GM Zero/GL's Giantslayer! (Inactive)

Game Master GM_Grandlounge

Hey all I had a fire in my building and I'm in a hotel for the night so I will get you all a post tomorrow.

Oh jeez! No rush! Hope everything’s okay!

Please don’t think about us!! Take all the time you need!!!

How bad was the fire?

It turns out it was on/in the roof but that is where the water and h vac are so the smoke got pumped directly in to everyone's units. All said fire damage low hopefully the smoke damage is low too. No one was hurt but there are coughs and itchy eyes. Just 2020 being 2020.

Yeah...take your time. No need to let this stress you any more.

My in-laws had a fire last year and, while it was mostly contained to the kitchen they had to redo all their floors and repaint everything because of smoke damage.

Yeah, if you need to take some time away, we'll just keep roleplaying about everyone settling in for the night and judging Thyste's taste in romance novels :P

I was hoping for a dramatic reading...

My understanding from reading the spell description of Lesser Restoration is that it cannot restore ability drain, only ability damage. So Ben should save his spell slot unless he wants to role-play trying it and having it fizzle, which would be fair.

Agreed.

Since it's drain and not damage, does that mean that it also doesn't heal naturally?

Correct that 1 point sticks with you for a while still. There will be some options but much will be dependant on your actions.

Well, it's not terrible but since I normally have a 20 strength, switching to a 2 handed weapon is going to make my damage bonus +6 instead of +7...or is it rounded up and it would be +8?

That tends to round down, unfortunately.

Magic Item Idea: All things that usually round down if you've got half instead round up.

Could be neat????

OK then, Burst of radiance is back ON!

I guess we need Restoration, a 4th level spell to deal with this. Ben gets it at level 7, otherwise we eill end up having to pay for it.

So how about a summary of our current situation? I know we are headed towards the fort, but do we know where it is? Is Hildy coming with? Do we get there by ship or do we return to the ship first?

Since you left Truneau you have made your way up the river, where you fended off attack both external in internal. Crocodiles and drakes plagued the early days of the journey. But they were nothing compared to having to do a half days light labor for some of our adventures. You rooted out a stowaway who sought to murder you through clandestine means if she could, but you stopped her before things got too bad. Then you stopped at ghost light marsh to find a cache of deadly weapons for fighting the orcs of Redlake fort. These were the orchestrators of the attack on Truneau. You have since found out they conspire with giants reforging an old pack from hundreds of years ago. With the weapons in hand, you have a two-day journey upriver to get to the orc heavily fortified location. The captain will take you within walking distance of the fort. Hildy is coming to free her brother. This is all contingent on you making it back to the ship.

Gotcha-- so, to the ship, then we sail to the fort, then we ????? (there will probably be at least 1 orc death).

Long-term, I seem to remember something about a tribe of giants that are working with the orcs, but we'll figure that out Later.

Phase 1: Underpants

Phase 2: ???

Phase 3: Profit!

Thanks for the summary GM!!!

Do I want to know what part 2 is?

I have seen you all RP, I know what part two is.

Wait...am I the only one old enough to get this reference?

Nah, I was sort of obliquely referencing that myself :P

Never watched South Park myself; that was South Park, right?

I knew it. But, I don't think phase two would be a mystery with this group. It might need to be censored but it is not a '?'.

Don't worry I'm old.

Before I go much further with what's happening in the game RP, I wanted to make sure that the current game thread is not offending or triggering anyone unnecessarily. Obviously I don't know anything about anyone's private history, and I really don't want to make anyone uncomfortable with explicit sexual descriptions or references to sexual assault. If anyone is feeling in any way that a line has been crossed, just PM me and I will delete the post in question and redirect the RP.

Oddly, this all came up because Lidia was trying to change the topic from what had originally upset her -- the book just happened to be the thing she'd been looking at when Thyste came along. And again, that book just writes itself in my mind in all its tawdry glory.

But Lidia has had a very sad and unpleasant life -- in some ways she's seen too much, and in other ways she's seen too little. I am super into exploring her traumas and neuroses and I'm trying to be as honest as I can in writing her character, warts and all. And as such, I've assumed that we're all adults with an interest in creative writing and the drama of roleplaying and felt free to push some boundaries a bit. I think confronting her past tragedies is part of what drives not only Lidia's character growth but her arc as a 'hero'. Slaying monsters and making the world safe is a hero's journey, and is a powerful metaphor for facing her own inner demons. I hope that at the end of this adventure path, if we get there, she'll truly be at peace with herself.

And I think a big part of the way this growth works is the dialectic of her interactions with the other members in the party, as unlikely a bunch as we are. So I think moments like this with Thyste are super important, not just to link her backstory to the present narrative, but to help create a bond with another character that will make them understand and support each other more from here on out. Which is all a way of saying I intend to continue with deep character navel-gazing wherever I can wedge it in, and I'll try to always strike a balance between honesty and tastefulness.

Just to put this out there-- I'm good! Not treading on any subjects that are sensitive to me specifically.

I love roleplay like this more than anything else (not specifically on this topic, but the sort of-- "hey, our characters are Connecting") and I'm glad I'm not the only one in the group-- in fact, from what I can tell, we're all happy to roleplay a lot between hitting things real hard with our heavy and/or pointy sticks.

It also helps me flesh Thyste out just a bit. She has also seen some stuff (as her unique physique makes her something of a target), so she's not just a jokey demeanor.

No issues from me. Wouldn't have it any other way.

I have not problems but I will set some ground rules for simplicity, not getting kicked off the boards, and in case someone is too shy to say something.

Keep the descriptions suggestive not explicit. Keep it below the 9pm tv level. I watch modern TV that gives lots of room to work with. That said, explore the emotional sides of things as you like, that is more interesting anyway.

We will also use the x card system. You can look it up if you like. If a topic comes up you are uncomfortable with, post an 'x' that topic is done and everybody moves on.

Finally, I'm happy to let you guys RP like crazy. There are not a lot of NPCs in Giantslayer so it is easy for me. Just tell me when you are ready to continue.

Did I say modern TV? I swear I'm younger than 90 years old.

All you kids with your Netflickers and Twittings and Tickety Tocks.

I haven't read the post, but I'm sure I'm ok with it.

Although I might cringe when I read some things, good writing often makes you cringe and is good because it makes you cringe. Life is hard and unfair and being able to view how it's unfair and hard for other people vicariously increases understanding and empathy.

About the only thing that's going to offend me is if someone tries to defend or justify racism.

...

About the only thing that's going to offend me is if someone tries to defend or justify racism.

I have seen this and worse at PFS tables in real life. I trust this group. You all have proven to be both capable of respecting boundaries and checking in with your players. I hope I calibrated the rules to people's comfort while keeping the door open to interesting RP.

Racists get a swift spear to the throat in any game I'm a part of, if at all possible, so I think we're on the same page (or at least reading the same book) :P

How interesting you said that. I just had a character of mine call dwarves 'little buggers'. So, say if Ben called Ulretha a raving monster, would he get a spear in the throat?

But, in all seriousness, I'm thinking you are talking about real-life racism and not just some in game character prejudices based on race. Fortunately I, personally, have not run into odious forms of racism while gaming. Really only once in real life and, frankly, it shocked me. Sheltered life I guess.

Nah, in-game fantasy racism that doesn't adhere too closely to real-life racism is generally fair game and (sometimes (often??)) good role-playing.

Bellowing that elves can't be black? Let me see if I can wedge this spearpoint between the vertebrae.

I will be away in the mountains this weekend. So I won't be posting much.

In lieu of that level up to 6. You have access to any mundane weapons you like 1 each. Bloodtusk gives you 1 wand of CLW 50 charges. You also have 1 day's worth of spells to try and fix everyone up.

We will be moving on to the fort on Monday to try to find a natural stop point for the current conversation.

So, no level up but we get some equipment and a day to rest up?

What about Ben's scouting mission. Is that yet to be determined?

I thiiiiink GM means "in lieu of me posting, level up to 6."

That makes sense. Want a confirmation before I update the character sheet though.

Yep. We might as well use a quiet weekend to get everyone leveled up. You will be able to scout but you are currently 30ish hours out from the fort. Monday the PCs will be in range and and we will deal with scouting then.

Well with the level up, Ben has other go-to's as far as shifting, including tiny fliers, so that issue is gone.

@Ulretha

You might want to take the Inquisitor Sacred Huntsmaster archetype. The GM might even allow your levels to stack with the Cavalier levels regarding companions.

@Ulretha

You might want to take the Inquisitor Sacred Huntsmaster archetype. The GM might even allow your levels to stack with the Cavalier levels regarding companions.

I'll have to think about it. I don't have the ACG. I know I can always look things up on Archives of Nethys (like I just did) but somehow, I just get a better grasp on things when I read it in book form.

Inquisitor Sacred Huntsmaster archetype is a great option. There is also Tactical Leader which will overlap with Cavalier abilities and you can use the domain to keep your Animal levels up. If you want to do this I can help with this. Inquisitors are classes I have a lot of experience with, especially in giantslayer.

Relic Hunter might also be fun given that Ulretha is all about this because of a... Relic!

Though for me I probably would not because I am not all that familiar with the Occultist class and their relic based abilities, much the same as your attitude towards the ACG stuff.

Still, it would be SOOOooo fitting!

Occultists are great but they require a ton of tracking points here and there every power has a different number of uses that are changing all the time. They are fun but more work than any other class.

One thing about the items you just received. They are of very different values based on books price but they are all around the same strength in my opinion (the most expensive might be the weakest). For that reason, they have no resale value. Otherwise, I would have just doubled Ben's wealth. Please make a note somewhere on your character sheet that if sold there is no value so you are parting with them for RP reasons.

The only way Thyste is parting with this ring is if someone chucks it into a volcano, and she might fall in after it

Oh, I LIVE in the Occult Adventures book.

I have 2 Occultists and a Spiritualist.

I seriously considered (and guess I still am) the Relic Hunter.

I'll take a look at my options a bit more before settling on one (and definitely before it will matter tactically.)

The only way Thyste is parting with this ring is if someone chucks it into a volcano, and she might fall in after it

You should consider adding some thrown items to your ranged repetoire.

Bows and crossbows and firearms have their damage reduced by a die type when you shrink.

Thrown items do not. My thrower character always keeps a reduce person potion on hand in case it really hits the fan and he still needs to dish out damage while being more accurate and harder to hit.

Doesn’t work with her archetype or her aesthetic, I’m afraid!