Would a group action help in terms of increasing the effect? My thinking being that it would 5 on 2, giving us a numbers advantage.
I like that idea! Although how many of you have a point in skirmish? If I lead it, I could end up taking a lot of stress...
I keep forgetting my Not to be Trifled With special ability - it lets me take on a small group on an equal footing. Presumably that would be relevant here?
EDIT: also, nice try on the Devil's Bargain, but not today :)
Oh well. Let's hope you don't live to regret it.
That's a good call on your special ability, you won't need a setp action and you'll have full effect although I think it's still a Desperat action givn they are Tier 2 and you aren't. You'll also need to use a weapon, taking them on bare handed is suicide.
Since we have a few seconds, could we use Prowl as an ambush instead of skirmish?
Party skirmish dice: 3 (2 people)
Party prowl dice: 5 (4 people)
Yes, you can use a group action and yes it can be with Prowl instead. Also, only 3 of you need to use the group action - it's still a Desperate roll though, you're takig down better fighters than you as quickly as you can to stop them raising the alarm.
Sounds good to me! I'll happily lead the group action. I have an unusual weapon (blackjack) to do non-lethal attacks.
Heh. Good stuff. I will put the Gameplay post up later.
Sorry, Fin :(
No problem, Lolo! 1 more stress isn't going to kill me right now. I think you need to add a weapon to your loadout though, unless you were planning to hit them with the lantern? :D
Given what the GM said about them not recognising us, can we agree to let them live? Dead bodies draw attention - and payback.
Given that the roll was a 3, I'm probably going to go with hit them with the butt of her pistol - which she's brought, being a Hounda all that - and fail at the melee part :)
Nonlethal is fine with me.
I've been assuming that Cas has a basic weapon. However, a weapon isn't listed in her loadout. Does that mean she can't have a weapon?
It's true that the Lurk doesn't have any specialist weapons, but if you look at the playbook you'll see (bottom right corner) several options for weaponry: a blade or two; throwing knives; pistol(s); large weapon; unusual weapon (which is where I got the blackjack from).
Fin, Casia and Lolo get 1 XP for a desperate roll
One more tick on the clock, it's now full. You make it up to Bazsoo's office. It's locked but because the drama relies on you getting in I@m going to make a fortune roll to see how you do.
Fiine, don't give me the compliacations I'm craving :(
Also, yay for 100 posts in gameplay! Thanks for sticking with a new and reltively unfamliar game system :D
Unlocking the safe - assuming casia does it - is a Risky Action roll with standard efefct. Let me know what Action and any equipment you will be using.
Disarming the ward is a Desperate Action roll, it's Tier 2 protection and you are Tier 0 (this doesn't affect Casia due to her special ability). It's prblaby limited Effect, although you mgith be able to use some equipment to alter that and/or give you a better dice roll.
So it sounds like it is better for Jonah to Assist Casia in dealing with the ward and lock because of her ability? Not sure here. Or would dealing with the ward be a Setup to opening the safe? I'm assuming Attune is the best way to deal with the ward, Finesse the actual lock but someone let me know if I'm wrong? I also have room for Arcane Implements if those would improve our position or effect any.
Lolo has tinker and can assist Casia if she'd like and if she uses tinker for her lockpicking needs. I'm drawing a bit of a blank on how a lockpicking assist would work, however.
I'm not sure that Lolo can be of assistance with the mystical arts though. That ward worries me. Is that also tinker to deal with? EDIT: I see Jonah suggests Attune. Lolo can't help with that :/
And, GM, thanks for running this game. The system, though unfamiliar, is pretty intuitive and it is a neat, well-designed system. You're doing wonderfully at setting everything up as well.
Did you get your Court of Blades pdf?
Sorry I have been quite the last couple days. This week just so happens to have lined up with every appointment and obligation one right after the other and it’s kicking my ass. I won’t be back to normal until Monday probably. Sorry again D:
And, GM, thanks for running this game. The system, though unfamiliar, is pretty intuitive and it is a neat, well-designed system. You're doing wonderfully at setting everything up as well.
Did you get your Court of Blades pdf?
I'm having a blast running this and yes, I'm currently waiting for the weekend so I can read Court ov Blades :D
Do I even know you any more?
...
...do I even want to?
Awwwwwww :(
So it sounds like it is better for Jonah to Assist Casia in dealing with the ward and lock because of her ability? Not sure here. Or would dealing with the ward be a Setup to opening the safe? I'm assuming Attune is the best way to deal with the ward, Finesse the actual lock but someone let me know if I'm wrong? I also have room for Arcane Implements if those would improve our position or effect any.
By RAW the players tell the GM what Action they will use, but i'm happy to make suggestions. I think it's importatnt to remember that Actions aren't skils. If you use Tinker to crack the safe, you're doing it in a different way than if you use Finesse - if you think of the movies where it's the old-scholl put an ear to the door vs the mechanic's drill out the lock approach. Tinker would let you use tools, which might get you a +1d to the roll, Finesse probly doesn't invovle tools but is a lot more subtle.
I like the idea of dealing with the ward being a setp Action to opening the safe, you can certainly do it that way if you want.
@Dary - sorry it's a bad week for you, thaks for checkign in. I hope we aren't going too fast for you, please let me know
EDIT - Arcane Implements would get you a +1d to the roll to disarm the ward
Okay, then let's go with a Setup to temporarily disable the Ward and I'll take that extra die for the tools.
OK, now all I need is an Action roll from Casia.
Casia will use Tinker to open to safe, utilizing her tools in the process to get the extra die. She'll also take one stress to be sure.
@GM Sarah I’m behind because of this crazy busy week, not because of the pacing. I do feel a tad behind, but that’s not y’all’s fault. This is just One of Those Weeks.
1 more XP for Jonah for a desperate action roll.
@Casia - giving yourself +1d costs 2 stress to push, not 1. But Dary was supposed to give you one of her free assists a few possts back that you ended up not using. I'm happy for that to be used here.
Also, for future refernce using tools doesn't always give you +1d. Sometimes you need ot have the tools just to be able to make the roll in teh first place - like if you try to climb without climinbg gear, you'd be in a much worse position. I'll let you have it this time beacuase I'm nice :)
Hi Doug - good to see you're still around on these boards! Are you planning a game of something fiendish to run?
I'm not aware of any other FitD games on the Paizo forum - although either Sarah or myself will almost certainly run a Court of Blades game when it is finalised. The post-Kickstarter pdf is excellent and I have high hopes for the "Game of Thrones" add-on they're promising.
Is there another way out of the office? My initial thought is for Jonah to provide a bit of a distraction by keeping the ghost talking to allow the others to slip out another exit. Then offer the ghost its hand to support a Compel/Bargain for it to leave and not come after the Mites. After all we did help him get a portion of revenge and his hand back. I'm thinking I could also use the threat of the Wardens, coming Dimmer Sisters, or destroying the hand to aide the compel.
Hello, Doug, I'm glad to see yuou're following along. Feel free to PM me any good ideas you might have as the game runs :)
@Jonah - there's definitly a window. It's probably even big enough to get through. Whether it's locked and/or rusted shut from the years of soot and coal dust is another matter, let's play to find out. Of course, you're up at the top of the odl refinery so it's a long drop down to the ground.
On aliases, I think it's the other way around: everone except yuour frineds uses your alias and doesn't know your real nname. I think if a ghost or wizard calls you by your actualy name, you're in real trouble. Also, he's not really intrested in talking: you put him in a spirit bottle, remember? He's not very happy about that. Also also, ghosts don'e have a need for their odl body parts.
Although they can possess them. Sorry about that.
Jonah takes level 2 Harm, crushed throat. You can use - let's say Resolve - to Resist down to level 1 Harm, bruised neck.
ALso, let's see if you're able to put the amulet into the safe without any trouble. 1-3 = trouble, 4-6= you're fine
Boooo :(
Lolo has one load left to use. I'm inclined to burn it on ectoplasmic bullets. She's got two fine pistols, one of which has already made an appearance. I figure the other could be pre-loaded with the ecto ammo, just in case. She'd know enough of Jonah's work through their friendship to prepare for an eventuality like this.
So, she can shoot the ghost with her fine pistol and ectobullets. Of course, we'd need to hightail it out that window and make good on our escape. I assume the Lampblacks will be regrouping at some point.
Another thought occurs to me: we've been seen. Not identified, but seen. So, the Lampblacks are going to put together that the ghost was part of a larger operation. I'm thinking that Lolo or someone else make it look like they tried to get into the safe but failed. She's got those demo tools which could include a prybar or something else. Scrape up the side of the safe at the hinges, bang the lock a couple of times, and go. Baszo would likely open the safe to make sure it was untouched, but we've hidden the locket, right? So he's not going to notice it with a cursory search.
Alternatively, Wally's hand or something in the office could be taken to look like the target of operation was not in the safe.
What do you all think? Shoot the ghost and run? Make a diversion from locket by damaging the safe or take the hand/something else with us?
EDIT: Oh, and if anyone puts together Wally was yelling Jonah's alias... I think we may have just chosen a side :)
Got to resist otherwise I'm down 1 die. So that puts me at 6 stress.
If we're all in against Bazso, then how about Lolo shoots Wally. That helps get him off me for a bit. Assuming that doesn't kill him, then I compel him into the safe, while he's weakened. He might be trapped in there once the ward comes back up or within the metal of the safe. Actually it might be to the ghosts advantage, because he might be able to ambush Bazso and get his revenge.
Frist up, please *don't* make action rolls until we've worked out what you're doing. This is "fiction-first" gaming and the roll is meaningluess until we've had the conversation. The rulebook gives the example of a player who decides to knock down a castle wall with a sledgehammer: she rolls a Critical on her Wreck Action and achieves - absolutely nothing because, duh, castle wall. Should have talked to the GM first.
Also, why do you want to put Wally in the safe? He's a ghost - he'll just ooze back out of it. Even when the wards come back in ~15 minutes or so, they're probly not designed to hold a ghost - although he might well set them off as he leaves the safe, which ies exactly what you were trying to avoid. Also, also, the combination of Wally + amulet = happy fun times for the GM, but i dnot think the rest of you would be quite so chuffed.
Next, let's look at the Compel ability. "You can Attune to the ghost field to force a nearby ghost to appear before you and obey an order you give it." In this case thogh Wally isn't *just* "a nearby ghost" - he's *also* a gohst that is intent on killing you out of revenge for imprisonging him. Teh Action roll for your Compel is therefore going to have very, very limited Effect. You almost certainly aren't going to be able to order him into the safe, you can probably get the hand to stop attacking you, and you *might* be able to hold the ghost at a distance for a few moments before the effect wears off and you have to Compel all over again with a new Action roll.
Given that, you mgith decde you want to do something else instead. Or we can look at Lolos' suggested action.
Shhoting with electroplasmic ammo could well do something. It won't kill the ghost but you might be able to injure him enough to drive him off for a bit (long enough to escape) - and/or you could use this as a setup action to give Jonah's Compel a better Effect. In which case we have to resolve this Action before we roll for Jonah's action, becuase the outcome of the setup roll will affect the Compel roll. If the setup roll fails, Jonah might well want to do something completley different.
@Lolo - what Action do you want to use for this? And are you oging to Push (2 Stress, +1d to the roll) to get the benefit of your Sharpshooter special ability? You won't get extra dice for using the electroplasmic ammo, that's just what allows you to do this Action in the first place.
@everyone eles - let me know what you want to do here.
...honestly, I'd say you're doing just fine.
Awww, thanks! :D
Lolo has one load left to use.
Don't forget you have Shadow Rigging, which lets you take 2 "free" load of tolls or gear. Your demolition tools can count against that :)
Hi Doug - good to see you're still around on these boards! Are you planning a game of something fiendish to run?I'm perpetually tempted to jump back in, yes -- either to try BoB again, or maybe Scum and Villainy. Big time commitment, though.
True - although I have to say when I ran BitD with my tabletop group, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how little prep I needed to do in advance. The players drive most of the action both during the score and in downtime and I eventually realised that the less I came to the session with a preconceived agenda, the more fun it was to GM.
I'd definitely be up for a game of Scum & Villainy! Band of Blades is a great work, but like many great works I appreciate it without necessarily enjoying it. I bought it and read it when it came out, but ultimately decided that my tabletop group would hate it. I'm old enough to remember playing the old rules where magic-users and thieves rolled d4 starting hit points and if you failed your save against a trap it would kill you no questions asked; Paizo have done great things with the rules and made the game a LOT more fun to play in more ways that I can list, but they have slightly conditioned players to expect CR-appropriate challenges and ultimately to "win" the AP. BoB is a lot more old-school in that regard.
[Kids, lawns, etc.]
I'm not aware of any other FitD games on the Paizo forum - although either Sarah or myself will almost certainly run a Court of Blades game when it is finalised. The post-Kickstarter pdf is excellent and I have high hopes for the "Game of Thrones" add-on they're promising.This is the aristocratic intrigue one?
That's the one! Think the Medici meets Dumas meets Shakespeare (both Romeo & Juliet and a Midsummer Night's Dream)...
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Finraeth doesn't have much in his arsenal against a ghost, so he will focus on finding a way out. If I bring a climbing kit, can we throw a grappling hook to a neighbouring rooftop and climb over? I'm not keen on landing in the street right next to the Lampblacks' HQ - that could create some awkward questions. Much better if we can slip over the rooftops and away.
What action would that be? I have a point in Prowl if that is appropriate. And is it a separate action to open the window? You mentioned it was rusted shut.
Shhoting with electroplasmic ammo could well do something. It won't kill the ghost but you might be able to injure him enough to drive him off for a bit (long enough to escape) - and/or you could use this as a setup action to give Jonah's Compel a better Effect. In which case we have to resolve this Action before we roll for Jonah's action, becuase the outcome of the setup roll will affect the Compel roll. If the setup roll fails, Jonah might well want to do something completley different.
@Lolo - what Action do you want to use for this? And are you oging to Push (2 Stress, +1d to the roll) to get the benefit of your Sharpshooter special ability? You won't get extra dice for using the electroplasmic ammo, that's just what allows you to do this Action in the first place.
I suspected the Wally won't die from this shot :( Would putting him back in his bottle or banishing him be its own score or downtime project?
I was planning on having Lolo push herself. She'd use hunt, which seems appropriate for the action per the rules. She'd be aiming for the clawed hand, thinking that ghosts probably have pain points just like people do, except that they're tied to strong memories/emotional trauma and that seems like an obvious pain point. The clawed hand sticks out in the description, so it was probably the first thing the bluecoats took at Baz's order. Wally was alive at that point to know it happened and what was happening to it - the bluecoats made sure to tell him - so if Lolo shoots his clawed hand, the visceralness of that trauma comes flooding back into Wally, and he flees or is stunned long enough for us to split. That's what Lolo hopes will happen, anyways :)
The pistols are fine quality, so the only thing that does is raise the tier and thus maybe raising effect depending on Wally's tier, correct?
I'm having some trouble envisioning how Lolo's sharpshooter ability will come into play here. The pistol has two shots, if I understand the description correctly, so suppressing fire seems not possible, and she's not in need of the long range.
So, with hunt (2) and the push, Lolo would roll 3 dice?
Stuff about FitD games
I've been able to look a little at my backer PDF for Court of Blades this weekend and it does look promising. I've been impressed that this system is adapted into so many different hacks for this system. Has anyone played the pirate one?
I've long had the desire to run a gladiator campaign, that of course would have matches as a mechanic, but would also focus on the politics and underhanded world of the gladiator stables behind the scenes. I've never really been satisfied with PF/Dnd rules for this game I've envisioned, but the more I play this game, I think the BitD mechanics might work perfectly.
Finraeth doesn't have much in his arsenal against a ghost, so he will focus on finding a way out. If I bring a climbing kit, can we throw a grappling hook to a neighbouring rooftop and climb over? I'm not keen on landing in the street right next to the Lampblacks' HQ - that could create some awkward questions. Much better if we can slip over the rooftops and away.
What action would that be? I have a point in Prowl if that is appropriate. And is it a separate action to open the window? You mentioned it was rusted shut.
Good question. If you were climbint straight down to the ground, you're looking at Prowl, but for throwing a grappling hook across the street and onto the opposite rooftop, that's more about motor control. I think it's Finesse, but Prowl might work if you're desperate. I think you're looking at a Controlled roll (not much can go too badly wrong) with standard effect: if it works, you have a way out that you can climb acrros - problay with a Prowl Acction. In fact, I'm going to say that this is a setup action: if you get it right, everyone gets +1d to their Prowl roll to climb across and out to safety(?).
I think opening the window is a Forturen roll rather than Action: on a 1-3, it's stuck and you have to break the glass which adds 1 tick to the Alert clock as someone notices. On a 4-6 you can open it with a bit of difficulty but no complicatiosn. If you havve Burglary gear (Casia?) - it's separate from the lockpicks - you oculd use the oil and pry bar in that to roll 2 dice on the Fortune roll and pick the highest. Otherwise it's one dice.
Would putting him back in his bottle or banishing him be its own score or downtime project?
Good question, let me think about it. Remind me again when we get to Downtime :)
I was planning on having Lolo push herself. She'd use hunt, which seems appropriate for the action per the rules. She'd be aiming for the clawed hand, thinking that ghosts probably have pain points just like people do, except that they're tied to strong memories/emotional trauma and that seems like an obvious pain point. The clawed hand sticks out in the description, so it was probably the first thing the bluecoats took at Baz's order. Wally was alive at that point to know it happened and what was happening to it - the bluecoats made sure to tell him - so if Lolo shoots his clawed hand, the visceralness of that trauma comes flooding back into Wally, and he flees or is stunned long enough for us to split. That's what Lolo hopes will happen, anyways :)
The pistols are fine quality, so the only thing that does is raise the tier and thus maybe raising effect depending on Wally's tier, correct?
Yup, you're shooting at a higher Tier target, and if I understand you, you're shooting at the hand which is currently trying to strangle Jonah? That sounds beyond Risky to Desperate, but the quality of your weapons will move you from none/limited Effect to standard Effect. If it works, the hand stops strangling Jonah and makes Wally *slightly* more vulnerable to Jonah's Compel atempt. Note that I'm still not sold on that working, but let's see what happnes when we play it out.
I'm having some trouble envisioning how Lolo's sharpshooter ability will come into play here. The pistol has two shots, if I understand the description correctly, so suppressing fire seems not possible, and she's not in need of the long range.
So, with hunt (2) and the push, Lolo would roll 3 dice?
The pistols are 2-barreled and you have 2 of them. I see this as Lolo having a gun in each hand and being able to fire both while staying on-target even with your off-hand weapon and even with double the recoil. A combination of deadeyed shooting and true grit :D
(I'm big on visuals. I think it's somehting to do with being dyslexic)
As for suprression - let's say that Wally doesn't get a pre-emptive strike on you, the way he did on Jonah. You can make your Action roll without needing to make a Resist roll first.
And yes, 3 dice. Don't forget to take 2 stress for the Push.
Sorry. Rolled because I thought I was heading off to the mountain for the rest of the weekend and wouldn't be able to post. (Weather turned and we changed our plans.)
As for the safe. Meh. I thought given the ghost infested world where anyone can interact with ghosts, that any high level person who kept their secrets locked up would also make it pretty ghost proof. If it can keep them out, it can also keep them in. Maybe not forever, but at least long enough to give the group the two or three minutes head start needed to get out. But I'm fine with it not working.
And giving Wally the chance for revenge against the one who set him up and caused his current state of being might be a strong enough motivator to get him off the group's back at least for a while. Again, more about buying time. Whether Wally is actually successful or not isn't really important. Jonah can hope, but knows its a long shot at best.
Anyway, I'm fine dropping the whole action and just playing the punching bag a bit longer to give the others time to get out and while Lolo shoots it.
The pistols are 2-barreled and you have 2 of them. I see this as Lolo having a gun in each hand and being able to fire both while staying on-target even with your off-hand weapon and even with double the recoil. A combination of deadeyed shooting and true grit :D
So, I figure Lolo isn't carrying two pistols with ecto ammo. She's generally a pretty prepared person, having been a crew chief in her old job. So she'd have one pistol loaded with ecto ammo for an spirits, and one loaded with normie ammo for the normies. As such...
Yup, you're shooting at a higher Tier target, and if I understand you, you're shooting at the hand which is currently trying to strangle Jonah? That sounds beyond Risky to Desperate, but the quality of your weapons will move you from none/limited Effect to standard Effect. If it works, the hand stops strangling Jonah and makes Wally *slightly* more vulnerable to Jonah's Compel atempt. Note that I'm still not sold on that working, but let's see what happnes when we play it out.
I was actually thinking of shooting Wally's ghost hand, that being the pain point most susceptible to the ecto ammo. However, you've given me a better idea. Lolo is going to shoot both hands - the ecto hand with the ecto ammo, and the corporeal hand with the corporeal ammo.
Oh well.
@Jonah - thanks for the thought. This game has enough momentum that it can hold off a day or two for you to post a roll, though :)
@Lolo - mark 1 XP for a Desperate roll
@Casia - oh well. 1 tick on the Alert for the failed Fortne roll and another one for the consequence of the grappling hook. it's now at 3/4 so nothing happens right now.
Well, ok. Some bad things happen right now but there not because of you :)
So, as promised, Lolo escapes having to Resist this time round.
@Fin - you take Level 2 Harm (cracked ribs). You can Resist with Prowess to Level 1 Harm (battered and bruiesd). ALSO, you haven't made an Action roll for this "round" - feel free to do something if you want.
@Cas and Dary - you teka Level 2 Harm (frightened). You can Resist with Resole to Lvel 1 Harm (shaken).
@Jonah - with Lolo's good roll, you could use Attune/Compel to try and drive Wally away for at least long enought for you to get away from him (sort of like a Turn Undead thing?)
Had a cancellation today so I finally have some energy to post a bit again.
Yes, what pirate one?! I msissed that!
I would also be intrested in a Scum and Villainy game. Gladiators sounds cool, too. Would oils and rippling muscles be invovled? Asking for a friend.
@Fin - I liked yuour dolhphin story, very cute :) I also liek the use of the ghostbane charm, I always forget about that sort of thing. nice flavour. Are you trying to do soething here? If you want to make a Command roll, I can give you a limited Effect for using the charm, it would probly form par of the setup roll with Lolo to help Jonah's Compel Action. Also, if you are Resisting that damage, I need to see a Ressist roll from you.
@Dary - I'm glad you are still around, I'm sorry things have been so busy for you. Is ther an Action you want to take here? (actions are never obligatroy, espcially given the potential consequences for failure - if you want to conserve your energy/stress and so on for later challenges, that's rarely a bad option!)
I don’t know much about how we are supposed to deal with ghosts or if there’s anything she can really do. She has her hidden pistol, but it sounded like maybe we need special bullets? And that it has retreated for now? Any guidance as to what’s possible would be appreciated.
I agree ghosts are tricky for some of the playbooks. They don't respond to much, you problyl need to use Attune or Command, unless you have special weapons/gear. Arcane implements (page 88 of the rulebook, 1 load) might have something that you could put to a creative use, or there's ghostbane charms liek Fin is using. But like I said, sometimes holding back and saving something for later is the right move, especilly if the rest of the group is diving in. I just wanted to make sure I gave you the oppoturnity to act so you aren't left out by mistake :)
To be clear though, ghost is NOT retreating. If I gave that impression it was unintentional, my bad. Ghost is still here, bleeding ectoplasm into the carpet. Once I have Action rolls from Fin, Jonah and Dary (or a decision *not* to make an Action roll this time round) the ghost will get to go again, if it si still around.