Dispater's Devils by GM SnowHeart (a Hell's Vengeance AP)

Game Master SnowHeart

Yeah, not mine. =D

I didn’t announce/launch it until the demo was ready. Getting a good number of followers on itch.io and already have one person pledged at $50/month on Patreon. I was gobsmacked by that given the lack of a track record.

As for the theme, I have to keep this PG for Paizo forums, but it’s horror with an erotic component. I won’t be winning any literary prizes but not really the point; I’m having fun with it, it’s pushing me to write in ways I’ve never had to think about before, and seems like it’s finding an audience.

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Update on the gameplay thread coming shortly.

All,

I'm very sorry but now in addition to my in-laws having health problems (FIL had a stroke and MIL's best and last close friend just died), my mother is as well: shingles in (or behind?) the eye which is proving very debilitating. It's eating up a ton of emotional energy and time. I'm going to ask for a break for this week while I get stuff taken care of for her while she's recovering.

I'm sorry for the slow updates recently and aim to be back on March 1.

Snow

No worries Snow. Take it easy on yourself and hope your family members are able to recover quickly and fully.

Very much agreed. Take care of yourself and your family. That comes first.

Oh no, I'm so sorry read this, SnowHeart. Please take all the time you need, and you and yours are in my thoughts.

All good--maintain your sanity first! You don't want to end up like Eris!

"Aaaaaand we're back!"
~Perram, Know Direction

Thanks for the patience and understanding. Life has just been kicking our family in the pants lately.

Sorry that things have been a rough go, SnowHeart. Here's hoping that things look up!

Seconded the feeling. Glad to have you back!

Work today is insane--just jumping on real quick to let you know I won't be able to post until tomorrow.

Thanks Eris. Completely understood.

My spouse is sick today, so I'll be off work and on child-care for the day. Please bot as needed.

Hey guys. I have been meaning every day to get back here and get an update up, and life has just been unrelenting. Not all in bad ways (my in-laws have the vaccine, father-in-law is recovering well from the stroke, my mother is getting better from her health travails), but work, family and life are not leaving me a lot of free time or mental energy.

And next week we are going on vacation (part of why this week has been insane). I feel terrible but am kind of feeling like I should put a fork in this as it just is not fair to you. If you like, I'm happy to check in after I get back from vacation to see if I'm in a better head space, but wanted to check in with you now and apologize.

You deserve better from a GM and I just haven't been here like I should be.

Hi SnowHeart, glad that things are improving in some ways. I'm happy for you to check in after vacation, and understand completely if you need to let this game go. Personally speaking, if I'm not in a frame of mind for it, GMing can be grueling and unenjoyable, and there's no need to stick with something that is a chore rather than something you look forward to.

FWIW, you're a great GM and I've enjoyed being in this game, and regardless of when and how the game ends, I've enjoyed playing with everyone!

Glad to hear things are getting better for your family Snow. And certainly don't feel terrible over something like a PbP in comparison to that stuff. I think it's important to be practical about what time investment and mental burden you can sustain.

As for this game, if you feel you need to clear it off your plate, that's fine by me. I'm always happier when people are upfront and and open about their situation rather than just ghosting. I'm also generally happier to set something aside than have it hobbling along and serving as a source of bad feelings for anyone involved.

HOWEVER!

Last year, when another group was recruiting for a different Hell's Vengeance game, I decided out of pure curiosity to look at the history of such games on the Paizo forums. What I found out was that ZERO Hell's Vengeance PbP campaigns have made it to the end of Book 1. (Yes, that's right, I did a search through every campaign thread to work that out. I was that curious. I posted a bit about it here, as a warning to potential GMs). Ever since then, I've gotten really attached to the idea of "making history" by at least getting through the first book.

Basically, I'm hoping to continue with the game to at the very least get to the end of book 1. To make that happen (and if no one else wants to do so), I'd be willing to take over GMing through the rest of the first book.

I don't think I have the bandwidth to keep up with an additional GMing duty for longer than the rest of the current book though, so Snow, if you're back and ready to fire on all cylinders after that, I'd be happy to hand the reins back over.

No hard feelings at all on my end. Take care of yourself! Don't let something like this add to the weight on your shoulders.

And Franz, if you are willing to take over the reigns, then I'll be here to finish the book with you. The sad part though is that I don't want to see Franz leave, because he is a great character!

I decided out of pure curiosity to look at the history of such games on the Paizo forums. What I found out was that ZERO Hell's Vengeance PbP campaigns have made it to the end of Book 1. (Yes, that's right, I did a search through every campaign thread to work that out. I was that curious. I posted a bit about it here, as a warning to potential GMs). Ever since then, I've gotten really attached to the idea of "making history" by at least getting through the first book.

Hehe, I've been in two of those games, and this game is so much farther than either of the previous games I was in. That's really interesting.

I'm happy to continue playing on in any capacity. I enjoy Brogol and I enjoy gaming with you all. I also second Ingrid's opinion of Franz :)

This has been such a fun game. I really enjoy your style, Snowheart, and this cast of characters has been a blast.

If you feel there's any chance you might recharge your batteries over your vacation and want to come back, I'm certainly happy to wait and see if that's a possibility.

I'd also be happy to continue in the event Franz wanted to get us to the end of Book 1, though I would miss our interaction and my personal physician.

Anyway, take care of RL things first, and I hope things improve for you soon.

Alright, I'll leave it up to Snow. Looks like at the very least we have three non-me players willing to continue, which I think means we have enough to continue on.

Okay so I'm not sure where things stand atm and I realised the forums ate my 2 cents.

I have absolutely loved your GMing Snowheart and frankly I would most like to continue with you if you are up to it. The slower pace hasn't bothered me at all.

However obviously life comes first and I wouldn't blame you for a second if you felt the need to step down.

Franz, I am definitely up for continuing the book and even more if possible. I'd be happy for you to step up to the plate if Snowheart has to step down and I may have had a snoop around the other game you are GMing.
You seem like an awesome GM so no objections there.

I also have no objection at all to a slower pace.

I was hoping we'd hear back from Snow sometime soon. I don't want to encroach if he's planning to continue. However, since we haven't heard from him in the last two weeks, I may just go ahead and take over. I'll probably give until this weekend.

As far as pace is concerned - if I do take over, I'd be returning to a 1 post / day required pace. So keep that in mind. I just find it very difficult to GM PbPs unless I make it a solid every day routine.

1/day post sounds good to me. I'm particularly busy at work at the moment, and this doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon, so there may be a day here and there where I can't post, but it should be rare.

I'd very much like to see this go forward. I would miss my personal physician, though. :/

Franz is a great character.

I'd very much like to see this go forward. I would miss my personal physician, though. :/

Franz is a great character.

+1

Would love a small modification, where Fritz becomes our new point of contact. ;)

Franz! What kind of self-respecting doctor would be called "Fritz" jeez :)

Anyway, no Snow, so I'm taking over. Hope you all are ready.
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Player Numbers:
So, I'm happy to run with 3 players (or 4 if Karik is in for a 1/day pace). The AP is built for 4, but you guys are built sturdy and I can tune things down if it comes to it. The alternative would be to pick up one player. I'd want to get someone really reliable and active if we end up doing that, and would prefer a referral rather than a public recruitment.

House Rules:
I run with two very basic ones - Combat Maneuvers don't provoke, and Crafting doesn't get you a discount on items. These are on top of the rules established by Snow in recruitment. Once we get to the point where we're leveling up, we'll be following the same rules Snowheart set up in Recruitment.

Goals:
My goal is to run us through to the end of Book 1. After that we'll see if Snow wants to take over again (he can also do so before if he wants). I don't really have the bandwidth to run another game long-term. I expect if we keep up a solid pace, it should take no longer than 3-4 months for us to finish Book 1.

Expectations:
I expect players to post 1/day every day in order to keep us moving. As I mentioned above, that pace works well for me mentally. By making posting a steady routine, the current facts stay clear in my head. Even more so though, a steady pace means that your fellow players can rely on you to be reactive and interactive - if there's a check to make or a decision to discuss, they're not waiting on you to chime in. In combat, if I don't have an action from someone (and they haven't given a heads up that they'll be away, along with botting instructions), I'll usually either skip them or allow them to double up on their next turn (taking two turns worth of actions).

I run with "rule of two" decision making. Essentially, if there's a decision to be made, if two PCs agree on a course of action I'll post that you take that course of action.

I'll be rolling reactive stuff for you, that is: saving throws and reactive perception checks. I will not roll perceptions for investigating for traps or loot, or other skills for you in places where they might be relevant (like Knowledge checks, etc) - so you have to be proactive!
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Tomorrow, I'll do a bit of a "story so far" summary as a refresher in Gameplay. Then we'll pick up with the current combat on Monday.

Sounds good, Franz! Thanks for picking this up!

All of that sounds good to me!

Sounds great! I do like the idea of having Franz remain active in the story (ac contact or something). If for some reason someone else picked up the game or Snowheart came back, he could rejoin us.

Game on!

So we have the following known rebels or suspected rebel sympathizers by my count:

* Riley Kels, bard in jail
* Angel Knight, person unknown, location suspected in the woods
* Sword Knight Allamar, priestess at the local temple
* Her two sons

Am I missing anyone?

If y'all are going to chat with Kels, Brogol may split for a few minutes and pay his contact Fordenail Cembers a visit at the Arch and Lark. GM, in case you don't recall, Brogol attained Cembers an exemption to curfew with the expectation that she gather any rumors and information she comes across. He has little expectation that the rebels would be hanging out there, of course, but hopes that she's able to get some second or third-hand information from drunk townsfolk that frequent the - now - only pub in town, off duty guards, other exempted folks, etc.

Yeah I think Cembers will probably go smoother without the group.

If y'all are going to chat with Kels, Brogol may split for a few minutes and pay his contact Fordenail Cembers a visit at the Arch and Lark. GM, in case you don't recall, Brogol attained Cembers an exemption to curfew with the expectation that she gather any rumors and information she comes across. He has little expectation that the rebels would be hanging out there, of course, but hopes that she's able to get some second or third-hand information from drunk townsfolk that frequent the - now - only pub in town, off duty guards, other exempted folks, etc.

Thanks for the reminder Brogol. I missed your original conversation with Cembers on my reread of the gameplay thread.

OK, where do you all want to head next?

Do we have info on who the other people in the cells are?

You haven't met them thus far, but you can try Knowledge(Local) in gameplay to recall who they are.

I'm headed to a cabin in northern california for the week. Should have wifi but posting may not occur every day. Please bot as needed.

Edit: Brogol figured Krls could use a day or two to think on a plan to find the knight, but I'm happy to cut him loose. Do y'all trust him to not run or flip sides?

Not entirely but I don't think there's much damage he can do by flipping. Hopefully Karik's threat can keep him from running and we better remember to let the gates know not to let him through without our permission.

Sounds good to me!

Let me know if you want any hints or prods. Otherwise I'll leave it to you guys to drive where you want to investigate next.

"And if that fails, then we still have our contact from whom we can buy information from." Ingrid said. "Though I'd prefer to save our coin, if possible."

Oh yeah, we do have that guy, don't we? I forgot about him. What's his name again?

We could patrol the town, per Karik's suggestion. On the way, should we stop back by the church? Start questioning the boys and their mom directly about their involvement?

I mentioned the Dockmaster in my summary of the Story so Far. That'd be Ingoe Zoags.

We've got a few CLW potions kicking about on the loot list (and 8 unidentified ones, and an unidentified wand). Anyone mind if Brogol drinks a couple, if we're going to confront Allamar? He's got 5 hp.

Ingrid won't mind. Especially as they would hurt her. :P

No need to drink those Brogol. You may have missed it, but the Archbaron's staff healed you all up before your audience with him, so you'd look presentable.

Oh, right on! Thanks Archbaron's staff :)

How does everyone want to approach this? Barge in now all bluster and questions; wait until folks go to sleep; something else?

I'm thinking more stealthy. Maybe waiting an hour or so wouldn't hurt. I want the civilians out.

Though Eris doesn't like a plan, her player does. :)

I'd also like to wait for things to quiet down, then have Brogol sneak in and see if there's anything more incriminating. Last time we were here, he couldn't go further because it was daytime, but night could open up a lot more options.

So, do we back down? We seem to have two options at this point. Back down and circle back in a few hours in the dead of night.

Or Brogol can push through into the Narthex and we can see if the boy is going to carry through on his threat.

I am inclined to see this come to a head right now. He's dressed for battle, he's threatening us. We have reason to believe there's incriminating evidence here.

I know it likely escalates things in town, but he's REALLY pushing it.