have my name ascend as a god-like being in the mouths of those who live in the city I retake. I want the comfort zone, but neither of us are gonna get it by risking dying of age. Dammerhall is and will ever be the best chance we have for that, and you know the city was glorious one day. It will be again, I promise you. We will not live in the darklands, as its shadow will retreat when it sees how we shine, how are we prepared, how is our city mighty once more. Besides, you would not go on your own, Gumar. I'll be with you, but that's not enough for our tastes. We will find a couple dozen of other people to come with us, you will see. One more prepared than the last."

"I just wanna live. No glory needed for that. And why would I want to traipse off into the darklands on some dangfooled errand with a couple of dozen dangfooled idiots on some dangfooled glory quest in a place that's been dead for centuries. I don't see much chance of living or getting glory there."

"You like that word, hun? Dangfooled? I once heard that when everyone around you is a fool, or perhaps a dangfooled, probability reminds us that it is easier for only one person to be wrong than several." He smiles, seeing if you catch his meaning. "There may be glory, and there may not be in our dangfooled quest. But of one thing I am certain. There won't be any glory left in any underground citadel if everyone just live their lives. The darklands begin where our domains end. We've been losing ground year after year. For how long will you just live your life, if no one fights for our civilization?" He gets contemplative. "Do you think Fasturvault in unbreakable? That being a Svirfneblin will save you from being equally responsible for the future? Or perhaps you think the surface will be a nice place to live in when Fasturvault fall? Even if you could stand it, until when would you have peace?"

"I don't see anyone trying to break Fasturvalt yet. if they were, what'll save it is fighting. Fighting together for our homes, our children, our burrow. Not running off on some dangfooled quest while our home, our children and our burrow burn. Civilization begins with people, not a dead city. You want to rebuild your glory? build up your people, don't waste your time on some dangfool quest."

Anybody heard from Yorik? Been a few days since his last post...

Anybody heard from Yorik? Been a few days since his last post...

I'm still around, waiting for you and your brother to finish up your characters!

My brother is being a dumb butt. I need to remind him he needs to finish his.

I'm almost done. I'm using an alias I no longer need, so should be done ready soon.

If Zach is not serious about this I suggest we pick someone else (Tarlane included).

"Aye! Build up our people... That's what we've been doing for the last couple centuries, but it is not working. One after another, our cities have been falling, decreasing our domains and increasing the area considered as the Darklands." He looks sad now. So much unknown is hard to deal with. "And what's worse, we know nothing about how it happened. You are not seeing the need we all have right now. We cannot stand being the target of the unknown. Who attacks has nothing else to lose aside from their lives. On the other hand, the defenders of a city have much more thank their own lives at stake, they have their families, their home, their society's future. That's why history tells us that the best defense is a good offense. Wouldn't you agree with me?"

He is, he's just working a lot right now, and then he's got some prior commitments this weekend.

Got it.

"Never heard that saying. Sounds like the sort of thing that crazy topsiders might say. Everyone knows it's easier to defend than to attack. I'm all for scouting out the enemy, but throwing your life away on some dangfool quest does not sound like a scouting mission. Sounds like a dangfool waste of time to me."

No worries, guys, this weekend got away from me, too. Going through some... odd things in real life right now. Shouldn't affect the game, though!

"I got it Gumar, you're resistant, that's all. You have avoided agreeing with everything I said so far, so you wouldn't even think about doing the right thing. I understand, it's normal not to want different stuff in your life." He lifts his shoulders, indifferent. "Scouting is not really what we will be doing, although I have plans on turning it into a reconnaissance as soon as I'm able to. By magic. Someone needs to start this scouting... We will, don't worry about it. You can stay comfortable on your sofa while hopefully someone do the dirty work. It is easy to keep yourself sane when you know nothing about the darklands... but when you've seen the world... How can you just leave the responsibility to the ones you don't know? Guilt is as insistent as the ones who are attacking the underground cities. Eventually it may make your life unbearable, but I hope I'm wrong in that." He keeps pushing it, although the equally stubborn Svirfneblin is not much interested in listening.

"But if you pay attention to my logic, you will realize that indeed the ones who attack have the advantage. In the last couple centuries nine of our underground cities have fallen, and more will soon enough if we do nothing about it. As I said, we have much more on the immediate stake by defending than attacking. That's the art of war." Has anyone played Age of Mithology in large parties? "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence. The water represents our enemy, but it is more clever than we will ever be." His hands motion to represent the dripping water on the ground. "They do not attack directly, and never through sheer force. That would make of them a real threat, and raise armies on the opposite side, making their life much harder. Instead, they infiltrate and puncture their enemy weakness, carefully planning their assault, which will happen when everything is set on place, allowing no witness. That's what happened with Dammerhall. Why would we raise an army if we say no enemy army to fight against?"

"Dwarves are represented by stone. We are stable and lasting, so the association is perfect. But a clever person knows that everything has a weakness, and ours is also the strongest advantage. We cannot adapt, we cannot change. We do not surrender to new circumstances. We have been trying to accept our losses for a long time now, to no avail. The counterattack will begin, whether by the thousands or by a mere few brave men. I will be happy to live for that cause, and if the worst happen I'll die knowing I did everything I could for my fellows."

"Your full of dangfool talk. Sure, loads of your cities have fallen, but from what I hear it's as much from your fellow dwarves as from anything else. And from what I hear, noone knows what befell Dammerhall. It might just be a natural disaster, or an act of the Gods, instead of some mythical enemy. Me, I figure there's enough trouble facing our societies without looking for more. Let's deal with the ones we got, and when they're dealt with we can think about retaking the land we've lost."

"Full of fangfool talk? Well, I was expecting more of an answer, with actual arguments. You look like a smart fellow. If you were one you could easily help out in this discussion, but I don't see that now. But since you mentioned hypothesis about Dammerhall, I'll tell you this, natural disasters are easy to see, and if the gods were involved, Abadar, Irori and Torag would certainly have protected the city." He shakes his head again. "But how can you say a mythical enemy is unlikely? Weren't you complaining about the darklands a minute ago? "

Looking through Ultimate Campaign over on the PRD, and Story Feats look like they would be perfect for this game. Yorick, how would you feel about allowing us a bonus feat that must be a Story Feat? Obviously, it would probably have to be limited to ones you get at first level(I think some are only able to taken at higher levels)

Also, still struggling with which combat style to take. Yes, it granted at 2nd level, but I'm curious what you all think. I'm thinking either Two-Weapon, Archery, or Two-Handed Weapon. Suggestions? Comments?

I would believe two-handed would be nice, although we could take anything. We have three ranged support types at the party, so you heavily benefit from being a powerful damager. As would Zach, but Stonelords usually use a shield, although I plan one with an Earthbreaker...
We will be in underground tunnels most of the time, so cover would be a hindrance for archery, and this style usually has some limited damage.

Or so I think. Rush up, cause I'm starting to want to use Charm Person on Gumar...

"Ehh, your welcome to your dangfool quest. Go get youself killed in the darklands chasing some dangfool dream of glory. Just don't expect me to chase after you. I'm going home, or as near as I can get, and I plan to stay in the comfort of home as long as possible."

Yorick, how would you feel about allowing us a bonus feat that must be a Story Feat? Obviously, it would probably have to be limited to ones you get at first level(I think some are only able to taken at higher levels)

I am fine with that if everyone wants to do them.

"You may think it's a dangfool quest, but someone has to do it.", Ancian speaks up from behind the dwarf and gnome.

"I heard what you said, about Dammerhall. I'll go." He says to with a sort of nervous certainly.

I'm ok with it if you are, as it mostly changes the flavor of the character. Anyway, for Skygge I don't think there's much of an option aside from the Truth-Seeker, but maybe a Glimpse Beyond would be interesting (although highly illogical unless we're fighting the aberrations/undead).

As written, story feats may be allowed to be taken every time you gain a standard feat (every odd level), but you may not have more than any one goal active (so you must complete your objective before taking another one).

I do find they are too limited in number and circunstances, tough. For instance, I could have plenty of goals, like setting up a team to explore the darklands, convince an appropriate number of people to join my crazy dangfool quest without the use of magic, find out what happened in Dammerhall, retake the city, but none of them can be accomplished through the written feats (aside from the last one which would be completed close to 20th level), so it doesn't really make much of a difference to me unless they are specifically written for our backgrounds. But if you feel it will be nice for you, I'm all for it.

"Ha! You see, Gumar, our talk actually served a purpose! Thank you for your good wishes, then, Svirfneblin. I see you're not countering my arguments, but rather avoiding them, so I'll believe you're traumatized instead of just a fool. I hope you have peace in your burrow for as long as you can, my friend, and may you never regret not having came with us, although you probably will. Remember my name, and one of these days I'll send you a magic message telling you of my discoveries. Just to make you rethink all that, of course. Oh, and don't forget to buy the Smooked Googles when you have the chance." He smiles devilishly, and turns to the bald dwarf. "And what's your story?"

"My story?" He stammers over the simple phrase. He thinks for a moment without saying anything, and the nervousness exits his certainty.

"My grandmother used to tell me stories, that my family was decedent from the last lords of Dammerhall. I grew up in a human city, with mostly human friends and an average human life. But then i heard a bard telling stories of Dammerhall, and talking about a quest to claim it back, not for greed or gold, but for the Dwarven people. My people. I started reading into the history, of Torag and Folgrit, of Kols and Magrim and I became emboldened. I looked at my average life, and decided i was going to find out what happened to the kingdom of my ancestors, even if it kills me."

He finishes his soliloquy with passion, though he stands with bravado perhaps a second too long.

Zach, there's a spoiler on the bottom of the page where it is written "How to format your text". You will realize we use bold letters to say something, but italic when you're having an internal monologue.

Skygge looks at Gumar, pointing a finger at the newcomer. "See? That's the spirit! The need! The desire for glory! The realization that one shall never rest while falling. If you are going down, at least bring your enemy with you! Oh yes, but how could I forget, you would rather wait for the enemy to enter through your window and kill you when you're helpless." He shakes his head and look at the other dwarf again. "Welcome brother! I'm Skygge Mokai, and the little one here is Gumar, the most stubborn Svirfneblin I've ever met. Or perhaps the blindest. How are you called? And why did you come to Kraggodan?"

I should really study more and play less...

So we are currently just waiting on Monkey correct?

I believe so. Is your character ready Zach?

I am ready for this game to start! Monkey... get cracking ;)

"Enter through your window to kill you while you'er helpless, eh? and what would you know of things like that? I reckon you dangfools have had an easy life, never having had an enemy attack while you are helpless. I reckon you're speaking of things you know nothing about, and I also reckon you'll find out soon enough that talking about entering the darklands sounds like a jolly little adventure, but the reality is wholly different. Well, if you won't listen to me and keep well away, then listen to this; there are two rules to surviving in the Darklands. Be very, very careful and always, always be ready to run. Follow these rules and you might be lucky enough to live. Might."

I have most of my character done, stat wise. I just need to see if there was another trait I wanted, and if there was a drawback worth taking to get it.

"I know nothing about it, that is true. What I know is that Dammerhall fell. Its gates closed without anyone knowing what happened there. We don't know if they fought something, if they had a chance, or if they were just sleeping, and may be up to this day. I'll be very careful, thanks for the advice... But dwarves are not made to run. Short legs, you see. Don't take me wrong, although I talk of glory I am aware that our quest will be nothing like that. We may die, we may starve, get lost, get captured, and much more. Still, the reasons why we need to do it drive us to the goal, even against impossible odds. I hope you understand that. The goal justify the means."

Skygge, he seems ready...

"My name is Ancian Stoneforge, though I've never forged stone in my life, only steel. I came here looking for a old elf who speaks Dwarven. I heard his tales, the same as my grandmothers, in my local tavern some time ago, and my search for him has led me here. And in truth," he pauses, looking to Gumar and then back to Skygge, "I intend to quest for Dammerhall."

Ancian stretches out his hand to Skygge.

"From the way it sounds, you intend to do the same."

"AYE! We will find our lost glory or die trying!"

Yorick, how is the Lore Seeker trait going to work regarding spells? Do I need to chose the spells now, chose later, or may I change them given a little time?

Should be all done stat wise.

"There will certainly be glory, my new friend. But we may need a crew larger than two to take back Dammerhall."

He nods toward the gnome, "Though I doubt he will journey with us.", he says with a chuckle."There must be dwarves that wish to take back out homeland. I must also find this bard before I start this quest, he seemed to know so much about something that that no one knows much about."

"Hmm, that can get troublesome... And where is this bard again?"

If all goes right at work, I'll be starting the Gameplay thread up today. Worst case scenario, it'll be tomorrow. Pretty excited to see how this goes.

Yorick, how is the Lore Seeker trait going to work regarding spells? Do I need to chose the spells now, chose later, or may I change them given a little time?

Since you're looking to do something a little unorthodox with your build, I'm okay with you waiting for a bit to choose them. Changing them later is something I'll consider, but it might be unfair to the others, so I'll have to balance it up somehow.

Okay you guys, the Gameplay thread is going up now. Feel free to RP as much as you want with the afternoon. I've got some tricks up my sleeve to bring you together, so don't worry about trying to force it if it doesn't come naturally.

As an interesting aside, that was very nearly my 2000th post on this site. One more to go.

Cheers! To another 2000!

So you were not on the Caravan! Cheater!!! ^_^

I'll be back later to post.

Beware... I have some pent up roll-playing to do ;)

Hey Yorick,

Even if I choose not to take the Trapper archetype, would you allow me to craft traps? Also, there's some alchemical arrows in the Elves of Golarion book that I would like to make.

Finally, I know you said no to 3PP stuff(I think), but there's some badass arrow spells from Kobold Press. Is there any chance I could use a few(all) of them?

Even if I choose not to take the Trapper archetype, would you allow me to craft traps?

Proooobably just simple ones? The magical ones are meant to be pretty awesome since the archetype uses them in place of the Ranger spells.

Also, there's some alchemical arrows in the Elves of Golarion book that I would like to make.

Finally, I know you said no to 3PP stuff(I think), but there's some badass arrow spells from Kobold Press. Is there any chance I could use a few(all) of them?

I'm more accepting of 3PP stuff than most. Let me check both of those things out and I'll get back to you. I suspect it'll be fine.

The Alchemical arrows are from a Paizo book, just making sure its fine to eventually make them.

Saturdays are my in-person board game days, so I likely won't get much of a post up today. I'll try to throw one together quickly to move you guys along.

I am going to move this conversation over here Monkey...

I know we had talked about knowing each other way back when in Kyonin, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to keep rolling with that. Another option is (not sure your backstory for this character, so if it doesn't fit, ignore it lol) that as a young ranger (I assume this to be a relative militaristic role for the elves, maybe not though...) you were appointed as part of the security for Dietrich as Ambassador to the Dwarven city-states. With increased conflict between city states, as well as the growing difficulties of the underdark, the nation of Kyonin increased the security that went with Dietrich. That would give you a span of 50 years to have worked with him during his travels, before he renounced Kyonin for their inaction...

Does that work?

Sorry for the delay, I've been busy with a music project this weekend and have had my nose to the grindstone.

That works for me. I figure it would have been around my 100th birthday, which means we parted company around my 150th, and I've spent the last 75 years or so in Nirmathas assisting them against Molthune and the Drow.

Would you mind still being my teacher when I was younger? I kinda like that aspect a lot. Also, I'm guessing I know your real name, but likely wouldn't know you have this newer name, or maybe I would. I'll let you decide.

The teacher things works absolutely, seeing a young mind, Dietrich probably tried to influence you as he did anyone and everyone with the importance of not losing the culture of the dwarves. But he would have imparted his love for knowledge to anyone willing to listen, and apparently, he is a decent storyteller, so maybe not a official capacity teacher, but more of a natural thing from spending so much time together? If you want the official capacity thats fine, just thinking out.... loud... here lol.

In terms of knowing my real name, I assume you do, but I would guess that you haven't ever heard the name Dietrich.

Just wanted to say that I'm loving the roleplay. Feel free to keep going with it as much as you want. :)

Posting this to all my games:

Tomorrow, Feb 26th, I need followup surgery on my crushed toe, to deal with part of an exposed bone that is likely infected. This will probably cause me to loose about half my big toe, I think.

As I write this, I am about to go to sleep for a few hours, since I do not think I will be able to truly sleep through the night. I am kinda nervous, despite it being a relatively simple procedure.

I am unsure if I will be posting tomorrow after surgery, but I am hoping I'm fine. If I don't post you now know why.

Monkey - I am sorry to hear about your toe man, and I can understand how the surgery will give you some nerves. As Tarlane said in the other game, don't worry about posting, just do what you need to do man. Praying for you!