cynarion's Carrion Crown PbP

Game Master cynarion

Ice Titan wrote:

Time to start reading. Between working all morning and a touch of all-last-night helping friends generate characters for my Scion game, I had no time to post. Of course there are now 400 messages in my inbox needing my direct perusal. :x

Don't stress--the game will move on at the pace the game moves on. : )

--Mike

With 8 novelists cranking out background and 1st level intrigue, I doubt there'll be a lack of activity in this game. I'm enjoying people who can write characters.

Dang, I think I'm going to have to do some more Ustalav research before I'm able to craft a proper response to Raj ;)

I have a hat! Thanks Walter... now what sort of hat? Maybe what Jayne had in Firefly

"Hows it sit? Pretty cunning, huh?"

I have a hat! Thanks Walter... now what sort of hat? Maybe what Jayne had in Firefly

"Hows it sit? Pretty cunning, huh?"

A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.

On the campaign info page can we get the in game clues etc under spoiler banner for each category?

On the campaign info page can we get the in game clues etc under spoiler banner for each category?

I'm not sure what you mean. You can always mark posts as a favourite or put them on a list if you want to track particular posts. To be honest all you really need to remember at the moment is that the Professor died trying to take on the Whispering Way over something at Harrowstone, the Whispering Way is bad news and is involved with necromancy, and that there were five notorious prisoners at Harrowstone at the time of the fire.

That and the stuff about the crypt in the Restlands, which Rajuna and Theron appear to have in hand.

How--or whether--you source more information about all of that is up to you. : )

Maybe I can make a profile that is called "clues" and you can include 'it' as a player? I can put all the information - a log if you will - there.

Its an old habit formed by playing call of cthulhu. I think with PbP there is the fact that the data is never really lost... you just need to read old posts.

You could easily do your own spoiler at the bottom of your Dragomir profile.

That way you could always easily reference it yourself, and you wouldn't have to make a dedicated profile for it.

i did something similar with another one of my characters Jayse. Towards the bottom is a "Memories/Reveals/Oddities" spoiler. Linked within it are all the things I think I'll need to go back to to put together the DM's* clues about Jayse's mystery past.

*the DM = Stormraven. Awesome game, btw.

[Ahnold]I like you Eben... I'll kill you last.[/ahnold]

:) Thanks for the props.

More on mechanics
For tl;dr, see the bottom.

As I said over in the gameplay thread, I'm not a fan of spelling out mechanics, but there are a number of you in this game who have read through, played through or GMed this adventure before. And while I am sure you are all trying to come at the game with an open mind, I wanted to dispel any doubts about the way in which you will interact with the folks of Ravengro over the course of this adventure.

Without spelling it out for the people who have not read through The Haunting of Harrowstone, there is a mechanic in the adventure as written that affects the attitudes of the Ravengrians toward the party as a whole--a blanket effect.

I'm not a fan.

Whilst the mechanic itself has some merit, its implementation seems rushed, and indeed the adventure as written is fundamentally broken with regard to this mechanic. There are all sorts of fixes out there, but that doesn't change the fact that the adventure is all-but impossible to complete properly without significant alterations, either to the mechanic itself or the events of the adventure.

So while I pay attention to the way in which the party would affect the mechanic to inform my GMing of the Ravengrians you meet, each individual person you deal with will have their own issues and concerns, and you should treat them as such.

###

Tl;dr: don't assume that your actions as a group affect the attitudes of the Ravengrians you haven't yet met. Some will be Friendly to begin with. Others will be Unfriendly. Deal with each NPC on their own merits and you should be fine. : )

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. : D

Hey folks--with the party split up I'm getting a bit concerned that some of you may not have enough to do. Lem, Walter and Dragomir appear occupied at the Temple, while Theron and Rajuna are busy up at the crypt (although they will likely be done soon).

If Walter, Lem and Dragomir take a while at the temple (as is likely given the speed of exchanges in this medium) that could leave the other five of you twiddling your thumbs while we then wait for them to go see the sheriff.

If anyone's bored, please let me know and I will see what I can do to get something happening with the rest of you. Potential solutions include:

• a shopping expedition;
  
• a couple of others go visit the sheriff (Dragomir could leave the temple if he particularly wants to be a part of the exchange with the sheriff);
  
• someone goes to The Unfurling Scroll to talk to Alendru about access to his library;
  
• someone goes to the Town Hall to see if they can get access to the records there;
  
• someone goes to The Outward Inn or The Laughing Demon (the local tavern) to sit and talk with the locals.

Otherwise, if you're content to sit and wait, then we'll keep going the way we are. I just thought I'd give you some options. : )

--Mike

Tl;dr: don't assume that your actions as a group affect the attitudes of the Ravengrians you haven't yet met. Some will be Friendly to begin with. Others will be Unfriendly. Deal with each NPC on their own merits and you should be fine. : )

Glad to hear it :D While I haven't actually played through this book, I have seen the table and read a bit about problems with it. Glad to hear that we *probably* won't be chased by an angry mob quite that easily.

Well, some of us might, anyway. :D

I haven't read any of the AP yet an so far I'm really enjoying myself.

I'll post my response to the shrew, I mean, the pious sister, in an hour or so. :-)

Hey Theron, I hope I didn't steal your thunder by working us into the graveyard too soon... I didn't see you post here and didn't want to hold up the action any more. If you've got some dialog or whatnot to throw in, how about as the boys head back to town?

Having absolutely ZERO knowledge of this adventure [Knowledge: AP (untrained)], I was blissfully unaware that the pitchfork and torches crowd might try to kill us. 8O I've been playing off Raj's personal sense of paranoia. Seems like that was a good choice. :p

Hey Theron, I hope I didn't steal your thunder by working us into the graveyard too soon... I didn't see you post here and didn't want to hold up the action any more. If you've got some dialog or whatnot to throw in, how about as the boys head back to town?

Nah, don't worry about it. I have some trouble posting a lot during the day because of work, so I wasn't going to be able to add much in anyway XD

What xp advancement path are we on? Medium?

What xp advancement path are we on? Medium?

Correctamundo.

I haven't read any of the AP yet an so far I'm really enjoying myself.

I'll post my response to the shrew, I mean, the pious sister, in an hour or so. :-)

Lets see if my recent Sense Motive detects a crack in her armour - assuming Lem isn't itching to give her a piece of his mind.

In the long run leaving a letter with the gift of food may not also be bad, asking for a set appointment may smooth the old sods feathers and get us what we want as well. We can always come back.

Having absolutely ZERO knowledge of this adventure [Knowledge: AP (untrained)], I was blissfully unaware that the pitchfork and torches crowd might try to kill us. 8O I've been playing off Raj's personal sense of paranoia. Seems like that was a good choice. :p

I have a very robust memory, and I'll just say that it's not a coincidence I chose a character who follows rather than leads. :P

Random fact: Ustalavic folks trace the Lady's spiral over their hearts with a closed fist rather than a finger. There you go. : )

Considering this is something that I completely made up in my home game this factoid is rather surprising to me. :O When my group played WFRP, we had several hand-symbols for gods such as Taal, Ulric, Ranald and Shallya, so I try to create hand symbols for many PF religions or groups to help my players remember them. So, color me surprised!

: D

Worshipers of Pharasma--as well as most commoners--trace the goddess's spiral symbol on their chests, typically as a form of prayer when hearing ill news or a spoken evil, in response to blasphemy, and before or during an event that is dangerous or has an uncertain outcome. Different lands perform this gesture differently--in Ustalav, it is with a closed fist, while in Orision it is with the first two fingers extended. Especially devout folk see or repeat this gesture in everyday activities, such as stirring soup or scrubbing a floor.

That last might come in handy for Walter and co. in a minute. ; )

Again, nice touch - never thought of the Acolytes being a consideration but you've actually made it a cool part of the game and added some personality to the church. Also seems to a bit of a skill challenge which is very cool too.

Once we're past this part of the adventure, I'll post a little 'behind the curtain' type thing going into the motivations for the changes I've made--if everyone's interested, of course.

VERY - I was gonna ask for it

Rajuna Two-Fangs wrote:

Yes, and we all know that a TPK within the first 200 posts is just considered rude. :)

Cool. So only 77 more posts until all bets are off. ; )

Awesome, I just made post 201. So, the tarrasque appears...

; )

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

Walter will lend a hand sweeping and cleaning wherever someone tells him to, and when Lem and Dragomir tell him to get ready to go, he'll hop to it. Until then, I figure he'll just socialize with the acolytes, asking questions about the history of the church and secretly hoping to find someone knowledgeable to speak to so he can show off. I figure that's diplomacy, so...

Gathering Information from the Pharasmin Acolytes - Diplomacy 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

This was a GREAT idea and something I didn't consider at all. Best thing is it looks like the GM has gone to additional work building some backstory here... and thanks to that AWESOME gather information check we can get a look at some of it.

Flori - grab the girls and go shopping... maybe some local wildflowers will give you that edge to catch your beau?

Also I found a HAWT image for Flori...

www.lfgcomic.com/splash/index.html and http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/530 and http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/270

Its still green, still monsterous, still fanged BUT with some artwork like this you can probably say 'once you go green, you'll always be keen'.

Not sure if this artwork better reflects your image of Flori or if Flori isn't sporting a lingerie models build and is more along traditional half orc lines

Flori - grab the girls and go shopping... maybe some local wildflowers will give you that edge to catch your beau?

Awwww... sad faces for Karrik. He can find something to do, though. I'm sure of it.

The Professor had a collection of "Art" books that he never told his daughter about... you could spend some time there.

The Professor had a collection of "Art" books that he never told his daughter about... you could spend some time there.

Then again, they are Kuthonite art books, so maybe it's not the best idea... ; )

"Well, sir, you see sir, it's like this... There's this young lady, sir. Oh, she's smart as a day is long, sir. Reads books and such. Not smart as you, I'm sure, but smarter'n me by a long stretch... An' a real beauty too, sir!" He looks away as if thinking about the girl and can't find words to describe her. He bobs his head for good measure. "Anyhows, I want to impress her, sir. Maybe get in her graces, if you unner'stand me. Worldly man like you, I don't need to draw no maps, eh? And she's good woman, sir, strict upbringin' with a hawk-eyed Da as I hear it. But, ya know how it is, right? Strict family gonna breed a little rebellion. Anyhow, I know my letters and see she reads books that her Da don't know about - taboo things good girls ain't supposed to read. I think they might thrill her, ya know? Just a little bit. So, so I was thinkin' if maybe you got some tales like that or maybe a book like that, I could get in good with her. I seen one book she had on Harrowstone and she said somethin' about the Pepper of Illmarsh. You got any books on that? I got some money."

THIS is how I *wish* I had written this voice of Dragomir... Damn this is good dialogue!!! I aim for folksy but I don't seem to convey it or hit the mark anywhere near as good as this.

Thanks!

Feel free to crib some of it for examples. For Raj it is just playing a role and isn't his real voice so steal as much as you can carry. :)

NOW, assuming this ruse doesn't blow up in my face...

NOW, assuming this ruse doesn't blow up in my face...

Haha, I'm afraid to have Theron do anything now because I'm sure that there's no way he (or I) could do anything except possibly mess up your ruse XD

*tries to think of a good post for Theron to explain what he has been doing*

I think Cyn may have thrown in a couple of teasers of places to visit in the town square. I'm betting just about everywhere is worth visiting at least once. :)

This is going to be hilarious...if it goes horribly wrong I apologise in advance...

Oh, sure, it's always fun until someone loses an eye...

Alendru Ghoroven wrote:

This is going to be hilarious...if it goes horribly wrong I apologise in advance...

Oh, sure, it's always fun until someone loses an eye...

Or their free will... ; )

nasty... a shopowner using magics? obvious when you think of it but I've rarely been in games where GMs actually did it.

Flori... Rose... where are you? You guys are our arcanists. We need you... for fireballs and fun stuff like that.

Hey folks. A few things going on at home at the moment--chiefly led by a 6-month old that won't sleep. I may not be able to post tonight beyond this brief message, but does anyone have any objections to me using a bit of GM fiat and getting you all back together? I am happy to bring the sheriff to you.

And Raj, your interpretation of the way charm person would work matches mine. Alendru wasn't to know Raj had ulterior motives that would blunt the spell's effectiveness. Now he just has to decide whether to up the ante with something like suggestion, or cut his losses. ; )

In the event that Theron does barge in, what's he wearing at the moment? Anything that would identify him as an Inquisitor of Iomedae? Or could Alendru potentially find himself in very hot water in a minute?

: D

Hey folks. A few things going on at home at the moment--chiefly led by a 6-month old that won't sleep. I may not be able to post tonight beyond this brief message, but does anyone have any objections to me using a bit of GM fiat and getting you all back together? I am happy to bring the sheriff to you.

Sounds good. I'm sure that if we have anything more to do, we'll offer it up in retrospect, assuming it doesn't offset the current narrative.

In fact, I'll offer up the minutiae that Walter will take care of if he gets a chance in a post right now.

I'm good with GM fiat as well. Sorry, if I slowed things down.

I'm good with GM fiat as well.

Likewise

Thanks folks. And Rajuna, you haven't slowed anything down. It's not that I want to get back on the plot train, it's that I don't want poor Flori, Karrik and Rose to get bored! The plot train is moving along just fine at the moment, especially when I compare how this is going to a handful of other Carrion Crown PbPs I am keeping up with--one of which started in April last year, and that I expect to overtake within a week--or maybe two. ; )

In other news, I am heading interstate to visit my grandmother this weekend, so I will likely be out of contact from Saturday morning to Wednesday morning, Melbourne time. I think that's pretty much Friday to Tuesday US time. I might find the occasional time to post, but likely nothing substantial.

Cool - I was hoping that splitting up would actually promote more play as each group of players wasnt' tripping over each other and getting out and about.

On a table top game? Splitting the party is a real pain to manage... on a PbP? Not so much.

I do so much like the pace of the game. I am in two others and they have slowed to a crawl... really hoping that Rose and Flori can get back in the swing with - not sure if its real life issues or because they feel left out or don't feel they are in position to support the storyline/gameplay

In the event that Theron does barge in, what's he wearing at the moment? Anything that would identify him as an Inquisitor of Iomedae? Or could Alendru potentially find himself in very hot water in a minute?

: D

Theron is currently hiding his holy symbols (and most of his sword) under his cloak to avoid attracting too much attention, but that is easily remedied. :D

I think I'll go ahead and assume that Theron is beginning to suspect something. Those rolls seemed high enough, and it'll help keep things moving.

We'll all be here eagerly awaiting your return from over-the-river-and-through-the-woods when you get back online. :)

No love for Karrik, Hela? Totes ouch, man! :)

I will say it takes a different sort of proactivity to continue posting when you're staying at the house (mostly) to keep guard on the unconscious NPC. Karrik had a leg up on poor Flori because I at least had something to do in the basement.

I guess I should have invited her down into the work.

That said, from my p.o.v., I've enjoyed reading along with the other groups as they went out and engaged some other situations. Can't wait to see some more group dynamics evolve. :)

I will say it takes a different sort of proactivity to continue posting when you're staying at the house (mostly) to keep guard on the drunk off her ass NPC.

Fixed that for ya. :)

Karrik wrote:

I will say it takes a different sort of proactivity to continue posting when you're staying at the house (mostly) to keep guard on the drunk off her ass NPC.

Fixed that for ya. :)

Lol! My problem is completely different, I've been having to try and post often enough to keep up with Raj and Cyn's roleplaying awesomeness XD

Sheesh. Good luck with that, man. I'm just gonna own my average-osity and just try to have some fun when the opportunities present themselves.

Also -- heads up, Cynarion -- I edited my last post to take into account searching through the professor's documents for each of the five prisoners individually.