As the party races towards the dock,Mauro casts False Life and Talath casts Resist Energy on himself. Crispin casts Haste, Asher casts Gravity Bow, and Becky begins to inspire her companions!
In Round 1,Mauro and his skeletal servant hastily board the docked vessel. The occultist flanks the green faceless stalker, cutting deep into its fleshy skin. The blue faceless stalker dodges the undead's claw!
The pink sailor swings her scimitar out at the green faceless stalker, but her attack is far too wide!
Pink Attack (Scimitar):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 Pink Damage (Scimitar):1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
The yellow faceless stalker slam into the purple sailor, grabbing the sailor! You see the sailor's face become gaunt as if his constitution has been drained.
Yellow Attack (Slam 1):1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 Yellow Damage (Slam 1):1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 Yellow Grab DC14:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Talath casts Fly on himself and floats to the boat, hovering right above the planked floor!
The teal sailor swings his scimitar blindly, his face twisted in fear.
Teal Attack (Scimitar):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 Teal Damage (Scimitar):1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
The blue faceless stalker and the red faceless stalker attack the orange sailor and the teal sailor respectively.
Red Attack (Slam 1):1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 Red Damage (Slam 1):1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 Red Grab DC14:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
In a gallant attempt, the purple sailor swings at the yellow faceless stalker, but the creature jumps out of the way!
Purple Attack (Scimitar):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13 Purple Damage (Scimitar):1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Round 1 Mauro 19(False Life +12 HP) Pink Sailor (Shipmate) 18 Yellow Faceless Stalker 15 Talath 14(Magic Circle Against Evil, Resist Energy Fire, Fly) Teal Sailor (Shipmate) 14 Blue Faceless Stalker 13 Red Faceless Stalker 11 Purple Sailor (Shipmate) 11(7 damage, badly injured, 1 Con damage, Grappled) Crispin 10(3 damage) Green Faceless Stalker 8(15 damage, injured) Asher 7(Gravity Bow) Becky 4 Orange Sailor (Shipmate) 2(4 damage, 1 Con damage, Grappled) Party-wide buffs: Bless, Haste, Bardic Performance
Male Human Ranger 7 (Tidal Hunter) | AC 26, Touch 16 |Flat-footed 22 | HP 67 (67) | Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +3 | Init +6 | Perception +11*, Keen Scent; Huntress: Init +2, AC 20 (12 Tch, 18 Flt)
Asher surveys the situation and takes a quick step to the far side of the dock to let him see the stalkers on the ship more clearly.
I am assuming I can see over the gunwale of the ship from the 10' distance and will apply partial cover (-2) to the shots at the stalkers on the ship.
OK ole Deadeye, steady my hand.
Full Round Action: Full Attack against Blue with the longbow. If Blue does, apply an additional -4 cover penalty and apply the remaining shots to Red If your rule I cannot reach Red due to his distance from the gunwale, then the remaining shot goes to waste.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky scurries up the gangplank, still shouting instructions and encouragement about how to best fight the monsters, before engaging one of the invaders (red). Unfortunately, she loses her balance some walking across the hold covering and misses badly with her stab attempt.
Bardic Performance (Naturalist--Faceless Stalkers): Round #4 of 16. +2 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls and saving throws against extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities.
In Round 1,Crispin attempts to scorch the blue faceless stalker but his angle is wrong and he contributes to the ship's fire instead.
The green faceless stalker slashes the pink sailor with its longsword!
Blue Attack (Longsword):1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 Blue Damage (Longsword):1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
I'm going to rule the ship gives Improved Cover because of the height difference and ship railing. Asher aims his bow, firing two shots at blue. Both arrows hit their mark and the blue faceless stalker crumples to the wooden planks! The third arrow narrowly hits the red faceless stalker. It seems to land in a critical area because rivulets of pinkish-red ooze travel down from the wound.
Becky continues to inspire her allies, swinging her rapier at the red faceless stalker. However, the red faceless stalker dodges out of the way at the last moment!
The orange sailor moves to flank the red faceless stalker and swings his scimitar! The red faceless stalker dodges his attack as well!
Orange Attack Flanking (Scimitar):1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 + 2 = 14 Orange Damage (Scimitar):1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
At the start of Round 2, an elf with long white hair climbs out of the ship's cargo hold! He coughs from the smoke and looks around.
The ship continues to burn but doesn't seem to grow.
Fire:1d20 ⇒ 18Lucky!
Round 2 Mauro 19(False Life +12 HP) Pink Sailor (Shipmate) 18(5 damage) Yellow Faceless Stalker 15 Talath 14(Magic Circle Against Evil, Resist Energy Fire, Fly) Teal Sailor (Shipmate) 14 Cirok 13 Blue Faceless Stalker 13(35 damage, dead) Red Faceless Stalker 11(20 damage, injured) Purple Sailor (Shipmate) 11(7 damage, badly injured, 1 Con damage, Grappled) Crispin 10(3 damage) Green Faceless Stalker 8(15 damage, injured) Asher 7(Gravity Bow) Becky 4 Orange Sailor (Shipmate) 2(4 damage, 1 Con damage, Grappled) Party-wide buffs: Bless, Haste, Bardic Performance
Bold may act!
Pink sailor and yellow stalker will act before Talath. Teal sailor will act before Cirok.
Male CN Elf UnRogue 9 Initiative +10 Hp 66/66 AC 22 (T17) Fort+6 Ref+14 Will+8(+2 enchantment/illusion) Senses Perception +14 (+4 Traps), Trap Spotter, LLV, DV 120' Active: Shades of Gray (Ex), EE, WP, ER
Round 2
Heat waves proceed the mirage-like sudden appearance of the strange-looking elf. His long white hair blows wildly about his narrow head and around his pointed ears. Dressed as if just returning from a Nobility held gala, the elf's icy blue eyes survey the deck of the burning ship.
Smiling as he views the heroic deeds of some of the locals, the elf turns his attention to the flames not too far from his position.
Not certain if this will work, but it is all I got verses the Fire?
Reaching into his battered pack, strapped over his left shoulder, he pulls forth a wand.
Use Magic Device (Cha)DC 20:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (12) + 16 = 28
In Round 2,Mauro and his skeleton cut down the red faceless stalker and the green faceless stalker, saving the sailors! The yellow faceless stalker looks injured.
An unfamiliar face appears on the ship's deck and pulls out a narrow box. Inside the velvet-lined box is a wand, which the elf operates.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky briefly considers taking the fight to the last faceless stalker standing, but she doesn't want to get herself caught between the monster and the potentially spreading fire. (Plus, there's this rumor going around that Becky couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper sack.) Instead, she looks around for buckets or empty barrels that might be used to scoop water from the ocean to be dumped onto the flames to quench them.
Male CG Aquatic Elf Male Cleric 7 | HP 59 / 59 | AC 24 / 14 T / 22 FF | CMD 16 | Fort + 11 Ref + 6 Will + 11 Init +2 | Perception +15 (Low-Light Vision)| Speed 40 ft. |Conditions: None (Fish Person) | Effects: None | Channels: 4/5
Becky Beys wrote:
Becky briefly considers taking the fight to the last faceless stalker standing, but she doesn't want to get herself caught between the monster and the potentially spreading fire. (Plus, there's this rumor going around that Becky couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper sack.) Instead, she looks around for buckets or empty barrels that might be used to scoop water from the ocean to be dumped onto the flames to quench them.
Maybe heading belowdecks to look for the galley.
[dice=Becky Beys Perception Check]1d20+10
Talath carries canvas which might help fighting the fire.
Round 2,Talath channels, healing Crispin and the sailors to full health. Crispin unleashes a sonic blast at the remaining faceless stalker, finishing it off!
Asher and Becky both find a bucket and move to fill them up.
Through the action economy, with the party's help, the sailors manage to extinguish the flames aboard the Argent Cornucopia.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
"I've got to find my mom and make sure she's all right!" Becky tells the others. "Ramona thought she might be in the Government Building, so that's where I'm heading!"
And just like that, Becky's down the gangplank and running along the dock headed back toward the center of the settlement.
When the party is ready,Becky leads the group in a hurry back towards the palisade walls. However, as you approach, you see a gathering group of colonists arguing!
Riotous voices rise from two groups of colonists that are standing on opposite sides of the street. Each group brandishes weapons and shouts violently at the other, demanding surrender. The tension in the air is palpable, and it looks like this altercation could devolve into a fight at any moment.
You see nine colonists total facing off against one another. One group is headed by Harcourt Carrolby, the wealthy noble with aspirations to open a horse ranch, and Luetin Calewick, the acting blacksmith for Talmandor's Bounty. Harcourt Carrollby is accompanied by two colonial soldiers and a farmer, leads the first group. Luetin Calewick, who is joined by a carpenter, a farmer, a tanner, and a weaver, leads the second group.
You've seen these two butt heads before. You think you need to mediate or else this situation will escalate.
Diplomacy or Intimidate DC25 (+4 for dispersing mob after Eskelda):
You manage to negotiate (at least) a temporary peace between the two groups.
Bluff 25:
You successfully convince both groups that everyone involved is a colonist, not a faceless stalker.
Male CG Aquatic Elf Male Cleric 7 | HP 59 / 59 | AC 24 / 14 T / 22 FF | CMD 16 | Fort + 11 Ref + 6 Will + 11 Init +2 | Perception +15 (Low-Light Vision)| Speed 40 ft. |Conditions: None (Fish Person) | Effects: None | Channels: 4/5
@GM: Talath will take 10 on Diplomacy and, thanks to the +4, will achieve the DC.
"Hold! We don't know what's going on here and further violence will only make the situation worse. It appears this colony has enemies and problems appearing from nowhere all the time. You need to work together or whatever or whomever is plaguing this area will continue to tear your community apart and kill your relatives, friends, and eventually you. Whatever those faceless things were they had replaced real people. Where are those people? We will need everyone working together to save us all."
Male CN Elf UnRogue 9 Initiative +10 Hp 66/66 AC 22 (T17) Fort+6 Ref+14 Will+8(+2 enchantment/illusion) Senses Perception +14 (+4 Traps), Trap Spotter, LLV, DV 120' Active: Shades of Gray (Ex), EE, WP, ER
With a self-satisfied expression on his elven face, Cirok waves to those that recently dispatched the Faceless Stalkers.
Ahoy? Certainly appreciate the response...
The white haired elf stops speaking, as the attention was already spoken for by colonists' confrontation conference.
That may be problematic.
Cirok seems on the verge of stepping in to discussed the situation, but the elf holds back.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky looks put out by this latest hurdle to finding her mother quickly. "All the faceless stalkers we've fought have dropped their guises before attacking," she points out. "Maybe a few are still maintaining their masquerade for some reason...but maybe not! Harcourt! Luetin! You've had your differences in the past, remember? The dispute about the house? Well, unless one or both of you had already been replaced way back then, if you can recall the decision and what was said then, chances are you're both exactly who you appear to be--a couple of knuckleheaded men having a pissing contest while my mom's still unaccounted for! "
Before we proceed, is anyone else (besides Asher and Mauro) going to attempt a Diplomacy or Intimidate check? I just want to make sure everyone has adequate time to post what they want.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Re-reading Becky's post, it sort of looks like she started out using Diplomacy but ended up trying to Intimidate the men into acting sensibly...so I went with the latter for her check. If we instead go with Diplomacy, her +6 modifier would instead make this a successful Aid Another.
Becky tries to talk tough to the men, but the shrillness in her tone comes off as super-annoying.
Male CN Elf UnRogue 9 Initiative +10 Hp 66/66 AC 22 (T17) Fort+6 Ref+14 Will+8(+2 enchantment/illusion) Senses Perception +14 (+4 Traps), Trap Spotter, LLV, DV 120' Active: Shades of Gray (Ex), EE, WP, ER
Nodding as he ascertains the stand-offs meaning and members, the white haired elf strides easily to the side of the ship, jumps down to the docks, and continues to walk to the group without missing a step.
Ring of Featherfall
Smiling, nodding, even grasping and shaking hands, as the elf glides from person to person, Cirok ends his dance next to the young screaming woman.
Hello. Hi there. How are you this most pleasant, although quite active morning? My what weather we are having. Is that your blood?
The pale elf continues to smiles. He bows holding aloft his wide-brimmed hat out wide.
Cirok Brokencrown, at your service.
This is a very heated argument that may come to blows in mere moments. You can't take a 10, unfortunately.
There are multiple conversations going on between the two groups as you approach.
"Harcourt Carrolby is a bloody coward! There's no way he'd be here fighting - so I know you're a fake!" From under his helm, you can see Luetin's face and neck are red with anger.
Harcourt sneers, "And Leutin's such a blundering idiot he leaves his door wide open! I bet his son is one of them too!"
One of the colonial soldiers standing next to Harcourt speaks up, "Leutin'stoo busy to fix my armor. Sounds like a scam to me!"
The carpenter waves her hammer threateningly at the soldier, "Oh, shut your trap! You tried to pay me with a rabbit pelt instead of money, you fraud!"
"Leave my son out of this!" Leutin bellows, "I hope you creatures have tongues because I'm going to enjoy cutting out yours!"
Becky's threats land on deaf ears. Mauro, Asher, Talath, and Crispin attempt to break into the argument, but it's not until the two groups look like they're about to exchange blows, that Cirok gracefully steps in. He grabs several hands, initiating warm handshakes and clapping the highly agitated colonists on the back.
The two groups stop mid-argument to stare open-mouthed at Cirok as he makes his way to each individual. Both groups seem utterly perplexed by the sudden turn of events. Cirok comments on the trustworthiness of a man being based on the grip of their handshake, defusing the situation. His logic seems to appeal to both the noble-born Harcourt and the manly Leutin.
"Yes, well, I suppose I should have known Leutin was real. He's just as stupid as ever." Harcourt sniffs disdainfully.
"A firm handshake, indeed! Hah hah hah," Leutin twists the tip of his thick mustache, placated by the suggestion that he has a manly handshake.
When they party is ready to proceed, the group races onward towards the Government Building (area 10), led by a desperate Becky. You hadn't heard it before because of the screaming, but the alarm bells are ringing throughout Talmandor's Bounty. You hear people screaming, "The Government House is on fire! Gods save us!"
Entering through the palisades, you see another trail of smoke rising into the sky. The Government House is indeed ablaze. The dry wooden structure is the ideal kindling for a fire left unattended. A few colonists stand gobsmacked in horror as Talmandor Bounty's symbol of strength burns.
Carver Hastings, the Pathfinder who recruited you to investigate several historical sites, runs to you. "I'm so glad you're here! Quick! Ramona ran inside the Government House and hasn't come out!" He's panting from running, leaning forward on his knees to catch his breath.
You all do not see Ramona or Perrell, Becky's mom.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky gives an appraising glance at the honey-tongued elf. "Good job," she comments. "You were aboard the Argent Cornucopia, correct? Are you a member of its crew or a new settler come to join us in Talmandor's Bounty?" Sticking out a small hand, sweaty from battle and worry, the teenager wearing a mithral shirt and wielding a rapier adds, "I'm Becky Beys, and I'm looking for my mother, Perrell, who's the colony's historian and chronicler. Care to help?"
Male CN Elf UnRogue 9 Initiative +10 Hp 66/66 AC 22 (T17) Fort+6 Ref+14 Will+8(+2 enchantment/illusion) Senses Perception +14 (+4 Traps), Trap Spotter, LLV, DV 120' Active: Shades of Gray (Ex), EE, WP, ER
Cirok smiles, as the fuss is down to a light simmer. Allowing nature to take control of the situation, the pale elf turns his blue eyes to the screaming human female.
That was exciting. So, what is this about your mother missing?
Cirok nods in gratitude to Becky's comment. The elf then continues
Well met, Becky Beys. Cirok Brokencrown, Pathfinder actually.
He winks.
He then stretches out an arm encompassing the scene before them.
I would be delighted! Care to catch me up on current events?
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
"Well...," Becky begins, taking a deep breath. "It appears that these faceless stalkers have been infiltrating the colony for a while, and are likely responsible for the disappearance of the first wave of settlers. We've all been investigating that matter since we arrived on the island, making educated guesses on what occurred here. After tonight, I think we have a pretty good idea...."
"Anyways, we'd just got back to the village after investigating an old Azlanti tower and besting the sea hag oracle and her minions who dwelt there. Carver Hastings--you probably have heard of him, he's a Pathfinder--had invited our party--along with Ramona Avandth, the colony's governor--to a dinner party both to celebrate our victory and to provide as many details about the tower as we could. En route to the party, we were surrounded by a bunch of colonists...only they were really faceless stalkers still in disguise! They attacked us while other stalkers assaulted other folks elsewhere in the village. And tried to burn the supply ship to the waterline! At some point I realized my mother might be in danger, though I don't think she'd been replaced--I hadn't noticed any unusual behavior from her since we got back. (Except trying to marry me off!) I hope she's OK; Carver, too! We can check on him after we've found my mom."
When they party is ready to proceed, the group races onward towards the Government Building (area 10), led by a desperate Becky. You hadn't heard it before because of the screaming, but the alarm bells are ringing throughout Talmandor's Bounty. You hear people screaming, "The Government House is on fire! Gods save us!"
Entering through the palisades, you see another trail of smoke rising into the sky. The Government House is indeed ablaze. The dry wooden structure is the ideal kindling for a fire left unattended. A few colonists stand gobsmacked in horror as Talmandor Bounty's symbol of strength burns.
Carver Hastings, the Pathfinder who recruited you to investigate several historical sites, runs to you. "I'm so glad you're here! Quick! Ramona ran inside the Government House and hasn't come out!" He's panting from running, leaning forward on his knees to catch his breath.
You all do not see Ramona or Perrell, Becky's mom.
Talath has little time to speak so he simply tells the others, "I'll go."
He draws forth one of his scrolls, reads it, and a bubble of air appears around his head.
Air Bubble @GM: The duration on Resist Energy is 1 hour for Talath so it should still be active.
Mauro's less enthusiastic than Talath - all his martial skills won't protect him from a burning building falling on his head - but he's not willing to let the aquatic elf show him up, so he grits his teeth and heads into Government House...
As he does so, he shouts at the gobsmacked colonists "You lot! Quit staring! Bucket brigade, NOW!!!"
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky doesn't hesitate to enter the burning building. After all, two of her favorite people in the entire colony are likely inside and in need of rescuing.
The young bard and the new arrival exchange introductions as the group barrels toward the burning Government building. Talath casts Air Bubble on himself to protect himself from the smoke. Mauro yells at the gobsmacked colonists, causing one to jump into action. Asher, his animal companion, and Crispin bring up the rear.
•´¯`•»
You can feel the heat on your face and body as you into the burning building. Colonists are in various states inside this building. Perhaps they ran inside thinking they'd be safe... At the podium, you see Ramona, laying prone on the small stage. Eliza, one of the two original colonists you saved, is bent down over her.
"Help! Help! Up here!"
Carver races up to the second floor, yelling behind him: "help Ramona and the others!"
Rayland Arkley, files in behind you, calling "Eliza? Eliza?!"
As soon as you're all inside, the double doors shut behind you! The two colonists standing behind the doors quiver, their skin melting into the grotesque forms of faceless stalkers!
In Round 1, a vial of Alchemist Fire falls from the second floor and ignites the floor next to Mauro! The occultist and Talath both take fire damage! However, Talath seems to resist all the damage.
Perception 28 (free):
You think the yellow colonist deliberately tossed the alchemist fire.
If caught on fire, extinguishing the flames requires a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground provides the target a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a large body of water or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire.
Fire spreads at the beginning of the round.
Round 1 Yellow 24 Becky 23 Purple 23 Carver 20 Mauro 19(2 damage, on fire Reflex DC15) Talath 16(Magic Circle Against Evil, Resist Energy Fire, Fly, Air Bubble) Rayland 15 Asher 14(Gravity Bow) Crispin 13 Red 13 Pink 13 Cirok 11 Blue 10 Orange 10 Green 9 Eliza 8 Party-wide Buffs: Bless, Haste: 1 round
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky jumps when the doors are slammed shut behind her and the others. For an instant, perhaps, fear registers on her face, but that emotion is quickly replaced by determination tinged with anger. Becky exhorts her friends again to excel in the coming battle against this latest bunch of faceless stalkers. Moving resolutely toward Ramona and Eliza, the teen growls, "Get away from her!"
If orange smily face or Rayland are faceless stalkers, Becky will likely face an AoO or two.
Bardic Performance (Naturalist--Faceless Stalkers): Round #5 of 16. +2 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls and saving throws against extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities.
Cirok enters the burning building with the others. The elf's blue eyes scanning for dangers other than the obvious fire.
Watching the Alchemist Fire splashing down amongst them, the rogue's blue eyes narrow.
That canary dressed turd is not a friend!
Round 1, another vial of Alchemist's Fire falls from the second floor! The glass vial breaks on Asher's shoulder and the ranger catches fire, taking 3 fire damage! The skeletal servant, Mauro. Talath, Crispin, and Huntress, who is next to Asher also get splashed taking 1 damage each!
Perception DC9 (free):
From the corner of your eye, you see the purple colonist toss an Alchemist's Fire down at Asher!
A crossbow bolt flies through the air, targeted at Mauro! Crossbow (Attack):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 Crossbow (Damage):1d8 ⇒ 1
It misses, thunking into the wooden floor. Looking up, you spot Carver holding the weapon, except it's not the Pathfinder you arrived at Talmandor's Bounty with. In his place, wearing all of his unique armor and gear, you see a faceless stalker! "You couldn't help but meddle in my master's plans. Now you'll burn with your precious town!"
Crispin:
You think you hear Rayland gasp.
If caught on fire, extinguishing the flames requires a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground provides the target a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a large body of water or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire.
Fire spreads at the beginning of the round.
Round 1 Yellow 24 Becky 23 Purple 23 Carver 20 Mauro 19(2 damage)(Skelly 1 damage) Talath 16(Magic Circle Against Evil, Resist Energy Fire, Fly, Air Bubble) Rayland 15 Asher 14(3 damage, on fire, Gravity Bow) (Huntress 1 damage) Crispin 13(1 damage) Red 13 Pink 13 Cirok 11 Blue 10 Orange 10 Green 9 Eliza 8 Party-wide Buffs: Bless, Haste: 1 round
Male CN Elf UnRogue 9 Initiative +10 Hp 66/66 AC 22 (T17) Fort+6 Ref+14 Will+8(+2 enchantment/illusion) Senses Perception +14 (+4 Traps), Trap Spotter, LLV, DV 120' Active: Shades of Gray (Ex), EE, WP, ER
Auto-suceed at DC 9. I am laughing that I rolled a "1" on Initiative...lol.
Cirok's icy blue eyes travel the reverse path of the 2nd Alchemist fire as it splashes down!
It looks like Harold and His Purple Crayon is another Faceless Stalkers!
The tensed up rogue seems ready to spring into action....in a bit though because the dice gods giveth and the dice gods taketh away!
Calling all settlers! I’m looking for five team-oriented settlers to help establish Talmandor’s Bounty.
About Ruins of Azlant:
This campaign is a Lost City of Atlantis meets the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island meets Pathfinder Kingmaker without the number crunch (Loyalty, Community, etc) of managing the town hall. You will not be ruling the settlement Talmandor’s Bounty. You are there as a settler. Like the other 49 brave settlers sailing on the Peregrine, you have been promised a parcel of land to do with as you wish in exchange for successfully settling the territory.
This is a story immersive half-campaign (books 1, 2, & 3, levels 1-10) that will focus on building relationships and establishing Talmandor’s Bounty. Your character should feel invested in wanting to make the settlement Talmandor’s Bounty a success. Combat encounters will closely follow the books with none added.
Build:
- This is Pathfinder First Edition.
- 20 point buy.
- 500 gp starting gold. (You’ve been diligently preparing and saving for this long journey. Or maybe you were fortunate to come into this sizable chunk of coin.)
- No item can be worth over a third (166gp) of your starting gold.
- No evil alignments.
- No third-party sources.
- No Hero Points.
- Hit Points are determined PFS style - max at first level, average +1 for all subsequent levels.
- Core Races preferred. No Aasimars. (For reference, most of the settlers are humans from Andoran. But you don’t have to be.)
- Use Unchained versions when applicable.
- 2 traits - at least one from the Ruins of Azlant Player Handbook
- 2 background skills
- Favored class bonus when applicable (an extra skill point or health point)
- A brief description of your character’s appearance.
- A description of your character’s motivations and two goals in life. The goals can be as big or small as you’d like.
- A reason why your character is sailing to Talmandor’s Bounty. Perhaps a business opportunity, passion for history or adventure, military recruitment, treasure hunting, family rebellion, escaping a crime, running away from gambling debts, starting a bed and breakfast, looking for cheap fertile farmland to start a vineyard, your betrothed is there waiting, you want a remote vacation home, etc.
- A weakness your character has. Does not need to be a drawback, but I will allow one if you roleplay it. The drawback must be approved by me.
- This is an immersive story setup where you have the opportunity to explore a profession if you wish. You’ll have downtime in this game and you’re promised land in exchange for helping settle Talmandor’s Bounty.
- Any extra information on how you plan on progressing your character build is appreciated.
- Please organize your character’s information neatly in a post or on a profile so it’s easy for me to read.
About me:
This is my first time attempting to GM on Paizo. I was active for a couple of years as a player and then I took a year-long break from the forums when Covid hit. I’ve been back posting for about a month now. Even during my hiatus from play-by-post, I continued to play tabletop Pathfinder. I am by no means a rule expert; I have a few people I like to go to with questions and I follow the Pathfinder rulings to the best of my ability. I prefer story over combat, but I won’t skip over any written combat encounters.
I really enjoyed reading through the first three books and prepping Google slides for combat. The books basically live on my coffee table because I love the art. The first three books read like a trilogy and there are some interesting villains and potential allies. My sincere hope is that everyone at the table will become invested in the Ruins of Azlant story and characters and enjoy solving the mystery as it unfolds.
Newbie GM. I’m new to GMing so I anticipate I’ll make a few mistakes. In an attempt to curb errors, I’ve prepared quite a bit for this half-campaign. But, to reiterate, mistakes will probably be made by me and other players. Expect a few bumps.
Vacation. Every year I take two weeks of vacation to stay with family. One week is in December and the other is in the Summer. This year, I’m taking a third week off starting July 4th, to go to the beach. My posting will probably be spotty during those three weeks, but I will give a reminder in the Discussion tab prior. I don’t have a laptop so I depend on my phone for posting when I’m on vacation.
Kinship. I can be a little wordy at times (and sometimes too direct.) But, I never have malicious intent. If I hurt your feelings please tell me. I don’t want you to have a bad day due to a silly misunderstanding. I expect everyone to come to the table with a teamwork-oriented outlook.
Final notes:
1. It’s not a pet peeve, but I appreciate people taking the time to put quotation marks and bold formatting around speech. I think it makes reading easier and more fluid.
2. Excluding character dialect and the occasional spelling and grammatical errors, I expect players to write coherently. I don’t want to have to exercise my ancient Azlanti explorer skills trying to decipher what you’ve written. There’s already enough mystery written into the story!
Build Suggestions (Warning: Minor Spoilers):
- Dedicating a skill point at each level into a Knowledge skill like Arcane, Dungeoneering, History, Nature, or Nobility could prove to be lucrative.
- The Craft Construct feat might be useful if you’re focused on helping the colony or your startup grow. Same with the Craft Clockwork profession. The Craft Construct feat and may pair nicely with Disable Device. I will allow the Craft skill Construct and Clockwork to be interchangeable.
- Disable Device could help the colony acquire certain ancient technological assets.
- While exploring uncharted islands, a skill like Survival may be helpful.
- Abilities and spells that allow your character to communicate with the dead or comprehend other languages or the Linguistics skill could prove helpful.
- Perhaps languages like Aboleth, Aklo, Auran, Aquan, Azlanti, Celestial, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Undercommon will be spoken.
- There may be an abundant amount of sentient life to communicate and trade with, making social skills helpful.
- There may be an abundance of ancient ruins and ancient items, making certain knowledge skills helpful.
- If you use ammo, it may be advantageous to be able to craft that ammo.
- You can expect Diplomacy and Perception to be frequently used.
Q&A:
- You will level up at story checkpoints. Specifically, the books are broken up into three sections each.
- Books 1, 2, and 3 take you from level 1 to level 10. (The story ends with you leveling to 10.)
- I will be using Google Slides for all of the combat maps and handouts.
- There will be lots of visual aids in the Google Slides for story immersion.
- My goal is to post at least twice a day. To keep combat encounters moving, if you don’t post within 24 hours, I’ll DMPC your character.
- I want my players to try to post twice a day. People who post more often will be more included as the story unfolds.
- Ruins of Azlant is Pathfinder Society compatible, but it’s not my intention to run it as a sanctioned Pathfinder Society game. I don’t want there to be any barriers to entry.
- I plan on running the game close to the books in terms of loot and encounters. However, the party will be given a wand of cure light wounds with 50 charges at the beginning of the adventure.
- Party members will be responsible for recording loot as it’s acquired. We’ll use a shared Google Sheet.
- I will allow players to use Knowledge checks instead of Appraise checks when studying items.
- I’m looking for five players for an Adventure Path that has Challenge Rating designed for four. I’m not going to mess with the Challenge Rating of any of the encounters.
- To help foster community on the Paizo forums, one of the player slots is reserved for a new member (300 posts or less.)
- I would like to have a character capable of tanking, a character capable of casting healing spells, and a character with the Disable Device skill. Other than that, I’ll be looking for well-fleshed-out characters with completed character sheets. Tweaks are absolutely fine until the submission deadline.
- Don’t worry about who is playing what. Play what you want and I’ll work with the table to make character adjustments as necessary.
- When entering into combat, I will roll everyone’s Perception and Initiative to keep the game fluid. It will be up to players to roll all other skill checks.
- When I post about a new area, I will post the related skill rolls in spoilers. It’s the honor system. I don’t care if you look, but please don’t let it impact your character’s knowledge.
- I’m only committing to the first three books because it’s what I feel comfortable finishing.
- I am only running one table because I want to give my players the highest-quality experience possible.
- I will try to be as transparent as possible. If I get something wrong, please don’t be afraid to politely correct me constructively. I want to make sure I’m following the rules correctly.
- Book 1 (levels 1-4) runs similar to the first book of Kingmaker.
- Books 1 & 2 (levels 1-7) are sandbox books, meaning you have the freedom to choose what quests you do first and in what order.
- Book 3 (levels 7-9) is more akin to a dungeon crawl.
- You don’t need to play an aquatic race to be successful. There are always diplomatic and monetary ways around not being aquatic.
- I anticipate going through these first three books will take a little over a year. I hope to keep the game at a steady pace.
- I expect everyone to be respectful of one another. Sometimes tone is difficult to read in text, so over-communicate when in doubt.
Let Light Roleplaying Begin
To help flesh out and get feel for your character, please feel free to roleplay and make connections with other players. I want to be clear: Roleplaying is optional because it comes with emotional risk. Roleplaying and then not being selected can be doubly disappointing. For those who choose not to roleplay - don’t worry! I will look at your posts in other games to understand your playstyle.
Congratulations! If you are here, you are currently on the Peregrine headed for Talmandor’s Bounty! You, 49 other settlers, and a ship crew of 16 have been at sea for about a week. Everyone seems to be in high spirits and optimistic about the journey. Even the weather and wind conditions are ideal for the voyage. 13 settlers on the top deck seem particularly interesting (see slides 2-15 for descriptions.) Besides idle gossip about the other settlers, other interesting topics of personal introspection or public conversation might be the writings of brave adventurer Durvin Gest in the Pathfinder Chronicles Volume 1 (slides 17-19), the comical recountings of freelance explorer Griva Nelwhick (slides 20-21), your scholarly reading material of the ancient Azlanti civilization (slides 22-24), your religious studies surrounding the old gods (slides 25-32), your Craft (Clockwork) or Disabling Device research (slides 33-40), or any other thoughts that might cross your character’s mind.
Recruitment will be open for a guaranteed two weeks. I want applicants to have plenty of time to ruminate on their characters. Your submission date does not affect character selection, so you don’t need to rush to get something submitted as long as it’s in by the deadline. Please have your character finalized by the end of the day on Thursday, March 4th. The party will be announced the following day on Friday, March 5th. If I don’t receive enough submissions within two weeks, I’ll extend the deadline.
I know it’s a lot to take in and think about. If you have additional questions, you can post them below or private message me. Thanks for your interest in being my guinea pig table. It’ll be fun :)
Got to think on this one. SOunds fun but I have a toon in currently for a reign of winter which I will know on friday the 19thish. would love to try this one though.
This is a really nicely put together recruitment. I'm dotting for interest. Questions:
* When you say downtime will be a thing, are you referring to the teams and building rules in Ultimate Campaign? I love the idea of setting up a... something in Talmandor and playing with that aspect of the rules, but would also be totally happy to do something narratively as well.
* I've got a submission in for a Ruins of Azlant game that is starting with book 3. Would it be an issue if I'm selected for that game?
As for PC concepts, I'm mulling over a Grey Maiden. Disillusioned after the events of CoTC, she's starting over as far away as she can get from Korvosa. She's sold her armor and travelling with her sister to set up... something when she gets to Talmandor's Bounty. Of course, she'll likely be pressed into service using her unique skillset when she arrives...
Mechanically, she would be appropriate for the "tank" role, and would use the antagonize feat and her class abilities to this effect.
I'm really tempted to put forward a Dwarven Deep Marshall Magus I've been wanting to play for a while. Obviously not as strong as Dex based/Scimitar/Shocking Grasp magi, but it could be fun anyway.
I wanted his background to be smithing, so it could work out really well with the downtime provided here.
Herkymr the Silly, thanks for your interest! Reign of Winter sounds really fun. I’m sure you’ll have a blast in whichever campaigns you’re drafted for :)
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Fighting Chicken, thank you! To answer your questions:
You will have a couple of weeks of downtime between books 1 and 2. You can also accrue a couple of downtime hours in the morning, evening, and perhaps a tiny amount (30 minutes) during lunch. It is completely reasonable that your character has a morning and evening routine. Perhaps your character is a tanner so they pull out a hide to scrape as they sit by the campfire. Are you waiting on your wizard to finish studying their spellbook? Take that hour to whittle more arrows! Waiting on your paladin to finish their daily quiet prayer and meditation? Why not check your hunting traps by the forest edge? It takes 6 weeks to arrive at Talmandor’s Bounty, so you could conceivably work during that time but you’d have to purchase the raw materials with a portion of your 500-gold stipend. (You’re not going to find trees or deer in the middle of the ocean!) Those roll checks will happen in the Gameplay thread.
It’s not much gold, but players can earn half their Profession check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated work. (Assuming they are in or stop by a place - like Talmandor’s Bounty - that will purchase their services.) I consider 40 hours to be a week of dedicated work. Craft is more complicated because the DC is dependent on what you are trying to make. If I picked up crafting, I would stick to smaller items and just buy the Masterwork weapons and +1 armors. So, for Craft you pay one-third of the item’s cost, then you make the roll, and then you need to roleplay what happens (be it a success or frustrating failure.) More expensive items like armor may take more than one week. You can also make checks by the day instead of by the week, which is (check result x DC) / 7 days (8 hours.) Just follow the rules as written except for 40 hours constituting as a weeks’ worth of work. I'm making the assumption that the adventuring party isn't a group of workhorses and they like to take a few days to relax and drink ale, converse with other settlers, recreationally fish, etc.
So, let’s go through a scenario. Let’s say you are trying to Craft arrows. One-third of the price is 3 silver (which you pay ahead of the roll) and the DC is 12.
Craft (Arrows):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Wow, a 25. If the check succeeds, multiply your check result by the DC. So 25x12 = 300 SP (or 30 gold.) If the result × the DC equals the price of the item in SP (which in this case it does) then you have completed the item. If the result × the DC equals double or triple the price of the item in silver pieces, then you’ve completed the task in one-half or one-third of the time respectively. So, 40 divided by 30 GP means you were able to complete a quiver of arrows in about an hour and a half. With rolls like that, a ranger could probably keep themselves stocked on ammo.
Higher DC items get more complicated. Especially if you don’t succeed in the roll in the first week. Let’s do another example. Let's say you are trying to craft an Alchemist's fire and the craft DC is 20. You pre-pay a 1/3 of the item's cost which is 6 GP and 6 SP, then roll:
Craft (Alchemist fire):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Oof. I failed by 5 or more, so I ruined half the raw materials and I have to pay half the original raw material cost again. I pay 3 GP and 3 SP more.
Craft (Alchemist fire):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Nice, a 26. So 25x20 = 500 (or 50 gold.) If the result × the DC equals the price of the item in SP (which in this case it does) then you have completed the item. If the result × the DC equals double or triple the price of the item in silver pieces, then you’ve completed the task in one-half or one-third of the time respectively. 40 / 2.5 = 16 hours to craft that one Alchemist's Fire. The first week or 40 hours was a bust, but on the second week, I was able to craft an Alchemist's fire in only 16 hours. I could make another check if I wanted to.
I want my players to try to post twice a day. Some people spend a lot of time on the forums juggling 8-10 games and some people split up their hobby time with other passions/family and only participate in 3-5 games. You’re the expert on you and I trust people can make the appropriate judgments on how many games they can commit to. I’m not sure if I answered your question so here’s another angle: I know there are certain games like Kingmaker, where if I had the opportunity to play in two Kingmaker campaigns at once I probably would, hehe. I would just use your own judgment
I haven’t had the privilege of playing CoTC yet, but it’s definitely on my list! The lore looks interesting :)
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Orodhen, go with the character you feel the most excited to roleplay! :)
I think I will throw my hat in here and see what happens for the picking of the other games. I have always wanted a game in which I can RP out the crafting of things like alchemy. So I'll put together something and have it up in the next day or two.
I'm interested. I've got a mostly-finished bard (archivist) from a previous recruitment that I'd like to play--Becky Beys, 16-yr.-old daughter of the expedition's historian, Perrell Beys.
As others have said a very 'well put together" recruitment page. I see you've finished a game with GM Euan and have opened your recruitment to something similiar to his :)
Before I drop a character in for the boat ride, let me ask a question.
GM Ventiine wrote:
This is a story immersive half-campaign (books 1, 2, & 3, levels 1-10) that will focus on building relationships and establishing Talmandor’s Bounty. Your character should feel invested in wanting to make the settlement Talmandor’s Bounty a success.
Obviously your plans are to run the first three books. Will you then decide if your running the second half. Or is that not an option. Honestly I'd like to have the opportunity to go through the whole AP, instead of just half, so I thought I would ask before I got my hopes up too high :)
Fighting Chicken, I’m sorry I was about to go to bed and I don’t think I actually answered your first question. No, I am not planning on using teams and building rules in Ultimate Campaign. I think it might be a little too much for a first-time GM. However, I will include additional information in a spoiler for you and anyone else who wishes to read it.
Profession and Population:
I’ll mention a few other things that characters would know that may impact decisions regarding professions. The location of land each settler will receive in exchange for their efforts isn’t specified in the agreement. Hypothetically, settlers could decide to live anywhere on the island.
Shopkeep. If a character comes to Talmandor’s Bounty intending to open a tavern, hunter’s lodge, shop, etc, it will narratively play out as appropriate to story context. Probably 1-4 posts and we’ll move on. You can include a description of the ‘dream’ establishment in your character submission to help me understand your character’s vision. When applicable, I will write blurbs about the construction process and occasional patron visits. And I encourage you to narratively add details, like waking up early to collect flowers for the decorative vase on the front counter or traveling to visit Kereda Harper so he can build some specialized furniture. It can be assumed that your profession (Bartender, Tailor, Alchemist, etc) will occur within that space if you are in Talmandor’s Bounty. I can't speak for others but as a player, I enjoy writing fluff like that.
Without spoiling too much, there are certain benefits to being an adventurer. There are settlers in Talmandor’s Bounty who don’t have your set of skills and perhaps they wouldn’t mind helping build your home or business while you’re off assisting Talmandor’s Bounty in other ways.
Population. You all are the second wave of settlers sailing to Talmandor’s Bounty. Your ship, the Peregrine, is carrying 50 settlers. There are 60 settlers from the first wave that arrived on the Liberty’s Herald. You’re going to be about the size of a village. The first wave of settlers consisted of mostly soldiers, builders, farmers, at least one blacksmith, and a cleric. You can assume that most of the supplies sent on the first boat were tools and equipment for clearing land, constructing buildings, and preparing fields for farming. Looking at the settlers aboard the Peregrine, you see some soldiers, builders, and farmers, but also specialized craftsmen. Getting to Talmandor’s Bounty this early gives craftsmen the advantage of establishing a business early. Your character might anticipate initial business to be slow or they might think that being the only business in the village will give them the advantage. It’s estimated that the first wave of settlers will have been working to build Talmandor’s Bounty for about two months by the time you arrive. It’s been said the Argent Cornucopia, another supply ship with settlers is due to port a month after the Peregrine arrives.
Herkymr the Silly, sure!
DBH an Arcanist with a deep interest in Azlanti history is definitely appropriately themed for the setting!
Profession Smith 6 ranks, a relative of one of the NPCs - I like it! :)
Robert Henry, that's a very fair question. I'm actually not sure yet and I don't want to get ahead of myself. What I do know, is that I want to take what I learn from my experiences here and apply it to my future endeavors. I believe reputation matters on the forums, so if a GM opens a table they need to finish it.
But, to answer your question, I have considered the possibility of completing books 4-6 and grandfathering in the existing players. I just don't want to get ahead of myself. As you brought up, I was lucky enough to play in one of GM Euan's games so I am acutely aware pbp Adventure Paths take years. Committing to all six books actually seems a little scary to me - yet, I seem to have no problem signing up for APs as a player. I wonder how many other people share the same feeling when they prepare to GM.
Your opening post actually got me interested in the story. I have already passed on it in the past. I am thinking of a character and was happy to read that you do consider going on past the 3rd book.
I am thinking of a dwarven druid who means to own a tavern in Talmandor's Bounty. He is leaving the main land because he is tired of being teased by his family about his druidism so he took the childish approach of just leaving.
I have a question. How do you feel about an animal companion? They are considered as very strong since they heavily impact action economy and since you mentioned that you're not touching the encounters' CR for a 5-man party... I have no problem sticking to the domain choice for nature's bond.
Anyway, for party role, he'd be somewhat of a healer and knows how to survive in the wilderness. He also likes to get people drunk. He will have good Perception, Knowledge nature and geography as well.
Anthorg, there's a druid in my Friday night Pathfinder group (I play a paladin) and she and her cat have been great in the adventuring party! Her companion likes to grapple and flank. I have no complaints about animal companions. Please build the character you would be the most excited to roleplay.
I'm more concerned about the story and characters than the difficulty. I think I've been pretty transparent about how challenging the game may be. There are no Hero Points, but there is some padding in place with a wand of cure light wounds, 500 GP starting, and five party members.
Thanks for the clarifications, GM Ventiine! I agree that the downtime system would be a lot to tack onto this game.
Regarding my question about applying for another game, I'm hoping to get your perspective about whether it is OK to apply for this game, being that - if I'm selected for the other game - I'd be playing Book 3 of Ruins of Azlant (of course, if I'm not selected than this is a non-issue)
EDIT: I appreciate the settlement background as well - that is very helpful!
I notice that a couple of traits increase the gold. Has this been factored into the 500 or do we adjust accordingly. Example: Rich parents. (not looking at this one but curious)
Also the trait from ruins of azlant (eagle knight recruit ) says "You begin play with a breastplate, a longsword (or some other martial or simple weapon), and an additional 100 gp of gear. In addition, you gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects."
I'm considering a brawler but don't use armor nor weapons. The 100 gp in additional gear is good but this trait feels a bit unbalanced for the brawler. I like the flavor of it though. Would you allow me to use the extra 215 (cost of longsword and breastplate) for potions that would be useful to a brawler? Enlarge person,cure light wounds, or etc.
Fighting Chicken, to answer your question directly, I am ok with you applying to both if have the time to commit to both games. But, I think you should go with your gut. Everyone is different, so I don’t want to assume your experiences will impact you the same as mine did me. I’ve actually been in a similar situation. I’ll be candid and share my experiences 1) as a player being in dual games and 2) as a player in a game where the GM ran dual games.
Dual Game Experiences:
1) I was in two of the same AP campaigns. One was a fresh game and the other I joined in at level 5. My character connected with the other characters a lot more in the fresh game. In the fresh game, the adventures were all meeting at the same time, knew the same things, and had experienced the same level of the story. We were all equals in those regards and it was fantastic. The GM went with a mostly ragtag group, and even though we were all really different, it all worked out well. Then, I joined the existing campaign with the same mindset as a younger sibling wanting to play with their older sibling – I saw veteran players at the table and I wanted to roleplay a character with them. There were plot progression gaps in the story from where the fresh game and the existing game were so I was a bit confused in the existing game, but I was with a group of people I admired. (And that sincerely meant a lot to me.) I think I shouldn’t have tried to force it. I think it would have been better for my engagement if I had only been in the fresh game. The players at the fresh table weren’t as well-known on the forums, but we really connected at the start of the game which helped my enthusiasm tremendously. I struggled to post on the existing game, where in contrast, I was excitedly contemplating what to write for my next post in the fresh game. (And the characters I was roleplaying may have also factored into it.) I’m sure other people know what I’m talking about – you have games you think about while you’re driving, shopping, showering, etc, and games that feel more akin to an obligation to post in. When I was in my peak number of games, I found myself posting first in the campaigns I was the most excited to be a part of. You need to go with your gut and make decisions that you think will make you the happiest.
And not getting to experience the entirety of the AP story goes both ways - joining mid-way or returning after leaving. I haven't experienced the GM side, but I assume it has its issues like the player side. When I returned from my one-year hiatus, one of the tables I'd been in was still incomplete and they were playing! Four of the original players, one of which stepped up to be the GM when the original GM disappeared. I sincerely wanted to rejoin, but after being absent for a year, it felt awkward, I didn't know how to appropriately rejoin, and I'd missed two books of story. I still feel guilty and regret needing a break, but I did pop in to say hello and wished them the best.
2) I have also been a player at a table which the GM ran the same Adventure Path simultaneously. There was a lot of interest and I think the GM had a soft heart and just wanted everyone to be able to play. So, both tables kicked off and had different experiences, and then one table kept going while the other table (mine) stagnated. Eventually, the GM disappeared and the more active table was able to recruit a new GM. The other table didn’t seem keen on combining tables when I asked and nobody (including myself) took the initiative to scout out a replacement GM so our table just flatlined. We hadn’t even gotten through half of the first book. Today, the table that found a replacement GM is still active. I think they’re on their third GM with two original players. The game is three years old and the party is only level 6... I firmly believe GMing two copies of an AP simultaneously is a mistake.
Herkymr the Silly, the starting 500 GP doesn’t have any gold increasing traits (like Rich Parents) factored into it. For the Eagle Knight Recruit RoA trait, I don’t have a problem with you using the extra 215 (cost of longsword and breastplate) for potions that would be useful to a brawler. In all honesty, the 500 GP is actually in place to encourage people to buy Masterwork Thieves Tools (100 GP), Masterwork Artisan’s Tools (55 GP), miscellaneous kits (1–150 GP), potions (50 GP), and to splurge on RP accessories. (Maybe your character has a high Bluff skill and wants to masquerade around as a noble where nobody knows them.) Your character would be aware it's a long journey. It takes six weeks for a ship to sail from Andoran to Talmandor's Bounty.
Do we need to buy rations then if we are on board for 6 weeks? Or can we assume it was included in our passage? Also, I am assuming that rations would be available at talmador's for purchase for adventuring.
Herkymr the Silly, you don't need to buy rations. Rations and cooking will be a narrative element, but I won't make the party track it. Same goes for weight and copper pieces. I would like players who have the Craft skill to keep track of silver :D
A small halfling by any account, a bald, green eyed and motley-looking youngling is a mere 22 years old. He is small and light for his age and his race but what he can’t do in person he can do by summoning helpers. He is about 2’9” and a light 30lbs but quick and adept with his fingers and his words. His physical stature and his likelihood of him fatiguing balances his agile fingers and quick wit
Grew up in Andor to a semi-rich set of parents Tirie and Menda N’thera. His father was a conjuration specialist and his mother kept bees and horses. They had a large home with around 50 servants that were like part of the family. Bey was loved by most of the staff and almost all of the animals would eagerly come to him. He loved to play with them and people were just naturally drawn to him.
Early on, a plague of some sort hit the estates. Abeowin (Bey to friends) took sick with it. It laid him up in bed and then recovery for almost 3 years. His father tried teaching him basic conjuration magic to help while away the boredom and monotony of being bed ridden. He spent a fair amount of time reading while laid up and learned to make the servants and people around him laugh and enjoy his company. He learned some but found a different path to summoning after studying his father’s texts and a bit of reckless experimentation.
That is when Posh his eidolon first appeared. Horses are what he is most familiar with and so the form of a small horse like creature with blue watery tints to its hair and a mane that presented as breaking waves is how it appeared. Many people including his dad refused to believe him when he told them but that was because Posh was a bit of a shy creature and usually hid when others were around.
It was several years before Posh was comfortable enough around Tirie to show himself. Until then Abeowin’s father humored his tales of the creature as an imaginary friend created to keep his son happy and not so lonely. He is somewhat embarrassed though that he didn’t believe his son when Win first started telling him about Posh.
Posh actually got his name from a comment Bey’s dad made one day. “Your elemental horse, shhs pish posh is not a real thing.” Until then there had been no name used but after then Posh responded to being called Pish posh and slowly it got whittled away to just Posh.
Soon after he began to recover from his illness, he took a job as the stable master of Harcourt’s estates. This wasn’t too last. Within the year, he had quit and left employment. Several of the grooms and handlers mistreated the animals and when he took it to Harcourt, he was discounted and told that it was his own imagination. When he attempted to do something about it, the handler’s lied to Harcourt and Bey was called in and reprimanded. He promptly told Harcourt what he thought of someone who would continue to employ those that would abuse animals under their management. Upon hearing that Bey quit, “General”, one of the friendly grooms who agreed with Bey, left Harcourts employ as well.
It was a few days later that Ramona Advandth approached him with an offer. “General” was a nephew of hers and had explained the situation to her. So, come join the Company and take over the management of the animals on the ship to Talmandor’s Landing and then take over helping with the management of animals occasionally in the settlement. He would be given land for his own and a chance to prove himself to himself and his family. He quickly accepted and went to work immediately familiarizing himself with the animals. So, he went to work for the company.
Knowing that he would have to fend for himself if the settlement came under attack, he perfected the use of a sling. His mother, concerned with his safety as well gave him her favorite whip to take with him. He uses this to guide the animals he summons but has started to see how it could be used as a weapon. So, he is practicing daily with sling and whip. He considers himself decent with the sling but only a beginner with the whip for combat/sparring. He seeks every opportunity to find a new sparring partner.
Although they joke about the eidolon now, the disbelief that his father had in him has hurt Bey deeply. That is part of why he has signed on to work for the company and go to Talmandor’s landing. He hopes that with distance and time he will take the edge off the pain. He also hopes to prove himself useful to others despite his somewhat limited physical abilities. To this end he uses his summoned creatures. He rides them, uses them for all sorts of manual labor, entertainment, and any other purpose he can find.
He constantly tries to stretch his abilities to the limit not just by thought but by sheer force of personality as well. He however likes to plan and think through the solution rather than jump. This meticulous nature has helped him in many ways but he tends to struggle at times with thinking outside his own box. He however claims that his box is actually a convoluted helix.
Goals/Reasons for traveling: :
1.) Prove himself to his family and to himself that even without his physical health he is a productive and has much to offer to society.
2.) Learn to summon stronger and more advanced creatures and improve his magic.
3.) Encourage Posh to get over his shyness around people.
4.) Interested in what Azlant has to offer his summoning skills
Rivals-Dislikes:
Harcourt
Friends/ Allies:
1. “General” nephew of Ramona Advandth whom helped him get his job with the company.
2. Ramona Advandth
Weakness:
1. Drawback: meticulous
2. Physical physique. Low con and strength due to sickness. Partially overcome by his use of summons and eidolon
Crunch:
Male halfling unchained summoner (master summoner) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 80, Pathfinder Unchained 25)
CN Small humanoid (halfling)
Init +3; Senses Perception +0
--------------------
[spoiler=defense]
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 size)
hp 7 (1d8-1)
Fort -1, Ref +3, Will +2; +2 vs. fear
Offense:
Speed 20 ft. (15 ft. in armor)
Melee dagger -1 (1d3-2/19-20) or
. . whip -1 (1d2-2 nonlethal)
Ranged sling +4 (1d3-2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (15 ft. with whip)
Summoner (Unchained) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5). . 9/day—summoning mastery
Adaptable Luck +2/+1 (3/day) +2 to one ability check, attack, save, or skill check, +1 after the roll.
Fearless +2 bonus to save vs. fear (stacks with halfling luck).
Lesser Eidolon A master summoner's class level is halved (minimum 1) for the purposes of determining his eidolon's abilities, Hit Dice, evolution pool, and so on. Can summon a powerful aspect of an outsider. The eidolon otherwise functions as normal. This ability replaces the summoner's normal eidolon
Life Link (Su) Damage that dismisses Eidolon can be taken by you. It weakens if not in 100 ft.[/b]
Summon Neutral Monster Summoned neutral creatures gain a +2 resistance bonus on Will saves.
Summoning Mastery I (9/day) (Sp) You can summon monsters as a spell like ability, maintaining 1 even when Eidolon is summoned.
Warslinger Reloading a sling is a free action (which still requires 2 hands and provokes AoO).
eidolon Posh:
Quadruped
N Medium outsider (elemental)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 11 (1d10+1)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0
Immune cold, paralysis, sleep
[Offense]
Speed 40 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d6+3)
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD
[b]Statistics
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11 [/b]15
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Immunity to Cold You are immune to cold damage.
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
credits to programs used:
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DBH here with my Arcanist who has always dreamt of exploring Azlanti ruins and becoming a renowned scholar.
Crispin Xantrian:
CRISPIN XANTRIAN
Male Human (Taldan) arcanist 1. NG medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +6,
Languages Aboleth, Aquan, Azlanti, Common, Draconic, Sylvan
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10. hp 8. Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +3
Speed 30 ft.
Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19-20), within 30 ft. +3 (1d8+1)
Melee cold iron dagger +0 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged cold iron dagger (thrown) +2 (1d4+1/19-20), within 30 ft. +3 (1d4+1)
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 12
Special Actions Arcane Reservoir (3/4), Arcanist Exploits, Consume Spells (1/day),
Arcane Reservoir (Su) You have an innate pool of magical energy that you can draw upon to fuel your arcanist exploits and enhance your spells. The arcane reservoir can hold a maximum of 4 points of magical energy. Each day, when preparing spells, your arcane reservoir fills with raw magical energy, gaining a number of points equal to 3. Any points you had from the previous day are lost. You can also regain these points through the consume spells class feature and some arcanist exploits. The arcane reservoir can never hold more points than the maximum amount noted above; points gained in excess of this total are lost. Points from the arcane reservoir are used to fuel many of your arcanist powers. In addition, you can expend 1 point from your arcane reservoir as a free action whenever you cast an arcanist spell. If you do, you can choose to increase the caster level by 1 or increase the spell's DC by 1. You can expend no more than 1 point from your reservoir on a given spell in this way.
Arcanist Exploits By bending and sometimes even breaking the rules of magic, you learn to exploit gaps and exceptions in the laws of magic. Some of these exploits allow you to break down various forms of magic, adding their essence to your arcane reservoir. At 1st level and every 2 levels thereafter, you learn a new Arcanist Exploit. An arcanist exploit cannot be selected more than once. Once an arcanist exploit has been selected, it cannot be changed. Most arcanist exploits require you to expend points from your arcane reservoir to function. Unless otherwise noted, the saving throw DC for an arcanist exploit is equal to 11
Azlanti Scholar (Knowledge (History)) You are familiar with an aspect of Azlanti lore. Maybe you first became enamored with this ancient culture after stumbling across a copy of the first volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles or after learning about Azlant in a university or another type of formal education. Perhaps your parents or guardians were scholars and you've grown up hearing about and reading about the ancient Azlanti. For years you dreamed about visiting the continent's ruins and returning with a discovery that could propel your career. Due to this scholarly bent, the Bountiful Venture Company selected you to join the colony at Talmandor's Bounty. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), and Use Magic Device checks, and one of these skills is a class skill for you. In addition, you gain Azlanti as a bonus language.
Cantrips You can prepare 4 cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day. These spells are cast like any other spell, but they do not consume spell slots. As with her other spells, these spells are not expended when cast.
Consume Spells (Su) You can expend an available arcanist spell slot as a move action, making it unavailable for the rest of the day, just as if you had used it to cast a spell. She can use this ability a number of times per day equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Doing this adds a number of points to your arcane reservoir equal to the level of the spell slot consumed. You cannot consume cantrips (0 level spells) in this way. Points gained in excess of the reservoir's maximum are lost.
Dimensional Slide (Su) You can expend one point from your arcane reservoir to create a dimensional crack that you can step through to reach another location. This ability is used as part of a move action or withdraw action, allowing you to move up to 10 feet to any location you can see. This counts as 5 feet of movement. You can only use this ability once per round. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when moving in this way, caused by this ability, but any other movement you attempt as part of your move action provokes as normal.
Language Humans begin play speaking Common. Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
Seeker You are always on the lookout for reward and danger. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception checks, and Perception is always a class skill for you.
Skilled Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency Arcanists are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor interferes with an arcanist's gestures, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail
Fluff:
Crispin is one of a family of scholars, unlike most of them though he has always had the dream of going out into the field to uncover the truth of things. Rather than poring over dusty tomes in the college like his Father and Grandfather before him.
Learning that the Bountiful venture company was settling a colony in an area that was close to the seat of Azlanti power Crispin joined up before anyone in his family could find out and stop him
His farewell at the Almas dock was not the heroic leave taking he'd hoped for. While his Father maintained a dignified air, his mother tearfully tried to drag him back. Loudly proclaiming that her "poor, innocent baby" wasn't old enough to leave her side.
It took a lot of the voyage for the shame of that farewell to pass!
Crispin is a tall, lanky young man with an unexposed air to him. Blue eyes blink in wonder and confusion to commonplace sights. All new to someone who has spent most of his life in a library.
His backpack weighs him down, packed with the many things his family thought he might need.
There he is. Any problems or corrections needed let me know.
Herkymr the Silly, I like the concept of Bey's eidolon being shy and Posh looks well-built. (The origin of his name is comical.) I approve of your drawback meticulous – it makes sense with Bey having grown up with semi-rich parents and not wanting to be defined by a sickly childhood. I think it's really sweet Bey loves and cares for animals, which is how he came to be on the Peregrine sailing towards Talmandor’s Bounty. I also like that Bey's concern for the well-being of animals has created a longstanding rivalry with Harcourt. Beys will receive a bonus or penalty towards certain social interactions because of this.
Camris, great!
DHB, I’m glad you ended up taking Craft Alchemy and you have several knowledge skills! I also like that your character is bringing a coffee pot and cups. (Just another form of brewing!) I like the concept of an adventurer who’s normally surrounded by a loving family being put in an environment far from home where it takes weeks just to deliver a letter.
Yes, I thought it might be useful. "Oh, it will be outdoors won't it?" Hurries off and reads up on this strange new thing called Nature.
History comes from the Azlanti Scholar trait. Arcanist's get all the Knowledges and I always prefer my characters to have them all. So if selected he will be adding to his collection.
He also has a few kits. And his mother pressed some Cure light wounds potions on. As well as an Antitoxin and an Antiplague to keep her boy safe.
Abeowin wakes up every morning of the sail and visits each of the animals on the ship to make sure that they are being well taken care of. He slips a bit of something small to each of them whether it be cheese or something else he knows they will like.
Several days in a row he goes top side. He notices several youngsters of various races and approaches them.
Watch this. he says and summons a porpoise into the nearby water;for his entertainment and theirs as well. He also summons a dog and other small creatures for them to play with several times and goes out of the way to make his journey smoother by keeping the youngsters happy.He happily makes sure that the creatures he brings and the children stay out of the way of the busy sailors.
Several times he catches Harcourt watching; glances up and winks with a knowing grin.
I'm Abeowin N'thera he introduces himself one day to Crispin early on in the first week once he finds out they share a common interest in magic.
Later each night after the animals and the people have settled in for the evening and most have fallen asleep or atleast as much as they can on a rocking boat. He finds a place behind several crates where he can't be readily observed and calls Posh. After a few minutes communicating with him and giving him loves, he allows Posh to return to his own plane of existence.
Herkymr the Silly, I think it’s fine mechanically. It’s more important to me that players create heroes they would be excited and enthusiastic to play. And if that means making a grumpy dwarf who just wants to open a tailoring shop to satiate their unbridled passion for knitting socks, I hope people create that character.
You’ve been at sea for about a week. Everyone seems to be in high spirits and optimistic about the journey. The weather has been ideal since you left Almas, a city located in the Andoran nation. This crisp Friday morning several settlers are enjoying the weather on the top deck, including the 13 notable ones (slides 3-15) There are a few groups of people already in conversation that you can approach. (Please approach groups one post at a time.)
A. One of the youngest settlers aboard the Peregrine is Medrinnah Harleau (slide 13), the teenage daughter of one of the soldiers, Sighra Harleau. You noticed her bickering with her father as they boarded the vessel back in Almas and she’s been moody since. Medrinnah seems to cheer up when Bey dedicates time to entertain her but is quick to mope soon after. Medrinnah is currently sitting on the top deck letting Bey’s summoned dog lick her face while she pets its back.
B. Harcourt (slide 9) is standing on the ship’s quarter deck listening to an equally well-dressed woman. She plays with a gold necklace embedded with fine-cut rubies clasped around her neck. She mutters something and Harcourt raises an eyebrow, making a side-eyed glance towards Eskelda Teredein (slide 7). “Indeed.” Harcourt's appealingly deep voice sounds bored.
Perception 15 (Group B):
You hear the woman gossip “I can’t believe the Venture Company let people like her sign the charter. That bird should be in the cargo hold with the rest of the farm animals!” You know the cargo hold isn’t the ideal environment for an animal, but with the Peregrine packed to the gills, it’s the most logical place to keep things and animals safe.
C. Down the steps of the ship’s quarter deck, Alba Divenaar (slide 3) and Eskelda Teredein are engrossed in conversation. Eskelda’s pet raven is perched on her shoulder with its gaze fixed on a bead swaying at the end of Alba’s braided hair.
Join in (Group C):
You catch Alba in mid-explanation: “…what a lot of novice alchemists don’t realize, is that you can get more from the leaves if you just crush them directly in the mortar. You lose a lot of juice cutting them first.” The dwarf rocks the knuckles of one hand in the palm of her other to demonstrate.
Eskelda watches the motion, “and the pulp?” The silky black raven tilts its head as if it’s equally curious.
“I use a cheesecloth, then a roll a spoon handle to squeeze out any remaining into a vial.”
“And you learned that during your travels in Osirion? My, your recipe book must be full to the margins with notes,” Eskelda smiles. CAW CAW! Her raven flaps its wings, then settles.
D. Luetin Calewick (slide 11), who has already introduced himself to at least half the ship, leans against the railing talking loudly to a few Andoran soldiers, including Carver Hastings and Sighra Harleau. Luetin’s dialect has a rich Irish burr, giving his r’s a distinct trill. “…Made this chain shirt myself, sweatin’ over the forge, pullin’ metal through the draw plate. You got to be prepared for anything where we’re goin’.”
Sighra Harleau, who’d been watching his daughter, turns his attention back to Luetin. “Thank you, Luetin. We appreciate your offer. I just want to make sure we won’t be making you neglect your duties at the forge.”
“No trouble! No trouble at all." Luetin strokes his mustache. "Us fighters, we stick and work together!"
Sense Motive 15 (Group D):
Luetin looks relaxed, but he’s actively flexing his muscles.
Perception 20 (Group D):
Luetin's eyes briefly darted towards a tall, tan woman with a shaved head (slide 4).
@GM Ventiine: So...the Employee campaign trait grants an extra 150 gp, bumping up the starting wealth to 650 gp. Does this mean I can spend up to 1/3 of this amount (217 gp) on a single item? (I'm eyeballing a darkwood buckler.)
It looks like Becky Beys will have a lot in common with Crispin: heavy in Knowledge skills (for her naturalist bardic performance) and with close family ties. The difference is that Becky's a rebellious teenager ("Ooh woo, I'm a rebel just for kicks now! Been disobeying Mom since 4706 now!").
I, too, was considering Craft (alchemy) for Becky but I'm pretty sure I ran out of skill ranks.
Profession Smith 6 ranks, I'm fine with you taking the Employee campaign trait to purchase a darkwood buckler. The Employee trait gold can be split along the 166gp ceiling any way you want. You could hypothetically get a Masterwork weapon. Gear and items in this AP will be whatever you find while adventuring or possibly trade for. Your character would expect supply ships from Andoran every once and a while, but not frequently enough to be convenient.
Doubling up on Knowledge skills is never a bad thing! :)
Group Bey wanders over and proffers a piece of cheese to the raven. Once it finally takes it from him, Beautiful bird he whispers trying not to interrupt the flow of conversation. He listens for a while nodding occasionally as something he has read or heard is mentioned. After a few minutes, Alba, do you think that the azlanti had a different knowledge of alchemy?
I'm curious. Where do you stand on the races outside of Core such as: Undine/Merfolk/Gillman? (I only mention these because they're mentioned in the player's guide). And again, just curious.
Crispin blinks a little overhearing the woman's complaint. 'If she can't deal with one bird she's going the wrong way.' He thinks. He was not familiar with animals at all, but did feed the birds while eating his lunch outside the college.
Complaining about one tame Raven while traveling to an untamed island seemed to be lacking in common sense.
Unsure of himself in any social situation Crispin wanders the decks and studies the assorted passengers curiously. Nodding and smiling politely if he makes eye contact. But keeping to himself more from nerves than snobbery.
Oops, I typed crow yesterday but Eskelda’s pet is absolutely a raven.
GM Screen:
Knowledge Arcana:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Eskelda Teredein’s raven is too cautious to accept the treat, but Bey’s actions catch the attention of the tailor and alchemist.
If Beys still compliments the raven, the raven puffs up its feathers and begins to preen.
Abeowin (Bey) N'thera in Group C wrote:
He listens for a while nodding occasionally as something he has read or heard is mentioned. After a few minutes, “Alba, do you think that the Azlanti had a different knowledge of alchemy?”
Alba seems to ponder Bey’s question, giving it honest thought. “Well now, I’m not much for history, but I’ve read the Azlanti were the first to craft ioun stones. I've seen sketches of skilled magic users wearing them while crafting alchemical items and potions.”
Alba's sun-weathered skin crinkles into a smile, "are you interested in exploring the islands? I’m getting to be a bit too old to continue adventuring, but I do miss it sometimes."
Javell DeLeon, I understand core races the most, but Undine/Merfolk/Gillman would probably be drawn to the island environment. There could be an aquatic race or non-core race on the Peregrine, but they should have a good backstory for being there ;) I want to be as fair of a GM as I can, giving my players equal power and voice. If the table is still going strong when we're mid-way through Book 3 and it looks like we all want to continue, I'll allow character tweaks or character re-rolls between Books 3 and 4. But that's about a year from now, so I'm not thinking about it too much.
To reiterate, the settlers coming to Talmandor’s Bounty mostly hail from Andoran (but you don’t have to.) So, lots of humans followed by halflings as the most common non-human race. Andoran is also supposed to have one of the biggest numbers of Aasimars in the Inner Sea region, but I think once you allow one party member to be godtouched, you have to allow all the party members to be godtouched.
Over hearing a conversation of two things he was very interested in Crispin hurried over to join it. Freezing for a moment as he realizes that he will actually have to talk to people.
He stands there with a smile like a frozen grimace for a second before quietly joining in. Saying to Alba Divenvaar, "Yes. It's believed that the Azlanti were the creators of Ioun stones. And that they used them for far more tasks than we do these days. Sadly we've lost the knowledge of those other uses."
He almost gasps in relief at contributing a sensible statement.
Javell DeLeon, I understand core races the most, but Undine/Merfolk/Gillman would probably be drawn to the island environment. There could be an aquatic race or non-core race on the Peregrine, but they should have a good backstory for being there ;) I want to be as fair of a GM as I can, giving my players equal power and voice. If the table is still going strong when we're mid-way through Book 3 and it looks like we all want to continue, I'll allow character tweaks or character re-rolls between Books 3 and 4. But that's about a year from now, so I'm not thinking about it too much.
To reiterate, the settlers coming to Talmandor’s Bounty mostly hail from Andoran (but you don’t have to.) So, lots of humans followed by halflings as the most common non-human race. Andoran is also supposed to have one of the biggest numbers of Aasimars in the Inner Sea region, but I think once you allow one party member to be godtouched, you have to allow all the party members to be godtouched.
Ioun stones? Can't say I'm familiar with them much. But as for exploring definitely have an interest there. I will just need others to work with. I can bring many helpers but prefer they don't die or get killed while under my summons. I also unfortunately am still in a slow recovery from illness. I'll get there but the recovery is slow.
I have an interest in alchemy so maybe I can get you to teach me a bit if either of us have time once we arrive, ALba. I'd trade services for the lessons as money may not be much use for a bit at the Landing.
Bey turns slightly to the Raven lady, Your bird seems a bit offish to me. THat's unusual all I did was try to give it a treat. Oh well maybe I'm having an off day.
Crispin, nice to have you join us. Are you also interested in seeing and searching the isles?
He stands there with a smile like a frozen grimace for a second before quietly joining in. Saying to Alba Divenvaar, "Yes. It's believed that the Azlanti were the creators of Ioun stones. And that they used them for far more tasks than we do these days. Sadly, we've lost the knowledge of those other uses."
“More than just for alchemical purposes? Hmm, yes, that does make a great deal of sense.” Alba has a thoughtful expression. “I’m glad you’re coming to Talmandor’s Bounty with us. The settlement will need your expertise.”
“An interest in alchemy?” Alba smiles, “I’m always happy to teach those who wish to learn. The materials I’ve packed won’t be enough to sustain the business I’m planning on starting. Once we get settled in, perhaps you two could help me find a few base compounds on the island. I’d give you a discount and show you a few tips.” Alba’s response is to Bey, but she gives a knowing look to Crispin in the way one alchemical crafter recognizes another.
Abeowin (Bey) N'thera in Group C wrote:
Bey turns slightly to the Raven lady, “Your bird seems a bit offish to me. That's unusual all I did was try to give it a treat. Oh well, maybe I'm having an off day.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! He can be a bit… proud.” Eskelda sounds apologetic. CAW! The raven tugs at a stand of Eskelda’s hair and she shoos him to stop with her hand. “We’re not used to being welcomed. Being on this ship has been an adjustment.” Eskelda turns to look at her shoulder where the raven is perched. “Ward,” she strokes the glossy feathers with the back of a finger, “and I have been together since I was small.” Eskelda changes the subject, "anyways, it's a pleasure to have met you both, Alba. If you ever have a need for clothing or fabrics, please keep me in mind!"
Knowledge Nature 15:
Ravens live for about 10-15 years. Ward should be an old raven by that timeframe, but he doesn’t look older than 3 or 4.
I'm enjoying it, but I actually wasn't expecting to RP in the first week of recruitment! Thank you for showing me your posting styles :)
No worries about your pretty bird. Animals are always picky and discerning. I hope the bird just doesn't give the wrong impression of me. I'm usually pretty good with animals. Bey says with a bit of a smile.
I am enjoying it as well. Hope we get more interested (and hope we don't I want in :) ...got a dichotomous feeling going) so this game takes off well.
GM Ventiine: I've been running a re-recruitment for an existing Ruins of Azlant game & I'm in the process of picking who will join our party. If you don't have any objections, I'll point the remainder to this thread when I'm done.
@GM Ventiine: What about The Elephant in the Room Feat taxes? Any chance of you considering those? Not sure if you've heard of those before or not but they really are quite handy.
GM Netherpongo, I would appreciate that, thank you!
Javell DeLeon, Elephant in the Room Feat Taxes look like an interesting concept, but I don’t want to change the game mechanics to that large of a degree after making my initial post. I’m not sure how many people are already in the process of creating characters.
Crispin nods happily to Alba. Nervousness fading as the subject shifted to interesting matters. "That is a good idea. Finding resources will be essential. Having to rely of supplies being delivered by ship makes us rather vulnerable after all."
Left unsaid is the fact that exploring the island will have a good chance at discovering Azlanti ruins.
I would like to submit Asher, a human Warpriest, who will be built as an archer.
Asher is a veteran of the Molthuni armed forces, who became enamored of the freedom loving people of Andoran. He sees the expedition of the Peregrine as a means of removing himself from the strife of Molthune’s expansionism where he may need to take up arms against his old comrades.
He is a dour looking man, but in reality, he is a jovial sort, taking on the persona of a happy warrior in battle.
He will provide ranged support for front liners and will protect the squishy casters in the back, as well as be a secondary healer and remover of conditions.
@ Dorian=I like the thought. I originally was thinking of a rogue that stowed away to avoid being caught by the authorities and found out that the ship sailed while he slept that night. SO same kinda story. Hope it works out I think that Bey and your toon could have some fun. For instance, you stumble on Posh and Bey talking and are drunk. Everyone else thinks your lying about it should you chose to share the experience and bey, wishing to protect Posh's sensitivities doesn't immediately say anything. I could see things like that turning comical.
@Asher = Can't wait to see the crunch and rest of flavor that goes with it. I think that the ranged and the summons together make a strong combo in combat. ALso having a healer of sorts is always nice.
