DM Lament Configuration's Carrion Hill (Inactive)

Game Master electricjokecascade

I'm fine with the following distribution:

Ring of Protection - Kolthis (Tanky, could use the AC)
Cloak - Lys (Worst saves)
Ring of Swimming - Walter (I don't want to sell it just in case it's here for a reason.)

I don't really care about keeping track of gold owed to the party funds; I doubt it will matter in a relatively-short module.

Posting to all my games: I will be traveling for the holidays from December 21st-26th. I'll have my phone and may do some posting, but feel free to bot me as needed.

-- you know, Walter was originally going to have 8 Str. But I imagined him as a fussy over-preparer who would buy every odd piece of junk on the Equipment list and, well, encumbrance rules.

The bracers to the next-tankiest combat person who doesn't already have a magic item.

The wand... um? Chill touch is a mediocre touch spell; it can be useful as a save-or-suck against some undead, but the save DC on this thing is probably too low to make it worth spending a standard (not to mention putting a squishy caster next to an angry monster). I don't see us getting much use out of this, and would suggest we sell it if we get the chance.

But I guess, just in case we encounter a single undead with crap touch AC and a low Will save, someone should carry it who can use it? That's either Walter, or someone who has decent UMD.

My UMD is 12 and I have wrist sheathes, so I can carry it perhaps as a last resort? Don't think I can do the magus thing and use my rapier to deliver the spell. Would mage hand work to deliver it?

I believe it would, but that would require two standards -- one to cast Mage Hand, one to activate the wand. Not sure, though.

Anyway, fine with Martine taking it, but we'll probably be better off selling it for cash (if that's possible).

Unfortunately, Lys' saves are bad with a cloak already. Issue of being the only class here with weak Will save, and not a primary wisdom caster.

I'd suggest the ring goes to Mihaela, since her HP is rather low. Lys is pretty durable, and she shouldn't be getting attacked too often (not a challenge, GM), and she also has DR versus most ranged attacks.

That said, Lys' other saves are pretty damn good.

Bracers could go to Walter, since they don't stack with armour, but given that Mage Armour is a thing, we could probably pawn them off.

Wondering what time of day it is? Check my byline. It's going to stay current.

Map updated as well. Anybody want to take charge of the loot sheet?

I can keep it updated. Since Lys already has a cloak, perhaps Kolthis could take the cloak of resistance and, like Lys suggested, Mihaela could take the ring of protection to help compensate for her low HP.

Looking at the big map, we still have passages leading away in three directions -- NE, N, and W. Looks like they go on for a while, too...

The other passages are blocked off by iron bars.

Ah, missed that.

Well, do they have gates? Locks? Does anyone have a file...?

Moving us forward.

We can say the party spends as long as they wish investigating the other four tunnels, but ultimately gives up on them, as the more you explore, the more certain you become that they all lead down, interminably down, into the underdark itself, and as the adventure itself says, 'beyond the scope of this module.'

Also, just a little bit of handwaving there with exploring the pool - I'm going to take Walter's interest as sufficient to expedite what could have otherwise taken a few posts of delving in the ooze and simply move us forward.

Well done, and congrats on surviving the Sunless Grove!

Treasure distribution (tentative):

Ring of Protection - Kolthis (Tanky, could use the AC)
Cloak - Lys (Worst saves)
Ring of Swimming - Walter

Wand of Chill touch - Martine
Bracers of armor +1 - Yelena
Scimitar +1 - Mihaela

I think all these make sense except maybe the last -- Mihaela, can you use a scimitar? Do you already have a +1 weapon?

If not Mihaela, the scimitar should go to "person with the highest attack bonus, who can use it, who doesn't already have a magical weapon".

Lys already has a cloak of resistance unfortunately, so it doesn't do her any good.

My amended (suggested) distribution:

Ring of Protection - Kolthis (Lower AC than Mihaela, and it wouldn't stack with Protection from Evil anyway)
Cloak - Kolthis (Worst saves of anyone who doesn't already have a cloak)
Ring of Swimming - Walter (IC reasons)
Wand of Chill touch - Martine (Only one with points in UMD)
Bracers of armor +1 - Walter or sell (Walter is the only one without regular armor)
Scimitar +1 - Lys or sell (Lys and Kolthis are the only ones who are proficient, and Kolthis already has a +1 melee weapon)

This would give Kolthis both of the major protective items, but he's the one most likely to get hit so I personally don't see anything wrong with that.

Alternatively we could give the Ring of Protection to Walter. Burning Hands requires he get fairly close to the fray, and his AC is lower than anyone else's.

I have to say, you're making Lys a little self-conscious about her saves now, guys.

There's more saves that Will, you know...

Pass on the scimitar.

I'm good with that distribution: I can't use the scimitar, plus Mihaela's whole build revolves around starknives.

I'd probably sell it as well as the bracers, unless Walter claims dibs on those. At this point, I'd really like to have enough cash to buy a Ring of Protection +1, as Mihaela was built with AC in mind to ensure her durability. Protection for Evil also gives a deflection bonus, but her spells/day pool is quite limited (she's already burnt out for today), and even with it lasting 1 minute/level, that boils down to a single (presumably boss) fight if we approach every encounter through diplomacy (I'm all for that, mind you, just pointing out that dungeon exploration mechanics in Pathfinder were designed with murder-hoboing in mind).

If we're going to sell stuff then we REALLY need to find out if this town has an Olde Magick Shoppe or equivalent. Maybe the Mayor would purchase stuff? Anyway, it looks like we have at least one and maybe two items that we would want cash in. Selling those items and using the money to buy some scrolls or alchemical items would be a net positive.

DMLC, if this is a "nope sorry it's a gauntlet, all shops closed because monster, no time to cash out or buy stuff" module, then okay -- just let us know. But if we can, we'd probably want to.

Oh man, I feel kind of bad being a loot hog, but I guess that's what happens with multi-classing. I have no problems with the distribution otherwise. I don't really need the scimitar at all, so that can go.

Gonna apologize for not posting yesterday - came home to more puppy shenanigans and emotional turmoil as a result.

Have fun with your holiday traveling, Yelena!

Walter is constantly zapping himself with Mage Armor, and the bracers don't stack with that.

Then that sounds like some more contributions to the party fund!

Oh no. I hope your puppy is okay.

Sorry to hear that, Kolthis :(

Also, I'm going to be traveling from the 23rd through the 27th, and while I'll be checking the game, I'll probably have limited posting ability as well.

Puppy is alright far as I can tell. He got into, and ate, a stocking gift of Ferrero Rocher chocolate and some wax/moisturizer we got him to help with the cold weather on his paws. I anticipate either puke or more poop when I get back today.

At the risk of TMI, the emotional turmoil came from the fact that he somehow got into some of the mementos from our previous dog that we lost in August, breaking the one and only clay paw print we had, despite it being in a closet, on a shelf, and wrapped in multiple layers.

So, it was a difficult thing for my girlfriend and I to come home and see it broken into pieces on the living room floor.

We're looking into some way to address everything going on. We can't really afford a day dogsitter or anything, and keeping him locked in a crate is really difficult to do, emotionally. Neither of us were expecting this kind of reaction; I'm hoping we can try to iron it out with our holiday break.

I appreciate your guys' concern, thank you <3

Puppy is alright far as I can tell. He got into, and ate, a stocking gift of Ferrero Rocher chocolate and some wax/moisturizer we got him to help with the cold weather on his paws. I anticipate either puke or more poop when I get back today.

At the risk of TMI, the emotional turmoil came from the fact that he somehow got into some of the mementos from our previous dog that we lost in August, breaking the one and only clay paw print we had, despite it being in a closet, on a shelf, and wrapped in multiple layers.

So, it was a difficult thing for my girlfriend and I to come home and see it broken into pieces on the living room floor.

We're looking into some way to address everything going on. We can't really afford a day dogsitter or anything, and keeping him locked in a crate is really difficult to do, emotionally. Neither of us were expecting this kind of reaction; I'm hoping we can try to iron it out with our holiday break.

I appreciate your guys' concern, thank you <3

Wow, you really have an over-enthusiastic pet on your hands. Though it must be nice to have all that puppy-energy in your house, I understand leaving him alone becomes a problem. Best of luck!

We're looking into some way to address everything going on. We can't really afford a day dogsitter or anything, and keeping him locked in a crate is really difficult to do, emotionally. Neither of us were expecting this kind of reaction; I'm hoping we can try to iron it out with our holiday break.

At the risk of butting in offering advice where it's not wanted, any chance you could afford a midday walker? Cheaper than a full-blown dogsitter, and it might help burn off some of that excess energy.

Wow, you really have an over-enthusiastic pet on your hands. Though it must be nice to have all that puppy-energy in your house, I understand leaving him alone becomes a problem. Best of luck!

Thank you! He's super sweet and playful, that's for sure! I love him to pieces - he just seems to want to use his energy for chaos rather than on the toys and other things we've gotten him to keep his attention. Takes after his parents far too much for his own good.

At the risk of butting in offering advice where it's not wanted, any chance you could afford a midday walker? Cheaper than a full-blown dogsitter, and it might help burn off some of that excess energy.

The advice is appreciated, thank you! We've talked about it before and couldn't seem to find a way to fit in among the newly moving costs we had to deal with. But going into this new year hopefully with some freed up funds from the holiday, I definitely think it would be a good thing to look into.

I'm working on a post at work right now - trying to catch up to everything that's happened in between meetings. Should be up soon!

We've got a two year old Lab. Getting her used to the crate was hard, but turned out to be a good investment.

If she's a puppy, give her stuff to chew. All puppies want to chew, and if they don't have chew toys, they'll start on whatever is available. Rawhide chews worked well for us -- they last a while. Also, deer antler pieces? They're a bit pricey, but they last a long time.

Meanwhile, back in-game:

IIUC, Walter has to study those books and papers for 7 hours. DM, clarification: we have the books from the house, the papers we found among the bedrolls, and the Tome from the altar. When you made that roll, did you include all three?

No. Only the collected tomes and papers from the camping cavern require seven hours to study, due to their all being written in an obscure version of Aklo. The information they contain is posted within the spoiler.

Yarresh's tome requires a couple of checks to read as well, but the module doesn't stipulate how long is needed; it's 500 pages long, however, so I'd say it requires an hour for a cursory skim, and perhaps five hours to be properly read.

The books from the ruined house are all in normal languages, and I don't think have been collected for transport. Doing so would require a cart, as there's hundreds of them, but from your initial check they didn't seem to contain anything actually magical or truly rare like the Aklo tomes found in the Sunless Grove.

Kolthis I hope things get better! My knowledge of puppies is limited so instead I hope it all sorts out smoothly and quickly!

Regarding loot, I can take the wand as a last resort but I'm okay with selling it, same for the scimitar as my build can't use it. If nobody takes the ring or bracers I wouldn't say no to either/or and she already has a cloak of saves, so if that helps?

*applause from the peanut gallery for Walter's humor*

Team, we've still got half a day. How shall we spend it?

1) Bumping up my earlier question: DMLC, is this a "nope sorry it's a gauntlet, all shops closed because monster, no time to cash out or buy stuff" module?

2) Does it seem like it might be worthwhile to have a high-Diplomacy face character go out and try some Gather Information checks?

3) Can Lys talk to anyone about the young woman who killed herself?

4) Whatever everyone else gets up to, looks like Walter has to stay inside and do homework.

Mihaela can help in two ways: either assisting Walter with studying the tome (her Linguistics and Knowledge boni aren't in the same league as the wizard's, but enough to hopefully give him a +2 aid-another bonus), though at this stage of the game I don't see him very keen on accepting any help (especially from Mihaela), or as pointed out, by doing some investigative work around town (partnering with Maritine, is she's ok with that).

It obviously depends on DMLC's answers to the questions above. But first, I agree we should pay a visit to the Mayor.

Walter has a plan: it's to blow his daily to cast Visualization of the Mind on himself, thereby gaining a hefty +5 on those checks to read the tome.

Unfortunately, that spell requires 200 gp worth of soothing incense. (Yes, 200 gp, not a typo. Presumably it's ordered straight from Williams-Sonoma...) I couldn't quite afford it at character creation. Hence the "can we cash out / buy stuff" question.

Depending on what language the tome is written in, Yelena might be able to read it while Walter studies the notes. Otherwise maybe we can go back to Ye Olde Magick Shoppe and see if they have a scroll or two of Share Language.

Aklo.

Always, always Aklo.

Normally I'd wait for everyone to post, but I didn't think the mayor would stand for more than a few sentences before... reacting.

Mihaela knows Aklo.

The collected writings from the Sunless Grove require 7 hours to read. Divide that by the number of people reading the collection in Aklo, and you have your total.

The tome needs 5 hours to read, and can only be read by one person at a time.

A DC 30 Arcana check is needed to identify the tome.
A DC 20 Linguistics check is needed to corroborate something.
A DC 25 Arcana check is needed to draw a conclusion.

Only people who have read the tome (taken the 5 hours) can make those rolls, or choose to assist one primary roller.

You all enter the library at 2pm.

(Keep in mind for the post I just made that Yelena doesn't realize Mihaela knows Aklo.)

It seems like our best bet would be for Walter to read the tome. (Yelena has the exact same stats, but the best bonus she can get would be +2 instead of +5.) Meanwhile, assuming we can somehow get Yelena access to Aklo, Yelena and Mihaela could research the notes.

(Keep in mind for the post I just made that Yelena doesn't realize Mihaela knows Aklo.)

It seems like our best bet would be for Walter to read the tome. (Yelena has the exact same stats, but the best bonus she can get would be +2 instead of +5.) Meanwhile, assuming we can somehow get Yelena access to Aklo, Yelena and Mihaela could research the notes.

Agreed.

Let's say Mihaela's errand takes an hour, during which time Walter studies the papers. If she fails to get scrolls, she and Walter divide the remaining six hours between them; if she succeeds, she and Yelena can divide the time, while Walter will go off with the tome.

So either way, the paper review will take four hours -- the only difference is whether Walter can start on the tome after one hour (3 PM) or after four hours (7 PM).

Does that work?

...also, everybody knows about aklo.net, right?

...also, everybody knows about aklo.net, right?

I'm not gonna lie, I really, really expected this to be a rickroll. Because we've all been on the internet for too long.

Maritine has access to Tears to Wine as a spell/alchemical extract AND the ability to share them. Would that factor into time spent on the book? She has the equipment to brew it up and hasn't used any spellslots yet.

Let's say Mihaela's errand takes an hour, during which time Walter studies the papers. If she fails to get scrolls, she and Walter divide the remaining six hours between them; if she succeeds, she and Yelena can divide the time, while Walter will go off with the tome.

So either way, the paper review will take four hours -- the only difference is whether Walter can start on the tome after one hour (3 PM) or after four hours (7 PM).

Does that work?

I'd say start on the tome first. With your suggestion, we'll be done by 8pm at the earliest, 11pm at the latest.

If Walter starts on the tome first, we'd be done by 7pm at the earliest, (if Yelena can help), 8:30pm at the latest, (if Yelena can't help).

That's a fine schedule! I suppose it might cut an hour if Lys frees Mihaela to do get started right away.

Made a bit of a catch-all post, have some pre-xmas nonsense to deal with and don't know if I can post tomorrow, so at least Maritine is useful in providing Tears to Wine for the mental boost.

May you all survive your holidays folks!

Considering Kolthis doesn't really have any language based spells prepared today, he will help by not being in the way! Best of luck to you intellectuals.

I've taken some liberties with the library collection - chalk it up to a rather bored servant, or something, maybe? It seems like a fun thing to sprinkle some random adventure books amongst the rest, waiting to see if anyone would notice. I mean really, what kind of noble actually reads through their massive collection of books?

Side note, Pickles and I would like to wish everyone a happy holidays! (He's only 7 months old!)