The Journey of a Thousand Miles (Jade Regent AP)

Game Master Sensen

Hey guys, how do we divvy up loot? I looked at the loot list and updated it with tabs for Atsuko and Ritti. And I attempted to copy-paste a blank version of one of the other character tabs in them. I'm not sure whether we should include any starting cash or gear value. Please let me know on that or adjust our tabs as appropriate.

Also, if controlling the loot list is assigned to someone and I over-stepped by tweaking it, I apologize.

No problem, maintaining the sheet is time consuming and having more hands around is always welcomed :)

Thanks for creating Ritti and Atsuko's tabs! I have added the automation that looks for claimed items in the Treasure tabs so they appear automatically in your tabs.

You only need to add your character name on Treasure:L column ("Currently in") with whatever item you take from the common treasure. Write your name there when you have already edited your Profile to include the new gear. If you are not sure if you want it or you have no time to edit your Profile at the moment, then add your name to Treasure:K column ("Claimers") that way we remember someone has interest but has not fully reclaimed the item yet.

That's all need. What we do is people just pick items they like, please feel greedy, then we sell whatever no one uses and split the coin equally. If there are conflicting interests over an item, the one who has claimed less wealth gets it.

Your personal tabs are there just to help you track how much coin you have remaining (and available to purchase) in a convenient way, but if you prefer you can totally ignore it and just track the coin in your profile (though I advise you against for it is very easy to forget party splits on the way, and the coin in the sheet is super fast to double check if something is wrong, while in your profile might become nearly impossible once we are in the late levels).

Cool! Thanks for the info and handy-dandy tool!

I'm a pragmatist in combat, so I believe in distributing items to max our chances of survival in the heat of the moment and then we can re-negotiate stuff once the team is safe.

So, in the case of the ninja cat-suit, I'd love for Ritti to use it temporarily. But I know it is worth a fair amount of cash so if the team would rather sell it once we are out of trouble, I will gladly turn it over if the sales price on the suit would enable you guys to buy stuff on your wishlists. My point is that I don't consider something 'mine' until we are all back at base and agree with the distribution of goodies.

By all means, please take it and put it to use! Using the adventure items might not be numerically optimal but it just makes things more memorable. APs are designed to be taken by four non-maxed characters, so there is room for fun non optimal decisions.

If by/when we are selling you decide you don't want it any longer, or when you decide to slot a different item there, you can always return it to the stash, but just unmarking it as claimed :)

Will do!

Final question... how do we change the quantity? I have myself down for an Amulet of Natural Armor but all 3 appear in my inventory. Is it OK to just duplicate the line item three times with a quantity of 1 each or do you have another method?

Yeah, that's what I usually do, I duplicate the line and remove one so I have a line with 1 I can claim.

I'll reach out to Atsuko and Andochtuir today if they don't reply.

I am at a meedical congress atm, i'll post late tonight when i get back. Probably in six or so hours from now.

I'll give Atsuko a few hours before botting her.

I can't wait! I think I'm going to be coated in green guy goo and rock dust after Torra hammered him flat... or he's going to be really pissed off. Either way, it sounds fun. :)

Have I said I love your combat descriptions? :)

Well, there is that.

I wonder how scorched zombie might smell. Something similar to spoiled roasted chicken maybe?

Go go go Ritti and Torra, you have the green boy at the corner!

I wonder how scorched zombie might smell.

A mix of pork rinds, kitten farts, and angel tears. XD

I work in social services and this is our busiest time of the year due to the holidays and winter coming on. I've been slammed at work for the past few weeks and I doubt things will let up for another couple of weeks.

I'll post when I can, but please bot me if you need to.

Understood, and thanks for letting us know.

I'll try to bot Andochtuir later today, but it's a busy day for me, so it may have to wait until tomorrow.

Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been tremendously unfocused for the past couple days, and I'll bot Andochtuir later today if he doesn't post.

I do not think you can ready an action while out of combat Ritti. It is a special initiative action, and you cannot alter initiative when it has not yet been rolled.

Ah. I wasn't really sure if we were technically out of combat or not at this point. Either way, we'll see what happens! :)

If that is the case, let's just hope the necromancer does not have a similar idea to blast our heads on entrance :)

I wanted to bold a certain part of rope trick that might be relevant:

"When this spell is cast upon a piece of rope from 5 to 30 feet long, one end of the rope rises into the air until the whole rope hangs perpendicular to the ground, as if affixed at the upper end. The upper end is, in fact, fastened to an extra-dimensional space that is outside the usual multiverse of extra-dimensional spaces. Creatures in the extra-dimensional space are hidden, beyond the reach of spells (including divinations), unless those spells work across planes. The space holds as many as eight creatures (of any size). The rope cannot be removed or hidden. The rope can support up to 16,000 pounds. A weight greater than that can pull the rope free."

Since the spell states the rope cannot either be hidden or removed, the latter of which I assume includes various means of 'destroyed', it should be impossible to simply cast this and hide in it forever with no way to get to the person on the other end. it seems completely broken for a second level spell to allow an entire party of 8 to walk in whenever and have it lasts for hours per level, completely untouchable, long resting and do whatever they desire. What has this guy done to get around the very intentional RAW weakness of this spell included specifically to prevent such godmode tactics?

But this is no rope trick spell Andochtuir, it is a fugitive's grenade.

Among other things it clearly states When the smoke cloud dissipates, so does the smoke rope[...], which is why the GM interpreted it as not reachable.

I'd have to agree that the extra-dimensional space can't be entered. With Rope Trick the space could be entered because there's a rope I suppose. But without a rope, as in the case of the Fugitive's Grenade, there's no means of access.

It's a small extra dimensional space, not an invisible box that's open on one side.

It seems moot, at this point. The GM decided how the scene played out.

Ah, right. Apologies, I thought/assumed the grenade made the smoke cloud and he then cast rope trick while obscured since rope trick was mentioned as the spell right after.

Well, that's an incredibly broken item then especially since there's no stated duration and someone can argue you could stay inside of it forever if desired. Tough I guess the CL3 crafting required makes it RAI to last for 3 hours.

I suspect it only lasts three hours, yeah. It'll drop him out once that comes. Or he might drop out before then, but given that you very nearly dropped him to 0 HP, he'll probably stay holed up there for awhile longer.

I'm giving you all a chance to reply before moving us forwards, lest things jump right into combat before you're all ready.

Things have gotten a bit busy with the family and such, so I won't be able to post as often. Apologies, everyone.

Sorry to hear that. Real life comes first take care of them, and I hope it is something fixable.

Alright, hoping to get back into the swing of things today.

Whew! past the holidays now so things should be getting back to normal and I should have free time again.

Happy New Year everyone!

Out of curiosity, have you all sold all of the jade statuettes you've gotten?

We have a raven jade statuette (marked for selling next chance)

And we recently got more jade statuettes here which I guess we will sell when we can.

Alright. I'll have to roll some stuff, I suspect...

I'll bot Andochtuir today if he doesn't post soon.

Ping for Atsuko and Andochtuir

I'll bot Andochtuir if he doesn't post later today. I've already reached out to him via PM.

Three weeks now since he last posted. I am worried Andochtuir's lack of responsiveness is negatively affecting the campaign and slowly dragging down the hype for the rest of us.

If this does not change soon, maybe we should consider moving forward to avoid putting on further risk the health of the campaign, which I have been enjoying very much so far.

I'm having fun in the game as well. Maybe we should default to botting Andy unless/until he surfaces? I know GMs have plenty to do, so I am willing to bot Andy if that would help, Aganhei.

I'll bot him shortly. Sorry, it's been a bit of a hectic time for me this past week.

I wanted to attack and step back so Atsuko could go in and participate in the combat, but it is not clear to me if I have a fully empty square.

Man, they should have a policy that they never again hire a person who delivers a map with a diagonal wall xD

You can move one square upwards, Yuto. I'm pretty sure that's open. Maybe. It's definitely messy.

On another note, intuitively, Strangler shouldn't work on constructs, who, after all, don't need to breathe. However, there's no sign that it's related to breathing mechanically, just... well, flavor-wise. Does anyone know of any rulings there?

Absent any such rulings, I'll assume it works, because it's the same as a sneak attack, which constructs aren't immune to.

I do agree, it is just sneak attack damage, which constructs are not immune to. Fluff wise, I picture it as Ritti pulling a limb or strangling the neck, disjointing the metal/wood/stone joints until the bolts/strings jump out, irreversibly damaging it on vital points.

I did a quick search on the boards and I didn't see anything exactly on point. But look at these two feats side by side:

Strangler
Prerequisite: Dex 13, sneak attack +1d6, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike.
Description (Flavor) Throttling the life out of enemies is second nature to you.

Mechanics: Whenever you successfully maintain a grapple and choose to deal damage, you can spend a swift action to deal your sneak attack damage to the creature you are grappling.

Purely using RAW, the mechanics works. The flavor text is colorful, not really descriptive of how the feat works. Now let's compare that to...

Chokehold
Prerequisites: Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +6 or monk level 5th.
Description (Flavor): While grappling, you can cut off an opponent’s air and blood supply.

Mechanics: While you have an opponent up to one size category larger than you grappled, you can attempt a grapple combat maneuver with a –5 penalty on the check. If you succeed, you have pinned your opponent and hold the opponent in a chokehold. When you maintain the grapple, you also maintain the chokehold. A creature in a chokehold cannot breathe or speak, and thus cannot cast spells that have a verbal component. An opponent you have in a chokehold has to hold his breath or begin suffocating. Any creature that does not breathe, is immune to bleed damage, or is immune to critical hits is immune to the effects of your chokehold. When the grapple is ended, so is the chokehold.

The mechanical act of specifically choking someone is quite specialized (with a higher level requirement - by BAB or level) and requires a dedicated feat that lists the effects and who can't be choked. And it kind of makes sense. If Strangle acted liked Chokehold then I could chokehold any spellcaster and prevent them from casting even Verbal only spells.

I admit I'm a bit biased on the decision but I think RAW supports Strangle working as I've tried to use it. And the existence of a specific feat that does choke someone out (along with all the rules and exceptions) suggests Strangle doesn't do that.

That's my two cents on the matter. The choice is yours.

Yeah, I agree. I think you're fine, since it seems mostly flavor rather than the explicit choking out, etc.

I'll bot Atsuko and Andochtuir if they don't post by later today.

Question, Suishen can cast see invisibility three times a day. As Yuto I do not want to infer too much, but as a player it seems like the right moment for the sword to use that power. Can I have that cast?

Also, does it work only on the wielder or can it be passed to use on someone else?

(it is usually a personal reach spell)

Hey everyone,

I wanted to drop by and note that my real life commitments have lessened a bit. I've been absent a lot recently and I've talked to it over PM to Yuto and Aganhei and feel I owe a bit of an explanation on why I've been active on two other pbp's recently and not this one. The truth is that I've simply prioritised it less with the still available time. There's a few reasons for this , chiefly that I didn't like this book much on terms of what has happened in it; it felt/feels a bit like a wild goose chase for an npc with a lot of dead ends/red herrings while the the caravan and its many npc's, which I assumed would be pivotal to the AP, is/are sidelined entirely.

I don't think this is in any way Aganhei's fault or that of the players, just that the setup for a good adventure feels a bit... lacking at present? Anyway, I don't want to discourage anyone and am not opposed to continuing as a player, though I'll be honest and admit that should real life become busier again, this will probably be the AP I'd cut first of my still remaining ones. If anyone feels that is unfair to other players and that you'd prefer I step out for a much more motivated one, that is fair and I'll do so.

Something that I've also thought about and which might help a bit is that Andochtuir has been a bit, well... mechanically boring (all he really has is auto attack) and doesn't seem to synergize well with the party. When I orginially made him, the idea was to synergize with both the main divine caster and Riftun, a hardcore support bard who both had (many more) spells/spellslots to enable sneak attack. But we lost one right afterwards and the other one a while later, and his main class feature, sneak attack, has seen very little use since. His reach investment also hasn't worked out that well in an AP filled to the brim with assassins who can just acrobatics around him in circles.

I've been considering retiring him in favor of a different character, likely a full divine caster that might fill in the missing gaps, as support is also a role I prefer playing over a backup tank/bruiser. Though, that would of course depend on how you all feel about this and how attached others are to Andy.

Kind regards and hoping to hear your thoughts.

I appreciate the blunt honesty!

Taking the subjects in reverse order... if you want to change out your character, I get that. But I think it may be that this slice of the adventure is a big culprit. We are in tight spaces and it is more about skullduggery and skilled ninjas jumping out of every bush because we are about to lock horns with the BBEG. When we are out of this building and into the wilds of the ice (probably with Frost Giants and who knows what else) I think your gigantor/reach build will likely work a whole lot better. And I am always happy to be a flanking buddy... which the current building doesn't make easy. I'm not discouraging you from changing your build but I'm guessing he'll be a lot more fun to play in upcoming portions of the campaign. Just my two cents.

I don't think you should step away from the game unless your heart just isn't in it at all. And if your intention is to post more regularly, then I can't complain that this isn't your favorite game at the moment. We all hit rough spots in games. If you feel you can power through it - either with Andy in the hopes that we'll be done with ninja frustrations in the near future or with a different character... then I support your willingness to keep playing.

I've already said a lot of what I want to say in this vein, but I agree that this is probably one of the weakest adventures in the AP, because you're kept from interacting with the supporting cast in a lot of meaningful ways - though that might be my fault more than the AP's, because I was not as good about it as I wanted to be.

That being said, I do want you to do what is best for you, Andochtuir - if you feel like swapping your character out is the best option, go with that. If you want to drop the game altogether, I will not stop you. Things get rough sometimes, and RL is an ever-interfering specter that we all have to deal with. Whatever you choose, I wish you the best.

Finally, I will note that this is the last battle in the adventure, and it might be a bit of a doozy, but after this, you'll be free to head north once more and get back with the good NPC stuff.

Follow your gut, Trevor. I had a game where I thought that swapping my character mechanically might get me more invested, but it turned out that the AP wasn't right for me. I haven't been super enjoying this dungeon crawl either, and they're even trickier in PbP. I'm looking forward to returning to the overland travel with the caravan and more RP instead of slaughtering minions.

Either way, I enjoy playing with you, no matter the AP or the character you choose.

All fair points and very understandable, Andochtuir :) We all prioritize games to some extend, and we all have had periods of time with less time available.

Jade Regent is always rated among the most wonky APs for the distance between what they promise and what they deliver, a list I always see lead by Second Darkness.

Maybe this is a personal opinion, but I find dungeon crawls like the current fortress always easier to play in PbP, as the limits to what can be done are defined and things can work more streamlined, without exhausting delays to decide where to go forward. This opposes to the previous section, where the open nature of the urban investigation and the difficulties of discussing at length the options between the players is a drawback for PbP, specially when you have to track the discussion through the days, and you cannot double read the GM to see if the proposed line of activity is going to play fun or not.

About mechanics though, I have another impression. Andochtuir is very carefully thought and well built. He is the most versatile of all characters that have been around here, our main damage dealer, main tank, main healer, with a solid weight in the party's skills and as a face, and some utility spell and buff here and there. He has things to shine at every situation. So the problem must be somewhere else.

If you like more to play full casters, that may be a thing. Also, to have a story more involved with the AP might help. Looking forward to our trip through the wilderness, an Ulfen druid devoted to see the caravan through the Northern ice wastes wilderness as a guided, forced to abandon Karlsgard for some gritty business, and with some secret hooks to blossom at Tian Xia looks like something very fun and involved with the AP looking forward.

Regardless of what you decide, all adventures suffer of some periods where the emotion decays, and requires some push through to get back into the good parts. The only problem is if you do not thing anymore there are those chances for emotion in the future.

Greetings, forumites of the roleplaying bent! It’s (unfortunately, in many ways) that time again. The Journey of a Thousand Miles has lost some of its heroes once more, and I need a couple more adventurers to fill out our ranks.

Our current party follows:

Torrra Voliokerdam, Dwarf Geokineticist
Andochtuir Half-Elf Fighter/Alchemist (Surgeon/Vivisectionist)
Hirabashi Yuto Human Samurai (Yojimbo) of the Order of the Warrior

As you may notice, that means we have a total of zero (0) casters. Therefore, those are the sorts of characters I’m looking most for, though we are also lacking in a skill-focused sort of character, so there’s that as well.

Backstories:
Give me a few plot hooks, a reason why your characters are adventuring, and some sense of who they are/why they are that way. You don’t need to give me a novella, a few paragraphs will be enough.

Currently, the party is attacking Ravenscraeg, a small holdfast a couple days south of Kalsgard in the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Ever since arriving in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, they have been hunted and harried by an organization that they have since identified as the Frozen Shadows - a motley collection of Tien, tengu, Ulfen, Varki, and Varisian criminals who are the puppet masters of a trade guild known as the Rimerunners.

There are a few obvious ways you could get involved in this expedition. The party is planning to withdraw and regroup from their current attack, so it’s possible they might head all the way back to Kalsgard to resupply and recover, allowing them to recruit some folks.

Alternately, your characters may have their own grudges against the Frozen Shadows, and have tracked them to their base in Ravenscraeg, allowing their arrival sooner rather than later. Two people of note (to the AP) have disappeared recently - the infamously independent guide Ulf Gormundr and his Varki friend, the tracker Uksahkka. If you want, your characters could have ties to them, too.

It’s also possible that your characters have been themselves captured/abducted by the Frozen Shadows. Usually this would be because they’ve crossed the Rimerunners guild or otherwise offended them, but it could also be due to them poking their noses where they don’t belong.

You might also be one of the caravan’s guards/other workers who have been here (behind the scenes) for the whole journey or who joined up with them in Kalsgard. It all comes down to your preferences.

I expect posts once a day per weekday and (ideally) once over the entire weekend, though I am more flexible on the latter. I also understand that life gets busy, but make sure to let me know if you’ll be away/unable to post for awhile.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Recruitment closes on the 9th of August at 12 PM EDT.

What races are you allowing? I have a Kitsune Tattooed Sorceress (Enchantment focused) that I've been working on and trying to find a game. Also wanting to go with the Stargazer PrC if she reaches the requirements for it.

Hey Aganhei GM

I've started the AP a couple of times, but never gotten very far. How many folks are you looking to add? I only ask because the party does need one or two casters and I tend to lean towards melee/skill characters.

Your recruitment doesn't specify races, are you OK with a Tengu submission? I've put a couple together for the AP. Probably would just be one of the guards that have been there the whole time.

Hmmmm, I have played Taicho as a Tengu warpriest of Hei Feng, I'll see if I can adapt him for the AP. I'm wondering if it might be worth a one level dip into Rogue as well. I'll look at it.

That's been my luck as well, started the game 3 times but never got past the first book.

Aganhei GM said they need casters and possibly a skill focused character.

Ideas: "Askold Beerfiend Magnusson".
A Kellid Skald from originally the worldwound, travels the world in search of new booze receipes, as well as artistic traditions. Would totally be up to travel to Minkai. Has plot reasons why he does not want to return to the worldwound.

The rimerunners liked his excellent booze making, and made him an effort he could not refuse, but he did, because he thinks all booze receipes should be shared freely. Got overpowered and imprisoned as a result.

CG, Caydenite but not too religious, if somewhat shenanigian affine.

Skillset:
--Spell kenning gives him a fair bit of flexibility
--Human favored class bonus helps with spells
--Skalds have a pretty good skillist
--The party should really like the raging song and make full use of it.

What skills exactly is the party lacking? Lore or more thief type stuff?

A couple of questions about character creation:
1) Are drawbacks in play for an extra trait?
2) What impact do item creation feats have on WBL (if any)? For example, a wizard with a bonded object will have both scribe scroll and the ability to enchant his bonded object...

Interest!

AGM Lemming & Robert Henry: With regards to races/ancestries, I'll allow any of the core ones (of course), but the Tian Xia-themed ones are also welcome. So yes, kitsune are permitted, as are tengu. Beyond that, I would permit planestouched, changelings, and dhampir, though I think I'd need to be sold on the latter two.

Mightypion: Kellid Skald sounds like an interesting setup, as does the brief pitch you've got there. Skillswise, we do not have very much in terms of thievery. Our Knowledges are:
- Nobility
- History
- Planes
- Arcana
- Geography
- Nature
- Engineering
- Dungeoneering

pad300: Drawbacks are not permitted for an extra trait. I meant to put that in, but totally forgot. With regards to item creation feats... I'm not sure. I'd say you should probably refrain from spending more than a quarter of your cash on any one crafted item, and more than half on any two. If it becomes a problem, I'll probably cap how many crafted items one can have.

Perhaps an oracle heading back to her left behind homeland? Ignore the super stats as she was from a different game. Ayako the Dark Tapestry oracle(lame) heading off to the land of her mother.

This is Lemming's Kitsune Sorceress. Let me know if there are any problems.

Quick notes:

Face skills
Highest diplomacy in the party is 10
Highest intimiate 8
Highest bluff 6
Sense motive is pretty good though.

Thief skills
Highest Stealth is 7
No disable device
Perception is pretty good though
No disguise

Lore skills:
Nothing above 10, the skills you mentioned between 5 and 8

No UMD

I think I can get Disable device included, but not disable device and stealth, and disable device is perhaps more valueable in a mostly non stealthy party.
There is also the knock spell, but its a level 2 spell, and skalds tend to cast heroism on the entire party, which takes up their actual spell slots.

I think all of the current character can accept rage without drawbacks (fighter doesnt care, kineticist doesnt care, drinking potions also doesnt require concentrations).
At level 6 I have 2 rage powers to hand out.
Current ideas:
--Spirit totem lesser. Rather then ghostly figures, its animated booze bottles that hit people around the character if they are hostile. Does nothing against undead
--Celestial Blood: All weapons become mini holy, meaning they are good aligned and do +d6 extra damage to evil outsiders, great if you have problems with passing dr
--Animal fury or fiend totem lesser: Enjoy gore or bite attacks

Are you guys using the elephant in the room feat tax rules?

Ayako: I don't have any objection to the class or the core idea!

Alyssa Fox: A quick read through of your profile looks fine to me. I'll look in more detail when I have the time.

Mightypion: Thanks for reading through so people can use it as a reference. The other ideas seem fine to me.

Veegees: I'm afraid not. I haven't experimented with it yet, but keep meaning to. However, at this point in the game, it'd be hard to switch over.

I may tweak a Cleric Idea I have. A Shelynite cleric and preacher. An old one who has sought alot of chances to travel, but more importantly to spread love to the world as well as art.

If the already playing characters could chime in, what would they prefer?
--A free d4+5 negative energy attack at +9ish AB (scales with my BAB and CHA)
--An extra gore (primary)
--An extra bite (primary)
--attacks count as good aligned and deal d6 extra damage to evil outsiders
--I start performing immidiatly via savage intuition

the gore an the negative energy attacks are exclusive of each other (both are totems), any other combination of these 2 is valid.

Ok, I figure'd I'd post what I've got so far for Aganhei to take a peek at and critique. Here is the core of Eldoran Amasiel (Elf Arcane Trickster):

He needs equipment (including filling out his spellbook), a 5th level feat and some background/characterization work to fit him into the adventure.

A Q for Aganhei

When a new arcane trickster level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if she is a spontaneous spellcaster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting.

Does this give the character the additional 2 spells in book that a non-spontaneous caster gets with each level?

waves at Robert Henry
Working on an pei zin practitioner lunar oracle of desna. Quite a lot left to do but wanted to dot in. Work in progress on this profile, except background which I write in a text file in parallel and will add in later.

Let's see who needs responses from me...

pad300: To answer the last question first, I would allow it. Not sure about RAW or RAI. It also looks like some of the math is incomplete, but that's fine at this stage.

If anyone else needs some response, let me know.

Hmmm I have another build Id love to see. Ill post the two tonight when I get home

I would like to dot my interest as well. I have tried finishing JR as a player a few times and would love to see it through. Loving the concepts coming out of here so far. I am currently crafting a origami themed spellcaster(paper lanterns for dancing lights, summons are all paper based etc.) via scrollmaster Wizard with a specialty in conjuring. Thinking maybe a Kitsune who dreams of visiting their ancestors homeland.

Introducing Emi, a kitsune arcanist/enchanting courtesan. I've completed the crunch as well as the majority of the fluff.

Jade Regent was my first ever experience with ttrpgs but my group only ever got to the start of the crossing over the crown of the world so this seems like a great place for me to start.

Are we using fractional base bonuses ?

Think I'm interested in submitting a cartographer/natural philosopher investigator to fill a wilderness guide/ranger role. Basic hook is that he contacts for the Church of Abadar to investigate and defend roads and trade routes from banditry, specific hook is that his handler is having him look into why this one merchant company has started to thrive very recently compared to all the others in the region. I figure this him might give him an allowance to join the party later, as I'm sure the Abadarans would be very interested in seeing that establishing an overland trade route to Tian Xia is successful.

Interested! I'm thinking maybe a Caydenite Warpriest or an Archaeologist Bard, or a Bard dipping Rogue for 3 levels...

Probably the Warpriest though.

It appears to me that this party will need no help dealing damage, but may have some trouble with some unusual circumstances.

So I am going to submit a wizard with a good selection of utility spells and problem-solving spells. He will be a couple of levels away from going into Loremaster and getting the Secret of Magical Discipline feat, at which point he will be able to cast basically any spell in the game within his caster level.

He'll also have great Knowledge skills, and not be too squishy on HP and saves. Will try to get that finished up tonight.

Lore skills:

Nothing above 10, the skills you mentioned between 5 and 8

Yuto feels bewildered his hard study of history and nobility traditions have passed unnoticed.

If the already playing characters could chime in, what would they prefer?

Can't tell for the other players or the GM, but I am mostly looking for a team player able to post on a daily basis for the next four years or so. Ability to play in-character while considering other players sense of fun is a big plus for me.

Slash, slash, hack blablabla

Gosh, am I the only one seeing an Ulfen druid renegade who stole a map of the Aganhei path and deserted after debasing his Frozen Shadows' boss transforming her crow pet into a pup instead of growing it to a large beast is going to be a blast in this section of the campaign? :D

Hello All!

I have attempted JR twice with both attempts desolving here on the Boards. I would most definitely be interested in The Long Walk.

I have a character concept that I had in mind for this (although did submit him for a Ruby Phoenix PbP recruitment) that I would enjoy journeying with.

I will need to adjust him per your specs, but this will give you an idea of the concept.

Ōtani Yoshitsugu

I will get him adjusted if you thinks he may fit in your game?

Thank you for running!

My bad, nobody exepts knowlege on the warrior :).

I'd love to submit this character. I think he might be filling some of the categories your party needs.

His name is Scruffy, he is a psychedelic Psychic. He loves eating all kinds of food and personally ingesting/smoking Flayleaf. He is a half elf out of Varisia but was currently traveling with his best friend and dog companion, Chestnut, north and has found himself in Kalsgard. Unfortunately do to a misunderstanding with some thugs, they stole his dog!

Scruffy is normally pretty non confrontational and frankly quite scared of monsters. But he isn't above helping solve mysteries and will always help his friends in a jam. He is pretty motivated now to work with anyone that'll help him find his dog and get him back.

Regarding the character, he is an intelligent based caster with wisdom/charisma as well. Doesn't exactly have all the face skills but can help or assist if needed. Has some knowledges, perception, a bit of linguistics.

He brings some enchantment spells, not really any blasting spells, some single target damaging spells as well as some nice buffs and some nice debuffs.

Can I create a goblin ninja?

Lots of interest! Let's get some responses started.

G.A.L. Sounds interesting to me!

Emiko: On a first glance-over, it looks fine to me. I'm afraid we're not using Fractional Base Bonuses, though.

K3D: Sounds like an interesting start! Of course, there already is an overland route to Tian Xia - the Path of Aganhei - but having more security along the way/greater ties is definitely in the interest of Abadar.

rdknight: Sounds interesting. We just lost our archivist bard, so it'll be interesting to see what comes of it, if you go in that direction. Do not take this as me recommending you do so - you're free to go either way.

Aldizog: It is definitely true that Torra can lay out a ton of damage rather fast, and our other two are no slouches in that department either. A wizard like that would definitely be a welcome addition.

Dorian 'Gray': Other than the fact I'd request you change his ancestor's name to something slightly less famous (or otherwise fictional), as Oda Nobunaga just takes me out of the game world, he looks like he'd do fine with some adjustments to help him fit in.

Oliver: Looks interesting! I wonder how long a dog would survive in Ravenscraeg... (If you get accepted, we can discuss that further).

Camris: A part of me adores the idea, but... I'm not sure it would fit the party, I'm afraid. (Plus, Shalelu really hates goblins, and she's a part of the caravan.)

Okay, I changed over to being just 6 levels of arcanist for now. I'll still be taking levels of the enchanting cortesan prestige class but I'll start doing that next level up.

She'll be a utility/debuffer caster for the most part with plenty of skills and good with poisons later on.

I've been looking at getting Taicho to warpriest level 6, but keep jumping over here and reading the quality divine characters you already have applying. I think several of them would be a better fit for this group than my tengu. With that in mind I'm going to remove myself from the recruitment process.

Aganhei GM Thanks for running the game, we players really do appreciate it. Good luck everyone and good gaming.

@Aganhei GM Thank you! I am excited to see him in practice. In that vain, I shall make adjustments on Sunday funday!

Wayland is ready to go.
I have several wizards from APs ghosted by their GMs in Book 1 after investing a year or more each. Would really to re-envision one of them so that they get a chance to go somewhere.

Working on a Tengu Witch Doctor Shaman of the Ancestors, looking to carty an ancestors ashes back to thier ancient homeland

Appreciate the feedback, I was hesitant honestly to look up Ravenscraeg or too much about the Frozen Shadows for fear of spoilers.

But I saw you wanted some kind of hook or reason for our character to want to join the adventure so I hoped maybe they stole his dog would suffice. Little bit of John Wick action mixed with some Liam Neeson Taken action there, simple motivations for a simple guy just trying to wander the land and get high on flayleaf with his dog.

Q for Aganhei GM, can we buy partially charged wands (eg. Wand of Mage Armor, 25 charges, 375 gp vs 50 charges, 750 gp)?

This will be Dorian Grey's submission for this journey, trek, walk-a-bout!

I will be expanding out his story, but the Crunch should be finished. I have altered it a bit thus far already. I like him!

Any questions, concerns, comments from the Table is welcomed.

Thank you!

Hey everyone, one of the characters here. Good to see so much interest in our ap and thanks! Somehow i didn't get notifications of new posts here so i thought recruitment hadn't started up yet :') My apologies.

Some have asked what the party is looking for; to echo aganhei we lack mostly thief skills and could use some knowledge skills. Also we have lost both main casters in the previous months.

Personally, to make a mechanical request of any new character if you were able to enable sneak attack that would be a plus for me. We used to have an oracle with burst of radiance and a bard with glitterdust to blind foes. However with both now missing it is a sad time for my vivisectionist alchemist.

On the knowledge front, with the loss of our bard i will probably change my beard familiar to a sage familiar so that it has most knowledge skills at +8 or so. That won't entirely fix our relative weakness there but it might help. On the healing front I have the healer's hands + incredible healer combo so we already have a good bit of burst healing available. Otherwise Andy is a basic reach fighter buffing people with extracts.

I'll echo Yuto though in that being an active writer and a team player/writer would be the biggest plus.

Good luck everyone! I'll try and give every character a readthrough during vacation here.

I am current with your Game Play posts.

That combat with the Tengu Ninjas (?) was epic! Poor Yuto!

I will further develop Otani's immediate connection to Ravenscraeg.

The Relic he has been sent to find may be the sword, although not certain as to the why of it as yet. Perhaps, his Shogun has knowledge of its importance and supports the rightful Queen?

Not too certain how much of that is behind the cutlrtain though?

I can see how losing your Archivists hurts too. Otani should easily fill that void.

Thank you a lot, Andochtuir - giving us your perspective really helps.
I've been travelling over the weekend, so was still early enough in the design process to shift a bit - I'm still going for Lunar Oracle, but there's still quite some wiggle room with other stuff.

I'll take a look at Swapping Pei Zin for Seeker, and see if I can do something about those sneak attacks(maybe go for Pranked Curse to get Glitterdust back on the table, if I can make it work storywise), and maybe pick up Moon Beam(that I would normally have passed up).

Still plenty of time to 9th of August for cooking something up.

Lemming here again. Swapping out my candidate. Remove Alyssa as many of the casters presented would be better for the party.

Instead I present Jorrast Feorte, also a Kitsune, but Sylvan Trickster Rogue with some really useful skills (not a face though!), a few hexes delivered at range or with hex strike, and cantrips as spell-like abilities. He can also shape change to a fox giving him a total of +24 to his stealth. Any caster want a pretend familiar?

Okay, sorry for my weekend silence, but it was a bit of an exhausting (albeit fun) time. Let's see what needs responses.

Emiyo: Sounds fair to me.

Wayland: That is a sturdy wizard. The only thing with his background is that the Ironfang Invasion hasn't technically occurred in this timeline yet, so that might need some minor adjustments.

Critzible: Sounds neat!

Oliver: That works! The Rimerunners typically do lots of merchant-y things, so if he somehow did something against their commercial interests, that might also work. Alternately, someone they're connected to (they have friends in a lot of high places) might have taken offense and done something to him. Etc.

pad300: Yes, I will allow that.

Dorian: Yeah, I think that having it be the sword in question would probably be a bit too much right now.

Jorrast: A first look over seems interesting enough!

I will try to get a list of current submissions up soon, but if anyone else has the time/energy to do so and would like to, please feel free.

@Aganhei GM Apologies if that is too foreshadow-y. I wasn't quite certain of information granted to pcs as of the current story.

I do know that the group is searching for it.

Perhaps, Otani was sent as an ambassador of Kwanlai to Kalsgard. He is tasked with arranging trade considerations between the two Nations/cities. Perhaps, his meetings with the officers of town (Rimerunners? The other?) has gone south. Otani is now finding his way to Ravenscraeg to get proper answers.

Still brainstorming....

EDIT!

After just rereading your OP, I realized that idea come from you...lol.

Alternately, your characters may have their own grudges against the Frozen Shadows, and have tracked them to their base in Ravenscraeg, allowing their arrival sooner rather than later.

Here's another hat in the ring!

Atsuko the Studious Librarian Bard.

Atsuko is human, mixed Minkian and Ulfen, and more a folklorist and storyteller than a entertainer. She's a good encyclopedia, can handle social encounters, and can even pick a pesky lock or disarm a scary trap. Best of all she's trained professionally as a wainwright for those times when a wagon wheel breaks or an owlbear eats the top off a caravan.

Backstory and finishing details are still in the works, but the essential mechanics are in place in her profile section.

Dorian: Yeah, the PCs know they're looking for it, but it's not really known where Suishen is, only that the Frozen Shadows were somehow involved in taking it.

Atsuko: Oh, that's an interesting build. Very much written-word focused in a way I'm unfamiliar with.

I went with the disgruntled ambassador angle...lol.

And here is beerfiend, mostly needing some finishing touches, and to un-wrath-of-the-rigtheous his background :)

I will be withdrawing my submission. Best of luck!