GM Kulkos Racing to Ruin (Serpents Skull 2) (Inactive)

Game Master Kulko

I do not mind for the guards to show up, specially if they do not become too obtrusive, they might help the situation to flow, offering an easy solution to deal with the captured agents so we can focus on going forward instead of dealing with prisoners.

Hmm, Ferral is carrying a scroll case, but we don't know yet if it's empty or not? Wasn't the spellcraft check to examine the remains of the empty, used scroll?

I was quickly swapping back and forth to register the items in the treasure sheet and immediately went and noted "unidentified scroll" when I read the "scroll" word without finishing the sentence. When I came later I continued reading through the gems part, but failed to read the "case" word. My bad.

Starting on friday I am on a two week holiday without laptop. I will probably not start any major development bevor that. but feel free to go shopping and maybe visit Iomedeas Teple with Kerndrew as he asked you to.

Neethan wants to tie up a few loose background ends before setting off on the new adventure.

Heads up: I'll be travelling without PC from like July 18th to Aug 3rd.
Limited posting ability via phone.

How shall we do the preparations for the expedition?

Do we have any plan for what we need when it comes to food, healing, antitoxin, bad-sh*t-happens situations (first aid to (lesser) restoration)?

Do we need tents and other camping gear?
Do we need a boat or just canoes later on?

Shall I create a tab in the treasure spread sheet too?

With “everyone gets 2124 gp”, would that be Shalissa, Davor and Kerndrew only?

Have we got any (monetary) help for the expedition as such from Kassata?

How shall we do the preparations for the expedition?

Do we have any plan for what we need when it comes to food, healing, antitoxin, bad-sh*t-happens situations (first aid to (lesser) restoration)?

Do we need tents and other camping gear?
Do we need a boat or just canoes later on?

Shall I create a tab in the treasure spread sheet too?

With “everyone gets 2124 gp”, would that be Shalissa, Davor and Kerndrew only?

Have we got any (monetary) help for the expedition as such from Kassata?

I believe you bought the basic needs for an outdoor trip back in Eleder and Cooky (one of your four pirate retainers) is leading your packdonkey with all that stuff.

Food and healing items should probably be refreshed now that you are about to leave the civilization for a very long time.

If you want to take a boat to the lake of the vanishing armies that can be easily hired, from than on I belive we agreed its easier if you hjust walk along the river.

As for the money question, since the party missed out on a some potential income and there wasn't too much to begin with, I provided Neethan with his own income source so you do not need to divide by 4.

PS: I have not yet read the game thread and will likely not do before friday, just too much to do to get ready for holiday.

Oh! I counted Neethan on the share, but if you already gave him coin then we three get 2832 gp instead.

There is not much fun on counting food rations, tents and typical archaeological tools, or managing weight and means of transport, so we have kind of given those responsibilities to the mates coming with us and it has been all delightfully managed behind the scenes so far.

That way we focus our gaming time on the hero stuff :)

But if you like managing that kind of details, feel free to do it Neethan, please!

Neethan isn’t strong, so I invested some in carrying capacity, so he doesn’t get burdened down when doing physical things.

There is not much fun on counting food rations, tents and typical archaeological tools, or managing weight and means of transport, so we have kind of given those responsibilities to the mates coming with us and it has been all delightfully managed behind the scenes so far.

If we don’t need to be self-sufficient, then that is a bonus! Foraging and wood craft is a possibility in a jungle or along a river, I guess.

But if you like managing that kind of details, feel free to do it Neethan, please!

It’s good to have an overview of what we are carrying when it comes to things we can’t easily acquire when entering the wilderness.

Sure! I have added a tab for Neethan! If you add the items you buy in the "Items bought" column and you write down the initial gold field, the rest of the sheet self updates, including items you claim from the treasure tab.

If you want you can write down the weight of your items on an additional column to the right so you can sum it there.

I find controlling Shalissa's expenses on this kind of sheet much faster than on the character sheet.

Sure! I have added a tab for Neethan! If you add the items you buy in the "Items bought" column and you write down the initial gold field, the rest of the sheet self updates, including items you claim from the treasure tab.

If you want you can write down the weight of your items on an additional column to the right so you can sum it there.

I find controlling Shalissa's expenses on this kind of sheet much faster than on the character sheet.

Neethan it seem the gems from your mother were a bit more valuable then you initially thought. You also gain 2800 gp when you sold everything. No need in you falling behind everybody.

Everything people have been asking for in the game thread can be found in Kalabuto.

Shalissa,
Not sure how to adjust things on the sheet and don't want to mess it up.
Sell the +1 cloak for 500 and buy a +2 for 4,000?

We're not PFS, but in that system, you're seen as upgrading your existing equipment. So you don't sell the first and buy the second, you pay the difference in costs. So +1 cloak to +2 cloak = +3000 gp.

Kulko?

I am not coinvinced as a general rule but looking at how a cloak of resistance would be made I think it makes sense. so it is allowed on a case by case basis for now.

Neethan has been a bit of a “blaster”. He’s good with fire, but weaker against those with fire resistance. I’m thinking of a few scrolls to buy to help us in certain situations.

Who of the spellcasters feel they have the role to:
a) Help the rogue open doors and locks? (e.g., Cat’s Grace, Knock)
b) Help buff the team’s fighter (Kerndrew?) (e.g., Bull’s Strength, Haste)
c) Help with physical challengers (e.g., operating remotely using Mage Hand), or overcome hindrances (Floating Disk, Fly, Water Breathing)
d) Heal us
e) Protect us (from Evil, fear, disease, fire, etc.)

I feel Neethan can focus on covering some of the a) and c) issues.

Does Neethan have to learn (Evocation) attack-spells that are not Fire, but some other element component, or are those ranged attacks covered by someone else?

Father Kerndrew, through his lay on hands ability, has a limited amount of healing available, but his archetype trades away spellcasting, so he'll never have more than that.

As for learning non-Fire spells, there's another option: the Elemental Spell metamagic feat lets you change the elemental type of your damage spells. So you could learn that (cold) and change all your fire spells to cold spells for a +1 spell level modification, when needed.

Kerndrew has a similar tool in his arsenal with his Weapon Versatility feat, that lets him change his longsword to deal any of B/P/S as needed.

Yes, that is one way to do it.
Sacrificing a very rare higher slot though, is only available to high-level wizards, I believe. You’d also need to designate what other energy type you want in advance.
A metamagic rod might be the thing that could help, but those are also costly. :(

If you are concerned about resistances for blasting, I do suggest you look after the dragon's breath spell, as it gives you great flexibility to change energy type. Also, I have seen elemental assessor used as a fallback blast.

With a cleric and a paladin on the team, I think we have healing well covered. We have a common light wounds wand but it is still almost full.

Shalissa buffs every now and then, but tends more to do so when we are exploring locations rather than for single combats.

As for fly, Shalissa will be able to cast communal air walk by when that thing starts to be a continuous need. But if you can cast a fly now, I am sure it will come handy on some combat sooner than later.

The advantage of being a full cleric is having access to all kind of spells, so even if Shalissa does not have immediate solutions for everything, we should not be very scared of finding a blocking obstacle. At most it will require us a night of rest to prepare new spells.

If you are very concerned, I do suggest you look forward to learn teleport at some point, and prepare yourself by getting familiar to important locations we are visiting, so you can later teleport back there to look for help.

@Davor: Fine! I changed the cloak +1 to a +2 and just updated the cost to 4000 gp. If improving equipment was not available, you could just write 4500 gp there in the cost and call it a day! :)

Indeed something to look forward to at higher levels. :)
Re: Dragon's Breath: Would a dragon scale be one of those Material components of neglectable cost a wizard would just assume he had?
Or would you need the Eschew Materials feat, or simply have (a bunch of those) scales to be consumed?

Indeed something to look forward to at higher levels. :)

Re: Dragon's Breath: Would a dragon scale be one of those Material components of neglectable cost a wizard would just assume he had?
Or would you need the Eschew Materials feat, or simply have (a bunch of those) scales to be consumed?

The general rule of thumb is that any listed material component is available in a spell component pouch unless there's a specific cost listed in the spell.

The rules for material components say you do not need to bother about materials without an stated cost.

When I do play wizards I do like to play them as always collecting strange stuff here and there, and I sometimes even keep track of posts where I do to reference them when using them later :)

A material component consists of one or more physical substances or objects that are annihilated by the spell energies in the casting process. Unless a cost is given for a material component, the cost is negligible. Don't bother to keep track of material components with negligible cost. Assume you have all you need as long as you have your spell component pouch.

For healing Davor has witch spells and uses a wand of CLW. Not into any significant spells though. As we level up though that burns through a wand fairly quick....

Father Kerndrew has masterwork Field Plate; can he have that enchanted to +1 for the +1,000 gp cost? Per the crafting rules, this requires a CL3 caster and takes one day. Perhaps this could be done during the festivities of the Day of the Inheritor, and be ready for Father Kerndrew to take with him into the jungle afterwards.

For his mother's gems, Neethan picks up:
Pearl of Power +1 1000gp
Traveler's Any-tool 250gp
Cracked Dusty Rose Prism (Ioun Stone) 500gp
(one extra) Antitoxin 50gp
Wand of Shield 750 gp

Scroll of Floating Disk 25gp
Scroll of Knock 150gp
Scroll of Identify 25gp
(one extra) Potion of Cure Light Wounds 50gp

From his coin purse:
Rope, hemp (50 ft.) 1gp

Father Kerndrew has masterwork Field Plate; can he have that enchanted to +1 for the +1,000 gp cost? Per the crafting rules, this requires a CL3 caster and takes one day. Perhaps this could be done during the festivities of the Day of the Inheritor, and be ready for Father Kerndrew to take with him into the jungle afterwards.

Oh! I love that idea, a festivity with rituals to enhance the crusaders equipment by sanctifying them to fight for justice and honor! :D

I’ve tried to go for a little “MacGyver”-style. :)
The Traveler's Any-tool can be useful as a shovel, grappling hook, paddle, crowbar, etc.
Neethan also has his bonded ring which can be used once per day to cast "any one spell that the wizard has in his spellbook and is capable of casting, even if the spell is not prepared". This can be useful in addition to scrolls, for situations not planned for.
Neethan can only add 2 spells for “free” per level when going up though, so learning spells from scrolls will increase our diversity in magic.

If we spend an extra day in Kalabuto, Neethan would like to learn L3 “Haste” from the found scroll and add it to his spellbook, so we can use it more than once. Similarly, with the bought L2 “Knock” and L1 “Floating Disk”.
He’d need 1 hour per spell level to study timewise.
Additionally, for materials 10gp (L1) / 40gp (L2) / 90gp (L3) if the team would lend Neethan some means. (He only has about 8gp left.)

Yes, that generalist utility is going to come very handy :)

You can also try to find some wizard to share spells with him while we stay in Kalabuto. Even a low level wizard might have something useful to share, and the Mwangi Expanse is home to one of the first schools of magic, if not the first one, anyway!

That way you can expend our travel time with the scrolls.

Hope to join the rest of you soon, but still giving the GM a chance to interact while I'am alone.
Where do you reckon, you'd be after about an hour from that Neethan left you? Do I have to go looking for you elsewhere than the tavern or Cheiton's place?

How are we handling contracting purchases?

Currently there you would not know any forwarding address so I don't believe thats possible.

A +1 enhancement to his armor takes 1 day for a caster to accomplish. Father Kerndrew wouldn't need a forwarding address; he can drop off the evening before the Day of the Inheritor, and pickup the morning after, no forwarding address required.

Does that work?

That will be no problem. I am already thinking how to work that into my account of tomorrow.

I was just starting to catch up on answering old questions between beach times.

The highest Diplomacy skill belongs to Kerndrew.
So Shalissa and Davor aid him and don't get the aid from Cheiton.
But Kerndrews skill is 11 +6 from aid for an automatic success.

The highest appraisal skill belongs to Neethan. His skill is +9 and with another +6 aid he autosuceeds.

Lastly Survival is rolled by Davor. Shalissa fails in her aid, but Davor suceeds anyway.

@Neethan, if the others borrow you money, buying the ink will be no problem, without further delay.

@all, I understand tomorrow you will visit the ceremony of the Day of the Inheritor to finish enchanting Kerndrews armor and then leave town.

Neethan can prepare the Read Magic cantrip for tomorrow and decipher the rest of the scrolls then. He will likely feel that he is preparing better for the trip by working on his spellbook, but he might not have/get enough gold to write all four of them, so he could possibly join the rest in the celebration too.

As Shalissa mentioned, one way to otherwise finance the cost, would be to seek up other wizards in the city and try to trade knowledge for his Flurry of Snowballs-spell that might be exotic and useful in the warm climate of Sargava. That would have him leave the group for the day though and have his side adventure (, and we'd have problems syncing the parallel story lines again).

Neethan can prepare the Read Magic cantrip for tomorrow and decipher the rest of the scrolls then. He will likely feel that he is preparing better for the trip by working on his spellbook, but he might not have/get enough gold to write all four of them, so he could possibly join the rest in the celebration too.

As Shalissa mentioned, one way to otherwise finance the cost, would be to seek up other wizards in the city and try to trade knowledge for his Flurry of Snowballs-spell that might be exotic and useful in the warm climate of Sargava. That would have him leave the group for the day though and have his side adventure (, and we'd have problems syncing the parallel story lines again).

How long would such a trade take. You got half a day time if you skip the activities at the temple, but anything more would mean delaying the expedition.

So long as Neethan can find a wizard with that spell in their spellbook, and pay the cost the wizard asks for the spell (up to GM, but there are guidelines), the rules say that it takes 1 hour to study a spell, at which point it can be copied with a successful Spellcraft check.

Rules reference

Researching that spell independently is possible, but takes 1 week per spell level, so that option wouldn't be practical.

(It’s of course up to the GM. :) )

If Neethan could just buy the ink and study himself, that would of course be the fastest way. (1h per level of spell to write into his spellbook.
90gp and 3h to copy Haste for example.)

In Nantambu lies the Magaambya, which is Golarion's oldest academy of arcane learning (even if many proud schools in Avistan have never heard of it). It was established by Old-Mage Jatembe and his Ten Magic Warriors during the Age of Anguish, and is still in operation thousands of years later.

The school preserves the learning and secrets of Jatembe, but also tries to have some influence in the areas neighboring the Mwangi Expanse.
Knowing knowledge is power, a few scholars try to tend to those of the native population that show promise in arcana, but that otherwise would never have a chance to study. As a balance to the oppression of the Sargavian colonists in Kalabuto, a handful members of the Zenji tribe has been encouraged to learn enough to be a base for Zenji wizards, offering services to the city and to expeditions starting from there. This initiative is not very well looked upon from some of the prominent colonials in Kalabuto, but so far these “jungle wizards” have not constituted any political threat or caused unrest. Their activity is not well advertised, but Neethan is aware of their presence. He’d need to gain their trust to do some bartering over ink though. Letting them see his spellbook and copy a spell from him would take 4-5 hours(?), perhaps not leaving him much time to do his own copying.

Seeking up and getting admission to a high-level Cheliaxian wizard, would likely take more than a day.

So long as Neethan can find a wizard with that spell in their spellbook, and pay the cost the wizard asks for the spell (up to GM, but there are guidelines), the rules say that it takes 1 hour to study a spell, at which point it can be copied with a successful Spellcraft check.

Rules reference

Researching that spell independently is possible, but takes 1 week per spell level, so that option wouldn't be practical.

Neethan has already bought the scrolls. He just need ink and time to write them into his spellbook, not to study with another wizard.

I was referring to this, and now I see you were trying to find other wizards to sell this spell to, not buy it from. I read too fast!

As Shalissa mentioned, one way to otherwise finance the cost, would be to seek up other wizards in the city and try to trade knowledge for his Flurry of Snowballs-spell that might be exotic and useful in the warm climate of Sargava. That would have him leave the group for the day though and have his side adventure (, and we'd have problems syncing the parallel story lines again).

So the options are:

A) somebody in the party borrows Neethan 100 gp.
B) Neethan borrows 100 gp from Cheiton against his future earnings from Kassata. In that case Kassata will set the interest rate as she likes it. But once you found Saventh Yhi 10 gp more or less won't make a big difference.
C) Neethan finds a Chelaxian or Zenji wizard to sell them a spell in exchange for the ink.. I agree with Neethan that getting another spell out of it would delay the expeditikn and also once more leave Neethan without ink.

A) and B) would just be purchases whivh could be done in between your other tasks today.

C) would be done while the others visit the temple tomorrow but also suceed very likely.

The actual transciptions will in all cases be done during the heat breaks of travelling.

Father Kerndrew will give Neethan the 100 gp; no need to return it. I still have to figure out some purchases to go along with the armor upgrade, but he has the coin to spare at this point.

Thanks! :)

I'm playing a paladin of the most paladin-y god in Pathfinder. Not sure he has a choice!

Sorry I didn't see this discussion. I'm always fine with paying to advance the power for the party. If that means a loan or gift of a couple hundred gold to someone to finish something useful, just count me in and let me know how much gold I offered!

Flurry of snowballs is a great spell, and if you get the Rime Spell metamagic it gets even better!

Thanks, Davor! :)
With 100gp borrowed from Kerndrew and another 100gp from Davor, Neethan has bought enough material (ink, etc.) to be able to write some scrolls in to his spellbook.

The next few days will be mostly spent with travel related activities, so it might be Friday or Saturday before the next update.

The next few days will be mostly spent with travel related activities, so it might be Friday or Saturday before the next update.

I still need to add a few small-item purchases for Kerndrew, in addition to his armor upgrade. The extra time will help :)

Sounds good!

The best laid plans of mice and men.

I am back from holiday but my wife is still sitting in mexico in quarantine and I am mostly busy calling hotlines trying to get her a new flight back home.

still optimistic about posting something today when the hotlines settle in for the night but lets see if I have the energy left.

No worries if you can't; take care of your family first!