I was wondering who our healer was in Dak's other WftC game, but it was apparently Sara and the oracle, Rossana. Unfortunately, it looks like her player isn't around any more (only played in two of Dak's games).
We could invest in better healing wands for those times when mid-encounter healing is necessary, but recruiting a more dedicated healer's probably the way to go.
I will have to apologize as well, as I have also decided to leave this campaign. I am already GMing this campaign with a local group of friends where I live, and we are nearing the end of Book 3 (live VTT and F2F gaming is much faster than PbP, so my own campaign has overtaken this one at some point in mid 2020 and left this one in the dust so to speak...)
It is increasingly hard to keep my mouth shut in certain encounters in this campaign, knowing full well which buttons to push to 'win' the encounter or knowing where to go to or what to do to gather town improvement funds, for example. It would be a disservice to the group if I somehow end up spoiling such knowledge for those of you who are having their first go at it.
Good luck finding replacements guys. It shouldn't be too hard: a simple post in the Flaxseed recruitment thread should garner at least a dozen interested players.
Happy gaming!
Well, this doesn't bode well...though it's understandable.
Best wishes to both Valeria and Sveng in their future games and other endeavors.
Well, I was going to come in and apologize to everyone for my absence the past few days - home and work life kept me rather busy - but now Val and Sveng have both left. I guess that leaves me as the only remaining original member of this group.
This is tricky - Val was the one who was set up as the Betony heir. I don't think there's an easy way to just roll someone else into that job.
What do we want to do?
Yes, very tricky. I think Sara has the chops to take on the role, but her character's been prominently played as a commoner baker. Capricia's been in the quiet bodyguard mode so she's not a fit either (plus, I have next to no grasp about the WftC subsystems; I didn't even know legacy weapons (or whatever they're called in Pathfinder) were a thing in this AP!).
Maybe our first step should be to see what GM Fuzzfoot thinks. He might just want to throw in the towel...or he might have some ideas or know of a good player we could import into the role.
Well, this is a serious turn of events. But honestly, this AP is written like they wanted to invent an entire world. It is an interesting read, but crazy trying to keep things on track. And I am really afraid that so many of the details are just lost.
I am not too concerned about Valeria's departure as "the noble" - the NPCs aren't going to care that someone else steps up to the role. In fact, there was no real reason it had to be 1 person as the head anyway.
Having said that, I inherited both these games, so I have not been terribly invested in it, and I am afraid it shows. I am just honestly too busy to really do it justice.
Your goal in this part of the module is really ultimately pretty simple - you needed to drum up enough loyalty points to make part 3 easier. So to do that meant fixing up the town, which costs money, and finding ways to do that while discovering who to trust and how to get them to stand up with you or otherwise support you. I have never really seen anything like it outside of a home-grown world.
I looked ahead, and the other books seem fairly similar - lots of politics and intrigue that I just don't feel confident that I can bring to life. It needs to be engaging enough that no one feels lost, and clearly that hasn't been the case so far. I am also not a big fan of all the extra subsystems - it is confusing and requires a really dedication to track. I was a player in one of these two games long ago (Sydney), and I was so confused then that I dropped out. I thought maybe it was the GM, but now I know it was just the nature of the module.
I do want to say, however, that I have really enjoyed the players and your characters, so I am willing to continue with those that remain, and maybe another recruit or two. I am thinking to maybe streamline or even skip past some of the sandbox nature and instead write up something like scene changes or such. I think the group does great with roleplaying, as long as we have a clearer direction.
Heh--I was reading Fuzzfoot's reply, the whole time thinking, Well, it looks like I have one less game to keep track of...and then I hit the final paragraph. Such an altered campaign might be perfect for Capricia to thrive in; she's not optimized for politics and intrigue (in fact, I made it a point to choose mostly pirate-like skills for her at first level). But she's starting to find her niche, and I wouldn't mind pressing on.
@GM Fuzzfoot: To be honest, I am wondering why you didn't skip us directly to Part 3 instead of picking up the campaign right in the middle of this weird sandboxy Part 2?
When I saw your first post, I thought it was a little strange, but then I thought you had your reasons or really wanted to play with those subsystems you are now saying you don't like.
Mind explaining your reasoning a little there? Part 3 is pretty much a standard dungeon crawl, which would have gelled this group together nicely...
I didn’t know the product when I agreed to take over, and so I read through the previous game and tried to simply pick up where it left off. I hate when my AP games fall apart Has they often do here), so most of the games I run have been rescues. So I try to give people the full experience since an AP is a big commitment to everyone in it.
I do think you had a little too much history with the adventure and others had too little so it was certainly a tough balancing act.
Let’s see how Sara weighs in.
Ok, fair enough. Leaving the campaign is probably a good idea based on what you just said, as we don't want to spoil anything to the remaining players. Thanks for picking up the game though: not a lot of GMs like doing that. It was greatly appreciated.
Happy gaming!
PS: please edit the campaign and remove me from it to stop notifications. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry, long day.
I had assumed Sara had been retired a long time ago. So if you decide losing two characters in such a short span is too much, I understand and have not a single negative emotion toward you.
That being said, I have GREATLY enjoyed it since you did us all the favor of restoring the game (and our characters) back to life. So if you wish to continue in whatever format I'll happily continue. The systems we used, the strict adherence to the AP, none of that matters to me. The story we all put together, the interactions and Fun, that matters.
Ok - I cleaned up the roster and it sounds like we can continue, let’s finish up this encounter and then see if we can fast forward a bit.
So are we down to 4, or fewer?
I am going to be gone for the next few days, but my intention is to write up a short story to speed up through the politics, and then move to part 3 - at which point, you are supposed to be level 6. So go ahead and plan for a level up.
If Bimble doesn't also chime in, or if anyone else wishes to exit here, they I will recruit for more. Otherwise, 4 isn't a bad number for this, maybe with a couple helpful NPCs to lean on. But if Bimble doesn't chime in, I think we will recruit up to 5 or maybe even 6 again.
How deep is the water nearer the snake? Deep enough to need swim checks, or just count as difficult terrain?
Just difficult terrain.
Tazo has been radio silent in all games lately. He had a pretty rough several months workwise, and I'd imagine they are continuing to be so.
Yah - I was looking him over yesterday too.
Looks like we may have lost Bimble too, although summer schedules can be a little wacky.
So if we want to continue, I think we need to recruit at least 2 more. From the looks of it, arcane or divine casters are likely our best bet.
I have been reading over this book and the next, and trying to look over your characters to see how best to proceed. It really comes back to the intricate details and plethora of NPCs - each book seems to introduce 50 more characters with distinct personalities and influence parameters, and it is just a crazy amount of stuff to assume your players can discover and digest! I can certainly respect the work that went into it, but not interested in trying to keep track of it all.
Then it occurred to me - a lot of your characters seem to have created alternate personalities. So maybe instead of us trying to pursue the political intrigue so much, maybe instead we use Valeria and those leaving us as the background engine, and the rest now start to work as a "superhero" group to provide the muscle and investigation arm of the "team". In this regard, we can play up some of the secret persona's, and then fall back to the hidden ones just as a occasional "get me into the party" sort of thing.
From a playing perspective, I think this will primarily mean that you want to start hiding your ties to the Betony Estate and Princess Eutropia while subtly making the changes needed to get her back in power.
Thoughts?
That sounds neat. Sara was moving toward the behind the scenes instigator role so that works perfectly for her. She is definitely not the muscle though.
Maybe Valeria could very publicly fire out butts for theft or insubordination or the like. Then we could pretend to go our separate ways but secretly reconvene and work from the shadows.
Yep, that sounds good.
I have sent a couple invites out to people that I have played with that I think would fit the pace and camaraderie of this group, rather than an open call. If anyone here has someone else in mind, let me know!
I have one accept so far - he is going to work on a sorcerer/arcanist of some sort.
I mean, Eregos is posing as Valeria's wastrel cousin, not a servant, so "firing" doesn't quite work for him. Still, he does have a dual identity simply because his family name is so sullied.
I will post my turn tomorrow - I can't check the map right now.
Valeria could order us all out of her sight for gross incompetence or the like. Even cousins can be incompetent. :)
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OK Bimble - sorry to see you go, but totally understand.
I did recruit a few others and I am asking them to join us here as they get their characters ready. Looking like a witch, a sorcerer and an oracle as of now. All are great players from other APs I am running, so I think they can hit the ground running.
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Yeah, sorry to see Bimble go. He was sort of a trusted advisor to Capricia (whether he knew it or not). And his whole flagbearer of Eutropa thing was hella-cool. ;)
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Hi everyone! Checking in to say hello as the replacement. Bringing in an elven ley line guardian witch, who IC is akin to a mage who channels power from nature. Focus on healing/crowd control/buffing, with some close combat option if it is needed (which hopefully it won't).
I'm another of GM Fuzzfoot's invitees.
This is awesome. I started WftC with Thalasou and that game ended when we were still level 2. Coincidentally, I was in that game with Valeria. I see that she's leaving which is a bit of a shame because it would have been interesting to have a reunion between Thalasou and Valeria.
I will spend some time getting leveled up to 6. I'm new at playing an Oracle so I'm not sure how I'll optimize. Also, my play style is more character driven and less min-max. I tend to chose options for my character that are more aligned to his personality rather than what gives the most power or flexibility or such.
Really looking forward to getting back into this AP.
HELLO! Welcome very much to the game. Capricia and Sara are both new to this one as well, we were in another war for the crown together though so have a long and lovely history. Eregos is our veteran of this thread.
Witches and Oracles are two of my favorite classes!
Thanks for the welcome!
I see that we have a life oracle. Was thinking about switching from life patron to elements...not quite sure if I'll do so. It's nice to have lessor restoration and the like in my spells known. With play by post I hate keeping track of prepared spells, so a spontaneous caster is right for me. But fireball is also great, as the party is now lacking a sorcerer. Will give it some thought.
First time playing a witch :P
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I think we may yet have one more joining us, and I think they were planning on a sorcerer, if that makes any difference. But I am a big fan of having you play what interests you the most - we can work around overlaps.
As we wrap up this last combat, we are going to spring ahead to include our new friends and wrap up some story lines. This also means that it is time to level up to Level 6 for those who haven't yet.
It is also a good time to quickly re-evaluate wealth. You should all be roughly at 16,000 - I know we recently reviewed this, but I think Capricia is quite a bit behind the curve, so we can balance a bit. Look over the loot sheet and feel free to claim any items from the leaving characters. After that, I am going to clean up the sheet to reset everyone. Capricia - if you are still low, we will give you some cash to bring you up.
Welcome, new people! Lovely to have you with us!
Eregos is not particularly min-maxed either, Thalasou, given that I'm trying to make a Strength-based Rondolero-style combatant using the Vigilante class as a chassis (it's weird, I know).
Having played both an Oracle and a Witch, I may be able to provide some advice for each of you, if you have any questions.
Welcome aboard to the new players!
I've gotten Capricia mostly leveled (except for some skill points). As for equipment, she seems to be about 4,500 gp below the 16,000 gp goal. How about I add a cloak of protection +1 (1,000 gp), a hat of disguise (1,800 gp), and a masterwork composite longbow (Str +1) and a few quivers of arrows (including silver- and cold iron-tipped ones) and add any leftover cash to her personal stash?
Sounds good.
CAPRICIA LEVEL 6 UPDATES
Swashbuckler (Rondelero) 6
hps: +6 (now 52 max)
BAB +1; CMB +1; CMD +1
SAVES: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2*
SKILL RANKS: (6 + 2 Background)
Acrobatics +1
Escape Artist +1
Intimidate +1
Perception +1
Ride +1
Stealth +1
Linguistics +1 (BG; chose Elven for language; also added Gnome cuz I missed a language somewhere)
Profession (carpenter) +1 (BG)
No new swashbuckler abilities at this level.
*Including additional +1s from cloak of resistance
Level 6
+ 2 = 8
BAB: +1
Saves: +1 Fort, +1 Ref, +1 Will
Skill Points: 6 + 1 Human +1 Favored Class Bonus = 8
Acrobatics +1
Bluff +1
Diplomacy +1
Disguise +1
Knowledge (local) +1
Perception +1
Sense Motive +1
Stealth +1
Background Skills:
Knowledge (nobility) +1
Sleight of Hand +1
Vigilante Talent: Shield of Fury (Ex): The vigilante gains Improved Shield Bash as a bonus feat. If he already has the Improved Shield Bash feat, he can immediately swap it for another feat for which he qualified at the level he chose Improved Shield Bash. In addition, if he is at least 6th level, he is treated as if he has the Two-Weapon Fighting feat as long as one of the weapons used is a shield. This allows him to take feats that require Two-Weapon Fighting as a prerequisite without meeting the Two-Weapon Fighting or Dexterity prerequisites, but these feats only apply while he is wielding a shield as one of his weapons (unless he takes Two-Weapon Fighting as normal, in which case this restriction is lifted).
Bonus Feat: Improved Shield Bash, Two-Weapon Fighting (shield only)
Level 6 Sara the soon to be Lion Blade (by level 8 hopefully)
rogue(unchained) chameleon 1
+2 reflexes
+5 hit points
bluff 1, diplomacy 1, disable device 1, disguise 1, escape artist 1, intimidate 1, knowledge local 1, sense motive 1, stealth 1
2 points shifted to background skills, so four total
perform act 1, perform oratory 1, profession baker 1, sleight of hand 1
rogue class abilities: fitness training, sneak attack +1d6, misdirection
I have a quick question. How many triumphs are one Dignity's Barb? I'm trying to calculate Sara's money and that is a variable one depending on how many are on it. And I have it different on different sheets, so no idea.
With three triumphs it becomes a +2 seeking darkwood light crossbow which is about ~18000.
What is the name of the +2 defending longsword I have again? I didn't write it down on my sheet.
Here you go Eregos!
https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75ivlsi/discussion#44
It sounds like yours is on its third triumph, and since the barb is the first one of these you get on this AP, I'll assume it is also on the third. Unless our GM says differently of course.
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I am updating the loot sheet, and you can look up all items there. I am taking off the "value" for these relics, because they really skew the WBL values, and there is already built in some balance for you to share the relic wealth.
The relics you have are:
Dignity's Barb. 3 triumphs. Held by Sara.
Barb reduces miss chances from concealment by 5%.
First Triumph: Dignity’s Barb is a +1 darkwood light crossbow and reduces miss chances from concealment by 10%. In addition, once per day when the weapon threatens a critical hit, the wielder can roll twice to confirm the critical and take the better result.
Second Triumph: Dignity’s Barb is a +1 seeking darkwood light crossbow.
Third Triumph: Dignity’s Barb is a +2 seeking darkwood light crossbow. The wielder can use its ability to roll twice to confirm a critical hit twice per day (though he can use it only once on a given critical threat). In addition, the wielder can attempt a lucky shot to foil a ranged attack. Once per day when a ranged weapon attack targets a creature within 30 feet of the wielder, the wielder can shoot Dignity’s Barb at the projectile as an immediate action. He rolls a ranged attack, and if the result exceeds the attacker’s roll, that attack is negated. This ability can be used only if Dignity’s Barb is loaded or if the wielder can use Rapid Reload or a similar ability.
Koriana's Blade is the relic, and I believe we modified it to be a Falcata. It currently has 0 triumphs. Held by Eregos.
Koriana’s Blade is a +2 defending longsword. It’s strangely curved, betraying its origins, and has five gemstones in its pommel. Four are broken, but the white gem in the center is intact. Once per day, the wielder can trigger this gemstone as an immediate action to absorb and negate all darts targeting her from a magic missile spell. When the wielder transfers at least 1 point of the weapon’s enhancement bonus to her AC using the defending special ability, she also chooses one creature other than herself within 10 feet to gain a +1 bonus to AC until the wielder’s next turn. This bonus is always +1, regardless of how much of the weapon’s bonus the wielder transfers to her AC.
Subtle Mask 0 Triumphs. Not sure who had it.
Fashioned to surround the wearer’s eyes and cover the forehead and cheekbones, this mask is made of
porcelain inset with blue and green gems and decorated with golden filigree. When donned, the mask seems to disappear, leaving its golden patterns as tattoos on the wearer’s face and coloring one of the wearer’s eyes green and the other blue. The wearer can remove the mask normally, causing it to appear as a porcelain mask once again.
The wearer gains a +2 competence bonus on Sense Motive hecks and can use comprehend languages once per day.
Envoy Ring 3 triumphs. Worn by Valeria
This golden ring appears pristine on the outside, but the inside shows centuries of wear, leaving the inner band perpetually polished to a lighter hue than that of the ring’s outer surfaces. A family crest adorns the front, depicting olive branches encircling two crowns, seemingly indicating a house dedicated to ambassadorship and diplomacy.
The ring grants its wearer a +2 competence bonus on Diplomacy, Linguistics, and Perform checks. Once per day, the wearer can speak a command word to transform her appearance and clothing, as per disguise self. The appearance of her clothing automatically matches the customs of the dominant culture around her, typically that of the local nobility or ruling class. Her physical features don’t match those of the local people, but features that would make her stand out—such as elf ears in a settlement where no elves live—diminish. This lasts up to 24 hours but can be dismissed at any time. The caster level of any spell effect generated by the ring is 1 + 2 per triumph attained.
First Triumph: The ring can be activated to use charm person (DC = 15 + 1 per additional triumph attained) and comprehend languages, each once per day.
Second Triumph: The ring’s competence bonus on Diplomacy, Linguistics, and Perform check is +3. When the wearer activates the ring’s disguise, she can read, speak, and understand the most common language in the area that she doesn’t already know for as long as the duration persists.
Third Triumph: The wearer can activate the ring to use charm person at will, though if a creature succeeds at its save, it can’t be targeted again for 24 hours. The ring can also be activated to use charm monster (DC = 20 + 1 per additional triumph attained) once per day.
It took me so long to look up and type all of this, I got ninja'd.
I think the basic idea is that there are certain key events that allow you to upgrade a relic if it is in use at the time of the event. I need to go through and see what those are.
Capricia could take and make some use of the Subtle Mask, but I wouldn't be averse to having one of the new PCs claim it...gives at least one of them more of an attachment to the game.
Character sheet in profile is now fully updated.
Thanks for the info! Will update my sheet.
Sveng had the Subtle Mask - since he's out, we could easily move it to someone else.
Agreed. Valeria had the ring, but we should transfer that as well.
Character is complete* and ready to join the group.
* Patron might change. It's at Elements for now, giving her some blasting options. But I want to see what kind of sorcerer we are getting. I don't want to step on our life oracle's toes. If we get a sorcerer who is a blaster, then it's easy enough to change. If we don't? Well, being able to cast fireball is always useful. :)
As a heads up I have to travel next week. I'll still post, but won't be able to use the map. But I'll still be here.
No problem - thanks for the heads up.
Oh! The relics don't count, so Sara has plenty of money left to spend. I'll try and do that tonight.
If any of you want to know Sara from before this point, she grew up in the slums, her mother a waitress. Not wed to her father, who became a famed baker, and flirt with a velvet voice, as well as famed for the number of bastards he had produced. Sara like many of her half-siblings ended up working at his shop which is where she learned to be a baker. She is outspoken about governmental representation of the common folk, and a bit of a flirt herself.
Anything that works for you I can probably make Sara roll with.