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It got me thinking about the Paranoia RPG, honestly. Except instead of gossipy elves and petty grudges, it's a bunch of greedy programmers and a massively flawed supercomputer. :P
Ooohh, I had long repressed memories of that game :)
Using the Starfinder rules, a game could perhaps resemble Brazil (the movie).
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I'm wondering if I need a Spotify list for this campaign.
1.) Sixteen Tons, Tennessee Ernie Ford
2.) Working Man, Rush
2.) Not Gonna Die, Skillet
3.) I'm Going Straight to Hell (just like my Mama said), Darius Rucker (originally by Drivin' and Cryin')
4.) Never Gonna Stop (Red Red Kroovy), Rob Zombie
5.) Humans Being, Van Halen
We'll see how this list evolves.
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Oops. I misunderstood your edit. Welp!
Also, Paizo links are nitpicky about the https stuff.
No worries. Thanks for the assist regardless!
It's weird. I swear a bunch of posts that weren't there in the Game Thread last night appeared there this morning. The time stamps on them indicate that they were there when I was still up and should have seen them.
Of course, it was after midnight, I had a glass of wine, and my brain was fixated on a Spotify play list, so User Error is probably not out of the question!
Not user error - I had the same thing happen three days ago and then again two days ago. I got a discussion update, felt compelled to check the gameplay because the discussion post seemed incongruent, and noticed there were a lot of posts there. Something is glitching (for my account at least). It only seems to be this game, my other games are updating fine. I've started checking the gameplay thread at night just to be sure I'm not missing anything.
I blame the haunted cairn.
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I'm wondering if I need a Spotify list for this campaign.
1.) Sixteen Tons, Tennessee Ernie Ford
2.) Working Man, Rush
2.) Not Gonna Die, Skillet
3.) I'm Going Straight to Hell (just like my Mama said), Darius Rucker (originally by Drivin' and Cryin')
4.) Never Gonna Stop (Red Red Kroovy), Rob Zombie
5.) Humans Being, Van HalenWe'll see how this list evolves.
Ever since I got into spotify, I've started making playlists for all my characters. It helps me so much with figuring out so many character details and vibes.
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I've been seeing it everywhere—it's a bug that hides a new post from the thread for about 30 seconds, even though you can still see the post in the "Last post" entry. Just give it about a minute. It's a huge pain, and I recommend we all refrain from doing lots of edits or deletions for now. I'm speaking for myself, too. I know some of my edits are confusing people. :P
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Oh, also, in the interests of us all being on the same page—this campaign uses the ABP and Dynamic Magic Item Creation variant rules in an effort to make most magic items feel a little more "special" (and to reduce the emphasis on the infamous Big Six of magic item slots). Most magic items you find that aren't magic potions will have "quirks" to them, and a wand that takes the form of a tiny tree isn't necessarily as weird or precious or powerful as it might seem.
That's not to say it isn't still worth treating with care and curiosity, but it is to caution you against being, well, overly cautious when presented with magic items you might need later. Leaving the wand be seems perfectly in-character for these PCs, so I'm not saying you have to uproot the tree and stuff it into your knapsack like a bunch of graverobbing gremlins, but it's probably something to keep in mind in general.
Oh I love ABP! Briar does want to snatch up the tree, but we seem to be in "puzzle solving mode" and I don't like messing with potential parts of it too much. If someone was to confirm that it is not part of the puzzle...it'd be in Briar's bag the second the words are out of the person's mouth
Aside from Rosella saying that it's "new" and not a part of the original tomb, you mean? I'm not saying it's not a part of the puzzle, of course—perhaps that's why someone left it there to begin with—but you do know that it's not part of the original "design". :P
Ack, it's tricky to talk about this room without giving hints or red herrings. Suffice to say that in the original text of the adventure, the description of the light in the lantern stops at telling the GM the name of the fairly common magic item that the light is caused by. Everything else is just flavor, and shouldn't be taken as any sort of clue.
Hmm fair point
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Not to be argumentative, but the Climb Skill says climbing a rope with a wall to brace against is a DC 5 check, whereas free climbing the rope itself with nothing else to aid is a DC 15. Does the position of the rope not give sufficient proximity to the wall?
If you say, no, that's fine, I'll try the climb check again. I'm a firm believer in the DM/GM's ruling being final. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting the rule as written.
Hm, that's tricky. The adventure says it's DC 15 to climb the chain, which should be as easy as the rope, but I don't see any reason why the brace-against-wall rule wouldn't apply. I guess we can let it slide as DC 5 for the rope being closer to the wall than the chain is.
I might have been a bit generous in letting a grappling hook secure onto the edge at all, it being smooth stone. Perhaps that's what the adventure writers were assuming. Oh well. I can't punish PCs for GM slipups.
I've been seeing it everywhere—it's a bug that hides a new post from the thread for about 30 seconds, even though you can still see the post in the "Last post" entry.
What I've experienced is different (though I'm getting that bug too with regularity). I use the campaigns tab to track new posts - the new post notifications aren't showing up there, and this is happening at night, not during the day.
Oh, also, in the interests of us all being on the same page—this campaign uses the ABP and Dynamic Magic Item Creation variant rules in an effort to make most magic items feel a little more "special" (and to reduce the emphasis on the infamous Big Six of magic item slots). Most magic items you find that aren't magic potions will have "quirks" to them, and a wand that takes the form of a tiny tree isn't necessarily as weird or precious or powerful as it might seem.
Totally down with APB. I don't know much about Dynamic Magic Item Creation. Will look into that.
Oh I just remembered! I didn't see you on discord, Kata, so here's a new invite link in case the old one has timed out.
Hm, that's tricky. The adventure says it's DC 15 to climb the chain, which should be as easy as the rope, but I don't see any reason why the brace-against-wall rule wouldn't apply. I guess we can let it slide as DC 5 for the rope being closer to the wall than the chain is.
I might have been a bit generous in letting a grappling hook secure onto the edge at all, it being smooth stone. Perhaps that's what the adventure writers were assuming. Oh well. I can't punish PCs for GM slipups.
Probably one of the adjustments Pathfinder made from 3.5, if I were to guess.
Oh I just remembered! I didn't see you on discord, Kata, so here's a new invite link in case the old one has timed out.
Oh, thank you, Briar! It has been a hells of a week, and I forgot about this. I admit to being pretty Discord ignorant? Can I access it via browser? I do most of my posting from my work laptop, and downloading software to it gets tricky. I am Discord setup on my personal PC, but I'm not on that very often.
How long does the invite last? I'll make sure to get on before the window closes, and thank you again for the invite!
No problem! And yeah you can use it from your browser. I was once in the office and had my phone stolen so I used it to get ahold of people lol
Since I'm working from home now, I actually have my work laptop setup next to my desktop and post from my desktop. It's cramped but it works!
I think the invite lasts at least 24 hours but I'd need to check.
No need to check - I'll make sure accept today. I just need to walk to the PC to get my username :)
I love your setup. I work from home right now too, but my PC is in our toddler's playroom, and is totally not conducive to use during toddler-awake hours!
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"Pull the lever, Kronk!"
errrrrrrrr....."
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do we even HAVE that lever..."
** spoiler omitted **
Honestly, it's been so long that I can't remember, which means left to my own devices I might nudge fate in that direction by my flailing about anyway. :/
Hoo boy, I always forget how complicated this encounter can get. I'm doing my best to adjudicate things—sorry if anything feels confusing or unfair!
There’s Broccan, brains still scrambled, staring at the lights and as unaffected by the wind as a lighthouse in a hurricane, apparently.
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Good job to Briar for saving Broccan from an extremely painful drop! It was a very creative solution to "one of the heaviest partymembers is paralyzed and is about to be hit with tornado-force winds".
Of course, the winds are still rising...
I’m just glad it worked. Sadly it’s only 1 round at this level, which I did not think about >_<
It looks like the encounter's winding down now. Nicely handled!
Sorry if it feels like I've been moving too fast today—I felt like aspects were getting confusing, and we had one PC paralyzed, so I was a little eager to keep things flowing (and get the party back together). I can try to take encounters slower in the future. Overall, I thought this was a lot of fun (from my end) for the AP's first genuinely deadly encounter, and everyone followed along with the web of spoilers quite well.
No complaints here.
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As the paralyzed character, it was both interesting and embarrassing to see the impressive amount of effort expended to keep him from getting shot out of the tunnel and splattered against the wall!
Many thanks to all!
Updated the xp tracker! This was a CR 4 encounter that had the potential to do upwards of 4d6 lethal damage, to say nothing of the significant nonlethal damage, but you did a good job observing the warnings and placing precautions, so nobody even hit the ground.
Funny enough, as worried as people were about Broccan, Alais was probably in the most danger here—Broccan has an insane amount of hit points, but had it not been for the rope Broccan placed, Alais would have actually fallen, putting nothing but an armored dwarf between her and enough damage to actually risk killing her.
Nicely done all, and great thinking Briar and Rosella!
As the paralyzed character, it was both interesting and embarrassing to see the impressive amount of effort expended to keep him from getting shot out of the tunnel and splattered against the wall!
Many thanks to all!
Happy to do it! It’s what we’re here for. I’m sure you’ll return the favor before long!
I will include a Broccanese translation in each of my posts going forward as well.
Ironically, Alais probably has a very pronounced accent, as just about the only member of the party aside from Edrukk speaking Taldane as a second language. :P
Also, speaking of Arrowsong's Laments, feel free to post any in-universe works of art or writing that you already had in mind and I'll start compiling that list on the Campaign tab. :)
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So to sum up:
Edrukk and Broccan are pointing their bows at whatever is grinding and screeching its way up from the floor.
Kata's trying to figure out what's making the noise.
Rosella's trying to see what happens if she just keeps pushing the sarcophagus.
And, in the meantime, Briar and Alaïs nonchalantly discussing poetry.
Man, I wish I had the talent to either draw this scene or animate it in Blender!
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If it was animated, Briar and Alais would be obliviously sitting on the sarcophagus while they chatted, heedless to Rosella's efforts. ;)
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I do like the mental image of Rosella shoving the sarcophagus while people sit on it. "This would be...a lot easier...if you would...GET OFF!"
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There is also, of course, the irony that the one pushing is the archer while the dwarf waits for trouble with his bow...
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I have like a -6 perception when it comes to situational awareness irl so that tends to come through on my characters. I figured you all have the sarcophagus handled so she is basically on standby waiting for something to happen/someone to get hurt.
That said, I did edit to have her go guidance everyone. Need to remember that I can do that lol
I shouldn't try to speak for the party, but I don't think anyone's actually annoyed. It's a fun character moment, and honestly, part of the reason I have so many forgiving mechanics like Action Points is so people feel free to do what's in-character rather than feel pressured to always do the Optimal Thing.
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That's fair. I just always want to check-in. As evidenced by yesterday, I'm not always the best at reading situations properly
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Rosella has a very direct approach to problem solving. Turning the sarcophagus resulted in weird noises? Keep turning it and hope that fixes things. She would be decent at tech services for 90% of problems and terrible for the other 10%.
("Did you try turning it off and then back on? How about hitting it? ...Did you try hitting it harder?")
Oh, trust me, I never begrudge anyone the chance to check in on things. I appreciate people tackling issues in this game openly so things can always get resolved with no hard feelings. :)
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I have like a -6 perception when it comes to situational awareness irl so that tends to come through on my characters. I figured you all have the sarcophagus handled so she is basically on standby waiting for something to happen/someone to get hurt.
Me too! I often play PCs with more situational awareness than their player, so it is refreshing to be more inline with myself with Kata.
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Ironically, Alais probably has a very pronounced accent, as just about the only member of the party aside from Edrukk speaking Taldane as a second language. :P
Also, speaking of Arrowsong's Laments, feel free to post any in-universe works of art or writing that you already had in mind and I'll start compiling that list on the Campaign tab. :)
Shh, don’t burst her bubble. ;) And besides, her accent’s cute. Probably. Maybe. I guess it depends on the current linguistic fashions around the Inner Sea. I gather in Big Ol’ Larion all things elven were a bit of a fad a generation or so (in elven terms) in Cheliax, but who knows, in Smolarion?
Also, I don’t mean to be cruel about folks’ characters’ accents, so I hope it didn’t sound mean-spirited. I’m also fine with puzzling them out. Helps me get into Alaïs’ head, and I imagine it might get her into amusing trouble at some point when she’s trying too hard to be nice and so gets something important wrong based on what she thought Broccan or Edrukk said.
Oh, and, for what it’s worth, here’s Big Ol’ Larion canon on, apparently, Clairian Arrowsong, including her poetical compositions (third down on the list) and her handbook, Arrowsong's Sorrow.
I hadn’t realized she was in the NPC Codex, and I’m away from my copy of the Arcane Anthology, but the wiki tells me that her handbook is popular in Hymbria, which gives me all sorts of ideas. Specifically, pending narrative time and DM approval, that’s where Alaïs’ (good-heavens-Alaïs-when-are-you-going-to-admit-she’s-your-) girlfriend Hyalinnea’s from, so.
The Laments are kind of a weird masterpiece version of a skald’s spell kenning. I can see where our DM might rule they need toning down a bit, honestly, though there are some limits baked in on what spells can be drawn on and the time it takes. That said, it’s definitely the sort of thing Alaïs is all about – mitigating the limits of a bard’s spells known.
The short version is that Arrowsong’s a snarky bard whose parents tried to force her into wizardry, and came up with interesting tricks to rebel, which she detailed in her various works. Alaïs, conversely, has a good relationship with her family even if she’s not living up to a wizard’s range, but that doesn’t mean she can’t appreciate Arrowsong’s tricks.
I do like the mental image of Rosella shoving the sarcophagus while people sit on it. "This would be...a lot easier...if you would...GET OFF!"
Aaand, done! *Arranges self decoratively on sarcophagus.* I didn’t say Alaïs succeeded in staying out from underfoot. ;)
More seriously, she’s keeping her hands free because it’s one thing if the situation turns out to be one that calls for bows, but otherwise… She’s trying to keep her options open.
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Oh wow! I knew about the masterpiece and the bard archetype but I did not realize there was a specific NPC related to it. I hope my jab at a take on it does not clash too hard with your image of them. I can happily declare it non-canon if it does. I just like making up stuff, so please let me know if I'm stepping on anyone's toes too much.
And speaking of making up stuff, here's all the literature I've made up about Golarion in the past. Having it all collected in one place makes it rather obvious where my special interests are haha.
Historian: Dame Volza
Dame Volza is a contemporary hobgoblin Lastwall knight and historian who specializes in historical commentary with a primary focus on all of the historical "crusades." A true academic at heart, she was as shocked as anyone when made a huge splash in Lastwall with her meticulously-researched book excoriating Lastwall's colonial history: The Foundations of Lastwall, Taldor’s Last Colony. She primarily writes through the lens of Jubbanichian theory. She is the kind of person with very strong feelings on dialectics. Her latest book is Reclaiming the Reclamation: Lessons and Failings of the Lost Crusade by Dame Volza and is considered the definitive historical work on the Glorious Reclamation, due in large part to her keeping tomes upon tomes of notes during her time in the Reclamation from beginning to tragic end.
Author: Druk Stonefingers
Druk Stonefingers was a dwarven former soldier who began a career in literary fiction later in life after a close call with a basilisk left him with the eponymous digits. He is a popular writer amongst dwarves and in countries such as Lastwall and Mendev because of his intense devotion to stories of moral complexity about knights and similar warriors, a devotion that leaves his work often shunned by artistic communities preferring more rambunctious prose and stylish subjects, though he was popular enough in Lastwall to have produced a prodigious bibliography of 33 books. The forms tend to predictable and the prose and characterization are not always strong enough to make up for it. His best book is almost universally considered The Diamond Heart, which was also the most personal to Druk, as it was heavily autobiographical and dealt with his complex feelings regarding his disability. It was adapted into a play later in his life and has a famous, oft-quoted monologue for the line: ”I am no longer anything but mettle. Though a lump of rock may be ground into a diamond, it does so at the cost of all of its texture and color. You cannot break me no matter how hard you tried. But you can see through me as if I was air.”
Book Series: The Grand Adventures of Punch Master Shin”
The first serialized action epic that spawned the genre. Its critics often deride it out-of-hand as populist and literary junk food, but its influence cannot be understated. The 80 volumes were written over the mysterious author Gao Liang’s life, though little is known other than their name. The first 30 volumes show masterful command of the waves of tension and release that action-adventure stories rely so much upon. The series’ trademark over-the-top martial arts melodrama goes too far after 30 and eventually becomes almost a parody of itself. From 67 onwards, the female characters become vastly more complex and move well beyond the tropes of “love interest,” “femme fatale,” and “sacrificial lamb” into fully-realized character with their own agency. Those last volumes never match the pure adrenaline of the early ones, but they do provide an excellent example of how a series can mature over 80 volumes.
Author: Briana Wessex
Briana is a Five Kings Mountain dwarf and ferrier who writes historical and chivalric romance, always between women. They are fun and competently-written but tend towards typical romance melodrama. She was relatively unknown outside of enthusiast circles, but fortunately for her, Queen Galfrey of Mendev’s niece Avelina happened across her books in the Nerosyan library and loved it so much that she has personally patronized Briana so that she has enough money to write full-time.
Her most iconic work is The White Knight and her Bright Lady, a rare foray into the horror-romance genre set during the Shining Crusade against The Whispering Tyrant a millennium ago. The phantom of a wronged Ustalvic peasant woman known only as The Bright Lady binds herself to a young wayward foot-soldier—the titular White Knight—in a quest for vengeance against the Tyrant. The two confront the greatest horrors at the Tyrant’s disposal and fall in love beyond the bounds of death. But The Bright Lady will not abandon her vengeance, leading to questions of how far one can (or should) go for the one they love.
Another of her works isShe Still Haunts My Heart With her city besieged by orcs, Ulrud's mission is to brave the secret tunnels and bring help to the doomed city of Saggorak. But her lover, Silberin, would rather confront the attackers and die fighting. A story of bravery and heartbreak set against the backdrop of the greatest Dwarven city.
Book Series: The Zolversson Case Files by Nathani Proen
This still-ongoing series is about a gregarious halfling writer who takes it upon herself to uncover mysteries surrounding her small town in Varisia. The series has gone on long enough that it has well-surpassed the approximate “murders per capita” one could expect for such an area and the situations that just-so-happen to put the protagonist in the vicinity of these mysteries have grown likewise improbable. Nevertheless, the series remains a consistent favorite for its humor and emotional resonance, not to mention the compelling main character. Despite her folksy, bright demeanor, she is an incredibly smart and savvy woman who takes advantage of people constantly underestimating her. Her attitude is exemplified by her catchphrase “Start with what ya know, and you’ll get to what you don’t.”
Play: “A Vampire’s Tale”
This play tells the real-life story of Luvick Siervage, the vampire lieutenant of The Whispering Tyrant who eventually betrayed his lich master and sided with mortals against him. It is told as autobiography with Luvick himself narrating the events of his life in charismatic, worldly form. The dialogue is stylized and striking and the characters, particularly Luvick himself, are represented with great complexity and nuance. The author is unknown, but the most popular theory is that it was written by Luvick himself. This theory is partly popular because of the legend, propagated amongst superstitious theater folk, that Luvick himself visits the first performance of any production and judges the direction and acting. If he finds the play acceptable, he may leave a sign of some slight approval. If he adores it, whoever is deemed most responsible may find themselves with a long and successful career—perhaps even extending beyond death. If he loathes it, though...well, the stories are as numerous as they are gruesome.
Oh, yeah, I do need to talk to you about your plans for Lina—in particular, do you want her to be an NPC with a role in things, or more of a distant figure under your control, solely encountered via letters? I know she's your sort of default "Kingmaker PC submission", so I want to be sure I don't mess with your plans for her elsewhere.
I'm also just playing about the accents. I do have some interest in how certain accents and dialects might be weighed in Golarion as either "charming accessories" or "diction problems", but that's getting more into, well, Discourse. Some of it seems like it might come out in subtle ways with Briar unintentionally "disrespecting" dwarven accents and offending Edrukk, though. It's interesting! I'm far from a linguist, of course.
That's an exciting list! Some lore of this setting is a little different—for instance, the Whispering Tyrant never emerged the way he did in Canon Golarion, and is referenced more as an almost "folk villain". The ravaging of Absalom about a hundred years ago0 is sometimes believed to have been him, but in truth, nobody's sure of anything.
Luvick actually fits pretty well as Golarion's equivalent to Kas, the vampire who betrayed Vecna and cut away Vecna's hand and eye. So we can just work him in there.
I generally see Lastwall as a fairly "apolitic" force, a city-state of secessionists dedicated with keeping the Whispering Tyrant prisoner and totally uninterested in more "nationalist" aims. That said, I have no issue with giving them some ugly or morally-gray edges, especially in a world where the Whispering Tyrant may not even exist.
Overall, feel free to tinker and play with lore constructively and build what you want. I'll let you know if areas (or NPCs) are relevant and need to be handled with more care.
Oh, and cool to see Kittenmancer's name pop up!
Also, undead in this campaign are a fairly universal evil—not that they can't have complex motivations, but I think every D&D game, by nature of D&D's inherently violent nature, kind of needs one "unambiguous monster". Some campaigns have aberrations or fiends. We have undead.