Ruins of Azlant

Game Master Aldizog

Merreck, it's cool to see a character from Outsea in the group. My PFS undine psychic/monk is "Arrius Vext, Emissary from Outsea" and even has the "Outsea Native" trait. Outsea is my favorite section in the Guide to the River Kingdoms.

I also really like Outsea, and it just happens to be the easiest source for a Locathah ending up in Almas.

Merrek will be in for a shock though should we happen upon hostile Sahuagin and Merfolk as they all live together peacefully in Outsea. Hostile Sahuagin only feature in stories for him.

Malakar, I just realized that you would not have been questioned by the guards. I'll let you decide if you somehow get a letter and go to the ceremony or if you just show up. I could see how Malakar would not be interested, but it might be in his best interest to show up.

GM, I really like how much detail and setting-lore you work into your descriptions! It makes me feel like I'm really in Almas rather than just a generic fantasy city.

GM, I really like how much detail and setting-lore you work into your descriptions! It makes me feel like I'm really in Almas rather than just a generic fantasy city.

Thank you so much for the compliment. I am new to this world, but there is so much awesome, easily accessible information out there. It really allows a GM to make, or at least attempt to make, it an authentic experience. And when I have the time and energy, I like to make that attempt.

And these characters deserve it. As I read all of your posts, and read about your characters, the story feels real. I have learned a lot from these characters, and I cannot wait to see where we go from here.

Cheers!

@Brannart, you are correct, no titles. In hindsight, I should have used different wording. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

@Sho and Nymbleth - Fire Away

Aaannd, if you all were wondering what it is about a boarding pike that makes it better than a standard spear at sea (I know you weren't but let's pretend), check out the link.

Boarding Pike

The awl-shaped, triangular head is free of any nooks and crannies where water can collect. The external socket attachment rather than a tang prevents seepage that could cause rust out of sight and weaken the point.

as a social studies teacher, I'll never turn down new info.

So the boarding pike is not a fish? ^^

Good to know!

Welcome aboard Kowal!

Since this is a Democracy, I would like to get your thoughts. I am split 50/50.

With our new addition, Welcome Kowal, I would like get him on 'Team Hero'. Would you all be interested in some adventure on the High Seas or would you like to get right to the AP?

I could put you in a scenario or two at sea to RP, or I could do a nice long summary post explaining the journey and we jump right in to 'Ruins of Azlant'.

I would like to hear any and all opinions and thoughts.

I think some brief RP-based story vignettes could be a good way to develop the group a bit further. And Yraelzin wants to learn more about these other priests anyway. (though I'm not recommending actual combat encounters or side-quests, as APs are already long enough in this format without a lot of extra material added in)

I think Yraelzin's suggestion is a good one. Given our group size some extra time and some shipboard life vignettes would help us make the rounds and get to know each other. But, also because we're a large group, you'll already need to be adjusting encounters to compensate once we get to the AP itself. If we level up, you'd need to do even more adjusting. If we don't level, we spend extra time at 1st level, which is the worst level.

I am fine with either.

I do hope the GM adjusts combats to account for the fact that not only do we have 9 PCs, but specifically that one of them is a DC 20 Slumber Hex witch. Would we get less XP (because of splitting) and face the level 5 encounters when we are level 3? That might work.

I must say that I am concerned about the impact that Kowal's build will have on this game. Kowal is an over-optimized Slumber Hex witch, with DC 20 at 1st level (being adopted by dwarves to snag a dwarven race trait, and taking Ability Focus which is banned for good reason in PFS). CR 1 enemies are going to fail their saves about 95% of the time rather than 70% of the time as might be the case for a normal Slumber Hex witch (already a tediously powerful build).

I have been in campaigns that were destroyed and cut short by over-optimization. Where combat went from being exciting and dramatic to monotonous and boring rofl-stomping and everybody just lost interest.

I've never been in a long-lasting AP with a Slumber Hex witch, but I have been in FtF PFS scenarios that got a bit tedious due to Slumber Hex - thankfully those were only a few hours.

My concern is that Kowal's build will make combats:
1) Trivially easy, especially considering we will have 9 PCs;
2) Boring; and, most of all,
3) Distasteful and un-heroic. "And then the heroes slit the throats of the sleeping enemies" is not a line you find in a lot of fantasy fiction. Slumber Hex basically forces PCs to do it all the time. We're not going to have enough rope and jail cells to imprison every enemy we fight.

I should say here that I do not view combat as something boring to get over with so you can get back to the RP. Combat should be tense and exciting; the things characters do in combat are quite often RP, and have been among the most dramatic and character-filled moments in my RPG career. Heroic last stands; sacrifices to protect allies; running away and deserting the party to be the one survivor in a near-TPK; and, sadly, slitting the throats of helpless enemies or hacking to death blinded foes. All of these are character moments that say something about who that PC is.

If Kowal could tone it down or switch the build to a different trick then I think it might make for a better game, based on my PF experience to date. But it is not my character. If he wants to keep focused on Slumber Hex, that's what he wants to do and I will just have to live with it.

Wow, I am really feeling out of my depth here. Relatively new to Pathfinder (I just got back into the game after a 10 year hiatus of playing 3.5), it amazes me how many options there are for the game.

No contest - you all know a considerable amount more about the game than I do. I learn best by playing and originally I was to be a player in another game. When that game fell through, I figured I would just GM one. Guaranteed to get a lot of experience that way.

The main aspects I like about the game are meeting great people and telling a good story, and that story needs drama. I do plan on adjusting the encounters due to the large party and tweaking more as I learn the party strengths and weaknesses.

I am always open to suggestions and criticism. I surely do not want anyone to be bored or have one character overshadowing the cool aspects of the others.

So please share your thoughts and experiences. When I decided to create this game, I wanted to be as inclusive as possible. The PC count got away from me, but I am sure glad it did. Because I got to meet all of you.

My offer to you is that I will learn from my mistakes and attempt to make each encounter better. What I'll ask of all of you, if you notice certain aspects of your character are overbalancing the game, consider some tweaks so we can all feel well rewarded from this gaming experience.

Maybe it would be better to stick to the AP for now, until you are more confortable?

I don't want to make that sound like a critic. But it's better and sometimes easier to learn (maybe!) "by the books", until you feel ready to expand your options and improvise.

Even by following the books, there will be time when something unexpected will happen. And you have shown you have strong narrative skills, and I appreciate that, in players and GM alike

Running it "by the book" requires one major decision - XP by encounter, or leveling by plot points? Either way can work, but has complications with a party like this.

If by encounter, we'd each get far less XP and be lower level than a 4-PC party would be.

For example, let's say it is like other APs, and the climatic battle of Book 1 is supposed to happen when a party of 4 PCs are 4th level (9,000 XP). Maybe it's a CR8 encounter. That would suggest the AP hands out 36,000 XP total. Split it nine ways, so we have 4,000 XP each, and we are therefore a party of 2nd-level PCs trying to take on that CR8 encounter. It would probably be capable of one-shotting most of us, but we might still pull out a win (with a few deaths) due to our numbers advantage. But, PC death would be pretty likely.

If, on the other hand, we leveled up at the same plot points that a 4-person party would, we'd be bringing double the firepower and everything would be a cakewalk.

So the options I would see are run it by the book (with XP), run it by the book (with leveling at plot points), or adjust the encounters based on how things go (like increasing HP, saves, or number of enemies).

I think the huge party size and the Hero Points put us far enough away from the AP expectations that some adjustment will be necessary.

I think the GM has done an excellent job so far and, like Sho, am not trying to criticize. Just highlighting some of the perhaps-unexpected consequences of various decisions.

@Kowal, I am glad you understand, and I understand where you are coming from - having also been in "arms race" high-op homebrew games. Cartomancer looks like it could be quite interesting and rather different from the usual witch.

I’d love to rework my build, largely I play in person and most of my groups are focused a bit more than healthy on optimization so I’m used to having to do it to keep up. Though I tried in this case to build from the character but then felt compelled to do some optimization but to be honest I mostly like the later stuff that Kowel will get (from cartomancer) and the idea of a stubborn business owner who Wants to go out and get away from that life. So with the GMs approval I’d be happy to rebuild.

I’d love to rework my build, largely I play in person and most of my groups are focused a bit more than healthy on optimization so I’m used to having to do it to keep up. Though I tried in this case to build from the character but then felt compelled to do some optimization but to be honest I mostly like the later stuff that Kowel will get (from cartomancer) and the idea of a stubborn business owner who Wants to go out and get away from that life. So with the GMs approval I’d be happy to rebuild.

I want you to be happy with the character you are playing. You just joined in, so any changes would not effect anything that has already happened. If you have character traits that are not permitted in certain games due to overbalancing, consider making some changes or decreasing the effectiveness of said trait. No need for my approval.

I appreciate all of the comments and suggestions. My first encounter attempts will be buffing up and increasing the number of baddies and see how the encounters turn out. Rinse and repeat or buy new china.

I think Yraelzin's suggestion is a good one. Given our group size some extra time and some shipboard life vignettes would help us make the rounds and get to know each other. But, also because we're a large group, you'll already need to be adjusting encounters to compensate once we get to the AP itself. If we level up, you'd need to do even more adjusting. If we don't level, we spend extra time at 1st level, which is the worst level.

What's this, Fenna agrees with Yraelzin? Inconceivable!

This sounds like a good plan. I'll do a few posts that highlight the journey attempting to add some NPC's interactions for RP opportunities.

And except for the Kraken tearing apart Peregrine and having you all swim for it; I will not include any battle scenes. :)

Fenna, by the way, I considered having Andar as a colonist. He was going to persistently flirt with you. When he started to write you letters, you would have recognized the penmanship and tore his throat out. I decided to spare Andar and use him in my 'Slaver's Game' instead.

I fell of the globe for a few days. If a party member wants me too I would go to the ceremony but Malakar is very much not a people person and given his motivation for the voyage he doesn't really want any ties tohis old life.

I fell of the globe for a few days. If a party member wants me too I would go to the ceremony but Malakar is very much not a people person and given his motivation for the voyage he doesn't really want any ties tohis old life.

I can rp in some kind of reward to make up for the Boon, if you like.

I've been swamped with work for the last two days and will continue to be so at least until the day after tomorrow. I'll try to get a post in before then but I might not have the time/energy/cranial capacity.

I've been swamped with work for the last two days and will continue to be so at least until the day after tomorrow. I'll try to get a post in before then but I might not have the time/energy/cranial capacity.

No worries. I totally get it.

Just checking in like this is great, and jump in when you can. There should not be any combat short-term, but, at some point, if you want to relay some info regarding how Merrek would react in combat that would be appreciated.

Adulting stinks! Hope the work calms down.

Miss the days staying up all night eating pizza and cheetos and rolling dice without a care in the world.

but its nice to have money and be able to drive also ...

Looks like I missed some stuff today... Looks like it got sorted out.... I have nothing to add.

Yeah Mioki, Fenna would pretty much be obliged to kill Ander with extreme prejudice.

Not much to add here either except there is a third possible way to deal with the party size and balancing encounters.

Personally I've never been a fan of XP advancement for a number of reasons. The AP Advancement Track seems better for PbP especially since it doesn't require accounting for changes in party composition over time.

Increasing encounter difficulty will almost certainly have to be part of the adjustment, but relying only on it can make combats really drag on sometimes, especially at lower levels were options tend to be more limited to just adding extra mooks.

Tinkering with the advancement track speed can be an easy, clean way to handle balance too. For example, most AP Book 1's end with the character at level 4. The simplest thing is to skip one milepost on the track so the characters end the book at level 3 instead.

If a full level is too much, a place sometime after the level up point can be chosen instead. In that case characters finish Book 1 at around level 3.5.

It's also easy to undo the effect if needed. Say Book 2 would be started with a party that's down from 9 to 5 members. Just shorten the distance between level up markers a time to bring it back to match those given in the AP.

Catching up... I'm all for some extra RP opportunities since Vexas missed the boat (lol, save vs. pun) on the initial part of the search for kids. It's more about your energy to do so, Mioki. Best of all if the situations are just a nudge to let the party members flourish and interact with little effort on your part.

Advancing: I'd say plot points to keep us on pace with the AP, BUT being a particularly oversized group adjust and experiment slowly to ensure a challenge. (e.g., extras show up to a combat late on the opposite side, etc etc.) Honestly I think doing other kinds of math with the actual encounters and hoping it works out is going to be painful and you're going to be adjusting up and down anyway. May as well keep the levels pacing and tune the challenges as we go.

A couple of other things to consider is that most groups naturally shrink through attrition over time. This happens perhaps even faster with PbP than with in-person groups, and our number of PCs may be very different in three or six months than they are today.

In theory, other possibilities would be to run two smaller groups through the same AP simultaneously (more work for the GM, though encounters wouldn't have to change from the books), or to solicit four volunteers from the present group for the "against the slavers" campaign. But each of those options creates complications too.

Which ever way we proceed, I'm sure we'll find our rhythm and what works best as we go on.

I would like some extra rp opportunity at least so Malakar can actually be a part of the group sure he is chaotic and prefers the company of sharks but if he can open peoples eyes on how to properly live with nature as opposed to exploit it, that would be a major part of Malakars goals in the settlement. Also with so many young minds aboard with some time he may be able to set up a.proper druid "grove" especially with Merrek's help and the blessings of Gozreh.

Oh Fenna will be getting to you Malakar, but there's only so much of her to go around at one time. :)

Do you feel free or do you just want to be?

Damn I am gonna have to use that line someplace.

Hey All,

My wife and I are going to the local shelter tonight to adopt a bunny, so we will be spending time with the new furbaby. Tomorrow, I will be working with the non-profit I volunteer with to review budgets and taxes. Probably won't get a chance to post until Saturday, but please continue to RP. You are doing great on your own.

Hope you find a loving new bun with appropriately floppity moppities.

On bunny-related things, I just watched (again) tonight "Harvey", with James Steward.

Anyone else know and enjoy that movie?

On bunny-related things, I just watched (again) tonight "Harvey", with James Steward.

Anyone else know and enjoy that movie?

I have not had the pleasure of seeing this movie, but I just watched a clip and it looks absolutely fantastic. Definitely on my watch list.

@Malakar: Thank you for the well wishes on the bunny hunt. We found a big girl at our local shelter. We thought we would have her already, but had to go through all of the red tape first. Now we are just waiting for her to be spade and should have in-home a week from today. Talk about jumping through hoops.

The shelter has named her Marmalade, but we are changing her name to Maizie. Below is a link, if you would like to see her along with two other buns. Cranberry has already been adopted and Pete is so handsome that he will get adopted quickly.

Adoptable Buns

@Brannart - The 1st batch of colonists arrived there 6 months ago.

Love the RP, just keep it clean you two. :) Been following along during a break here and there. Still looking at budgets, and my eyes want to pop out of their skull. Probably wait until tomorrow to make a quality post.

Not sure if this is taboo or breaks protocol, but if anyone is interested I can be found on FaceBook by searching Gerald Mistal.

Sorry for the delay. After hours reading budgets and taxes, I needed a break from the screen. I applaud the wonderful RPing in my absence.

Aw, sweet bunnies! Congratulations on your new family member Mioki!

Aw, sweet bunnies! Congratulations on your new family member Mioki!

Thank you. The shelter is allowing us to foster her until her spay date on Thursday. Then we can officially adopt her. She is enjoying her new home already doing binkies and zoomies. That is bunny lingo for hopping and running.

For Fenna: regarding the last spoiler, I would consider Fenna to have a military background assuming you did not look already.

Sho"yarhine Nebdhel wrote:

On bunny-related things, I just watched (again) tonight "Harvey", with James Steward.

Anyone else know and enjoy that movie?

I have not had the pleasure of seeing this movie, but I just watched a clip and it looks absolutely fantastic. Definitely on my watch list.

@Malakar: Thank you for the well wishes on the bunny hunt. We found a big girl at our local shelter. We thought we would have her already, but had to go through all of the red tape first. Now we are just waiting for her to be spade and should have in-home a week from today. Talk about jumping through hoops.

The shelter has named her Marmalade, but we are changing her name to Maizie. Below is a link, if you would like to see her along with two other buns. Cranberry has already been adopted and Pete is so handsome that he will get adopted quickly.

Adoptable Buns

I kid you not that my new Bearded dragon that I got in November after the old one passed is named Maize as in corn because of her color and my Fiancee calls her Maizie lmao

Alright Mioki thanks. I'd quick scanned the DC's and since I missed the first, lowest one, didn't catch that. Read and noted.

I kid you not that my new Bearded dragon that I got in November after the old one passed is named Maize as in corn because of her color and my Fiancee calls her Maizie lmao

Small world, my friend. Right now, I am calling her crazy Maizie. She seems to like it. :)

Perhaps another PC (or a monster attack) should come along and interrupt the Brannart/Yraelzin interaction. I don't want it to end badly.

A common terrasque enemy brings people together.

I have been trying to come up with some kind of common purpose to bring Yraelzin and Brannart together.

Metagaming a bit. Jhaeman, regarding character development where would you like to take Yraelzin. Do you want to keep him a staunch believer? Will he start questioning his Faith? No need to answer and I surely don't want Yraelzin to change unless it's through in-game development and it makes sense and is not forced. Just something to think about.

I have an idea I'll try to post later today unless pc interaction changes the scenario.

Also, sorry for the absence. Beginning of the month bring extra financial duties. Also, I work in a clinic setting, and we are working on precautionary measures for corona. Had a few long days.

No worries. We seem to still have some steam.

I have been trying to come up with some kind of common purpose to bring Yraelzin and Brannart together.

Captain's orders are always a good option.

Maybe the Captain is annoyed with Yraelzin, so he orders him to work with Brannart on some menial task out of sight. Bilge pumps or scraping barnacles or something. Brannart knows how to do these tasks, and won't fall for what Yraelzin is selling, and will follow the Captain's orders without complaint.

I think things are probably going to be okay once we really get going with the adventure. As you saw with the battle against the slavers, I'll always have Yraelzin work with the group--his reasons or rhetoric might be different than theirs, but I'm not trying to sabotage anything. And for what it's worth, 99% of what I've been trying to do so far has simply been some flavour/background sort of role-playing--I know this isn't a homebrew kingdom building campaign where I'm going to amass a legion of followers. What I wasn't expecting was Brannart, a hard-core "anti-cultist" with apparently deep inside knowledge of Razmir's faith and a willingness to contest him at every turn. That's led to a sort of passive-aggressive PVP which I'm not really comfortable with. But I'm willing to see how things go for a bit longer. I understand that not every character concept fits into every group or campaign, and I can always save Yraelzin for somewhere else down the line in a different game.

After the Silent Asp mission, Brannart asked priests of Cayden Cailean about Razmir. He was disturbed by Yraelzin's words (like saying that people should be under the yoke of Razmir), so he asked around.

Here is what he found:
Brannart is told that Razmir and his clergy are hungry for power and wealth. While not a god, Razmir is a powerful arcane magic user that uses a very addictive drug called the Tears of Razmir to control his subjects. "This man you speak of; is he a young man? If so, it is possible that he has fallen into the trap that Razmir has set. Razmir does not allow other faiths in his country. This priest you follow was probably indoctrinated at a very young age and these beliefs are centered around all that he knows due to his upbringing. He may not have malice in his heart and there could still be time for redemption and salvation. One way to tell, does he preach only or is he peddling the Tears of Razmr? If it is the former then he can be redeemed through drink and song to be sure. If it is the latter, then he should be dealt with. That drug takes away an individual’s freedom. Maybe this young lad just needs to be set free."

That is the extent of his inside knowledge, and yes, it is fairly deep and alarming. It was acquired in character. I am not trying to rely on any player knowledge.

But that is why he asked about the Tears and took it as Yraelzin trolling him with his reply.

Brannart is from a NG country with a strong emphasis on liberty, allowing freedom of worship for benevolent faiths, and a real fear of foreign subversion (although usually fearing Cheliax). The country that is the sponsor of this mission and the origin of most of the NPCs. Razmir is both a foreign power and a LE religion. I think it totally reasonable that an Andoran with such knowledge would be opposed to Razmir -- it would be incredibly strange if they weren't. And it's nearly inconceivable that the Company would give Yraelzin this spot over thousands of freedom-loving loyal Andorans who applied -- but the GM says there is a reason for it.

I can dial it back.

And I agree that when we are actually in the adventure proper things will be easier.

I do think there is a "kingdom-building" component to this, and I think Yraelzin very well could get followers. Brannart hopes to break Razmir's grip on Yraelzin before he gets a temple built on the Colony. He will have to learn to be more diplomatic like Fenna.

Edit: as a side note, I think Razmir is a pretty cool throwback to 80's sword-and-sorcery movies, or further back, Conan stories. Sorcerer posing as a god-king, selfish hedonistic clergy exploiting the people and plying them with drugs... It's a good story. And Yraelzin is really doing a good job at showing how it gets a foothold.