Ruins of Azlant

Game Master Aldizog

Fenna will need to do something about her squishy AC at some point. But since she's stuck with light armor only the solutions tend to be pricey.

The biggest thing coming down the road for her is in a couple of levels when she can start casting wizard and witch spells from scrolls or books without consuming them. It will be to her advantage to put together a big a collection as possible for maximum Swiss army knife effect.

I believe it's already been agreed though that she can use the missing colonist's spellbook they found if said colonist hasn't returned to claim it beforehand.

One thing that might be nice to have is a Traveler's Any Tool (250 gp)

I'll make a long term insurance purchase of a wand of Waterproof to keep all those scrolls, etc. Fenna will have safe from harm. (750 gp)

4 potions of Shield as an AC patch when it really matters. (100 gp)

Scrolls of Monkeyfish, Ill Omen, Expeditious Retreat, Protection from Evil, See Invisibility, Silence (400 gp total).

That's 1500 gp spent.

Shield cannot be made into a potion, unfortunately, as it is caster-only.

A few good alternatives are:
Wand +UMD
Cracked Vibrant Purple Prism Ioun Stone +Friendly caster
Cloak of the Hedge Wizard (Abjuration)
Shield Focus (Buckler) +Unhindering Shield

On the note of scrolls. At some point Malakar ended up with 3 he can't use and with a -5 to Cha UMD isn't an option.

Scroll of Summon Monster I, Remove fear, Comprehend Languages

Whoever wants/needs them feel free and I will scratch them off my sheet.

Hm, that's bad news about the shield potions. All of those alternatives are either too expensive or not practical aside from the wand, which isn't going to work reliably right now. Fenna has a slightly less than 50% chance to get the wand to work with UMD.

Actually it almost makes me want to dip a level into Alchemist for the mutagen. Dex mutagen and the natural armor bonus would add +4 to AC, while also providing proficiency with a martial weapon, a few extracts, including Shield, and bombs for swarms.

On the brighter side, Fenna has all those scrolls on her list Malakar. She can take them if nobody else wants them.

Shield can be made into an alchemist extract, and then shared via the infusions discovery, if anybody was thinking about taking a level in that (so that can work even if it's not Fenna that takes the level).

Vexas will at the same time finally transcribe touch of the sea from a scroll to his spellbook.

So since so many of us are grabbing scrolls I was double checking scroll rules and there isn't a reliable mundane item to protect scrolls from water while still having them be retrievable as a move action like a scroll case.

I am no engineer but if you put enough tar or sap around the opening of a case it should be pretty watertight no?

Just curious since this ap has already gone aquatic once and is supposedly only going to get more so going forward.

I guess in a level or so with a bit more money a handy haversack is the answer to the problem but I feel like there should be a mundane option that makes scrolls still usable just at a gold premium as opposed to an action premium.

/rant

Yeah, handy haversack (after mithril shirt) is always high on my list. I mean, Vexas would need to first and foremost protect his spellbook (the leftover scrolls *could* be left back at the team's lodging).

In fact, making this one of my first-level scrolls: Waterproof

I'm getting the whole big wand of Waterproof.

Yup, I saw that. Will be very useful but vexas still wants to pull his own weight on utilities :)

Speaking of which, GM, are there notable wizards amongst this wave of colonizers, with which Vexas could spend time and save money on scrolls (but still pay transcription cost). Perhaps wizards that aren't up for the danger our team faces but would still benefit from our discoveries amongst the ruins.

I'm getting the whole big wand of Waterproof.

I didn't see that. Like a wand of CLW I feel loke something like this should be a party item. Like except a super odd emergency situation we should always have 18 seconds before we need to hop in the water to wack all the casters with that stick. At any game I have played in I would definitely split the cost of said item with you to gain its benefits we just haven't gotten (or properly tracked) a lot of gold this game. Which maybe we missed stuff but Paizo devs have stated multiple times that they put between 150%-200% more treasure and monsters than needed in ap's to make sure the players level and have gear since they can't guarantee the players will encounter everything or a gm dropping proper clues to find it all.

Either way if GM and Fenna is good with it I would love for something like a wand of waterproof to be a party item and Fenna to get something better and more personal.

Actually maybe vexas should just go for some scrolls anyway.

Wizard spell scrolls: (are we close to leveling up, or no?)

Not close to leveling up.

I have no issues if you want to pull your resources for a group-benefit item. Also, as Malakar has mentioned, gold/treasure has not really been delved out. This is where Carver comes in. Also, Alba/Nymbleth.

Also, If you come across scrolls or other consumables that you do not want or are unable to use, you can attempt to trade/barter with Nymbleth and Alba or another merchant.

Regarding waterproofing items: There is the Book Ward Spell. Also, I am thinking that Nymbleth and Alba could create a water-proof oil to protect any scrolls. (you get a discount at their shop) Also, consider the medium used for the scroll. I understand that birchbark can be water-resistant. Vellum also.

@Vexas I am sure that I can brew up some NPC’s to work your wizard angle. If the colony does not have a Wizard currently, maybe one will arrive with the third wave. Let me think on this. Maybe add some personal subplots to the game.

I will need some magical weapons, I guess.

If you use a magical bow, are the arrows considered magical too for hitting targets with DR?

I will need some magical weapons, I guess.

If you use a magical bow, are the arrows considered magical too for hitting targets with DR?

Yes, ammunition from a magical bow take on the magical quality. If both bow and arrow are magical, the enhancement bonus does not stack though. You would use the higher bonus.

Sorry for the delay.

I had some time off last week which provided much needed rest and allowed me to focus on the game more. I am enjoying this game so much when I don't feel like a corporate zombie. You are an awesome group of folks to play with.

Returning to work this week, I walked into a disaster and have been cleaning it up. Long days = a tired GM.

I am really enjoying the dialogue and character development. Please keep it up. We'll stay in town for a few more days if you want to continue.

I owe Vexas a post to see where his little subplot leads. I hope to get to that probably on Saturday.

I might need a short pause after the weekend. I have some time off next week where I intend to hit the Appalachian Trail for a few days, but hopefully I can return with some energy and momentum after that. When I return, we can move on with investigating the island.

Cheers!

Sounds good. Thanks for the update!

Once again I'm very sorry it's taking me so long to get posts up. Both April and early May have been just overwhelming. My workload is up and we transitioned back to working in the office part time. Since I work for the state and all such changes happen at all state offices it was a big change with many, many meetings and emails involved. On top of that many federal rules changed at the start of may as Covid-19 policies and procedures are replaced with 2+ year old versions from before. That meant many more meetings and emails.

Meetings would sometimes run so long over their scheduled slots they would completely swallow the meetings scheduled behind them, which would then have to be rescheduled. With all this going on we also still had our regular work to get done somehow. I also had a pet die. It's been a lot.

I think I'm mostly in the clear now with work and things will be returning to normal again. I'll be catching up on gameplay over the two or three days.

I hope I haven't been too much trouble to wait for.

Is Fenna's connection inspired by the Hollow's Last Hope modules?

Probably, but I'm not sure what or how much comes from them. I don't know what's in the modules specifically. I was using "campaign setting" information on Andoran and Darkmoon Vale from sources like Andoran Birthplace of Freedom, Guide to Darkmoon Vale, and Inner Sea World Guide. But much of that information is usually compiled from Adventure Path books and modules where it appeared first.

If I'm playing a Bard I sometimes like to place the character outside the typical entertainer/adventurer slot they usually occupy. Fenna is very influenced by the Wobblies of the early 20th century. The American IWW was known for the songbooks they put out for use at strikes and protests. She's a Joe Hill, or Woody Guthrie kind of character, though Woody is roughly a generation late being only 3 years old when Joe Hill was executed.

It's also possible to read Paizo's depiction of Milani as having some of the same early 20th century influences, with the rose, the color red, the focus on organization to resist oppression, etc. I'll probably have Fenna perform Bread and Roses at some point.

Yeah, that makes sense. These modules are heavily influenced by the corruption of the Lumber Consortium you referenced, so the party deals with their thuggery and threats more than a little. 1 2 3

Back from an amazing hike. Catching up on work and enjoying some spectacular weather today with another nice day tomorrow to be outside. Humidity returns on Thursday. Will most likely get the ball rolling then and continue with the game.

I am assuming everyone is good with investigating the aquatic humanoids first?

I'm glad you had a good hike!

Yeah, I believe we're settled on the aquatic humanoids as our first outing.

Indeed more water people for Malakar to be friends with maybe?

Seasonal allergies have had me in a fog lately. Working on a post though.

I'm very sorry for the long absence everyone. I was getting badly burned out by work especially, and life in general so I took the long holiday weekend to go to the beach and get away for a bit. That made coming back hard, and I just couldn't muster the energy to start back up with regular life. Took few days off for laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, walking the dog a lot, eating a different kind of salad for every meal including breakfast, and spent one day doing nothing but laying on the couch and binging the entire 4th season of Stranger Things. In sum, avoiding everything.

I'm feeling better now so I'm in the process of getting caught up. Thank you for your patience.

I'm very sorry for the long absence everyone. I was getting badly burned out by work especially, and life in general so I took the long holiday weekend to go to the beach and get away for a bit. That made coming back hard, and I just couldn't muster the energy to start back up with regular life. Took few days off for laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, walking the dog a lot, eating a different kind of salad for every meal including breakfast, and spent one day doing nothing but laying on the couch and binging the entire 4th season of Stranger Things. In sum, avoiding everything.

I'm feeling better now so I'm in the process of getting caught up. Thank you for your patience.

I am glad you are feeling better. I do understand the issue of burn out. You never have to apologize. Your mental and physical health always come first. Take a break whenever you need it.

I'm very sorry for the long absence everyone. I was getting badly burned out by work especially, and life in general so I took the long holiday weekend to go to the beach and get away for a bit. That made coming back hard, and I just couldn't muster the energy to start back up with regular life. Took few days off for laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, walking the dog a lot, eating a different kind of salad for every meal including breakfast, and spent one day doing nothing but laying on the couch and binging the entire 4th season of Stranger Things. In sum, avoiding everything.

I'm feeling better now so I'm in the process of getting caught up. Thank you for your patience.

No worries. Glad you got the rest. Season 4 is a doozy from what I've seen :) I think I'm up to ep 5 or 6.

Stranger Things 4 is great! Season 3 was such a slow burner and felt very insignificant a lot of the time. 4 was hit to hit and finally gave us Eleven' full Origin that it felt like season 3 wasn't telling the whole story. Can't wait for part two.

I'll be taking a long weekend. Have a multiday canoe trip planned. Leaving Friday and returning some time on Sunday.

Have fun!

Any other questions for Koloshkora? Do you want to help her and go find the sahuagin? Would you like Koloshkora to accompany you? Would you like to seek out the aid of Vriskirsa before you confront the sahuagin?

Would you like to follow other objectives instead?

I would probably wish to delay doing too much underwater combat until we have easy access to Water Breathing (next level), but if this is a shallow-water mission then I could probably handle it.

Seeking out the aid of this Vriskirsa might be good.

Last two work days have been brain-mushers. Will catch up over the weekend, after some much needed rest.

Weather has been exceptional here in eastern Pennsylvania. Decided to do some backpacking this weekend. Will catch up in a day or so.

Won't be able to post until Wednesday.

Won't be able to post until Wednesday.

Hope it is a fun absence.

Sorry for the delay folks. Work has been a bear lately, and I am really feeling the burnout. To counteract, the wife and I have been getting away on weekends and enjoying the summer weather.

Will catch up soon. I am looking forward to springing on you what Book 2 has to offer.

Sounds very nice Mioki. Sadly all my days off have been going toward yard work the last couple of weeks. With warmer temps and unusually plentiful rain all spring, I had to wait a long time to get any dry days off. By the time any came, the yard looked like a savanna.

Hey Everyone.

I would like to wish everyone Stateside a Happy Independence Day.

Sorry again for another absence. Work has just burned me out. By the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is look at a computer.

I am hoping this is temporary; therefore, I am not ready to give up on this game yet.

Book 2 looks to be really fun, and I want to get my head back in the game and share it with you.

With the nice weather and longer days, I have been focusing on getting outside which does wonders for my mental health.

I hope you all understand. Stay safe and enjoy the holiday.

Hey There Azlanti Colonists,

I am still alive and kicking. I am not sure where the last few months have gone, but I have been buried in work.

If you are reading this, hopefully you are interested in bringing this game back to life.

Here is the deal: I am taking off next week. We rented a cabin near Letchworth State Park in NY for a few days. We will be exploring, hiking and waterfall chasing. I know that when I return, I am going to have a busy time with work through October. Last November, my NJ facilities transitioned to a new billing software. This was a real busy time. The expectation of my PA clinics to transition is late September into October. My hope that after October, things will normalize.

I truly miss having the time to devote to this game and want to bring it back to life. Since it has been so long, I am thinking of writing a short recap and easing back in soon.

If you have read this far, thank you for your patience, understanding, and dedication.

Cheers and Happy Trails for now ...

That sounds just fine to me Mioki. I'm still around and will remain so until you're ready. Take the time you need to be sure you're ready and have the time to restart. Remember it's supposed to be fun for you as well.

Same. Still here and when the time is right for this to be fun again, let's do it!

Always around, and still willing to play

Still here and looking forward to getting back to Talmandor's Bounty when the time is right.

Ditto

is anyone still here?

Still here and hopeful!

I'm still around as well!

Sorry for the delay. I know I mentioned November as a goal for returning to play. I hope to be back real soon. I really do want to get back into this game.

I managed to get my normal work day down to about 9 hours. I just have one final project (hopefully, this is the last) which should be wrapped up within the next 2 weeks.

Hopefully soon these missing colonists can be found.

If they are still alive . . .