Interesting -- the phrasing moved into is key, because Ives was moving out.
Teleri, you could attempt a move action to escape then start casting sleep as your standard. Doesn't cost you much at all until you do it twice.
Ives ... have you been forgetting that you have two claws, and are entitled to two attacks when you take a full attack action? I only see one attack in four of your last five posts. Natural weapons have a whole different rule set than regular weapons.
Good catch Teleri. Yes Ives can 5 ft step and full attack. I'll let you retcon two of those attack rolls you've forgotten.
Nope! It can be done either as a standard or a full-attack action -- your choice!
I'm liking the fast advancement track for PbP purposes.
I think it might be a bit too fast in a regular at-the-table game, but since PbP is so slow to start with, it works well in this context.
Yeah it's really something. I think it would be too fast for inexperienced players who have barely gotten used to abilities at a certain level.
Yay, Teleri finally discovers that she knows sylvan! I've had that line planned practically since we started the game. This is the first time she's heard more than a single word of the language at a time. Barring that incident with Ives shoving his face into the river, when she couldn't make out the words because he was underwater.
Also, I am amused in the extreme that Ives picked Norwegian for Sylvan, the GM opened the conversation in Norwegian, and then Ives answered in Irish. XD
Perhaps a reference is in order? In my other game we just stuck a list of language equivalents in one of the sheets attached to the campaign.
Common = English
Dwarven = Lithuanian
Elven = Finnish
Sylvan = Norwegian
I think that covers everything the PCs currently speak.
Grippli=Samoan
Traveling today, so my posts my be somewhat shorter/slower. In Denver for the holidays, then I'll return to my usual haunts on the 29th.
And thus Teleri, with nothing but the best intent, may have inadvertently set up the grippli tribe for the all the cultural problems that come when a more advanced civilization trades with a less advanced civilization. XD
I've been thinking about Teleri's bonus feat, and I think I'm going to go with Silent Spell. It's going to be another couple of levels before it really starts coming in handy -- yay, silent cantrips! -- but it's a solid long-term choice.
I've never played a sorcerer before, and I gotta say -- being a low-level sorcerer is rough. I'm sure I'll be awesome later on, but the early levels come with some serious constraints.
Okay, so, Ives has no motive to leave the forest, and a distinct aversion to the city. Don't worry -- I've got plans. Let's play this out. GM, I'll send you an email and discuss it with you behind the scenes. Ives, just do what you'd do.
I went through the entire adventure and made some notes that may be of use.
Reward notes
The original advertised reward was 200 brenins (platinum). We were given 20 brenins each after the first phase, leaving 160 remaining. So we each received 80 brenins at the conclusion of the first arc. Yes?
Travel Timing Notes
Mr. Gillie takes 2 days to travel between Pentrefan and Dinas Diwydiant. It's a four-day journey by foot.
Calendrics
May 20th: campaign start; investigation of naiad death; I and T meet during naiad ambush.
May 21st: I and T meet outside of town; identify tainted mine runoff; visit mine; note vandalism of SMC HQ and shed; interview Mr. Anderson; explain findings to Mr. Trenton; receive 20 brenins each; shopping; travel to Mother Tree.
May 22nd: I and T at Mother Tree; head to swamp; stirges; level 2; captured by grippli; discussion w/ grippli elder; first fight vs grippli monk and cleric (beaten soundly).
May 23rd: I and T wake up in grippli camp; pictogram conversation w/ grippli nurse; slaughter large snake; granted rights of warriors.
May 24th: Rematch with grippli monk and cleric (narrow victory); grippli elder agrees to truce; depart swamp; Teleri learns she can speak Sylvan; interview with naiad oracle; Teleri enchants crocodile; report to Mr. Trenton; arc complete; Teleri stays with Molly; Ives departs back to Mother Tree.
May 25th: Teleri and Mr. Gillie depart Pentrefan, reaching Aberstane in the evening. Ives at grove.
May 26th: Mr. Gillie continues on, arriving in Dinas Diwydiant; Teleri turns back and sleeps in the woods by a stream. Ives at grove.
May 27th: Mr. Gillie makes deliveries in Dinas Diwydiant and loads goods bound for Pentrefan; Teleri arrives in Pentrefan. Ives at grove. This is the current in-game date as of this writing.
May 28th: Mr. Gillie starts back, reaching Aberstane in the evening. Teleri goes to the Grove to talk to Ives and (potentially) returns with him.
May 29th: Mr. Gillie reaches Pentrfan in evening.
May 30th: Mr. Gillie makes deliveries and loads new stuff.
May 31st: Mr. Gillie's day off, because everyone needs time off.
June 1st: Mr. Gillie starts his routine over.
So the earliest Teleri and Ives could catch a ride with Mr. Gillie would be on May 30th, arriving in the City on June 1st. Or they could walk starting on May 29th, passing Mr. Gillie as he's returning, and get to the City on June 1st. Or they could investigate the stage coach? It may not run on the same schedule.
I'm inclined to think that once Ives is on board with proceeding we should probably time-skip forward to their arrival in Dinas Diwydiant, so it may be a cosmetic choice. Teleri's vote would be a wagon ride with Mr. Gillie. Though it's entirely possible things may occur which would throw all this off.
Geography
Calishan - someplace overseas, makes silk, far east analogue.
Rukh al Tadru - desert land overseas, middle east analogue, demonym is "Tadrani".
Aberstane - a very small hamlet existing primarily as a stopping point between Pentrefan and Dinas Diwydiant.
Nice notes, Teleri. I'll make a Google doc for you guys to keep your notes in. Soonish.
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thanks for figuring out the timeline. That was a nice touch.
The plants...
maybe...
the little flowers sound like bluebells.
The other one... bittersweet?
And google is telling me that this is tropical, but maybe... ginger is the pinecone thingy.
But I'm a michigander and not used to elevated mountainous areas!
Yeah I've lived in Indiana almost my entire life and I've never been particularly inclined to botany. I'm more into figuring out how patterns of evolution of resistance to infection alter epidemic sizes in wildlife.
Ponderosa Pine is correct for the first paragraph, GM!
The second paragraph, the low-lying groundcover plant with glossy leaves and tiny flowers that become red berries, is kinnikinnick. It's apparently also called Bearberry, though that's not something I learned until I was writing this. The plant is edible but astringent, and has mild antiseptic properties. I sometimes chew the leaves when hiking in the mountains just to keep my mouth moist.
The third paragraph, the pale russet brown flowering plant, is Pinedrop, a plant which does not use chlorophyll at all.
The final one, the white-and-blue-or-violet flowers, are mountain columbine, the state flower of Colorado.
cool! I've heard of columbine, of course! I think it was an ingredient in Skyrim.....
The other two are new plants to me.
It's always helpful for me when you guys end a party split. XD
If you like, we could also pretend this is your campaign. :-Þ
XD Don't worry. The rails are wide and you've been sufficiently within them. ;)
Will be away from the internet the 28th and 29th for an anniversary trip. I'll be back to playing on the 30th.
Okay, I think that about wraps up the persuading-Ives-to-go-be-an-adventurer arc. GM, when you get back on the 30th you can narrate us into the next phase of the adventure.
Yep. That was my plan.
Okay, questions:
1. So, airships are a thing apparently. Could you give us a rundown of the technological level of this world? Are constructs common? Androids? Can I catch a pedicab hauled by a sentient mechanical centaur? Are the sewers infested with rust monsters?
2. How is the city generally laid out? Is there a river? Is there central planning around some kind of rectilinear grid system? Completely organic growth with no planning at all? Occasional attempts at order superimposed over stubbornly organic terrain?
If you haven't read it already, I recommend checking out Ravi Shankar's short book The Creation and Depection of Fantasy Cities. It's very useful.
3. What's law enforcement like? Are there cops -- or bobbies, I suppose -- who work for the government? Is it handled by private guards hired by the wealth and/or guilds? Neighborhood watch associations only?
4. How well does the postal system work? In London in the 1840s, postal routes were visited 12 times a day -- check out this NY Times article on early urban mail systems.
5. Teleri grew up here and has only been gone a couple of weeks. Anything in particular that she would know about the city that I need to know in advance?
Sure thing, Teleri. I'm Wit family until tomorrow evening so it'll be a little while before I can provide the in-depth documentation and maps that I'd most like to. Here are some answers:
1. In one broad strokes, tech level is just beyond what I consider standard Golarion. So constructs exist but are expensive. No androids. Guns are not great yet. No sentient constructs, yet. Teleri doesn't know of any rust monsters. Factory machinery is just getting big. Industrialized farming is booming wuth horses, metal plows, and few large farms.
2. Will provide a map. Newer districts are rectilinear but old weren't planned.
3. Only police have official, city-wide jurisdiction but the other two are common.
4. Good but not that good. Three route visits a day.
5. Will get back to you on this when I have better computer access.
Just getting back into my pbp routine and Will derails me with this guide to creating fictional cities. XD Getting too many ideas for things to add to Dinas Diwydiant. I'll keep working on it in the background but for now I'll keep us moving forward.
The original advertised reward was 200 brenins (platinum). We were given 20 brenins each after the first phase, leaving 160 remaining. So we each received 80 brenins at the conclusion of the first arc.
Correct.
Brenins are platinum. You've received 1000 gold total from SMC.
Think of all the candy that will buy!
Each.
I think it's more likely we'll wake up in a dumpster with no gear or funds.
I would like to add, though, that I may be a little salty about the ambush arising from the GM deciding my character would take a shortcut through an alley even though that's a transparently bad idea and she has no reason to do so.
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Given that an "average" encounter for a party of 2 at level 2 should be CR1, and we are fighting... hmmm... just the 3 rogues are at least CR1 combined, and then the caster and the orc... I would guess this is at least a CR4 encounter.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about CR's recently in prep for my new campaign.
But I'm not complaining. BRING IT. Ives is gonna kick yer butt.
If things go on like this I may need to do something about my AC. Rocking an AC of 11 just isn't that great.
Well the dice have been pretty firmly against you... Also life is more interesting with a broad range of challenges.
And Teleri, note that this isn't a particularly dangerous or odd place to be since you can be seen from several angles. Teleri wouldn't have expected to be mugged here.
I have Detect Magic and Spellcraft, so I can identify the properties of items. But I lack Knowledge (Arcana) and can't tell you anything about why the magic works that way or the exact name of the item in question.
Sure. I'll work that in at the next opportune moment.