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Signboy77
Strat Spineshank
Terrill Mayern
RyanH
Please check in your characters.
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Howdy gang - checking in. Just FYI, I'm travelling at the moment, should be able to check in daily, but I usually check more than that.
Terrill is a very melee-focused inquisitor who tends to miss a lot, until it's almost too late, when Desna swoops in and gives him a couple of huge crits. Of course, she'll play it some other way now that I've said that...
I don't think I've played with any of y'all before, except Signboy, who's a lot of fun - we just finished a game with Tektite.
RyanH - I think you and I were in a thread (I posted as Khelreddin, my main alias) last year about bringing kids to PaizoCon. I brought my 12-year-old and we had an absolute blast, we already have hotel and Con passes for this year.
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Hey Terril. Yes, that would have been me. I had my ten year old there and I would say it was one of our best experiences together. Lots of good memories. We are also signed up ... but may miss most of Friday as he was sad to miss the 4th.
I am also traveling. I have good access, but not as much as normal.
Again, I will wait to see final party make-up prior to picking a pregen.
Gameday is currently scheduled to begin on the 7th of February.
Hey-o. Sorry, I forgot all about this getting put together. Unfortunately, all my 3-4's are currently in other PbP's, so I'll pick a pregen.
And I'm going to be travelling this weekend and unable to post - do you think that will be too much of a problem?
This is an aggressively timed event, with Feral assigning one day of posting equating to 15 minutes of face to face game time, so being unable to post may be an issue in a 4 person table.
If you have problems with this schedule, please bring it up with GM Feral.
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The missive didn't include many details except to mention that you were needed in the City of Nerosyan and that expediency was of the essence. Any thoughts of balking at the order were swiftly squashed when the sender was recognized - the Decemvirate themselves. So, from far and wide, each of you traveled across the world to Nerosyan, the capital of the crusader state of Mendev.
Located at a valuable strategic location, guarding the junction where the Egelsee River flowing from the east meets the northern-most branch of the Sellen River, it's visible at a glance that Nerosyan is designed first and foremost as a defensive fortification. The city is laid out in a diamond pattern between the two rivers, in order to maximize their defensive potential and the outer walls are topped with crenelations, and dozens of towers rise from the walls, ensuring that the defenders can pour fire into any attacking force. The top of the walls are covered in sloped roofs cut with arrow slits, designed to allow defenders to ward off the flying attacker. At the center of the city stands a massive cathedral, built to allow defenders to easily sally out to any part of the city.
Per the instructions in the missive, you make your way to a large mess hall within the Starrise Spire, one of two Pathfinder lodges in Nerosyan. A small army of Confirmed agents are already gathered here, all busily speculating the reason for the summons among themselves.
A dusky-skinned man in richly decorated armor stands atop a small stage at the head of the mess hall. He clears his throat and speaks in a loud clear voice that lowers the rest of the volume in the room.
“Fellow Pathfinders, I am Jorsal of Lauterbury, Venture Captain of Nerosyan. I welcome you to the Starrise Spire and bid you to find a seat and speak with the other guests. Once everyone is comfortably seated, I will get to the point of this great gathering.”
After he's said his piece, the Venture Captain descends from the stage. You find yourselves among peers, some of which you may recognize...
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Quite accustomed to being summoned to Pathfinder lodges in new locations, Terrill is nevertheless taken aback to find that he is one of a horde of Pathfinders who have come to Nerosyan in response to the urgent summons from the Decemvirate. Must be something big afoot, if they've brought so many of us from all over. What could it be?
After Venture Captain Jorsal's extremely brief introduction, Terrill is none the wiser. He makes his way to a table that's not too crowded, his eyes glancing about for clues as he does so. He is a half-elf, a bit on the short side for his race, though his arms and shoulders are corded with muscle. He wears a beautifully crafted breastplate of blackened steel, and a graceful curving blade runs across his back and rises above his right shoulder, while a stout, black bow can be seen over his left. He is young, but serious and intent in his demeanor, with crudely cut dark hair reaching his shoulders and a look of focus in his eyes. When he reaches the table, he nods at those already there and introduces himself, "Well met, fellow Pathfinders, at least until we get whatever bad news Jorsal has for us. I am Terrill Mayern, servant of Desna and freedom."
Seoni walks in, "Well this is different … pleased to meet you. I am Seoni."
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An exceptionally tall and lanky ulfen hurries into the room, breathing heavily under the weight of his multiple hammers and chain. Sorry! he pants, They sent.. me to the wrong room! I think. Taking a moment to collect himself, he nods to the others gathered before pulling out a scroll case and bit of chalk.
Seeing the others still looking at him, he hastily adds, Oh, my names Rhyno, Rhyno Steelarm. Just point the way and I'll smash everything that gets in our way, though I do hope it's not another dragon, those get tough with all their flying and breathing and stuff.
A halfling approaches your group wearing colorful traveling clothes. Strapped across his chest is a full set of potions and alchemical items.
"Ah. greetings. I'm Giarra Fullen, pathfinder alchemist. Nice to meet you all. From the looks of things, you guys are fairly new here. When I first came here from Andoran, this place overwhelmed me a bit, kuz of the numerous extra hoops we have to go through being in the kingdom of Mendev. You guys know what you are doing, right?"
"Well, this isn't my first rodeo … but I see the Decemvirate has brought in far more fire power than just us. What is so pressing that the Ten would call for us directly and assemble so many Pathfinders in one place … pray tell if you know anything. The suspense is killing me!"
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Terrill ponders a moment, trying to recall what he knows of Mendev, but draws a complete blank. He listens to Giarra's introduction with one eyebrow slightly raised, and in response to the halfling's question, he replies, "I'm certainly knew here, don't know a thing about the place. What do you mean by hoops you have to jump through? Sounds like some kind of game, and from the look of things, we're here for a fight."
The Worldwound is infested with demons. Evil and destructive creatures, demons are native to the Abyss, though they can be summoned by means of magic. Many of the demons within the Worldwound emerged from the
rift at the center of the region.
The demonic hosts are kept somewhat in line by powerful overlords known as demon lords. The exact number of demon lords is unknown, but many such creatures are revered on Golarion. Each demon lord has a portfolio, similar to that of a deity; however, most demon lords lack many of the powers a true god possesses.
All demons are exceptionally tough. Most demons can shrug off wounds earned through combat, though weapons forged from cold iron and those that are imbued with the power of could can bypass this protection.
Demons are immune to electricity and poison, and resistant to most other types of energy.
Some demons are exceptionally durable against magic. When fighting these demons you should use spells that bypass this magical resistance.
All demons can summon others of their kind.
"The hoops, well, I've been assigned to Starrise spire for awhile. As part of the agreement for having the lodge, Pathfinders may be called to aid the crusades and defend Mendev twice a year. Rumor has it that they've discovered a new sky citadel somewhere in the Worldwound. We are being being split up to help defend Mendev so we can gain permission to send a raid into the worldwound to get at it."
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"Ah, now that's a game I can get behind," responds Terrill, a fierce grin cracking his face. "Fighting demons is reason enough for me, after the horrors I ended up fighting at a wedding I was at not long ago. I thought the idea of marriage fearsome enough, but the demons made it worse still. And you say the society will get something from it, permission to go deeper into the Worldwound? I guess that adds someting to our goal, though I'd think carefully before making use of such permission, myself."
Turning to his new companions, he asks, "Any of you fought demons before? You've got to have the right weapons - they hate the bite of iron, for one. But there's probably more I don't know than I know about 'em. What else do you guys know about demons? Giarra, what can you tell us?"
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Rhyno shrugs at the question about fancy weapon material, ”My hammers aren’t anything special, but it hasn’t stopped’m from crushing the skulls of any demons I may have fought.” states Rhyno, ”But if you think I should get something like that, maybe I’ll swap L’il Bonker here for a fancy version.” he adds, hefting the earth breaker and twirling the head easily.
Seoni relates what she knows of the Worldwound and demons (see above).
Venture Captain Jorsal climbs atop the stage once again and clears his throat. "I apologize for the delay friends. It will be just a moment longer. Please, get to know one another. It's not often that there's this many of us under one room at the same time."
Afer the Venture Captain finishes, the volume in the mess hall picks up again as the last few stragglers file into the space.
"Ah, now that's a game I can get behind," responds Terrill, a fierce grin cracking his face. "Fighting demons is reason enough for me, after the horrors I ended up fighting at a wedding I was at not long ago. I thought the idea of marriage fearsome enough, but the demons made it worse still. And you say the society will get something from it, permission to go deeper into the Worldwound? I guess that adds someting to our goal, though I'd think carefully before making use of such permission, myself."
Turning to his new companions, he asks, "Any of you fought demons before? You've got to have the right weapons - they hate the bite of iron, for one. But there's probably more I don't know than I know about 'em. What else do you guys know about demons? Giarra, what can you tell us?"
"I don't have much to add about fighting demons. Seon'i seems to have covered the basics in fighting them fairly well." Giarra replies.
"So, have you guys been in Nerosyan before?"
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"Nope, can't say that I have. Seems a nice enough place, what with all the Pathfinders." The smile on Strat's face makes it seems he was trying to make a joke, but how so is lost. "So we're defendin' the place against demons? Seems a pretty big challenge. How often do they attack, any kind of pattern to it?"
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"My first time here as well," responds Terrill. "Though I'm not so sure about the nice place part," he continues, giving Strat a sidelong glance as a quick smile plays about the corner of his mouth. "Seems you'd get up in the morning and fight demons over breakfast, fight demons for a day's work, and then fight demons to relax in the evening. Or is there more to the place than that?"
"Nope, can't say that I have. Seems a nice enough place, what with all the Pathfinders." The smile on Strat's face makes it seems he was trying to make a joke, but how so is lost. "So we're defendin' the place against demons? Seems a pretty big challenge. How often do they attack, any kind of pattern to it?"
"Oh, we probably won't be fighting here, no. It should be really safe here actually. Demon's can't actually teleport through the wardstone border that rings around the Worldwound, so if the demons want to assault here, they'd have to walk. A lot of us will likely be sent to the boarder cities to give some aid or do some rescue missions for the crusaders while we look for the Dwarven fortress. I consider myself lucky that we got assigned to work under Captain Jorsal instead of Thurl. Heard he was a real hardass.
As your party continues to rub elbows with Pathfinders from near and far, you see Jorsal take the center stage and clear his throat loudly. For such a simple gesture, the room quiets almost immediately. “Welcome once again, one and all, to the city of Nerosyan. I am Jorsal, Venture-Captain of Starrise Spire. I know you all have questions about why you’ve been sent here, and I intend to spend the evening answering those questions.” He takes a breath and takes in the breadth of the gathering.
“I shall start by telling you why the Society has sent so many skilled agents to Mendev. Intrepid agents recently uncovered information that points to a startling find in the old nation of Sarkoris, now known as the Worldwound. These agents have discovered that a dwarven Sky Citadel, one of the rarest sites on the planet, rests within the Worldwound. It is known to us as Jormurdun.” He pauses, seemingly for effect, as he lets his words settle on the gathered Pathfinders. “It is the will of the Decemvirate that we should come together and find the exact site of thi—” Suddenly the walls of the Spire tremble as you hear the sound of a distant explosion. Dust begins to rain down on you as the shockwave of an explosion rolls over the building. This is almost immediately followed by the sounds of eerie, coarse sounding horns.
A man rushes up and and whispers something in Jorsal’s ear, and at the same time you hear another set of horns, seeming to come from the center of Nerosyan.
“My friends, it appears the city is under attack by a force of demons from the Worldwound! How such a thing is possible, I do not yet know, but I do know that this attack must be stopped and our treaty with the crusaders of Mendev binds us to join the battle. Give me some time to rally our agents as best I can, and in the meantime I trust you to pick where your skills can best be put to use. Go forth into Nerosyan or hasten to the skirmishes outside its walls, and aid where you can. I shall summon you again when I know how to best combat this enemy.”
He quickly descends from the stage and makes for the mess hall’s exit. He turns back one last time adding, ”Keep an eye out for Venture-Captain Thurl. If he is not already helping, ensure that he’s not pinned down.”
Like clockwork, some of the agents more familiar with Nerosyan begin unfurling maps of the city. All at once the room is abuzz with activity as groups of Pathfinders form and begin to shoulder their gear as the sounds of battle begin to drift to your ears. A grizzled, veteran agent walks by while adjusting his weapons. He pauses and tosses your group a map of the city. ”Good luck” He says, then walks out the door.
"With what we know so far that seems as good a plan as any …"
With a quick consensus among your group, you begin to make your way to Egelsee District, but you are interrupted before you even get beyond the door as a young human female approaches you.
“Friends, I am Sister Amira. This surprise attack by the servants of darkness has struck deeper than you know. Hundreds of wounded seek shelter in the Cruciform, but our supplies are quickly dwindling; we never imagined the demons would penetrate the city walls in such a profound manner. As a result, I must ask a favor.
“Our fastest supplier of medical goods is a man in Pilgrim’s Rest named Zuka. He runs a local inn called the Sovereign’s Rest in the Egelsee District, and also has a small warehouse out back. The man is far from pious and prefers to be addressed as Sovereign, but he is our only option in such times of need. I can provide you with 3500 gp to pay for his latest shipment of medical goods, but the less you have to pay, the better. Sadly, for a man so well connected, he is unlikely to help out of the goodness of his heart.”
You take the directions from Sister Amira to Sovereign's Rest, which is fairly close by. The building remains relatively unscathed from the demonic assault, with no obvious signs of damage to the structure. Inside, roughly two dozen patrons drink and mingle despite the ongoing
siege outside.
You find Zuka on a makeshift wooden throne in the back of the inn, from
which he looks down on the patrons. He sees you and beckons you to approach.
"Ah! Fresh faces I see. Come forth and meet with Zuka! I love to meet new subjects!"