#9-07 Salvation of the Sages PbP (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

Guys, I have to take vacation until Tuesday for personal reasons and will probably not post as a GM. Probably won’t affect my games as a player as I can post remotely but I need my laptop for GM posts.

Sounds good. No problems. Take care!

I know I'm throwing a spanner in the works here. Sorry. If you guys would rather press on with the lich instead of Trokkus, I understand and won't take it personally.

I love this!! :-D

No railroad here ... you decide!

Hello everyone,
As already stated in the discussion in Flaxseed when I was recruiting, I played this scenario with GM Supervillan and it was a superb experience!

I am German and not a native speaker so most of the text / interactions in the game are based on GM Supervillan’s exquisite writing skills and descriptions which I would not be able produce. The slides are based on GM Hmm’s first run so many thanks to her too.

I just want to make you all aware of the hard work that GM Supervillan put into the game I played in and that I am leveraging this for our game’s benefit!

So if you enjoy the game so far then you have to give him far more credit than me! ;-)

I know I'm throwing a spanner in the works here. Sorry. If you guys would rather press on with the lich instead of Trokkus, I understand and won't take it personally.

Your kind of not wrong but without going into spoilers weirdly not for the reason you think.

Just rereading the opening scenario. Does everyone have antiplague or something similar? Ischell wont, since he is "immune". I was also thinking about whether life bubble would a potentially useful scroll./spell to have along.

700 gp for 14 hours of lifebubble (spread out across up to 7 characters), as long as someone can cast it (or UMD it)

One of Trokkus' mercies is the cure disease one (but whether it'll work depends on how tough the DC of the disease is).

ok... so if we eject (or kill!) this lich... what, metagaming, do we lose.

Some fighting help of course...

- Bonus on disable device/UMD
- Bonus on Knowledge/Linguistics

Most importantly, and all of these could be the difference between success and TPK...

dispel magic, freedom of movement, invisibility, speak with dead (DC 19), tongues

Do we have alternatives for all of this?

And, we're fighting a necromancer, right? Isn't having a lich with us, possibly like bringing a weak willed barbarian with us to fight the known enchanter?

I hope you’re right :)

In this case it’s done Barbarian we all hate who Mim and dad said we have to let join our game, and if he turns on us all bets are off and we can smash it with no comeback. I deep down hope he turns traitor so we can validly have a crack with no reprisals

You know what. If we survive this scenario I'll give you the opportunity to kill him.

And to be clear...

@trokkus... you are saying if the lich comes, you're out, right? (based on your earlier post in this thread)

Is there a chance, Trokkus will be convinced to allow the lich to come?

It's why I'm asking what we lose without the lich, because it sounds like Trokkus is steadfastly saying "no."

Yeah, Trokkus is a steadfast no with the lich. Like I said, it's not a big deal to me personally--I can rp a farewell, take a no-reward Chronicle, and find another PbB for him. But I do want to be true to the character.

In-game, from a morality-free cost-benefit analysis, presumably a standard lich (if you can trust it) would offer an enormous step up in sheer knowledge and firepower over a paladin of Trokkus' limited reknown. So I understand if you want to go that way. (mechanically for the purposes of this scenario, I don't know how they compare--I haven't looked at the lich's stats; I also don't know if there's any scripted stuff making the lich a good or bad thing to have around).

The scenario only states that Torch can be removed from the Sages but I see no reason why Sinuhotep can’t be asked to leave.

If the majority of players want Sinuhotep to leave I will RP the Sages’ decision.

Please vote here. ;-)

Agate has to be in favor of keeping him, out of loyalty to the Sages.

Ahn will vote, "No"... as a paladin and because when born his life was spared at the cost of his twin brother's (there was an exchange... fey tricked his parents into the exchange when Ahn was deathly ill at birth... it's why he's fey touched, and haunted (his oracle curse) by his brother) Ahn has extreme guilt for this (why he takes other's pain via life link and shield other), anger at his parents and the fey, and why he is a member of the dark archive with hopes of determining the type of fey involved for correction or revenge... the "specific" thing he's looking for.)

So having life at the cost of an infant (as I the player have read is often part of becoming a lich, and I'm playing as if Ahn has heard as well, true or not.) is even more abhorrent to him (if possible!) and triggers his own guilt and loathing of himself... and the lich CHOSE this... he's having trouble getting past that.

As for mechanically... I think having Trokkus is more beneficial in most situations, but it's possible we'll get into a situation in which we NEED the lich or his powers to succeed or continue. People have said (as has GM Nowruz) that this is a potentially deadly scenario... so a wrong choice could really be a TPK... and here a wrong choice could be either way, the boost from having Trokkus/one more character could save us, or the written in benefit of the lich... either loss could make or break us.

If we're role-playing character's here (and with the lean towards keeping a real-world person in the game!) Ahn votes, "No."

(But as it's a game, I'll bend the character to fit, because I want to play, but totally understand other perspectives.)

Ok then dice down - the lich probably has to go and we need to stop beating around the bush - if it turns out he was needed and we all die then such is the cost of people sticking to their positions.

Current Tally -

No Lich - Ahn, Trokkus, Frost
Yes bring Lich - Agate

One more no lich and it's settled, else, everyone else needs to vote yay, lich.

While Athum who rather there be no division in the group, he would side with the Society's decisions over those of an individual member. Also, while he inwardly admires Trokkus for sticking to his beliefs, he doesn't really have much respect for religions in general and the strange decisions that tend to stem from them.

1 vote for Yes.

OK re-reading in careful detail the briefing, it appears that if we leave Sinuhotep behind we probably fail, and that might get dramatic as well.

The essence seems to be that in the gems there is the lifeforce/will/spirit whatever of the BBEG, and the point is we need to have the ritual to draw the pieces together and thus likely all the sages with their gems (and crush it). If we leave some fragment out, then the BBEG still exists and we lose, in which case we may as well just head back to the tavern now and save the anguish.

Frost 1 vote for yes.

I'm sticking to the hope that we can crush the BBEG, then have an opportunity to crush Sino as well for a truly happy ending.

For now (as that's compelling information... and may after more debate lead to Ahn switching... Maybe the Sages will have input on the validity of that reading...)

No Lich - Ahn, Trokkus,
Yes bring Lich - Agate, Frost, Athum

Ischell will say to bring the lich. While I don't want to "boot" a player from the table- he would trust the paragon of his order with this decision. She apparently has no issues (she is LN) and he would obey her commands/beliefs on the matter.

Ha, okay--I will gracefully accept the majority's decision. It's like being the losing candidate in a political race, and I can tell the story of how I was outvoted for a lich for a long time :) I'll post some IC in the other thread. Thanks everyone--I'm sure I'll see you in another game somewhere down the road.

A shame Trokus, because when we eventually wail on the BBEG and hang out for our free shot at Sinuhotep who will surely sell us out it would be glorious to tear them a new one with a group of Paladins.

Wander home now and you miss out on killing one or both and we have to go back to the tavern and talk about Trokkus the Unlucky, the one who wandered back to the city and missed his shot at glorious destruction of the undead.

***

“And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.”

― William Shakespeare, Henry V

Yes Trokkus... what Frost said... let him carry the gem... and then, his task done, he meets our wrath.

Well... I've never seen that happen before!

Whatever happened to Thorek?

Ok... life linking... who wants fast heal 5?

Trokkus, I very much respect the decision. Therefore, it is also not really fair to just throw you out of the group! If you wish you could also play a pre-generated character and apply credit to another character of yours. We haven’t had any encounter so far!

Or you could bring another character of yours that could accept this moral dilemma.

That's very kind, thank you, but I think it's best if I move on.

All I can imagine is the sound of sad charlie brown music playing in the background as he walks off.

Sorry Trokkus!

Sorry. I understand why you would leave.

I vote for Sinuhotep to help with the icon, since he seems to be the necromantic expert.

Kn checks quick and dirty: 2d20 ⇒ (17, 16) = 33

Maybe one more information that is important before you choose your Sage.

You believe that the undead that are rising are TROOPs!

So similar to swarms they have specific traits such as that AoE spells are more impactful.

If I'm not mistaken, the sages only give us bonuses to skills. They don't use the skills themselves. If we have someone that can disable traps, then Torch may be the best choice for this. Otherwise, either Sinuhotep (lich) or Amenopheus (wizard) would be the best choices.

Tahonikepsu (dragon), could be a good choice, too, if only for her dragon breath.

Sinuhotep provides a +3 on disable device checks (Torch +2). If we think we need to disarm/disable, he should probably be our choice.

Both TAHONIKEPSU, and AMENOPHEUS offer good AOH with equal capability, Amenopheus has excellent other skills (like resist energy... but we probably don't need that yet.).

Agates disable is pretty good... so, do we need AOH more or +3 Disable device more... that's the question.

I think having more AOH would end up being less of a draw on our resources. But, who knows.

So, in the travels, Ahn will have life linked with Frost... he'll change that later, but that's indefinite so would have done early (just hadn't had input)

Cheers Ahn.

***

I think the Dragon might be a winner here, breath weapon vs troops is always solid.

That was my thought.

Yeah. The dragon might be the best idea.

Dracarys!

Ok. The time dragon is chosen.

Can you fill out your details on the first slide of the handouts and place yourself on the second page map.

Just need Peridots info on that page I think
.

Sorry about the delay. I've been kind of busy dealing with issues the past few days. Im going to fill that out right now and get to work.

Agate is missing.

Filled in now. Sorry, limited time to check here the last couple days.

Like... let’s crush some undead, Dudes!

Can you all also do me the favour and have your tag line up to date with HP, and active conditions

There is a lot going on behind the scenes in the scenario and I have to admit that I will most certainly make mistakes. :-)

If you see anything that I missed please feel free to post in discussion and I will correct it.

Thanks a lot!!

Is mine all right? I can add more but Im not sure what else you want.

Hi Peridot, it would be great if you could include any active conditions (beyond whole party buffs like haste etc.) in your tagline.
Assume you take an extract of protection from evil then it would be great if you could note that in your tagline.

And if you are using the spoiler as you prefer it this was then please keep it but if not you can also openly display these information.

Thanks

Hello everybody,
I also included a column in the reporting sheet in the slides so you can include your email address for the OSP boon reporting.

Can you please fill that out as well.

Thanks!!