DM Voomer's Age of Ashes

Game Master Voomer

As written the gate was broken but I think it's silly for a bunch of backwater bumpkins to repair an elf gate that predates Earthfall, so I changed things -- Renali stole the gate key, that arrowhead, and that's why they couldn't go back. She didn't know that's what it was, and even if she did a whole cult was in the way.

So I've read the Gameplay posts, and I am happy to chronomance some RP later this afternoon, but to confirm: we're handwaving Cev's repairs to the gate, correct?

Apologize that it's a little meta, but being familiar with the AP, I just wanted to ask. In principle, Renali was trapped because it was broken ...

Not sure what the AP actually says.

From what I gathered from gameplay, the gate is working just fine. The intruders just couldn't use it because Renali stole the gate key.

Also, at some point during this downtime - I think there is at least one day free in there somewhere - I am wanting to off-screen transfer one of those +1 weapon runes onto my whip.

Crafting DC 16: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

So Fern - what do we do with the gate key to open the gate?

Poke it.

Dramatic, I know.

XD

LOL. Well, it doesn't need to be dramatic or complicated. Just effective.

I think Cev is the one we left with the key. Unless we gave it back to Renali. I'm pretty sure I don't have it.

But I think we are ready to kick down this next door.

Okay guys real talk. I had a 2000 word post that I didn't submit, it seems.

I'll redo it later, but it's just Yasami getting ready to go, basically.

So - chronomancy later. Carry on.

Yeah. It would be nice if the forums let you save drafts or something like that.

But chronomancy works.

Yes, Cav has it.
Was never relenquished.

Lisi, for what it's worth, replicating the key forged pre-earthfall would be a feat beyond any of your skills at present =)

Cev my dude I feel like this would be your moment. You always post in discussion and never in gameplay anymore. Like 2 game posts in a week and a half and a dozen discussion posts in that time. I miss Cev <3 You have an ancient gate key and an intelligent shield dang it, what more do I have to bribe you with? ;)

Lisi, for what it's worth, replicating the key forged pre-earthfall would be a feat beyond any of your skills at present =)

Cev my dude I feel like this would be your moment. You always post in discussion and never in gameplay anymore. Like 2 game posts in a week and a half and a dozen discussion posts in that time. I miss Cev <3 You have an ancient gate key and an intelligent shield dang it, what more do I have to bribe you with? ;)

Well, in fairness, some of those discussion posts were clarifying: the becoming "one with the gate" arc I had planned kind of went out the window after the "it aint broke so we don't need to fix it" post

I will work on a partially/wholly chronomanced 'reverie' post in short order; I would hope we can all imagine, Cev is always going to "first on, last off" when it comes to the gates.

Poor Sulee. Thank goodness Lisi threw himself over Guba, Rocco, and Shadow, sacrificing his safety to protect them.

*nods*

>.> <.<

Hey guys =)

Do you ever feel like you're being watched? An irl friend of mine (also a PBP friend of Joran, Dario, and Caiten) has been stalking you since the game started, reading along with the adventure, peeping on Roll20, and loving you all.

I know we're a big group already, but we were going to have Hornet the gnoll make 8 people originally, so I told her she could join us =) She's been waiting patiently and already has a character made and such, and will be encountered fairly soon, assuming you guys don't go to war with these elves ;)

I wanted to let ya know before she suddenly appears, and give her the chance to say hi and stuff!

Hey everyone! I can only type a quick hello because it's between class changes right now (I teach high school English), but I have been following this since the beginning, and I'm very excited to join you all. :)

First post in this campaign was february 2022. That's almost 8 months. You officially qualify as a stalker now. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Welcome to the freakshow!

Will have a gameplay post soon. Sorry for slacking. Work, work.

I am very proud of myself. ;P

I work with Fern IRL - she'd been telling me about it since the start, so I just started reading it like it's my own personal soap opera... I love it. You guys are wonderful. I am excited to join you all. <3

Feel free to ask me anything you'd like!

Okay, well... What is the symbolism of a towel in the Hitchhiker's Guide? Is it simply a tool to keep characters mentally anchored to their home and maintain their sanity in a galaxy so foreign and full of oddities? What gives?

I dunno. You said you teach high school English.

How do you like steak?

That's how I read it - plus, towels are endlessly helpful! They can clean up spills, be clothing in a pinch, and keep you warm. Everyone tends to have a favorite towel they like to use at home—definitely an anchor to sanity in an insane galaxy, for sure.

It's been a while since I've read the entire series, so I can't say for sure how the symbol develops throughout the whole series, but the first book - it's absolutely an anchor.

I, uh, love literary analysis. And Hitchhiker's Guide.

So far so good.

Steak?

Depends on the cut.

Filet mignon? Rare, seared, salt and pepper only. Finished with a little butter, rosemary, and garlic.

Ribeye? Medium rare - you want the fat to melt in a little bit. Same as above - salt and pepper only, finished with butter, rosemary, and garlic.

I was a professional chef before I was a teacher.

5/7, would let you in the game

I am super excited to have you in the game at last! :D

For the record, now that it's my planning period...filet mignon is the inferior cut. People put it on a pedestal it does not deserve. Need fattier cuts for better flavor. But if I'm going to have it, I'm going to have it nice and rare.

I am super excited to have you in the game at last! :D

#MEtoo

Although I will admit that most of my steak temps are a little higher, especially if I am not the one cooking. We do have some beautiful steaks at work tho ...

Cev, if you're still lurking gimme a society check. I know you're an elf, but these guys are super reclusive so knowing their exact nature of introducing themselves by clan is a little meta if your roll isn't decent ;)

https://pathbuilder2e.com/app.html?v=45a

LORE:Ancestry: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19 Elven Culture
LORE:Ancient: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12 Ancient ELven History
RELIGION: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24 Worshipers of the Soyvarian Pantheon
SOCIETY: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

Cev, if you're still lurking gimme a society check. I know you're an elf, but these guys are super reclusive so knowing their exact nature of introducing themselves by clan is a little meta if your roll isn't decent ;)

TBH, I figure if she plugged him into the gate, he's gotta know at least a few things about elf stuff ... but that's an explanation, not an arguement.

"a little meta" was a really nice way to say that tho ;)

Hey everyone! I can only type a quick hello because it's between class changes right now (I teach high school English), but I have been following this since the beginning, and I'm very excited to join you all. :)

YAY! FINALLY! Took us long enough. For the record, Catalina, I blame... everyone else. ;)

Okay, well... What is the symbolism of a towel in the Hitchhiker's Guide? Is it simply a tool to keep characters mentally anchored to their home and maintain their sanity in a galaxy so foreign and full of oddities? What gives?

42! That's all you need to know, Yasamina. Nothing else matters.

Hah. Being a software developer, I have an interesting take on the answer to Life the universe and everything.

*folds arms in Level 5 Vegan* -______-

ok ok so I did cook my chilluns some carne asada, which would probably still not merit Yasami's approval. (it is cooked to well-done-ness)

Also welcome!

Catalina Estrati wrote:

Hey everyone! I can only type a quick hello because it's between class changes right now (I teach high school English), but I have been following this since the beginning, and I'm very excited to join you all. :)

YAY! FINALLY! Took us long enough. For the record, Catalina, I blame... everyone else. ;)

I blame you for everything. <3

*folds arms in Level 5 Vegan* -______-

ok ok so I did cook my chilluns some carne asada, which would probably still not merit Yasami's approval. (it is cooked to well-done-ness)

Also welcome!

Hi! I saw from several posts back you went to see Heilung and I am super jealous! I love them. My parents and I were going to go see them, but some stuff went down, and we ended up not making it. Someday, if they come through again...

Joran Bravestone wrote:

Catalina Estrati wrote:

Hey everyone! I can only type a quick hello because it's between class changes right now (I teach high school English), but I have been following this since the beginning, and I'm very excited to join you all. :)

YAY! FINALLY! Took us long enough. For the record, Catalina, I blame... everyone else. ;)

I blame you for everything. <3

Lol!

Hello Catalina! I'm glad that you've been enjoying the time you've spent spectating and look forward to you joining us.

Truth be told, I have been nervous about joining you all. You've been super welcoming and it's eased my nerves. <3 Looking forward to you all meeting Catalina.

Lisitsei Nagorát wrote:

*folds arms in Level 5 Vegan* -______-

ok ok so I did cook my chilluns some carne asada, which would probably still not merit Yasami's approval. (it is cooked to well-done-ness)

Also welcome!

Hi! I saw from several posts back you went to see Heilung and I am super jealous! I love them. My parents and I were going to go see them, but some stuff went down, and we ended up not making it. Someday, if they come through again...

Aw, I'm sorry you missed them! The Greek Theatre wasn't the best venue--I enjoyed them more when I was out in a standing area. Good to dance to or sway to, at least, than be seated. This is no flaw of the Greek, just my own personal preference with respect to Heilung.

Wardruna is coming, though! :)

Poor Sulee. Thank goodness Lisi threw himself over Guba, Rocco, and Shadow, sacrificing his safety to protect them.

*nods*

>.> <.<

But of course, my familiar is right here!

That is the funniest bit of that comic. I just love that halfling. He's hilarious.

Yes. Belkar is the main reason why I think that an Evil alignment - when done well - is completely playable in a generally good aligned and purposed party.

Oooooo! Now THAT sounds like a fun challenge. An evil guy helping out the good guys? Hmmm, interesting. :)

I have a feeling he'll be CN or CG by the end of the series.

OMG, Joran. If Lisi had Lipstitch as a spell... :P On a related note, Vox Machina gets a 2nd season.

On a related note, Vox Machina gets a 2nd season.

Yesssssssss

As if it WOULDN'T.

I'm wearing my Travelercon hoodie today. :)

K10, I think it's time.
Time for another one of those dissertations you do.

I want to understand Ritual Magic, and I kinda don't, but I feel like Cev should. I think it's something Yuelral would be into, and I also think it's something he would have tired during our downtime.

But I seriously don't get how you learn it and gain more or any of that.

Thanks in advance.

Sure.

I just went through the list of them and there are no common rituals. They are all uncommon at least.

Which means that we can only learn rituals from quest rewards, or specific NPCs. Basically Fern can let you have access to a ritual or not.

Once you have access, it doesn't look like learning a ritual costs anything. It doesn't take up a spell slot - you don't even need to be a spellcaster.

Casting a ritual takes a lot of time, but can be done by anyone who has the necessary skill proficiency. Again, no need to be a spellcaster. It may also require more than one person to participate.

Probably easiest to show with an example.
Consecrate

Casting Consecrate as a level 2 ritual will take 3 days of downtime and cost 40 GP in incense and other materials.
Cevendyll could be the primary caster using Religion.
Caiten could be one of the secondary casters using Crafting (as long as Yuelral is fine with that)
Yasami could be one of the secondary casters using Performance (again, as long as Fern will relax the requirement of being followers of Yuelral)
No one person can fill more than one primary or secondary caster spot.

Once the time and money costs are paid, the secondary casters make their skill checks. Success has no effect. Critical success will add a bonus to the primary check, and Failure will add a penalty to the primary check. Critical Failure will add the same penalty as Failure and will also lower the degree of success of the primary check.

DC of the checks are set by the GM but should follow the DC by level table. Also, the secondary casters do not have any minimum level or skill proficiency requirements.

Caiten (crafting) DC 18: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22 Success, so no effect
Yasami (performance) DC 18: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20 Success, so no effect

After the secondary checks, the primary check is made. The primary caster must be high enough level - using the normal math for determining maximum spellcasting level of a character. They also have to meet the skill proficiency level for the ritual. Also, the DC uses the same DC by level table, but is modified by the very hard modifier.

Cevendyll (religion) DC 23: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28 Success
The results of the secondary results can change the bonus for the final check or change the degree of success. But the outcome of the entire ritual is based solely on the final results of this primary check.

So with a success result on the final check, the ritual succeeds and the area becomes consecrated ground.

There is a ritualist archetype, just sayin'. And it allows you to learn a few.

Never knew that ... will be hard to decide between that and the Crytal archetype that comes up in the future.

Joran, I see what you did there. And I want to tell you that the message is received - I will do my best to protect you.

After all - with puns like that, it's either Trinil is expecting, or there are little Bravestones already running around Breachill.

Joran, I see what you did there. And I want to tell you that the message is received - I will do my best to protect you.

After all - with puns like that, it's either Trinil is expecting, or there are little Bravestones already running around Breachill.

Wait... WHAT?! :P No, no, I think there's been a HUGE misunderstanding. If there isn't, well, ol' Joran's in for a BIG surprise. And he won't be very happy about it either. :P