Sufficiently Advanced Magic (Inactive)

Game Master Losonti

Heads up for everyone: I'm going to traveling from the 23rd through August 6th. A lot of that is going to be me very bored while I ride in a car, so I'll probably still get some posts in.

Hey everybody! Still, ironically, recovering from my vacation. It was a lot faster paced than I was really expecting and just didn't have very much downtime to sit and post. Whenever I did, of course, it was in places with no signal.

No worries, welcome back! I hope it was a lovely vacation.

It was timely-my internet has been out for a week, somebody finally comes tomorrow. I think its going to be the same issue because for some reason they can't fix the box on the pole to where its waterproof....we'll see

I thought i was going to log in and see double digit posts...

I abuse ellipses...

Oh no!

My plan is to get us rolling again this weekend, and with no other huge interruptions on my immediate schedule, to keep up a steadier pace.

I abuse ellipses...

You're going to give the GM ellipseizures! ;)

Is Shesik still with us? Their last character post was end of May, and their last post from the regular alias was December of last year...

It looks that way. Would someone like to reach out?

If they are not in any other games on the forums, then they are not going to be logging in to see their PMs, and I don't have their direct email.

Would we want to take another from the recruitment? There are some there with whom I have had great games, but one who has ghosted on multiple campaigns.

Or would we want to continue with 4?

We should probably decide on that before going back in, so I'll hold off on posting in Gameplay.

I would be okay with a replacement, since it's an easy place to do so.

I have personally not had good experiences with open recruitments, and prefer to reach out to other people on the forums I've played with who have proven themselves reliable, regular posters.

Right. At least two from our prior Recruitment are players I have good games with, so I would suggest those specifically.

If you recommend them, that's good enough for me! Are there any skill/ability gaps we want to be covered?

Sounds good to me! It might be smart to have a roguelike type, someone who can hack technology with Disable Device, but I'm sure we can make anything work if there's a player who is interested and involved.

Tyn has a +8 Disable Device and Trapfinding, so we are good there.
Hekau has a +5 Disable Device and can Aid Another (he needs it for Technomancer).

From the original recruitment, Dorian Grey and Grumbaki are the two players I would recommend - I have been in long-running games with both of them and they are prompt, reliable posters with a knack for interesting characters and good RP. Both have repurposed the characters they originally proposed for this game to other campaigns, so might be interested in submitting something new based on our current needs.

We have most of the bases covered, but could use more healing and another frontliner (so it isn't just Xaerai up there on her own). I might suggest cleric, bard, warpriest, inquisitor, or paladin. If divine, then Torag or Brigh seem appropriate and easy to integrate.

That sounds good to me, and I agree that frontline/healing is probably what we need most. We might have a tough time dealing with blindness/deafness, curses, etc without some more divine magic in the party.

Hekau can cast such spells 1/day at the moment, so we are not totally out of luck.

I think I have mentioned this previously, but just in case: I will be flying to Europe for vacation with my spouse this Friday, and won't be back until 9/16. Please feel free to bot me as necessary during that period :)

Sorry folks, had some IRL chaos between work and school that I had to get sorted out. I'll reach out to Dorian/Grumbaki before I bump the recruitment thread to see if we can scare someone up to step into Shesik's role.

Lurking.....I received a Bat call! Hmmm...better not get ahead of myself.

I am totally not familiar with Iron Gods. Of course, that is what researching is for...lol.

I am currently extremely busy with RL as some of you already know.
Allow me this weekend to come up with something that you may enjoy, be frustrated with and most likely even pee your pantaloons once in a while!

Hi Dervak! Miss gaming with you!

Thank you and we know return you to chaos! (Actually not really certain what IG brings....

How about dwarf fighter (foehammer)(Cleric VMC)?

Do VMCs get spells? I never used that variant rule yet, but I see something here...lol.

The answer seems to be no after a bit of reading. Most unfortunate.

Warpriest of Torag (Artifice and Protection Blessings).

I absolutely love the Dwarven fighter/cleric classics!

Hi Dorian (this is Benedic from that other game)! Welcome!

VMCs don't get spells, except for cantrips/orisons for some of them. Cleric VMCs mostly get channeling, which might be suboptimal on a dwarf because it's Charisma-based. ;)

I think a good place to start with Iron Gods is to look at the campaign traits in the player's guide. They give a good sense of what themes are spread through the game. For example, we've fought several robots so far, and there's a trait that says you hate robots and are good at fighting them. :) Or, this region is dominated by a group called the Technic League who hoards technology, and there's a trait for someone who hates them especially. That sort of thing. :)

A fellow dwarf? A welcome sight indeed!

Warpriest of Torag with Artifice and Protection blessings sounds both thematic and effective for this AP.

Being a dwarf does mean that you probably won't have a stellar Cha. It is something of a curiosity that everyone in our party has Cha of 7 or 8 (three of us being from -2 Cha races). A technology-proficient socially-inept bunch. Zelvin is decent at Diplomacy due to getting to use his Int modifier, at least. But on the topic of face skills, Sense Motive would help our party as nobody has that (Hekau is particularly terrible at it) and there are some sketchy individuals we interact with.

There sure are!

I read the PG last night, along with the wiki on Torch and Numeria. Dwarf Warpriest of Torag fell into play as I was reading.

I most likely can have him up this weekend. Probably use Mad Marvin profile...hehe.

Here is Dorian Grey's work in progress....

Just finished reading Gameplay thread. That 4 armed zombie was rough!

Can I suggest that Marvin is maybe a distant cousin of Xaerai? Some reason for us to welcome him into our party, if she can vouch for him (sort of)?

Perhaps, he is a known recluse near and around Torch? I imagine him going into town monthly for supplies. He used to work for the Technic League, but is on the lamb for punching a supervisor. Something about not getting a proper lunch break...

Maybe he was a contact for the mercenary crew Xaerai ran with for a while? Enough of a connection to smooth inclusion to the group without us having to nail down anything concrete just yet.

Does Marvin feel any tension about being a recluse devoted to a deity of community defense?

He just hasn't found his community yet!

Have I mentioned that he is mad...hehe

Marvin's crunch looks good!

A few questions that came to mind: What form does his devotion to Torag take? What drew him to the Technic League in the first place? Why does he want to join up with the party?

Those first two don't necessarily need answers, but I think the motivation is an important one.

What form does his devotion to Torag take? Tba
What drew him to the Technic League in the first place? Tba
Why does he want to join up with the party? He has lived in Numeria his whole life. He worked for the League for decades, exploring and cataloging but became disenfranchised because of how evil and corrupt they are. He absconded and became a Hermit. Torag has been pushing him to get involved to change things. He lives outside of Torch and has been an unofficial guardian of that community.
He has been watching the group for days. Torag won the argument.

Thanks!

Would everyone prefer to do a bit of retconning to before you re-enter the caves, so we can introduce Marvin to the group?

I will be traveling Friday through next week. I may be a bit less active during that time.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Would everyone prefer to do a bit of retconning to before you re-enter the caves, so we can introduce Marvin to the group?

Works for me!

Okay, since CW and Dorian will be out until next weekend, let's officially just pause for now (on purpose, for once!). We can resume on Sunday the 18th to introduce Marvin.

We should have internet tomorrow, although the new place needs everything, so still may be a bit of time yet.
Thank you for your patience.

I will be flying back to the US all day tomorrow, probably no time to post and jet-lagged once I'm back. But don't hold up on my account, I can check in on Saturday after I've gotten some sleep

I'm back!

Awesome! How do we want to handle it? Just drop Marvin in on y'all?

I figured we could do a quick flashback scene, it'd make more sense to meet & recruit him in town.

I figured we were waiting for Marvin to introduce himself (or be introduced). :)

I'm so sorry for my absence this last week or so! I'm opening a show this weekend and rehearsals have been grueling. To top it off, this weekend I somehow pinched a nerve in my leg that hurts so bad I can't sleep. I got prescribed some meds for it but I'm likely to still be somewhat distant. :(

Feel better soon!

As an aside, I happen to be in another technologically-flavored game that could use a player or two. It's a more industrial-age Golarion homebrew. Somewhat sandboxy quests; fairly casual in pace, tactics, and optimization. My character is an Elven swordsman who has trained to cut bullets out of the air and sticks to the old ways of swordplay partly as a means to test himself (so he's a bit like Elnor from Picard.

The game is here; the GM has written up a setting document.

Anybody interested, feel free to pop into the Discussion with your pitch.

Just posting to let you know I'm still around! I'm enjoying the introduction and don't want to seem like I'm pushing you or anything like that.

Hey everyone, I apologize for being MIA again. I've been having a really hard time with IRL stuff, which is nothing new, though these last couple weeks were especially difficult.

It's made me realize that, as much as I don't want it to be true, I don't think I can continue running this game. That's been clear for a while, since the game's pace has slowed to a crawl (my fault, not yours) and the amount of work I've been able to put into fewer and fewer posts has also become less and less. Trying to force it to limp along has just made me feel guilty for stringing you along on something that will, if I'm being generous, probably take another 10 years to finish at our current rate.

I feel terrible and dumb, especially to Marvin, who literally just joined us, but we're all frustrated with how things are currently and I can't honestly see the situation improving.

I appreciate the communication, and I'm sorry that IRL has been tough for you and I hope it improves soon! Maybe someday Xaerai and her new friends will return to unravel the mystery of the Iron Gods.