GM Corwyn's Jade Regent (2) (Inactive)

Game Master corwyn42

Having successfully understood the scroll, Caladorn will write it into his spellbook before going to bed tonight

Filona answers Gundar "Ameiko looked at the ring we found and remembered a little of her adventuring days. It reminded her of something very sad, so right now, we... Wait, what did you buy? What for?" Her eyes flare with curiosity, leaning forward, almost as if she's trying to grab the wand.

Before Gundar can react to the sad tidings, Filona peppers him questions about the wand. {b]Uh...It is a wand of Cure Light Wounds that Father Zantus sold to us for 500gp. Normally something like this would cost about 750gp![/b] he says asw he hands the wand over to the inquisitive gnome.

"Well done."

Filona seems a little disappointed that the wand is only for healing. In her mind it would a very story driving wand, such as one that makes people fly or summons blueberry pies.

After that, she is ready to leave.

Gundar is disappointed when he see that Filona is disappointed. Even Posh's 'Well done' does little to soften the blow. After she leaves Gundar mutters, I thought it would be helpful on our adventure.

The blueberry pie summoning wand would be nice, to be sure! Perhaps this particular wand has the aftereffects that when healed, you get the taste of blueberry pie in your mouth?

I second that

The night passes quietly, you enjoy the comfort of the soft beds and the protection from any annoying bugs that made life difficult in the swamp. In the morning you meet at one of the tables and are served a morning meal of scrambled eggs mixed with onions, tomatoes, peppers and chunks of chicken. Mugs of steaming coffee are served along side carafes of various and exotic juices. Fresh bread and butter are brought out with plates of various cheeses, some sliced and others in chunks.

As you consume the delicious meal, Ameiko joins you at your table.

"Good morning everyone, I trust you all slept well?"

She sits down next to Caladorn and begins to pour herself a mug of hot coffee.

"Sorry about last night, our conversation brought up memories of my parents and the events associated with their deaths. This new information you brought to me about my family was unexpected. I just needed some time to compose myself. Let's finish breakfast and we can talk about what I plan on doing next."

Sandru enters the tavern as you are busy consuming your morning meal and a deep breath from his nostrils indicates the smell of the food you are eating has caught his attention.

"Ah, I just love the smell of fresh coffee in the morning." He moves to sit at the table next to yours as your table is full. He motions over for a server who brings a mug of the steaming brew and points to the plates before you. "I'll have whatever they are enjoying, thank you."

He turns to Ameiko and adds "I have a small caravan that I normally use for my trips to Riddleport, Magnimar and Korvosa, but with only three wagons, we may have some difficulty getting all the way to Brinewall. Is there any chance we could add some more wagons? I know it will cost more, but it would reduce our dependency of foraging for food and decrease the likelihood of being attacked by bandits or worse. Additional guards will improve our chances if such events occur." He begins to drink his coffee when a server brings bread, butter and cheese to his table. "We can discuss the details after breakfast."

In response to Ameiko, "It is of no matter Lady Kaijitsu. But yes, you have a very comfortable Inn." He takes another sip of coffee, as Sandru hops into the conversation. Caladorn looks up, assess the man and says "Good Morning, I don't belive we've met, Caladorn Estvial. Clearly you are Ameiko's caravan master friend. The mechanics and logistics of a caravan is not something I have had to consider before... Please enlighten me with your experience. For example, what kind of timings are we looking at here - when would we leave, how long would we have to travel. Also, what cargo would you carry to Brinewall."

Ok, I clearly need to find and read the players guide rules on caravans... We may also need to visit the shipwrecks in the swamp - because we probably also need some money.

Gundar perks up when Sandru enters and approaches the group. Mornin' Sandru! You always said I would come back to the caravan and it looks like you are right! Gundar says with a chuckle.

"Hmmm, I am somewhat familiar with the economics of trade over distances, but not the nuances of actually caravanning. Is that the appropriate term in Taldane?"

Filona says "Hello!" to Sandru, but otherwise doesn't discuss the trip planning. In her mind, it will be very relaxed, with no problems whatsoever. She eats her breakfast, much more than what would appear a gnome would be able to eat.

Ameiko finishes her breakfast and as she stands up she looks over at Sandru "You've had enough food for this morning friend, we need to discuss our plans to upgrade the caravan for our trip to Brinewall."

Sandru stuffs the last of his eggs into his mouth and after a few quick chews he replies after he swallows "Fine, fine, let me finish my coffee." He drains the contents of his mug and adds "Ok, done. Let's discuss them here - when we have everyone together. What did you have in mind for upgrades? I don't think you can swing an armored wagon, so we can either add supply wagons and/or horses to get us there faster. We could add traps for our campsites or enhance a carriage or two by reinforcing the wheels and axels. The traps will help avoid being surprised while sleeping, the enhancements will help avoid stopping for repairs; which should get us to Brinewall faster."

I need the player's input on how to run the next part of the Adventure. How much do you want to get involved in the building and maintenance of the caravan used for your trip? The caravan rules related to construction, combat, etc. are not part of the standard Pathfinder Ruleset - something added for Jade Regent (I don't know all of the APs, so it is possible they are in use somewhere else). Would you prefer to skip those details and just have PC/NPC encounters instead?

I prefer to participate in the caravan planning. It's a relevant point in the player's guide and I imagine it will be a constant through the AP.

Personally, I suspect the system will be similar to kingdom building in Kingmaker, Pirating in Shackles, making a rebellion in Rebel's, etc. I'll participate, but that mechanic isn't my draw for playing.

I tend not to be a fan of the mini systems included with the AP's. They tend not to be particularly well balanced and often have large holes in them...

The caravan system gets some unkind reviews:

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q0bm?Caravan-rules-how-do-you-guys-feel-what- do#6

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2uhs8?Lucky-Caravan-feat-seems-bugged-other-qu estions#3

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42vx9?My-parting-thoughts-on-Jade-Regent
(under the heading What only worked due to Heavy Lifting)

So do you feel like working pretty hard to make it work?

I tend not to be a fan of the mini systems included with the AP's. They tend not to be particularly well balanced and often have large holes in them...

I thought the kingdom rules were ok, although long term they ended up breaking WBL. I suspect that could happen with the other rulesets also.

Sandru and Ameiko move to another table to discuss the details of the outfitting of the caravan. After a few minutes of animated discussion you overhear

"So, then we will start with the three wagons you currently have, but we will enhance the undercarriage of each one so that we can handle the rough terrain that we will encounter going north. We agree that I will provide 1500 gold for the three wagons to upgrade the undercarriages.

Next, we need food stores and repair materials. I want to outfit as much food as we can fit allowing for two stops for repairs. What does that come to?"

Sandru does some quick calculations (you overhear his whispering some numbers) and replies "The caravan will consume 4 provisions per day and each food store unit has 10 provisions. The three wagons can hold 18 units combined. With 3 used for the undercarriage enhancements and 2 for repairs, that leaves 13 units available. Unless we run into trouble, we should get about 40 miles per day and arrive in Brinewall in about 13 days. Six food stores should be enough to get us there."

"Three plus two plus six is eleven units leaving us seven available in case we need to carry something unexpected. Fifty gold for the repair materials and thirty for the food stores comes to a total of 1580 gold. I can cover that, what do you need to outfit the caravan like that?"

"As much as I'd like to do the work here in Sandpoint, I don't trust Bilivar to make the enhancements. I am going to take the wagons down to Magnimar for proper outfitting. I can make a quick run down there and return ready to go. I should be back in 3 days."

"Ok, that will be great. It will give me time to find Shalelu. We will need to go to the manor so I can pay for the outfitting."

To the rest of the group she adds "I need to take care of getting the caravan ready, I'll be back at lunch to discuss our next steps. Take the morning to do whatever you wish."

With that Sandru and Ameiko prepare to leave the Rusty Dragon.

Hahaha, some of that is kind of meta, but I get where you're headed.

Gundar looks at his compatriots. So...Back to the swamp?

Gundar looks at his compatriots. So...Back to the swamp?

"In the afternoon, after we talk to Lady Kaijitsu at lunch; I don't think we can get to the swamp and back this morning. But if we have three days before we leave, I think we should perhaps check out those shipwrecks."

Ameiko arrives back at the Rusty Dragon in time for lunch. She greets her staff and smiles as she sees the party gathered at a table. With a quick motion Miriam nods and goes into the kitchen.

"Sandru is off to Magnimar, hopefully he will return in three days with the caravan ready to go."

Miriam returns from the kitchen with several plates. As the food is placed in front of you, the smell of roasted chicken with rosemary and cilantro wafts into your nostrils causing your mouth to salivate. The chicken is accompanied by asparagus, carrots and broccoli smothered in a cream sauce that begs to be tasted. Pitchers of tea and juice are brought to the table while you start digging into your midday meal.

Just because I'm hungry...

Filona eats the meal happily and starts telling a story of a group of asparagus shaped fey who came across some tiny mushrooms who lived in a tiny village and were afraid of a man with a devilish cat. They eventually got eaten by some rabbit shaped fey. This story took place in the first world, so they weren't really dead, but Filona clearly liked stories with uniquely shaped creatures.

After the meal, the gnome suggests "So, to the swamp?", as if it was a glamorous enterprise.

Caladorn spends the morning working to comprehend and copy another of his new purchases... (Scroll of Snapdragon Fireworks)
Spellcraft to comprehend for copying to spellbook: 1d20 + 2 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 3 + 4 = 23 vs DC 16
2 ranks +3 trained +4 int

Having successfully copied another spell into his book, Caladorn is in a good mood at lunch. He eats heartily, and comments "Oh that's good. My compliments Miriam, that's very well done!".

Afterwards, in response to Filona's proposal, he is enthusiastic "Of course, such fun the swamp. A question, what does everyone think, would we do well renting a dory in the harbor and rowing down the coastline rather than getting our boots all muddy?"

As she finishes up her lunch, Ameiko sighs and lets out a deep breath. "Ok, time to see if I can find Shalelu. Heaven knows where she is these days and I can't wait weeks for her to show up. Is everyone planning on going back into the swamp? I could use some help searching the surrounding forest; unless anyone else here knows a quick way to find our town's guardian?"

Not sure if I have something to offer here. Yes, I have the Younger Sibling (Shaelu) campaign trait, but I'm the family black sheep in my backstory... So GM_Corwyn, do I have anything to put in play?

You may know something about her history and possibly some information about where she patrols, but your information may not be current. Just because you are a black sheep of the family doesn't mean they cut you out of all contact. You know she has friends all over Varisia and goes to see them occasionally. This explains why she is absent from Sandpoint for weeks at a time.

Caladorn puts in diffidently: "Well Lady Kaijitsu, I know a few stories Shaelu told back when I was young about the places she patrols. Also, if we get back in time for this evening, and I have a spell slot left, I could try some signalling using the family symbols. On the other hand, as you say, she could be just about anywhere in Varisia, she does have friends all over the place."

The signalling thing would be fireworks using my new snapdragon fireworks spell! Obviously, it would only work if she's fairly close to Sanpoint.

"Well that makes a lot of sense. It explains why she disappears for so long. I'd love for you to try your signaling, however that works. We'll do a quick check of just this afternoon and return for dinner. Is anyone else going to join Caladorn and I on our search?"

Filona is a little disappointed that they won't be going on a discovery mission in the swamp, but she loathes to be left behind more, so she says "I'll go." Who knows, Shalelu might end up being fun.

"I will gladly go with you Shalelu."

Gundar chews his chicken while listening to Filona. Sounds like they should have been more afraid of the rabbit then the cat. I never knew many cats to like vegetables. It seems to me they mainly like mice. But a rabbit really likes vegetables. It sounds like it was their own fault they were eaten. Gundar observes.

I don't know if these meals are described that way in the AP, but I am thinking that they are the GM's creation and I regret that this isn't a tabletop game in their kitchen!

When he devours the last of his meal, Gundar belches softly and picks pieces of carrots out of his beard. I am willing to go with you all as well! The swamp will still be a swamp when we get back!

You head out into the surrounding forest and begin your search for Shalelu. After just under an hour you get the feeling that you are not alone in the forest.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Perception, Caladorn: 1d20 + 2 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 3 + 2 = 9
2 rank +3 trained +2 racial

Perception, Galaditar: 1d20 + 2 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 3 + 4 = 15
2 rank +3 trained +4 racial

Galaditar flies a beeline towards the wolves, and Caladorn's head whips around to see what Galaditar is concerned about. "Something's behind us!" Out comes Caladorn's rapier...

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Yep! I believe there are wolves following us. They probably think we are easy prey!

The wolves seem to be looking over the party, doing their best at keeping themselves in the shadows of the trees.

Maps Updated - Slide 1

At the warning of wolves, Filona starts looking to the sides, hoping to see something.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

She sees them and comments "It looks like they are waiting for something. Maybe something else to appear?" She considers shooing them away, but thinks that might end up being exactly what they are waiting for. Against her will, she starts thinking of a story.

Because I haven't specified it yet, today's spell prep: