DM Joseph Rauel's Price of Immortality

Game Master Dm Joseph Rauel

I expected as much.

That said, we can also handwaive the "how do we get back to the entrance side if needed" - talk.
I just wanted to have it brought up in-game in case we have to make a hasty exit in the near future.
So it's like "Yeah, we talked about this and everybody knows "the plan"TM "

@Joras(moved from gameplay):
Conrad said he'd lead the way into the room, and Miron cast his spell before heading in. It was more of a 'bump' and to clarify that yes, I am ready. I wanted an "exit strategy" for the trap, but after GM said we won't need to worry, I'm good with proceeding.

It's been a long time since our GM has posted on Paizo. I hope all is well.

Same. I am just hoping that he was tied up for the summer.

Hm. I do start worrying now. 2 weeks, now. Without notice or update - and both camps should have been over by now.

Do you want to look for a new GM or wait until the end of the week, guys?

I believe the usual thing is to give them a month, at least. There may be circumstances that simply forced them to focus on real life, and they had no energy to drop a message.

Lets just keep the thread alive, do a roll call in 2 or 3 weeks and decide then.

I do hope that our GM returns.
As this was a pre-pathfinder release(as indicated by lack of traits) and was supposed to go into homebrew, I think finding a replacement GM might prove difficult.

Sounds good on the wait.

I'll wait at least a month before worrying too much. I'll keep checking for some while. And I'm getting busier as my move date gets closer, mid-Sep. is the current expected time. When I know more, I'll post it.

Good luck on the move. Hopefully you find everything that you pack. :)

If the GM comes back next week: I'll be away on holidays from Monday to Friday, and I don't know if I'll be able to post. Will return next weekend however.

I'm fine for waiting longer. I'll be travelling 12th-19th and I'll probably be able to post, but not too much.

I'm back!

I got mugged by RL these last few days.

Back now.

Well, I'm still here, but no luck with the GM it seems.

I think the GM's Kingmaker table has already found a new GM. Perhaps now would be as good a time as any to discuss what to do next.

Personnally, I had fun with this group, as well as with my character. I certainly wouldn't mind looking for a new GM in case someone might be willing to pick up the game - even better if we could continue the adventure after the Crypt. What about you, guys? What do you all want to do?

Well, letting us wait until the 16th, which was the last day that he posted.

After that, I am good with either looking for a new gm, or folding this one.

My preference would be to carry this on.

I have been watching this campaign on-and-off for the last 10 months and so just saw that the GM has unfortunately disappeared. I wrapped up the Crypt of the Everflame module with both of my tables last November and have since moved on to the next module in the Price of Immortality series. It shouldn't be too much trouble picking up a third table for <Spoilers> if you all are interested in continuing, or at least carrying you through to the end of this module.

Oh! Thank you for offering! :)) I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I'd be glad to see you pick up the game.

Also would be glad to see someone pick up the game.

I would love for you to pick it up, poly. But please don't overstretch. If you suffer burnout and go missing, Roya, Lia and Basil will be very sad.

Haha, yes. There's a reason I'm not going to Rauel's other table, which was supposed to go into homebrew. I'm already familiar with both this module and the next, as opposed to staring down something brand new.

I'll wait for a few more days, as you were hoping to give Rauel a month from his last appearance. If you all want to look for another GM, you're welcome to do so. (GM burnout is definitely something to be aware of, as the supply is almost always far below demand. It took me a solid year on these boards before I even considered GMing.)

Definitely agree that your mental and physical health comes first. If you're sure you can take on this table without overexerting yourself, I see no reason why we should look for another GM.

(I began thinking of getting into GM-ing on Paizo last year... Haven't found the time to properly set up anything yet :( it's a lot of work! )

I'd give Dm Joseph Rauel to the 16th to chime in at least. After that it's starts to become reasonable to believe he will not return with no message at all. I would like to go on if possible it's been a bit slow at times but I'm okay with that because this has been a very enjoyable experience with a great group of people.

Still I'm a bit slow in posting b/c RL but that should be over (knock on wood) by the end of September. So with that all in mind I welcome your offer GM Polyfrequencies with thanks.

I'd like to see the end of the module at least, and I'd be keen to keep going.

I will also would like to finish the module and then go on if it is possible. I already stated that we should wait until the 16th which will be a month since GM Rauel to last posted.

Other than that, i think we have a good crew.

It's the 16th here. The last post of GM was July, 19th.

If you want to add to the grace period, I don't mind, but otherwise can we agree that Poly is welcome to take over starting next monday(21st)?

I definitely don't mind waiting for GM's, or wait out a hiatus, but vanishing without notice and no updates for a month is usually not a good sign.

There's a dark joke in there about US youth pastors, but it would not be in good taste so I'll refrain.

I'm ready to start on the 21st or earlier. At this point, I think it's safe to say that it's pretty unlikely GM Rauel will return to Paizo anytime soon.

I'll get ready to take things over next Monday. Obviously if Rauel returns, I'll cede control back if he's interested in picking things back up.

In the interim: I know where you all are in the Crypt, but I don't necessarily know what your experience has been like. That is, I haven't read every post yet, and it's been a while since I read the earlier things. So I don't know 1) what if any changes Rauel made to the module, 2) how effective you all have been about finding clues, etc.

So can folks please give me a summary of what has happened and what you know?

It's my first time playing Crypt of the Everflame, so I don't know what changes GM Joseph Rauel has made to the AP, if any. But here's what we did so far:

BEFORE GETTING IN THE CRYPT:

_ The group knows that a powerful spellcaster has watched them leave the town, and surprised them with an illusion of four orcs. Miron found the following items: "a small cloth sack with a hammer and three pitons within. Also, wrapped in a scarf on top you find a small steel mirror."

_ The group has found a dead man in Grey Lake. They were able to determine he had been poisoned, possibly by a snake. They found gold coins on his person, which Joras identified as coins from Nirmathas, with the image of Forest Marshal Weslen Gavirk, ruler of Tamran, Nirmathas’ capital.

_ The group has found dead, rotting horses and ponies in front of the crypt. Conrad spotted tracks indicating that four humanoids and some horses came from the west.

THE CRYPT:

_ Upon entrance, the group found two dead men (Failed Knowledge Local check; page 4). They have no idea who they are.

_ The group found Roldare, but had to break through the door to get in. They managed to reassure him enough to be tasked with finding his sister Dimira. They left him with some food and tried to barricade him as best they could to protect him. Joras heard Roldare talk about "the dead one who speaks", and correctly remembered that some powerful undead are intelligent.

_ The group found a small chamber that provided them with a magical feast. Each party member found a backpack with their initials stitched on them, with useful items inside. They couldn't quite guess what magic was at play other than Conjuration.

_ The party found two other corpses: one in a giant beetle's nest, and one charred body in a room filled with fire.

_ In a chamber decorated with mural paintings depicting the hero Kassen defeating the mercenaries at the entrance to this crypt, the group noticed that Kassen and the leader of the mercenaries were portrayed as wearing the same, golden medallion.

_ The party had to fight a group of bleeding skeletons. On one of them, the group identified a silver necklace as more than 200 years old and worn by nobility.

_ The group had to fight a group of 'exploding' zombies, who wore tattered clothing similar to the ones worn by the dead body found in the lake. They found a backpack with a small handbill (the kind typically found posted in taverns) that reads as a notice of employment, telling all those interested to meet at “The Ranger’s Lament.” The handbill does not mention a time, date, or who the employer might be. The group was unable to deduce further information. Miron caught a disease transmitted by the skeletons.

_ In a waterlogged chamber, the group found the corpse of a human male wearing a gold ring with a blue stone. He had been dead for a few months. Miron determined the ring was magic, but couldn't tell what exactly it did. (failed Knowledge Arcana check)

_ The group found a chamber containing a fountain with healing powers. (page 18) They were unable to determine what it was. Miron drank from it.

We've probably reached the room of the Lantern, which we are about to enter.

I've decided to put the upload the notes on a Google Drive to make it more accessible for everyone. Do you want to know which puzzles the party encountered, GM Polyfrequencies?

Feel free to complete my notes if I've forgotten anything, guys!

That's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for!

The puzzles encountered could be helpful, but knowing what you do and don't know was the most useful.

You'll need to link to the actual Google Doc itself rather than to Google Drive. That link just takes us to our own Google drives (if we have them).

Thanks Conrad for doing the summary.
It seems good to me, and what I would have to add would just be additional detail, but not necessarily of relevant value.

My bad! Here it is. I also put the link in Conrad's profile.

Everyone can try to open the document, and if I need to grant you access manually, I will do it tomorrow. It's nighttime in my country already!

EDIT:

Thanks Conrad for doing the summary.
It seems good to me, and what I would have to add would just be additional detail, but not necessarily of relevant value.

You're welcome! I'd be grateful if someone could take over for the puzzles, if a summary is needed :)

Finished the puzzles / traps, with some additional information regarding encounters that doesn't involve regular skeletons in case changes were made.

I thought I had added you as an editor on Thursday, GM, but I only just found out something might have went wrong? Should be fixed now.

You seemed to have forgotten it was me that drank from the fountain, and got blasted from Roya. :)

But other than that, excellent summation.

Hey folks.

I emailed Rauel over the weekend, hoping that maybe he's checking the email address associated the Google Sheets document. Having heard nothing, are you all okay with Roll20? It's my preferred virtual tabletop. Since I have the maps and tokens already uploaded, it won't take me too long to set it up. And then we'll dive back in with Brandark opening the door to the next room.

I already have a Roll20 account for another game -I don't mind.

Not a fan of Roll20. As said in another thread, it's blocked on my work computer, so getting a quick post in during lunch break etc. is not possible if I need access to the map.

But I'm a fan of playing even more, so that overrules any reservations I may have about the choice of platform. I mean, you're going to run the show, you do that in whatever environment works best for you.

I also will have issues with accessing the map quickly. But also continuing to play overrules that.

So Role 20 it is for me, as I have another game that uses that.

Also not fond of Roll20 but it seems to have a free account option. Is that good enough to play with? Might pop for a better account but would need to wait a bit as my moving date is less than four weeks away.

There'll be a bit of a learning curve for me but I will work in late Sep or so before that it might be a bit slow.

Thanks for taking over GM Polyfrequencies!

With three not fonds and one don't mind, I'll do my best to adapt to the table rather than the other way around. It'll just take me a bit to get the Google Slide up and running to my liking. It looks like I'll need to import a new chunk of the map onto the slide, or possibly just make a new slide with that map.

For now, I'll try to narratively set up...

The boss fight.

@GM Poly, I meant what I said.
You are running the show, you do what is easy for you.
I have no problem in the other 2 games, nor here. You said you also already got the prep work done in roll20.

No need to change things in my book. I was just voicing my personal opinion that is distinct from my willingness to use it.
(I need money, so I'm doing my job. Willingly. My opinion of it, at times, would not make you thing so)

With three not fonds and one don't mind, I'll do my best to adapt to the table rather than the other way around. It'll just take me a bit to get the Google Slide up and running to my liking. It looks like I'll need to import a new chunk of the map onto the slide, or possibly just make a new slide with that map.

For now, I'll try to narratively set up...

The boss fight.

Just to clarify: I said I don't mind not to express mild approval, but because in my case, switching over to Roll20 for this table makes absolutely no difference :)

I agree with Roya that we should go for whatever will make it easier for you to rule the game.

EDIT: Brandark, Roya, Miron, do you have access to the Google Doc? I think you're not editors yet

I can access the map, but it was GM Roul's.

I can work with Roll 20, just that I am not the most familiar with it.
So please use what you feel comfortable with, and I can work with whatever, is decided.

I can work with Roll 20 as well just it's a bit busy for me right now. Whatever make DMing easier for you is great.

Thanks, y'all. I'm working on a post that will provide a bit of context for the upcoming battle, representing knowledge that you as players will have but that your characters will not. It'll take me until tomorrow to finish it, but I'm pleased with the start.

sorry, got out of the habit of checking the forums. Roll 20 is fine for me.

Only thing I'd add to the summary is that I got a +1 dagger from the smoky burnt room.

Added both Brandark drinking from the fountain and Miron finding the dagger in the story notes!

I hope everything is going well with setting up the rest of the adventure :)

All right, thanks for your patience all. I hope that was worth the wait!

LET'S RUMBLE!

Love the write up.

Now I just have to think of something that I can effectively do.