[PF2] Malevolence (GM Watery Soup) (Inactive)

Game Master Watery Soup

With permission from the GM:

I've been running a long campaign of all the scenarios involving the Hao Jin tapestry. We have 1 player and character who has played every scenario and several players who have played most of them as I'm trying to keep the same players as much as possible.

With our latest scenario we've dropped below the threshold needed of players who have characters in range. Which means that we have 3, need 1 more and have room for up to 3 more.

So...if anyone's still interested in PF1 and has a 7-11 level character come check in at #5-10 Where Mammoths Dare Not Tread.

If you're interested in sticking around afterwards we have somewhere between 4 and 7 scenarios (one we skipped, one is a special, one requires pregens) left as well as the Ruby Phoenix Tournament module.

Thanks for the offer, but I never played PF1 :( So I will pass. I joined the band when it was at 2 version.

Unofficial stuff regarding Ebonfist's recruitment: I did, in fact, give him permission to recruit here.

Official game stuff: You will level up after this fight, so as a friendly heads up, you can nova all your daily abilities and have the opportunity to replenish consumables.

Sorry folks, had a hectic last week. I am back, but I will be able to update Fundin tomorrow. I think I have made all the changes in pathbuilder, but I need to double-check them.

I think we should also go through the loot list and decide about some items and possibly sell them or use them: like Diplomat Badge, a scroll of ghostly weapons, sculpting tools, and a necklace of fireballs.

Ideally, I would like to buy a sturdy shield, to actually use the shield block reaction ;) But I know that in AP we don't have an abundance of gold, and he did get his striking rune, so I could use the steel shield from Galimus and use it mostly to raise my AC.

Ok, sheet is updated. I am ready!

A reminder that you also have 120 gp in cash to spend, plus the following items to assign or sell:

Type I Necklace of Fireballs (4d6, 4d6)
moderate healing potion
moderate healing potion
Diplomat's Badge
sterling artisan's tools (sculpting)
scroll of restoration (4th)
scroll of ghostly weapon
traveler's any-tool

I think Fundin and Lazlo should take the potions.

The Necklace seems like we should keep it but I'd never use it. I'd just forget it.

I'll carry both the scrolls, they could come in handy.

I'll carry the any-tool, too if no one else wants it. I mean...it can be anything. Surely we'll find a use for that.

I don't have Diplomacy so the Badge doesn't help me and we should definitely turn in the tools.

The only things I really need on Lazlo are a repair kit and a striking rune for his rapier. I picked up the Diplomat's badge earlier but I don't particularly mind selling it if we need to.

Looking back at the encounter with the gibbering mouther I note that there were several checks that we were unable to get criticals on and one that required speaking Aklo. Now that we've levelled up would it be possible to make those checks again. Also since Lazlo bumped his INT he gets a new language. Would it be too metagamey to take Aklo? If so then he could attempt the Aklo+perception check. We should also check out the star-pond more closely. If we go at night we might be able to use a torch to see the constellations if it hasn't decayed too badly.

I feel like we've been reading so many occult and esoteric texts in this crazy mansion that Lazlo could easily have tipped the balance between having a familiarity with Aklo to understanding it.

It would not be metagamey at all. Aklo is a perfect choice, and there are a few things that I revealed to you in Common because they were important but nobody knew Aklo or had any way to get around it.

Lazlo can't identify the creature exactly, but it looks like mi-go, an ancestry of scientists and colonists, but with malevolent motives. While their shape resembles that of an arthropod, mi-gos are in fact a highly evolved and intelligent fungus.

Although Lazlo has read nothing of their mechanical abilities (You failed the Recall, technically), he knows of their lore: When visiting a new world, they select the greatest minds of that world as trophies, extracting their brains and preserving them within an eldritch cylinder that grants an awful immortality to the mind kept within.

Ha! Mi-Go! I knew it. Years ago a particularly memorable Call of Cthulhu encounter with them left an indelible imprint on my psyche.

Since we have 120 GP we should buy Lazlo striking rune for the rapier. The rest of the GP we should spend on whatever Galimus/Zoi want to buy.

If we sell diplomat's badge (65 gp sell price) we would have 100 + GP again. It would be enough for Staff of healing (a bit boring) or some wand, or anything else

Sometimes boring is good.

I'm terrible at planning on contingencies but I'm sure someone can think of a spell that we're likely to use enough to merit a wand but not enough for one of the spellcasters to spend a slot on it.

Seems like we need a bit more damage. Zoi is built more around healing and trying to keep people up while dealing a little bit of damage himself so spend away.

Personally, I often use wands to cast spells that I'm going to use exactly once a day - at higher levels, for instance, this could be vital beacon (one of my favorite spells). If you're not sure you're going to use a wand every day, scrolls are 1/10 to 1/15 of the price, so I'd probably prefer to have, say, 5 scrolls rather than 1 wand. If you would have used a wand less than 1/day, 5 scrolls is cheaper; if you would have used a wand more than 1/day, 5 scrolls gives you the ability to cast it multiple times.

As your GM, I'm going to point out it's unlikely this campaign last 10+ more game days. As a reference, I think you've spent 4-5 days in the house so far. Despite you just hitting Level 5, we're more than 2/3 of the way through; because completing those research sections grants a significant amount of XP, the advancement is backend-loaded.

So since things are just about to go pear shaped would Lazlo be going into this fight with a striking rune and no diplomat's badge or have we not had a chance to do that yet?

Yes, absolutely, you have anything that you bought. There was a magic hole in which you'd toss in coins and an extraplanar force tossed out whatever you wanted to buy.

If the idea of magically being able to buy things doesn't sit well, space out all the revelations that you learned over the 2-week journey back to Kintargo, you took a bunch of books with you and dreamt multiple times.

Either way, you have it all.

Sorry for the late and boring post. I've been sick for the past few days.

Hope you're feeling better.

Ugh, that is brutal.

So what do we do? Lazlo has fallen to the phantasmal killer, so far we haven't harmed the ghost. Should I try to grab Lazlos body and run?

Or are we making this our stand and hope that the dice will turn the tide?

I am all for making a final stand!

It's possible we did this in the wrong order. Galimus got a vision suggesting there are dog things we could take out before facing the ghost. A tactical retreat to go find them first might make this easier.

Also, if I can get the difficult will roll to go my way I can start throwing out Heal spells which should simultaneously help us and hurt him.

Ok, what is the understanding of Lazlo's death? Is he dead-dead? Or dying 1? In none of my games spell with Death trait did actually 'work'

So I hesitate to point this out but if Lazlo was indeed a target of phantasmal killer like I suspect he would be actually dead and not dying. Also if I recall correctly that spell has the death tag also so just being brought to 0 hp by the spell would result in immediate death.

RAW, yes. Given the stage of the adventure, I'm willing to call it Dying 2 and not dead; several parts of the lore are cast in stone (e.g., Lazlo supposed to inherit the estate).

That being said, if we want to strictly apply the rules, yes, Lazlo is dead, and I can rearrange a part of the lore so that it works.

I'm cool with there being some sort of behind the scenes machinations that prevent Lazlo's death, particularly since we seem to be closing in on the secrets of the manor.

Since we're cheating a bit perhaps some sort of repercussion to Lazlo's brush with death is in order.

I'm cool with there being some sort of behind the scenes machinations that prevent Lazlo's death, particularly since we seem to be closing in on the secrets of the manor.

Since we're cheating a bit perhaps some sort of repercussion to Lazlo's brush with death is in order.

Like paying funeral fees to Fundin?

:P

Jokes aside, this is adventure in which case i think it is fine for gm to make adjustments. It would feel extremely odd to have pc die just due to die rolls. But that is me, not a great fan of PC death.

So what do we want to do here? I am fine with us putting Ioseffs soul to rest and calling it done.

But at the same time if we want to clear all of the battles I am ok with it as well. Effectively I care more about the story than fighting (if you ask me).

I still do not know what is the story with Tschekutch, are they buried somewhere under the house? How would they come to life if we would not stop Ioseff? I think I need to reread what we discovered, as my memory is falling.

I probably should have pushed harder to fight the dogs. I think that the Ioseff fight would have been easier if we would have dealt with them first.

Now, though, I don't feel the need to put them down. We can handwave all that.

The only thing is dealing with Tchekuth, which I think involves the starless scope and the tower.

I'm trying to figure out a way to use that Inveigle ritual on the psychopomp stuck down in the basement over there to make investigating it easier.

I too could use a compiled synopsis of our discoveries.

Dang it! I posted about the fight yesterday morning and it seems to have disappeared. I probably previewed to check formatting and grammar a neglected to actually post afterwards. I'll recreate it this evening after work.

Hey folks,
First let me apologize for my sudden and unannounced absence. I am sorry that I was uncommunicative and left you all wondering what had happened. If I was on the receiving end of what I did, I couldn't help but be a little upset and disappointed, so if that is how you felt, I think that is a totally legitimate response.

I am OKAY. Doing better than I have in a long time, actually! So if you were worried about my safety, health, or well being, let me just stop you there. I am doing fabulous.

I met someone, and got involved in a committed relationship, since the summertime, and noticed at first that my "pang" for engaging in this format - PbP - began to dwindle, and initially, from July to October, I swore to myself that I would hang in, and ride out the "temporary" disinterest. Turns out I am a much better poster - creative and active - when I am uncoupled.

I am now an expecting father - baby to be born in September (cross fingers!) - as well as uprooting my life and moving from my beloved home - the Bay Area - all the way across the country to the Midcoast area of Maine. Naturally, I am at once excited and nervous, because I had always thought that I would live and die within a 20-mile radius of my home town. All that is changing for me now.

Where does that leave PbP? The short answer is: I do not know. I suspect that there will be a time when I become inclined to engage on a daily basis with the medium, but I cannot be sure, because the entire order of my life is re-arranging, and I want to make room for that as well as be realistic with what time commitments I can promise moving forward.

Going to take the week to think of it, as well as hear out any responses folks here may have. It's possible I could keep active in a single game - it's possible that even that minor commitment would overwhelm my limited capacity at this time.

Cheers!

I'm glad you're doing well. Very well, it sounds like.

This is, inherently, a format where people come and go and while it is easy to worry about people, it is often hard to get definitive answers so I appreciate you taking the time to check in.

This is, also, a hobby that is supposed to be fun and relaxing. If it is no longer either of those things then it is time to reassess why and if it is still a good hobby.

Sometimes (probably often) TTRPG's fill a void missing in real life. If that real life void gets filled, then TTRPG's may no longer be worthwhile. That is ok (maybe even good.)

So, congratulations on all the good things that have happened in your life and good luck with the changes that are coming. If they keep you away then so be it. If you decide to come back, you'll be welcome.

And I know there's at least one other father in this group who will tell you that whatever you thought about your schedule before your baby was born...well...busy and exhausted are going to take on whole new meanings for the next couple years.

Everything that Ebonfist said - thanks for checking in, and congratulations!

Enjoy as many moments of parenthood as you can. The craziness is a lot like GMing for kids: unexpected things happen out of the blue and you just have to roll with it.

Fun fact: rainzax is one of the few people who can verify that I'm a father. Or, at least, that I am able to procure a kid who refers to me as "Dad" and gets embarassed when I sing at the table.

♫ Legends never die! ♫

---

On a note that you may or may not care about, I'm not sure what the rules are about getting credit for partially completed Adventures, but if you're interested in credit, PM me and I'll find a VO to see what can be done.

Hey folks,

First let me apologize for my sudden and unannounced absence. I am sorry that I was uncommunicative and left you all wondering what had happened. If I was on the receiving end of what I did, I couldn't help but be a little upset and disappointed, so if that is how you felt, I think that is a totally legitimate response.

I am OKAY. Doing better than I have in a long time, actually! So if you were worried about my safety, health, or well being, let me just stop you there. I am doing fabulous.

I met someone, and got involved in a committed relationship, since the summertime, and noticed at first that my "pang" for engaging in this format - PbP - began to dwindle, and initially, from July to October, I swore to myself that I would hang in, and ride out the "temporary" disinterest. Turns out I am a much better poster - creative and active - when I am uncoupled.

I am now an expecting father - baby to be born in September (cross fingers!) - as well as uprooting my life and moving from my beloved home - the Bay Area - all the way across the country to the Midcoast area of Maine. Naturally, I am at once excited and nervous, because I had always thought that I would live and die within a 20-mile radius of my home town. All that is changing for me now.

Where does that leave PbP? The short answer is: I do not know. I suspect that there will be a time when I become inclined to engage on a daily basis with the medium, but I cannot be sure, because the entire order of my life is re-arranging, and I want to make room for that as well as be realistic with what time commitments I can promise moving forward.

Going to take the week to think of it, as well as hear out any responses folks here may have. It's possible I could keep active in a single game - it's possible that even that minor commitment would overwhelm my limited capacity at this time.

Cheers!

Glad to hear you're doing well.

What's this I see on the outpost signups? Astrid and Quinoline together again? Nice! Shield maidens for the win!

Sorry for the silence - I was at a convention on Fri-Sat.

What's this I see on the outpost signups? Astrid and Quinoline together again? Nice! Shield maidens for the win!

Winoline!

Okay, so I kind of forgot Galimus was in my PFS1 game and I kind of spilled the beans there about some future plans.

We're wrapping up, and I'll have Chronicles out before the convention begins if that affects any of your characters in the convention. There's still stuff to be done, though.

---

The beans:

I've enjoyed GMing in the longer format, and intend to continue doing so. I'm going to (sooner or later) offer another Adventure, and all of you can have priority seating if you'd like. You're also welcome to help me select the Adventure - I've played Fall of Plaguestone, and am currently playing in Troubles in Otari and Night of the Grey Death. I'd be willing to run any of those three, although the latter two would have to wait until I finish playing (I'm about 2/3 of the way through Troubles and mid-BBE fight at the very end of Night).

I also played #4-05 at a convention this past weekend and really enjoyed it, and am considering a #4-05 / #4-10 doubleheader, even though #4-10 isn't out yet. I'd also consider a #4-01 / #4-05 / #4-10 triple-header.

Hmm, I've played Plaguestone and I am playing Grey Death. I did not play Troubles in Otari, but by the time you finish playing it (I will finish GM'ing it :D), but that would not stop me from playing if you don't mind. I am usually good to not spill any knowledge to the team members, and still participate.

With regards to scenario, I haven't played 4-05/4-10 so that would also be an option for me.

*gasp and shock* I cannot believe that you forgot who I was!

I've really enjoyed this adventure and the way you've run it so I'd love to continue with another adventure.

I don't have any opinion about which one to play and, it turns out, I haven't played any Season 4 stuff, so I'd be up for any of them.

*gasp and shock* I cannot believe that you forgot who I was!

I can't be too indignant. I keep forgetting that Lazlo is someone I know in person.

I have:

Plaguestone (GM and Played)
Night of the Gray Death (GM)
Troubles in Otari (Neither played nor GM'd)

So, Troubles in Otari sounds good. Full disclosure for Farol: I already purchased the scenario with the most recent Humble Bundle, but I haven't done anything but verify that the PDF is not blank. There will be a significant gap in time, then, while I finish playing - probably a few months.

In the meantime, I'm going to offer the Beginner's Box (which I also got with the Humble Bundle), the first part in line with the convention (I think I can late-register for the convention since I'm not requesting scenario support). You're all also welcome to have a seat at that table if you wish, otherwise, I will offer it with priority for new players.

As an aside, there will be zero hurt feelings if you say you're reserving a spot now, and then change your mind later.

I am fine waiting, I am also fine if we want to join the Troubles in Otari with Beginner's Box into some sort of continuation.

I heard that now Beginner box can be played with characters built using regular rules instead of simplified ones (which I very much prefer!).

So I would gladly join Beginer Box, (as I also checked that it is a repeatable)

I haven't played any of that stuff and my seatbelt is buckled so I'm taking this ride wherever it goes.

I should have enough AcP for my new level 1 character by then. I am 1 AcP away. I was going to apply this chronicle to him to make him level 2 as that is when he starts to open up but I can apply a GM scenario and both Beginner Boxes for the same effect.

For PFS reporting, I will need the following information.

Character Name (optional):
PFS number (required):
Faction (required):
Level for the 1st 4 XP (required):
Level for the 2nd 4 XP (required):
Level for the 3rd 4 XP (required):
Downtime for the 1st 4 XP (optional):
Downtime for the 2nd 4 XP (optional):
Downtime for the 3rd 4 XP (optional):