Oh shoot - I keep forgetting that! I'll fix!
Hi all, I hear you could use another member.
About six months after leaving the group, I got a new job-- one that affords me a lot more free time. Since then, I've returned to the boards full swing. I didn't apply to re-join you all because, well, I'd given my spot up fair and square. But if you need Ellie again, I'm happy to put her at your disposal.
(Full disclosure for GM: I have run Skull & Shackles in its entirety for my IRL group [and wound up really envying them for getting to play it!]. If that's a problem I'll bow out again, no hard feelings.)
I don't know what happened to Ellie in-game, and obviously I'd have a lot to catch up on. What are your thoughts?
(Full disclosure for GM: I have run Skull & Shackles in its entirety for my IRL group [and wound up really envying them for getting to play it!]. If that's a problem I'll bow out again, no hard feelings.)
No objections from me, I'm inclined to say that further entitles you to a player seat rather than disqualifying you. ^_~
I would genuinely wish to read all the Gameplay backlog to fully grasp the party's journey but it's a lot and I'm not sure if it will ever be feasible. Still, Mac has given me some excellent plot points to work from. I'm sure he has the answers for your PC's Meanwhile, back at the ____.
I have a job interview coming up this week and hopefully I will have an improvement in my schedule soon as well. Wish me luck and welcome aboard!
First order of business will be to advance to level 10. ABP means half the usual wealth to build so, 31,000 gp, I think?
Great to have Veronica and Ellie back!
I had reached out to Ellie because I thought Veronica was gone for good, but I am happy to be wrong.
Though if Ellie is with us, perhaps Veronica might be allowed to retrain out Leadership and have Eric be in the background? I think 5 PCs plus a cohort might be a bit much.
I think it could work to say that Ellie was sailing with Sandara Quinn, who is coming to our island for the feast. She could show up at any time.
Welcome back Ellie! The more the merrier, but yeah, we should let Eric retire a bit. :)
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Welcome back, Ellie. It would be wonderful to have you aboard again!
As for what happened in-game, I believe we lost Ellie right before Isabella "Inkskin" attacked the rock, around here.
I seem to remember Robert saying we found a note from you alongside the boots I just finished crafting for you, saying you were leaving the Rock as pirating was not for you. But I can't find that anywhere, so I'm not too sure. Maybe it was a post in our discord channel?
As for Leadership, we were already leaving Eric out of things, right? I'm not opposed to retraining into something more useful, but I have no problems with keeping it in, either. Veronica's pretty powerful already, and it does make thematic sense in a way, with her being captain and all.
Sweet, I will get Ellie up to level 10 and work on getting caught up!
Looking back at her posting history, apparently it wasn't six months later but more like a year and a half. Man, I didn't realize I was away from the boards for that long. I do not miss those days, that's for sure.
Is our ship still the Charm?
Of course! With a few more improvements, and a whole lot more weapons (that have never seen use :) ).
We do have another ship that we haven't sold yet - the Jester's Grin, the wererat captain's (Fargo, I think?) ship. Maheem took it south, as part of our agreement with the wererat to help him disappear. You could have met up with him on the way back, in fact, and arrive at the ship's helm, if you'd rather not tie yourself to Sandara as per Mac's excellent suggestion. Either way, I can't think of a better way for Ellie to come back than arriving at the helm of either ship!
I went back and read the last posts of both gameplay and discussion, as the more recent details are what's more hazy in my mind at the moment. And there were two things I'd like to comment on:
First things first, as we seem to be planning another shopping trip, I'd like some help in defining the state of Mac's crafted items. His post on the request gave the following times:
Gloves of Storing: 10 days normally, 5 accelerated
Phylactery: 11 days normally, 6 accelerated
Luckstone: 20 days normally, 10 accelerated
I'm unsure, however, on how many days have passed. And the times probably have to take into account that we've been exploring and clearing out the island on most days, which means I get only 6 hours of effective craft time per day (2 for working while adventuring, and a block of 4 during the night granted by the ring of sustenance).
The second point is on the treaty with the treant: I'm fine with handwaving it, but Veronica does have some interest on the subject if we want to discuss it in character: her father is a boat builder, and she would like to bring her family along eventually. But her father would need wood for building ships. If Greenwood can be used for it, and especially if it can keep it's regenerating properties while sailing (even if it means she has to spend sometime researching a possibly magic solution for that), that's absolutely something she'd be invested in. Self-repairing ships sound like a great (and profitable!) idea.
I think Ellie is ready now. I spent a lot of time yesterday giving her 5 levels of battle herald (which had been my plan from the start), only to realize when I was done that what I had made was pretty much just a bard but worse. So I retrained Ellie's one cavalier level, spent two feats on Gunsmithing and EWP to let her continue using her pistol, and now she's just a full bard.
First things first, as we seem to be planning another shopping trip, I'd like some help in defining the state of Mac's crafted items. His post on the request gave the following times:
Gloves of Storing: 10 days normally, 5 accelerated
Phylactery: 11 days normally, 6 accelerated
Luckstone: 20 days normally, 10 acceleratedI'm unsure, however, on how many days have passed. And the times probably have to take into account that we've been exploring and clearing out the island on most days, which means I get only 6 hours of effective craft time per day (2 for working while adventuring, and a block of 4 during the night granted by the ring of sustenance).
We have some wiggle room here because I have not really been tracking time either. My guess is that about a week of gametime has gone by since I took over, event-wise that was tracking the harpy hybrids back to their cave. There should be time to build and craft as needed before the feast event. You could easily suppose you took every other day off and still there would be time. If you guys want to make use of crafting feats, I'm happy to support that.
The second point is on the treaty with the treant: I'm fine with handwaving it, but Veronica does have some interest on the subject if we want to discuss it in character: her father is a boat builder, and she would like to bring her family along eventually. But her father would need wood for building ships. If Greenwood can be used for it, and especially if it can keep it's regenerating properties while sailing (even if it means she has to spend sometime researching a possibly magic solution for that), that's absolutely something she'd be invested in. Self-repairing ships sound like a great (and profitable!) idea.
They do! Probably a tiny bit broken, tbh, but again my focus is on an enjoyable story. Coconut palms really are perfect for the thought experiment too given that the living fruit is completely buoyant, often migrates across open sea and can germinate in salt water. Greenwood should have some disadvantages such as being heavier and thus slower as a sailing vessel. I could see utilizing specialized berths that allow them to contact soil directly while docked without being run aground.
Also coconuts can be processed into charcoal for use in cook fires, which is an option for your island's industry and avoiding relying on campfire beads long-term.
There is, of course, also the option of utilizing "plunder" as your source of lumber for building.
I'll also point out that while you spoke to a singular Treant (not that anyone knew that's what he was), he spoke of discussing the terms of a potential agreement with others much like you did. ^_~
I don't think we need to worry too much about the mechanical details and ensuring Greenwood ships are balanced, really (I was looking to it more of a background thing than a mechanical advantage). Unless things drastically change in the next parts of the adventure, ship damage hasn't really come up at all, and with regards to our specific case, it's something we can also do with enough magic if we need to:
Make Whole: This spell affects a ship as if it were a construct.
(Which I take it to mean it bypasses the weight limits as per the "or one construct creature of any size" in the target text)
Regarding the game, are we exploring the underground chambers now, or waiting for Ellie? Between me, her and Mac, we'll have enough Dimension Doors to get everyone inside and out (two from me, one from Mac and Ellie each).
Sure, let's have Ellie join us!
Making a whole ship out of greenwood would be just... so insanely expensive. A 1700s sailing ship weighed hundreds of tons, like we're talking six figures of pounds. Greenwood adds 50 gp per pound, so even if you assume a ship already counts as a "masterwork item," the crafting cost alone would be ten million gold or more.
Yes, that would be extremely profitable if you can find a buyer, but talk about whale-fishing!
Fortunately, the providers of said GreenWood are more concerned that the wood used remains alive than they are any worldly concept of wealth.
That said, selling those particular ships should probably be discouraged, if we do implement that, lol!
Hmmm, these will make for some high-end bungalows as well! XD
lol! True!
I imagine most of our building will be stone. With wall of stone, and stone shape being cast daily for a month or more. That's a lot of finished stonework - not including any craftspeople we may attract.
So time spent is a factor as well. Ellie's check accounts for 1 plunder sold at 1,200 gold and 1 day spent haggling. I'll allow that you have that much, supposing you transported lighter, less bulky goods from your supply of "plunder". More would require more time and a cargo hold to work with.Exchanging 1 point of plunder for
gold requires a PC to spend 1 full day at port and make an
applicable skill check. Regardless of how much plunder the
PCs have, one PC must spend a full day trading to exchange
1 point of plunder for gold. The PC trading also must be
the same PC to make the skill check to influence the trade.
Oh wow, I didn't realize it took that long to sell plunder. How long do we want to stay here?
Looks like we could only bring 1 plunder, would need to bring the ship for more. So 1 day.
I'll make it official - sorry, I don't think I have the energy to keep up and haven't really been able to figure out the build or mysterious stranger personality for Nil, so rather than holding anything back, I'll bow out. Happy gaming!
See you around in our other games, then! We are back up to 4 so we should be good. Thanks for offering to help us out.
Take it easy Nil! See you around the boards. :) Sorry it didn't work out.
I'll hold off on starting the Feast Day till tomorrow just to be sure you had a chance to do everything you really meant to. Since the Tree-Folk are now allies, we can assume they helped you repair the triceratops corral and you now have a dino preserve to present to your guests.
Realized I needed to add Ellie back to active players, hopefully updates will show up now.
Mac has no Knowledge (Engineering), given those limited Cleric skill ranks.
Veronica has a bit (+5). I'm surprised it isn't a class skill for Magus since it is for both of the parent classes.
Ellie traded out Bardic Knowledge so she doesn't have it.
Tucci lacks it.
I guess we could try Intimidate in response to a "hypothetical" threat. Could backfire if it was seen as us being too prickly, or too aggressive towards our guests.
Maybe Bluff? Fabricating some stories about our defenses?
Mac has a +13 Bluff, and could maybe get some Aid Another.
He falls way short of Veronica's Intimidate skill, of course, but he's not bad. It would be my hunch that a failed check there would just be entertaining, as long as I make up a good story.
Thoughts? Other skills we might use?
Social skills apply in another event. Looking over your sheets, I think Profession (Sailor) is your best bet. Everyone has it and many of you have a healthy bonus. ^_^
I'm happy to put something together and try a Profession Sailor check. I'll write something up soonish...
Since you guys are putting on the feast you are welcome to write something up about the setting. It will probably be another day or so before I can move the plot along.
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I don't want to post too much without giving Ellie and Veronica a chance to chime in.
It's been all Tucci and MacLaren for the past while.
Veronica - are you still with us? Everything OK?
Not enough time tonight to get a post up moving us into initiative but wanted to give some information. Nothing magical about the rats and a root cellar is little more than a recessed storage cabinet. I'll allow it has a ladder leading down and is 10' x 10' x 10' with and that's generous proportions.
Is Ambrose "Fishguts" Kroop a part of your crew? Would he have been the head cook for the Feast?
Yes. Mac started off helping him in the galley. He's been with us since the beginning.
Need the actual introduction to Sefina before Mase can give you guys the last prize for impressing your council guests.
Next is the actual meal part of the feast, feel free to give some narration here for how you want to set that scene.
Hehehe, I just posted in gameplay - you ninja! Well for the introduction anyway.
Is there anything we could have done to prevent this sabotage, or are we just supposed to be reacting to it?
Is there anything we could have done to prevent this sabotage, or are we just supposed to be reacting to it?
Technically yes, though it is exceedingly unlikely. This is a standard feast event.
Let's talk about the logistics of what Mac is proposing to do. He can purify 10 cubic feet of food in 6 seconds. That won't take long for the food left in the kitchen. But the Feast has already been served to the guests.
You acquired 5 plunder worth of rum from the Jester's Grin and guests have been drinking it since they arrived. Best as I can figure, a cask contains over 50 gallons and weighs about 500 lbs. Figuring rum is about comparable to Applejack in weight/value, each cask is worth about 25gp. Meaning you had about 200 of these, originally. Even assuming half are consumed, moving them, casting to purify and moving them back is no minor feat taking a few mere minutes. And it won't be believable that he needs all the casks for some to put in the soup.
The party is technically bigger than it might seem from the invite list. These pirate lords all arrived with crew, as would the various other captains. Plus your own crew and island population would attend. There's a reason your budget was in the thousands rather than the hundreds.
I was picturing casks stacked up with 3-5 tapped at a time to prevent long queues. These are hard-drinking pirates with a mind to tie one on, after all!
Regardless, the fact that they have already been drinking it means it is too late and we have failed.
Not necessarily. I can't spell things out for you because your response (or lack thereof) is what will potentially detract from your reputation for this event. You would have had to have acted under what would seem an extremely paranoid level of caution prior to the feast to completely prevent this event but due to your friendship with Kroop, I've given you the earliest window of awareness of the problem.
Party discussion is good! Ellie revealed having knowledge of the AP, but I won't disallow in-character input. As a hint, none of you are currently feeling ill.
Okay, this is massively humiliating to Brother MacLaren. He is a Brewkeeper of Cayden Cailean and he has just served his guests poisoned booze.
He's maybe not in the best headspace to resolve this.
His idea would be to go out there, admit what has happened, and openly cast Purify Food and Drink on everything.
If none of us are feeling ill, then it could be that the rum only causes illness in combination with food, or with certain food, meaning we can't serve the guests this food until we find out why and how. Hopefully Purify Food and Drink would fix it.
But it does seem that, given the volume of material to be Purified, secrecy is out the window and we have to be honest with the guests.
He's got one open slot for a 3rd-level spell, if there is anything that would help.
I think being open about it is probably our best option. At first I thought maybe I could Fascinate the crowd while Mac goes around purifying it all, but I only get a handful of targets for that.
He's got one open slot for a 3rd-level spell, if there is anything that would help.
Enthrall might work, but we would need to keep everyone distracted long enough for you to prep the spell and then they'd get a Will save to negate it.
There's Create Food and Water but that's only for 30 people. Maybe cast that for food for the captains and VIPs, and hope that Purify does the trick for the rest?
I agree. We make a clean announcement, and travel through the crowd. I also have purify food and drink, so we can cover twice the ground.
We make it clear someone is attacking the group from within, and announce we shall not be shaken! Only it shouldn't be Tucci speaking with his horrible diplomacy...
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Mac has a very good Diplomacy but I think it makes sense for him to be stewing in a righteous fury and leaving the talking to Ellie.
To help advance your angle, I will point out that each barrel and cask of rum bears an insignia that can be identified with a successful DC 15 Knowledge (local) check. The insignia marks the rum as the property of Arronax Endymion, lord of Hell Harbor. Unless you removed those, they would still be in place.
He also declined your invitation to attend.
I think we were manipulated to want to attack the ship carrying the rum. Most of all the rumor that they were carrying slaves, when they weren't.
So somebody wanted us to get this rum, and then to frame Arronax Endymion for poisoning everyone. That's my guess, anyway. Things don't add up otherwise.
I was suspicious about the whole situation, but then Tucci had been drinking the rum without ill effect so I figured it was not poisoned.
Just in case I wasn't clear enough with my post, the pirate lords already had some of the food before you could purify it and are detecting as poisoned.
Will you be leaving them to their own devices to cope? Tessa Fairwind and the Master of Gales are also Pirate Lords in addition to the three that are evaluating you.
Oh, I missed that. Well, that's bad.
I had interpreted it as the poison from the rum was in their systems but was not yet combined with the poison in the food (the AP author must have been inspired by Babylon 5).
But hey, I see a use for that open slot.
I can cast my already-prepared Delay Poison on one pirate lord, then prep Communal Delay Poison on a few others. Extended via the Brew Reservoir in both cases.
The 15 minutes prep time for the open slot might be cutting it close. But if applied right after they start getting sick, it might delay the effects for several hours.
Tucci has a scroll of Neutralize Poison as well.
Any other ideas?
I haven't used my mnemonic vest yet today either, so I can neutralize two folks if we really have to - though I'll start with one for now.
Who's the highest ranking pirate here who is poisoned? I'll work up a post and cast it upon them.
I checked my other spells, and even my summons, but I am not really geared for this - so one neutralize, maybe two, is the best I can do.
Tucci has a scroll of Neutralize Poison as well.
Is it just one? There look to be quite a few in the Scrimshaw walrus tusk scroll case... Unless those quantities are not current?
Those aren't quantities. Those are the caster levels of the spell in question. :) I only have one of most of the scrolls I carry.
OH! On the group sheet I spy a potion of Neutralize Poison as well. So we have a potion also!
Ok, so I would say Lady Cerise is the highest ranking and also the most susceptible to the poison of the three, Avimar Sorrinash next in line. I will waive Tessa and the MoG from the challenge since their stats will be of lower level and they came because they were specifically invited. Then you can potentially utilize delay on Mase and I will roll out the saves. Anything to boost their Fort saves will help too, but Mase is a sturdy fellow so probably no need to worry.
I'm going to add here that I'm going to skip the next event. It's a bit of a red flag for me, rather SA coded... and while I would usually stick to plot as written, I don't think it contributes to the story here in any significant way. Plus the bypass is nearly impossible to fail.
Thanks! And no trouble skipping a scene, especially red flagged scenes.
I'll post the scroll and potion shortly.