GM Pudding's Night of the Gray Death (Inactive)

Game Master Tom G

In Galt's short history the small nation has undergone a series of unending rebellions, each one violent but ultimately inneffective at achieving real change. The only constants have been the Gray Gardeners; ruthless masked enforcers who act without accountability, and the Final Blades, the magical guillotines they use that take souls as well as lives. Now after so long there are whispers of events that might change the cycle of destruction, and of the legendary heroes that might change the destiny of a nation.

Dot in here

A middle-aged woman dressed in the comfortable leathers of an aristocrat sits at writing desk in a well appointed study. Around her old sagging walls that have been freshly painted, a stone floor worn smooth. She has dark skin, and even inside wears a lush red scarf over a metal choker. She dips a quill into an inkpot and puts nib to page. She writes carefully but quickly, and folds the letter into a thick envelope bearing the name "Gregoth Paalus" written in exquisite caligraphy. She melts some wax over a candle and drips it over the envelope's seal, before stamping it with the crest of her house.

She picks up the sealed envelope and collects another four from a drawer, each already sealed and bearing a different name. Marie-Félicité-Denise Pleyel is on the top, the writing slightly smaller to fit it all on. She stands and walks to the door, and when she opens it hands the envelopes to a guard standing at attention. The guard salutes, barks "At once milady", and spins on a heel before leaving. The woman returns to her room, takes off her scarf to place it carefully on a stand, and looks at a portrait of a woman on the wall who could be and older version of herself. "Soon" she whispers. "Soon"

The letters find their way across the Galt and the Inner Sea to each of you.

The letters also contain a small map with the address of her manor

For your own reasons, you each decide to accept the summons, and as luck would have it you arrive in Isarn on the same morning. Galt's capital city is grand and imposing, its famed public monuments and ubiquitous stone buildings in an intricate gothic style are known across the inner sea. For those of you who may not have visited Isarn before however, the reality is a little less than the stories would have you believe, for many of the buildings show signs of damage, are caked with grime or disused. Some of the damage is from neglect, but occasionally a building is missing a large chunk, presumably from canon fire or magical exploisions. The locals are quiet and furtive, not eager to meet your gaze.

The manor of the Camilia Drannoch is a short walk from the Monolith, the blackened fortress and prison that serves as the seat of government in Galt. Those of you who know the city may choose to take a longer path around the monolith, because the Final Blade "Madame Margery" that stands in front of it never fails to provoke dread in those that witness it.

As each arrives at the modest manor house you are bade to await the Chairwoman's return from the monolith in a gloomy study. Signs of its recent and incomplete redecoration show through where the paint has begun to flake at the corners of the room and in the many grooves in the floor where furniture has been dragged. As you arrive and wait others are also ushered in, until five heros of reknown are gathered.

And we're off! When your character is finalised please introduce yourself and describe your journey to Isarn. There's no rush, I just wanted to make sure we had a place for folks to check-in to say that they're ready

Never thought I’d be back here.

Bellaluna solemnly stares toward the Monolith, her mouth dry. She stares at the imposing guillotine in front of the fortress, almost unable to look away. She instinctively moves her hand to her neck—she can still hear the brief sound of its blade flying downward. It had only moved a couple of inches, maybe a foot, before it jammed, but she sound is still etched deeply into her mind. The elf doesn’t realize just how long she’s been holding her breath until she suddenly needs to inhale again. She smirks, though it is far from sincere, as she looks at the guillotine like it were an old acquaintance. ”It’s been quite some time, Margaery.”

Bellaluna finally tears herself away from the dear madame as she makes her way to the Chairwoman’s estate, her trusty crossbows at each hip with only her cloak concealing their presence.

Why the hell did I come here?!

The elf never wanted to see this city ever again, especially not when someone here knows who she is. She should have burned the Drannoch’s letter and laughed it off, telling herself that it was probably someone she had long forgotten looking for an alias that Bellaluna had long moved past. But not even Bellaluna could sell a lie that outrageous. Someone here knows who she is, and if she ignores it, then that could put everything she built at risk. If she walks away now, her identity would be given to the Gardeners, and Margaery would finally taste her blood.

Bellaluna cautiously moves toward the manor, her paranoia built from years on the lamb not eased in the least. She places herself down on a recently-moved couch in Camilia’s manor and pulls out one of her crossbows and begins fiddling with it, an action that belies her elven beauty. As her soon-to-be compatriots continue to file in, she pays them no mind, not wanting to be the first to speak in this situation.

... you are bade to await the Chairwoman's return from the monolith ...

Oops, a slight correction is needed there. She isn't at the Monolith because she's gravely ill. Instead you were just told that she would join you shortly

Félicité arrives in Isarn clad in mourner's clothing, an elegant black dress in slight disrepair and a hat with black mesh around the edges. She feigns disinterest in those around her, but through furtive glances she studies them carefully.

She stops by a tavern where some musicians are playing traditional Galtan music. It is no longer "her" music, but it reminds her of her childhood. Their play is technically proficient, but lacks the joy and carelessness she associates with her memories. The servers bring her a complimentary glass of wine, mumbling some half-hearted consolations for her loss. She leaves the watered-down wine half-finished, and a few coins on the table.

At the manor, she finds herself in the foyer with an elf that catches her eye.

Perception: 1d20 + 30 ⇒ (7) + 30 = 37

The elf is playing with a crossbow, but has straps to hide them otherwise. Self-confident enough that she hides her weapons, the polar opposite of the guards that brandish their weapons and armor with few skills to use them, Félicité thinks to herself.

She offers a polite smile and a dainty handshake.

"My name is Marie-Félicité-Denise Pleyel, Félicité for short. Has Madame Drannoch called you here, as well?" she asks Bellaluna.

Bellaluna raises an eyebrow at the elderly human, particularly the barely visible wings that come from her back, but otherwise smiles warmly and accepts the handshake. ”Bellaluna. Pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss…” She stumbles over the woman’s name for a bit before just saying ”Felicity.” She knows it’s partially incorrect, but the elf doesn’t fully care. ”And no; the lady of the house is a friend of mine. I just decided to pay a visit to the poor ailing Camilia.” Bellaluna is fully aware of the unlikeliness of a Revolutionary Council member being acquainted with someone such as herself—she was just openly brandishing a crossbow, after all—but she has learned over the years that the slightest bit of information can lead to an eventual downfall.

Deception: 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (11) + 31 = 42 Technically this is a secret check, but considering everyone knows that I’m Lying I figured it fair to roll it publicly; plus it’s just for roleplay, anyway.

Turrey Butterhill was just nearing the end of a two-week engagement performing at the White Grotto in Absolom's Ivy District when he got the letter.

Who am I to turn away a cry of distress...and so soon after hearing from Thibeault about his loss? Perhaps this is a sign: a chance to soothe an old friend, and also honor Shelyn by restoring some of Her beauty to that battered nation?

Five days later, Turrey arrived, flying overhead on the enchanted carpet he'd been given by the Satrap of Qadira. His first stop was to visit his old flame, Thibeault. Turrey arrived at the potter's workshop, and was pleased to see that Thibeault's skill had grown over the years. His wine jugs were shapely, and boldly glazed. When he saw the man--gaunter than he remembered, rings under his eyes, grey stubble on his jaw--he smiled soberly. They sat for hours. Thibeault told Turrey tales of his husband, Olivier, recently executed by the artless Gardeners. Turrey listened, gave Thibeault the space he needed to cry...and then they drank and sang.

When it was time for Turrey to meet the Chairwoman, Thibeault walked him to her manor. The path they walked took them through trampled gardens and past broken statues, which brought tears anew to the eyes of the bard. Turrey had heard many a tale of Galt's decline, but seeing it first hand was another thing entirely. "Thibeault, it grieves me to see such beauty squandered. Thank you for continuing to practice your craft. Your pots and flagons bring some light to this nation. I pray to the Eternal Rose that perhaps, while I'm here, I can do the same."

. . .

As the elf and the grieving widow introduce themselves, a halfling enters and bows dramatically. He wears a rich green cloak with a silver clasp in the shape of a stylized songbird over a fashionable orange jerkin with gold trim. He has a shortbow on his back, and a mithral trumpet hung around his neck by a purple ribbon. He gives each of the strangers a warm smile. The presence he commands far outsizes his small frame.

”Greetings and salutations, kind souls. Turrey Butterhill, Singer of Songs, at your service. Do we await the Chairwoman together? If so, pray, tell me who might you two be?”

DC 10 Society to recognize Turrey Butterhil, and know of his fame as a legendary performer. Those who’re aware of him “usually have an attitude toward you one step better than normal”...though of course that really just applies to NPCs.

Deception 1d20+31 = 42 vs DC 38

Félicité sees no reason to doubt Bellaluna's story.

DC 10 Society to recognize Turrey Butterhil, and know of his fame as a legendary performer.

Society: 1d20 + 30 ⇒ (4) + 30 = 34 vs DC 10

"Monsieur Butterhill, I am a big fan of your music. I do not often find myself in Absalom, but when I do, I always make sure I attend a concert. I had no idea I was in such august company.
Marie-Félicité-Denise Pleyel," she introduces, extending her somewhat shaky hand. She's never met a celebrity before.

The halfling bard grins, takes her hand, and kisses it. "Please, madame, call me Turrey.

"I know not how demanding Councilwoman Drannoch's request of us will prove--I assume that's why you're here as well?--but my fervent hope is to be able to perform a concert as well while I'm here in Galt. I've performed many places across Avistan and Garund, from Oppara to Nantambu to Kyonin, but I can already see that Galt badly needs some of The Eternal Rose's light. I trust there's still a concert hall or stadium here, for lovers of the arts?"

He pauses to nod at the elven warrior beside Félicité as well. "I know little of this Councilwoman Drannoch, and my curiosity is piqued. What do you know of her? And who are these others she has called together here today? Surely she hasn't just called musicians to her aid?"

Literally cannot fail that Society check.

Bellaluna glances up at the newcomer only to do a sharp double-take to confirm who it was that she just saw. She stares completely dumbfounded at the halfling until he turns his attention to her. She stumbles over her words a bit—partly because she’s unsure how to follow up on her previous lie, partly because she’s in the presence of a literal celebrity.

”Well, uh, sorry, but I’m not really at liberty to discuss Camilia’s private life to strangers, even incredibly famous musicians…Sorry, but why in heaven are you here? Surely you’re a busy and very booked man; coming all the way to the hellscape that is Galt would require more than a little convincing.”

Turrey smiles (a smile that has melted many hearts). "What can I say, I'm a romantic.

"I received a letter from an old beau of mine from many years prior, letting me know his husband had been killed by Galt's brutish, artless Grey Gardeners...and not two mornings later, I received a plea for help from Madame Drannoch, who apparently was moved by one of my concerts in Oppara. I took it as a sign from the Eternal Rose, and decided to see if I could bring a bit of comfort to an old flame, and perhaps even to a bit of beauty to a nation with a glorious past, that has lost its way."

He offers his hand to the elf. "And you? I don't believe we've met, but I know an able warrior when I see one. What's your name? You say you work for Madame Drannoch?"

The sound of heavy, uneven footsteps arrives in the foyer before their owner does. The shadows of the rafters cling to the tall human, as if loathe to give up their nests in the craters and jagged scars that crease and wind their way across his weathered face. His grey hair is stuck to his forehead by sweat and road grime - the unkempt beard below looks to be in similar condition. A dented and pitted breastplate hangs from his shoulders, its cracked surface haphazardly patched a dozen times over until it is nearly as warped and uneven as the man underneath. His eyes, cloudy with age, drift as though tracking some unseen movement out the door and down the street and back to the guillotine in front of the prison before snapping back to the scene in front of him.

Society vs DC 10: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (4) + 0 = 4

"'Scuze me," he murmurs softly, rough voice like that of someone who had spent the evening prior screaming at the stars. "This's the Lady Drannoch's house, right? Oh, pardon me..." Quickly he pulls a patched leather glove off his left hand. "Name's Gregoth - uh, Gregoth Paalus if'n't pleases you. Who might you all be? Relatives?" He holds the hand out, his eyes lingering on the black-clad woman's mourning clothes for a moment longer than the others. "Oh... She ain't dead already, is she?"

"Oh, no," Félicité explains, "These clothes are in memory of my husband."

"Monsieur Paalus, my name is Marie-Félicité-Denise Pleyel, it increasingly seems like we have all been called here for the same unknown purpose."

”Bellaluna. I’m just a friend of the lady of the house. Though it seems that this was an interesting time to make a visit.”

Arriving in Isarn, Kaldren wastes little time heading straight for Lady Drannoch's home. Though he deliberately goes out of his way to avoid passing the Final Blade. At the manor house Kaldren shows the letter he received and is directed to a room to await Lady Drannoch.

Surprised to find the room occupied, Kaldren stands in the doorway taking a long look at each of the people gathered within. Kaldren is a large imposing human man in his later years, his hair is grey and thinning and his face is scarred and etched with the lines of many decades. He is dressed in a black cassock embroidered with Pharasma's spiral on the chest. A huge war flail hangs at his side and a pack is slung over one shoulder.

Anyone who meets his gaze gets the impression that he is looking at something deep within them and considering careful what he sees there. Finally after a slightly uncomfortable amount of time he bows deeply and speaks in a low powerful voice "Greetings to you all, I am Kaldren and I am a servant of the Lady Pharasma. Who might you be?"

Just moments after Kaldren arrives and before anyone has a proper chance to introduce themselves, the door opens again. This time a finely dressed middle-aged woman wearing a red scarf enters the room, trailed by a servant. She strides with confidence to the other side of her writing desk, no sign at all of any illness or frailty. She is dressed practically in a well-tailored doublet, but wears a red scarf over a metal choker even indoors.

I've updated the slides with a picture

"Ah you've all arrived, excellent. Wesley, some tea please; and bring the other items as well"

After Wesley has bowed and closes the door, she turns a grateful smile on all of you.

"Thank you so much for answering my call. I apologize for the misdirection in bringing you here. I'm playing a dangerous political game — one in which I hope you’ll join me — and a bit of deception helps us both. I'm sure all of you already know that the Gray Gardeners are Galt's ruthless executioners, some of you know it all too well."

Her eyes flick an apologetic glance toward Félicité and Bellaluna before she continues.

"They maintain the final blades, magical guillotines of such power that they trap the souls of executed victims within them. They Gray Gardeners have a stranglehold on Galt's future. Their arrests, executions, and political machinations ensure my country can't ever rise from the stew of chaos in which it's boiled for half a century"

She speaks with such passion and with such natural charisma that it's hard not to get swept along with her.

"Because the Gray Gardeners are always masked or hooded, no one knows who they are. Maybe they're magistrates or shopkeepers. Or perhaps they're beggars or cultists."

She draws in a deep breath and closes her eyes for a second to steady herself.

"I have hated the Gray Gardeners from the moment they executed my mother in the final blade named Silent Lenore many years ago. But I knew enough to play the long game politically, and I've risen to the top of Galt's messy politics while waiting for a moment to strike back against the worst villains of Galt"

Carried along by her own fury she rises from her chair and leans over her desk toward you all.

"That moment is now."

"The Gray Gardeners operate out of an old monastery in the riverside city of Litran. I have received an invite to a masquerade they are hosting a week from now. I have reliable intelligence that the executioners have an ulterior motive, and their leadership is being recalled to Litran for it. Dignitaries from across Galt are attending, and it's likely some of those dignitaries are themselves Gray Gardeners. I am feigning sickness and staying here for three reasons. First, I want to quell the ridiculous suspicions that I'm one of the Gray Gardeners by not going at all. Second, my illness gives a good reason for agents I trust — you — to visit Litran in the guise of seeking a rare herbal remedy. Finally I don't trust myself to keep my sword out of my hand around those responsible for murdering my mother and so many others."

She does look to Félicité at this point, meeting her gaze if possible

"I've called in favours and employed every asset in my intelligence network to gather you here, the most skilled and powerful adventurers and investigators on the continent. I believe we can use this rare opportunity to strike at the Gardeners and break their hold on Galt. Will you help me?"

Society +23 to Recall Knowledge on anything related to the final blade Silent Lenore? (Does it have a “home,” like Madame Margaery in Isarn; any well-known officials that were beheaded with the guillotine; etc.)

Bellaluna smirks as Camilia comes out completely healthy. ”Well, well, well. Looks like I’m not the only one to casually lie about false pretenses.” This is, surprisingly, the first genuinely honest thing the elf has said since arriving in Isarn. She is genuinely impressed by the councilwoman’s deceitful thinking.

”A party where everyone is parading around in masks while completely ignoring the hell going on outside? Sounds like the perfect place for the Gardeners to gather. But how did you get an invite, dear?” If she Lies to Bellaluna it’s DC 41.

”Secondly, what even is the plan here? Go to the party, figure out what’s going on, then smack some Gardener tush? I mean, I’m fine with that, but it definitely seems too impulsive to just squander a great opportunity like this one.”

Félicité flinches a little when Silent Lenore is mentioned, but meets Camilia's gaze. Félicité maintains a neutral face as much as she can - vengeance on the Gray Gardeners would be quite a prize, but she's been made this offer before, and that which seems too good to be true usually is.

"Camilia, how will we know who is a Gray Gardener and who is not? Do you expect us to infiltrate the meeting and take care of this problem ourselves, or do you expect that we'd report back to you?"

Camilia takes Félicité's question as a good sign.

"I have a trusted friend in Litran, Keznin Nevarmo. I can vouch for him, if there is one person in this country who I can say for certain isn't a Gray Gardener it's Keznin." She smiles as she thinks fondly of some memory."He is a herbalist and follower of Pharasma, "

She pauses to bow her head slightly toward Kaldren as a sign of respsect.

"I propose that you travel to Litran to meet with Keznin, under the cover of retrieving a herbal remedy for me. Such concoctions take time to prepare, giving you time to look around Litran and find out what you can about the Gray Gardeners: why they're meeting, who their key leaders are, and what they're planning. If you see a good oportunity to infiltrate or even overthrow the wicked organiziation, then strike while you have the chance, for a better one may not come again."

As she's looking each of you in the eye to see what you think of her plan, the door opens and Wesley enters with a tray of tea enough for all of you. On the gleaming metal tray is a black velvet pouch that looks like it might contain a few coins. Wesley gives the pouch to Camilia who looks pleased, before he starts pouring from the steaming teapot into some fine china mugs and handing them around.

"As I said I have invested considerable resources into finding a group of people with the capability and the motivation to help me. I offer these as a token of my faith in you, and of the hope you represent for all the people of Galt. May your blades be as sharp as theirs"

She hands the pouch to Félicité, who finds 5 runestones inside each etched with the same rune.

They are five +3 weapon potency runes

"I commissioned these specifically for your weapons, and I have trusted servants who can apply them now if you can delay your leaving until tomorrow. It takes 3 days to travel to Litran, so you will still have 3 days before the Masquerade"

She looks up at you all to see if you agree, or have any further questions.

Félicité looks a little displeased at having to give up her primary weapon for a whole day, but acquieses and nods at the servant.

"Madame Drannoch, I accept your sign of good faith, and agree to the plan as you've outlined."

Félicité makes a mental note of which weapons her new allies hand over.

"Do we have appropriate skills for infiltrating a masquerade ball, or do we need some additional items?"

Kaldren listens carefully to what Lady Drannoch has to say, though his hand does stray toward the haft of his flail at the mention of the Final Blades. "I am not well versed in the ways of infiltration, but If there is the slightest chance that I can assist in the destruction of those abominations the gray gardeners use to meet out their so called justice; then I am willing."

He draws the flail from his belt and places it into the servants hands causing them to stagger slightly as he releases the weight of the weapon."These runes can not have been easy to obtain, I will accept the gift but know that it is not necessary."

Turrey smiles, and sips his tea. "Councilwoman Drannoch, I am touched that my music stayed with you enough that you invited me into this circle. The Grey Gardeners are butchers of beauty. If I can help some poet to reach their final stanza, I willingly accept."

The halfling bard take the bow from his back and hands it to Wesley. "Thank you, friend."

Sitting back and sipping his tea again, Turrey muses aloud, "I wonder if the Gardeners have settled on the entertainment for their event? Shall I arrive incognito? Or see about them hiring Turrey Butterhill to play for their guests?"

"Speaking of which," Turrey stands, and bows to Kalden and Gregoth. "We were ushered in in such a hurry, I didn't yet get to introduce myself. I am Turrey Butterhill: grand master bard of the Rhapsodic College in Oppara, who turned the tide of the frozen dead's assault on Vigil with a song, brokered peace between feuding efreet and shaitans, and brought a tear to the eye of Queen Telandia, with my rendition of the Starfall Sonnets. You two look like mighty warriors--as does Madame Drannock's old friend Bellaluna here--and I pray to the Eternal Rose that I'll be able to keep you in merry spirits as we go about our tasks.

"I think you said you're Kaldren, yes? If you serve the Mother of Souls, then I welcome your company. And Gregoth, yes? I know not yet who your Muse is, but judging from your appearance they are a demanding one. Speaking of which, would you care for a prestidigitation to freshen up a bit? It looks like you've been traveling hard for days."

Kaldren returns Turrey's bow "It is a pleasure to meet you Turrey, and the rest of you." Returning to his seat Kaldren turns his attention back to Lady Drannoch and asks "Is there anything more you can tell us about this gathering? What is the current situation here?"

“… who turned the tide of the frozen dead's assault on Vigil with a song…”

Gregoth stiffens partway through handing a longsword with notches and chips in its blade to Wesley as the musician speaks. “I don’t remember hearing no music when Vigil was destroyed,” he says at last, low voice almost a growl. “Don’t recall no frozen things attacking the city ‘fore it fell neither.”

"Oh my, were you there in '19? I wish I'd be near--I was deep undercover, infiltrating a Rahadoumi slave ring--though if I'm honest I doubt I could've done anything that time, from the tales I've heard of the Radiant Fire." The bard shudders. "No, I was called to Virgil near the end of the 4711 assault. The troops were wavering under the onslaught. It was their blades that pushed the Tyrant's army back, that time...but I'll claim some credit to, in helping them to rally when they began to falter.

"It's tragic to know that it's rubble now. If you have tales to tell from the fall, I'd gladly hear them over a meal and a flagon of mead. Songs have been written of it already, of course, but I dare say the tragedy deserves more."

”’’19’? That was two years ago; you don’t have to refer to the year like it was several decades ago.”

Bellaluna reluctantly hands off one of her crossbows to Wesley as she speaks.

Turrey smiles at Bellaluna. "It's a bardic thing. Helps with the meter--Not so much in Elvish, admittedly, but in Common--and after enough years, it becomes a habit."

Then he looks Gregoth up and down. "Say...I think I've heard of you. Are you the one they call 'The Survivor'?"

“… If you have tales to tell from the fall, I'd gladly hear them over a meal and a flagon of mead. Songs have been written of it already, of course, but I dare say the tragedy deserves more."

“You ain’t gonna wanna hear ‘bout it over food - unless you ain’t eager to keep it in your belly.” Gregoth answers shortly. “And the dead ain’t comin’ back, no matter how much you sing to them. Let the ghosts lie.” The air darkens slightly around him as he speaks.

"Say...I think I've heard of you. Are you the one they call 'The Survivor'?"

“Don’t know ‘bout what ‘they’ say.” The warrior rubs the back of his neck with his ungloved hand. He doesn’t meet the smaller man’s gaze, glancing at the floor to the side instead. “Reginald used to call me a ‘right bastard’ - at least before that flyin’ skeleton shot him with its own rib. Vellectin called me ‘dead man’. Condrelle… They liked to use ‘racehorse’ on account of the leg.” He touches the breastplate across his chest, the shield strapped to his back, an icy-blue half-mask hanging from his belt. “But they’re gone, and I’m still here… Don’t know if that makes me a survivor, or somethin’ else.”

Camilia was about to answer Kaldren's question, but she catches herself when Gregoth's reply to Turrey introduces some tension. After a moment's pause after the exchange, she resumes.

"I'm afraid here in Isarn I have little more to go on that the invitation, which was devoid of any details, and had to be returned in any case. My hope is that with Keznin closer to the action in Litran that he might have some more information for you, or at least be able to tell you where to start."

She takes out a piece of parchment from one of the drawers in her desk and unfolds it in front of you, revealing a map of a small city with the name "Litran" in ornate calligraphy in the corner.

Slides updated with a map of Litran

"Keznin's shop, "Soul Mother's Herbs"" is here," She jabs a finger at a small street at the southern end of the map. "It's tucked into a small side alley, but you'll smell it before you see it, herbs and flowers wafting on the breeze"

She doesn't mark the map before she hands it over to you.

"I suggest you stay here tonight, I have four guest rooms that are already made up, I'm afraid two of you will need to share. My craftswoman Marion will be leading the work on your weapons in the workshop, please feel free to supervise if you wish; they should be ready by first light"

If anyone has any funds left and wanted to pick up a third property rune for their weapon as well there's a chance to do that. For our purposes Isarn is a 12th level settlement so has common items up to that level readily available. I'm about to pack my computer up for a few days so I'll move us on to the next section, feel free to describe any evening interactions

After spending the night in the relative luxury of the chairwoman's manor, you set off for Litran armed with your freshly engraved weapons of rare power.

How do you want to travel? On foot it's 60 miles to cover so will take you three days, leaving you three days before the masquerade. You could get some horses to speed that up (it looks like that would shave a day off the travel time, Turrey's magic carpet has the same speed as a horse at the risk of drawing attention), or if anyone has any magical means that's an option too.

A riding horse is only 1 sp/day, so I don't think there's any reason to travel by foot. The carpet seems fine - we're going to draw a ton of attention anyway, he's super famous.

Camilia's steward Wesley recommends a nearby livery that has a sister establishment in Litran, and you procure a set of healthy horses to carry you and your equipment across the well-travelled route.

The first day of travel is unremarkable. The road to Litran is well maintained, and you pass travellers on foot frequently, most travelling the same direction as you. The weather is beautiful, a warm and sunny autumn's day, but each and every traveller keep their eyes down and remain quiet as you pass, not even a traveller's greeting to be heard, or a remark on the halfing flying alongside the horses. Occasionally one will look up and gasp when they recognize Turrey, and that serves as an opener into some roadside conversations. You learn that most are travelling for the "Harvest Jubilee"; a festival that was due to be held in Litran four years ago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Red Revolution, but that has been postponed each year due to the ongoing troubles. The travellers are excited for the festival this year, and some even speak in hushed tones about a special event at the Gray Monastery that the Grey Gardeners are holding.

"... not that I'd ever get an invitation to such an event", one particularly star-struck young woman confides to Turrey as you pause your travel to water the horses and make conversation, "but I wouldn't be comfortable among so many executioners regardless".

The second day of travel passes much as the first, but by the time you are approaching Litran the traffic toward the city has swelled, and you begin to wonder if you're going to have trouble finding somehwere to stay. As you approach the sun is setting and thick clouds have gathered, and your eye is drawn to the huge gray castle overlooking Litran; the Gray Monastery that serves as headquarters for the Gray Gardeners.

There's some art in the slides

Moving through the streets anonymously is made easier by the throng of visitors here for the Harvest Jubilee. You can easily make your way to the location of Soul Mother's Herbs, and as promised the pleasant floral aroma is detectable several streets away. When you enter you're greeting with a fairly large shop made crowded by hundreds of flowers, dried and living, bottles of herbs and ingredients, and alchemical equipment of every imaginable kind. The shop is empty save for a bespectacled tengu grinding some herbs at a desk.

"Greetings," the raven-headed tengu caws, setting down his pestle and extending his hand in welcome.

"Keznin Nevarmo, herbalist, at your service. I suspect you've come a long way. Please, come in and close the door behind you so we can talk about what you need."

There's art of Keznin in the slides too

After you're in all and the door is closed behind you, he moves to the door and flips the sign over so that it shows "Closed" to the street, and he locks the door for good measure.

"Please, if you'll follow me into the greenhouse I'll be able to see to your needs"

He takes you through a set of double doors into an expansive greenhouse arrayed with some chairs. He closes the space off by drawing some curtains, and then takes a seat. After a few cagey exchanges he establishes that you are agents of Camilia.

"I've been expecting you, so I've been gathering what information I can. The "event" is an invitation-only masquerade ball, to be held in four nights in the great ballroom of the Gray Monastery. The monastery has always been closely guarded, so this event provides an unprecedented opportunity to gain access. Invitations seem virtually impossible to come by. Certainly, those who have been invited don't seem to want to advertise it."

He peers down over his spectacles at you all to make sure you're all listening.

"There seem to be more Gray Gardeners in town that usual, and many of these could be highly placed in their clandestine leadership. It may be that they're all here for the masquerade, but I wonder if they might have other operations in town too. In addition, there are rumours that the Gray Gardeners are planning some kind of revelation or announcement for the masque attendees, but no-one is sure what it will be. Perhaps you might have look asking around town. I will help however I'm able. You may stay here in my shop if you wish, I know Litran is crowded at the minute. I have also brewed you some elixirs to help you"

He hands each of you an Elixir of Life (Major) before sitting back down.

"How can I help?"

Does anyone have any questions for Keznin? After that you'll have four days to find things out in Litran. You can use the Gather Information activity of Diplomacy, but you may also use other skills to the same effect, for example you may use stealth to hide and listen to conversations, deception to impersonate an official. Other skills may be ok too, if the justification is reasonable. You could also aid someone else's check. All are secret, so pick a skill and a justification (if not diplomacy), and I'll roll and tell you what you learn. Sorry again for my slowness, which may persist for a while yet as I get moved in and setup

Made equipment adjustments to my character sheet.

Bellaluna has been mostly silent during the travel to Litran, keeping things closely to herself. When the group meets up with Keznin, though, she is a bit more amicable.

”So, I take that as meaning we’ll have to scrounge our own way into getting an invitation? And what do you mean by ‘more Gray Gardeners than usual’? How much is ‘more’?”

For the four days afterward, I’m actually going to do something kinda risky: I’ll use Deception (+31) to try and Impersonate a Gray Gardener; people generally don’t want to oppose them, and it ensures a little bit of safety since they’re specifically supposed to be anonymous.

Keznin shakes his head apologetically.

"Yes I'm afraid so- I don't travel in the sort of circles that might have received an invitation, and I don't know where you would even start. As for the gardeners, they're not an usual sight here in Litran as you can imagine, but even so you could walk across town and not see one, provided you avoided the monastery. Now with all the visitors it's hard to tell, but I seem to see them more often, and my customers have complained of the same. Perhaps twice as many as usual?"

In my haste I forgot something important, when you perform your investigations you can choose to focus on one of the following topics. Your progress is cumulative, so if multiple people focus on one topic you'll learn more about that quicker

The Masque
The Gray Gardeners
Masque Attendees
The Gray Monastery
The Final Blades

"Well, seems we need to get an invite to a very well-to-do party in the next few days, then."

With that, I'll choose to learn about the attendees, as that would make the most sense to be asking about as a "fellow" Gray Gardener.

Gregoth bows awkwardly to the helpful shopkeeper, trying not to hit his head on a low-hanging bundle of dried grass. “That’s very kind of you, sir. Uh, if you don’t mind me askin’, why’re you sticking your neck out for us like this? And why wouldn’t the fancy folks who’ve been invited not want to let other fancy folks know?”

Gregory will use Diplomacy (+21) to gather information on the Gray Gardeners, coming at the topic from the perspective of an outsider traveling through town. If possible, he’d like to use Spiritual Guides if he fails (but not critically fails) the skill check today.

Félicité, being from Litran, will revisit old acquaintances and openly ask about the Gray Monestary. She looks carefully at clues to see if her friends have changed. Biographical Eye

I'm petitioning to use Society instead of Diplomacy.

As they travel, Turrey reclines on his carpet, playing his concertina and singing songs of love and heroism and beauty.

He happily takes time to chat with admiring fans on the road, and sing them a tune, and asks with interest to learn more of the Harvest Jubilee.

When they meet Kenzin, Turrey gives him a theatrical bow. ”Greetings, my fine-feathered friend! I will endeavor to repay your trust, and your warm welcome. We know from Camilia that neither of you have any love for these Drab Gardeners.

“I do have a few questions, if I may. First, I have some gift in disguise...but not so much in appearing as tall as most folks around here. Can you tell me what smaller folk reside in Litran? Any significant population of halflings, gnomes, goblins, kobolds, or the like? Any that might be in the employ of the monastery, perhaps as servants? Or alternatively, do you know if there are any human children that live at the monastery?”

Turrey will attempt to use Performance to learn about the Masque...and in particular, how he might get a hold of tickets for himself and his companions. He’ll start by seeking out fellow performers and asking things like: Who is booked to perform at the Masque? Who is booking the entertainment? Can he trade a favor with other musicians in town to gain entrance? Is there someone who would want him to join them for part of a set, in exchange for tickets for the group? Turrey is also interested in potentially learning more about the Harvest Jubilee. He’d be happy to perform there, if it doesn’t conflict with the Masque.
.
NOTE: I bought an elite disguise kit, and an L3 scroll of Illusory Disguise in Isarn. I also decided to add an elite concertina to his inventory (that he’d have had for years). Finally, if it’s not too late, I’m toying with squeezing in Melodious Spell as a feat. GM Pudding, is it too late to fiddle with feats? If not, any reccs (from anyone) of what to trade? Maybe I’d lose Inspire Defense or Dirge of Doom, though I love’m both!

After you've all spent a little time in Keznin's shop, you start to notice something that wasn't immediately apparent before, subtle spirals woven into baskets of dried flowers, into the arrangement of a set of vials. He also bowed deeply to Kaldren when he entered.

To Gregoth, Keznin leans back in his chair and ruminates before answering.

"As you can imagine, Camilia was deeply upset when her mother was sent to Silent Lenore. She threw herself into radical politics, and I was among those present at a speech she gave in Isarn about destroying the final blades. It changed my life. When she was captured in the streets and thrown into a jail cell to await execution herself, well..."

He looks around nervously, uneasy admitting to a crime even in his own home.

"Suffice it to say that she knows she can trust me, and that I'd do anything for the cause."

Keznin looks serious and emotional, and thoroughly relieved when Turrey expertly brings the conversation round to more practical matters.

"Halflings are the most common non-human ancestry here in Litran, there are a few hundred families, spread amongst the social classes. Class is very important here. We also have a number of gnomes, though they are not quite as numerous, and one Tengu!"

He squarks a laugh but becomes more sober at mention of the monastery.

"Residents at the monastery are a closely guarded secret I'm afraid. No one knows just how many live there. Certainly no-one in the city works there that doesn't live there, and if they did, it would be death to admit it. And children? I shudder to think of it. Lady willing, I would say not."

As we haven't actually rolled anything yet, I'm OK with a feat swap

Litran Investigations

Day 1 - AM

Gregoth - Gray Gardeners (diplomacy)
Bellaluna - Masque Attendees (deception)
Félicité - Gray Monastery (society)
Turrey - The Masque (performance)
Kaldren

Kaldren is up!
I'm doing these investigation segments one at a time because you may learn things in them that give you different things to do

Kaldren returns Keznin's bow and looks pleased to see the subtle signs of the alchemist's reverence for his deity.

Kaldren will focus on the Masque Attendees, If there are any Pharasman clergy he will start by speaking to them. Kaldren has +24 to Diplomacy or if there are members of his faith in the town then he has Exhort the Faithful which would allow him to potentially use Religion with a +2 bonus (+32 total).

After you've all spent a little time in Keznin's shop, you start to notice something that wasn't immediately apparent before, subtle spirals woven into baskets of dried flowers, into the arrangement of a set of vials. He also bowed deeply to Kaldren when he entered.

Félicité will ask openly about this.

"This is an unusual design," Félicité says, "I grew up here in Litran and I've never seen this design before. Is it a recent fashion?"

She'll pause for a second, and then ask pointedly, "... Is there some kind of secret behind it?"

Can she identify it with Recall Knowledge? Arcana +28, Nature +24, Occultism +28, Religion +26, Society +30.

"Ah," Keznin says when Félicité comments on his spirals. "They are just my small way of showing my faith in the Mother of Souls"

He gestures toward Kaldren's cassock as he says her name. "Pharasma worship is as popular here as anywhere else, despite the affront the final blades represent. I find myself thinking of the spiral often, so I like to work it into my designs where I can. Don't you think that things often move in something like a spiral? Events repeat, but never quite the same, always winding around but never quite meeting themselves..."

Keznin good-naturedly babbles on about Pharasma and your work here, and you learn that he specialises in herbal remedies that aid with childbirth and those that ease the pain of dying. Eventually you settle in to a cramped night's rest amongst the dried herbs and set about your task the next day.

You each find that the visitors in town for the harvest jubilee are relatively eager to talk, but know little of interest. The locals though are more withdrawn and nervous, and despite trying for several hours, Gregoth fails to find anyone willing to talk. It's not until he's ready to give up and return to Soul Mother's Herbs that he hears the familiar sound of spirits whispering at the edge of his hearing. They guide him to an old man sitting outside of a tavern nursing an ale who is happy for Gregoth's company, and finds his no-nonsense manner comforting. He confides in Gregoth that the Gray Gardeners have been moving the final blades from city to city. A carogrpaher named Tristel Liendi is said to know more specifics about these unusual movements

Fail turned into a success with Spritual Guides, and the location of Tristel's shop has been added to the map

Bellaluna's transformation into a Gray Gardener is magnificent. Within a few minutes of emerging in her disguise she is approached by a nervous looking young woman wishing to report a rumour of a possible invitation for sale, apparently by someone from Isarn who has purchased one of the old mills and is renovating it into a grand residence, and has been heard telling people that she has an invitation to sell. She "thought you'd want to know". A little later while mingling amongst the upper class citizens, she overhears that Miona Rallaree's shop "The Oval Mirror" must be getting a lot of business seeing as she's the most esteemed tailor in Litran.

Locations of the Old Mill and the Oval Mirror added to the map

Félicité takes tea with her old acquaintances, spending a morning of rigid etiquette which requires all her finely honed skills to navigate. The topic of the Gray Monastery is one that no-one is eager to discuss, but Félicité wields protocol like a sword and fences her opponents into positions where they cannot refuse. She learns that the monastery is so old that it predates Galt by millennia, though it was an abandoned ruin before the Gray Gardeners established their headquarters there just over fifty years ago. Any deity or philosophy the monastery might once have been dedicated to is long forgotten. In its centre is a grand ballroom, surrounded by offices, dining halls, and servants' rooms. They Gray Gardeners maintain very few servants, all of whom live in the old monastic cells and never leave the monastery. During Félicité's second visit of the day to an aging widower delighted with the company, she learns a juicy secret, whispered behind a colourful fan decades out of fashion. Apparently the final blade known as Silent Lenore has been brought into the Gray Gardener's monastery as the centrepiece for the upcoming masque.

Turrey begins performing in the streets, drawing a large crowd very quickly, even attracting the attention of some Gray Gardeners, though they too seemed moved by the masterful performance. At one point an audience member shouts that he should perform at the masque, which earns a snort of derision from a Gray Gardener and sends a ripple of nervous quiet through the rest of the crowd. A quiet word after the song informs Turrey that no performers from Litran have been employed for the masque, and that whatever entertainments there might be are like so much about the Gray Gardeners, a secret. That does set off a good amount of discussion of the masque amongst the crowd nearest Turrey, allowing him to overhear that the premier place in Litran to acquire high fashion is a shop called the Oval Mirror, run by a famous designer Miona Rallaree. After the crowd has almost dispersed he gets into a conversation with a well dressed man who confides that he has heard the masque's highlight will be the Midnight Unmasking, when the guests unmask simultaneously and reveal all at once the Gray Gardeners identities! He also tells Turrey that an elderly, one-eyed human was also asking about the masque, and he had said that anyone with further knowledge should seek him out at the old shrine to pharasma.

Location of the old shrine added to the map

Kaldren starts his day by asking around about Pharasma clergy, and learns only that an abanonded shrine to Pharasma exists just outside of town. The priests were all executed for sedition decades ago and now no-one visits it. The person who tells him this eyes his cassock approvingly, and laments the state of affairs. He seems to find Kaldren's faith reassuring, and confides in him that rumours among Litran's well-to-do say that Lord Alastring Harble has an invitation and is seeking agents in connection with it. Perhaps it has something to do with how ill he has been recently?

That was a lot more information than I think they expected you to get in the first round! Harble Manor added to the map

Meeting back up at Soul Mother's Herbs, you share what you've learned with each other, have some food and plan out how you would like to proceed.

What would you like to do with the rest of the day? Also, while in the shop discussing things, I'm assuming Bellaluna is keeping an eye out for trouble (scouting), is anyone else doing anything other than making plans?

I think it would be more accurate to say that Bellaluna’s Searching, since Scouting in this particular context doesn’t really make sense, as the group is stationary at the moment.

Apparently the final blade known as Silent Lenore has been brought into the Gray Gardener's monastery as the centrepiece for the upcoming masque.

…the masque's highlight will be the Midnight Unmasking, when the guests unmask simultaneously and reveal all at once the Gray Gardeners identities!

”Ha!” Bellaluna laughs condescendingly at Turrey’s account, all the while peering over her shoulder in paranoia that she isn’t even conscious of anymore. ”I could believe an unmasking ceremony, but the Gardeners revealing themselves to anyone?! That is the biggest load of roc droppings I’ve ever heard! But the guillotine being there for all to see? It’s risky, but definitely not out of character for the Gardeners to do.

“We desperately need to get into this party; if I know the Gardeners, then they’ll try their damnedest to keep the riffraff out, so an invitation is our best bet. That Harble guy or the mill should be our first stops.” And is the location of the old mill somewhere on the map? It wasn’t marked.

"Agreed, we need an invitation. Let's go find this supposed person with an invitation to sell."

“ I could believe an unmasking ceremony, but the Gardeners revealing themselves to anyone?! That is the biggest load of roc droppings I’ve ever heard!”

Gregoth frowns in thought. “It sure do sound suspicious, unless they don’t think they’ll be needing to hide their identities any more afterwards - and that anyone there’s either a Gardner or someone they don’t mind knowin’. Maybe we want to get a better idea ‘bout what’s really planned before we go asking around for something that’s sure to get us noticed?”

@GM - that’s quite a few folks making their invitations available. Does it seem likely that we’ll each need our own invitation?

"I think we should stick together as we do more delicate inquiries - asking around for an invitation to a strictly controlled event seems like it will attract attention."

Coincidentally, someone steps on a twig outside, and Félicité immediately jumps into a defensive position with her bow drawn. Her jumpy demeanor seems to vanish as quickly as it manifested.

"I fear that there will be other attendees there, ones that have not been invited as guests, but invited as a demonstration of the blade's power. I agree we should head for the Harbor Manor or the Old Mill, but let's make sure to follow up on the one-eyed man, as it would be nice to know if we're on the same or opposite sides."

From what you've heard the invitations are for the bearer and their retinue, so one should be sufficient

You're discussing in the shop area while Keznin is out gathering herbs. Félicité and Turrey are seated in a sofa, while Gregoth and Bellaluna lean against the opposite wall and Kaldren leans against a desk. Félicité hears a noise outside then relaxes, but then suddenly the bursts open, having been forced by a warrior wearing an executioner's hood. They are huge, the top of their head obscured by the doorframe as they must be over seven feet tall, and they point toward you all.

"Get em!"

Two similarly dressed but not quite as infeasibly large enforcers move to do just that. What little skin is exposed seems very pale.

There's a picture of these enforcers and a map for the encounter in the slides

Bellaluna draws one of her crossbows lightning fast, but everyone else is taken by surprise by the sheer force on display and caught off guard.

All the enemies beat all of you on initiative. If I've forgotten any "when initiative is rolled" abilities please shout and we can retcon as necessary. Likewise you all gain your reactions at the start of this combat so if you have any that might trigger let me know. Only Bellaluna has a weapon drawn thanks to 10 paces

One of the smaller more eager enforcers moves in and up to Gregoth, wielding a spiked chain. They send it flying at him with incredible speed. The wickedly sharp spikes tear flesh wherever they touch.

◆ Stride
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
Spiked Chain: 1d20 + 33 ⇒ (14) + 33 = 47 Crit!
Fortification DC 17: 1d20 ⇒ 9 Still a crit!
Slashing: 3d8 + 11 ⇒ (6, 1, 4) + 11 = 22
44 damage to Gregoth! Also 2d8 persistent bleed. Kaldren could use glimpse of redemption on this if he wants

The other normal-sized one rushes in toward Kaldren, hissing at the spiral on his Cassock.

◆ Stride
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
Spiked Chain: 1d20 + 33 ⇒ (13) + 33 = 46
Slashing: 3d8 + 11 ⇒ (6, 2, 6) + 11 = 25

25 damage to Kaldren! Also 2d8 persistent bleed

The huge one moves in with purpose and less speed, ducking under the doorframe and standing to their full height, nearer to eight feet than to seven. They stomp over to Gregoth and swing their chain at him.

◆ Stride
◆ Strike
Spiked Chain: 1d20 + 35 ⇒ (2) + 35 = 37
Slashing: 3d8 + 13 ⇒ (8, 1, 4) + 13 = 26

26 damage to Gregoth!

◆ Grab

The end of the chain wraps all the way around Gregoth and the huge enforcer pulls him in, getting right up to his face so that Gregoth can taste his rancid breath.

"Get out of Litran while you can!"

Only half of his chain is used to wrap Gregoth up, the other half is still dangling threateningly.

Retribution

Round 1

Enforcer (2)
Enforcer (3)
Hulking Enforcer (1)
Bellaluna
Turrey
Kaldren -25, 2d8 persistent bleed
Gregoth -68, 2d8 persistent bleed, grabbed
Félicité

Everyone is up! Again just let me know if I've forgotten abilities that might have triggered, I expect it will take me a while to remember your characters

Félicité immediately reaches for her shortbow again and comes up with a plan.

◆ Devise a Strategem: 1d20 ⇒ 20
◇ Recall Knowledge with Devise a Strategem. I've put her recall modifiers in her tagline, since this is obviously going to be coming up a lot.

It is an excellent plan. She draws her bowstring ◆ and shoots #1 in the neck ◆.

Shortbow, Devise: 20 + 29 = 49
Piercing: 3d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 4, 6) + 6 = 17 plus Sonic: 1d6 ⇒ 3 plus Precision: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 5, 3) = 15 plus 1d6 bleed
Deadly: 1d10 ⇒ 6
76 damage

"You dare? I'll run you out of Litran, if anything."

Strategic Bypass: Félicité ignores an amount of resistance equal to her Intelligence modifier (5) for each resistance that applies against your attack.

Didactic Strike: When Félicité uses Shared Stratagem, the foe is flat-footed against the first attack from each designated ally before her next turn, and each ally's first attack deals an extra 2d6 precision damage to the target if it hits.

Félicité's perfectly placed shot takes a chunk out of the neck of the hulking enforcer, causing it to start spurting blood. The blood is oddly dark and languid.

"What is this? This is a mortic - a living creature with a decaying body."

She hisses towards it, "Urgathoa sent you, didn't she?"

As the first enforcer reaches Gregoth he raises a hand and says "Please, consider your fate should you continue along this path."

Reaction: Using Glimpse of Redemption on the creature attacking Gregoth.

Wincing at the pain of the second enforcer's strike, Kaldren snaps his fingers and with a flash of light heavy plates of metal appear over his clothing and a pair of ethereal black ravens wings spread from his back.

1 Action: Dismiss Instant Armour to return Kaldren's Half Plate to his body.

I realise I never actually posted it, but I had intended for Kaldren to cast Instant Armour as part of his daily preparations. This means that strike would be a critical hit. As I didn't explicitly say it I'm happy to say he had the armour on under his cassock. But I really like the image of having it appear on him. Happy to go with whatever ruling you think best.

lowering his hand, Kaldren draws out the massive war flail and takes a two handed grip.

1 Action: Draw weapon.
1 Action: Adjust Grip

Raising his weapon into a guard position Kaldren tries a final time to dissuade the attackers from their cause of action "I ask you all again, consider your fate lest my lady look unfavourably upon your souls; for if you persist I shall send you to her court."

Bleed Damage: 2d8 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3
Flat Check: 1d20 ⇒ 3

Welcome Adventurers! Our final party looks like this:

Errestan playing a Warpriest of Pharasma
Hawthwile playing a Spirit Barbarian
Watery Soup playing a Forensic Investigator
KingTreyIII playing a Linkle inspired Crossbowslinger
Gyrfalcon playing a Turrey Butterhill, a famous Shelynite Bard.

Firstly let me say that if anyone wants to change anything about their character or switch it up entirely that's fine. In particular Watery Soup I thought either of your characters would be a good fit (and I sort of want to see a 16th level alchemist!)

Mechanically speaking I think the group as-is is a good mix of melee, ranged and support. I've gone for 5 players rather than 4 as the adventure is written for mainly to give us a cushion in case we lose anyone. I'll be adjusting the encounters in-line with the GM guidelines, hopefully it will all work out!

Builds

Backstory
I know that some of you have started or even finished your character builds, but I wanted to give everyone a little time from now to get all the mechanical details finalised, and to get your backstories in place. The adventure will begin with you receiving an urgent invitation from Camilia Drannoch, leader of Galt’s Revolutionary Council. Rumours have been circulating that she is gravely ill and desparately seeking aid. For some reason she has heard of you and sent a personal invitation to attend her at home in Isarn. Where are you when you receive this? Do any of you know each other already? Are you already in Galt, or has she sought you out elsewhere in the world for your specific abilities? Whatever the answers, those are just a few things to think about, discuss between you and hopefully inspire you to tweak your backstories.

@Watery Soup; if your loved one lost to a Final Blade might have been in Litran, it could potentially give you some personal connection to the story.

Gear
As I said in recruitment, we'll be using default character creation rules. Anything uncommon needs approval (except for Gunslinger), but I'd expect to say yes to most things, particularly spells.

Starting gear is:
* 1 15th level item
* 2 14th level items
* 1 13th level item
* 2 12th level items
* 3250GP

Please make clear on your character sheets which things you took in which slots, and which were purchased. Regarding the magic carpet I'm not sure if it has been made yet or not, but I did do a homebrew one when I converted Feast of Dust. That was before the Gamemastery Guide came out and I more or less just copied the Broom of Flying, but I'd be happy if you wanted to use it Turrey, especially if anyone experienced in converting items to 2E wants to give it a once-over and help get it into shape.

Character Sheets

I've made a few test 16th level characters to get a feel for it, and I think the most challenging part for me will be remembering your reactive abilities. To that end I'd love it if you could highlight anything near the top of your character sheet I need to remember. For example if you have an attack of opportunity (or more than one!). If you cast Mind of Menace every day and wish to use it as soon as you can, etc.

I'd also like to be able to see which feats you've taken at which levels and when you increased which skills. Otherwise feel free to format your sheets however you prefer.

We can get started as soon as all the characters are ready, but please don't feel rushed. Ideally we'd be ready to start in about a week, but we can go sooner if everyone is ready.

Running the Game

Inspired by another PF2 game I'm in, I intend to record the state of your current hero points in the campaign header to avoid confusion, and to reset hero points to 1 on the first of every month. I'll be making some slides for maps and images, and I'll also throw up a spreadsheet to record what your usual exploration mode activities are.

I have been trying move house for about a year. I had originally planned to delay starting this game until after the move, but after another delay I got impatient and posted the recruitment. Naturally we finally got a move date this week, we'll be moving on November 12th. I expect to be able to post with a somewhat reduced frequency in the week or so leading up to that date, and for some time afterward. Especially right afterwards when we may not have internet. Apologies in advance, hopefully it won't last too long.

And with that, over to you! I'll keep an eye on here for any questions and kick us off when everything is ready

Sweet! Thanks for taking a chance on us.

I appreciate the Carpet writeup as well. I'll keep working on my crunch, and I'm sure I'll have Qs as I go. In the meantime, do you mind opening gameplay for dot-and-delete? It helps me track posts to discussion here from my campaigns tab.

Fellow players, if anyone wants to interweave backstory, please feel free to make suggestions! I'd love to hear from the rest of yall when you get a chance about your characters as well. (All I know so far about Turrey is in this post in recruitment, and my draft character sheet.)

...And lastly, this'll be my first 2e Bard, and my first non-low-level game. I welcome both suggestions/ideas and corrections from any and all. It's how I learn!

Cheers,

Hello everyone! I felt really inspired this week and got most of Gregoth's character sheet filled out already. It does a decent job of tracking which feat was taken when, but unfortunately it doesn't track skill increases very well (of which Gregoth has the most confusing setup I think I've ever designed XD). You can check my spreadsheet for his build here, or I can add a "Level-up" section to the profile for tracking those things.

The spreadsheet also shows which items were obtained "for free" and which were paid for. There's one uncommon item I'd love to use - a keen weapon rune (lvl 13 item) - but I understand if that's not available and have a backup item picked out already.

As far as weaving backstories, feel free to read through Gregoth's (located at the bottom of his profile) and let me know if you see a thread that hooks you. I will be the first to admit that it focuses much more on his early adventuring life rather than the career that followed, so it could be fairly easy to pull him into things if wanted.

Regarding the campaign hook/start/letter/invitation - Gregoth has been feeling a pull from the spirits surrounding him towards Galt, so he would probably be in the country already. As for why Camilia Drannoch was looking for him? Perhaps she had heard of the man who could not die, no matter how he reached for death, and perhaps she thought he might be useful.

@GM - of course you'd get the moving notice this week. XD Best of luck with everything, and of course we'll be fine when you need to step away for a bit. How far are you moving?

Checking in, thanks for having me!

My character is an investigator, originally from Galt, who lost a loved one in the revolution many years ago. They've spent years trying to find a way to resurrect them, but have recently given up and succumbed to revenge. They'll start off Neutral in alignment and kind of angry, and hopefully become Neutral Good over the course of the adventure and find a better capstone to what will have been a lifetime of despair.

They'll be a forensic investigator with a medic archetype to reflect the years of research they've been doing. Mechanically, they will be using a shortbow in combat and have 2 Legendary (Medicine and Occultism or Religion) and 4 Master-level skills (Occultism or Religion, Society, Arcana, and probably one martial one [tentatively Acrobatics]) with all the others Trained. They will likely be human, and older than most adventurers (40-50 years old).

I'm okay with the alchemist as well, but I think the investigator has a better reason for being there, and I have concerns about how combat-effective alchemists are at higher levels (bomb expertise only goes up to expert - by my rough calculations they're -3 to hit relative to the investigator). If there's a significant preference for that character, I've worked on it a bit and I've tried to mechanically improve it with a little cheese - making the alchemist a gnome and taking the Razzle Dazzle ancestry feat to extend dazzle times. I'll move forward with the investigator unless someone has a strong preference.

I'm out of town this weekend (like starting 15 minutes from now), but I'm looking forward to the game and may jump in here and there this weekend if I can get decent cell phone reception.

Watery Soup, I like that you have a path in mind for your character's personal development!

Gregoth, I loved reading your background. Do you have a sense of what some highlights are of what he did between then and being 16th level, with an epic flaming sword?

DM, as Gregoth says, no rush on my end. I'm excited to dive in, but I'll need some time to finish Turrey's build up anyway...and in any event, Life Happens for all of us.

- - - -

EDIT: Not mechanically important, but my backstory includes some Snow-White-like conversation with animals. Looking now, I don't think that's a thing Bards can get in 2e. (Speak with Animals is a Primal spell.) If I'm missing something that's not costly, I like it as a bit of flavor...but if not I'll just say that's part of Turrey's legend, not something that happened, strictly speaking.

Took all day, but I FINALLY made my character!

Only really have three things to note to the GM: Bellaluna has Lie to Me, so if someone attempts to Lie to her they have to succeed against her Deception DC instead of her Perception DC; she can attack as a reaction when a creature critically fails to hit her; and unless there’s a dang good reason not to, I’m always using Ten Paces whenever possible, meaning I get a +2 circumstance bonus to initiative (regardless of what skill I roll).

Also, yes I do roll d8s for my hand crossbows, because of Crossbow Terror (which is awesome and the main reason I went into the archer archetype). And if something tries to give me the controlled condition, things get wacky (I have weird stuff against being controlled).

Awesome, a couple of builds already. I'll go over them in the next few days.

The spreadsheet looks great thanks Gregoth! I asked for the choices at each level mainly as I think it will help me ingest the characters and their abilities if I think of their progression rather than trying to take them in all at once. Keen rune is fine by me.

Errestan has told me that he's away for this weekend so we can expect his character next week.

@Gyrfalcon As far as I can tell it looks somewhat difficult for a Halfling. Humans, Gnomes, Strix and Beastkin all have options to get speak with animals, but for other ancestries 2 class feats for a primal spellcaster dedication, or animal trainer dedication appears to be the cheapest way to get it reliably. There's also trick magic item. Perhaps as yo say it's just part of his legend (unless someone else knows an easier way)

@Bellaluna Looks good!

Ooh interesting. How does a human so it? I've gone back and forth a bit about human versus halfling. Could go either way.

BTW, my build is still pretty rough, feel free to review more settled ones first...but feedback welcome on my draft if welcome too.

This is my rough build. Some of the feats are out of order narratively, but that shouldn't matter.

She was a young, aristocratic, concert pianist, whose husband was taken by the Gray Gardeners. She took the body and tried to have it reincarnated/resurrected, but by the time she figured out how to do it, the time limitations had elapsed. 20 years later, she's ready to move on with her life, and returns to her native Litran to lay his body in his family's plot.

Her name currently has two special characters, let me know if this is annoying. She will likely go by Félicité, but I can make it Felicity if that makes things easier.

Humans can take two ancestry feats: Adaptive Cantrip followed by Adptive Adept, that gives them a cantrip and a 1st level spell from another tradition. I don't know that I'd recommend it, but maybe you've also got your eye on a primal cantrip?

Inevitably I'm going to forget some of your many abilities while we're playing, just shout and we can retcon as necessary.

Updated. With everyone's (players and GM) permission, Félicité will begin the adventure formally Neutral Evil (she's consorted with and made bargains with some very evil beings in her past), and will find reasons to move to NG throughout the Adventure. I can start her as Neutral, otherwise, she'll just start a little further into her journey.

Félicité, no concerns on my end, if it works for the DM.

New build iteration of Turrey (and some more Qs for our esteemed DM) coming soon. End of my day, I hope.

Oh yeah, I should also state this: unless otherwise noted (or if it would make zero sense), Bellaluna is only wielding one of her crossbows (the one that’s ACTUALLY etched with the weapon runes, to be more specific) while in exploration mode, so she has a free hand while exploring. This’ll be mostly negligible as Ten Paces will allow her to draw her other crossbow as she rolls initiative.

@Bellaluna Noted. I counted your skills wrong, sorry about that. All looks good.

@Félicité I'm a little nervous about starting you as evil honestly. But the redemption arc is appealing, so lets do it. Be warned though, if this were a book there's no chance at all she'd survive to see the end with a story like that; you're tempting the dice-gods to smite her!

Errestan tells me he's hard at work on a character and hopes to have it done by the end of the week, he's switched from a warpriest to a champion as he was worried that only having expert strikes would be too limiting in melee.

If you're nervous about the designation, I can make her formally neutral. But I want to make sure I address any concerns to make sure there's nothing we're sweeping under the rug.

The concept is that she's spent a decent amount of time making deals with evil creatures. She's not sympathetic towards them - as a matter of fact, I've selected her item-based resistances (fire, acid, negative) around the assumption she's been fighting them (per the end of her background narrative, my assumption is that deals with daemons and demons are not straightforward). She's far more sympathetic when it comes to humans, probably borderline neutral good (I tend to drift towards NG naturally, personality-wise) - she's got a lot of nonmagical healing and the ability/willingness to help PCs. From the PC-facing side, she'll probably be indistiguishable from a N/NG character.

I hope she does wrestle with a very bad decision she's made in the past. :)

If anyone else has concerns, I'm totally willing to put an N in her tagline - and more importantly, willing to change some of the concept if that's a concern as well.

Hey DM Pudding, thanks for your notes (corrections and suggestions).

1) It seems that at 20 Dex, no base armor is really better than Explorer's Clothes. For Turrey, a Harmonic Tunic (same item but subbing explorer's clothes for the chain shirt) would be amazing. Is there a chance that Turrey could've had one made for him over the course of his career? If not, I'll stick with the Hauberk. (Aside, I'm missing some advantage of the armor over the clothes, please let me know.)

2) While I'm talking custom magic items, what do you think of a hat or broach that allows Speak with Animals? If that seems like a reasonable item, I see that a Hat of Disguise (Greater) gives a 2nd level Illusory Disguise At Will and costs 340 GP. Does that seem like a good price equivalent? (If you're reluctant, no worries on my end. It's really more of a flavor thing...and as discussed can just be part of Turrey's legend...I'm sure he embellishes generously for the benefit of a good story.) ;-)

3) Just FYI, I realized that Helpful Halfing doesn't really do much, now that I can auto-crit on Aid anytime I can Inspire Competence. While I'm sure there'll come a time when I can't manage to sing or dance when I want to aid, I've traded out that, and a few other feats.

I still haven't picked spells, but wanted to share the latest build so DM Pudding (or any of yall) can comment/suggest/correct. Here's the latest sheet, and here are's my draft gear

BTW, Félicité, you mentioned earlier that you were deciding between going Legendary in Occult or Religion. If it matters to your decision, I plan to go Legendary in Occult next level (and will never get near that at any other knowledge skill). Of course, if Occult fits your image or build better, it'll be fine for two of us to be Legendary Occultists.

@Félicité That clarification makes me feel much better; I was just concerned that she was going to start off being actively evil toward other party members or NPCs. As you've described it is totally OK

@Turrey I'll have a look over that tonight thanks. As far as I'm aware if you have 20 Dex there's no difference between armour and explorer's clothing (provided that you meet the strength requirement to avoid the check penalty). I don't want to homebrew any additional items, so we can stick with the Hauberk and the animal speaking just being embellishment.

As a self-identified rules lawyer, I do have a few things to weigh in on:

At 20 Dex, all armor is effectively the same. The “armor bonus” (I’m aware it’s actually an item bonus) plus the Dex cap of almost all armor equals +5 (not accounting for potency runes). The exceptions being padded armor (which totals to +4), and all heavy armors (which total to +6). If one isn’t proficient in heavy armor and has a decently-high Str, then which armor you actually choose to wear is primarily up to: the total Dex you have (since medium armor is more keyed for use by those with lower Dex to reach that +5 as easily as possible), and the traits on the armor itself (and obviously which armors they are actually proficient in).

TL; DR: at 20 Dex it doesn’t really matter which armor you pick; you might as well go with explorer’s clothing for the comfort trait in the fringe case that we get attacked in the middle of the night.

I personally chose an invisible chain shirt (upgraded with a greater resilient rune, because I am allowed to do that with specific magic armors) because I like the flavor of appearing to be unarmored, and because it gives the armor the comfort trait.

Side note: harmonic hauberk is…real clunky by RAW. It requires ALL auditory effects to attempt to counteract it in order to affect the wearer, and (as defined in the composition trait) all composition spells with a verbal component (which is most of them) are auditory effects. Thus, Turrey must roll to counteract his (assuming gender) own armor every time he casts inspire courage or it just won’t affect him (the same is true of the armor’s own Activation). To be perfectly fair, though, this just seemed like an oversight from the person who wrote the armor, and it would be a fair house rule to say that only hostile auditory effects need to counteract the armor; just thought I’d bring it up.

@Turrey: A few notes looking over your character sheet: 1) How do you have a class DC? Spellcasters don’t (or at least shouldn’t) normally have class DCs. 2) Do you have a feat that lets you add your level to untrained skills? I’m not seeing any of the usual ones that grant that. 3) I would put “polymath” in parentheses next to Multifarious Muse to avoid confusion.

A reason that you might want armor even with +5 DEX is in case you get Clumsied. If you have, say, leather armor, you still have full AC at Clumsy 1.

Watery Soup, that's interesting to know, thanks!

Bellaluna, thanks for the review and notes! 1) I used pathbuilder2e.com to build Turrey (who uses he/him, yes!) an it just added the Class DC. I assume it means my spellcasting DC. 2) That's from Eclectic Skill. 3) Good call. I think I can edit the PDF it outputs, so I'll do that next time around.

GM Puddling, take your time looking over the latest build. No worries about not homebrewing anything else. I'll stick with noncustom gear (other than my awesome Carpet of Flying). When you get a chance, can you clarify how you play the Hauberk? Does Bellaluna's "non-hostile" clarification make sense to you?

Any other suggestions are welcome. Yall are helping me bone up on my proficiency with 2e.

Cheers,

A reason that you might want armor even with +5 DEX is in case you get Clumsied. If you have, say, leather armor, you still have full AC at Clumsy 1.

You…you are aware that clumsy doesn’t actually lower your modifier, right? It just imposes a penalty to stuff that includes Dex.

A reason that you might want armor even with +5 DEX is in case you get Clumsied. If you have, say, leather armor, you still have full AC at Clumsy 1.

I'm not certain that that's how it would work - Clumsy doesn't reduce your Dexterity modifier, it applies a penalty to the things you add your Dexterity modifier to.

Your movements become clumsy and inexact. Clumsy always includes a value. You take a status penalty equal to the condition value to Dexterity-based checks and DCs, including AC, Reflex saves, ranged attack rolls, and skill checks using Acrobatics, Stealth, and Thievery.

@Turrey - what spells are you looking at?

Wait, so your AC is not lowered when Clusmy, or having a +1 item bonus wouldn't help it?

Wait, so your AC is not lowered when Clusmy, or having a +1 item bonus wouldn't help it?

You're AC IS lowered, but having an item bonus to AC doesn't do anything to clumsy; you take a penalty to dex-based stuff (including AC) equal to your clumsy value, period.

Huh, I've always thought that you took the penalty to DEX, but I just re-read the Clumsy rules, it's a penalty to Dexterity ... based checks.

Welp, good thing I didn't take leather armor for Félicité on the assumption that it would work.

My read on the Hauberk is that the author almost certainly didn't intend for it to be incredibly punishing for a bard to wear, so I'd say you can choose to forgo that particular "protection" whenever you wish.

For our PF2 experts, counteracting is one area I struggle to get my head around. Would you use the level-based DC for the Hauberk's counteract DC (Level 13 = 31)? This came up during a game a few weeks ago where a creature's constant true-seeing needed to attempt to counteract the invisibility from a cloak of elvenkind, and I couldn't find concrete rules on the DC, just:

...The GM can also calculate a DC based on the target effect’s level...

And then for the counteract bonus, it's not always clear to me what to use. For example if a Harpy's song targeted Turrey, would you use the DC of the effect -10? Or the the Harpy's performance skill? Something else?

My read on the Hauberk is that the author almost certainly didn't intend for it to be incredibly punishing for a bard to wear, so I'd say you can choose to forgo that particular "protection" whenever you wish.

For our PF2 experts, counteracting is one area I struggle to get my head around. Would you use the level-based DC for the Hauberk's counteract DC (Level 13 = 31)? This came up during a game a few weeks ago where a creature's constant true-seeing needed to attempt to counteract the invisibility from a cloak of elvenkind, and I couldn't find concrete rules on the DC, just:

Core Rulebook wrote:

...The GM can also calculate a DC based on the target effect’s level...

And then for the counteract bonus, it's not always clear to me what to use. For example if a Harpy's song targeted Turrey, would you use the DC of the effect -10? Or the the Harpy's performance skill? Something else?

It's pretty subjective, but this is the general steps I go through:

If the effect lists a counteract level/bonus, then obviously use that.

If neither of those are listed, then the counteract level is equal to the level of the spell (if it is a spell) or half the creature's level rounded up (in the case of the harpy's song, it would be a counteract level of 3). For the counteract bonus/DC, if it's a spell then just use the spell DC (or 10 - the DC for a bonus). If it's not a spell, then use the DC of the effect (or 10 - the DC for a bonus; for the harpy's song that would be +11). If a DC isn't listed, then use the level of the effect alongside this table to determine the DC (for a bonus it would be 10 - this DC).

So for the hauberk, it would be a counteract level of 7 (13/2 = 6.5, rounded up to 7) and a counteract DC of 31* (since the table shows the standard DC for a level 13 thing is 31).

TL; DR: It's honestly kinda subjective and a case-by-case basis, but there is a bit of a process to determining the counteract stuff.

*Though an argument could be made that the counteract DC would be 30, since later on in the item it talks about counteracting silence and lists a counteract bonus of +20.

That's great thanks for the help.

@Turrey I've looked at your character sheet and your gear and everything looks great to me. The crystal ball is uncommon, however it's a great item and I don't think this module will be ruined by throwing in some scrying, so I'm good with it.

@Félicité I've looked over your sheet and it looks great, however I think you might have too many items? Could you break them down by which ones are the free ones (1x15th, 2x14th etc), and which ones are paid for? For example looking at what you've listed, the ring of resistance and one of the +2 greater striking weapons would be 2 14th, the winged rune is a 13th, the greater fire resistant rune is a 12th, grim sandglass the other 12th, which leaves another +2 greater striking weapon as the 15th level item, but then there isn't enough money for the remaining gear.

Errestan tells me he's hoping to have his character ready for Sunday, and since everyone else is ready or nearly ready I'll get to work on opening gameplay up for character and adventure intros

Spreadsheet

Because I've revised my items quite a few times, it's possible that I forgot to delete some items on my character sheet from past iterations. I'll do an audit this weekend, but the spreadsheet is what I've been working on, so if there's a mismatch between the character sheet and the spreadsheet, please favor the spreadsheet.

I just noticed that Felicite (my laptop can't do special characters easily) and I both have Incredible Scout, which is, well, redundant to have two people with it. I think it would be best if Bellaluna kept it (and made Scouting her exploration activity) while Felicite switched to Searching (legendary in Perception lets you see a lot!).

I can switch out the feat. Any suggestions? I think my second choice was either Thorough Search or Expeditious Search. I could take them both, and drop, say, Fleet.

Félicité's name with the accents is in her tagline, you should be able to double-click it and copy-paste. I've tried to keep from making 10 posts so I can change her name if people find it annoying.

Copy-pasta works for me, Félicité. (I reserve the right to sometimes just type it without the accents from my phone, but I like that you used them.)

Also, while we're optimizing our builds in context of each other, did you see my Q to you upstream:

Félicité, you mentioned earlier that you were deciding between going Legendary in Occult or Religion. If it matters to your decision, I plan to go Legendary in Occult next level (and will never get near that at any other knowledge skill). Of course, if Occult fits your image or build better, it'll be fine for two of us to be Legendary Occultists.

...

And Gregoth asked about spells. I hope to pick those this weekend, but I'd love suggestions. I'm still reading through them all, and this'll be the first caster I play in 2e. (I've been looking at the three guides listed on Zenith's Guide to the Guides as well.)

Félicité, I think the problem is with your property runes. A +2 Greater Striking weapon is a level 12 item, but a Greater Fearsome rune is itself a level 12 item. So you'd either have to use two slots for both of those things, or pay for one of them with cash. Similarly with greater acid resistant, thundering, winged, returning and brilliant; they all need paying for separately.

Turrey choosing spells will be a challenge for sure. I've not played a high level spellcaster either so the only advice I'd really give is try to find good spells to put your low level slots to work. Low-level damaging spells are unlikely to be effective against anything you'll face, as well as anything with the incapacitation trait or that relies on spell level like dispel magic. They're still good candidates for heightening though. I don't want to recommend any in particular because I know what you're going to face, but I will say that I think inner radiance torrent has been marked for errata because it scales too fast; if anyone picks that I'll probably have to look at addressing it as we're at the level where it will affect us. (I think it's 56d4 damage for the 2 round version heightened to level 8!)

@GM: Oh, I see. I'll need some pretty dramatic revision in my items, then.

For clarity, shouldn't the +2 greater striking weapon counts as a Level 12 item (greater striking rune) plus a Level 10 item (+2 rune) plus a Level 0 item (shortbow)? Or do the fundamental runes count as a unit?

---

@Turrey: I'll do Legendary in Religion, instead.

Yeah the magic weapons are a little weird; they're in the treasure table both as the rune itself, and as the magic weapon. I suppose the idea is by the time you get magical weapons the price of the weapon is negligible.

Félicité's name with the accents is in her tagline, you should be able to double-click it and copy-paste. I've tried to keep from making 10 posts so I can change her name if people find it annoying.

*Facepalm* Why didn’t I think of that?

Yeah the magic weapons are a little weird; they're in the treasure table both as the rune itself, and as the magic weapon. I suppose the idea is by the time you get magical weapons the price of the weapon is negligible.

From this area: “If the player wants armor or a weapon with property runes, they must buy the property runes separately, and for armor or a weapon made of a precious material, they must pay for the precious material separately as well.”

So from the sounds of it, the fundamental runes and the item they’re attached to count as a unit, so a +2 greater striking shortbow would be a single level 12 item (rather than a level 12 rune, a level 10 rune, and a level 0 weapon), but a +2 greater striking brilliant shortbow would be two level 12 items (“one” level 12 weapon with fundamental runes, and one level 12 property rune).

This brings up something interesting: GM, do you want me to treat my invisible chain shirt with a greater resilient rune as a single level 14 item, or as a level 13 item (the invisible chain shirt) and a level 14 rune (the greater resilient rune)? Basically, it's a question of if I get an extra level 13 item or not.

A few rules-lawyer-y things to throw around the table (gonna organize it a bit strangely to keep each talking-point contained within a paragraph):

@GM: So, uh, this hasn’t been addressed, but Night of the Gray Death is sanctioned for PFS. Are we doing this for PFS credit? (All PFS2e stuff is run in Campaign Mode, so it shouldn’t be a huge bother to add credit to this)

@GM: Some weird rules ambiguity with Grim Swagger that I want to get your input on. Do I roll a single check and compare that to the Will DCs of applicable targets (technically not a “target” effect, but beside the point), or do I roll separately for each such target? By RAW, it’s the latter, since it doesn’t specifically state that I only roll a single check (like how it says it in Showstopper), but I could definitely see some table variation and would like to see how you read it.

@Félicité: Completely unrelated to everything, but you are aware that Chopin’s first name is actually spelled “Frédéric,” right (as in more special characters)?

@Félicité: Not sure how the GM wants to handle this, but you do speak 6 different uncommon languages; you usually gain access to one such language based on the region you grew up (Hallit in this case). Not sure if the GM wants to heavily enforce that whole thing, but I thought I’d bring it up.

@Félicité: This is just me nit-picking, but the adjective form of Galt is “Galtan,” not “Galtian”; there isn’t an i.

@Turrey: You might wanna swap out Incredible Initiative; with me Scouting I already grant a +2 circumstance bonus to initiative.

@Turrey: My only real note with regards to spells is to remember that signature spells exist, and that they work both ways (you can freely heighten and un-heighten signature spells). i.e. if you put magic missile in your repertoire as a 5th-level spell and made it your signature spell for that level, then you could still be able to freely cast it as a 1st-level spell.

@Gregoth: Your class DC is off by 10.

Apologies for backseat-GMing; it’s difficult for me to turn it off at times.

Turrey with spells

As always, comments welcome!

Barring any corrections or suggested improvements, I *think* I'm done. (Nope, just remembered languages. Prolly other a few small things. Can't do more now though.)

EDIT: Just saw the suggestion to swap Incredible Initiative. I'll do that too. Thx.

From this area: “If the player wants armor or a weapon with property runes, they must buy the property runes separately, and for armor or a weapon made of a precious material, they must pay for the precious material separately as well.”

Ah thanks I knew I had read that but I couldn't find it in the book.

This brings up something interesting: GM, do you want me to treat my invisible chain shirt with a greater resilient rune as a single level 14 item, or as a level 13 item (the invisible chain shirt) and a level 14 rune (the greater resilient rune)? Basically, it's a question of if I get an extra level 13 item or not.

I would say that since it's a special level 13 magic item that is permitted to have its fundamental runes upgraded, that we should call it a level 13 item for the invisible shirt and then a level 14 item for the greater resilient rune. Sorry!

@GM: So, uh, this hasn’t been addressed, but Night of the Gray Death is sanctioned for PFS. Are we doing this for PFS credit? (All PFS2e stuff is run in Campaign Mode, so it shouldn’t be a huge bother to add credit to this)]

I addressed it in the initial recruitment post, but yes I'll be offering chronicles for PFS credit.

@GM: Some weird rules ambiguity with Grim Swagger that I want to get your input on. Do I roll a single check and compare that to the Will DCs of applicable targets (technically not a “target” effect, but beside the point), or do I roll separately for each such target? By RAW, it’s the latter, since it doesn’t specifically state that I only roll a single check (like how it says it in Showstopper), but I could definitely see some table variation and would like to see how you read it.

The text to me suggests that you only make one check, and compare it against multiple DCs, and that seems like it would be the easiest to run at the table so let's do that.

On the topic of languages I actually ignored everyone's languages when going over character sheets (shame on me), but I would prefer it if we followed the rules as much as possible, so if you want to access an uncommon language not available in your home region (or a region your character has lived for some time), then you might consider the multilingual feat to access those. Without wanting to spoil anything I will say that the language barrier is not going to be a focus of this adventure, but that if you wanted to invest in a language you'd probably have the most opportunities to use infernal.

Apologies for backseat-GMing; it’s difficult for me to turn it off at times.

No problem! It's a great help. Don't be afraid to let me know when I'm getting things wrong during gameplay either.

Finally a question for you all for no particular reason. You've settled on your starting gear and are ready to adventure. Is there a single common item of 16th level or lower that your character would be especially happy to find on a monster or receive as a gift? No worries if not, just an idle question ;)

I suspect many folks would be happy to find a +3 weapon potency rune - or at least the folks who use weapons. XD

Bellaluna wrote:

@GM: So, uh, this hasn’t been addressed, but Night of the Gray Death is sanctioned for PFS. Are we doing this for PFS credit? (All PFS2e stuff is run in Campaign Mode, so it shouldn’t be a huge bother to add credit to this)]

I addressed it in the initial recruitment post, but yes I'll be offering chronicles for PFS credit.

I’m completely blind, apparently.

@Turrey: I would recommend having at least one damage-dealing cantrip, just in case. Otherwise, it’s a very interesting spread for a support bard.

Hmmmm. Right now I used a L14 item (Singing Shortbow) to get a 3d6+2 (piercing) + 1d6 (sonic) shortbow attack.

Should I have a damage dealing cantrip (e.g. Telekinetic Projectile: 2 actions for 30' range 8d6 spell attack via throwing random objects at people) in addition? Instead?

My thought was that 2 actions might be too much to spend on 8d6 damage, when I could do 4d6+2 with one action...but perhaps that's silly. I could imagine that maybe I should trade in the bow (getting some other L14 item) and rely on my cantrip, when I don't need "bigger guns". Or maybe I want to keep both, and have some rounds where I shoot an arrow AND fire a telekinetic projectile?

Whadda yall think?

Follow up: Wondering how useful Shield will be for me, and whether I should trade that for TK projectile, to keep that option open?

I know Bullhorn will probably rarely be practical, and Prestidigitation may not be crucial either...but both feel like they fit Turrey really well.

(And hey, if I can manage to make great use of Bullhorn, how cool will THAT be??)

As far as languages, my default are Common and Halfling, and I've added Sylvan and Elven. (The former to talk to my summons--and because there must be some great songs written in it--the latter because how else could he have been "a rare invited non-elven guest musician in Kyonin performing The Starfall Sonnets on an outdoor stage in the enchanted Fierani Forest"?

...And I hope to intro Turrey in gameplay by end of day!

@Bellaluna: Félicité's languages on her sheet are wrong, although I think she still has too many Uncommon languages. I could not figure what language daemons spoke and what the local language in Galt was, so I put in a bunch of placeholders. Turns out a lot of extraplanars speak Draconic so she currently has (Galtan local = Hallit?), (mummification local = Osirion?), (daemon local = Draconic), and the rest are TBD.

@GM: Can I have both Osirion and whatever the Galtan local is? I've been meaning to look it Galtan in LOWG but I've been working on items. They'd be Uncommon but regional human languages. Never mind, I'll pick up Multilingual somewhere along the way, I have lots of skill feats.

@Bellaluna: The familiar is a placeholder right now, I will spell his name appropriately in the final version, although I am not 100% sure it would have the two é's. I think there's a Polish spelling and a French spelling. Edit: Polish is Fryderyck, French is Frédéric. Félicité is likely to go with the French spelling.

@Turrey: The nice thing about TKP is that it can deal B, P, or S. Bows only deal P.

Hi everyone, sorry for not posting much yet. It's been a really hectic couple of weeks. I'm nearly done with my character now, just a few more items of gear to sort out.

I will be playing Kaldren Aster, a human Redeemer of Pharasma with a few Cleric dedication feats thrown in. I'll post some back story and some more details soon. Buf for now, here are my item choices for the free items.

If I've made any mistakes or anyone has suggestions, please let me know. I am still unsure about the elemental damage type, resistance element and the fortification rune (as it puts me right on the edge of being encumbered).

Good to meet you, Errestan. Looking forward to learning more about Kaldren Aster.

Nice to meet you, Errestan.

Félicité's revised sheet is up, she took Multilingual and went Legendary in Society. This will give her four Uncommon languages, mummification = Osiriani, reincarnation = Vudrani, resurrection = Celestial, Daemonic. I know the GM said Infernal would be more useful, but it's way more in character to have gone pleading to Urgathoa's daemons; Félicité has no interest in selling her own soul.

If the items are okay, I think Félicité is good to go.

I always forget to mention this until it comes up, but I avoid posting on Sundays for a combination of religious and mental health reasons.

Also (and I’m aware that I’m being excruciatingly nit-picky when I say this), but…

The manor of the Camilia Drannoch is a short walk from the Monolith, the blackened fortress and prison that serves as the seat of government in Galt. Those of you who know the city may choose to take a longer path around the monolith, because the Final Blade "Madame Margery" that stands in front of it never fails to provoke dread in those that witness it.

Galt’s infamous guillotines are (as far as I can find) always referred to as “final blades” (meaning italicized and non-capitalized). And I believe that the final blade in Isarn is “Madame Margaery”; you were missing a second “a.” (I only mention this because Madame Margaery is part of Bellaluna’s backstory.)

Side note: I believe Madame Margaery was actually named after the inventor of the final blades: Margaery San Trayne.

I’ll try to have something up in Gameplay later today.